Chapter 10 Winning the Central Plains Section 6 on November, Chang'an. Huangfu Li, the envoy of the Jinyang Imperial Court, rushed to Chang'an with the holy decree.

In the holy decree, the Son of Heaven greatly praised Han Sui's contribution to the recovery of Guanzhong, and was promoted to the rank of knight. Han Sui calmly accepted the holy decree, and then feasted Huangfu Li in the mansion and asked about the situation in Jinyang.

Hearing that the general did not return to Jinyang, but agreed with the Son of Heaven to meet in Luoyang, Han Sui's face couldn't help but flash a trace of surprise.

After the banquet was dispersed, Han Sui invited Huangfu Li to the study for a detailed discussion.

"Sir, this is a handwritten letter from Lord Taiwei Xu Rong." Huangfu Li took out a piece of white silk from his arms and respectfully handed it to Han Sui,

"Lord Lieutenant, I hope to get a reply from you."

"What? You're going back to Jinyang soon? Han Sui took Xu Rong's letter and asked in surprise,

"It's all your old friends here, you should stay and spend some more time together."

"The imperial court is migrating a large number of people to Qingdao and Yanzhou, and the official business is very busy, how dare I delay too much time here?" Huangfu Li smiled,

"When the spring comes, when we fight Luoyang together, I will come to meet with my husband again." Han Sui smiled and opened Xu Rong's letter in front of Huangfu Li.

Xu Rong made a brief analysis of the situation in the world after the Great War in the Central Plains, explained the many methods of the imperial court to stabilize and develop the western frontier, and finally implored Han Sui to put the society first, believe in the determination of the Son of Heaven, the eldest princess and the imperial court to fight to the death for the Zhongxing Han, and asked him to be consistent with the imperial court, join hands to fight against Yuan Shao and other rebellions, and make great contributions to the early pacification of the world and the revitalization of the Han Dynasty.

"Zilie wants me to fight Luoyang with him?" Han Sui put down the letter, looked up at Huangfu Li and asked.

"We all know Sir's worries. Ma Chao also told General Yang Feng the meaning of Mr. in Pubanjin, and the Son of Heaven and the imperial court admired and understood Mr. very much, and thanked Mr. for everything he did for Xiliang, so ......" Huangfu Li paused slightly, and then said in a solemn tone,

"The Son of Heaven and the imperial court have issued an order to the general Pang De of the expedition to the west, the general Wei Jun of the Xiangwu general, and the Huwei general Lei Zi, ordering them to immediately lead 20,000 iron cavalry to Hexi, and to recruit Dongqiang Storm Sand, Nie Xiao, Xu Kui, Xianbei Budugen in the west, Xianbei Tuoba Tao in the north and Liu Ming, the right virtuous king of the Xiongnu, a total of six 20,000 iron cavalry to accompany the west." Han Sui was shocked, and his face suddenly showed anger.

Huangfu Li coughed lightly, and continued after a long time: "Originally, Lord Taiwei also wanted to recruit more iron cavalry, but the eldest princess and the imperial court took into account that the Central Plains War had just ended, Hebei's financial resources were tight, and the frequent recruitment of Hu cavalry was also easy to arouse the disgust of the Hu tribes, so the scale of the expeditionary army was controlled at 40,000 people, and the general of the expedition to the west was worshipped as the commander of the army. It is believed that with the courage of Master Pang De, it will not be a problem to defeat Xiqiang and recapture the five counties of Hexi and stabilize the western border. Han Sui only felt a cold murderous aura rushing to his head, and his thin body involuntarily shivered a few times.

The Jinyang Imperial Court suddenly decided to go west, which caught him off guard, and he was confused and at a loss for a while.

"Sir, it's getting late, I'm leaving." Huangfu Li saw Han Sui's frightened expression, and his eyes couldn't help but show a little smugness, he stood up, bowed down and said,

"Sir, can I get your reply tomorrow morning?" Han Sui hesitated for a moment, then stood up and asked in a low voice, "Can you tell me the real reason why the general didn't return to Jinyang?" Huangfu Li shook his head and said with a slight smile: "Sir, why didn't the general return to Jinyang, I don't know, but Hebei is now ruled by the Son of Heaven and the eldest princess, there is no doubt about it." Sir should see that since the great general King Qin successfully rebuilt the imperial court, Hebei has undergone earth-shaking changes. If Hebei is still the Hebei of the past, does Mr. think that today's imperial court can win the Central Plains War? Looking back at Dong Zhuo's defeat, and then looking at Hebei's rise, doesn't Mr. still understand the reason? ”

"In the Central Plains War, the reason why Hebei was able to win was entirely due to the strength of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court."

