In the Hetao region, east of Mount Helan and south of the Yellow River, on the vast alluvial plains, the camps were like pearls, flocks of cattle and sheep, and the neighing of war horses. Fuping County was still occupied by the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu had never been a hospitable people, but on this day, they had guests.
The Xiongnu lived as nomads. Cattle, sheep, warhorses, and bows were all they had. Relying on their strong bows and strong horses, they had been harassing and plundering the Chinese people who relied on agriculture for hundreds of years.
The Xiongnu was never a country where the royal power was concentrated like the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period. Instead, it was an organization similar to the tribal alliance.
Li Mu, the general of Zhao, defeated the Hu army at Yanmen, killing more than 100,000 of their troops. From then on, the vitality of the Xiongnu and Donghu was greatly damaged, and the Xiongnu did not dare to go south to herd horses for more than ten years.
Later, Wang Jian, the general of Qin, plotted to sow discord. The king of Zhao was framed and killed Li Mu unjustly. Li Mu died and Zhao was destroyed. The Xiongnu seized the opportunity when Qin destroyed the six countries and regained some territory in the south over the years. However, for a nomadic tribe like the Xiongnu, the size of the land was not the most important. The strength of a Xiongnu tribe was measured by the number of people and horses under it.
During the process of the Xiongnu's southward march. The leader of the Xiongnu tribe, Touman, stood out from the rest of the tribes. Over the years, he gradually annexed the Xiongnu tribes and gathered their cattle, sheep, and people, so that the warriors of the Xiongnu tribes gathered under his banner.
And he was called Chanyu by the Xiongnu tribe, Touman Chanyu. From the start, the Xiongnu was no longer a loose tribal alliance like before, but a unified slave country.
However, a unified Xiongnu was still a weak Xiongnu. Right now, it had the powerful Donghu to its east and the powerful Dayue clan to its west. There were many small tribes in the north. To the south was the mighty Great Qin.
In the main tent of Tou Man, Chief Tou Man, who was in his prime, was discussing the matters of the tribe. He had just settled a civil strife and was currently troubled by the loss of his cattle, sheep, and horses.
"Our Xiongnu warriors didn't suffer many losses in this battle, but the weapons, tents, and horses that were destroyed were in the thousands. The dead cows and sheep had already rotted away because there was not enough salt to preserve them. We don't have enough food to survive this crisis.”
Chief Touman's meaning was very clear. They were going back to their old profession.
An old man walked out from Touman's subordinates. He was an old shaman of the Xiongnu and had a respected status. " Chanyu," the old shaman said worriedly," we've just experienced a great battle. Isn't it too early to start a war with the forces in the east, west, and south?" Although there were many tribes in the north, most of them were huddled in the snow and ice. If we forcefully march north, I'm afraid the gains will not make up for the losses.”
Touman also understood the current predicament. The Xiongnu was originally a hungry wolf, but now this wolf could not find a place to bite. The forces around him were too powerful. The only place that was not strong was the north, but there was not much profit.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside the tent.
Head Man was originally thinking hard about countermeasures when he heard the noise outside the tent and shouted,"What happened? Why is it so noisy?"
A subordinate walked in from outside the tent." Reporting to Chanyu, a caravan of southern barbarians has arrived in the tribe and brought a lot of goods. Including rouge, jewelry, fur, and horses, the Consort took the ladies to choose.”
"Horses?" Chief Touman was puzzled." Since when are the southern barbarians selling horses to us? Let's go out and take a look."
Touman led his men out of the tent. On the open grassland not far from the main tent, there were two carriages parked. A businessman was selling all kinds of exquisite jewelry to his women with four or five men.
However, this wasn't what attracted Touman's attention. What really surprised him was that there was a strong horse neighing between the two carriages.
As the Xiongnu Chanyu, Touman was naturally someone who knew horses. He was immediately attracted by this horse.
Touman walked closer to take a look, and his wives and concubines all made way for him. Touman's eyes shone with a bright light. His rough hands stroked the horse's soft hair as if he was cherishing a woman's white body. He said lovingly,"Good horse, good horse!"
However, he immediately felt that something was wrong. He said to the merchant beside him with a flattering smile,"This horse is different from the horses of the grasslands, and it shouldn't be a horse produced in the southern barbarians. Where did you get it?"
