The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 539 Volume Cao Liu!

Liu Bei led his troops to the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains north of Cheshi and sent Zhao Yun to communicate with Cao Cao who was resting in Qiuci.

"I have a plan to defeat Yanqi and Cheshi. Liu Xuande just needs to cooperate with our army!"

Although Zhao Yun felt that Cao Cao's orders were a bit overbearing, he considered that they were for the Han Dynasty to conquer the Han thieves. In addition, Cao Cao was originally the governor of the Western Regions Protectorate appointed by the emperor, so he did not have too many complaints.

But Zhao Yun still brought Liu Bei's words to Cao Cao -

"General, my uncle once said that we should use both kindness and severity to treat the countries in the Western Regions. Now General, you are killing too many people, I'm afraid it's not a good thing."

"Oh! Womanly kindness!"

Cao Cao had long anticipated that Liu Bei would encounter many constraints when he came to the Western Regions, but he did not expect that he would come so soon!
"Go back and tell Liu Bei that if he wants to practice benevolence and justice in the Western Regions, I will not stop him! But this must be done after I have completely pacified the Western Regions!"

"I'll be in charge of the killing, and Liu Bei will be in charge of the burial. Let's not interfere with each other! Otherwise, don't blame him for being rude!"

Seeing Cao Cao's tough attitude, Zhao Yun frowned slightly and wanted to go back to report to Liu Bei.

"Zi Long!"

Just after Zhao Yun came out of Cao Cao's hall, Fa Zheng appeared at some point and called out Zhao Yun's courtesy name.

"filial piety?"

Zhao Yun was also happy to meet his old friend again!

"I heard about the great things you did in Wusun when I was in Hebei. It was truly amazing!"

Fa Zheng shook his head: "It's just a quick wit when I was forced to do so. It's nothing."

"Now that Zilong has come here, could it be that the emperor's uncle has already arrived in the Western Regions?"

"Exactly!"

Zhao Yun still felt a little uncomfortable with Cao Cao's tyranny.

"My uncle sent me here to discuss with Cao Cao the matter of attacking Cheshi and Yanqi, and to advise Cao Cao not to kill too many people. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao did not listen at all. Alas!"

When Fa Zheng heard Zhao Yun sigh, he immediately laughed and said, "I have been worried about this for a long time!"

"After all, the emperor's uncle is too kind. He was the same when he was in Shu. If Liu Mao had not been assassinated, he would not have been able to bear to kill even the nobles in Shu."

After saying that, Fa Zheng took out a document from his bosom and handed it to Zhao Yun.

"Zilong, if you show this to your uncle, he will surely change his mind and stop arguing with the General of the Western Expedition."

Zhao Yun opened the official document and saw a detailed record of the two countries of Cheshi and Yanqi intercepting and killing Han envoys since the founding of the Later Han Dynasty.

Not just the Han envoys.

There were also countless Han Dynasty merchant caravans that were robbed.

There were so many records on the paper alone that there were no less than a hundred of them, and countless Han people were killed!

"shocking!"

When Zhao Yun saw what happened next, he was also filled with indignation!
"I see! I will pass this document to my uncle right away! Let him cooperate with the General of the Western Expedition to attack and destroy the two kingdoms of Cheshi and Yanqi!"

Fa Zheng sent Zhao Yun away and turned to look for Guo Jia.

"So what's recorded in the document is true?"

Guo Jia did not rush back, but asked: "Did you give the things to Zhao Yun?"

"Give it!"

"He promised to give it to Liu Bei?"

"General Zilong's character is beyond doubt!"

Fa Zheng continued to question Guo Jia: "Is the document true or false?"

Guo Jia said nonchalantly: "Whether it is true or not, how can it be so important?"

"And whether it's true or not, it's a fact that Cheshi and Yanqi once killed Han envoys."

"As long as they dare to kill the Han envoys, the Western Regions will not tolerate them."

Guo Jia threw a sweet candied date into his mouth.

"Liu Bei is kind by nature... This is an advantage in the Beiting Protectorate, but it is a weakness in the Western Regions Protectorate."

"Now we are only one step away. You and Liu Bei must work together sincerely! Xiaozhi, you must have known this, so you followed my advice and handed the document to Zhao Yun, right?"

After hearing this, Fa Zheng wanted to explain himself, but in the end he just lowered his head in silence.

"People like you and me will never rest in peace after death, right?"

"Fa Xiaozhi, have you been in the Western Regions for too long? How dare you bring up those words of the Buddhist religion?"

Guo Jia spat out the date pit in his mouth.

"I don't even know how to live, how can I have time to think about what happens after death?"

"And if you can make enough contributions to win a position as a vassal and be worshipped by future generations, are you still afraid of becoming a lonely ghost?"

Fa Zheng was stunned at first when he heard this, and then he chuckled.

"That's true!"

What happens right now is the most important thing!
What happens after death... leave it to the afterlife to deal with!

"Is the plan ready?"

"As long as there's no problem with Liu Bei, it's guaranteed to be safe!"

……

After Zhao Yun returned to Liu Bei's army, only three days later, Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun to lead 3,000 soldiers each to attack Jiaohe City, the capital of Cheshi State. On the way, the soldiers of both sides were in poor discipline, with flags tilted, and even when they were resting in camp, they did not build fortifications, showing no signs of a strong army at all!
This military intelligence was soon discovered by scouts from the Cheshi State.

As the most loyal lackey of the Xiongnu, Cheshi’s military tactics were similar to those of the Xiongnu.

