Jinting Han people

Chapter 212 Tuoba's Western Expedition (4k)

At first, the news of Tuoba Xianbei's westward expedition to Shuofang did not attract the attention of most people.

Because for the Jin Dynasty, the Shuofang area was a useless place.

The Han dynasty occupied Shuofang because the Xiongnu Empire was too powerful. It occupied a vast area stretching from the Western Regions, Longyou, Hetao, and Liaodong, posing a serious threat to the Han dynasty's borders. Emperor Wu of Han first seized Shuofang, then, using the Loess Plateau as a base, launched attacks from the east, west, and north, successfully dismembering the Xiongnu Empire and establishing complete strategic dominance.

But a closer look at the Shuofang region reveals that the soil of this loess plateau is barren, with little rainfall and very little fertile land suitable for growing wheat. In most areas, only drought-resistant crops like beans, millet, and sorghum can be grown, with grains making up the majority of the crop. Furthermore, the terrain, with its numerous ravines and gullies, is extremely complex, making transportation difficult and prone to landslides and collapses. Add to that the frequent sandstorms from the desert to the north, and it becomes a truly uninhabitable place for farmers.

Therefore, after the Xiongnu were defeated, they lost their strategic importance. The Eastern Han Dynasty began to consciously abandon its control over the Shuofang region, instead continuously migrating Hu people into it. By the time the Cao Wei Dynasty was established, the Xianbei had also split apart, and the imperial court simply abandoned the vast Shuofang region west of the Yellow River and north of the Liupan Mountains, leaving it a desolate and ungoverned land.

This status quo had lasted for a hundred years, with no regime in Shuofang capable of threatening Guanzhong. Hao Duyuan had previously been able to cause some trouble, but he had never been able to grow stronger. By the time he surrendered to the imperial court, it seemed that this peaceful period would continue.

Therefore, when Liu Xian delivered the news of Tuoba Yilu's western expedition to the Zhengxi Army Headquarters, Sun Xiu didn't take it seriously. Conquering the impoverished Shuofang region was no easy task! Not to mention the numerous unruly and untamed barbarians there, who could easily lead one into confusion.

In his view, this was a mistake made by the Tuoba Xianbei, which might lead to a waste of national strength in Shuofang and a disastrous defeat. Therefore, he did not intervene, but was happy to see it happen.

However, it cannot be said that Sun Xiu had no reaction. He agreed to Tuoba Yilu's request to start mutual trade in Xiayang, and sent envoys to reaffirm the border between the two countries with Tuoba Xianbei. He also set up boundary stones in Huanglong Mountain (Liangshan) and Ziwuling, stipulating that the area north of the boundary stone belonged to Tuoba Xianbei, and the area south of the boundary stone belonged to Jin State.

Tuoba Yilu agreed to the demarcation and offered Sun Xiu 5,000 cattle and sheep as a thank you gift. Sun Xiu regarded this as his own achievement and reported the matter to the court in Luoyang. From then on, he no longer paid attention to the war in Shuofang.

But it was during this period from the winter of the fifth year of Yuankang to the April of the sixth year of Yuankang that Tuoba Xianbei achieved an unprecedented and brilliant victory in Shuofang.

By the time Liu Xian met Tuoba Yilu, he had already secured a decisive victory at Yongpingchuan. A large number of Tiele people, under Liu Xundou's command, had been forced to leave their homeland and flee to the Circular River Valley, a narrow strip of land between Shuofang and Bingzhou. Here lay the ruins of two Han Dynasty twin cities, Circular Yang and Circular Yin, which the Tiele intended to use as a base for their final resistance.

However, Tuoba Yilu, taking advantage of their precarious escape and resting for only five days, led his men on a 500-li dash, suddenly appearing before the city of Yuanyang. Before the Tiele could enter, the Xianbei outside drove them forward in an irreversible wave, submerging both cities like a flood. Over 100,000 Tiele surrendered, and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep were captured. The Tiele leader, Liu Xundou, fled to Bingzhou with only a few hundred men and went directly to Liu Yuan.

Hao Duyuan had been closely monitoring the Xianbei's movements, so he didn't even have time to react to his brother's rebellion. Upon hearing that Liu Xundou had been defeated, he became extremely nervous. While repairing Fushi City, he also sought information about the Tuoba Xianbei. He was relieved to learn that they had remained inactive since the battle, seemingly recuperating at Yuanshui.

It was the first month of spring in the sixth year of the Yuankang reign. The weather was freezing cold, the horses emaciated, and the pasture grass had yet to recover. Normally, these were days when nomads would refrain from violence. Hao Duyuan led his men south to the abundant grass and water of Huanglong Mountain in search of food. To his surprise, the area surrounding Fushi City was filled with scouts stationed by Tuoba Yilu. Although the Xianbei remained stationary at Yuanshui during the winter, they were constantly monitoring Hao Duyuan's progress.

