Han officials

Chapter 237 The City of Surrender [5K]

In April, the grasses bloom; in May, the cicadas sing.

The harvest was in August, and the sheaths fell in October.

With Taiyuan County falling into the control of the Wei army, a major battle had just ended on the southern grasslands.

As the morning mist on the grassland was torn apart by the sunlight, Wei Zhe, exhausted, struggled to his feet, leaning on his long spear.

Under the sunlight, the freshly splattered blood on Wei Zhe's armor still radiated a little heat, just like the passionate Kebineng from a few days ago, still so captivating.

This bastard tried to escape for a long time, but in the end, Wei Zhe personally chopped off his head.

Reflected by the morning mist and the rising sun, Wei Zhe appeared to be surrounded by a faint, blood-red halo when viewed against the sunlight.

Unfortunately, no one has the heart to appreciate such a beautiful scene now, because the surrounding area has become a complete battlefield.

The barbarian cavalry, who had roared and charged just last night, were now part of a mountain of corpses. Arrows lay obliquely in the soil like withered grass, their white fletching glistening with dew, trembling slightly in the cold wind. A dying Xianbei strongman, dragging his large intestine, struggled to crawl away, but was quickly killed by a single blow from a Han soldier.

The Han soldiers standing amidst the mountain of corpses now resembled evil spirits and demons, each one covered in blood and exuding a murderous aura, as if they had just fought their way back from the underworld.

"My lord, you have captured eighty-three Xianbei nobles, including Fuluohan, beheaded five thousand, and received the surrender of over thirty thousand."

Zhao Yun's voice was dry and hoarse, and bits of flesh were still stuck to his armor; he no longer possessed his former handsome demeanor.

Looking at the tattered wolf-head banner in the mud, Wei Zhe finally burst into laughter, laughing so hard he could barely stand. He plopped down on the mountain of corpses beside him, but Wei Zhe treated it like a human skin sofa, feeling even more comfortable. Despite being surrounded by corpses and blood, he felt as carefree as if he were in a wine pool and a meat forest.

The Han soldiers on the battlefield were mostly like this; they could even sit and chat idly next to the corpses of their comrades.

If this bizarre scene were to fall into the eyes of others, they would probably be scared half to death.

But for them, the line between the living and the dead had become extremely blurred at this moment.

Drunk lying on the battlefield, Lord Grim,
Several people have fought in ancient times.

The land of Youyan has always been home to many generous and tragic heroes, but this is no different.

The story of this hellish scene actually dates back to two weeks ago.

……

After the Battle of Tanhan Mountain, Wei Zhe, riding high on his victory, headed straight for the central Xianbei.

Similar to Kebineng, the settlement of the tribe under Budugen's command was also very close to the Han territory.

Even Budugen's command tent was located directly above the site of the former surrender city built by the Former Han Dynasty.

The surrender city outside Wuyuan Commandery was actually built by Emperor Wu of Han to accept the surrender of the Left Grand Commandant of the Xiongnu. It was a true surrender city built to accept the surrender of the enemy.

Unlike the environment that has degenerated into the Gobi Desert in later times, the area around Shoujiang City today has many rivers and springs, which have created many oases, so the Former Han Dynasty could build a city here.

It is well known that, whether in the Western Regions or on the grasslands, the places occupied by the Han people were always the best.

Thus, after the strategic contraction of the dynasty and the complete collapse of the Xiongnu, the lush grasslands surrounding the surrendered city were occupied by the various Xianbei tribes in the central region, and became the core of Budugen's rule.

The various Xianbei tribes in the central region used Shoujiang City as their base to continuously raid Han territories.

For example, Wuyuan County was occupied by the tribes under Budugen. If we include Shuofang County, which had long been eroded by the central Xianbei, Budugen's forces occupied almost the entire Hetao Plain.

The Yellow River brings a hundred harms, but only benefits one.

If it weren't for Wei Zhe leading a large army to approach, Budugen would probably have already moved his command tent to Wuyuan City, because only by taking Yunzhong County could he truly have the Hetao region under his control.

Perhaps it was for this reason that Budugen did not choose to use grassland tactics to deal with Wei Zhe.

Even though he knew that Kebineng had just suffered a major defeat in the field battle, Budugen was still full of fighting spirit!
This shows that neither Kebineng nor Budugen is as good as Tanshihuai.

It should be noted that although Tan Shihuai had unified the various Xianbei tribes, he still chose to use guerrilla warfare tactics when faced with 30,000 Han troops sent by the Han emperor, and annihilated the entire army using grassland tactics.

If it weren't for the loss of the elite troops accumulated by the Han Dynasty over many years in this battle, Zhang Chun might not have dared to rebel later.

