Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 749: Storm in the North
The ninth year of Jianxing, 233 AD, spring.

Yanmen and Loufan, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the cold air is gradually dissipating.

On the vast plain, hundreds of Han cavalrymen were stationed on a hill, with the "Wei" flag fluttering in the wind.

Under the flag, Wei Yan sat upright on a Hu chair, pointing at the map with his horsewhip, comparing it with the surrounding terrain, and talking with his left and right from time to time.

At the same time, a cavalry unit came from the direction of Leitou Mountain, with the leading flag being "Tian".

"Shut up!"

Tian Yu dismounted, drew his sword, and came quickly, asking, "Commander-in-chief, what is the military situation?"

Wei Yan frowned and said, "The barbarians have already fled on horseback, and it is difficult to find their tracks."

As he spoke, Wei Yan asked his attendants to put away the maps and said, "Although the Xianbei have negotiated peace with our country, there are often small groups of Hu cavalry raiding our borders. Our troops have been chasing them, but they have already fled far away. This is really a headache."

Tian Yu looked at the vast wilderness and said helplessly: "The barbarians are constantly moving around, and it is difficult for our army to pursue them. If we take the initiative to use our troops, we may be criticized. For now, we should gather the people to guard the border, station troops in the north of Xing, and confront the barbarians."

Wei Yan felt a little aggrieved and didn't say much.

After Lu Xun conquered Bingzhou, Wei Yan was first appointed as the governor of Bingzhou with the rank of general, responsible for dealing with the remnant soldiers and rebels under his jurisdiction. After the Southern Han adjusted its military system, Wei Yan led the troops as the governor of Bingzhou and gave up the post of governor of Bingzhou.

During his time in Bingzhou, Wei Yan fought many battles with the Xianbei, but judging from the records, Wei Yan rarely gained an advantage. Because the royal court was in the Shuo Shang counties, the Hu people frequently plundered Bingzhou, so Wei Yan bore the greatest pressure on border defense.

And because the Hu people migrated without a trace, when Wei Yan received the news and pursued them, the Xianbei people had already disappeared. The feeling of having no power to use, like punching cotton, made Wei Yan very frustrated.

While the two were discussing, another small group of cavalry came galloping.

The waiter held the reins and reported, "Commander-in-chief, the imperial envoy has come to see us, and the seal has been verified to be correct."

The envoy looked at the surrounding grasslands, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your servant greets the governor of Bingzhou!"

Wei Yan listened to the Jingzhou accent and the unfamiliar face and asked with a smile: "Is the angel from Nanyang?"

"Exactly!"

The envoy said modestly, "I am from Pingshi, Nanyang, not far from Yiyang, the hometown of the governor. Normally, I am responsible for delivering orders to the south. Now there is something wrong with the border counties, and we are short of manpower, so I am temporarily sent as an envoy to Bingzhou."

Wei Yan smiled and said, "Border counties are not like Jingzhou, let alone Chang'an. The people there are a mixture of Hu and Han, and the people are extremely fierce. The Xianbei royal court is only three or four hundred miles away. If we launch a surprise attack in one day, we can kill them all the way to Yanmen."

The messenger looked around timidly, fearing that the Hu cavalry would suddenly appear.

Seeing this, Wei Yan felt a little contempt in his heart, and changed his attitude, saying: "I have chased the Hu cavalry here, and now there are no foreign invaders within 20 miles around."

The messenger seemed to realize his own cowardice, smiled awkwardly, and said, "With the governor here, I have nothing to fear."

Wei Yan did not think too much about it and asked, "The court temporarily transferred you to Bingzhou. Do you want to take any action in the border counties?"

"The governor is wise!"

The envoy cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty and the Prime Minister are dissatisfied with the repeated invasions of the Xianbei, and in order to find a way to counterattack, they have contacted the generals of the border counties."

"What orders does the court have?" Wei Yan asked.

The messenger took out a piece of cloth from his bosom and presented it to the emperor, saying, "Here is the letter from the Prime Minister. The governor can read it at his own convenience."

