In October of the second year of Guangxi's reign of the Han Dynasty, the rebellion of Li Dao and Guo Yan was finally gradually quelled. However, the army of the imperial court did not die down because of this, but under the leadership of Huangfu Song, with the aftermath of the great victory, Chen soldiers set up an offensive posture between the Qiang Road.

The imperial army was eyeing the border, which made the Qiang tribes west of the Qiang Road feel great military pressure. Many of their tribes participated in the rebellion of Li Dao Guo Yan, and now that the Xiliang rebels have been annihilated, the army of the imperial court is approaching the city, and it is clear that they are preparing to settle accounts after the autumn, which makes the Qiang tribes who are worried about the cruel retaliation of the imperial court begin to be nervous.

At this time, the Qiang tribe also formed a unified country, the Qiang tribe near the border of the Han Dynasty is mainly divided into the Wolf Qiang, the White Horse Qiang, the Xianling Qiang, the Burning Dang Qiang, the Ox Qiang and other tribes, these tribes are thousands of large, small hundreds, the language, clothing, customs, etc. of each tribe are not the same, the only thing that is the same is the nomadic lifestyle of "living in water and grass".

Usually, these tribes did not belong to each other, and sometimes they attacked each other for limited resources, but at this time, the arrival of the imperial army made these tribes unexpectedly united.

The struggle between the Qiang and Han ethnic groups has not been interrupted for decades, and the enmity between them has become as deep as the sea. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Qiang people repeatedly rebelled and invaded the interior, in addition to the economic reason of their own lack of resources, the ethnic hatred between them and the Han people was also an important reason. Therefore, these Qiang people were able to give up the suspicions and grievances they had between each other when the imperial army was constantly gathering at the border, and fight against the Han army with the same hatred.

The Zhuqiang tribes met near the Bailongjiang River to discuss how to deal with the Han army that was fighting on the border, and jointly pushed the old Qiang king to preside over the meeting.

The old Qiang king of Dangqiang was originally the younger brother of the leader of the Qiang Qiang, and once followed his brother together to resist the cruel rule of the Han court, and Emperor Shun Yonghe five years, after Nali was killed by the imperial court, the old Qiang king inherited the position of the leader, and continued to lead the burning of Dangqiang against the Han Dynasty, and had a high prestige among the Qiang tribes, so everyone would recommend him to preside over the meeting.

The meeting was held in the big tent of the tribe, and before the old Qiang king, who presided over the meeting, could open his mouth after the leaders of the large and small Qiang tribes gathered, Yadan of the wolf Qiang took the lead and said: "For many years, the Han people have been bullying us and others, and regard us Qiang people as pigs and dogs. Now that the emperor of the Han people has sent a large army, he will definitely wipe out the country and the species! We cannot afford to sit still this time. The Han people have a saying that the first strike is the strongest, and we should be the first to attack and fight to the death with the Han army! ”

Yadan was originally a subordinate of the Qiang king Cheriji, who escaped by luck when the Xiyuan Army attacked the camp at night, and returned to the Wolf Qiang tribe because the original leader Cheriji was captured by the Han army, so he was pushed by the tribe as a temporary leader, representing the Wolf Qiang to participate in the alliance of the Qiang people.

This time, with Li Dao and Guo Yan's invasion of the Central Plains, Shen Wolf Qiang contributed the most, and the loss after defeat was also the greatest. Not only did the king become a prisoner of others, but the strength of the tribe also lost half of Tai, and he was even more worried that as the main force of the Qiang army invading the Central Plains, they would become the first target of the imperial court's revenge. Now that the strength of the Wolf Qiang has been greatly reduced, he is unable to fight against the imperial court, so he is anxious to encourage other Qiang to fight against the imperial court and avenge them.

Yadan's words resonated with some of the militant factions in the big tent, and the king of Qiang talked about it for a while, until the old king waved his hand to quiet everyone down, and the noisy sound in the big tent ended.

