At first glance, when he heard that Li Li had delegated military power and sent hundreds of thousands of troops out, Dian Wuflaw asked in surprise: "Why did the husband do this, do you really not plan to enter the Central Plains, and are you willing to be trapped in a corner of Xiliang?" ”

Li Li smiled calmly and said, "Flawlessly, how many princes are there in the states and counties of the Central Plains?" ”

"What's so hard about that! Most of the princes of the Eighteenth Route who fought against Dong Zhuo in the past are still alive now, presumably they have now supported their own troops and divided their own side. Dian Wuflaw answered without hesitation.

Li Li bowed slightly, the smile on his face disappeared, his expression became solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "In the past, Dong Xiangguo dominated the Beijing Division, and the Son of Heaven was in charge of the order, so that it aroused the strong dissatisfaction of the assassins and Taishou in various states and counties, and finally the princes of the Eighteenth Route would ally Chen Liu, and raised troops to crusade against Dong Xiangguo. It must be known that Dong Xiangguo had only occupied Luoyang for a few months at that time, and the alliance of the princes from all walks of life was also extremely hasty, almost improvised, and the alliance was in a hurry, but the army of the princes was as many as four or five hundred thousand horses. The two sides fought fiercely for several months, and finally the princes and allies defeated the Xiliang army, prompting Dong Xiangguo to be forced to move the capital to Chang'an, and he could live a stable life for two years.

The predicament faced by our Xiliang Army today is extremely similar to the situation of Dong Xiangguo in the past, almost the same. The only difference is that we have pacified the situation of the division of the Western Liang princes and initially realized the unification of the Western Liang. In this way, it means that we have no worries, and the number of soldiers and horses is more than that of Dong Xiangguo's period in the past.

And this is exactly the situation that the princes of the world last want to see, so they have become wary of our Xiliang army and are always on guard against us. As soon as we have the slightest disturbance here, they will know it as soon as possible, and they will form an alliance again to join forces against our army. Although there has long been a gap between the princes of various stripes. And they repeatedly attack and kill each other, but none of them are fools, one is smarter than the other. They all knew that their own strength alone could not resist the attack of my Xiliang army, and they were not my Li Li's opponents; Therefore, instead of waiting for our army to defeat them individually, it is better to unite and annihilate our Xiliang army in one go.

This is definitely not alarmist or unfounded assumptions. As long as they form an alliance again and join forces to march into Xiliang, then our Xiliang army will usher in a catastrophe and will be in danger of overturning. In the past, Chen Liuhui League. They hastily raised 500,000 troops, and after several years of vigorous expansion, if they were to re-unite, there would be millions of men and horses, or even more. And the reason why they didn't attack Chang'an in one go before. The destruction of the Xiliang army was because of the instability in the rear of Xiliang and the division of the princes. And they also want to preserve their strength. Unwilling to fight to the death.

Now that we have unified Xiliang, we no longer have any worries, and we directly pose a huge threat to them, like a sharp sword hanging over their heads all the time, making them unable to sleep and eat, and they are afraid day and night. In the face of such a dangerous situation. If they were united, how could they repeat the mistakes of the past and give up halfway? So once they form an alliance. Our Xiliang army will either resist them outside the Hangu Pass and Wuguan Pass, and it will be difficult to move an inch; Either we will be wiped out, or we will flee to the Western Regions and die. There is no third possibility! ”

"Ahh After hearing Li Li's words, Dian Wuflaw and He Ying's two daughters exclaimed, and their faces turned pale with fright.

After calming down a little, Dian Wufang asked in shock, "Husband, is it really so serious?" The alliance of these princes had broken down before, and they had fought each other over the years, and there were deep grievances. Can they really put aside their old suspicions and join forces again to form an alliance against us? ”

Li Li bowed his head and said, "You said yes. These princes do have deep grievances with each other, and there are irreconcilable entanglements of interests, and even some princes have deep hatred and hatred among themselves. However, compared with the powerful front of our army's more than 300,000 Xiliang iron cavalry, what is the personal grudge between them! What is the difference between deep hatred and the glory and wealth they have and their net worth?

The hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit. In the eyes of the princes, they will never do things based only on their own likes and dislikes, they only focus on how much benefit they can get, and they only think about their own interests. Compared with their own interests, they are more concerned about their own lives, know how to weigh the weights, and know the pros and cons. These princes are all outstanding people in the world, otherwise how can they gain a foothold in the troubled times, and how can they be divided into one side?

Therefore, if we send troops to the Central Plains at this time, it is very likely to invite a catastrophe of annihilation, forcing all the princes to put aside their grievances for their own interests and their lives, and reunite to fight against our army. Even the Liu clan, which had not participated in the Chen Liuhui Alliance before, might raise troops to form an alliance in order to destroy our Xiliang army. Especially Liu Yan in Yizhou and Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, whose jurisdictions Yizhou and Hanzhong are the closest to us, they last want our Xiliang army to become stronger and stronger. Therefore, once someone mediates from it, they will definitely send troops directly from Hanzhong to attack the rear of our Xiliang with all their might, and take Chang'an directly! ”

Dian Wufang pondered and said: "In this way, wouldn't my Xiliang army only be trapped in Xiliang and do nothing?" ”

"Hehehe!" Li Li laughed and said, "It's not that serious. What I have just said is mainly aimed at sending troops to the Central Plains. At present, if we wave our troops in the Central Plains, it will definitely force the princes of all sides to panic greatly, and everyone will be in danger, so that they will join forces to confront our army. However, if we are not prepared to march into the Central Plains to recuperate for the time being, or to mobilize troops against the surrounding counties, it will be easy and will not arouse the vigilance of the princes.

As far as the princes of all sides are concerned, as long as we do not take the initiative to send troops to attack the Central Plains, they will not dare to act rashly. After all, we still have the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother, as well as the wives and children of many princes, and we always occupy the name of righteousness, forcing them to have scruples and dare not blatantly oppose us. And the surrounding princes who are adjacent to us, even if they have the intention to join forces against our army, they cannot form an overwhelming superiority in strength, and there is no chance of victory at all; And the other princes who are far away from us will not send troops to help, so they are destined to be unable to succeed. I believe that it will not be long before these 'neighbors' will take the initiative to pay tribute to the imperial court, in fact, to send me some money and grain, so as to preserve their existing territory and wealth.

In addition, the reason why I did not send troops to crusade against the princes of all sides at this time was not only the main reason for the lack of food and grass, but also because there were too many princes from all sides now. If our army sends troops to recruit and suppress them one by one, I am afraid that it will not be able to completely exterminate them in 50 years. On the contrary, they worked in vain and were exhausted. This is like a fight, our Xiliang army is one to ten, or even one to twenty, such a fight is too much of a loss, even if it wins in the end, it will be more than worth the loss.

Therefore, everything should not be rushed, and it is necessary to plan slowly, or not to fight. If you want to fight, you must win. If you are not sure of winning, and there is even a huge danger lurking, then dispel the idea as soon as possible, brake quietly, and strike later. Just give me a few more years. After my Xiliang recovers its vitality and the people's lives have been significantly improved. Our army has a steady supply of grain and grass. At that time, they can take the initiative to attack and wait for the opportunity to attack the states and counties of the Central Plains. Even if the princes of all parties jointly resist our army, I am not afraid, even if I can't defeat them, I can hold Xiliang without losing; Just wait for the fighter to appear. You can defeat them one by one! ”

After listening to Li Li's words, Dian Wuflaw and He Ying's two daughters thought it was true, and their eyes looked at Li Li more and more softly, full of love.

