In the spring of the first year of Jingning (67 BC), the Xiongnu delegation had already left the Wuyuan Pass under the escort of the Han army.

After crossing the continuous Great Wall of Wuyuan, the prosperous market I saw along the way for more than a month, the town disappeared, and the flat grassland stretched infinitely.

But this does not mean that they left the Han territory. They still saw sporadic farmland and small beacon towns along the way. This is an area called the "Five Origins" and is used to resettle those who surrendered to the Huns. The internal struggles of the Huns were extremely fierce. Every year, frustrated nobles or herders who could not survive due to disasters came to surrender. For example, last autumn, thousands of people drove their livestock to the west of the Huns to the south and surrender to the Han.

In the words of Huhanye’s brother Zhizhi (Hutuwusi), “They changed from free and easy-going yellow sheep to captive family sheep.”

No matter what sheep, there is no fat grass to migrate wherever it is. The Hun nobles voted with their feet and were willing to be domestic animals.

The Wuyuan vassal state is indeed very similar to a sheep pen. Its northern boundary is the Great Wall outside the Wuyuan, but the Han people's control far exceeds this line and go directly to Yinshan. There are also strongholds such as "Surrendered City" outside the frontier. They build blocks, set up pavilions and tunnels, build outer cities, and set up garrisons to guard them, preventing the Huns from crossing Yinshan toward the south.

The Yinshan Mountain is more than a thousand miles east and west, with lush grass and trees and many beasts. This is the birthplace of the Huns. The city of Tou Man City is located nearby. Maodun Shanyu once blocked it and used bows and arrows to lay the foundation for this hundred barbarians. It is the garden of the Huns.

Decades ago, due to the prosperity of the Han army, the Xiongnu moved the Shanyuting north to the north of the Mobei region. From then on, they did not dare to go south to herd horses. They could only come to the old place to take a look when the Huns sent to the Han Dynasty. According to the rules, they would cry even after passing by.

But the good news is that in order to show his sincerity of "Jingning", when Huhanye and his friends arrived, they happened to meet the three thousand Han soldiers guarding the surrendered city retreated to the Senei and escorted them to the north and said, "This is because the emperor wants to stop the outer city and to relieve the people."

"The Emperor of Han is indeed very sincere in asking for peace talks."

Huhanye became more and more determined to this idea, thinking all the way around how to convince him after seeing his father. It was very difficult for the proud Great Shanyu to bow his head to the Han emperor.

But the situation was indeed very unfavorable to the Huns. Although Zhizhi quelled Ding Ling's rebellion and the Da Shanyu personally repelled the Wuhuan's invasion, most of the right side had lost. Xiao Yuezhi occupied Pulehai and cooperated with the Han army in Beiting to restrain the Right King. The Huns fought year after the disaster of Black and White, and their national strength was greatly reduced, and many animal production died. Famine was the norm. Last year, the Han general Zhao Chongguo and Fu Jiezi led troops to Shuofang, which forced the Huns to transfer 10,000 cavalry from two garrisons to station in the north of Yinshan to prepare for the Han.

The commanders of the 20,000 cavalry were Zuo Daqiu and Huluzi. The two killed cattle and sheep to entertain Xing Weiyang and Huhanye, and asked about their experiences in the Han Dynasty. Huluzi was very interested in the Han Dynasty and did not want to fight. Zuo Daqiu was full of hostility. He heard that the Han army who had surrendered to the city was withdrawn, and even shouted that they would demolish the city.

He was full of wine and flesh, and he picked his teeth with fish bones and ran out of the felt tent. Huhanye drove his horse to run near the camp. Although the Han area is rich in material, it also has its disadvantages, that is, he cannot indulge in galloping.

When he rushed to the short cottage where the slaves lived, Huhanye noticed that more than a hundred slaves who were only given chewy cheese and drank wild vegetable soup were gathering in the first period, kneeling on the ground and worshiping something.

Huhanye was curious. In the past, he asked his subordinates to push away the gathered slaves, but they saw that they worshiped a small stone figure placed on the grass. He looked like a Hu man from the Western Regions, sitting...

"What is this?"

Huhanye looked at the stone statues of human heads. The Huns worshipped many gods, headed by the Qilian God, followed by ancestors, the earth, mountains, rivers, ghosts and gods. In the past, in the Xiutu tribe in Hexi, he also sacrificed the sky with Jin people, but this statue was never seen by Huhanye.

The slaves trembled and said that this was "Buddha".

After returning to the felt tent, Zuo Daqiqu said that he knew about the gods.

"It came from the right land, and it was the god worshipped in the Western Regions."

The Huns were vast, and there were many people who moved from the Western Regions, such as Huhanye's wife, Wuchanmu tribe, or Aye people who became racial slaves. After joining the Huns' Great Tribe Alliance, they also brought their own beliefs and worship.

