Chapter 437: The Merit of Opening Up New Frontiers, Three-Way Concurrent [Subscription Request]

When Cao Cao entered Hexi, he could see the construction team.

The laborers were forced to transport earth and rocks by horse and cart, running back and forth.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, after taking over the four Hexi counties, he ordered the extension of the Great Wall from Lintao to Yumen Pass, and set up a large number of beacon towers and checkpoints along the way.

It effectively strengthened the northwest border defense and ensured the smooth flow of the Silk Road.

Since then, successive emperors have repaired it.

However, most of the area of ​​the Great Wall extending to the four counties of Hexi was compacted with red sandstone, wood, soil and other materials from the northwest.

Its sturdiness is far inferior to the brick and stone Great Wall in other areas, and it is not as tall and majestic.

With the rise and fall of dynasties, some sections have been severely damaged over the centuries.

The Xianbei and Qiang people often passed through these areas and attacked Hexi.

Cao Cao left the Xiahou brothers to guard the Hexi Corridor.

Then push Ma Chao and Pang De northward to form an inner buffer zone.

The Xiahou brothers then conscripted laborers in Hexi and reconnected the damaged Great Wall.

It has been more than three years since the Wei Dynasty took back Hexi.

The various sections of the Great Wall have been repaired, and some low sections have been raised on the original basis.

If Hexi is stable, the economic line of east-west trade will be stable.

More and more noble families involved in the East-West trade also joined in and contributed their efforts.

What Cao Cao saw along the way were some sections of the Great City that were still being repaired and raised.

He rode on Jueying's back and said:
"Once the repairs are completed, we can transfer some of the troops guarding Hexi to strengthen the defense of the Western Region."

The person he was talking to was Bian Mei.

This time, he brought Bian Mei and Yao Jing with him.

Last time, Yu Qing told Cao Cao that the concubines were tired of staying in the palace and wanted to go to Daye Lake to relax.

Cao Cao himself was an active person, so he could understand the feelings of his wives and concubines who had lived in the deep palace for a long time.

Bian Mei, Bai Ke, was in charge of the Qingbi Li in his early years and traveled around the world.

Only after marrying him and becoming his concubine was she forced to live in the deep palace.

Cao Cao planned to let the concubines come out and move around occasionally, so that they could share some chores and avoid being trapped in the palace for their entire lives.

This is the reason why I brought Bian Mei and the other two out.

In her early years, Bian Mei used the art of disguise to travel around.

Yao Jing has the Mirage Dragon Pearl.

Both women changed their appearance and took off their female clothes so that they could follow the army.

After meeting the Xiahou brothers in Hexi, Cao Cao entered the Western Regions in late October.

The lobby of the front house of the Protectorate.

Cao Cao, Huang Zhong, and Taishi Ci gathered in front of a map to make strategic arrangements.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu were listening on the side.

Yin also followed and squatted beside Cao Cao.

Seeing that everyone was looking at the map, it started looking too, pricked up its ears, and pretended that it could understand.

"It's better not to fight. Since we have decided to use troops, we must fight hard enough to solve the problem. There are two goals for the first stage..."

Cao Cao took up his pen and made annotations on the march map.

Its location is the northwest corner of the Western Region, and there is another one in the southwest direction.

The two troop routes, one to the south and one to the north, together form the complete first part of the strategy.

The terrain of the Western Region is a large basin.

It is surrounded by world-class mountains and plateaus, enclosing the Western Region in the middle.

To its south is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern line of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and to its west is the Pamir Plateau.

To the north of the Western Regions are the Tianshan Mountains.

The major and minor forces in the Western Regions are scattered throughout the Tarim Basin in the middle.

Once you enter the Western Regions, there are three ways to continue westward.

One route was to start from Yuzhi in the south, which was later known as Hotan, and head southwest to the highlands, passing through Kushan and heading west.

Another route is to go straight west from Shule.

But we also have to cross the Pamir Plateau to go west.

Another route is to go west through the Tianshan Gorge on the northern line of the Western Regions.

There are three roads, passing through the south, north and middle of the Western Regions respectively, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

At this time, the two routes from Yuzhi in the south and from Shule via Dayuan to the west were blocked by checkpoints set up by the Kushans within their territory.

