Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 101 Moral Struggle
  Huan Xi didn't know that Deng Qiang was exerting his subjective initiative and planning to let him be an advantageous father to Zhang Yu.

But for Huan Xi, the most important thing right now is the war with Fu Xiong.

On the third day of February in the seventh year of Yonghe (AD 351), the ice and snow had already melted, which seemed to indicate that the crisis of the Tiefu Xiongnu was about to be lifted.

In the eager anticipation of the Huns, the Jin army finally arrived at the foot of Langshan Mountain and successfully joined forces.

"Brother, this is Duke Huan, the general who conquered the east.

"Gong Huan, this is the leader of our Tiefu Xiongnu, King Zuo Xian."

Liu Kuantou introduced the works of Huan Xi and Liu Wuhuan.

The leader of the Xiongnu, Tiefu, was a famous king of the southern Xiongnu. After Liu Wuhuan succeeded to the throne, he sent people to pay tribute to Hou Zhao, the northern overlord at that time. Shi Hu named him General Pingbei and King Zuoxian.

The Southern Xiongnu had been attached to the Central Plains Dynasty since the Han Dynasty. In fact, the aristocracy was deeply Sinicized. There was no obstacle to Huanxi's communication with Liu Wuhuan and Liu Yan. After all, both sides spoke Luoyang Yayan.

In the Han Dynasty, Luoyang Yayan was adopted as the national language, and it was inherited from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Nowadays, it has only been a few decades since Yiguan moved south. Jinling Yayan, which is a combination of Luoyang Yayan and Jiangdong Wu dialect, has not yet become popular. Therefore, most of the northern gentry who moved to the south of the Yangtze River still speak He spoke a Luoyang elegant language, including the Long Kanghuan family.

Liu Wuhuan was eager to see the Jin army. Seeing that Huan Xi was finally here, he seemed very excited:
  "Huan Gong worked tirelessly and came thousands of miles to help. Xiao Wang will remember this friendship in his heart."

Although Liu Wuhuan had previously complained about Huan Xi's request for the Xitao Plain, as Liu Kuantou said when he persuaded him, he was very respectful to his father-in-law, Tuoba Shiyiqian, and he always paid tribute and did not dare to neglect. , but at the critical moment, where is Dai Guo?

On the contrary, Huan Xi, who had just communicated with him as an envoy, came all the way to lead his army. He was afraid of comparison in everything. Even if Fu Xiong retreated, the rift in the relationship between Liu Wuhuan and Tuoba Shiyiqian, the father-in-law and his son-in-law, would be difficult to mend.

Huan Xi looked at these Xiongnu who were at the end of their rope and could roughly understand Liu Wuhuan's enthusiasm towards him. He nodded and said:
  "There is no need for King Zuo Xian to say this. You and I are good neighbors and friendly. How can Huan just sit back and watch our friendly country being bullied?"

As he spoke, Huan Xi asked the two questions he was most concerned about:
  "May I ask, Your Majesty, how many troops and horses does the Xiongnu still have? How many troops and horses does Fu Xiong still have?"

Liu Wuhuan looked embarrassed and hesitantly said:
  "There are still 20,000 infantry and cavalry in the Langshan camp. However, they have suffered successive defeats and the soldiers cannot be driven. As for the Di people, there are not many casualties."

Huan Xi was startled when he heard this and couldn't help but shake his head secretly in his heart.

After all, the Tiefu Xiongnu was also the product of the combination of two generations of steppe overlords, the Xiongnu and Xianbei. Why are their combat capabilities so low? Could it be that Liu Wuhuan’s father, Liu Hu, was defeated repeatedly in foreign wars and broke the backbone of the Tiefu Xiongnu. .

After Huan Xi thought about it, he could understand. Since Liu Wuhuan succeeded to the throne, he first sued for peace with Dai and then paid tribute to Zhao, which overall maintained a peaceful situation in the region. The army lacked experience.

As for Fu's 30,000 infantry and cavalry, all of whom followed Fu Hong and fought out of the blood sea of ​​corpse mountains, and with Fu Xiong, who was proficient in military strategy and strategy, as their chief general, how could the Tiefu Xiongnu be their opponent.

