The night is low, and the Qiang flute is mute.

Cao Cao sat in front of Cao Chun's washed body, looking at Cao Chun's young and pale face, his nose felt sore, and he couldn't help but feel sad. Two lines of blood-colored tears slid down the corners of his eyes and dripped on the front. "Zihe, Zihe, why is it you who died? It's me who deserves to die."

Fa Zheng came over and happened to hear Cao Cao's confession and had a fever on his face. As a strategist, he had an unshirkable responsibility for this battle. If he had not underestimated the enemy, encouraged Cao Cao and rejected Cao Chun's suggestion, such a result would have never been achieved.

"General, I..."

Cao Cao shook his head gently, raised his hand, wiped away tears with the corner of his sleeve, and said in a hoarse voice: "Xiaozhi, this is not your fault, you don't need to blame yourself."

Fa Zheng's eyes turned red, his head lowered, and he was choked.

Cao Cao signaled Fa Zheng to sit down, sniffed and said, "Your plan is for you, and I used it, and Zihe also advised me. I didn't listen. How can you blame you? Besides, your plan is correct, I just don't understand your opponent, and I should have known it. Since I broke Miaocai six years ago, I have been paying attention to him. I have studied every battle of him carefully. I should have seen that his real strength is not surprising, but righteous. It's just..." Cao Cao sighed and wiped away his tears. "It was because I didn't understand deeply, and I sacrificed Zihe for vain. Alas, Zaizihe! Alas, Zaizihe!" After that, shed tears again.

Fa Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then he understood who Cao Cao was talking about. Ma Teng in front of him was not what Cao Cao cared about at all, Sun Ce, who was far away in Jiangdong. If he thought about it carefully, if Ma Teng had no armored cavalry and no elite cavalry equipped with Nanyang weapons, he would not have been able to break through Cao Chun's blockade so easily and severely damage Cao Chun.

There is nothing wrong with the tactics, but the mistake is that the gap between the two sides is too big, which is enough to change the outcome. He and Cao Cao's views on this are consistent.

Cao Cao wiped the corners of his eyes again, and a cold light appeared in his swollen eyes. "Xiaozhi, until now, we must fight against the enemy. If we don't defeat Ma Teng, we will not be able to return to Yizhou."

Fa Zheng didn't say anything. He thought so too. But this setback came too suddenly and too serious. Cao Cao was in sadness and he dared not make any suggestions easily. He was not with Cao Cao's Xi Zhicai for several years. He had been truly Cao Cao's confidant for less than a year. It was better to say that they were of the same nature than Cao Cao trusted him. He knew that many people were not convinced, and even doubted Cao Cao's ability to employ people. If he just went back like this, Cao Cao would have no face and he would have no face to see others.

Seeing that Fa Zheng did not speak, Cao Cao raised his voice. "Xiaozhi?"

"General, I agree with your opinion." Fa Zheng hurriedly bowed: "Ma Tengchu will win the battle, and the Qiang people will be very angry. If our army surrounds and argues, they may come to reinforce, or they may defeat them in one fell swoop and avenge Sima."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, slightly shook his head and accepted Fazheng's suggestion.

The next day, Cao Cao summoned the generals and announced that he would be besieging Xiabian City, killing Ma Teng, and avenging Cao Chun. He slaughtered cattle and sheep, rewarded the soldiers, and boosted morale. Then he personally led his troops to Xiabian City, deployed the siege matters, sent people to log wood and use materials, build siege equipment, and spread news everywhere, claiming that Ma Teng must be killed.

When Yang Teng learned that Ma Teng defeated Cao Cao and killed Cao Cao's general, Yang Teng and others were inexplicably excited and felt very relieved, so they were worried about Ma Teng. Needless to say, they led their troops to defend themselves and helped Ma Teng, hoping to hurt Cao Cao again and avenge the extermination of the clan.