"Sir may not know much about the specific situation of the Central Plains War. In this Central Plains War, the imperial court continuously requisitioned 1.8 million people in seven months, raised and transported 24,000 wagons and 3,500 ships of grain, grass and baggage. At the time of the decisive battle, the eldest princess also personally went north to the desert and requisitioned 70,000 Hu horsemen to the south. Sir can think about it, in a war of this scale, if there was no strong imperial court commanding the overall situation, if there were no county officials who were absolutely loyal to the imperial court, if there were no people and soldiers who trusted the Son of Heaven and the imperial court very much, and if there were no Saiwaihu people who were afraid of the power of the Han and bowed down to orders, would we have been able to achieve such an unprecedented victory? Can we thus lay the edge of peace in the world? ”

"Although the general is famous and famous, with his personal prestige and power, and with his own strength, can he make all the county officials in the three prefectures of Hebei obey him? Can we guarantee that Hebei will continue to recruit and mobilize people and raise grain and grass within seven months without the slightest mistake? There is a more important place, does the general dare to risk becoming a rebellious remnant of the Han Dynasty for 10,000 years, and risk the destruction of Sheji in the Central Plains, and requisition 70,000 Hu cavalry from outside the Saiwai to go south? ”

"Sir, the general is the general of the Han Dynasty, and he is the Zhongxing minister of the Han Dynasty, and it is precisely because of the loyalty and bravery of the general that the prestige of the Emperor of Heaven and the imperial court of the Han Dynasty has been rebuilt. And it is precisely because the emperor of the Han Dynasty and the imperial court have rebuilt their prestige that the general can command the army to dominate the world and build a great cause. ”

"In the Central Plains War, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei and other rebels gathered more than 300,000 troops to fight a decisive battle in Hebei, but why did they lose? Could it be because the eldest princess requisitioned 70,000 iron horsemen from outside the Saiwai and sent 70,000 iron horsemen south to give the rebels a fatal blow? No, not for this reason, but because Yuan Shao and Liu Biao rebelled and wantonly trampled on the prestige of the Han Emperor and the imperial court, they betrayed the Han Dynasty and betrayed the Celestial Empire, they lost the most powerful force that could conquer the world, and what awaited them was complete defeat. ”

"If you are the enemy of the Han Dynasty, you are bound to be wiped out." Huangfu Li's waving hands were like flying battle flags, and his impassioned voice seemed to turn into the earth-shattering roar of the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry.

Han Sui was dumbfounded, his heart shocked. Ma Chao received Han Sui's letter and rushed back to Chang'an day and night.

"Did Yuki agree to our terms?" Han Sui asked eagerly.

"No, none of the key conditions have been agreed." Ma Chao said hatefully,

"Probably because I saw that the Northeast Frontier Army of Hebei had no signs of crossing the river to attack, and the Central Plains battlefield was all suspended, so Feng Ji's tone became harder and harder. He refused to give up Tongguan and Wuguan, and refused to give us money and food when the heavy snow came. The relief that had been promised to Si Liang was postponed until next spring on the pretext that Hanoi had fallen and that more troops needed to be recruited to launch a counteroffensive. ”

"Next spring?" Han Sui laughed angrily,

"In the spring of next year, the Northern Xinjiang Army will cross the river to attack, and the money and food he gave me will be used to fight the war. Yuan Shao's account is very fine. ”

"Is it to let the Qiang people return to Xiliang temporarily?" Ma Chao asked,

"It's going to snow soon, and if we delay it for a while, we won't be able to go back."

"Let them go back immediately." Han Sui nodded and said,

"We have limited food and grass. If everyone stays in Guanzhong, we will have to kill horses at the beginning of the year. You also go back with the army. ”

"Me?" Ma Chao was stunned for a moment,

"I'll go back to Xiliang too?"

"Yes, Hebei has formed an army of 40,000 people to march westward and is heading to Hexi." Han Sui smiled bitterly,

Huangfu Li said that Pang De would rush to Wuwei County with 20,000 iron horsemen before it snowed. The iron cavalry of the Eastern Qiang, the Western Xianbei and the Xiongnu will rush to Hexi to join them in early spring. ”

"The Western Expedition?" Ma Chao's eyes widened in surprise,

"Sir, are they going to fight Xiliang?"

