"Shh..." Cao Ca hurriedly stretched out a finger and put it to his lips. At the same time, he looked around and saw that the Qiang people were watching the battle between Xu Chu and Ma Chao with great interest, and then he let out a sigh of relief, "
Your Majesty, please do not speak loudly, otherwise my life will be in danger if His Highness the Crown Prince finds out."
Na Liang said: "What are you afraid of? I respect Ma Chao as a man. If he dares to stab me behind my back, I will let his blood splatter on the spot."
Cao Cao said: "So what if Ma Chao is killed by the king? If Ma Teng knew that Ma Chao was killed by the king, how could he be willing to let it go? What's more, other Qiang tribes are not willing to obey the king's orders, right? What if the king because of this?
Killing Ma Chao for a single thought will not only bring no benefits, but will also bring disaster to Shaodang Qiang. Xianling Qiang has been hoping that Shaodang Qiang will be finished. Your Majesty will not be so stupid, right?
"
Na Liang thought for a while and asked: "Then what do you think we should do? Just let Ma Chao kill me?"
"Your Majesty, as long as you are willing to listen to my opinion, I can make Shaodang Qiang gain the trust of Ma Chao as always. When the time is right, we will work together internally and externally to advance directly into Chang'an. By then, Your Majesty will kill Ma Chao.
Then it’s up to you to chop it up.”
Na Liang asked: "Is everything you said true? Can you really attack Chang'an?"
Cao Cao nodded and said: "It's just a matter of time. It can be as fast as one year or as short as two years. We will definitely be able to capture Chang'an and kill all the Ma family. When the time comes, I will deem the king as the lord of the world, and he will be the master of the world."
If you can be the emperor, why can’t you be the king?”
Na Liang was moved by Cao Cao's words. Emperor, this is something the Qiang people have never dared to imagine. He nodded heavily and said to Cao Cao: "Are you so kind as to let me be the emperor?"
"The wind and sand in the northwest are strong and the climate is dry, which is not suitable for me to live in. I am the conquered king of Wei. If I can help you become the emperor, you will use all your strength to help me restore the country. I only have this request. If the king does not agree,
, let’s just pretend that we didn’t talk about anything today, and we’ll each go our separate ways from now on.”
Na Liang saw that Cao Cao really wanted something, so he smiled and said: "Okay, you are very straightforward. I am determined to be your friend."
"No... they are brothers! I am willing to make a blood alliance with the king and become brothers with different surnames. I will never betray you in this life."
Na Liang saw that Cao Cao was very generous and immediately said: "Okay, we will become brothers with different surnames, and we will share blessings and misfortunes from now on."
So, the two people walked to a secluded place and made a hasty sworn vows. After they were done, the two people returned to the bonfire one after another. Xu Chu and Ma Chao were still fighting fiercely, and the onlookers began to cheer happily.
Got up.
Seeing that the matter was settled, Cao Cao hurriedly called out: "Stop it as soon as you point it out, stop it as soon as you point it out, your highness, Zhong Kang, please stop, and don't hurt each other."
After Xu Chu heard this, he immediately stopped and jumped out of the battle circle.
Ma Chao was already out of breath from exhaustion. Seeing Cao Cao give him a step down, he glanced at Xu Chu, who was also out of breath, and said, "Huh! You can run fast!"
Both sides stopped, and the onlookers felt very disappointed, so they all dispersed. However, although the outcome of this battle was not decided, Xu Chu's reputation as a tiger idiot had already spread among the Qiang people, which indirectly started Xu Chu's reputation.
reputation.
When Na Liang saw Ma Chao retreating, he pretended to be enthusiastic and said: "General Tian, it's late at night, General Tian should have a rest early."
Ma Chao no longer enjoyed drinking anymore, and he could no longer fight with Xu Chu. After all, he was too physically exhausted, so he nodded and left with Wang Shuang.
Cao Cao and Xu Chu also said goodbye to Na Liang and returned to their respective camps.
"Your Highness, you should be more careful with Cao Cao in the future." Wang Shuang supported Ma Chao and opened his mouth to say after entering the tent.
Ma Chao asked suspiciously: "What happened to Cao Cao?"
Wang Shuang said: "I just saw Cao Cao and Qiang King Naliang going to a secret place together. They seemed to be discussing something. I was afraid of arousing their suspicion, so I didn't get close. Instead, I looked over from a distance and saw that they were talking.
Some of them were laughing, and they were very happy. I remembered Suo Xu’s previous words and felt that Cao Cao really shouldn’t relax at all.”
Ma Chao sneered and said: "Send someone to closely monitor Cao Cao and his team. If you have any contact with Na Liang again, come and report to me immediately."
"promise!"
…………
Cao Cao returned to the camp and was in a good mood. He saw Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun, Xia Houyuan, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen there, and Yang Xiu was also there, so he asked: "Were you the ones pretending to be Xian Ling Qiang just now?"
Cao Ren nodded and said: "Exactly, it is the plan of the Marquis of Henan."
Cao Cao turned his head and glanced at Yang Xiu, cupped his hands and said: "Master Hou is so resourceful, I really admire him. If Master Hou hadn't come up with this method, I'm afraid I would have lost everything today."
Yang Xiu replied: "Marquis Wei is too polite. Now we are all in the same boat and have a common purpose. But I know that Ma Chao is Qiang at heart. If I can alienate the relationship between Qiang and Ma Chao,
That's half the battle. The Marquis of Wei is also a man of great talent and strategy. When he saw that I asked the generals to do such a thing, he would definitely be able to figure out one or two of them."
Cao Cao nodded and said: "It's indeed clever. I have gained Na Liang's trust. I will set off to other tribes tomorrow. I wonder if the Marquis will accompany him?"
