Chinese New Year

Chapter 601 Eastern Front
Before daybreak, smoke from the cooking stoves was already rising.

On the banks of the Hutuo River, elderly herdsmen cut many willow branches and began to build more tents.

They were hunched over, with white hair and beards, and dark skin that looked like dead tree bark from a distance.

There was a look of vicissitudes and indifference in his eyes, as if he was living one day at a time.

Since the Xiongnu, there has been a cruel custom: the young are respected and the old are despised. The Wuhuan, Xianbei and other tribes followed this custom.

The elderly cannot enjoy better food, cannot wear better clothes, and have to do more dirty, hard, and tiring work...

When the Han envoys arrived in the Xiongnu, they saw the young and middle-aged people eating the fatty parts of cattle and sheep. After they had finished eating, the old people could eat the leftovers. They were very surprised.

Zhonghang Shuo defended this custom, saying that the Xiongnu had always regarded conquest as an achievement, and the old and weak were unable to fight, so the fat and delicious food was given to the strong and healthy. In this way, they could protect themselves, and fathers and sons could both live in peace.

All we can say is that different environments create different customs, and there is no absolute right or wrong.

By the time breakfast was ready, it was already bright.

In the largest tent in the center, the leader Duan Mobo came out from the east gate. According to the Xianbei custom, the tent only had one door, which was facing the east.

After seeing the rising sun from afar, Duan Mobo knelt down, muttering something devoutly.

After a long time, Duan Mobo finally got up. He did not go back to the tent, but sat on the grass by the river, eating freshly steamed corn rice.

The guards, personal followers, and even the peripheral soldiers and slaves also sat on the ground and ate corn rice.

From the leader Duan Mobo down, everyone eats the same thing, the only difference is the amount - generally speaking, the strong eat more, and the old and young eat less.

From here we can see the difference between the Xianbei and the Xiongnu of Liu Han.

There were already very obvious social class differences in Liu Han. The upper class took medicine and drank wine, and ate delicacies from land and sea, while the lower class relied on a little millet, cow and sheep milk, cheese, wild vegetables and fruits to fill their stomachs.

Compared with them, the Xianbei society was relatively primitive and simple. The food eaten by these people who went on the expedition was actually the same - in fact, the Xiongnu society was also like this at the beginning.

Compared with the old and weak, women are treated the same as the young and strong in terms of food.

This time they were heading south to go on an expedition, and there were only a few hundred strong women accompanying the army. Their big faces were covered with flesh, their arms were big enough for horses to run on, and their buttocks were so strong that they could sit on people to death. They could be treated as men.

The main work of these women was to mend furs, milk cows, make cheese and deal with dead horses.

Everyone had shaved heads and was obviously unmarried.

Wuhuan and Xianbei women usually grew their hair into a bun when they got married and wore a Jujue, which was similar to the Guoguo crown worn by Mongolian women in later generations.

Hu women are more relaxed.

The social atmosphere despises the old and the young, but attaches great importance to women.

There is no punishment for a son to kill his father or brother, but killing his mother is not allowed.

If your father or brother is killed by someone else, you don't have to take revenge, but if your mother is killed by someone else, you must take revenge.

If a woman from one clan marries into another clan and something happens to her, her own family will investigate. If she dies an unnatural death, they will hold her accountable, usually by offering cattle or sheep as atonement.

A very peculiar custom.

In short, women had a very high status, and this custom was later brought to the Northern Dynasties. However, the customs of the Hu people did not have any ethical constraints on women or restrictions on the use of power, which led to many problems. Some people even started a system of "establishing a son and killing the mother."

After finishing breakfast, everyone rested for a while, then got up to organize their horses and weapons.

Duan Mobo took his entourage out for a walk.

The area around the Hutuo River is rich in water and grass, with numerous fields and many forts and manors.

Since moving south, many fortresses and strongholds spent money to avoid disaster, and would rather starve themselves or even have their people starve to death, but they also sent a batch of food to the Xianbei people, which made their military funds abundant and their ambitions grew accordingly.

"The land in Jizhou is more fertile than that in Youzhou." Duan Mobo looked at the tall wormwood on the river bank and said, "One acre of land here can raise more than five times as many cattle and sheep as on the grassland."

Five times more cattle and sheep means five times more wealth and five times more population.

Wealth and population mean combat effectiveness, which can accumulate into greater power like a snowball, and maybe something can be accomplished.

No wonder everyone wants to go south to the Central Plains!

