Nothing important has happened recently, only the snow disaster in the north has been on the horizon.
The Khan of Xirong personally wrote a letter asking Yu the Great for help in the snow disaster.
The nomads living on the grasslands had already anticipated that this winter would be difficult as early as autumn.
The letter was personally delivered by the Khan's son, Prince Udan, before the snowstorm came.
A foreigner learned to write the Chinese characters of the Yu Dynasty. Although it was crooked and unsightly, his sincere and humble tone was enough to reveal his sincerity.
They kept their posture low enough, as if they were completely afraid of the Yu Dynasty.
Even when asking for help this time, they only dared to provide hay for raising livestock.
Just because most of the northern border is where the Xirong people live, there are four seasons of frost and cold weather throughout the year.
Now in winter, heavy snow has fallen on the land, and an ice crust has formed on the grassland. It is difficult for people to survive, and it is even more difficult for livestock to break through the snow layer to graze. The old, weak and young animals suffer from hunger and cold, and many people die.
This is even if there are reserves for the year. In the spring, all the saved fodder will be used up and new grass will not grow, and the prairie will lead to complete famine.
Livestock is the main thing that the Xirong people pay tribute to. If all of them starve to death in this snowstorm, they will be unable to pay tribute in the coming year, and they will not even have the chance to continue to reproduce.
The Xirong people placed their status very low, lower than the tribute animals.
In the eyes of the people of Yu the Great, the lives of the people of Xirong today are not worth mentioning at all, indeed they are not even as good as the tribute of cattle, sheep and horses.
Gu Yujiu was in Kyoto for a long time, and the border was peaceful for another twenty years. I wonder if the Xirong people were really afraid of the Yu Dynasty.
But Gu Yu couldn't really treat them like countless officials, treating them as livestock that were not worth mentioning.
Her father hated the Xirong people so much that countless Gu Jiajun died at the hands of the Xirong people. In the end, the Gu Jiajun were buried together with the Xirong people.
Thinking of this, Gu Yu couldn't help but tremble.
She does not necessarily want to kill all the Xirong people, but she wants to fulfill her father's lifelong wish.
Let the Xirong people completely surrender to Dayu, and let the prairie be included in Dayu's territory.
Instead of being like this now, they still recognize their sovereignty and think that paying tribute every year means they have tamed the Xirong people.
The title Khan is just a direct transliteration of the Xirong language, but in fact it still means emperor.
And the tributes paid over the years are not as numerous as the rewards bestowed by the imperial court.
Those who are not of my race will have different minds. Only complete conquest is the end.
Otherwise, you will be respectful when the situation is weak, but once the situation is strong, you will forget your ancestors and bite back.
Regarding Xirong Khan's request, the court was divided into two groups.
One group believes that the Xirong people were very arrogant twenty years ago, but now they seem to be obedient, but in fact they are just unfed white-eyed wolves. What's more, the Yu Dynasty has no shortage of tribute cattle and sheep, so there is no need to bother to provide assistance.
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The other group believes that since Xirong pays tribute every year and expresses its intention to surrender, why not show the magnanimity of the Yu Dynasty and go to help, and exchange a little fodder for the livestock, which will make them burst into tears of gratitude. Why not?
The two sides argued endlessly.
After all, it was Gu Yu's first time to participate in government affairs as the Duke of Zhen Guo, and the new official took office with three things in mind.
For the first time, Gu Yu decided to burn the Xirong people.
When the two sides were almost done arguing and were about to make a decision to transport fodder to assist, Gu Yu felt that the heat had come and took the initiative to step forward.
Gu Yu said: "I have objections."
The Holy Master turned the Eighteen Sons in his hand. This was the first time that Gu Yu participated in the Chang Dynasty as the Zhenguo Duke, and he encountered a letter of request from the Xirong people.
After all, everyone in the world knew that Gu Yu's father died at the hands of the Xirong people, so it was reasonable for her not to agree to provide fodder.
But the Holy Emperor was also curious about what Gu Yu would say in the current situation where the court was one-sided.
The Holy Sage said: "Tell me about it."
Gu Yudao: "The people of Xirong used the cold weather as an excuse to write a letter requesting the Yu Dynasty to provide fodder for their livestock. In my opinion, this behavior is not a request, but a threat."
Ren Zhang from Honglu Temple said: "The Duke of Zhen's words are wrong. The people of Xirong have long surrendered themselves to the Yu Dynasty, and even sent their princes to deliver the message. The sincerity is self-evident, and it cannot be called a threat."
Gu Yudao: "I dare to ask Mr. Zhang, what is said in the letter, is it true that the Xirong people are afraid that their livestock will starve to death and will be unable to pay tribute next year?"
Master Zhang said: "That's exactly it."
Gu Yudao: "Isn't this a threat? The Xirong people have written a lot about their difficulties, but we can't be fooled by their humble attitude. Ultimately, what they mean is that if the Yu Dynasty does not support fodder, there will be no forage next year.
I have come to pay tribute. Is it possible that Master Zhang cannot see through the sinister intentions?"
Not only Master Zhang was speechless for a moment, but also all the civil and military officials in the court, including the Holy One, were speechless.
Everyone knew about the hatred between the Zhenguo government and Xirong, so it was expected that Gu Yu would disagree.
But what she said was obvious to everyone, and she was lying.
But once this fallacy is refuted, wouldn’t it mean that one’s heart is towards the Xirong people?
Junze was suppressing a smile in front of him. He looked serious, but in fact he was unreasonable and unreasonable. It was really interesting.
The Holy Master coughed lightly and said to Gu Yu: "According to what you said, how should we deal with this matter?"
Gu Yudao: "In my opinion, since the Xirong people say they cannot afford to raise their own livestock, we might as well send them to the Yu Dynasty early and let the Yu Dynasty help them raise them."
Mr. Zhang said: "Could it be that Duke Zhen Guo wanted them to pay tribute in advance? But the wind and snow are intertwined, so I'm afraid they won't be able to transport it."
Gu Yudao: "It's not tribute, it's relief. Didn't they say that when spring begins next year, there will be little left of the grain and grass stockpiled this autumn, and new shoots are sprouting on the grassland, so it cannot be mined?"
Then wait until the spring of next year and let them bring all the cattle, sheep and horses from the tribe and let them eat grass from the Central Plains. When the grass grows in the beginning of summer, they will deduct their share of the tribute and return all the rest."
As soon as these words came out, the faces of the civil and military officials in the court were red and white.
Gu Yu was too shameless.
The people of Xirong live in the grasslands, and the land is not as fertile as the Central Plains. They cannot grow crops such as wheat and rice. They only live on meat, and vegetables are much more expensive than cattle and sheep.
The whole year begins with spring, which is an important time for livestock mating and reproduction.
Gu Yu asked the Xirong people to bring their livestock in the beginning of spring and send them back in the beginning of summer. It seemed that the Yu Dynasty was helping them raise livestock.
But this time, not only delaying the reproduction of animals, but also reproducing animals, such as sheep, which have a short pregnancy period, would also give birth to babies during the Yu Dynasty, and send back a ewe with an empty belly.
Let's talk about cattle and horses. The cattle and horses in the grassland are much stronger than those in the Central Plains. If you are willing, you can mate them with the cattle and horses in the Central Plains to obtain improved breeds.
Although this was a sinister idea, it could be said to be a huge gain for the Yu Dynasty.
So while everyone lamented Gu Yu's shamelessness, they were also moved.