The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 530 Volume Give the Western Regions a Little Shock to the Great Man
In the city.

The King of Shule, He Dezheng, held a banquet to appease the Left General of Wusun.

"The Han people are cunning, so you cannot be blamed for this defeat."

"But now as long as we stay in the city, the Han army will have no way to deal with us! All we have to do is eat meat and drink wine in the city!"

Wusun Zuo General felt a little better.

But he did not dare to underestimate Cao Cao——

"Can the walls of Zhenzhong City really hold off the Han army?"

"Of course there is no problem!"

Although He De is already gray-haired, being old often means having enough years to gain wisdom.

"Zhenzhong City is different from other cities in the Western Regions."

"Hundreds of years ago, the Han general Ershi was able to successfully attack Dayuan's capital Guishan City because the Han army cut off Guishan City's water source, which led to Dayuan's defeat."

"But Zhenzhong City is different from Guishan City. Not only is there Baishan Lake next to it where we can get water, but there are also enough underground rivers to get water from. We don't have to worry about the water source at all!"

"And I have already stockpiled a large amount of supplies in Zhenzhong City, enough to defend for half a year!"

"Although the Han army is powerful, they have come from afar. Will their emperor allow them to besiege the city for a year?"

At that time, Meng Da's father, Meng Ta, the governor of Liangzhou, had exhausted the supplies of Hexi and the Western Regions Protectorate in just over 40 days of siege.

Even if Cao Cao now has the support of the Emperor of Han, how long can he last?

After hearing what King Hede of Shule said, General Zuo of Wusun felt relieved: "If this is true, then the Western Regions have defeated the Han Dynasty once again!"

"When the Han Dynasty withdraws from the Western Regions, countries like Shanshan and Khotan will be left to our control!"

He De was also smiling particularly happily at this moment.

Hegemony in the Western Regions!
This is what he has always wanted!

Although Shule had gradually become stronger under his governance, it was ultimately difficult for him to suppress the Western Regions on his own.

Instead, countries such as Khotan and Kucha noticed Shule's ambition and chose to go to Chang'an to move the Han reinforcements.

If they could defeat the Han this time, the prestige of Shule would surely soar! And he, the king of Shule, would surely gain hegemony over the Western Regions!

"If I can unify the Western Regions, then let alone the Kushans and Parthias, even the Han in the east, what can they do to me?"

But this wish was hidden very deeply.

Except for the Western Regions Protectorate of the Han Dynasty, the countries in the Western Regions did not accept any form of unification.

Therefore, He De knew that his thoughts could not be known to others, and these people also included Wusun, his ally!
"The next step is to wait! When the Han army withdraws from the Western Regions, it will be the time for Shule to completely control the Western Regions!"

……

Cao Cao led his soldiers to explore Zhenzhong City.

Yu Jin first proposed——

"Mingsir, can you use the catapult to break open the city gate?"

Cao Cao shook his head and rejected the proposal.

"Although the Western Regions have catapults, their range is too short to hit Zhenzhong City at all."

"As for the Thunderbolt Chariot... although it is extremely powerful, it can only be made with beef tendons and logs from the Han treasury. Obviously, the Western Regions do not have such things that are only available in the Han area."

Yu Jin was also a little embarrassed when he heard this.

But Cao Cao and Guo Jia were not panicked at all.

The two looked at each other, and then entered into an encrypted conversation——

"Do you want to use it here?"

"I originally wanted to use it in Shule or other capitals of other countries... but this Zhenzhong City is easy to defend but difficult to attack, so why not use it here!"

"it is good!"

……

The words of the two confused the people around them.

Fa Zheng and Meng Da even asked, "What on earth is this? Why is it so mysterious?"

At this moment, Guo Jia recalled what he had seen and heard in Linzi, and immediately smiled mysteriously.

"You will know it after you use it!"

Seeing that Guo Jia was determined to keep the matter a secret, everyone didn't dare to ask any further questions.

When the soldiers from other Western Regions countries saw the easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack Zhenzhong City, they also began to consider retreating. It was obvious that they could not think of a way for the Han Dynasty to break through the city.

Cao Cao saw all this, but did not attack the city hastily. Instead, he set up a camp opposite Zhenzhong City, as if he was determined to fight to the death with the enemy.

"He is indeed a playboy who knows nothing about military affairs!"

The Han army's war of attrition in the Western Regions was simply the most stupid thing to do, no doubt about it!

The reason why General Li Guangli failed in his first expedition to Dayuan was because of this tactic. Now that Cao Cao followed Li Guangli's example, both the King of Shule and the Left General of Wusun in the city had no worries at all.

The two returned to the palace in the city, continued playing music and dancing.

The music of the pipa is melodious and the dancers are graceful.

The fruits are sweet and the barbecue is fragrant!
When he thought about the Han army outside who could only chew wrinkled dry rations, He De felt comfortable again.

The so-called strong man is nothing more than this!

And Cao Cao was still leisurely outside.

Although the fried noodles, maltose, and dried meat sent by the court did not taste very good, they were enough to satisfy the soldiers who had come here on the expedition.

