May of the fifth year of Zhongping of the Great Han Dynasty (188 AD).

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Early May. Luoyang.

After the Son of Heaven took Shaofu Fan Ling as the Tai Lieutenant, he immediately appointed Guangluxun Liu Ting as the Shaofu, and moved Nanyang Taishou Liu Hong as Guangluxun.

With the tacit cooperation of all parties in the imperial court, the formation of the Xiyuan Army progressed very quickly. As soon as the recruitment notice was posted, there was a long queue of people who came to apply, and the number of recruits reached more than 3,000 on the first day. Liu Bo, the guard captain who presided over the recruitment, and Xiao Huangmen Jian Shuo each held a roster in their hands, as long as they were related to themselves or found by a relationship, they didn't even check their bodies, and they passed directly. The magnates of Luoyang, Chang'an, and Gyeonggi sent their own clan children, and their protégés and former officials who were idle at home, to serve as middle and lower-level officers in the Xiyuan Army. The Xiyuan Army is an army formed by the Son of Heaven, except for training, it stays in Luoyang to protect the Son of Heaven, and does not go anywhere, and it is easy for senior officers to get the opportunity to be promoted and enter the court as a secretary. Who wouldn't want to go to such a nice place?

At this time, the lieutenants in Beijing were very anxious, and what their protégés lacked most was this kind of talent who was both civil and military. You always have to lead the soldiers to train, right? The Xiyuan Army does not have their own people, how can the lieutenants rest assured? Although many of the protégés and disciples of Taiwei Fan Ling and Situ Xu Xiang served in the Xiyuan Army, and even Yilang Cao Cao was already one of the commanders of the Xiyuan Army, they were still not at ease. Zhao Zhong discussed with Zhang Rang and wrote a letter to Dong Zhuo, the former general of Xiliang, asking Dong Zhuo to immediately send a group of cronies to Luoyang, who were responsible for arranging these people to the Xiyuan Army.

Dong Zhuo was promoted to the former general and the marquis of Aoxiang this time because of his merits, which has a great relationship with the strong recommendation of the lieutenant officials.

The lieutenant officials have been friends with Dong Zhuo for more than ten years, although they did not pay attention to Dong Zhuo in the early stage, and they did not see his role, but now it is different, now there is a general inside, and there is a general of Zhenbei outside, they are terrified when they think about it, any of these two people who are in charge alone will not let go of the lieutenant official, especially the leopard, who has blatantly killed Xia Yun, and the deaths of Bi Lan and Zuo Feng must be inseparable from him. In their eyes, the current Dong Zhuo is a force that can compete with the Great General and the Zhenbei General. Although Dong Zhuo only had 20,000 horses and lived far away in the border area, the lieutenants thought that as long as they focused on cultivation and then sought an opportunity to transfer him back to the capital, he would be an invincible sword in their hands. As for He Miao, the general of the cavalry, he is useless, he can use it at ordinary times, but he doesn't use it at all when it is critical, and he may fight back, he and He Jin are a family after all.

Of course, the recommendation of the lieutenants was opposed by the ministers, and even the Son of Heaven felt that the promotion of Dong Zhuo to a former general was a favor over the other. Li Hong's great merit, defeating the invading Xianbei people, and killing tens of thousands of Xianbei iron horsemen, was only given to a Zhenbei general and Pingting Hou. The position of the former general is higher than that of the general of Zhenbei, and the township marquis has more food than the pavilion marquis, which is not suitable no matter how you look at it. The lieutenants immediately signed a joint table with Taiwei Cao Song, Situ Xu Xiang and a group of ministers, counting Dong Zhuo's exploits and the importance of Western Xinjiang, and then sent a sum of money to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother came forward to intercede, and this matter was much easier. The Queen Mother said that rewarding Dong Zhuo could make him grateful to Dade and do his best to defend the western frontier for the Han Kingdom. The western frontier is stable, and the burden of spending money like flowing water has been thrown off, and the Great Han Kingdom can be much easier. When his mother speaks, the Son of Heaven has always been obedient, and he will never make his mother unhappy.