"Knock ......" Han Sui smashed his fist on the case,

"We made a mistake. In the Central Plains War, the reason why Hebei won the final victory was because 70,000 Hu cavalry were requisitioned and transferred south from outside the Saiwai, which far exceeded our expectations. Who would have thought that Hebei would firmly control the Huhu outside the Saiwai, it is unbelievable. ”

"How is this possible?" Ma Chao didn't believe it at all,

"Huangfu Li must be talking nonsense. In order to defend the desert, Hebei stationed tens of thousands of iron horsemen outside the Saiwai, once these people go south, the Hus outside the Saiwai lose their deterrence and may rebel at any time. Therefore, the Hu cavalry who went south to fight in the Central Plains this time was at most Li Hong's henchmen such as Arc Ding, Qi Shen, Shooting Yingtong, and Xi Huanyang. As for the iron cavalry guarding the outside of the Saiwai and the iron cavalry of other Hu tribes, Li Hong definitely did not dare to recruit them at will. ”

"It's true." Han Sui took out Xu Rong's letter,

After the end of the Jizhou War, Li Hong went non-stop, went north to inspect the desert, and changed the status of the Xiongnu Shan Yuting and Xianbei tribes to a subordinate status, and all the Hu tribes became the people of the Han Dynasty, and all the Hu people enjoyed the treatment of the people of the Han Dynasty, and while moving the Hu tribe to the south, he vigorously promoted and implemented a series of new policies that were conducive to the stability and development of the Hu tribe in the border counties. The leaders of the Hu tribes were given more wealth, and their people were now able to enjoy not only the relief of the imperial court to ensure their survival, but also their own livestock and pastures as a result of joining the Han military households. The Hu people have no worries about survival, the life of the family has been guaranteed, the status and treatment of Guishun have been guaranteed, and everyone is grateful to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and the imperial court, how many people are willing to betray the Han in this situation? Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that the Hu tribes are controlled by Hebei. ”

"According to Hebei's recruit system, the more merit a soldier has, the more land he will receive. For the Hu people, the more cattle and sheep they have, the bigger their pasture. Han Sui shook his head again and again,

"This kind of new military system in Hebei has a great stimulus to the soldiers, everyone is willing to fight, and everyone is willing to fight to the death. If my estimate is correct, by next spring, more and more Hu cavalry will join the army of the Western Expedition. Ma Chao thought for a moment and asked suspiciously: "Sir, Hebei has continuously conquered and laid down a large area of land and grassland, and then rewarded these lands and grasslands to meritorious soldiers, so how can Hebei's wealth grow?" If Hebei's wealth cannot grow, then what will it do to fight? ”

"That's a good question." Han Sui looked at Han Yi, Yan Xing, Ling Ru, Yang Qiu and other Xiliang generals sitting beside him, and made no secret of his appreciation for Ma Chao,

"Among all the adults here, only Meng Qi sees the key point in this."

"There are two key points of Hebei's Xintian system and the new tax system." Han Sui said,

"One is that most of the land in the world belongs to the imperial court."

"For more than ten years, the Han Dynasty has been plagued by wars and disasters, the population has plummeted, and there is a lot of unowned land. Except for the private land of some surviving wealthy men and the land newly awarded by the imperial court to meritorious soldiers, the rest of the land is owned by the imperial court. It's the same with pastures. In these years, Li Hong successively quelled the rebellion of the Huns Xubu Guduhou, and killed Xianbei leaders such as Helian, Murong Feng, and Tuoba Feng to dominate the desert, occupying a vast territory, and Hebei has countless grasslands. Hebei distributed these lands and pastures belonging to the imperial court to the common people and the Hu people, allowing them to cultivate and graze, and the proceeds were shared between the two parties as agreed. The land belonged to the imperial court, which was the fundamental reason for the continuous growth of Hebei's wealth. ”

"The second is to levy and pay taxes according to Ding. For 400 years, the land rent and oral tax have been levied according to the amount of land and the number of people. However, because Hebei implemented the Xintian system, everyone was allocated the same amount of land, so the tax was levied according to the ding, and the same amount of tax was levied for each ding. In this way, the people could not deceive the government into paying less or not paying taxes. The taxation of taxes according to Ding led to a sudden increase in Hebei's wealth, and the time for it to recover after the Central Plains War was greatly shortened. Han Sui said very generally, but Ma Chao, Yang Qiu and others did not understand, as if they understood or not, and they knew that the new policy implemented in Hebei was very clever.

