Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

Liu Yu sighed deeply and said:

"As you know, when we left Zhuojun, we used two camels to transport five hundred bolts of various colored silks, and three horses to carry a thousand catties of tea from Jiangnan, preparing to go to the borderlands to trade with the Xianbei people..."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said:

"I remember, a year ago, there were ten of you. Besides your two cousins, you had eight retainers as guards. Have they all returned?"

Liu Yu nodded and said:

"Thank God, all ten of us are back safely."

Liu Bei knew that the Han Dynasty had established border markets to facilitate trade between the Han people and the Xianbei people.

However, the border market was not open frequently; it was sometimes open and sometimes closed.

The Xianbei people also had a strong demand for Han Dynasty silk, grain, pottery, and various exquisite handicrafts.

The demand for ironware was particularly strong.

However, according to the provisions of the Han Dynasty law:

"In the markets of Hu, officials and commoners are not allowed to carry weapons or iron outside the pass. Even if they buy them in the capital, the law remains the same."

The Han Dynasty at that time regarded weapons and iron as advanced military products and strictly prohibited their export to the border regions and the southern Yue region. Just like today, the secrets of missiles or submarines are also strictly prohibited from being leaked.

The Han Dynasty army at that time crushed the armies of the foreign tribes beyond the Great Wall precisely because of the superiority of their weapons and armor.

During the Western Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu people still used bronze weapons, and some of their arrowheads were even made of bone, which could not kill Han soldiers at all.

At that time, one Han soldier could defeat five Xiongnu cavalrymen.

Advanced military products such as iron swords, armor, and ring-pommel swords played a very important role in this.

Smuggling weapons and iron products out of the Han Dynasty was a smuggling activity prohibited by law, and violators were severely punished.

However, during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, chaos arose from the top down, and the lower ranks followed suit. Officials along the border were extremely corrupt, engaging in favoritism and malpractice, which led to rampant smuggling along the border.

Large quantities of iron products were smuggled to the border regions by unscrupulous merchants and fell into the hands of the Xianbei people.

The Xianbei cavalry gradually equipped themselves with weapons similar in design to the ring-pommel sword. They rode horses from a young age and were skilled archers, so they began to slowly gain the upper hand in battles against the Han Chinese army.

The Han Dynasty's war against the Xianbei gradually fell into a passive and defensive situation.

The northern defense line of the Han Dynasty was almost completely ignored by the Xianbei Khan Tanshihuai.

Historical records indicate that Tan Shihuai invaded the borders of the Han Dynasty every year, even reaching as far as Taiyuan Commandery in Bingzhou and Dai Commandery in Youzhou. However, he had not yet reached the core area of ​​the Han Dynasty's rule—the Sili Commandery.

Having thought of this, Liu Bei asked his cousin Liu Yu:

"The Xianbei were divided into three major tribes: Eastern, Central, and Western. Which tribe did your two cousins ​​go to after leaving the pass?"

Liu Yu said:

"The eastern and central Xianbei are close to Youzhou, and there are many trades between the Han and non-Han peoples. Therefore, we decided to go to the western Xianbei, which is the area of ​​Chengle County under the jurisdiction of Dingxiang County, which was separated from Yunzhong County in Bingzhou."

"Now, the imperial court has abolished the administrative division of Chengle County. This is because the entire territory of Chengle has been completely occupied by the Xianbei people."

The Xianbei Khan Tanshihuai divided the Xianbei into three:

The area from Youbeiping County in Youzhou eastward to Liaodong County was the territory of the Eastern Xianbei.

The area from Youbeiping County westward to Shanggu County in Youzhou was the territory of the central Xianbei.

The area from Shanggu County westward to Dunhuang County in Liangzhou was the territory of the western Xianbei.

Upon hearing that his cousin Liu Yu had gone to Chengle, the territory of the Xianbei in the west, Liu Bei said:

"Could it be that my cousins ​​Huaijin and Wangyue have encountered trouble with the Xianbei in the west?"

"Exactly."

Liu Yu frowned slightly, clearly recalling painful memories. "The Xianbei Khan Tanshihuai governed about sixty villages in total. The Western Xianbei comprised exactly one-third of them, or more than twenty villages. Among the Western Xianbei, renowned figures include Zhijian, Luoluo, Rilu, Tuiyin, and Yanliyou."

The "Daren" refers to the tribal leader of the Xianbei people.

