The Wei army did not stay in Gan State to maintain public order, but only left a small number of soldiers to garrison in the various cities of Gan State to ensure that local order would not be disturbed. The majority of the army was reorganized and prepared to march towards the Xiongnu steppe.
Once a war is launched, it will not be easy to stop, because once a war is launched, in addition to completing all strategic goals, it will become extremely difficult to launch a war to achieve the goal of unifying the Shengwu Continent after other countries have made preparations.
Everyone in the Wei State understood that war with the Xiongnu was inevitable. Only by completely defeating this powerful nomadic people could the Wei State's borders be kept peaceful and the people live a stable life.
However, because of the horseshoes, the combat effectiveness of Wei's cavalry was not only greatly improved, but also the war horse resources of Qian State were integrated, making the cavalry of Wei almost comparable to that of the Xiongnu.
As a nomadic people, the Xiongnu had a large number of soldiers guarding the tribe of the Great Khan, but other small tribes basically did not have many warriors stationed there, not to mention those small tribes and herders who roamed alone.
After the Wei army entered the prairie, they were able to easily find the specific locations of the Xiongnu tribes because of the guidance of the former Xiongnu prisoners of war. With the persuasion of these former Xiongnu prisoners of war, many Xiongnu tribes chose to surrender after learning that the Wei army was approaching.
These small tribes were already dissatisfied with the Great Khan's rule. Coupled with the persuasion of these captives and the powerful military of the Wei army, they were more willing to surrender in exchange for survival and stability. Moreover, these small tribes were basically family-based settlements, and there was no case of oppression of ordinary herders among them. The leaders of these small tribes were not severely punished.
Of course, the leaders and soldiers of these tribes still need to undergo labor reform, but their treatment will be much better than that of other prisoners.
As for why this was done, it was to allow these surrendered tribes to be integrated into the Wei state's administrative system more quickly, and to appease the resentment of the people of Wei. After all, Wei had been harassed by the Xiongnu for thousands of years, and Wei's hatred for the Xiongnu was deep-rooted.
Although the leaders and soldiers of these small tribes rarely participated in the invasion of Wei, Wei still needed to punish them appropriately to warn those Xiongnu tribes that had committed crimes.
Chu Fan would never do something like the court forgiving the Huns' mistakes as long as they surrendered, while at the same time exaggerating the Huns' crimes to stir up hatred among the people. This kind of double-faced behavior would greatly undermine the people's trust in the court.
When Chu Fan thought of this, he laughed at himself and said: Maybe I am also a hero, always thinking about dealing with complex real-life problems in an almost idealistic way.
The Huns did not hold out for long under the Wei attack. In just three months, the Wei army swept across the entire prairie. These three months were mainly spent on marching and searching for tribes on the prairie, and the time actually spent on fighting was not long.
Finally, under the attack of the Wei army, the Great Khan of the Xiongnu was forced to lead the remnants to flee to Huangguo to seek refuge. At this time, it was almost winter. Huangguo was already in a low temperature environment all year round. Now, with the severe cold of winter, the emperor of Huangguo and the Great Khan of the Xiongnu did not think that the Wei army would continue to pursue them.
After all, most of the Wei army are from the south, and they are not very adaptable to the extremely cold weather. If the Wei army continues to attack the Huang country, then the Wei army may not be able to adapt to this extreme weather and suffer large-scale non-combat casualties.
Moreover, if the State of Wei wanted to occupy the entire prairie, it would have to face the problem that many Huns would not have enough food to eat during the cold winter. If these surrendered tribes could not be fed enough during the cold winter, then these surrendered tribes would likely rebel again and bring greater trouble to the State of Wei.
Of course, what the Emperor of Huang and the Great Khan of the Xiongnu didn't know was that Wei was not short of food. The second crop of sweet potatoes and corn planted in Wei had already been harvested, and the yield was much higher than the first.
The Wei Kingdom did not directly distribute food to the food-deficient Xiongnu people. If they wanted to obtain food, they had to work with their own hands or take out loans from the Wei Kingdom's Royal Bank and repay the debt by raising horses or sheep the following year.
This approach of the Wei State not only ensured the reasonable distribution of grain, but also stimulated the labor enthusiasm of the Xiongnu people. At the same time, it would not cause too many people to feel disgusted. After all, if the grain was distributed to the Xiongnu people for free, the people of the Wei State would naturally feel dissatisfied, thinking that the court was using their hard-earned money to support those who were once enemies.
When the Wei army appeared at the gates of Huang State, the defenders and soldiers of Huang State were at a loss. They did not understand how the Wei army could withstand such a cold winter. After all, even these soldiers who had been living in Huang State would feel the biting cold in winter.
After a long march, the Wei soldiers felt a little hot. Under their armor they wore wool sweaters, and their strong physiques from regular training enabled them to easily cope with the cold winter.
The Huang State also knew Wei's policy towards prisoners of war and civilians. Many generals with a clear conscience opened the city and surrendered with their soldiers, while those officials or cruel and inhumane nobles who had been domineering in the Huang State were directly tied up and handed over to the Wei army by the Huang State people who had long been full of hatred for them.
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