195: Chapter 195 The Huns: A Force to Be Taken By!

"The Left Guli King, Right Worthy King, and Right Guli King have their own relatively independent fiefdoms and inheritance systems—namely, the sons of each former Left Guli King, Right Worthy King, and Right Guli King."

"But after a new Chanyu takes office, he almost never allows the sons of the former Left Guli King, Right Worthy King, or Right Guli King to succeed. Instead, he lets the new Chanyu's own brothers and sons inherit those positions."

"Oh!"

Zhao Fusu keenly grasped the key point.

He narrowed his eyes and said to Meng Tian, "After Modu Chanyu killed Touman Chanyu to take the throne, did he let his own brothers and sons inherit the positions of Left Guli King, Right Worthy King, and Right Guli King?"

"Yes, Your Majesty the Paramount Leader!"

Meng Tian replied.

The corners of Zhao Fusu's mouth curled up.

The sons of the former Left Guli King, Right Worthy King, and Right Guli King were originally supposed to succeed, but Modu Chanyu's forced ascension by killing Touman Chanyu led to their power being seized. Zhao Fusu did not believe for a second that these people wouldn't harbor resentment in their hearts.

It was just like being the heir to a multi-billion dollar conglomerate; as long as your father died, you would inherit the fortune.

As it turned out, after Modu Chanyu took power, not only you, but even the leadership of your father's multi-billion dollar conglomerate was taken over by people dropped in from above.

If the other party were kind, they might only limit your influence. But if they wanted to kill you, you'd have nowhere to go for justice.

Modu rose to power by killing his own father. For these newcomers to quickly grasp royal power, the most efficient method was to purge the original power-holders and their loyalists.

This was the classic 'new emperor, new court'!

While Modu Chanyu was strong, the sons of the former Left Guli King, Right Worthy King, and Right Guli King wouldn't dare show their grievances even if they had them.

But once they caught an opportunity, they would surely push out the people Modu had sent and reclaim power.

Zhao Fusu felt this might be a key breakthrough for conquering the Xiongnu people.

"Among the Four Corners, the Left Worthy King holds the highest status. The status of the other three corners is related to the strength of their territories; whoever has more cattle, sheep, and people holds a higher status."

Meng Tian took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, and continued speaking.

"The order of the Four Corners is Left Worthy King, Right Worthy King, Left Guli King, and Right Guli King."

"'Left Worthy King' is our translation."

"In the Xiongnu language, it is 'Tuqi,' which means 'Worthy.'"

"For convenience, we simply use 'Worthy' to replace it."

"I see!"

Zhao Fusu pondered slightly. To better communicate with the Xiongnu, it seemed he would need to find translators.

"The Xiongnu are a people who favor the left, considering the left as the position of honor."

"This is the opposite of us."

"Mhm."

Zhao Fusu nodded.

The Qin Dynasty had Chancellors of the Left and Right.

The Chancellor of the Left was Feng Quji, and the Chancellor of the Right was Li Si.

Feng Quji's power was not as great as Li Si's.

Feng Quji was essentially Li Si's deputy.

Meng Tian said, "The Chanyu worships the rising sun in the east every day; the east is more sacred than the west."

"Therefore, in the fiefdoms of the Xiongnu Kingdom, when standing facing south, the left side is the territory of the Left Worthy King, the right side is the territory of the Right Worthy King, and the center is the Chanyu Court, directly under the Chanyu's control."

"As the Crown Prince of the Xiongnu, the order of succession for the kingdom is not decided by the Left Worthy King himself, but by the Xiongnu Chanyu."

"For instance, after a Left Worthy King succeeded as Chanyu, he gave his title of Left Worthy King to his younger brother, the Left General."

"A few years later, when that Left Worthy King died of illness, the Chanyu made his own son the Left Worthy King instead, as he wanted his son rather than his nephew to succeed to the position of Chanyu."

Zhao Fusu nodded; this was understandable.