"There was a great Xia man who called himself a monk named Milanta. He was walking around. Whenever he went there, he would discipline the slaves for the elders, saying that he was promoting Buddhism and leaving Buddha statues. It was strange that after those slaves worshipped the Buddha statues, they became much more honest."

The Buddhist teachings were not attractive to the upper class of the Huns, but to the lower class slaves and herdsmen who were struggling on the famine, it was a spiritual chicken soup - they were destined to have no hope in this life, and they only wanted to have the next life. In addition, the little monk Milanda of the Binbin himself had been a slave, and Buddhism became neutral in the slave group. Their simple food was in line with the Five Precepts of Buddhism.

Huhanye did not care much about this "Buddhism", nor did he know where Milanta went on foot in the Huns, so he continued to hurry north and arrived at the Lucheng, the holy land of the Huns, the holy land of the sacrifice of heaven. Xulu Quanqu Shanyu had moved to this camp to prepare for the Lucheng meeting in May.

Although it is called a city, it is actually just a circle of big tents surrounding the sacrifice of heaven and earth. The place for sacrifice is located on the top of the mountain. Stones are piled up at the foot of the mountain to build an altar, and willow branches are often set up on it. Although it is still early in May, some tribes have arrived here, offering sacrifices to horses, cattle and sheep, and wandering around them several times to sacrifice to the gods of heaven and earth, praying for the people's happiness, livestock prosperity, and away from diseases. Then, horse racing, horns, etc. are usually used to entertain the gods.

The original Longcheng was located southward and was burned by Wei Qing, which made him famous. Now he moved to the north of Mo. In the war in the Yuanting year, all three Han troops had never arrived.

The Huns regarded that as the blessing of the Qilian God and ancestors, and they became more diligent in sacrifices and even used human sacrifices.

When Huhanye entered the golden tent of the Great Shanyu, he found that his half-brother was named "Zuo Guli King" by his father. Hutuwusi (Zhizhi) who conquered Dingling again was also inside, drinking and laughing, but Xing Weiyang and Huhanye stopped laughing after they came in.

Zhizhi looked at Huhanye with a bad look. In the past, the two brothers were still in harmony. However, with the establishment of Xulu Quanqu Shanyu, Zhizhi, who had outstanding military achievements, did not get the position of Zuo Xianwang, and was slightly dissatisfied.

Xulu Quanqu Chanyu was around 40 years old and wore a turquoise-inlaid Chanyu eagle crown - he not only inherited the position of the big Chanyu of his half-brother, but also accepted many of his clans.

Shanyu admired Hu Hanye, who had always been wise, this time Hu Hanye took the initiative to ask to follow Xing Weiyang to go to the Han Dynasty to find out the truth and reality. After all, it is common for both sides to detain envoys.

The Great Shanyu clapped his hands to let them take the seat: "I knew that King Hao Su and King Zuo Xian would definitely bring back good news!"

Xulu Quanqu Shanyu just learned that the Han Dynasty had withdrew the troops from the frontier and received surrendered cities, and thought it was the contribution of the two.

King Hao Su Xing Weiyang was a little nervous, but Huhanye was smart and boasted about the achievements they had made in the Han Dynasty. For example, the Han Dynasty voluntarily withdrew the troops from the outer city and changed the yen name to "Jingning", which means peace of the border, which should be sincere in rescinding the troops.

Finally, Xing Weiyang stammered that the Han Dynasty refused to marry and wanted peace, but there was only one condition: the Great Shanyu entered the court next year and became a vassal.

Xulu Quanqu Shanyu's face collapsed suddenly.

After the Battle of Mobei, the Han Dynasty thought that it had defeated the Huns, so it tried to make the Shanyu surrender. Emperor Wu of Han personally went to Shuofang to patrol the border and sent 180,000 cavalry soldiers. He sent an envoy to inform the Shanyu that he would face the Han area early and submit to the Han Dynasty. His son...

The Huns wanted to continue to be brothers with the Han Dynasty. At worst, the Han Dynasty was brothers with the Huns, but the Han Dynasty wanted to be the father of the Huns!

This is obviously impossible to talk about, but at that time, the Han Dynasty had destroyed the two Yues, annexed Korea, and then connected to the Yuezhi and Daxia. He used Weng's wife, King Wusun, to divide the Xiongnu's Western support. Wuwei Shanyu knew that he was defeated, so he could only speak humbly and ask for marriage, pretending to send King Zuo Xian to the Han Dynasty. After two years, he said that King Zuo Xian did not need to go there. He personally entered the Han Dynasty to meet the emperor and became brothers.

However, after a few more years of delay, the Huns recovered and entered the border again as enemies, and the peace talks fell through.

