Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 356 Three Leaders
"You are finally here, hurry up and let this leader out!"

Among the three, Kuitou was the one who was imprisoned the longest. Although he was not abused, he had an untidy beard and sunken eyes, and he had long lost the momentum he had when he attacked Yanmen twice.

He grabbed the cell door and shook it hard, shouting desperately, his saliva almost flying onto Liu He's face, causing Liu He to instinctively take a few steps back.

He was about to speak when Qianman beside him started shouting again.

"What do you mean by letting you go? Your position as leader should have been mine. Governor Liu, kill him and let me go. I can give you 100,000 good horses and hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep!"

Liu He shrugged. This gift was indeed very precious, but Liu He would not take such an empty promise seriously.

Seeing that he ignored the two of them, Budugen was overjoyed and hurried over.

"Liu Taishou, I have made great contributions to your army this time! Moreover, I have long admired the culture of the Han Dynasty. If I return to the tribe and take back the throne, I will definitely have friendly exchanges with the Han Dynasty in the future and will never invade!"

"You Xianbei have suffered three major defeats and lost more than 100,000 cavalry. Even if you want to fight, do you still have the strength? This is really ridiculous."

Guan Yu glanced at Bu Dugen and sneered.

The three of them looked embarrassed.

It is indeed as Guan Yu said. The Xianbei are now seriously damaged. When leader Tan Shihuai was at the peak of his power, the entire tribe had nearly 300,000 cavalrymen who swept across the northern desert and looked down upon the Han, Xiongnu, Buyeo, Wuhuan, and Qiang people. No one could rival them.

He Lian was incompetent, suffered repeated defeats, and even lost his own life. Afterwards, in order to reunify the tribe, Kuitou continued to fight civil wars, fought fiercely with the Xiongnu in the Hetao area for years, and invaded the Han border many times every year. As a result, the strength of the Xianbei was reduced by more than 20% in the three or four years after Tan Shihuai's death.

Now, after two defeats at Yanmen and one major defeat at Shuofang, even if the entire Xianbei dug three feet into the ground, the number of soldiers available might not exceed 100,000, and they were far less elite than the troops that had already died in the battle. What's more, these more than 100 tribes were now falling apart and had different thoughts. Not many of them had the willingness and courage to go against the Han Dynasty.

Such a weak and cowardly army had naturally long been ignored by Guan Yu.

Liu He looked at the three embarrassed people and came out to smooth things over.

"Yunchang, you must not be rude. The three leaders have come from afar to Yanmen, condescending to discuss peace with our Han Dynasty. How can you humiliate us like this?"

When the three of them heard this, how could they not understand what he meant?

"Liu Taishou, do you mean... that we are not prisoners, but peace envoys?"

Liu He smiled and said, "Isn't it? The nobles and our Han people fought each other repeatedly before, but it was just because they were bewitched by others. I believe that it was not your intention. The two tribes fought each other, and there were heavy casualties. It is not worth it. How wise are you, how could you not understand such a simple truth?"

To the three of them, these words sounded like heavenly music.

"Liu Taishou, you... you are not joking with me?"

"If Liu was determined to fight the nobles to the end, he would have beheaded the three of you as a sacrifice, and then sent troops to continue the northern expedition after the spring. Even if he wanted to overthrow the Xianbei royal court, it would not be a difficult task. Why would he deceive the three of you?"

Budugen and Kuitou both nodded consciously or unconsciously, but Qianman seemed a little dissatisfied.

"Humph, our Xianbei suffered heavy losses in this battle, and I'm afraid your Han army has also suffered heavy losses. Why are you so arrogant?"

"How can you talk like that, you bird man? Believe it or not, I can pierce you with my halberd!"

Cheng Liang glared at Qian Man, scaring her so much that she stepped back repeatedly.

Liu He still had a kind smile on his face.

"Your Excellency is right. Our army suffered heavy losses in this battle. But think about it, how many people are there in the Xianbei tribe? And how many people are there in the Han Dynasty? Let's not talk about anything else. In my two counties of Yanmen and Dingxiang alone, there are more than 500,000 civilians, including more than 100,000 young and strong men. It would be a piece of cake to make up for the 20,000 or 30,000 people lost this time. But how long will it take for you Xianbei to recover the hundreds of thousands of warriors lost in the three wars? Ten years? Fifteen years? Or twenty years?"

