Chapter 767 Whereabouts

Chapter 767 Whereabouts

Chapter 767 Whereabouts
The mountain stream water is clear and pleasing to the eye.

By the stream, a small tribe of several thousand people was in an uproar because a big shot had arrived.

The herdsmen were forced to take out their most sumptuous food to entertain the distinguished guests.

"Is this what you're going to eat?" Shao Xun asked, looking at the wild vegetable porridge in front of him.

Wild vegetables is a general term. If you look closely, there are actually too many varieties, and the specific meaning of "wild vegetables" varies from place to place.

The wild vegetable in front of Shao Xun is called "Guzihua", which is a common wild vegetable in the local area, or medicinal herb.

The locals often eat the vegetables with the roots, but the wild vegetables given to Shao Xun were only young shoots - this was the quality for VIPs.

"Your Majesty, in spring the livestock are short of fodder and people are also short of food, which is called 'the gap between the old and the new.'" A leader prostrated himself on the ground and said loudly.

"Stand up and talk, why do you kneel all the time? My prime minister is sitting and discussing with me." Shao Xun picked up the wooden bowl and took a sip of the wild vegetable porridge. It was fragrant and not bad.

After putting down the wooden bowl, he looked at the other foods on the table. They were all presented by the chiefs. As for whether they were poisonous, of course not, because they were all prepared on the spot under the supervision of personal soldiers.

Buckwheat cakes are made from sweet buckwheat (not bitter buckwheat) that grows in the mountain valleys on both sides of the Yellow River.

The growing period of this plant is only two or three months, which is incredibly fast. You may even have two harvests a year. It is especially suitable for colder mountainous areas. The yield is a bit low, but it is very suitable as a supplementary income besides grazing.

In addition, there are pork, black bread, wild fruits, cheese, kumis, etc., which are basically the best things they can offer.

After Shao Xun finished drinking the porridge, he distributed the rest of the food to the leaders and invited everyone to eat together. Then he said, "In the past, you wandered between the Xiongnu and the Xianbei. I just want to ask you one thing: did you live a good life?"

This place is south of Junzijin, near Baode County in later times. Compared with the last river patrol, we went further, almost to the traditional border of Tuoba Xianbei.

After the Tuoba clan finds out, if they feel there is a threat, they may mobilize a large number of troops to the south. At that time, the 6,000 Silver Spear Army, nearly 10,000 Palace Army, several thousand cavalry and 20,000 Yellow Head Army brought by Shao Xun will face armed friction - the Yellow Head Army will train while serving as logistical support.

It sounds a bit pitty for Yu Mie who has already left Yanmen, but from another perspective, isn't it also a support for him? It all depends on the strength of the opponent and what they think.

"Your Majesty, the Tuge and Tuoba clans are not very good. They only recruit soldiers and sheep." In response to Shao Xun's question, someone told the truth.

"Isn't that very bitter?" Shao Xun asked calmly.

"Life is hard." The chief replied, and there was actually some philosophical meaning in his reply.

Shao Xun stood up and said, "You are right. People are not born to fight and kill. It's just that life is hard and too bitter, so they take risks. You were born in the borderland. When Tuoba came, you gave sheep, and when Tuge came, you paid tribute. It's even more bitter!"

These tribes, located at the border between the former Liu Han and Tuoba dynasties, have complex bloodlines and are difficult to determine their ethnic affiliations. They are the ones who are caught in the middle and suffer.

Tuoba went south and asked them to provide food and fodder, and even forced their young men to join in fighting the Huns.

When the Huns went north, they also asked them to provide food, fodder and even soldiers.

No one has ever been able to rule this area stably for a long time, leaving these tribes at a loss as to what to do. The most cowardly ones are said to have to pay taxes to both sides, and are suffering terribly.

Today, when Shao Xun was patrolling the border, he was forced to pay some tribute: seven or eight tribes jointly presented a pair of golden eagles, two hundred sand fox skins, five hundred deerskins, a thousand yellow sheep skins, honey, wax and other miscellaneous items.

In addition, there are more than 30,000 cattle, sheep and other livestock - on average, that is equivalent to the cattle and sheep of 2,000 shepherds.

These tribes may have been accustomed to being capitulators, and their morale has sunk to the mud. Perhaps those with blood in their veins were killed or wounded in the wars against the Xiongnu and Xianbei.