Even before Emperor Liu Hong died, Dong Zhuo might not have dared to amass a powerful army and assume office.

In contrast, the step root and the cobin energy are a bit greedy.

Kebineng could not let go of the royal court of Tanhan Mountain, nor could he let go of the ambitions in his heart.

Therefore, in the Battle of Tanhan Mountain, he actually gave up the greatest advantage of the steppe cavalry.

The same was true for Budugen; the fertile grasslands of Wuyuan County and Shuofang County held him back.

However, given Wei Zhe's growing reputation on the grasslands, Budugen did not dare to hope to defeat the Han army.

In reality, Budugen only wanted to keep the Hetao Plain that he had acquired, and for this he did not hesitate to take the initiative to negotiate with Wei Zhe.

In any case, the Hu people did not suffer any losses this time when they marched south to the central Xianbei, and even gained a great advantage.

If Wei Zhe is willing to give up, Budugen is willing to nominally submit to the Jixian government.

As for Budugen, the king of Tanhanshan, he didn't care at all.

He would rather let the Han people occupy this place than let Kebineng have it.

The concept of valuing practical benefits over empty fame on the grasslands is fully exposed in Budugen's case!

It must be admitted that Budugen really understood the Han people.

To give Wei Zhe face, he even suggested that a grand surrender ceremony could be held in the surrender city.

As long as Wei Zhe promises to maintain the current situation, Budugen will not mind kneeling down to Wei Zhe in front of many tribal leaders to show his submission!

Unfortunately, Wei Zhe was not one of those Luoyang nobles who coveted empty fame.

If the Hetao Plain had truly fallen into the hands of the Xianbei people, then the hard work of the Qin and Han dynasties over nearly five hundred years would have been completely destroyed!

Yuan Shao dared to agree to such conditions, but Wei Zhe did not, for he feared being infamous for eternity.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, harbored resentment towards the "Alliance of the Wei River" throughout his life.

If Wei Zhe agrees to Budugen's conditions, this surrender will inevitably become a lifelong regret for him.

If it weren't for the consequences of the "Oath of Luoshui," Wei Zhe would have even considered pretending to accept the surrender first, and then taking the opportunity to launch a decisive attack during the surrender ceremony.

However, Wei Zhe was not merely a general; he could not simply consider the outcome of a single battle, but also the subsequent political repercussions. If he were to actually kill surrendered soldiers and deceive prisoners on the grasslands, it would inevitably leave a legacy of trouble for future generations.

Therefore, Wei Zhe could only use negotiations as a pretext to delay the war, and only broke off the negotiations before the war began.

Budugen gathered troops in Shoujiang City intending to use them as leverage to intimidate the Han army, but unexpectedly, it turned out exactly as Wei Zhe had hoped.

He wasn't afraid of the Xianbei fighting to the death; he was afraid they would flee!

Upon realizing he had been tricked, Budugen became enraged and mobilized all his tribes, turning them into soldiers. Including his brother Fuluohan's troops, the remnants of Kebineng's tribe who had just come to join him, and the Wuhuan cavalry under Nanlou and others, Budugen managed to gather nearly 100,000 men.

Wei Zhe's Han and non-Han soldiers combined numbered barely 30,000.

Even though Budugen heard Kebineng say that the Wei army had a very powerful heavily armored cavalry force that could rout a thousand troops and break through any enemy they attacked, he was still not afraid.

In Budugen's words, even killing 100,000 cattle and sheep would exhaust that heavy cavalry, not to mention that the Xianbei men under his command were far more ferocious than cattle and sheep!
Even at a rate of ten to one, a thousand heavy cavalry would still amount to no more than ten thousand cavalry.

In Budugen's view, it didn't make much difference whether the Han army numbered 30,000 or 40,000.

As a result, nearly 100,000 Han and Hu cavalrymen fought each other outside the surrender city.

To some extent, Wei Zhe indirectly prompted various forces on the grasslands to unite.

After all, the Hu cavalry outside the surrender city included the eastern Xianbei and the central Xianbei, as well as both Xianbei and Wuhuan people.

Even though most of them were crippled, they actually looked like a grassland alliance.

Therefore, the chips that Budugen holds this time are actually quite powerful.

If it weren't for the fact that not fighting is more advantageous and less risky than fighting, Budugan would have started the war long ago.

Wei Zhe was aware of this, so before the war, he set up a chariot camp to defend and wait for the attack, and delayed sending the Xuanjia Camp out to attack.

It wasn't until dusk that Zhang Liao led 20,000 Bingzhou troops to the south of Shoujiang City. Only then did Wei Zhe laugh loudly and lead his Xuanjia cavalry to break through Budugen's central army, disrupting his command and plunging the grassland allied forces on the battlefield into chaos.

