"There are so many troops in Xiliang?" Li Hong asked in surprise, "Last year, Xianbei invaded Northern Xinjiang, and we used all our strength in Youzhou to gather more than 10,000 people. It stands to reason that we have a population of more than one million in Youzhou, and only six or seven hundred thousand in Liangzhou, but how can the disparity in the number of troops between the two states be so large? ”

"For decades, or even hundreds of years, Liangzhou has had many wars and few non-wars, and the number of troops has always been huge, so this is the most expensive place in the Han Kingdom." Sang Yang said, "As soon as the Xiliang War happened, the imperial court was nervous, and Your Majesty was even more nervous, lest Chang'an and Sanfu be attacked and endanger the safety of Kyoto, so we must stabilize Xiliang at all costs." ”

"There is a war in Youzhou, and the court and His Majesty are not nervous, why? Far away from Luoyang and Chang'an, they don't feel the crisis, so they don't pay enough attention. If Your Majesty doesn't pay attention to it, you won't invest a lot of financial and material resources, and without the support of financial and material resources, of course, Youzhou will not be able to form a huge border army and county soldiers. ”

Li Hong suddenly nodded again and again.

"Li Zhonglang, when will we join up with Captain Xianyu's troops?" Sang Yang asked in a low voice.

"Is San-sama in a hurry?" Li Hong said with a smile.

Sang Yang smiled reluctantly and said, "Of course I'm in a hurry. Before leaving, Lord Taiwei repeatedly instructed me to warn you not to delay the military plane and delay the counterinsurgency of the entire Xiliang. Lord Taiwei said that after Beigong Boyu evacuated Duyang, no one knew how to act and which route to take, so Taiwei Mansion did not have a specific plan to eliminate Beigong Boyu, and it was completely up to us to find a way to eliminate Beigong Boyu's 50,000 horses. The elimination of Beigong Boyu is equivalent to pacifying half of the Western Frontier, and the speed of annihilating the Xiliang rebels will be greatly accelerated. Lord Taiwei has completely entrusted us with such an important matter, do you think I can not be in a hurry? ”

Li Hong said solemnly: "As soon as I arrived at the Xiliang battlefield, I got such trust from Lord Taiwei, and led an army north to Liangzhou to quell the rebellion. Therefore, please believe me, Lord Sang, I will definitely annihilate Beigong Boyu in the shortest possible time. ”

Sang Yang said with relief: "It's great that Li Zhonglang can think like this." Lord Shangshu Liu Yu Liu wrote several letters to Lord Taiwei, strongly recommending that you lead the army to fight alone and give full play to your attacking expertise, saying that this may be the only chance to pacify the Xiliang rebels. He also gave a detailed list of examples of your defeat of the Xianbei people in Youzhou. Lord Taiwei's determination to let you lead your troops north into Liangzhou alone has nothing to do with Lord Liu's strong recommendation. Lord Taiwei trusts you, and he has taken great pains to create this secret opportunity for you to go north to annihilate Beigong Boyu, and you must not let it down. ”

Li Hong said movingly: "Thank you, Lord Liu, thank you, Lord Taiwei." ”

"Then you have to trust me." Sang Yang said solemnly, "I'm not here to inform you of the plan of action, nor to supervise the army, I am entrusted by Lord Taiwei to show you the way, help you come up with ideas, and solve problems for you, so you must trust me, and you had better discuss everything with me." This is Liangzhou, a very strange place for you and your subordinates, and if you are not careful, your efforts will be wasted. To be more serious, if the troops suffer losses, this Xiliang counterinsurgency matter will be completely ruined. ”

"The matter of Xiliang's rebellion will not be completed this year, and Lord Taiwei and we will be punished. What is especially important is that whether it is this year or next year, the Great Han Kingdom will not raise 50,000 troops at all. ”

Li Hong's face immediately turned red. His heart was told to Sang Yang, and he didn't trust Sang Yang at all.

According to Fu Xie's instructions, he waited for the mulberry sheep outside the gate. Sang Yang immediately followed him on the road, and on the way, he explained to Li Hong in detail the plan of Lord Taiwei. In order to gain Li Hong's trust and full cooperation, Zhang Wen also specially authorized Li Hong to use the piece of troop transfer tiger talisman in his own hand, and he could requisition all the troops on the Xiliang battlefield as a last resort.

Zhang Wen was hurt by the Xiliang people, but he couldn't catch the handle of these Xiliang generals and soldiers, and he was dumb and ate Coptis chinensis, and he knew that he was suffering. Zhou Shen almost quarreled with Zhang Wen about this matter. He thought that Zhang Wen was too weak and deceitful to kill people with a knife, and was used as a monkey by these Xiliang people, and even his subordinates died in vain. Zhang Wen had no way to explain. Without conclusive evidence, how can he arrest and kill people? Moreover, when he left Luoyang, Huangfu Song had already told him about the situation. His eldest son Huangfu Hong and second son Huangfu Li are both related to Bian Zhang and Han Sui, and he has no way to control his own sons, let alone others. The solution to the problem of Xiliang is not to kill, but to appease, and to find a way to solve the problem that Xiliang has deposited for decades. Zhang Wen is a veteran minister of the DPRK for decades, and of course he knows these things. So although he resented these people who colluded with the Xiliang rebels, he thought that there was extenuating circumstances, there was no need to kill, and it would be useless to kill, the key was to find a way to solve the problem.

When the situation in Xiliang became more and more severe, he proposed to the emperor to transfer 100,000 troops from other states and counties. The emperor said that he was crazy and confused. But in the end, he helped him and drove Li Hong from Jizhou. Although it is only 50,000 people, it is already very problematic.

