Chapter 673

However.

The sharp-eyed Cao Ren discovered that in the due west direction, the enemy's defense seemed relatively weak.

He intended to take that portion of the Cao Army supporting Jizhou and force a breakout.

But... before Cao Ren could formally issue the order.

Not far away, the three generals Gao Shun, Xu Huang, and Pang De appeared.

Leading over forty thousand elite infantry and eight thousand members of the Camp-Crushing Battalion, they arrived outside the encirclement in the due west direction.

As for those commoners who had fled Ye City, Gao Shun had already handled them properly.

In other words.

At this moment, outside Ye City, Gu Yi's main force had basically all arrived.

The only ones who had not yet arrived were the troops led by Zhang Liao and Xun You, who were stationed at Yanmen Pass.

But for those troops, the order Gu Yi had issued was for them to stabilize the area north of Yanmen Pass and to capture that group of defeated Southern Xiongnu herdsmen to engage in construction.

Ever since the Southern Xiongnu perished, the land north of Yanmen Pass had become entirely the domain of the Han Army. (For details, see Chapter 233.)

But that vast grassland territory was not easy to control completely.

Moreover, the nomadic peoples on the grasslands had always been like wild grass—no matter how thoroughly a wildfire burned it, it would sprout again when the spring breeze blew.

The Xiongnu, Southern Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, Huihe, Khitan, Oirat, and Jurchen—these nomadic peoples who spanned history might have all once been small tribes.

But the vastness of the grasslands allowed them, one after another, to step onto the stage of history and become the overlords of the steppe.

To prevent new nomadic peoples from growing strong in the grasslands decades or even a century later and threatening the rule of the Han regime.

Gu Yi naturally had to conduct a thorough "plowing of the court" across the grasslands.

The troops led by Zhang Liao and Xun You were the vanguard of this "Plowing Operation."

Of course, this operation could also be viewed as a census of the grasslands.

Gu Yi had to obtain the most detailed understanding of all intelligence on the grasslands.

Only in this way could the potential threat of nomadic peoples moving south be resolved once and for all.

As for the countries west of the Western Regions, such as Kushan, Persia, and Rome.

If there were an opportunity, after Gu Yi unified the Han realm, he would naturally have to pay them a visit.

Of course, that was a matter for later.

Right now, Gu Yi was about to launch the final annihilation of Ju Shou, Cao Ren, Su Puyan, Yan Rou, and the others.

Still the same old rule.

To reduce the loss of population.

Gu Yi issued an order: those who surrender will not be killed.

Most of these surrounded soldiers were only doing this to earn a living; they were certainly not going to sacrifice their lives for Ju Shou and the others.

Therefore.

Upon hearing the news that those who surrendered would not be killed.

A large number of soldiers threw down the weapons in their hands straight away and chose to surrender.

Even many low-to-mid-level officers followed suit and joined the ranks of the surrendering army.

Seeing this scene.

Ju Shou gnashed his teeth in hatred.

This group of mud-legged peasants had actually betrayed him!

How dared they?

Did they not know that the meaning of a mud-legged peasant's birth was to become fuel, to dedicate everything to the aristocratic masters of the upper class?

Those involved are confused, while the bystanders are clear.

Ju Shou's status as a Celestial Dragon destined that he could never understand any of the demands of the commoner class.

At this moment.

He could not even understand why the soldiers under Gu Yi's command were so powerful in combat.

Yet the soldiers under the command of their aristocratic families always seemed as if they hadn't woken up.

Sometimes, to be alive, one must find a meaning.

A wife, children, and a warm bed is one kind of meaning.

Wandering the world without constraints is another kind of meaning.

But no matter which kind of meaning it is.

At the very bottom of the list.

It must be to never speak of oneself, to only know how to live a mediocre life, and to become fuel for the aristocratic masters of the upper class.

This is the most foolish way to live.

But humans, as a species.

Especially the common people and the masses.

When oppressed, perhaps they won't say much.

But once they awaken, no oppression can stop their overwhelming momentum.

……. ===== CHAPTER 674 =====