The old Qiang king opened his mouth and said: "Although the Yadan brothers have some truth, but the Han people are only on the border, and they did not immediately attack us, I think there must be something strange in it, maybe there is some room for ease between us and the Han people." But if we rashly take the lead in attacking the Han army, I am afraid that the end of each other will only be to die and break the net. It is better for us to send an envoy to the camp of the Han army to pay a visit, and it is not too late to find out the intentions of the Han people before making plans. ”

Regarding the words of the old Qiang king, Yadan was very dissatisfied and said: "The old Qiang king's words are wrong! The Han people are cunning and changeable, who knows what conspiracy they are hiding if they don't attack immediately! We Qiang and Han people have no possibility of peace talks at all, others don't remember, has the old Qiang King also forgotten how the Miwu Qiang King died? ”

Yadan's words once again caused a wave of exchange between the Qiang kings in the big tent. The Qiang king Miwu was originally a leader of the Qiang Burning Qiang, and once led the Qiang tribe to rebel against the imperial court and killed Fu Yu, the captain of the Qiang Guard. In the first year of Emperor Zhanghe, Miwu led his troops to surrender to the imperial court. At that time, Zhang Xu, who succeeded as the captain of the Qiang Guard, held a banquet in Linqiang to entertain Mi Wu and other Qiang generals, but he poisoned Mi Wu during the banquet and cut off his head to pay tribute to Fu Yu. The soldiers who had been ambushed in advance also swarmed and slaughtered all the 800 Qiang Hao brought by Miwu. Because of Zhang Xun's treachery, he lost the trust of the Qiang people in the imperial court, and since then the Qiang rebellion has become more and more serious, and the ethnic hatred between the Han and Qiang people has become more and more profound.

Burning Dangqiang has been attacking the imperial court for more than half a century because of this incident, how could the old Qiang king forget about it? It's just that after years of war, all that has been exchanged is a large number of deaths and the declining of the burning Qiang. The Han Empire gradually declined because of the Qiang Rebellion, and the Qiang people suffered hardships because of the war.

The old Qiang king was tired, he didn't want to burn the next generation of Qiang who was still living in the shadow of war and suffering, and in his heart he hoped that the grievances between the Qiang and the Han people would best be resolved in their generation, and not to cause trouble to their children and grandchildren.

However, the ethnic hatred between the Qiang and the Han people is not something that can be resolved in a while, Yadan's proposal has been supported by many Qiang leaders in the Qiang Alliance, and the leader of the first Lingqiang, Vatong, stood up in support of Yadan and said: "The Han people are all untrustworthy people, and we can only fight with the Han people." I heard that the Han court is very weak at this time, their emperor is very young, there is no way to control the local state pastor Taishou, once we defeat the imperial court army at this time, then the Han will inevitably fall apart, we Qiang people can live in the Central Plains, and grab the Han people's flower world in our hands! ”

The Central Plains is rich in products, and the opportunity to live in the Central Plains can be said to have aroused the great interest of the Qiang kings in the tent. Under the encouragement of Yadan and Vatong, the more the Qiang kings talked, the more excited they became, and some of them were eager to immediately gather their troops and horses to rob the Han people of gold, silver and jewelry.

At this time, a young man's voice sounded in the big tent: "Those who want to rob the Han people are stupid pigs!" ”

The young man's voice was very loud, and the king of Zhuqiang, who was clamoring to attack the Central Plains, suddenly fell silent when he heard his words, and all at the same time turned their angry eyes on the young man, the grandson of the old Qiang king, who was the little prince.

Mi Dang was not afraid of the angry gaze of the king of Zhuqiang, and said: "The army of the Han people is well-trained and well-equipped, and the generals are resourceful and experienced in a hundred battles. Although their emperor was young, I heard that he was young and wise, and he was extraordinary. Even famous generals like Dong Zhuo and Li Dao are not his opponents, so how can we defeat him? ”

Yadan sneered at Midang and said, "The little prince was defeated by the Han people in the Central Plains, I'm afraid he was scared because of this, right?" ”

Mi Dang didn't care about Yadan's ridicule, but nodded and said, "I'm afraid." King Cheriji was the most brave man among our Qiang people, but he was defeated and captured; Dong Zhuo's power is so great that the Qiang people have always been afraid, but in the end they were still under house arrest by the imperial court, and the whole family was slaughtered and could not do anything; We Qiang people have always respected the ability of Li Dao and Guo Yan, but they were defeated and died in less than three months after they rebelled against the Han Dynasty. I would like to ask you the king of Qiang whose bravery, strength, and ability surpass these people, and who can resist the Han general Huangfu Song who led the troops? ”

The words of the delusion made all the Qiang kings in the tent silent, especially Huangfu Song, who had been quelling the rebellion in Liangzhou for a long time, and had always been very prestigious among the Qiang people. When the Qiang kings thought that it was the ruthless and mighty Huangfu Song who was leading the troops, they all showed fear on their faces.

