These 50,000 people all belonged to the Arnaud and Barna families.
Alna and Shanyuhou have fled and are still at large, so they dare not return to the Northern Xiongnu. Therefore, if the 50,000 people return, they will basically belong to the Bana family.
Moreover, 50,000 people need a lot of food. They had just driven Liu Cheng away, and many places in the Hunnic country had been looted.
With the country in ruins and facing a severe food shortage, the sudden release of 50,000 surrendered soldiers to the new Tianjing was clearly intentional.
Liu Zi deeply resented New Tianjing; letting people return at this critical juncture was clearly just adding fuel to the fire.
She didn't realize that the 50,000 men were originally soldiers of the Xiongnu, and she hadn't redeemed them before Liu Bei's rebellion.
Now that the new Tianjing is going to release them, they're blaming the new Tianjing instead.
Lord Anshan planned to open his private treasury and accept 50,000 men into his ranks. His willingness to accept them was originally a good thing, beneficial to the Northern Xiongnu as well, at least in terms of regaining their former elite troops.
However, after the Northern Xiongnu ministers embellished the story and it reached the Empress Dowager's ears, the nature of the matter changed.
Empress Dowager Liu Zi, who had previously complained about the new Tianjing, suddenly realized that Lord Anshan was trying to win over the Bana family, and that the 50,000 troops were merely a pretext to gain their favor and support.
At the morning court session that day, the Panamanian family repeatedly expressed their concern for the 50,000 soldiers, especially Panamanian. Liu Zi outwardly remained silent, even declaring that she warmly welcomed the surrendered soldiers back home.
Just when everyone thought things were going smoothly and the Empress Dowager intended to let the matter rest, because she had originally planned to support Prince Anshan.
It's just that the agreement hasn't been reached yet.
The ministers of the Northern Xiongnu observed that the Empress Dowager and Lord Anshan had been getting along fairly well recently, despite some remaining conflicts, and that the two were working together harmoniously. They believed that sooner or later they would stand together and rebuild the Northern Xiongnu community.
At this point, the fact that Xu Xie, the leader of the Mohist school, was injured by the whistle that day was naturally forgotten by everyone.
But no one expected that beneath the surface of harmony, an even greater crisis of trust was brewing.
Seeing the Empress Dowager's cooperation, Lian Anshan Jun realized she was backing down. He also needed to gain the upper hand in this matter to ensure the submission of all the Xiongnu people.
The Empress Dowager bowing her head is a formal recognition of his ascension to the throne.
Empress Dowager Liu Zi was very cooperative at the beginning.
Anshan Jun sent an envoy to meet Banaro. When the envoy went ten kilometers away to meet him, he saw a group of scattered soldiers, who numbered only about eight thousand in total.
No one expected that so many people would suddenly disappear from the population of 50,000.
The envoy thought that the new Tianjing had pulled some trick, which was why only so many people had returned.
When the messenger questioned Banaro, he immediately knelt on the ground, pounding his fists in anger and spewing insults. And he was insulting his own people: "A bunch of idiots, bastards! Traitors!"
"Traitor to the Huns!!"
"I will never forgive you."
"I will not let you get away with this!"
The messenger was dumbfounded. He knelt down and respectfully asked Banaro, but Banaro was too angry to pay attention to anyone else. After he finished hurling insults, he even collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
The messenger had no choice but to ask the men around him and found a guard.
Xia Wei was clearly also finding it difficult to speak.
Finally, under pressure from the envoy, the other side revealed what had happened on their way back to their motherland.
Originally, their group of 50,000 people from Lu State traveled all the way to Huayin State, where they were organized by Lü Dan. Their plan was to go from Huayin State to Ai City and then return to their homeland.
As a result, a group of people arrived in Huayin Kingdom just in time for the kingdom's Little New Year. The Xiongnu soldiers saw that Huayin Kingdom was bustling with activity, the people were living in peace and prosperity, and some even had access to coal.
Many Xiongnu soldiers heard that after they left, all the coal from Huayin Kingdom was transported to the new Tianjing. At that time, everyone thought it was just a matter of someone else bullying Huayin Kingdom.
Who would have thought that the common people of Huayin, who can now roast meat over coal, live a life comparable to that of nobles?
Then some people even inquired why they were using coal. Wasn't it very precious?
The people of Huayin told them that they had recently discovered new coal reserves, even larger than the previous ones.
