At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Cao Ren stayed in Dunhuang County to lead the army, and then wrote a letter to Mao Jie, hoping that Mao Jie could arrange supplies and manpower to help. He wanted to renovate Yumen Pass and Yang Pass.

After too long without repairs, Yangguan and Yumenguan are a bit dilapidated, which is not good.

How can the gate of the country be broken?

Chapter 942 .950 Er Cao Hugh Wants to Be a Hero

After Cao Xiu led his army to leave Yumen Pass, he set foot on the land of the Western Regions. Cao Xiu, who had never left the Central Plains, felt a strange atmosphere here.

The exoticism brought Cao Xiu an unimaginable sense of freshness. He galloped all the way, not forgetting to look at the surrounding terrain and landforms.

The cultivated land, mountains, rivers, small bridges, flowing water and people in the Central Plains are all absent here.

Windy, dry, barren, few people.

It feels that this place is not suitable for people to live, because the land here does not look like it can be cultivated.

Whenever it was time to stop his horse to rest, Cao Xiu would also listen to the guide tell him what happened to the Han people here, and the battles they experienced here.

"The villain lives in Dunhuang, and his ancestors once guarded at Yumen Pass. At that time, he witnessed General Geng Gong returning from the Western Regions to Yumen Pass. This incident has been passed down from generation to generation. It has been passed down to the villain, and I dare not forget it. I will pass it on in the future For posterity."

Thinking of flicking a pile of firewood, he said with a smile.

"Geng Gong? I'm a bit impressed by this name."

Cao Xiu sat on the side and grilled meat.

"That's the story of Emperor Xiaoming of the former Han Dynasty. At that time, the ancestor was guarding Yumen Pass. He saw General Geng Gong return to Yumen Pass with thirteen soldiers. Later, the ancestor heard about the hardships of the journey. Even now The villain will feel shocked when he hears about it.”

Seeing that Cao Xiu was very interested, the guide slowly told Cao Xiu what he knew.

At that time, Geng Gong served as the captain of Wuji guarding Jinmancheng. When the Northern Huns attacked the Western Regions aggressively, the Kucha Kingdom and Yanqi Kingdom followed the Northern Huns and defeated Chen Mu, the governor of the Western Regions. As a result, the entire Western Regions began to rebel against the Eastern Han Dynasty. Pointing directly at Jinmancheng.

Geng Gong had few troops, so he retreated to Shule City after a fierce battle, and held on to Shule City. The [-] Northern Huns could not do anything to Geng Gong.

At that time, Emperor Hanming died and the court had no time to send reinforcements, so Che Shi also rebelled and followed the Huns to attack Geng Gong. Geng Gong was in a very dangerous situation.

But he did not admit defeat. Instead, he dug mountains and wells to fetch water, cooked bows and crossbows, and killed and wounded thousands of enemies one after another.

The Northern Huns could not capture Shule City no matter how they besieged, so they had to send people to negotiate peace with Geng Gong, pretending to persuade him to surrender.

Geng Gong let the negotiator of the Xiongnu go to the tower, killed him in front of everyone, and set fire to roast his body on the top of the city to frighten the Xiongnu.

(Geng Zhi is hungry for Hulu meat, laughing and thirsty for Xiongnu's blood)

After the death of Emperor Han Ming, Emperor Han Zhang was determined to forge ahead and was unwilling to lose the Western Regions, so he sent people back to the Western Regions to rescue Geng Gong who was fighting hard, and staged a Han Dynasty version of Geng Gong who rescued the soldier.

After a trek, Fan Qiang, the general Geng Gong sent out to ask for help, finally led his troops to rescue Geng Gong. At that time, Geng Gong had only 26 troops left.

The return journey was also very difficult and dangerous. The Huns were unwilling to let them go and chased them all the way. Geng Gong fought and retreated, and finally returned to Yumen Pass.

From the beginning of the war to his return to Yumen Pass, seven months have passed, and more than 210 days of life and death. Among the 26 people who followed him to evacuate from Shule City, only 13 people were left alive.

The general of Yumen Gate was very moved and praised their righteous deeds, which will last forever. He personally washed their bodies, put on clean clothes, and made a performance of their contributions.

The ancestors of the guide were there at the time and witnessed that historical moment with their own eyes, which has been passed down to the present.

Cao Xiu was very moved when he heard this, and hacked the ground repeatedly with his saber to vent his excitement. He admired the hero who defended the dignity of the country with his life more than a hundred years ago.

He didn't know if it was possible for him to be that kind of hero, and if he could, he wanted to.

But after thinking about it, Cao Xiu laughed again.

Now that the Wei army is strong, there is no one who can be regarded as the mortal enemy of the Wei army. If such an army still falls into decline, it can only be said that the general himself is incompetent.

Cao Xiu didn't want to be an incompetent person.

So Cao Xiu collected his mood, got on his horse, and rushed to Liuzhong City again with a thousand elite cavalry.

