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"By Tengri, my Chanyu..." Huchuquan watched Fei Qian's figure descending the mountain, somewhat dazed. "Did you really agree... to have our men help with the plowing?"
Yu Fuluo was also watching Fei Qian walk away. He let out a soft, quiet laugh. "Impressive, isn't he? That fellow, though not old, always manages to lead me around by the nose... What, you think this is a bad idea?"
"Ah?" Huchuquan was taken aback, then said instinctively, "It seems a bit like that."
Yu Fuluo paused, turned to look at Huchuquan, and smiled. "Which part is bad?" In such a short time, he had already reached a conclusion. This Huchuquan...
"Well..." Huchuquan hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't know either. I just feel it's not quite right..."
"Heh. Nothing in this world comes without effort!" Yu Fuluo said. "When dealing with clever people, one needs to act a little foolish. But... acting foolish all the time isn't much fun, is it, my Right Virtuous King..."
Huchuquan's eyes darted left and right, but he remained silent.
Yu Fuluo didn't wait for Huchuquan's reply. He said directly, "Tomorrow, take five hundred men. Together with Prefect Fei's troops, use his name to consolidate the surrounding small tribes... As for the rest, send another five hundred old horses to help with the plowing."
The final result of their negotiation was to do both things simultaneously. On one hand, they would jointly begin using Fei Qian's title of "Protector of the Xiongnu General of the Household." Yu Fuluo would contribute five hundred troops, Fei Qian would contribute five hundred. They would form a combined force to consolidate the scattered small tribes in the surrounding areas. As for the population and livestock, if they were Xiongnu, they would go to Yu Fuluo. If others, they would be split evenly. On the other hand, Yu Fuluo would provide five hundred horses to serve as animal power to assist Fei Qian in plowing the Pingyang region.
Huchuquan acknowledged the order and withdrew.
Yu Fuluo stared at Huchuquan's retreating figure for a while, then called for his personal guard. "Send for Bate'er."
The guard left to deliver the order. Yu Fuluo slowly sat back down by the table.
In truth, during his exchange with Fei Qian, although Yu Fuluo had initially fallen into Fei Qian's verbal trap, he had regained his composure from the confusion before long.
However, Yu Fuluo now needed to use Fei Qian's banner, the authority of the "Protector of the Xiongnu General of the Household"...
In this northern region, Hu and Han lived mixed together. Though some Han administrative offices had been withdrawn, that didn't mean the Han people there had all left. Some Han had become Hu-ized. Others had hidden in the mountains or retreated deep into the highlands.
Thus, to a certain extent, having the Han banner would save a lot of trouble when dealing with those remaining Han people in the north.
There was another very important point. In this region, the Hu ethnic composition was extremely complex. As far as Yu Fuluo knew, besides some Southern Xiongnu, there were also Qiang, Xianbei, and even some Wuhuan, all intermingled like interlocking teeth.
In this situation, if he wantonly annexed the populations and livestock of other small tribes, he would inevitably be attacked by all sides. But with Fei Qian's "Protector of the Xiongnu General of the Household" banner as cover, it was completely different.
He needed to expand his population and power, and Fei Qian needed the same. So in this aspect, there was no conflict between them. Of course, helping Fei Qian with the plowing was only for this year. As for the future...
There was another matter that caused Yu Fuluo some concern. He wasn't sure if he was being overly sensitive or if there was another reason, but Yu Fuluo sensed that Huchuquan didn't seem as foolish as he remembered.
But he would set this matter aside for now and observe further.
The current priority was to handle the tasks at hand.
Bate'er arrived quickly. He knelt on the ground and kissed Yu Fuluo's boot.
"By Tengri! My brave warrior, I have an important task to entrust to you..."
Bate'er placed his hand over his chest. "My Chanyu, I await your command."
Yu Fuluo thought for a moment, then said, "Bate'er, I recall that Old Zha'er once tried growing that Han wheat?" He pointed towards the fields near Pingyang City below.
Bate'er thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think something like that happened. But he didn't get anything out of it, was laughed at, and finally burned it all..."
Yu Fuluo frowned, thought for a moment, then said, "Tomorrow, take Old Zha'er with you to help the Han with the plowing. Pay close attention and remember everything the Han do..."
"My Chanyu, you mean..."
Yu Fuluo sighed. "Every winter, we lose many cattle and sheep. I've been thinking, if we could learn some of the Han's farming methods, have some stored grain like the Han do in winter, could we lose fewer livestock when there's no fodder?"
Bate'er knelt on the ground. "Merciful Chanyu, I understand."
Yu Fuluo said, "Just let you and Old Zha'er know. Don't tell anyone else."
Bate'er kissed Yu Fuluo's boot once more, then withdrew.
Yu Fuluo gazed at Pingyang City, thinking to himself: The Han people seemed to have many things, perhaps some worth learning...
××××××××××××
Fei Qian stood on the walls of Pingyang City. "Tomorrow, the Xiongnu will send five hundred horses to help us plow. Though horse-drawn plows can't match the endurance and depth of ox-drawn plows, for now, they're the best help we can get... Shuliang, Menglian, though we have five hundred horses, we still lack plows, ropes, and other items. I leave this to the two of you. How to allocate resources, how many hands needed, coordinating the craftsmen—discuss and decide among yourselves."
Jia Qu and Wei Liu exchanged a glance and acknowledged the order in unison.
"Zidu." Fei Qian continued. "Tomorrow, take five hundred cavalry, join with Yu Fuluo's forces, and together consolidate the surrounding small Hu tribes..."
Fei Qian paused. "The Hu cavalry have some techniques and methods for raiding and battle. Zidu, your most important task isn't how many you kill or capture, but to carefully observe how the Hu command their forces, how they give orders, the Hu cavalry's attack patterns, and how they coordinate with each other. Zidu, you must watch carefully and remember well. Do you understand?"
Ma Yue straightened his back, clasped his hands, and acknowledged the order. "Prefect, rest assured. I will diligently learn the Hu methods of command!"
Fei Qian nodded, gazing towards the Xiongnu camp, thinking to himself: The Hu had many good things. He would use this opportunity to learn from them properly...