Originally, all of it was to be sent to the new Tianjing. However, the emperor of the new Tianjing was about to establish diplomatic relations with Anluo Kingdom, and took the opportunity to issue a new decree returning the coal rights of the people of Huayin to the new Tianjing, and from now on, the new Tianjing would control the price of coal.
The people of Huayin felt that even with price controls, they still couldn't afford it. Then, when the price dropped, they discovered that the coal had been compressed into honeycomb shapes; a whole piece cost five coins, while broken pieces cost one coin per pound.
Therefore, many ordinary people, after earning money by working on road construction, began to enjoy coal, a luxury also enjoyed by nobles. It just didn't look very appealing.
The Hun soldiers heard the familiar sound of road construction again. They were filled with envy.
That wasn't the end of it. Recently, the former Jinghua Prefecture had been developing and burning a lot of charcoal, causing the price of charcoal to plummet to below one copper coin. Five copper coins could buy one hundred catties of charcoal. In addition, since the nobles had started using coal, they no longer needed charcoal. Naturally, there was a surplus of charcoal, which ended up in the hands of ordinary people. Therefore, Huayin Kingdom, because of its abundant mineral resources, was the first to enjoy a good life.
Nobody stirs up trouble anymore. Even if ambitious people wanted to incite others, they couldn't.
Moreover, Anyi and Anqing were leading the charge.
That night, Banaro didn't expect that just staying for one night would result in 5,000 people fleeing.
He sent people to arrest them, but the more he arrested, the fewer there were, and some even ran away with him.
Banaro dared not delay his journey, so he had no choice but to give up.
He thought that after running several thousand, he would consider himself a deserter who had died in battle. Until something happened that he would regret for the rest of his life.
That is, he arrogantly allowed the Huns to express their opinions and make their own choices! Because he believed that the majority of people were patriotic!
This incident occurred when the returning envoys of the Western Jin Dynasty arrived in Huayin to celebrate the Little New Year. The envoys brought them a batch of dry rations and coal.
The Western Jin envoys only contacted the lower-ranking Xiongnu soldiers, showing them great concern and inquiring about their well-being, and learned that they wanted to return home.
The Western Jin envoy suddenly revealed his identity, saying that he was actually a Hun. He then removed his hat, revealing his thick hair, a characteristic feature of the Huns, which aroused the curiosity of many Hun soldiers.
Later, the Western Jin envoy recounted how he was valued, having risen from a down-on-his-luck scholar to become an envoy in Tianjing in just two years.
An envoy from the Western Jin Dynasty said that he had been ostracized by powerful figures in the Xiongnu kingdom, and that his examination paper had been impersonated by the son of one of these figures. The true owner of the paper was falsely accused and exiled to the northern desert.
This resonated with many Hungarian soldiers. They too felt a sense of pride in remaining in their homeland, but lacked any upward mobility.
The passageways have all been occupied by the powerful and wealthy.
The Western Jin envoy said he had passed the imperial examination in the last year of the Jin Dynasty and had even encountered Xie Lanzhi's strange question. However, he failed to answer it well and was not among the top three.
The Xiongnu soldiers became increasingly engrossed in listening. They treated the Western Jin envoy's own story of rising from humble beginnings as an inspirational tale.
Before the Western Jin envoy left, he told the Xiongnu soldiers that if they had no other way out, they could come to Tianjing to find him.
After saying this, the Western Jin envoy left them one hundred taels of silver and departed.
At first, Banaro didn't notice that he had stuffed all one hundred taels into his pocket. He used the dry rations and silver charcoal brought by the Western Jin envoy.
This practice of prioritizing the nobility became so commonplace to Banaro that he took it for granted, even considering it the norm.
He was so focused on roasting the chicken he had bought that he didn't notice that many of the Hun soldiers were looking at him strangely.
Although nothing happened that night, the following night, the incident of hundreds of Xiongnu soldiers being injured by people from Huayin who were seeking revenge for personal grudges alarmed the Western Jin envoy.
An envoy from the Western Jin Dynasty intervened and persuaded the government to release the Xiongnu soldiers. The government, fearing that it would frighten the envoy, hastily released the soldiers and even compensated them with a thousand catties of sweet potatoes to settle the matter hastily.
