Dingxiang County is located at the foot of Manhan Mountain, on the banks of the Hun River.
Goodness has no city.
Yufuluo, the Right Wise King and son of Qiangqu Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu, led 50,000 troops to garrison here.
The Xiongnu were the main enemies of the Han people during the Qin and Han dynasties.
After the Qin and Han dynasties fought one after another against foreign invaders, the Xiongnu were basically driven to the Mongolian Plateau north of the Yin Mountains.
It also split into the Southern Xiongnu and the Northern Xiongnu.
The Northern Xiongnu migrated westward, while the Southern Xiongnu chose to submit and settled in the border areas such as Yunzhong, Yanmen, Daijun, Dingxiang, and Wuyuan.
However, towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the court engaged in buying and selling official positions and titles, and eunuchs and relatives of the emperor seized power, leading to the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
The fire swept across the Central Plains, and the Eastern Han court was busy putting out fires everywhere.
Although the uprising was suppressed that same year.
However, the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion continued to cause trouble in the following years.
In order to completely suppress the uprising, in the fourth year of Zhongping, Liu Hong adopted the suggestion of Liu Yan, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, and changed some of the governors to provincial governors.
Members of the imperial family or high-ranking officials were appointed to these positions, granting them local military and political power to strengthen local governments, make it easier to control the region, and effectively suppress the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Because Emperor Ling of Han delegated power, local armies became increasingly powerful and independent, leading to various warlords attacking each other and vying for control of the Central Plains.
This also ushered in the Three Kingdoms period!
It was precisely because of internal strife that the Eastern Han Dynasty's control over the border regions gradually weakened.
The Southern Xiongnu rebelled multiple times and joined forces with the Xianbei to raid the border and kill officials.
They even planned to seize the opportunity to take advantage of the weakened defenses of Yanmen Pass, and then march south to invade Bingzhou and plunder its people and resources.
At this time, more than two months had passed since the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and the Central Plains were in chaos.
Yufuluo, without informing his father Qiangqu Chanyu, gradually gathered his troops in Dingxiang.
They planned to plunder some winter supplies in the Pingcheng area outside Yanmen Pass before winter arrived.
The air inside Hufro's large leather tent was thick with the smell of mutton.
He embraced two voluptuous Hu women on his left and right, watching with a contented expression as a group of Hu women danced gracefully inside the tent.
To the left and right of the main tent, a dozen or so tribal chiefs were all drunk, their noses red, lecherously staring at the dancer in the center.
These tribal leaders were also restless individuals, and like Yufuluo, they were dissatisfied with being suppressed by the Han people and always thought about rebelling.
They first discussed how to rob the pass right under the noses of the garrison at Yanmen Pass. After a heated argument, they decided on a general direction.
"Everyone, have you heard that a prince has come from the Central Plains to take up his fief in Shuofang and will pass through Dingxiang?"
"Rumor has it that they are coming to conquer us and subdue the four counties of Yunzhong!"
Seeing that the matter was settled, everyone drank happily, and Hufro casually asked, "What do you all think about this?"
"There have been rumors everywhere lately, and customers who have come and gone have confirmed that it's true!"
"What? Has the emperor of the Han Dynasty gone mad? Let alone Shuofang, the three prefectures of Yunzhong, Dingxiang, and Wuyuan are already places where we Xiongnu people graze our sheep."
"That's right, what exactly is the Emperor of Han planning to do by sending a prince to Shuofang!"
"You could have just sent a general or a minister, but you actually sent a prince!"
"Are they still dreaming, granting fiefdoms on our territory?"
"Isn't this sending his son to his death? What deep-seated hatred must this prince have committed? He must have done something treasonous."
"Haha, where is this prince? We want to see what kind of person he is who dares to leave Yanmen Pass!"
"Prince Huvro, how many troops did he bring?"
"......"
As soon as Yufro finished speaking, the tribal chiefs inside the tent burst into wild laughter.
This is truly a joke.
Right Bone Marquis Huyan Gu frowned.
This rumor had been circulating for half a month as early as when merchants from Luoyang and Bingzhou came here.
He heard quite a bit about it.
At first, I thought it was impossible. How could the emperor of the Han Dynasty send his son to such a remote place?
However, after making inquiries from various sources, he got a general idea and confirmed the matter.
Now that Yufuluo has brought up this matter while preparing to gather the troops from various tribes to head south, he probably has some ulterior motive.
So, following Yufuluo's words, Huyan Gu stepped forward and said:
"Prince Yufuluo, I believe there is more to this than meets the eye!"
Huyan Gu had read many books by Han people and greatly admired and revered the wisdom and strategies of the Han people. His speech reflected the style of Han literati.
"Lord Bone Capital, tell me what you have to say!"
Hufro immediately became interested and waved for the others to quiet down.
The Left and Right Bone Lords were official titles of the Xiongnu people, equivalent to the regents of the Left and Right Wise Kings.
Huyan Gu cleared his throat: "Prince, as far as I know, this prince is the illegitimate son of the Han emperor who was lost among the common people, and he was found less than a year ago."
"He was first enfeoffed as the Prince of Taiyuan, but he did not go to Taiyuan to take up his post. Instead, he was kept in Luoyang, indulging in sensual pleasures and extravagance."
"Now, they've actually sent someone to Shuofang County, which is already our territory, to take up their fiefdom."
"Rumors then circulated that they had come to reclaim the four prefectures of Yunzhong."
"This is an open conspiracy, a blatant open conspiracy!"
Huyan Gu emphasized the words "open conspiracy" and then paused, looking around triumphantly.
The tribal leaders inside the tent looked on with longing.
Yufuluo's face turned cold: "Lord Gudu, just say what you have to say, or shut up. Don't beat around the bush. I don't like that Han Chinese stuff!"
Huyan Gu's face showed a slight embarrassment as he asked, "What does the prince intend to do with the arrival of this prince?"
“I don’t care who he is. He wants to build a small kingdom on our territory. Dream on. I’ll cut off his head and soak it in wine.”
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