The autumn wind is howling, and the land is golden.

On the Hetao grassland, the barren grass fluctuates with the wind, and a wolf howl is heard from time to time in the wind, startling the animals hidden in the grass to run quickly and flee in all directions.

In the clear clouds, an eagle swept the sky, and then hovered more than ten miles away in the sky, screaming and warning.

Da-da-da-da!

A low and powerful sound of horses' hooves came from the south of the grassland, and then the sound became clearer and clearer, and more than a dozen horsemen galloped straight in the direction of the eagle's scream.

"Slow down, it's time for me to go back!"

While the prancing horse was galloping, Li Zhi rode the horse with four hooves at a gallop, chased Li Li who was running in front, and shouted urgently.

"Roar!"

This is the Golden Lion Beastmaster's iconic Beastmaster's roar, and a loud roar means that this grassland will be its territory.

Li Li, who was slowly slowing down his running speed, turned his head disapprerovingly and said to Li Zhi, "Why do you want to stop?" ”

Li Zhi rode his horse to catch up with Li Li, and after taking a breath, he said: "The eagle is calling to warn, it seems that we have entered the sphere of influence of a certain tribe, if we go further, I am afraid that we will encounter the robbery and killing of the barbarian cavalry." However, the roar of the Golden Lion Beast shook all directions, and it was too late to say anything now, presumably the barbarian tribes in front had already noticed it, and they would come later. ”

"Well, I forgot that there are still some scattered tribes left here." Li Li shook his head in response, then shook his head and said: "But it doesn't matter, our army is camped a hundred miles away to the east, presumably this tribe will not be too big, otherwise they would have heard the news and fled." ”

"Well, what the lord said is very true." Li Zhi nodded lightly, his eyes showing helplessness. He was not worried about someone assassinating, because the barbarian tribe of more than 1,000 people within a radius of 200 miles had been wiped out by Zhou Yu's army, so even if there were only 100 people who slipped through the net, it was not enough to pose a threat to Li Li's safety.

It's now the tenth day after the sacrifice.

Five days ago. The 20,000 soldiers and horses supported by Beidi County arrived at the front camp, and then Zhou Yu reorganized his troops and horses and led 50,000 cavalry to the battle. Tens of thousands of prisoners of war and captured ordnance baggage were fully received by the county government soldiers led by Li Xian, and then transported back to Beidi County. According to the predetermined plan, all the battles for the recovery of the lost territory of Hetao were handed over to Zhou Yu in charge, and Li Li remained in the camp, and after a few days of rest, he was to leave for Chang'an.

Therefore, the guards left by Li Li's side at the moment are still the five thousand war cavalry led by Li Zhi, and they are stationed a hundred miles away to the east at this moment. Dian Wufang accompanied Ma Yunluo, for fear that she would make a mistake. Because Ma Yunluo is pregnant, and she is not pregnant recently, but she has been pregnant for two months, and she has only gradually come out recently. Ma Yunluo, who was pregnant for the first time, could hardly smell a little meat. The vomiting was so bad that I ate something light. The body is very weak. Ten days before. Li Li has always been by Ma Yunluo's side, never leaving the tent. Early this morning, he thought very quietly, and took Li Zhi and more than a dozen personal soldiers out of the camp to hunt, in fact, the hunting is fake, and the Prancing Horse Grassland is real.

At this moment, I saw Li Zhi's face worried. Li Li said with a smile: "If you encounter a small tribe, you don't have to be afraid, what can some thieves do to me?" It's been a long time since I've galloped on horseback on the grassland, and this time I've been running dozens of miles in one go, and I'm really comfortable physically and mentally. It's very pleasant! I remember the last time the horse grassland was in the autumn of two years, when our army pacified Xiliang Erzhou, it was also a victory, I went to the Hutu Horse Farm with Flawless and Yunluo, and believed in the horses on the Hutu grassland, galloping vertically and horizontally, which was fascinating! ”

Li Zhi has been following Li Li all the year round, knowing his lord's preferences, and has been staying in the camp for nearly two months, but he is a little depressed, but he is actually distracted when he comes out to hunt today. After all, there are too many things squeezed in Li Li's heart, always thinking about the situation in the world and the future prospects of the Xiliang Army, and there is also the recent continuous transmission of detailed reports from the Central Plains states to Li Li, it seems that the situation in Sili is becoming more and more unfavorable, and a big war is imminent. Because of this, Li Li handed over the Northern Expeditionary Army to Zhou Yu, and he withdrew and prepared to return to Chang'an to preside over the overall situation.

