My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 257: Anti-Chanyu Alliance

The Xiongnu was not really a country.

It would be better to say that it is a collection of horse bandits.

Among them, the most important way to maintain the union between the Southern Xiongnu royal court and its member tribes is the so-called righteousness, which does not occupy a dominant position.

The most important thing is the huge disparity in military strength between the two sides.

If the Southern Xiongnu royal court is powerful, then the tribes that are nominally dependent on him will actually submit to him.

If the power of the Southern Xiongnu royal court weakens, then the tribes that are nominally dependent on it will only be willing to submit in name only.

Today, the relationship between the Southern Xiongnu royal court with Qiangqu as the Chanyu and the Hunye tribe with Lu Yi's father-in-law as the patriarch is the latter.

The Huns respected the left.

Under the Chanyu were the left and right wise kings.

Among them, Zuoxian King was the second-in-command of the Xiongnu royal court and the crown prince in the legal sense.

According to the laws of the Xiongnu, after the death of the Chanyu, the Zuoxian King would usually inherit the throne and become the new ruler of the royal court.

Before Qiangqiu succeeded to the throne, he was only the Right Wise King of Southern Xiongnu, ranking below the Left Wise King.

It was impossible for him to inherit the throne of the Xiongnu Khan both morally and logically.

He was just a Chanyu appointed by Zhang Xiu, the former General of the Xiongnu, without authorization.

Therefore, without legal support, his position as the Khan of the Xiongnu was not stable.

There is an urgent need for powerful external military force as spiritual sustenance.

Moreover, although the Xiongnu Chanyu spoke nicely, he was treated like a pig and a dog in front of the Han court, or even a sent 2,000-stone General of the Xiongnu Army, and had no dignity at all.

Although the Han Dynasty court could not completely control the entire Southern Xiongnu, it firmly controlled the Chanyu family and used this to remotely control the entire Southern Xiongnu.

Not only would a fully armed general to protect the Xiongnu follow the Chanyu around the clock, but all of the Chanyu's descendants would be sent to Luoyang as hostages.

Therefore, Zhang Xiu's act of arbitrarily deposing and enthroning the Southern Xiongnu was actually a very common thing. All the previous Lieutenant Generals who protected the Xiongnu had clean hands, and basically everyone had the souls of several so-called Southern Xiongnu Khans who died tragically.

If one wants to become the Chanyu who is above ten thousand people in Southern Xiongnu and sit firmly on the throne of the lord of the Southern Xiongnu royal court, one must first become a well-behaved and obedient dog of the Han court.

However, this time Zhang Xiu went too far and was punished by the court, which resulted in his loss of life. It was bad luck.

After Zhang Xiu's death, the imperial court had been struggling with the war against the Xianbei people and had no time to place the new Protector of the Xiongnu General.

After the Qiang tribe seized this rare freedom, they immediately stopped being willing to be puppets of the Han Dynasty and hoped to accumulate strength to become independent.

However, Qiangqu's wish is beautiful.

Just the first step seriously damaged the interests of the tribal leaders under his command.

Lu Yi's father-in-law alone lost countless cattle, sheep, horses and thousands of people.

And judging from Qiangqu's unrestrained demands, his appetite was obviously far more than that.

Therefore, Hexutuo was worried that his tribe would be completely annexed by Qiangqu, so he hurriedly wanted to summon his son-in-law Lu Yi, who was also his most capable ally, to discuss the matter.

Qiang Qu's behavior also deeply damaged Lu Yi's own interests, so he set out immediately after settling the affairs in Pingcheng.

Apart from anything else, many war horses from the Hunye tribe that were originally intended to be traded with Lu Yi were directly requisitioned by Qiang Qu in the name of the Chanyu without paying a penny.

"Qiang Qu is a smart man. He has seized the rare window of power vacuum in the south of the desert in the past few months and has vigorously developed his power. Now he seems to be the overlord of the south of the desert again. I wonder how my father-in-law plans to protect himself?"

Lu Yi looked at his father-in-law who had an extremely solemn expression and couldn't help but ask softly.

"I'm having a headache over this."

"This time I am facing the leader of the Southern Xiongnu. If I openly disobey him, Qiang Qu will definitely use this as an excuse to lead other tribes to annex the Hunye tribe."

"If I follow him, with a hundred horses today and a thousand cows tomorrow, within half a year, my Hunye tribe will be wiped out by the Qiangqu and completely wiped out on the grassland."

Hearing this, Hexutuo sighed and was undecided.

"Why is father so entangled?"

"Now that my brother-in-law has arrived, my Hunye tribe can join forces with my brother-in-law and defeat Qiang Qu directly, right?"

"Anyway, Qiang Qu was originally only the Right Wise King, and his position was not legitimate. Not only do many people in the tribe disobey him, but even the Left Wise King's tribe sees him as a thorn in their side. Killing him is exactly what the Xiongnu people want!"

