Thousands of miles outside the northern wall of the Han Dynasty, the grassland north of the Xiongnu curtain.

Even if he hid it in every possible way, he couldn't hide it from the eyes of the grassland tribes.

There is a very obvious difference between the political system of the Xiongnu and the Central Plains, or the nomadic regime of the steppe and steppe in later generations-the unity of the government and the Jiao.

In the system of government of the Xiongnu, there was a very special system: priests.

Unlike the Han Dynasty's 'God Serves the Emperor', and unlike the medieval European 'the Emperor is God', the Xiongnu's religious system was very delicately embedded into the political system and was almost free from any checks and balances.

In the Xiongnu, a tribal alliance led by Shan Yuting, almost every tribal leader who was qualified to have the word 'wang' after the name of the tribe was assigned a shaman of the corresponding rank to preside over the religious affairs of the tribe.

In other words, the Xiongnu regime, known as the 'Hundred Barbarian Powers', has hundreds of high-level 'mages' in its political system, which influence the politics, life, and even national strategy of the Xiongnu people with their unique identity of being free from the political system.

As big as Shan Yuting, there is the most noble high priest, who presides over Shan Yu's daily sacrifices, as well as the tribal head sacrifice at the beginning of each year, and even the Dragon City Conference in May; Theoretically, the high priest even had the right to deny the Xiongnu strategy - as long as the high priest could justify himself and prove that the 'gods' were against the matter, then even if he himself was alone, he would only bow his head and accept his fate.

Shan Yuting headquarters, that is, the native Xiongnu headquarters, also had a large sacrificial team gathered in Longcheng, participating in the political activities of the Xiongnu with a political identity similar to the 'House of Elders'.

Historically, when the hussar general Huo Qu was ill and broke through Longcheng, he captured hundreds of Xiongnu shamans in Longcheng, so that it caused an indelible major blow to the Xiongnu's religious system and even the political system.

To put it a little further, such as Lou Fu and Bai Yang, who did not belong to the Xiongnu bloodline, and were later subjugated due to conquest, also had their own sacrifices, and even their own beliefs.

Specifically, the responsibilities of the Xiongnu shamans were also very broad—in the event of a calamity to the tribe, the shamans had to negotiate a solution with the tribal leaders while offering sacrifices to the gods.

When the clan was about to face war, the shamans would also pray for the blessings of the warriors and discuss simple tactics with the clan higher-ups.

Even when the tribe lost its way in the savannah or in the curtain during the migration, the shamans had to point the tribe in the right direction while presiding over the sacrifices.

From the perspective of the Chinese, the shamanic priests of the Xiongnu were more like the 'old men' who had rich survival experience and life experience, and used this to ensure the survival of the tribe - of course, the shamans still did not forget to pull the tiger skin of the gods.

Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, religion was one of the Xiongnu's foolish policies; But in fact, not only these tribal leaders who controlled tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of deaths had a very devout belief in their own religion, but even the high-ranking nobles of the Xiongnu, and even the Shan Yu himself, had an undeniable awe of the gods.

As for the group of shamans who have the sole right of interpretation, they are also different from the human emperors in Europe.

There is a saying in later generations: if you want others to believe your lies, you must first be sure of it.

- The shamans are the group of the Huns who are the most sure of the existence of the gods and have the highest reverence for the underworld.

Some time ago, the various tribes were forcibly requisitioned to Shan Yuting, and the shamans who prayed to the gods for Mao Dun have now returned to their respective tribes - even if they are noble, Mao Dun does not dare to forcibly detain the shamans who enjoy the supreme respect of the Xiongnu in Shan Yuting for any reason.

All, the news of 'Shan Yu's imminent death' has become a tacit 'secret' of the high-level leaders of the Xiongnu ministry.

It is true that the shaman has a high devotion to the gods and the 'son of the gods, Shan Yu', but this does not stop the Shamans from the Aries tribe from bringing the news of Shan Yu's imminent return to the arms of the gods back to their own tribe, and then turning into a meeting with the Aries King as a clan leader or advisor to discuss what may happen after Shan Yu's death.

The situation has developed to this point, and Mao Dun actually has no need to hide his physical condition - if there is any nobleman in this scene of the Northern Prairie, who does not know the news of Shan Yu's imminent death, I am afraid that he still maintains Han customs, resolutely resists the Xiongnu faith, and fails to send his own shaman priest to the Han Wang's department in Shan Yuting.

As one of the only two tribes of the Xiongnu ruled by the descendants of the rebellious princes of the Han family, the Han royal department in the north of the shogunate had a much more difficult life than the Donghu royal department in the south of the maku.

