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

Chapter 171 The Wrath of Heaven

That night.

Yizhixie Chanyu held a grand banquet under the moonlight on the grassland to celebrate his victory in advance.

The campfires and tents stretched to the horizon, blending seamlessly with the stars and moon on the horizon.

Singing, shouting, and the neighing of cattle, sheep, and horses resonated and filled the green grassland under the azure sky.

Tens of thousands of elite Xiongnu cavalry and joyful Xiongnu men and women drank mare's milk wine to their hearts' content, tore at half-cooked roasted lamb with blood splattering everywhere, and shouted and danced.

This battle is called the battle for the fate of the clan.

Sixty percent of the elite troops from the Xiongnu main force and the Left Wise King's main force were mobilized, with each tribal chief personally serving as the general of his own force, and the Chanyu Yizhixie personally leading the troops.

The Left Wise King Wuwei stayed behind on the grasslands not only to defend against the "three Han wolves" on the left flank, but also to reorganize the tribe's population and vast wealth of cattle, sheep, and horses.

Yizhixie Chanyu issued the strictest order to advance, and before entering Dai, they marched at full speed, traveling 120 li a day and staying overnight. After arriving in Dai, they flew across the Hengshan Mountains and pressed on to Taiyuan, a key city of the Han Dynasty. They used all their strength to break through it, captured Dai in one fell swoop, defeated the Han army, and established themselves in the Chanyu's court, becoming an immortal enemy of the Han Dynasty.

This is the greatest achievement of victory.

Caught up in the excitement, the midnight revelry reached its climax. Throughout the campsites, an ancient and auspicious victory chant was repeatedly shouted: "South of the Yin Mountains, all the land is my grassland—"

It spread across the vast grassland.

The breeze is gentle.

Zhao Xin couldn't be happy at all, which made Yi Zhixie feel less good every time she glanced at him.

Yi Zhixie put down the mare's milk wine and said with displeasure, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

"Great Chanyu, I don't know why, but I've always felt uneasy."

Zhao Xin did not voice his unpleasant feelings. The Xiongnu people were very wary of vague and unfounded talk. With the expedition imminent, they could not utter any words or phrases that would be detrimental to victory.

Yizhixie, however, could tell from the surrounding Xiongnu kings and marquises that, "You're worried this is a trap set by the Han court?"

Zhao Xin was originally a minor king of the Xiongnu. After surrendering to the Han, he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xi. Later, he surrendered to the Xiongnu again and was enfeoffed as the King of Zici. In order to show his closeness and trust, Yizhixie also let him marry his sister.

Yi Zhixie was always willing to answer his confidants' doubts.

Zhao Xin did not shy away from the question and nodded heavily. "Great Chanyu, things have gone too smoothly. With the wisdom of the Han court and the Han emperor, this should not have happened."

Only those who have served as subjects of the Han dynasty can truly understand the treacherous and cunning nature of the Han court, as well as the great talent and cautiousness of the Han emperors.

Although he had been back in the Xiongnu for several years, Zhao Xin still couldn't forget that it was a hall of the world's top sages, a place of open and covert battles, sword fights, and shadowy clashes that often woke him up in the middle of the night.

Would such a ruler and his ministers give the Xiongnu an opportunity to attack the Dai region?

If such an opportunity were to arise, could it be a trap?

The country was in chaos, the Great Wall was broken, and Chang'an was empty. It all sounded like bait, meant to lure the Xiongnu army into a trap.

Yi Zhixie agreed and laughed, "I have the same concern, but do you know who our clan's inside man is?"

"Who?"

"Liu Pengzu, the King of Zhao".

"It's him?"

Zhao Xin's worries immediately dissipated.

Having served the Han dynasty for many years, Zhao Xin was familiar with the vassal kings of the Han court. The title of King Zhao could be considered the earliest, or even earlier, title of a king in the Han dynasty.

When Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, enfeoffed many princes, Zhang Er and Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, were both enfeoffed as kings: Liu Bang as King of Han and Zhang Er as King of Zhao.

The first King of Zhao after Liu Bang became emperor and established the country was Zhang Ao, the son of Zhang Er. Liu Bang and Zhang Er were old friends, and Liu Bang even married his daughter, Princess Lu Yuan, to Zhang Ao.

