Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1362 Ruthless
Kobe could feel a little toothache. He never thought that the State of Jin would hold such a grudge.

When he robbed the Eastern and Western Xianbei, it was already late autumn. The climate at this time was no longer suitable for the Jin army's armored cavalry to attack, so Kirby initially carried out a series of actions with confidence, hoping to gain more advantages before winter.

But the news that came soon after was that the Jin army joined forces with the various Hu tribes within the pass, cooperated with the Eastern and Western Xianbei to counterattack, and in turn plundered into the heartland of the Central Xianbei.

In the past year, Kobe had been prepared for the harassment tactics of the Jin army. Following Jia Xu's advice, he set up scouts near various water sources so that when the enemy attacked, he could report back in time.

This approach was undoubtedly very effective. After all, cavalry operations on the grassland could not be separated from water sources. It also had a very obvious effect in the early stages. After the Jin cavalry were discovered, they did not dare to attack rashly and disappeared for quite some time.

Kobe was overjoyed and rewarded Jia Xu handsomely. However, the situation was different this time. As the Wuhuan, Xianbei and other tribes inside the pass attacked one after another, the method of water source alert was no longer effective, because enemies appeared at every water source, and the enemy situation could be reported from more than a dozen or even dozens of places at the same time.

In this situation, how many enemies are there, how real they are, and what their real purpose is, all involve a lot of information that needs to be identified, but Kobinen's king's tent does not have this ability.

Kobe Neng had also wanted Jia Xu, Sun Quan and others to offer advice, but such a complicated situation was obviously beyond the capabilities of Jia Xu and others. After all, counselors can only plan strategies in the general direction. Such trivial information requires a large number of intelligence personnel to analyze. Only the Jin State's Procuratorate has this ability, and even Jia Xu is powerless.

So Kobe had no choice but to shrink his defense line, but then he got bad news. Part of the Jin cavalry appeared on the side and rear of the Zhong Xianbei, seven or eight hundred miles to the north of the Great Wall!
Kobe was puzzled at first, but after Jia Xu's analysis, he suddenly realized that the Jin cavalry that had disappeared for the past two months did not actually return to the interior of the country, but marched northward from the territory of the Eastern Xianbei tribe. After marching for more than a month, they arrived at the tribal gathering place behind the Central Xianbei and began to act brazenly!
For such a long journey, it was impossible for the Jin army to have both spies to lead the way and food supplies along the way. They must have had the cooperation of the Eastern Xianbei. When Kobe learned about this, he secretly cursed the Jin army for being shameless.

But he must take immediate countermeasures now, otherwise his hometown will be completely looted. How can he unite the people to deal with the State of Jin next year?

After thinking it over, he called the Zhong Xianbei leader Mo Huba to discuss the matter.

Mohuba, the legendary ancestor of the Murong clan in later generations, led the various tribes to live in Liaoxi. He followed Sima Yi in his campaign against the Gongsun clan and made great contributions. He was appointed King of Yi and first established his country in the north of Jicheng. At that time, many people in Yan and Dai wore the Buyao crown. Mohuba liked it when he saw it, so he tied his hair together and wore the crown. The various tribes therefore called him Buyao, and later the pronunciation was misinterpreted, and thus they became the Murong clan.

In this time and space, Mo Huba is still very young, but his style of doing things is similar to Kobe Neng, so he admires Kobe Neng very much.

At that time, there was a dispute within the tribe over whether to rely on the Central Xianbei or the Eastern Xianbei. Mohuba tended to favor the Central Xianbei, while most of the elders favored the Eastern Xianbei. So he took many of his tribesmen to join Kebinen, where he was highly valued and became the leader of the tribe.

Now Kobe was able to summon Mo Huba and explained the current situation directly. Finally, he said, "You should take all the young and strong men with you to the Eastern Xianbei tribes to persuade them to surrender. If they surrender and block the Jin army's route from north to south, I will reward them generously."

"If they are stubborn and refuse to change, then we will send them to their deaths. By joining the fierce tiger, they have already betrayed our ancestors!"

"If you can accomplish this, I will support you to become the leader of the Eastern Xianbei. Suli is already old. As long as we can get through this difficult time, the grassland will be ours in the future!"

After hearing this, Mohuba immediately took the order and led nearly 10,000 young and strong cavalrymen from his tribe to the Eastern Xianbei tribes.

Soon, large-scale fighting and turmoil broke out among the various tribes on the grassland. Countless forces were involved, including the continuously advancing Jin army, which also suffered heavy losses due to the extreme cold this winter. The parties fought until they could no longer march and were forced to hide underground for the winter.

The winter of the third year of Chenghan was also the worst cold season in a century. A large number of people outside the Great Wall who were not prepared for the winter froze to death in the wind and snow. The grassland was littered with cold and stiff corpses of humans and animals. During this gap, tribes continued to fight because they did not have enough food. The entire grassland turned into a huge Shura field.

What made all this possible were undoubtedly the two parties led by Yuan Xi and Kobe Neng. These two sides sent out signals from the beginning, that is, if you don't take sides in advance, you will only be crushed by this millstone that can't be stopped.

As two millstones, a lot of price was actually paid. Although most of the deaths were caused by the Xianbei people, the manpower, material resources and lives of soldiers paid by the Jin State this time was not a small number.

So at the turn of winter and spring, when the New Year of the third year of Chenghan arrived, the extremely cold streets of Jicheng did not have the liveliness of previous years, and everyone quietly hid in their houses to resist the cold.

