Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 565 The Six Barbarian Invasions in China (6500 words)

"Some people want to recreate..."

"The Six Barbarian Tribes Invade China!"

Usana's voice was not loud.

But when her words reached Song Yan, Luo Tianxuan, and Luo Yuheng, everyone tensed up instantly, and an indescribable chill ran from the soles of their feet straight to their heads.

Scalp numbness.

Goosebumps instantly appeared on almost every inch of my skin.

In this parallel universe, there was no Five Barbarian Invasions, but there was a Six Barbarian Invasions, which was even worse than the Five Barbarian Invasions.

The term "Zhonghua" (中华, meaning China) has existed for many years, first appearing during the Eastern Han Dynasty, as in the saying, "Confucius resided in the land of Zhonghua." The so-called "Six Barbarian Tribes' Rebellion" refers to the subsequent migration and establishment of regimes by six major nomadic groups—the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Di, Qiang, and Western Rong—after the fall of the Han Dynasty, which wreaked havoc on the Central Plains.

Among them, more than 400,000 Xiongnu migrated from the northern desert to the Central Plains, more than 200,000 Jie migrated to the Central Plains, more than one million Xianbei migrated to the Pingyang and Anzhou area, 300,000 Di migrated to the Guanzhong region, and 500,000 Qiang migrated to the Shaanxi and Gansu regions.

When the number of Hu people was small, they were relatively well-behaved. However, once their numbers reached a certain level, they revealed their sharpest fangs and exposed their most brutal and cruel nature. The five major Hu tribes successively established more than a dozen states, which did not treat the Han people as human beings at all. At that time, the Han people were even treated worse than slaves.

For example, the Later Zhao state at that time had a law that stated: if a Han Chinese injured a Hu person, their entire family would be exterminated; if a Hu person killed a Han Chinese, they would be fined one horse! Another state, the Former Yan, even required Han Chinese to pay a breathing tax... You read that right, the very thing that is often joked about on the internet in later generations, where you even had to pay for breathing, actually came to pass during the Six Barbarian Invasions. For every breath a Han Chinese took, they had to pay one liter of millet. There were even special Hu soldiers who would keep an eye on them, and once they had squeezed all the grain out of your house and you had no money left, they would just chop off your head.

Only when one's breath is exhausted can one find peaceful sleep.

It could even be said that Han people could directly buy and sell goods. A healthy Han man was worth a bolt of silk, while women were called "two-legged sheep," who were defiled at night and cooked during the day, and children were used as military rations.

During the conquest and plunder of the Six Barbarian tribes, countless people were slaughtered. When the Former Zhao, established by the Xiongnu, captured Luoyang, palaces and temples were burned, empresses and concubines were defiled, more than 30,000 princes and soldiers died, and more than 800,000 civilians died. Nobles were beheaded and their bodies were filled into wells. The bones of the common people piled up into mountains. It is said that the soil where the corpses were abandoned could burn like candle flames because the grease from the corpses soaked in it.

Pingyang was also occupied by the Xianbei, who massacred 300,000 Han people and set up a human market to sell Han women. The price of a woman was no more than one bushel of millet. The army camp was set up with "two-legged sheep pens".

Chang'an was conquered by the Qiang and Di peoples, and over a million people were slaughtered. People resorted to cannibalism, and most of the dead were killed. The imperial kitchen served human flesh soup.

Jicheng was captured by the Western Rong, resulting in the deaths of 250,000 Han Chinese. Children paraded with guns stuck in their heads!

Yanzhou was captured by the Jie people, who built dozens of Jingguan (a type of mound of corpses).

The Six Barbarian Invasions lasted for over two hundred years, a catastrophe unprecedented in the vast Central Plains. During the rampage of the Six Barbarians, a beggar surnamed Wu rose to prominence amidst the chaos, uniting all Han Chinese who were unwilling to be slaughtered. They picked up everything they could use to fight—hoes, sickles, and even just wooden sticks—and launched a vigorous resistance.

