Chapter 264 Shocked, Cao Cao's marriage was fake? [Subscribe]

Hegufuyu was a member of the Xianbei tribe and the leader of the envoys who came from the south.

He was sitting in the carriage, approaching Yecheng under the protection of Cao's army.

Hegu Fuyu stretched out his rough and strong hand, lifted the curtain of the car, and looked at the city a few miles away.

The sun has just set.

Normally, the number of pedestrians would decrease, but at the city gate, there were still as many people walking, travelling, and driving carriages as before.

Hegu was a big surname in Xianbei. Hegu Fuyu, the head of the envoys, was 41 years old and wore a thick fur robe.

He observed for a while and said in a low voice:
"Five or six years ago, the Han territory was in chaos, but it recovered in a few years. Look at this city. The prosperity of the south is beyond our reach."

Piluke, who was sitting next to him, was from another Xianbei tribe.

He is a big man and is the deputy leader of the team.

"If the Xianbei tribes are not scattered, they cannot gather together. How can the southerners be our opponents?"

Piloki said: "The big boss wants us to seek cooperation with the Han people and want to jointly swallow up the Eastern Alliance. I don't think it will be of much use."

Hegu Fuyu rebuked him bluntly: "You are too short-sighted. Two hundred years ago, we Xianbei were just a small tribe, suppressed by the Xiongnu in a corner of the grassland, and every year we offered the cattle and sheep we raised with great effort.

When the Xiongnu were at their most powerful, how did their territory, manpower and horses compare to our Xianbei?"

"When they were at their peak, weren't they defeated by the Han people and lost the entire grassland?"

"You think the Han people are weak, that's just baseless nonsense!"

"The more chaotic the times, the more talented people the Han people produced. They went on expeditions to all directions and defeated powerful enemies one after another.

If you show any disrespect to the Han people, even if you are the leader of a large group of people to reunite the tribes the next day, you will never be able to lead the army alone."

Hegufuyu enjoyed great prestige among the tribes on the grassland. When Piloki was scolded, he dared not respond.

“The big boss asked us to come because he saw that the Han people and the Eastern Xianbei were at war and needed us.

We also need the Han people. Together, the Han people can defeat the Eastern Alliance. We can take the opportunity to annex the Eastern Xianbei and strengthen ourselves. "

The big book they both mentioned was Ke Bineng.

Although Kebi Neng is still very young, he has already demonstrated his talent and has taken control of several small and medium-sized tribes. He is secretly planning to take advantage of the situation and swallow up the Eastern Xianbei alliance.

In history, Kebi Neng, in order to unify the Xianbei, made concessions in advance and expressed submission to Cao Wei, which was more powerful than him.

But after Cao Cao's death, he became even stronger and began to move south to attack Jizhou, Youzhou, Bingzhou and other places.

At that time, no one in Han territory could resist the Xianbei, and they suffered a lot.

The purpose of the Xianbei envoys' visit was to form an alliance.

They entered the city secretly, accompanied by Cao's army, and when they settled down, Cao Cao was trying on clothes at home.

All his wives and concubines were there, taking turns helping him change his dresses one by one.

Marriage is a big event. In the Han Dynasty, no matter what one's identity, status, or economic conditions were, marriage was taken very seriously and a grand wedding was held.

At least invite relatives and friends to attend.

Guests usually bring gifts of money.

At the wedding, the newlyweds have to wear gorgeous clothes and beautiful jewelry.

According to comprehensive historical data, the age of first marriage for men in the Han Dynasty was relatively wide, ranging from fourteen to twenty years.

Girls could be engaged at the age of twelve, and the normal marriageable age was between thirteen and sixteen.

Husbands are generally one to three years older than their wives for the sake of compatibility.

The phenomenon of early marriage in the Han Dynasty was determined by the social and economic structure.

To develop agricultural production, we need to increase the labor force and expand the scale of production.

Early marriage is an intuitive way to promote social productivity and is a national and family need.

There are detailed requirements for every step in the marriage between a man and a woman.

They pay attention to the matching of family backgrounds. First the marriage is proposed, then the betrothal gift is offered, and then the name is asked. For example, "people with the same surname cannot marry". It is quite strict and the family tree must be checked.

