The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 575 What’s the price?

There are more than twenty people present.

There were people of all ages, young and old, and even an older woman. Their appearances and clothes were all varied.

Wen Yang looked at these people, and finally looked at the chief sitting next to him.

He began to speak, "I have been appointed General Pingbei and commanded by General Zhenbei to inspect the frontier and suppress bandits. I happened to be passing by your Duan tribe and came to see you."

Duan Qizhen was startled when he heard this. His face turned pale and he hurriedly said, "General! We have never robbed anyone! We are all self-employed and have never robbed anyone. We are definitely not thieves!"

"Don't panic, Mr. Duan. I'm just here to inspect. I'm not saying you're the thieves!"

Wen Yang tried to comfort him, and Duan Qizhen quickly asked someone to bring some wine and food.

Looking at the delicious food and wine in front of him, Wen Yang had no appetite for some reason.

Maybe it’s because staying here always reminds me of what the pioneers of this tribe did.
However, seeing the other party nodding and bowing as he handed the wine to him, Wen Yang could not lose face for the Wei Dynasty. He simply picked up the wine pot and drank it all. Then he picked up the beef and tore off a large piece of meat in one bite.

Everyone was shocked to see Wen Yang's fierce appearance.

Duan Qizhen's attitude towards him became even more enthusiastic.

Wen Yang then told them about his own experiences and his many great deeds in the past. These people were also stunned. Wen Yang had drunk some wine and his body was hot. He became more and more excited as he spoke.

The banquet was very lively, and everyone present came forward to toast Wen Yang.

Duan Qizhen toasted the most, but he didn't dare to get drunk.

Wen Yang didn't know how much wine he had drunk, and he felt dizzy all over. He held Duan Qizhen's hand and spoke incoherently.

"I think you're a good person. To tell you the truth, the Xiongnu in Bingzhou have completely submitted to the Wei Dynasty. Their nobles have become officials and dignitaries of the Wei Dynasty, and their people have been allocated public land, registered as residents, moved into the city, and even have their own houses!"

"I think it's only a matter of time before you die. If you don't want to, then run away from here and don't run into me, lest we get embarrassed!"

Wen Yang spoke these things out loudly with great arrogance.

When Duan Qizhen heard these words, there was no fear in his eyes. He suddenly became ecstatic and grabbed Wen Yang's hand.

"General, is this really the case?!"

"What?"

Wen Yang seemed to sober up and looked at Duan Qizhen in astonishment.

Not only Duan Qizhen, but also several nobles around him were staring at Wen Yang with fiery eyes at this moment.

"General."

Duan Qizhen looked somewhat troubled. He hesitated and said, "I wonder what we should do so that we can be incorporated into the Wei Dynasty like the Xiongnu did?"

Wen Yang was stunned at this moment.

He was not completely drunk just now. He said that just to test the reactions of these people.

But he never expected such a reaction.

Is this a request to be incorporated into the Great Wei?

That's not right. Shouldn't you be attached to your own power?

Wen Yang said, "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"of course I know!"

"You will give up your status and land, become officials of the Great Wei, and receive a title, but you cannot stay here any longer."

"Yeah!"

The more Duan Qizhen listened, the more excited he became.

"General Wen, how can we merge?"

Wen Yang looked around and said cautiously, "Then tell me why you want to join our Great Wei?"

Duan Qizhen looked around and saw that only a few people were left, so he ordered the door to be closed.

"General Wen, you don't know something."

Duan Qizhen's face was full of bitterness.

He began to talk about the current situation of the Duan Department.

As Wen Yang listened to his story, he gradually understood why they had such an attitude.

The Duan tribe was different from other tribes. They were formed simply by a group of refugees gathering together and were forced to form.

After their establishment, due to their unique formation, they were in an environment where they were not accepted.

The Murong Xianbei and other tribes did not regard them as legitimate Xianbei tribes and were unwilling to have too much contact with them. They even often sent troops to bully them and plunder their supplies.

Murong didn't dare to attack the Wei Dynasty, but he felt no pressure to attack his Duan tribe.

In recent years, Murong has been encroaching on the Duan tribe step by step, making the Duan tribe extremely panicked.

On the Wei side, they were also not taken seriously because their strength was not enough compared to the Xianbei tribes such as Murong.

Murong was able to gather 30,000 elite cavalry for battle, and Duan's troops were also able to gather 30,000 cavalry. Whether they were elite or not is debatable.

There is a big difference between elite cavalry and herdsmen.

The consequence was that they were excluded by both sides and could never find a backer. The north was getting colder and covered with ice and snow, and the lives of these nobles here were simply miserable.

For them, being able to go to the Central Plains and become an official of the Wei Dynasty would be a great blessing. It would be much more comfortable than being a chieftain here!
Duan Qizhen held Wen Yang's hand and told him about the suffering of his tribe. As he spoke, he almost burst into tears.