Furthermore, the Hu people had no concept of respecting the gentry. To them, aristocratic families were nothing more than ATMs, relentlessly exploiting them for food and money. Over two hundred aristocratic families, including the Wang family of Langya, the Liao family of Taiyuan, and the Du family of Jingzhao, were wiped out or forced to migrate south, leaving the Central Plains and the northern regions virtually devoid of their former social standing. Therefore, even though they looked down on the Wu family's humble origins, they still contributed money, labor, and food. This period can be considered the most united time in the vast Central Plains, spanning east, west, north, and south.

He then drove out the Tartars, restored China, established the Great Wu Dynasty, and the Central Plains, which had been in decline for two hundred years, was finally restored to light.

Just as the Great Wu Emperor was rebuilding China, he was extremely ruthless. He captured Luoyang, massacred 300,000 surrendered Xiongnu soldiers, and captured countless Xiongnu women, noble ladies, royal princesses, and concubines. To accommodate these women, he even set up the Yeting (Imperial Palace), filling it with more than 38,000 women. Ordinary people could enter the palace for pleasure with just a few copper coins. In the end, nearly 40,000 Xiongnu women were tortured to death, and the Yeting was later closed.

When they conquered Yanzhou, the Jie tribe was wiped out... Yes, wiped out. The entire race was basically extinct. Perhaps there were a few survivors, but they were no longer able to maintain the continuation of the race.

When Chang'an was captured, the Qiang and Di tribes were exterminated.

When they captured Pingyang, the number of Xianbei people had been reduced by eight or nine tenths.

As for the Western Rong who occupied Ji City, they were terrified of the might of Emperor Taizu of Wu and fled the city in fear. However, before the Western Rong soldiers fled, they massacred the entire city of Ji City. None of the Han people in the city survived, and all the grain, gold and silver were taken away. Before leaving, they even set fire to the entire city of Ji City.

When Emperor Taizu of Wu arrived at Jicheng, all he saw was towering black smoke and intense flames. After the fire was extinguished, there was nothing alive in the entire city, not even a single rat.

Historical records state that when Emperor Taizu of Wu saw the broken walls and ruins, the black ash and white bones, he cried out three times in grief: "It is too late for me!"
He then vomited three liters of blood and fainted.

After that, the Western Rong became a thorn in the side of Emperor Taizu of Wu. During his more than twenty years in power, he repeatedly tried to march west and exterminate the Western Rong. However, the Western Rong lived in the high-altitude region, an environment that was extremely difficult for the soldiers of the Central Plains to adapt to. Every time the army set out, even without engaging the Western Rong in battle, many soldiers would inexplicably faint or even lose their lives. Even until Emperor Taizu's death, he had not been able to completely wipe out the Western Rong. It is said that before his death, Emperor Taizu did not instruct his crown prince on what to do after he ascended the throne, but instead kept muttering: "Western Rong, Western Rong!"

Most people are unwilling to accept this until they die.

Moreover, the destruction caused by the Six Barbarian Invasions was not limited to a sharp decline in population; hundreds of thousands of books were burned, more than 70% of farmland was turned into wasteland, and the entire Central Plains civilization was almost cut off.

Records of the Six Barbarian Invasions flashed through Song Yan's mind. Although he had not experienced this era, the cold numbers recorded in the history books still made him feel as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making even breathing painful.

His hands were unconsciously clenched.

The Qiang, Di, and Jie tribes were exterminated, and the Xianbei were essentially wiped out. Of the six barbarian tribes, only the Xiongnu and the Western Rong remained.

Are the Xiongnu and Western Rong now trying to entangle themselves with the Southern Barbarians, Jurchens, Japanese pirates, and Goguryeo, and perhaps relive the chaos of the Six Barbarian Tribes?
Especially considering that he has already slept with that Jurchen more than once, how dare he still have such thoughts now?
Song Yan began to wonder if she had been too lenient with him before.

As for Usana, after saying those words, she fell silent and sat quietly opposite Song Yan, only occasionally glancing at Song Yan's face with her eyes.

To be fair, this Prince Yan was quite handsome, much better looking than the hairy, dark-skinned, and overweight men of the grasslands.

Her pale fingers picked up another steamed bun, but since she had already eaten something, her hunger had subsided considerably. At this moment, Usana's actions revealed a certain elegance, perhaps somewhat imitating Luo Yuheng and Luo Tianxuan. She tore off small pieces from the steamed bun with her fingers, put them in her mouth, and chewed them in small bites, only at a faster pace.

