My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 490 The world has changed~
The outcome of the Battle of Gaoque obviously surprised everyone.

Needless to say, the Huns.

As early as the end of the Qin Dynasty, when the Qin Great Wall Corps went south to quell the rebellion, resulting in Gaoque and Hetao areas being easily gained by the Xiongnu tribe at that time, the Xiongnu Chanyu Maodun made a conclusion when he saw Gaoque for the first time: such a strategic pass would never have been occupied by the nomadic people of the grassland if the Qin people had not voluntarily given it up.

In other words: not only was it impossible for nomadic people to build Gaoque, it was also impossible for them to capture Gaoque by force.

Can the Chinese farming people conquer Gaoque, which the nomadic people could not conquer?

If it was the Qin people, the Huns might think: It's hard to say, maybe it really works.

But what if it was the Han people?

Ah.

The one trapped in the siege of Baideng was your Han people's founding emperor, the so-called 'wise and mighty' Taizu Liu Bang, right?
It was also him who said that he wanted to marry his daughter to Maodun Chanyu in order to achieve peaceful coexistence with the Huns, right?

and also.

In his letter to the government, Maodun Chanyu openly stated: I have no women and you have no men, why don’t we have some fun together and manage both sides of the Great Wall together?

The man replied: I am old and will not dare to be so. My teeth and hair are almost gone. I should send a young woman to the Chanyu.

The one who said this is the so-called cruel and ruthless Empress Lü who has all the power in the world, right?
What else is there to say?

The founding emperor wanted to marry his children to Maodun Chanyu and give him a dowry, just to seek peace.

The founding queen, worried that she was not beautiful enough, declined Maodun Chanyu's request for "sexual intercourse", but she did not forget to send him a young and beautiful girl from the royal family.

What do you Han people want?
Gaoque?

Do you know what Gao Que looks like?

There is no doubt that when Gaoque changed hands - when the news that the Han people, who were once weak in the eyes of the nomadic people, actually took Gaoque with their swords and guns, spread throughout the grassland, there would inevitably be many more black question mark faces on the grassland.

ha?
Are you serious, bro?

Gaoque?

Did they really take it down?
How do you fight?
Riding a Gundam or sending a bomber?
...

This is the case on the grassland, and the Hexi region and the Hetao region that have already been owned by the Han Dynasty must also be a hot topic.

——Almost all the tribes in Hexi have already known that the Han Dynasty will focus its attention on themselves next.

Especially after the Xiutu tribe was massacred, the Xiutu Lake was owned by the Hunxie tribe and verbally presented to the Han people, this further confirmed the judgment of the Hexi tribes.

The next step of the Han people's expansion will inevitably be to Hexi.

The main reason why the tribes in Hexi were able to remain stable and not rush to decide whether to follow the example of the Hunxie tribe and surrender to the Han people, or to become loyal to the Xiongnu Chanyu court, was the existence of Gaoque.

For Hetao, Gaoque is like a rope around its neck.

As long as it is tightened, Hetao will be strangled to the point of being unable to breathe!

As long as you tighten it tight enough and for long enough, you can strangle Hetao to death completely!
Therefore, knowing that the Xiongnu Chanyu Ting was unlikely to send troops to help Hexi resist the Han people's various Hexi tribes, they placed almost all their hopes on Gaoque.

After the battle of Jingchao and the battle of Hetao-Mayi, the Xiongnu Chanyu Ting was not seriously damaged, but at least he was not as strong as before.

As for the Hexi region, Shanyu Tingben simply threw a few tribes over there and let them go.

This was the attitude of the Chanyu Court towards Hexi during its heyday. Now that the Chanyu Court is in a weak state, it is even less likely to help Hexi with real swords and guns.

The only thing is Gaoque, which is the southern gate of the Huns that they will never allow to lose. Even if it means losing everything, the Huns will do their best to protect Gaoque.

The existence of Gaoque would make the Han people in the Hetao area cautious and they would not dare to ignore Gaoque and march westward with confidence.

Therefore, the tribes in Hexi were not in a hurry.

Except for a very small number of radicals or extreme conservatives like the Hunxie tribe, who have begun to choose sides between the Han and the Xiongnu, the vast majority of the Hexi tribes are still waiting and watching.

Look again.

Let's see who can beat the Han people and the Xiongnu Chanyu to death.

When the winner is decided and the future is clear, then I will become the winner's lackey.
Anyway, this has been the way of survival on the grassland for thousands of years, so there is nothing to be embarrassed about.

But now, Gaoque is gone.

The Xiongnu lost Gaoque, and because of it, they could no longer stay in Munan stably!

Regardless of whether the Han family has the power and ideas, they have in fact already posed a direct military threat to the Mu'nan region!