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Dong Zhuo suddenly jumped from a small general to a former general, the secretary of the Han Kingdom, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, he not only gave the Son of Heaven 100 million dollars to buy officials, but also sent a lot of money to the Queen Mother and the officials. This time after receiving a letter from the lieutenant, Dong Zhuo immediately discussed with Li Ru. This is a good opportunity to cultivate strength in Luoyang and pave the way for returning to Beijing in the future. Li Ru said that sending people back to Beijing is a trivial matter, and whether the adults support the generals or the lieutenant officials is a major matter, and now the battle for the imperial throne in Luoyang has reached the point of tension, and if you are not careful, you will be crushed. Dong Zhuo thought for a long time and didn't dare to speak. He doesn't support anyone, he supports the Son of Heaven. Whether it is a relative or a lieutenant, once he holds power, which one will not bring disaster to the country and the people? Although he went back and forth between the two for the sake of his career, giving gifts and bribes, he hated these people in his heart. He fantasized that if he could gain His Majesty's trust and rank as the third duke, he would have to do everything possible to recover the money he had given away, not only the principal, but also the interest. But at the end of the day, reality is still reality, and he has to make a choice. The Son of Heaven is currently hugging the Zhongguan tightly for the sake of the emperor, and supporting the Son of Heaven is actually to take refuge in the Zhongguan, but behind the general is the support of the gate lord clan, and the strength is strong, once the Son of Heaven loses the battle for the emperor's unification, everything is finished for him, and even his life is a problem.

Seeing that Dong Zhuo had not spoken, Li Ru knew that it was difficult for him to make a decision, so he said to him that the wisest thing for an adult to do is to follow closely behind the gate lord clan, whether the lieutenant official falls, or the general falls, the scholar clan will never fall, this is the only way to ensure the wealth of the family. Although the scholars did not support the abolition of the Son of Heaven and the general, one thing is certain, that is, once the general killed the lieutenant and forced the Son of Heaven to establish the prince to inherit the imperial system, the next thing was the power struggle between the scholars and the general. If the scholar clan wants to defeat the general, he must join forces with the Son of Heaven, and in order to regain the imperial power, the Son of Heaven must also rely on the scholar clan. Now the Son of Heaven is trying his best to win over the scholars for the sake of the emperor, and the scholars are also catering to the Son of Heaven for the sake of the future. In the battle for imperial dominance, the final winner must be the scholars.

Dong Zhuo looked at Li Ru and sneered, If the outcome of the battle for the imperial throne is exactly the same as what you said, what else do I send people to the capital for? What am I still doing with this right and wrong? I might as well hide in the West and ignore it. Li Ru was very strange and didn't understand what Dong Zhuo meant. Dong Zhuo's desire for power is very strong, how can he have such a wise idea of protecting himself? If he does not join the whirlpool of this power struggle, Dong Zhuo will not have the opportunity to enter the court and rank as the third prince until he dies.

Dong Zhuo said something that made Li Ru fall into deep thought.

This dynasty relied on countless low-born generals to conquer the world, and most of the military meritorious class in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China entered the center of power, but with the rise of the scholar clan, the military meritorious class gradually declined away from the court. After the scholars became the core of power, they were important ministers when they entered, and generals when they came out, Zhang Wen, Lu Zhi and Zhu Jun are prominent examples, but the military class can only charge on the battlefield, behead the generals and capture the flag, if you want to enter the court, it is not an easy task, Liangzhou Sanming Huangfu Gui, Zhang Huan and Duan Cheng, today's Huangfu Song is a living example.

In order to get the recognition of the scholars, the Liangzhou Sanming general made a lot of attempts and efforts to enter the court and gain power. The three of them once put down their swords and halberds, devoted themselves to learning, and also wanted to fight for a reputation as a great Confucian. Huangfu Gui studied "Poems" and "Yi" for 14 years, and taught more than 300 disciples; Zhang Huan once worshipped Zhu Chong, a famous scholar at that time, as his teacher, specializing in "Ouyang Shangshu", and had his own unique views on "Mou's Chapters and Sentences", and also wrote more than 300,000 words of "Shang Shu's Difficulty", with thousands of disciples; Duan Cheng also studied scriptures from famous teachers, but together with the border war, the nature of these three people was immediately exposed, and they recommended themselves one after another and asked Ying to fight, so in the eyes of the bureaucrats of the scholar clan and the famous scholars, no matter how much these three people read the scriptures and wrote books, they were just warriors, and they had no effect except for fighting. Since learning cannot be recognized by the scholars, then be a man. The emperor's rules are decent, and he resolutely hates what the mortals hate. Huangfu Gui did not associate with his relatives and general Liang Ji, saying that he was a vegetarian in the corpse, and when the party was in trouble, he had to write to the party, but in the end, he got the evaluation that "although he is a famous general, his reputation is not high", and he got nothing. Zhang Huan was very knowledgeable and brilliant, and finally entered the court to become an official, but he fell into the trap in a daze, and became a traitor to suppress the eunuch Chen Fan and the general Dou Wu's minions, and finally was despised by the scholars. In order to enter the center of power, he was willing to work for the eunuchs, and even hunted down the Taixue students with the Shi clan as enemies. Although he finally spent money to buy a lieutenant, ranked as the third duke, but he was not allowed by the scholars, and was later implicated in the matter of the lieutenant Wang Fu, and was arrested and imprisoned by the cool official Yang Qiu, drank doves and died, and his personal wealth was empty, and his reputation was ruined. Today's Huangfu Song has already seen through it, and simply hid at home to retire.

