196: Chapter 196 Tuan Tribe

"The Xiongnu people have one soldier for every five people. The Left Worthy King has a force of 80,000, so he should have a population of at least 400,000."

"The Xiongnu people mainly rely on animal husbandry, and their wealth is primarily measured by the number of cattle, sheep, and horses."

"The Left Worthy King has at least 80,000 cavalry, with warhorses numbering several times that, and livestock in the tens of millions!"

Meng Tian knew the assets of the Xiongnu Royal Court like the back of his hand.

After all, he had raided them twice and made a fortune twice.

Seeing his eyes glowing with greed, Zhao Fusu understood his intentions perfectly.

He would definitely offer courtesy before resorting to force; if the Xiongnu Royal Court refused to listen, then he couldn't be blamed for raiding them.

Millions of cattle and sheep—just thinking about it made one feel excited!

Zhao Fusu's eyes also began to glow with greed.

"The Right Worthy King's military strength should be less than the Left Worthy King's 80,000, likely between 30,000 and 60,000."

Meng Tian said, "There are also 6 Commanders of Ten Thousand Cavalry, which are the Left and Right Great Generals, Left and Right Great Duwei, and Left and Right Great Danghu, which is basically the same setup as the Left Worthy King."

"In addition to the six Commanders of Ten Thousand Cavalry, the Right Worthy King also has subordinates such as the King of Loufan, the White Sheep King, the King of Xiutu, the King of Hunye, and other great kings."

"There are also minor kings like the King of Zhelan, the King of Luhu, the King of Shanhuan, the King of Qiutu, the King of Yaopu, the King of Qijie, and the King of Huyutu."

"Each king has a council of nobles."

"The Right Worthy King's council of nobles is generally composed of the Right Worthy King's nephews, uncles, relatives by marriage, meritorious officials, and other nobles."

"These nobles possess fiefs under the jurisdiction of the Right Worthy King, and within this local regime, they have a certain say, or even decision-making power, over major matters such as the adjustment and changes of the Right Worthy King's appointments, as well as external military operations."

"The Right Worthy King's assets can be estimated according to the standards of the Left Worthy King: a cavalry army of 60,000 means at least 60,000 battle-ready horses, while the reserve horses should be several times that number."

"Under the Right Worthy King's jurisdiction, there are more than just these two kings with statuses similar to the King of Kunye and the King of Xiutu."

"Therefore, the Right Worthy King has at least a population of 300,000 and livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses numbering in the millions."

"As for the Left and Right Guli Kings, the situation should be similar to that of the Right Worthy King, with both being able to field 30,000 to 60,000 cavalry."

"I have boarded a Hot Air Balloon and overlooked the deployment of the Xiongnu people in the Yin Mountains."

"I even followed the Hot Air Balloon deep into the northern desert."

"I estimate that the Xiongnu have 400,000 cavalry. Excluding the forces of the Left and Right Worthy Kings and the Left and Right Guli Kings, the forces directly under the Chanyu Court should be around 100,000!"

Zhao Fusu looked at Meng Tian in surprise.

Even he didn't dare to fly freely in a Hot Air Balloon, yet Meng Tian dared to do so, which showed just how bold Meng Tian was.

Meng Tian continued to introduce the Xiongnu to Zhao Fusu.

"As a nomadic people with a long history, the tribal composition of the Xiongnu is quite complex."

"The aristocratic tribes of the Xiongnu mainly include the Huyan, Lan, Xubu, Qiulin, Han, and Lang clans."

"These aristocratic tribes play an important role in the political life of the Xiongnu, such as participating in the deposition and enthronement of the Chanyu and deciding on major matters such as war and peace."

"In addition to the aristocratic tribes, the Xiongnu also include many ordinary tribes."

"These tribes form the main body of Xiongnu society. They provide soldiers during wartime and engage in animal husbandry and agriculture during peacetime."

"Within the sphere of influence of the Xiongnu, there are also some subsidiary tribes."

