The ancients had a saying of high-fives and oaths of alliance, but Cao Peng would never be so naive as to think that three high-fives would have any binding effect.
There is a saying in later generations: signing a contract is to tear up the contract.
In fact, in the Han Dynasty, or even earlier, the firmness of the covenant was based on strength.
Today, Dou Lan and Cao Peng made an oath of alliance. To put it bluntly, it was just a verbal agreement.
Cao Peng's initiative deceived Dou Lan. At the same time, Cao Peng was also betting. He bet that Dou Lan had not forgotten the glory of his ancestors. He recalled that Dou Xian rode his horse on the road and beat the barbarians. As a descendant of Dou Xian, does Dou Lan still have a chance to survive?
The heroic spirit of the ancestors? From the current point of view, Dou Lan has not lost the blood of his ancestors, and Cao Peng is very happy about this.
As for Liang Yuanbi?
Who really cares about him!
Cao Peng kept his life, just to use his identity to recruit Xiutu and others.
And what about Dou Lan? He doesn't even care about Liang Yuanbi. Xiutuge is destined to perish. From the time Liang Yuanbi decided to join Ma Teng, no one can change it. It turns out that in the Han Dynasty, there was also a choice to take sides...
…
On the same day, Liang Yuanbi was escorted by King Jiang Xu and escorted by Li Ding and others, and rushed to Xiutuge Muyuan.
After subduing everyone in Xiutu, Liang Yuanbi's mission will be over. At that time, Cao Peng will have people escort him to Xudu and hand him over to Cao Cao. Whether Cao Cao will kill him or keep him will have nothing to do with Cao Peng!
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The Hongze Alliance is over.
In other words, it's over for now...
The adults of the Eighteen Tribes of Hongze, headed by Dou Lan, temporarily accepted Cao Peng's arrival. Of course, not everyone was willing to accept it, but they had to accept it. After this turmoil, Hongze needed a period of buffering.
But the question is, will Qiang Hu give them a buffer of time? Or, will Ma Teng allow them to recuperate?
The answer is obvious: no!
Ma Teng and Tang Ti will definitely send troops.
Dou Lan made a rough estimate and found that Hongze had been reshuffled from thirty-six tribes to eighteen tribes, which would take at least half a year to integrate.
In the past six months, it may be difficult for Hongze to withstand the joint attack of Ma Teng and Qiang Hu.
Although Li Qi agreed to guard Qingshui Muyuan (the former Geng family ranch) to resist Ma Teng's attack, the problem is that the Li family is also facing a process of digestion. The population of the three tribes is almost the same as that of the original Li family tribe.
The population remains the same. While resisting and integrating at the same time, the pressure on Li Qi is probably greater than that of other tribes...
Of course, Dou Lan will give Li Qi support.
In other words, the combined strength of Li and Dou's family can resist Ma Teng's attack.
But Tang Ti in the northwest was previously resisted by Xiutu's group. Now that Xiutu's group no longer exists, Hongze needs someone to come out of the northwest Muyuan to replace the previous responsibilities of Xiutu's group. Therefore, Dou Lan can only
Can accept Cao Peng.
"Cao Peng needs to borrow our help to gain a foothold in Hexi.
And now we also need to borrow Cao Peng's strength to resist the Qiang and Hu and ensure the smooth transition of Hongze. As for the future, no one can say for sure. Maybe Cao Peng will annex us after he has established a foothold; maybe after our transition is completed,
Drive Cao Peng out of Hexi. But for now, we need to cooperate and we will not become enemies in a short time."
Dou Lan looked tired, leaning on the couch, watching Dou Hu explain in a deep voice.
Not everyone can understand his decision, at least his own son, cannot understand Dou Lan's thoughts.
Inside the house, the lights are dim.
Dou Hu bit his lip and said softly: "So, sooner or later we will become enemies of Cao Peng?"
Dou Lan smiled, "Maybe, maybe not."
"Father……"
"Wang Sun, Cao Peng has great ambitions.
This person will never be satisfied with this little Hexi. There is a prostrate tiger in his heart. I don’t know whether we will be enemies or friends in the future. If he can really do what he said, even if he surrenders, there is nothing wrong with him.
.But if he doesn’t have that strength, he can only be swallowed by me. So, it’s hard to say what will happen in the future now.
Wang Sun, you have to remember.
For now, you will never cause trouble for him. We need him to protect Hongze's northwest gateway. If he has any demands, as long as they are not too excessive, you might as well agree. Now, we have a common enemy."
Dou Lan's answer was ambiguous.
But Dou Hu still heard a hint: whether he is an enemy or a friend depends on Cao Peng's own ability.
At least this winter, they are friends, not enemies. But no one can tell what will happen after this winter.
"Father, don't worry, the child will be spared."
"Well, early tomorrow morning, I will visit the other three tribes, and then go to the west of Hongze to discuss the specific city construction matters with Cao Peng. Hongshuiji will be left to you to take care of for the time being. Be careful of that Ma Teng
surprise attack."
"Here!"
Dou Hu bowed and accepted the order.
At the same time, in the official post in Hongshuiji, Cao Peng was chatting with Pang Tong enthusiastically.
Pang Tong was ordered to patrol Hexi to find a place to build a city. He did not want to meet Yin Feng on the way, so he learned that Cao Peng was in Hongshuiji.
Yin Feng and Liang Kuan led their troops back to Lian County.
