Six years had passed since Zhang Xin's campaign against the Xianbei people.
Qian Man had now grown into a young man in his early twenties.
As he grew older, his ambition naturally grew as well.
When Tan Shihuai was alive, Qian Man was just beginning to understand things.
He had personally witnessed how powerful the Xianbei people were back then!
Spanning over fourteen thousand li from east to west and seven thousand li from north to south, commanding hundreds of thousands of archers, they regarded the three northern provinces of the Han Dynasty as their own garden, coming and going as they pleased.
Even when the Emperor Huan wanted to bestow a title and arrange a marriage alliance, Tan Shihuai could confidently refuse, showing no respect to the Han Dynasty's Emperor.
The Han Dynasty Emperor could do nothing about it.
But ever since Tan Shihuai's death, the Xianbei people's fortunes seemed to have come to an end.
After Tan Shihuai, Qian Man's father, He Lian, ascended the throne.
Although his prestige was not as great as Tan Shihuai's, he was barely able to maintain the unity of the various Xianbei people tribes.
However, during a raid in Beidi, He Lian was unexpectedly shot dead by the resisting locals.
At that time, Qian Man was too young to succeed, so Kuitou temporarily took his place.
Kuitou's prestige was even worse, and under his rule, the Xianbei people completely split into three divisions: Liang Province, Bing Province, and You Province.
If it were just that, it would have been fine.
Although the You Province Xianbei people were no longer as strong as before, they still had two to three hundred thousand people, and raising an army of tens of thousands was no problem.
As long as Kuitou gave the order, You Province would still be their backyard.
But just then, a small band of Yellow Turbans came from Ji Province.
These small Yellow Turbans did not play by the rules; instead of simply defending their cities when the Xianbei people entered You Province to plunder, they came out of the passes to raid their homeland.
As a result, that winter, the You Province Xianbei people lost twenty-five thousand adult males.
This didn't even include those who later starved to death due to lack of food, or those who died in internal conflicts as tribes fought over provisions.
That hateful small band of Yellow Turbans also took advantage of the internal strife among the Xianbei people, sowing discord and winning over factions, effectively splitting the You Province Xianbei people into four mutually hostile groups.
Qian Man was nominally the Da Shanyu, but in reality, no one listened to him except for the settlements near Tanhan Mountain.
His two cousins, Fu Luohan and Budugen, would also occasionally cause him trouble.
In just five short years, the once mighty Xianbei people Empire was now no longer a force to be reckoned with.
How could Qian Man, who had witnessed the era of Tan Shihuai and yearned to restore that era, accept this?
When Zhang Xin was in You Province, he dared not act.
Ever since Liu Hong kept Zhang Xin in Luoyang, his ambitions gradually stirred.
Without Zhang Xin, what was there to fear in You Province?
Inside the royal tent.
Qian Man looked at the returning envoy and asked, "Are those lords of the Yunzhong Xianbei people still unwilling to obey my command? "
"Yes," the envoy nodded, "It's the same old excuse."
Qian Man was very annoyed by this.
Fu Luohan and Budugen were Kuitou's younger brothers.
He had betrayed Kuitou to seize power, which made these two brothers hate him to the bone.
Qian Man's strength was not much greater than theirs, so under these circumstances, there was no possibility of subduing them.
So he turned his attention to the Bing Province Xianbei people.
Qian Man felt that since he was He Lian's son, and He Lian was Tan Shihuai's designated successor before his death, with this identity, those lords of the Bing Province Xianbei people should at least show some respect, right?
To his surprise, those lords completely ignored him.
Although Qian Man's succession as leader was legitimate and lawful, Kuitou had already purged many of Qian Man's supporters during his reign.
Furthermore, he ascended to power with Zhang Xin's help, which made the Xianbei people, who traditionally revered martial prowess, look down on him.
This was the consequence of an illegitimate claim to power.
Qian Man took a deep breath and looked at one of the lords in the tent.
"How have the tribes responsible for foraging been doing lately? "
Most of the Xianbei people who had raided the border villages in recent years were sent by him.
He had no choice; his prestige was insufficient to command obedience, so he could only resort to bribery.
Bribery required money and provisions.
"Still the same," the lord replied with a troubled expression, "We can only send out at most a hundred tribesmen each time; how can there be any significant gains? "
"Last time, when thas in no mood to deal with him.
"Quick! Quick! Order the tribesmen to assemble! "