The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 528 Volume Friends or Enemies?
The fact that Cao Cao lost his position as the pillar of the country was indeed a thorn in Ma Chao's heart.

When he heard Cao Cao bringing up the old matter as soon as they met today, Ma Chao was furious!

"Is what I said wrong?"

Cao Cao found his anger at Ma Chao ridiculous.

"Wouldn't it be beneficial for you to strip your title of pillar of the state?"

"Among the pillars of the Han Dynasty at the beginning, Niu Fu, Lu Bu, Li Jue, Xu Rong... Which of them was not a world-renowned general? At that time, the imperial court had just pacified Liangzhou, and in order to win over the army, they gave you, Ma Chao, the position of pillar of the country!"

"But ask yourself, how can you compare to those Xiliang warriors?"

"Among the people who were later conferred the title of Pillar State, there were figures like Zhang Wenyuan and Guan Yu. How can you compare to them?"

"If you continue to hold the title of the pillar of the country, it will be a disaster for you, Ma Mengqi, sooner or later!"

As one of the original six pillars of the country, Ma Chao's appointment as a pillar of the country was entirely a compromise made by the court out of consideration for political needs and the desire to win over Ma Teng and govern Liang Province.

Moreover, the position of Zhuguo was newly established at that time, so its value remains to be verified.

But who are the pillars of the Han Dynasty now?

Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Xu Huang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun...

Among these people, which one of them is not a capable and capable general?

Ma Chao, who got the title of Pillar of the State by "using connections", will sooner or later be regarded as a laughing stock by everyone!

That's why Cao Cao said that Ma Chao should thank him for indirectly helping him to strip away the title of Pillar of the State!

Otherwise, although Ma Chao would be able to keep the title of Pillar of the State for his whole life, he would also be criticized by others for his whole life, saying that he did not deserve the title!
The corners of Ma Chao's mouth trembled.

What Cao Cao said was the same as what the emperor said in the past.

At that time, when Ma Chao was eager to gain merit in the Battle of Yingshui, he suffered a great defeat, and the emperor also said similar words.

Putting Ma Chao, who was blessed by his father, in the position of pillar of the country is in itself a case of forcing things to happen.

Especially with the outstanding performances of new pillars such as Zhang Liao and Guan Yu, Ma Chao's pressure increased until he was crushed.

It was also because of this that the emperor did not punish Ma Chao severely, but instead blamed himself for his mistakes.

Now that Cao Cao brought up the old story again, it obviously reminded Ma Chao of the emperor's past teachings...

Ma Chao, who was about to get furious, gradually calmed down.

Such a change surprised both Cao Cao and Guo Jia.

It seems that Xu Shu was right.

When a man has been away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes!
It is truly rare that someone like Ma Chao has learned to control his temper.

Once Ma Chao can control his temper, people like him will probably be able to go further.

"Cao Mengde, let me ask you, has Pang De Pang Lingming been named a pillar of the state now?"

"Pang De crossed Tongbai Mountain, captured Jiangxia, and cut off the retreat of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. He was awarded the title of Pillar of the State for this achievement!"

When Ma Chao heard that Pang De was actually named Pillar of the State, he was excited but also a little disappointed.

And Cao Cao saw all of this.

"Ma Chao, you go and get ten blows from the military stick!"

Ma Chao's eyes widened immediately: "What did you say?"

It would be fine if I didn't give Cao Cao a warning, but why did Cao Cao give me a warning instead?

"You were disrespectful to your superior just now. Is this what a soldier should do?"

Meng Da rushed to defend Cao Cao: "We are not your subordinates, how can you punish Meng Qi!"

The protected Ma Chao seemed to realize something and became excited.

"Ma Chao, don't you have a voice? Do you need others to speak for you?"

"..."

"Okay! I'll take ten blows from the military stick myself!"

Contrary to everyone's expectations.

Ma Chao actually surrendered to Cao Cao!
Meng Da hurried to persuade Ma Chao, but Ma Chao shook his arm off and walked into the team, obviously determined to receive ten blows with the military stick.

"Meng Qi..."

"Zijing!"

It was Fa Zheng who held Meng Da back, and then he looked at Cao Cao with some fear.

"Zijing, don't you understand yet?"

"Cao Cao is now the General of the Western Expedition appointed by His Majesty himself, and is in charge of all wars in the Western Regions!"

"Just now Cao Cao took the initiative to mention the matter of the pillar of the country, obviously he wanted to tell Meng Qi——"

"If you want to regain your position as a pillar of the country in the future, you must obey him!"

Meng Da felt sorry for Ma Chao: "Can't we do anything good ourselves?"

Fa Zheng shook his head: "What Cao Mengde said just now is very correct. He was sent by the emperor to fight against the Han thieves, not to handle government affairs."

"In the military, military discipline is above all else!"

"Zi Jing is also a man who is familiar with military books, he must know this."

It is necessary to distinguish the primary and secondary between Cao Cao and Ma Chao.

Originally, Fa Zheng wanted to use Ma Chao as the leader to seize Cao Cao's military power.

Unexpectedly, it was Cao Cao who determined the priority between the two in just a few words and became the dominant one.

"The emperor placed Cao Mengde, who is so ambitious and powerful, in the Western Regions. Isn't he really afraid of backlash?"

At this moment, Fa Zheng also couldn't understand why the emperor would send Cao Cao to the Western Regions.

But at the same time, Fa Zheng was also somewhat relieved.

Cao Cao's tyranny has just been clearly demonstrated.

