Jinting Han people

Chapter 210 Mystery of the North (4k)

Due to time constraints, Lu Ji only stayed in Xiayang for three days. He soon returned to Luoyang to report. Liu Xian saw him off to the high platform of Wei Great Wall. The two waved goodbye in the spring breeze, and no one knew when they would meet again.

But no matter what, at least from this time on, because Sun Xiu was busy with the reconciliation and arguing in the court, he had no time to make money as usual. In the past four years, the counties in Guanzhong finally enjoyed a rare peace, and Liu Xian could also live a peaceful life for a few days.

But things never go as planned. Unexpectedly, while Guanzhong was in turmoil due to Sun Xiu, Guandong was relatively peaceful. But now that Guanxi has settled down a bit, chaos has broken out in Guandong again.

At first, it was just a strange astrological sign.

One evening in April, He Che, a member of the Secretariat, was on night duty at the palace. Bored, he wandered the observatory to unwind. Looking up, he spotted a comet streaking across the night sky, its dazzling brilliance a sight to behold. He quickly memorized the comet's position and calculated and compared it with the observatory's armillary sphere.

As a result, He Che discovered that the comet started from Kuixing in the west, passed Santai and Tailing, and finally disappeared between Xuanyuan Star Palace and Taiwei Star Palace.

Kuixing is the first of the seven stars of the Western White Tiger; Xuanyuan Star Palace, shaped like a yellow dragon, symbolizes the emperor and the will of heaven; Taiwei Star Palace, a symbol of the heavenly palace, is located to the east of Xuanyuan Star Palace.

The White Tiger represents slaughter. This astrological sign suggests an unprecedented war will erupt in the west. The comet's passage through the star Sandai symbolizes the Prime Minister, while the star Daling symbolizes a great mourning. This may indicate that this war will not end easily, leaving piles of corpses and even harming the Prime Minister. The direction in which the comet disappears suggests the immense impact of this war, potentially causing a change in the Mandate of Heaven and disqualifying the emperor from the throne and the court.

He Che was horrified by this and reported the astrological signs of that night to his superior, Duke Jia Mi of Lu, who was the Secretary General at the time.

After receiving the report, Jia Mi took a look at it and then sneered at He Che, saying, "You corrupt scholar! The so-called connection between heaven and man is pure nonsense! When King Wu conquered King Zhou, he won despite misfortunes. Emperor Yuan of Han was dismissed because of a solar eclipse, but that couldn't change the calamity that had brought chaos to the country. Our dynasty has been established for decades without relying on astronomical phenomena. A mere comet is nothing to worry about."

After saying this, Jia Mi sealed the memorial and did not submit it to the three ministries for discussion.

This was a perfectly normal occurrence, but there are countless unusual celestial phenomena. During the Han Dynasty, the imperial court dismissed the Three Dukes (Situ, Sikong, and Taiwei) based on astronomical phenomena. This resulted in a rapid turnover of these positions, with some lasting only two or three months, while others lasted just over a year. No one could hold their position for long, which undoubtedly hindered government administration. This policy was changed during the Cao Wei era, and gradually, no one took astronomical phenomena seriously.

However, the astrological signs this time seem to be different. Its appearance does seem to represent a sign, and it constantly leads to various ominous signs.

In June, a major earthquake struck Jincheng County in Liangzhou, destroying more than half the houses. Simultaneously, hailstorms struck Donghai County in Xuzhou, piling up on the ground as deep as five inches. Over sixty farmers were killed by the hail.

At the same time, a vast area south of the Yellow River and east of Hangu Pass was struck by a devastating flood, the worst in decades. The Yangtze, Han, and Xiang rivers overflowed their banks, causing unrest in the six prefectures of Jing, Yang, Yan, Yu, Qing, and Xu.

After investigating the disaster, the imperial court immediately dispatched censors to the affected prefectures and counties to inspect and provide relief. However, the censors subsequently reported that due to the widespread disaster, the imperial government's relief grain was insufficient. Therefore, at Zhang Hua's suggestion, grain was temporarily transferred from Hebei, with the intention of using a loan model for disaster relief: loans would be provided for one year, to be repaid in three years, but with a ten percent interest charge.

This approach caused a lot of turmoil in the disaster area, and many victims were deeply dissatisfied, saying privately:
"Those who know think they are here to provide disaster relief, while those who don't think they are here to make money!"

But generally speaking, the disaster mainly hit the Kanto region, and there seemed to be no trace of the war in the west mentioned in the horoscope. It could even be said that the time was good and the harvest was plentiful.

From spring planting to summer wheat harvest and autumn millet harvest, there was a remarkable absence of disturbances. Furthermore, given the recent military disaster of the previous year, Sun Xiu had also tightened taxation, leaving the people with spare cash. Merchant caravans crisscrossed the Guanzhong prefectures and counties, packhorses and wagons laden with goods, and people smiled. It could be said that this was the most peaceful and prosperous year since the new emperor ascended the throne.

But Liu Xian, who was in Xiayang, encountered some troubles.