In the eleventh year of Emperor Taizu Gao of the Han Dynasty, that is, in 196 BC, he had the same name as the Marquis of Huaiyin in history, and then surrendered to the Xiongnu and turned back to attack Han King Han Xin, who died at the hands of the Han general Jianpu Marquis Chaiwu.

It was Han Wangxin's defection and anti-Han that made Liu Bang completely let go of his expectations for the princes with different surnames and decided to sweep away all the princes with different surnames.

Because of Han Xin, the king of Han, he is the grandson of King Ji Cangshu of Han Xiang - the kind that can find the genealogical inheritance!

In a sense, it can also be said that Han Wangxin belongs to the nobles of the old Six Kingdoms, or the widow of the 'first Zhou'.

In the ideology of the Han Dynasty, Qin, as the first unified regime in China, was not recognized for its existence; The source of Liu Han's legal system is generally considered to have inherited the 'Zhou Dynasty'.

However, after Han Wangxin defected to the Xiongnu and attacked the Han family under the remote control of the Xiongnu Shan Yu Maodun, public opinion's perception of the golden sign of 'Zhou royal blood' took a sharp turn, and he gradually accepted Liu Bang's theory that 'close people can be trusted', and no longer pursued the bloodline of the nobles excessively.

This is undoubtedly a great progress for Chinese history - in a sense, Han Wangxin's defection to the Xiongnu indirectly swept the notorious 'blood theory' and 'clan system' in human history into the dustbin of history.

For the monarchs and ministers of the Han family, this is also a beneficial and harmless ideological progress - whether it is Liu Bang, who founded the Han family, or Fan Xu, who collaborated with Liu Bang to swallow the world, it is almost not noble.

Therefore, the Han family generally resolutely resisted and disgusted the 'Xiongnu Han kings' who still lived in the steppe, while the Han family was relatively friendly to the Donghu royal department, which was also a rebellious prince and lived in the south of the Muku.

The attitude of the Han family does not seem to be able to directly affect the survival situation of the Donghu Department and the Han Wang Department, but the reality is: the Han Wang Department is now in a miserable situation where they cannot guarantee their full stomachs from the Han Dynasty to the commander Han Zhao (1) and the lower tribes...

On the other hand, the friendly attitude of the Han family in the Donghu Department made Shan Yuting afraid of his return to the Han family, so as to provide the greatest living space - the grassland of the Donghu Department is second only to the fat grassland of the headquarters of the Right Xianwang in the south of the Munan!

Regarding this situation, as the eldest son of Han Wang Xinyan, Han Zhao, the crown prince of Han Han, even if he wants to change, he is helpless.

Now Han Zhao's tribe is located in the northeast of the Mongolian Desert at the junction of Inner and Outer Mongolia in later generations, a grassland that is not barren, but it is definitely not comparable to 'fat'.

Compared to those small tribes who struggled to survive in the cracks, Han Zhao really didn't have to worry about whether the tribe's territory would attract the prying eyes of other tribes—because the territory of the Han Wang tribe was located on a vast plain.

Without the heights, being in the steppe means not having any strategic advantage; Being away from water means there's not much value to compete for.

Coupled with the fact that the grassland was not fat, the Han Wangbu won a rare peace in the grassland of the north of the country.

But life on the grassland is not as simple as the current performance of the Han Dynasty shows.

——Why does the fertile grassland attract several or even more than a dozen tribes to kill them, and they want to take it for themselves at the cost of losing the tribe's youth?

If a mesocre pasture like the one where the Han Wang's tribe is located can satisfy the survival of the tribe, then why should the grassland tribe compete for more fertile grassland at the cost of their lives?

The answer is: not to mention the grassland at the foot of the Han Wangbu, even the Youxian Wang Department of Munan, which is adjacent to Nanchi and has a territory of 500 miles, cannot rely on its incomparably fertile grassland to ensure that the survival of the tribe is in an absolutely safe situation.

The common people of the Han family, one husband and five people rule a hundred fields, which is enough to support the livelihood of the family.

A hundred acres of land, even if it is calculated according to the large acres in Guanzhong, is only a piece of farmland that is 100 steps wide and 240 steps long.

As for the input, it is about zero - the grain required for a hundred acres of land is no more than one stone!

In the Xiongnu, a family of five or six people needed at least five horses, two camels, six oxen, and twenty sheep to feed and clothe a family.

- That's it, I can only barely guarantee enough to eat!

If you encounter the oppression of powerful clans, or even distribute contributions in the court, you can't even guarantee that you will be full.

Let's not mention whether these dozens of animals can eat enough grass and produce enough milk as they would ideally (2); The input required for these dozens of livestock alone is much higher than the farming cost of the Han people.