Wei Yan untied the ties, spread out the cloth, and read it carefully. In the letter, Zhuge Liang elaborated on the strategy of attacking the Xianbei in the north. In order to implement the strategy, he ordered Xie Guini to write a letter to persuade Budugen to surrender, so as to alienate the relationship between Kebineng and Budugen, and Wei Yan needed to cooperate with the strategy.

Not only that, Zhuge Liang pointed out that Bingzhou was adjacent to the Xianbei royal court, so Wei Yan and Tian Yu deployed defenses on the border so that they could use troops against Ke Bi in the future.

"Governor, what military orders does the court have?" Tian Yu asked.

Wei Yan handed the letter to Tian Yu, and then asked the messenger, "Does the Prime Minister have any other instructions?"

The messenger hesitated for a moment and said, "No other instructions!"

As he spoke, the envoy acted smart and said with a smile, "Your Majesty likes to ride horses and hunt. If the governor can offer you a good horse, your Majesty will be very happy."

Wei Yan glanced at his warhorse with a look of disgust, and said, "A thousand-mile horse is only used on the battlefield. Your Majesty does not need a thousand-mile horse for ordinary hunting."

Waving his hand, Wei Yan told his attendants, "The messenger is tired, you can go back and rest first."

Seeing Wei Yan's sudden change of attitude, the envoy was speechless. He had good intentions, but was treated like this by Wei Yan. He finally understood why Wei Yan was hated.

After the messenger left, Tian Yu smiled bitterly and said, "The governor is a frontier general, far away from the capital, how can he easily offend the angel."

Wei Yan disagreed and said, "Why should we care about a runner?"

Then, Wei Yan changed the subject and asked, "I wonder what Guo Rang thinks of the Prime Minister's letter?"

Tian Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "According to the prime minister's letter, the court intends to use force against the Xianbei in the near future. Our Bingzhou officers should cooperate with the court and report the details of the border counties." "How to cooperate?"

Tian Yu thought for a moment and said, "The Prime Minister ordered Xie Guini to write a letter to persuade Budugen to surrender, in order to alienate the Xianbei people. It would be better for our army to attack the various Xianbei tribes far away, but not Budugen. And in order to make Kebineng suspicious, we can deliberately write a letter and leave it in another tribe."

"it is good!"

Wei Yan was delighted when he heard this and said with a smile: "Kebineng has shown his magnanimity by always treating Budugen with courtesy. But Budugen is the descendant of Tan Shihuai, so how could he surrender so easily? Moreover, Kebineng has a grudge against Budugen for killing his brother and seizing the throne. Now that he sees Budugen has close contacts with our dynasty, he will surely be suspicious."

"As for the border defense!"

Wei Yan thought about it for a while and said, "The barbarians are always on the move, so it is difficult for our army to pursue them. If we want to attack the tribes on the border, the mountains are dangerous and the roads are long, so it is difficult to do it secretly. Now that the court is thinking of using troops, our army should occupy Yanmen and Loufan, station in the north of Xing, pacify the barbarians outside, and cultivate the fields inside."

"When the army is strong and the imperial court issues an order to attack, you and I will join the army to fight and serve as the vanguard and guide, and then we can achieve great success."

Tian Yu nodded and said, "Since the court has the intention to raid the royal court, our army will secretly explore the route and then report to the capital."

"good!"

In order to create opportunities to use military force, the Southern Han Dynasty not only asked Wei Yan and Tian Yu to plan the affairs of the border counties, but also asked Taishi Heng to recruit the tribes outside the Great Wall of Youzhou, such as the Wuhuan outside the Great Wall, and the three Xianbei tribes of Murong, Duan, and Yuwen.

Next, Xieguini sent a letter to Budugen, saying that if Budugen could submit to the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty would make Budugen the Chanyu, based on the Tanshihuai bloodline. However, Budugen hesitated and did not express his intention to surrender, considering that the Han Dynasty already had the Southern Xiongnu.

In order to arouse suspicion among the two men, Tian Yu commanded his cavalry to march out of Xingbei and attack all the Xianbei tribes, except Budugen.

In order to intensify the conflict, Wei Yan deliberately let other tribes get the letter, and in the letter he called Budugen the Chanyu, and falsely promised that if Budugen surrendered, he would send troops to support him.

