My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 538 Accident
As soon as Han Tuidang finished speaking, several heavy breathing sounds suddenly echoed in the large hall.

Everyone turned their surprised and suspicious gazes toward Han Tuidang.

As one of the few remaining veteran generals of the Han Dynasty, Li Ji, Luan Bu, and Han Tuidang actually shared a very deep friendship in private.

The three men shared a deep bond, especially since Li Ji betrayed his friends for personal gain, Han Tui surrendered to the Xiongnu, and Luan Bu was frustrated and unsuccessful.

Their deep personal friendship led to a fairly thorough understanding of each other.

For example, in the eyes of the other two, Li Ji was a very loyal brother, but also a bit impulsive and prone to acting on a whim.

Take Luan Bu for example. He was meticulous in battle, but he always had a smiling face and a very gentle temperament.

Of the three, Han Tuidang was originally the most cautious and reserved, keeping his mouth shut.

After all, he was a surrendered general of the Xiongnu.

Moreover, he was not an ordinary surrendered general, but the son of Han Xin, who had betrayed the Han and joined the Hu people, and later returned to the Han court after coming of age.

Even the name Han Tuidang came about because Han Wangxin's son was born in Tuidang City during his escape to the grasslands, and Han Wangxin casually named him Han Tuidang.

In the past, Han Tuidang never participated in any major or minor affairs of the Han dynasty, whether domestic or foreign—anything unrelated to military matters.

Even when it comes to military matters, Han Tuidang does not actively express his subjective opinions, and in his choices, he never views military issues from a personal perspective.

At military strategy meetings like today's, Han Tuidang often adopts an attitude that says: whatever the outcome of your discussion, whatever you ultimately decide I should do, I will obey your orders.

Unless Liu Rong asked him directly, Han Tuidang never broke these principles that were closely related to the survival of the Gonggaohou family.

Today, Han Tui's silence has undoubtedly opened the eyes of his two old buddies.

The people in the hall had a vague understanding of what Han Tuidang had mentioned about the depression at the bottom, which was used as a means of insulation by piling up cow and sheep dung.

Most of them had only heard of it, never seen it, and never thought about it in depth.

Emperor Liu Rong had given it thought and felt that this was a cost-effective way to keep the grasslands warm.

But none of the three knew how this method was used on the grasslands.

Every winter, nomadic tribes would randomly find a depression and pile up cow and sheep dung at the bottom to create a thermal effect.
Each tribe had a fixed wintering ground, where they would lay and pile up cow and sheep dung at the bottom year after year.
Only now, when Han Tui speaks from the perspective of someone who has been through it all, do people realize that none of these are true.

Nomadic people on the grasslands neither have a fixed wintering ground nor do they hastily choose a low-lying area before winter and then hastily spread cow and sheep dung at the bottom of the low-lying area.

Rather, in the course of daily life, every depression that nomadic people had ever settled in would be intentionally or unintentionally covered with cow and sheep dung, so that the vast grasslands were filled with such depressions for wintering with cow and sheep dung.

In winter, nomadic tribes would simply choose the nearest place to spend the winter wherever they went.

It's like a mountain with many hunters' cabins. Hunters choose one to stay in as their mission progresses.

Once you understand this operating model, it's not hard to see when you look back at Han Tuidang's proposal: when it comes to being truly harmful, it's always the people who understand each other best.

Just like when Kublai Khan entered the Central Plains, the first thing he did was to settle scores with his poor relatives on the grasslands, and he achieved remarkable results.

In the eyes of Han Tuidang, this "grassland man," the weakness, or rather the lifeline, of nomadic peoples was obvious and easily broken.

"That...that pile of dung, it would take the Huns a long time to clear it?"

Emperor Liu Rong asked the question with some surprise, causing Luan Bu and Li Ji to turn their heads as well.

Then Han Tuidang let out a sigh of emotion, and then said, "It's not that piling up manure takes time, but that it takes enough time for cattle and sheep to excrete enough manure."

"According to the saying on the grassland, a depression that has been used to pile manure for less than five years cannot be used to get through a full winter."

"If a certain area is found to be such a depression at the beginning of winter, then elite light cavalry must be dispatched to continue the search, and if a better depression is found, they should go there immediately."

"Otherwise, if a tribe spends the entire winter in such a low-lying area, it will inevitably suffer a great loss of strength, and may even be frozen by the wind and snow."

