Chapter 52: Methods for Subduing the Northern Tribes

"Suppose that as winter approaches, a sudden plague breaks out on the grasslands, causing a massive die-off of livestock. The pastoral Hu people are left without enough food to survive the winter, and when spring arrives the following year, what does Your Majesty think they will do?"

What else could they do?

If they did not want to starve to death, they would naturally go to someone else's home to "borrow" grain. As for whether those people would starve to death after their grain was "borrowed," they cared little about such matters.

And at times, the wealthy Central Plains dynasties were clearly that "someone else." The Hu armies would ride south, breach the border passes, and plunder grain and people.

Furthermore, attacking the Central Plains dynasties not only yielded grain and slaves, but also consumed population through warfare. Once the population decreased, the amount of grain required would naturally decrease as well.

"To avoid starving to death, they naturally resort to war to seize grain from others, and the Central Plains dynasties are invariably the targets. Who can blame us for being descendants of Huaxia—industrious, honest, and skilled in farming?"

"This is one of the reasons why the Hu have always been the enemies of our Huaxia; they occasionally lack the means of survival and seek to obtain supplies from the Central Plains dynasties."

"Yet, there are times when the Hu are not short of grain, and still they invade Huaxia."

"Raised on the grasslands, the Hu know no propriety or righteousness, understand no human relations, and respect only power while showing no pity for the weak. Their upbringing and educational environment lead them to firmly believe that whoever possesses the greatest strength may possess everything."

"Therefore, once they feel their strength has grown, they think: 'Since we are so strong, we ought to possess better things—richer lands, more beautiful women, more magnificent garments.' Looking around, the Hu behold the beauty of Huaxia’s attire and naturally desire to plunder and occupy it."

"Especially when the Central Plains dynasties are in decline, they become all the more convinced that such fine things should not be enjoyed by a group of weak southern barbarians, but by them instead. Thus, they raise their armies and march south."

Listening to Li Nian discourse on the Hu, Ying Zheng's first thought was that later generations of Huaxia must have suffered deeply from the calamities of the Hu; otherwise, Li Nian would not be speaking of these matters to him at such length.

Indeed. The humiliation of Jingkang remained unavenged; the Five Barbarians wreaked havoc on Huaxia; the sons and daughters of Han were used as firewood; the Ten Days of Yangzhou; the shaving of hair and changing of clothing; the policy of giving to foreign allies rather than domestic slaves...

Now, having the opportunity to alter history, Li Nian naturally wished to make a change, sparing future generations of Han compatriots in this world from some of these disasters. Besides, he did not need to execute the specific plans himself; he merely needed to inform the monarch before him.

Li Nian continued, "Because of these two reasons, the Hu will always remain enemies of Huaxia, regardless of which Hu tribe happens to be the strongest on the grasslands. Throughout history, some have harbored the whimsical notion of living in harmony with the Hu."

"To resolve the scourge of the Hu, one must destroy the foundation of their survival. Most Hu tribes are nomadic, and the grasslands are the foundation of their existence. If the Hu can graze on the grasslands, why can our Huaxia brothers and sisters not do the same?"

"One method this subject has devised to deal with the Hu is to seize the foundation upon which they rely for survival and encroach upon their living space. If our Huaxia brothers and sisters also go to the grasslands to graze flocks, the pasture available to the Hu's livestock will diminish, and the livestock they can raise will naturally decrease. Without sufficient livestock for food, the population of the Hu will also shrink. How then could they remain powerful?"

Many dynasties had relocated the Hu within the borders to assimilate and reform them, but the method Li Nian proposed did the exact opposite: moving Huaxia people to the grasslands to crowd out the living space of the Hu.

Ying Zheng pondered this. The method possessed a certain feasibility, but it also presented numerous problems—for instance, how to prevent the Huaxia people relocated to the grasslands from turning into new Hu themselves?

The Huaxia people of this era were by no means like the subjects of the Qing Dynasty—timid, cowed, and devoid of spirit. Instead, they possessed abundant vigor and courage. If truly relocated to the grasslands, they would undoubtedly dare to go head-to-head with the Hu.

Ying Zheng asked, "Did the dynasties of later generations never think of this method?"

His meaning was: Since your method is feasible, had those later dynasties truly never attempted it?

Li Nian replied, "Later dynasties were not lacking in enlightened monarchs and renowned ministers. Given their wisdom, they could not have failed to think of it; this subject believes they simply did not wish to use it. After all, our Huaxia dynasties have always maintained the concept of the 'Celestial Empire,' believing that under heaven, only the Huaxia divine land is supreme, while all else is barren barbarian territory not worth governing. This mindset is especially pronounced among monarchs and ministers influenced by Confucianism!"

"Furthermore, by migrating Huaxia people into Hu territory, they worried that these people would slip out of control and transform into an even greater problem than the Hu, threatening the rulers themselves. Moreover, even when they did occupy Hu territory and establish Protectorate Generals' Offices, they failed to govern wholeheartedly, ultimately losing the land once more."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly. He could understand such an approach: occupying Hu territory was seizing an advantage; if it could be governed well, fine; if not, it mattered little, since it had been Hu territory to begin with.

Returning to the main topic, Li Nian continued, "As for defending against the Hu, this subject has another suggestion: while striving to seize the dwelling places of the Hu, one must also educate and divide them, transforming them from Hu into Huaxia."

"Throughout Huaxia history, many dynasties governing the Hu adopted the approach of respecting Hu customs and ruling them by co-opting their chieftains. In the short term, this could quickly subdue the Hu for one's own use, but viewed in the long term, the hidden dangers were immense."

"Because the Hu continued to practice their own customs, they would never consider themselves members of Huaxia. When the Central Plains dynasty was strong, they would harbor no disloyal thoughts and remain as submissive as dogs; but once the Central Plains dynasty grew weak, they would transform from dogs into wolves and turn upon their masters. For instance, during the Northern Song, there were Hu who established dynasties that stood parallel to the Song; the Khitans who founded Liao and the Tanguts who founded Western Xia were precisely such examples."

"Both tribes had once been governed by the Tang, yet over the hundreds of years from the Tang to the Northern Song, their disloyal hearts never changed. This proves that respecting Hu customs and ruling the Hu through co-opted chieftains is unviable."

"This subject believes that once the Hu are defeated and made to submit, their language must be destroyed, their script eradicated, and their customs severed. An exceptional Hu culture belongs in a museum!"

Although he did not understand what a "museum" was, Ying Zheng understood that Li Nian intended to erase the faith and culture of the Hu, having them speak Qin dialects, write Qin scripts, adopt Qin customs, forget they were once Hu, and become members of the myriad subjects of Great Qin.

If the Hu were allowed to continue speaking their own language and practicing their own customs, would it not constantly highlight that they were different from the Qin people—that they belonged to a separate tribe?

"To accomplish these things, one must still 'enlighten the people and promote education' to prevent the migrated Huaxia people from turning into new Hu, to ensure they remember they are the bloodline of Yan and Huang and the people of Huaxia, and to effectively erase the former identities of the Hu so they identify with Great Qin."

"The above constitutes this subject's method for dealing with the foreign Hu. Building the Great Wall and stationing great armies can defend against the Hu for a time, but it is difficult to defend against them for generations. It is far better to incorporate the lands of the Hu into the territory of Great Qin and transform the people of the Hu into the subjects of Great Qin."

The final sentence struck a chord in Ying Zheng's heart. Why bother building the Great Wall to fend off the Hu? A true man should conquer the lands of the Hu and turn the Hu into his own people. Those who could not become his own people should be made dead ones!