Liu Ping's words, everyone fell into deep thought.

His opinion was to select the best from the army, select the most elite sergeants, and form a particularly powerful cavalry to directly raid Yuan Shu's base camp.

In this way, the other main armies of the Cao army did not move, and the surrounding princes naturally did not dare to act rashly, and the Cao family was also able to quell the rebellion of Yuan Shu.

In fact, this elite cavalry really existed in the history of Cao Wei, and it has a famous name, called Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

The members of this army are all one in a hundred, and it is an exaggeration to say that a person who can be a general in an ordinary army is just an ordinary soldier in the tiger and leopard cavalry.

If there is damage, the sergeants above the centurion in other armies will be transferred to replenish it, and it is conceivable that such an army, throughout the Later Han Three Kingdoms period, is the top combat power.

Liu Ping is just going to build this tiger and leopard ride.

"It's not difficult to form such an army of 3,000 people," at this time, Cao Cao pinched his beard and said with doubts on his face: "However, although the combat strength of Yuan Shu's army is uneven, after all, there are 60,000 people, and with 3,000 troops taking the initiative to attack 60,000, the difference is too great."

Moreover, if our army attacks lightly, the weight of grain and grass will inevitably be unguaranteed, and if we cannot win a single blow, we will fall into a heavy encirclement, and there will be no way to retreat. ”

Cao Cao's worries were not unreasonable, but Liu Ping smiled confidently and said: "Father-in-law, don't worry, such an elite cavalry, even if you can't win and want to retreat, Yuan Shujun can't stop it."

Moreover, Yuan Shu was arrogant and lascivious, and treated his soldiers slowly, although he had 60,000 people, but he was really unbearable in a battle, and he broke through Huainan and quelled the rebellion, and 3,000 troops and horses were enough. ”

Liu Ping said this with a basis, he knew that Yuan Shu was called the emperor, and few people agreed to his deployment, but Yuan Shu insisted on going his own way and forcibly built the emperor, which naturally led to the rebellion of his subordinates.

First of all, Sun Ce, who had been a general of Yuan Shu, declared his independence in Jiangdong and drew a clear line with it, and later his generals Chen Lan and Lei Bo also led the army to flee, resulting in a great loss of Yuan's strength.

In addition, there was a great drought in Huainan, and the soldiers could only rely on digging snails in the river to fill their stomachs, and the tragedy of cannibalism could be seen everywhere between the Jianghuai River.

After insisting like this for only a year, Yuan Shu himself was cornered, how could Yuan Jun in this situation withstand the blows of the elite tiger and leopard riders?

At this time, Cao Cao's eyes scanned the people present, wanting to see what others thought.

Guo Jia pondered for a moment and said: "It's not my forte to talk about military strategy, but listening to what Ping Gongzi said, it seems to make sense, even if you don't win, at least you can block the mouth of the world." ”

"What Ping'er said doesn't make sense," Xiahou Yuan stood up and affirmed loudly, "It's very reasonable.

Forming a small elite cavalry and running for a long distance will definitely be able to catch Yuan Shu off guard, and even if he can't win, he can retreat with his whole body.

You don't have any other ideas anyway, do you? I thought I might as well give it a try. ”

Everyone was silent in thought, and when Cao Cao saw this, he also knew that there was no better idea, so he waved his hand and said categorically: "Since this is the case, let's follow Ping'er's policy." ”

He paused, but said with a sad face: "It's just that it's okay to say that the selection of soldiers is good, three thousand war horses, but they can't be put together for a while, how should this be handled?" ”

War horses are the most scarce strategic materials in this era, and raising horses is a long-term process, even in the strong period of the Han Dynasty, from the Han Emperor Wen began to pay attention to raising horses, after Emperor Jing, until the period of Emperor Wu accumulated a sufficient number of war horses and the Xiongnu decisive battle.

But if you have been in strife for so long, which prince still has the strength to raise horses?

Even if the Cao clan occupies the two states of Yanyu and has 60,000 or 70,000 soldiers and horses under his command, there are only about 1,000 war horses, which is already a lot among the princes in the world.

Liu Ping had never cared about the Cao family's background before, after all, these were all core secrets, and it was not good to inquire too much, but he never expected that the Cao family's poor family would not even have enough three thousand war horses.

Liu Ping couldn't help but complain in his heart, without war horses, can the newly formed army still be called Tiger and Leopard Cavalry?

In that case, what did the father-in-law promise to do so happily?

"Although we don't have horses in our hands now, I know that there is a place," Cao Cao saw Liu Ping's thoughts, and said with a slight smile: "The Central Plains is not a place to raise horses, since ancient times, good horses have come from the grassland, but this year's drought, the grassland has also suffered a lot of losses, the day before yesterday I heard that the Southern Xiongnu Right Xian King went to humility to tide over the difficulties, and wanted to sell thousands of war horses in his hands."