On the fourth day after Hao Duyuan left Fushi, Tuoba Yilu assembled his troops. His march was truly swift and furious. Seventy thousand cavalrymen galloped across the plateau, crossing the Sheyan, Tuyan, Yongping, Qingping, Wen'an, and Yanshui rivers, advancing directly to the city of Fushi. They reached the city in just six days, a distance of 700 miles. Scouts from the surrounding Tiele people, observing the massive army and attempting to report the news, were unable to outrun the Xianbei's swift horses.

It wasn't until three days later that Hao Duyuan learned that his base camp, Fushi, had been besieged. He was horrified and hurriedly led his main force back to reinforce. Tuoba Yilu, however, had anticipated this and was in no rush to attack the city. Instead, after the siege, he stationed most of his forces in Nanchuan, waiting for Hao Duyuan's troops to tire themselves out.

The two sides met at Qiuyan Mountain. Hao Duyuan hastily formed a battle array with 20,000 men, while the Tuoba Xianbei, without time to eat or drink, charged with 10,000 cavalrymen in shifts. A strong northwest wind blew, its chill lashing the face like a knife. The Xianbei men, taking advantage of the wind, released arrows, which flew like locusts into the Tiele formation.

The Xianbei then deployed their cavalry to flank the Tiele. Unwilling to be outdone, the Tiele also deployed their wings to resist. The two armies clashed like a long dragon, the cries of battle resoundingly high. But the Xianbei ultimately prevailed. Within an hour, both Tiele wings were routed, and the battlefield descended into a bloodbath. Hao Duyuan hurriedly led his men south, but most of his followers, such as Xue Ganxiu and Chi Ganming, were slaughtered by the Xianbei. A few, such as Juqu Zha and Duolancha, managed to escape. The tribesmen, painstakingly united over a decade, were utterly wiped out in a single day.

After Hao Duyuan fled south with only a thousand men, Tuoba Yilu turned back and attacked Fushi. The remaining Tiefu people who stayed in Fushi supported Hao Duyuan's son Hao Gui and put up a fierce resistance, but they were outnumbered and Fushi fell in March.

After this battle, Shuofang had already changed its master. Tuoba Yilu led his army to Meiji, where he held a feast and sang in the court of the former Southern Xiongnu Chanyu. From the north of Huanglong Mountain, west to the Yellow River, and north to the grass-covered Yinshan Mountains, tribes offered tribute to Tuoba Yilu, acknowledging the Tuoba Xianbei as the undisputed overlord of the southern desert.

After a crushing defeat, Hao Duyuan and his fellow Tiele people could only eke out a miserable existence within the narrow Huanglong Mountain Range (another name for Liangshan) between the Tuoba Xianbei and the Jin Dynasty. To the world, this defeated man, trapped both internally and externally, would soon, like his brother, face death.

During this time, Liu Xian had been constantly interacting with the Xianbei. He had opened a trade port in Xiayang, allowing him to gather information from them firsthand. Upon learning of Tuoba Yilu's resounding victory, he realized it was a far-reaching event, likely placing immense pressure on the entire Guanxi border defense. He immediately wrote two memorials, one to the Zhengxi Military Headquarters and one to the Eastern Palace.

The contents of the letter are similar:

According to investigations, the Tuoba Xianbei had already conquered the two major Tiefu states, Liu Xundou and Hao Duyuan. This news terrified the miscellaneous Hu people and alarmed the other tribes. As a result, the entire Shuofang region, once the site of endless battles, now fell under the control of the Tuoba Xianbei. In just six months, the Tuoba Xianbei had expanded their territory by a thousand miles. They needed several years to consolidate their rule in Shuofang, and they had to abide by the peace treaty between the two countries, leaving them no time to look south.

But the Shuofang region has been without a ruler for a hundred years. The assorted Hu people have multiplied, working from sunrise to sunset, unbridled and free to move east and west, refusing to be controlled by the Xianbei. In my opinion, given time, tens of millions of Hu people will surely flee south. Unrestrained by the Xianbei, these Hu people will naturally be unrestrained by the imperial court, scattered across the western border. If they are manipulated by someone with ulterior motives, and if they connect with the local Hu people, they will gather like dry wood, fueled by the wind, and the situation will become uncontrollable.

The state should take countermeasures early, keeping these people under strict supervision, relocating them to Bingzhou or sending them back to the Xianbei, and increasing the number of border defense troops, using both kindness and force. Otherwise, the Liangzhou chaos of the Emperor Wu period might reappear.

Sun Xiu had just finished praying for Sima Lun, the Prince of Zhao, in the Jingshi Chamber when he received Liu Xian's next report. Xin Ran, carrying the letter, entered the chamber and saw the Prince of Zhao's chief secretary, still in his Taoist robes, slumped on a stone bed, his eyes closed and his mouth open, allowing a maid to stuff grapes into his mouth one by one.

The fasting period required abstaining from food for two days, so Sun Xiu was extremely exhausted. Xin Ran tactfully chose not to hand the letter to Sun Xiu. Instead, he stood aside and unfolded the letter, reading it to him. After reading, Xin Ran waited for a moment. Seeing Sun Xiu didn't respond, he pressed the issue, "Chief Secretary, what is your opinion on this matter..."