Under the leadership of the guide, on July 24 of the third year of Yande, Cao Xiu arrived at Liuzhong City with two thousand Wei troops.

Hundreds of years of ups and downs, from the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty to the present, Liuzhong City.

Feeling the vicissitudes of history, when Cao Xiu led his troops to approach Liu Zhongcheng, he was quite cautious.

As a result, the people in the city didn't know what was going on, so they closed the city and defended themselves, as if they regarded Cao Xiu as an enemy.

"They don't know my Wei country?"

Cao Xiu was a little strange.

"I know, probably because I don't know what the purpose of the general's visit is, and whether it will hurt people. After all, the number of people brought by the general is quite large."

The guide is a little awkward.

Cao Xiu turned around and looked at the thousand cavalry he had brought, feeling a little scary.

"Fight Wei Qi up, and step back a little bit."

When Cao Xiu gave an order, the cavalry of the Wei army retreated one after another, and then Cao Xiu asked the guide to also hold the flag of Wei State, and went forward to talk with the people in Liuzhong City.

The city gate was opened a crack to let the guide in, and after a while, the guide came out again, this time bringing out several middle-aged men dressed as Han Chinese from the city.

"General, they are residents of the city. They have lived in Liuzhong City for a long time. They are basically from the four counties in Hexi. The countries in the Western Regions make a living by doing business and trading."

Cao Xiu nodded.

"Tell them that the four counties in Hexi have been recovered by Wei Wei, and now the army will be stationed in Liuzhong City, ready to restore the Western Regions. Are they willing to follow?"

The guide walked over again, communicated with the group of people dressed as Han Chinese, and then walked back.

"General, they dare not resist."

"Well, that's the right choice."

Cao Xiu nodded in satisfaction: "Go to the city, let's go to the city first, and then I have to have a good chat with these people."

So Wei Jun cavalry entered Liuzhong City under the leadership of Cao Xiu.

Not long after, Wei Jun's flags were hung on the four walls of Liuzhong City, announcing that the city had been occupied by Wei Jun.

But having said that, this small town is really low and dilapidated.

The city wall is like this, and so is the inside of the city. It is not comparable to the big cities in the Central Plains, and it is not even as good as some small cities in Liangzhou.

The city wall is basically made of clay and has a certain degree of defense. However, the defense is limited and the city wall is not high. Once a war starts, the advantage of the defenders will not be that great.

But considering that there is a distance from Yumen Pass, it is not easy to build such a city.

Over the years, Liu Zhongcheng's living environment has not been very favorable. When the Dunhuang prefect can still manage here, the situation here is not bad.

After the death of the prefect of Dunhuang, Dunhuang County was also in chaos, and the four counties in Hexi were also in chaos one after another. The resident officials returned to the interior of Dunhuang one after another, and the people in Liuzhong City had to survive by themselves.

Relying on tenacious will, the Han people in the city, some other people from the Western Regions and even a small number of Huns who escaped from the city gathered here to keep warm.

So this city unexpectedly has quite comprehensive functions.

Fortunately, after the Northern Huns and Eastern Han forces withdrew one after another, there was no powerful regime that could affect the Western Regions, and all the countries in the Western Regions were free and let themselves go.

It's not that they haven't coveted Liu Zhongcheng, but because these small countries have fewer people and fewer soldiers, even if they covet Liu Zhongcheng, they are still not the opponent of Liu Zhongcheng's self-defense army, and they have repeatedly fallen into the sand.

Liu Zhongcheng has stood erect until now.

Chapter 943 .950 three obediently stand up and have sweets to eat

Except for a few big countries in the north of the mountains such as Wusun, most of the countries in the Western Regions are small countries relying on far apart and broken oases.

They are like the small country with few people in Lao Tzu's ideal form, relying on oases and limited water sources to live, it is not so much a country as a city-state.

The largest ones have tens of thousands of residents and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. Generally, large countries have tens of thousands of residents and thousands of soldiers and horses, while small countries have only a few thousand residents and hundreds of soldiers and horses. Even a small country with only a few hundred people can call itself a country. There is no power.

Hanging the name of the country may sound nice, but in fact it is not even as good as a county magistrate.

Under such circumstances, Liu Zhongcheng is really not afraid of a single country in the Western Regions eyeing Liu Zhongcheng. A wave of counterattacks can make them flee in embarrassment.

Liuzhong City is one of the three important fulcrums of the Eastern Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, and it is also the only one that has not fallen under the control of the Western Regions countries.

The leader of this city is named Ma, and his name is Ma Ai. It seems that he has a little distant relationship with the Ma Teng family, but it is not worth mentioning.

"In this way, in these years, once a small country in the Western Regions coveted Liu Zhongcheng, you led people to fight back?"

Cao Xiu stood on the wall of Liuzhong City and looked at Ma Ai.

Maya nodded.

"Yes, although I am not talented, I still have the ability to protect the country and the people. It is really not a problem to have hundreds of soldiers in the small countries of the Western Regions. In fact, they can't mobilize more soldiers and horses."

