"Oh? You want us to send troops?"
Upon hearing the Slavic envoy's request, He Lian raised an eyebrow, exchanged a glance with Xie Zhiyu beside him, and then the two of them turned to look at Li Ru.
Li Ru raised his eyelids and looked at the Slavic envoy: "Why did you invite us?"
"Because the Roman Emperor Commodus wanted to kill us, my governor had no choice but to raise an army to declare independence."
Your esteemed ally is a powerful force and will surely help us defeat Commodus!
Meeting Li Ru's gaze, the Slavic envoy dared not conceal anything and explained the situation in general terms.
Li Ru nodded: "Then what will we get?"
The Slavic envoy said, "In addition to the provisions consumed by your army during the campaign, we will also provide your army with two years' worth of military pay. After entering Rome, all spoils and prisoners will belong to your army..."
Furthermore, after our Slavic province gained independence, we are willing to submit to your esteemed authority, pay tribute annually, and open our borders to engage in comprehensive trade with you!
"We sell our goods at low prices, and we buy your products at high prices..."
Upon hearing the series of generous conditions proposed by the Slavic envoy, He Lian and Xie Zhiyu also looked at Li Ru with eager eyes.
In their view, the conditions offered by the Slavic envoys were sufficient for their tribe to live and multiply peacefully here, and to increase their population significantly in a short period of time.
Li Ru smiled and said, "This is a really good offer, but to be on the safe side, you Slavs need to cede all the northern passes to my tribe, and my tribe will send troops to garrison them!"
"this……"
Upon hearing Li Ru's condition, the Slavic envoy hesitated.
Those passes were barriers against barbarian invasions. Once ceded, they would be difficult to reclaim. In the future, these people could almost always penetrate deep into the heartland to plunder, and the entire Slavic province would become fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.
"Of course, if you are unwilling, my troops will also send troops to take it. Do you think your 10,000 garrison can withstand my 60,000 iron cavalry?"
At that point, we won't be allies anymore, but enemies...!
Li Ru smiled coldly, staring intently at the Slavic envoy, awaiting his reply.
Hearing the other party's threatening words, and recalling the fierce cavalry he had seen upon entering the camp, the Slavic envoy sighed helplessly.
He knew that once these Eastern barbarians sent a large army to attack, those passes would definitely not be able to be defended. At that time, 60,000 cavalrymen would enter the Slavic province to plunder, and the entire province would probably be turned into scorched earth in an instant.
"Very well, we can agree to your request!"
Ultimately, the Slavic envoy agreed to Li Ru's request and ceded all the passes to the Xianbei and Xiongnu.
Subsequently, the two sides held careful consultations on the joint deployment of troops and finally signed a military mutual assistance alliance treaty.
After the treaty was signed, the Slavic envoy took his leave.
Watching the Slavic envoy's departing figure, Helian asked in bewilderment, "Sir, since they have already ceded the passes to us, why don't we seize their provinces? That way, we can easily penetrate deep into Roman territory."
Li Ru waved his hand: "Your Majesty should know that it is easy to occupy land, but difficult to govern it. Our two tribes only have a population of 300,000. If we were placed in the Slavic province, we could only control three or five cities at most, and we would be trapped in them, putting us in a passive position."
In that case, it would be better to seize control of their resources and extract food and supplies from them continuously to increase our strength and eventually occupy the entire grassland.
At that time, all of Rome will become our granary. Comparing the two, keeping them is far more worthwhile than occupying a territory!
"Sir, you're right. Let's do it that way!"
Upon hearing Li Ru's strategic plan, He Lian's eyes lit up, and he readily agreed.
After some discussion, 20,000 able-bodied herders were conscripted from various tribes. Xie Zhiyu led 20,000 cavalry to guard the main camp, while He Lianze led 40,000 cavalry and 20,000 able-bodied men to take over the border of the Slavic province.
Half a month later, the army arrived at the border of the Slavic province.
Upon seeing the densely packed 60,000 cavalry, the Slavic soldiers stationed at the border quickly withdrew, leaving the pass open.
After leaving 20,000 Xianbei cavalry to guard the pass, Helian led 20,000 able-bodied men and 20,000 cavalrymen straight to the Slavic capital.
Having received training from the Han army, these Xianbei-Xiongnu cavalrymen had adopted some of the Han army's style in their conduct.
Therefore, wherever the army passed, it did not harm the local people in the slightest. Not only did it refrain from any illegal acts, but it also used its surplus military rations to help the poor.
The Slavic people, who had been living in fear, couldn't help but feel favorably towards the army after seeing how friendly they were.
In their view, this army, known as the "Eastern Barbarians," was far superior to their own in terms of discipline and amiable manner.
By the time the army reached the capital of the Slavic province, almost no one in the area regarded them as barbarians anymore.
Upon entering the city, the Slavic governor and a group of nobles hosted a grand welcome banquet for Helian and Liru.
At this time, Confucianism was already popular among the Roman aristocracy. Therefore, after a conversation, the people of the Slavic province were also impressed by Li Ru's erudition and refined manner of speaking.
Of course, He Lian, who had studied under Li Ru for many years, was no slouch either. He could often bring up Confucian allusions, which attracted the attention of the nobles.
Like the ordinary people, the Slavic governor and the nobles also abandoned their past perceptions and removed the label of "barbarian" that had been attached to the Xianbei and Xiongnu.
During the banquet, Li Ru approached the Slavic governor and said in a deep voice, "I have a suggestion, I wonder if you would be willing to listen?"
The Slavic governor, speaking in somewhat broken Chinese, said politely, "Sir, please speak frankly!"
"There is a saying in the Han Dynasty: 'An army must have a just cause.' Now that the governor is preparing to join forces with our army to attack Rome, we should find a suitable reason."
In this way, not only will our morale be boosted, but the world will also know the truth and won't unite against you!
“What you say is true, sir, but what reason should we give?” the Slavic governor asked doubtfully.
"The governor can first expose to the public all kinds of oppressive acts that Rome has committed against the Slavic provinces, such as: high taxes, unfair trade, large-scale conscription, and forced labor, etc."
Then, the governor listed a series of crimes committed by Commodus after he came to power, and finally the governor could declare the establishment of a state and declare war on Rome…
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