Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 363 Unifying the Rong and Di tribes is not in China's interest.
Liu Bian did not discuss the three-pronged attack on the Xianbei with Cheng Yu in depth. After all, no matter how outrageous Liu Hong was, he was still the retired emperor and the father of the current emperor. Discussing his mistakes was not the way of a subject, which really put Cheng Yu in a difficult position.

Moreover, in a sense, Liu Hong made a great contribution to the Han Dynasty by making Lady He the empress and giving birth to such an excellent successor.

After gaining a deeper understanding of the Xianbei's political and military system through Cheng Yu's explanation, Liu Bian's gaze fell on the western part of the Xianbei map, which was divided into three parts. His fingertips slowly traced the three names written on it—Kuitou, Fuluohan, and Budugen.

When Cheng Yu saw the emperor pointing to the western Xianbei region, he immediately explained, "My country, these three men are the three sons of Tan Shihuai's eldest son."

Cheng Yu paused briefly before continuing, "Tan Shihuai knew that his second son, Helian, was greedy and lustful but mediocre and could not win over the people. In particular, the three brothers, Kui Tou, Fu Luohan, and Bu Dugen, would not obey him. Therefore, he no longer appointed a Western Lord, but divided the western territory into three parts and gave them to his three grandsons respectively, making them take charge of the west, and he would also sow discord from time to time."

Liu Bian nodded slightly, having to admit that Tan Shihuai's arrangement was indeed appropriate.

The eldest son's three sons each took charge of the west. Even if they harbored rebellious intentions, how much military strength could they muster to rebel before their newly controlled territories were secure?

Even if He Lian is incompetent, with his stronghold in the central region where he rose to power from Tan Shihuai and thousands of loyal villages, how could he not be able to keep his three nephews in the west in check?

As for Lord Dongfang, he was a confidant of Tan Shihuai, an old brother who had risen from humble beginnings with him. He had sworn an oath to the heavens, and Tan Shihuai was willing to believe this old brother. (Note 1)

However, even the deepest trust cannot withstand the capriciousness of fate.

Tan Shihuai's good brother made a mistake that all men make—he died!

Less than three days after Tan Shihuai's death, before the news even reached the East, this Eastern Lord also followed Tan Shihuai in death.

There are three strong contenders for the position of the Eastern Lord: Suli, Miga, and Queji, the three tribal lords.

However, after He Lian succeeded as the Xianbei chieftain, he arranged for his confidant to be parachuted in and appointed as the Eastern Chieftain.

Naturally, many tribes in the east were dissatisfied with this behavior. As a result, this confidant was powerless to control the eastern tribes. In fact, tribal leaders often disobeyed his orders, eventually leading to rebellion.

The rebels were led by Suli, Mika, and Queji. Lian's confidants not only failed to quell the rebellion, but also died on the battlefield.

Although all three respected Helian as the Xianbei leader, Helian actually lost control of the east, and a delicate three-way power struggle emerged in the eastern Xianbei region.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian's lips curled into a cold smile.

Even without Cheng Yu's instigation, the Xianbei would have fallen apart sooner or later; it was just that Cheng Yu artificially accelerated this process.

However, relying on the political and military legacy left by Tan Shihuai, Helian was still able to maintain the unity of the various Xianbei tribes on the surface.

However, the balance was broken when Guan Yu killed He Lian, and the situation of the Xianbei also collapsed.

Liu Bian authorized Cheng Yu to handle Xianbei affairs with full authority, and Cheng Yu certainly did not disappoint him.

He Lian's confidant sent an envoy to negotiate with Cheng Yu, hoping to redeem He Lian with cattle, sheep, and even land.

On the one hand, Cheng Yu strictly concealed the news of He Lian's death, sending embroidered robes directly to his personal "protectors" to prevent anyone from contacting "He Lian," while on the other hand, he dealt with the envoy.

Whenever the negotiations made a little progress, he would delay the negotiations for half a month under the pretext of waiting for the emperor's opinion. In the end, the delay lasted for more than three months.

Taking advantage of this lull, Cheng Yu ordered Wei Ji, the deputy envoy, to entertain the Xianbei envoy, while he himself secretly went to the salt marshland in the north of Yanmen County to meet with Kui Tou.

During the meeting, Cheng Yu went straight to the point and told him about He Lian's death. He also openly encouraged Kui Tou to compete for the position of Xianbei leader, and expressed the Han Dynasty's support for him.

Although Helian died, he was not without offspring; he left behind a fourteen-year-old son, Qianman.

