Chương 520: What?! The new emperor is Liu Ce?!

! The new emperor is Liu Ce?!

"If it were more than ten years ago, when the Han Dynasty was in turmoil, we could still go to the border to plunder some grain, cloth and women. But now, let alone plunder, if we get even ten miles away from the border, we will be chased and attacked by the Han army's cavalry!"

The Han cavalry weren't afraid at all; they seemed excited and eager. Their eyes lit up as soon as they saw our people, like hungry wolves seeing sheep...

Upon hearing this, the once lively tent instantly fell silent, and everyone's face showed worry.

Some people sighed, some shook their heads, and some tugged at their hair.

The crowd complained incessantly, their faces full of worry, looking like a bunch of wilted eggplants.

Just then, Murong Huai, who had been silent all along, suddenly coughed, interrupting everyone's complaints.

The cough wasn't loud, but it silenced everyone.

Everyone turned to look at him. Ke Zuitan asked, "Murong Huai, do you have some news? Don't keep it to yourself, just tell me! Don't try to squeeze it out like milking a cow, giving me a little bit at a time. I know you're full of tricks, you must have connections."

Murong Huai picked up the wine bowl, slowly took a sip, and only spoke after setting the bowl down, his tone so slow it was like chanting:

"I actually know who the new emperor is. Three days ago, one of my brothers was drinking with a Han Chinese merchant from Youzhou at the black market on the border. The merchant got drunk and let slip that the new emperor of the Han Dynasty is none other than Liu Ce, the former Prince of Yan."

As you all know, when people drink too much, they become talkative. That merchant was crying as he spoke, saying that Liu Ce was a great man who had given them land and exempted them from taxes. My brother, upon hearing this, sobered up instantly and ran back that very night to report the news.

"Clang!"

Shamo Khan dropped the wine jar from his hand, spilling mare's milk wine all over the ground. He didn't bother to pick it up, his eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, and he cried out in a trembling voice:

"What?! The new emperor is Liu Ce?! That monster?! The same Liu Ce who beat us to a pulp six years ago?!"

"puff--" The mouthful of wine that Gu Dujin had just drunk sprayed directly onto Suliba's face.

Suliba's face was covered in wine, as if he had just washed it.

Suliba didn't even bother to wipe his face; his face turned pale instantly, and the meat cleaver in his hand clattered to the ground, hitting his foot without him even feeling the pain.

The entire tent was deathly silent; even the crackling of the burning cow dung fire could be heard clearly.

The leaders dropped the mutton they were holding onto the ground without even noticing.

Ten seconds passed, and those ten seconds felt like ten years.

Tufulu suddenly stood up and shouted, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Isn't Liu Ce just the Prince of Yan? How dare he usurp the throne and become emperor?! What about the other members of the Han imperial family? What about the ministers? Didn't anyone object? Aren't the Han people the most particular about rules and regulations?"

"Oppose? Whoever opposes dies!" Chiliyan rolled his eyes and said irritably, making a throat-slitting gesture with his hand.

"He commands hundreds of thousands of elite troops. Lü Bu, Yuwen Chengdu, Zhao Yun... aren't they all formidable generals capable of taking on a hundred men each? Besides, he's a member of the Han imperial family, with impeccable lineage. Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and all the other warlords—who could rival him? They were all utterly subdued by him. If he becomes emperor, who would dare oppose him? Would they have a death wish?"

"It's all over! It's completely over!" Suliba slumped to the ground, slapping his thigh and wailing.

"When Liu Ce was the King of Yan, he beat us every day until we were unrecognizable. I still have nightmares every night, dreaming that the Han army's cavalry is chasing me."

Now that he's emperor, the supreme ruler of the land, he'll surely send a million-strong army to flatten our grasslands! We're all doomed! Not a single one will escape! My fine horses, my fat sheep, all gone!

"What are you afraid of! Let's fight him!" A young tribal chief in his twenties suddenly stood up, pounding his chest and shouting, his chest thumping loudly.

"We have over 100, 000 cavalrymen on our grasslands now, what are we afraid of? At worst, we'll fight to the death! I don't believe Liu Ce has three heads and six arms! Doesn't he rely on people to fight? Our Xianbei warriors are born on horseback, what are we afraid of these Han people?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Gu Dujin slapped him hard on the back of the head, making him stagger and almost fall to the ground.

"Fight my ass!" Bone King cursed, his finger nearly poking the young leader's nose.

"You're still a kid, what do you know! Have you forgotten the Battle of the Steppes six years ago? Our three Xianbei tribes gathered 200, 000 elite cavalry, that's 200, 000, our people covered the mountains and plains!"

And the result? They were utterly routed by Liu Ce's 30, 000 Han troops! 30, 000 against 200, 000, and we lost! Isn't that shameful?

He grew angrier and angrier, his voice rising louder and louder: "The Chanyu has been beheaded, the royal court destroyed, and the strongholds of all the tribes burned to the ground! Our main force has been wiped out, and now we have less than 150, 000 men in total, most of whom are old, weak, sick, or disabled. How can we fight him? If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"

The young leader, his face flushed red from the scolding, like a boiled crab, retorted defiantly:

"That's been six years! We've trained new recruits now! Every day we ride horses and practice archery, our butts are calloused from all the training!"

"Training new recruits is useless!" An elderly leader with gray hair stood up shakily, lifted his fur coat to reveal a long scar on his chest, stretching from his collarbone to his navel—a shocking sight.

"This scar is from the Han army's long swords during the Battle of the Grasslands. I saw it with my own eyes. The Han cavalry charged and shattered our formation like a knife cutting through tofu."

"Liu Ce's generals—Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Lü Bu, Yuwen Chengdu—aren't they all capable of taking on ten thousand men? We simply can't beat them; one Zhao Yun alone would be enough to give us a run for our money."

The old leader sighed, his voice filled with the vicissitudes of life:

"Back then, I led five thousand men in a breakout. That was five thousand men, enough to stretch for miles. And what happened? In the end, I was the only one who made it back, covered in wounds, and I had to lie on horseback for three days and three nights before I finally made it back to camp."

From then on, the mere mention of Liu Ce's name made me tremble with fear, more so than if I'd seen a ghost. Now that he's emperor, we're no match for him.

The tent was in complete chaos again, with everyone talking at once, each one terrified out of their wits, like a flock of chicks being targeted by an eagle.

"How about... we surrender again?" Que Jushi suggested in a low voice, barely audible.

"Send someone to Luoyang to pay homage to Liu Ce, present him with fine horses, sheepskins, cattle, and sheep, and pledge allegiance to the Han Dynasty again, begging him not to attack us. Didn't we always submit to the Han Dynasty when it was powerful? It's not like we haven't done it before; doing it again is nothing. It's not shameful!"

"No! Absolutely not!" Samakhan immediately jumped up in protest, his face turning bright red.

"How shameful it is to submit and pay tribute! Six years ago, when we were defeated, we submitted and paid tribute, which was already shameful enough. Now we submit and pay tribute again. We Xianbei people have never suffered such humiliation. Aren't you ashamed? How can I explain this to my people when I go back? That I knelt down and begged them not to attack us?"