Chapter 95: Sweeping the Four Barbarians, the Gray Wolf Devours the Sun (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Kebineng never imagined Gu Chen would employ such a tactic.

For the current battlefield situation,

Han was undoubtedly holding a tremendous advantage.

Whether in troop numbers or logistics, the recently unified Xianbei could not possibly match Han.

This battle was already extremely difficult for the Xianbei.

How could he have anticipated Gu Chen would use such a tactic?

Where was the arrogance of the Han people?

He couldn't help but curse aloud.

But he could only split his forces to deter tribes dissatisfied with him.

No matter what, he had to ensure internal chaos did not erupt during this turmoil.

Otherwise,

Regardless of the battle's outcome, his position as Chanyu would be shaken.

This was something Kebineng absolutely could not tolerate.

But the moment he took action, he had unquestionably given Gu Chen an opening.

In the eleventh year of Zhangwu, sixth month;

Gu Chen led troops from the front into the Yan Mountains, launching a direct assault on Kebineng's defenses;

Kebineng, having absorbed vast Han culture,

Understood military strategy just as deeply.

He exploited the Yan Mountains' terrain, fortifying narrow passes to severely restrict Gu Chen's numerical advantage.

But to think this alone could stop Gu Chen was pure fantasy.

The Han of today was not the Western Jin of original history;

And even the Western Jin,

Before the Eight Princes' Rebellion's decade-long civil war, had still suppressed foreign tribes.

——Let alone that Gu Chen now commanded them!

To fully divert Kebineng's attention, Gu Chen showed not the slightest restraint;

He personally led troops in a charge along the Yan Mountains' mountain paths;

He defeated four Xianbei commanders in succession.

Greatly shaking enemy morale!

The Han army breached the Yan Mountains' mountain paths with barely any effort and continued smashing through Kebineng's lines!

News spread rapidly.

The Han army's strength far exceeded everyone's expectations.

This had a massive impact on the Xianbei, a coalition of tribes.

And most crucially—

Gu Chen had never changed his external policy from the start.

This move was meant to kill Kebineng.

Those who surrendered would be spared slaughter!

Power is like a balance scale; internal stability only arises when one side completely overwhelms the other or a certain equilibrium is reached.

Now, this balance had been utterly shattered.

Someone would inevitably seek to replace Kebineng's position within the Xianbei.

Morale unraveled under such circumstances.

But Kebineng had reached this point for a reason—he was no mere pretender.

He immediately sensed the internal shifts and swiftly executed those with the strongest rebellious intentions by Lei Ting's method.

To stabilize the overall situation.

Kebineng still held some prestige within the Xianbei.

And after killing those few, their positions lay vacant.

Someone would always choose to risk everything for gain.

This is the human heart!

Yet even so, Kebineng could not fully reverse the current situation.

Most of the Han army had undergone generational turnover and were no longer entirely the elite veterans who had fought their way out of chaos.

But they had been trained;

Their equipment, moreover, vastly surpassed that of the Xianbei forces.

And under Gu Chen's command, these soldiers' morale remained at its peak.

Each man held an unshakable belief in victory.

This mindset, in an era still dominated by cold weapons, granted immense advantage.

Yet Gu Chen did not launch a full-scale assault.

Perhaps because he was growing older, Gu Chen now cared more about Han's casualties—he wished to preserve Han's strength.

If strategy could win, he would not choose a costly frontal assault.

Now that Kebineng had focused all his attention on him, the other four Han armies had been granted a heavenly opportunity.

September;

————Jiang Wei successfully ambushed Liucheng.

Not only had he completed the target Gu Chen had set for him, burning the Wuhuan granaries and the grasslands they depended on for survival,

he had even breached the Wuhuan Wang Ting, Liucheng;

the Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun was forced to counterattack to retake the city but failed and could only retreat.

He then demanded that Kebineng dispatch troops to help him take back the Wang Ting.

If not, he would surrender to the Great Han and turn to attack the Xianbei.

Once this news broke out, the entire Northern Frontier was shaken!

Kebineng had never expected that Gu Chen would still have such a move up his sleeve.

In truth, he had not failed to consider that Gu Chen might choose a surprise attack, including the lightning tactics Gu Shizi had employed in years past.

But the problem lay precisely here.

Gu Chen himself was on the frontal battlefield.

