240: Chapter 240 Shamanism

"We are subjects of the Royal Court and must pay tribute three times a year."

The Xiongnu Royal Court uses two methods to rule the Xiongnu Tribes. One is a bloodline-based control system, where leaders of small tribes send their sons to the Chanyu Court as hostages, or control is strengthened through bestowed marriages. For example, by marrying women from the royal clan to the leaders of subordinate tribes, descendants with royal blood can then obtain the Chanyu's surname.

The other method of rule is the alliance system.

The Dragon Shrine Assembly, held three times a year in the first, fifth, and ninth months, serves as key points for paying tribute. Small tribe leaders must personally travel to the Chanyu Court to participate in the ceremonies to worship Heaven and Earth and hand over their tributes on-site.

During this alliance oath process, a Blood-Treading Ceremony is used to increase the binding force.

"The Qin people promised us they would not collect tribute; we only need to do wool business with them."

"The treatment offered by the Qin people is far superior to that of the Royal Court!"

"Father, you should be very clear on how to choose."

"How could I not know that the treatment offered by the Qin people is good? But those who are not of our race must have a different heart."

"Once they are done dealing with the Royal Court, it will be our turn!"

"Father, you are being muddled!"

Yuwen Dali shook his head and said, "Even the White Wolf King could do nothing against the Qin people; they could easily have wiped us out along the way."

"But the Qin people did not do that. They repelled the White Wolf King without suffering any losses."

"They are fully capable of wiping us out in one breath!"

"Father, they didn't do it!"

"This shows they have no intention of eliminating us. On the contrary, if we repeatedly provoke them, it will bring disaster upon us!"

Listening to Yuwen Dali's analysis, Yuwen Hu fell into silence.

This analysis by Yuwen Dali was something he hadn't considered.

"Father."

"We won't lose out by siding with Great Qin."

"They haven't even asked us to send troops to help them defeat the Royal Court."

"The Qin people also need someone to guard the border for them in the Southern Desert. If we side with the Qin, we might even have a chance to become the Royal Court ourselves!"

A deep ambition flickered in Yuwen Dali's eyes.

"That makes sense!"

Yuwen Hu was also somewhat swayed.

"Father, if we can avoid fighting the current Great Qin, it's better not to fight."

A look of fear appeared on Yuwen Dali's face.

"The Qin people's weapons are too powerful; we have no power to resist at all."

"We always wanted to charge in front of the Qin people, but they never gave us the chance."

"Those terrifying explosions can blow away hundreds of warriors, along with their horses, at the same time!"

"As soon as we charged a bit closer, a large number of pellets would strike. We couldn't even see the trajectory of the pellets at all, but as long as you were hit, you lost all power to resist."

"Suppressed by these two terrifying weapons of the Qin people, we have no room for resistance!"

"The warriors' confidence has been shattered!"

"Now we can only hope the Qin people are kind!"

"With our strength, we simply cannot oppose them."

Yuwen Dali's words were filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.

He once fantasized about going south to retake the Hetao region occupied by the Qin people; after all, that was the horse-grazing land of their Xiongnu ancestors for generations!

"Sigh!"

Yuwen Hu let out a heavy sigh.

What Yuwen Dali said was the reality.

The sixty thousand cavalry gathered by the White Wolf King were easily defeated by the Qin cavalry.

He knew very well that although he had gathered many tribes, they were all very small, and their total military strength did not exceed sixty thousand.

This was putting all their able-bodied labor on the line.

Once they lost, their able-bodied labor would be wiped out, leaving only the elderly, the weak, women, and children in the tribes!

The White Wolf King was beaten so miserably; betting everything they had didn't necessarily mean they could win!

"Even if I want the tribe to side with the Qin people, they won't all listen to me!"

Yuwen Hu said with some difficulty.

"Then we can report those people to the Qin as our pledge of loyalty!"

"Good!"

Yuwen Hu agreed.

"Hehehe, hehehe!"

The father and son looked at each other and let out cold, sinister laughter.

After Yuwen Dali convinced his father, he immediately sent out riders to notify Zhao Gang. He informed Zhao Gang that there was some resistance to the Yuwen Tribe joining Great Qin and that they needed Great Qin's assistance.

After receiving the letter, Zhao Gang immediately dispatched troops to support Yuwen Hu.

With cooperation from both inside and out, the nobles of the Yuwen Tribe who did not agree to join Great Qin were purged.

This included the people Modun had sent to incite the Yuwen Tribe to resist.

Now, there was no more resistance to the Yuwen Tribe joining Great Qin.

The tribes that were originally going to resist Great Qin along with the Yuwen Tribe never expected that the Yuwen Tribe would backstab them and join Great Qin's camp.

Some among them were furious and left the Right Worthy King's jurisdiction on their own to seek refuge with the Xiongnu Royal Court.

Most of the tribes, however, followed the Yuwen Tribe in siding with Great Qin.

When Zhao Gang informed Zhao Fusu of this good news, Zhao Fusu's face immediately lit up with a smile.

The next focus of work would be to completely win over the hearts of these tribes within the Right Worthy King's jurisdiction.

Zhao Fusu believed that once they became a community of shared interests, the Xiongnu Tribes would be even more unable to leave Great Qin's industrial system.

Good news also came from Lu Jia and Tian Ju's side.

After taking the albendazole he had sent, the Echinococcus larvae in their lungs were killed, and their health was improving day by day.

Lu Jia suggested producing more albendazole, as it was needed not only by the Qinglan Base but also by the tribes in the Right Worthy King's jurisdiction.

On the grasslands, a vast number of herders suffered from pulmonary hydatid disease.

The efficacy of albendazole exceeded Lu Jia's imagination, being almost instantaneous; in less than three days, he felt eighty percent recovered.

Not only him, but others who took albendazole also saw their health improve significantly, and their spirits recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This albendazole could be called a miracle drug!

Lu Jia wrote with an attitude of utmost respect, "My Lord, if you distribute albendazole for free to the sick herders, you will become a deity who saves lives in the eyes of the Xiongnu people!"

The faith of the Xiongnu people is Shamanism.

Shamanism is a folk belief activity developed on the basis of primitive beliefs. It is a primitive religion that believes in various deities, based on animism and expressed through certain sacrificial activities.

The deities worshipped in Shamanism are very extensive and can generally be divided into three categories: worship of natural gods, worship of ancestral gods, and worship of biological gods.

Among the natural god worship in Shamanism, the worship of the gods of Heaven and Earth occupies the primary position. Heaven and Earth reproduce all things, and this mysterious power is sanctified by Shamanism, becoming an object of belief and worship for the people.