The merchant flattered him and said,"Chanyu's knowledge is indeed extraordinary. This horse is from Wuche City."”
"Five Carriage City? Although I don't know much about you southern barbarians, when did this Five Carriage City appear?”
"Haha!" The merchant smiled and said,""Five Carriage City is a city built by Ying Ziyi, the fourteenth son of the Great Qin Empire, who led 3,000 soldiers and 20,000 immigrants to Longxi. After he built the city, he reached a trade agreement with the Da Yue Clan in the west. This horse was brought back from the Western Regions by his caravan. Later, it fell into the hands of a villain."
"How is the scale of trading?"
"The carriages and horses are like dragons. Every month, more than ten merchant groups pass through Five Carriage City to head to the Western Regions.”
"In that case, this Ying Ziyi is also an extraordinary person. How old is he this year?”
"Seven years old!"
"Ah?" Touman thought he had heard wrongly. After he confirmed with the merchant again, he found out that the so-called An Xijun was really only seven years old.
At this moment, a sense of greed unconsciously rose in Touman's heart. A seven-year-old child, a population of more than 20,000, and countless goods from the caravan.
"Chanyu!"
"What's wrong?" Touman came back to his senses and realized that the merchant was staring at him.
"This horse…" The merchant asked softly.
"I'll buy this horse. Go get the gold with my minister later!”Touman laughed loudly. He was in a good mood as he turned around and returned to the tent.
However, Toman did not notice that when he turned around, the merchant lowered his head. The flattering expression on his face disappeared in an instant and was replaced by a sinister sneer.
At night, in the Shaman's tent, Toman was waiting anxiously. The old shaman was dancing around the altar calmly.
Moonlight poured down from the ventilation hole at the top of the tent, shining on the still water in the groove in the center of the altar. When the moon in the water was about to be full, the old Shaman stopped his actions and knelt down. His face was incomparably devout as he prayed for something.
The moon was already in the water. The old Shaman's body shone with a layer of green light, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the clean water. The old Shaman seemed to have used up all his strength and collapsed to the ground.
Touman quickly went forward to support him and asked,""What was the result?"
Old Sa's face was filled with fear. His wrinkled face was already bent, and he did not look like a human. He grabbed Touman's hand tightly and said weakly,""Chanyu, you... You can't... He absolutely could not provoke that southerner. He…He was a demon from hell. Provoking him would bring endless trouble. The decline of our Great Xiongnu will be inevitable, and there will even be the end of our downfall.”
Touman frowned. This was the first time he had seen the old Shaman like this. "In that case, all the more reason for me to destroy him. While he was still a child!”
Touman said firmly. He stood up and ordered the servant beside him,"Take good care of the old Shaman. I still have to discuss the specifics of this operation.”
"Yes, sir!"
"Chanyu…Chanyu…!" In the tent, only the old Shaman's pleading voice was left.
......
Ying Ziyi, who was known as the evil ghost, had no idea that the Xiongnu tribe, thousands of miles away, had already targeted him.
He was standing on the newly built city wall of Five Carriage City, testing Gongshu Yi's newly built ballista.
"Put another wild deer." Ying Ziyi waved his hand, and the guards under the city wall released a wild deer that they had just hunted from the cage. The wild deer was freed and ran out with all its might.
"Mount the crossbows!" Ying Ziyi commanded as his men loaded the newly built crossbow bolts onto the racks. The crossbow bolt was one meter long, and the arrowhead was wrapped in iron sheet. It looked quite sharp.
"Release!"
The bowstring of the ballista snapped.
Ying Zige frowned. The power and range of this ballista were not bad, but it was too weak. It had only been tested 20 times before it broke.
"Mr. Gongshu, is there any way to increase the lifespan of this crossbow?”
Gongshu Yi had been accompanying Ying Ziyi since morning, and it was already afternoon. Facing the tireless Ying Ziyi, who was as excited as a child who had just gotten a new toy, he smiled bitterly and said,"Young Master, according to my understanding, there should be a ferocious beast called the black spotted tiger nearby. Their flexibility and toughness were quite good, making them excellent materials for making ballistae. It should be able to increase the lifespan of the ballista.”
"A black spotted tiger?"
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