My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 326: The Lagging Progress of Civilization

In later football matches, the results were extremely unpopular with the fans.

——Dull and flat.

The so-called dull draw is nothing more than that both sides failed to launch too many threatening attacks throughout the game, and even failed to play a sufficiently exciting and intense game;

And the final score was fixed at 0:0, which made people feel like they had eaten a fly and felt that it was not worth it for them to stay up late to watch the game.

This battle - to be more precise, the second half of the two-way battle between Mayi and Hetao, has some of the meaning of the "boring draw" in later football matches.

In the first half of the battle, at the Mayi battlefield, Junchen's main force attacked Mayi fiercely, but Han general Cheng Buzhi ensured that Mayi was not lost;
Although there were no incidents that significantly altered the course of the battle, the fighting was still intense and back-and-forth.

The Hetao battlefield is even worse!

In the first half of the battle, the Han army unilaterally opened up a second battlefield: the Beidi-Hetao battlefield, and quickly took control of the Hetao area with a textbook-level blitzkrieg and surprise attack!

Combining the two battlefields, the Han army openly repaired the plank road in Mayi and held back the main force of the Chanyu court, while secretly attacking Chencang in Hetao. It can be said that they were well-organized and at ease.

But in the second half of the campaign, the situation became somewhat dull.

——First, it was the battlefield of Mayi. When the Northern Front Army was successful and Hetao changed hands, and Shanyu Ting was anxious to return for support, Cheng Buzhi made the courageous decision to abandon Mayi on his own initiative, trying to use the entire Daibei area as bait to force Shanyu Ting's main force to stay.

The results were not satisfactory.

After the Xiongnu Chanyu Junchen obtained Mayi and controlled the gap in the Great Wall of Zhao, he could set foot in the heartland of Dai and the territory of Han at any time. However, he showed a firm will like an ascetic monk, resolutely gave up this opportunity that was within his reach, and chose to lead his troops back to Hetao for support.

When Junchen was about to leave, the Right Wise King Yizhixie, who stayed in Mayi to confront Cheng Buzhi, undoubtedly exposed a major hidden danger that the Xiongnu, as a loose nomadic tribal alliance, was facing at this stage.

——Compared with the Chinese agricultural civilization, whether it is the slavery in the early ancient times, the feudal system in the past hundreds of years, the Qin county system a hundred years ago, or the feudal and county system of the Han Dynasty today;

As long as it is a political system of the Chinese agricultural civilization, it will always have more efficient dispatch capabilities and administrative effectiveness than the loose tribal alliance of the Xiongnu's current nomadic civilization.

Simply put, it is the degree of centralization. The Xiongnu, let alone the Han Dynasty today - even the Xia and Shang dynasties thousands of years ago, which only existed in Chinese mythology, had a central authority and central ruling status that were by no means comparable to that of the Xiongnu Chanyu today.

Let me give you a very straightforward example;
In the historical process of Chinese civilization, up to now, although there have been occasional traitors and rebels in China, the frequency is very low.

Especially in the early days of the dynasty, treason was simply an excuse for abandoning the founding monarch after his death!

But on the grassland, coups and assassinations are eternal themes.

Take the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, Taizu Liu Bang, and the real founding emperor of the Xiongnu, Maodun Chanyu, for example;

Emperor Taizu Liu Bang raised an army to fight against Qin and first entered Xianyang.

From being granted the title of King of Han to regaining control of the Three Qins.

Then came the Chu-Han contention, and he eventually unified the country and ascended the throne, and later pacified the princes of different surnames. He reigned for seven years before dying.

——During this twelve-year period, Liu Bang's only assassination attempt became the "Guan Gao Case" remembered in the history of the Chinese nation.

This assassination attempt on Emperor Taizu Liu Bang, which caused a sensation in the Han Dynasty's political arena, eventually led to the implicate of one of the most powerful vassal kings of the Han Dynasty: Prince Zhang Ao of Zhao. As a result, he lost his title and was demoted to a marquis.

All the participants in the case, including those above the level of Guan Gao, will be executed according to the law!
Sounds serious, right?

Quite sensational, right?

嘿；
Such a sensational assassination case was, in fact, a subjective case of 'attempted assassination'!

The course of events can be roughly summarized as follows: Taizu Liu Bang married his daughter Princess Lu Yuan to the second Zhao Wang Zhang Ao;

After personally leading the army to participate in the Han-Xiongnu Pingcheng Campaign, which led to Liu Bang being trapped in the Siege of Baideng, Liu Bang withdrew his troops from Dai and headed south through the State of Zhao.

Liu Bang was full of confidence and wanted to have a good fight with the Xiongnu Khan Maodun, but he ended up being besieged at Baideng and almost died on the mountain. Naturally, he was very angry.

It just so happened that he was received by Prince Zhang Ao of Zhao. Naturally, Liu Bang didn't think twice and took out his anger on his son-in-law, Prince Zhang Ao of Zhao.