It can be seen from this that it is not only not easy for the warriors of this dynasty to be recognized by the scholars, enter the prime minister, and enter the core of power, but it is simply impossible. Zhang Huan and Duan Cheng of Liangzhou Sanming have brought too much harm to the Shi clan, a martial artist is a martial artist, a barbarian is a barbarian, when the Shi clan wants to use you, you are a scholar, you are one of them, when you have no effect, you go home to retire.

Dong Zhuo thinks that if he follows behind these gate lords and gives them tools to use, the final outcome will be like Huangfu Song at most, take it out and use it when you want to use it, and throw it aside when you don't use it. Dong Zhuo said, why should I use these people? I have fought all my life and made countless feats for the Great Han Kingdom, why should I live like a slave looking at their faces? If they win the battle for the throne in the end, I won't go through this troubled water.

Li Ru had to rethink, he spent more than ten years and worked hard to help Dong Zhuo have today's status, and he had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enter Luoyang, how could he give up easily? But if Dong Zhuo insists on giving up this opportunity and not entering Luoyang, Dong Zhuo will lose the opportunity to control power, and without Dong Zhuo, how can he take revenge? How to take revenge on the emperor of the Great Han Kingdom who brought him great calamity?

Li Ru thought for a moment and said, it's better for adults to follow behind the scholars. As soon as the eunuch died, the scholars must rely on the adults in order to get rid of the general. After the adults entered Beijing, they helped the scholars get rid of the generals, and Luoyang was stable, and the Son of Heaven was going to use the Zhenbei general Li Hong to deter the scholars and force the scholars to agree to abolish the heirs. At this time, who else can the scholars rely on besides adults? And what about the Son of Heaven? Of course, the Son of Heaven wants you to be on his side and help him deal with the scholars. Adults are left and right, and they will be able to hold heavy power, plus with the Xiliang army and Luoyang's Xiyuan army as the backing, the power of the adults is so great, I am afraid that the world will no longer be incomparable. At that time, whether the scholars are dead or alive or not look at the faces of adults? The lord helped the Son of Heaven establish the imperial system, and his achievements were high, and since then, the lord has been a great minister of the Han Dynasty under one person.

Dong Zhuo was moved. What about Li Hong?

Li Ru said with a smile, if the generals and scholars want to kill the lieutenant officials and establish the emperor's unity, they must first solve the threat of the Zhenbei general, otherwise, they will not even dare to move. At that time, General Zhenbei was still alive, so it's hard to say.

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru discussed the situation in Luoyang and what might happen in the future many times, and finally, Dong Zhuo finally agreed to Li Ru's suggestion and took refuge in the gate lord clan. He asked Li Ru to take his younger brother Dong Min (read min), more than 30 henchmen, and a large number of treasures and silk silks, and quickly rushed to Luoyang.

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The Son of Heaven saw that the formation of the West Garden Army was smooth and the progress was fast, and he was in a very good mood, although the war in the north was raging and the people were displaced, but he was out of sight, and he soaked in the West Garden every day and had fun with the concubines and palace maids, and enjoyed the flowers in the garden.

The Hun Zhonglang wrote to report the victory, saying that he had ambushed the rebels near Baitu, beheaded 3,000 people, and captured more than 400,000 head of livestock. The Son of Heaven was very excited, and said to the ministers that last month, the Zhenbei army annihilated the white wave ant thieves in Hanoi, and beheaded more than 30,000 people, and killed the leader of the ant thieves, Guo Tai, this time Liyi defeated the Xiongnu rebels again, it seems that the situation in northern Xinjiang is improving, and the Xianbei people are estimated to be defeated.