What was the final outcome - would the Huns return to their peak and successively meet at Gaoque and Hetao, or would the Han people make a concerted effort and defeat the Huns all the way to Mubei and even Beihai? The Hexi tribes did not know.

But it is obvious that after losing Gaoque, the Huns could hardly protect themselves!
Even their own base camp, Munan, was exposed to the military threat of the Han people. The Xiongnu people were unable to take care of themselves, let alone care about the life and death of Hexi.

The change of hands of Gaoque meant that the Han people no longer had to worry about their plan to advance westward from Hetao.

The Han people no longer had to worry about Gao Que stabbing them in the side when they advanced westward.

On the front battlefield, even if the various tribes in Hexi united, they would not be able to defeat the Han people, who were so fierce that even the Huns could not defeat them and Gaoque could not defend against them.

Therefore, when the news of Gaoque's change of ownership spread to Hexi, the first reaction of the tribes in Hexi would be: How is it possible?!
It's impossible!

Afterwards, the tribes in Hexi would pray: Damn Han people, please give Gaoque back to us immediately!
At the same time, the various tribes in Hexi would most likely take the initiative to move eastward and approach Hetao in order to share the pressure from the Han people and create conditions for the recapture of Gaoque in the Munan area.

Until the advance failed and Gaoque was still controlled by the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu had no hope of regaining Gaoque. Only then did the various tribes in Hexi take "the Xiongnu are no longer powerful, and the future belongs to the Han people" as a prerequisite and plan their own future.

Therefore, after the Battle of Gaoque turned from an offensive and defensive battle to a tug-of-war, the area bordering the Hetao and Hexi regions will most likely experience a period of war and conflict.

Then, there is Hetao.

——It has been nearly a year since the Han Dynasty conquered Hetao.

The management of the Hetao region cannot be said to be impregnable. The Han people have deep roots in the Hetao region and cannot be easily uprooted.

But after all, a year has passed, and the situation in the Hetao region has become increasingly clear.

In the beginning, when the Han Dynasty captured Hetao, almost all the tribes in Hetao that were originally under the rule of the Xiongnu Chanyu retreated to welcome the Han Dynasty's royal army.

But as time went on, and as the Han Dynasty's rule in the Hetao region became more practical, these Hetao tribes, which had originally been on the decline, began to have some problems.

Some of these tribes thought that the Han people would only occupy Hetao for a short time and would soon be driven back to Chaona Sai by the Xiongnu Chanyu Ting, so they surrendered temporarily and waited for the future. However, the Xiongnu Chanyu Ting did not come back, and the Han people were not driven out of Hetao. Instead, they began to build cities in Hetao and even registered the various tribes in Hetao, as if they were going to rule for a long time!
So, these tribes were very anxious, but there was no point in being anxious, so they could only wait.

But in their hearts, they were still looking forward to and longing for the day when the Xiongnu Chanyu Ting would fight back to Hetao, cooperate with them from inside and outside, force the Han people back to the Great Wall, and let Hetao return to the hands of the nomadic people.

These people are patient, smooth, two-faced, treacherous but appearing loyal, and very difficult to deal with.

There is also a group of people who are the most common fence-sitters on the grassland.

The Huns ruled the Hetao area, so they called themselves Huns.

Now, Hetao belongs to the Han family, and they have no psychological burden at all, so they directly call themselves Han people!
However, it has only been less than a year, and these "Han herdsmen" still retain most of the characteristics of nomadic peoples.

But as time went on, they would slowly take off their Hu clothing and put on Han robes, and would slowly let their braids loose and tie their hair up and wear crowns.

They will also gradually learn to tie their hair up on the right side to distinguish themselves from the barbarians.

Of course, if one day the Huns came back and became the masters of Hetao, these people would also turn back into Huns at the speed of light.

These people were undoubtedly the foundation of the Han Dynasty's rule over the Hetao region.

As long as the Han Dynasty remains strong - at least for a long enough time, such as twenty or thirty years, these nomadic people living in the Hetao area will become true "Han herdsmen" like the Yiqiu people and Loufan people in a hundred years.

Take the Han Dynasty today for example, where are the Yiqiu people still?
They are all Northern knights, from the privileged class!

There are also Loufan people - in the Daibei area, south of Mayi, there is indeed a Loufan County.

But if you dare to call them annoying, they will definitely beat you up.

What an annoying building!

We are clearly the men of Yan and Zhao, the kind of people who are generous and tragic!

The same is true for the fence-sitting tribes in the Hetao region.

As long as the Han Dynasty can maintain a stable rule over Hetao for 30 years, these "Hetao tribes" will become part of the Han Dynasty, just like the Yiqiu people and Loufan people - and become a true part of Chinese civilization.

From a geographical point of view, the current "Han herdsmen" in Hetao may become: people from northern Shaanxi in the future?