Compared with the 100 acres of farmland that a family in the Han family has to cultivate, the grassland for a family of five in the Xiongnu needs to raise livestock is based on a 'radius x ten miles'.

This is the relative superiority of agricultural civilization before the nomadic civilization - the Han people only need 100 acres of land to feed a family, while the Huns need a grassland within a radius of dozens of miles, in order to ensure that the grassland is not destroyed on the premise of raising the livestock that the family depends on for a living, so as to obtain survival resources.

At the level of a clan leader like Han Zhao, the things to be considered can only be described as 'making people collapse'.

Through simple calculations, it is not difficult to conclude that the daily life of a Xiongnu requires about five cows, sheep and livestock and at least three kilometers of pasture as a guarantee.

Now under Han Zhao's control, the Han Wang's troops are as high as tens of thousands!

In other words, excluding factors such as entering the court and supporting the high-level of the tribe, in order to feed the people, the Han Wangbu needs at least 100,000 heads of various livestock and a 500-mile radius of pasture!

——Now the hundreds of tribes of the entire Xiongnu, who can have a grassland of such a scale, except for a few big people in the Xiongnu headquarters, I am afraid that only the left and right virtuous kings can barely achieve it.

The five hundred miles of pasture needed for the survival of the Han Wangbu are available in the Youxian Wangbu; But the Right Virtuous Wangbu, can you guarantee your life?

——The subordinates of the Right Xian Wang's department, nearly 500,000 (3)!

The entire Nanchi, as well as the surrounding grasslands with a radius of five hundred miles, could only barely make the young warriors of the Youxian King barely half full; King Youxian also had to squeeze the Munan tribes, trade with Han caravans, and even intermittently plunder the Han family, so as to ensure that when the next spring came, the mortality rate of the tribes and livestock did not exceed 10%.

Even the headquarters of the Right Xian King, who was in the second line of the Xiongnu succession, was only in such a state of existence, not to mention other tribes, and even Han Zhao's Han Wang Division.

In addition to survival, the Han Wangbu has recently encountered a problem related to the survival of the clan - Han Zhao, the king of Han, was suspected by Shan Yuting of colluding with the Han family!

This is a fatal disaster for a tribe that has betrayed its own people and placed itself under the old enemy!

Since Han Zhao was 'invited' away by the knight of the headquarters of Shan Yuting, Han Wang's department has fallen into a treacherous turmoil.

Fortunately, today, with the anticipation of the subordinates and the anticipation of the crown prince Han Ying, Han Zhao's Wang Qi finally appeared a few miles away.

"Uncle ~ Uncle ~ "

With a youthful and immature call, a young man with his cheeks chapped and reddened from the sun, and the corners of his mouth faintly cracked, rushed back to the camp where the tribe was stationed.

Before the young man could go far, a big man with a height of eight feet and a tiger's back walked out of the felt tent in the center of the camp, slightly raising his hand in front of his forehead, waiting for the young man's footsteps.

"Ah Baby."

Before Dahan's voice fell, the young man stopped and waved his hand: "Uncle, my father is here!" ”

After saying that, the young man did not care about the courtesy, and ran towards the low hill in the distance, gradually revealing the walking men and horses.

Seeing his nephew's happy appearance, the big man also let out a sigh of relief, and explained to the guards beside him, 'I know the queen', and walked quickly to the outside of the camp.

When the Han Wangbu was in an ecstatic celebration, Han Zhao, who triggered this carnival, stood on the top of the hill, looking at the tattered clothes of the subordinates, the skinny cattle and sheep in the camp, and lamented bitterly.

After seeing the rapidly approaching figure under the low hill, Han Zhao had to change into a faint smile and ride his horse down the hill slowly.

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Reluctantly sent his beloved son out of the king's tent, and then tried hard to appease his crying wife back to the side tent, Han Zhao couldn't care about whitewashing the peace anymore, and leaned on the couch tiredly, slowly closing his eyes.

"Big brother?"

Seeing Han Zhao's appearance, even if the big man on the side had the heart to ask, he couldn't bear to bother Han Zhao again.

——The nephew may not know what Han Zhao did in court alone, even if the queen has a faint guess, I am afraid she will not know everything.

But Dahan knew very well in his heart: Han Zhao was able to return to the clan from Shan Yuting Quanxu and Quanwei this time, which could definitely be regarded as picking up a life!

"In such a situation, I don't know why my father gave up his homeland to come here..."

Sitting up from the couch with a gloomy tone, Han Zhao shook his head with a wry smile, waved his hand, and motioned for the big man to come closer.

"The widow returned from Dragon City, and he didn't see Zuo Xian's army outside?"

