Ding Chou (seventh day of the lunar month) in the winter of the tenth month of the sixth year of Han Dynasty, Heyin.
It started to snow lightly in the sky.
This is something that the Huns are quite happy about.
Some shamans even claimed that this was the result of God’s blessing!
This boosted the morale of the Huns.
After all, the Huns are far more cold-resistant than the Han people. Their skin, their hair, and their living habits have all adapted to the cold weather outside the Great Wall.
The arrival of this light snow made the Huns full of fighting spirit.
Well, many Xiongnu nobles felt that no matter how awesome the Han Dynasty people were, they could not defeat nature!
In this weather where even the Huns are shivering with cold, how long can you, the Han people, hold on?
So much so that even the Xiutu tribe, which had always been a weakling in the Xiongnu country, was eager to give it a try.
Although the Xiutu people are the bellies of the Huns.
But their bond with Shan Yuting is very deep.
As early as the time of Modun Chanyu, the Xiutu tribe followed the Huns to conquer the world.
The early Xiutu people, and even one of the aces of the Xiongnu.
Because of this, the Xiutu people were allowed to graze along the Yin Mountains to the Rouge Mountains.
He was also allowed to have his own city, Guzang City.
It is only in the past twenty years or so that the Xiutu people have been living in the fertile Guzang and at the foot of the Yin Mountains. The tribe's troops rarely went to the battlefield and gradually became corrupted, becoming the weaklings of the Xiongnu.
However, the size of the Xiutu tribe is there.
The whole tribe has a total of thirty to forty thousand settlements, making it one of the largest tribes on this grassland.
The establishment of two thousand riders is enough to give the Xiutu people enough say.
Hunxie people, on the other hand, didn't take it seriously.
I'm a little distracted by this war.
However, no matter how reluctant he is, Hun Xie Ren has no choice but to catch up.
More than 4,000 Hunxie cavalry, driving more than 10,000 slaves, appeared to the north of the Han army camp.
In the east, about the same number of Xiutu cavalry, driving more than 10,000 slaves, appeared south of the Han army camp.
The slaves were all male slaves captured from Dawan more than a year ago.
These male slaves are about thirty years old, and they belong to the kind of waste that will be thrown into the mountains and forests sooner or later, and will fend for themselves. The custom of the grassland is that they do not care for their old age, let alone slaves, even if their parents are old, they must be discarded.
Generally speaking, people around forty years old are considered old people on the grassland.
As for slaves, they are often no longer useful at the age of thirty.
Therefore, whether they are Hunxie people or Xiutu people, their attitude towards these slaves is very simple and useless!
At this moment, in front of the Hunxie tribe's formation, hundreds of Hunxie herdsmen pushed wooden carts one after another, pushing a lot of food, mainly wild vegetables and porridge cooked with wheat and corn, in front of these slaves.
When the slaves saw the food, they all went crazy. They had not eaten for two days.
I was so hungry that my whole body was tortured by hunger.
However, the owner did not allow them to eat, but they did not even dare to move.
These slaves had been smoothed out by the Huns using whips and punishments.
Their spirits and spirits were completely tortured.
The fear and obedience to his master almost penetrated deep into his soul.
Therefore, even though many people swallowed hard and even bit their lips.
But no one dared to reach out to the food that was right in front of them.
The memory left by the whip made them huddle together, trembling, and looking pitifully at the conquerors.
"Eat, eat..." Hunxie laughed loudly and pushed the wooden carts in front of these guys.
Suddenly, the slaves rushed forward, fighting for the gruel.
Some people even buried their heads in the wooden barrels filled with porridge and ate happily.
They are so hungry, so hungry.
During the more than a year that the Xiongnu lived, they barely had enough to eat.
The masters always starved them and tortured them with hunger and whips.
It’s not easy to get such a chance to be full. No one will give up. Who knows, when will the next time be full?
But how could the Hunxie people allow them to eat enough?
Those who relied on their physical strength to occupy the barrels and gruel were quickly whipped aside.
"Only ten bites are allowed!" The 'masters' threatened with whips and threatened: "Do you want to be full? Then go and break through the camp on the opposite side!"
"As long as someone rushes into the enemy formation on the opposite side, the great King Hunxie will take him as a slave and let him graze for the great King Hunxie, so that he can eat cheese every day!"
