My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

She secretly planned that once she returned to Chang'an, she would bring Aqing's family back to her own residence to avoid them being harassed.

On second thought, since Cao Can values ​​A Qing so much, A Qing's family shouldn't suffer too much, right?

"Then Zhongqing, why don't you take your mother's surname, Wei, from now on?"

Liu Yangxin then clapped his hands and praised, "Wei Qing, Wei Zhongqing, what a fine name! I heard that Zhongqing killed a shaman of the Xiongnu tribe. Can you tell me the specific details of killing that shaman?"

Wei Qing was a little confused: "That person? Who were you referring to that time?"

I've killed many Xiongnu shamans, how would I know which one you're asking about?

Liu Yangxin was also surprised to learn that Wei Qing had killed more than one Xiongnu shaman: "How many Xiongnu barbarian shamans did Zhongqing kill?"

Wei Qing carefully recalled the events and replied, "In total, there were only... about seven or eight. I haven't counted the exact number, but we killed them whenever we encountered them. Uncle Cao said that none of the Xiongnu barbarians appearing in Pingyang County were innocent."

Were there any kind-hearted people among the Xiongnu barbarians?

Yes, although very few, but definitely some.

If they could find even three-legged toads, how much more so the kind-hearted Xiongnu barbarians?

However, such a Xiongnu barbarian tribe would not have appeared in Pingyang County without any reason.

Wei Qing's answer really startled Liu Yangxin.

I didn't kill many barbarians, don't lie to me.

Not only did Liu Yangxin have doubts, but even the four maids responsible for protecting her were secretly laughing at Wei Qing for bragging without thinking.

Killed seven or eight shamans? You think this is killing chickens?!

It should be noted that shamans were very rare among the Xiongnu barbarians. Even the lowest-ranking shaman, the ram-headed shaman, held a position equivalent to a centurion among humans.

How could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old slave, still a mortal with no vast amount of precious resources to help temper his body, and no top-notch experts to carefully teach him, kill seven or eight shamans?

With that chipped machete at your waist?

Stop being funny.

Wei Qing wasn't boasting or joking; he retrieved the tattered travel bag that had been tossed into a corner as soon as he boarded the imperial carriage.

This piece of junk has been used for who knows how many years. The original blue fabric has turned black with dirt, the kind that can't be washed off.

More importantly, this piece of junk also smelled rotten, and no one knew what was inside.

Wei Qing casually opened his bag and found that besides some food that was harder than stone, there were also a few scattered black sheep-shaped masks.

this...

When Liu Yangxin and the maids saw the mask, they were slightly stunned. This...this is a shaman's mask!?

.........

Based on current research, it is highly likely that the Xiongnu practiced shamanism, and their deity was the Heavenly God.

This book is not intended to target or insult any ethnic groups that practice "shamanism" in reality.

Another meaning of shaman is wizard, which is a difference in translation. However, the shamanism of the Xiongnu is somewhat similar to the shamanism in World of Warcraft.

In short, it's just a statement and a little bit of science popularization; you can just take a look.

Secondly, Pingyang County was located in present-day Linfen, Shanxi, close to the Taiyuan area.

In ancient times, Shanxi was considered one of the gateways to the Central Plains, especially the Chang'an area, from the Xiongnu and Turks. It was a place where wars broke out frequently and has been a strategic military location since ancient times.

When Li Yuan served as the garrison commander of Taiyuan, he repeatedly organized armies to fight against the Turks.

Chapter Four: People's physical constitutions cannot be generalized.

There are no fakes; the masks still exude the unique aura of the Xiongnu barbarians, some strong, some faint.

The shamans of the Xiongnu barbarian tribes, once they put on their own masks, could never take them off.

When the Xiongnu and the human race clashed in a great war, the human race would remove the masks of the Xiongnu shamans they killed and take them back as proof of their victory.

Wei Qing picked up a mask and complained, "I originally wanted to exchange this for some money, but I don't know when it started, killing Xiongnu barbarians doesn't count as merit anymore. Uncle Cao said it's a pity to throw it away, and when we get to Chang'an, we can try to exchange this for some money with the Xiongnu barbarians."

Once the mask is removed from the shaman's body, it cannot be reused.

But just as humans were willing to pay money to redeem the corpses of their people from the Xiongnu barbarians, the Xiongnu barbarians would often try every means to retrieve the shaman masks scattered across human territory.

Seeing the women making such a fuss, Wei Qing said rather boredly, "Actually, the shamans of the Xiongnu barbarians are the easiest to deal with. They are generally not strong enough. If they cast a curse on you, you can just run over and slash their necks with a knife when they do, and they will die."

If you have barbarian warriors protecting you, you can pretend to be cursed and lose your fighting ability. When the barbarian warriors come, lie on the ground and pretend to be dead. When they are off guard, jump up and kill the barbarian warriors with two or three slashes. Then, while the shaman is surprised, run over and kill them all.

Even without a machete, one can use the environment to kill them; the reason humans stand at the top of all races is because they know how to use their intelligence.

If you accidentally bump into them, you can pretend to run away first, and they will definitely chase after you.

At this point, I would run towards areas with many wild animals. When they caught up and started fighting with the wild animals, I would sneak up behind them, perform a back throw, and kill them by twisting their necks when their heads hit the ground.

Once they realize something is wrong, they'll run away. They'll easily scatter, so you can start chasing them and kill them one by one.

Moreover, people's physical constitutions cannot be generalized. Once, in a fit of extreme rage, I chased a group of barbarian warriors for three days and three nights, and slaughtered them all before reaching the passage connecting the two worlds.

After listening to Wei Qing's explanation, Liu Yangxin felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Wei Qing was too lazy to explain any further. He pushed all the masks in front of Liu Yangxin and said, "These are for Your Highness."