Youzhou Mu Liu Yu and Zhenbei General Li Hong also wrote at this time, reporting to the Son of Heaven, saying that the army had attacked the rebels in Jicheng and had driven the rebels to Liaoxi. The Son of Heaven was very happy and ordered to reward the front-line soldiers. But then he received two bad news, the Xianbei people occupied Yuyang, then Lulongsai, and the Xiongnu prince Zuoxian was assassinated in Zhuolucheng in early April.

"This leopard has learned badly, first report the good news, then report the worries, King Zuo Xian has been dead for so long, and he didn't tell me until now." The Son of Heaven smiled and put the chapter on the desk, looked at the ministers in the Shangshu room and said, "What do you say, what does Li Aiqing mean?" ”

"The minister believes that in addition to stabilizing the morale of the army, General Li mainly wants His Majesty to personally issue an order to give Da Danyu." Han Fu said, "Now that the Xiongnu are in turmoil, the Marquis of Subu Gudu has established himself as a big Danyu in Meiji, and he has sent people to Beijing several times to ask for His Majesty's recognition. Now that King Zuo Xian was assassinated, and his son Tie Ye was also killed in battle, and there is no one left to inherit Da Shan Yu in Shan Yuting, why don't Your Majesty push the boat down the river......"

Han Fu is in his fifties, with a thin figure, fair skin, three locks of long beard, and an elegant temperament.

The Son of Heaven frowned and looked at Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi shook his head and said in a very resolute tone: "Your Majesty, Lord Han's discussion is very inappropriate. A few days ago, His Majesty had issued an edict that clearly stated that our Great Han Kingdom supports Shan Yuting and resolutely suppresses rebellion. Can't we just go back on our words because things have changed? Where is the majesty of the Great Han Kingdom? ”

"Lord Lu, the current situation is very serious, the treasury has been seriously depleted, and it is unable to support the military needs of the two battlefields. If the war continues until July or August, we will have no food to continue to provide, so ......"

Han Fu didn't continue, and the Son of Heaven and several ministers looked at each other speechlessly.

"Your Majesty, from the courtier's point of view, the war in Youzhou is still temporarily suspended. We agreed with General Li and temporarily abandoned the eastward march to pursue the rebels, and at the same time ordered him to march to Jicheng to prevent the Xianbei people from taking advantage of the situation to go south, but we must strictly prohibit him from taking the initiative to attack north. Xu Jing said, "The war in Bingzhou, especially the defense of Yanmen Pass, is currently the most important. The minister felt that it was better to concentrate his forces to defeat the Xianbei people who attacked Yanmen Pass first, so as to protect the two counties of Taiyuan and Shangdang from intrusion, and to ensure that Gyeonggi was worry-free. ”

"What about the rebellion of the Huns?" The Son of Heaven asked.

"For the time being, too. Huloulan and Tie Ye's father and son are dead, the Huns have no Da Shan Yu, Shan Yuting will definitely re-elect a new Da Dan Yu, and they will not have the heart to attack Meiji in the short term. Xu Jing said, "This dynasty does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Xiongnu, so Your Majesty must not make an exception to grant the seal, or let them deal with it themselves, Your Majesty only needs to issue an order to recognize the new Da Shan Yu." ”

The Son of Heaven turned his head to look at Huangfu Song. In military affairs, he still believes in Huangfu Song.

"Your Majesty, the Hun rebels must be fought." Huangfu Song pointed to the map and said, "Attacking the Xiongnu rebels can contain their forces in case they reinforce Yanmen Pass." Only by dragging the Xiongnu rebels will we have a chance to defeat the Xianbei people. These two battlefields are closely related, and the battle against the Xiongnu rebels must not stop. ”

"Tens of thousands of troops are out to fight, and they need a lot of grain and grass, and it is difficult for us to continue to supply." Xu Jing frowned and said.

Huangfu Song said with a smile: "Lord Xu doesn't need to worry about this, Lord Koji has captured hundreds of thousands of livestock from the Xiongnu rebels, and the purpose is to continue to attack in the next few months. Koji-sama used to be my commander, a man who could fight, had brains, and was very brave. The Marquis of the Bones of Xu Bu and the White Horse Copper touched him, and they suffered hardship. ”

"What about Yanmen Pass?" The Son of Heaven asked, "Aiqing thinks that Yanmen Pass may be held?" ”

"Absolutely definitely." Huangfu Song said confidently, "Your Majesty and you only saw that the Yanmen Pass was fought extremely fiercely, but can you see Lord Xu sending a document asking for help like snowflakes?" ”

"What? Does Xu Rong have a way to defeat the Xianbei people? The Son of Heaven was a little relieved when he saw Huangfu Song's confident appearance, and he asked curiously with a smile on his face.