This wasn't because he and Sun Xiu had a disagreement again. This year, Xiayang, like all the other counties in Guanzhong, had a bumper harvest. The county government collected a full 20,000 hu of grain, so much that the granaries couldn't hold it all, and tens of thousands of bolts of cloth. This was almost as much as the tax revenue of a poor county.

In fact, after four years of governance by Liu Xian, Xiayang, with its tens of thousands of households, can be called a truly rich county. Among the counties in Guanzhong, it ranks among the top five, and even Linjin, the county seat of Fengyi County, is inferior to it.

But what Liu Xian is facing now is an old trouble.

"You mean, you also encountered horse thieves in Luliang Mountain?" After hearing the news, Liu Xian confirmed it again with the person who reported to the police.

The person who reported the incident to the authorities was a hunter. He replied, "My Lord, it's absolutely true! I was originally hunting in Longmen Mountain, but now that Hanyuan has become more populated, more people are hunting in Longmen Mountain. I couldn't find any prey, so I headed further north in the river valley. I ran into a group of horse thieves! They stole all my prey!"

"What do they look like, what are their characteristics, and how many of them are there?" Liu Xian asked the hunter.

The hunter described them: "They wore barbarian clothing and had rough skin, but they didn't look like ordinary barbarians. Their hair was braided, and they spoke a gibberish I couldn't understand. I only met about ten of them. But judging by their appearance, it seemed they weren't all there, there were probably others, but I don't know exactly how many there were."

After the hunters left, Liu Xian fell into deep thought.

This was the third time Liu Xian had reported a bandit incident to the county government. Initially, he was incredulous. Ever since he had dealt with four gangs of bandits in Xiayang, he had become renowned throughout Guanzhong for his toughness. Bandits in the surrounding area would rather take a ten-mile detour than pass through Xiayang. Four years had passed, so how could another bandit appear?

But as the number of robberies against residents in northern counties increased, Liu Xian had to admit that a group of horse thieves had indeed appeared.

This hunter's story was largely similar to the two previous reports, describing the bandits in essentially the same way: pigtails and incomprehensible gibberish. The only difference was the number of bandits involved. The first report was from a farmer, who reported that two or three bandits had broken into his home and robbed him of his corn, chickens, and ducks. The second report was from a merchant, who reported that he had transported about two hundred jars of wine to Hanyuan Xinji in Xiayang, but was robbed en route by over forty bandits, leaving him with nothing.

Although this gang of horse thieves had only committed three crimes, the impact was enormous. Among the nearly 10,000 county residents relocated to Hanyuan, rumors circulated wildly, with some claiming the Xiongnu were seeking revenge, others that Sun Xiu had sent them to fight the county lord. In short, panic reigned. Simply put, these people were new to Xiayang and had no roots there. They couldn't withstand the loss of a single robbery, and would react violently at the slightest sign of trouble.

To appease the people, Liu Xian had to take this matter seriously. However, he also had doubts. He found Lü Quyang, who was of Di origin, and asked him, "Quyang, you know more about the Hu people. Do you know what kind of Hu people wear braids?"

Lü Quyang was also somewhat baffled. He thought for a moment, then shook his head and replied, "The customs of each ethnic group vary greatly, so I'm not entirely clear on this. But don't worry, my Lord. The Hu people to the north are either Xiongnu or Xianbei. I understand some Xianbei language, and if we fight and capture a prisoner, I can interrogate them about everything."

After he finished speaking, he saw Liu Xian's solemn expression and couldn't help but feel a little strange. He asked again, "County Lord, is there anything wrong?"

Liu Xian expressed his doubts, "I was thinking, these horse thieves don't look like horse thieves."

"Not like? What do you mean, County Lord?"

"When bandits do something, they always have a plan and purpose. Because they're usually small, after doing it two or three times, they have to consider how to prevent the government from hunting them down. So they usually either don't do it or maximize their profits. But these bandits, the most they steal is some wine and drinks. It's really strange and totally unlike their style. Could it be that their numbers far exceed my imagination?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Quyang immediately understood what Liu Xian meant. He asked in surprise, "Your Excellency is speculating that a larger Xianbei tribe in the north has migrated south?"

"I hope my guess is wrong, but no matter what, it's better to resolve this matter as soon as possible."

It was already early winter, October, the busiest time of year for commerce. Liu Xian didn't want this incident to affect Xiayang's development. So, after preparing himself, he took six days' worth of rations and immediately led all the county soldiers north. Accompanying Liu Xian this time were Lu Quyang, Xue Xing, Zhang Gu, and Sun Xi.

At this time, the casualties of the county soldiers had been made up, and there were still 600 people. However, the 600 people now were different from usual. Each of them brought two horses, one for riding and one for carrying armor. In addition, some of the county soldiers had experience in bloody battles on the battlefield. It can be said that they were a very combat-effective team. Even if they faced a group of Hu people that was five or six times their number, they were still able to fight.

However, searching for the bandits wasn't as easy as he'd imagined. After Liu Xian followed the Great River valley into the Luliang Mountains, he found the area sparsely populated, and found few traces of them. He occasionally spotted some Hu people on horseback wearing fur robes, but since there were fewer people on the other side, he quickly lost them after circling the mountains and forests. By the fifth day, Liu Xian still hadn't found the bandits' lair, and his rations were running low.

