Chapter 469 Seeking Peace, Competing to Come to the Court [Subscription Request]

Cheng Yu just came back from Beiguan.

The two people who came in with him were actually Xianbei people, dressed in standard nomadic tribal attire.

Of the two, the older one was taller and stronger than average, with a square face and a high nose, and was about forty-seven or forty-eight years old.

The younger one was thin and about forty years old.

Both of them had leather ropes tied around their heads, decorated with wolf teeth, pearls and jade, and their fur robes also had similar ornaments.

Wearing the teeth of wild animals or the brow bones obtained from hunting on the body is a declaration of bravery and a symbol of status on the grassland.

When the Xianbei sent out troops and secretly approached the north of Hexi, they were defeated by Ma Chao and Pang De.

The day after their defeat, a team of envoys appeared at the North Gate and delivered a letter of credence.

Afu Yu, Tuoba Jiefen, the high priest and others made preparations for both scenarios.

At the same time, he sent troops south to spy on Hexi and the Western Regions.

At the same time, an envoy delegation was sent. Upon receiving the news that the front army was defeated again, they immediately went to Beiguan to ask for a meeting.

The two people who came in were the leaders of the Xianbei delegation.

After they came in, they both knelt down and said:

"We are following the orders of the eight great kings to offer cattle, sheep, furs, and slaves to you, the Emperor of Wei."

As envoys on the diplomatic mission, the two men were fluent in Chinese.

"We, the eight great tribes of Xianbei, hope you can accept our gift."

The two came to make peace.

If you can't win, ask for peace.

Nomadic tribes have always been afraid of the strong and bully the weak.

When they are strong, they invade the south; when they are weak, they seek peace and choose to submit.

Due to the vastness of the grassland, it has been difficult for all dynasties to completely wipe out the nomadic tribes.

Therefore, when China was at its peak, most people would accept their peace talks and tribute.

"Among the female slaves we presented, there are the daughters of the chiefs of the eight great kings, as well as their most beloved women."

The Xianbei envoys were expressing their sincerity.

The daughters of their chieftains and their favorite wives and concubines could be used to entertain guests or presented to more powerful people as a token of respect and obedience.

“We came this time and brought you thousands of cattle and sheep.

The chiefs of the king's tent said, "We wish to remain friends with the Wei Kingdom forever and follow your orders."

There was a reason why Cao Cao was willing to meet with the Xianbei envoys.

It is impossible to make peace.

At the moment, the Xianbei have only suffered heavy damage, not a devastating blow.

If Cao Cao had not met them, they would most likely have continued to migrate northward, just like the Huns did when they were defeated.

If Cao Cao wants to continue to conquer the Xianbei, he will have to embark on a long expedition to the far north. The huge consumption and many uncontrollable factors will make the battle situation more complicated.

This delegation of envoys came to test the attitude of Wei.

Cao Wei's acceptance of their tribute could stabilize them to a certain extent and buy time for subsequent military operations.

Cao Cao's meeting with the Xianbei envoy was a delaying tactic.

"If the Xianbei sincerely want to submit, why don't they offer their war horses to us?"

Cao Cao: "If you want to submit, two hundred thousand fine horses are my conditions."

The Xianbei envoys were shocked. Two hundred thousand fine horses!

During the heyday of the Western Han Dynasty, the central stables housed 400,000 fine horses.

As Cao Cao said, two hundred thousand horses are enough to turn any powerful force into a pauper, forcing it to eat only boiled straw.

The two Xianbei envoys swallowed their saliva at the same time and lowered their heads:
"We have brought you the most heartfelt gifts to express our sincerity."

Then servants brought in some gold and silver items from outside.

White jade staff, gilded jade horse, gold-inlaid jade incense burner, exquisitely crafted green-glazed pottery lamps, and a number of gold and silver items.

These things are all national treasures, and their materials and workmanship are extremely rare.

Where did the Xianbei get so many treasures?
During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, the Han dynasty adopted a policy of compromise and marriage with the Xiongnu in order to reduce wars in the north.

Although the Huns violated the agreement many times and invaded the south, Emperor Wen still bestowed many treasures as dowry for the marriage to appease the Huns.

The Xianbei replaced the Xiongnu and took over the grassland.

Some treasures were also inherited by the Xianbei.

Some of the artifacts were gifts from the Eastern Han Dynasty in order to appease the increasingly powerful Xianbei.

At this time they were all returned.

"Among the female slaves we sent here, there are descendants of the Han people who married the Xiongnu. Their descendants are now incorporated into our Xianbei account and are sent here as a tribute to the Lord of the Great Wei."

The two Xianbei envoys spoke to each other.

"Leave the cattle, sheep, and various utensils here, and take the women back. I don't need them."

Boss Cao’s palace is filled with beauties whose names will go down in history. Why would he need Xianbei women?
The key is that most of the women in his family have some special physiques.

With his historical level +1 physique, he has to be careful when dealing with it.

No matter how many concubines he had, Boss Cao was afraid that his body could not bear it. After all, he was not interested in women, so there was no need for him to work too hard.

"Your Majesty, please accept the women we offer. They were presented to Your Majesty by several great chiefs. If Your Majesty does not want them, they will be reduced to slavery or even executed when they return."

"What does their life or death have to do with me?"

Cao Cao said calmly: "You can go and discuss the surrender with my foreign minister. Two hundred thousand good horses, not a single one can be missing."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs was Jiang Gan.

"Dadian, Zhongkang."

