Chapter 1199: Thirty Years Sharpening the Halberd, Awaiting Dawn
No one deeply considered the problem within; the Hu People don't seize provisions and do not engage in internal exploitation. Are they just waiting to die?
Furthermore, Li Youu and Jia Xu, having spent many years in the North, are well aware of the temperaments of the Hu People. Thus, upon receiving intelligence from Guo Jia, they didn't think much of it. But indeed, even with deep consideration, they might not have reached any conclusion.
The Northern Huns have already been erased from history. The last time they appeared was decades ago. The Han Court has long forgotten the prairie eagles with whom they once battled fiercely.
Huyan Chu reined in his horse, standing before the tent of the Mo Tribe on the border of the Western Xianbei. For how many years have they finally stepped again onto the vast prairies they long dreamt of.
This was once the pasture of their Huns, the battlefield where they reined in their horses and whipped, once their Hun territory. More than a hundred years later, they have once again set foot on their homeland.
Countless Huns stood on the snowy plains, roaring to the sky. The pasture that had haunted their dreams for so many years, they have returned. They are the mightiest force on the prairie, even if only a hundred thousand remain, they are still the prairie eagles!
"Mototon, I give you a choice: submit or die," Huyan Chu indifferently tossed the dagger in his hand in front of the chief of the Mo Tribe.
The chief of the Mo Tribe, without a moment's hesitation, drew the blade across his own face, "Willing to be the Chanyu's hunting dog!" After completing the act, he half-knelt on the snowy plain, presenting the blade to Huyan Chu.
"From now on, you are the Hun Mo Tribe!" Huyan Chu retrieved the blade and bestowed the Hun title upon the Xianbei Mo Tribe.
"From today onwards, there is no longer a Xianbei Mo Tribe, only a Hun Mo Tribe under the Great Chanyu's command!" At this moment, Mototon was filled with power. For the Hu People of the north, the only king they could recognize at this time was the Northern Huns, while the Xianbei had not yet reached the pinnacle.
"Rise, and come battle with me!" Huyan Chu swept his cloak aside, laughing heartily, "We Huns shall reclaim everything we once had."
At this moment, tens of thousands of Hun warriors looked up at Huyan Chu with reverence, but only Huyan Chu himself knew that he was merely attempting to completely quell the restless heart of the Northern Huns that had been stirring for thirty years. The Han Court was not so easily contended with.
[Bestow the title of Hun upon the surrendering Xianbei and take them into battle. As long as we can achieve a near one-to-one record, the Xianbei will be fully assimilated into the Huns, thereby expanding our population as well.] Huyan Chu contemplated silently.
As the Hun Chanyu, Huyan Chu is unwilling to battle the Han Dynasty, but for thirty years since the battle of Tianshan with the Han Court, the Northern Huns have been nurturing and recuperating, now possessing the capital to battle again. The new generation of Huns is eager to take on the Han Court.
Only Huyan Chu, who participated in the battle of Tianshan back then, understands that the Hun People cannot defeat the Han People. Not due to lack of combat power, but because of numbers—the Han Dynasty's population is nearly fifty times that of the Huns. Such a battle simply cannot be won.
In terms of combat power, the difference between the two sides is minimal, especially since the Huns squatted in the Western Regions for many years, updating their weapons and equipment almost to the level of the Han Dynasty, and the nurturing reached its peak. There was no longer any disparity in equipment between the two.
It could be said that even if it were a battle of ten thousand against ten thousand, the Northern Huns wouldn't lose too miserably to the Han Court. However, the current population of the Northern Huns is not even comparable to the small tribe of Wuhuan.
The Han Dynasty can afford the attrition; the Huns cannot. This is the reason why Huyan Chu is unwilling to engage with the Han Dynasty, but the Northern Huns have endured for thirty years, ready at a moment's notice for thirty years. The restraint imposed by the old Chanyu before his death to suppress the new generation's eastward return has already crumbled.
This generation of the Huns is stronger than the generation that fought the battle of Tianshan back then. Although Huyan Chu's prestige has risen over these thirty years, it is impossible to completely suppress the desire of the new generation to return east. This generation of Northern Huns is like Goujian who endured through hardship; it is the last burst of fortune for the Huns.
Therefore, upon receiving the message from Li Jue, Huyan Chu, observing the rebellious Hun chiefs, knew he could no longer suppress them; it was better to channel rather than block.
Rather than having the new generation lead over ten thousand Hun Elite Cavalry to annihilate Li Jue, and then with the momentum of a great victory demand a return east to the prairie, it was better to lead them east himself. At least this way, the situation would remain within his control.
Huyan Chu knew very well that if he did not personally lead the Northern Huns eastward, then the up-and-coming Hun new generation, now in full force, would sooner or later overthrow him and still return eastward.
Such a reckless and unwise eastward return, even if achieved a momentary victory through the Hun's strength, would still eventually lead to the extinguishing of the last ember of the Hun royal lineage on the prairie.
Therefore, when determining the situation was unfavorable, Huyan Chu decisively laid his cards on the table and led the Huns back north himself, so even if they were defeated, the lineage would not be severed.
[The next step is to successively annex the Xianbei, Wuhuan, Qiang and Hu tribes. They are of the same origin as us; to unite them and bestow upon them the honor of the Northern Huns, this way, we will have sufficient miscellaneous soldiers.] Huyan Chu thought silently.
This war for the Hun Chanyu, and for the Huns, is an inevitable struggle. Although both sides' goals were in opposition from the start, in conclusion, the battle between the Han and Hu has become inevitable.
However, unlike the ordinary Northern Huns who wanted to demonstrate Hun might, the Hun Chanyu sought a disastrous defeat, one severe enough to make all the Huns understand that the Han Dynasty was not an opponent they could provoke, yet no matter how severe, the Northern Huns should not be sacrificed.
Only in this way could Huyan Chu lead the Northern Huns to a distant land, away from this sorrowful place, to seek another land for their survival.
Even though Huyan Chu's goal is a disastrous defeat, he would never take it lightly. Only through exerting full effort and ultimately facing defeat can awaken the people of the Northern Huns. Therefore, Huyan Chu has prepared for the demise of fifty thousand Northern Huns.
Only through deep, marrow-penetrating pain can the Northern Huns become aware, just as before the battle of Tianshan, the might of the Northern Huns was enough to manipulate the various states of the Western Regions. The power inflated their arrogance, the formidable strength blinded the eyes of the Northern Huns, and the war once again began.
Leaving behind countless tribal corpses, the Northern Huns retreated far to the northwest, with blood and tears gazing at the Han Dynasty's Central Plains, with marrow-penetrating bitterness gazing at the former prairie, at which time Huyan Chu inherited the position of Chanyu.
In such circumstances, he led the Northern Huns through humiliation and burden, rising again. Thirty years ago, there were not many of the Northern Huns who participated in that battle left, the new generation only possessed strength, without that agonizing insight.
The Northern Huns have once again reached the point where a multitude of blood is required to awaken the tribe, but this time, Huyan Chu has long prepared countless drops of Hu People's blood. Come, fight, in the name of the Northern Huns, in the name of the prairie eagles, defeat us, and we shall never set foot upon this heart-wrenching land again! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com)