Hearing this, the big man who lowered his head and felt nostalgic subconsciously raised his head, and saw Han Zhao glancing vaguely at the outside of the felt tent, and then leaned forward a little bit.

The big man hurriedly got closer, and whispered in his ear: "A few days after Yu summoned the eldest brother to Dragon City, King Zuo Xian has withdrawn his army. ”

After saying that, the big man hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth: "Big brother, we will go to our homeland!" ”

Hearing his younger brother make such a terrifying proposal, Han Zhao suddenly opened his eyes, and the big man knelt down in front of Han Zhao.

"My brother was born in Hudi, and he doesn't know the scenery of his homeland; The eldest brother is also suffering from the difficulties of the people. ”

"Now that King Zuoxian has withdrawn his army, why don't the eldest brother lead the crowd to secretly enter the curtain and scatter all the tribe and livestock all the way to return to his homeland?"

As he spoke, the face of the big man showed an obvious look of yearning: "Although my brother is vulgar, he also knows a little about horse training and riding, so with this body, Your Majesty may not blame us for my father's sake?" ”

Looking at the suffocation implied in Dahan's eyes, Han Zhao slowly stood up, walked to the burning pottery stove in the tent with his hands, and slowly stretched his hand to the stove.

"It's not time yet..."

After thinking about it for a long time, Han Zhao shook his head unwillingly after all.

"Decadent."

After a cold call, Han Zhao turned around with grief and solemnly bowed to the big man behind him: "If something happens, Brother Wang dies in Hudi, and the baby and queen will be taken care of by the decadent generation..."

"Why did the eldest brother say this?"

Looking at the big man's frightened gaze, Han Zhao shook his head with a gloomy face, and immediately smiled bitterly again.

"For my brother's trip, although Shan Yu is not to blame, but all the barbarians in the court regard our department as useless, and it is equivalent to the north to expel me."

"The matter has come to this, and we have no reason to leave a fence again; However, the Han royal department lived in the north of the curtain, far away from the Han border. ”

"When the time is ripe, you should use your body as bait for your brother to take a good opportunity for the people to return to Han!"

As he spoke, Han Zhao's eyes were full of sadness, and he held the big man's hand tightly: "The day when my brother re-enters the court, it will be the time to return to the south!" ”

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PS: 1. For Han Wangxin's genealogy, there is no record in the historical data in great detail, and only Han Wangxin's name is Han Xin, and the second son's name is Han Rongdang, and he was later named Gong Gaohou for the Han family; The grandson born to the eldest son was named Han Ying, and he was named the Marquis of Xiangcheng.

As for the biological father of Han Ying, the Marquis of Xiangcheng, that is, the son of Han Wang Xin, the name of the Xiongnu Han King in history, but it cannot be found from historical materials.

So, yes, the assistant began to invent and create again - Han Zhao, I gave Han Wangxin's eldest son a new name...

2. Perhaps in everyone's inherent impression, nomads should be bold men who eat meat and pour mare's milk wine? In reality, this is not the case.

Not only the Xiongnu, but also the Xianbei, Tatar, and even the Mongol warriors under the command of Genghis Khan, their main food source was not beef and mutton, but cheese and other dairy products made from the milk produced by cattle and sheep.

If you really eat meat and drink a lot of wine, even the little king of the tribe can't do it during the Xiongnu period, I'm afraid that you can only eat meat unscrupulously.

After all, the Enke brothers were eaten poor by heroes from all walks of life, and how could the Huns, who were poor at that time, only have cattle and sheep left, dare to kill chickens and eggs, and kill cattle and sheep for their livelihood?

3. Is there 500,000 people in the Xiongnu Right Xianwang Division? What is the evidence?

Let's put it simply, lest someone say that I have a water word count.

In the forty or fifty years from the first generation of Shan Yu Maodun to the bloodbath of the military ministers, the Youxian Wang's department, as the main force of the Xiongnu double-headed eagle policy, was mainly responsible for the strategy against the Han Dynasty, and almost all of them appeared on the Han and Hungarian borders with the scale of 'riding 100,000 horses', regardless of the factors such as the transfer from other tribes, the slave offset, and the proportion of men and women, the proportion of old and young, etc., Munan was able to pull out an army of 100,000 people, which at least had a population of more than one million.

The Shan Yuting and the south of the Makubei are separated by the Mongolian Desert, and the Youxian Wang Department can be said to be the nature of suppressing the 'capital protectorate' of the Makunan for the Xiongnu, no matter in terms of combat effectiveness, military strength, and even the number of people, it should at least account for more than half of the overall number of Makunan.

This is the argument that the officials came to the idea of "there are 500,000 people in the right virtuous king's department", and if there is a master to point out, the officials will listen attentively.

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