Wen Yang was silent for a long time before he said, "Since you have such thoughts, I will inform His Majesty when I return. If His Majesty shows mercy, perhaps you can also be like the Xiongnu."

"Thank you, General! Thank you, General!"

Duan Qizhen bowed deeply repeatedly.

Wen Yang suddenly asked, "You just said that the Murong tribe and you had many disputes. What is the situation with the Murong tribe?"

When talking about this issue, Duan Qizhen's face showed some hesitation.

He pondered for a moment before saying, "General, this is really hard to say."

"No problem, just say it!"

After receiving Wen Yang's approval, Duan Qizhen finally said, "The former leader of the Murong tribe was named Mo Huba. Because he loved wearing a step-shaking crown, his tribe was named Murong. The two words are very similar."

"Back when General Guanqiu was campaigning outside the Great Wall, this man and his eldest son led the charge, achieving remarkable military feats. Both generations were rewarded by the imperial court and were crowned Kings of Suiyi."

"Their current leader is called Murong Shegui. He is the grandson of Mohuba. After he came to power, he moved the capital from Jicheng to Liaodong. He continued to annex various tribes to increase his own strength. He called himself the Great Chanyu of the Xianbei and attempted to command all the Xianbei tribes and become the leader of them all."

Wen Yang slowly frowned.

"So, this is an ambitious man."

Duan Qizhen said helplessly, "General, you don't know. When his father was still in power, we had close contacts and a very close relationship. But after he came to power, he started to become hostile to us. They often come to take away our people, and our caravans dare not go to Liaodong."

Duan Qizhen talked about the other party's many evil deeds.

Wen Yang's expression became increasingly ugly.

This King Luyi, who was once granted a fief by the imperial court, now dares to call himself the Great Chanyu.

This is obviously a break with the Wei Dynasty.

Seeing Wen Yang's expression, Duan Qizhen hurriedly said, "General, if you plan to attack their tribe, I am willing to lead the troops along with you!"

When Wen Yang heard this, he immediately threw his head back and burst into laughter.

"Do we need help from others to deal with a little Murong?"

"Prepare a guide for me tomorrow. I'm heading to the Murong tribe to ask the chieftain in person whether he's the Prince of Suiyi of the Wei or the Great Chanyu of the Xianbei!"

Duan Qizhen quickly said: "General, you only brought a few hundred cavalrymen."

"Oh, that's enough!"

Wen Yang turned around and went to rest. Duan Qizhen didn't say anything more and just sighed.

It's rare to meet a noble person who is willing to accept me. I hope nothing happens to him. Perhaps, I will have to bring the army to pick him up at that time to avoid any major incidents.

Speaking of which, Duan Qizhen really hates this neighbor.

If he had not heard from Wen Yang about the relocation, he would not have told the story of the Murong tribe, and he might even have had to cover it up for them.

This is because both of their tribes were rewarded for helping the Wei Dynasty. If the Morong tribe no longer has the trust of the court and the court decides to send troops, then their Duan tribe will also be beaten.

After all, in the eyes of the nobles in Luoyang, there was no difference between the Duan tribe and the Murong tribe. They were all mercenaries at the time, and they could fight together if they wanted to.

The next day, Wen Yang got up early and Duan Qizhen was also waiting at the door.

Wen Yang came out and asked, "Is the guide ready?"

Duan Qizhen raised his head suddenly and said, "I am willing to go with the general!"

Wen Yang was a little surprised. He looked at Duan Qizhen and said with a smile, "If we fight them, I won't be able to take care of you!"

Duan Qizhen's face was very calm. He said seriously, "Don't worry, General. If a war breaks out, I will definitely charge ahead of you!"

Wen Yang laughed again, and then asked him to get ready. They left Liaoxi together and headed towards Liaodong.

As we walked along, the weather became increasingly colder.

There seemed to be even fewer Han people in Liaodong than in Liaoxi. Wen Yang had traveled all the way without encountering a few caravans or pedestrians.

When they appeared in Liaodong County in a swagger, they immediately attracted the attention of the Murong tribe.

The reaction of the Murong tribe was completely different from that of the Duan tribe.

When they learned that a general from Wei had entered Liaodong, they immediately dispatched troops to guard various checkpoints and sent people to negotiate.

The man who came to negotiate held his head high, with arrogance written all over his face.

He controlled his horse and calmly came to Wen Yang and others, his arrogance still undiminished.

Duan Qizhen whispered, "This is Shegui's son, Tuyuhun."

Wen Yang looked at the boy in the distance and then became furious.

"How dare you be so rude in front of me?!"

He took off his bow and shot an arrow at the boy in the distance.

Duan Qizhen's eyes almost popped out of his head in shock.

Murong Tuyuhun didn't say anything before he was hit by an arrow and fell off his horse with a scream.

Suddenly, the cavalry of Murong's tribe were in an uproar.

(End of this chapter)