Chapter 288: The Nine Provinces Have Been Controlled, and the Foundation Has Been Initially Established [Subscription Request]

"Come here, quickly go and find out where Cao's army is."

Han Sui called a personal soldier and gave him an order.

Where he was, there was rolling yellow sand in the distance.

The Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions were incorporated into Han territory during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

By the Eastern Han Dynasty, national strength had weakened and its rule over the Western Regions had weakened.

But the Western Regions still belonged to the territory of the Han Dynasty.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Protectorate of the Western Regions was abolished and re-established many times. In the later period, it was directly downgraded to the Office of the Chief Administrator of the Western Regions, and its governing capacity declined sharply.

The Western Region territory under its control was reduced several times.

Due to the turmoil in Liang Province, most of the countries in the Western Regions no longer obeyed the Han Dynasty's edicts and acted independently.

The Silk Road that runs across the east and west has therefore become intermittent and blocked.

A month and a half ago, when Cao Cao wrote to persuade Han Sui to surrender, Han Sui felt that the situation in Han territory was turbulent and there were still uncertainties, so he refused to surrender.

Yuan Shang had previously been in Bingzhou and had tried to send envoys to contact Han Sui and Ma Teng.

Ma Teng ignored Yuan Shang and chose to surrender to Cao Cao.

However, Han Sui received news before winter that Yuan Shang had gone to Xianbei.

After the spring, the Xianbei would march south to attack the Han.

You have to know that the situation between the Han and the Xianbei at that time was that the national strength of the Eastern Han Dynasty was declining.

The Xianbei had a powerful leader named Tan Shihuai, who for decades maintained a tough attitude towards the Han Dynasty, launched many raids, and won numerous battles.

When Han Sui learned that the Eastern Xianbei troops were heading south, he guessed that Cao Cao would respond with all his might.

Facing the elite Xianbei troops, Cao's army would never gain any advantage.

After Han Sui decided not to surrender, he received the news that Ma Teng had surrendered to Cao, and he even ridiculed Ma Teng: "You are a cowardly and short-sighted person."

Han Sui did not take Cao Cao's letter seriously after reading it for the first time.

"Cao Mengde has fought for several years and feels strong. He dares to divide his troops to attack me when he is dealing with the Xianbei. He will surely be defeated."

Han Sui's previous retreats were actually tactical retreats.

He was waiting for the news that Cao's army was defeated by the Xianbei and suffered a defeat on the northern front.

Then his chance will come.

However, less than two months after the war between the Xianbei and Cao's army began, Han Sui received news that the Xianbei had been badly defeated.

Of the fifty thousand soldiers, only a few thousand escaped.

Han Sui couldn't believe it for a moment.

To the west of the Hexi Corridor where he was, and to the north was the habitat of nomadic peoples such as the Qiang and Hu.

The news of the Eastern Xianbei's defeat swept across the grassland like a storm.

From east to west, it spread to hundreds of tribes on the grassland.

At the end of June on the grassland, many people knew that the Eastern Xianbei had been defeated.

Some of the Qiang and Hu cavalrymen under Han Sui also gradually learned that the Eastern Xianbei had been defeated.

What’s more, Cao’s army took the initiative to announce it to the world.

By the end of June, the news had spread further and public opinion in various places was boiling.

There hasn't been a great victory in a foreign war for decades.

When Han Sui confirmed that the Xianbei were defeated, he felt very horrified when he read the letter Cao Cao wrote to him.

In the letter, Cao Cao not only predicted the defeat of the Xianbei.

He also explained the Xianbei's intention of using troops, the first step of which was to cut off and seize Liaoxi County.

They marched and fought, scattered and attacked, with the goal of luring Cao's army out of Youbeiping County. These processes had not yet occurred when Cao Cao wrote the letter, and they corresponded one by one with the battle news that Han Sui had received at the moment.

In the letter, Cao Cao's assessment of the enemy and our situation was absolutely accurate.

"How is it possible... Dong Xianbei was also defeated in less than two months."