The slaves heard the promises of their masters.
Although, they know that this is almost impossible.
However, the owners' promises were like the gospel from heaven, which made their hearts beat.
"Go, go, go..." Many people shouted: "To eat!"
They have had enough of hunger, enough of torture, and enough of this hell that is worse than death.
In some sense, most of them are actually crazy.
However, there are still sober people in some corners.
These people huddled together with no clothes on their bodies, and their skinny bodies were covered with various scars.
"You can't believe what the barbarians say..." Someone with a higher status whispered in Greek: "Wait a minute, we will rush to that camp and surrender..."
"I once heard that the deputy king went to the East to seek help from a great country before his country was destroyed..."
"Now it seems that this great country is indeed very powerful. It can compete with the barbarians, and it seems that the barbarians are not its opponents..."
After hearing this, the people in these small groups nodded secretly.
They were once nobles.
There are elegant poets, calm sculptors, and masculine military officers.
The glory and honor of Alexander the Great once flowed in their blood.
However, now, they are just slaves and defeated people of the Huns.
Just like the nobles of the kingdoms that Alexander the Great conquered during his Eastern Expeditions praised by our ancestors, they became slaves lower than maggots and worse than weeds.
In fact, he will soon become cannon fodder.
Now, the only hope lies in that strange and strange country in the east.
According to old legends, there was an ancient empire called the ‘Silk Kingdom’.
………………………………
In the direction of killing people, a similar drama is also taking place.
Nomads have always known and been good at using cannon fodder.
In fact, for tribal herders, slaves and livestock have the same status.
Even the status of slaves is lower than that of livestock and only higher than that of tools.
After all, livestock produce milk and meat, their fur can be used for clothing, and their offal can be used for fishing or as bait for traps.
Is it okay to be a slave?
Therefore, nomads will abandon their slaves when necessary and let them fend for themselves.
But few people would give up their livestock.
Some tribes even have very deep feelings for livestock.
For example, the Zhelan people never eat horse meat. After each horse dies, the owner will only peel off its fur and make it into clothes, but will bury its meat.
Even if you peel off its fur, it is actually a kind of love.
Even if the beloved horse dies, its body will still be with its owner.
But the same cannot be said for slaves.
Except for the personal slaves of some great nobles, after their death, if they served their master well during their lifetime, the master would keep his head and make it into a kind of underworld tool, and let him be buried with him after his death in the future.
Of course, each tribe has its own unique customs and culture.
Just like now, before setting off for the battle, the Xiutu people brought several huge bronze and golden figures.
The shaman and the tribe's cavalry knelt in front of these golden men and prayed to them: "Ancestors and gods, please bless your descendants to return safely and defeat the enemy!"
More than a hundred years ago, when the Xiutu people were still a fairly primitive tribe, they had already cast the faces of their ancestors into statues, and would worship the golden figures of these ancestors every year.
In the barbaric era, Xiutu people even used to wrap the remains of their deceased kings in bronze.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Xiutu people, these golden men represent the ancestors who once led them to overcome all obstacles and survive.
Every time there is a battle or a major accident occurs, Xiutu people will invite these golden figures representing their ancestors to pray for their blessings.
……………………
"These slaves of Tuge..." Huyan Dangtu rode on horseback and took his own ten thousand horses with him to take a look at the ceremony in the direction of the Xiutu tribe.
To be honest, this is why Huyan Dangtu was unhappy with the Xiutu tribe.
The reason is very simple. None of those Jin people look like the Chanyu of the Huns.
This means that Xiutu people are always keeping to themselves.
They did not see themselves as Huns.
I'm so exhausted, I just recognized the Xiongnu's status as the leader of the alliance!
However, compared to Xiutu Ren, Hunxie Ren's little moves and tricks made Huyan Dangtu more wary.
"King Hunxie? Humph!" Of course Huyan Dangtu knew what Hunxie was planning now.
King Hunxie has a relative, one of the Nine Qings of the Han Dynasty!
In the past, when the Huns were strong and powerful, Hunxie people were naturally very honest.
But now, it's hard to say.
Huyan Dangtu was unable to confirm their current tendencies.
But one thing is clear: if this time, the Xiongnu lost the land of Henan.
Whether it is Hunxie, Xiutu, or even He Lai and other tribes, I am afraid they will rebel against Shan Yuting.