Hearing Li Li's exclamation at this moment, Li Zhi knew that what the lord was lamenting was not the grassland scenery, but that the Xiliang Army had not expanded its territory again in the past two years, and it was still the land of Sanzhou two years ago.

As soon as he thought of this, Li Zhi said softly: "Although our army has not expanded much territory in the past two years, it has swept away the surrounding barbarians and advanced hundreds of miles to the border of Yongliang and the two prefectures. In the past two years, the prefectures and counties of Xiliang have vigorously developed agriculture, so that the people can be self-sufficient, although they dare not say that they have enough food and clothing, but the ordinary people have surplus grain at home, which was unimaginable two years ago. In addition, our army originally had only more than 300,000 men and horses, and the ordnance was uneven, but now it is different. The army has increased to more than 400,000 troops, is fully equipped with ordnance, and many of the war camps have been replaced with new weapons, and their combat strength is even better than before. The most important thing is that the population of the three states of Xiliang is growing rapidly, increasing by more than one million people in two years, and now the population under the rule of Xiliang has exceeded four million, and after General Zhou Yu pacifies the Hetao, the population will increase by hundreds of thousands, and the territory will expand a lot, and the area of the entire barbarian territory is equivalent to the land of Si Li. ”

"Hehehe! Liao is better than nothing. Li Li smiled indifferently and muttered: "Population is the most important thing in troubled times, as long as there are people, there will be territory sooner or later." There is a wider land outside the territory of the Southern Xiongnu, but the terrain there is varied, with many mountains, deserts and swamps, and the climate is cold and harsh. It's a pity that we can't take care of these territories, so we have to wait until later. ”

After a pause, Li Li changed his words and said: "I love the grassland, not just to appreciate the scenery of the grassland, but to yearn for the broad mind of the grassland. Now the princes are competing for hegemony, and it is not who is strong, who will definitely be able to win the world. The world is changeable, the situation is changing rapidly, my generation of men to fight the world, force alone is not enough, but also must have a broad vision, as broad as the grassland of the mind. ”

"The last general remembers that the lord said that the sea is wider than the land." Li Zhi interjected.

After Li Li heard this, he smiled dumbly and said, "Zicheng has a really good memory. The sea is indeed vast and boundless, but unfortunately there is nothing on the sea, and all life is in the sea. Therefore, if someone says that a man's heart is like the sea, then there are two possibilities. One is that he is indeed elegant and magnanimous, has no desires or desires, and has a broad mind. The second is that his person is not small to have any flaws. Just like the sea, it looks very majestic, but in fact, there are all kinds of thoughts in the depths of the heart, but they are all hidden under the surface, making people unpredictable. ”

"The lord seems to mean something else when he says this, is he worried about the situation of the subordinate?" Obedient and listening, Li Li's words seemed to be far away, but Li Zhi seemed to have an understanding, and immediately asked softly.

"Hmm." Li Li nodded slightly and said approvingly: "Others think that Zicheng Muna is stupid. In fact, you are a wise and foolish man. Now the situation in the Central Plains is chaotic, like a rough sea, but this is all appearance. In fact, as early as when our army swore to go on the expedition, the situation in the Central Plains had strangely calmed down, and the princes from all walks of life frequently mobilized troops and horses. It seems that there is another big battle between them, but in fact, these soldiers and horses are all coming for me Li Li. The intention was to jointly send troops to capture the division. Weaken the strength of our Xiliang army.