When Qianman heard this, although her face looked somewhat unwilling, she opened her mouth, but finally found that she really could not refute, so she could only lower her head in hatred.

At this time, Shi Tao on the side added: "Not only that, these days, many nobles from small and medium-sized tribes with only a few thousand to tens of thousands of people have come south to surrender to our Han Dynasty. Now the total number is no less than 60,000 to 70,000. Even in such a snowy weather, there are still many Xianbei people migrating south. As one grows stronger, the other shrinks. Hehe, do I need to explain this result clearly?" The three were shocked: "What! How could they..."

Shi Tao smiled and said, "The more than 100,000 Xianbei people in Pingcheng County, Qiangyin County, and Dingxiang County are now under my rule. They have no worries about food and clothing, which is a hundred times better than before. What's more, there is a man named Kebineng who has united several large tribes in recent days and has exploited many small and medium-sized tribes. Naturally, many tribes will turn to Yanmen. What's so strange about that?"

"Ke Bineng? It's actually this guy!"

Among the three, Budugen had the biggest reaction.

Qianman and Kuitou looked at him in confusion.

"Who is this Ke Bineng? He sounds familiar, but I can't remember where he is."

Budugen looked at the two of them with disdain.

"You said you wanted to be the leader of the Xianbei, but you are so unfamiliar with the affairs of the tribe."

"We need you to teach us. If you want to, just tell us. If you don't want to, that's fine. We'll find out when we get back."

Liu He was too lazy to watch them quarrel, so he stepped out to mediate: "I also want to know about this person's situation. Mr. Bu Dugen, please explain it to me."

Budugen looked at Liu He with some awe, then cleared his throat and began to speak.

"This Kebi Neng was originally a nobleman of a small tribe. A few years ago, the old leader of the tribe passed away. Because Kebi Neng was fair and brave, he was elected as the new leader. This man is quite courageous and ambitious. After the death of leader Tan Shihuai, he took advantage of the civil strife in our tribe and migrated his tribe and some small tribes that were close to each other to the east."

"The tribes I led, Budugen, once migrated to the grasslands north of Dai County in Youzhou. I met Kebineng once. He is quite knowledgeable. His tribes absorbed many Han refugees who fled north to seek a living. They also had frequent exchanges with Han caravans and learned Han culture. As a result, within a few years, his few tribes developed rapidly, the population increased rapidly, and he annexed many other small tribes."

"He is strategic and insightful. I didn't expect there is such a person among the Xianbei. It seems that he has been lying dormant for many years, waiting for today when the Xianbei are leaderless. He will burst out with the power he has accumulated for many years, intending to unify the Xianbei and become the second Tan Shihuai."

Meng Jian stroked his beard and squinted his eyes.

Qianman and Kuitou were both angry and anxious.

"He is just the leader of a small tribe, and he wants to be the leader of the Xianbei tribe. It's just wishful thinking. When I return, I will chop him into pieces and feed him to the eagles first!"

The two men gnashed their teeth, their eyes were red, and their hatred for Ke Bineng was even greater than that for the other two competitors in front of them.

After all, these three men were all born into noble families of large tribes, and it was legitimate for them to compete for the position of Xianbei leader. Now, someone from a small tribe took advantage of their captivity and tried to do what the monkey claims to be king when the tiger is away. How could they not be angry?
Liu He, Cui Jun, Shi Tao and Meng Jian looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

"But all three of you claim that you are the leader of the Xianbei. Who should I let go?"

Liu He's eyes darted between the three of them, his face filled with confusion.

"Of course it's me. I'm the son of He Lian, so it's only natural..."

"Nonsense, I was originally the leader of the Xianbei, but because I was captured... oh no, I came here to negotiate, but the negotiations dragged on for so long that you took advantage of me."

"That's because you're incompetent. If you're incompetent, you should be deposed!"

"Budugen you are talking nonsense!"

The three of them started arguing again.

"Okay, the three of you, stop arguing. In my opinion, if you continue to argue like this, I'm afraid you won't be able to reach a conclusion even after seven days and seven nights. In my opinion, it's not appropriate for me to let anyone go. The Xianbei tribe chooses who to be the leader, which is a matter for the Xianbei tribes. I can't get involved. So I have to let all three of you go back. Who can become the leader depends on your ability."

(End of this chapter)