Since ancient times, the people who have bowed are considered mothers if they have breasts.
Whoever is stronger will hug his thigh.
Unless that strong man must kill himself, otherwise, the tribes will definitely kneel down!
"We must find a way to solve this problem..." Huyan Dangtu was calculating in his mind: "It would be best to be like the people of the Han Dynasty and merge the tribes into one people!"
Back then, when the old Shanyu was in power, he once had the ambition to create a unified country of "people who lead the bow".
On the grassland, there are no distinction between Xiongnu, slaughtering various people, breaking orchids, and Hunxie.
For this reason, the old Shanyu attached great importance to and took care of those servant tribes, and even regarded Liejiaomi, the king of Wusun Kingdom, as a biological brother.
It's a pity that at that time, the Xiongnu Empire was at its peak.
The nobles in this department are very opposed to this matter.
Are all the bow-wielding people one family?
How is this possible?!!
The Huns worked hard to conquer this great country, not just to imitate Lei Feng and do good deeds and let all tribes get along equally!
Therefore, even though Laoshang Shanyu's high prestige is scary to death.
However, this matter was still not implemented after all.
Always stay on paper and literally.
When I had free time, I took it out to show off to the people of the Han Dynasty.
But at this moment, Huyan Dangtu knew how great the ambition of Shan Yu was back then!
If during his reign he could eliminate the barriers between the Xiongnu and other tribes, the people who would lead the bow would truly become one family.
Perhaps, today's Hun Empire is still the number one in the world!
Even though the Han Dynasty people have become so powerful.
But it is impossible for it to compete with a unified country on the grassland!
Even, maybe, the Xiongnu Empire can establish a great Ming Dynasty comparable to the Han Dynasty!
Unfortunately, the short-sightedness of the nobles of the four major clans ruined the opportunity for the sublimation of the Xiongnu Empire.
So much so that now, when the Han Dynasty invaded the grasslands with force, apart from the tribes at home, there were only a few tribes that the Xiongnu truly trusted.
The only tribe that had no relationship with the Xiongnu, Zhelan, even had its backbone broken by the Han Dynasty. It took more than ten or twenty years for them to stand up.
Another close ally with the Huns, the Wusun people, was also personally killed by the Huns.
Thinking of this, Huyan Dangtu couldn't help but sigh.
The Xiongnu headquarters only had 400,000 towns.
The tribes in the entire grassland combined have at least one million settlements!
If we also include the strength of the countries in the Western Regions, the Xiongnu are actually no worse than the Han Dynasty.
But the problem is that except for the cavalry of the headquarters, everyone else is unreliable!
Other tribes also viewed the Xiongnu in the same way.
For example, those tribes who are currently hiding in the basins of the Western Regions refuse to go south back to Makunan to spend the winter.
Were they really frightened by the Han Dynasty people?
I'm afraid that's not the case!
What they are really afraid of is probably the Huns!
They were afraid of being used as cannon fodder by the Xiongnu, just like the slaves driven by the Xiutu and Hunxie people now.
On this grassland, the people who draw bows are always suspicious of the other people who draw bows!
Thinking of this, Huyan Dangtu became more and more interested in the system and culture of the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty had a much larger population than the Xiongnu!
Once upon a time, in the land of the Han Dynasty, the people of Qi, Chu, Qin, Han, Wei... It is said that they were divided into hundreds of different countries, fighting and warring with each other.
But now, they have all become Han Chinese.
Everyone firmly believes that he is a member of the so-called Chinese people and the so-called Zhuxia nation.
It was this change that gave the Han Dynasty the power to compete with the Xiongnu Empire for hegemony.
"Zhu Xia..." Huyan Dangtu thought in his heart: "Perhaps, I, the great Xiongnu, can call myself Zhu Hu in the future... Yes!"
"On the grassland, whether they are the Hunxie people, the Huns, or even the Hushe people in the West, in the eyes of the Han Dynasty people, they are all Hu..."
"Since we are all barbarians, we must all have the same ancestor..."
"Since we are all Hu people and have the same ancestor... then... now the Han Dynasty people dare to invade the pastures of the Hu people's ancestors and insult the gods and tombs of their ancestors. The Hu people should unite and defeat the Han Dynasty together.