Zhang Ao was originally a timid and cowardly person, but his prime minister Guan Gao planned to rebel, and he and his family were all taken to the capital.

Guan Gao said that he was the only one who did it and that it had nothing to do with the King of Zhao. Also, out of respect for Princess Lu Yuan, Liu Bang finally forgave Zhang Ao and demoted him to Marquis of Xuanping. Later, Zhang Ao died of depression.

The second King of Zhao was Liu Ruyi, the son of Liu Bang and Lady Qi.

Lady Qi needs little introduction. She flattered Liu Bang, attempting to persuade him to make Ruyi the crown prince, thus becoming a thorn in Empress Lü's side.

Empress Lü invited Liu Ruyi to the capital three times, but the veteran minister Zhou Chang turned him down each time. Zhou Chang was then transferred to Chang'an, and without Zhou Chang's protection, Liu Ruyi soon followed him to Chang'an.

Liu Ruyi's elder brother, Emperor Xiaohui Liu Ying, knew of his mother Empress Lü's ruthlessness, so he deliberately ate and lived with Liu Ruyi all day long to prevent Empress Lü from making a move. But one day, Liu Ying went hunting and let Liu Ruyi sleep a little longer. When he returned, Liu Ruyi had died of fright.

The third King of Zhao was Liu You, the sixth son of Liu Bang. In order to keep an eye on the Liu family members, Empress Lü arranged for a woman from the Lü clan to be his queen.

Liu You naturally disliked this queen and often neglected her. The Lü family's children were notoriously jealous, and they couldn't stand Liu You being affectionate with other women, so they complained to Empress Lü that Liu You was plotting a rebellion.

Without asking any questions, Empress Lü had Liu You imprisoned and denied him food. When Liu You's servants tried to bring him food, they were also beaten to death by Empress Lü's men. Liu You, heartbroken, starved himself to death in prison. After his death, Empress Lü buried him as a commoner.

The fourth King of Zhao was Liu Hui, Liu Bang's fifth son, who was forced to commit suicide by Queen Lü. The fifth King of Zhao was Lü Lu, the nephew of Queen Lü, who was killed by Grand Commandant Zhou Bo during the suppression of the Lü clan. The sixth King of Zhao was Liu Sui, Liu Bang's grandson, who participated in the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu, secretly colluded with the Xiongnu, and resisted the Han court. He was later defeated and committed suicide after being attacked by Li Ji and Luan Bu.

It is worth mentioning that when Empress Lü was in power, she tried to change Liu Heng's title from Prince of Dai to Prince of Zhao, but Liu Heng politely refused, saying that he was "willing to guard the frontier and not afraid of hardship". If he had not refused the relocation, there might not have been Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty.

The seventh King of Zhao was Liu Pengzu.

If we were to say which of the vassal kings of the Han Dynasty was inherently guilty, the King of Zhao would undoubtedly be the one.

Putting aside the supernatural tales, when Zhao Xin was with the Han dynasty, he heard Han officials discuss the reasons why the King of Zhao had a bad end. The land of Yan and Zhao has always been home to many generous and tragic heroes. That's putting it nicely. To put it bluntly, it bordered other ethnic groups and was influenced by the Hu culture. The people of Yan and Zhao were wild, untamed, and easily angered.

It seems that yet another King Zhao of the Han Dynasty has gone to extremes.

"What does he want?" Zhao Xin continued to ask.

"The throne of the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty".

"How can this be?"

"Of course it's possible. The struggle between the Han emperor and the crown prince, father and son, lasted for three days, causing the court to be divided and factions to suppress dissent. It's not impossible for the 'Lü Clan Rebellion' to reappear, and for vassal kings to be brought into the Weiyang Palace again. As long as Liu Che and Liu Ju, father and son, are both injured, it will give Liu Pengzu an opportunity."

"To replicate the story of Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty? With that?" Zhao Xin sneered.

Liu Pengzu's virtues were well-known during his time in the Han Dynasty. Even if his predictions came true, the Han court would choose another vassal king to rule the Han Dynasty. Unless all the vassal kings, heirs, princes, and marquises of the Han Dynasty died, there was absolutely no way he could become the new ruler of the Han Dynasty.