Logically speaking, as the emperor of Han, Liu Bang was somewhat excessive in beating and scolding a vassal, especially a vassal of a different surname who was a founding hero.
But considering that Zhang Ao at that time was not only the King of Zhao of the Han Dynasty, but also the husband of Liu Le, the Lord of Lu, and the son-in-law of Liu Bang, it was actually no big deal to be scolded by his father-in-law who was in a bad mood.

——A son-in-law is half a son!
Even if I am not your biological father, I am still half your father;
I'm in a bad mood, what's wrong with giving you a slap?
Have you been wronged?

Zhang Ao obviously had a clear understanding of this, so he did not take his father-in-law Liu Bang's venting seriously;

Just like serving an old father, he carefully served Liu Bang until Liu Bang set out again and left Zhao capital Handan.

But here's the problem.

——Zhang Ao did not take Liu Bang's "humiliation" seriously, but Guan Gao, the prime minister of Zhao State, inexplicably developed empathy for "the lord's humiliation and the minister's death"!

Therefore, in order to repay his own king's kindness and also to "avenge" Zhang Ao, Guan Gao gritted his teeth and stomped his feet and made a big decision: assassinate Liu Bang!

Although it was called an assassination, the formulation and implementation of the entire plan were as sloppy as child's play.

Upon learning that Liu Bang did not leave Zhao directly after leaving Handan, but would stay for a while to purge the rebels of Han Wangxin who had defected to the Xiongnu, Guan Gao immediately came up with a plan;
First, as the prime minister of Zhao State, he invited Liu Bang, who was passing through Bairen County, to live in the county hall.

then……

Ahem;

Then, Guan Gao hid the assassins he had summoned in the walls of the county office.

It's like you hide an assassin in the closet of your room and then invite the target to this room.

Although Liu Bang didn't know Guan Gao's plan, he accidentally said: Bairen County?

Bairen, aren’t you being forced by others?
I just fought a cowardly battle on Mount Baideng, why should I go to such a cowardly place where I am forced to do what I want?

As a result, Guan Gao's assassination attempt failed, and he was soon discovered by his enemy Gao...

How to say~
It's just a joke.

Guan Gao, the prime minister of Zhao State, was like an angry young man filled with righteous indignation. He hated Liu Bang for no apparent reason and wanted to assassinate the emperor.

Then he arranged an assassination in a trifling manner, but Liu Bang managed to escape it with a trifling excuse.

In the end, Guan Gao was also reported as a joke and arrested...

At first, when Junchen heard about this "big case" that happened in the Han territory, his worldview almost collapsed. It was not because this big case was "child's play" inside and out;
But such a thing can actually be called a "big case" by the Han people!
This Han Chinese is so ignorant and unworldly, isn't he?
You should know that in the court of the Xiongnu Chanyu, there would be several assassinations a year where the killer successfully entered the Chanyu's tent and the weapon successfully approached the Chanyu within three steps!

As for those who were suppressed as soon as they started making trouble, or those who surrounded the king's tent but failed to set foot inside, there is no telling how many there were!

Especially during the reign of Maodun Chanyu, the Xiongnu tribe had just become powerful and did not yet have the qualities to be a grassland overlord. There were countless people who wanted to replace Maodun Chanyu.

Under such high frequency and high intensity of assassinations, failed assassinations like the Guan Gao case could not even make a splash in the court of the Xiongnu Khan.

Assuming that Guan Gao was a Xiongnu, he failed in his attempt to assassinate Chanyu Maodun and was reported to the Chanyu's court by his enemies;

Maodun Chanyu would most likely just laugh it off and say to the informer: You are using something without any evidence to accuse your enemy. Do you think that the Chanyu of the Great Xiongnu is a fool who cannot tell right from wrong?
It’s not because Maodun is really stupid, or can’t tell right from wrong;

But on the grassland, there is no such thing as the crime of "attempted".

rebellion?

Raising an army is called treason!
coup?

It’s called a coup only when you take action!
As for conspiracy, collusion and the like - unless there is an extremely complete chain of evidence consisting of witnesses and material evidence, otherwise, it will all be classified as a false accusation!

In the past, nomadic people on the grasslands have always been proud of this.

Because in the eyes of the grassland people, this means that compared with the sensitivity, timidity and cautiousness of the Han people, the way the nomadic people handle similar incidents is more like that of a strong person.

——If you want to assassinate me, then come at me!

——If you really kill him, then you deserve to be the Chanyu!

——If I can’t even deal with a vegetable picker like you, I don’t have the face to be the Great Khan of the Huns!
But after this battle, especially the progress of the Mayi battlefield after the Right Wise King Yizhixie took over, the nomadic people of the grassland finally realized that all this was not because the Han people were more cowardly and sensitive, and the nomadic people were more brave and powerful;
It is because the Han people attach great importance to the central authority and imperial majesty. They adhere to the principle of rather killing by mistake than letting go of any unstable factors that may threaten the foundation of their rule, and are determined to nip hidden dangers in the bud!
Therefore, it is not that the Han people did not have ‘brave men’ who challenged the imperial authority;
But these brave men were strangled in the cradle as soon as they began to show signs of ambition!