But this wasn't a difficult problem to solve. As the hunter had said, there was still plenty of prey in the forests north of Longmen Mountain. Liu Xian, determined, decided to split his troops into groups and hunt in the mountains. This would provide a local food supply and allow him to better identify the bandits.

The Xiayang County soldiers then remained in the Lüliang Mountains for over ten days. They divided into nine teams of over sixty cavalrymen, dispersing during the day and returning at dusk with their catches, bragging about their gains. The game they brought back included red deer, wild boar, sika deer, rabbits, pheasants, and more. In the evening, they rewarded the hunters, and enjoyed a bonfire and wine feast to pass the long night.

But to their dismay, Liu Xian led the county troopers north for nearly fifty miles without finding the bandits, not even a single captive. Going further north would mean crossing the border of Xiayang, violating the law that prohibited local officials from leaving the territory.

Liu Xian was a little unwilling to give up. He said to Li Sheng, "Since we've come this far, how can we give up halfway? Let's continue heading north. Even if we can't catch them, at least we have to find out what's going on!"

Liu Xian's reputation in Xiayang was undeniable, and no one would oppose him. So the group simply crossed the border and continued north along the river valley.

It was mid-November, and the group encountered the first heavy snowfall of the year in a place called Mayuan. As the snow fell, the mountains and pine forests were completely invisible, making it impossible to tell the direction on foot or on horseback. They had no choice but to stop and wait for the snow to stop. Unable to build a fire, they could only shovel snow and eat a few bites of dry food. Fortunately, they had brought their winter clothes, so no one had suffered frostbite, but waking up from the cold at night was a common occurrence, and the sound of snow falling to the ground crackled as branches buckled under the weight of the snow.

After the snow stopped, the mountains were completely silent. Occasionally, the wind picked up, and the snow on the ground drifted horizontally like dense arrows, following the direction of the wind. The sky was overcast and the sun was gone, but that didn't affect the horses' gait on the snow.

Liu Xian thought disappointedly, "With this much snow, it looks like we'll be back in vain this time." He wasn't one to hesitate, and soon the Xiayang people began to head back through the crackling snow. Unexpectedly, the person in the lead soon discovered deep horse hoof prints in the snow. They had passed the Xiayang people the same way they had come, but had taken a completely different direction, heading deeper into the mountains and forests.

This discovery made Liu Xian excited again. After discussing with his subordinates, they all felt that it would be a good idea to go and see. If there was no result within a day, it would not be too late to go back.

So they marched into the woods, following their steps at a brisk pace. After perhaps ten miles, they reached a valley, flanked by mountains on either side, with a navigable patch of flat ground only a few hundred paces wide. Their horses' hooves sunk into deep snow, and beneath it lay a dry creek, perhaps a stream, though it was no longer visible.

The valley was silent, with only the crunch of horses' hooves on the snow. The sun had risen, its pale, pale light casting a bright reflection on the snow, making one feel dizzy, and the knife-like cold wind made one's face numb.

Just as everyone was feeling somewhat numb, a sudden gust of wind blew, and a rustling sound was heard on the mountains on both sides, like mice scurrying through silk. Liu Xian was confused for only a moment, but soon realized what was happening. He immediately shouted, "Quick! Form your formation! Meet the enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw dense black dots rising up on the hillsides on both sides. Like ants, they surrounded the Xiayang people from all directions. Liu Xian counted them silently in his mind and was immediately shocked. This number was probably more than seven times that of the Xiayang people! How could there be so many Hu people?!

Fortunately, these numerous Hu people did not start a fight immediately. Instead, a man rode down the hillside, and his face could be seen. His high cheekbones were very eye-catching, and on his dark and thin cheeks, a pair of narrow eyes emitted a calm look. He had several braids on his head, and because of the snow, his hair, upper lip and chin beard were all white.

The man boldly rode up to within range of the Xiayang men's arrows, reined in his horse, and began to speak. He uttered a bunch of gibberish that Liu Xian couldn't understand, but his voice was resounding. When he finished, Liu Xian glanced at Lü Quyang, standing nearby, wondering if he could translate. If not, he'd have no choice but to fight.

Fortunately, Lu Quyang understood. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly turned to Liu Xian and said:
"My Lord, they say they are the Xianbei people of Suotou. We have been harassing them these days. What is our purpose? If we can't explain, they will kill us all on behalf of their leader, the descendant of the goddess of heaven."

After hearing this, Liu Xian's face changed. It was not because he might have to fight with these Hu people, but because he finally knew where they came from.

The Suotou Xianbei actually has another more famous name in the Central Plains, that is Tuoba Xianbei! The most powerful country among the Xianbei tribes!
The ones who came were actually the Tuoba Xianbei? How did they end up here? Liu Xian reined in his horse and looked around at the Xianbei warriors on the hills to his left and right, momentarily perplexed and uncertain.

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(End of this chapter)