"Mo Bo." Duan Shefuchen appeared on the other side of the river. He pulled the reins, calmed the horse, and said, "We've been staying here for three days. Do you want to go and grab some?"

"Uncle, don't you want revenge?" Duan Mobo asked loudly.

Duan Shefuchen was silent for a while, then said, "It happened ten years ago."

Duan Mobo's eyes widened. After ten years, is that it?

Ten years ago, when the old duke was still in power, the Duan tribe of Xianbei had a population of 150,000.

Ten years later, the old duke was gone, and the population of the Duan tribe Xianbei had not increased but decreased, now numbering just over 100,000. Moreover, their ancestral homeland, Liaoxi County (now Qinhuangdao, Hebei and parts of Tangshan) was taken away by the Murong Xianbei.

How do you settle this account?
"If you don't want revenge, why did your uncle go south?" Duan Mobo asked angrily.

Duan Shefu Chen replied: "It's not that I don't want revenge. It's not that I haven't killed Shao Bing since I came south. It's just that some things are more important."

Duan Mobo was speechless.

What my uncle called more important things was actually plundering. He plundered everything, including food, cloth, farm tools, livestock, people, etc. He wanted everything.

In recent years, there have been no less than 40,000 refugees who have gone to Liaoxi to avoid the chaos, which amounts to more than 200,000 people. All of them were picked up by the Murong clan - some stayed in Liaoxi, some moved to Changli and other places, and they farmed and raised livestock, providing food supplies for the Murong clan.

Over time, the gap in power between the two sides became extremely large. Simply put, the Duan tribe of the Xianbei now had neither the ability to seek revenge on the Murong clan nor the ability to defeat the Yuwen clan, so they could only survive in Youzhou - they did have a falling out with Wang Jun, but the relationship was very complicated, and they were not necessarily enemies, but could be regarded as "passers-by".

Duan Shefuchen’s meaning was very clear, conserve some strength and don’t fight blindly.

The tribe’s elite have been defeated, who will replenish you?

The Duan tribe of the Xianbei, which had 50,000 cavalrymen in its heyday, now has a population of only 100,000, and can only muster 30,000 cavalrymen at most. Not even everyone has a horse. What the hell!

It would be better to look around and see if there is any chance to plunder some people and property.

There was constant war in Hebei, and some fortress owners and manor owners could no longer hold on, so they migrated with their entire families. The teams were huge, and the fortress leaders who defended one place and farmed became refugee leaders who wandered around. These people could be robbed or even captured directly.

Isn't it easier to deal with these people than to fight Shao Bing?
But Duan Mobo did not agree.

"Uncle, if you don't want to fight me, I will go and find trouble with Shao thief." He said, "Shao thief has several water and land transportation channels, with a large number of people and a lot of supplies. I will go and rob them. If I get anything, uncle, please don't be jealous."

Duan Shefuchen laughed loudly and said, "Wen Yang will be heading south soon. You can go find him. Maybe you can join forces and do something big. But I won't accompany you."

After saying this, he turned his horse's head and left.

******
Since mid-September, the amount of food and fodder transported from the rear to Zhongshan has decreased.

Jin Zheng was stationed in Puyin and received warnings from various places almost every few days.

On the seventh day of September, when a part of the Yicong army crossed the Hengshui River from the upper reaches and suddenly reached Shangquyang, the Xianbei cavalry entered the Hejian territory, killed more than a thousand people from the Qinghe Cui family's grain transport team, and robbed the grain and returned.

On the Double Ninth Festival, the Xianbei cavalry attacked a grain transport team of the Liu family of Pingyuan in the southeast of Gaoyang County, killing more than 700 soldiers and farmhands and capturing 2,000 teachers and laborers.

On September 12, the Wuhuan cavalry of the Qihuo army was defeated in Hejian.

On September 13, they defeated another 3,000 Xiongnu surrendered soldiers from Anping.

On September 15, more than 2,000 Jie cavalry were defeated in a field battle.

The combat capability is extremely strong.

In the cavalry battle, the miscellaneous Hu cavalry under Shao Xun's command won fewer victories than losses and could hardly protect the grain route.

After reading the reports of defeat, Jin Zheng realized that the Xianbei cavalry's combat effectiveness was in a different league, and it was not comparable to that of ordinary miscellaneous Hu cavalry. In order to drive out this harassing force from the rear, he had to either withdraw the Yicong Army cavalry from the front to provide support, or destroy the Zhangwu Kingdom, leaving the Xianbei people without supplies and a rear.