"When Lord Xu was in Western Xinjiang, he repeatedly defeated the Qiang people, and even the June thunder suffered his losses. This man is silent, does not like to talk or show off, has few friends, and does not know many people who know him well, but I know that he can fight. Huangfu Song nodded at Yanmen Pass with his hand and said, "He must have a way." ”

"The two battlefields of Bingzhou are now strong and we are weak, and it will take a while to distinguish the victory and defeat, but Bingzhou is related to the safety of Gyeonggi, so the grain and grass baggage should be satisfied with Bingzhou first."

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"What about Youzhou?" The Son of Heaven asked.

"Let General Li take Jicheng first. If Jicheng can't be taken, it can't be countered in the east, let alone attacking Hu in the north. Huangfu Song sighed, "General Li asked to go north to attack Yuyang at this time, he was really confused, he was enraged by Murong Feng's continuous attacks, and he had already fallen into Murong Feng's trap. I wrote the paperwork for him. ”

"Can Aiqing make it clear, I don't understand." The Son of Heaven looked at the map, then at Huangfu Song, and asked in a low voice. Han Fu, Xu Jing, Jian Shuo and others looked at Huangfu Song with a solemn expression with puzzled eyes, only Lu Zhi sat on the side and bowed his head to write, as if he hadn't heard.

"Your Majesty, the men and horses of Danhan Mountain and Tuoba Feng were seriously damaged in the Western Xinjiang War last year, and their vitality has not recovered, why do they still send a large army to attack Yanmen Pass this year?" Huangfu Song pointed to the map and said: "In addition to taking the opportunity to plunder and replenish his losses, Tuoba Feng's real purpose is to keep the four northern counties that captured the state last year. Tuoba Feng is a grassland hero, he will not attack Yanmen Pass at any cost just to plunder, nor will he help Murong Feng invade Youzhou without any benefit, he is still doing it for himself. Not only did he have to listen to Murong Feng's words obediently, but he also had to be grateful to Murong Feng. ”

"Murong Feng occupied a large area of land south of Yanshan, and after capturing Yuyang and Lulongsai, the gateway to Youzhou had been opened, and the counties in the central and southern parts of the country were no longer in danger to defend, and General Li's army was pinned down by him near Jicheng and was unable to advance eastward, and the rebels and Karasuma people took the opportunity to firmly occupy the northeastern counties of Youzhou and get a respite. Murong Feng's purpose in doing this was not only to capture the territory of the Great Han Kingdom, but also to help Tuoba Feng completely occupy the four northern counties of the state. ”

"Your Majesty, please see ......," Huangfu Song said, pointing his finger at the state, "If we go out of the fortress to attack Tuoba Feng and recover the four northern counties, Murong Feng can immediately wave his army south, and the rebels and Karasuma people can also move their army westward, then Youzhou and Jizhou will face a crisis; If we attack Murong Feng, Tuoba Feng will immediately go south to Kou Pass to attack Yanmen Pass, threatening the hinterland of Bingzhou and Gyeonggi; If we attack the rebels in the east, Tuoba Feng and Murong Feng can be dispatched at the same time. ”

"Your Majesty, Northern Xinjiang is now a dead game, and we are like a big dragon on the chessboard, firmly trapped by the Xianbei people, unable to move."

The Son of Heaven and the ministers suddenly woke up and were dumbfounded.

"How so?" The Son of Heaven touched his little face and muttered to himself at a loss, "How can this be? Didn't we beat the Xianbei people badly last year? ”

"The root cause of this is because the ant thieves in the northern Xinjiang rebelled, giving Murong Feng an opportunity to take advantage of." Huangfu Song said, "Your Majesty still remembers that when the Xianbei people invaded last year, the ministers and others said that what Murong Feng hoped for most was that the Han Kingdom was as chaotic as possible, and that the Han Dynasty would be in turmoil and strife, so he could fish in troubled waters and occupy the border counties in my northern Xinjiang." Now it seems that today's situation is something he has been planning for a long time and has planned for a long time. Since the invasion of the Xianbei people last year, followed by Zhang Yan's entry into Taiyuan, Zhang Ju Zhang Chun and the Karasuma people rebelled, the Xiongnu slaughtered all ethnic groups and rebelled, and the Xiongnu killed Dadan in a full-scale rebellion. ”

