Treatise on Military Preparedness

The sound of the proclamations shook the capital city; the various armies led by [Huan] Qian and the others fled in an instant.

The King of Xia, [Helian] Bobo, defeated three tribes of the Xianbei An ancient nomadic people from the northern steppes including the Xueyu. He accepted the surrender of their followers, numbering in the tens of thousands. He then advanced to attack various outposts north of the Three Cities of the [Later] Qin, beheading the Qin generals Yang Pi and Yao Shisheng.

The various generals all said: "Your Majesty wishes to manage the region of Guanzhong The 'Land Within the Passes,' a strategically vital area in north-central China. You should first solidify your foundation so the people have something to rely upon. Gaoping Modern Guyuan in Ningxia; a city known for its strategic defenses and fertile land is rugged, defensible, and fertile; it is suitable to be established as the capital."

[Helian] Bobo replied: "My great enterprise is only just beginning. Yao Xing The Emperor of Later Qin, a rival state is also a hero of the age; he cannot yet be easily overcome. If we focus on defending a single city, he will surely concentrate all his forces against us, and our destruction would follow immediately. It is better to use our swift cavalry to move like the wind, striking where they do not expect it. If they move to save the front, we strike the rear; if they save the rear, we strike the front. We will make them exhausted from rushing to our calls, while we move and graze our herds as we please original: 游食 (yóushí), referring to the nomadic lifestyle of grazing livestock while on the move. In less than ten years, the lands north of the ridges and east of the river will all be ours. We shall wait until [Yao] Xing has died..."