Chapter 234: The Huns
The sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Chang'an.

Guan Yu took a carriage to visit Chang'an University. There is only a difference between university and Imperial College, just like the difference between Shizhong and Zhongchangshi.

Tai means the limit and needs no explanation. Guan Yu also knew that Chang'an University was a secondary unit of Taixue.

If nothing unexpected happens, Chang'an University will force Xiangyang Xiaotaixue to change its name in the future.

Even if it does not change, the common name among the people will change accordingly.

This is how language, writing and names develop; they develop in the simplest and clearest way possible.

It was the coldest time of the year when Guan Yu arrived and saw some scholars still busy at work.

They nailed long strips of neatly cut and chopped wood to the fence to form wooden walls.

This long wooden board is like a huge bamboo slip, with words written on it for the students of Chang'an University to study and copy.

Most of the students come here for the free meals and do not have the ability to read and write independently. Only a small number of students have the ability to read and write and the wealth of reading and writing.

Guan Yu wore two face scarves today. The innermost scarf covered his beard, and another green scarf covered half of his face.

When he passed by the porridge stall, he saw a long queue, including many young boys around twelve or thirteen years old who were just starting to grow.

Many people were of the right age and, after hearing that meals would be provided, they traveled hundreds of miles to Chang'an for meals.

For their families, if they eat one less meal at home in the winter, their family members can eat more.

The carriage stopped on the side and Guan Yu fell into deep thought.

After a long time, he shook his head and sighed, and couldn't help but become more determined to fight in the Central Plains next year.

He had seen the new people who had migrated from Lantian and Duling, and these new settlements were given food rations every three days.

These rations were not enough, so the herds of animals in each village had been organized and slaughtered once.

The hay in the wild in each village is also limited, and the beasts cannot get enough to eat in the winter, and will only become thinner and thinner.

Slaughter restrictions have been lifted since mid-last month, with only breeding animals and female animals retained, and all others slaughtered.

Guan Yu understood this operation very well, as this was how the Huns and Wuhuan people spent the winter.

After moving to pasture in October, the sheep are slaughtered on a large scale when the weather turns cold to save fodder for the winter.

It was difficult for scholars and soldiers in Jingzhou to eat beef and mutton for three meals a day, while immigrants in Guanzhong could only eat beef and mutton to fill their stomachs.

It's to fill their stomachs. It's impossible to eat as much as they want. We can only make sure they don't starve to death.

Beheading 100,000 Huns meant losing 100,000 mouths to feed, and burning so much food. After adding and subtracting, it was barely enough to ensure the health and survival of the immigrants.

While Guan Yu was thinking, Guo Mu, who was driving the car, said, "My lord, there is an urgent message!"

Guan Yu looked in the direction of the whip that Guo Mu was holding, and saw a messenger with two white feathers on his back galloping on his horse in the street of the city, followed by a follower.

"Go and see."

As Guan Yu spoke, he glanced at the young men queuing for food in the distance. In another ten years, when these young men were armed to the teeth and became the backbone and elite of the Black Bear Army, who in Guandong could resist them?
If we want to resist, Central Plains alone cannot do it; all people and resources within Kanto are needed.

To the east of Hangu Pass, it includes Hebei and Youyan. Otherwise, the cavalry of Yongliang alone would be enough to cause headaches for the Central Plains.

In the year Dong Zhuo was assassinated, the troops in Guanzhong had already begun plundering Chenliu and Dongjun; if Dong Zhuo had not died and could live to this day, the scene would have been very different.

Unfortunately, there are not so many ifs. The current situation is very clear. After Dong Zhuo, a person who has accumulated the resentment of the people of Guanlong for two hundred years has appeared.

Guo Mu drove the carriage, followed by a dozen horsemen as guards, and the carriage soon arrived in front of the new Sili Xiaowei office.

Immediately, the military officer on duty stepped forward and asked, "Who is this person?"

"Marquis of Han Shou Ting, Marquis of Hedong Guanjun."

Guo Mu got off the car, took out a stack of silk books and handed them over: "This is written by Sima Zihua, the magistrate of Shangluo."

The military officer took a look at Guan Yu in the carriage, took the book in his hands and read it. After looking at the red seal of "Shangluo County Magistrate", he asked, "Why are you here, Lord Guan?"

"This is a visiting card from the lord, hoping to see Lord Yuan Chang."