"Although we defeated the Xianbei people last year, we lost the four northern counties; This year, although we defeated the ant thieves and the Karasuma people, we lost the five counties of Yuyang, Lulongsai, and the northeastern part of Youzhou. Huangfu Song sighed dejectedly, "It's easy to lose them, but it's very difficult to get them back." ”

The Son of Heaven stood in front of the map in a daze, thinking for a long time and it was difficult to understand, he asked: "Aiqing, why did we win everywhere, but we still lost?" Why did the situation in Youzhou become more and more sinister after Li Aiqing's victory in Jicheng? ”

Huangfu Song shook his head and sighed: "General Li fought this battle of Jicheng well, quickly, decisively, and resolutely, otherwise, General Li may be finished." Although the current situation in Youzhou is becoming more and more sinister, fortunately, General Li's strength still exists, and we still have room for maneuver. ”

The Son of Heaven was a little frightened by Huangfu Song, his little eyes blinked rapidly, and he asked in a low voice, "Can Aiqing explain a little bit?" ”

"After General Li arrived in Youzhou, if he advanced slowly and let the rebels calmly withdraw to Liaoxi, he would chase the rebels all the way. When General Li's troops entered Liaoxi, Murong Feng took Yuyang and Lu Longsai again, and led the army to pour down, cutting off General Li's grain route and blocking General Li's retreat, even if General Li led the army back, there would not be many people left. Huangfu Song explained, "But Murong Feng miscalculated. Because of the chaos of the Huns and Tuoba Fengkou Pass, General Li was anxious to fight for war, and he was eager to kill Zhang Chun with one punch, so that he could return to help as soon as possible, and as a result, he led the army into Juyong Pass in advance, and then ran to the rear of the rebels with iron cavalry to cut off the rebels' retreat, forcing the rebels to have to fight a decisive battle with them. General Li suffered great damage and was unable to fight again for a while, and Murong Feng had no choice but to occupy Yuyang and Lulongsai in advance to restrain General Li from advancing eastward into western Liaoxi or withdrawing his troops and annexing the state. ”

The Son of Heaven suddenly realized, and looked at Huangfu Song with a pair of eyes adoringly, "Aiqing, is there a way to deal with it?" ”

Huangfu Song said helplessly: "Your Majesty, the battle of Northern Xinjiang is a foregone conclusion, and what the Xianbei people have to do now is to break through the Yanmen Pass and make the Great Han Kingdom more chaotic, so that they can take the opportunity to occupy the border counties again." If Yanmen Pass is lost, Taiyuan and Shangdang are robbed, and millions of displaced people and the Yellow Turban Army are in chaos, Gyeonggi will inevitably be in danger. At that time, in order to stabilize Gyeonggi, we can only withdraw our troops to hold the Yellow River, and then spend a few years killing the Yellow Turban Army and pacifying the displaced people. In the past few years, we have not been able to take care of the northern Xinjiang, and Youzhou and Merge will be lost. ”

The Son of Heaven was upset by Huangfu Song's words, and in anger, he waved his hand and shouted: "Aiqing is the first-class general of my Great Han Kingdom, doesn't he even have a way to deal with it?" ”

"The minister has just said that the Hun rebels want to fight, in order to contain the Hun rebels in order to prevent them from increasing their troops at Yanmen Pass. Yanmen Pass must be defended to the death, Lord Xu must have a way to defeat Tuoba Feng, and the minister believes that Lord Xu can do it. As for Youzhou, General Li should be asked to take Jicheng as soon as possible, form a confrontation with Murong Feng, and prevent him from going south to plunder, but His Majesty must issue an order strictly prohibiting him from attacking Murong Feng in the north. ”

"Why can't you fight?"

"Once General Li is defeated, there will be no troops left in northern Xinjiang, and Youzhou will also be lost."

"You mean General Li can't beat Murong Feng?"

Huangfu Song hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the minister is worried that General Li will not be able to defeat Murong Feng. At present, General Li does not have enough troops and is not absolutely sure of victory, can His Majesty guarantee that General Li will be provided with a steady stream of food and weapons in the next four to five months? ”

Tianzi was stunned for a moment and did not speak. What guarantees do I take? I'm going to build the West Garden Army.