She is waiting.

The intelligence she possesses is her greatest asset at present.

She would never reveal everything before receiving Song Yan's promise.

Because of her mother, Ushana has some goodwill towards the Han people, but she grew up on the grasslands, so it's impossible for her to feel much identification with them.

call.

After a long while, Song Yan let out a heavy sigh.

He didn't question Ushana's words, nor did he ask where she got the information. Instead, he looked at Luo Tianxuan and said, "Tianxuan, please arrange a fine guest room for Miss Ushana in the Prince Yan's residence. Also, instruct the stewards in the residence not to restrict Miss Ushana's freedom. If Miss Ushana needs anything, she can withdraw money up to a thousand taels of silver at will."

"Even if Miss Usana wants to leave the palace temporarily, she must not be stopped."

"I just need to arrange for two guards to accompany you." With that, Song Yan turned his gaze to Usana: "Miss Usana, are you satisfied with this arrangement?"

"I assure you, as long as you remain in the Prince's residence, no one in the entire Pingyang can harm your life, how about it?"

A smile finally appeared on Usana's face. After being chosen to carry out this mission, Usana understood that this was her best chance to escape from the grasslands. However, how to survive after escaping the grasslands was also a problem. If Sochuro knew that she had betrayed him, he would definitely not let her go. Now that Song Yan had made a promise, she could finally feel at ease.

Even though the assassins arranged by Suochuoluo were powerful, the Prince of Yan's residence was not a place where they could cause trouble at will.

"Deal." Usana smiled and readily agreed.

She hesitated for a moment, as if pondering how to begin, before finally parting her lips slightly: "Originally, Suochuoluo did not intend to attack Ningguo again."

"After all, we suffered a great loss at the hands of the prince last time."

"I've heard that Your Highness possesses a special weapon that, once used, produces a thunderous sound, as if divine punishment has descended upon the world. Warhorses will be terrified and become uncontrollable, greatly impacting the Xiongnu cavalry."

"Until we have mastered this weapon, or rather, how to deal with it, Suochuoluo does not intend to wage war against Ningguo again; the losses would be too great."

"Moreover, he only had four sons in total, and three of them died at once. The last one was the one he looked down on the most, so he felt that there was no one to carry on the family line. Therefore, for a period of time, Sochoro put most of his energy into creating people and issued orders to all the major tribes of the Xiongnu to offer beautiful women. Now there are more than a hundred young beauties offered by various tribes in the royal court."

Song Yan was very quiet, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but grin. Good heavens, more than a hundred. Suo Chuoluo is over sixty years old. Can he handle it?

Does this guy also have golden kidneys?

"And I am one of them. Although we young queens are queens in name, we don't actually have any status in the tribe. We can't have our own independent tents like real queens. Most of us live in a large tent with a dozen or more people."

"Although I don't like going out much, there are quite a few young wives in the camp who like to wander around, so I can hear some different voices. Sometimes, when distinguished guests come, they will ask the young wives to come and dance to entertain them."

Their status was truly very low.

However, once a child is born, the young queen's status will rise accordingly.

"And these distinguished guests who require the young queen to dance and entertain have appeared three times in the past few months. One time was an envoy arranged by Wanyan Guangzhi of the Jurchen. We could hear some of the conversations at the banquet... The prince had previously attacked the Jurchen royal court and used thunderbolts. It is said that two of them did not explode."

"This Heaven-Shaking Thunder was regarded as a treasure by Wanyan Guangzhi and Suochuoluo. They seemed to want to open the Heaven-Shaking Thunder in order to find out its formula." Song Yan narrowed his eyes.

This was something he hadn't expected, but considering that these thunderbolts were all handmade, it was normal for them to have a certain probability of misfiring.

However, figuring it out is no easy task. The gunpowder for the Thunderclap Bomb is made of granules mixed with eggs and sugar. It is difficult for them to determine the specific ingredients. At most, they know that it contains charcoal and sulfur, but what about the others? Even if they knew the formula, it would be difficult to control the proportions, and the fuse is also a challenge.

Without a few years of figuring it out, nothing can be accomplished.

"and then?"