As for the Guan Gao case, it was not that the Han people were making a mountain out of a molehill. The case of a mere attempted assassination of Guan Gao had reached the level that needed to be recorded in the annals of history.
But in the eyes of the Han people, it was extremely shocking that a traitor like Guan Gao could appear under such strict defenses!
On the other hand, the situation of the Huns was completely the opposite.

It is no exaggeration to say that if a person like Yizhixie were placed in any Chinese dynasty in the Central Plains, he would not be able to retain his aristocratic status, let alone political influence and military power.

Even if you pretend to be crazy and stupid, there is a high probability that you cannot deceive the "sinister and cunning" Han emperor!

But in the Xiongnu, Yizhixie was the Right Wise King.

He is the second heir to the Chanyu's throne, who is tacitly in control of the Mu'nan region, and whose status is second only to Chanyu Junchen and Zuo Xian Wang Yushan. He holds real power and even Junchen has to be wary of him.

——Yizhixie is still pretty good!
At least Yizhixie, like his "brother" Junchen and his nephew Yushan, was from the same royal family of the Xiongnu: the Luandi clan;
Fighting and arguing were nothing more than a struggle for power and profit within the Luanti clan.

But on the grasslands today, there are still many "outsiders" like Yizhixie who are disloyal to the Chanyu court, have ulterior motives, and are ready to launch an attack at any time.

Maybe it was the Qiang people;
Perhaps it was the Yuezhi people.

It may be the Qie Lin Department;

It may be the Jinshan tribe.

It could be the four major clans: Huyan clan, Lan clan, etc.;

It could even be the three horses that the Chanyu court relied on: the Zhelan, Baiyang, and Loufan tribes.

——The main theme on the grassland has never been peace, but eternal turmoil!
One after another, the overlords grew like water grass after spring rain, but were eaten by cattle and sheep.

No one knows whether the Wusun people will dominate the grassland tomorrow or the Yuezhi people will be king.

The remnants of the Donghu who were exiled to the Far East: Wuheng and Xianbei, may also be a powerful force that cannot be ignored in the grassland in the future!

And now, these ambitious people who may replace the Xiongnu and become the new overlords of the grassland at any time are hiding within the loose tribal alliance of the nomadic civilization called "Xiongnu".

They were attached to the court of the Xiongnu Chanyu;

They submitted to the court of the Xiongnu Chanyu;

They pledged allegiance to the Chanyu court;

They fought for the Chanyu court.

But at the same time, they are always waiting for that day.

Waiting for the day when Chanyu Ting becomes weak, old, and unable to suppress the grassland.

Just like their ancestors who submitted to the Donghu royal court a hundred years ago;

Or maybe they were their fathers and brothers who had submitted to the Yuezhi king’s tent decades ago…

In general: This battle clearly revealed the biggest hidden dangers in the internal structure of the Xiongnu, a nomadic regime that was called an "empire" but was actually a tribal alliance.

Whether it was the battlefield of Mayi, the Right Wise King Yizhixie worked but did not put in any effort;
On the Hetao battlefield, various tribes vied to surrender to the Han Army's Northern Front Army, and presented this bloody fact to the Xiongnu Chanyu.

——Under the sound system of the Han people, the Xiongnu, whether it was the core of the regime: the Chanyu Court, or the double-headed eagle policy and the four successors and eight pillars that they relied on to suppress the grasslands, were all as immature and green as toys for infants.

This time, it was just a Right Wise King who pretended to obey but actually disobeyed, and a few Hetao tribes who turned against the enemy at the last minute.
If this problem is not solved, then in the future, I am afraid it will be Loufan, Baiyang and other three horses, or even the Shanyu Court headquarters...

Of course, these are all problems that the Huns need to worry about.

For the Han Dynasty, the Mayi-Hetao Campaign has basically been declared over.

——On the Mayi battlefield, although the Huns temporarily occupied Mayi, they would definitely retreat back to the grassland before November at the latest.

On the Hetao battlefield, the Han Dynasty has officially issued a decree to establish Shuofang County.

In response to this, the main force of the Shanyu court that came back to support Hetao could only be furious at Gaoque, which was across the river from Hetao, but they could do nothing.

The war has not officially ended yet, but there will definitely be no changes in the future!
As a result, what the court in Chang'an faced was preparations for post-war affairs.

What? Pensions for the disabled and fallen soldiers?
Rewards for meritorious soldiers and the like.

Especially the Hetao battlefield - an achievement of expanding territory, which made the entire Chang'an court, from top to bottom, feel excited!
It's a pity that the person who can really eat this piece of meat is definitely not in Chang'an at this moment...

(End of this chapter)