At this time, Mi Dang took the opportunity to say: "Actually, what the king said just now also has a certain truth, the internal instability of the Han people, so they may not really be desperate to break the net with us." I don't think we have to have a vendetta with the Han people, and maybe there will be other turning points this time. ”

Vatong objected indignantly: "The Han people have repeatedly killed our Qiang parents and brothers, and we will never forget this hatred!" ”

Mi Dang said coldly to Vatong: "My parents were killed by Xian Lingqiang because of the land dispute. ”

He choked and retreated to the side with a face of shame.

Mi Dang sighed deeply, and then said faintly: "We have been fighting against the Han people for many years, and we have hurt each other, have you ever thought about when this mutual hatred will end?" In the north, the Xiongnu were already attached to the Han court. The imperial court opened the border markets to them, and every year the Xiongnu would exchange the surplus cattle and sheep for the rich products of the Central Plains. And our Qiang people are no worse than the Huns, like the white horse Qiang is rich in horses, cattle and sheep, honey and paint, there are many merchants who want to trade with us in the Qiang, but they are deterred by the war. If we can trade with the imperial court like the Huns, won't we be able to get the same products from the Central Plains? ”

Not everyone in Zhuqiang is as belligerent as Vatong and Yadan, and a considerable number of people also agree with Mi Dang's words, but now that the Han army is on the border, they don't dare to express their position easily if they don't know what the Han army is about.

The old Qiang King on the side looked at Kan Kan's fascination, and felt a sense of relief that his grandson had finally grown up. Since Midang was defeated by the Xiyuan Army and fled back to Zaodangqiang, he did not abandon himself or be full of hatred for the Han Dynasty, but on the contrary, he became very interested in the Han Empire and Han culture. Not only did he read a lot of Han books, but he also taught himself Chinese characters, which gave him today's insight and stood out in front of the Qiang kings.

The Moth King of Baimaqiang, who was quite moved by Mi Dang's words, asked Mi Dang carefully: "Even if we want to attach ourselves to the Han court, will they let us go?" ”

Mi Dang said: "Since you are not sure about the intentions of the imperial court, I am willing to go to the Han army to find out the truth of the Han people." If the Han people are prepared to do our Qiang people's disadvantage, they will inevitably kill me, and then you can gather your troops and horses to fight the Han people to the death. ”

The attitude of the imperial court was unclear, and Mi Dang was willing to go to the envoy to find out the truth and truth, and all the Qiang kings looked at him with admiration.

The old Qiang king looked at Mi Dang worriedly, but the latter gave him a confident look. The old Qiang king remembered that last night his grandfather and grandson discussed the border of the Chen soldiers of the imperial court, and Mi Dang had already made up his mind to go to the Han army to find out the truth and what he said to him: "The attitude of the imperial court is unclear, and the Qiang are suspicious, in order to prevent our descendants of the Qiang people from still being poisoned by the war, I am willing to go alone to talk about the intentions of the imperial court." ”

King Lao Qiang nodded affirmatively to Mi Dang, and then said to everyone: "Since Mi Dang is willing to find out the truth of the court for everyone, it is not too late for us to wait for his news before making plans." ”

The old Qiang king was quite authoritative among the Qiang people, and when everyone saw that he was willing to send his only grandson to the Han army to find out the intentions of the imperial court, the Qiang kings had nothing to say, so they had to agree to Mi Dang's proposal and wait for news without moving.

Mi Dang, who went to the Han army camp, was also reluctant to bring more people and horses, so he only took ten warriors of his own clan and rushed to the Han army camp in Chen Bing Yu Qiang Road.

(To be continued, stay tuned for the next chapter)