Zhang Wen had his own troops, and began to think of ways to make it work. Zhang Wen has his own views on the Xiliang issue. He felt that Huangfu Song's method was not wrong, but it was not suitable for the imperial court and His Majesty's intentions. He believes that it is necessary to suppress first and then soothe. Suppression is to suppress belonging to Qianghu. This Xiliang rebellion was the first to be initiated by these Qiang people, and it must be killed, otherwise it will be a scourge of rebellion in the future. Hou Fu is Fu Bian Zhang Han Sui. Both of them are famous people in Xiliang, with a group of Han people, and it is easier to communicate ideologically. But it was very difficult to kill Beigong Boyu.

Zhang Wen came up with a plan for a decisive battle with the rebels in Xiaohuai. He wants to create an illusion. First of all, he wants to tell the Xiliang army, you Xiliang people don't fight, I still have the Northern Army and the Jizhou army, you should be careful yourself, and you will have to be a little more restrained when you help the rebels in the future. Secondly, this plan was naturally going to be leaked, and the people in Liangzhou Mansion basically bought it for Han Sui. When the rebels learned the news, they would certainly hesitate. Let's fight, the losses are too great, nothing is gained, there is no need at all. If you don't fight, you have to prepare to retreat.

Zhang Wen thought he would definitely find an opportunity when the rebels retreated.

As a result, Dong Zhuo found an opportunity and inadvertently gave it to Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen immediately discussed with Sang Yang, Gai Xun, and Fu Xie what to do. Later, it was decided that the Xiliang army and Zhou Shen's northern army chased after Bian Zhang Han Sui, making a big noise, and at the same time ordered Li Hong's troops to quietly go north and find an opportunity to destroy Beigong Boyu. Defeat Beigong Boyu, and half of Xiliang's counterinsurgency problem will be solved. Zhang Wen asked Sang Yang to help Li Hong complete the most difficult task. As for hiding their whereabouts and creating the false impression that they are not in the area north of Fufeng County, that is all his business, and Li Hong and them don't have to worry about it.

After Li Hong listened, he was a little dizzy. This gentle-looking and kind captain turned out to be so powerful.

Zhang Wen threw the most difficult problem to himself. It was done according to his plan, and the biggest credit goes to Zhang Wen, whose strategy is impeccable. failed, that was his own incompetence, such a good opportunity, he couldn't annihilate Beigong Boyu, and he had to bear at least half of the responsibility for the failure of Xiliang's rebellion. What help did Zhang Wen give Li Hong? One person, his Taiwei Mansion Governor Shi Sang Yang. A verbal promise to help him hide the whereabouts of the troops. For the rest, nothing. Whether or not you can annihilate Beigong Boyu and his 50,000 horses is your own business.

So Li Hong didn't trust Sang Yang at all. He was originally going to let Sang Yang and Xian Yufu act together. But Mulberry Sheep refused. So Li Hong threw him to Heng Shi. In the morning, the troops rested, and Sang Yang took two attendants and found them by himself.

Sang Yang's words reminded Li Hong. They are very unfamiliar with Xiliang. Whether it is the terrain or customs, whether it is the city or the Han and Qiang people, they are not familiar with it. Even if he found a thousand guides, none of them worked alone, and he basically knew everything about Xiliang. He is the long history of the Taiwei Mansion, and he has been dealing with Xiliang's affairs every day for almost a year.

Li Hong smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to say it.

Sang Yang waved his hand generously and said, "You don't trust me, and I understand that you are responsible for the lives of your 50,000 subordinates." But please believe me, because this is not only your Li Zhonglang's business, but your 50,000 subordinates' business, this is Xiliang's business, and it is the business of hundreds of thousands of people in Xiliang. Besides, it's a matter of the Great Han Kingdom. Li Zhonglang, what do you say now? ”

Li Hong said very happily: "Of course, I told Master Sang what I thought. ”

"According to the original plan to annihilate the enemy, Xian Yufu did not leave Xiaohuaili until this morning, and copied the bread from the retreating rebels. But he had already received my order and left in the early hours of the morning. He is now crossing the Chengguo Canal in the north. After crossing the Chengguo Canal, Xian Yufu's 40,000 troops will march north for 400 miles, directly into the quail city of Anding County, Liangzhou. We will look for an opportunity to destroy the enemy near Quail City. ”

Sang Yang asked in surprise, "You didn't beat him in Duyang?" ”

Li Hong smiled: "Why should I beat him in Duyang?" If he doesn't leave Fufeng County, Beigong Boyu won't let his guard down at all. He is 50,000 people, and I am also 50,000 people, I am looking for death? ”

Sang Yang laughed and said with admiration: "I have confidence in you now." ”

Li Hong smiled slightly and said, "There are still a few questions that need to be verified. Dong Zhuo didn't wait for our support cavalry, would he attack alone? When did Ma Teng cross the Dushui River and rush to Chiba Ridge? Bian Zhang and Han Sui will retreat decisively when they receive the news that they are going to be attacked? Is it to the south, retreat in the direction of the Weishui River or to the north to meet Beigong Boyu? If General Zhou Shen intercepted Han Sui near Yiguo City, and Xian Yufu did not arrive as scheduled, how would Lord Taiwei explain Xian Yufu's whereabouts? If Dong Zhuo and Ma Teng meet up and prepare to attack Du Yang, and I haven't arrived yet, will they carry out this plan to attack Du Yang? ”