This greatly lowered Kebineng's vigilance, which led to the situation today.

The situation was in complete chaos!

Kebineng could not possibly allow the Wuhuan to switch to the Great Han's side; for the current situation, this would absolutely be a fatal blow.

But how could Gu Chen let him go to reinforce Liucheng?

On the frontal battlefield, Gu Chen kept pressing the attack, applying pressure on Kebineng from the front.

At the same time, Guanqiu Jian also led his troops to arrive at Raole River.

As the Xianbei's heartland,

the grasslands on both banks of the Raole River were of such importance to the Xianbei that no further words were needed.

Although as the Great Han's influence grew ever greater, all the barbarians on every side were eager to learn the Han's institutions and culture,

pastoral nomadism remained their foundation.

The grasslands on both banks of the Raole River were the very lifeblood of the Xianbei!

And at this very moment, it happened to be the dry season of autumn!

From the moment the great fires began to burn, the chaos within the entire Xianbei could no longer be stopped at all.

Several tribes defected from the Xianbei one after another and surrendered to Gu Chen.

The impact of this event was enormous.

When you can bring good days to everyone, then you are unquestionably the chief.

But when your existence brings disaster upon everyone,

then you are destined to become a public enemy.

Kebineng had ruled the Xianbei for too short a time; his prestige was not yet enough to suppress all of this.

Coupled with the unfavorable situation on the battlefield,

more and more tribes chose to break away from the Xianbei and surrender to Gu Chen.

Even among those tribes that had previously been the most loyal to Kebineng, defectors had begun to appear.

This time, Kebineng did not even dare to raise his blade.

Given the current situation, if he raised his blade again, it would only backfire.

Kebineng could now only choose to cede benefits.

Using this to steady the hearts of the people.

But in October, Deng Ai captured the Southern Foothills Grasslands; a great fire could be said to have utterly burned away all of Kebineng's hopes.

The external pressure and the internal turmoil had already driven Kebineng completely into a desperate corner.

The trend had arrived; no one could stop it.

November;

Kebineng was killed within the Xianbei Wang Ting; his head was cut off, and all his sons and heirs were slaughtered.

Afterwards, over a hundred Eastern and Western Xianbei tribal chiefs, together with the Wuhuan Chanyu, brought Kebineng's head and came to pay their respects to Gu Chen.

Yan Mountain.

Han army main camp.

"Undefeated Grey Wolf Sun-Devourer, we are willing to surrender to you."

"Generation after generation we shall pay tribute to the Great Han."

"We swear we shall never again disturb the peace of the Great Han."

"We are willing to pay any price, begging for your forgiveness."

A crowd of Xianbei tribal chiefs and the Wuhuan Chanyu knelt before Gu Chen, letting those who knew Han Chinese voice their meaning.

—Grey Wolf Sun-Devourer!

This was the title the various tribes had given to Gu Chen.

The wolf was their totem.

The Xianbei called themselves descendants of the Grey Wolf, and the sun, in their faith, was the symbol of the heavenly god.

To address Gu Chen with such a title

showed to what extent their fear of the sons of the Gu clan had reached.

Everyone was staring intently at this scene, their eyes filled with pleasant surprise.

This scene was destined to be recorded in the annals of history.

Gu Chen had needed only one battle to thoroughly resolve the chronic threat of the Northern Frontier—the Xianbei and the Wuhuan, both tribes!

How could they not be pleasantly surprised?

But Gu Chen's expression remained calm; he glanced at Kebineng's head, then shifted his gaze back to these tribal chiefs and spoke lightly: "If you wish to obtain the Great Han's forgiveness—"

"Aside from paying tribute and sending hostages."

"You must also obey the dispositions of our Great Han."

Gu Chen's tone carried not the slightest ripple, and before everyone present he laid out the plan he had long since conceived.

—He intended to divide both the Xianbei and the Wuhuan into three parts.

Redrawing the eastern and western Xianbei;

and within each of the three parts a leader would be chosen; from then on the Xianbei would no longer be permitted to have a Chanyu.

As for the Wuhuan, the treatment was even harsher.

The Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun must go to Luoyang as a hostage, and the Wuhuan's power would be carved up among his three sons.

Gu Chen meant to split the Wuhuan and the Xianbei from within!

