A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 143 Yu Lie
Han dynasty houses often had many secret rooms.

The plan lies within it.

Candlelight flickers.

The Chu residence, a secret room.

After a thorough search, no hidden mechanisms or secret doors were found. King Zhao Liu Pengzu and one other person were still awake.

"In the State of Zhao, His Highness the King of Zhao was such a powerful and influential figure! How come he now looks like a wilted cucumber, so dejected and pathetic in Chang'an!"

His accent seemed to be from the Yan region, but it also had a strange quality to it. When he joked with others, there was always a sarcastic or unsettling tone to it.

"Don't even mention it! It's not just me, King Zhao, who isn't feeling this way? Every lord and king these days is in a state of turmoil, with their hearts filled with anxiety."

Liu Pengzu sighed, “My emperor brother is cruel and ungrateful enough. In just one year, he destroyed the King of Huainan, the King of Hengshan, and the King of Zhongshan, abolishing the three kingdoms. I never expected that my nephew, the sovereign, would be even more cruel and ungrateful, and would set his sights on all of us vassal kings.”

"Who told you, King Zhao, and those kings who are related to you, to be corrupt?"

"If all of us feudal lords were to be upright and respectful to scholars, do you think the emperor and his ministers in Chang'an would feel at ease?" Liu Pengzu sneered.

"That doesn't mean you've committed so many crimes. If we were to investigate thoroughly, I'm afraid all the vassal states of the Han Dynasty would have to be wiped out."

"Whether it is our sins that are greater, or the move by that nephew of the Supreme Ruler to concentrate power, even you, a barbarian, can see it clearly, right?"

"Qin Fen built up the legacy of six generations before unifying the world. The Han dynasty, with Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Hui, Empress Lü, Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing, and the current emperor, plus this ruler comparable to Emperor Wen, has accumulated the legacy of seven generations. Tengri has truly shown too much favoritism towards the Han dynasty."

Ignoring the derogatory term "barbarian," the man recounted the successive emperors of the Han dynasty. His tone shifted noticeably when he spoke of Emperor Wen, his voice a mixture of hatred and envy.

Even the strength of the steppes has its limits. Different Chanyu (rulers of the Xiongnu) are strong or weak. How could the rulers of the Han Dynasty be stronger than one another?
Even a young ruler has the potential to "revert to his ancestral ways." If this continues, the grassland tribes will one day perish.

Liu Pengzu was unaware of the past of the son of the emperor being unlike his father, but he sensed regret in the tone and immediately mocked, "The Han and the Xiongnu are blood enemies, and you, Zhongxingfa, have been a traitor to the Han for generations. No matter what, the Han will never forgive you and your family. Do you now have the heart to return to the Han?"

During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, after the death of Modu Chanyu, Laoshangjizhu Chanyu had just succeeded to the throne. Emperor Xiaowen continued the policy of marriage alliances, sending a princess of the imperial family to be the Chanyu's consort, and sending the eunuch Zhongxing Shuo from the state of Yan to accompany the princess to the Xiongnu.

Zhongxing said he was unwilling to go, but the court's will was not something a eunuch could resist. Zhongxing said, "If I am forced to go, I will become a scourge to the Han Dynasty."

After Zhongxing Shuo arrived, he surrendered to Laoshang Chanyu, who greatly favored him. Later, Laoshang Chanyu died, and his son Junchen Chanyu succeeded him. Zhongxing Shuo then served Junchen Chanyu and offered him advice.

Faced with the court's wrath, the entire Zhonghang family in Yan betrayed the Han and surrendered to the Xiongnu. Because of their Central Plains appearance and accent, they were sent back to the Han Dynasty after changing their appearance to act as spies for the Xiongnu.

Unlike those traitorous generals who rebelled and then surrendered, Zhongxing Shuo and his family's various strategies on the grasslands greatly enhanced the strength of the Xiongnu and caused enormous losses to the Han Dynasty.

The Han emperor and his ministers would absolutely not forgive the Zhongxing family.

