Chapter 399: News spreads wildly, the border expands northward [Subscribe]

The cold wind howled.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard as a team galloped towards them from the north.

They appeared in an area where tens of thousands of Xianbei people's skeletons were piled up.

This team has about seven or eight thousand people.

They seemed to have just experienced a bloody battle, and some of them even had their armor torn and broken.

Some people even lost their scabbards, revealing bare knives with broken edges like saw teeth.

"Generals, are we going to retreat like this?"

"Everyone is unwilling to give up, we can still fight again!"

"We can't fight anymore. If we fight again, the damage will be severe."

When we got closer, we saw that the leading generals were Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun.

The troops they led were the first veteran soldiers from Bingzhou to form combat effectiveness in the entire Wei Dynasty.

There were also the Qingzhou Army and the Yanzhou Army, the earliest group that followed Zhao Yun and guarded the northern gate.

To this day, these two teams are still the backbone of the entire Wei army. They are real veterans with rich combat experience.

Other generals of the Wei army chased the Xianbei people deep into the grassland, but the Xianbei tribes did not show any reaction at all.

In order to pursue the large number of fleeing soldiers, Cao Cao made many arrangements.

Guo Yi and Gao Shun ambushed Tohenaji's troops at the water source, while Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun led their troops deeper into the lake and fought their way to the other side of the lake.

Their target of attack was Tuoba Jiefen and Yiluo Tuodu, the tribes that were organized to graze in the rear area.

The surrounding Xianbei tribes reacted quickly and were attracted by the attack of Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun.

The two sides fought many times deep in the grassland.

Therefore, the Wei army was able to continue pursuing the enemy and go deep into the grassland to expand its victory without being disturbed. It was because Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao's troops were at the front and tied down other Xianbei tribes.

When Cao Cao ordered the pursuit to end, the entire army retreated.

Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao had just led their troops to withdraw their troops, and on their way they passed by this pile of corpses left behind after killing the prisoners!

This place is located 500 miles away from the northern gate of Wei, which is not too far.

Not long after Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao led their troops over, they heard the sound of sharp hooves.

Another team of Wei troops rushed to join them.

Leading the group were Ma Chao and Pang De.

The two were ordered to support Zhang Liao while Zhao Yun retreated.

When they encountered the pursuing team, the two of them rushed forward to block the enemy from their rear, and now they caught up with them again.

It is worth mentioning that there were many Xianbei people’s heads hanging behind their horses.

The Liangzhou army led by Ma Chao had a tradition of beheading people for reward.

Then the sound of hooves was heard again. It was Gao Shun leading the Xianzhen Camp and Dian Wei's heavy cavalry arriving together.

Lu Su was actually in their team.

They were also responsible for intercepting the Xianbei soldiers who were chasing Zhang and Zhao and providing support.

This time, when they went deep into the grassland, the Wei army and the Xianbei had already started an all-out war, with constant fighting.

Everyone is here.

Zhang Liao smiled and said, "The Xianbei suffered heavy casualties in this battle, and there is a high possibility of internal unrest. This is a heavy blow to them, and the two kings were almost wiped out.

The king said that we should stop here this year and withdraw all our troops.”

Several generals met together, with strong soldiers and horses, exchanged information with each other, and set out on their journey home.

"Where is the king?"

"The king is returning south first, as he has other matters to attend to."

The area where thousands of bones are piled up.

Two hours after the Wei army left, a group of Xianbei people caught up with them.

The leading general had bronze skin and a square face. He was riding on a horse with a finger-wide leather belt tied around his forehead and his hair tied into a bun at the back of his head.

He was wearing a leather robe, carrying an extremely large longbow, and followed by tens of thousands of elite Xianbei soldiers.

The concentrated force of this Xianbei army made it seem as if there were wolf-howling roars in their ranks, which occasionally came out and were extremely frightening.

They are the top shaman army of the Xianbei.

Among the Xianbei, it is said that this team was blessed by the shaman and was the god's guard on earth.