Moreover, after the experience at Bailongdui, the Han soldiers all understood one thing - in the Western Regions, the most important thing is never food, but water!
And now, although Zhenzhong City cannot be broken into, isn’t there the vast Baishan Lake next to it?
Since there is water, what are you afraid of?
Moreover, the Han soldiers even exchanged their own things with the people of the Western Regions.

The most popular items among the people in the Western Regions were the maltose and iron pots sent by the imperial court.

Often, a few kilograms of malt sugar can be exchanged for the other party’s livestock!
Iron pans are in even greater demand.

Five iron pots together can be exchanged for a fat lamb.

Xu Shu recorded all of this.

At the same time, Xu Shu also increasingly understood the essence of trade.

"No wonder the emperor didn't allow the court to exchange grain for cattle and sheep on the grasslands."

"This iron pot and this piece of maltose are not sold at a high price in the Han Dynasty, but they can be exchanged for a livestock in the Western Regions. How much more valuable have they been?"

As the skills of the Han people gradually improve and the output gradually increases, they will surely be able to gain greater profits from trade!

What impressed Xu Shu the most was that even though the Han people used these cheap handicrafts to exchange for precious meat and jewels in the hands of the herdsmen, the people of the Western Regions had no complaints towards the Han people, but were extremely grateful to them.

Isn't this method better than forcing the other party to pay tribute?
No, I'm not extremely grateful...

After learning that the Han Dynasty could even sell precious iron pots, merchants from many countries in the Western Regions probably regarded the Han Dynasty as a sucker and were determined to get what was an iron pot to the Han Dynasty at all costs, but was a strategic weapon that served as a shield to the countries in the Western Regions!
For a time, there were many more cattle and sheep in the Han army camp.

If Xiahou Dun hadn't discovered that there were not enough iron pots for cooking, the scale of the cattle and sheep could have been expanded several times!
With beef and mutton to eat, the Han soldiers besieging the city were no longer in a hurry, their mentality was unusually peaceful, and their morale remained high.

When the defenders in Zhenzhong City saw this situation, they were even more certain that Cao Cao was really determined to fight them to the bitter end!
"what!"

When Wusun's left general saw Hede laughing, he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you laughing, Your Majesty?"

"I laugh at Cao Cao's lack of strategy!"

"Do you think you can fight with us by exchanging some cattle and sheep? How naive!"

"How much can the Han army eat in a day? How long can a few cattle and sheep feed them?"

"Just wait and see. When the cattle and sheep are eaten, the Han army outside the city will be terrified and will have no choice but to flee!"

King Hede of Shule was completely certain that Cao Cao was determined to fight him to the end!
This is exactly what he wants!
But just when He thought that Cao Cao would continue to confront like this, a mournful horn sounded suddenly from the Han army camp!
"Prepare to attack the city!"

This move left Ma Chao, Fa Zheng, Meng Da and others puzzled.

Meng Da was the most emotional.

"How can you attack the city at this time without any preparations or even siege weapons?"

"If we fail to capture the city after a long siege, and lose soldiers in vain, and finally have no choice but to withdraw, then that's it, that's it..."

Isn't that the same as my father back then?
The reason why Meng Da came to the Western Regions was to capture Zhenzhong City and wash away the shame that his father Meng Ta had suffered in the past.

Now seeing Cao Cao so hasty, he was naturally very angry and rushed forward to question Cao Cao.

Only Xu Shu quietly came to Guo Jia's side and said, "Feng Xiao, now you can finally tell me what you and General Zhengxi are planning, right?"

"Don't tell me you didn't! I saw it these past few days. Cao Ren led his troops out of the camp late at night. I don't know what he was doing. You can't tell me that they went out privately, right?"

"And if I don't tell you now, and your trick comes out later, it will cause chaos in our army, which will be more trouble than gain!"

Guo Jia chuckled, thinking that now that everything was arranged properly, there was really no need to hide anything.

"General Cao Ren has been out these days transporting something called gunpowder across the river and hiding it under the walls of Zhenzhong City."

"This thing is extremely powerful. Back in Liaodong, Sima Zhongda used it to break through the three-layer wall of Xiangping City built by Gongsun Du!"

"It's just that this thing can't touch water, so I can only transport it a little at a time, so it's been delayed until today."

Guo Jia glanced at the rather majestic Zhenzhong City opposite and shook his head in disdain.

"After today, I'm afraid this Zhenzhong City will be gone!"

Xu Shu was a little bit unbelievable.

Is gunpowder really that powerful? It can actually break through the city wall?
However, when I thought that this thing had already been used once in Liaodong, its power must not be too bad, I decided to trust Guo Jia this time.

So Xu Shu stopped Meng Da and told him not to act impulsively for the time being and to wait patiently for the actions of Cao Cao and others.

At this moment, Cao Cao was holding the sword of the Heavenly Sword, looking arrogant.

"It's time to teach these uncivilized barbarians what a great man is!"

I have been in the Western Regions for so long, and the reason why I have been holding back is to make a splash at this moment!
Cao Cao wanted to let the countries in the Western Regions know that the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions had never been equals!
(End of this chapter)