[Thanks: Tears of the Sky Dragon Book Friends monthly pass support, thank you!] 】

――――――――――――――

As the sun set, a gust of north wind blew, with a faint sense of slaughter, and the chill hit people.

The footsteps of "tom tom" were getting closer and closer, and Li Li, who was looking at the railing from afar, could see it intently, and his body did not move, but he raised his hand and waved to the people behind him to signal that they did not need to be formal.

Seeing this, the five people who climbed the tower together immediately understood, so they walked lightly to the side of the railing, and looked at the splendid mountains and rivers in the afterglow of the sunset with Li Li until the last touch of sunset dissipated.

"My lord, all the battalions of soldiers and horses have arrived. I don't know when I'll move eastward? Guo Jia, who was standing on Li Li's left hand, asked softly.

Li Li turned his head to look at the sides when he heard the sound, but saw that Zhang Liao, the commander of the Wuwei battalion, Zhang Yan, the commander of the Feiyan Light Cavalry, Gao Shun, the commander of the trapping camp, and Zhao Yun, the commander of the Wushuang Iron Cavalry, were all standing beside him, and they all arrived.

After nodding to the four of them, a knowing smile appeared on Li Li's face, and he smiled: "Actually, I am on the way to the east at this moment, and I am already on the way to the expedition." At present, it is just a temporary garrison here, a little rest, and waiting for the fighters. ”

Guo Jia was a little surprised, his eyes rolled, and he couldn't help nodding and smiling: "Hehehe, as the lord said, we have already marched eastward." Now that he is in the territory of Youzhou, one step forward is Shanggu County, and he may encounter the obstruction or harassment of the Wuhuan cavalry at any time. Therefore, Daijun is undoubtedly an excellent place for the garrison to rest and recuperate, and there will be no chance to rest after the army advances into Shanggu County! ”

Li Li smiled, and then turned his gaze to Zhang Liao on the right. said with a smile: "This expedition to Youzhou, Wen Yuan has a heavy responsibility and takes on the heavy responsibility of the chief general of the Chinese army. I don't know what Wen Yuan thinks about this battle? ”

After Zhang Liao heard this. He smiled humbly and said respectfully: "The lord said that he laughed." How could the last general, He De, dare to usurp the position of the chief general of the Chinese army, and let the lord dispatch him, and the last general will not hesitate! ”

Li Li shook his head and said, "No, Wen Yuan don't think I'm joking." In fact, Wen Yuan is the commander of the Chinese army in Youzhou this time, which is by no means a joke. But it is true. Presumably Wen Yuan also knows that Gong Jin and Wen He are sitting in Luoyang at the moment, and it is my Li Li's handsome banner that is playing the banner. What this means. Doesn't Wen Yuan still understand? ”

"Oh?" Zhang Liao was stunned when he heard this, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly realized: "It turns out that the lord came to Youzhou secretly this time, and he doesn't want to reveal his identity. Let the princes of the towns mistakenly think that the lord is still sitting in Luoyang. It's just that 、、、 Mojiang doesn't understand why the lord did this? Please also ask the lord to make it clear. ”

Li Li smiled slightly. The head of the jaw said: "Without it, just to collect Youzhou for peace." If Gongsun Zhan, Gongsun Du and Yan Rou and the others knew that I personally led the troops to come, they were afraid that they would have no intention of dealing with Yuan Shao in Jizhou, but instead turned the spearhead and pointed at our Xiliang army, always on guard against me Li Li. Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and unnecessary casualties, I should not show up for the time being, and Wen Yuan will command the army to fight. So the burden on Wen Yuan's shoulders is not light! ”

"Thank you for your trust. The last general will do his best to live up to the trust of the lord! Zhang Liao bowed and answered.

Li Li nodded with a smile on his face. "It's still the question just now, what is Wen Yuan's opinion on this battle? Say whatever you want, no need to be taboo, and it doesn't hurt to be outspoken. ”

Zhang Liao nodded when he heard this, and after thinking for a while, he said respectfully: "Since the lord asked, the last general will speak boldly and bluntly." Youzhou is not like other states and counties, and its surroundings are surrounded by hundreds of barbarian tribes, large and small, with hundreds of thousands of people; Even, in many counties and counties, there are barbarian cavalry wanton and wreaking havoc, and many cities are occupied by barbarians, and the army is stationed in the city, wantonly plundering, doing whatever they want, and arrogant.