Han Sui was in a heavy mood. He came down from the dune and returned to the central army tent that night. His personal soldiers reported:

"News from the east: Cao's army is moving and heading west."

Han Sui retreated here with the original plan of setting a trap to lure Cao's army in.

He has been entrenched in Liangzhou for many years and has a strong influence among tribes such as Qiang and Di.

He won over the Qiang, Di and other tribes and made solemn promises to them.

After retreating here, if Cao's army continued to chase him, he planned to unite with the Qiang and Di tribes to fight a blocking battle and launch a counterattack.

But at this moment, news of the Xianbei's defeat arrived, and the Qiang, Di and other tribes all became afraid to fight against Cao's army.

Han Sui thought of the letter from Cao Cao and was a little afraid to fight, fearing that he would fall into Cao Cao's trap.

He abandoned his planned retreat and continued to retreat westward.

At the same time, Xiahou Yuan was ordered to lead his troops to join forces with Ma Teng's troops, one in the south and one in the north, to block Han Sui.

As dawn approached, Xiahou Yuan and Ma Teng joined forces from the north and south to block Han Sui's retreating troops.

The two sides fought fiercely for half the night, and Han Sui was defeated and fled.

The next morning, the news reached Cao Cao's ears.

"Han Sui's troops were blocked by our army, suffering more than 4,000 casualties. Han Sui himself was also injured. He led the remaining troops and continued to flee westward."

The one who came to deliver the news was the military advisor Guo Jia.

Cao Cao's previous focus was on the war with the Xianbei.

The strategic plan for Liangzhou was jointly formulated by Xun You and Guo Jia.

Guo Jia was filled with joy as he was about to defeat Han Sui and take control of Liang Province.

He stepped forward and handed a scroll to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao took it and looked through it. It contained sixteen strategies on how to continue advancing westward after taking control of Liang Province, how to form alliances, control all parties in the Western Regions, and how to re-establish the Office of the Chief Secretary of the Western Regions.

Cao Cao said happily: "Feng Xiao always wants to be in front of others, which wins my heart."

"Han Sui will be defeated within ten months. This summer, the King of Wei will unify the north, which will be a cause for celebration for the whole world!"

Jia Xu was also in the room, performing the ceremony with Guo Jia.

Cao Cao was also very happy. When he returned to the inner house at night and talked about it with his wives and concubines, the whole family was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Cao Cao then began to select a site for the Bronze Sparrow Tower, which was set in the southwest of Yecheng. He summoned craftsmen and laborers and started the preliminary work.

The situation in various places has stabilized, with only troops being deployed on the western front.

But it was not a major battle. In the middle of summer, Cao Cao made all the necessary arrangements and left Yecheng, sending his wives and concubines across the Yellow River to Daye Lake to escape the summer heat.

He went to the south bank to inspect several canals that were nearing completion and to check on farm work.

There was little rain this year, and in July, a large-scale locust plague broke out in Yanzhou and Yuzhou.

When the locust plague raged, the crackling sounds on people were like heavy rain, which was truly terrifying.

When a locust plague passes through a field, it will sweep away all the crops in the field, leaving only bare grass stalks.

In years of famine, locusts fight with people for their lives.

However, this year's locust plague caused something unusual.

Cao Cao was leading his personal army and was standing on a hill, looking at the fields below.

He was followed by three or five people including Cai Yong and Zheng Xuan.

Many ditches were dug along the ridges of the fertile fields below.

Some people were wearing fur robes and covering their heads, walking back and forth beside the ditch.

The locusts are human-oriented. If you get a little closer, they will attack the people walking along the ridges of the fields.

Looking down from above, large swarms of locusts jumped into the ditch.

The people nearby quickly filled in the soil and rocks to bury the locusts.

Just when the situation was chaotic and locusts were attacking all over the mountains and fields, the sound of music suddenly came from the mountains and fields.

No one knew where the music came from, but it could be heard from miles away. It was obviously the sound of the music being played with internal breath.