Ma Ai is very honest, and what he said is quite honest. Cao Xiu nodded, and asked again: "Since the four counties in Hexi are in chaos, and the former Han Dynasty withdrew from the Western Regions, then the meaning of these small countries wanting to seize Liuzhong City is to take advantage of the chaos. Get involved in the four Hexi counties?"

"It's not easy to say."

Ma Ai shook his head: "No matter how chaotic the Central Plains is, it is still a big country. The countries in the Western Regions should be clear about it, and a long time ago, we heard that a general Guo Zifeng became the overlord of the Central Plains, with strong strength. Even if you want to come to these small countries, you dare not take it seriously. Offend the Central Plains.

I think that the reason why these people covet Liu Zhongcheng is that Liu Zhongcheng can be used as a transit resting place for business travelers. In the final analysis, it is for money. Whoever can control this place can control the money. "

"Then now that we're here, don't you feel sorry for the money?"

Cao Xiu asked with a smile.

Ma Ai also laughed.

"We are originally Han people. Since Wei Dynasty Han is orthodox, we are naturally Wei people. Since we are Wei people, we should submit to the Wei country. After submitting to the Wei country, how can the emperor of Wei let us people have no food?"

"You are smart."

Cao Xiu smiled more happily: "That's right, I, Emperor Wei, will never let those who obey the state of Wei suffer. If you surrender the city, it can be called a meritorious service in defending the city, and you will definitely be rewarded. After that, I, Wei Jin, will enter the Western Regions and Liu Zhongcheng will be rewarded." It's an outpost, and your benefits are indispensable, by the way, if any of you are willing to join the army, that's fine too."

"It is our honor to be able to serve the emperor, and we are willing to obey the general's orders."

Ma Ai handed over the dominance to Cao Xiu, which made Cao Xiu very happy. He reached out and patted Ma Ai on the shoulder to express his appreciation and recognition.

Then Cao Xiu sent someone back to report to Cao Ren, letting Cao Ren know that he had occupied Liuzhong City and became an outpost of the army, and asked Cao Ren to give instructions on the next step.

The next step is of course to wait for Guo Peng to send business travelers to do business directly with the countries in the Western Regions and restore the Silk Road.

Now let's see if these small countries have vision, whether they understand the rules, and whether they know when this time is.

Under the premise that there is no longer a strong protective umbrella, what should they do when the former suzerain country returns.

For those who stand obediently, there will naturally be sweets to eat, and they can also enjoy the policy dividends of the Wei Empire's opening of trade routes in the Western Regions.

For those who are thorny, of course, they must be taught a lesson, and let them know what is called since ancient times.

Your dad is still your dad.

Demonstrating military strength is the most important thing. To fight a battle beside them, or under their noses, to show the strength of the Wei army, those small countries in the Western Regions should naturally know what to do.

When the Western Han Dynasty opened up the Western Regions, it was Lao Shi's expedition that severely cleaned up the Dawan Kingdom, and the small countries in the Western Regions surrendered one after another.

When the Eastern Han Dynasty returned to the Western Regions, they also showed their strength and showed off their muscles under their noses. Then these small countries sent envoys to Luoyang to request to become vassal states.

The fist is hard, and the voice is loud, so that someone is willing to listen, otherwise it will not work.

According to Cao Xiu's idea, according to the level of these small countries in the Western Regions, a small war of about two to 3000 people is enough to make them stand obediently.

Guo Peng had this idea after learning that Cao Xiu had occupied Liu Zhongcheng.

It is still too difficult to completely occupy the Western Regions, the place is too big, and the journey is too far away, but it is still very simple to make them a vassal state again and be obedient.

Mr. Guo also has a lot of military operations going on, and he has no plans to conquer the Western Regions yet, so it would be good to let them be vassal states first.

Anyway, anyway, the main tone of the country right now is construction and development.

The development project in the south of the Yangtze River is in progress, and various major projects have been launched one after another. When spending money like water, it is still very meaningful to open up commercial routes in the Western Regions and open up new sources of revenue for the country.

Providing military expenditures to the army is indeed the bulk of current financial expenditures. If the farming system had not been basically established to squeeze farmers, Guo would not have the capital to engage in pioneering operations.

But squeezing alone is not enough. There is a limit to squeezing. If this limit is exceeded, the peasants will revolt.

At the moment, not only can we not continue to increase the degree of crushing, but we must gradually reduce the degree of crushing, gradually give farmers spending power, stimulate domestic demand, make domestic business flourish, and transfer part of the burden of farmers to the commercial level.

Therefore, it is very important to open up commercial routes and increase commercial taxes.

The income that Cao's caravan and Mi's caravan brought to Guo is one of the reasons why Guo has the confidence to develop in the south of the Yangtze River.

The pioneering operations in Jingzhou, Yizhou and Yangzhou have been going on all the time, and now the pioneering operations in Jingzhou are almost over.