They were stationed deep in the grassland, and only when they learned that the Xianbei king's tent had been massacred did they march south.

When they came to the area where thousands of bones were piled up.

The leading general reined in his warhorse.

The entire army behind him stared blankly at the pile of bones where tens of thousands of remains were scattered.

The cruelty and horror of the scene was so overwhelming that even this powerful Xianbei army could not help but shudder.

The general led everyone to dismount and came to the pile of bones, muttering in a low voice:

"My fellow brothers, may the Shaman God lead you back to the embrace of the prairie."

He looked south for a long time and said, "Let's go back and stop chasing south!"

"General Muto, we didn't catch up with the Han army. How are we going to explain to the Great Shaman and Afu Yu when we go back?" said a deputy general.

The general called MUTO seemed to have a strange look in his eyes and frowned:

"Look to the south, it's filled with war."

“They have deployed troops all over the grasslands to the south, and we will gain nothing by going south alone.

If you are not careful, you may not be able to come back."

"We lost two great kings in this defeat. We cannot afford any more losses."

“Back then, our Xianbei rose up on the grasslands, conquered many tribes, formed the Xianbei tribe, and controlled the grasslands.

This time, the Han people killed mostly the elite troops of our Xianbei royal tent. If there are more casualties, there will be unrest on the grassland.

Not all of those tribes follow us wholeheartedly.

They are just vassal states of our power.”

“The disastrous defeat in the south tells us that we should be vigilant.

We have won for too long and have lost our caution. Only by reuniting can we take back the hatred from the Han people.

Go back first, the chief shaman will personally convene a tribal meeting."

The MUTOs knelt on one knee in front of the pile of bones of tens of thousands of people:
"Let them be sky-buried here and protect the grassland.

In the near future, they will see us defeat the Han people and avenge them."

……

Two days later, the Han army was at the northern gate, and the generals were returning south. In the distance, they saw a city appearing ahead.

The city is square in shape and quite large.

But the towering outer walls were full of gaps and had collapsed in many places.

The city was once severely damaged, and the black marks left by the fire on the outer wall remained for many years.

The whole city was in ruins.

This is the important northern border town of the Western Han Dynasty, Dingxiang!

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the country was weak.

The Han people continued to shrink their defenses, and this historic city, which had left outstanding contributions in history, was occupied by the Xianbei who came from the south, set it on fire and pushed down the city walls.

When Tan Shihuai was alive, he once said that the Han people would never be allowed to rebuild Dingxiang.

The northern grassland peoples were full of hatred for Dingxiang, because this city had been used as a bridgehead for attacks on foreign tribes in the north many times in history and was the most famous war city on the northern front.

How many times did the Han army attack from here, chase the enemy northward and defeat the foreign tribes?

There were many famous generals in the Western Han Dynasty who went out of the Beiguan Pass from Dingxiang to fight for China and finally returned victorious.

After the Xianbei occupied this place, the Qiang, Di and other tribes from surrounding Hexi regions were introduced to live together.

There are also famous cities such as Gaoliu to the east of Dingxiang, Shengle to the south, and Yunzhong to the west, and the situation is similar.

After these northern cities were occupied by the Xianbei, the Han people's northern gate retreated all the way to the south of the Great Wall.

In this war, Cao Cao first defeated the Xianbei, and then prepared to take back these border cities, pushing the border significantly northward, and making Dingxiang once again a powerful city for expelling the nomadic peoples in the north.

There were mixed forces in many cities, including Dingxiang, and the situation was similar to that of Hu Ji further west.

The Xianbei people would not live here.

But they will not return it if they are seized by force.

Dingxiang and other places became places with active border trade and complex forces from all sides.

Previously, some Jiangdong nobles fled to Yizhou and said that they knew of a smuggling route that could attack the Wei mainland. This was the place they were talking about.

To the west of Dingxiang, it can become a garrison for attacking Hexi.

Going south can threaten the Han-Tu defense line.

These northern border towns are actually of great strategic and historical value.

The battle between Cao's army and the Xianbei was the first step.