"The two sides reached an agreement that Suochuoluo would send a group of elite Xiongnu cavalry to help Wanyan Guangzhi unify the Jurchens. In return, Wanyan Guangzhi would need to provide a thunderbolt. The two sides would study it together and share the results. After unifying the Jurchens, the Jurchens would need to provide 8,000 women as compensation for the Xiongnu's military contribution. Moreover, the Jurchens would have to recognize the Xiongnu as their suzerain state and pay tribute of cattle, sheep and horses worth 20,000 taels of silver every year."

Song Yan grinned, "Look how poor we are."

The tribute was only worth 20,000 taels of silver?

Then look at the Song Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty; their indemnities were often in the hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions.

However, this Suochuoluo had some foresight, recognizing the enormous role that the Thunderclap Bomb could play in war. He was willing to send elite cavalry to help Wanyan Guangzhi unify the Jurchens in order to obtain the Thunderclap Bomb.

Song Yan was a very suitable straight man; he always managed to bring up the conversation at the right moment: "So, what are they planning to do next to counter the Heaven-Shaking Thunder?"

"I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I know that Sochoro selected a group of the best craftsmen from among the Xiongnu people. They tried to open the thunderbolt, but they failed..."

Hehe, the Thunderclap's iron barrel is cast from molten iron and is a single piece, with only one hole left for filling gunpowder and burying the fuse. Opening it completely is not an easy task.

"Later, they found a saw and tried to cut the thunderbolt in half."

"Then what……"

"exploded."

Not surprising at all.

"It is said that when the iron sheet was sawed through, for some reason, the thunderbolt suddenly exploded, killing several craftsmen who were around at the time." Usana smiled, and it was clear that she was still happy that the Huns had been killed. "Only one thunderbolt was left, and Suochuoluo and Wanyan Guangzhi dared not open it easily again."

"Therefore, Sochoro had no choice but to resort to other methods in an attempt to obtain the formula for the Heaven-Shaking Thunder. The method he used was to send people to infiltrate Pingyang City and steal it when the opportunity arose."

"And I was chosen."

"There are eight of us going to Pingyang City this time. Besides me, the person in charge is a middle-aged man named Cheng Xu. He used to be the strategist of the First Prince Abal. Before Abal entered Dehua County, he strongly opposed Abal, not wanting Abal to be greedy for merit and advance rashly. He suspected that there was an ambush in Dehua County. However, Abal did not listen to his advice. Instead, he whipped Cheng Xu hard in the face and drove him away. However, Cheng Xu also escaped death because of this."

Song Yan leaned back slightly.

He was unaware of this.

"As for the other six, they are all sons of the Left Wise King and the Right Wise King, namely the Xiongnu Ruodi."

"Cheng Xu's official mission for me was to take advantage of the Prince of Yan's wedding to infiltrate the palace, control Luo Yuheng, disguise myself as the bride, and seize the opportunity to shoot the Prince with a crossbow when he entered the bridal chamber. As for Cheng Xu and the six Ruodi, they would be outside to provide backup and help me escape."

A slight coldness appeared on Usana's face: "But Cheng Xu doesn't know that I overheard their private conversations. I am just a pawn. They know very well that it is absolutely impossible for a weak woman like me to assassinate the Prince of Yan who can lead the army. What they hope for is for me to create chaos in the Prince of Yan's mansion and attract your attention."

"And they can take this opportunity to sneak into Pingyang City, go to the pre-arranged location, and steal the formula. As for whether I live or die, they don't care."

Usana thought Song Yan would be surprised to hear this.

After all, the formula for the Thunderclap Bomb is extremely important, and if it were stolen, it would be a disaster for Song Yan.

However, Song Yan's expression remained very calm.

Seeing this, Usana quickly realized that Song Yan had probably already taken countermeasures, and that Cheng Xu and the six Ruodi had likely been captured.

As expected of the Prince of Yan, he has managed this fiefdom as well as an impregnable fortress.

“I think Suochuoluo must have his own selfish motives behind this arrangement. On the surface, whoever obtains the formula for the Thunderclap Bomb will be the next Chanyu.” Ushana continued to speak eloquently, “In reality, it’s a sure-fire deal for Suochuoluo. If a certain Ruodi succeeds, Suochuoluo will get the formula, the Xiongnu will be stronger than ever, and Suochuoluo may be able to fulfill his wish of entering the Central Plains and becoming emperor.”

