Although Sima Yi was so infuriated by the family letter that he felt like his lungs would explode, his mind was unaffected. On the contrary, his thoughts were extremely clear—the Southern Huns were doomed.

The Emperor issued a decree; failing to comply is nothing but handing a weapon to the person behind the scenes. Merely ignoring the Emperor’s majesty is justification enough for destroying the Southern Huns.

Among the ten unforgivable crimes of ancient times, rebellion, disrespect, and filial impiety are included. Just one of these crimes spells doom for the Southern Huns. Not heading south upon the Emperor’s decree can at most affect Liu Xie’s reputation.

However, to speak truthfully, if Liu Xie issued the decree summoning the Southern Huns to Chang’an and they did not arrive, it would indeed be a heavy blow to Liu Xie’s prestige, not as dreadful as the other, but definitely significant.

This is nearly a two-pronged strategy. The person behind the scenes likely did not primarily target Liu Xie. For them, undermining Liu Xie might not be very important; the significant goal is probably to stabilize the South.

While Sima Yi pondered this, Chanyu Huchuquan of the Southern Huns was currently assembling the Left and Right Virtuous Kings of the Southern Huns for a discussion.

The great Han and Hu battle in the North left the Southern Huns, close yet unable to participate, in suspended anxiety. The demonstrated strength of the Han Dynasty left the Southern Huns almost terrified.

Initially, the Southern Huns, seeing the Han Dynasty’s formidable power, wanted to assist them but were coldly refused, receiving no face whatsoever. Of course, they held no grievances, as the Han Dynasty was indeed in a period of strength.

Therefore, the various tribes of the Southern Huns could only watch the Han and Hu war in the North fearfully, afraid of being dragged into it. The overwhelming power of the Han Dynasty was enough to crush them completely.

"Chanyu, what should we do?" asked Right Virtuous King Liu Qubi, looking at Huchuquan with immense confliction.

"We obey the Emperor’s decree; do we now have any other choice?" Huchuquan responded with a cold sneer. "If we don’t comply with the Emperor’s decree and the Northern war ends, the Han Army can wipe us out completely, needing only an excuse."

"But if we head south, our main unit’s military discipline can be barely maintained. What about the other large units’ discipline?" Left Virtuous King Liu Bao also understood they had no choice. Not going south meant defying the decree, and to the current Han Army, defying the decree was suicide!

"If they can’t be controlled, then abandon them. If the Han Army moves, abandon them!" Huchuquan said coldly. "We must do our utmost to restrain our main unit, and then warn other tribes. Whether they heed our warnings is not our concern."

"Nevertheless, though the Han Dynasty is fierce, they still have principles. Even so, we do not know how many of our people will be lost," Liu Bao said hesitantly.

"Losing some tribesmen is better than losing us all. Can’t you see how strong the Han Dynasty is from the Northern war? They are as powerful as ever. If we remain hesitant, we won’t even survive," said Liu Qubi coldly. "It’s not the same as ten years ago."

Liu Bao felt a sinking feeling; indeed, it is not like ten years ago. They used to raid Bingzhou and even reached Henei, but now, Bingzhou wouldn’t even allow such chaos.

Being unable to plunder has left the Southern Huns drastically short of resources. Although there is some trade with the Han Dynasty, the grain they provide isn’t enough to distribute among the Southern Huns, leading many to perish in these years’ White Disaster.

As for raids to the south, that’s a joke. First Lyu Fengxian guarded the Northern Frontier, then came Yuan Shao, and then Cao Cao. None would leave the Southern Huns any opportunity.

"Given this, let’s head south per the decree, each managing our own armies," Liu Bao sighed. "As for the other Chiefs, demand that they control their armies. Whether they succeed or not is up to them."

Huchuquan and Liu Qubi both nodded. Each could only mind their own affairs. They were struggling to handle their own issues. The Southern Huns’ military discipline was so poor that maintaining control of their own might was already a blessing, let alone managing other tribes.

Not long after, Huchuquan notified the various tribes of the decree to march south and instructed their Chiefs to control their troops marching south. How effective this would be, Huchuquan had no confidence.

Thus, the Southern Huns began their southward march following the decree, mistakenly believing they could find a path to survival, when in fact, they were heading to destruction.

The military discipline of the Southern Huns was abysmal. No matter the reason or timing of the southern march, they could not change their habitual plundering nature.

On their southern march, Liu Bao’s troops habitually plundered. In a fit of rage, Liu Bao executed dozens to restore discipline, barely managing to control his soldiers’ plundering tendencies. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Yet seeing his soldiers’ envy towards the casual plundering of other tribes, Liu Bao knew his soldiers harbored resentment towards him. Liu Bao understood that continual suppression would eventually reach a critical point where the soldiers would turn against him.

This realization alone made Liu Bao’s hands and feet grow cold. But what truly chilled him was the news that other tribes had ignored their repeated demands to restore military discipline.

Furthermore, several tribes, having been unable to plunder southward for years, were now looting with reckless abandon, seemingly intent on reclaiming everything they hadn’t seized in previous years all at once.

While Liu Bao and the others certainly considered using these people as scapegoats, the tribes’ heartless pilferage was beyond their expectations, leaving them involuntarily worried, compelling them to reissue demands for all tribes to restore military discipline.

Unfortunately, other tribes, driven by plundering excitement, ignored the three individuals’ warnings and even secretly coaxed soldiers from their ranks.

The three, in their efforts to enforce discipline, had already made their soldiers envious but unable to act. Under the tribes’ temptation, many soldiers soon wavered and defected, making the three realize how fragile their control over these so-called subordinates truly was.