The Xianbei people often elected the brave and prestigious person in the tribe as their leader.

The Xianbei leader was responsible for leading his people, handling various affairs within the tribe, and traveling to the Xianbei Khan's royal court at Tanhan Mountain to attend alliance meetings and even participate in core decision-making.

Liu Bei then asked:

"They robbed my two cousins' caravan?"

"No, that's not it."

Liu Gao, standing to the side, said in a deep voice, "The leaders of the Western Xianbei are very cunning. We were first falsely accused by a leader named Rilu of being spies sent by the Han Dynasty. They imprisoned all our people, and confiscated all our camels, horses, and goods. We were imprisoned in a semi-underground dugout. They also sent several Xianbei people to guard us."

Liu Yu continued:

"We were locked up for several months. Fortunately, they didn't cut off my food. Although the food was terrible, it was enough to survive."

Liu Bei asked:

"How did those two cousins ​​escape?"

Liu Gao then said:

"Later, a man named Tuiyin from another village came to Rilu's village and happened to see us being imprisoned in a dugout. After talking with us, he realized that we were educated Han Chinese and respected us greatly. So he went to Rilu, wanting to redeem us."

Liu Yu gave a wry smile and continued:

"We later learned that this was a scheme orchestrated by Ritsu and Tuiyin."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said:

"Did Ritsu and Tuiyin deliberately set a trap to steal your goods?"

Liu Gao smiled wryly:

"You might not believe it, but what they wanted wasn't the goods, but me and Huaijin."

"They want people?"

Liu Bei was taken aback.

Liu Yu shook his head and smiled:

"To be precise, what they want are talented people, scholars from the Han region."

Liu Bei was taken aback and said:

"Rilü and Tuiyin are merely tribal leaders of the Xianbei, yet they possess such insight?"

Liu Yu said:

"Ri Lü lacks this insight; he covets our goods. It is Tui Yin who has this insight."

Liu Gao asked Liu Bei:

"Xuande, do you know what 'Tuiyin' means in the Xianbei language?"

"I don't know."

Liu Bei answered honestly.

Liu Gao said:

"In the Xianbei language, 'Tuiyin' means to study or delve into. The western Xianbei people called those in their tribe who were willing to study problems 'Tuiyin,' and elected them as the most important among the leaders."

Liu Bei quickly understood, and he nodded, saying:

"In other words, Tuiyin is not the real name of this Xianbei chieftain. Rather, he is the leader of the western Xianbei, who commands a group of chieftains."

Liu Yu corrected:

"It can't be said that he ruled over them. The Xianbei tribes were relatively loosely organized. Tuiyin had the highest prestige and was the most respected among the western Xianbei. His words carried the most weight in discussions. After all, he was diligent in his studies and his words were insightful. All the Xianbei people admired him wholeheartedly."

Liu Bei couldn't help but ask curiously:

"What is this Tuiyin's real name?"

Liu Gao said:

"His surname was Tuoba, and his given name was Lin."

"Tuoba Lin..."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, "In other words, he is the leader of the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei in the west."

"right."

Liu Yu nodded, then asked, "Do you know what 'Tuoba' means?"

Liu Bei said:

"Of course I don't know. I would appreciate your guidance, cousin."

Liu Yu said:

"After our Han army defeated the Northern Xiongnu, most of them migrated westward. However, more than 100,000 Xiongnu tribes remained in the northern grasslands. After the Xianbei people arrived, they lived together and thus also called themselves Xianbei."

Liu Bei asked:

"Over 100,000 households... how many people is that?"

Liu Yu silently calculated for a moment and said:

"That's about several hundred thousand people. A 'ruo' is equivalent to the population of a family. More than 100,000 'ruo' of the Xiongnu were all subdued by Tanshihuai and assimilated into the Xianbei people."

"If the father is a Xianbei and the mother is a Xiongnu, then the child is called Tuoba."

Liu Bei listened and nodded silently, saying:

"So, this is what Tuoba means in the Xianbei language..."

……

During the reign of Emperor He (Yongyuan era), General Dou Xian dispatched Right Colonel Geng Kui to defeat the Xiongnu, and the Northern Chanyu fled. The Xianbei then migrated and occupied the area. More than 100,000 remnants of the Xiongnu remained, all calling themselves Xianbei. The Xianbei gradually rose to power from this point.

—Fan Ye, *Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biographies of the Wuhuan and Xianbei*