"If we fail and all six Ruodi die, it will be like eliminating some competitors for Sochoro's unborn child. No matter how you look at it, we won't lose out."

Song Yan nodded slightly, confirming the point: "I'm curious, you haven't been in Pingyang long, how did you manage to pinpoint the location of the Thunderclap Thunder production workshop? Even if it's just a suspected location, there probably wouldn't be enough time in a few days, especially since you seem to rarely go out."

“There is an inside agent in Pingyang City. I don’t know exactly who it is, but it should be someone from the Fan family.” Usana was genuinely prepared to surrender and made no attempt to hide anything: “The Fan family has been providing salt to the Xiongnu and Jurchens in Ningguo for many years. It seems that Cheng Xu’s entry into Anzhou was also facilitated by the Fan family. They have bribed some military households at the border.”

Song Yan's expression turned serious.

He knew that being bribed with a large sum of money was unavoidable, which is why he established the Embroidered Uniform Guard. However, he never expected that someone would dare to do such a thing right under the nose of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Do you really think he only kills alien races?

“The Fan family has already investigated the situation inside Pingyang City. After we enter Pingyang, we just need to investigate according to the locations provided by the Fan family,” Usana said with a smile. “This might be a little trick of the Fan family. They probably think that even if Cheng Xu was captured by mistake, it was the work of the Xiongnu, and the Fan family will always find a way to get away with it. But they forgot that the Prince is not the kind of person who talks about evidence. Once it is confirmed that he did it, the Prince will probably take action directly, right?”

"And how did you manage to sneak into the Prince's mansion?" Song Yan narrowed his eyes, a hint of murderous intent flashing in them.

"Cheng Xu bribed a maid in the Prince's mansion..."

Song Yan was almost laughing in anger. Although he knew the saying that people die for wealth and birds die for food, he never expected that the maids in the Prince's mansion would betray him so easily.

"Tianxuan, you should also handle this matter. This kind of person cannot be allowed to stay in the Prince's residence," Song Yan said slowly, pursing her lips.

Luo Tianxuan nodded indifferently.

They should probably be eliminated.

It may be somewhat cruel, but... no wealthy family would ever allow someone who betrays their master to continue living.

Having eaten breakfast, Luo Tianxuan had someone come and remove the bowls and chopsticks.

Song Yan finally understood why Ushana appeared in the bridal chamber and why she attacked Luo Yuheng. She probably just didn't want Luo Yuheng to scream. However, she didn't expect that the person she thought was the easiest to deal with in the royal palace was actually the most terrifying existence in the royal palace.

Ushana then shifted the topic back to the Xiongnu: "Apart from the one time we entertained Wanyan Guangzhi's envoy, the other two times we entertained distinguished guests were related to the Western Rong, one of which was a Western Rong delegation."

"No one knows what was discussed in detail; it was kept extremely confidential."

"The second time, it was an envoy from the Western Rong who came together with an envoy from the Southern Barbarians."

Usana pursed her lips: "No one knows the specifics of what was discussed. Only after the discussion was completed were the young queen consorts allowed to dance and entertain the guests."

"However, after the two meetings, Sochoro had already begun to prepare for war."

"He drew elite warriors and strong warhorses from all the tribes of the Xiongnu, and at the same time ordered the forging of a large number of weapons, bows and crossbows. Although he had lost 150,000 soldiers before, Suochuoluo now had even more soldiers in his command than before."

"Clearly, Socholo is preparing for war."

"Besides preparing for war, the interactions between the Xiongnu and the Jurchens became more frequent. I heard that Suochuoluo even arranged for some capable scouts to go to Goguryeo's territory."

"He even arranged a fleet with Wanyan Guangzhi to go to sea to find the Japanese pirates."

"How did you know about these things?" Song Yan asked in a deep voice, his expression solemn.

“That’s what the young queen in the tent said.” Usana shrugged. “Although the young queen is not of high status, she bears the important responsibility of bearing children for the Chanyu. Therefore, all the tribes attach great importance to her, and relatives often come to visit her. They also talk about some recent news on the grassland.”

"I've heard that more than one important figure among the Xiongnu has said this..."

"We want six parts of China!"

(End of this chapter)