After Li Ru led his troops away, Cao Cao also returned to his camp and headed towards Luoyang with the "spoils" he had acquired on this trip.

Of the millions of people and the money, grain, and supplies from more than a dozen cities, Li Ru took less than a tenth; the rest was all left to Cao Cao.

To transport these grain supplies, Cao Cao recruited nearly 200,000 able-bodied men.

The long procession stretched along the official road, so long that the beginning and end could not be seen from one another.

The money, grain, and supplies left behind by Li Ru were not only sufficient for Cao Cao's subsequent operations in Kushan, but also saved the Han Dynasty countless resources, making him a truly meritorious figure.

Seeing Cao Cao's abundant harvest, Damoshi and his noble ministers were somewhat envious, but dared not harbor any other thoughts.

After all, these were spoils of war from the Han army; even if they had a lot of guts, they wouldn't dare to covet these grains and supplies.

By the time Cao Cao led his army back to Luoyang, it was already early September.

During this period, Damoshi and his noble ministers searched for nearly 100,000 young women.

Of these, 60,000 women were given to the Han soldiers as rewards by Damoxi, while the remaining 40,000 were exchanged for 30,000 sets of weapons and equipment, as well as some bows and arrows.

Although these weapons and equipment were discarded by the Han army, they were considered top-tier by the Kushans.

Looking at his fully armed and refreshed soldiers, Damoshi was filled with ambition and once again ordered a large-scale search for young women in order to exchange them for more weapons and equipment in preparation for conquering the capital next year.

Cao Cao also ordered his men to take the women and the captured grain and supplies towards the border between Wusun and Kushan, while he himself, under the guise of a collaborator, led 20,000 Han troops to stay in Luoyang to help Damoxi devise strategies.

Damoshi was overjoyed that Cao Cao had chosen to stay.

After learning that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were childhood friends, Damoshi also became very close to Cao Cao, always consulting him on matters big and small.

At the same time, Damoh also followed Cao Cao's advice and allowed officers, instructors, and staff officers from the Han army to participate in the training of the Kushan soldiers.

October 10th.

With Cao Cao's assistance, all the cities in the eastern region, except those destroyed by the Xianbei and Xiongnu, were brought under Damoxi's control.

By this time, Damochius controlled a total of twelve large cities, twenty medium-sized cities, and fifty small cities, directly controlling a population of nearly ten million.

Meanwhile, the noble ministers under Damoshi had once again gathered nearly 80,000 young women.

Damoh also approached Cao Cao, intending to use these women to exchange for another 60,000 sets of weapons and equipment.

In his view, a fully armed army of 100,000 would be an invincible force against the Kushan Empire. Once the army was fully trained, that would be the day he would face the Kushan Empire.

Cao Cao agreed to Damoshi's request, but postponed the time until July of the following year.

Damoshi expressed his understanding on this point.

After all, in his understanding, weapons and armor are not easy to make, and being able to produce more than 60,000 sets in less than ten months is already very impressive.

Just as Damoxi was brimming with confidence, the million refugees who had been ravaged by the Xianbei and Xiongnu also poured into the area surrounding the Eastern Capital.

Faced with such a large number of refugees, Damoshi did not think about how to settle them, but instead sent troops to drive them back to their original places.

Unfortunately, the homes of these refugees had been destroyed and their food looted, so they would surely die if they returned home.

Therefore, faced with the expulsion of the Kushan soldiers, a large number of refugees did not choose to leave, but instead dispersed to the surrounding villages and towns to plunder the property of the local people.

These refugees were already starving, and when they robbed the villagers of their property, they would naturally resort to violence, even killing people to steal their food, if the villagers refused or resisted.

Many innocent villagers were robbed of everything by the refugees and forced to join their ranks.

In no time, the ranks of refugees grew larger and larger, and continued to spread to the rear.

This phenomenon terrified Damoshi and his noble ministers.

The destructive power of a million refugees is unimaginable. If they are not managed in time, their territory will be overturned.

Damoshi and his noble ministers quickly opened granaries and set up soup kitchens to provide relief to these refugees.

The refugees temporarily stopped their destruction, but Damoshi and his noble ministers began to look worried.

With over a million refugees, they consume at least 15,000 shi of grain every day. At this rate, the entire grain supply of the Eastern Capital will be depleted in less than a month.

However, if these refugees are to be allowed to return home, each person must be given at least two shi of grain as rations, as well as farm tools and money and grain for house repairs.

Damoshi calculated that to settle these refugees, he would need to provide at least three million shi of grain and at least ten million taels of silver.

After discussing it with his ministers, almost everyone was reluctant to do so.

That much money and grain was enough to fund an army of 200,000 for three years.

Most importantly, even if these million refugees return home, they will not bring them any benefits within three to five years. On the contrary, they will have to continue to provide subsidies in the form of money and food.

This will inevitably severely strain their finances, resulting in more harm than good.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Cao Cao stepped forward at the opportune moment, saying that the Western Regions were in dire need of a large population for development and that they could accept these refugees. However, the condition was that these refugees had to stay in the Western Regions forever and obey the arrangements of the Han government, and that the Kushan Empire should no longer interfere.

Damoshi and his noble ministers were overjoyed that Cao Cao was willing to accept these refugees. They not only agreed to Cao Cao's conditions but also offered to provide money and provisions to help Cao Cao lead these refugees to the Western Regions.

In the past, these noble officials would have gritted their teeth and tried every means to settle these refugees properly.

After all, there are over a million people involved, and the potential benefits they can generate in the future are enormous.

Unfortunately, the Kushan Empire is now in a three-way power struggle. If any party weakens, it is very likely to be defeated. They simply do not have the extra time to wait, nor dare to spend any more resources to settle it.

Therefore, in their eyes, these million refugees are not wealth, but a malignant tumor that drags them down.

Therefore, Damoch and a group of noble officials were eager to send these refugees out as soon as possible.

Therefore, during the migration of refugees, Damoshi and a group of noble officials contributed money and effort, and also continuously promoted the various benefits of the Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao was all smiles upon seeing this. Not only did he gain a million people for nothing, but he also didn't have to exert any effort at all. Such a good thing was a rare occurrence, perhaps only once every few decades.