Ultimately, under the combined attack of Zhang Liao and Wei Zhe, the grassland coalition forces were routed and suffered a complete defeat.

In fact, this is the most correct way to use armored cavalry.

Even if the decapitation tactic fails, it can still disrupt the opponent's central control system.

After all, the commander-in-chief was busy running away to save his own life, so how could he have time to command the army?

The "everything you strike will break" mechanic seems simple, but the effects vary drastically depending on where you attack!

However, although the Wei army won the battle of Shoujiang City, there were also aspects that Wei Zhe had not planned for.

For example, the participation of the Dingling people in the war was completely unexpected by Wei Zhe!

... "Dingling" is sometimes recorded as "Dingling" or "Dili" in historical records.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they were called "Gaoche people" because they were accustomed to using high-wheeled carts. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they were classified as "Tiele" tribes, such as the Uyghurs and Xueyantuo.

Compared to the red-haired, blue-eyed, white-skinned Jiankun people, the Dingling people are predominantly yellow-skinned.

The history of the Dingling people is actually older than that of the Xiongnu.

As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Classic of the Seas Within" recorded the "Country of Dingling," describing its people as having "hair below their knees and hooves that allow them to run well."

"Dingling" is a homophone of "Dingling".

Furthermore, according to records, the Dingling people mainly lived around the North Sea (Lake Baikal).

It was not until the reign of Qin Shi Huang that the Dingling people were conquered by the Xiongnu and became their subordinate tribe.

For example, the Xiongnu Chanyu once appointed Wei Lü, a surrendered general of the Han Dynasty, as the "King of Dingling" to manage the Dingling tribe in the North Sea.

Under the rule of the Xiongnu, the Dingling people were frequently plundered, and many Dingling tribes were even forcibly relocated to the southern Gobi Desert, where they became slaves of the Xiongnu for generations.

It can be said that the existence of the Nandingling was due to the interference of the Xiongnu.

Therefore, when Emperor Zhang of Han colluded with various tribes of the grasslands to jointly attack the Xiongnu, the Dingling people took the initiative to help in the battle.

However, after the Xianbei replaced the Xiongnu as the dominant force on the grasslands, the treatment of the Dingling people did not improve much.

In particular, the Nandingling tribe, which migrated south to the southern Gobi Desert, frequently clashed with the Xianbei and repeatedly joined forces with the Han army to attack the Xianbei, but with little success.

In this attack on the central Xianbei, apart from his own servant Hu cavalry, Wei Zhe did not contact other grassland tribes to besiege Budugen for safety reasons.

Wei Zhe couldn't be sure whether these grassland tribes were trustworthy, and he didn't want to be distracted by the need to guard against his teammates during a major battle.

Wei Zhe simply didn't expect that when it came to fighting the Xianbei, the Dingling people would bring their own rations and go into battle.

The Nandinglings mobilized almost their entire force, managing to muster five thousand cavalry to fight against Budugen's troops.

The appearance of the Dingling people did indeed help Wei Zhe relieve some of the pressure.

Even without any prior contact, Wei Zhe quickly reached an understanding with the Dingling people and cooperated with them after seeing their simple and unpretentious "pledge of allegiance".

Of course, the Dingling people were also gambling.

After all, Wei Zhe is already famous on the grasslands. People say that the Han people have produced another Huo Qubing!

Therefore, the Dingling people were betting that Wei Zhe could defeat Budugen and reshape the grassland landscape.

As it turns out, the Dingling people were right this time!

……

As the sun set, the Han light cavalry and auxiliary cavalry who had been pursuing the remnants of the army gradually returned to their camp.

The corpses outside the surrender city were also cleaned up by the steppe prisoners.

"This humble general is incompetent; he let that scoundrel Budugen escape."

Inside the commander's tent, Zhang Liao regretfully offered his apology.

Although the grassland coalition suffered a major defeat in this battle, they ultimately failed to capture Budugen.

However, Wei Zhe was not too disappointed, after all, Budugen's 100,000 cavalry were not just for show.

In contrast, Wei Zhe was more curious about Budugen's whereabouts.

"Where did he go?" Wei Zhe frowned. "Hexi? Or the northern desert?"

If Budugen chooses to retreat to Hexi, then he is undoubtedly going to seek refuge with the Western Xianbei.

If Budugen chooses to retreat to the northern desert, he will choose to hide and lie low in the Langjuxu Mountains of the northern desert.

After all, the Xianbei people had absorbed and assimilated hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu people, so they naturally learned this trick as well.

At that time, the dangerous and vast northern desert will become the best barrier for Budugen.

However, what he feared most came to pass; Zhang Liao let out a soft sigh, his face grim.
"...Northern Desert!"

