Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 436 Even a businessman can be a master of business.
On the banks of the Luan River.

The last wisp of smoke disappeared into the morning mist.

As the ashes from the fire and wind rose, they mixed with dew and fell again, turning the Luan River into a black water.

The black water separates the gray-white reeds on the north bank from the scorched earth on the south bank, making the elegance of the ink-wash landscape extremely vivid at this moment.

Kebineng lay prostrate among the reeds on the riverbank, his ears filled with the dying cries of his men and the shouts of the Han army.

Kebineng was somewhat dazed...

He felt like he had faced divine punishment yesterday.

The sudden fire engulfed his camp, and the southeast wind advanced the fire line at a speed of fifty miles per hour, burning all the way to the source of the Luan River.

He was unaware that Zhang Fei had started setting fires dozens of miles away, and that hundreds of places were affected simultaneously. By the time the fire reached Kebineng's camp, it had become a wall of fire stretching for dozens of miles.

Kebineng's main force was forced to scatter and flee, and was routed before even encountering the enemy.

The fire line was too long, and most of the Xianbei people didn't have time to run to the side, so they could only flee with the wind following their horses.

People react differently to such 'natural disasters'.

Some Xianbei people thought they could use streams and puddles to escape the fire...

But they died the fastest.

The fire won't actually reach the stream, but the narrow stream can't stop the flames from being whipped up by the wind, and the other side of the stream will catch fire just as well. Plus, the airflow around the stream is plentiful, like the chimney of a stove...

If you stay in the stream or puddle, you might not be burned to death, but you will most likely suffocate.

Only a wide enough river can stop the fire from spreading.

Kebineng knew that his only chance of survival was to flee to the north bank of the Luan River.

However, the arsonist also knew...

These guys, who had received advanced arson training, all knew where the fire would go out, and they had already gone to the north bank of the Luan River.

After lighting the fire, Zhang Fei immediately led the elite troops of the Wufeng Camp and galloped northward from the west side of the fire line.

When Kebineng escaped to the banks of the Luan River, he found himself facing a meticulously planned, three-dimensional massacre.

To the south lay the raging flames that devoured everything, and to the north flowed the Luan River, while on the opposite bank, elite Han troops were already on high alert.

The true deadly nature of this fire is only now becoming fully apparent.

The fire created an insurmountable obstacle and destroyed the Xianbei people's most fundamental war capital... the mobility of their warhorses.

The fire and smoke startled the horses, causing them to lose control, and the panic and chaos led to the tribe's separation and dispersal.

The newly assembled 20,000-plus Xianbei cavalry had to scatter to avoid the long line of fire, and their only way to survive was to cross the Luan River.

Qian Zhao's troops were on the south bank of the Luan River, launching a surprise attack from the east side of the front line. It was too difficult for them to escape from the flank of the front line.

The vast majority of Xianbei people had to abandon their only advantage over the Han army, turning from swift horse archers into fleeing routs, shedding all their heavy equipment, discarding their weapons, and swimming across the river.

Meanwhile, Zhang Fei guarded the north bank of the Luan River, blocking the attack.

Those Xianbei people who abandoned their equipment and crossed the river were lambs to the slaughter.

This is a massacre.

The river water was quickly stained dark red, the corpses blocked the river channel, and were covered by black ash falling from the sky, forming piles of horrific charred corpses that formed a dam.

If they don't cross the river, they will be burned or suffocated.

If you go into the river, you will become Zhang Fei's target. Even if you get ashore, you won't be able to fight back, since you can't carry long weapons while swimming, let alone wear armor.

If one tries to travel downstream along the Luan River, one will be intercepted and killed by the downstream forces.

But no way.

Before the fire was extinguished, the Luan River was the only way to survive.

Zhang Fei was like a moving wall on the north bank. Although his troops were few, they were all incredibly excited and looked like they were insane.

Zhang Fei's group of artists finally had a chance to "apply what they've learned." This was a subject they might only be able to practice once in their lifetime, and this time they were likely to go down in history. Of course, they were excited... or rather, restless, and didn't feel tired at all.