During the ten days, Xiabian City was crowded with people. Seeing this scene, Ma Teng was mixed with joy and sorrow. He was happy that the Qiang people supported him and supported him, but worried that so many people gathered in Xiabian could not increase their combat effectiveness, but instead increased many hidden dangers. The first thing to be affected was food. Wudu County had a limited population and insufficient taxes, so it could not afford too many people. The city was the city. Xiabian City was not big and could not accommodate so many people. Those who came first could enter the city, and those who later could only camp outside the city.

This is very dangerous. Although these Qiang people are brave, they are not well trained and there is no military discipline. They are just a group of mobs. When they fight head-on, they are definitely not opponents of Cao Cao. Although they defeated Cao Cao in the first battle, Ma Teng also saw the tranquility of Cao Cao's subordinates and did not dare to underestimate Cao Cao at all.

However, how to persuade these Qiang people to leave is a difficult problem, and Ma Teng is very confused.

Just as Ma Teng hesitated and the number of Qiang people was increasing, Cao Cao also adjusted his morale and launched an attack. He personally came to the battle formation to command, divide and siege, and constantly eroded the Qiang people's positions. After suffering, Cao Cao, Fa Zheng and other generals all attracted lessons and took steps forward without giving Qiang people any chance. Whenever a breakthrough was made, Cao Cao would slaughter cattle and sheep, reward soldiers, and distribute spoils in time to stimulate morale. He cut off the heads of the Qiang people who died in battle, piled them under the city, build a Jingguan, and hit the morale in the city.

Under Cao Cao's command, the generals fought for the first place, fought for successive battles and won consecutive victories. Over several days, more than 10,000 were beheaded, and even Yang Teng was killed in the last battle.

Seeing this scene, Ma Teng could not sit idly by and had to lead his troops to attack again. However, Cao Cao was prepared for a long time. He set up a position at the city gate to prevent Ma Teng's cavalry from leaving the city. The two sides fought repeatedly in the city gate. Relying on the position and strong bows and crossbows, Cao Cao blocked Ma Teng in the city. He had thousands of elite cavalry but had no use of the place.

In desperation, Ma Teng had to make peace with Cao Cao and agreed to Cao Cao leave Wudu.

Cao Cao was actually at the end of his strength and could not be sustained. These Qiang people were too poor, except for some cattle, sheep, food, and there was nothing else. The spoils could only barely maintain the consumption of food, but could not replenish the weapons, medicine, and the injured soldiers were not treated in time, and the casualties continued to accumulate, gradually reaching an unsupported level.

Cao Cao decided to stop when he saw the good news and waited for the autumn harvest before taking revenge.

The two sides dismissed the troops, but the confrontation did not end. They wrote to the court at the same time, accusing the other party. Ma Teng accused Cao Cao of killing innocent people indiscriminately and accusing good people of being thieves, causing uneasiness in Liangzhou. Cao Cao accused Ma Teng of colluding with the Qiang people to commit rebellion and making ill-intentioned plans, and specially presented a gift list for Ma Teng to accept bribes from Song Jian. As for whether it is true or not, only he himself knows.

In July, Moling is full of joy.

The imperial edict from the court arrived in Moling, and named Sun Ce the King of Wu, and conquered Sun Ce into the court to rule.

It is impossible to enter the court to rule. Even if you are a king, you have to be humble. After all, a king is not a marquis, let alone a king with a different surname. You have to refuse a few times before you accept it, so as not to make people feel impatient and inappropriate. Sun Ce cannot avoid being vulgar. He asked Yu Fan to hold his pen and wrote a memorial with earnest words, asking to resign from the king's title, and claiming that he is weak in virtue and can't dare to join the court to rule. Then he praised Xun Yu, Liu Ba and others, believing that they are better than themselves and can fully assist the Holy Emperor in reviving the Han Dynasty.