So long as they had not unified internally, they would pose no further threat to the Great Han.

There was no need to mind what they felt about one another at present.

Faced with a thing like power, even Han men — drilled from birth in the distinction between ruler and subject — could hardly avoid harbouring wicked thoughts, let alone these barbarians.

After hearing the interpreter render Gu Chen's words.

The expressions of everyone present changed dramatically.

Who could fail to see the deeper meaning behind Gu Chen's measure?

Especially the Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun — his entire face instantly turned ugly.

He was no longer young now.

He was in fact somewhat older than Gu Chen himself; his days were already few, and if he had to undertake the long journey to Luoyang, even if he arrived safely, he would likely never leave again in this lifetime.

Yet how could they dare refuse?

Gu Chen's very title alone was enough to show the extent to which they now feared him.

Several of the most critical grasslands had been burned.

Even if next spring grass could still grow back.

How were they to survive this winter?

And now those grasslands were all in the Han army's hands — given the present situation, could they truly take them back next year?

Keep migrating north?

Migrating north on the eve of winter — what was the difference between that and seeking death?

The expressions of every single person changed.

As Tadun took the lead in kneeling and begging Gu Chen for mercy again and again, the other tribal chiefs followed suit one after another, pleading for mercy in a language Gu Chen could not understand.

Although he could not understand, their gestures alone were enough to make out what they meant.

But Gu Chen was utterly unmoved.

He merely said coolly: "If you refuse to comply, you may go and greet the iron hooves of our Great Han."

—A single, simple sentence, and at once these men fell silent!

There was not even any need for the interpreter.

These men immediately read the killing intent that flashed in the eyes of the generals and soldiers within the tent.

Their expressions grew uglier still.

Though every one of them felt humiliation and fury in his heart, none of them dared let it show.

For them.

This was a multiple-choice question with no real options.

If they wished to go on living, they had only to agree.

Tadun seemed to want to say something more.

But Gu Chen's gaze snapped to him, and within those abyssal eyes a sliver of killing intent flashed: "The Yuans are the enemies of my Gu clan; in years past you aided Yuan Shao."

"That I have not killed you is already mercy."

"If you insist on remaining obstinate, then by all means try whether the blades of the Han army are sharp."

The interpreter did not dare hesitate, and hurriedly translated.

In an instant, Tadun fell silent.

He seemed at once to have lost all his spirit, and dropped straight to the ground before Gu Chen, acquiescing to his demands.

Gu Chen did not even let him return to the Wuhuan to make any arrangements.

He simply had Zhijiebian Sect escort him, together with Kebineng's head, back to Luoyang.

Afterwards—

Gu Chen, in the name of the Great Han's "Ten Directions Conquest Commissioner," at Yan Mountain formally enfeoffed the leaders of the various tribes.

For the Xianbei, the three leaders he chose were all men who bore grudges against one another.

And Gu Chen further used his present overwhelming advantage to delimit the spheres of influence of the three parts.

As for the most central grasslands;

He made no deliberate division of them.

The meaning of such a move was all too plain.

But under the present circumstances, even if everyone could see it, it was utterly useless.

As for the Wuhuan;

Gu Chen did exactly the same.

He meant to magnify the "contention" within human nature, so that these tribes would first develop internal problems.

Gu Yi did not know just how great an effect Gu Chen's present move would ultimately have.

But he could also be certain.

Within a short time, these foreign tribes had completely lost the ability to attack the Central Plains.

In the eleventh year of Zhangwu, fourth month;

Gu Chen divided their lands, and the Xianbei and Wuhuan successively split apart.

The northern frontier was thus stabilized.

News spread continuously.

Of all, the people of Youzhou were the most stirred by this.

Only those who had lived for years in darkness could truly feel how terrifying the invasions by these barbarians had been.

But the impact on the people within the heartland of Han was minimal.

They even felt all of this was only natural.

To oppose Gu Chen.

Aren't these barbarians looking for death?

To the people of the four frontiers, what they now cared about most was when Gu Chen would return to Luoyang, escape the dangers of the battlefield, and live a little longer.

Even the Son of Heaven, Liu Shan, felt the same.

He didn't care at all that Gu Chen had appointed foreign tribes without submitting a memorial.

He even sent a letter, inquiring after Gu Chen's health and expressing longing; the message was clear—he wanted Gu Chen to return to Luoyang as soon as possible.