Pang Tong took Han De and quietly came to Hongshuiji and found Cao Peng.
"Youxue, you are taking some risks this time."
"I know!"
Cao Peng smiled slightly and filled Pang Tong's cup with kumiss, "But from this point of view, this adventure is quite worth it."
Pang Tong nodded and said: "I have also heard Dou Lan's name on the road. It will be of great benefit to us that Youxue can reach an agreement with Dou Lan. However, Youxue cannot completely trust Dou Lan. The reason why he and you
Reaching the alliance was also forced by the situation. If Ma Teng hadn't been aggressive on the side, I don't think he would have let you enter Hongze easily."
"I know."
"Just because he bows his head now doesn't mean he will bow his head in the future.
After this calamity, Hongze is in the process of change. Once Dou Lan completes the integration of Hongze, he will inevitably compete with you for control of Hongze. I estimate that at most half a year... half a year later, Dou Lan will
Lan has completed the integration of Hongze, which is when the covenant is abolished. If Youxue and you are still unable to gain a firm foothold by then, he will definitely take action against you."
Cao Peng took a sip of the koumiss and narrowed his eyes unconsciously.
To be honest, he was not prepared to turn against Ma Teng so quickly, but wanted to lay the foundation quietly.
If possible, he would first form an alliance with Dou Lan, then build a city in Hongze, and wait until the next spring to promote farming.
Unexpectedly, Ma Teng was so impatient for Hong Ze.
But if you think about it, you can understand Ma Teng's thoughts. Hongze is located in the hinterland of Hexi, like the gateway to Wuwei.
Before the arrival of Cao Peng, the reason why Ma Teng could tolerate Hongze's independence was because he had enough time to encroach on Hongze and even take Hongze without any blood. It is conceivable that if Cao Peng did not appear, Ma Teng would
He can continue to divide Hongze's thirty-six divisions, and Liang Yuanbi's Xiutuge will become a hidden chess piece in his hands...
After Ma Teng secretly divides the thirty-six divisions, he can easily seize Hongze.
But Cao Peng is here!
If Ma Teng waits for Cao Peng to gain a foothold in Hongze and then wants to seize Hongze, it will not be an easy task.
That's right, Cao Peng didn't have many soldiers and horses.
But behind Cao Peng, there is the great god Cao Cao after all.
Once Cao Peng succeeds in promoting farming in Hexi, coupled with Cao Cao's support, then Wuwei will inevitably face a huge threat. How can the so-called tiger sleep on the side of the couch? Hongze is the gateway of Wuwei. If you hand over your own gate to the enemy, Ma Teng has not yet
So stupid. Therefore, Ma Teng had no choice but to launch an early move, hoping to take advantage of Cao Peng's unstable foothold to seize Hongze. In this way, Cao Peng was limited to a narrow area east of Hongze. If he wanted to develop,
Getting up is by no means an easy task. Ma Teng has countless choices to expel Cao Peng from the land west of Hexi...
Dou Lan understood this truth, and Cao Peng also saw it clearly.
Half a year!
Cao Peng took a deep breath and then exhaled forcefully.
"Shi Yuan, if you were Ma Teng, what would you do?"
Pang Tong smiled slightly, "If I were Ma Teng, I would never give Dou Lan and you a chance to breathe."
"I think so."
Cao Peng tapped the long case with his fingers quickly, and after a while he said: "Shi Yuan, I want to ask you a favor."
"But please give orders."
"Early tomorrow morning, I will leave with Dou Lan and choose a place to build the city. Yan Fa is now in the Northwest Muyuan. I am not worried about Xiu Tu everyone, but I am worried that Tang Ti will take the opportunity to go out. So, I hope you go to the Northwest Muyuan
, to lend a helping hand to the strict law... I think you also know that the Northwest Muyuan is also the place where you and I establish our authority in Hexi."
If you can defeat Tang Ti and resist Ma Teng.
Then it will undoubtedly be an excellent start for Cao Peng.
Most people in Hongze still have doubts about Cao Peng. The better Deng Fan wins, the more confident Cao Peng will be.
Cao Peng didn't worry about marching and fighting.
After many years of experience, Deng Fan is no longer a Zhongyang villager.
He has successively learned from Cao Peng, Cao Hong, Xu Huang and others. Especially in the past few years with Xu Huang, he has made great progress.
However, to deal with Ma Teng and Tang Ti, Deng Fan alone was not enough.
If Pang Tong can help him, Cao Peng firmly believes that the northwest Muyuan will become an important place for him to establish a foothold in Hexi.
Pang Tong heard this and immediately laughed.
"Even if Youxue doesn't mention this matter, I am still prepared to recommend myself."
"In this way, I can sit back and relax..."
After Cao Peng finished speaking, he looked at Pang Tong and laughed.
However, he still had some regrets in his heart: It's a pity that I can't get away for the time being, otherwise, I would have to learn how powerful Ma Chao is.
After three years of hard training, coupled with his previous mission to the Xiongnu and several battles with Leng Fei, Cao Peng has emerged from his cocoon and reached the level of a first-class general. Unfortunately, so far, he has not had the chance to compete with a first-class general.
General, let's have a real fight. Ma Chao is a good opponent, but it seems that the confrontation between the two will have to wait for a while. At least for now, Cao Peng has more important things to do.
Go and deal with it... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation at ***(***.***), ***, your support is my biggest motivation.)
