Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

Chapter 24 Southern Xiongnu Tribes

In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, in the twenty-fourth year of Jianwu.

That year, a great upheaval broke out within the Xiongnu in a struggle for the throne. The nobles each supported their own lord, killing each other and causing rivers of blood to flow.

The strongest empire on the grasslands disintegrated amidst infighting, splitting into two parts, north and south.

The southern Xiongnu people established Rizhu King Bi as Hailuoshizhudi Chanyu and submitted to the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu settled them in the Hetao region and allowed them to establish their court at Wuyuan Fortress.

The following year, the court was moved to Meiji County.

From then on, "Nanting" took root in this fertile land.

The Han Dynasty appointed a General of the Central Army to protect the Xiongnu and provided them with grain and silk every year in exchange for the Southern Xiongnu ceasing their incursions. The Xiongnu even sent troops to conquer the Wuheng and Xianbei for the Han Dynasty.

This business has been going on for over 120 years.

When Liu Quan and his party arrived at the Southern Xiongnu tribe, it was afternoon.

Sunlight poured down from high above.

The undulating white felt tents resembled a continuous white hilly area.

Smoke rose from the chimneys on the tent roof, then dispersed in the wind into a pale blue mist that lingered over the camp.

The sounds of cattle and sheep, the neighing of horses, the laughter of children, and the muffled thuds of women pounding cheese blend together to create a unique symphony of the grasslands.

In the distance, several fine horses were galloping within the enclosure, their manes flying and hooves pounding the ground; the Huns were testing their horses.

Further away, a group of shaved-haired boys on horseback are chasing a gazelle.

Laughter and shouts drifted on the wind, intermittently.

The arrival of the caravan caused quite a stir.

Several Xiongnu riders on lookout duty spotted the group from afar, turned their horses around, and galloped back to their tribe to report the news.

Before long, a group of people came out of the tribe to greet them.

The leader was a middle-aged Hun, tall and strong, with a bronze face. He wore a fur-lined robe, a gold belt around his waist, and a topped felt hat with an eagle feather swaying gently in the wind.

He rode a tall, sturdy blue horse, with a bow and quiver hanging from the saddle. His sharp gaze swept over every cart in the caravan, finally landing on Su Shuang. He grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.

Su Shuang rode forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and exchanged a few words with the man in fluent Xiongnu language.

The man laughed loudly, turned around, and shouted something towards the tribe.

The curtains of the felt tents were lifted one after another, and the men gathered around, the women came out, and the children emerged from every corner like a flock of sparrows.

They looked at the caravan's goods with curious eyes. Some reached out to touch the pottery jars on the carts, some leaned closer to smell the fabric, and some pointed at Zhang Shiping's silver-inlaid waist knife, whispering and discussing among themselves.

Su Shuang turned to Liu Quan and said, "Quan, this is the leader of the Xubu tribe, named Xubu Guduhou. He said we came at the right time; if we had come a few days later, they would have moved to a different region. If we wanted to find them then, we would have had to travel hundreds of miles."

Liu Quan rode forward and began to communicate with the Marquis of Xubugudu in fluent Xiongnu language.

At the same time, he mentally commanded: "Pangu, search the database and see if there is any information about this person."

A moment later—

"Xubu Guduhou, one of the future Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu."

"The Chanyu? One of them?" Liu Quan asked in confusion.

In the fifth year of Zhongping (188 AD), a coup broke out in the Southern Xiongnu. The Right Wing and the Tu Ge tribes joined forces to kill Qiangqu Chanyu. The rebels then forced Xubuguduhou to become Chanyu.

"Qiangqu's son, Yufuluo, was leading Xiongnu troops to fight against Zhang Chun and the Xianbei for the Eastern Han Dynasty. Upon hearing of the rebellion, he declared himself Chanyu and went to the capital to meet Emperor Ling of Han, requesting military assistance to restore his country. Unfortunately, Emperor Ling was critically ill at the time, and the matter could not be resolved."

"In September of the same year, Yufuluo, together with the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the White Wave Army, rebelled and attacked Taiyuan, Hedong and other counties. The people of Hedong and other counties armed themselves to protect themselves. Yufuluo was unable to plunder anything and his troops were damaged. He intended to return to his country, but was refused by his countrymen, so he stayed in Hedong."

"I see."

After some pleasantries, Liu Quan figured it out.

This Lord Xubugudu is an honest and straightforward man. As long as there is no major conflict of interest, there is no need to worry about him.

That night, Liu Quan and his party stayed at the Xubu tribe.

Before entering the tent, Liu Quan, seeing that no one was paying attention, took something out of his chest pouch.

This thing is about the size of a palm and shaped like a bird; it is the Hummingbird drone.

Liu Quan held the drone in his palm and gently pressed his thumb down.

The thing then emitted a faint buzzing sound, spread its wings, and rose into the air from the palm of the hand.

In the blink of an eye, it rose into the air, blended into the night, and disappeared from sight.

This is the sixth Hummingbird drone he has launched.

These drones rely on sunlight for energy and can fly indefinitely as long as the drones themselves are not damaged.

They are Liu Quan's external eyes, watching over this vast land for him, recording every river, every hill, every campsite, and every road.

This information was compressed into data streams and fed back into Pangu's database. Over time, this data accumulated to form an increasingly complete map of the grassland.

Unfortunately, there were no satellites.

The maximum distance at which Pangu can receive signals is 10,000 meters. Beyond this distance, the drone will lose contact with Pangu.

Therefore, Liu Quan issued an instruction to these drones to periodically return to Lousang Village, store the captured image data in Pangu's database, and then fly out again to continue their missions.

In this way, although the efficiency is somewhat lower, at least the data can be continuously updated and supplemented.

Liu Quan lay down fully clothed in the tent and ordered Pangu to activate the alarm function, which would immediately sound an alarm if anyone approached within ten meters.

Liu Quan wasn't sleepy at all; his mind was immersed in the image of Pangu projected into his consciousness.

These images depict grasslands, mountains, rivers, and tribes, with one image showing the scenery of Tanhan Mountain.

Night falls at the foot of Tanhan Mountain.

A large number of Xianbei tribes gathered here.

The campfires, scattered like stars, stretched endlessly, as if the Milky Way had fallen to earth.

In the Milky Way, there are also moving star chains, which are soldiers on patrol.

Judging from the size of the campfire, at least twenty tribes have gathered here!

As expected, Tan Shihuai was well-prepared.

Liu Quan sneered.

He lowered the drone and flew closer to a huge tent at the foot of Tanhan Mountain, which should be the residence of Tan Shihuai.

The tent was brightly lit, with guards and servants coming and going. Occasionally, one could see richly dressed Xianbei nobles arriving, taking off their shoes and weapons before respectfully entering the tent.

If there were a bomb right now, would the threat from the Xianbei be eliminated?

Liu Quan thought to himself.

Unfortunately, no.

At this moment, Pangu sounded the alarm.

Ok?

Liu Quan sat up.

Someone's coming!

In the darkness, a figure slipped through the gap in the curtain, and a faint floral fragrance reached Liu Quan's nose.

Pangu's scan results came back: No threat!

Liu Quan relaxed a little.