"Once General Li entangles Murong Feng, he will lose half his life if he doesn't die. If the food is cut off, he will be finished, and Youzhou will be finished. Huangfu Song arched his hand and said, "General Li has always disobeyed military orders, often acting recklessly, and the army is dangerous, but this time Your Majesty can't let him do this again, so please Your Majesty must issue an order to cut off his idea of attacking north, and at the same time, the food and weapons given to Youzhou should also be halved, forcing him to stay in Jicheng." ”

"We fully support Yanmen Pass. As long as Tuoba Feng is repulsed, the situation in the northern frontier can be temporarily stabilized, and then we will make a plan for the future. ”

"Afterthought?" The Son of Heaven asked rhetorically, "What is Aiqing's strategy?" ”

"Stabilize and merge the state, recruit a large army, recover the vitality, and in time, we will attack from the state and Youzhou at the same time, and we will definitely be able to recover the territory and raise the prestige of our country."

The Son of Heaven let out a long sigh, "Let's fight, then let's fight quickly, I can't stand it anymore." ”

"How many battlefields or at the same time?" Xu Jing asked worriedly, "What about after July?" ”

Huangfu Song looked at the Son of Heaven and said word by word: "Stop building the West Garden Army." ”

The Son of Heaven was stunned for a moment, and his little eyes suddenly widened, "No." ”

"Your Majesty, the suspension of preparations for the Xiyuan Army does not affect the safety of Gyeonggi......"

"Don't say any more." The Son of Heaven said unhappily, "The money for the construction of the Xiyuan Army was all spent from the Shaofu Treasury, and I didn't take a single money from the Dasi Nong Mansion Treasury. ”

"Give an order to Xu Rong, telling him that he must repel the Xianbei people before July, otherwise, there will be no military funds for him, and there will be no military funds for any money."

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When Xu Rong received the holy decree, he was in Hedong Mansion.

Due to the reopening of salt and iron in the Great Han Kingdom, the merchants who had gathered in Jinyang and Hedong Prefecture immediately crossed the Yellow River and went to Gyeonggi and Fuzhou counties in the Central Plains to deal in salt and iron, and the merchants in the two places were much less for a while. Xu Rong was very homely, and hurriedly rushed to Hedong Mansion to meet with the head of the Hedong Wei Valve and several other wealthy families to discuss the salt and iron business. Wei Zhu, the head of the Hedong Wei family, was very reasonable, and he said to Xu Rong, please be relieved, my lord, we are from Hedong, of course, we mainly operate salt and iron in Hedong, and go to other states and counties to operate salt and iron, just to make a little more, and it will not affect the income of the Zhenbei General's Mansion. Then he asked about the ordnance building. He wanted to build a workshop to make ordnance in the name of the Zhenbei General's Mansion. There are no big workshops, small fights, firstly, the quantity of ordnance is small, the quality is poor, and secondly, he does not make much money.

Xu Rong thought about it for a while and said, if you want to do it, you can build a big workshop, and the workshop will be built near the iron mine in Anyi, otherwise it will not be built. It's boring to do a workshop with a small output, and even half of the Jinyang arsenal is not satisfied in a year, what are you doing? Wei Zhu was taken aback and asked, how much ordnance do you need in a year? Xu Rong said with a smile, at least two Jinyang arsenals. Wei Yi was even more surprised, what do you want so many ordnance for? Running out? Xu Rong said that if we can't use up the arsenals we can sell to various prefectures and counties, we can also sell the arsenals to Luoyang and Chang'an. We can sell it at a lower price, cheaper than their own workshop, do you say they are willing to spend money to do it themselves or are they willing to spend money to buy it? Wei Zhu thought for a while, and said that it would take several years for the workshop to be on such a large scale, and besides, his financial resources alone were not enough, so he needed to find a few more Hedong clans to do it together. Xu Rong said, that's your business, come to me again when you're done. Now that there are frequent wars in northern Xinjiang, it is estimated that it will take a long time, and I am anxious to ask for armaments, and you can send me as many as you want. Wei Yiyi was overjoyed when he heard this, and nodded again and again.

Xu Rong and Xie Ming resigned and left the house, and then visited Wang Han, the Taishou of Hedong, and the two sides talked about spring plowing and May harvest, and then he hurried to understand the county. Chang'an giants Xu Ling and Lu Zhong had already arrived here in advance. Xu Rong said, the salt and iron production in Bingzhou is still too small, you don't want to make money, but I am anxious to use the money, you must find a way to increase production. Xu Ling said, the financial resources are not enough. Xu Rong said, you have recently invested all your money in other states and counties to boil salt and open mines, if this is the case again, I will tell the general that you will not be allowed to operate alone. Xu Ling hurriedly said with a smiling face, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, I'll find a way to do this right away. I have a few friends who want to buy land in Bingzhou, and if the adults are really short of money, they can sell the land. Xu Rong flatly refused. Whoever wants to sell land in Bingzhou is looking for death, and this matter is not to be discussed. Xu Rong said, there is one more thing, thirty percent of the weapons you sent last time cannot be used, and the money for these thirty percent of the weapons will not be given. Xu Ling saw Xu Rong's cold face, and he didn't dare to say more, so he had to grit his teeth and forget it. However, Xu Rong then said something that made the two happy. Xu Rong asked them to go directly to Jinyang to expand the ordnance manufacturing workshop in Jinyang.

