The burly general who had spoken earlier immediately slammed the table, his face fierce, and said in a cold voice!
"Chief, what are we afraid of?"
"How much prestige does the Xianbei Royal Court still have? Since Chief Tan Shihuai died a few years ago, the various nobles have been scrambling for power and profit, and it has long been fragmented. Many people have even defected. We don't necessarily have to obey them."
"Why don't we take advantage of the chaos to play both sides, reap the benefits, and secretly accumulate strength? We might even be able to contend for the head of the Xianbei Royal Court and lead our Tuoba Tribe to glory!"
When the Generals in the tent heard this, they seemed to regain some ambition, their eyes burning with fervor, and they all shouted loudly!
"Tuoba Wei is right!"
"Chief, the Xianbei Royal Court is now fragmented, and its strength is no longer what it once was. Those nobles are merely relying on their past prestige to bully us."
"We must resist! We cannot continue to be their dogs, summoned and dismissed at will, and killed at the slightest misstep."
"The Tuoba Tribe should also rise up and become masters, becoming the head of the Xianbei Royal Court!"
When Tuoba Jiefen heard these passionate voices, his blood also boiled, and he clenched his fists tightly, wishing he could overturn the old order and sing a new song.
He wanted to ascend to the head of the Xianbei Royal Court and make their Tuoba Tribe the ruler of the entire Xianbei.
But thinking of the several major forces within the Royal Court, he couldn't help but deflate, sighing slightly!
"Everyone, our strength is still too weak. The entire Tuoba Tribe, after scrounging around, only managed to gather three thousand cavalry."
"To contend for the head of the Royal Court with our current strength, I'm afraid it's not enough."
"Although the Xianbei Royal Court is broken, there are still several strong Chiefs, especially Chief Budugen and Chief Ke Bineng. Both of them can organize tens of thousands of cavalry at any time."
"If we dare to rebel, we will definitely be suppressed by them. It would be like striking a stone with an egg, only to bring ruin to our Tuoba Tribe."
"So, everything must be planned carefully. We must slowly accumulate strength and develop."
After hearing this, the Generals could only suppress their restless minds. Although they were unwilling to be dogs to these people,
but with their current weakness, they could only choose to obey.
Tuoba Jiefen, seeing the somewhat dispirited look of the crowd, continued to speak!
"However, everyone doesn't need to panic. Although the Royal Court still has considerable strength, one mountain cannot hold two tigers."
"Chief Budugen will definitely contend with Chief Ke Bineng for the head of the Xianbei Royal Court. At that time, we will play both sides and slowly accumulate strength."
"Just give me three more years, and my Tuoba Tribe will definitely not be bullied by others."
"If luck is good, we might even contend for the head of the Royal Court."
When the Generals in the tent heard this, their eyes all showed excitement, and they cheered endlessly.
Three days later!
In the Prefect's Mansion study in Yanmen Commandery!
Liu Jin sat at the desk, his brows furrowed, holding a brush and painting something on a simple piece of paper.
Then he picked it up and looked at it, seemingly finding something amiss. He tore up the paper and continued to paint.
This was repeated until, a moment later, the blueprint slowly emerged.
Looking at his masterpiece, Liu Jin's lips curved into a smile.
The blueprint before him was for a heavy trebuchet, capable of launching a large number of huge stones, and at a minimum distance of over a thousand paces.
It was much more powerful than the trebuchets of this era.
Liu Jin, relying on the memories in his mind, simply modified these trebuchets, enhancing their throwing distance and weight.
As for manufacturing guns and cannons, Liu Jin had not considered it.
Firstly, the smelting technology of this era had not reached that requirement. Even if Liu Jin could improve the forging technology, it would not be possible to complete the manufacturing of guns and cannons in a short time.
The internal working principles and various procedures were extremely complex. Even if they could be made, it would probably take a lot of time.
It would even require a large investment of manpower, material resources, and financial resources. Most importantly, mass production would not be possible, so for him, the help would not be very significant.
Instead of that, it would be better to unify the world first, and then send people to research these things later; it would not be too late.
For now, it was more cost-effective to honestly modify some useful things.
Looking at the modified heavy trebuchet, a smile appeared on his face.
With this thing for attacking cities and conquering strongholds, it would at least make things much easier.
Although it wasn't needed right now, they could start trying to forge it, stocking up these siege weapons in preparation for future contention for the world.
Just then, several hurried footsteps came from outside the study door. Without any response, the door was pushed open directly.
Tian Feng, Jian Yong, Min Chun, and others rushed in hastily.
Liu Jin was startled by this situation, wondering if there was something important, otherwise these people would not have rushed in so anxiously.
He was about to open his mouth to ask when Tian Feng's serious voice slowly came out!
"Marquis, news has come from the north that a Xianbei cavalry force, approximately three thousand strong, is heading south and has already reached Yanmen Pass."
Liu Jin was stunned when he heard this, and a hint of solemnity appeared in his eyes.
The weather had only just begun to warm, and these Tuoba had already become impatient, coming to the border to plunder provisions.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked with a serious voice!
"This Xianbei cavalry only has three thousand. It should be impossible for them to break through Yanmen Pass."
"In my opinion, there are probably other troops."
Tian Feng nodded at this, and said hastily!
"General Guan has sent word that this Xianbei cavalry is not the main force; it is estimated that there are other troops also heading south to the border."
When Liu Jin heard this, his brows furrowed even more deeply.
If the various Tuoba Tribes attacked, the small number of troops he had would probably be difficult to defend with.
He immediately spread out a simple map, on which the various commanderies of Bing Province and the divisions of the various tribes on the grassland were marked.
Liu Jin's finger pointed to one side of the map, and his voice slowly came out!
"Yanmen Commandery is guarded by Yanmen Pass, and General Guan also has two thousand troops stationed there. The Xianbei cavalry will find it difficult to conquer, so we don't need to worry."
Then he pointed to the other side, which was Cloud Middle Commandery and Dingxiang Commandery.
A serious voice slowly came out!
"This time the Xianbei attack, if my prediction is correct, should again target these two commanderies. The military strength here is weak, and there are no important defensive lines, making it the easiest place for these Xianbei to plunder."
Everyone in the hall, hearing this, frowned tightly, all with solemn expressions.
Their Marquis's analysis was correct; these Xianbei soldiers would naturally not fight to the death at Yanmen Pass; they would definitely look for some relaxed areas.
Tian Feng frowned, stroking his beard, and said hastily!
"Marquis, in my opinion, the main target of the Xianbei cavalry attacking this time is still Dingxiang Commandery."
Liu Jin said "Oh" when he heard this, and asked!
"Yuan Hao, what is your insight on this?"