Seeing Hesuto sighing, Hatler, who was a little impatient, spoke up to persuade him.

Seeing that his brother-in-law, who used to only know how to fight and pounce, was still hoping to resolve the dispute by force, but he had a clear view of the general situation and spoke in a very organized manner, Lu Yi couldn't help but look at him sideways.

"It seems that my training in the past two years has not been in vain. I have become much smarter, which makes my brother-in-law look at me with new eyes!"

"Hehe, I just thought a lot in the past two years, and I just expressed my feelings. Compared with my brother-in-law, it's nothing."

Hartler received Lu Yi's praise but touched the back of his head embarrassedly.

"I'm discussing serious matters with your brother-in-law, why are you butting in?"

"Besides, the Qiang tribe now has tens of thousands of soldiers. How can they be easy to deal with? If we attack rashly and fail, won't our family business be completely ruined?"

He Sutuo was very angry when he heard this, and in desperation he slapped Hatterer hard on the back of the head.

Hartler was beaten by his father but dared not say anything. The joy he had just felt when being praised by Lu Yi disappeared instantly and he retreated aside in a depressed mood.

"Haha, why are you so angry, father-in-law? I think what Brother Hatler said is right!"

Lu Yi couldn't help but laugh when he saw this.

"Oh?" Hexutuo and Hatler looked at each other in surprise.

"What good idea do you have, my dear son-in-law? Please tell me quickly."

Hexuto thought that Lu Yi was praising Hatler just for his sake.

"Brother-in-law also thinks that I'm right?" Hartler looked at Lu Yi expectantly, wanting to know from Lu Yi's words what he said rightly.

"Qiang Qu's greatest reliance is his title as the Great Khan of the Xiongnu."

"But this is also Qiangqu's biggest failure."

"He was just the ruler of the royal court appointed by the Han generals. Most of his subordinates do not believe in him. And most importantly, after the former Xiongnu Chanyu Huwei was killed by Zhang Xiu, Zuo Xian Wang, who was originally in a higher position and had the greatest legal right of succession, was even more dissatisfied with Jiang Qu!"

"Although Jiang Qu now has tens of thousands of soldiers and looks like the overlord of the southern desert, the throne of the Chanyu under his butt is in danger."

"Although our alliance cannot confront him head-on, you, my father-in-law, may pretend to welcome him and secretly contact the Zuo Xianwang tribe and other tribes that are dissatisfied with him or cannot bear his harassment."

"The Zuo Xian Wang was jealous of Jiang Qu because he got the Chanyu throne first. Now Jiang Qu is levying heavy taxes, so he must be rebellious. Most of the other tribes are like the Zuo Xian Wang. They just lack a leader. If my father-in-law can take the lead in the righteous cause, they will surely follow him."

"In this way, if we form an anti-Jiang Qu alliance, our power will be no weaker than that of Jiang Qu."

"My father-in-law, in the name of killing the false king, strongly supports the Zuo Xian King. After defeating Jiang Qu, he will make Zuo Xian King the new Chanyu."

"By then, my father-in-law, with the merit of supporting the emperor, will not only no longer have to bear the harsh rule of Jiang Qu, but will also be able to continue to strengthen the Hunye tribe."

"Who knows, I can become a Xiongnu leader who controls a tribe, just like Budugen, the left leader of the Xianbei."

Lu Yi's eloquent speech made Hexutuo and Hatler listen in fascination, as if awakened from a dream. "Wow!"

"My dear son-in-law, your words are very much in my heart. Today, I will contact the Zuo Xianwang and other tribes to fight against the tyrant Jiang Qu!"

When Hexutuo heard the wonderful part, he couldn't help but slap the table and cheer loudly.

And Lu Yi's little fan boy Hartler also looked at Lu Yi with admiration, and was once again impressed by Lu Yi's wisdom.

"My dear father-in-law, this matter is of great importance and requires long-term consideration. Don't be careless!"

"If Jiang Qu gets wind of this, we may not be able to wipe out all the tribes that refuse to submit, but if we attack the Hunye tribe with all our strength, my father-in-law and I will definitely not be able to resist."

Lu Yi was worried that the old man was too excited and might have a cerebral infarction, so he immediately calmed him down.

"My dear son-in-law, you are a steady man. I almost ruined the whole thing."

"According to my dear son-in-law, when is the best time to start the war? I am worried that if we delay for too long, Jiang Qu will take the initiative to start a war after his power is consolidated."

After being reminded by Lu Yi, Hexutuo regained his composure and sat down again.

"Now is the golden autumn, an important time for horses, cattle and sheep to grow fat. Even if Jiang Qu is ambitious, he cannot go against the laws of nature. No matter how much he wants to take the initiative, he has to wait until autumn passes and winter comes."

"According to the season, it will take at least more than a month."