As Li Li said. Xiliang is a place that has been plagued by war for a long time, the grass is barren and the sky is horizontal, hundreds of miles are uninhabited, and the people live in dire straits, and the misery is unspeakable. However, at present, the counties of Xiliang are recovering little by little, and the imperial court ordered the tax reduction of the two prefectures of Xiliang for two years, vigorously encouraged farming, and gave the people cattle, livestock, and grain seeds, and the fields they reclaimed will be registered and recorded, and will always be their own in the future. In the past three months, the number of people in various counties has increased day by day, and many people have come out of the mountains and forests, and after registering with the government, they can be assigned temporary residences, and then build houses and cultivate land. Not only can the local people in Xiliang rebuild their homes with the help of the county soldiers, but even the displaced people who fled to Xiliang have been properly resettled, and there are even many Qiang people and people in Bingzhou who come to Xiliang to settle down again.

Although Dian Wuflaw and He Ying's two daughters have not seen these things in person, they can often hear about the situation of ordinary people from the mouths of the maids and miscellaneous servants in the house. Like this kind of new things that have not been encountered in the past hundred years, it has already spread all over the counties and counties of Xiliang, and now the people in Xiliang, from the hundred officials of the Son of Heaven to the children who have just become sensible, almost everyone knows about it.

Moreover, although this matter was an edict issued by the imperial court, most of the Li people kept the name of Li Li, the general of the expedition to the west, firmly in their hearts. Because when they went to the government to register and receive livestock and grain, the government officials told them that all these things were rewarded by the general Zhengxi, and now the general is leading the troops to exterminate the bandits, and they will be able to live in peace and stability in the future. The people who had suffered from the scourge of war verified the words of the officials with their own eyes and ears, and as the counties and counties successively restored order, everything came true, and the war had gradually moved away from all parts of Xiliang.

――――――――――――――――――

Two days later, Li Li returned to Guzang City with Dian Wufang and He Ying's two daughters.

As soon as he entered the mansion, he saw Jia Xu walking up with a happy face, and said with a smile: "My lord, the good news of the Western Expedition has arrived!" ”

"Oh?" Li Li was stunned, and then laughed heartily: "Haha! Good, good, good, so good! It took less than two months to win Jiuquan and Dunhuang counties, and when he comes back, he must be rewarded again! ”

Jia Xu followed Li Li into the lobby with a smile, handed Li Li the brocade silk presented by the fast rider, and said with a smile: "The Qinglong Battalion's westward expedition lasted forty-two days, and it traveled more than 1,000 miles day and night, and attacked all the cities in Jiuquan County within twenty days with lightning speed. Subsequently, when Li Dian sent people to take over the city, he quickly waved his troops westward, met with stubborn resistance under Dunhuang City, delayed for more than ten days, and waited until Cheng Gongying brought tens of thousands of foot soldiers from Jiuquan County, and then captured Dunhuang City. After the fall of Dunhuang City, all the barbarians scattered as birds and beasts, and there was no decent resistance, prompting the Qinglong Battalion to quickly recover the whole county of Dunhuang and complete the general order issued by the lord in advance! ”

"Hehehe!" Li Li walked to the main seat and sat down, and said with a smile: "The three generals Guo Yan, Pang De and Cheng Gongying have all performed well, working together, and the results are good. Wenhe, quickly sent a fast horse to send the good news to Chang'an, crowned Guo Biandu Pavilion Marquis, rewarded 300 gold, 300 silk horses, Pang Dejia sealed the Marquis of Guannei, Cheng Gongying was officially promoted to general, and the reward of the two of them was the same as Guo Bian. In addition, tell my uncle about my stay in Liangzhou, so that the officials of Chang'an City can rest assured. What's more, we can start the things we discussed before, and convey my meaning to Li Ru, I believe he can handle these things! ”

Jia Xu smiled and asked, "Lord, let's go to Chang'an in person, so as not to make a mistake." ”

"So good, then there is Lao Wenhe to go to Chang'an. However, you don't have to rush to travel, don't get tired, just return to Liangzhou before the end of the year! Li Li said with a smile.

"No, the subordinates will retire first, take care of the lord!" Jia Xu bowed in response, then left the lobby and left quickly.

――――――― (End of Volume II) ―――――― (To be continued) (To be continued) (To be continued......