Chapter 123 Mao Dun
The early years of the Han Dynasty.

After Liu Bang heard what happened in the Huns, although he still had a lazy attitude and did not put down the wine cup in his hand, his eyes had already become serious and his brilliance was focused.

Maodun... for the Huns, he was truly the wisest Khan.

He admitted that he was indeed a little panicked when he was besieged, not only for his own life, but also for the Han Dynasty he had just established - if the emperor died here, and the accompanying troops and generals also died here, or were captured, what would happen to the Han Dynasty whose war had just subsided?
He also admitted that at that time he did think of Han Xin, the man who repeatedly created incredible military achievements, and his words "Your Majesty can only lead 100,000 troops."

[Modun's father, Touman Chanyu, was the first Chanyu of the Xiongnu, and Maodun was originally the crown prince. But later, Touman wanted to make his favorite youngest son the heir, so he sent Maodun to the Yuezhi as a hostage. In order to ensure that Maodun died, Touman urgently sent troops to attack the Yuezhi as soon as Maodun arrived in the Yuezhi.

The Yuezhi did want to kill Maodun, but Maodun stole his horses and fled back to the Xiongnu. Seeing this, Touman did not insist on killing Maodun, but instead gave him 10,000 cavalrymen because of his bravery.

Liu Bang sighed and said, "So Nai Gong really has no way of understanding the thoughts of the Xiongnu."

[And these ten thousand cavalrymen were the beginning of Maodun.]

If they want to rise, they must first eliminate the unstable and extremely threatening factor of Tuoman.

So, Maodun began to train these cavalrymen, using the conditioned reflex method represented by Pavlov's dog experiment.

He made an arrow that would make a sound and ordered his soldiers to follow the target with all their might, otherwise they would be beheaded.

This sounds simple, but it is not easy to reach the level that Maodun wants.

He began to train with birds and beasts, and those who did not follow him in shooting were beheaded; then he used his wife to train, and those who did not follow him in shooting were also beheaded.

After these trainings, all the remaining people would definitely follow him and shoot - as long as they heard the sound of the arrow, the soldiers would not care whether the target was a human or an animal, or who it was if it was a human, they would just follow and shoot as a conditioned reflex.

Maodun knew that the result he wanted had come. Then, he shot Touman with a whistling arrow, and his men also shot Touman, who died on the spot. After killing Touman, Maodun killed his stepmother, younger brother, and the ministers who were unwilling to obey his orders, and established himself as Chanyu.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng sighed: "With such a character, it is no wonder that he could become a monarch and unify the Xiongnu." Was Maodun cruel? He was indeed cruel, and it could be said that he was the cruelest person.

But is he the kind of person who is cruel for the sake of cruelty without purpose? No. All his cruelty is for his political goals and to achieve his plans. He is sober, calm and intelligent.

On top of that, his cruelty was not simply brutality, but a cruelty that was planned using various methods, rather than just directly swinging a knife and killing like some cruel people.

Li Si silently agreed with the emperor's words. Although such an enemy was very bad, it could not deny Maodun's ability. In other words, in Maodun's mind, he did not even think about whether these methods were cruel or not. He just chose a more convenient way to achieve his goal.

All of this is just a means. However, these means are indeed not tactful or decent enough.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che had no interest in commenting on the history of Maodun's rise to power. He just said, "Compared with Maodun, Yizhixie is far inferior."

Compared with the grievances and hatreds within the Huns, he was more interested in the new term: "Pavlov's dog? Conditioned reflex?" Conditioned reflex, as the name suggests, coupled with the example of Maodun Mingdi killing his father, is easy to understand.

As for Pavlov's dog, is Pavlov a person's name or a place's name? Did this dog also undergo "conditioned reflex" training... I want to try it too!

It is indeed difficult to do it with people, and if you have no experience, it is easy to do it with a dog.

Liu Che's eyes lit up.

[Modun killed his father and established himself as the Chanyu Maodun.]

However, after ascending the throne of Chanyu, he did not immediately start to make great strides, but took another path.

At this time, although the Huns had been integrated, there were still many forces on the grassland, and these unintegrated forces were equally strong, such as the Donghu.

Seeing that such a big change had happened to the Xiongnu, the Donghu naturally wanted to test it out to see what kind of person Maodun was and what his foreign policy was.