The route through the northern Tianshan Gorge was blocked by the two countries, Wusun and Kangju, which were vassals of the Kushan Empire.

“How many of us died?”

What Cao Cao asked was the first news he received after he came here.

A border patrol team of the Wei army was suddenly attacked, and more than half of them were killed or wounded.

“The attacked team consisted of 32 people, including a captain and a deputy captain.

Eighteen soldiers were killed in the battle, and among the twelve who broke through, four were seriously injured, and the rest were slightly injured.

"One of the two leading troops was left behind to protect his companions and died. The other was also injured."

The one who replied was Taishi Ci.

After Cao Cao asked him to come to the Western Regions, Huang Zhong was in charge of the central government, while Taishi Ci was sent to the western front line to command the troops.

He is most familiar with the border situation.

Knowing that Cao Cao was coming, Taishi Ci rushed back from the front line temporarily.

"Those who came to the Western Regions to guard the border were all our elite troops, and they died in a sneak attack."

Taishi Ci said angrily: “The other side has mobilized more than 500 people, disguised as horse thieves who rob merchants on the road.

However, when we reopened the trade route, we drove away and killed the bandits who went west many times.

Several of them were completely wiped out by our army long ago.

The few remaining soldiers, seeing our Wei border troops, could only flee in detours. Who dares to kill us?"

"It must be the troops of Kangju or Wusun who were instigated by the Kushans."

"Afterwards, I led people to personally investigate the battle site, and even found a Kangju military inspection badge."

Cao Cao: "From the intelligence we have gathered, Kangju is not obedient to the Kushans.

They are separated from our Great Wei by Wusun, and Kangju's current attitude is mostly to wait and see.

If they were not in immediate danger, they would not have gone to such great lengths to attack our border troops across Wusun."

"Your Majesty, do you mean that the identity cards of the Kangju people found during the survey are a means for the Wusun people to divert the trouble to the east and drag the Kangju into the water?
So the real murderer is the Wusun people?"

Cao Cao sneered and said, "It doesn't matter who did it. Just wipe out both sides. Kill our Wei army and no one will be able to escape."

Jia Xu's eyes also fell on the map. Cao Cao came this time to completely control at least one of the three roads out of the Western Regions.

The other two routes will be taken over after the Kushans are defeated to complete the control of the east-west trade routes.

"Han Sheng, you first choose a route for your troops."

With Cao Cao in charge of the central government, all his powerful generals could be deployed to kill him.

Huang Zhong chose the south without hesitation, which was the more dangerous one.

He is the main general, so he must be responsible during battle and choose a route with heavy tasks.

Taishi Ci also chose a route and supported Huang Zhong.

"Let's go and see the dead soldiers."

Cao Cao stood up and walked out.

It was very hot in the Western Regions, and the eighteen dead border soldiers were buried on the spot.

Cao Cao went to visit the injured soldiers in person and found out that among the 18 dead border soldiers, some only brought back headless bodies. Their heads had been chopped off and hung on the westward road in the Tianshan Gorge.

Cao Cao then ordered his troops to launch military operations.

Some battles must be fought, otherwise the other party will become more and more aggressive and constantly test your bottom line.

While Cao Cao focused on expanding territory, he also had some intentions that others were unknown to him.

The Qin Emperor was the first emperor to unify the country.

Emperor Wu was the first emperor to expand territory and conquer the largest country.

Many of the clues Cao Cao found while digging graves and robbing tombs in recent years were related to these two great emperors.

He had a vague guess that this world had mythical power, and those who expanded territory and made great contributions to the world were likely to receive some special luck from the world and learn the secrets of the world.

He wanted to expand the territory again based on the achievements of Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi to see how far he could go.

Finally, he climbed Mount Tai again to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.

What will happen then?!

At this moment, the Wei army moved in three directions at the same time.

The Wusun Kingdom was located in the northwest corner of the Western Regions, north of the Tianshan Mountains.

They are close neighbors of the Wei Dynasty, and are also the most important country and the only way connecting the eastern and western grasslands.