Of the eight centurions (tribal chiefs) under Kebineng's command, seven died in the river last night when they forcibly crossed it.

Kebineng and Tuoba Pigu, the chieftain of a large tribe in the north, used the corpses of their companions as shields and led two thousand men, who had barely managed to maintain their organization, to land on the north bank. However, after crossing the river, they lost their armor, and Zhang Fei, with only two hundred elite soldiers, slaughtered them, turning them into a field of corpses.

Bald-haired Pigu fought desperately, but Zhang Fei pierced his throat in a single encounter.

While Zhang Fei's attention was drawn to the bald-headed Pigu, Kebineng secretly put his golden crown on the head of a corpse, undid his braid, smeared blood on his face, and hid in the reeds by the river to pretend to be a corpse.

By dawn, when the fire in the south had died down, Kebineng still had not found a chance to escape.

Zhang Fei is searching everywhere for the Xianbei Chanyu.

The troops on the north bank have also been searching for people dressed in Xianbei noble attire.

"No enemy chieftain found? Could he have been burned to death? Search along the river! Finish off all the corpses!"

Zhang Fei had a very loud, rough voice that was coming towards the reeds.

Kebineng quickly lay down, not daring to raise his head again.

The footsteps grew closer, and the sounds of finishing blows and screams of agony rose and fell.

"General! This man is wearing a golden crown!"

A soldier shouted loudly next to Kebineng.

That was indeed the golden crown symbolizing the Chanyu (ruler of the Xiongnu), which the eastern Xianbei chieftains had just placed on Kebineng's head a few days ago.

However, the old guys like Suli and Miga are not here—they appointed Kebineng as the Chanyu, but none of them participated in the war themselves.

"Dead? Who knows this person? Is this Kebineng?"

Zhang Fei's voice also came from not far from Kebineng: "He does look like a leader..."

Kebineng did indeed place the golden crown on the head of a young nobleman who had died in battle; that was Tuoba Liwei, the younger brother of Tuoba Pigu, the leader of the Suotou tribe.

'Tufa' is a surname, which is actually the same as Tuoba, just a different transliteration. However, Tuoba Liwei and Tufa Pigu were at odds and insisted that they were from two different families, but in fact they were brothers.

This has always been the case among the Xianbei people; brothers often become enemies in their struggle for power.

The Tuoba clan's tribe was called Suotoutou. Originally, they were Xianbei from Hexi. When the Budugen brothers fought amongst themselves, the western Xianbei split up, and the Tuoba clan moved to the Dingxiang area and allied with Kebineng.

However, Suo's head is now gone, and the Tuoba family will never exist again.

"General, Commander Qian reports that the Xianbei chieftains Suli and Nijia, along with their tribes, are fleeing westward..."

A messenger cavalryman arrived.

"Take the bandit chieftain's head and let's intercept them..."

Zhang Fei called out to his subordinates.

Then came the sound of bones being crushed as a knife chopped off a head.

Kebineng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

……

After Zhang Fei left, Kebineng went back into the river. Instead of heading west, he clung to a piece of driftwood and drifted eastward with the current, floating for dozens of miles before daring to go ashore.

On his escape, Kebineng witnessed the end of his tribe. The scene on both sides of the Luan River was breathtaking.

The south bank was scorched earth for miles, the north bank was littered with corpses, and the river was covered with dense floating corpses.

Downstream, Han cavalry were clearing the battlefield, finishing off the wounded and beheading the dead in long chains.

The surviving warhorses were gathered together and driven away; it was a massive herd of over 20,000 horses.

The central Xianbei were completely wiped out in one dynasty, and almost all eight tribes were exterminated.

The Xianbei chieftains in the east fled west, but Zhang Fei intercepted them and slaughtered them in a chaotic attack, pursuing them for over a hundred miles.

Zhang Fei was focused on pursuing the noble chieftains. Nobles such as Suli and Mijia, along with other Xianbei chieftains, all died in the pursuit. The Xianbei tribesmen, having lost their will to fight, scattered in all directions, suffering countless casualties.

