Jinting Han people

Chapter 165 Tiefu People (4k)

In May of the summer, Sun Xiu's official document was officially sent to Xiayang County, ordering Liu Xian to go north to Shuofang to pacify the Tiele Huns who had repeatedly disturbed the border.

According to official practice, this kind of appeasement should be done by the Zhengxi Army Headquarters, which should send officials of the fifth rank or above to negotiate with the tribal leaders.

As the county magistrate, Liu Xian was not only not qualified to negotiate, he couldn't even leave the county. This was because the law clearly stated that except for special circumstances such as handovers, all local officials could not rashly leave their jurisdiction, otherwise they would be treated as dereliction of duty.

Obviously, this was an official document specially issued for Liu Xian. Liu Xian could completely refuse it on the grounds that the request was illegal, but he could also accept it.

If you refuse, you can pretend nothing happened, but if you accept, you must complete it, otherwise you will be charged with dereliction of duty.

Of course Liu Xian chose to take on this task. Although he knew that this was a trap set by Sun Xiu with bad intentions, he had to take it.

Because this was the first opportunity he had seen in the past two years to make real contributions. If he missed it, he didn't know where the next one would be.

As the prince of Anle, Little Ruan Gong had told him long ago that his life would be full of setbacks and dangers, and that he not only had to be able to wait patiently, but also to face challenges head-on.

So after accepting the appointment, Liu Xian made preparations for about ten days. After handing over the government affairs to Xi An and Li Sheng, he finally left Xiayang for the first time.

This wasn't a simple trip. Liu Xian knew that Sun Xiu would definitely seek revenge after he had humiliated him last time. Therefore, he had to be extremely cautious before leaving.

"Ah Tian, go pick a hundred men from the county corps and buy supplies. Tell them I'm going to take a hundred guards north to Shuofang to negotiate with Hao Duyuan."

Zhang Gu always carried out Liu Xian's requests without hesitation, but he was still a little worried at this moment. He asked, "Bi Ji, I heard that Hao Duyuan has over ten thousand men. You only have a hundred. Is that enough?"

"Of course it's not enough, no matter how many people I bring." Liu Xian patted his sword and said, "But I'm not using it for fighting. I'm here to defend against Sun Xiu."

"Sun Xiu?"

"He's such a rat-like villain that he won't miss any opportunity to harm others. I don't need to guess, I know he will definitely ambush me along the way."

"Really?" Zhang Gu was a little surprised, but when he thought of Sun Xiu's shifty face, he was relieved. Sun Xiu was indeed that kind of person. But he asked again, "Then what should I buy at the market? Don't the necessary supplies already exist in the county government?"

"We're going to negotiate with the Hu people, so we need to prepare some gifts. Go buy thirty jars of fermented black beans, five hundred rolls of silk, some candied fruits, fifteen sturdy carts, and most importantly, all the gold in the treasury. Take it all."

"I see."

"Hurry up and buy supplies first, then transfer people."

But to Zhang Gu's surprise, by the time he had prepared his guards, Liu Xian had already left with the supplies, leaving only one message: "Take the men out of the city, walk around the countryside, and then come back."

……

"My Lord, why did you leave such a message?"

Lu Quyang, who said this, was dressed like a businessman, wearing white clothes and a hat, and asked Liu Xian.

Liu Xian, also dressed as a merchant, rode an ordinary gray-maned horse. He surveyed the scenery to the north as he replied, "Bringing out a hundred county soldiers is too ostentatious. We're here to negotiate, not to express hostility."

"I asked County Magistrate Zhang to transfer people, but it was just a cover to attract Sun Xiu's attention."

Liu Xian's current team consisted of only about twenty-six people. No one could have imagined that Liu Xian would not even transfer a single county troop, but instead chose to cooperate with the Hu people at Lun Gong Pavilion. Then, they disguised themselves as Hu merchants and swaggered onto the trade route.

There was actually only one trade route from Xiayang to Shuofang. This route took the Liangshan Mountain Road, then turned southeast and continued to Huangya Mountain (present-day Huanglong County), home to the largest concentration of Hu people in Fengyi Commandery. From Huangya Mountain, heading northeast across the Liudao Pass, one reached the Luo River. From there, the route continued north along the Luo River, the main route into Shuofang.

Back then, Du Gan and his gang of horse thieves arrived at Xiayang along this road and finally became bandits in Liangshan.

