Cheng Yu relied on his sharp tongue to persuade Huchuquan to lead one hundred thousand Huns cavalry to go south to Guanzhong.
The Hetao area was the Ningxia Plain in later generations.
The Hetao Plain is a fertile plain with water and grass left after the Yellow River flows through Jizi Bay. Both sides of the Yellow River are typical alluvial plains.
This fertile land is of extremely strategic importance. It borders Yinshan Mountain to the north, Helan Mountain to the east, Luliang Mountain to the west, and the Ordos Plateau in the middle of Jiziwan. It is also the dividing line between farming and nomadic areas, and monsoon and non-monsoon areas.
Occupying the Hetao Plain means having the military initiative for offense and defense.
The Hetao Plain is divided into Xitao Plain and Dongtao Plain. The Xitao Plain is at the foot of Helan Mountain and the Dongtao Plain is at the foot of Yinshan Mountain.
Later generations' poems: The sky is blue, the fields are vast, and the wind blows the grass, and the cattle and sheep appear low. The source of this is the Hetao Plain.
Hetao Plain is divided into three counties: Shuofang County, Wuyuan County and Yunzhong County.
The southern Xiongnu were located in Shuofang City in Shuofang County.
Through the efforts of the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties, the nomadic peoples in the Hetao Plain were gradually Sinicized, but they mainly focused on absorbing foreigners and stabilizing immigrants. Among them, the largest number was the Southern Xiongnu.
The Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Huchuquan lived in Shuofang City.
After a month's journey, Cheng Yu, under the protection of Dian Wei, led five hundred tiger and leopard cavalry to Shuofang and saw Huchuquan.
Huchuquan did not expect that Cao Cao's people would come to him. Unexpectedly, he ordered his nephew Liu Bao, the Xiongnu Zuoxian King, to greet Cheng Yu.
A banquet was held at Huchuquan.
After the two parties sat down, he invited three glasses of wine to Chu Chuquan and asked tentatively: "Master Shangshu no longer allows you to stay, so how can you have time to come to this poor place?"
Cheng Yu twisted his beard and said with a smile: "I came especially for Shan Yu."
"Come for me?"
Hu Chuquan and Liu Bao looked at each other.
King Youxian Qubei sneered: "I'm afraid that Prime Minister Cao is no match for Zhang Xiu, so he came here to lure us and others to send troops to attack Zhang Xiu, right?"
Huchuquan looked at Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu stroked his beard and smiled, "The benefits are enough, why not?"
Liu Bao asked: "What's the benefit to me?"
"During Dong Zhuo's disaster, you were obviously helping the emperor move westward, but in fact you were secretly plundering the land of the three auxiliaries, and you gained a lot!"
Qubei's face changed: "What does Cheng Shangshu mean?"
Cheng Yu said with a smile: "When Chang'an suffered from Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the people were in dire straits, but you were able to return home with a full load. Today's Chang'an, the people are prosperous and the land is peaceful. After one year of Zhang Xiu's governance, it is already very wealthy. Compared with the past, you are here When we go south to Guanzhong, we will definitely be able to fill our bowls with wine."
Liu Bao sneered: "Shang Shu's words like this, aren't you afraid of arousing the abuse of the people in Guanzhong?"
How could Cheng Yu not know what he was doing?
The efforts of the late emperors of the Han Dynasty, which went through more than twenty generations, were to eliminate the harm caused by the Huns, but now he is inviting the Huns to invade south and plunder Guanzhong.
If this matter spreads out, he, Cheng Yu, will be a sinner for the ages. He will be nailed to the pillar of shame of the Han Dynasty before and after his death, and will be reviled by future generations.
But he couldn't think that far ahead.
In the hands of Zhang Xiu, Guanzhong posed too great a threat to the Han Dynasty, so he had to take special measures.
So he said: "Abuse is reserved for future generations. I, Cheng Yu, only care about this life. Everyone, I guarantee that you will make a lot of money when you go south this time, and I only want the heads of Guanzhong and Zhangxiu."
Qubei asked: "How sure are you that we can defeat that Zhang Xiu? I heard that he defeated your three armies without spending a single soldier last year, and he also defeated Prime Minister Cao twice in Nanyang."