Their leader is called "Kunmo" or "Kunmi".

The early Wusun people and the Dayuezhi often fought against each other and hated each other.

But later, in order to get rid of the control of the Huns, the two sides united.

By the time the Yuezhi established the Kushan Empire, their power had grown powerful.

Wusun then formally formed an alliance with Dayuezhi.

And its own power is growing stronger day by day.

Their horse breeding industry is particularly prosperous.

The territory of the country is not too large, but there are many herds of horses and brave soldiers.

To the south of Wusun, Dayuan, the westernmost part of the Western Regions, is also famous for its horse breeding industry.

Boss Cao had long coveted these horse-raising neighbors and wanted to find an excuse to deal with them and seize their horses and land.

The Kushans connected with the surrounding areas in order to increase taxes.

As an ally of Kushan, Wusun responded positively.

Wu Guimi, the king of Wusun, immediately ordered his troops to cooperate.

The leader who sent troops to attack the border army of the Wei Dynasty was Wuguimi's nephew, Wuqituo, a famous general of Wusun.

They disguised themselves as horse thieves and charged into and killed a group of Wei army's border soldiers.

The heads of some border soldiers were cut off and hung at the mountain pass to show that the road was blocked, and the Kangju people's testimony was deliberately left behind to drag them into the water.

You have to know that Wusun is not Kushan after all, so they did not dare to block the road directly.

So they had to pretend to be horse thieves and attack passing merchants.

Passersby were frequently robbed and killed, so this road was naturally impassable.

Wuqituo is now the "horse bandit leader", but he leads the regular army of Wusun.

He is thirty-one years old, of average build and strong physique.

After he killed the Wei army's border guard squad, the Wei army sent troops to clean up.

When a large group of troops came, he ran away, and when the Wei army retreated, he came back.

The battle has been going on for more than ten days.

On the morning of the end of October, the general, who was stationed in Wuqituo west of the Tianshan Mountains, received another report from his subordinates:
"A merchant caravan has appeared and is about to enter the entrance of the gorge."

"The team has more than a hundred people, all of them are young and strong, and many of them are strong and sturdy. Judging from their aura, they are probably quite powerful."

"Without force, we dare not cross the mountain pass at this time."

The news of the frequent intrusion of horse bandits at the Tianshan Pass, murders and robberies, spread quickly, and the number of caravans had obviously decreased.

At this stage, any team that dares to pass through the Tianshan Canyon has some support.

After listening to his subordinates' report, Wuqituo said, "Let's go investigate again. It might be a trick of the Wei army to lure us out. We must be extra careful these days."

The subordinate received the order and went to investigate.

This went on for several times and it was confirmed that the team that came was actually more than a hundred people.

There were no other ambushes in the rear or even within a radius of twenty miles.

Wuqituo was still worried, so he asked people to set up lookout posts on high ground. If there was any change, they would immediately report it and the troops could evacuate in time.

Afterwards, he ordered an attack on the caravan entering the Tianshan Gorge.

Although the enemy had only more than a hundred people, Wuqituo still cautiously led fifteen thousand elite soldiers, disguised as horse thieves, and rushed out.

They ran for more than ten miles and came down a steep slope, where they met a team of more than a hundred people and blocked them on the mountain road.

Wuqituo looked at the caravan in front of him.

The other side did not have long-range weapons, but there were a few people carrying swords for self-defense, they should be guards.

There were many boxes full of goods on the backs of the animals used by the team to carry goods.

The goods were carried by ox carts, old horses and a small number of camels, but there was not a single strong and healthy horse. It looked like a real caravan.

"Leave behind all your goods and property, and I will spare your life." Wuqituo grinned.

Even if the other party really handed over the money, he had no intention of leaving him alive.

There was also a translator in his team who spoke Chinese and shouted to the caravan in front of him.

The caravan consisted of more than one hundred heavy cavalrymen sent by Boss Cao. They were not wearing armor and were led by Xu Chu.

At the same time, Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci also took action.

Three directions of attack were launched simultaneously.

When Xu Chu saw someone robbing, he obediently got off his horse and walked to the front of the queue.

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(End of this chapter)