Tiger Guards

Chapter 553 The Ferocity of the Han Army
North of Dai County, a hundred miles beyond the Great Wall.

On Tanhan Mountain, the thick snow is slowly melting.

With one foot, Budugen pushed aside the loose layer of ice and snow, revealing a layer of withered grass at the bottom, with tender new grass shoots of yellow and white growing in the middle.

But he felt no joy at the impending revival of all things. With a gloomy face, he looked up and gazed into the distance, his eyes half-closed as the strong wind blew.

After more than a month of migration, the cold wind and winter sun had turned his face and skin a dark gray, and his cheeks, though thin, were now covered in red blood vessels, making him indistinguishable from other Xianbei nobles.

Previously, although he lived in a remote border region, he enjoyed a comfortable life, with fair skin, a plump face, and a youthful appearance, unlike his current thin and dejected state.

They migrated for less than a thousand miles, and the Han army did not even send troops to pursue them. As a result, herds of animals died along the way, and the old and weak froze to death in droves, leaving corpses lined up one after another by the roadside.

So far, only a few tribal elders, teenagers, and young men and women have survived; the other elderly, the frail, and young children have not made it through.

Budugen slowly climbed Tanhan Mountain, gazing at the former site of the royal court, recalling his brief childhood here.

The north wind was biting cold. Budugen exhaled white breath and asked the tribal elder beside him, "We've lost half our people and livestock. What's the point of fleeing here?"

"After Qianman's death, the leader should succeed to the throne."

The tribal elder was not in a good mood either, but he still wanted to encourage Budugen, continuing, "The Han army will definitely launch an attack to the east. The Xianbei in the east and Liaodong cannot stop the Han army. They are fighting and killing each other and their hatred is hard to resolve. Only the king can unite their strength and resist the Han army's attack together."

The Xianbei in the east and Liaodong could not stop the Han army, so the remaining Xianbei in central Budugen who fled here could not hold the old royal court at Tanhan Mountain.

But Budugen was already exhausted. He now had just over ten thousand followers, and he didn't think that such a small number could suppress the leaders of the various tribes in the east or Liaodong.

He had also heard about the fate of the Han emperor from Xin Pi, and was always worried that he would be held hostage by some powerful figure in the east or Liaodong.

Survival is the most important thing for the vast majority of living beings; clearly, Budugen was unable to break free from the constraints of this life instinct.

If he surrenders, even if he can't become a puppet Xianbei king, he can still be properly settled, which is better than this kind of wandering and letting his loyal followers freeze to death one after another.

Compared to the Xianbei in the east and Liaodong, Budugen actually preferred to cooperate with the Han army.

The Han army leaders were of a high caliber and did not care about minor disputes on the border; while the Xianbei in the east and Liaodong were people who would gather together to fight each other over a mountain gully or a grassland.

These people lacked long-term vision, and their daily pursuits were too low-level, to the point that they could not tolerate the men and women of the remaining Xianbei tribes in the central region led by Budugen.

As Budugen stood atop Tanhan Mountain overlooking the ruins of the old royal court, he felt increasingly faced with immense difficulties; the Xianbei were no longer something he could revive.

As we waited and watched, heavy snow began to fall, and soon the temperature dropped sharply and a strong wind picked up.

Budugen and his group could only quickly descend the mountain to their temporary camps, which were all built in sheltered locations.

There is also timber remaining from the old royal court nearby, which can be used as fuel.

Budugen returned to his warm tent, but before he could warm himself up, a nobleman in charge of scouting rushed over: "Your Majesty, the Han scouts have reached the area of ​​Beiyu and Wuquan. If nothing unexpected happens, the Han scouts will cross the border of Yunzhong County tonight."

Budugen remained calm and did not react after hearing the news.

One of his close noble followers asked, "How many scouts does the Han army have?"

"There are no fewer than a thousand cavalrymen, many of whom are Xiongnu and Qiang, but we haven't seen any Xianbei." The nobleman in charge of reconnaissance looked at Budugen and emphasized, "Things aren't too bad. The captured Chinese people may have been killed by the Han army. In any case, they did not serve the Han army."

The Xianbei people were familiar with the roads inside and outside the borders of Bingzhou and Youzhou. Logically speaking, it would be reasonable for the Han army's scouts to advance eastward without utilizing the Xianbei people.

The Han army values ​​practicality above all else. As long as you are a useful Xianbei and can help the Han army with its needs, you are a good Xianbei and the Han army will treat you accordingly.

Conscripting servants and mercenaries from various Hu and Yi tribes was a cost-effective operation for the Han army.

The compensation for casualties among the Hu people was very low, and it was basically a one-time buyout, with the Hu people bearing the casualties themselves during the mission. Most importantly, the Hu people's volunteer mercenaries did not participate in the merit exchange, so they would not dilute the merits of the Han army.

Therefore, the Han army, from top to bottom, did not hostile to the various Hu (non-Han) volunteer forces.

Logically speaking, the absence of Xianbei people among the Han scouts should be considered excellent news.

This not only meant that the Han army would have a delay in obtaining road information, but also that most of the Xianbei people would have no chance to surrender and would have no choice but to resist to the end.

Individual resistance would be easily crushed by the Han army; they could only unite under the command of the new ruler, Budugen!

As more and more tribes join the resistance, the strength of the Nabudu tribe will become increasingly formidable.

When his strength is equal to or even superior to that of the Xianbei leaders in the east and Liaodong, many things will be much easier to manage.

Encouraged by this good news, Budugen's face lit up, and he feigned surprise: "Are the Han army really so brutal?"

His noble companion immediately said, "Yes, I'm afraid the Han army harbors the intention to exterminate our people. Otherwise, why wouldn't our Xianbei warriors be among their vanguard scouts?"

Inside the tent, some nobles still had doubts and questions about the matter, but upon hearing this, they immediately felt that Budugen was right. The Han army was too ruthless and truly did not want the Xianbei people to serve them.

The Xianbei people were of no use to the Han army. Judging by our own standards, why should the Han army keep the Xianbei people alive?

Because these nobles grew up during the period of the Xianbei's rise in power, they generally had a strong sense of self-confidence.

Even if they were Xianbei prisoners of war, they were still brave warriors.

No matter how strict the selection criteria were for the Han army's vanguard, with the abilities of the Xianbei warriors, a large number of them would certainly be selected.

The fact that no Xianbei people or Xianbei slaves were found among the scouts can only mean one thing: the Han army was massacring Xianbei people in the Shuofang region!
If the Han army did not give the Xianbei people a way to survive in the Shuofang region, how could they give the Xianbei people in the east and Liaodong a way to survive?

They weren't afraid of the Han army's brutality, but they were afraid that while the Han army was sending people to hunt them down, they were also sending envoys to trade and make friends with other tribes... If that were the case, the Han army wouldn't need to lift a finger; plenty of people would come and take their heads.

Inside Budugen's tent, as more and more nobles came to their senses, the overall atmosphere became joyful... This gave them hope that they could persevere to the end and turn the tide.

Budugen no longer hesitated: "Prepare letters and send messengers from the royal court to every Xianbei tribe, telling them that the Han army is slaughtering Xianbei men in the west and central regions!"

"If you don't want to be slaughtered like sheep by the Han army, then lead your people to gather at Tanhan Mountain!"

As Budugen spoke, he stood up, feeling the blood of Tan Shihuai burning within him, and his tone became impassioned: "Tell every Xianbei man to come to Danhan Mountain, ride fine horses, and either trample the corpses of the Han soldiers or die fighting like men!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)