I am not an ant thief in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 118, The Declining Xianbei People

Pingcheng, Xianbei camp!

Helian is entertaining the tribal leaders who came to Pingcheng this time in the big tent. After all, he wants to regain his power, and the help of these tribal leaders is indispensable. If there is not the carrot hanging in Mayi, it is impossible for him to summon so many tribal leaders. Maybe, now that he has the opportunity to win them over, Helian will naturally spare no effort.

And he didn't pay much attention to the battle. After all, the enemy only had Xiaowubao with 3000 people. In his opinion, it was a fortress that could be easily breached. Therefore, compared with the war, He Lian paid more attention to attracting the tribal leaders who came this time.

Whether he can become the real Great Khan of the Xianbei people, in addition to the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of these small tribes are also important factors.

Originally, it was impossible for the adults in the east, middle and west to let people go, but now because of Mayi's relationship, not only the leaders of these small tribes came over, but even Lu Ri deduced, Tuoba Mo, Ruo Luo Bu Po, Murong Peng, these western people, The chiefs of the major tribes in the central region all followed.

After all, there have been many natural disasters and man-made disasters in the grassland these years. Even the big tribes like them can't bear it. Last year, Tuoba Mo fought with Helian because of cattle and sheep. They also had to draw their swords to face each other. It can be seen how bad the climate of the grassland has been in recent years, and it is difficult for even large tribes to survive.

The leaders of these big tribes also want to try to see if they can take this opportunity to reunify the divided Xianbei country, because they have suffered enough from the division.

At the beginning, Tan Shihuai attached great importance to the food security of the Xianbei people. When he personally inspected the land of the Xianbei people, he saw that there were hundreds of miles of waterways in the Wuji Qinshui. There were fish in the water, but there was no way to get them.Tan Shihuai heard that the Wa people were good at fishing with nets, so he attacked the Wa country eastward and captured more than a thousand Wa people (I can't even imagine how the Xianbei people on horseback crossed the sea to the original Wa country) Yes, is Yamatai a country founded by the people who wanted to guard against Xianbei? Tan Shihuai might also be the father of the Wa country.), moved them to live by the Qin River, and asked them to fish to make up for the lack of food.

It’s just that even though Tan Shihuai worked so hard, the food on the grassland was still not enough. In those few years, natural disasters such as white disasters and droughts occurred almost every year on the grassland. Enough food, while consuming the population of the Xianbei country, although this method is cruel, at least Tan Shihuai can find a solution to the problem.

After Tan Shihuai's death, the Xianbei people were torn apart, and their simple civilization quickly regressed. Originally, in the Tanshihuai era, they already knew the crude blacksmithing skills, but now they don't have them. If there is no Han Chinese caravan, they can only With bone and bronze.

Also because of the division, their ability to resist natural disasters has plummeted, and their internal productivity has declined. Many farmlands have been abandoned due to insufficient tools and tribal hostility, and their grazing and fishing skills have also plummeted.

You may wonder why the grazing technology will decline, because grazing needs a large area, and the herdsmen have to chase after places with rich water and grass to graze. This kind of nomadism will inevitably cause conflicts in various aspects. In the past, everyone was from the Xianbei country. There is Tan Shihuai, the leader, to quell all kinds of disputes.

But now the Xianbei Kingdom has split into a dozen large tribes, among which there are hundreds of small and medium tribes. A well-unified empire has been downgraded into a fragmented Middle Ages, and there is no one who convinces all parties. Leader, there are naturally more internal disputes, and no one dares to leave the tribe too far for grazing.

And fishing also requires someone who can weave nets and spin threads. In the past, the Xianbei people had millions of tribes, and they could specially arrange some tribes to develop these industries. Now the largest tribe is only a few hundred thousand, and everyone is busy grazing To support themselves, there is no energy to maintain this industrial chain.

The most important thing is that the fishing river is in the Liaodong area. Even if they kept the fishing industry, they would not be able to use it, so the fishing industry was abandoned by the Xianbei people. Up to now, there are only Xianbei people in the east.Relying on the fishing nets sold by Han merchants, some fishing industries can still be retained, but the efficiency is much lower than before.

The same division caused the Xianbei people to drop their force against the outside world, and they could not grab enough food to allow them to survive the natural disaster.It's not that the Xianbei people can't fight now, but that their organizational strength has declined.