But a man like Gu Chen was destined never to stop.

His goals extended far beyond just the Xianbei and Wuhuan;

the Nanman, Qiang, Xiongnu, and even the southwestern barbarians.

Every power that had grown stronger during the chaos of the Nine Provinces lay within Gu Chen's watch.

He did not know how much time he had left.

But as long as he still lived,

he would try to eliminate every threat completely.

Even if some of these foreign tribes had never once invaded Han, Gu Chen still intended to eradicate even such sprouts!

——The Nine Provinces needed time to recover!

Decades of war had stripped the Nine Provinces of the strength to crush all opposition.

This was a reality Gu Chen had to consider.

After leaving Qiu Yan and Jiang Wei to guard Youzhou;

Gu Chen, in the sixth month of the eleventh year of Zhangwu;

mobilized his troops again.

And by September, he arrived in Bingzhou.

This time, no military action was even needed—the Southern Xiongnu Khan, active along Bingzhou's border, fully accepted all of Gu Chen's arrangements.

Gu Chen divided the entire Southern Xiongnu into five divisions.

And he restricted their territories.

To prevent them from growing without restraint.

While securing their interests, he cut off their ability to grow stronger.

In the same September;

Gu Chen arrived in Liangzhou and summoned the chieftains of all Qiang tribes.

Because of Ma Chao's ties,

the Qiang had the deepest connections with the current Han.

Even now, the Han army included many Qiang cavalry, all of formidable strength.

But precisely because of this,

Gu Chen had to issue a warning.

——Human hearts are fickle!

Today's ally may become tomorrow's mortal enemy over benefits.

Gu Chen could not control what lay in the future.

He was not trying to make Han eternally prosperous—that was impossible.

But while the Nine Provinces remained weak and Gu Xi's ideals had not yet taken root,

he had to eliminate every risk.

For the Qiang tribes, Gu Chen's methods were far gentler—he merely seized this opportunity to conduct a detailed census, recording the population of each tribe.

He did not overhaul their systems on a large scale.

He merely sent the sons of each chieftain to Luoyang under the pretense of promotion for study.

Afterwards—

Gu Chen again headed to Jizhou.

And along the way, before and after, he inspected the governance of the four frontiers as he always had.

He was like a numb machine, patching every flaw that could affect this newborn dynasty.

Even though he no longer moved with the same speed as before,

in these journeys spanning thousands of li, Gu Chen's condition grew steadily worse.

The white hairs on his head grew denser.

Though his combat power remained extraordinary, it was now plainly clear that Gu Chen's days were numbered.

Such news could not possibly be kept secret.

Upon hearing of this matter.

Liu Shan wept bitterly, so much so that even his favorite pet cricket could no longer stir his interest.

He repeatedly sent letters urging Gu Chen to return.

But each time, Gu Chen submitted a memorial to refuse.

It was only when Liu Shan was about to send his third letter that Zhuge Liang stopped him.

Liu Shan was initially puzzled.

He thought Zhuge Liang was reluctant to relinquish his power as Chancellor and did not wish for Gu Chen to return to the capital.

But Zhao Yun spoke up.

He could be said to understand Gu Chen better than anyone else at present.

Had it not been for the need to secure the interior, Zhao Yun would have wished to follow Gu Chen himself.

He simply told Liu Shan:

Before all matters are resolved, Gu Chen has only two possible outcomes.

One is that Gu Chen dies on the road;

The other is that he succeeds.

He urged Liu Shan not to interfere with Gu Chen, for consistently refusing the Emperor might cause Gu Chen to be criticized by future generations.

Upon hearing these words, Liu Shan fell completely silent.

He no longer sent any more letters urging his return.

Instead, he added one thing to his daily studies and pleasures: praying for Gu Chen's well-being.

In the second month of the twelfth year of Zhangwu.

Gu Chen entered Yizhou, his troops advancing toward the Southern Barbarians.

The current ruler of the Southern Barbarians was named Meng Huo.

Indeed, since Gu Xi had come to quell the rebellion years ago and established specific policies, the Southern Barbarians had remained quiet for many years.

But later chaos had affected the Southern Barbarians.

That was what had led to the present situation.

Gu Chen did not rush to attack; instead, he sent Meng Huo a letter, hoping to force his surrender through sheer pressure.