The Western Jin envoy brought along military doctors from the capital's garrison to examine the wounds of several hundred men, secretly paying for their treatment. When Yang Wei learned of this, he immediately waived the medical fees and even sent three cartloads of medicinal herbs to the Xiongnu soldiers.
The Xiongnu soldiers, feeling valued, naturally held the Western Jin envoy in even higher esteem and even took three cartloads of medicinal herbs back with them.
When Banaro saw that they were covered in wounds, he seized the supplies without asking any questions. He then noticed that while their faces were also injured, the wounds weren't serious. He figured they shouldn't die.
He then conceived the idea of sending three cartloads of medicinal herbs. After all, having experienced life in Huayin, everyone wanted to be more comfortable.
Moreover, the three cartloads of medicinal herbs should be confiscated.
So that day he took three cartloads of herbs to sell, got one hundred taels, and spent it all at a local restaurant in Huayin Kingdom.
This was a perfectly normal thing in the Hunnic Kingdom, and the Hunnic soldiers were used to accepting things passively, believing that this was how nobles were.
When the contrast between Banaro and the Western Jin envoys was stark, and even when the local imperial guards gave them extra medicinal herbs and doctors to treat them, the Xiongnu soldiers finally could not contain their emotions.
A feeling of resistance to injustice begins to grow in one's heart!
This mental state finally collapsed when a Hunnic soldier saw Banaro squandering the money and herbs of the wounded soldiers.
The Hungarian told everything to the others.
The word spread quickly, from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, from a hundred to a thousand, until it reached tens of thousands. Having experienced respect, dignity, and fair treatment, no one wanted to return to the days of oppression, subservience, and the constant threat of dying for the interests of the nobility.
Finally, the Xiongnu soldiers, led by their respective guards, went directly to the Western Jin envoy.
When the Western Jin envoy heard about their plight, he expressed his sympathy and finally revealed his own name: "My name is Rengui."
Ren Gui finally persuaded the Xiongnu soldiers to return with him and await arrangements from the new Tianjing, and he offered to lead them.
The Xiongnu soldiers didn't believe anyone else, but they completely believed Rengui's words.
So Rengui led the Xiongnu soldiers to find Banaro. Banaro didn't understand what was happening; he was only informed by the Western Jin envoy that they hoped he could give his men a choice.
When Banaro heard that the Western Jin envoy wanted to recruit him, he laughed disdainfully. Ironically, the Western Jin envoy earnestly hoped that he could give everyone a fair choice.
He is willing to take care of anyone who is willing to go with him.
Banaro, considering his current status as an envoy, even gave him money to squander. He then gave everyone a choice in an extremely impatient manner.
While seemingly offering a choice, Banaro was actually quite confident that no one would be naive enough to follow the Western Jin envoy.
How could he not know his soldiers? He even thought that when no one chose the Western Jin envoy, he could take the opportunity to humiliate Ren Gui.
However, when Banaro confidently put his hands on his hips, he told everyone, "Since the messenger says so, you can choose."
"Give the envoy some face. After all, we Huns never do anything ungrateful."
"We Huns have always believed in repaying kindness and avenging wrongs!"
Just as Banaro was confidently waiting for everyone to stand on his side so he could laugh at the Western Jin envoy and regain some face, he was also venting his anger and resentment over his hard labor in Lu.
Nearly 80% of the Xiongnu soldiers went to the Western Jin envoy's side. They swarmed towards Rengui like a dense colony of ants. It was as if there was an anthill right next to him; everyone wanted to go back.
Banaro's face immediately turned ashen, his expression turning ashen with rage. He roared, "You bastards, get over here! Do you know what you're doing?"
"Are you plotting treason?!"
The Xiongnu soldiers opposite them all lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.
Ren Gui stepped forward and said, "I am also a Hun, and I know what kind of life we lived in our former motherland."
“You aristocratic children are used to having everything handed to you and taking things for free. How can you understand those who have no food to eat?”
As soon as he finished speaking, many of the Hun soldiers suddenly remembered that Banaro had taken all their herbs and silver for himself, leaving them not even a chicken leg. Immediately, the Hun soldiers began to feel indignant.
Ren Gui said, "If you truly consider everyone as brothers, then don't stop them from finding their own way out."
“I have served as an envoy here. Your motherland is currently suffering from a peasant uprising and has long since lost its harvest. If you go back now, you will only face certain death.”
"Why don't you spare everyone's lives?"