At this time, he regretted that after conquering Hejian, he led his troops westward to capture Gaoyang, Zhongshan and other counties.

I thought Linghu Ni had been scared by him, and that he was a dead dog, and could not pose any threat, so I sent a small army to monitor him. But who could have thought that the Duan tribe of Xianbei would brazenly go south and participate in this war.

Fortunately, Duan's troops were a bit slow in their movements and not many people participated in the attack. Otherwise, he would face a greater risk of running out of food.

"General, it is not advisable to advance rashly at this time." When Jin Zheng was checking the map, the guest Zhen Pian advised.

Jin Zheng glanced at him and said, "They are just a few thieves. Why worry about them? Lord Chen has entrusted his brave and righteous men to me. How can you be so timid?"

"It would be better to call back General Man's elite cavalry and destroy the Xianbei first," Zhen Pian advised.

"You old man..." Jin Zheng was about to curse, but after thinking it over he gave up. He felt that what the guy said made sense.

Zhen Pian observed his expression and breathed a sigh of relief.

General Jin was brave, but sometimes he only cared about his head and not his butt. But then again, the Xianbei's southward migration was unexpected and difficult to predict. Moreover, General Jin was not without preparation, but the beggars, surrendered Xiongnu soldiers, and Jie people were all no match for the Xianbei, so there was nothing he could do.

Now there is only one way, either to mobilize the Yi Cong army to wipe out the Xianbei, or to gather the miscellaneous Hu cavalry that is several times the number of the Xianbei and kill them with men and horses.

"Well, I'll let Qiao Hong lead 3,000 cavalry back now." Jin Zheng sighed and said irritably.

"General, you are wise." Zhen Pian bowed.

He was only in his early 40s, and he was not angry when Kim Jong-un called him an "old man". There was no other way, survival was more important, and he didn't want the whole army to be deprived of food and suffer a great defeat.

Zhen Pian was from Weichang County, Zhongshan State, and was a fellow villager of Liu Kun. Because Weichang was once called Wuji, this family was called "Wuji Zhen Clan", a declining aristocratic family.

The most famous member of the Zhen family, Zhen Xi (Guo Xi), the Duke of Guang'an, lived in Luoyang and miraculously avoided the fighting among the kings because of his "lack of talent" - as long as I am useless enough, no one will use me, and I won't have the trouble of standing on the wrong side and being liquidated.

Zhen Pian was spotted by Jin Zheng in Yecheng, who thought he had some talent, so he forced him to serve as a military aide and offer advice.

Zhen Pian was very reluctant at first, but after being in the army for a while, he felt that he was a rare treasure, so he stayed there with peace of mind and offered some advice from time to time, although Jin Zheng did not listen to him most of the time and made his own decisions.

Kim Jong-un listened to the suggestion to clear out the Xianbei harassing troops in the rear.

Zhen Pian was very satisfied.

In the past month, Governor Jin has listened to his advice more and more often, which is a good thing.

"Will Liu Yao take advantage of the situation to counterattack?" Jin Zheng suddenly asked.

Zhen Pian glanced at the map, pointed to the northern part of Bingzhou, and said, "Does the governor know how many troops Liu Yao brought to aid Hebei?"

"It is said that there are 50,000 people." Jin Zheng said.

"I don't think so." Zhen Pian said, "Liu Yao came from Jingxing, the journey is long and remote, and it is not easy to raise food and grass. How could he bring 50,000 troops? Even if he did, he would have to divide some of them in the northern part of Bingzhou to guard the passes along the road and prevent Tuoba Xianbei from going south from Yanmen to cut off their return. I think he brought at most 20,000 people. Among these 20,000 people, he would have to divide some of them to prevent Daijun Xianbei from going south. Only more than 10,000 people can be used."

Jin Zheng nodded slowly.

"If Liu Yao counterattacks, he will have to withdraw troops from the Daijun Xianbei. It depends on whether he dares to do so." Zhen Pian added, "General, you might as well wait and see. It may not be a bad thing to withdraw the Yicong troops to support and slow down the pace. If Liu Yao attacks, we will just retreat. Don't be anxious, just be calm and respond. If the Duan tribe Xianbei can go south, can the Tuoba Xianbei not?"

"There is a reason why Liu Yao did not enter Hebei from Jingxing last year, but went straight to Fukouxing," Zhen Pian said meaningfully.

(End of this chapter)