Chapter 13: Xianbei Tan Shihuai
As soon as the Huren were mentioned, Gong Sunzhan's warmth suddenly disappeared. He was furious, waving his arms and almost shouting: "These Huren dogs are born to be barbarians, they don't know what etiquette, loyalty, and trustworthiness are. Even if we treat them well, it's all in vain. In recent years, not only have the Xianbei people invaded us year after year, but also the Wuhuan people who received countless aid from our great Han Dynasty are not good things either. As soon as they get a chance, they come to loot, either on their own or together with the Xianbei people. It's really despicable, and killing them is not enough to vent my anger..."
Not only was Lu Bu surprised, but even Liu Bei and Liu Xun were also somewhat surprised. The impression that Gongsun Zan had given them before was quite good, although he was a bit arrogant, but overall he was still knowledgeable about etiquette, and he was handsome, a young man as beautiful as jade, how could he be so furious when mentioning the Hu people, angry like a bull whose head had been kicked in the vital parts?
Gongsun Zan was furious whenever he mentioned the Hu people, but he wasn't just angry. He soon demonstrated his abilities to Lu Min. He detailed the situation of the Xianbei and Wuhuan peoples' repeated invasions of Liaoxi over the past decade, including their directions of attack, troop deployments, who led the troops, changes in each person's command style, and what losses Liaoxi suffered each time. He spoke clearly and distinctly, as if he had an account book in front of him, even recalling events from several years ago as if they were happening before his eyes.
Liu Xiu and others were almost stunned, their impression of Gongsun Zan greatly changed. Lu Min's eyes showed a hint of admiration, while Liu Bei was almost reverent. Liu Xiu also felt a sense of regret. He had originally thought that Gongsun Zan was an incompetent martial artist who had simply taken advantage of the chaotic times to make a name for himself. But now it seemed that Gongsun Zan was not only capable of leading troops and fighting battles, but also had a talent for governance. Even in peaceful times, with his abilities, he should be able to serve as a prefect without any problems.
It's a good thing he didn't offend Gongsun Zan. Liu Xiu felt for the first time that he had somewhat overstepped himself, and was glad that he hadn't made an enemy of Gongsun Zan.
Lu Min listened carefully and finally asked: "Bo Ge, in your opinion, what is the reason for the Xianbei people's arrogance?"
Gongsun Zan blurted out, "It's those bookworms who've read themselves stupid!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them and looked at Lu Min with some embarrassment, clearing his throat twice before lowering his head.
Lu Min smiled disbelievingly and explained in a soft voice, "Do you have any opinions on the court's strategy for pacifying the people?"
"Hmm." Gong Sun Zan nodded, seeing that Lu Min was not angry, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief: "These barbarians are born to be savage, they don't know what gratitude is. Wanting to win them over with benevolence, I think the effect will be minimal. The previous envoy to the Xiongnu, Zhang Junru, was so good to them, did they ever show any restraint? They just looked down on me even more, and became even more arrogant. When the imperial court sent people to make peace, they were humiliated by Tan Shi Huai, and that year he led a large army into the border, plundering and pillaging greatly. In my humble opinion, the imperial court's policy of appeasement and opening up trade is just a waste of money and goods, feeding wolves with meat, for nothing. They let these barbarian dogs take countless salt and fine iron, making their claws even sharper."
He paused for a moment, then glanced at Lu Min and said: "In addition, in recent years, there have been people escaping from the border to avoid disaster. It is said that some people, for their own private interests, have even become the running dogs of the Xianbei people, teaching them military books and strategies, telling them about the mountains, rivers and geography of our Han land. With the help of these beasts, the Xianbei people are even more unstoppable, making it difficult to deal with them."
Liu Xiu was taken aback, thinking to himself that this must be what they called a traitor. He thought that even those who read the classics could also become traitors. He secretly glanced at Lu Min and saw that her brow was slightly furrowed and her face didn't look too good either. After a moment, Lu Min asked again: "What do you know about Tan Shihua?"