"Don't worry, everyone, Zhang Xiu spent a lot of money to open warehouses and store grain for the people in Guanzhong and set up schools in order to be able to start a new era with the people. Now that spring plowing is coming, even though he has plundered Dingxi grain and grass to help, there is not much left, and he will never dare to do it for a long time. There are only about 60,000 cavalry under his command, including more than 10,000 newly surrendered Xiliang cavalry. Their strength is average. Shanyu marches south with 100,000 cavalry. How can Zhang Xiu defeat him?"
Huchuquan nodded.
Cheng Yu further said: "Even if we are defeated, we can retreat calmly. The Hetao Plain has excellent geographical advantages. We can attack when we advance and defend when we retreat. How can we be afraid of the little Zhangxiu?"
Liu Bao asked: "Are you sure that after we conquer Guanzhong and kill Zhang Xiu, Prime Minister Cao will not stop us from plundering Guanzhong?"
“To each his own, I promise not to.”
"What's the proof?"
"I will stay with you. If the Prime Minister stops me, you can kill me directly." When he said this, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes.
If possible, killing two birds with one stone is the best result.
Hu Chuquan smiled and said: "In that case, we might as well send troops to help the Prime Minister."
Cheng Yu was overjoyed.
…
From the second year of Xingping (195), Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and others in the Central Plains successively rebelled against Guanzhong, and the Xiongnu in the southern part of the Hetao Plain also took the opportunity to rebel and plunder.
It was at this time that Cai Yan (yan) was kidnapped by the Xiongnu King Zuoxian and lived in severe cold.
At the end of 1966, after Cai Yan came to the Hetao Plain, in order to prevent herself from being ravaged and harmed, she covered her face with dirt and did not dare to see anyone with her true appearance.
In addition to grief and anger, she wrote "Poem of Grief and Indignation": If you want to die, you can't get anything, if you want to live, there's nothing you can do. How could anyone in the world deserve this misfortune?
In the Xiongnu territory, she found that it was completely different from the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains. The people had vulgar temperaments and few moral etiquette.
Cai Yan lived carefully here for more than a year.
Because of his ugly appearance, he was often insulted and beaten by the Huns, and his body was covered with scars that had not healed.
Fortunately, she found a job as a cook in Prince Zuoxian's palace.
The manager of the kitchen was a fat and obese Hun woman named Maijiati. She was vulgar and arrogant, small-minded and intolerant. She often insulted and beat the five Han people under her.
Half of Cai Yan's injuries were due to her.
The banquet arranged when Cheng Yu arrived was prepared by Maijiati. After the banquet, Maijiati asked Cai Yan to put away the dishes and chopsticks, and squatted on the doorstep to wash the dishes.
It was cold in early spring, and Cai Yan's hands were red from the cold.
"You idiot! Are you squatting on the doorstep and working hard? You've been half a year old and can't even wash the dishes?" When he said this, he raised his thick and generous palms.
"Snapped!"
He slapped Cai Yan hard on the face.
Half of Cai Yan's face turned red instantly and he felt dizzy.
"Wash quickly! What are you waiting for?" McGarty yelled angrily.
Just now, she heard that Cheng Yu from the Central Plains had come here. She fantasized about being able to meet Cheng Yu. As long as Cheng Yu knew her situation, she would be saved.
As a result, she knew Cheng Yu's purpose of coming here.
Disheartened and distracted.
Got a hard slap in the face.
My ears suddenly started buzzing, and when I heard McGarti's angry shouts, I quickly started washing hard.
Magati grimaced, spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm, and spit it onto Cai Yan's arm: "After washing the dishes, go wash the clothes. Look at how disgusting and ugly you are!"
Cai Yan's face was burnt yellow, with ugly moles on the wings of his nose and chin.
The whole person looks like an ugly yellow-faced woman.
Already accustomed to insults and humiliations, Cai Yan silently wiped the phlegm from his arms and worked quickly.
How she hoped that a certain general from the Central Plains, like Huo Qubing in the Western Han Dynasty, could come to the Hetao Plain and save her from her suffering.
But she knew that all the princes in the Central Plains were fighting with each other, so how could they care about the remote Xiongnu?
Cai Yan was disheartened.
In order to avoid being scolded and humiliated, she sped up.
