The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 690 The Poor Man

Youzhou, the Great Wall of Yan.

"My life is miserable!!"

Cheng Ji stood at the edge of the Great Wall, looking at the huge number of prisoners and convoys, and wanted to slap himself twice.

How come it's hitting so fast?
Wen Yang stood beside him with a smile, "Cheng Jun, this is not your fault. It's still the Tuoba tribe that should be blamed. They lost too quickly!"

"Before the battle, they boasted of having 200,000 soldiers, claiming to be more powerful than Wu. They also claimed to be invincible in the wild and their cavalry was swift. But what happened? They collapsed at the first blow. I barely fought a few battles before their king was captured alive!"

After hearing Wen Yang's words, Cheng Ji felt even more aggrieved.

In order to get this opportunity, he resigned from the emperor in person and came here from afar.

So you said the war is over?

Then I came here in vain?

Then what will I do in the future?
Can you go back and be my captain?

At this moment, Cheng Ji felt that his future was bleak and his eyes were full of despair.

Wen Yang looked at him, smiled, and patted his shoulder. "Alright, Mr. Cheng, don't be like this. Don't worry, your trip wasn't in vain. The war isn't over yet!"

"what?"

Cheng Ji suddenly looked at Wen Yang, "Didn't they capture the leader as well?"

Wen Yang explained, "They collapsed on their own, and all the tribes fled. We all joined together to capture over 400,000 of them, and are now transporting them here."

"But their main force, the most elite group, has already fled with their tribe. These are the elite of the Tuoba. They have over 40,000 cavalrymen and their tribe must have 200,000 men. They are now in Goguryeo."

"The one leading them is Tuoba Liwei's son, Tuoba Chuo."

"They are fighting a great battle with Goguryeo!"

After hearing Wen Yang's words, Cheng Ji immediately knew that he still had hope.

He hurriedly grabbed Wen Yang's hand and asked, "Should we still send troops to attack them?"

"We must launch a crusade, but not now. Da Sima said we should let them decide the winner first, and then he will be responsible for dealing with the winner."

When Cheng Ji heard this, he immediately threw his head back and laughed.

"I knew my trip wasn't in vain!"

Wen Yang continued, "These two are miserable. Losing is tragic, and winning is even more tragic. There's no result. If I were them, I would just surrender!"

"The Grand Marshal even asked us to watch how they fought, saying we were going to learn their tactics!"

"What can we learn from their tactics? They just fought randomly. The Goguryeo king personally led the army, saying he would lead the troops himself, but when he fought Tuoba Chuo, he got so scared that he ran away."

"His escape completely destroyed the morale of the entire Goguryeo army."

"Don't you think this idiot looks like Sun Hao? I don't think he's as good as Sun Hao. Sun Hao knew to stay behind, but this guy went straight to the front of the battlefield and even ran."

Wen Yang's eyes were full of contempt.

Cheng Ji asked, "So Tuoba won?"

"Not really. Goguryeo also has capable people. After their defeat, Tuoba Chuo advanced at full speed, intending to emulate the Grand Marshal and capture the Goguryeo king directly. However, he was ambushed by the enemy general on the way, and the front army suffered heavy losses. Anyway, the two groups are of similar level, and who knows how long the battle will last."

"Well, Da Sima asked me to be responsible for transporting these prisoners."

The two met here. Cheng Ji was about to go out of the Great Wall, while Wen Yang had just returned.

Cheng Ji asked Wen Yang a lot of information about the situation there, and then he mounted his horse and rushed towards the location of the Grand Marshal.

The Wei Dynasty gained a lot from destroying Tuoba this time, and the biggest gain was the population.

The Xianbei people were moving from being completely nomadic to being semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural. They knew how to farm, although their farming skills were not very good.

The population of Youzhou is really too small. Even if the population concealed by those big clans is included, it is still far from enough.

But with these manpower, the situation is completely different.

Only when the human resources are improved can the development here take off.

When Cheng Ji arrived in Shengle City, Guanqiu Jian was discussing matters concerning Goguryeo and Tuoba Chuo with the generals.

Upon learning that Cheng Ji had arrived, Guanqiu Jian also took time to meet him.

After all, Cheng Ji came from the emperor's side, so Guanqiu Jian gave him the position of a miscellaneous general and let him command a group of people under his command.

Cheng Ji was quite satisfied with the result.

Perhaps in his opinion, he had been upgraded from a captain to a general!

"Grand Marshal, judging by the current situation, Goguryeo is about to collapse, and the Tuoba tribe is so ferocious, they are probably going to swallow up Goguryeo's territory."

Zhang Te analyzed the recent situation.

Although Goguryeo was not too weak, it was still no match for the Tuoba tribe. Facing Tuoba Chuo's attacks in batches, it had now thrown away its weapons and had begun to defend with all its might.

This really turned into driving the tiger to eat the wolf.

Guanqiu Jian took advantage of this opportunity to settle the captives, reward the army, and prepare to attack them.