"You..." Shao Xun thought for a moment and said, "Think about it carefully. If you can surrender, I can set up a vassal county here and you can make your own decisions. If there is a war, the court will not turn a blind eye."

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

He had tried to join Liu Yuan and Liu Cong before, but what was the outcome?

The Tuoba Xianbei went south from here many times, either to Jinyang, or to Xihe and Pingyang. During the most dangerous time, Liu Cong even stopped the Tuoba Xianbei in Pingyang and defeated them.

When Tuoba arrived, they surrendered.

After Tuoba was defeated, Liu Cong sent a troop to pursue them here. He plundered them on the pretext that they were uncertain about their rebellion, and then left.

There really isn't a single good person!
What is the difference between this King Liang of the Great Jin Dynasty?

To be honest, if it can protect them from being robbed and bullied, what does it matter if you really vote? The key is that you can't do it.

Since the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains court has had no say in this area. Now, is the rising King Liang really capable of going north to the grassland? No one from the Central Plains has been able to do so in the past two hundred years.

If it weren't for the fact that this man brought a large group of people and they didn't receive the news in advance and had nowhere to run, they would not have given this tribute.

No one would do something that would skip stones.

Shao Xun looked at their expressions and knew that his words had no effect.

In their eyes, he was just another Liu Cong, who came here to inspect, give them some face, and make some money.

These chiefs hold official seals issued by Liu Han, Tuoba Dai, Da Jin and even earlier dynasties. Whenever they meet someone, they take out the corresponding seal to show their identity, but in fact, every force looks down on them.

It is impossible for them to firmly join any side. Being fence-sitter is their survival philosophy, and those who don't know how to do this will be eliminated.

Well, it's impossible to convince them with empty words.

There is no plan to attack Tuoba Xianbei this year, and what we are doing now is just the preliminary preparations.

When we go out to fight in the future, just make sure these tribes don't become our enemies.

Of course, by that time, there was no middle ground. Either you were an enemy or you were one of us. There was no choice.

******
The capture army had expanded to more than 1,800 cavalrymen, led by Gao Yi.

As a garrison troop in Heyang, he had been fighting with the Huns in the wilderness of Henei for years. Burning, killing and looting were his main occupations, but he rarely fought any serious wars, so that the Yicong Army felt that they were too cunning and not a regular army.

Shao Xun gathered the chieftains dozens of miles to the south. They had already rushed to the vicinity of Junzijin. It was rumored that during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, a merchant from Luoyang carried his belongings to the grassland for business and died of a sudden illness. The boatman who crossed the river collected the merchant's belongings, and when the merchant's son came to look for his father, he returned them intact. His moral character was noble, like that of a gentleman, so the name "Junzijin" was given.

The tribal leader who was grazing near Junzijin also went south. His followers did not stop them and even provided some supplies.

After collecting some ferry boats, hundreds of cavalry crossed the river in a few days. Seeing the slow movement, Gao Yi could not wait any longer, so he crossed the river himself on the tenth day of April and landed on the west bank of the Yellow River.

"General." Several scouts came running and dismounted from their horses.

"How is it?" Gao Yi asked, pointing with the whip without getting off the horse.

"Shi Le has set up a fort on Muguayuan, sixty miles southwest of here, but the number of his troops is unknown," said the scout.

"Where is the Dugu tribe?" Gao Yi asked again.

"This tribe is constantly moving around and we are unable to find out their whereabouts," the scout replied.

Gao Yi wanted to get angry when he heard this, but he held back and shouted, "Zhang Si."

"I am here." A rider came forward and answered loudly.

Zhang Si was a surrendered general of Shi Le.

While serving Shi Le, he made several diplomatic missions to "Mountain North" to recruit the Jiehu outside Yanmen Pass and north of Hengshan Mountain, and was very familiar with the affairs outside the Great Wall.

"Tell me, where might the Dugu tribe have gone?" Gao Yi asked.

Zhang Si sighed inwardly, "How could I know?" But he didn't dare not answer, so he could only bite the bullet and said, "Since Yilu's death, the dispute between the old and new Tuoba clan has become more intense. Maybe he was summoned by some nobleman to unite and fight against the dissidents."

