Shanyu Tadun was the nephew of the tribal leader Qiu Liju.
During his lifetime, Qiu Liju was Lord Wuwan of Liaoxi. He enlisted Zhang Chun, the prefect of Zhongshan, to rebel against the Eastern Han Dynasty. He invaded the four prefectures of Qing, Xu, You, and Ji, killing officials and people. When he died, he thought his son Louban was young, so he let his son Tadun Chief Photographer of the Three Kings Department.
Concubines refer to closely related children and nephews. When the head of the family dies and the parents and children are still young, they are often entrusted to take charge of the family, just like how Lu Xun took charge of the Lu family for his father Lu Ji.
The so-called tribal adult system is widely spread among the nomadic peoples in the north, especially among the Wuhuan and Xianbei people. It is an eight-tribe adult system with a strong patriarchal color.
It determines the scope of herdsmen's activities by "dividing herdsmen according to sections and dividing them by people." It was first popularized by Wuhuan of the Donghu system, and later also started to be adopted within Xianbei, which was also of the same lineage.
The term "adult" is the name used by the Central Plains Dynasty for tribal leaders (elders) such as Wuhuan and Xianbei. "The tribal leaders are called adults, and the leaders of the towns are called Xiaoshuai."
The earliest tribal leaders were elected. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the establishment of private ownership, tribal leaders began to become hereditary.
Although the tribes under this structure have a small number of slaves, they have broken away from primitive society and entered a hierarchical society. Of course, it is incomparable with the feudal centralized system of the Qin and Han Dynasties for thousands of years.
Therefore, since the Han Dynasty, as the Xiongnu were completely dispersed into the Northern Xiongnu outside the Pass and the Southern Xiongnu inside the Pass, the Wuhuan Xianbei people in the Pass wisely chose to surrender and basically obeyed the requirements of the Han Dynasty honestly. .
Until the death of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty was in danger. The most powerful Southern Xiongnu first began to plot evil, and Wuhuan Xianbei also began to make his own plans.
Having said that, for any Central Plains princes who are very capable of fighting, these foreigners, called barbarians, still choose to attach themselves to a certain side.
The Southern Xiongnu secretly colluded with Gongsun Zan, and Wuhuan Xianbei, who had a feud with the Southern Xiongnu, defected to Yuan Shao.
After the Battle of Yijing, the Southern Huns failed in their gamble. Now after Yu Fuluo's death, a new Shanyu Huchuquan was replaced, and there is no news for the time being.
Wuhuan Xianbei, on the other hand, wanted to come out and reap the fruits of victory. Of course, they did not dare to look too ugly, so they sat together secretly and discussed how to obtain the greatest possible share of the benefits.
Wuhuan, the most powerful of the several forces, on the one hand Shan Yu Tadun plotted to marry the Yuan family, and on the other hand had the intention of plundering the Han border, but Yan Rou Xian Yufu had already seen through it.
At this time, the two of them were secretly on guard, but they were giving Wuhuan envoy eye drops and talking about the disadvantages of marrying with the Yuan family.
The Wuhuan envoy was also a shrewd and capable person in Wuhuan. Naturally, he would not trust the two of them easily. He said proudly: "You two don't need to worry. Although this matter is requested by your Excellency, the decision-making power still rests with the Yuan family."
"If the head of the family, Yuan Benchu, can agree, I will have no reason to regret it."
The Wuhuan envoy sneered in his heart. Yan Rouxian Yufu seemed to be fair, but who didn't know that both of them were once engaged by Liu Yu, and now they were singing in harmony, how could he still not understand the fishy nature of it?
After hearing this, Xian Yufu said, "Since you have already made up your mind, I won't say more."
"I heard that Yuan Shijun, the governor of Youzhou, is returning to Youzhou by sea from Xuzhou. He will probably come to Yuyang then."
"Should we meet together to express our friendship with Mr. Yuan?"
After hearing this, the Wuhuan envoy said: "Let me think about this matter and give you an answer in a few days."
Yan Rouxian Yufu saw off the Wuhuan envoy and returned to the house. Yan Rou said: "Wuhuan wants to leave us and eat alone."
"They want to make friends with Yuan Shang. They feel that even though Yuan Xi is the governor of Youzhou, he can't do anything to them. But we are different. Yuyang is already under his control."
Xian Yufu nodded and said: "Wu Huan and Yuan Shang have a good relationship, which is not a good thing for us. The Yuan family is a fierce tiger, and he can't get rid of sand in his eyes. If we don't express our position, maybe he will attack us."
"This is a ruthless man. Ever since he became famous, anyone dares to mess with him. Let's not run into him without opening our eyes."
Yan Rou nodded in agreement, feeling quite troubled by this, "The ferocious tiger was quite dissatisfied with the Southern Huns and even killed Liu Bao. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be too harsh on us."
"But I'm afraid that he won't like all foreign races. What if we get close and make friends, and our hot face touches our cold butt?"
Xian Yufu said: "So we need to prepare for a rainy day. Wuhuan has already gone to Yecheng to propose marriage, and we are already behind."
"Fortunately, under the fierce tiger, there are two lines that can be opened."
Yan Rou heard this and said: "I understand. The first is Liu He, the son of our leader Liu Hou."
"But you need to be cautious when contacting him in private. Although he is Liu Hou's son and now he is working under Fierce Tiger, there is no suspicion between the Yuan family and Liu Hou."
"The fierce tiger is probably just using Liu He to gain fame. If our private friendship with Liu He is revealed, it will make him jealous and harm him."
Yan Rou's worries are not unreasonable. Before the Battle of Yijing, Gongsun Zan actually lost control of Youzhou, because at that time all Liu Yu's old troops took the opportunity to rebel, and their power was extremely huge.