Liu Xian's companions, besides Lü Quyang, were Hu Mogen and He Ganlin. They obeyed Liu Xian's request and each selected twelve able-bodied men from their tribes to accompany him. But upon hearing Liu Xian's words, they couldn't help but feel skeptical. Gazing at the road on either side of the forest, they could only see the shimmering sunlight and the branches of the trees, and inevitably felt a sense of doubt.

Hu Mogen said, "County Lord, are there really ambushes? Are you making a big fuss out of nothing?"

This was no wonder, as the Hu people could hardly imagine someone being so omnipresent. In their view, any grudges should be settled face to face.

Liu Xian just smiled when he heard this and said to Hu Morgan, "If you don't believe me, you can just shout and see."

Hu Morgan didn't understand why, but he did it anyway. He roared towards the sky, and it was like a bolt of thunder, causing the people traveling with him to cover their ears.

After the roar, nothing happened. The two sides of the mountain road were still filled with colorful sunshine and quiet forests.

Hu Mogen said with a smug look on his face, "Is there something wrong? I think the county lord is still too cautious."

Liu Xian replied nonchalantly, "Of course there's something wrong. Don't you find it strange? There doesn't seem to be any bird calls."

After hearing this, the Hu people suddenly realized that indeed, in this season, how could there be no birds singing? Logically speaking, the loud roar just now should have startled a flock of birds.

Birds are only reluctant to approach places where there are people lying in ambush.

After realizing this, the silence in the forest suddenly seemed a little scary.

He Ganlin was extremely nervous when he saw this and asked, "County Lord, what should we do?"

"Haha... There's nothing to be afraid of. Their target is me, the leader of the troops, not me disguised as a merchant. Just stay calm, surround me, and don't let them find you. You'll be safe."

Sure enough, after walking for a while, everyone heard a rustling sound above their heads, as if a large animal was walking on the grass, but after a while, the sound disappeared as if nothing had happened.

It was not until they walked ten miles away that they heard the sounds of birds and foxes again. They breathed a sigh of relief and admired Liu Xian's sharpness and calmness even more.

But Liu Xian knew that this was just the easiest hurdle to overcome. What he was least sure about was actually another matter - how to find Hao Duyuan?
During the decades of Qiang Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty, the empire's influence in Shuofang was constantly shrinking. In the early years of Emperor Ling of Han, the entire Hetao region was under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty. However, with the outbreak of wars in various places, the Han Dynasty's control over the northern border gradually became stretched, and finally, after the rebellion of the Southern Xiongnu, the Han Dynasty completely lost control of Bingzhou and Shuofang. Despite the unremitting efforts of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, they actually only recovered a small area east of the Yellow River and south of Mayi. The entire Hetao Plain and the northern Shaanxi Plateau were completely lost to the Xianbei and Qiang Hu. From the agricultural land of the Han Dynasty, it returned to the nomadic land before the Han Dynasty.

The Hetao Plain, occupied by the Tuoba Xianbei, has now become thoroughly Xianbeiized. The former Southern Xiongnu were forcibly relocated to Taiyuan, Shangdang, and Pingyang by Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, and placed under strict surveillance. The Shuofang region, situated between these two regions, was influenced by both the Xiongnu and Xianbei, hence the name Tiele (Tiele tribe), meaning "father Xiongnu, mother Xianbei." This name refers not to a single Xiongnu tribe, but to the entire Shuofang region.

Now, Hao Duyuan's troops are a newly rising force in Shuofang in recent years. He frequently invaded Guanzhong in spring and summer, and traveled back and forth like the wind, and the Western Expedition Army was helpless.

All this was because Hao Duyuan lived by the water and grass, and had no cities to speak of in Shuofang, leaving the Western Expedition Army with nowhere to attack. And to defend, they couldn't capture the Tiele people's fast horses. It wasn't that the Western Expedition Army didn't raise horses. The initiative lay with the Tiele people. By the time you spotted them and sent troops to attack, they would have already fled.

In fact, Liu Xian had faced the same problem when he first arrived in Xiayang. If the four bandits had abandoned their base and continued their game of chase, there would have been no end to it. Liu Xian had only managed to salvage Xiayang by catching them off guard and decisively ending the conflict.

But now, this method no longer worked. Even the Western Expedition Army didn't know where Hao Duyuan was. If they knew, they would have killed him just like Wang Xiong had killed Ke Bineng. And after using this tactic so often, the Hu leaders in the border areas also learned to be wary.