Yang Xiu shook his head and said: "If I go with you, I will be discovered by Ma Chao soon, which is inappropriate. Wei Hou can follow Ma Chao closely and act according to the opportunity. I will go to visit Langqiang and Baimaqiang, follow in your footsteps, and convince them one by one."
All the Qiang kings then wait for the opportunity and wait for the opportunity to act."
"The Marquis is alone, and the Qiang people are brave and fierce, but I'm afraid there will be danger, so why not..."
"No need, Wei Hou's men and horses are all remembered clearly. One less person will definitely arouse suspicion. Although the Qiang people are brave and fierce, they are even more greedy for money. As long as I know the benefits, I will be able to successfully persuade them. But, I
I am worried that the Xianling Qiang in the east of Liangzhou will slowly grow bigger. This time the Shaodang Qiang has been severely weakened. The Xianling Qiang will definitely come back to deal with the Shaodang Qiang.
At that time, the Qiang people were in civil strife, which would definitely harm our plan. We ask the Marquis of Wei to pay more attention to this matter. In addition, there is a Zhong Qiang tribe in the west of Shaodang Qiang. This Qiang people are considered the most stable among the Western Qiang.
, but its strength cannot be ignored. If we can rely on Zhong Qiang's military strength, plus Shaodang Qiang, Shenlang Qiang, Baima Qiang, etc., overthrowing the Qin State will be just around the corner."
Xiqiang, from Sanmiao, is a branch of Jiang nationality. Three generations later, they lived in the west of Hexi, between Cizhi River and Huanghe River. During the Warring States Period, the Qiang nationality flourished.
The Western Han Dynasty was established in 206 BC. At this time, the Qiang people who entered the Central Plains had basically merged with the Han people. Except for some of the Qiang people who had not entered the Central Plains, they lived in Longxi, and most of them were scattered west of the Great Wall, especially in the Hehuang area.
There are many tribes in Xiqiang, and most of them are named after animals, such as white horse, yak, wolf, yellow sheep, yellow sheep, etc., which may be a relic of totem worship. Some are named after places, such as Le Jie and Bei.
These people may have entered into geographical alliances. The more powerful Xianling and Shaodang Qiang are named after their father's name, which reflects the father-son joint name system of the patrilineal clan.
Generally speaking, the Qiang people in the northwest have many tribes, and each tribe has its own chief. They attack, kill, and plunder frequently, and wars are frequent.
Among the Qiang, the Xianling Qiang was the most powerful at first. They lived in the Dayu Valley (between present-day Guide County and Jianzha County in Qinghai), with abundant water and grass and superior natural conditions. They used troops to the Han Dynasty's borders externally and internally.
He annexed the weak and suppressed the Qiang with force for a time. He was also the first tribe to claim the title of King of the Qiang.
Later, all the Qiang suffered from the oppression of the Xianling Qiang. Dozens of Qiang tribes, led by the Shaodang Qiang, united to attack the Xianling Qiang and successfully won the victory. So the Xianling Qiang fled eastward and lived in the north.
, Anping area, after that, the strength of Xianling Qiang was gradually weakened.
The Shaodang Qiang originally lived in the Dayuan Valley (today's Guidexi, Qinghai) and were small and weak. After the Qiang groups united to defeat the Xianling Qiang, they clashed with the Beipu Qiang, so they conquered them, killed their chiefs, and collected all of them.
The people then moved to Dayu and became increasingly powerful. In addition, Zhong Qiang was also very powerful, claiming to have a force of one hundred thousand, but he rarely participated in the struggle. He was regarded as a permanent neutral among the Qiang people.
Because the use of this strategy strengthened the Zhong Qiang to a certain extent, they took in people from other tribes who returned from the war, and gradually became another relatively powerful Qiang among the Western Qiang. As for other Qiang tribes, most of them
There are more than 10,000 people in the group and thousands in the small group, and they are very active for a while. However, the Xian Zero Qiang and the Shaodang Qiang have become feuds, and wars often start again every ten or eight years.
Cao Cao once came to quell the Qiang and Hu rebellions in Xiliang, and he knew that once the Qiang people gathered together, the situation would be very terrifying. However, there were no military talents with good command among the Qiang people. If there was someone who was proficient in the art of war,
Commanding these Qiang people, the Qiang cavalry is definitely the most ferocious in this era.
He knew that Yang Xiu was leaving, so he asked, "When will the Marquis leave?"
"Leave now. If you wait until dawn, it will be easier to be recognized. The Marquis of Wei and Xiqiang are a double-edged sword. If you use it well, you can cut through the thorns for the Marquis of Wei and clear the obstacles in front. If you use it,
If it's not good, it will cut his hand, so please be careful with it, Marquis Wei!" Yang Xiu reminded.
"Please rest assured, Lord Marquis, I have my own sense of discretion. I have one more thing to ask. I wonder how loyal Ma Chao is among Zhong Qiang?"
"It is not as strong as the faith of the six Qiang people east of Zhong Qiang, but it is still touched. Zhong Qiang is an outlier among all Qiang people. He is aggressive but not warlike. If he wants to invite Zhong Qiang's people, the Marquis of Wei still needs to
It really takes a lot of effort.”
"Yes, I will. Mr. Hou, I'll take my leave then. After returning to Chang'an, I'll find a time to meet in secret, and there's also the matter of Sikong and Chen Qun..."
"Put it on me. Marquis Wei, I will take my leave and see you in Chang'an."
Cao Cao watched Yang Xiu leave with his own eyes. After Yang Xiu left, he already had mature plans to use this opportunity and use the power of the Xiqiang to complete his strategy of turning away from foreigners and make a comeback in the northwest!