Like Wu Wei Shanyu, Xulu Quanqu Shanyu just wanted to give up the snake with Han Xu, rest assured soldiers and horses, and learn to hunt. It is worth sending a princess to the Han Dynasty to marry him, but if he wants him to be a vassal, it is absolutely impossible!

Before the Great Shanyu could get angry, King Zhizhi of Zuo Guli changed his brilliance and raised the case a few times, cursing angrily: "Hu's customs are based on strength and serves as a country for fighting immediately, so he has a reputation among the Baiman. Although the Han Dynasty is strong, he still cannot annex the Xiongnu. King Hao Su, why do you want to disrupt the ancient system of ancient times? You want Hu ministers to serve Han Dynasty and humiliate the Shanyu, and be laughed at by the other countries! Even if you seek temporary stability, how can Hu command Baiman in the future?"

Xing Weiyang was speechless. In terms of relations with Han, there was a split within the Huns. He and the Right King and the Left King Huhanye all advocated compromise and seek peace with the Han. Zhizhi and Zuo Daqiu were tough, regardless of the strength of the Han Dynasty and the weak Huns, and they just wanted to fight to the end. It was translated into Chinese: "The Great Huns do not marry, do not pay compensation, do not cede land, do not pay tribute, do not submit to the emperor, the virtuous king guards the country's gate, and the Shanyu dies in the city of Long!"

Xulu Quanqu Shanyu had been persuaded by Xing Weiyang and others and hoped to have peace talks, but now he was unable to reach an agreement with the Han Dynasty and his attitude turned to Zhizhi again. Although the Huns took the initiative to attack and lost the competition in the Western Regions, if they could lure the Han army into the deeper, they might have a chance to turn the battle.

Huhanye bowed and said, "The Great Shanyu is sometimes strong and weak. Now the Han Dynasty is in its prime. All the countries in Wusun city and the Huns have been deprived of each other every day. It has been twenty years since the Shanyu. In the past, there has been no victory in the past twenty years. In the past twenty years, he has never been able to win a battle. He has been defeated repeatedly and lost all the Western Regions and his subordinates rebelled. He went south to the Han Dynasty and saw that the Han people were majestic and the city was rich and the Huns had no strength to fight, but the Han people had it! Once they fought again, even though they were stubborn, they would be difficult to compete with the Han people."

Zhizhi immediately scolded: "Zuo Xianwang means to agree to the request of the Han people and let the Great Shanyu go south and submit to the young Han emperor?"

As long as Huhanye dares to nod, this weak son of the Shanyu will be despised by the Hun kings and lose his support.

"No!"

Huhanye said: "The peace talks between the two countries are like Hu merchants in the Western Regions. They are bargaining and can only complete the transaction after several round trips. The big sect might as well follow the example of Wuwei Chanyu and pretending to be Xu to enter the Han Dynasty. They only use the reason to stay in the north of the desert to restrain the twenty-four years and send the proton to the south ahead."

Peace talks or struggles. The two routes determine the future national destiny of the Huns and the fate of him and Zhizhi. Huhanye does not have the courage and good fighting skills of his half-brother. In order to firmly hold the position of Zuo Xianwang, he can only bet on the other road!

"Zuoxian Wang Ji Houshan, I am willing to join the Han Dynasty next year to serve as a stamina! In exchange for ten years of rest and stability in the northern part of Mo! "

...

In the spring of the first year of Jingning, just after finishing the spring plowing matter, he hurried to the Grand Secretary Ren Hong who inspected the work of the Jingzhao Iron Office Workshop. He was preparing to show off his pitiful knowledge of steel smelting, but when he saw the scene in front of him, he did not say anything for a long time.

Because the thirteen oval iron-smelting furnaces that were smoking in front of him were the "blast furnace" he wanted the iron officer to promote.

It’s embarrassing now. It turns out that Guanzhong is more advanced than Hexiban. In the past or two years, some iron officials’ buildings have actually used small blast furnaces to smel iron. Who invented it?

Ren Hong could only put away the manuscript he had prepared before, re-drafted his belly, and scraped his stomach to see what else could be the one who could "come and guide" the iron officials, was it the water bulging that appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty? Or was it the coke iron that only existed in the Song Dynasty? You have to say something, otherwise it would be too shameless.

A large group of officials and craftsmen stood silently with the moon, accompanied by the Grand Sima, and accompanied the iron slaves to send charcoal into the blast furnace little by little, and drove the donkey to blow the wind with the power of animals, and the surrounding heat began to increase.

Even the Great Sima couldn't help but sweat on his forehead. I don't know whether it was excitement or his head hurt. Although they stood far away, they could still feel the powerful surging power in the thirteen iron furnaces.

This power is iron.

This power is steel!

...

ps: I came back last night and fell asleep too late. Sorry, this chapter makes up for yesterday's, and the next chapter is in the evening.
Chapter completed!