The music starts out clear and melodious, then becomes high-pitched, like streams flowing into a rushing river.

Suddenly, the music changed again, becoming light and pleasant, like thousands of birds singing in unison.

A surprising scene followed.

As the sound of the music spread, birds came from all directions to peck at the locusts.

At the beginning, there are few birds and they are not obvious.

But as time went on, more and more birds appeared.

Everyone was stunned.

The sound of music can attract birds to gather together. It's unprecedented!

The music continued to rise in pitch, gradually revealing a hint of murderous intent.

The birds in the sky, as if receiving orders, took off and landed like an army, swooping down on the locusts.

Cai Yong was a master of the zither. After listening for a while, he exclaimed:
"This is a lost ancient music piece, which is said to be the Chao Feng Yin created by the musicians under the Yellow Emperor.

Only fragments remain today.

Who played this piece so completely, and even improved it, attracting hundreds of birds to eat the locusts? "

"The musicians' deep understanding of the music and their wonderful use of it have reached the highest level."

At this time, the melody changed again, becoming magnificent and majestic, like the rising tide, or like the low roar of thunder from heaven and earth.

Cao Cao was also surprised: "What kind of instrument is this, with such a low tone?"

Cai Yong listened attentively: "The war horns on the grassland and the sounds of the xylophone are so majestic.

But to me it doesn't sound like something played by an instrument. Instead, it seems to be the legendary method of striking the air, plucking the five notes with the hand and then striking the air with the hand, creating a roaring sound of air vibration.

It is amazing that these changes in music were made by one person. This person is very talented in music. He is truly a great talent. "

Dian Wei asked, "King Wei, can I follow the sound and find the person?"

"No need to look for it, I know who it is." Cao Cao glanced at Zheng Xuan not far away.

At this time, hundreds of birds, attracted by the music, started singing together.

The birdsong and the music blend together, and there seems to be an undercurrent of sound waves spreading across the void.

Many locusts died as if they were killed by the sound.

The locust plague lasted for several days, and the music of Naqu was heard many times in the mountains and fields.

By mid-July, the locust plague was gone.

Thanks to years of strict management and prevention, without any slackness, although the locust plague seems to be large in scale, its cycle is actually much shorter than expected and it has not caused a major disaster.

It’s just that for autumn crops, the expected increase in income may be reduced.

In late July, Cao Cao arrived at Daye Lake.

That night, Han Sui, who had been fleeing westward in panic for days, woke up in the central army camp in the Western Regions.

"Quick, Cao's army will attack our camp tonight, we need to break camp and evacuate."

Han Sui had become a frightened bird, and was ready to retreat at the slightest sign of trouble.

But his judgment was correct.

Huang Zhong launched a general attack that night.

In the middle of the night, the moon is as bright as water.

While Han Sui was leading his troops to flee westward, he suddenly stopped his horse.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard all around the area where he was.

Cao's army was approaching.

With no way to escape, Han Sui sat on his horse for a long time. He saw the strong Huang Zhong appear in front of Cao's army in the night.

There were also the Xiahou brothers and Ma Teng, each leading their troops and attacking from four directions.

Han Sui had a dejected look on his face. He dismounted from his horse, was tied up, and declared his surrender. He was then captured alive by Cao's army.

The news immediately reached Cao Cao.

Upon hearing the news, Cao Cao got up late at night and lit the lamps.

It has been six years since Luoyang. There are only two months left.

Cao's army had 500,000 soldiers and was so powerful that Han Sui finally stopped fighting.

This means that the nine northern provinces have all fallen into Cao Cao's hands, which has become an established fact.

At this time, Liu Bei had just gained a foothold south of Jingzhou, but he still harbored ambitions.

Sun was still actively attacking various parties and was beginning to show signs of taking control of Jiangdong.

Zhuge Liang was only sixteen years old.

Cao Cao, who controlled the nine provinces, had made unprecedented achievements and established his foundation.

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(End of this chapter)