Young Master Luo's words are both reasonable and logical...
With the main force of the Xiongnu destroyed and the Xianbei occupying Gu County, the Qi state is requesting to send troops to assist in attacking the Yan state, and Zhao Yong of the Jin state is also making moves, waiting for an opportunity to reap the benefits!
During this period, the ruler of Zhongshan was absolutely miserable!
I've even lost the desire to share a room with my wife...
However, if they cooperate with the Rouran, the sworn enemies of the Xiongnu, and lead the Rouran troops south to fight the Xianbei, and then Qi and Yan are at war, then they will indeed have a chance to recover Gu County.
Moreover, if a deeper alliance could be formed with the Rouran, it wouldn't be impossible to plunder a large chunk (several cities) of the Yan Kingdom!
After all, the Hu people were only interested in tangible wealth and food, and had little interest in cities and farmland!
As the former hegemon, the State of Qi was not to be offended!
The ruler of Qi has already declared that if Zhongshan does not send troops to assist in the attack on Yan, then Qi will sever diplomatic relations. In the future, if Jin attacks Zhongshan again, Qi should not expect to send troops to restrain it!
In reality, the State of Qi didn't rely on the meager army of the State of Zhongshan, but rather on a certain stance: to strategically encircle the State of Yan, isolating it from all other states...
After much deliberation and weighing the pros and cons, the ruler of Zhongshan decided to adopt Luo Gongzi's suggestion and form an alliance with the Rouran.
However, he expressed deep concerns about the "meeting gift" mentioned by Young Master Luo, namely the "Howling Golden Wolf"!
In his letter, Young Master Luo said that he had informed the Rouran Khan that he was the one who had raided the Xiongnu's main camp! He also offered the golden wolf to the Rouran Khan!
The Rouran are annexing the remnants of the Xiongnu. Only with that golden wolf can their will to resist be fundamentally broken... The Rouran Khan will definitely be interested in the golden wolf!
The letter also instructed that the king should only be responsible for sending envoys to make contact, and that he could handle the matter of sending the golden wolf himself!
That being said, the ruler of Zhongshan knew that the raid on the Xiongnu's old camp... was not carried out by the Zhongshan army!
Most importantly, does Young Master Luo actually possess this golden wolf?
What if we can't deliver it?
Now that the Xiongnu are all gone, it doesn't matter whether we pin the blame on them or not. But if we can't form an alliance, the Rouran will think we're playing a trick on them, which is more troublesome!
He discussed this matter with Luo Gongzi's sister, the Queen of Zhongshan...
The Queen of Zhongshan said that since her brother had said so, he must know what he was doing!
My younger brother is the smartest and most resourceful!
He said the Golden Wolf was in his hands, so it must be! Perhaps he bought it from the Yan people!
It wouldn't hurt to admit that the Xiongnu's main camp was attacked by the Zhongshan State. The Rouran and the Xiongnu were sworn enemies, and this would also quickly bring the Rouran and the Zhongshan State closer together!
With the queen saying so, the king of Zhongshan's concerns were completely dispelled, and he immediately sent an envoy to Rouran to convey the intention of the two countries to form an alliance!
The State of Zhongshan, a small state sandwiched between the states of Jin, Yan, and the Xiongnu, existed for nearly a century without ever being destroyed. Besides its strategically advantageous location and the unity of its people and military, it possessed another core skill: an exceptional ability to feign weakness!
Some major powers, for the sake of national face and the empty title of hegemon, frequently wage war.
But for the State of Zhongshan, it absolutely did not exist!
They only care about their own interests. As long as they can survive and gain benefits, they'll call you "father" without a problem! They'll just turn on you when the time comes!
It once served as a vassal state of the Jin, Yan, and Xiongnu states, and was also the ruler of a 'son state'.
Therefore, he is quite experienced in playing the subservient role!
The ruler of Zhongshan was over sixty years old, yet he was willing to acknowledge the Rouran Khan as his father, and the words in his official letter were extremely humble and nauseating!
They even said that the father was responsible for hunting, and the son was responsible for farming and delivering grain. The father conquered the land of Yan, and the son grew grain to pay tribute to the father every year...
But before that, the father must first help his son drive away the jackal-like Xianbei people at the door...
......
When a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, as well as stunning beauties from various countries, were delivered to the Rouran tribe, the Rouran Khan was indeed overjoyed and couldn't be happier!
The Dong brothers, Shan and Chuan, simply assumed that Young Master Luo had sent all the captured beauties to other countries to work as prostitutes...
This is a gross underestimation of Young Master Luo's operational capabilities!
In reality, Young Master Luo plundered a large number of beautiful women from various countries, all of whom were kept as assets for 'bribes'. He taught them etiquette and the art of pleasing men, and some of the clever ones were even trained to become spies!
The people of Qi employed a "gold tactic," using gold to corrupt ministers of other states.
The Zhongshan Kingdom also wanted to follow suit, but it took the "beauty route" instead!
For these rugged nomadic men on the grasslands, the petite, fair-skinned beauties from the Central Plains, who had no body odor, were an irresistible temptation!
Compared to the Central Plains women who are as delicate as lambs, the robust women on the grasslands, draped in animal skins, are practically no different from livestock...
In fact, these 100 beautiful women alone were enough to persuade the Rouran Khan to form an alliance with the Zhongshan Kingdom.
I also heard that the Zhongshan Kingdom had previously launched a surprise attack on the Xiongnu and was even willing to offer the Xiongnu's ancestral divine creature, the 'Howling Golden Wolf,' to the Rouran Khan!
The Rouran Khan was so excited that his eyes widened!
The Xiongnu were, after all, the most numerous ethnic group on the grasslands!
Although their main force was wiped out, leaving them leaderless and disorganized, their large population and dispersed tribal structure made it extremely difficult to assimilate them!
But if you take their "Imperial Seal of the State" in your hands and tell them that... Heaven has already bestowed its mandate upon the Rouran, then the cost of gathering and ruling them will naturally be much lower!
With such a generous offer as an incentive, the alliance was signed on the spot!
To demonstrate the importance he placed on the alliance, the Rouran Khan even sacrificed more than 30 female slaves to the heavens, placing their heads on a table...
The sight of this scene filled the envoy from Zhongshan with dread.
Although the Zhongshan Kingdom was originally a nomadic Bai Di people from the grasslands, it had been in the Central Plains for a hundred years, and its customs, systems, and education were no longer the same as before... The behavior of this barbaric slave tribe was simply incomprehensible!
But those 100 beautiful women who were sent to Rouran were pitiful!
Overjoyed, the Rouran Khan had sex with two maids that very night, and they died...
This burly Rouran Khan even complained that the women of the Central Plains were too weak and frail, unable to withstand any hardship!
......
The two sides agreed on a deadline for delivering the 'golden wolf'. The Rouran Khan was waiting for the 'treasure' to be in his hands so that he could immediately send troops to fight against the remnants of the Xiongnu, and then lead his army south to Gu County and Dukang!
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