Han officials

Chapter 102 Crossing the River by Feeling for Stones
"Qitamo/Chiguli, I greet you, my Lord!"

"Sir?" Wei Zhe almost didn't react when he saw the two barbarians in front of him.

But then he realized that the grassland is now influenced by the Xianbei people, and the tribal leaders are respected.

The two of them called him that obviously not because they acknowledged him as their father, but because they believed that his status was as noble as that of the tribal leaders.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe did not hesitate and said casually: "Get up!"

In fact, the claim that the Hu people are rough and careless is nonsense.

In front of Wei Zhe, both Qitamo and Chiguli were cautious, fearing to offend him.

Wei Zhe, on the other hand, was a bit nonchalant. While riding his horse freely beside the Daliang River, he casually asked, "Qitamo, I heard that your tribe is nomadic in Liaoze?"

Upon hearing this, Qitamo hurried forward and replied, "My Lord, it is indeed so."

Then, fearing Wei Zhe might misunderstand, he quickly explained, "The Qita tribe has always only been nomadic on the edge of the Western Liaoze Lake and has never invaded Han territory. I hope your Excellency will understand this."

Unlike what people in the Central Plains imagine, Liaoze is actually not a complete piece.

Because the so-called "Liao Ze" refers to the general term for swamp wetlands in the Liaoshui River Basin.

What people at that time referred to as the "natural barrier of Liaoze" actually mainly refers to the Lower Liaoze where the Liao River meets the Bohai Sea.

Because its south is connected to the Bohai Sea and the west is connected to the Yiwulü Mountains, and the area within a radius of 200 miles of Xia Liaoze is low-lying and full of swamps, Xia Liaoze has become a natural barrier for Liaodong.

The court naturally also saw the strategic position of this place, so during the Western Han Dynasty, Liaoyang County, Xiandu County, Liaodui County, and Fang County were established on the edge of this swamp.

As for the "Xi Liao Ze" mentioned by Qitamo, it is located in the upper reaches of the Daliao River and on the edge of Liaodong County.

Although there are large-scale swamp wetlands here, they are scattered and the terrain is relatively flat, so the environment is relatively not that harsh.

In fact, the area around Xiliaoze has always been a nomadic land for the various Donghu tribes. The Shanrong, Donghu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei have all been nomadic in Xiliaoze.

Of course, it is possible for the Hu people to engage in nomadic life, but it is more difficult for the Han people to farm.

At least before systematic environmental transformation, Xiliaoze cannot be cultivated.

In fact, since the Han Dynasty, most of the lakes developed in successive dynasties were the West Liao Lake, not the Lower Liao Lake.

It was thanks to the relay of generations that the Western Liaoze completely disappeared after the Yuan Dynasty.

Wetlands are transformed into fertile fields and swamps are transformed into fertile soil.

But this is not the point. For Wei Zhe, the Liaodong Xianbei to which Qitamo belonged are the key.

Just as Qitamo was expressing his longing for the Han Dynasty in broken Chinese, Wei Zhe suddenly asked, "Why don't you join Suli?"

Before Qitamo could answer, Wei Zhe stared at him sharply and said, "Don't try to please me. I want to hear the truth!"

Seeing this, Qitamo felt nervous.

If it was just Wei Zhe, he might be able to fool around a bit, but with Yan Rou around, he really didn't dare to speak nonsense.

After struggling for a moment, Qitamo said helplessly, "The grassland is too chaotic. We really can't survive here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Wei Zhe was stunned.

The Han Dynasty hasn't even started to fall into chaos yet, but has the grassland already begun to fall into chaos?
Having said that, Qitamo simply gave up and started complaining like Xianglin Sao.

"Ever since the Great Chanyu's death, the royal court has been plagued by constant strife," Qitamo complained. "We originally thought Helian could defend Chanyu Tanshihuai's legacy, but we didn't expect him to be so unlucky. He was shot dead by Han volunteers while raiding Beidi County."

"Let him die, but his son Qianman is still young, so his nephew Kuitou has to take over the royal court. We are all descendants of the Great Chanyu, so we didn't have any objections. But we didn't expect Jianman to refuse to obey when he grew up, and to stir up chaos among the three Xianbei tribes in order to fight for the throne with Kuitou."

At this point, Qitamo could not help but sighed: "Although Kuitou is dead now, his brother Budugen still refuses to submit to Qianman, and they have been fighting each other for countless rounds. The royal court that the Great Khan painstakingly established has long since disappeared!" At the same time as the Xianbei royal court disappeared, small tribes of the Xianbei like the Qita tribe also suffered heavy casualties.

After all, civil strife always causes the greatest harm, whether in the Han area or in the grassland.

In fact, the Great Xianbei that Tan Shihuai had worked so hard to establish is now in name only.

Before the Han Dynasty entered a chaotic era, they had already fallen apart and were constantly fighting each other.

The Western Xianbei had already rebelled, and the Central and Eastern Xianbei were also divided.

Although Budugen, Kebineng, Suli, Miga, Queji and others all called themselves tribal leaders, they often fought with each other, causing the small tribes below to suffer.

Otherwise, Qitamo would not have taken the initiative to surrender to Wei Zhe under Yan Rou's persuasion.

After all, being a hunting dog for the Han people could at least earn you a living, but following the Xianbei leader would only lead to death in battle.

In comparison, small tribes like the Qita tribe really have no choice.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe's eyes suddenly flickered.

If this is the case, the Qita tribe does have some value.

Whether used to deal with the Goguryeo people or as a protective wall, they can be used.

After all, Wei Zhe did not forget that there were still Liaodong Xianbei in the northern part of Liaodong County.

The Xianbei people are now busy fighting for power and have no time to care about other things, but that doesn’t mean it will always be like this.

As soon as he thought of this, Wei Zhe immediately made a decision.

"In that case, you can all go and roam the waters of Daliang!"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was Qitamo's turn to be dumbfounded.

"Sir...isn't that in Goguryeo territory?"

"That's right!" Wei Zhe chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Why? You don't dare to go?"

Although Wei Zhe was planning to use this group of Xianbei people, he was not planning to let them enter the Han territory.

Having learned from the mistakes of the past and followed through with the mistakes, Wei Zhe did not want to create another Xiongnu Han.

In fact, Wei Zhe's concerns are somewhat reasonable.

The "Five Dynasties Collection: Khitan Biography" states:
"The Khitans were originally a tribe of the Xianbei, living in the Liaoze Lake and south of the Hengshui River."

Therefore, the Qita tribe and other Xianbei tribes in Liaoze were actually the ancestors of the later Khitans.

It can be said that they gradually became stronger as the environment in Xiliaoze gradually improved.

Of course, Wei Zhe didn't know the twists and turns involved.

The reason why he did not allow the Qita tribe to enter the Han area was entirely because of the problem of usage concept.

Wei Zhe was different from Cao Cao. He believed that both the Xianbei and Wuhuan people were essentially the same.

Regarding the northern grasslands, the European balance strategy of the later British is actually quite valuable for reference.

At least Wei Zhe thought that before the invention of the Maxim machine gun, it would be best not to aim to eradicate a particular Hu ethnic group.

After all, the grassland is there. Even if the Han people killed all the Hu people on the grassland, there would be external nomadic tribes to fill the gap. This is the limitation of the times.

(End of this chapter)