The closest barbarian to Youzhou is Wuhuan. Its influence spread across the five counties of Shanggu County, Yuyang County, Youbeiping, Guangyang and Liaoxi, and some tribes were no longer outside Youzhou, but mixed with the Han Chinese. In addition, in the past two years, Gongsun Zhan's strength has been greatly damaged, and most of the cities in Liaoxi and Youbeiping have fallen into the hands of the Wuhuan people one after another.

In addition to Wuhuan, the strength of the Xianbei tribe is even stronger, far superior to Wuhuan. However, the Xianbei tribe is fighting among themselves, since the death of Xianbei Dashan in Tanshihuai, Xianbei was initially divided into three major tribes: eastern, central and western. With the death of Tanshi Huai's son and Lian Zhongjiao, the central and eastern Xianbei were divided again, divided into six divisions, including Budugen, Fuluohan, Suli, Kebineng, Mica and Queji, and their strength was further weakened.

At present, the most active Xianbei tribes are: the Budugen tribe entrenched between Dai County and Shanggu County, the Kebineng tribe entrenched in the periphery of Shanggu County and Yuyang County, and the eastern Xianbei leader Suli who occupies western Liao. As he spoke, the expression on Zhang Liao's face became more and more solemn, and his tone was very heavy, as if he was very worried about the situation of the people in Youzhou, and he was quite afraid of the barbarian tribes around Youzhou.

After taking a breath, Zhang Liao continued: "These Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes have good strength, as little as 20,000 or 30,000 tribesmen, and more than 50,000 tribesmen, each tribe has at least 10,000 light horsemen, and most have tens of thousands of string controllers, and their strength is strong. What's more, in recent years, Youzhou Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao have repeatedly fought each other, and there are rebels Yan Rou in the territory who have attacked and disturbed the city, resulting in misery and misery for the people. As a last resort, many people fled to the Wuhuan or Xianbei tribes with their families and became slaves. So far, tens of thousands or even 100,000 Han families have become barbarian tribe slaves, bullied and darkened.

Therefore, at present, the counties actually controlled by Gongsun Zan are limited to most of Zhuo County and Yuyang County, as well as some cities in Shanggu County and Youbeiping County, and that's it. The remaining nearly half of Youzhou counties fell one after another, occupied by the Wuhuan or Xianbei tribes. The hardships of the livelihood of the people in the counties can be seen from this. Speaking of this, Zhang Liao's expression was gloomy, his mood was extremely heavy, and he paused again.

Seeing this, Li Li gently patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down, look at the situation objectively and calmly, and not be emotional.

Zhang Liao nodded knowingly, and after calming down, he said: "In view of this, the last general believes that the main purpose of our army's eastern expedition is not to collect Youzhou as much as possible, but to focus on sweeping away the barbarian tribes entrenched in the surrounding Youzhou, and to suppress and suppress them at the same time, so as to disintegrate the barbarian forces as much as possible." At the same time as the large-scale invasion of the barbarian tribes, the Yan Rou rebels were incorporated and forced to open the city to surrender to Gongsun of Liaodong and Gongsun Zan of Youzhou. After the real collection of Youzhou, he will gather heavy troops to go out to the grassland, annihilate the barbarian tribes in one fell swoop, and at least expel them to a distance of 3,000 miles from the border. Only in this way can we ensure the peace of Youzhou for ten or even twenty years! ”

"Hahaha!" Li Li laughed heartily when he heard this, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Wen Yuan is arrogant, good ambition!" ”

Guo Jia smiled and agreed: "What the lord said is extremely true. General Wenyuan not only has a military strategy across the battlefield, but also has compassion for the heavens and people, which is really admirable. ”