Upon hearing this, many Han army officers and soldiers in the command tent immediately frowned.

After a long silence, Tian Feng finally spoke up to persuade him:

"My lord, the natural defenses of the northern desert are far more formidable than swords and spears. The crisis in the north has been resolved. Let us withdraw our troops first."

"Give us time, and it won't be too late to deal with this bastard Budugen when the shogunate can spare the time!"

In Tian Feng's view, Wei Zhe's strategic objective in this military campaign has been largely achieved.

Although it wasn't perfect, the border troubles in Youzhou were largely alleviated.

At least until Wei Zhe defeated Yuan Shao, the nomadic tribes on the grasslands were no longer able to interfere in the situation in Han territory.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao frowned deeply and retorted in a deep voice:

"While the shogunate was recovering its strength, wasn't Budogen also recuperating and rebuilding?"

"He still has at least 20,000 cavalrymen who survived this battle. Once he recovers in the northern desert, he will surely make a comeback!"

"If we let the tiger return to the mountain now, it will cause endless trouble in the future!"

We should press on with our remaining strength to pursue the fleeing enemy.
One should not seek fame like a tyrant.

If we can't kill Budugen with a slap this time, he might become a big problem next time.

For a time, Tian Feng and Zhang Liao each held their own opinion, and both of them made a lot of sense.

Tian Feng felt that this was enough, and it was time to turn back to dealing with the affairs of the Han region.

But Zhang Liao felt that this was a golden opportunity to eliminate the Xianbei threat. If they missed it today, they would have to pay a hundred times more to get it back later. Rather than that, it was better to take the risk now and nip it in the bud.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun, Yan Rou, and the others inside the tent were also somewhat at a loss for words.

Even Wei Zhe himself is currently caught in a dilemma.

After all, he couldn't guarantee how much Budugen would evolve after this lesson.

It's important to know that the three essential items for cavalry are no longer a secret; once these items are involved in battle, they cannot be hidden at all.

Budugen, and even the Xianbei of Hexi, will inevitably see some improvement.

It's just that the grasslands lacked iron; otherwise, it wouldn't be surprising if the Xianbei people had developed armored cavalry.

However, just as he was hesitating, a scout suddenly came in and delivered a battle report.

When Wei Zhe read the contents of the secret letter, he couldn't help but show a look of surprise and delight:
"Truly, Heaven is helping me!"

At this moment, Wei Zhe finally stopped hesitating and made a decision after a brief moment of contemplation.

"Pass on the order:"
Hua Xin, the governor of Yuyang Commandery, was transferred to be the governor of Yanmen Commandery.
Cui Yan, the prefect of Yanmen, was transferred to be the prefect of Taiyuan.

Hao Zhao was appointed Commandant of Agricultural Settlements; Linghu Mou was appointed Magistrate of Jinyang; Chang Lin was appointed Magistrate of Jiexiu.
Wang Wei, Han Wenbu, and Li Zizheng were appointed as staff officers; Guo Huai was appointed as the chief strategist of the staff...

After quickly arranging matters in Bingzhou, Wei Zhe looked at Tian Feng, Zhao Yun, and the others with a resolute expression and said:
"No need for further words, we will break camp tomorrow and march to the northern desert."

To be honest, Cui Yan really helped Wei Zhe a lot this time.

With the capture of Taiyuan Commandery, the situation for the Wei army in Bingzhou improved dramatically.

Apart from the Southern Xiongnu in Xihe Commandery, which still pose some trouble, there is only Yuan's army in Shangdang Commandery left.

Wei Zhe's overall military pressure has been greatly reduced, and his strategic space has also been greatly enhanced.

Currently, the southern front is guarded by a large army led by Taishi Ci and Zhong Hu, so it is not yet in a critical situation.

In contrast, the situation on the grasslands is more urgent.

At the same time, after reading the battle report from Taiyuan, Tian Feng had nothing more to say.

The current situation is so dire that a single move can have far-reaching consequences.

Now that the situation in Bingzhou has improved, the grasslands have indeed gained more room for maneuver.

After some discussion, Wei Zhe immediately left Bingzhou troops to garrison the surrounding tribes in Shoujiang Town.

As for Wei Zhe, he led the remaining soldiers of the imperial guards, as well as the Dingling and Wuhuan cavalry, on a light cavalry and simple procession northward.

Finally, Wei Zhe looked at Zhang Liao beside him and said seriously, "Wen Yuan, I'll leave you half of the cattle and sheep, and I'll take the rest with me. You must keep a close watch on the Xianbei people here and don't let the Wuhuan people take over."

Wei Zhe didn't want the Wuhuan people to resurface after all the hard work he had put into suppressing the Xianbei...

(End of this chapter)