In the Tanshihuai era, the Xianbei people could organize an army of 10 people to launch an attack on the frontiers of tens of thousands of miles in the Han Dynasty.With an army of this level, the Han army can only be exhausted on the ten-thousand-li defense line, and it is difficult to defend against the Xianbei's attack. In many places, the Xianbei people broke through the defense line.

So much so that Emperor Hengdi at that time sent envoys to make peace with Tan Shihuai and end the war between the two countries in this way.

But Tan Shihuai did not agree. Firstly, it was the fate of the Huns that left him with lingering fears, and worried that the Han people would exterminate the Xianbei people when they recovered.

The second reason is that various disasters continued on the grassland at that time, and the Han people would not be able to support so many tribes without going south to invade.

It's just that Tan Shihuai didn't expect that he wanted to go south, and Dingling people in the north also wanted to go south. in conflict.

After Tan Shihuai's death, the Xianbei people can only launch an invasion of tens of thousands of people at most. The leaders of a dozen big tribes have conflicts among themselves, so it is naturally difficult to work together to invade the Han Dynasty. The vitality of the state frontier army was severely injured.

Now the only way for them to consume the population is to kill each other. This is a very disappointing thing for those tribal adults who have experienced the prosperity of the Xianbei people.

They want the Xianbei people to restore their original strength the most, so they have this joint action.Mayi's wealth spread throughout the grasslands. These tribal leaders felt that robbing Mayi's wealth might bridge the gap between the Xianbei people. Instead of killing each other on the grassland, everyone might as well unite and go south to snatch the Han people.

So none of these tribal leaders had any orders to stop Helian. If Helian really has the ability to grab money and food and strengthen their tribe, so what if he is recognized as a great khan!Anyway, Xianbei is a feudal system, and Helian can't control their tribes.

Lü Ri deduced, Tuoba Mo, the big tribe leaders like Murong Peng also got together, and they watched Helian's actions with cold eyes.

Li Ri deduced with a smile: "We haven't been together for several years, how is your time going?"

Tuoba Mo said: "What can I do? Natural disasters continue on the grassland, no one died that year, and my tribe has lost [-]% of its tribe, otherwise I would have listened to this kid He Lian and came to Yanmen County."

The chiefs of these big tribes were all old men from Tan Shihuai's period. They had seen a generation of geniuses like Tan Shihuai, so they naturally looked down on Helian's juniors.

In particular, He Lian was blatantly trying to win over his tribe, which made most of the leaders dissatisfied. Back then, Tan Shihuai would not do such a thing, but help everyone find a way to solve the problem.

Luo Luo Bu Po smiled and said: "I just hope that I can grab enough money and food in Mayi, and this year no one will starve to death."

Then he asked strangely: "Mayi used to be a small county with only a few thousand people. How come the entire grassland is rumored to be rich overnight, and it is the city that never sleeps in the legend. This can't be true, right?"

He also has a caravan, and his people also go to Mayi, and when they come back, they tell him that Mayi is rich, like a kingdom in the sky.

He also brought honeycomb briquettes, briquette stoves, sweaters and other Mayi goods, and he felt very good after using them.But since I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I'm skeptical.

Because in the era of Tanshihuai, they robbed the eleven counties of northern Xinjiang, and it can be said that they are very familiar with the entire northern frontier. In his impression, Mayi is obviously just a small county. Although it is considered rich in Xianbei, But this Dahan territory can only be regarded as a poor small county.Why did hundreds of thousands of people pop up all of a sudden?And endless wealth?

Murong Peng greedily said: "Of course it's true. The one occupying Mayi now is Lei Gong of the Tengjia Army. It is said that he used to be a Yellow Turban thief. They robbed the richest state of the big man and fled to Mayi.

Everyone knows that the poorest small counties in Bingzhou and Youzhou Border County are richer than our Xianbei country, but now it is not normal for Lei Gong to rob the richest place of the big man to have so much money and food. "

"And Lei Gong can also make woolen clothes. One such woolen coat requires us to have 10 sheep. The cattle and sheep in the entire grassland have gone to Mayi. It is said that there are millions of cattle and sheep in Mayi. They all eat cattle and sheep, and their lives are better than those of us adults."

There are only these tribal leaders on the grassland. There is no restriction on eating cattle and sheep, but because of lack of vitamins, they also have to eat some wild grass and vegetables. It is really better than food. These tribal leaders are really not as good as a commoner in Mayi.