···
“Low-lying areas where manure has been piled up for more than five years but less than ten years are relatively better, and can barely allow the tribe to get through the winter.”

"But it's barely enough to get through the winter, not enough for the tribe to have a good winter."

"Therefore, such low-lying areas are usually chosen by small tribes. Even if a medium or large tribe gets such a low-lying area, it will still try to find a better one."

As Han Tuidang explained in detail, Li Ji, Luan Bu, and the others gradually recovered and began to frown and ponder.

Han Tuidang's next words made everyone understand even more clearly just how important these depressions with a layer of manure at the bottom were to nomadic people.

Putting aside other factors, the five-year "development" period alone makes Han Tuidang's proposal highly feasible.

Once Liu Rong adopted Han Tuidang's suggestion, he sent a large army out of the border and plunged into the grasslands. Regardless of the nomadic people or the livestock, they focused on destroying the layer of dung at the bottom of the depressions...

"Those low-lying areas are so important, shouldn't the Xiongnu have taken precautions against them?"

Liu Rong's sudden remark caused everyone to nod in agreement and look at Han Tuidang, who had proposed this plan to eliminate any potential heirs.

Then Han Tuidang took a deep breath and slowly shook his head, saying, "No."

"At least not for the time being."

"Because no matter what, the Xiongnu would never have imagined that our Han army, after going through so much trouble and investing so much money, grain and supplies deep into the grasslands, would only be doing this to destroy the dung layer in the wintering lowlands of the nomadic people."

"Only when our Han people truly begin to act will the Xiongnu people wake up from their dream and begin to take precautions."

After saying this, Han Tuidang couldn't help but sigh again, a hint of reluctance showing on his face.

The grassland ecosystem is harsh, making survival difficult for nomadic people.

The dung-filled depressions were almost the only effective large-scale livelihood measure for nomadic peoples.

Once destroyed, countless herders and livestock will inevitably freeze to death—and this will happen on a large scale, affecting tribes or even entire regions.

With so many people and livestock dying, another plague is inevitable next spring...

Although Han Tuidang possessed the purest Chinese aristocratic blood, his experience of growing up freely on the grasslands inevitably gave him a natural sympathy for nomadic people—mainly the lower-class herders.

Even without considering that doing so would be against the natural order, Han Tuidang, as the one who initiated the suggestion, still couldn't help but feel guilty.

But after a long period of melancholy and sighs, Han Tuidang finally managed to calm himself down.

After saying the following words, Han Tuidang's reluctant melancholy finally began to ease somewhat. "If our Han army really does this, the Xiongnu will react very quickly."

"Once they realize what's happening, the Xiongnu will probably divide their forces and garrison the low-lying areas of the grasslands, just like the Han people garrisoned cities—at least those important low-lying areas that have been there for more than ten years."

"However, since there are no cities on the grasslands, and the Fen Di depression is a depression with high surroundings and low center, the Xiongnu people could not possibly garrison in the depression."

"According to my speculation, the Xiongnu people may divide the land into areas and take charge of the dung-filled depressions in a tribal unit, and increase patrols."

"In that case, it is not much different from the way of life of the various tribes on the grassland today, except that the frequency of tribal migrations will be reduced, and the Xiongnu people will be more hesitant and more cautious in making the decision to migrate and nomadize."

"Furthermore, even if the main force of the tribe migrates away, a portion of their strength will inevitably be stationed there."

"In this way, the various tribes of the grasslands, who were originally homeless and constantly moving, began to develop a sense of territory and were, to some extent, locked into their own lands."

"The specifics of how to proceed and how to exploit this psychology of the Xiongnu are up to His Majesty to decide."

After uttering these last words, Han Tuidang immediately revealed a smile that was more like a grimace, and then retreated to the side of his two old friends, Li Ji and Luan Bu, and began to sigh deeply once again.

Since Han Tuidang made the decision to return to the Han Dynasty after reaching adulthood, he would inevitably no longer have even the slightest illusion or affinity for the grasslands—especially the Xiongnu people who lived in his court.

But after all, he was born on the grasslands and spent his innocent teenage years there.

In reality, Han Tuidang, who was half a nomad, was unable to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the nomads.

Han Tuidang certainly hated the Xiongnu for everything they had done to the Han people and the Han people over the years.

However, Han Tuidang's hatred was mostly directed at the Xiongnu, who were the rulers of the grasslands.