Seeing that the Han army was in disarray, he immediately sent troops to attack, taking the initiative!

The troops of Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were suddenly attacked while marching. The troops on both sides were terrified and hurriedly retreated back to the camp, leaving behind many flags and livestock.

The great victory over Liu Bei's army obviously boosted the morale of the two countries, and also encouraged Cao Cao to lead his army from Qiuci and rush towards the two countries.

Cao Cao's troops surrounded Jiaohe City but failed to capture it. As a last resort, he asked Yu Jin to imitate what he had done in Shule in the past and attack and burn other cities of the two countries.

But this caused the King of Cheshi to laugh at him: "How can you use a strategy that has already been used? It seems that Cao Cao is just a fool after all!"

No matter how Cao Cao destroyed the cities of the two countries, Cheshi and Yanqi refused to fight.

Cao Cao soon ran out of food and grass, so he had to hurriedly escort the people he had brought from Cheshi and Yanqi back to Qiuci.

At this moment, the kings of Cheshi and Yanqi thought that the time to counterattack had come!
"Cao Cao is too greedy, he even forced our people to march! This will inevitably lead to an overly bloated army!"

"Now is the best time to attack Cao Cao!"

As for Liu Bei in the north...

Who cares if you're that weak?
So the main forces of Cheshi and Yanqi came out in full force and decisively went to pursue Cao Cao!
When Cao Cao saw the main forces of the two countries chasing him, he also panicked, abandoned the people and retreated to Qiuci in the west.

When the allied forces of the two countries saw Cao Cao retreating, they were overjoyed and thought they had won the battle!

"It's bad! Liu Bei from the north suddenly led Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun to attack! Within a few days, he has captured many cities and is close to our capital!"

The main army on the expedition was stunned: "Are you useless? Liu Bei's troops are so weak, and you can't resist!"

The person who came to report had no words to express his grievances.

"The soldiers under Liu Bei's command suddenly became extremely brave! Especially Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, they are like demons descended from the earth! They are completely different from when we defeated them!"

Fell into a trap!
The soldiers of the two countries finally reacted and were about to retreat to rescue, but they found that Cao Cao, who had escaped before, turned back and attacked them!
The common people of the two countries, who should have been obstacles to the Han army, now became obstacles to the Cheshi and Yanqi soldiers, making it impossible for them to carry out their most proud cavalry tactics!

Hunter and prey, their identities swapped in an instant!

Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Yu Jin and others, together with Ma Chao and Meng Da, instantly swallowed up the main forces of the two countries who were being held hostage by their own people!

"Deal with these people as soon as possible, and then follow me to Jiaohe City?"

Deal with it as soon as possible?

Xiahou Dun and others didn't understand what Cao Cao's military order meant at first, but when they saw Guo Jia make a gesture of wiping his neck, they immediately realized it!

After destroying the main forces of the two countries, Cao Cao went to Jiaohe City to meet up with Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was extremely excited to see Cao Cao, but Cao Cao was indifferent and even wanted to roll his eyes.

"Clap clap clap!"

Liu Bei kept patting Cao Cao on the back, with a smile on his face: "Meng De is now the General of the Western Expedition of the Han Dynasty! Not bad! Not bad! Shouldn't he treat me to a drink?"

Cao Cao has become immune to Liu Bei's familiarity.

He pointed at Jiaohe City.

"This place can control the water source, and it is also the key point for Dunhuang to go north, so I want to build a city here and use it as the seat of the Western Regions Protectorate."

Liu Bei felt a little disappointed when he saw that Cao Cao didn't seem to want to reminisce about the past with him.

However, since it was a serious matter, Liu Bei naturally discussed it seriously.

"I think Yulai City in the northwest is more suitable as the seat of the Western Region Protectorate!"

If Liu Xie were here, he would probably know the place the two of them were talking about.

The Jiaohe City that Cao Cao mentioned is the Turpan of later generations.

The Yulai City that Liu Bei mentioned is Urumqi in later generations.

The two have their own advantages. The former controls the Tianshan Passage, while the latter is located in the center of the northern road and is sheltered by mountains. It will surely become the center of the Western Regions in the future.

Therefore, Cao Cao set up the capital based on military considerations, while Liu Bei chose the capital based on political considerations.

"Yulai Castle?"

Cao Cao thought about this carefully and surprisingly did not refute Liu Bei.

"Yulai City is located in the middle section. If we can build a city there, it can also radiate to Wusun and other countries."

Cao Cao had led his troops to the Ili River Valley of Wusun before. Even he had to admit that the Ili River Valley was truly a godsend in the Western Regions!
If we don't take control of this place, I'm afraid Cao Cao won't be able to sleep well!

Seeing that Cao Cao rarely refuted his opinion, Liu Bei immediately took advantage of the situation and continued to tease Cao Cao: "Did Meng De really break his head in Chang'an before? Were you afraid?"

"..."

Cao Cao squeezed his legs against the horse's belly and moved forward half a body length.

Liu Bei immediately followed and continued to chatter behind Cao Cao.

Cao Cao went forward, Liu Bei went forward...

As they were getting close to the battlefield, Cao Cao said impatiently, "You are too close!"

"You and I may be entangled like this for the rest of our lives. What does it matter if we are closer?"

Liu Bei was now facing a battlefield he had not seen for a long time, and he was eager to try.

"I am doing well in Dragon City, but I am getting fatter than before!"

"I have come to the Western Regions today to fight against the Han thieves with Meng De and revive the Han Dynasty. Isn't it a joy? Isn't Meng De thinking the same thing?"

(End of this chapter)