Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1023: Chapter 97: Xiongnu and the Locust Plague (Part 2)

Just as the Xiongnu were preparing for their third attack on the Northern Border, a locust plague broke out on the prairie, forcing them to abandon their plans to attack the Great Zhou from the south.

Shortly after the locust plague struck the Xiongnu, the locusts crossed the northern border into the north of Great Zhou.

This locust plague dealt a fatal blow to the Xiongnu, directly leading to their lack of food for the winter. To survive the winter, they had to move south to attack the Great Zhou. Only by attacking the Great Zhou and plundering their food and wealth could they make it through the winter.

During the locust plague in the north, the Xiongnu launched fierce attacks on Great Zhou, each one more intense than the last. Prince Dai and Chu Ying, leading the troops of the Northern Border Camp, not only repeatedly resisted the Xiongnu attacks but also killed many of their soldiers.

The Xiongnu did not expect that despite the locust plague, Great Zhou could still tenaciously resist them. During this period of attacks, they had mobilized seventy percent of their forces. Not only that, but the Xiongnu also deployed their elite Iron Cavalry. They thought that by sending out their elite Iron Cavalry, they could sweep through the northern border, but to their surprise, the Northern Border troops of Great Zhou managed to fend off their Iron Cavalry.

Great Zhou not only completely defended against the Xiongnu’s Iron Cavalry but also destroyed more than half of it, causing them severe casualties.

Even with half of their Iron Cavalry destroyed, the Xiongnu did not give up. Just as they were preparing to launch another fierce attack on Great Zhou, their backyard caught fire. The Qiulin Tribe once again allied with the Han Tribe to attack the Xiongnu Royal Court.

In recent years, the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe have been heavily oppressed by the new Modu Chanyu. Despite this, these two tribes have not submitted to the new Modu Chanyu and continue to resist the Xiongnu Royal Court stubbornly.

The new Modu Chanyu has always wanted to reclaim these two tribes. No matter how he threatened and enticed them, these two tribes refused to surrender. They’d rather see their entire tribe die in battle than submit to the Royal Court.

Seeing these two tribes so ungrateful, the new Modu Chanyu was furious and decided to destroy them outright. Two years ago, the new Modu Chanyu put all his efforts into annihilating the Qiulin Tribe and the Han Tribe. The combined forces of these two tribes were only a fraction of the Royal Court’s army.

This battle seemed destined for victory by the new Modu Chanyu, but unfortunately, that was not the case. The Royal Court’s army was just a step away from defeating these two tribes when the tribes were already powerless to fight back. At that moment, the new Modu Chanyu ordered a halt to the attack, threatening the two tribes to surrender quietly.

The new Modu Chanyu never really intended to kill everyone in these two tribes. If he did so, his reputation and position on the grassland would be severely affected. Although the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe had left the Royal Court many years ago, they shared the same ancestry with the Royal Court.

Sharing the same ancestry, if the new Modu Chanyu exterminated these two tribes, the other tribes would certainly turn against him.

The Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe used the time when the new Modu Chanyu was threatening them to surrender to recuperate and launched a fierce counterattack on the Royal Court’s army.

This time, in the counterattack, members of these two tribes held a do-or-die attitude, each charging with no regard for their lives. The Royal Court’s soldiers were intimidated by their desperate momentum and immediately lost their morale to the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe.

Once they lost the momentum, fear spread within the Royal Court’s soldiers. Not long after, they were routed by the two tribes.

After losing to the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe once, the Royal Court’s soldiers completely lost confidence. The new Modu Chanyu saw that the Royal Court’s soldiers were afraid, naturally becoming very angry, but he also knew the Royal Court’s soldiers were no longer fit to fight, so he had to give up attacking the two tribes and retreat back to the Royal Court.

The Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe did not pursue their victory. If they continued to attack, it would have aroused the morale of the Royal Court’s soldiers, and then it would be they who would lose. Besides, they didn’t have the strength to pursue the victory.

After retreating back to the Royal Court, the new Modu Chanyu originally planned to regroup and then continue attacking the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe. However, internal strife broke out within the Royal Court, forcing him to abandon the plan to attack the two tribes.

During the Royal Court’s internal strife, the new Modu Chanyu almost lost his position as Chanyu. Although he managed to retain his position without danger in the end, his power was significantly weakened.

In the past two years, the new Modu Chanyu did not attack any tribes and only harassed the Great Zhou at the border. The Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe, in these two years, also did not seek revenge on the Royal Court, as they were still recovering from previous losses and needed time to recuperate.

In these two years, the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe remained very low-key on the surface but were actually silently gathering strength. They had not given up on avenging the Royal Court, but they had not found the right opportunity until now. The Royal Court’s attack on Great Zhou presented their best chance for revenge, and they certainly did not want to miss it. While the Royal Court’s army was attacking Great Zhou, they quietly attacked the Royal Court.

The new Modu Chanyu saw that the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe took advantage of their attack on Great Zhou to reclaim the Lang Clan Tribe, and naturally, he did not dare to continue attacking Great Zhou and hurried back to the prairie to deal with the Qiulin Tribe and Han Tribe. If they were allowed to reclaim another tribe, the Royal Court’s situation would become dangerous, and his position as Chanyu would become precarious.

After the Xiongnu were driven away, Prince Chu and Prince Han could focus on dealing with the locust plague.

Prince Dai was not responsible for disaster relief; his main duty was still to guard the northern border to prevent the Xiongnu from moving south again. Prince Chu and Prince Han were responsible for handling the locust plague and could not interfere in dealing with the Xiongnu.

The northern people were frightened by the locust plague and thought they would go hungry, but the court sent food, so they didn’t have to worry about starving.

During this period, with the Northern Border troops fighting the Xiongnu and the locust plague striking, the northern people thought God intended to destroy them, but unexpectedly, the court saved them in time. The court promptly handled the locust plague and successfully repelled the Xiongnu invasion.

The northern people were filled with gratitude toward the court and were especially thankful to Prince Han for sending food first. If Prince Han hadn’t sent a thousand pounds of grain to the court first, they might not have lasted until the court’s rescue.

Gratitude was directed at Prince Han, while dissatisfaction was directed at Prince Han.

Prince Han was in Youzhou. When the locust plague struck the north, he didn’t provide disaster relief immediately, not even managing his own fiefdom.

It wasn’t until the emperor ordered that Prince Han opened Youzhou’s granaries for disaster relief.

The northern people were dissatisfied with Prince Han, but Prince Han was not concerned. This puzzled Prince Chu and Prince Dai.