The soldiers of Hebei and the Hu people of Northern Xinjiang can get land and pasture as long as they make meritorious contributions in battle, so the Northern Xinjiang army will become more and more powerful.

After Han Sui said a few words briefly, he didn't know what he thought of, and fell into deep thought. The lobby was very quiet for a while.

"Sir, after Pang De leads the Iron Cavalry army to Wuwei, he may not immediately launch a major battle to recover the five counties of Hexi, and their real purpose may be to force us to join forces to attack Luoyang." Ma Chao broke the dull atmosphere in the lobby,

"Sir, after I return to Xiliang, will I rush to Jincheng County to Chen soldiers on the south bank of the Yellow River, or will I garrison troops in Yicheng in Hanyang County?" Han Sui didn't speak, and sat there in a daze.

Hebei's hand hit its own vital point. If the Northern Xinjiang Army forcibly crossed the Yellow River to attack Guanzhong, the troops and money used were extremely large, and it was very likely to be defeated by himself and Yuan Shao's army.

Hebei was obviously unwilling to pay such a big price, so on the one hand, it sent Huangfu Li to Chang'an to lobby, and asked Xu Rong to elaborate on the powerful power that Hebei possessed in his personal connections, and on the other hand, it sent Pang De's iron cavalry into Western Xinjiang.

In this way, he not only agreed to the conditions he proposed, but also achieved the goal of threatening himself, and also proved to himself that Hebei does have the strength to pacify the world.

The northern frontier iron cavalry reached Wuwei, and the invading Xiqiang was worried about being besieged, and must retreat north to Zhangye and the Xihai area.

As a result, the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry was free to threaten Jincheng and Hanyang. In the case of Xiliang being threatened, if he joins forces with Yuan Shao to fight against Hebei, the result can be imagined.

If you lose Xiliang, can you still gain a foothold in Guanzhong? Could it be that his dream of decades is really an illusory dream that can never be realized?

"Father, Hebei is simply bluffing, it is impossible for it to have the strength to send 40,000 troops into Xiliang to attack Hexi after the end of the Central Plains War." Han Yi looked at his father's worried appearance, and comforted him,

"In the past 400 years of the Han Dynasty, there have been many heroes, but no one has ever made the desert Hu people permanently surrender, and no one has ever been able to maintain the stability of the border fortress forever. In order to stabilize the western frontier, this dynasty has been fighting intermittently with the Qiang people for more than 100 years, but the Qiang people are still invading the territory of our Han Dynasty. Therefore, I think that my father should not worry too much, and still try to get through the current crisis, gain a firm foothold in Guanzhong as soon as possible, and move the people of Xiliang into Qinchuan, which is eight hundred miles away. Han Sui smiled bitterly.

For a hundred years, Xijiang and her poor children have spent time in blood and tears, and the only way to escape the nightmare that has lasted for a hundred years is to rely on herself.

"You take the army to Jincheng, Chen Bing Huanghe." Han Sui's face showed resoluteness, and he said categorically,

"If the Northern Xinjiang Army crosses the river to attack, you will resolutely fight them back, and even do not hesitate to join forces with the Qiang people to encircle and annihilate them in the Tianqiong Desert (now Tengger Desert)." Ma Chao bowed down to receive the order.

"Ziwei, you go back too." Han Sui pointed at Han Yi,

"You are in charge of Xiliang's political affairs, Meng Qi is in charge of Xiliang's military affairs, you two work together to be sure to defend Xiliang for me."

"Father, don't worry, I will ensure that the army is fed and grass, and help Meng Qi defeat the Northern Frontier Army." Then he waved his hand at them,

"Tomorrow morning, you will return to Xiliang." In mid-November, Yuzhou, Xuchang. Liu Bei led his army to Yingchuan, Yuzhou, as the assassin of Yuzhou and the leader of Runan Taishou, and joined Xun Chen, Xu Xuan, Zhang Fei and others in Xuchang.

Wen Ping, Pang Ji, Liu Hu, Huang Zhong and others immediately bid farewell to Liu Bei and rushed back to Jingzhou with the army. Xu Xuan was reappointed as Nanyang Taishou at this time.