“I am a traitor, but isn’t Your Highness Prince Zhao also a traitor?” Zhongxingfa looked at Liu Pengzu and said with a sneer.

Liu Pengzu choked, "I am a vassal king of the Han dynasty. Even if I cooperate with the Xiongnu, it is for the sake of the entire Han dynasty and it is only temporary."

"His Highness Prince Zhao always has a reason."

Zhongxingfa retorted with a sarcastic remark, "However, if it weren't for the secret collusion of the Han princes, the Xiongnu would probably have collapsed long ago."

"Tell me, Your Highness, what do you intend to do, and what will my clan gain?"

"The struggle between the Emperor and the young ruler of the Han Dynasty is like fire and water. The young ruler's methods are so extreme that even his own maternal clan cannot tolerate them. General Wei Qing has become disloyal to him, and Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion who shares his fate, has already led a large army to conquer Hexi. Now is the time when the borders of the Han Dynasty are vulnerable. In my opinion, the Xiongnu Chanyu and the Left Wise King should raise a large army to attack."

"Your Highness, the Right Wise King's tribe is an arm of our people. Instead of helping our ally, you come to attack Han..."

"This is not about attacking the Han, but about winning hearts and minds."

Liu Pengzu rudely interrupted him, "Huo Qubing earned his title of Marquis of Champion from the battle against the Xiongnu. At that time, he only had 800 elite cavalry. This time, he is leading 30,000 light cavalry to conquer Hexi. Even if Chanyu Yizhixie were to use the entire power of Longcheng to rescue him, would he be confident that he could save the Right Wise King's tribe?"

The Bank of China remained silent.

In the Battle of Dingxiang North, Huo Qubing's 800 elite cavalrymen drove hundreds of miles away from the main army, killing and capturing many high-ranking Xiongnu officials. Their sharpness on the battlefield left a deep impression on him.

Unlike the Xiongnu people who generally believed that "Flying General" Li Guang was very powerful, Zhongxing Fa, a traitor to the Han, knew that the greatest threat to the Xiongnu was always figures like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.

"A small army is easy to lead, but a large army is difficult to command. Huo Qubing could achieve great things with 800 men, but it is not certain that he could do so with 30,000."

"Does Yizhixie dare to gamble?"

Liu Pengzu stared intently at Zhongxing Fa, saying, "Have the people of Zhongxing's family on the grasslands persuade Yizhixie to mobilize all the Xiongnu cavalry and fight Huo Qubing to the death in the Hexi Corridor. If the Xiongnu can win, it will interrupt the Han Dynasty's continuous offensive and even prevent the Han Dynasty from having the ability to fight in the north for the next twenty years."

Huo Qubing took away half of the Han Dynasty's light cavalry and warhorses. If the Xiongnu could win in Hexi, they could keep the Han Dynasty from catching its breath for several years or even more than a decade.

The question is, can the Xiongnu win?
"Would the Xiongnu be willing to risk their entire ethnic destiny in a war for the sake of losing the Hexi Corridor Plain?" Liu Pengzu continued.

With the loss of the Hetao Plain, the Hexi Corridor became less significant to the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu occupied it primarily to sever communication between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions, preventing them from being attacked from both sides. It was a place the Han army could not easily seize.

But it's not a place that the Han army can't get.

"Besides, Izhixie probably doesn't care that much about the life or death of the Right Wise King Yudan, does he?"

A regime on the grasslands.

It was no different from the states and kingdoms of the Central Plains.

The Xiongnu Chanyu, the Left Wise King, and the Right Wise King each had their own territory. The Left Wise King was often the Chanyu's crown prince, and the relationship was closer, while the Right Wise King was often the Chanyu's uncle, brother, or nephew.

The current Right Wise King of the Xiongnu is named Yudan, the son of Junchen Chanyu. Yizhixie seized the throne from his nephew after Junchen Chanyu's death.

When they're not fighting desperately, they'll lend a hand if they can, but if there's even the slightest danger, Yizhixie would never go to save anyone, let alone in a battle that would determine the fate of the tribe.