Only Kebineng, who mingled with the floating corpses and drifted eastward, survived, but was now all alone.

……

a few days later.

Qian Zhao returned with his army, bringing back over 20,000 horses and countless spoils of war.

A Xianbei envoy arrived at Qianzhao's camp, presenting a Xianbei mountain god totem and Kebineng's wives, concubines, and children, expressing his willingness to serve as a guide for the Han army in their campaign against the rebellious tribes.

This was the only Queji who did not escape during this great battle.

Queji was a contemporary of Tanshihuai, and his tribe was called the Queji tribe, which he founded.

On the day of the fire attack, Queji did not follow Kebineng's main force, but instead stationed himself several dozen miles to the east, just outside the fire zone.

When the fire broke out, Que Ji immediately gathered his troops and retreated without engaging in battle.

Upon learning that the various Xianbei tribes had been scattered, Queji took advantage of the chaos to annex the Kebineng tribe and attempted to surrender it as quickly as possible.

Zhang Fei was still pursuing westward and had not yet returned.

Qian Zhao said to Que Ji, "Since you want to punish the disobedient, then go to Tanhan Mountain and make Budugen surrender. Only if Budugen surrenders can you be considered a surrendered Xianbei subject. Otherwise, what right do you, a mere barbarian, have to punish the disobedient?"

Queji was quite efficient. While Zhang Fei was chasing the defeated army all the way to Guangning, Budugen sent envoys to submit to the Han Dynasty.

The mission arrived in Youzhou with three hundred fine horses and fifty cartloads of furs. In their letter, they were extremely humble, saying, "The Xianbei will forever be the northern vassals of the Great Han, and will never dare to look south towards the Great Wall."

However, Budugen also secretly took in many of the fleeing remnants.

Budugen may have been eager to help his people, and he took in all the remnants who fled westward.

However, these people who had experienced the fire and the massacre brought new problems to the Xianbei.

If they had been defeated by the Han army under normal circumstances, the Xianbei people who had regrouped at Tanhan Mountain would likely have united in the face of the might of the Han army.

However... the Xianbei were not defeated by the Han army in a direct confrontation.

Zhang Fei's fire attack has become a legend on the grasslands.

Those Xianbei people who fled to Tanhan Mountain almost all described the battle as 'divine punishment'.

It is said that Zhang Fei was blessed by Heaven and was able to command fire and wind...

That's what the Xianbei people who were chased by Zhang Fei said—that Zhang Fei was incredibly ferocious, eighteen feet tall, with a waist circumference of eighteen feet, able to breathe fire, and create wind with a wave of his hand; he could eat eight Xianbei children in one meal…

After all, if even 'warriors' like them were fleeing in disarray, then the enemy couldn't possibly be an ordinary person; they must be either a god or a monster.

In any case, they all boasted more and more, describing their escape from Zhang Fei's clutches as an incredible honor.

According to the Xianbei people who fled to Danhan Mountain, the battlefield had almost turned into a magical confrontation, and in a few days the Han Dynasty would probably summon meteorites to smash Danhan Mountain... After all, there was such a legend about Emperor Guangwu.

In this situation, the Xianbei people were actually unable to unite.

Everyone has different opinions. For example, most of the shamans of the various small tribes of the Western Xianbei believed that they should leave the territory of Yan Han and return to the northern desert.

Some of these shamans were indeed driven by superstition and fear, while others were driven by practical considerations.

Although Xianbei shamans were charlatans who also served as witch doctors, those who could act as shamans were usually able to judge situations.

With the eastern and central Xianbei tribes completely wiped out, Budugen is left to fend for himself, and his future is sure to be difficult.

Moreover, the fire burned hundreds of miles of grassland, and the Han army gained tens of thousands of horses, which meant that the Han army's cavalry would increase dramatically, and the Xianbei's living space north of Dai County would become extremely narrow.