Chengle, the royal court of the Xianbei.

In the big tent, Ke Bineng put down the letter, his expression gloomy.

"Chanyu, Budugen is colluding with the enemy and planning to rebel. We should capture and kill him now." Yu Zhugan suggested.

Ke Bineng hesitated for a moment and said, "The Han people are always cunning. This letter may be a letter of dissension. We must not fall into their trap."

Yu Zhugan was a little anxious and said, "Budugen is not from my tribe. He is the descendant of Tan Shihuai. He had a grudge against the Chanyu for killing his brother. In the early years, he fought with the Chanyu for hegemony and surrendered to Cao Wei. Later, he rebelled for profit. Now the Han people have promised to confer the title of Chanyu, how can he not be tempted?"

Yu Zhuqian lowered his voice and said, "Chanyu, the Han cavalry went out of the border to plunder various tribes, but they did not plunder Budugen. You must be suspicious!"

Hearing this, Ke Bineng's expression changed slightly and he fell into deep thought.

After a long time, Ke Bineng asked, "What are the movements of the Han people?"

"Your Highness, the Han people in Shangjun have rebuilt the Great Wall on the frontier, and the Han people in Yanmen have gathered to defend the border," said the attendant.

Ke Bineng looked at his son Tun Weize and asked, "Budugen has shown signs of colluding with the Han people. What do you think?"

"Father!"

Tun Wei thought for a moment and said, "We are going to send troops to the north to attack Mobei, and our royal court is adjacent to Bingzhou. If someone who disobeys us rebels and leads the Han army out of the border, or secretly seizes the throne, the situation will be unpredictable. Budugen has more than 10,000 people under his command, so we must be on guard."

Kebi Neng was in a somewhat complicated situation, because the Southern Han Dynasty had unified the Central Plains, but he had not yet unified the desert. In order to resolve the problem of the northern desert, he had to send troops on a long expedition. Once he sent troops on a long expedition, the Han army could easily raid the royal court, which gave Kebi Neng a headache.

As his son Tun Weize said, if Budugen had the intention of secretly rebelling, he might take advantage of the royal court's lack of military strength to lead the Han army into the Great Wall and seize his position as Chanyu.

Ke Bineng narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a ruthless look, and said: "Budugen has changed his mind many times, often secretly annexing small tribes, which is a worry for the internal affairs. Now that we want to conquer Mobei, we cannot keep this man."

Then Kebineng told Tunwei Ze, "Budugen is as cunning as a fox, so I cannot show up. Now you can invite Budugen to a banquet, kill him at the banquet, and then devour his people."

"promise!"

Kebi learned from Tan Shihuai's mistakes and spared no effort in training his son Tun Weize, who would inherit the throne after his death.

Tun Weize did not disappoint Ke Bineng. Although he may not be as capable as his father, he is a qualified second-generation leader because of his forthright personality and his understanding of politics and people's hearts. Now, letting Tun Weize deal with Bu Dugen is considered to be training Tun Weize.

Under Kebinen's instructions, Tunwei pretended to invite Budugen to a banquet on the pretext of discussing the expedition to Mobei. Budugen had some concerns because of his correspondence with Xieguini. But after some hesitation, he still led his troops to the banquet.

On the way, Budugen learned that he was the only one attending the banquet, and he immediately became suspicious. He first sent his people to the Tunweize tribe to find out the details.

When Tun Wei saw that Budugen had not arrived yet, he thought that Budugen had noticed something was wrong, so he detained his followers and led his troops to attack Budugen.

When Budugen learned that Tunwei had mobilized his troops, he was horrified and fled back to his headquarters. However, Tunwei's attack was too fast and Budugen was unable to gather troops to resist.

That night, Tun Wei defeated Budugen severely, captured more than 10,000 households of his tribe, and countless cattle and horses.

Budugen led a thousand cavalrymen to flee south to Yanmen, seeking refuge from Tian Yu. Tian Yu sent troops to meet him, welcomed him into Yanmen, and reported to the court.

(End of this chapter)