"We can't rush to send troops. If we do, they'll likely put aside their prejudices and join us in fighting. They know who poses the greater threat." "Let's wait and see. I'm afraid the outcome of their war won't be decided in a short time. Once that's decided, it won't be too late to attack. Goguryeo isn't like the Xianbei. They have their own king and their own system. Even if they're captured by the Xianbei, they won't just turn around and become their own."

"Tuoba Chuo still treats Goguryeo with the Xianbei mindset. Sooner or later, he will suffer a great loss."

Guanqiu Jian now understood Tuoba Chuo's thoughts very well.

Because of the alliance system of the Xianbei tribe, every conflict would greatly enhance their strength. As long as you win, the other side's people are yours, with no barriers or anything else. You can gain weight by eating them without the need for digestion.

Therefore, he was eager to swallow up Goguryeo, thinking that he could join forces with Goguryeo to make himself fatter and then withstand his fierce attack.

However, from an institutional perspective alone, Goguryeo, which had already formed a centralized kingdom, was more advanced than the alliance-based Tuoba tribe.

They have formed a certain sense of identity, which may not be as strong as that of the Wei Dynasty, but they have a certain understanding in terms of geography or culture.

Even if they were swallowed by the Xianbei people, they would not be digested so quickly. If Tuoba Chuo dared to use these people to deal with him, he would just have to wait to be stabbed in the back by them.

Historically, the Xianbei tribal system was resolved by Tuoba Yilu, who formally established the Dai Kingdom, completely ended the alliance system, and began to manage the country under a centralized system by himself.

Now, it’s still early!
This is also the reason why Cao Mao dared to pass on his experience to the other party. Under such a system, the Xianbei people had no sense of identity with each other. Whoever captured them belonged to them. This was actually a good thing for the Wei Dynasty.

If it is a country like Goguryeo, it would be difficult to deal with it, and it would be difficult to educate it if it was captured.

Zhang Te also said at this moment: "In this case, let's wait for them to decide the winner before we attack. It seems that we will have to stay in Youzhou for a while."

"Your Majesty, please send a few ministers who are knowledgeable in education. Otherwise, it will be difficult to properly arrange for these Xianbei people."

At this moment, Cao Mao was meeting with several very important people in the Taiji Hall.

After Wang Ji took Jiaozhou in the south, he recommended several generals of Jiaozhou to Cao Mao.

Cao Mao attached great importance to this matter and issued an imperial edict, requiring several people from Jiaozhou to come and pay him a visit.

This included Huo Yi, who had never met Cao Mao since his surrender.

There were also three other Wu generals: Tao Huang, Xue Wei, and Zhongli Mu.

When these four generals arrived in Luoyang at the same time, they received a very grand reception.

Cao Mao held a separate banquet for them.

It was set up in the East Hall, with Cao Mao sitting at the top seat and four people sitting on both sides of him.

"Hahaha, with such a brave general, why should I worry about not accomplishing great things?"

Cao Mao looked at them, his eyes full of joy.

These four people were encountering the emperor who treated them like this for the first time. When Huo Yi was in Chengdu, he was not so loved by Liu Chan. After all, his name was not in the "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital".

As for the other three, they are usually considered marginal generals.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up going to Jiaozhou.

He had already gone to the front line to fight against the Wei army.

Cao Mao looked at Huo Yi and said, "General Huo, I've often heard others speak of your extraordinary prowess. Now I finally have the opportunity to meet you."

"You have performed a great deed this time. I wish to bestow upon you the title of Marquis of Ting as a reward."

"I will leave the responsibility of Nanzhong's major affairs to you. If you encounter any problems there, you can deal with them first and then report to me."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

He looked at Zhongli Mu again.

"Lord Zhongli, I am still short of a lieutenant commander of the Sili Army. Would you be willing to take on the position?"

"what??"

Zhongli Mu quickly stood up and asked, "How can I be so virtuous as this minister?"

"You are honest, you love the people like your own children, and you are upright. I admire you very much. Please do not refuse."

Zhongli Mu was stunned. He was only a prefect in Wu State. How could he become the Inspector of the Imperial Guard after surrendering?

He bowed to the emperor tremblingly to express his gratitude.

Cao Mao looked at Tao Huang again.

"Mr. Tao, the Governor of Jiaozhou is still in need of a capable person to assist him. Would you be willing to take on the role?"

"I obey the decree!!"

"As for Mr. Xue, my Secretariat is currently short of a Shangshu Lang."

Xue Wei hurriedly stood up and thanked him.

Cao Mao was very satisfied with these four people, especially Huo Yi and Zhongli Mu.

Of course, he asked these people to come not only to grant them official titles, but also to inquire about the situation in Jiaozhou.

Especially the situation in South Vietnam.

He didn't know whether the area was still under the jurisdiction of Jiaozhou. If not, whether there were any hostile forces.

Wang Ji’s troops are deployed there, so don’t waste them. If there are really hostile forces, they should be eliminated as soon as possible to achieve unification!
(End of this chapter)