As for the people of the grasslands, that is, the herdsmen at the bottom of society, Han Tuidang could not be said to be close to them, but at least he felt sympathy for them.

Liu Rong didn't think much of Han Tuidang's emotions.

This is like a genius born in a poor mountain village in later generations, suffering torment and abuse from his parents from a young age.

Ultimately, through his talent and hard work, this genius left the mountain village and created his own world.

Looking back at the mountain village that occupied his entire childhood and adolescence and brought him countless pains, this genius's hatred will inevitably be concentrated on his inhuman parents.

As for that mountain village, the residents of his own village would most likely receive the genius's sympathy.

If possible, this genius might even contribute to the development of this mountain village and the villagers to some extent, giving his own share of strength.

Han Tuidang was probably in this situation.

Han Tuidang could not control his father, King Xin of Han, who rebelled against the Han Dynasty. After all, Han Tuidang was not born at that time, but was born on the way when his father was defeated and fled.

He had lived and grown up on the grasslands since he could remember, and this was something Han Tuidang couldn't control; it was purely due to his family background.

During his years living on the grasslands, due to the existence of the Donghu King Lu, the Han King tribe, to which Han Tuidang belonged, became less and less valuable to the Xiongnu Chanyuting, and the treatment they received naturally became worse and worse.

Ultimately, Han Tuidang was forced to take a desperate gamble and return to his homeland, which his father had betrayed, as the descendant of a traitorous official.

Looking back, Han Tuidang naturally didn't hate the grassland where he grew up, nor did he hate the herdsmen who lived and depended on him day and night, and he might not even hate his father for betraying the Han back then.

However, Han Tuidang must have hated the Xiongnu people in the court. He first instigated his father to rebel against the Han, speaking in glowing terms. But when his father arrived on the grasslands, he became increasingly harsh on the Han king's tribe.

Now, Han Tuidang has proposed a suggestion to force the rulers of the grasslands and the Chanyu Court to be unable to make strategic maneuvers by harming the lower classes of nomadic people.

Han Tuidang felt somewhat guilty because this suggestion would kill many herders.

But in the end, Han Tuidang convinced himself to suppress all his guilt.

"War, let's stop the war."

"Kill, stop killing."

"To end the war forever, we must fight a war that no one wants to experience again."

"If we want the grasslands to enjoy the same stable life as the Central Plains in the future, we must make them understand how hard-won stability truly is..."

Han Tuidang thought this way and began to mentally prepare himself.

At the head of the table, Emperor Liu Rong, lost in thought, involuntarily looked at himself, and indeed the most important reserve officer of the entire Han dynasty.

"What does Wei Zhonglang think?"

"Could what Marquis Gonggao said grant our Han people the advantages of favorable timing, geographical location, and popular support?"

"Or rather, is it possible to make the Xiongnu people—make the Xiongnu people born in the court—lose the advantages of favorable timing, location, and popular support?"

When Liu Rong called on him, Wei Qing remained calm and composed, bowing respectfully with his hands clasped.

"His Majesty once said that the most feared blade in this world is neither the one that has already fallen nor the one that is falling."

"It is a knife that can fall at any time, that will fall at any time, that no one knows when it will fall, but that it will inevitably fall."

"In my opinion, the suggestion put forward by Marquis Gonggao can be used as a sword hanging over the heads of the Xiongnu, which is ready to fall at any time but has not yet fallen."

"The Art of War says: Do not ambush a retreating army, do not pursue a desperate enemy, leave an opening when encircling them, and leave a loophole in the net."

"If our Han dynasty truly implements the suggestion of Marquis Gonggao, it may force the Xiongnu to act desperately, launching a full-scale attack to fight our Han dynasty to the death, or retreating completely to abandon the grasslands and flee to Hexi, the Western Regions, or even further west."

"It would be one thing if they never returned, but I fear that the Xiongnu, far from our Han homeland, will recuperate and eventually return in force."

"Therefore, Your Majesty should use this as leverage, both to make the Xiongnu uneasy and dare not act rashly, and to give them some hope so that they cannot make the decision to perish together."

After speaking, Wei Qing bowed calmly and then returned to his position.

Unlike Han Tuidang, Wei Qing had no sympathy for the grasslands or the nomadic people.

Regarding the military strategy of the Han dynasty, Wei Qing's only principle was to take the long-term interests of the Han dynasty as the highest standard.

Prioritize interests, and consider the long term.

(End of this chapter)