Seeing Huan Xi's serious expression, Liu Wuhuan felt really embarrassed and his face felt hot.

Fortunately, Huan Xi relaxed his brows and said with relief:
  "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Now that Huan has come to Langshan, I will repel the powerful enemy for you. I also ask Your Majesty to gather the archers and cavalry in the army for me, choose one of my confidants to lead them, and obey my orders."

You can't count on these Huns in close combat. It's okay to fire a few arrows from a distance.

Liu Wuhuan quickly agreed. Although Huan Xi was a guest, considering Tiefu Xiongnu's previous record, it was reasonable for him to ask for command.

Knowing that the opportunity was rare, Liu Yantou quickly volunteered and said:

"Your Majesty, when marching and fighting, it is most taboo to give different orders. I have served as my envoy several times. I believe that I will be able to cooperate with Duke Huan and defeat the powerful enemy together. I also ask your permission to allow me to command the archers and cavalry and serve under Duke Huan."

Liu Wuhuan was silent. He actually knew that what Liu Kuantou said was not unreasonable, but as a political figure, he had to consider whether Liu Kuantou's prestige in the tribe would be increased if he won.

However, the Xiongnu chieftains who followed Liu Wuhuan to greet Huan Xi did not think so much. They were now only thinking about repelling the Di people and returning to the Qiantao and Houtao grasslands to graze their cattle and sheep with peace of mind.

Liu Wuhuan's previous successive failures had made it difficult for them to trust the military ability of King Zuoxian, and they all persuaded them:
  "Your Majesty, what Yan Huotou said is reasonable, just agree to him."

"The most important thing now is to repel the Di people, otherwise the animals will be restless and our Tiefu tribe will still suffer disaster."

Liu Wuhuan saw everyone rushing to persuade him, and he knew that if he insisted on going his own way, there would be no guarantee that there would be no trouble.

He looked at Huan Xi and asked:

"What do you think, Duke Huan?"

Huan Xi didn't need to have much ability in commanding the Huns' archers and cavalry, they just needed to be obedient, and Liu Kuantou was obviously the most suitable candidate.

"Lan Huotou and the king are brothers. As the saying goes, the closest thing is to one's parents, and the other thing is the love of brotherhood. The eldest prince is young, and when his life is in danger, who else can take on this important responsibility besides Lan Hutou."

When the Xiongnu leaders heard this, they all nodded in agreement, but they didn't know how wary Huan Xi was about his own brothers.

As for why Liu Wuhuan was not allowed to lead the cavalry in person, it was still related to the issue of commanding many people. Huan Xi had to let Liu Wuhuan choose his confidant to lead because the status of that confidant was not equal to his. When he really went to the battlefield, he had to obey orders. he.

Seeing everyone saying this, Liu Wuhuan had no choice but to nod in agreement, but it was conceivable that he would still place cronies in the army to ensure control of this archer and cavalry unit. Huan Xi went down to the stronghold not far from the Xiongnu camp, forming a cornering force. Liu Wuhuan also mobilized the remaining 10,000 archers and cavalry in the army, and put them under the command of Liu Kuantou. They set up camp between the two strongholds, with three Daying finished product glyph distribution.

As soon as he established a foothold at the foot of Langshan Mountain, Fu Xiong sent an envoy from Woye County (now northeast of Dengkou County, Inner Mongolia) to pay homage to the camp.

Woye County is located in the southeast of Langshan Mountain, inside the corner of the Yellow River, across the river from the three camps of the Jin Army and the Xiongnu. Fu Xiong is now stationed here. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Woye County was one of the six towns in Woye Town. location.

The person who came to visit the camp was not a well-known person. At least Huan Xi had never heard of his name. The person who came to visit claimed that his surname was Wang, his name was Wang Yuan, and he was from Jinyang.

Huan Xi looked at his dress and asked:
  "You are from the Wang family in Taiyuan?"

Wang Yuan replied:

"It's just as Duke Huan said."

Huan Xi said in a deep voice:
  "Since you are a Han scholar, why should you serve as a lobbyist for Di Hu?"

