Diqin Designer

Chapter 340 Dong Hu's Plan

Donghu, located in the northeast of Daqin, has existed for a long time. It has existed in the north since the Shang Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, because it was adjacent to Yan and Zhao, it had frequent contacts with the two countries and often physically fought with Yan and Zhao.

It was also during the Warring States Period that the Donghu reached its peak strength, with the army claiming to have "two hundred thousand soldiers under their yoke." But unfortunately, even at its peak, it was of little use. It had been beaten by the State of Yan and the State of Zhao. When Li Mu defeated the Huns, he also beat the Donghu at the same time.

But even though they have been beaten, the Donghu are still stronger than the Xiongnu. Together with the Yuezhi, they bully the Xiongnu, their little brother, and blackmail the Xiongnu whenever they have nothing to do: (Today) My little brother, I think your thousand-mile horse is pretty good, can you give me two? (Tomorrow) My little brother, I think your Yanshi is pretty, how about giving her to me?

Even after Maodun ascended the throne, he was blackmailed by the Donghu and was beaten severely by Maodun. The Donghu tribal alliance collapsed and the Donghu tribes became slaves of the Xiongnu.

However, the Donghu tribes did not disappear. The later Wuhuan, Xianbei, Khitan, Shiwei, Tuyuhun... all had certain relationships with the Donghu.

Although the current Donghu is not at its peak in strength, it is still the top of the grassland. Together with the Yuezhi, they are the two major leaders of the grassland. Otherwise, they would not have the courage to blackmail the Xiongnu.

It's just that in the past six months or so, the King of Donghu has been in a bad mood, because the Qin people in the south have extended their hands to the grassland. The Xiongnu, who had always been blackmailed by him, have become friends with the Qin people and dared not to pay tribute to him with their thousand-mile horses and beautiful women!
The Qin people even sent envoys to Donghu, saying that they were trying to establish diplomatic relations and seek common development, but in reality they were announcing to him: From now on, the Xiongnu are the younger brothers of my Great Qin, and I will protect them. You are not allowed to blackmail them anymore, understand? If you don't understand, you will bear the consequences!
How could the King of Donghu be willing to do that? He felt that the Qin people had extended their hands too far. The south had already belonged to the Qin people, and now they even wanted to control the affairs of the grassland?

The south belongs to you Qin people, but the affairs of the grassland should be managed by the Donghu. You should keep to yourself and not interfere with each other. You farm in the south, and I graze in the north, and we can each live a peaceful life.

But the Qin people were greedy and not satisfied with being the overlord in the south, they also wanted to come to the grassland to give orders, which made the King of Donghu extremely unhappy.

The cake on the grassland is only so big. The Donghu gets a little, the Yuezhi gets a little, and the Xiongnu and other tribes get a little. It's barely enough for everyone to share. But now with the addition of the Qin Dynasty, there's not enough cake left.

What's more, the Qin people don't seem to want just a small piece of the cake, they want to eat more!
The King of Donghu, feeling that his interests were damaged, sent envoys to Daqin during the New Year, hoping that Daqin would abide by the rules, not extend its hands to the grassland, and not support the Huns. The grassland belongs to us, not to you Qin people.

Unexpectedly, the Emperor of Qin not only did not appreciate his kindness and accept his sincerity, but also expelled his envoy from the court without any mercy.

The envoy represented him and the Donghu. By doing this, the Emperor of Qin was disrespecting him and the Donghu!

It is true that your Great Qin is very powerful in the south, but I, the Donghu, am a strong force in the grasslands and I am not a soft persimmon that can be easily bullied. In a battle on the grasslands, your Great Qin may not be my opponent.

After the envoy returned, the King of Donghu immediately contacted the leaders of various Donghu tribes. Today was the day when the leaders of various Donghu tribes would gather.

In the king's tent, the King of Donghu sat in the main seat, looked at the leaders of the tribes in the tent, and said, "The envoy sent to Qin has returned!"

Seeing that the King of Donghu looked unhappy, the leaders of the tribes knew that the result of this mission was not ideal. One leader narrowed his eyes and said, "The Emperor of Qin didn't agree? Do you still want to continue to interfere in the affairs of the grassland?"

The King of Donghu said, "Let Lu Zan in!"

On the day of the New Year's greetings, the Donghu envoy who had been expelled from the Zhangtai Palace by the Emperor Qin Shi Huang entered the royal tent and said to the Donghu king and the leaders: "Lu Zan greets the king and all the leaders!"

The King of Donghu said: "Tell all the leaders about your experience in Qin!"

Lu Zan took the order and began to speak. When the leaders heard that the Qin emperor had actually expelled Lu Zan, the expressions on their faces did not look good.

They were also part of the Donghu. When the Qin emperor expelled Lu Zan and others, he not only slapped the Donghu king in the face, but also their own people.

One of the leaders said: "The Emperor of Qin does not take us Donghu seriously at all!"