Later, Liu Bei fell in love with Liu Mao's widow, Wu, but he was hesitant because they had the same surname.

It was Fa Zheng who gave an example of how distant the relationship between the two families was, and only then did he provide an excuse, and only then did Liu Bei marry Wu, who later became the queen.

After the name-asking is finished, divination must be performed to obtain a good omen before the process can proceed.

It can be seen that pre-marital examinations in the Han Dynasty were not sloppy at all.

Only after that can you propose marriage and ask for a date.

On the wedding day, horses and carriages were sent to welcome the bride and groom, and grand ceremonies were performed to complete the marriage.

At this time, Cao Cao, surrounded by his beautiful wives and concubines, spent half an evening letting them change until they were satisfied.

He has four wedding suits in total, which he wears on different occasions.

The other wives and concubines each had more than ten sets.

They all get money from their own families.

The small treasury was usually very careful with its budget and was reluctant to spend even a penny. This time, the big donation was also used to give each wife and concubine enough money to spend.

After Bai Ke and Bian Mei were both bullied by Boss Cao, there was no need to hide the relationship anymore and they would get married.

Tomorrow is the wedding day.

After trying on clothes this evening, you should sleep in the dark. You can’t break etiquette in advance.

Cao Cao follows the local customs; I am alone tonight.

Accompanied by Dian Wei and Xu Chu, he returned to the study and arranged other things.

Entering the study, Cao Cao took out the message bead and sent a message to the other side: "Send troops when you are ready."

The one who responded from the other end was Zhao Yun.

He met Cao Cao after returning from Bingzhou, and then received a secret mission. He had been away from Yecheng for almost half a month.

Even earlier, Cao Cao secretly dispatched the brothers Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun, Li Dian, and Man Chong to lead their troops westward.

Cao Cao's marriage made the world's attention focus on Yecheng.

This situation should be properly utilized. So... Cao Cao was faking the marriage, or using the marriage as a prelude to attract the attention of all parties, lower their guard, and secretly plot something.

----

Liangzhou.

Because of the previous pressure from Cao's army, Li Jue and Guo Si failed to capture Chang'an and had no choice but to turn around and march westward.

Given the current topography and power distribution of Liang Province, Cao's army moved westward along Chang'an, across the Wei River and the Yellow River, and arrived in Wuwei County, firmly guarding the entrance of Liang Province eastward into the heartland of the Han Dynasty.

To the west of Cao's army were the rebel forces of Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou.

Further west of the two is Ma Teng.

Ma Teng continued westward and met Han Sui.

Most of the other small warlords have been annexed.

But the situation in Liangzhou remains complicated.

In name, Ma Teng and Han Sui both joined Cao's camp under the persuasion of Zhong Yao, but it is difficult to discern how sincere they were.

Moonlit night with stars.

Looking up at the starry sky from the Hexi Corridor, the dome is deep and the stars seem to be within reach.

Ma Teng stationed his troops between Zhangye and Jiuquan counties.

When he was young, his family was poor and he made a living by chopping wood. When he grew up, he had a majestic appearance and a tall stature.

At the end of Emperor Ling's reign, the Qiang and Di tribes rebelled, and Ma Teng was called up to join the army. He made many military achievements and was promoted from military attendant to military commander due to his merits.

Later, he joined forces with Han Sui and led an army to fight against Li Jue and Guo Si. They were defeated and retreated to their current station.

He was standing in the yard with his hands behind his back, looking at the night sky towards the east.

A strong young man strode in from outside the door. He was full of vigor and vigor, about eighteen or nineteen years old, and looked about five or six points like Ma Teng, full of courage.

He is Ma Chao, the eldest son of Ma Teng.

In the official history Records of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Chao was evaluated as having arms as strong as an ape and good archery skills, and courage that could not be matched by ten thousand men, which is a similar record to that given by Taishi Ci.

Ma Chao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is called "Jin Ma Chao" and the Qiang people worship him as "the mighty general of heaven".

He was also seventeen or eighteen years old when he first appeared. He killed Wang Fang and Li Meng, two of Dong Zhuo's generals who had driven away Lu Bu, before they went to Chang'an.