So they sent envoys to the Xiongnu to ask Maodun for Touman's thousand-mile horse.

His ministers advised him not to give it, but Maodun gave the horse away on the grounds that "how can I be stingy with a horse for my neighbor".

Dong Hu saw this and immediately felt that this was a soft persimmon. How could he be sure? He might as well ask him for something bigger this time.

So, the Donghu sent people again, this time to ask for the Chanyu's wife.

The ministers were outraged and thought this matter could not be tolerated, but Maodun agreed again and gave Yanshi away. 】

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng once again had a slightly changed opinion of Maodun. Although his method of killing his father showed that this man was not an ordinary person, his strategy to deal with the Donghu at this time truly demonstrated why he was able to make the Xiongnu dominate.

This is a strategy. Although such strategies were not uncommon in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the method is not new, but whether it is useful or not. Judging from the reaction of the Donghu, they obviously couldn't wait to step into the trap.

However, whether a strategy can be successfully implemented depends on whether someone can come up with it and whether the person who executes it can persist. If Maodun could remain calm in the face of Touman's thousand-mile horse and Chanyu's wife, the plan would be half successful.

Li Si took the opportunity to suggest: "Your Majesty, our Great Qin should strengthen its exploration and control over the Xiongnu, and never allow them to truly unite."

The more outstanding Maodun was, the more it showed that the Qin Dynasty must nip these things in the bud. Moreover, Maodun's excellence always carried with it an indelible cruelty and ruthlessness.

During the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was disgusted by Maodun's cruelty. Of course, the fact that Maodun was a Hun was a key reason: "This Maodun is smart and ruthless, but this approach cannot bring about true civilization. He is just a group of beasts."

Humph, let alone anything else, whoever dares to lay a hand on his wife will be in trouble! It's easy to simply split him into two!
The ministers nodded one after another. Maodun was indeed a heroic ruler, but they also looked down on people who ate raw meat and drank blood and had no ethics or civilization. Especially since it was the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty and they had experienced the rule of the brutal and rude Mongolian nobles like in the Yuan Dynasty, everyone present was filled with disgust for the foreign races in the north.

Zhu Chong said in the circle of princes: "It seems that for Maodun, apart from his goal, nothing else can be sacrificed."

"Then what does he value? His own authority? Or the territory of the Huns?" Zhu Bo asked. Obviously, no matter what ethical principles, his wife, or his horse, they were of little importance in Maodun's eyes.

Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan period.

Li Shimin was aware of this period of history, so he was not surprised at this time.

He watched the Donghu arrogantly getting what they wanted from Maodun time and time again, and thus looked down on the Xiongnu even more. He felt a string of vigilance tightened in his mind: "The Donghu underestimated the enemy and became arrogant, and their demise is inevitable. What I am thinking now is that the Tang Dynasty must not let the same situation happen again."

Judging from his story in Tianmu, when the Tang Dynasty truly developed, its national strength was difficult for neighboring countries to match. The Tang Dynasty was also able to transform its national strength into an equally powerful military force, intimidating other countries. As a result, Wang Xuance's destruction of a capital was not considered a great achievement.

If this situation continues for a long time, will the emperor and ministers of the Tang Dynasty become like the Donghu who faced the Xiongnu?
The ministers present all understood what the emperor was worried about. They all looked serious, lowered their brows and nodded their heads, and put the matter on their schedule.

[The Donghu looked down on the Xiongnu more and more, and the content of their demands gradually changed from treasures and beauties to land.

Between the Xiongnu and the Donghu, there was an uninhabited area of ​​about a thousand miles with only outposts set up. The Donghu felt that the Xiongnu were not to be feared and wanted to expand, so they set their sights on this land.

They sent someone to deliver a letter to Maodun again, stating that they had set their eyes on this piece of land and that the Huns were not allowed to set foot on it.

At this time, the ministers of the Xiongnu did not care much about this piece of land, because there were no Xiongnu people living there, and generally no one wanted to go there, and there was no interest for the Xiongnu there. So they thought that this piece of land could be given or not, depending on Maodun's wishes and the actual situation.

Maodun was furious and said, "Land is the foundation of a country. How can you give it to me?"

