Two days later, after the supply train arrived at Keluo City, Cao Cao led his army toward the next city.
However, before setting off, Cao Cao ordered that all provisions, weapons, and armor of both armies be left behind, euphemistically calling it "lightly equipped for the pursuit of the enemy."
However, during the march, Cao Cao deliberately slowed down the army's pace to allow ample time to coordinate with Li Ru's actions.
Just like in the previous case in Keluo City, Li Ru used the same method: using the heads of Kangju people to lure the city's defenders out of the city and then surround and kill them. Afterwards, the army entered the city and carried out a massacre.
It wasn't until five days after Li Ru led his army away that Cao Cao finally led his main force to arrive at a leisurely pace.
This time, faced with the tragic scene inside and outside the city, although the soldiers in the army still looked unwell, few of them vomited.
The army then stopped and began clearing away the corpses and sorting through the remaining food and supplies.
Thus, Li Ru led the Xianbei and Xiongnu to massacre the city, while Cao Cao led the Han army to clean up the mess from behind.
The Han army, originally tasked with attacking the city, ended up cleaning up the mess.
By December 5th, Li Ru's 20,000 cavalrymen had breached the last city on their planned route and stopped 30 li away from the capital of Kangju.
He Lian and Xie Zhiyu, who were responsible for flanking the enemy, also reaped a great harvest and led their army to a stop fifty miles north of Kangju Royal City.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao's Han army was still busy clearing out cities along the way, burning corpses, and organizing supplies in the rear.
As for the previously issued pursuit order, Cao Cao explained it this way: We're already pursuing them, but we just haven't caught up yet.
Meanwhile, the King of Kangju and his noble officials finally received news of the invasion by the Xianbei and Xiongnu.
No one expected that the Xianbei and Xiongnu would launch an attack in winter.
Originally, Kangju only had about 80,000 troops, most of whom were deployed to various cities in the southeast to defend against the Xianbei and Xiongnu people. Only about 10,000 troops remained to guard the capital.
Now that the forces of the Xianbei and Xiongnu tribes have reached the capital, doesn't that mean that all the troops that were deployed have been defeated?
For a time, the entire royal city was filled with panic, and no one believed that a mere 10,000 people could withstand 40,000 ferocious invaders.
Li Ru then led his army to join forces with He Lian and Xie Zhiyu.
When they learned what Li Ru had done during the march, He Lian and Xie Zhiyu were also shocked and broke out in a cold sweat.
They had committed robbery and murder before, but this was the first time they had ever encountered such a horrific act of slaughtering an entire population.
However, Li Ru's explanation was that if the Kangju people were not exterminated, the Han Dynasty would provide more resources to settle them.
When the supplies are given to the Kangju people, the Xianbei and Xiongnu will receive fewer supplies, which will inevitably affect their westward journey.
Hearing this explanation, coupled with Li Ru's eloquent persuasion, He Lian and Xie Zhi finally agreed with Li Ru's statement.
Anyway, they came here to kill people. Whether they kill a thousand or ten thousand, it doesn't make much difference.
Subsequently, 40,000 troops from both sides also besieged the city of Kangju.
On the first day, Li Ru sent someone to persuade the King of Kangju to surrender, but the King refused.
The next day, Li Ru ordered his men to find five thousand heads in the tribes near the capital and throw them into the capital, terrifying the people inside.
Subsequently, Li Ru sent people again to persuade the King of Kangju to surrender, but the King hesitated.
On the third day, Li Ru ordered his men to go to even more distant tribes and find 10,000 heads, which were then thrown into the city, causing great panic among the city's inhabitants.
Li Ru sent people to persuade them to surrender, explaining that if they were willing to surrender, their lives would be spared.
In an instant, the entire royal city was filled with shouts of surrender.
The enemy is too brutal. If we continue to resist, no one will survive once the city falls.
The King of Kangju could not withstand the pressure and had no choice but to believe Li Ru and surrender.
On the fourth day, an army of 40,000 entered the royal city.
After all the garrison troops in the city had surrendered, Li Ru immediately ordered a massacre of the city!
After killing everyone in Kangju's capital, Li Ru led his army on a detour towards Dayuan.
Five days later, Cao Cao led the Han army to Kangju Royal City.
After clearing out the capital of Kangju, Cao Cao did not pursue the Xianbei and Xiongnu, but instead led his army north to clean up the mess left by Helian and Xiezhi.
After all, with so many corpses, if they aren't dealt with promptly, it could lead to an outbreak of plague.
As December drew to a close, while Cao Cao was still busy cleaning up the mess in Kangju, the Xianbei and Xiongnu people who had returned to Dayuan also gathered their money and provisions and, along with nearly 200,000 herders from both tribes, embarked on their westward journey in the winter.
February of the twelfth year of the Kaiyuan era.
Cao Cao's army finally cleared the territory of Kangju.
Li Ru, along with He Lian and Xie Zhiyu, followed the pre-planned westward route. They first passed through parts of southeastern Kangju, collecting the provisions and weapons that Cao Cao had specially left for them, and then plunged into the northwestern territory of the Kushan Empire, where they stopped.
The news of the sudden entry of the Xianbei and Xiongnu people quickly reached the Kushan court.
At the same time, Cao Cao also issued a pursuit order.
The order to pursue them also provides a detailed description of the actions of the Xianbei and Xiongnu people in Kangju.
When the people of Kushan heard that the Xianbei and Xiongnu had been fighting and massacring cities, they were immediately thrown into panic.
The old king of Kushan, despite his illness, summoned his ministers and three sons to discuss countermeasures.
"Cough cough... cough cough..."
After a violent coughing fit, the old Kushan king looked at the assembled ministers in the hall and said in a deep voice, "All of you, tell me, how should we deal with the Xianbei and the Xiongnu?"
"Father, I believe that since the Han Dynasty has already issued a pursuit order, we should invite the Han army to come and encircle and annihilate them."
The speaker was the third prince, Damoshi. Unlike the courtiers and the other two princes, he was wearing a Buddhist priest's robe.
No sooner had Damoshi finished speaking than the second prince, Damoti, rebuked him, saying, "This is utterly absurd! How can we allow the Han army to enter the territory of the mighty Kushan?"
With that, Damoti bowed to the old king and said, “Father, I believe that the Xianbei and Xiongnu are extremely cruel. In order to prevent my Kushan people from suffering, we should immediately mobilize a large army to go on an expedition and completely annihilate them.”
"Father, you mustn't!"
No sooner had Damoti finished speaking than the eldest prince also voiced his opposition.
Seeing that all three princes had stepped forward, the ministers in the hall tacitly divided into three factions and began to confront each other in secret.
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