In addition - in addition to those double-faced people who pretend to obey but actually disobey, waiting for the return of the king of Shanyu Ting, and these fence-sitters who are swayed by the wind, there is naturally a third type of people in the Hetao region.

Most of these people had 'suffered from the Xiongnu for a long time', either because they did not get resources that matched their own strength, or because of some historical reasons, they were treated differently by the Chanyu Court.

For these people, the Han Dynasty replacing the Xiongnu and ruling Hetao was a great thing worth celebrating!
No matter how the Han people treat us - can they be worse than those bastards in Shanyu Court?
These people were obviously the best swordsmen in the Hetao region under the rule of the Han Dynasty.

Over the past year, the Han family's operations in the Hetao region have basically been aimed at these three types of people, with different treatments adopted for each.

——The 'Liu Zhonghan' who had suffered from the Xiongnu for a long time became the first batch of nobles in the Hetao area under the Han rule!
Among them, three or five were granted the title of marquis, seven or eight were given the surname of the emperor, and dozens of them served as officials in Shuofang and Wuyuan counties.

Although they don't have much power - especially no decision-making power, they still enjoy it.

Because they became officials.

And those noble lords who originally rode on their heads became the "people" they ruled.

In the bureaucratic system of Shuofang and Wuyuan counties, these people mostly served as middlemen, helping the government communicate with herdsmen and tribes.

But for them, this is undoubtedly a golden opportunity to take revenge and make things difficult for those nobles who were once so arrogant and stepped on them.

So, there are three types of people in the Hetao region.

The 'Liu Zhonghan' who were originally bullied and treated differently by the Shanyu court, but are now used as reserve bureaucrats by the Han family;

It doesn’t matter who rules Hetao, they are fence-sitters who will be unconditionally loyal to whoever rules.

In addition, there are hostile elements who still have illusions about the Chanyu Court and are hostile to the Han people. They are lurking in secret, ready to cause chaos in Hetao at any time to help the Chanyu Court return to Hetao.

The Han people have basically classified these three types of people, but they have not been able to make a direct one-size-fits-all approach.

Because the last type of hostile elements pretend to be more Liu Zhonghan than Liu Zhonghan!
If they are touched, the real Liu Zhonghan will have doubts in their hearts.

The fence-sitters will most likely be frightened by the Han family and turned into new hostile elements - or at least into unstable factors.

Therefore, even though they knew there was such a group of hostile elements, and even knew who they were, the Han family did not take action to eliminate them during this year.

And now, Gaoque has changed hands.

Originally, these hostile elements might have been able to go out of Gaoque in the south of Shanyu Ting, cross the river to attack Bowang City, and force the Han people out of Hetao step by step.

But now, the Xiongnu Chanyu Ting, who had lost Gaoque, could not even think of returning to Hetao - whether he could keep the Mu'nan base camp depended on whether the Han family was eager to take revenge.

To avenge Emperor Gaozu's defeat at Baideng and Empress Dowager Lu's humiliation in receiving a letter from the emperor!
So what will these hostile elements do next?
It is highly likely that you will no longer be able to lie dormant or endure.

There may be those who overestimate their own capabilities and intend to cause chaos;

Perhaps some people will become disheartened and join the ranks of those who sit on the fence.

All in all, this hidden danger is likely to no longer exist.

And the original fence-sitters would feel more at ease being loyal to the Han Dynasty after learning that Gaoque belonged to the Han Dynasty, without having to worry about being killed by the Huns because of their loyalty to the Han people when the Huns returned.

Not to mention Liu Zhonghan and others - it's another New Year's Day.

Combining all of the above, it is not difficult to find that a high pass, a mountain pass four miles long and three hundred steps wide, and a battle that lasted less than a day and a night had a profound impact on the entire known world.

——The Huns in Munan will lose their minds.

——The resistance of nomadic tribes in the Hexi region will be weakened.

——The Han Dynasty’s rule in the Hetao region will be more stable, work will be carried out more smoothly, and the day when the Hetao is truly integrated into the Han Dynasty’s territory and the Hetao tribes are truly integrated into the Chinese civilization will come sooner.

The Xiongnu Chanyu Ting went to the west for blood transfusion because he lost Hetao. But after returning from the transfusion, he lost Gaoque again, which caused him another headache.

And the Han family, in just a few years, gradually expanded its sphere of influence outward, and successively occupied Hetao as a horse-breeding area and Gaoque seat as a strategic support point!

Next, whether it is to seek Mu Nan to fight a decisive battle with the Huns, or to use Gaoque to block the Huns in Mu Nan first, concentrate on opening up the Hexi Corridor, and plotting the Western Regions, it will be twice the result with half the effort for the Han family.

And no matter what decision is made next, the Han family will not have any doubts about losing one thing while gaining another.

On the other hand, the Huns were forced into a dead end with no way out due to one strategic mistake after another and defeat on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)