Yan Rou, Xian Yufu, Xian Yuyin, Qi Zhou and others were all independent generals. They blocked Gongsun Zan's general Zou Dan who was going to rescue Yi Jing and killed more than 4,000 people. During the battle of Yi Jing, Gongsun Zan On one side, only the Montenegrin army helped.
This group of people who are closely related to Liu He is already a force that cannot be underestimated. If they want to take refuge with the Yuan family, they must be careful to avoid being suspected of being in a group and having other agendas.
After hearing this, Xian Yufu said, "That's true, so I plan to find someone who is highly valued by Fierce Tiger."
"Tian Yu Tian Guorang."
"I heard that he has made a lot of achievements in Guangling, Xuzhou, and he should have become a powerful assistant to Fierce Tiger."
Yan Rou heard this and said worriedly: "I have always known that you have a good relationship with Na Tian Yu, but he was Gongsun Zan's subordinate at the beginning, and now he has taken refuge with the Yuan family. Are there any risks?"
Xian Yufu thought for a while and said, "Tian Yu has always been loyal, and we always have to ask for directions."
"Just in case, I'll write it to him alone first."
Yan Rou listened and nodded helplessly.
In the past few days, Yuan Xi and others left Piaoyuyi and went north to Quanzhou City.
This Quanzhou is a famous city in Yuyang County, Youzhou, rich in salt and iron, and is located in Tongzhou, Hebei Province in later generations.
The more famous Quanzhou City in Fujian in later generations was called Dong'an City in Yangzhou at this time. It was not renamed Quanzhou until the period of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.
Yuan Xi led everyone on horseback to inspect the city of Quanzhou and found that there were rivers and streams everywhere.
In this era, the water systems around the city were extremely rich, especially Quanzhou City, which had many tributaries. No wonder it became the starting point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Abundant water resources not only enabled local food harvests, but also promoted businesses such as iron smelting, and the city grew in size.
Yuan Xi arranged for nearly a hundred blacksmith apprentices to stay in Quanzhou, and asked Liu He to arrange the appointment and dismissal of officials in the city, only to come to him when he was unsure.
It's not that Yuan Xi completely trusted Liu He, but by doing so, Liu He did not dare to show favoritism and would only try to balance the forces of all parties.
As the saying goes, don't trust people who employ others, and don't use people who are suspicious. In fact, it is just an act of openly expressing one's attitude and stance.
No one can be trusted unconditionally, and Liu He is no exception. Even Zhen Mi, Cai Zhaoji and others, Yuan Xi will not trust 100%, not even himself.
It's not that Yuan Xi doesn't believe in the intentions of Zhen Mi and others, but he doesn't believe in their ability to withstand malicious intentions, such as being caught and coerced.
Just like Yuan Xi does not doubt that Liu He should be loyal to him at present, but the political assets left by Liu Yu are so huge that Liu Yu's subordinates are a force that cannot be ignored in Youzhou. If they join forces To support Liu He, and even use strong methods to coerce him into taking office, the situation in Youzhou will inevitably be chaotic.
Yuan Xi has always been willing to take the worst-case scenario as the premise, consider the future situation, and make decisions in advance.
He has an advance psychological expectation. If he can consider the worst-case scenario that may happen before making a decision, and this situation is within his tolerance limit, then the decision will most likely not be made. He regrets it himself.
Otherwise, if he cannot bear the consequences of failure, he will not choose this decision.
Yuan Xi knows that he is not omnipotent and cannot control everything in the world, so he will force himself to face the worst situations that may happen.
What if one of his most trusted subordinates rebels?
What if my wife and children are captured by the enemy?
What if you are attacked by an enemy and have to escape alone?
What if you have to violate your conscience in order to win?
This is not because he has trouble with himself, but because in this era where everything is gambled and there is only one winner in the end, no matter how absurd things are, they may become reality.
This kind of boring question, similar to the question of who to save if the wife and children fall into the water in future generations, may be asking for trouble for ordinary people, because they may never encounter such a dilemma in their lives.
But for those in power, they must force themselves to face it, because they have to make choices all the time, and their every move affects the life and death of all people.
Just like Liu Bei's defeat at Changbanpo in later generations, he insisted on taking away hundreds of thousands of people, and was overtaken by Cao's army. Liu Bei's army was almost wiped out, and his wife and children were also captured.
Just like the later Yanzhou Rebellion, Lu Bu and Cao Cao attacked each other. Both sides were defeated by Liang Jue. Cao Cao used Cheng Yu's dried meat to survive, but Lu Bu was unable to make corresponding moves. In the end, Liang Jue had no choice but to retreat.
Just like after Guan Yu defeated Maicheng in later generations, Liu Bei knew that it would be beneficial for Cao Wei to fall out with Wu, but he still chose to avenge Guan Yu.
Although it is said that the winner is the winner and the loser is the enemy, everyone has different bottom lines and different choices. The final result will not necessarily win just because which side is more moral.
In troubled times, some people strictly adhere to the bottom line, some people have a very low bottom line, and some people have no bottom line. Anything can happen.
What made Yuan Xi sigh was that the one who had the least bottom line became the final winner.
If this was the only way to become a winner, would you choose to go on it?
Yuan Xi kept his answer deep in his heart. He didn't want to use the answer he chose one day when faced with a difficult decision.
The key to the dilemma is not which choice people make, after all, any choice will leave people with regrets, but when people stand on the wrong road, they can make a choice that they can accept in the shortest possible time.
It is precisely because of this that Yuan Xicai carefully considered various possibilities to prevent himself from facing an unacceptable cruel situation.
He said to Tian Yu beside him: "You said Xian Yufu was in the city, and you sent a letter asking you to meet him?"
(End of chapter)