Just as the two of them were about to leave, Xu Rong suddenly asked, "What kind of deal are Yang Feng and you doing?" ”

The faces of the two changed, and they couldn't say why. Xu Rong pointed at Lu Zhong and said: "I respect you as the elder brother of Lord Koji, so I don't know what to say, but I am here to give you a word of advice, if something happens to Yang Feng and if something happens to the Yellow Turban Army, you and Xu Ling will not be able to eat and walk around, and when you cut off your head, Lord Koji will not be able to protect you." ”

Xu Ling was angry and said unhappily: "Lord Xu has said this. Your Zhenbei General's Mansion makes a lot of money, and the soldiers of the Zhenbei General's Mansion pay a lot of money, why should the Yellow Turban Army farm? Why do they pay half a salary, and the Tuntian soldiers don't pay a single penny? Getting rich is also everyone's money. Master Xu thinks that we shouldn't help the Yellow Turban Army, can you say it well, why are you blowing your beard and glaring? You think I'm scared? ”

Lu Zhong hurriedly grabbed Xu Ling and signaled him not to provoke Xu Rong. Xu Rong was not angry, he said lightly: "You know the situation in Northern Xinjiang, if the Yellow Turban Army rebels again, you also know what the consequences will be, you have invested a lot of money here, and you should hope that Northern Xinjiang can be stabilized." But now, for a little profit, you are instigating Yang Feng and his subordinates to do some illegal military discipline and destroy the relationship between the Zhenbei General's Mansion and the Yellow Turban Army. You can risk losing your money, but I can't turn a blind eye at the risk of losing the northern frontier. I'm advising you, not overall. Let's go, next time I do it again, I won't say it again, I'll send someone to kill you directly. ”

The two looked shocked, angry and scared, and left with mixed feelings.

Xie Ming watched the two of them walk away, and said in a low voice: "My lord, Lord Yang and his subordinates are also a little harder, this Hedong is a rich place, and there are many rich people, so you can't blame them for thinking about it." ”

Xu Rong looked at him, shook his head and said, "Zhizhi, be careful yourself, don't be dragged into the water by these giant businessmen." If you look at the hussar battalion that shoots the tassels, more than a dozen have already been killed. Take the money if it's your own, don't take any of it if it's not your own. You come with me to meet Yang Feng, I want to talk to him. ”

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Xu Rong returned to Jinyang overnight, convened the two mansions of the Hutian School Governor's Mansion and the Diannong Duwei Mansion to discuss the May harvest, and then made some explanations about the spring ploughing and sweeping, and then hurried home to have a look.

At the end of last year, many generals brought their families from various places to Jinyang, and after the war in northern Xinjiang began, many left-behind generals quietly sent their families to Hedong. At this time, Xu Rong took his family from Chang'an to Jinyang. He has parents, a wife, and three children, and after the family arrived in Jinyang from Chang'an, Xu Rong has not returned home to ask his parents for peace, and he has not seen his wife and children.

The family happily had a reunion dinner, and before they could chat a few words, Kuaima delivered an urgent book. The Yellow Turban Army of Montenegro went down the mountain to grab food. Xu Rong hurriedly said goodbye to his parents, wife and children, and returned to the Longshan camp with his attendants.

"Call Master Li to see me immediately."

Xiao Lazy was sleeping, and when he heard that Xu Rong was looking for him in a hurry, he hurriedly ran to the big tent, "What's the matter with the adult?" ”

Xu Rong spread out the map and explained the situation, "You and Arc Ding immediately rushed to Shangdang with three thousand iron horses. He looked up at Xiao Lazy and said with a wry smile, "Zi Rebellion, I'm just you three thousand people, and there is no one left." ”

Xiao Lazy smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord, three thousand people are enough." It's just that after I leave, there will be ...... left in this Jinyang."

Xu Rong waved his hand and said indifferently, "It's okay." Shouyan brought a hundred black panther righteous from returning. There are a hundred of them, and that's enough. ”

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