"Then it has nothing to do with my clan."

Yi Zhi glanced in the direction of Daidi and said with heartfelt emotion, "It would be enough if our clan could obtain that place."

"Yes."

Zhao Xin's doubts completely dissipated, and he understood the Great Chanyu's actions: "Time is running out for our people."

The rise of the Xiongnu always occurred during times of chaos in China.

During the Warring States period, the main forces of Qin, Zhao, and Yan were concentrated on the struggle for power in the Central Plains and were unable to spare the resources to cleanse the Hu tribes. The overall situation between the Han and Hu tribes was one of advance and retreat.

In terms of warfare against the Hu, only Qin Kai, the general of the Yan state, achieved a relatively thorough pacification of the Hu tribes. Through several major battles, he forced the Hu tribes to retreat more than a thousand miles and disintegrate, eventually assimilating into the Xiongnu ethnic group.

The main force in the war against the Hu in northern China was the State of Zhao. After King Wuling of Zhao adopted the Hu-style clothing and cavalry archery, he launched several major counterattacks against the northern Hu, and defeated the Lin Hu and Loufan who had long occupied the area south of the Hetao region. He also built the Great Wall and established the three prefectures of Yunzhong, Yanmen and Dai. After that, the power of the northern Hu was greatly weakened, and almost all of them were integrated into the Xiongnu.

At this point, the main threat to the north became the Xiongnu, and the so-called "Hu threat" became a general term.

During the mid-to-late Warring States period, the Qin state became powerful through reforms. In order to resist the pressure from the Qin state, the Yan and Zhao states gradually focused their efforts and main forces on the battles in the Central Plains.

Until Qin unified China, the three states of Qin, Zhao, and Yan mainly adopted a defensive strategy against the Xiongnu, which greatly increased the power of the Xiongnu. They not only seized all the Yinshan grasslands that had previously been controlled by the Zhao state, but also extended their reach south of the Yellow River.

Then they were dealt a heavy blow by the unified and powerful Qin Dynasty. Qin general Meng Tian drove the Xiongnu out of the Hetao region and the Hexi Corridor. The Qin Dynasty was in chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, and they made a comeback.

For hundreds of years, the various connections and conflicts between the Hu people and the Xiongnu and the Han Chinese have never ceased.

The Huaxia people have always harbored the desire to devour the northern ethnic groups, while the Hu people have also been plotting to stably occupy the agricultural and prosperous lands of northern Huaxia, a desire that has grown stronger over time.

There's no other reason than that both southern and northern Mu are becoming uninhabitable, especially in recent decades, the living conditions have become increasingly severe.

The temperature is getting colder year by year, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent year by year.

In recent years, natural disasters and man-made calamities have increased in Han areas, and grasslands have been falling earlier. The high priest of the tribe had long ago warned that "Tengri is angry!"
For their own sake and for the sake of their people, the Xiongnu had to seize the Dai region and raid the Han people in the complex mountainous terrain in order to maintain their survival and even become powerful.

Yizhixie and Zhao Xin firmly believed that once they seized the Dai region, with their scimitars and warhorses, the entire Han Dynasty would become the Xiongnu's granary.

"You, my lord, have served the Han dynasty for many years and are well-versed in Han affairs. This time, you will be the vanguard in our southward campaign."

Yi Zhixie gripped Zhao Xin's arms with both hands and solemnly said, "I don't want to be like the usual raiders, taking a few cattle, sheep, people, and wealth and then returning to the grasslands. This time, it's an invasion. I want to cross Hengshan in one fell swoop, capture Jinyang, and firmly occupy the Dai region, just like the Zhongshan Kingdom back then. I want to establish a kingdom and become king in the north of the Han people, and then plan to advance into the heart of China!"

The State of Zhongshan was not a vassal kingdom of the Han Dynasty. It was a state established by the Di and Rong peoples in the Central Plains two hundred years ago. At its peak, it had nine thousand chariots and was a powerful state. It was once a major threat to the various states of China.

Yi Zhixie was determined to restore the scene of the past.

"Yes, Great Chanyu!"

(End of this chapter)