The second step is to take back the Dingxiang line and expand the border northward.

There will be a third and fourth step later.

Cao Cao's ultimate goal was to repeat on the Han people what the Five Barbarians had done to them in history.

After chasing the fugitives to the north, Cao Cao was the first to return south and is now in Dingxiang City.

After he came back, he suddenly sent troops to Dingxiang to take control of the surrounding area.

All border cities have one thing in common: they are well-informed.

People traveling back and forth brought news from all over the world.

The Wei and Xianbei fought on the east and west fronts. In the east, Tuoba Jiefen's Suotou army was defeated, with tens of thousands of casualties. Tuoba Jiefen was chased and fled north for days.

The Western Xianbei were completely defeated.

Chief Budugen became the second chief to be killed after Kuitou.

The leader of the Xianbei tribe, Yiluotodu, led the army in person but was beheaded on the battlefield by Cao's army.

These news swept through border towns such as Dingxiang like a storm.

Every piece of news brings a great shock.

In the cities surrounding Dingxiang, countless pieces of news came in, and the news about Cao Jun and the ruler of Cao Wei was spreading like wildfire and seemed miraculous.

Cao Cao was king for several years and attacked foreign tribes in the north many times.

Looking back, in the past three to five years, we have defeated the Wuhuan, the Hexi Qiang, the Eastern and Western Xianbei, and now we have defeated their king's coalition forces.

The sensation this time was particularly huge.

Border towns like Hu Ji and Dingxiang are chaotic and the people value the use of force the most.

So when Cao Cao suddenly led his troops into Dingxiang, a border town with a complex environment and intertwined forces, no one stood up to oppose it.

When Cao's army entered the city, the people of the city spontaneously lined the streets to welcome them.

It was not because they were all close to Cao Wei, but because they were worried that Cao Cao would be displeased, and everyone would take the blame and bear the consequences that they could not afford.

As soon as Cao Cao entered the city, he posted a notice, inviting the leaders of all forces in the city to come and see him.

If you don’t come, get out of Dingxiang immediately.

After receiving the news, no one in the city dared to turn a blind eye, and no one really dared to leave.

Under Cao Cao's powerful force, even people in Dingxiang, a place known for its chaos, who were notorious for their evil deeds, all became obedient citizens and came to see him obediently.

Before Cao Cao arrived in Dingxiang, he had asked Jia Xu to do his homework.

It is clear who is close to the Xianbei, or to foreign ethnic groups such as the Qiang and Di.

Hundreds of well-known and powerful leaders in the city came to see the emperor nervously, but Cao Cao killed more than half of them, more than seventy people, when he met them.

Dingxiang was suddenly covered in a thick bloody color, and the whole city was silent.

But the killing of many leaders of various forces did not cause any unrest.

Some forces whose leaders were killed all kept their tails between their legs and dared not say a word.

Might is right.

All parties in the city admire the strong and whoever offends the leader of Cao Wei deserves to die.

No one has the courage to fight against Cao Wei, nor is anyone so stupid. If you compare yourself to the Xianbei, you know the result!
Cao Cao led his army to capture Dingxiang and other cities, which was more smooth than expected.

He was in Dingxiang, and after Zhao Yun and other generals came back, they rushed to meet the emperor.

They came back from the grasslands, full of murderous intent. As soon as they entered the city, they attracted many people to watch, all wanting to see what the Cao Wei troops who had driven the Xianbei to the north looked like.

In order to show off his achievements, Ma Chao had many heads of Xianbei people chopped off by his thieves.

Kill the enemy and hang his head.

In Dingxiang, people were extremely awed by this brutal method of killing.

Among all the soldiers and generals, the most popular one is the team led by Ma Chao and Pang De.

"I heard that the Wei Dynasty built a pile of bones on the grassland, killing more than 100,000 Xianbei soldiers?"

"Look at that general wearing fine armor and holding a big spear. He is so heroic."

People on the street were talking in low voices.

Ma Chao straightened his back and said, isn't this talking about me?

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(End of this chapter)