CHAPTER 1113: CHAPTER 1069: THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND HISTORY

"You’re not seriously going to make me go alone, are you?" Zhang Fei said with a bitter smile.

"If you want to become a renowned general, there’s no way you can avoid this path. Don’t you want to help Lord Xuande restore the Han Dynasty?" Chen Xi stared at Zhang Fei and said, "You are Zhang Yide, fearless of heaven and earth!"

Zhang Fei smiled bitterly, refraining from retorting. It was because he understood his abilities well that he remained so cautious. Next year’s northern campaign against the Hu People would undoubtedly be a fierce war, and if he were to become the commander, the responsibility on his shoulders would be immense. The Northern Frontier Barbarians would be fighting for survival then!

Though the combat power of the Hu People is generally scoffed at by the Feudal Lords of the Central Plains, piling quantity can always lead to quality in any situation. This heavy snow has delayed the invasion of the Northern Frontier for most, but it has also made the Hu People, who were already lacking food, even more desperate.

By next spring, it’s likely the Hu People will be as crazed as starving wolves on the prairie, needing no reason to attack, possibly striking before the ice and snow fully melt.

After all, they have two arms and one head. Once they are starved to desperation, the Hu People, devoid of any fear, will exhibit a burst of combat power that should not be underestimated.

In fact, selling grain to the Hu People and instigating wars among them would have been the best option, but the snow in the North was far beyond Chen Xi’s estimations. The roads were almost completely blocked, and even in the plains, it’s impossible to determine directions. Several of Jia Xu’s scouts have perished in the snowfields, unable to discern direction and distinguish day from night.

This was also the first time Chen Xi grasped the concept of a blizzard. The snow in the Northern Frontier fell to such an extent that it became impossible to distinguish day from night. Whenever you looked up, the sky was a hazy gray, ice shards and snowflakes fluttering continuously, and even when the sky wasn’t actively snowing, the fierce wind brought in ice shards from afar, endlessly. North of Youzhou, everything was shrouded in this incessant gray snow!

Jia Xu had previously mentioned to Chen Xi, based on his experience, that this heavy snow would likely freeze and starve over a hundred thousand Hu People in the Northern Frontier, but after the new year, a massive southern raid was inevitable.

Unlike small-scale raids, the plundering resulting from this kind of heavy snow approaches a frenzied desperation. The Hu People, even if defeated, would stubbornly persist, either obtaining sufficient supplies or reducing their population to a level that their supplies could sustain.

While exceedingly ruthless and bloody, the Northern Frontier Barbarians have relied on such methods to survive crises repeatedly and avoid extinction. Under such brutal provocation, the combat power of the Hu People would reach a new height, or rather, the threat of extermination would overshadow their fear.

When Jia Xu first told Chen Xi about this, Chen Xi was somewhat dismissive. Living in this era and always serving as a guide, Chen Xi naturally believed that he had seen through history, and nothing could blind him. But as Jia Xu elaborated, Chen Xi finally realized he hadn’t reached the level of omniscience.

Compared to his own impressions of the minor details in history, Chen Xi trusted Jia Xu, this old fox, even more. This guy had never had any bad luck and did a bunch of bad deeds yet landed securely among the Three Dukes. Considering the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty required not only titles but also reputation, Jia Xu had taken advantage of the Han several times without facing repercussions. This competence was something Chen Xi had to admire.

With Jia Xu’s explanation, Chen Xi gained some understanding of the cruel and bloody method of reducing population as described by Jia Xu. In short, this was the Northern Frontier Barbarians’ approach to survival of the fittest.

A snowfall that starved all the tribes to the brink, kept all the northerners on guard with halberd in readiness until the roads in the North became traversable. Once that point was reached, all the Hu People would migrate en masse.

Smaller tribes would merge into larger ones, and larger tribes would follow the Royal Court, launching a grand assault on the Great Wall. Unlike the coordinated warfare among large tribes in a Beating Grain fashion, this battle would almost engulf the entire Northern Frontier.

They either seize enough grain or reduce their tribe’s population to a level where the plundered grain is sufficient to eat — simple and bloody.

After listening to Jia Xu’s narrative, Chen Xi’s first reaction wasn’t shock or fear. Even if the Northern Frontier Barbarians came south in unison, Liu Bei wouldn’t be unable to hold them back. Should internal development halt altogether, Liu Bei could unleash combat power sufficient to suppress all the Hu People of the Northern Frontier.

Chen Xi’s first reaction was whether this event occurred at this historical time. If it didn’t, what caused this climatic change? It wasn’t something he could influence with personal actions. Of course, it could be a side effect of Spiritual Talent, but Chen Xi quickly dismissed that notion.

This time, the invasion by the Northern Frontier Barbarians might have truly happened in history, because when Chen Xi pondered, he suddenly recalled the differences between the Three Kingdoms map and the Late Han map. North of Bingzhou in the Three Kingdoms map, the distance to Chang’an was just over a hundred li, whereas the Late Han map included the Hetao Plain within Bingzhou.

This means that during the Three Kingdoms, Bingzhou was essentially lost, and Chang’an was basically under the Hu People’s attack. This also explains why Chang’an was farther from Yuan Shao, while Cao Cao had to move Liu Xie to Chenliu, which was closer to the major enemy Yuan Shao because the Hu People were already approaching Chang’an at that time.

Thinking about the timeline, it seems just around this time, and not long after would be the conflict involving Juo Yi, Huns, and Xianbei west of Ye City. Thinking about where Ye City is, Chen Xi couldn’t help but be shocked; it indicates that at that time, the Hu People had already penetrated deep into the Han Dynasty’s heartland.

Combining these realizations, Chen Xi discovered an incredibly frightening fact. By early next year, as history rolled on, the Hu People, whom he had always regarded as insignificant, had suddenly pushed the front line close to the Yongzhou Commandery without him realizing.

It was simply bewildering. Though Bingzhou was historically battered by Yuan Shao and Lyu Bu never returned to Bingzhou, it shouldn’t have been devastated by the Hu People to this extent. It defied all logic!

Of course, Chen Xi wasn’t a fool to deny history either. On the contrary, he was very clever. Since such things could happen, it suggests the Hu People demonstrated a combat power far beyond imagination, otherwise, they wouldn’t have pushed the front line a hundred li from Yongzhou. This situation indicated the Bingzhou border troops were defeated.

Similarly, concerning the true combat power of the Northern Frontier’s enemies, Chen Xi had some speculations. He even guessed which Barbarian tribe might coordinate and lead the southern invasion then!

No, it shouldn’t even be derogatory to call that tribe Barbarians, because they were once an empire — the Huns, the Grassland Monarch who stubbornly held on for over two hundred years and still had conflicts with the Han Empire just thirty years ago!

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