If Yu Fuluo provoked the barbarian alliance to attack Liangzhou can only be regarded as an appetizer, then the alliance of princes that our army will face next is the real feast. In fact, Yu Fuluo is just a fool and a pawn used by some princes, whose intention is to disrupt our army's position and lure me to mobilize a large army for the Northern Expedition. And then take advantage of the emptiness of our army. Sent troops on a large scale, wanting to use this to give our Xiliang army a thunderous blow, so that we could suffer from the enemy on our backs, and it would be difficult to take care of the head and tail. It's a pity that coalition forces are coalition forces. The princes of each town have their own ghosts, and they all want others to strike first, so they have dragged on for more than a month, missed the opportunity in vain, and have not officially met until now. ”

Li Zhi's voice changed when he heard this, and he exclaimed: "In this case, our army can take the lead in sending troops and defeat them all!" ”

"Can't take the initiative!" Li Li vetoed it sharply, and then said in a deep voice: "Taking the initiative to attack sounds very good, but in fact it is full of flaws, and it is easy to leave an opportunity for the opponent to take advantage of, and then suffer heavy losses." Our Xiliang army was already the head of the princes in the world two years ago with its military strength alone, and now our army's strength is even better than in the past, and its strength is firmly the top in the world. However, in the face of the attack of the princes of various towns, we can only retract our fists, wait until the princes' allies have attacked, and then attack hard, so that we have a few chances of winning. If you strike first, even if you can destroy one or two princes, you will be besieged by other princes, and you will inevitably lose. ”

Speaking of this, Li Li shook his head and sighed: "In fact, the most important thing is that the land of Si Li nominally belongs to my Xiliang, but in fact, most of the counties and counties are in the hands of the gate lord clan. At present, our army controls all counties and counties, and the gate lord clan controls more than half of the money and grain in Sili's territory, so they pay a lot of taxes and pay all the taxes, and they do not clash head-on with the garrison, causing Teng Xiao and Xu Ronger to want to do it many times, but they have no convincing excuses. In this way, in order to stabilize the overall situation, I have been holding back for two years and have not attacked these gate lords. Unexpectedly, this time the princes of the Central Plains couldn't hold back the joint attack on me, which gave the Si Limen valve a great opportunity to get rid of my Xiliang's rule, and I believe that they will definitely make good use of the opportunity, and the conspiracy and trickery will be used to try to weaken the strength of our army.

However, whether their calculations will succeed or not depends on the ability of these ill-intentioned people. I hope they don't disappoint me, otherwise I'll have waited for two years in vain! ”

After Li Zhi heard this, he nodded subconsciously, and then secretly thought about it, and inadvertently caught a glimpse of a snow-white horse suddenly galloping from the col on Li Li's left.

"Lord beware!"

Suddenly, Li Zhi exclaimed, and instinctively raised his arms and prepared to throw the chain to kill the sudden white horse. Unexpectedly, Li Li stretched out his hand and held it down, "Zicheng don't need to panic, I have been observing this white horse for a long time." A very good wild horse, with a body length of more than nine feet, a shoulder height of more than nine feet, and a belly with scales, this is a rare horse, comparable to the black fat horse under Zhou Yu's crotch. Zicheng took his own soldiers and returned the same way, and after I surrendered the horse, I would return to the camp. ”

"This 、、、 will not be able to obey his fate!" Li Zhi was in a hurry when he heard this, and refused Li Li's order for the first time.

Li Li was slightly stunned when he heard this, his sword eyebrows moved slightly, and he said sharply: "It's just a wild horse, can't I still surrender it?" Hugh has to say more, and immediately carry out the order! ”

"The lord is angry, and the last general will take the order." Seeing that Li Li was slightly angry, Li Zhi no longer insisted, and immediately waved his hand and retreated with his own soldiers.

Seeing Li Zhi and his group of more than ten people leave, Li Li knew that he was worried about his safety, but this worry was indeed a bit too much at the moment. Now most of the Xiongnu steppe is under the iron cavalry of the Han army, and in another half a month, maybe they will be able to take the entire territory of the Xiongnu and occupy the land of the four counties in the northwest of the state. Therefore, Li Li does not have to worry about his safety now, not to mention that he is not Meng Lang's person himself, he still cherishes his life in his bones, but he is not known.

At the moment, Li Li is indeed a little happy to see the hunt, and wants to use this to loosen his muscles and bones, after all, the days of sitting in the camp for more than a month have really suffocated him. In the past, whenever there was a war, he didn't personally lead the troops to fight and take the lead, but this Northern Expedition had to sit in the rear for more than a month, which really made him very unaccustomed to it. However, this experience must be overcome, and he must get used to it in the future, because he is the commander of the Xiliang Army, and the days of being the first soldier are getting farther and farther away from him, otherwise he will not be a competent commander.

―――――――――――― (To be continued)(To be continued......