And the shepherd slaves at the bottom are even more miserable. The cattle and sheep belong to these tribal leaders and nobles. They eat a little goat milk, cheese, weeds, and miscellaneous vegetables at most.

Lüri deduced and said with a smile: "Ma Yi is so rich, we don't have to worry about not being able to grab things. I hope that this year there will be no more people starving to death on the grassland."

Then he asked strangely: "Why didn't Suli and the others come? Logically speaking, they should have come earlier than us?"

Murong Peng sneered: "Su Li is getting old, and his courage has also become smaller. In the past two years, he was defeated by the Han people and lost more than 2 people. Everyone knows that the Xianbei people in the east have the smallest population. The vitality of the war was seriously injured, and he dared not attack the Han people anymore. Two years ago, he sent envoys to the Han people to discuss mutual trade with Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou. Now that we are going south to invade the Han people, he can only pretend not to know. Anyway, he is Xianbei in the east. The tribes are rich and have opened a border market with the Han people, and there is no shortage of money and food."

Luo Luo Bupo sighed and said: "It's fine if he doesn't come. Anyway, we have 10 cavalry, which is enough to break through Mayi. Without him, we can still get one more. But what's the matter with this bravery? A little Wubao has been fought for more than three days, but it has not yet been taken down."

"Khan, Duan Yonghao died in battle, 3000 of his subordinates died in battle, and the rest all escaped back." A young commander broke into the big tent and reported nervously to He Lianhui.

Law Ri deduced that they were shocked when they heard that the [-] army was actually defeated.

He Lian also stood up in shock, not daring to say anything: "How is this possible? I have 2 Xianbei warriors, how could I not be able to take down such a small Wubao. Where is Duan Yong, let him come to see me right away?"

Xiaoshuai said helplessly: "The sweat is real, Duan Yonghaoshuai has died in battle, and tens of thousands of soldiers have fled back to the camp."

"Catch a few deserters and come here, we need to understand the course of the battle!" Law Ri Deduction ordered.

These veterans know that now is not the time to be shocked, but to understand the course of the war so that they can find a way to deal with the enemy. If the Wubao cannot be defeated, the Han people will have a nail in their back. If they don’t pull out this nail, they will The army cannot continue to go south.

Lei Gong already knew the news of their invasion through the beacon tower. Counting him 4 days to prepare the army, Pingcheng is only more than 400 miles away from Mayi. If Lei Gong's subordinates are all cavalry, they can arrive here in four or five days at most. The first reinforcements for the siege will arrive in 10 days.If they haven't breached the Wubao within 6 days, their [-] cavalry will be stuck in the mountains around Pingcheng.

And this situation is the worst situation for them. At that time, they have only two options. One is to give up the invasion of Mayi and withdraw the troops directly. This is basically impossible.The second is to give up the cavalry advantage and fight a mountain battle with Lei Gong's men.

That's why the law day deduction was so anxious. Duan Yong's situation made him realize that they were a little proud and complacent, and Lei Gong was not the mob they imagined.

Soon a few deserters came to the big tent, and they told the leaders and adults of the tribe about the battles of the past few days.

"It seems that the Rattan Armor Army is not the mob we imagined, and their combat effectiveness is not much worse than that of the big man's army. Among other things, this armament is much stronger than the big man's, and this Wubao is also very difficult to deal with." Tuo Ba Mo said solemnly.

He Lian felt that his face was completely humiliated, and in front of so many tribal leaders, he said angrily: "Unfortunately, Duan Yong is a veteran who has fought for more than ten years, and he can't even win against thousands of Han people." , is simply trash."

Luo Luobupo glanced at Helian and said: "Duan Yong was also a brave general, but he died when he had all the advantages. Obviously, it is not easy to guard the Wubao in Pingcheng. This Wubao must be removed. , let's see how difficult this dock is."

Murong Peng said: "Lei Gong's reinforcements are coming soon, if we have no choice but to break through this dock in a short time, then we will be in danger."

The Xianbei people have 10 cavalry here, and the tribal leaders present did not think that Pingcheng Wubao could withstand their attack.

It's just that what they said makes sense in deduction by Lü Ri, and they have been delaying time here. If the reinforcements of the Tengjia Army arrive, and they don't break through this Wubao, they will be blocked in the mountainous area of ​​Pingcheng.

However, fighting in the mountains cannot bring out the full strength of their cavalry. For them, this means that many troops will die.

(End of this chapter)