Cao Cao paused, gritted his teeth and glared: "It's just that even if you go to Humility and rush to make a move, the price of the horse is also a little more expensive, at least 30,000 yuan a horse, and 3,000 horses cost 90 million yuan."

As he spoke, his brows couldn't help frowning, in fact, he also knew that in this era, 30,000 yuan for a war horse is not outrageous, and he has sold it for 50,000 or 60,000 yuan, after all, cavalry has a huge advantage over infantry, and if there are really 3,000 cavalry, it can easily crush more than 10,000 infantry.

This is also the grassland disaster, to be in a hurry to sell this batch of horses to feed the tribesmen, so such a conscience price is offered.

But 90 million yuan is a bit painful for him, now there is no place in the world to mint coins, if it is not to rob others, the coins are basically spent one less one, fortunately, Liu Ping was in Dongguan County iron smelting, and there is an income of more than 10 million yuan per month.

Even so, it would take nine months to save up.

Liu Ping saw that Cao Cao seemed to be a little embarrassed, and hurriedly said: "My father-in-law once rewarded my son-in-law with 80 million yuan in the treasury of Wancheng Mansion, and now my son-in-law is provided by my father-in-law, and there is nothing to spend, so it is better to take out this money to buy horses." ”

"They have already been given to you, so how can they be taken back?" Cao Cao waved his hand and said to Liu Ping with a smile: "If you can have this heart, I will be content."

Don't worry, no matter how you say it, we also occupy the land of Erzhou, and there is a lot of grain from Tuntian this year, and this money can still be squeezed. ”

He stood up and said: "Order, Zihe, Miaocai, from tomorrow, you two will begin to select the elite soldiers in the army, limited to 3,000 people, and you must do the best of the best." ”

Immediately, Cao Cao glanced at Cheng Yu again: "Zhongde, you are responsible for raising money from everywhere." ”

"No!"

And they took the commandment, and went away.

Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun are responsible for selecting soldiers, and Cheng Yu is responsible for raising money.

After a few days, Cao Cao once again discussed matters in the palace, and the Cao family's civil and military efficiency was very high, and at this time, the three thousand soldiers had been selected, and Cheng Yuqian was also ready.

When the troops were dispatched, Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun quarreled again.

This army is one of the best soldiers in a hundred, it can be regarded as the first combat force in the Cao army, both of them naturally want to command, Cao Cao has a headache for this, the Cao family and the Xiahou brothers are the most relied on by him, he can't favor one over the other, he must be a bowl of water.

In desperation, he had to hand over this army to Commander Cao Ang, so that no one would fight anymore.

After all, Cao Ang is the eldest prince, the future master of the Cao family, and being led by Cao Ang is no different from Cao Cao himself.

However, this army was formed to raid Yuan Shu, and Cao Ang's military talent was obviously not as good as any uncle, so Cao Cao divided the three thousand soldiers into three, Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun each led one, and the remaining one was handed over to Liu Ping.

Cao Cao felt that Liu Ping commanded the army to fight not once or twice, each time he could win more with less, and he was never defeated, and this idea was Liu Ping's idea, and Liu Ping and Cao Ang had a good relationship, and there was no one more suitable to command a team than him.

After the soldiers were distributed, the next step was to select the candidates who would go to the grassland to buy horses.

This is not a war of troops, it is necessary to bring money to fight with the Southern Xiongnu, and it has to pass through the gap between Hanoi controlled by Zhang Yang and the annexed states controlled by Yuan Shao.

In the end, everyone unanimously decided that it would be most suitable for Liu Ping to lead the 1,000 men and horses newly assigned to him.

In terms of resourcefulness, Liu Ping is full of tricks, no less than any strategist.

In terms of force, although Liu Ping could not compare with any of his soldiers, he had many brave generals under his command, and he was almost the only one to carry out this mission.

Liu Ping didn't care about taking a trip, in his opinion, this was just taking money to buy goods, as long as he didn't get to the pit, he should be able to complete the task easily.

Before leaving, Cao Cao patted Liu Ping's shoulder and said very seriously: "Ping'er remember, it's still the old saying, if there is an accident, the money and soldiers can be thrown away, just let Ziyi Wenyuan and them ensure your safe return." ”

"Thank you father-in-law, my son-in-law should live up to his mission."

Liu Ping is very grateful for his father-in-law's instructions, which at least shows that he cares about his life.

Liu Ping stepped on the Dawan horse, arched his hand at Cao Cao and the people behind him, and led Tai Shici, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhou Cang, Lu Qi, and the 1,000 elite soldiers to escort several large carriages all the way to the north......

……

Yecheng, Yuan Shao feasted all the civil and military.

Yuan Shao was obviously in a good mood, almost the glass was dry, and the civil and military forces were also very praiseworthy.

"Congratulations to the lord, congratulations to the lord, now Cao Cao has lifted a stone to hit his own feet, and has become the laughing stock of the world, which is really relieving," Guo Tu said with a smile while holding a wine bowl.