"These tribes are small tribes that have been conquered by or allied with the Xiongnu. They hold a relatively low status in the Xiongnu political system and are mainly responsible for providing tribute and soldiers to the Xiongnu."

After Meng Tian's detailed introduction to the situation of the Xiongnu, Zhao Fusu finally had a clear understanding of them.

Meng Tian added, "The Xiongnu people are descendants of the Xia Dynasty."

"Hmm."

Zhao Fusu said, "The Xiongnu were originally a member of our Huaxia People; they should also join our Great Qin and become a part of our Great Qin United States."

"General Meng Tian."

Zhao Fusu said, "Spend a large sum of money to find some herdsmen who are proficient in the Xiongnu language."

"It would be best if these people could get in touch with the Xiongnu subsidiary tribes."

"I want to form an alliance with the Xiongnu subsidiary tribes."

"Understood!"

Meng Tian cupped his hands and replied.

Meng Tian had guarded the frontier for many years and was very familiar with the relationships between all parties.

Especially the common people on both sides of the border; they could basically understand the languages of both sides.

They even intermarried, and they were, in themselves, relatives.

Meng Tian dispatched a large number of scouts, and they quickly found a group of merchants who could contact the Xiongnu subsidiary tribes.

These people were pure merchants; they did not care at all about any hollow morality.

To them, they only cared about profit.

What is national righteousness, what is national interest? In their eyes, how much are these worth?

The First Emperor disliked merchants the most.

He believed that merchants had no morality and were a group of people who only saw profit.

Therefore, he pushed a large number of merchants he found displeasing to Lingnan, especially Guangzhou.

For the sake of profit, these merchants could cross high mountains and steep ridges to resell grain, salt, ironware, cloth, and other items from the Central Plains to the grasslands.

Similarly, for the sake of profit, they could also take huge risks to help Zhao Fusu contact the leaders of the Xiongnu subsidiary tribes.

The Tuan Tribe was a tribe affiliated with the Xiongnu, with a total population of about 10,000 and 2,000 cavalry.

They mainly provided tribute and soldiers to the Xiongnu.

In order to control the Tuan Tribe, the eldest son of the Tuan Tribe leader Jin Tu, Jin Shu, was sent to the Chanyu Court as a hostage.

Jin Shu was incorporated into the Chanyu's personal guard unit as a hostage.

Every year, the Tuan Tribe needed to contribute uncastrated stallions as well as cattle and sheep as the main tribute, giving ten percent of their total livestock to the Xiongnu Royal Court.

Metal products, such as iron horse gear, weapons, salt, tea, and other scarce goods, were all monopolized by the large tribes.

If the Tuan Tribe wanted to obtain these scarce goods, they needed to trade their own horses, cattle, and sheep.

Because the other party monopolized these scarce goods, the Tuan Tribe had to pay a huge price to exchange for iron horse gear, weapons, salt, tea, and other scarce goods.

It could be said that under the rule of the Xiongnu Royal Court, the Tuan Tribe had a very miserable life.

When there was a war, they also needed to contribute one-third of the tribe's able-bodied men.

They actually had no objection to this.

Once a war started, if they could win, they could get seventy percent of the spoils of war!

They even scrambled to hand over the spoils of war in exchange for the right to participate in the war.

This time, the Tuan Tribe was not conscripted.

Jin Tu's eldest son, Jin Shu, was in Touman Chanyu's personal guard unit, responsible for protecting the safety of Touman Chanyu.

When Modun killed his father, Jin Shu, along with the other personal guards, was shot into a hedgehog by whistling arrows.

New emperor, new courtiers; after losing Jin Shu as a political tie, it was naturally impossible for Modun to bring the Tuan Tribe along for such a good thing as heading south to raid.

They were not even notified of the military intelligence that the Qin Army had marched out of Yangshan Mountain.

A merchant with a face as thick as a city wall and eyes as deep as caverns arrived at the Tuan Tribe.