Tiger Guards

Chapter 524 Wolfish Demeanor and Tigerish Vision
The sun slowly rises over the snow-covered, frozen lake.

The Han Chinese border people, selected from the prisoners, were reorganized, dressed in leather clothes and armor taken from the Xianbei people, and escorted the Xianbei people to clean up the battlefield.

Every now and then, small cavalry squads would pass by collecting supplies. If any Xianbei prisoners caused trouble, they would be immediately dragged to nearby haystacks or obstacles and shot dead in concealed view.

The Grand Marshal was kind-hearted and could not bear to see people beheaded in public with swords and axes.

If you take the body to a remote and secluded place to be executed, then collect usable resources, bury the body, and take the head back to complete the task.

The Xianbei people on the Huze battlefield were particularly unlucky, as a large number of military medical students were stranded in Shangjun, where they studied medicine and participated in the treatment and care of their wounded soldiers, and were able to follow the expedition.

Those who can go on expeditions are all relatively qualified military doctors or apprentices, and these people do not need consumables for practice.

Therefore, only Xianbei prisoners with intact limbs who could not hinder their work were eligible to live; the rest were executed on the spot to end their suffering.

Valuable medical resources must be used for our own officers and soldiers.

Not only were the wounded Xianbei prisoners killed, but even the injured horses were killed immediately.

Both sides had too many injured horses. In order to avoid extra consumption of hay and weight loss, except for a few male and female horses with minor injuries and breeding ability, all other horses with leg injuries or internal injuries were slaughtered.

The horse hide was peeled off; this material was used to make armor later.

Horse meat was also cooked, but there were too many to slaughter, so stuffed horse and smoked horse sausage became temporary provisions.

"Iron pots and copper pots are still not enough!"

Marquis Pingyang Guoyi was brought steaming hot horse meat with bones by Tang Xian, the cavalry commander. Inside Yuan Budugen's spacious tent, Zhao Ji lost his appetite just from the smell of the horse meat.

But he still reached out and grabbed a piece, pulling a short dagger from his boot with his right hand: "There won't be any shortage next year. Keep an eye on the outside. If the Xianbei prisoners submit, let them eat and drink some hot soup. But they can't eat too much, as that will hinder management."

"Here."

Tang Xian agreed, and then saw Zhao Ji cut off a piece of horse meat that was barely cooked, pick up the piece of horse meat with a dagger, dip it in leek flower sauce, put it in his mouth, chew and swallow it.

Others also started eating. This kind of undercooked, bone-in horse meat is really hard to tear off if you hold it and try to bite it; you have to use a dagger or a short halberd to cut it.

Meanwhile, Budugen, who had fled for over fifty miles, finally encountered Xinpi. Even though Xinpi had fled in advance, he was still caught up by other Xianbei tribes, who also robbed Xinpi and his group of their horses and personal belongings.

It was also through their encounter with Budugen that Xinpi and the others regained their horses.

They fled eastward, crossing the frozen Yellow River, and arrived at the city of Xianyang.

The four commanderies of Shuofang were called Henan by the Xiongnu people a long time ago, and the Qin army also called it Xin Qin Zhong. It is reasonable that there is a city called Xianyang here.

Xianyang City was located in the western part of Yunzhong County, separated from Wuyuan County by the Yellow River, with Shuofang County to its north and west.

Within the city of Xianyang, Budugen, having just recovered from his shock, summoned Xinpi: "Just as you predicted, this Grand Marshal Zhao is exceptionally fierce. According to nobles and warriors throughout the kingdom, last night he personally led armored cavalry as the vanguard, drawing his bow on both sides and killing many of my men. Now, the morale of the various tribes in the kingdom is low. What should we do?"

Xinpi's forehead had scabbed over, resembling a touch of vermilion.

He sat with Budugen across the fire pit, where dry cow dung was burning, and the temperature was pleasant.

Xin Pi reached out to warm his hands by the fire: "Does the Great Chief still harbor thoughts of fighting Zhao Yuansi again?"

"He killed my brother, how can I not avenge him?"

Budugen's tone was resolute, but he quickly calmed down and asked, "Sir, you have long served under Lord Yuan and have clashed with Grand Marshal Zhao many times. I intend to gather my troops and attack his retreat route while he is fighting Qianman. Is there any chance of victory?"

"Odds of winning?"

Xin Pi stroked his beard and pondered: "It's very difficult. This man is like a mad dog. If we provoke him again, he might abandon his westward journey and instead sweep through and plunder Yunzhong, intending to advance towards Tanhan Mountain. His army is at its peak, so we should avoid his sharp edge. The Great Chief might as well wait until he attacks Qianman's troops, and his officers and soldiers are exhausted and have suffered some casualties, and then he turns back towards Helan Mountain. Then we can lead our troops to follow him and easily take over the forces of Shuofang and Wuyuan."