Sun Xiu still closed his eyes and swallowed the grapes in his mouth. He waved his hand and called for a glass of water. He sipped and spit out the bitter taste in his mouth, then said:
"Deyu, you and I have been friends for many years. Don't be so polite."

"Oh, Nianxian, what do you think?"

Sun Xiu did not answer immediately, but said: "Let me think about it, tell me your thoughts first."

Xin Ran pondered for a moment and said, "Although Liu Huai Chong has always been against us, he does have some military insights. I don't understand military tactics, but at least it seems that what he says makes sense. It's always better to be cautious."

"Hey, Deyu, I'm not stupid. I know what Liu Huai Chong is good at. I was just talking about politics... You know, Liu Huai Chong never cares much about the political impact of his actions."

Sun Xiu opened her eyes, sat up with the help of her maid, and complained to Xin Ran, "Although the Jie faction didn't overthrow me, they're now targeting me and desperately trying to wrest power from me, especially military control. I've been defeated before, so I'm really not in the right place here. If I do this, will the Jie faction take advantage of the situation and force those Hu people to rebel?"

"This..." Xin Ran was stunned by the question. He had never thought about the problem from this perspective. At the same time, he was a little skeptical. "Would Governor Jie go to such lengths?"

"Politics is a life-and-death struggle. You either don't do it, or you do it to the bitter end." Sun Xiu yawned and said nonchalantly, "Since the Jie faction has fallen out with me, they must do whatever it takes to bring me down. Otherwise, there's no way out. I can't take the chance and think the Jie faction will let me off."

"So what are you going to do? Let the Jie department do it?"

Sun Xiu coughed and immediately refused, "Huh? Letting him do it would be like me admitting defeat and handing over power. There's absolutely no room for negotiation. I absolutely have to do this, but I have to find a way around him that's blameless, and preferably I can report on the merits later."

Xin Ran found it a little hard to imagine what kind of method could be impossible to blame?
Sun Xiu pointed his finger and answered them one by one, "Of course, one that succeeds and is immediately effective, loses without causing any harm, doesn't require the Western Expeditionary Army to contribute, and can prevent him from interfering. At the same time, it can show that we have come up with a solution."

He quickly announced the answer, saying: "Send a Hu person who is familiar with the situation to pacify them, and use the Hu to control the Hu."

"Use the Hu to control the Hu?"

"Isn't Hao Duyuan still alive? He was once a leader, and he suffered such a crushing defeat. Any ambitious person would not want to swallow this humiliation and would certainly not want such a dismal end. These Qiang and Hu people would be a disaster if they entered Guanzhong, but if they continue to stay in Shuofang, they can be a weapon to contain the Xianbei."

"If they can really drive the Xianbei back then, we will have accomplished a great feat. If they fail, we will only lose some money and food for support, and no soldiers will be lost, so the Jie clan will have nothing to blame."

So to speak, this is indeed a solution. Looking at Sun Xiu's lazy appearance, Xin Ran still admired him sincerely in his heart. In his opinion, his friend is very talented. As long as he wants to do it, there is nothing he can't do.

Sun Xiu was also very emotional at this time. He said to Xin Ran: "Having said that, Liu Huai Chong is indeed a conscientious person. It would be pleasant if he were on the same path as us."

Xin Ran was a little surprised when he heard this, because he did not hear any disgust from Sun Xiu towards Liu Xian. The two sides had been fighting for such a long time, and almost everyone thought that they were enemies who hated each other to the core, but unexpectedly, Sun Xiu did not care at all.

Seeing Xin Ran's surprised expression, Sun Xiu chuckled and said, "Ha, Deyu, I'm the chief priest of the Tianshi Dao. What kind of hatred can I not let go of? My ambition has never been to defeat one person. My ambition can reflect the heavens and the earth, and my wish is to conquer all the lands!"

“Anyone can be a stepping stone to our upward climb. The real stumbling block is the prejudice in our hearts. Only by letting go of prejudice can we see the bigger picture.”

"I was just testing someone like Liu Huai Chong. He's like a sharp sword. He might have stabbed me before, but that's no big deal. As long as he doesn't kill me and I need him tomorrow, I can stand up as if nothing happened and continue to be friends with him."

"This is an indispensable strategy for those in power. You are my friend, so you must learn it well..."

No one would have thought that Sun Xiu, who was known for his harsh rule and corruption in Guanzhong, would actually speak such positive and bright principles. However, it was precisely this optimistic attitude that allowed Sun Xiu to rise from a humble family to his current position.

However, the topic had strayed too far, and Xin Ran returned to discussing Sun Xiu's strategy of using the Hu to control the Hu. He asked, "Nianxian, in your opinion, who should be the candidate for the pacification?"

There was obviously no other choice for this issue. Among the Hu people in Chang'an, there seemed to be only one candidate who knew the situation in Shuofang, had certain talents, and had a good relationship with Sun Xiu.

As expected, Sun Xiu also chose him. He said, "Call Qi Wannian over and ask his opinion."

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(End of this chapter)