The Ma Chao in front of him had thick eyebrows, angry eyes, bright features on his face, and a tall and strong physique.

He held a big gun in his hand and said in a deep voice: "Then Cao Mengde has issued another order? Didn't he say before that my father should go to Yecheng to serve as an official? Why did he change it? It doesn't make sense."

"It's not that it doesn't make sense, it makes too much sense."

Ma Teng sighed, "My son, you haven't thought deeply about the reason. Duke Wei personally sent me a secret order, asking me to lead the troops east tonight to launch a surprise attack on Li Jue and Guo Si's troops."

"what?"

Ma Chao was surprised: "Isn't he going to get married? Why is he raising an army at this time?"

"Even the Qiang tribes in the north know that he is going to get married. It is said that the people who gathered in Yecheng stretched ten miles outside the city. Some Qiang people are even considering whether to take the opportunity to plunder the border of Han territory. Maybe they can grab more things."

Ma Teng sneered, “If you let the Qiang people try, they will definitely be killed.

Cao's army had been prepared. They were able to defeat the Wuhuan tribe in a few months and have the momentum to sweep across the world. Do the Qiang people want to die?"

"The Duke of Wei deliberately spread the news to confuse all parties, and you, a fool, were fooled. He was using marriage to attract all parties to Yecheng, and took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack to seize Liangzhou."

"It was only after I read the secret order he sent that I realized it. Not to mention Li Jue and Guo Si, few people in the world could have thought of it."

Ma Chao: "He wants to use my Liang Province troops. Father, are you willing to be used by him and follow his orders to send troops?"

Ma Teng: "I have made up my mind. Cao's army is powerful, and other parties have been defeated one after another. If he attacks from the west, we will not be able to defeat him. If we surrender to Cao now, the world is still unsettled, and we still have a lot of benefits, so it is not a loss."

"Father, what are you afraid of? The terrain of Han territory is high in the west and low in the east. We will charge into the heart of Han territory from the west, like a tiger descending from a mountain. Let's see who can stop us!"

Ma Chao said proudly: "With my bravery and my father's prestige, we can at least hold on to Liang Province. Isn't that comfortable?"

Ma Teng waved his hand and said, "You can only see the situation for a few years, or even three or two years. Even if it lasts longer, even with the might of Cao's army, they may not be able to hold out for three or two years."

"Please think about this matter slowly and execute the military order first."

"The secret order sent by the Duke of Wei specifically mentioned you, saying that you are brave and courageous, and asked you to join me, with Pang De as the vanguard, to move from west to east and defeat the troops of Li Jue and Guo Si.

Cao's army will advance from east to west. When our two armies meet, Li Jue and Guo Si will be defeated, and half of Liang Province will be secured."

"What about Han Sui further west?" Ma Chao asked.

At this time, Ma Teng had already turned against Han Sui.

"I guess Duke Wei has other plans for this. It's not something we should worry about. Let's go! Defeat Li Jue and Guo Si first!"

Ma Teng came out of the yard and saw that the 20,000 soldiers that Ma Chao had just brought back from the north had gathered in the open space outside.

The young general in front was Pang De, another person that Cao Cao specifically requested.

He is only a captain now, but he has already shown his potential and is the bravest among the Western Liang Army.

The group immediately led their troops and marched eastward overnight.

On the other side, the Xiahou brothers and Zhao Yun, who had secretly gone to Xiliang, also led their troops westward.

At dawn, Li Jue and Guo Si were suddenly awakened in the town where they were stationed, only to hear the deafening sound of killing.

"what happened?"

"Who's attacking?"

Their territory was sandwiched in the middle and had been attacked repeatedly, so its area was very limited. They only controlled a few border cities built in the Hexi Corridor during the reign of Emperor Wu. The attackers had obviously bypassed the outer cities and attacked directly where the two of them were.

The two men were startled by the sound.

On the same morning, Boss Cao put on his wedding dress and walked out of the house leisurely.

According to the rules, he had to go and pick up the brides in person.

The wedding officially started.

The battle over there also started simultaneously, using the wedding as a cover, a surprise attack was launched to conquer Xiliang!

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(End of this chapter)