Back then, Tan Shihuai was hostile to the Han Dynasty for too long, and the Han Dynasty had always been in a state of hatred towards the Xianbei. Although some Han officials had adopted a policy of appeasement, it was because the Xianbei were still very powerful and the Han Dynasty could still regard them as a great power.

However, the Xianbei are currently in decline.

Rather than staying next to the Han Dynasty, a behemoth hostile to the Xianbei, it would be better to migrate west to the former territory of the Yuezhi, where they might be able to unite with the Qiang and Hu tribes of the Hehuang region, or seek survival in the Western Regions.

This is the idea of ​​most small tribes.
Every race has its brave members. Some Xianbei people cherish the glory of the Tanshihuai era, remembering that Tanshihuai once defeated the Han Dynasty, and hoping to launch a counterattack.

This is the spirit that Tan Shihuai left for the Xianbei people.

The Han Dynasty's crushing defeat in the war against the Xianbei left all the nomadic peoples with illusions, which had a profound impact.

The reason why the Wuhuan, Qiang, Di, and even various ethnic groups in Liaodong dared to confront the Han Dynasty was largely because the Han army suffered a crushing defeat in the battle against Tan Shihuai, which shattered the myth of the Han Dynasty's invincibility.

Budugen's second brother, Fuluohan, was such a brave man, after all, he was the grandson of Tanshihuai.

Some wanted to submit to the Han Dynasty, some wanted to retreat to the northern desert, and some wanted to fight against the Han Dynasty.

Thus... the Xianbei split up once again.

They split into three 'factions'.

Budugen and Queji intended to submit to the Han Dynasty; they were the surrender faction.

The tribal alliances that migrated westward belonged to the escape faction.

Fu Luohan belongs to the die-hard faction.

If the surrender faction wanted to submit to the Han Dynasty, they would need to offer the heads of the die-hards as a pledge of allegiance.

Meanwhile, the die-hards planned a coup, intending to become the Xianbei Chanyu and lead the Xianbei to fight to the end.

The escapees could have acted as peacemakers, but after only two days, they migrated westward—resulting in Budugen and Fuluohan drawing their swords against each other at Danhan Mountain.

Internal strife arrives before external enemies.

The Wuhuan chieftain Nengchen Di of Dai Commandery allied with Fuluohan, while Budugen allied with the remaining Xiongnu tribes of Yanmen. The resulting civil war between the two sides might have resulted in even greater casualties than the war against the Han.

Qian Zhao did not attack Tanhan Mountain again and advised Zhang Fei not to continue the pursuit.

Zhang Fei didn't understand this, so Qian Zhao explained: "Now the Xianbei are fighting amongst themselves. We only need to keep provoking them to watch them decline and perish. But if we advance forcefully, they will stop fighting when our Han army reaches Tanhan Mountain. This may actually encourage them to reconcile. It's better to use one barbarian against another... Besides, our army is out of food."

The last reason is extremely important.

Zhang Fei's fire burned away the Xianbei's reserves in the central region, leaving them unable to find food from the enemy—and the fleeing Xianbei, of course, had no food with them.

This legendary victory almost made Zhang Fei forget that they were currently short of food.

After Zhang Fei returned to his army, he instructed Zhang He and others, who were already in Guangning, to do business with the Xianbei.

Qianzi Jing was also a businessman; he had been doing business with the Hu people since he was a child.

Zhang He, as a Han envoy, met with Budugen: "If the Chanyu wants to submit to the Han Dynasty, he must first eliminate the Han Dynasty's enemies. The Han Dynasty is willing to provide some military equipment to the Chanyu... but serving the Han Dynasty must also be useful to the Han Dynasty. If the Chanyu cannot even pacify the Xianbei internally, then what use is the Chanyu to the Han Dynasty?"

Taking advantage of the infighting among the Xianbei people, Zhang He sold the tattered equipment he had acquired from various battlefields to Budugen.

Countless cattle and sheep, as well as tens of thousands of Han women who had been abducted by the Xianbei, were exchanged by Zhang He for the pile of scrap metal that Qian Zhao had just picked up at the Luan River.

(End of this chapter)