In the Western Regions, where the Han people were weak, hegemony was the most important thing. Even in countries like Khotan and Shanshan that were friendly to the Han people, if they could not protect themselves, they would be devoured in an instant without leaving any residue!
Although Cao Cao is a bit domineering now, in the Western Regions, being more domineering actually has more advantages than disadvantages!
And Cao Cao’s subsequent actions made Fa Zheng even more dazzled.

After meeting Yuchi Hangong, who had now succeeded to the throne as the King of Khotan, Cao Cao was not polite at all and immediately asked him for the list of followers who had followed Yuchi Jiumo in rebellion.

And then Cao Cao fulfilled his promise -

kill!

Men, kill them all!
The woman was given as a reward to the Han army soldiers.

The old and the young were all hung at the city gate, letting the scorching sun slowly dry them out!

Shocking!

Now everyone in the entire Western Regions knows that the general sent by the Han Dynasty to conquer the West is definitely not a good person!
And it is impossible that Cao Cao was just trying to intimidate others.

After killing these followers, Cao Cao did not take a penny of their property, but gave it all to Yuchi Han Gong, allowing him to distribute it as he pleased.

In this way, although the people of Khotan were massacred on a large scale, the high-ranking officials of Khotan were not dissatisfied with it... Especially the supporters of the King of Khotan, they made a lot of money and were very friendly to Cao Cao!
After pacifying the internal affairs of Khotan, Cao Cao immediately began to plan an attack on Shule.

Such a speed made Xu Shu a little scared, and he couldn't help but ask Cao Cao: "General Zhengxi, is it too anxious to do so?"

"I have said before that I came here to fight against the Han thieves on the orders of the emperor, not to make friends with the Western countries."

When Cao Cao saw Xu Shu, he suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Yuanzhi, you've come at the right time. I want to ask you to do me a favor."

"General Zhengxi, please speak."

"Send a letter to the countries in the Western Regions!"

Cao Cao stared at the map of the Western Regions and waved his hand -

"I will attack Shule in a month! I want them to send troops to help us!"

"If they don't come... wait until I destroy Shule, then I will immediately send troops to attack them!"

Cao Cao did not specify the number of soldiers.

In other words, even if only one soldier was sent, it would count in Cao Cao's eyes.

In fact, Cao Cao, who now has a powerful army and the support of the Kingdom of Khotan behind the scenes, also looks down on the two misfits in the Western Regions.

What Cao Cao wants is the other party’s attitude!

Especially, the attitudes of those neutral countries!

From today on, there are only two kinds of people in the Western Regions:

One type is the big man’s friend.

One type is the enemy of the Han Dynasty!

The enemies of the Han Dynasty are naturally the Han traitors, and we need to send troops to conquer them!
"hiss……"

After hearing this, Xu Shu felt that Cao Cao was simply insane!

However, Xu Shu was not an ordinary person after all. He also thought that since Guo Jia agreed with Cao Cao's actions, he must have his own intentions!

"General Zhengxi, you want to cut the Gordian knot!"

Xu Shu had lived in the Western Regions for some time, and just as he and Guo Jia said - in the Western Regions, the traces of the Han Dynasty had become increasingly weak.

The circulation of Saka and Tocharian is a good proof of this point.

History has also proved that even if the Han Dynasty established agricultural land and built schools here, it could not turn the Western Regions into a traditional Han area like Jiaozhou and Shu.

So, we need to be simple and rough!
Who are friends!

Who is the enemy!

Stand still automatically!

If you are a friend, just follow the big man obediently and drink some soup while he is eating meat.

It's the enemy...

Xu Shu suddenly thought of something that the Tianhan Army soldiers were discussing -

The emperor really began to confer titles on the princes and establish states!
Although Xu Shu had not been in the court for a long time, he also knew the thoughts of those arrogant and powerful generals.

Expand territory!

Keep expanding the territory!
Although the current population of the Han Dynasty is not as prosperous as during the Yongyuan period, it is definitely enough to fill the surrounding land!
What the Han Dynasty needs now is land, not population!

Cao Cao and the generals and ministers in the Han Dynasty's court probably wish that all the countries in the Western Regions would rebel!

Compared to other uninhabited places, aren’t the lands of these Western Regions attractive?

After thinking it through, Xu Shu stopped trying to dissuade him.

Xu Shu just felt a little scared.

Before, he was puzzled as to why the Han Dynasty, with so many famous generals and pillars of the country, chose to send Cao Cao to the Western Regions.

But now, Xu Shu could barely get a glimpse of the emperor's thoughts.

What the emperor wanted Cao Cao to do was not just to destroy the country.

What the emperor wants Cao Cao to do is to kill people!
……

Cao Cao's order quickly spread throughout the Western Regions.

Needless to say, the four pro-Han countries of Shanshan, Khotan, Shache and Qiuci all sent troops to merge with Cao Cao.

Because of the weak national strength of Shache, it only sent two hundred soldiers to help in the battle, so its commander was a little frightened.

But Cao Cao did not blame them. Instead, he rewarded them with wine, meat and gold. The rewards alone were much more than the value of the two hundred soldiers.

However, the three neutral factions of Yanqi, Cheshi and Dayuan were somewhat hesitant.

Lan Bai, the King of Dayuan, even complained: "This new Han general Cao Cao is too overbearing!"

"He can use us like an arm, does he really think that Dayuan is a vassal state of his Han Dynasty?"

　Happy Singles' Day everyone~~~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)