He also said goodbye to Liu Bei, and then went to Nanyang. Yingchuan guarded Xun Chen and set up a banquet in the camp to pick up the wind and wash the dust for Liu Bei.

During the banquet, Zhang Fei was extremely dissatisfied with Liu Bei's abandonment of Xuzhou. He didn't want to blame Liu Bei, so he scolded Cao Cao, and incidentally scolded Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei felt sorry for his brother and looked ashamed. What can he do now? You can't take the army and Cao Cao to rob Xuzhou, right?

He and Cao Cao tore their faces and fought hotly, Hebei Li Hong made no effort to pick up a big bargain for nothing, he couldn't do this kind of thing no matter what, and he could only endure the big resentment.

There were many of Yuan Shao's subordinates at the table, and they glared at Zhang Fei one by one, eager to beat him up.

A meal broke up. Zhang Fei has a bad temper and likes to drink and scold people. Liu Bei was worried that he would clash with Yuan Shao's men in Xuchang, so he asked him and Sun Qian to go to Runan to recruit soldiers and accumulate grain and grass in preparation for next year's war.

Liu Bei also wrote to Guan Yu, Jian Yong and other subordinates who were far away in Xuzhou to rush to Xuchang with the army as soon as possible to rendezvous.

Eleven, Xuzhou, Pengcheng. Guan Yu led a team of guards to the door of the mansion and roared,

"Rush in for me and get people out."

The leader of the "General Guan......" patrol guard was taken aback when he saw Guan Yu rushing towards the sky angrily,

"Master Guan, what are you doing here?"

"Get out of the way...... Guan Yu grabbed his arm and threw him out of the air with a volley,

"If you dare to block it, you will not be forgiven." Dozens of guards swarmed up, punched and kicked, and beat the dozen or so guards guarding the gate of the government to the point of holding their heads.

The drums of the "knock knock ......" alarm sounded into the sky. Behind the back of Guan Yu's hand, he swaggered to the front, murderous.

The guards held weapons in their hands, followed him and beat people whenever they met, and smashed things when they saw them, and for a time there was chaos in the palace.

Dian Wei held a halberd in his hand, and rushed out with a group of people and horses in a menacing manner, and when he saw Guan Yu with long hair flowing in front of him, he couldn't help but be stunned,

"Master Guan, what are you doing here? Drunk too much and got drunk? ”

"Where's the Prime Minister?" Guan Yu roared angrily.

"What do you want to do? Do you want to assassinate the prime minister? Dian Wei put down the halberd and said angrily,

"Can't you report something? Why do you have to call in? Are you about to leave Xuzhou, feeling uncomfortable? ”

"Where's the Prime Minister?" Guan Yu strode up to him and shouted.

"Hey...... Guan Yunchang, don't be embarrassed. This is the Prime Minister's Mansion, not your back garden, so don't go too far. Dian Wei knew that Guan Yu was about to leave Xuzhou with the Xuzhou army, and the Xuzhou army hated Cao Cao and the Yanzhou army so much that they gritted their teeth, so they must not provoke trouble at this time, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.

"Is the prime minister in the inner house?"

"That's it." Dian Wei held back his anger and shook his hand at the guards who rushed up from all around,

"Lord Guan, leave the Prime Minister's Mansion immediately with your people, and don't bring the disaster of killing yourself."

"Who dares to kill me......" Guan Yu's eyes were full of anger, and he shouted wildly,

"Rush into the inner house and get people out of me." Dian Wei wanted to persuade again, but he saw that the wind was spreading, and the war knife behind Guan Yu was already like lightning, whistling.

Dian Wei exclaimed, and the halberd in his hand flew up, blocking it head-on.

"When ......" Mars shines. Dian Wei's mouth shook violently, and the halberd flew out of his hand. Before he could take the halberd on his back again, Guan Yu's war knife had already been chopped again.

"Retreat ......" Dian Wei roared, his body flew back, and at the same time a punch was blasted out. The sword chopped into the air, and the iron fist rushed to the thunder.

Guan Yu's tall body did not retreat but advanced, and slammed into Dian Wei's fist,

"Roll ......" Dian Wei hit Guan Yu, but was hit by Guan Yu frantically and took a few steps back.

"Kill ......" sword roared sharply, and thunder fell. Jump to