After a pause in his voice, Guo Jia restrained his smile and said with a straight face: "The current shape of Youzhou is indeed not optimistic, compared to the situation when the Lord fairly determined the Western Regions and swept away Qianghu, it is even better. Especially in recent years, the temperament of Gongsun Zan of Youzhou has changed greatly, and he is no longer brave, arrogant and lascivious, content with pleasure and not thinking of making progress, so that the counties of Youzhou have been frequently ravaged by barbarians, the border cities have fallen one after another, and hundreds of thousands of people have suffered from enslavement. ”

“?????? This is by no means alarmist, but it is true. Twenty years ago, Xianbei Dadan unified the Xianbei tribes in Tanshihuai and established the Xianbei royal court. When Xianbei was at its strongest, it had an extremely extensive territory; From east to west, its territory is more than 14,000 miles long, and from south to north there are also 7,000 miles of territory. At that time, Tanshi Huai had a million people under his command, and there were no less than 300,000 people under his command, who repelled Fuyu in the east, attacked Wusun in the west, resisted Ding Ling in the north, and confronted the Han in the south.

In order to strengthen his rule, Tanshihuai divided the Xianbei territory into three parts: eastern, central, and western, and appointed a leader to govern it. It's a pity that the Tanshi Huai of the Wise First couldn't have imagined that it was he who divided Xianbei into three, which caused the situation of Xianbei being torn apart. His son Helian was mediocre and incompetent, content with pleasure, greedy for money and lustful, and was killed by random arrows while plundering the Northland County. Since then, the central Xianbei has been divided again, and then there have been years of fighting and fighting, so that the Xianbei tribe has gradually declined, and its strength is not as good as before. Even so, the strength of the Xianbei tribes should not be underestimated, far above Wuhuan. ”

After listening to Guo Jia's words, Li Li nodded thoughtfully, he knew why Guo Jia told the Xianbei past strength in such detail, the purpose was to remind him not to despise the Xianbei tribe, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

I have to say that Guo Jia understands Li Li more and more, and can often figure out his thoughts. Just now Li Li only mentioned that Zhang Liao was the chief general of the Chinese army, and Guo Jia immediately guessed that Li Li did not attach importance to the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes entrenched on the border of Youzhou. Immediately, he solemnly reminded, but did not say it directly, but told Guò about the strength of the Xianbei tribe in the past, and tactfully advised Li Li not to despise Xianbei, and he must pay enough attention to it, otherwise it will inevitably be lost.

In fact, Guo Jia's reminder was very correct and timely. Before this, Li Li really didn't take Wuhuan and Xianbei and other barbarian tribes in his eyes, thinking that as soon as the army under his command arrived, it would definitely scare all the barbarian Xiaoxiao to urinate, and it would be effortless to exterminate such Xiaoxiao. However, after hearing Guo Jia's reminder, Li Li couldn't help but think of many things, more than ten years ago, Tanshi Huai actually completely occupied the homeland of the Xiongnu, almost including some counties and counties in Inner Mongolia, Outer Mongolia and the northern border in later generations, and its territory is not far behind the current territory of the Han Dynasty. The Huns, who were once entrenched in the grassland, fought against the Han Dynasty for hundreds of years, going through the Eastern and Western Han Dynasty; On the other hand, although the Xianbei tribe is divided at present, it is a hundred-legged insect that has died but is not stiff, and it has only been more than ten years, and the foundation is still there, which is indeed not to be underestimated.

In a hurry, Li Li pondered for a long time, and then said with a smile: "It seems that the biggest enemies of our Eastern Crusade are Wuhuan and Xianbei, if we want to really grab Youzhou, we must first destroy these ghostly barbarian tribes." Otherwise, even if you occupy Youzhou, you will not be able to live in peace in the future, and sooner or later you will have to compete with the barbarians. Fortunately, we were well prepared, except for 10,000 trapped camps and 20,000 county soldiers, the remaining 100,000 troops were all war horses. With this 100,000 iron horsemen in hand, I think that this Eastern Crusade will definitely not return in vain, and it should be able to level the barbarians and collect Youzhou safely and steadily. ”

―――――― To be Continued ―――――――――――― (To be Continued......