Wang Yuan said calmly:
  "What Duke Huan said is wrong. My lord has been canonized by the Jin Dynasty. Why does Duke Huan mention the difference between Hu and Han again? Could it be that there are no Hu people under Duke Huan's command?"

"Now that my lord has sent troops to retake Hetao, Duke Huan and my lord are both ministers of the Jin Dynasty, so they should work together. Why should we help the Xiongnu?"

Huan Xi was not angry, he put his palms together and smiled:
  "No wonder Fu Xiong used you as his envoy. You are really a sharp-tongued person. Go back and tell Fu Xiong that the Tiefu Xiongnu has surrendered to the imperial court and the Hetao is owned by the Jin Dynasty. There is no need for their brothers to take the trouble to recover it."

After Huan Xi reunited with Liu Wuhuan, he had already instructed him to write a descent list and send it to Jiangdong.

It was to prevent the Fu family from pursuing the righteous cause of regaining the Hetao, in order to suppress themselves.

After all, no matter how ambitious Fu Jian was, he still held the title of Jin minister for the time being, and Hetao was the hometown of the old Han Dynasty, but it was occupied by the Tiefu Xiongnu.

Fu's troops sent troops to Hetao, naturally there is an explanation.

If Huan Xi wanted to keep up with the public opinion, Liu Wuhuan had to write the letter of surrender.

Of course, the nature of this surrender was no different from that of Fu Hong and Zhang Yu who had previously surrendered to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. They were just asking for the status of a Jin minister, and the court could not instruct them at all.

Now that the Tiefu Xiongnu have returned to the Jin Dynasty, it is the Fu family who are both Jin ministers and are attacking each other, which is morally untenable.

Wang Yuan was speechless. Before he came, he had boasted in front of Fu Xiong that Haikou must be known for its righteousness. Even if Huan Xi could not hide his face in shame and walk away, he would still be able to shake his heart.

Unexpectedly, Huan Xi did not follow Wang Yuan's script. He just asked Liu Wuhuan to fill in a surrender letter and regained the moral high ground.

Huan Xi sneered in his heart and shouted:

"Now that Liu Wuhuan is a minister of the Jin Dynasty, and the Fu family is attacking, I am sending troops to rescue. How could it be wrong for me to send troops to rescue him? It is Fu Jian who is on the other hand. Today, we are at war with each other. What is the intention of this!"

Wang Yuan no longer looked as eloquent as before. Facing the furious Huan Xi, he hesitated and was speechless.

Huan Xi was too lazy to pay attention to him at this time and said:
  "The two armies are fighting. If you don't kill the envoy, I will let you go back today. Remember to tell Fu Xiong that the Fu family first rebelled against Jie Zhao, and now they want to rebel against me, the Jin Dynasty!"

After that, he ordered people to drive Wang Yuan out of the camp.

Wang Yuan crossed the river and returned to Woye County in embarrassment. Seeing his shameful appearance, Fu Xiong knew that Wang Yuan must have disgraced his mission.

As for the accusations Huan Xi heard from Wang Yuan, Fu Xiong didn't care much.

He knew that his brother Fu Jian had the idea of ​​becoming emperor, and had even made intensive preparations in private, so he didn't care whether he was accused of being a traitor.

However, a piece of news made Fu Xiong frown. Naturally, Huan Xi recruited the Xiongnu archers and cavalry to serve under his command.

Fu Xiong deeply felt that this war could not be delayed. Now the Di army's morale was strong due to several victories, but as time went by, it would always decline.

And if Huan Xi is allowed more time to subdue the Xiongnu archers, he will definitely be more powerful, and this battle will be more difficult.

But how could Huan Xi not understand the truth that Fu Xiong understood.

Huan Xi also thought about stalling for time, but the Xiongnu nobles all hoped to end the war as soon as possible. Brothers Liu Wuhuan and Liu Kuantou were under tremendous pressure from the chiefs of various ministries.

Due to various reasons, it was impossible for Huan Xi and Fu Xiong to have a stalemate, and both sides looked forward to a quick decision.

　The next chapter is before twelve o'clock at night, four thousand words.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)