Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

Liu Gao also said in a deep voice:

"This Tuoba Lin was a mixed-race child born from a Xianbei man and a Xiongnu woman. He was a very thoughtful person."

"The leader of the western Xianbei Tuoba tribe was Tuiyin Tuoba Lin..."

Liu Bei muttered to himself, then added, "No matter how many ideas Tuoba Lin may have, they are not as many as those of Tan Shihuai."

"Yes, you're right."

Liu Yu continued, "Do you know why Tuoba Lin, the chief of the Tuoba clan, respected and valued scholars from the Han region?"

Why?

Liu Bei asked.

Liu Yu smiled and said:

"Tuoba Lin learned from the Xianbei Khan Tanshihuai."

In Liu Bei's mind, the Xianbei at this time, although militarily powerful, were still in the era of tribal alliances. That is equivalent to the Yanhuang period in Chinese history.

The Yellow Emperor is the ancestor of the Chinese nation, the first of the Five Emperors, the first ancient emperor of China, and the progenitor of Chinese civilization. He holds an extremely high position in the history of the Chinese nation.

The sandalwood tree of the Xianbei tribe could not compare with that of the Yellow Emperor.

However, in the minds of some Xianbei people, Tanshihuai also held a very high position.

Although Tan Shihuai established a unified Xianbei tribal alliance and recognized himself as the Xianbei Khan, the Han Empire he faced was an ancient civilization that had developed more than two thousand years earlier than the Xianbei civilization he belonged to.

Even if the Xianbei people could conquer the Han people with their military strength, they could not conquer the civilization created by the Han people.

The subsequent Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties fully proved this point.

Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, Tuoba Hong, embraced Chinese civilization and actively promoted Sinicization reforms, which was the inevitable result of being conquered and assimilated by Han Chinese civilization.

Of course, the powerful spirit of the grasslands was also infused into the genes of Chinese civilization, creating the prosperous era of China during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

But Chinese civilization will always be the dominant one!

Now, Liu Bei learned from his cousins ​​Liu Yu and Liu Gao that Tan Shihuai was making good use of scholars from the Han region, and he realized that as a backward civilization, they always had to learn from the advanced Chinese civilization.

So Liu Bei asked:

"Did Tan Shihuai really have Han Chinese helping him with his plans?"

"Yes. These people are what are called traitors, aren't they?"

Liu Yu sighed deeply, "In the past, the Xiongnu Chanyu Laoshang and Chanyu Junchen had a Han Chinese named Zhongxing Shuo assisting them. Now, Tanshihuai has also gathered some Han Chinese around him, offering advice and strategies."

Liu Bei asked:

"Were these Han Chinese all captured by the Xianbei people?"

Liu Gao said:

"As far as I know, most of these Han people were Han people who had fled there. Among them, there were naturally some who had been captured by the Xianbei. The Xianbei were in dire need of the fine gold and iron from the Han lands, so Tan Shihuai sent Han merchants to Youzhou to buy them and then smuggled them out of the country. Then, he had the artisans among the Han refugees make weapons, armor, and shields for their Xianbei cavalry."

Liu Bei nodded and said:

"No wonder the Xianbei cavalry were so swift and powerful, even surpassing the Xiongnu. It turns out they acquired advanced iron smelting and weapon forging techniques from the Han people."

Liu Yu sighed again:

"The court has become so corrupt, with a foolish emperor and incompetent ministers, that it has lost the hearts of the people. It can no longer strictly control the flow of ironware into the grasslands as it did during the reign of Emperor Wu. Nor can it control the Han people who have fled beyond the Great Wall and become used by the enemy."

Liu Bei silently said:

"It seems that this Xianbei Khan, Tanshihuai, is indeed a major threat to our Han Dynasty..."

Liu Gao continued:

"Tuoba Lin, the chieftain of the Western Xianbei, went to the Xianbei Khan's residence at Danhan Mountain. He saw that Tanshihuai was becoming stronger and stronger with the help of the Han people. So he wanted to follow suit and recruit Han people as his advisors."

Liu Yu continued:

"Tuoba Lin took a liking to me and Wang Yue. He and another tribal chief, Rilu, plotted to harm us. He first had Rilu arrest us on charges of being spies for the Han Dynasty."