Although nomadic tribes such as the Xianbei and Xiongnu had the custom of succession by brothers, this was based on the premise that the monarch's sons were not yet adults, and the priority heirs were always the monarch's sons.

The Xianbei people considered fifteen years old as the age of adulthood. For the survival and future of the entire tribe, Xianbei males under the age of fifteen had no right to inherit, not even Qianman, the son of a Xianbei chief.

Qianman had no brothers, and Tanshihuai had no other children, so the Xianbei chieftainship could only be inherited by other male members of the same clan.

The one with the first right of inheritance is naturally Tan Shihuai's eldest grandson, Kuitou.

As the son of the eldest branch of the Suhe clan (Tan Shihuai's clan name), his father was originally Tan Shihuai's intended heir. However, when he died suddenly, Kui Tou was a fourteen-year-old underage boy and had no right to inherit, so the inheritance was transferred to He Lian.

Unexpectedly, fate has turned around, and He Lian's son is now experiencing the same situation he faced back then. Kui Tou has now been given a legitimate opportunity to seize the throne.

Although Kui Tou possesses the most legitimate right of succession, it is still very difficult for him to smoothly inherit the position of Xianbei leader amidst internal turmoil and even division within the Xianbei, and it is inevitable that some fighting will take place.

Therefore, while Kui Tou was greatly surprised, he was not blinded by this joy. Kui Tou naturally had ambitions to seize the throne, but he was more wary of the Han Dynasty, especially since the court had deployed a large number of troops in Bingzhou, Youzhou, and northern Liangzhou in recent years, and even spread rumors of a northern expedition against the Xianbei.

However, Cheng Yu explained that the Northern Expedition against the Xianbei was merely an excuse for the emperor to expand his army.

Although Kui Tou was a Xianbei, he was influenced by Tan Shihuai and had a certain understanding of Central Plains culture. In his eyes, it seemed that Han people in the Central Plains had to have a legitimate reason for doing anything, and even the emperor who held supreme power had to abide by such rules.

Of course, Cheng Yu also proposed to Kui Tou the reward he needed for the support of the Han Dynasty, which was to guarantee the interests of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions.

With domestic turmoil and continuous rebellions in Liangzhou, the Han Dynasty's control over the Western Regions has become increasingly weak, even though ten years ago, Ma Lang, the governor of Dunhuang, was able to lead more than 40,000 troops from various Western Regions kingdoms such as Yanqi, Kucha, and Cheshi to suppress the Shule nobles and Hede who had usurped the throne of Shule.

Even the Protectorate of the Western Regions had to relocate due to the repeated Qiang rebellions in Liangzhou, moving its administrative center to its former location in Liuzhong.

Currently, the only Western Regions actually controlled by the Han Dynasty are the Cheshi Kingdom, where the Wuji Commandery is stationed, and the Yizhi Kingdom, where the Yihe Commandery is stationed, but these two countries are also eager to make moves.

However, during the last rebellion of the Qiang in Liangzhou, the Han Dynasty demonstrated sufficient military strength, which once again deterred the Cheshi Kingdom and the Yizhi Kingdom. Even the Western Regions kingdoms that had previously severed ties with the Han Dynasty sent envoys to congratulate Liu Bian and presented gifts to him.

Cheng Yu told Kui Tou that the current Emperor of the Han Dynasty is a young man who is promising and eager to make enough achievements to consolidate his position.

However, the Han emperor had no interest in the barren grasslands. Instead, he hoped to obtain the rich and fertile Western Regions. Therefore, the Han emperor only used the pretext of a northern expedition against the Xianbei to train troops. In reality, he only wanted to reclaim the Western Regions and hoped that the Xianbei would stop interfering in the Western Regions.

Ultimately, the delegation led by Cheng Yu and with Wei Ji as its deputy engaged in a frank exchange with the Xianbei leadership of Kui Tou's side. They fully exchanged opinions on some topics of concern, enhanced mutual understanding, and reached a preliminary cooperation agreement.

According to the cooperation agreement, the Great Han would support Kui Tou to take the throne, provide Kui Tou with a batch of weapons and armor to quickly arm an elite force, and promise to give priority to purchasing horses and other livestock from Kui Tou's troops in the future. In return, the Great Han would give priority to selling high-end consumer goods such as ceramics, lacquerware, tea, and silk to Kui Tou's troops, and establish a trade market at the Yinshan Pass south of Tanhan Mountain and north of Yanmen County.

