“As winter approaches, a sudden epidemic breaks out on the grassland, causing a large number of livestock deaths. The nomadic people who herd the livestock have insufficient food to survive the winter, and they are waiting for the spring. What will the King think they will do?”
What else can be done?
Not wanting to starve to death themselves, they would certainly go to other people's houses to "borrow" grain. As for whether the other people will starve if their grain is borrowed, who cares about that much.
While the fertile Central Kingdom was sometimes this "other", the nomadic people led their army southward, broke through the city gates, and looted grain and people.
Moreover, attacking the Central Kingdom to the south not only allows them to loot grain and slaves, but also enables them to consume populations through war, thus reducing the number of people and consequently the amount of food required.
"To avoid starving themselves, they would naturally launch wars to seize other people's food, and the Central Kingdom is often the target. After all, why should we not be targeted when our people are diligent and honest, and good at farming."
"This is one of the reasons why the Xiongnu have always been our enemies. Sometimes they lack essential resources and seek supplies from the Central Kingdom."
"But sometimes, even when the Xiongnu are not lacking in grain, they will still invade China."
"The Xiongnu grow up on the grasslands, unaware of propriety and human relations, fearing only strength and not pitying the weak. The environment in which they grow up and receive education leads them to strongly believe that whoever is powerful can possess everything."
"Therefore, when they feel their strength has increased, they might think: With our strong power, we should have better things, more fertile lands, more beautiful women, and more magnificent clothing. Looking around, the Xiongnu saw the beauty of our Chinese clothes and naturally desired to seize and occupy them."
"Especially when the Central Kingdom is weakened, they will think that such good things are too good for a weak southern barbarian to enjoy, and they deserve them. So they rise up and march southward."
Hearing Li Nian speak of the Xiongnu, Ying Zheng's first thought was that the later generations of the Chinese must have suffered greatly from the Xiongnu's disasters, otherwise Li Nian would not have spoken so much in front of him.
Yes, the shame of Jing Kang has not yet been avenged, the Five Barbarian Invasions, the Chinese people as fuel and food for the Xiongnu, the ten days of Yangzhou, shaving their heads and changing their clothes, willing to be with foreign countries rather than with their own servants...
Now there is an opportunity to change the course of history, and Li Nian, of course, wants to make some changes to let the future Han people in this world suffer less disasters. Moreover, it does not require him to implement specific plans, only informing the king before him.
Li Nian continued, "For these two reasons, the Xiongnu will always be enemies of the Chinese, no matter which Xiongnu tribe is the strongest on the grasslands. Some people in history have even fancifully thought that they could live in harmony with the Xiongnu."
"To solve the problem of the Xiongnu, we must destroy the very foundation of their existence, as the Xiongnu are mostly nomadic and their grassland is the basis for their survival. Why can't our Chinese brothers and sisters also live on the grassland like the Xiongnu?"
"I have come up with a solution to the problem of the Xiongnu, which is to deprive them of the foundation on which they depend for survival, and to occupy their living space. If our Chinese brothers and sisters also go to the grasslands to graze, then the grass that the livestock belonging to the Xiongnu can eat will become less abundant, and the number of livestock they can raise will naturally decrease. Without enough livestock as food, their population will also decrease. How can they remain strong?"
Many dynasties have moved the Xiongnu into the interior and then carried out assimilation and transformation, but Li Nian's method goes against this, moving the Chinese people to the grasslands to occupy the Xiongnu's living space.
Ying Zheng thought for a moment, and although this method had some feasibility, there were also many problems. For example, how can we prevent the Chinese people moved to the grasslands from becoming new Xiongnu?
The Chinese people of this era are not the ordinary people of the Qing Dynasty, who are timid, submissive, and lack courage. Instead, they are bold and brave. If they are truly moved to the grasslands, they will definitely dare to confront the Xiongnu head-on.
Ying Zheng asked, "Have later dynasties not thought of this method?"
What you are saying is that your method is feasible, and later dynasties haven't tried it?
Li Nian said, "Later dynasties were not short of wise emperors and ministers. With their intelligence, they would not have failed to come up with such a solution. However, I believe they simply did not want to use it. After all, the Chinese dynasties have always had the concept of 'Heaven's Mandate' and believed that all under heaven is better than anywhere else, with only our Chinese homeland being divine. Other places are considered uncivilized and barren lands, unworthy of governance. This belief was especially prevalent among those influenced by Confucianism!"
"And moving the Chinese people to the Xiongnu's lands, they also worry that the Chinese people will be out of their control, turning into a greater problem than the Xiongnu and threatening themselves. Moreover, even if they occupied Xiongnu lands and set up military protectorates, they did not govern them wholeheartedly, and in the end, they still lost them."
Ying Zheng nodded slightly, understanding this approach. Occupying the Xiongnu's land is an advantage, and if it can be governed well, do so. If not, it is still their land before.
Returning to the topic at hand, Li Nian continued, "For resisting the Xiongnu, I have another proposal. In addition to trying to take away the Xiongnu's living space, we should also educate and divide them, transforming them from Xiongnu to Chinese."
"In the history of China, many dynasties have, in governing the Xiongnu, mostly adopted a method of respecting the customs of the Xiongnu and governing them through winning over Xiongnu leaders. This method can quickly win over the Xiongnu and make them useful in the short term, but in the long run, it has many hidden dangers."
"Because the Xiongnu still use their customs, they will not consider themselves to be part of the Chinese community. When the Central Kingdom is strong, they will not have any designs on rebellion, and will be obedient like dogs. However, when the Central Kingdom declines, they will transform into wolves and bite their masters. As seen in the Song Dynasty, there were instances where Xiongnu leaders established dynasties in parallel with the Song Dynasty and became independent."
"Both groups have been ruled by the Tang Dynasty, yet after hundreds of years from the Tang to the Northern Song Dynasty, their disloyalty remained unchanged. It is clear that respecting the customs of the Xiongnu and governing them through winning over Xiongnu leaders is not advisable."
"I believe that after defeating the Xiongnu and making them submit, it is necessary to destroy their language, eliminate their writing, and prohibit their customs. An excellent Xiongnu culture should only exist in museums!"
Although he did not understand what a museum was, Ying Zheng knew that Li Nian intended to eliminate the Xiongnu's faith and culture, have the Xiongnu speak Qin Opera, write Qin characters, adopt the customs of Qin Dynasty, and forget that they were once Xiongnu, becoming one of the ten thousand people of the Qin Dynasty.
If the Xiongnu continue to speak their language and use their customs, it is not constantly demonstrating their difference from the Qin people; they are another ethnicity.
"To achieve these goals, it is still necessary to 'awaken the people's wisdom and open education', so that the Chinese people moved out may not become new Xiongnu, remembering that they are of the bloodline of Yan and Huang and Chinese people. It is also necessary to erase their previous identity as Xiongnu and accept the Qin Dynasty."
"These are the methods I believe to be effective in dealing with the Xiongnu, building the Great Wall and stationing troops. While these measures can repel the Xiongnu temporarily, they cannot do so for an entire generation. It is much better to incorporate Xiongnu territory into our Qin realm and transform Xiongnu people into citizens of our Qin Dynasty."
The last sentence struck a chord with Ying Zheng. Building the Great Wall to repel the Xiongnu was not the way of a real man. A true man should occupy Xiongnu territory, turn the Xiongnu into his own people, and if they cannot be made his own people, then they should become dead people!