"I don't know much, just some rumors and hearsay. Most of it is exaggerated and untrue." Gongsun Zan shook his head, somewhat disdainfully saying: "The barbarians are ignorant of the heights of heaven and earth. As soon as one of them produces someone with a bit of talent, they add countless false words to praise him to the skies. In my opinion, he's at most just like Modu Chanyu or Yizhibi, a somewhat talented person among the barbarians. If he were to face heroes of the Han people like Wei and Huo, he would only be able to flee in fear."
Gongsun Zan immediately spoke of some matters concerning the Xianbei great king, Tanshihuai. This man was a wild kind whose origin could not be ascertained; his father was named Touluhou and had served as a mercenary among the Xiongnu people for three years. When he returned home, he found that his wife had given birth to a son of unknown origin. He was furious and threw him away. The boy grew up herding sheep until he was fourteen or fifteen years old. One day, a group of horse thieves came and stole all his sheep. In a fit of rage, the boy chased after them and killed them all. His father Touluhou was shocked when he heard this and finally acknowledged him as his son.
Not long after, Touluo Hou died inexplicably, and Tan Shi Huai smoothly inherited his men and horses. From then on, he was unstoppable, and within five or six years, he had subdued more than a dozen large and small tribes, becoming a great king. He even established his royal court at Pohan Mountain, less than 200 miles from the Han border, openly opposing the Han people. The imperial court was unable to cope with him, and some fool suggested reviving the marriage alliance strategy, proposing to marry a princess to Tan Shi Huai in the hope that he would become more stable and not cause trouble every year. However, Tan Shi Huai humiliated the envoy and instead became even more aggressive.
What's even more infuriating is that the powerful Han Dynasty has bowed its head to him, bringing him even greater fame. Not only are more and more Xianbei people gathering under his command, but even the Xiongnu and Wuhuan peoples are secretly communicating with him. Tan Shi Huai's power has grown even stronger, becoming increasingly unbridled. In recent years, he has almost never had a year without invading, always arriving in winter, dividing his troops into several routes, making it impossible for others to defend against him. He also divided the vast grasslands of the north into three parts: from Youbeiping in the east to Liaodong as the eastern part, from Youbeiping in the west to Shanggu as the central part, and from Shanggu in the west as the western part, each with a great king established, all under his command.
Lu Min's eyebrows furrowed even more tightly. Although he was a native of Zhuo County, he had followed his father Lu Zhi to serve as an official in other places for many years and only knew that the Xianbei people had gained power in recent years, but did not expect the situation to be so severe. As for the matter of Gongsun Zan, who was very angry about scholars going out of the pass to help the Xianbei people, he also had some knowledge of it, but there were some reasons that he did not want to tell Gongsun Zan.
Since the Guangwu Emperor's restoration, he has been advocating for moral integrity and encouraging morality. He selected scholars through imperial examinations, and scholars were proud of their status. However, this prosperity did not last long. After Emperor Zhang, eunuchs and external relatives took power, and they fought each other for benefits, pushing scholars to the side. Scholars were naturally dissatisfied and resisted constantly, but unfortunately, despite having read many books, they were no match for the eunuchs and external relatives, and were repeatedly defeated. Over the past decade or so, they have been plagued by misfortunes, with two rounds of party purges severely injuring scholars. Many proud and ambitious scholars were either imprisoned or killed, and some even escaped from prison, as Gong Sunzhen said.
As a member of the reading community, Lu Min disliked those who recklessly discussed state affairs and stirred up trouble, but overall, he still sympathized with the hardships that scholars had faced in recent years. He would not hate those who escaped to the north like Gong Sunzhan did. However, when it came to their actions of helping the Xianbei people invade Han territory, Lu Min was absolutely unwilling to tolerate it. There could be excuses for emotions, but not for reason. Escaping to the barbarian lands to save one's life was one thing, but how could they turn around and help the barbarians kill Han people? Whenever he thought of these despicable scholars, Lu Min felt his face burning with shame and his whole body feeling uncomfortable.
The topic was too heavy, and several people fell into silence at the same time, not speaking for a long time. In the end, it was Lu Min who reacted first, thanking Gong Sunzhan, and finally leaving Liu Xiu behind.