Because of sufficient preparation, although people froze to death in Jicheng every day, the number was always kept at an extremely low. You have to know that in the 1920s, when it was so cold in Youzhou, it was possible that half of the people would die overnight.

Now several ladies were sitting around the stove to keep warm. Bu Lianshi looked out the window at the heavy snow that was almost reaching the bottom of the window and said with lingering fear, "Is the severe cold here so terrible?"

"With this kind of heavy snow, I'm afraid it's impossible for people to even go out to find firewood and food, right?"

Madam Hou sighed, "I have been in the North for nearly thirty years, and I have never encountered one as big as this."

"If your majesty had not foreseen it in advance, I'm afraid the people in this city would have died miserably long ago."

Xiao Qiao said, "The North is so terrible, why don't people move south?"

"Although Jianghuai is also very cold in winter, it is nothing compared to the north. Why don't people here go to the Central Plains?"

The other ladies smiled bitterly at each other, and Madam Hou said, "I have never left Youzhou. The farthest place I have been is only Yijing, which is at the junction of Youzhou and Jizhou. Naturally, I don't know what the south is like."

"I have heard since I was a child that the area from the Central Plains to the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers is the most prosperous place in the world. I have always envied it and longed to see the scenery in the south."

"But even I cannot leave easily, let alone ordinary people. Besides, most people are unwilling to leave their hometown unless they cannot survive." "Your Majesty once said that every place in the world has its own difficulties. Just thinking about escaping will not solve the problem."

"And it is precisely because life in the north is more difficult than in the south that His Majesty insisted on setting up the capital here. He once said that if a ruler of a country cannot endure hardships, how can he have the face to ask the people to do the same?"

Cao Xian said, "That's right. Your Majesty said that if the emperor hides in the rear, the people will not be convinced. It is only a matter of time before the border areas and even the country are lost."

Xiao Qiao pouted and said, "But this weather is terrible!"

"And I can't imagine how amazing the people who survived this kind of weather would be!"

"That's fine, but I heard that His Majesty is still using troops at this time of year?"

"No wonder everyone says that the Youzhou soldiers are the strongest in the world. How terrifying must they be to be able to fight in this kind of weather?"

Da Qiao sighed and said, "So, the soldiers guarding the border are the greatest heroes in the world."

"Whether they are motivated by personal or public interests, for their families or for other reasons, these people are the guardians who protect the peace of Jin State."

"The Xianbei are like the Xiongnu before them. They are rooted in the desert and are difficult to completely eliminate. Your Majesty, what you are going to do now is a feat comparable to Wei Huo's. We just need to wait quietly. Maybe we can witness an event that will go down in history."

Xiao Qiao sniffed and muttered, "What green history? My green snot never stops!"

The ladies were so amused that they couldn't help laughing. Although the cold air outside the window continued to seep into the house through the gaps, everyone felt a little warmer.

At this time, Yuan Xi was in the military camp in Jicheng with Yang Xiu, accompanying Hua Tuo and a group of disciples to inspect the barracks for the wounded.

The barracks have been modified so that the firewood used for burning bypasses the flue on the ground, keeping the heat inside the house as much as possible to make the wounded soldiers as comfortable as possible.

However, the conditions of some of the wounded were not optimistic. Many of them suffered frostbite, and some even had their fingers frozen off. These people were archers, and this would undoubtedly have a significant impact on their future lives.

When facing Yuan Xi, these wounded soldiers patted their chests to show that they were healed and could still fight. Yuan Xi sighed and said, "I am deeply moved by your actions."

"Whether you stay in the army or go back to farm, I will ensure that your family has enough food and clothing."

After hearing this, all the soldiers kowtowed to express their gratitude. Yuan Xi did not want to stay any longer, so he led everyone out of the barracks. He looked at the crowded rooms in the barracks, half of which were now used for wounded soldiers, and remained silent.

After he sent Hua Tuo away, Yang Xiu could not help but ask, "Your Majesty, aren't you afraid of violating the harmony of nature by doing this?"

Yuan Xi said, "Of course I am afraid, but I am more afraid that Youzhou will fall into the hands of the Xianbei."

Yang Xiu asked, "Why is Your Majesty so obsessed with Youzhou?"

"When Emperor Guangwu founded the country, he gave up the border fortresses. Wasn't that how it lasted for a hundred years?"

Yuan Xi did not answer directly, but asked: "Dezu, do you think I am a benevolent monarch?"

Yang Xiu said without hesitation: "Your Majesty may be a wise ruler in the future, but he will not be a benevolent ruler."

"Your Majesty is kind and righteous in small matters, but extremely decisive in big matters. When he is good, he is like a heroic ruler, and when he is bad, he is like a tyrant. But neither of them has anything to do with being a benevolent ruler."

"The only person who could possibly become a benevolent ruler is the late King Hannan."

Yuan Xi knew that Yang Xiu was loyal to the Han Dynasty, so he said, "If the King of Hannan had recruited Dezu at that time, I'm afraid Dezu would have worked for him."

Yang Xiu thought about it seriously, but shook his head and said, "No."

"Although King Hannan is a benevolent ruler, he does not have the ability to put an end to the chaos in the world."

"In this world where everyone is going crazy just to survive, only someone like Your Majesty has the ability to put an end to it all."

(End of this chapter)