Chapter 364

And the so-called ten-thousand-man leader was a great Xiongnu noble.

For example, Right Guduhou, Left and Right Xianwang, Left and Right Guliwang, Left and Right Generals, Left and Right Duduwei.

These great Xiongnu nobles were qualified to command more than ten thousand cavalry.

So there was no such thing as a ten-thousand-man leader.

Below the thousand-man leader were hundred-man leaders and ten-man leaders.

In addition, there were some auxiliary officials, such as small kings, Danghu, ministers, Qiequ, and Duduwei, and other small nobles.

The atmosphere in the camp was tense.

Anyone could see that Qiangqu's mood was extremely bad at this time.

Two sons were captured, which shook the very foundation of the Xiongnu Chanyu's rule.

And now the Han Dynasty sent a letter saying they wanted to use ten thousand horses and fifty thousand cattle and sheep to exchange for the two sons.

This was not a small number for Qiangqu.

Without these cattle, sheep, and horses, his royal court might have half of its population freeze or starve to death this winter.

But he couldn't not exchange his sons.

And the Han Dynasty also asked him to accept the surrender ceremony like his ancestors in Shoujiang City.

This was no different from humiliation.

The Han Dynasty was no longer as strong as it had been many years ago.

It had been suppressed by the Xianbei for decades.

If he led the Xiongnu to submit to the Great Han now, it would undoubtedly make his reputation hit rock bottom and have a huge impact on his rule over the Xiongnu.

It was precisely because of this.

So this time coming to Shoujiang City, Qiangqu did not inform other nobles.

He only brought the royal court with him.

"Has the envoy of the Han Dynasty not arrived yet?" Qiangqu raised his head after swallowing the crushed milk crisp in his mouth.

The six or seven thousand-man commanders standing on both sides of the royal tent looked at each other, then shook their heads.

Just as Qiangqu was about to get angry, a woman suddenly walked into the tent.

A Xiongnu woman who was at least 1.75 meters tall, wearing a snow-white fox fur coat.

The woman had many silver accessories hanging on her body and waist.

They jingled as she walked.

There were also gold and silver decorations on her wrists and ankles.

Under her black hair were some fine jade and silver bells.

Reflecting dazzling silver light under the sun.

This kind of decoration could only be found on the bodies of great Xiongnu nobles.

The woman was sixteen years old, and her wheat-colored skin exuded a natural and wild healthy beauty.

When the woman appeared in the royal tent, she immediately attracted the gaze of several thousand-man commanders.

The woman held a wooden tray in her hand, on which was freshly boiled mutton, and she gradually came to Qiangqu with her footsteps.

Chanyu Qiangqu's gaze gradually became softer.

"Why is my dear Suhe Jici not staying in her own yurt?" Qiangqu picked up a piece of mutton in front of him.

Jici in the Xiongnu language means daughter.

And Suhe means white.

Just like the woman's dress at this time.

The woman smiled and replied: "In my own yurt, I seemed to hear my father's sigh."

"My father, as your Jici, is there anything I can do to help you?" Suhe knelt in front of Chanyu Qiangqu.

The status of Xiongnu women was far higher than that of Han women among the Xiongnu.

This stems from the various customs of the Xiongnu.

From marriage to life.

When Xiongnu men and women get married, both the man's family and the woman's family will take out half of their cattle, sheep, and property to give to the newlywed couple.

Used to form a brand new family.

The newly formed family is called a "tent."

And these properties and livestock funded by both families are the private property of the male and female owners.

Even if the two sides finally part ways, the woman has the right to take away these properties and livestock, and the man is not allowed to rob them.

And if the man unfortunately dies, then even if the two have offspring, but the offspring have not grown up, these properties will follow the woman into the next family.

That is to say, if you are a penniless Xiongnu bachelor.

Then if you meet a widowed woman with one or many underage children, then congratulations, as long as you marry her, you will have everything.

And due to the living habits of nomadic peoples, men are almost always out grazing all year round.

So everything in the family has to be handled by women.

Furthermore, when Xiongnu men go to the battlefield, all logistics, including grazing, including preparing bows and arrows, are all done by women.

Xiongnu men are soldiers when they get on horses, and there is no profession like a craftsman.

These jobs that should have belonged to craftsmen are also handled by women.

So Xiongnu women play an extremely important role in the Xiongnu family unit.

"You know what fifty thousand cattle and sheep and ten thousand war horses represent to us."

"If I give these cattle, sheep, and horses to them, next spring, perhaps there will no longer be the great surname of Luan-Ti on this grassland."

Chanyu Qiangqu sighed.

Suhe blinked her beautiful eyes and then asked: "Then is father prepared to kill that Han general who came as an envoy?" ===== CHAPTER 366 =====