Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

"Xuande, do you mean... that I should wage war against the various tribes of the Xianbei in the west?"

Tuoba Lin asked with some wariness.

The expression in his eyes suddenly became somewhat complicated.

Unpredictable.

At this time, Liu Bei had already discussed this matter in detail with Liu Yu, Liu Gao, and Qian Zhao.

In order to kill the Xianbei Khan Tanshihuai, a powerful force must be cultivated on the grasslands to pose a threat to him.

Currently, the central Xianbei and the eastern Xianbei are relatively close to each other.

The western Xianbei were located in the western borderlands and were relatively distant from the eastern and central Xianbei.

If Liu Bei had supported the western Xianbei to grow stronger and become a powerful rival to the eastern and central Xianbei, then the power on the grasslands would have maintained a relative balance.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, as the imperial court's control over the local areas weakened, neighboring ethnic groups such as the Qiang, Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei began to rebel incessantly.

In fact, the Xianbei people initially had a honeymoon period with the Han Dynasty.

At that time, the Xianbei people killed Xiongnu people for the Han Dynasty and brought the Xiongnu heads to the Han Dynasty to collect the reward.

For a period of time, the Xianbei killed so many Xiongnu that the Han Dynasty's finances were in dire straits.

The Xianbei, who were integrated by Tan Shihuai, formed a tribal alliance, much like the "Vertical Alliance" during the Warring States period.

To counter the "vertical alliance" on the grasslands, the Han Dynasty had to use the "horizontal alliance" to break it.

Furthermore, judging from the history of the Warring States period, the horizontal alliance was the natural nemesis of the vertical alliance.

The Western Xianbei were the targets of Liu Bei's envisioned alliance with the Han Dynasty.

— That's how politics always works: win one faction over another, divide and weaken a powerful adversary, and ultimately conquer or eliminate them.

However, the Xianbei in the west have now submitted to Tanshihuai and obey his orders.

Although Tuoba Lin was nominally the "Tuiyin" of the western Xianbei, he did not have the absolute power of an emperor.

The leaders of the various Xianbei tribes in the west—Zhijian, Luoluo, Rilu, and Yanliyou—outwardly respected Tuoba Lin, the "Tuiyin," but they remained the absolute rulers within their own tribes and did not readily obey Tuoba Lin's orders. In particular, in military matters, they only obeyed the Xianbei Khan, Tanshihuai.

In truth, Tuoba Lin, the one who brought the name Tuiyin, was merely someone who held a certain degree of prestige and influence in important matters concerning the western Xianbei, such as sacrificial rites to heaven and migrations.

Although the entire western Xianbei were a single ethnic group, the various tribes remained relatively loosely connected.

Liu Bei secretly wanted to support the Tuoba tribe to become the core tribe of the entire western Xianbei, and to support Tuoba Lin and his son Tuoba Jiefen to become the real leaders of the entire western Xianbei.

This united all the Xianbei tribes in the west around Tuoba Lin and his son Tuoba Jiefen, making them follow their lead and obey their commands without question.

In this way, a no longer loosely organized western Xianbei could become a force that could not be underestimated on the grasslands, and thus truly challenge the Xianbei Khan, Tanshihuai.

Therefore, Liu Bei answered Tuoba Lin's question:

"When necessary, war will naturally be waged. But war should not be waged lightly. At present, the leaders of the various Xianbei tribes in the west are all elected by the people of their respective tribes."

"If Tuiyin wants to become the only leader among all the tribes of the Western Xianbei, he can use some schemes. First, he should use various reasons to remove the four leaders, Zhijian, Luoluo, Rilu, and Yanliyou, from their positions. Then, instead of electing new leaders, Tuiyin should directly appoint brave and strong members of his own clan as leaders of each tribe."

"After a period of time, all the tribes will be reorganized and divided into new tribes. Of course, the core tribes among these new tribes will still be the blood relatives of Tuiyin."

"Just like Emperor Gaozu of Han, whom Tui Yin mentioned. After Gaozu gained control of the country, he also enfeoffed many kings of different surnames. However, after these kings of different surnames became powerful, they no longer obeyed Gaozu's orders and instead plotted to rebel."

"Emperor Gaozu had no choice but to execute all these kings of different surnames. He decreed that no one but a member of the Liu family could be king, or else the whole country would attack them. Afterward, he enfeoffed the descendants of the Liu family in various places as bulwarks of the empire. By using the blood ties of the imperial clan as a bond, he ensured the political stability of the early empire and consolidated his rule."

"Royal bloodline..."

After listening to Liu Yu and Liu Gao's translation, Tuoba Lin silently murmured these four words.

He pondered for a long time.

Liu Bei's words were like a wake-up call, opening up new avenues of thought for Tuoba Lin, as if he had seen a whole new world.

He was so excited that his right hand began to tremble slightly.

When Tuoba Lin looked down at the boundless grassland below the mountain, his eyes were filled with endless ambition.

"Our Tuoba tribe has always been prosperous and powerful. It is the most powerful tribe among the western Xianbei and is fully qualified to become the core tribe among the western Xianbei."

"My brothers, cousins, and uncles are all brave and resolute men, fully capable of becoming leaders of their own tribes."

"Now, I have a bold idea..."

Tuoba Lin hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

But her gaze quickly hardened.

"Among all my brothers, there are seven brave and fearless Xianbei warriors who are fully capable of leading a tribe and becoming adults like me."

"Therefore, I thought that before conquering the other tribes of the Western Xianbei, it was necessary to elevate the status of my seven brothers and make them first become Mohefu (brave warriors, military commanders) who lead a small tribe."

"To make the Tuoba tribe the core tribe of the Western Xianbei, we must first divide the Tuoba tribe into eight tribes, which will be led by me and my seven brothers. Then we will conquer the other tribes of the Western Xianbei and assimilate them into the eight Tuoba tribes."

"Wouldn't that be better?"

After Tuoba Lin finished speaking, he looked at Liu Bei.

After listening to Liu Gao's translation, Liu Bei nodded and said loudly:

"Tuiyin's approach was modeled after Emperor Gaozu of Han, who used clan blood ties as a bond to enfeoff his seven brothers as Mohefu of the Tuoba Eight Tribes."

"As the saying goes, 'When brothers are of one mind, their strength can break metal.' As long as the eight brothers are of one mind, they will surely be able to roam the grasslands. I completely agree with Tuiyin's approach."

Tuoba Lin was overjoyed upon hearing this.

So he looked at his son, Tuoba Jiefen, and gave the order directly:

"Immediately send men to summon all seven of my brothers—Tuoba Hegu, Tuoba Baba, Tuoba Punai, Tuoba Yilou, Tuoba Qiudun, Tuoba Daxi, and Tuoba Sihai—to assemble here!"

"Yes, Father."

Tuoba Jiefen then went to give orders to his seven personal cavalrymen.

……

Vertical means uniting the weak to attack the strong; horizontal means serving the strong to attack the weak.

—Han Feizi