Another leader said: "The Qin Emperor is not only ignoring us by doing this, but also making it clear that he will not give up interfering in the grassland! Everyone..."

The leader looked at the others and said, "I know some people don't want to go to war with the Qin people, but the Qin emperor has made it clear that he wants to interfere in the grassland. There is no chance. We must cut off the Qin emperor's hand reaching out to the grassland and hurt him so that he will understand that the grassland is not a place he can reach out to and give up the idea of ​​interfering in the grassland."

"We cannot retreat from this matter, because the grassland is our home and everything we have. If we retreat, given the greed of the Qin emperor, will he leave us a piece of grassland for grazing and a piece of forest for hunting? Then, where will our cattle and sheep graze and where will we get food and drink?"

The other leaders also looked serious. What this leader said was right. The Qin people must not be allowed to get involved in the grassland, otherwise there will be endless troubles!

Another leader said, "But the Qin people in the south are too powerful. Yan and Zhao are no match for them. Can we defeat them?"

Saying this may seem like it will shake the morale of the army, but it is also the fact. Those are the Qin people, who are invincible in the south and destroyed the powerful countries of Yan and Zhao!
The leader who said "We can't retreat from this matter" said: "Although the Qin people are strong, they are not invincible. Although they are invincible in the south and have defeated Yan and Zhao, they may not continue to be invincible in the grassland. Moreover, they have only unified the south for more than a year, and they must have many issues to deal with at home. As long as we don't send troops directly to them, we may not attract the Qin people!"

After hearing this, some leaders reacted and one of them asked, "You mean to send troops to the Xiongnu instead of going to war with the Qin people directly?"

The leader looked fierce and said, "That's right! Don't the Xiongnu think that they can ignore us now that they have the support of the Qin people? This is a good opportunity for them to see if the Qin people can protect them!"

At this time, a round of applause rang out. It was the King of Donghu who was clapping his hands. He said, "What Chief Hao Zha said is very true. We are not fighting the Qin people, but the Xiongnu people. Even if the Qin people are sending troops for the Xiongnu people, I think the number will not be too large."

"If this move succeeds, it will not only deter the Xiongnu, but also undermine the prestige of the Qin people, letting those tribes who want to surrender to the Qin people know that the Qin people can't protect them at all!"

The leader named "Hao Zha" said: "In addition to us, we can also invite the Yuezhi to join us in attacking the Xiongnu. We will attack the Xiongnu from the east to the west, and they will attack from the west to the east."

The Yuezhi people, like them, believed that the Qin Dynasty had interfered in the grasslands and regarded the Xiongnu as its younger brother, which had infringed on their interests. If they were not afraid of the Qin Dynasty, they would have sent troops to subdue the Xiongnu long ago. But if they agreed with the Yuezhi people to attack the Xiongnu from the east and the west, the Yuezhi people would be tempted, and this would be a good opportunity for the Qin people to realize who was the overlord of the grasslands.

You Qin people may be powerful, but the grassland is not a place for you to meddle in. Now pull your claws back.

And you, the Xiongnu, think that you have become the younger brother of the Qin people and that you dare not pay tribute to us because you have the Qin people's protection? Then let's see if the Qin people can protect you!
These two families can be said to be the two strongest forces on the grassland at present. If they join forces to attack the Huns, even the Qin people should be wary.

One leader said, "The Yuezhi will definitely agree. They have long disliked the Qin and the Xiongnu, and the Qin is planning to extend its influence to the Western Regions. If the Qin gains a firm foothold in the Western Regions and lets the Western Regions countries join them in attacking the Yuezhi, the Yuezhi will only have a harder time."

"As long as the Yuezhi still have brains, they will definitely choose to join forces with us. If we don't stop the Qin now, do we have to wait until the Qin people get their hands in and put a knife to their necks before we stop them?"

This analysis makes a lot of sense. From a geographical point of view, the Qin people were obviously more dangerous to the Yuezhi people.

Because on the map, the Xiongnu were located in the north of Daqin, the Donghu were located in the northeast of Daqin, and the Yuezhi were located in the northwest or west of Daqin.

The Qin Dynasty took the Xiongnu as its younger brother and intervened in the grasslands, which could pose a threat to the Xiongnu from the east, south and north. If the Qin Dynasty established contact with the Western Regions countries west of the Yuezhi, then the Yuezhi would be surrounded by the Qin camp.

If the Qin Dynasty wants to take action against the Yuezhi, the threat faced by the Yuezhi will be extremely high!
As long as the Yuezhi people are not stupid, they will definitely not want this encirclement to be formed. Otherwise, it will be too dangerous for them and they must destroy it. If they have to destroy it, it is best to do it before it is formed.

In this situation, if the Donghu wanted to send troops to target Daqin and the Xiongnu, the Yuezhi people would definitely choose to join forces to support them, because this was their chance. If they missed it, they would have to face Daqin and the Xiongnu alone.