The ancient holy body and the innate holy body of the Great Wei came in from outside the door.

The two men dragged away the younger Xianbei envoy, who was begging Cao Cao to accept the slave girl and taking the opportunity to observe Cao Cao's attitude. After a while, Xu Chu brought back only the head, added a brocade box, and asked the remaining envoys to take it back to Xianbei.

We must never be polite to outsiders.

Although they came to seek peace, they were testing everywhere.

Cao Cao intended to use a delaying tactic, but that did not mean he would be kind to them.

Two hundred thousand horses and the ability to behead envoys at will actually made it easier to gain their trust. Cao Wei was really interested in negotiating.

The ruler of the Great Wei is so cruel... The other envoy retreated in fear.

"The Xianbei are quite fast. They come to ask for peace right after their defeat." Xi Zhicai said.

"Starting from the Eastern Xianbei, they are not newly defeated. It has been seven or eight years, and they have experienced many wars."

Guo Jia was leisurely and contented. He picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of tea.

The way he held the teacup was to place his thumb and middle finger on both sides of the cup, with his index finger, ring finger and little finger forming a series of outstretched bird wings, looking very delicate.

When Guo Jia put down the teacup, he found Xi Zhicai looking at him in surprise.

Cheng Yu, who was standing aside, also had a strange look on his face.

"A tea waiter in my house always holds the teacup in this way. I think it is quite elegant, so I tried it myself."

Guo Jia explained and then changed the subject:

"I have discussed with your majesty that the Xianbei troops that have penetrated deep into the Western Regions have been defeated one after another. The Xianbei have reached a stage where they have no choice but to seek peace, and there is no time to lose."

"Zhicai, you just came back and you don't know the recent changes in the court.

There are more Xianbei people coming to pay homage than just this group. "

Xi Zhicai was surprised and asked, "What else?"

Guo Jia pouted and said, "The internal turmoil of Xianbei has already appeared. Look out the window."

Looking out through the study window, at the end of the corridor, there was another person waiting to see the emperor, who was led in by the servants.

The person who came in this time covered his face with a hood, looking quite mysterious.

He took off his hood and revealed his face before entering the study.

It was Kebineng, a Xianbei man who had had contact with Cao Cao before.

He was always quite active in Xianbei.

When Cao Wei defeated the Eastern Xianbei and Western Xianbei, his traces appeared.

As early as when Cao Wei defeated the Eastern Xianbei, Kebi Neng had a meeting with Cao Cao and expressed his intention to form a secret alliance.

Historically, Kebi Neng was the next powerful leader of the Xianbei.

He integrated the main forces of the Xianbei, and with tens of thousands of elite cavalry, he swept through the various tribes on the grassland.

He initially came into contact with Cao Cao in the hope of using Cao Wei's power to balance the various parties on the grassland and find opportunities to grow stronger.

His power was relatively weak at the time, and he hoped that Cao Wei could defeat some Xianbei tribes.

Then I will integrate and intervene by myself.

But Cao Wei fought fiercely and ruthlessly. Within seven or eight years, many Xianbei tribes were defeated, and Kebi Neng's original plan went bankrupt.

"I am Ke Bineng, your humble servant, and I am honored to meet your Majesty."

Ke Bineng has a bronze complexion, a rectangular face and bright eyes.

He was only twenty-six years old, with slender and strong hands and feet, and he met Cao Cao with great ceremony.

The purpose of his coming was to express his loyalty and to ask Cao Cao to secretly support him and help him become the leader of the Xianbei.

In return, he was willing to submit to Cao Wei.

Before Xi Zhicai returned, Ke Bineng had already met with Cao Cao once and made his attitude clear.

"How do you plan to gain my trust?" Cao Cao asked.

Because the discussion had already taken place once, Ke Bineng had obviously considered how to gain Cao Cao's trust.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly bowed down and said solemnly, "I heard that there is an old custom in Shenzhou that the closest relationship is between father and son.

I am Ke Bineng, and if Your Majesty does not abandon me, I would like to worship Your Majesty as your father."

Cao Cao raised the corner of his mouth.

He was not surprised by Ke Bineng's move.

It is quite interesting that the heroic ruler of the grassland in history proposed to be a good eldest son.

Guo Jia thought that this man was a shameless and ruthless character, but by worshipping the emperor as his father, he was putting his head into the dragon's mouth.

"Get up."

Ke Bineng performed the ceremony again and said with a shameless face: "I have a great gift to present to my adoptive father, and I have a Xianbei secret to tell you."

Several people discussed matters in the study.

By the time Ke Bineng was able to leave, it was already early afternoon.

Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Cheng Yu and others also left the study one after another.

Cao Cao called up the entry and took a look.

Not long ago, the entry gave a new push:
[The current territory of Wei ranks fifth among all dynasties in China]

According to the note given in the entry, the current borders of the Wei Dynasty basically overlap with those during the heyday of the Western Han Dynasty.

The first and second ones were close to the huge maple leaf shape that Cao Cao expected.

At this time, Diao Chan and Yao Jing came in together from outside the door.

Diao Chan was wearing a thin red skirt, followed by three chubby little tiger cubs with bright big eyes. They ran, pounced and played, looking very ferocious.

Yao Jing was wearing a light blue dress, which made her look mature yet bookish, quiet and elegant. Her long legs pushed up her round curves as she walked.

"You two come together, do you have something to ask me?"

"Yeah." The two women nodded together.

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(End of this chapter)