Previously, Cao Cao asked the Son of Heaven to issue an edict and ordered all the princes of the world to send troops to recruit Yuan Shu, but Liu Bei played a new trick and sent troops to send troops, but he stopped fifty miles out of the city and borrowed grain and grass from Cao Cao, and attracted all the princes of the world to follow suit.

Yuan Shao was no exception, personally led the army out of the city, which was equivalent to doing a drill, and then wrote a sincere letter to Cao Cao to borrow grain, stating that he had a heart to serve the country with a fist, but the army was short of grain and grass, hoping that Cao Cao could lend him grain and grass, so that he could kill his relatives in righteousness, and slash his brother Yuan Shu to prove his loyalty.

In fact, this letter was not to borrow grain, but to ridicule Cao Cao.

Cao Cao could ignore the letters from other princes, but Yuan Shao's letter could not be ignored, after all, he and Yuan Shao had not yet torn their faces, so he could only suppress his anger and write a polite letter of rejection to Yuan Shao, telling that he was not rich in food.

Borrowing food? No!

Yuan Shao could think of Cao Cao's gritted teeth and self-conscious posture when he wrote this letter, and the more he thought about it, the more refreshing he felt in his heart, so he drank and feasted in the mansion every day for the past few days to celebrate.

"Since he was a child, Cao Mengde has been self-respecting and smart, and he treats the heroes of the world as if he is nothing, how can he ever suffer such a big loss?" Yuan Shao held the wine bowl and said triumphantly: "I didn't expect to be played by me now, see if he dares to be arrogant and domineering in the future, and act with the orders of the Son of Heaven at every turn." ”

"He Cao Mengde coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and he deserved to be ridiculed like this," Guo Tu said with a smile: "But this time Yuan Highway was proclaimed emperor in Huainan, which gave Cao Mengde such a big problem, and it was indeed a great benefit to the lord." ”

"That's right," Yuan Shao drank all the wine in the bowl, "At this time, Cao Mengde is probably in a dilemma, and the highway has finally done something in my favor." ”

At this time, Fu Zhu suddenly stood up and saluted Yuan Shao and said: "Cao Mengde is in the center, now someone is called the emperor, the world is watching, he can't send troops to conscript, this God-given opportunity is also, the lord can reorganize the soldiers and horses, and when Cao Mengde's army goes out, he can wave his army to the south and step on the Central Plains, which is just around the corner." ”

At the beginning, after Yuan Shao heard that Cao Cao welcomed the Son of Heaven, he immediately sent troops to take it back, but he was dissuaded and dissuaded, saying that he needed to change the world and then send troops.

Now that the world has changed, as soon as Cao Cao's army leaves Xudu, they can gather troops from the four states and go south in the name of quelling the rebellion.

If the remaining Cao army dared to resist, they would use the crime of blocking Yuan's army to quell the rebellion, and take Yanyu and the two states into their pockets.

"What the public said is very much in line with me," Yuan Shao laughed and said: "If I collect the two states of Yanyu again, half of the thirteen states in the world will be in my hands." ”

Frustrated and bowed: "Lord, I recently heard that the right king of the Southern Huns is eager to sell horses, why don't you buy it, then our cavalry will be stronger, and when the time comes, go south, and break forward with cavalry, which will be like a bamboo." ”

"I've also heard of it," Yuan Shao nodded and said, "I have prepared the money, and I will give ten beauties to King Youxian, and I will definitely buy these war horses." ”

"I don't know who the lord wants to send?" Guo Tu said suddenly next to him.

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and said: "Let Xianyi lead the people to go, this kid has nothing to do all day long, and it is time to go through the experience." ”

Yuan Xianyi is Yuan Shao's second son, Yuan Xi.

Yuan Shao has three sons, the eldest son Yuan Tan followed his father to fight in the south and the north, broke through Kong Rong, pacified the land of Qingzhou, and was known as Yuan Shao's reliance.

The third son, Yuan Shang, is favored by Yuan Shao, but the second son, Yuan Xi, has neither military merits nor likability, and is the most non-existent among the three sons of the Yuan family.

This time he went to the grassland to buy a horse, and Yuan Shao decided to let his second son do it.

At this time, Guo Tu's eyes suddenly rolled and said: "It is naturally very good for the second son to go to the training, but it is said that the right virtuous king looks rude to go to humility, but in fact he is shrewd, the second son is young after all, and he needs someone to give advice." ”

"Then who do you think will assist?"

"Looking down, Xu Ziyuan is wise enough to assist the second son," Guo Tu said awe-inspiringly.

Xu You, who was sitting in his hands, heard this, his hands trembled, and he hurriedly stood up and said to Yuan Shao: "Lord, in terms of wisdom, Guo Gong is unparalleled in the world, Xu You asked himself, why didn't the lord send him?" ”