"Father-in-law, you can first contact Zuo Xian Wang and other tribes in secret."

Lu Yi thought about it and answered calmly.

"Well... let's follow the son-in-law's plan!"

After receiving Lu Yi's advice, Hexutuo felt relieved and a relaxed smile reappeared on his old face.

"By then, will you and Zhang come to help us?"

Hatter asked with some anticipation.

He admired Lu Yi very much and considered it a great honor to fight alongside Lu Yi, so he asked eagerly.

"Our three families have been business partners for many years, and we are also allies of interests. Moreover, my younger brother is my brother-in-law. As a brother-in-law, how can I stand by and watch my father-in-law and younger brother being bullied by outsiders?"

"Of course I will lead everyone to help when the time comes!"

Hearing this, Lu Yi smiled and rubbed Hatler's head, answering affirmatively.

"Great!"

Hatler was overjoyed when he heard this.

"A few months ago, my brother-in-law's heroic deeds of defeating 300,000 Xianbei with 3,000 cavalrymen have long been known throughout the grasslands."

"When people on the grassland hear the name of my brother-in-law, they all admire him with indescribable respect."

"I am truly honored to once again fight alongside a great hero like my brother-in-law!"

Lu Yi's adoptive father-in-law was relieved when he heard that Lu Yi was willing to join the war.

"With the help of a good son-in-law, Jiang Qu has only tens of thousands of people, and we will definitely capture him!"

"In the Battle of Pingcheng, the 3,000 cavalrymen I led were just a sharp arrow that only injured but not killed the Xianbei. It was the more than 100,000 heavenly soldiers sent by the imperial court that really defeated the Xianbei."

"Moreover, even among the three thousand cavalrymen I led, only one-third of them were actually under my command, and the rest were soldiers of the imperial court."

"Therefore, if you want to defeat Jiang Qu and restore peace to the Huye tribe, you need to contact other tribes and gather everyone's strength to defeat him together."

Lu Yi waved his hand and said modestly.

At that time, he was just a special force, and his main role was not to defeat 300,000 Xianbei, which was impossible.

His real duty was to destroy the Xianbei camp and cause chaos among the Xianbei themselves.

Moreover, the war is over now.

The 500 cavalrymen led by Gongsun Zan and the 1,500 Han troops sent by Lu Zhi had already left.

If Lu Yi relied on himself, he would definitely not be able to support three thousand cavalrymen now.

However, even though Lu Yi no longer has the military strength he had under Lu Zhi, he still has to do his best to support his father-in-law's Hunye tribe.

After all, if the Hunye tribe no longer exists, Lu Yi will have to find a new partner.

It is not easy to find a partner as good as Hunyebu.

"So that's how it is!"

After hearing what Lu Yi said, Hexutuo and Hatler suddenly realized what was going on.

However, even so, they still attach great importance to Lu Yi's support.

"It just so happens that it will take some time for me to gather the troops. Since I have already agreed with my father-in-law to send troops, I will definitely return to the grassland in a month to join us in the great event!"

"It's just that Hebei is now barren and there is some difficulty in getting food and grass. I hope my father-in-law can give me some support."

After finalizing the responsibilities, Lu Yi directly asked He Xutuo for benefits.

Friendship is friendship, and business is business.

Lu Yi has always been very clear about the distinction.

Moreover, both parties understand each other very well and there is no need to hide anything. Besides, most Hu people don't like to beat around the bush.

Upon hearing Lu Yi's request, He Xutuo immediately made the decision with great generosity.

"The Hunye tribe doesn't have much food or fodder, but it has enough horses. This time, my son-in-law will have two horses each, so he can take a thousand horses back with him."

"When the caravan arrives next month, I will give you no less than this number of horses."

"Oh!"

"If I can get help from my father-in-law, I won't have to worry about food this year!"

Lu Yi couldn't help but be delighted when he heard this.

The horses of Hexu were all gifts, not transactions, so naturally it was pure profit without any cost.

With at least two thousand war horses, Lu Yi should be able to exchange a lot of food from the Zhen family again.

Although food prices are high nowadays, horses are never cheap.

With this batch of grain, the number of refugees that Pingcheng can accommodate will increase greatly. A rough estimate is that it will not be a problem to double the size of 20,000 people.

After discussing with Hexutuo, Lu Yi did not stay long and immediately returned to the interior of the country with the newly acquired thousand horses.

However, Qin Han, who came with them, did not return with Lu Yi.

He was left behind by Lu Yi in the Hunye tribe, and lurked in the Xiongnu tribe as the nephew of Hexutuo, and secretly began to develop intelligence work among the Hu people.

Qin Han had many years of experience as a slave. He was not only proficient in the languages ​​of the Xiongnu and Xianbei, but also familiar with the customs of the Hu people. He was a very suitable candidate.

(End of this chapter)