He killed those ministers who suggested giving away the land, mounted his horse, and decided to lead the troops to attack the Donghu personally. He also ordered that any Xiongnu who retreated should be killed immediately.

Due to their long-term contempt for the Xiongnu, the Donghu had no defense against them at all. When Maodun led his troops to the area, the Donghu were defeated, the Donghu king was killed, and the local population and livestock were also looted by Maodun.

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head secretly. Foreign races should never be underestimated. Even an unprecedented ethnic group like the Huns, which unified the grassland for the first time, could have such strategies and mentality. What’s more, there were foreign races that had integrated with the Central Plains for many years, learned the Central Plains etiquette, and participated in the history from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the present!
He never dared to look down on the Liao Kingdom, no matter what rumors were spread. How could the emperor of the Song Dynasty who came after him take it for granted that the Song Dynasty would be able to easily take advantage of the Liao Kingdom?

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang still wanted to save the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, so he used the example of Maodun, a Xiongnu man who was closely related to the Han Dynasty, to ask Liu Ying: "Prince, what do you think Maodun was thinking when he did these things?"

He did not expect Liu Ying to say much, but as long as Liu Ying could still have his own insights and thoughts on this, he would be able to pass.

Liu Ying was caught off guard, his mind went blank for a moment, and he had no idea what to say.

Liu Bang was still waiting for his answer. Lu Zhi had no intention of helping him at all. Xiao He and Zhang Liang were also silently waiting for the prince's answer.

After a long while, Liu Ying finally said, "Modun wanted to show weakness to the enemy, so that the Donghu would lower their guard and take advantage of the Donghu's underestimation of the enemy to gain victory... He also wanted to use a few shows of weakness to rally the hearts of the Xiongnu..."

Liu Bang did not comment, but asked: "Are there any more? No more?"

Liu Ying thought about it again and felt that he had completed the analysis. At least for now, this was all he could think of, so he nodded.

Liu Bang shook his head. How come his son didn't learn anything from Liu Heng's story? Or rather, he did learn something, but it was not at the level he expected.

Apart from anything else, wasn't Maodun's actions intended to clean up the court, control the officials, and once again create a court that would obey his orders like that cavalry?

[The elimination of the Donghu was only the beginning of Maodun's plan to unify the grasslands and build the Xiongnu.

Afterwards, he attacked westward and expelled the Yuezhi; he sent troops southward to annex tribes such as Loufan; his tentacles extended not only to the grassland tribes, but also to the Central Plains. Maodun retook the land that had been seized by Meng Tian during the Qin Dynasty, "and the Han Pass and the old Henan Pass, to Chaowei and Fushi, and then invaded Yan and Dai."

At this time, the Central Plains was in the period of the Chu-Han contention, and there was no extra energy for border affairs, which made Maodun more relaxed.

From then on, the Xiongnu entered their heyday under Maodun, dominating the desert, commanding more than 300,000 soldiers, and all the grassland tribes submitted to them.

Maodun's reputation also grew, especially after he conquered the northern states of Hun Geng, Qu She, Ding Ling, Ge Kun, and Xin Li. He was almost like a god. The nobles and ministers of the Xiongnu were convinced by him and believed that he was the most virtuous monarch bestowed by God on the Xiongnu.

Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan period.

Li Shimin sighed: "Although the Huns are enemies of the Han people, Maodun is indeed an outstanding person. He can endure humiliation, calm his mind, make calm judgments and weigh pros and cons, and he knows how to rely on the powerful momentum while using all kinds of sinister strategies. It is natural that the Huns reached their peak in his hands." The subsequent Huns' Chanyu were no match for Maodun.

As a monarch, one cannot be averse to all kinds of conspiracies, but one must be clear that the only things that can ultimately allow one to rule the world and gain the submission of all nations are those that are aboveboard and upright, and those that are put on the table.

Maodun was ultimately able to subdue a number of grassland tribes and defeat the Han Dynasty by relying on straightforward military force, rather than any sinister schemes.

He took the opportunity to teach Li Chengqian: "Gao Ming, you have to understand this matter. You can have secret strategies, but the foundation must be the Great Dao."

If someone only knows how to play tricks and schemes but does not have upright power, such a person can be a minister, but never a monarch.

(End of this chapter)