Guo Mu took out the black wooden business card again. The officer took it with both hands and bowed to Guan Yu: "Please wait a moment, my lord. I will pass it on right away."

Guan Yu just nodded. After being away from home for so many years, he could now use his reputation to make a living.

As for whether visiting Zhong Yao would arouse Black Bear's suspicion... Guan Yu had no such concerns. When he met Zhao Yun on the road, Zhao Yun had already briefly described the situation in Guanzhong and that Zhong Yao was just a half-step puppet.

The military officer quickly walked in with Guan Yu's name card and presented it directly to Zhong Yao.

Zhong Yao was reading the military victory report sent from Lishi and was feeling mixed emotions. When he saw Guan Yu's business card, he subconsciously felt panicked.

Then he thought again, if the black bear really wanted to kill him, he would have killed him long ago. There was no need to keep him until now.

As for meeting Guan Yu alone, Zhong Yao was a little hesitant.

After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Clean the courtyard, burn wood for heating, and put on new bedding. I will go and invite Lord Guan now."

After instructing his subordinates, Zhong Yao immediately went out to meet Guan Yu.

Both publicly and privately, Guan Yu was a marquis of the Han Dynasty and was awarded a title for his military merits. Given Guan Yu's status, he deserved to be entertained by counties and prefectures across the country.

If other military men or generals were granted the title of nobility, Zhong Yao would not take it so seriously.

But who is Guan Yu?
He is Liu Bei's brother and the man that Cao Sikong could never get.

To offend Guan Yu is to offend Liu Bei and Cao Sikong, and may even indirectly offend Black Bear. Zhao Yun was an unknown man, but Black Bear gave him 5,000 cavalry captives as a reward. Was this for Zhao Yun or for Liu Bei?
When Zhao Yun was in Guanzhong, Zhong Yao didn't even want to provoke him; let alone now that Guan Yu, who is more important than Zhao Yun, has arrived.

Zhong Yao's status was high enough, so Guan Yu could barely control his temper and give him a good face.

When Guan Yu was led to a warm side hall, Zhong Yao asked, "Why did you suddenly visit Guanzhong?"

"I heard about the changes in Hedong and was worried about the people there, so I asked for leave from Lord Xuande and came to Guanzhong to take a look at the specific situation."

Guan Yu took off his scarf, combed his beard with a small comb, and said slowly: "I never thought that Pingyang and Taiyuan would gather so many Xiongnu inadvertently, so that Hei Zhenbei could kill 100,000 people. It's simply shocking."

"Yes, your words are very true. I couldn't believe it when I first heard it."

Zhong Yao spoke in a calm tone, and what shocked Guan Yu was the speed at which the Huns had spread and grown over the years, rather than the fact that they had beheaded 100,000 people.

The key points of their shock were different, but at this moment we could only follow Guan Yu's.

The Xiongnu had quietly grown to this size, and the public opinion among scholars from all over the country was very impatient.

It even smoothed out the waves caused by Black Bear's killing of Wang Yun's three clans, as if the killing was right.

The Wang family of Taiyuan was the leader of the Taiyuan gentry. The Huns had grown to such a scale right under their noses, and it would have been fine if the Wang family had not suppressed or expelled them, but they did not let the news spread, which was a bit outrageous.

As for the fact that Hei Xiong accuses Wang of colluding with the Huns, this was ignored by public opinion. Later, the fact that the Taiyuan and Hedong rebels joined forces with the Huns to besiege Hei Xiong was even more blurred by public opinion.

This mess is not easy to reverse. The men and women rescued by Black Bear to Guanzhong cannot be faked, and the Skeleton Nest cannot be faked either.

Unless we attack Guanzhong and erase these traces.

"Zhong Sili didn't know about this either. It seems that the Xiongnu must have bribed many people to deceive Zhong Sili for seven years. They are really ambitious and abominable."

Guan Yu put away the small golden comb, looked at Zhong Yao with a smile, and said: "If I were Hei Zhenbei, I would also break the alliance and kill the Xiongnu Chanyu. It's a pity that it was Zilong who came to Guanzhong, not Guan."

Zhong Yao's face felt hot and a little red.

When he saw the urgent report on the table, his eyes lit up immediately and he said, "I have a good news to tell you, my lord."

Zhong Yao stood up and took out the victory report, and handed it to Guan Yu with both hands: "My lord, please take a look. This is the victory report of Heizhen Beilishi."