But Meng Huo chose not to surrender.

The Gu family's prestige still carried weight among the southwestern barbarians.

But the times had changed.

The corrupt governance before the chaos, followed by the chaos itself, had instilled in this generation of Southern Barbarians a deep resistance to Han.

——Only the sword and spear could break it.

This campaign was even harder than the one in the northern frontier.

The roads of Shu are hard, harder than ascending to heaven.

Fortunately, the topographical maps left behind by Gu Xi long ago provided Gu Chen with great assistance.

Though the terrain was perilous;

as long as Gu Chen was present, the soldiers still held great confidence.

Especially Deng Ai—

Though he spoke with a slight stammer, he was exceptionally hardworking and resilient, even daring to scale Gaoshan to flank Meng Huo alongside Gu Chen.

In April;

Gu Chen defeated Meng Huo at Pan She Valley and captured him alive;

Considering Meng Huo's high prestige among the Southern Barbarians and his straightforward character, he ultimately chose to spare his life and restored the system established by Gu Xi in years past.

This move completely erased the Southern Barbarians' resistance to Han.

Meng Huo swore an oath that he would never rebel against Han in this life.

Gu Chen left Deng Ai in Yizhou and handed him the water conservancy design maps he had devised during the journey through the terrain.

He ordered him to garrison Yizhou while repairing Shu's water systems;

Then he led his troops again toward the border between Yizhou and Yong, targeting the Di people.

Unlike other barbarians,

the Di people not only possessed extraordinary physical strength due to their harsh living conditions,

but also demonstrated remarkable proficiency in agriculture, animal husbandry, and handicrafts.

The rattan armor they wove

was exceptionally resilient.

For the Di people, Gu Chen clearly held different intentions: he relocated thousands of them to the desolate lands of Wudu, ordering men to assist them in reclaiming land while also requiring them to adopt Han systems.

He seemed to be beginning an attempt to civilize foreign tribes.

The Di culture was close to Han's—this was a clear experiment.

Gu Yi had been watching all of this, his emotions deeply complex.

Unfortunately, he had no more Longevity Cards left.

Had there been any—

Even he could not imagine what Han would become under Gu Chen's rule.

——————

"In the eleventh year of Zhangwu, Han's Envoy of the Ten Directions, Gu Chen, commanded five armies to campaign against the Xianbei."

Chen first used a detached force to feign an attack on Yanshan, luring the main Xianbei strength to reinforce eastward, while secretly dispatching Jiang Wei to lead a raiding party across the White Wolf River by night, march stealthily three hundred li, and strike Liucheng by surprise, cutting off their supply line.

He then again dispatched Guanqiu Jian and Deng Ai to split their forces and advance rapidly, seizing the Raole River and subduing the southern foothills grasslands, burning all the Xianbei's winter stores.

The Chanyu Kebineng fled north in panic, and on the way was murdered by his own tent's commander of ten thousand horsemen, Tufa Wuzhu, who sent his head in a casket racing to present it at the army gate.

In the seventh month, the Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun led the chieftains of a hundred and twenty Xianbei tribes, carrying Kebineng's golden eagle head to Chen's camp to beg for surrender.

The chieftains all unbelted their swords and kowtowed to the ground, calling Chen "the Grey Wolf Who Devours the Sun."

It was a reverential phrase, meaning his use of troops was like a grey wolf coursing across the wilds, which even the heavenly gods could not impede.

Chen accordingly divided the Xianbei into three parts — Eastern, Western, and Southern — and split the Wuhuan into three camps: Yinshan, Liaozhe, and Yuyang, keeping Tadun as a hostage, imprisoned in Luoyang.

In the ninth month, he turned toward Bingzhou, using the Yinshan range as the boundary to cut off the Xiongnu's path of rising.

In the tenth month, he toured Liangzhou, surveyed the Qiang lands' household registers, and enrolled the sons of their chieftains and notables into the Imperial Academy.

The following spring, he entered Yizhou, pacified the six caves of the Southern Barbarians, and relocated seven thousand households of the Di people to garrison Bashu.

From then on, the various Hu beyond the frontier were split against one another by territory, none daring to look up at the banners of the Central Plains."

—"Book of Yan Han. Biography of Gu Chen"

(End of this chapter)