After listening to the leader's analysis, the King of Donghu and other leaders breathed a sigh of relief. Although they said they were not afraid of the Qin people, they were actually under a lot of pressure. If the Yuezhi people could join them in fighting against the Qin people, the pressure would be much less.

After all, they are the two strongest forces on the grassland today. Even for the Qin people, it would certainly not be easy to defeat them!

One of the leaders looked at Lu Zan who was still in the tent and asked, "You must have seen and heard a lot during your mission to Qin. What are your feelings? Is the Qin army as fierce as the rumors say?"

Hearing this question, the other leaders also looked over. Although the Donghu tribes did not study "The Art of War" and did not have the saying "know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles", they did have similar principles. Of course, they needed to know more about the strength of the Qin people so as to make corresponding preparations.

After hearing this question, Lu Zan took a deep breath and replied seriously: "My king, all the leaders, based on what we saw on the way to the Qin capital Xianyang, the Qin people should not be underestimated! This is not to boost the Qin people's ambitions and destroy our own prestige, but I speak sincerely!"

"The Qin people are not as rich as rumored. They also have poor places. But the Qin people we met on the way are all very confident and have great fighting spirit. If we were to form an army with them, the morale would be high. Moreover, the Qin people have great faith in their emperor. With the prestige of the Qin emperor, as long as he is willing to give orders, there will be many Qin people willing to fight for him!"

"We have also seen the soldiers of the Qin people. When they are still, they are like a standing city wall. When they move, they are like a strong wind on the grassland."

Thinking of the Qin army that escorted them to Xianyang, Lu Zan added: "They switch between stillness and movement according to the orders of their generals. As long as the generals need them, they can transform from the strongest city wall to the coldest storm, killing and harvesting lives on the battlefield."

The black-armored Qin army that escorted them left a deep impression on them. When they were still, they were like the strongest city wall that no one could penetrate. But when they moved, they instantly turned into a black torrent that destroyed everything.

They had imagined at that time, if their Donghu cavalry faced the Qin army with equal numbers, who would win and who would lose?
The answer they came to in their minds made them very depressed. If they met this Qin army on the battlefield, their Donghu soldiers would definitely be defeated.

Lu Zan advised: "The Qin army is very strong, a force of tigers and wolves. They are not only well-trained, but also have excellent weapons and armor. If we meet them on the battlefield, it is best not to engage them head-on. We need to set up an ambush and rely on the fact that the Qin people do not understand the grassland environment to fight them."

Although the Donghu people were the dominant power on the grassland, their population and productivity were far inferior to those of the Qin Dynasty. The weapons and armor they used were certainly inferior to those of the Qin Dynasty. In a head-on battle with equal forces, they had no chance of having an advantage.

If you want to fight against the Qin people, you can only weaken the Qin people's advantages as much as possible and magnify your own advantages, such as leading the Qin people into a place they are familiar with but not familiar with.

"The Qin people still have many things that we cannot understand. When we were in Xianyang City, we saw several tall buildings spewing smoke, and we don't know what they were used for. If they were forging weapons and armor, given the size of the buildings, the number of weapons they could build in a day could be huge!"

This is a misunderstanding. Although weapons are indeed being manufactured, this is not the main job of that place. The main job there is to conduct various experiments and transform the various technologies copied by Li Nian into technologies that can be used in Daqin.

"The Emperor of Qin has many civil and military officials under his command. Almost all of the civil and military officials who destroyed the six southern states are still here. If we want to fight the Qin, they will most likely send the generals and troops that destroyed the six states. These generals have been on the battlefield for a long time, and the soldiers are also experienced veterans!"

The expressions of the King of Donghu and the other leaders became more serious. They had long known that the Qin people were very strong and a tough nut to crack. Now, after listening to Lu Zan's words, they felt that this nut was even harder to crack than they had imagined.

Apart from the advantage of being more familiar with the grasslands than the Qin people, they seemed inferior to the Qin people in other aspects. The Qin people had more soldiers than them, more swords, arrows and armor than them, and they were sharper and harder than theirs. The Qin people's generals might also be better at leading troops than them...

Then do they still want to fight against the Qin people?
Of course we have to fight back. The Qin people have not yet fully extended their hands and have not yet gained a firm foothold on the grassland. If we don't resist now, we will have no chance in the future.

The King of Donghu closed his eyes and thought for a while, then suddenly opened them and said, "We should send troops in the autumn to attack the Xiongnu! At that time, the horses will be healthy and the food and grass will be sufficient. It is the best time to send troops."

After saying these two sentences, the King of Donghu looked at all the leaders in the tent and asked, "Who is in favor, and who is against?"

No one objected, as they all knew that if the Qin people were allowed to intervene in the grassland, the survival of the entire Donghu might be seriously affected, unless they were willing to submit to the Qin people. But being a dog for the Qin people and having a boss sitting on your head is not as comfortable as being the king yourself.

(End of this chapter)