Kui Tou promised that the Xianbei would no longer invade the border regions of the Han Dynasty and would not interfere with the Han Dynasty's actions against the Western Regions. The Han Dynasty would also not invade the Xianbei, and the two sides would become "friendly nations".

In reality, both Cheng Yu and Kui Tou knew perfectly well that this alliance was nothing but a piece of waste paper.

Even if Kui Tou could control his own Xianbei tribes to stop plundering the Han, the other tribes might not obey his orders obediently, especially since Kui Tou had no intention of keeping the alliance.

He merely rose to power with the support of the Han Dynasty, and in the future, he will surely aspire to revive and even surpass the great cause of Tan Shihuai.

Moreover, although Kui Tou believed that the main target of the Han emperor this time was probably the Western Regions, if the emperor of the Han Empire was such an ambitious emperor, he did not believe that after the Han emperor recovered the Western Regions, he would not be tempted by the vast territory of the Xianbei.

In any case, Cheng Yu never intended to abide by the alliance. He didn't believe that all the Xianbei tribes could stop invading the territory of the Han Dynasty. Even Tan Shihuai couldn't do it, so Kui Tou definitely couldn't.

Fortunately, the Han Dynasty was not prepared to abide by the alliance.

Given the Xianbei people's greedy nature, it would be easy for them to capture a few Xianbei who had broken the agreement and invaded the borders of the Han Dynasty. This would not be considered that the Han Dynasty had broken the alliance first, and it would also give the Han Dynasty another legitimate pretext for war.

Since he was not prepared to be a true ally of Kui Tou, Cheng Yu naturally would not support him alone. He also secretly met with three tribal leaders from the eastern Xianbei region, Su Li, Mi Jia, and Que Ji, promising that the Han Dynasty would provide them with weapons, armor, and food to support them in resisting Kui Tou. He also hoped that the three of them would simultaneously accept the seal of the Han Dynasty and become the Kings of Guiyi of the Han Dynasty, ruling over the eastern Xianbei region on behalf of the Han Emperor.

But that wasn't all. Cheng Yu then secretly met with Kui Tou's two younger brothers, Fu Luohan and Bu Dugen, and cleverly incited them not to help their elder brother Kui Tou rise to power, but to fight for their own interests.

Although Fuluohan and Budugen do not currently have any intention of vying for the position of Xianbei leader, they still have some practical needs.

Fu Luohan and Bu Dugen both harbored ambitions to compete with Kui Tou for profit. With Cheng Yu's instigation, they simply used him as a mouthpiece to express their demands. This was merely a result of Cheng Yu's guidance and amplification, which led to Fu Luohan and Bu Dugen successfully reaching a cooperation agreement.

Kui Tou never expected that his two younger brothers would take the opportunity to extort money from him, so he had no choice but to promise that after succeeding as the Xianbei leader, he would divide his western tribes and territories equally between Fu Luohan and Budugen.

Instigating internal conflicts among the Xianbei was precisely Cheng Yu's method of controlling the barbarians.

He neither advocated war nor simply appeasement, but rather preferred to "use barbarians to control barbarians".

Cheng Yu bowed and addressed the emperor, saying in a deep voice, "I have always advocated that it is not in the interest of China for the Rong and Di tribes to be united. Instead, we should first create a situation where they become enemies and attack each other."

“Qianman, the son of Helian; Suli, Mijia, and Queji, the tribal chiefs of the eastern Xianbei; or even Kui Tou’s two younger brothers, Fuluohan and Budugen—these are all ‘enemies’ who restrain Kui Tou and even cause him to fight each other.” Cheng Yu pointed out several major enemies of Kui Tou in his struggle for the throne on the map, a sly smile unconsciously appearing on his lips. He said, “I guarantee that when the country launches a northern expedition in the future, we will only encounter a divided Xianbei that is fighting each other internally.”

(3568 words)
Note 1: "Tengri" is the "Azure Sky" in the Mongolian language family, and "Eternal Heaven" is the "Heaven" in the Turkic language family. In fact, their status and even some mythological experiences are the same.

Furthermore, the Mongols originated from the Donghu, not the Xiongnu. The Xianbei and Wuhuan were separate groups of the Donghu after they were destroyed by the Xiongnu Chanyu Modu. One branch that retreated to Wuhuan Mountain was called Wuhuan, and the other branch that retreated to Xianbei Mountain was called Xianbei.

The Xiongnu were the ancestors of the Turks, so they belonged to the Turkic language family and their beliefs differed greatly from those of the Xianbei.

(End of this chapter)