The memorial was sent to Chang'an again with a fast horse, but the relevant preparations had already been carried out. The title of king is a major event, and the ceremony is essential, even if it is simpler. The king's capital must be established. Although the court meant that Wu County was the capital, Sun Ce did not intend to do so. He still felt that Moling was relatively more suitable. Even if it is not suitable for large-scale construction now, it is still necessary to build a few palaces. As for Moling, it actually belongs to Danyang and is not in Wu County, he automatically ignored it.

These are all small things, the most important thing is the reward for civil and military affairs.

After being granted the king and established a country, he not only had the qualifications to establish ancestral temples, but also had the power to establish hundreds of officials. This made a big trouble that must be solved. Nominally, the King of Wu could only rule Wu County and could not exceed this scope. He could fully handle affairs within Wu County, and affairs outside Wu County were also handled in the name of the court. In this way, civil and military officials would be divided into Han officials and Wu officials.

Although these are all false, they cannot be neglected. The importance of status is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Who can become the first Wu officials and who will continue to serve as Han officials, has a great influence. In order to draw up a list that everyone is satisfied with, Sun Ce didn't know how many brain cells died. The matter was too complicated, so he had to invite Zhang Hong to Moling and preside over the matter with Yu Fan.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he discussed with Yuan Quan to choose a good day and marry Yuan Heng. The court had already agreed to the throne, and all that was left was to go through the process. It would definitely end before the New Year. Yuan Heng, the wife of Yuan Heng, should appear, otherwise the position of queen would be empty, and there would inevitably be some people worry about it. During the ceremony of the king's title, many civil and military officials would come to see the ceremony. This opportunity was very rare, and the wedding was held together.

Yuan Quan couldn't ask for it and went to arrange it happily.

Yang Biao and his wife rushed to Moling and met with Sun Ce. In addition to Yuan Heng's wedding, they also had to discuss with Sun Ce about Yang Xiu's entry into the court. Sun Ce himself could not enter the court, and he could not flatly reject the imperial edicts of the court, which violated the public opinion of the world, and recommended Yang Xiu to enter the court became the best choice. How to ensure Yang Xiu's safety has many details to be discussed.

In addition, there is another thing: Sun Ce has made peace with the court for a while, and Sun Rui, a scholar who was under house arrest in Dalei Mountain, should be released back. Especially Huangfu Jianshou, who is the eldest son of Huangfu Song. Huangfu Song's health has been getting worse every year in the past two years, and it is estimated that there is not much time. Huangfu Jianshou should go back to fulfill his filial piety. He has no grudges with Sun Ce, and it is not appropriate to keep under house arrest here, which is contrary to human ethics.

Sun Ce agreed. The remains of Yuan Wei and others have been sent back to the Yuan family's ancestral house for burial in Ruyang, and this matter can be ended. After all, this is still the family affairs of the Yuan family. Whether it is Wang Yun or Shi Sun Rui, they all acted under the order of Yuan Shao. The main culprit Yuan Shao and Wang Yun were all dead, and Sun Ce could not have dug them out of the grave and whipped the body. It would be meaningless to keep Shi Sun Rui, an accomplice.

In mid-August, the generals rushed to Moling one after another, and even Sun Jian rushed back from Jiaozhou to witness the ceremony of Sun Ce's title of kingship. This was an important moment for the Sun Family in Fuchun, and he could not stay out of the matter. For the Wu Kingdom, Sun Ce was respected. For the Sun Family, he was still the head of the family. According to etiquette, Sun Ce negotiated with Sun Jian and said that he could give the title of king to Sun Jian and be the crown prince himself. Sun Jian refused to accept this honor and refused firmly.

Naturally, it is inevitable that the ministers will give advice. Even though few people are really willing to let Sun Jian be king, there is no way to lose any procedure, otherwise it will inevitably leave stains on the history books. After a polite performance, Sun Jian said that he could accept the title of Supreme King, and rejected the official position of Wu State, and continued to be a Han minister for his whole life.

In mid-August, Sun Ce married Yuan Heng. (Reading on the mobile version of the Three Kingdoms Little Overlords)
Chapter completed!