"give me?"

Wei Qing nodded and said, "Didn't Your Highness give me a jade pendant? I don't have anything to give back to Your Highness. Since Your Highness is quite interested in these masks, I'll consider this a return gift for the jade pendant Your Highness gave me."

"Are you sure? You can buy jade pendants with money, but these masks are often priceless and unavailable."

Not only were the Xiongnu barbarians willing to buy shaman masks, but the nobles of Chang'an were even more willing to spend a lot of money to buy a mask to hang in their study or living room, to show off their family's martial virtue.

No matter how much the imperial court forbids humans from going to the barbarian realm to hunt down Xiongnu shamans, if these Xiongnu shamans come to the human realm to burn, kill, and plunder, can the human race not be allowed to resist?

If the imperial court dared to say such a thing, it would be branded as a traitor in no time, and might even be overthrown.

The fact that the imperial court was weak in its dealings with the Xiongnu barbarians does not mean that the people and customs of the human race were also weak.

If we anger the people, the Qin Dynasty could be overthrown back then, and now we can overthrow your Han Dynasty too. Just kidding.

Don't say that there would be no killing without buying. These nobles are trading privately, so why would they turn against each other over such a small matter?

Finally, considering that the human race currently adopts a strategy of appeasement towards the Xiongnu barbarians, resulting in very few major wars, the price of shaman masks has been driven up higher and higher.

Wei Qing's eyes lit up when he heard that the masks were valuable: "How much can these masks sell for?"

"The Black Sheep Mask is worth about two thousand gold. You could easily sell all of these for ten thousand gold, not even counting the favor I owe you."

"real!?"

Wei Qing looked regretful. He originally thought that this piece of junk could only be sold for a few dozen gold coins at most, but he didn't expect it to be so valuable.

Seeing Wei Qing's frustrated expression, Liu Yangxin teased, "What's wrong? Now that you know their value, you're reluctant to give them away?"

Wei Qing shook his head and explained, "No, it's just that I regret it a bit. If I had known it was so valuable, I should have taken advantage of that time when I chased it to the barbarian territory and killed a few more Xiongnu shamans. Now I've lost several thousand, not even tens of thousands of gold."

"Your Highness, how about I skip Chang'an and send you to Mayi County instead? I've heard there's a stable passage there to the barbarian territory. You could use your princess privileges to send me there, and I'll kill a few dozen Xiongnu shamans. We can split the profits 50/50 when we sell them."

Pingyang County also had many passages connecting to the Xiongnu barbarian territory. These passages often lasted only a few days or tens of days from their creation to their disappearance. What was even more troublesome was that it was unclear what the other end of the passages led to.

What if the news reached the royal court of the Xiongnu barbarians? Wouldn't going there be a classic case of suicide?

In addition, the terrain of the Xiongnu barbarian territory was complex and unpredictable, and even the barbarians themselves could get lost, let alone the human race.

Since the Qin Dynasty, the human race has considered attacking the Xiongnu barbarian territory, but because they could not find the Xiongnu royal court, they wasted a lot of effort.

This is also one of the reasons why the nobles of the Han Dynasty insist on not using force against the barbarians.

We can't even find it, how can we fight this battle!

Liu Yangxin decisively rejected Wei Qing's suggestion, which sounded like it hadn't been thought through at all.

Regardless of whether Wei Qing could survive in the Xiongnu territory, whether he could find the Xiongnu, whether he could kill them, and whether he could return alive, the most basic point is that General Zhou Yafu, who guarded the passage in Mayi County, was a man who was not close to his own family.

Let alone a mere princess like himself, even if Empress Lü Zhi made some foolish move, he would dare to retort with the saying, "A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders."

Moreover, Liu Yangxin couldn't understand it no matter how hard he tried. As a slave, shouldn't his first priority be to find a way to get rid of his slave status, then earn money to build a house, get married, and have a bunch of children?

Why do we have to make things difficult for the Xiongnu barbarians?

"Zhongqing, why do you always think about killing the Xiongnu barbarians?"

Aqing was once again convinced of her previous judgment: this princess's intelligence was indeed all focused on her looks.

"Why do you want to kill the Xiongnu barbarians? Shouldn't the Xiongnu barbarians be killed?"

Should the Xiongnu be killed?

The Xiongnu barbarians certainly deserved to be killed!

Putting aside the saying "How can one tolerate another snoring beside one's bed?", even though the Xiongnu barbarians had not fought many major wars in the past few hundred years due to their policy of marriage alliances, small-scale wars had never ceased.

In recent decades, in particular, the Xiongnu barbarians have broken through the passage between the two worlds countless times, coming to the human world to burn, kill, plunder, and commit all kinds of evil deeds!

The sons of noble families in Chang'an could not feel it, but how could Wei Qing, a young man who grew up in Pingyang County, not feel it deeply?

The Xiongnu barbarians deserve to be killed by everyone!

Wei Qing simply did what a son of the human race should do; why did he need so many reasons?

Chapter Five: The Evolution of the Imperial Academy

Liu Yangxin finally understood why Cao Can looked down on the human geniuses at the Imperial Academy.

After witnessing tigers that are even more ferocious and savage than barbarians, the sight of domesticated sheep always feels somewhat lacking.

Even if these sheep have sharp horns, wide hooves, and run too fast, they are still sheep after all, and will eventually become food for wolves.

Even if there are many wolves, enough to kill a tiger, their first choice when encountering a tiger is always to avoid it.

Because the wolves knew very well that in a real fight, whether they could kill the tiger was another matter, but what was certain was that several of their own would fall before they could kill the tiger.

"Zhongqing, do you want to go to the Imperial Academy?"

"Yes, Uncle Cao said His Highness can help make arrangements."