"The Left Worthy King is not among the twenty-four Commanders of Ten Thousand Cavalry; he is not on the same level as a Commander of Ten Thousand Cavalry at all."

Meng Tian said, "Based on my years of dealing with the Xiongnu, the Left Worthy King controls at least 80,000 cavalry!"

"The Xiongnu military system uses ten thousand cavalry as a unit."

"The forces controlled by a Commander of Ten Thousand Cavalry range from over ten thousand at the largest to several thousand at the smallest."

"The Left and Right Generals, Left and Right Grand Duwei, and Left and Right Great Danghu are all Commanders of Ten Thousand Cavalry."

"Among them, the Left General is the largest Commander of Ten Thousand Cavalry under the Left Worthy King, capable of leading a force of 20,000 men, while the Right Great Danghu is the smallest, commanding 5,000 troops."

"Under the Left Worthy King, there are six Commanders of Ten Thousand Cavalry. Below them are Commanders of One Thousand, Commanders of One Hundred, and Shi Zhang."

"The other 20,000-plus cavalry belong to other tribes affiliated with the Left Worthy King, just as the Right Worthy King has the Hunxie King, Xiutu King, Lihan King, and others."

"The Left Worthy King also has various tribal kings, such as the Donghulu King and the Guxi King."

The Donghulu King!

Zhao Fusu calculated in his mind; this Donghulu King should be a power propped up after the Donghu were destroyed by the Xiongnu.

Could he unite the remnants of the Donghu to deal with Modu Chanyu?

He was quite familiar with the annexation of tribes on the grasslands.

After Modu Chanyu annexed a tribe, the women, cattle, sheep, and horses became spoils of war to be divided by the Chanyu Court, while the Donghu men were reduced to slaves of the Xiongnu.

If these Donghu slaves could be united, they would be another force to use against Modu.

Zhao Fusu took out paper and pen and noted this point down in his small notebook.

Seeing Zhao Fusu lost in thought, Meng Tian paused temporarily.

Once Zhao Fusu's train of thought ended and he looked back at him, Meng Tian began speaking again.

"In addition to the military organization, the Left Worthy King also has subordinate officials for his kingdom, similar to the Left and Right Gudu of the Chanyu Court."

"Then there are the Nobles of the Left Lands, who are the power players of the region. Like the noble council of the Chanyu Court, these people are the scions, in-laws, and nobles of other surnames within the Left Worthy King's court."

"They each have their own lands and powers within the Left Worthy King's jurisdiction. They hold a special status in this local government of the Left Worthy King and have a certain degree of decision-making power over major affairs, such as the appointment, adjustment, and change of the Left Worthy King, as well as external military actions."

As Meng Tian spoke, his expression gradually grew solemn.

Although Meng Tian had twice dealt heavy blows to the Xiongnu, this newly emerged Modu was a formidable man.

In such a short time, he had defeated the Donghu to the east, driven out the Greater Yuezhi to the west, and ruled over Mobei and the Dingling to the north. Through continuous annexation and integration, his force of bow-wielding warriors exceeded three hundred thousand!

Even Meng Tian did not dare to underestimate him.

"Mhm."

Zhao Fusu nodded.

The more he learned about the Xiongnu, the more Zhao Fusu understood how great their potential was.

Their military structure was perfectly orderly.

Under Modu's integration, the various Xiongnu tribes had transformed from a scattered mess into a powerful whole.

It was no wonder Liu Bang was besieged by the Xiongnu on Baideng Mountain and almost met his end.

Zhao Fusu frowned slightly, wondering if it was a butterfly effect caused by his own transmigration.

He remembered that Modu was supposed to have committed patricide three years later, only then slowly integrating the forces of the grasslands.

How could it be so many years ahead of schedule!

Thinking carefully, it really might be a change brought about by his transmigration.

After all, even the First Emperor had dreamed and faked his death!

It was possible that Modu also had a dream that caused this turn of events.