The leaders of the Tuoba clan were actually far-sighted, and they had been carrying out a painful feudalization process. But how could such political reform be so simple?
Shao Xun was so cautious in Henan, while the Tuoba clan was much more brutal, so the internal rifts grew larger and larger.

Simply put, the old people are the most primitive nomadic tribes.

The newcomers mainly refer to the people of Jin and Wuhuan.

There was chaos in the Central Plains, and many Han people fled to the grasslands. In addition, the Tuoba Xianbei went south to Bingzhou several times and captured many people. There were also Jin people in Yanmen and Daijun themselves.

In the political struggle with the traditional Xianbei tribes, the Wuhuan people stood on the side of the Jin people.

The leaders of the Tuoba Xianbei were actually inclined to learn Han culture in their hearts, especially after they invaded Yanmen and Daijun and had many contacts with Bingzhou. They had a deeper understanding of Han culture, rules and regulations, and systems. Talents from these places were also employed in large numbers, and gradually formed a force.

But it was also difficult for Chief Tuoba.

The base is the "head", do you want to ignore the feelings of the base and force the Chinese localization? Then the base will leave you.

In short, this kind of reform is actually very difficult, and it is a thrilling process, with many swordplays and sabers.

Tuoba Yilu and Tuoba Pugen were both considered "newcomers". They yearned for the Han land very much and were determined to reform. To this end, they did not hesitate to help Jin fight and attack the Xiongnu many times.

This behavior caused dissatisfaction among the old people, who believed that such a war was not profitable and would result in the deaths of many people, so it was not worth it. However, they were suppressed by Tuoba Yilu's military orders.

After Yilu died, Pugen succeeded to the throne, and then his son. Both of them died suddenly after a short time in office. It is hard to say whether it was a normal death. Anyway, Tuoba Yulu, who is in power now, relies on the power of the "old people".

Such a complicated internal situation was very favorable to Shao Xun, who intended to attack Tuoba. However, Gao Yi could not stand so high and see so far. He only considered military issues: Where did Dugu's tribe go?
Just at this time, several scouts returned with a prisoner.

Gao Yi perked up and asked, "Who is this?"

"General, this man is from Liu Lugu's army. He didn't want to go east, so he went south to seek refuge with Shi Le, but was captured by me on the way." The scout dismounted and replied.

"Go east? Where to?" Gao Yi was stunned.

Liu Lugu was the younger brother of Liu Hu, the leader of the Tiele Xiongnu. After Liu Hu fled, Liu Lugu led a part of his tribe to surrender to Tuoba.

Tuoba Yulu married his daughter to him and treated him very well.

"East Mugen Mountain."

Gao Yi looked at Zhang Si.

"General, Dongmugen Mountain is in the north of Xinping City." Zhang Si said.

After answering this question, Zhang Si asked again in Xiongnu and Wuhuan languages, and then said with a serious face: "General, Tuoba Yulu has left Shengle and led the army to Dongmugen Mountain. Dugu and Helan are no longer here, they went to Niuchuan."

"Where is Niuchuan?"

"Northwest of Xinping City."

Gao Yi was stunned and asked subconsciously: "What does Tuoba Yulu want to do? These tribes are all his confidants, right?"

From an economic perspective, the new and old parties within the Tuoba Dynasty actually represent nomadic culture and agricultural culture.

Tuoba Yulu relied on nomadic forces to come to power. The Dugu and Helan tribes were important components of his power. They all left Shengle, and I'm afraid they had big ambitions.

"General, there are two possibilities in this matter," said Zhang Si.

"Come and listen."

"First, Tuoba Yulu wants to suppress the newcomers. Second, Tuoba Yulu wants to compete for the Central Plains."

Gao Yi was silent for a while, then asked, "If they want to conquer the Central Plains, where will they go south from?"

"Go south from Yanmen and take Jinyang directly, or go south from Kelan and attack Lishi." Zhang Si replied.

Hearing this, Gao Yi stopped being silent and immediately ordered, "Go back, back to the east bank."

Zhang Si also felt that the problem was quite serious.

Regardless of whether Tuoba Yulu wanted to go south or not, concentrating the main forces on the grasslands north of Pingcheng was a huge threat in itself, and King Liang didn't seem to know it...

Of course, Tuoba Yulu might not have known that the King of Liang had actually inspected the northernmost part of Kelan County.

Neither side knew anything about the other's whereabouts.

(End of this chapter)