“When Yizhixie and Wuwei came to attack the Great Han, they were already helping Yudan in Hexi.”

Seeing that Zhongxing Fa had no rebuttal, Liu Pengzu laughed and said, "The barbarians don't understand the principle of 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao,' but how could you, with so many traitors in your Zhongxing family, not understand it?"

“When Huo Qubing was conquering Hexi, General Li Guang also led 10,000 light cavalry towards the left flank of our tribe. The Chanyu and the Left Wise King are on high alert. What if we go south and General Li Guang cuts off our rear?” Zhongxingfa hesitated.

Liu Pengzu couldn't understand why the Xiongnu were so wary and defensive towards Li Guang, who had such an "odd fate." He said helplessly, "They are already worried about defeat before they can win. The Chanyu's main force and the Left Wise King's main force have hundreds of thousands of archers, and they have left tens of thousands of soldiers to guard the flanks. Even Li Guang's extraordinary abilities cannot kill so many people. If the Xiongnu were to take a prefecture of the Han Dynasty first, what a great gain that would be!"

"Most of the Han commanderies are of no benefit to our people; even if we seize them, we cannot hold them. Furthermore, the border towns are mostly poor, so there is not much to plunder..."

"What if it's Dai County?"

"Dai County?"

Zhongxingfa's voice became shrill, and his eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Liu Pengzu. "Your Highness Prince Zhao is willing to help my clan acquire the Dai territory?"

"I'm willing to give it a try."

Liu Pengzu did not shy away from the question. He said, "I have many retainers in the State of Zhao and close ties with the powerful clans there. Although I am in Chang'an, I can command my retainers and powerful clans to create chaos in the Dai region and guide the Xiongnu cavalry."

What must my tribe pay in return?

"You can create as much turmoil as possible without paying anything, just to fish in troubled waters!"

“Our clan will remember His Highness King Zhao’s kindness. If there is any discord and His Highness King Zhao has to leave the Han Dynasty, our clan is willing to accept him and grant him a position of honor.”

"That day will never come."

The sound traveled through the ventilation vent into a dark room, where the woman in embroidered clothes held her breath and memorized everything.

……

That night.

The wind was slightly cool.

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Hall.

Liu Ju looked at the Dai region on the map, the former fiefdom of Emperor Xiaowen. It was not a wealthy place, otherwise Empress Lü would not have enfeoffed Emperor Xiaowen there.

It doesn't seem to be an important place.

However, this place has a name that can sadden countless people in later generations: "The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun".

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, where the Han dynasty had no natural defenses in the north and were always threatened by danger, largely overlapped with the present-day Yan and Dai regions.

That area encompassed almost all the strategically important places in northern China, situated on high ground, surrounded by mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and its descent was as swift as crushing dry leaves.

For the Han regime, conquering the world from north to south was not very meaningful. Although it was strategically advantageous, its ability to mobilize resources was weak. It was more than capable of self-preservation, but difficult to advance. For the Central Plains regime, resources were always the top priority when fighting wars.
However, if this land were to fall under the control of nomadic tribes, it would become a nightmare for the Central Plains dynasties.

The reason is that nomadic tribes have many horses, making warfare low-cost and quick to deploy. They can plunder and run away, leaving the Central Plains with no natural defenses and only able to watch helplessly.

Later, when the Jin dynasty destroyed the Northern Song dynasty, it came from the Yan and Dai regions. Except for spending half a day in the important city of Taiyuan, the reason why they were able to advance smoothly all the way was because of this.

To create chaos and protect their fiefdoms, they don't hesitate to collude with foreign tribes, intending to place the entire Han people under a perpetual state of crisis. Good! Excellent! Absolutely excellent!

"Uncle, what do you think?"

"According to your son, the plan to capture Mayi was not a baseless scheme, and the strategic location of Dai is far superior to that of Mayi. It will become the graveyard of the Xiongnu."

(End of this chapter)