So when Liu Xian received this mission, he not only had to meet with Hao Duyuan, but also had to find a way to find him himself.

Liu Xian didn't actually have any clues. He only had a vague idea. If he failed, he would have dug a catastrophic hole for himself. He would have no choice but to head north to the vast ravines and grasslands of Shuofang, hoping for a slim chance of success.

Six days later, Liu Xian and his party finally crossed the mountain road safely and entered Huangya Mountain, where they witnessed the largest Hu settlement in this border area.

There were no walls or forts here; it was simply an ordinary, nearly undefended market. Precisely because of this lack of defense, this market was pure and unadulterated. Merchants were the only ones there, trading once they arrived and leaving once their transactions were complete. No one guaranteed fairness in the transactions, but in other words, no one controlled the market.

When Liu Xian arrived, he discovered that the market here was even larger than the one in Xiayang. Not only were there horses, cattle, and sheep, the most common Hu goods, but there was also a considerable amount of ironware, including ring-handled swords, Han swords, and even chain mail from the Western Regions. Furthermore, there was a wealth of gold, silver, jewelry, and even dancing slaves.

After seeing this, Liu Xian roughly understood where the Xiayang horse bandits got their weapons from.

The Hu people who accompanied him were amazed. Since they moved to Xiayang, except for paying taxes in Chang'an, they had never seen such a prosperous place. After getting Liu Xian's permission, they rented a house and immediately went to stroll around the market.

Liu Xian left behind Lu Quyang, Hu Mogen and He Ganlin, saying that he had important matters to discuss.

"You are going to tell everyone in this market that I want to sell something."

"Selling something?"

This sentence once again confused the Hu people. Weren't they here to look for someone? When did it become a place to sell things?
But considering all of Liu Xian's previous actions, which were incomprehensible yet profound, no one asked why. What they wanted to know was something else:

"What does the county lord intend to sell?"

Liu Xian replied, "I want to sell a golden sword."

"Golden Sword..."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. They had lived and ate together for the past few days, and they didn't remember Liu Xian having a golden sword. But seeing that Liu Xian was so sure of it, they couldn't object. Lu Quyang then asked:
"What price would the county lord like to sell it for?"

Liu Xian replied, "No!"

"what?"

"I mean, not selling for money, but exchanging things for something."

"What do you want?"

Lu Quyang and others were extremely curious. They really couldn't imagine the next answer.

Liu Xian replied, "I want a white deer."

"White deer?" Lu Quyang understood a little. This was actually a code word. The so-called golden knife of Liu Xian was certainly not a golden knife, and the white deer was not a white deer. It was actually a gimmick to attract attention at the market, and then find clues about Hao Duyuan from it.

But there was a problem. Lü Quyang noticed it and asked directly: "County Lord, I'm afraid no one will take us seriously if we come here out of nowhere without any foundation. Should we just tell them our names?"

The name Liu Xian might have some appeal in Xiayang and Luoyang, but what use could it be in this mixed market?
Liu Xian was very happy that Lu Quyang was aware of this problem. He patted Lu Quyang on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"Qu Yang is right. I do need a name, but I've already prepared one."

"Just tell us directly that we are relatives of Liu Yuan, the commander of the left wing of the Xiongnu."

"Liu Cong, Liu Yao and I call each other brothers."

"Here is a jade box that Liu Cong gave me when I entered the officialdom. His name is engraved on it. It can be said that he is honest and trustworthy."

"Just take this and talk to each of you one by one."

"If anyone is willing to talk, bring him to see me."

After giving the order, Lu Quyang, Hu Mogen and He Ganlin went from house to house in the market.

Liu Xian watched them go, then sat in his room and waited quietly. He planned to wait here for seven days. If no one came to find him within seven days, he would have to give up his fantasy and go north to the plateau to search for him along the way.

But in a place like this, on the border of the empire where the Han and the Hu peoples coexisted, Liu Xian couldn't believe that a hero who roamed freely in Guanzhong would not have arranged his own spies. Logically speaking, he should be a very important person.

Facts proved that his guess was correct. On the third day after they arrived at Huangya Mountain, a Hu man came to their door. However, to Liu Xian's surprise, the man was a young man with a beard.

After being led in by Lü Quyang, he first looked Liu Xian up and down, smiled, and said, "You don't look like a relative of Zuo Xian Wang."

He then introduced himself: "My name is Qi Wannian, nice to meet you!"

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(End of this chapter)