Budugen listened without saying a word, truly letting things go unchecked. By the time Zhao Ji led his army westward, the remaining Xianbei tribes in Shuofang and Wuyuan regions would have been severely weakened. Even if these tribes were incorporated, they would not be able to provide a decent armed force in the short term.

However, such a large and weak tribe is also easy to unify.

Even if the tribe is mainly composed of women, children, the elderly, and the weak, they can still graze livestock, providing him with resources from animal herds, which would help him integrate the nobles and warriors of other tribes.

If Qianman and the royal court are destroyed, then he will be the undisputed and rightful new ruler of the entire central and western regions. Budugen frowned in thought, then asked, "If I send envoys to apologize and then secretly plot against them, would that be feasible?"

"It's also difficult."

Xin Pi spoke calmly: "This man is arrogant and strong, and his actions are unpredictable. Last year, when he was fighting Yuan Shao at Changshan, he tried to kill Yuan Shao in battle. My brother protected Yuan Shao and died as a result. This year, he has again sent his troops to rampage through the Central Plains. Everywhere he goes, families are ruined and scholars are harmed. He also used the prestige of the court to lure and kill Cao Cao, and abducted more than 200,000 people from the Central Plains back to Bingzhou. Such a wolf-like and tiger-like person can kill without warning. It is beyond the Great Chief's ability to guard against him."

Upon hearing this, Budugen fell silent again. He also found it difficult to deal with someone who suddenly made a move during a meeting.

Whether it was the Xianbei civil war or the war between the Xianbei and the Xiongnu, they would usually negotiate first, and if they couldn't reach an agreement, they would fight, and they would talk while fighting.

It has a style reminiscent of the wars during the Spring and Autumn Period... There's no way around it; wars between tribes are all about competing for production resources.

The methods of warfare must be restrained; a swift and decisive victory would benefit both sides' nobles and followers.

If both sides are locked in a stalemate, unable to secure production resources, and have to continuously invest and deplete manpower and reserves, even if they win, they will still suffer losses.

Therefore, the war between the Xiongnu and Xianbei was not a simple war of annihilation.

His grandfather, Tan Shihuai, was able to unify the Xianbei people not only because he was a very capable warrior, but also because he was a very honest person who could mediate disputes between different tribes and avoid unnecessary wars and losses. This is why Tan Shihuai gained the support of all the Xianbei tribes.

It's meaningless to rely solely on the support of the nobility, whose stance is the most fickle and unstable.

Only when the people of each tribe dare not oppose Tan Shihuai can the nobles lower their heads and submit to him.

Now, after last night's battle at Huze, the Xianbei people of Wuyuan and Yunzhong will probably need two or three years to recover their fighting spirit.

With so many deaths and numerous internal disputes over inheritance to resolve, only after these matters are settled can we remobilize and launch a new war.

Even Xinpi, an outsider, understood the thoughts of the Xianbei nobles in Wuyuan and Yunzhong. Hatred could be avenged at any time, but inheriting the female relatives, herds of beasts, and slaves of their fallen relatives was the most urgent matter at present.

If they return too late, by the time the news gets back, the brothers and cousins ​​who stayed behind in the tribe will have completed the redistribution of wealth and status, creating a fait accompli, and then they can't afford to have another civil war.

Budugen was not the recognized ruler, and he could not have remotely resolved the succession disputes among the various ministries.

He had to agree to the withdrawal of the nobles around him; only if these nobles who supported him returned to take over the tribal power would they continue to support Budugen.

Without the support of these nobles and other tribes, he could do nothing.

For the vast majority of Xianbei nobles, defeating the Han army and seeking revenge had little practical significance.

Returning to the tribe and inheriting the wealth and status of the fallen relatives is the most important thing.

As long as you're alive, you'll have friends and people you don't like. Some people may choose not to inherit, but they can't let those who stay behind take advantage of them.

In other words, after the Battle of Huze, the army that Budugen had assembled here had to be disbanded.

Only after these nobles return and inherit leadership of their respective tribes can they bring more followers to serve under Budugen, forming a new royal court with Budugen as its core.

If Qianman and the royal court's forces had been eliminated by the Han army at that time, then Budugen and his group would have become the new royal court within the Xianbei territory.

If the Han army's offensive falters, after the Han army withdraws, Budugen will have to eliminate Qianman and the old royal court's forces here.

If Qianman and the royal army defeat the Han army, then Budugen will have no choice but to lead the surrounding nobles to fight Qianman to the bitter end.

Too many nobles died in the Battle of Huze, and there were too many people who were eligible to inherit the throne.

Once the local nobles seize leadership of the tribe, the other disgraced nobles will certainly side with Qianman and the old royal court in hopes of launching a counterattack and reclaiming the tribe.

After thinking it over, Budugen said, "Then I'll listen to you, sir. I'll observe the battle between Grand Marshal Zhao and Qianman for now. If they're evenly matched, I'll just have to be the fisherman."

"The Great Leader has assessed the situation and is truly a wise ruler."

Xinpi bowed deeply with his hands clasped, uttering words of praise with practiced ease.

(End of this chapter)