This was Cao Mao's thinking.
Learn from Xiaowen, replace Xiaowen, surpass Xiaowen.
Emperor Xiaowen's Sinicization had only remained on the surface. In fact, it could be taken a step further, for instance by addressing the question of ancestry.
Of course, doing this carried risks. If the simple claim that the Xiongnu descended from the Xia received official recognition, it could actually give the Xiongnu a legal basis for ruling the Central Plains. But that sort of thing was worth the least of all. Whoever had the stronger army could rule the Central Plains. Even someone born a beggar, even a savage who lived by fishing and hunting, could still become emperor.
Besides, given the current situation, even if Cao Mao suddenly died tomorrow, no one else would get a turn at ruling the Central Plains.
First, establish the relationship between the Qiang and Hu in various regions and the people of the Central Plains, research their historical composition, then have everyone acknowledge their ancestors and return to their roots, uniting all peoples as one...
This could not even be called fabrication. It would withstand all manner of scrutiny.
Cao Mao then asked about the Qiang.
Ruan Ji immediately spoke again. "The Qiang are the surviving people of the Shang!"
The lips of the scholars around them began trembling again.
But Ruan Ji had sound reasoning and evidence. "'Of old there was Cheng Tang, from those Di and Qiang.' The Qiang were already a constituent state in Cheng Tang's time. Cheng Tang's realm was composed of many such states, so how could the Qiang not be surviving people of the Shang?"
Cao Mao then asked about the Xianbei.
This was a little harder. Evidence could still be found for the Xiongnu, Di, and Qiang, but the Xianbei...
Yet Ruan Ji had