Guan Yu glanced at it and squinted his eyes, feeling that it was unreal: "How could this be? Don't the Qiang people in the north know about the old story of Hei Zhenbei?"

It has only been more than two months since the assassination of Chanyu Huhuquan during the Hedong Alliance. Why did these Qiang leaders foolishly run to Lishi to surrender?

Huochuquan never provoked a black bear, but the Qiang people in the north actually harassed Guanzhong.

Guan Yu couldn't understand these people. "They surrendered and attached themselves to Duan Wei in the north, so they could go to Lishi. With Duan Wei mediating, how could these people fall to this point?"

At worst, you can save your life.

Guan Yu kept frowning, he was not happy with what was happening.

According to the traditional border defense strategy of the Han army, no large group should be easily trusted.

It is necessary to keep various small tribes of miscellaneous Hu to serve as a meat shield line of defense. Now Black Bear and the Xiongnu have divided up the northern Hu people and almost wiped out the miscellaneous Hu people in Xihe, Shangjun, Beidijun and Andingjun in one fell swoop.

In the future, these four counties will only have Han border residents and the Xiongnu.

If the Xiongnu rebelled after a dozen years, according to tradition, small tribes of the mixed Hu people who had surrendered to them would be moved in from other places to serve as defense forces.

It was a tradition during the Han Dynasty to use the various Hu and barbarian tribes that migrated inland or became dependent on the Han people as garrison troops at the border.

This is how the three northern states defend their borders, and this is also how Yizhou uses the various barbarians.

The situation in Yizhou was even more complicated, and the power of the various barbarians was being manipulated in various ways.

Especially after realizing that the Huns were quietly lurking and growing stronger, Guan Yu instinctively hated the Huns strongly.

The Black Bear had finally inflicted heavy damage on the Xiongnu, and now was helping them to annex the Qiang tribes.

I am afraid that the power of the Huns will grow to the point where it will be difficult to check and balance in the future.

Although he was from Hedong, he was also familiar with the Huns.

He was also familiar with the border wars in the middle and late period of Emperor Ling's reign. After being defeated, many border troops were either captured by the Huns or voluntarily integrated into the Huns.

Now that the relationship between Black Bear and the Huns has been quickly repaired after the Fenshui Oath, what will this trigger?
After Black Bear's demise, would his subordinates, especially those who were affiliated with the Taiping Dao, flee on a large scale and join the Xiongnu?

The Huns were already troublesome, and the Taiping Dao was like a prairie fire that was difficult to put out.

After the destruction of Black Bear, what will happen when these two forces merge?
It is impossible that after unifying the country, we can make peace with the Huns for decades like we did in the early Han Dynasty?

Guan Yu disdained to hide his emotions, and even more disdained to pretend in front of people like Zhong Yao.

Seeing Guan Yu's angry look, Zhong Yao didn't have so many thoughts.

If there were more small tribes of miscellaneous Hu people on the border, they could check and balance each other, which would indeed save us a lot of trouble.

However, if you want to maintain the loyalty of the small tribes of Zaohu, you have to indulge them. When it comes to a fight to the death, the small tribes of Zaohu can hardly be relied upon.

Therefore, Zhong Yao had no feeling about the border defense check and balance strategy. However, now that the small tribes of the miscellaneous Hu were divided and only the Xiongnu were strengthened... there was room for maneuver.

Although he can't use it now, what about the future?
Thinking in his heart, seeing that Guan Yu looked unhappy, Zhong Yao was too lazy to persuade him, so he said: "Hei Zhenbei is wise and brave, why should he be afraid of the Xiongnu's rebellion?"

Seeing Guan Yu's gloomy face and silence, Zhong Yao went further and said, "When Hei Zhenbei led 3,000 soldiers into Hedong, he was able to kill 100,000 Xiongnu. How difficult will it be to kill another 100,000 in the future? Your Excellency is worrying too much. With Hei Zhenbei's age, he can at least keep Yongliang and the three states stable for 40 years. The Xiongnu are nothing to worry about."

Fearing that Guan Yu would turn hostile and kill him on the spot, Zhong Yao sighed: "However, the Xiongnu have a long tradition of sneaky tricks. I will have to remind Hei Zhenbei more often to prevent the Xiongnu from succeeding in their tricks."

(End of this chapter)