"After being imprisoned for several months, Tuoba Lin came forward again to redeem us and restore our freedom."

"Tuoba Lin believed that this would make Wang Yue and me grateful to him, and thus willingly obey his commands."

"Rilü will get our goods. Tuoba Lin will get both of us. That's their plan."

Little did they know, we had seen through their clumsy scheme long ago.

Liu Bei then asked:

"After Tuoba Lin rescued your two cousins, did they go to the Tuoba tribe? And how did they return?"

Liu Yu continued:

"We two did indeed follow Tuoba Lin to the Tuoba tribe, where we were warmly received as honored guests in his yurt. He also selected beautiful women from the Tuoba tribe to accompany us."

"However, we have been playing dumb and have not offered them any advice."

Liu Gao picked up where Liu Yu left off, saying:

"In fact, the two of us have already made up our minds that even if we die in the borderlands, we will never offer advice or strategies to the Xianbei people."

"As time went on, Tuoba Lin also realized that we were not willing to serve him."

"Therefore, he compensated us with fine Xianbei horses and sable and fox furs of equal value to our goods, and sent his son Tuoba Jiefen to lead several hundred elite Xianbei cavalrymen to escort us all the way to the border of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Bei couldn't help but ask:

"What does Tuoba Lin mean by this?"

Liu Yu smiled and said:

"Tuoba Lin called us their most honored friends. As nomadic Xianbei men on the grasslands, they would not force their friends to do things they did not want to do."

He also said that the emperor of the Han Dynasty was incompetent and tyrannical, and that many Han people who had fled to the border regions had come to find him. He said that if we could not survive in Youzhou, we should come to the grasslands to find him.

"He will still treat us as honored guests."

Liu Bei smiled and said:

"It seems that Tuiyin Tuoba Lin of the Xianbei Tuoba tribe is still not giving up on his two cousins."

Liu Gao sighed and said:

"At that time, we were already prepared to die. Staying in the Xianbei people's yurt, we lived in constant fear, not knowing when Tuoba Lin would be displeased and kill us both."

"To our great surprise, Tuoba Lin actually compensated us for the loss of our goods and even sent his son to lead troops to escort us to Han Pass."

"Now, all ten of us have safely returned to Zhuojun. But thinking about it now, it's still quite frightening."

Liu Yu said quietly:

"Tuoba Lin not only did not kill us, but also politely escorted us out of the country. In his view, this was also a favor he had done for us."

"He knew that the Han people valued loyalty and righteousness, and would remember any kindness received. Therefore, in my opinion, his act of sending us back to Han territory was still a way for him to win people's hearts."

Liu Gao sneered:

"Would we ever go back? Tuoba Lin is trying to play the long game, but we won't take the bait again. I think we'll never go to the borderlands to trade again."

Liu Yu said:

"However, to be fair, the fine Xianbei horses and sable and fox furs that Tuoba Lin compensated us with still fetched a good price after being transported to Zhuojun. We made almost five times the money."

"This is probably another way Tuoba Lin bribed you with money..."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said, "I didn't expect this. This Xianbei man, Tuiyin, is indeed quite skilled; he knows how to win people's hearts. He has such a long-term vision. No wonder he was able to become a high-ranking official of the Tuoba tribe."

At this moment, he suddenly remembered his plan to assassinate the Xianbei Khan Tanshihuai, and in a flash of inspiration, he came up with a good idea.

Liu Bei's idea was that he could use his relationship with his two cousins, Liu Yu and Liu Gao, to first infiltrate the western Xianbei Tuoba tribe, and then find an opportunity to assassinate Tan Shihuai.

But right now, he needs to deal with the bandit King Wulu of Xuwu Mountain in Xuwu County, Youbeiping Commandery, Youzhou.

……

The passes were not strictly guarded, and the net of prohibition was often breached. Fine gold and iron all fell into the hands of thieves. Han people who fled were their strategists. Their troops were powerful and their horses were fast, surpassing even the Xiongnu.

—From the "Biography of the Wuhuan and Xianbei" in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty