At the end of March of the second year of Zhongping, Beigong Boyu and others led tens of thousands of cavalry to enter Kou Sanfu under the banner of killing eunuchs and invaded the garden mausoleum.

In the panic, Liu Hong ordered the left chariot general Huangfu Song Zhen Chang'an to ask for it, and the land of Sanfu fought chaotically, endangering Luoyang.

"My lord, Xianbei wrote a letter, and the Qiang people went north to attack the city of Lady Fan occupied by Xianbei."

Xiang Ao was carefully handling the political affairs of the Northern Regions, and when he heard this, he stopped writing a note in his hand.

"There is no one in private, Ah Lubi is not so polite, and come and sit down." Xiang Ao was in front, Jiang Lu was behind, and the two came to the side hall next to the vestibule of the mansion.

"No!" Jiang Lu didn't shirk either, and came to sit down in front of Xiang Ao.

"Do you want to find out what the Qiang people want to do here?" Xiang Ao picked up the freshly boiled tea and poured it into the tea cup in front of the two.

Jiang Lu held the teacup in both hands, and said a little respectfully: "The specific matter has not been explored yet, but what can be determined is that this team of Qiang people did not go north, and after capturing Lady Fan's city, they intended to go east." ”

"Eastward?!" Xiang Ao pondered for a moment and said, "Can you find out who the Qiang people are leading the troops?" ”

"The leader of the troops this time is the son of Bian Zhang, the leader of the Liangzhou rebellion, Bian Jing!"

"Hehe, the ambition is not small." Xiang Ao smiled lightly, blew the tea cup in his hand, and gently pecked at the slightly hot tea.

"According to the report of the spies, there are still many Huns among the Qiang people!"

"The Huns? Haven't you been driven to the far west by Xianbei? Xiang Ao frowned: "Someone!" ”

"Lord!" Jiao Meng shouted and appeared in front of Xiang Ao.

"Hurry up and invite Kong Ming and Zhicai to my study!"

"No!" Jiao Meng took the order and strode away.

After a quarter of an hour, Hu Zhao and Xi Zhong rushed to Xiang Ao's study together.

"I've seen the lord!" The two came to Xiang Ao and bowed to the side.

"Kong Ming and Zhicai don't have to be polite!" Xiang Ao beckoned the two to sit down, and pushed the teacup that had been filled with tea in front of the two.

"I don't know what is important for the lord to recruit the two of us?" Hu Zhao didn't drink tea, so he asked anxiously.

"Carefully report that the Qiang people went north to Xiliang and have captured the city of Xianbei Fan."

"Huh?!" Both of them were stunned, aren't the Qiang people rebelling and making trouble in the land of Sanfu?

"Bian Jing, the son of Bian Zhang, led more than 10,000 troops to capture Mrs. Fan's city, and then there was no north, and there was an intention to go east!"

"Eastward?" Xi Zhong exclaimed in confusion, got up and came to Xiang Ao's study to take a closer look.

"My lord, Xiliang rebelled, but the foundation is not stable, and this time he sent troops outside the fortress, not to plot Xianbei." Xi Zhong said with a little solemnity: "Bian Zhang rebelled, with the name of Qingjun's side and beheading treachery, the main force must be the place where the meritorious division is subordinate." ”

"And at this time, he sent his son eastward, and he must have plotted against my northern region."

"I agree with what Zhicai said. There is also information that the Qiang people are mixed with the Xiongnu. ”

Hu Zhao also frowned when he heard this: "Huns? Most of the Xiongnu have been forced to push to the west, and it should be extremely difficult to reach Zhuoyi Mountain across the Xianbei region. It should be the remnants of the Southern Xiongnu a few years ago. ”

"I think so!" Xiang Ao sighed in his heart, with these two Xiang Ao is indeed a lot easier. "Recruiting Kong Ming and Zhicai to come here today is to discuss the Ruoqiang people's response to our Northern Regions."

If the Qiang led their troops eastward into the northern regions, the first thing to bear the brunt of would be the land of the Hetao, which had only been stable for several years. In order to open up tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land above the Hetao, Xiang Ao invested most of the surplus in the northern region for several years, and he could not afford to lose. For this reason, Xiang Ao proposed to strike first and transfer the battlefield to Xianbei territory.

The two also agreed, especially Hu Zhao proposed to occupy Lady Fan City, first, to lengthen the front line of foreign invasion of the Northern Regions in the future, and second, to garrison Lady Fan City to assist the Jingshi in Zhangye Juyan's vassal state.

In fact, sending troops was a plan to kill three birds with one stone. In addition to the first two points that Hu Zhao said clearly, there is also the time when the world is in turmoil in the future, which can help Xiang Ao capture most of Liangzhou with lightning speed. Although the three masters and servants have seen that the world will be in chaos within three or five years, the three of them also tacitly do not explain.

After deciding on the plan, Xiang Ao hurriedly wrote a chapter and sent it to Luoyang by horse for 800 miles overnight. Although Xiang Ao was already a frontier ambassador at this time, he could recruit rebels on his own, but in order to avoid being falsely spoken by the people in the court, he still dealt with it according to the procedures in the court. In particular, he must show that he is loyal to the court and the Han Dynasty.

After sending the recital, Xiang Ao ordered the northern region to be completely martial law, and before the imperial court edict was replied, the news of the northern region would not be revealed to the ears of the Qiang people.

The people of the Northern Regions noticed a slight difference in the Northern Regions today, especially the young men who wanted to enlist in the past, and when they saw such a scene in the Northern Regions, they knew that there would be a war. Before Xiang Ao issued a conscription recruitment, many talented people with extraordinary vision went to the recruitment department of the General's Mansion and reported to their families to prepare to enlist in the army.

Since the meritorious defeat of Xianbei, Xiang Ao ordered the troops to be stationed in the field, and each time the soldiers who sent troops to increase the number of soldiers were sent back to their hometowns after the triumph. Only the most outstanding soldiers will be admitted to the General's Mansion and enter the Standing Army of 15,000 in the General's Mansion. Excluding the 5,000 'Feather Killing Battalion' around Xiang Ao, Gao Shun's 800 trapping camp, and the 3,000 'Bow Cavalry Battalion temporarily led by Jiang Yan, most of the remaining 7,000 or so soldiers and horses in the General's Mansion were also cavalry. Of course, in addition to the three thousand 'new feather killings' that Zhao Yun was still practicing.

The rest of the meritorious soldiers were either sent to various places to take charge of local security and banditry, or stationed troops in the fields, in addition to daily field farming, they did not let go of the daily training in the army. As long as Xiang Ao gives an order and gathers soldiers and horses from all over the country, he can raise more than 50,000 elite soldiers, and his combat power is better than that of the central army under the Gongwei Division.

This is also one of the reasons why Xiang Ao ordered the troops to be stationed, with such a heavy army, no matter how much Liu Hong trusts Xiang Ao, I am afraid that he will be feared by the imperial court. Since the Yellow Turban, Xiang Ao has realized that if the world is really chaotic after a few years, he Xiang Ao has no family background, and he does not have many disciples of the Yuan family like the Four Worlds and Three Princes, and he has no connections and family wealth left by his ancestors, etc., how to compete with the heroes of the world?

Xiang Ao had a plan, in addition to the standing 15,000 elite soldiers, if there was a war in the future, Xiang Ao would recruit new soldiers, and after the triumph, he would be sent back to the countryside and stationed troops in the fields. Moreover, the treatment of 15,000 elite soldiers is comparable to that of middle-level officials in the middle of the prefecture, and it is assessed once every three months under the system of survival of the fittest.

In this way, not only will the 15,000 elite soldiers become more and more powerful, but there will also be more and more soldiers who can be recruited and gathered at any time in the Northern Regions. Therefore, although Xiang Ao does not like the harm caused by the rebels to the people, he is also looking forward to the frequent wars on the Han border, which has also caused Xiang Ao to feel a little entangled and guilty in his heart for several months.

The rebels in the land of Sanfu have the same momentum, and the land of Jingzhao cannot be peaceful, Xiang Ao has replied in less than half a month, and he urgently ordered Xiang Ao to go north to the west to attack Lady Fan City, and want to put pressure on Xiliang. If it is possible, it will directly attack the subject country of Zhangye Juyan, and the court will not object to the recovery of Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye and other counties, and even record Ao Dagong.

As soon as the imperial edict arrived, Xiang Ao's general's recruitment order spread throughout the northern regions, except for the two thousand personal guards that Xiang Ao had planned to bring and the three thousand 'new feathers recruited by Zhao Yun), so that by the end of March, he would recruit 10,000 new soldiers and gather 15,000 troops to prepare for the expedition to Madame Fan.

In mid-April, Xiang Ao trained the 10,000 newly recruited recruits before leading the troops into battle. Except for the guards Xiang Ao Jiaomeng and Li Zhu, Xiang Ao only brought Zhang He and Zhao Yun on this trip, even if he accompanied the army and the military advisor Xi Zhong did not bring it. The grassland is the world of cavalry, and the cavalry of the Northern Regions is even more horse-like, crisscrossing the north of the region.

Moreover, the situation in Lady Fan City is not complicated, Xianbei is weak, and after being defeated by the Qiang people, she has already retreated to the north of Yanran Mountain to recuperate, and is temporarily unable to participate in the territorial battle. The Qiang people rebelled, although most of the soldiers and horses fought in the land of Sanfu.

There are more than 10,000 Qiang people and a few Huns in Mrs. Fan's city, in Xiang Ao's opinion, they are just chickens and dogs, slightly stronger than the Yellow Turban Army, but not much stronger. This trip to the north and west is more about training new soldiers.

Although the intelligence is accurate, there are indeed only more than 20,000 soldiers and horses in Lady Fan's city, but Xiang Ao also underestimated the Southern Xiongnu's attachment to the old land in the past, and also underestimated the Southern Xiongnu's hatred for the Northern Regions, or Xiang Ao.

At the same time that Xiang Ao sent troops to the northern Xinjiang, Bian Jing, who did not know the intelligence, cooperated with the old department of the Southern Xiongnu and gathered more than 10,000 Huns and marched towards the Northern Protectorate in two ways. All the way, the remnants of the Southern Xiongnu detoured to the Luohan Mountain, and attacked Rongcheng in the northern region. The other way is that Bian Jing led more than 10,000 elite Qiang people, with great fanfare, to march into the surrendered city.

As for the remnants of more than 10,000 Southern Xiongnu, they didn't know how to avoid their sight, and quietly touched Rongcheng along the border of Wuwei County.

When Xiang Ao sent out his troops, Huangfu Song led the troops to recruit Bian Zhang and others for more than a month, and the battle situation was scorching, and neither side could advance an inch.

"Brother Zhicai, the chaos in the world has appeared, and we need to try to recruit more talents for the lord!"

"What Brother Kong Ming said is extremely true!" Xi Zhong nodded and said solemnly: "I can't wait for the talent of the lord, but there are times when manpower is poor." At this time, there are only a few counties in the northern region, and the two of us can still share the worries of the lord, if the lord occupies the northern states in the future, only the two of us, even if Xu Yuanzhi, who left to study, I am afraid that it will not be enough in the troubled times in the future! ”

"The lord is kind and cares for the people. This is the reason why Zhao had no reason to look back, but if the world is in turmoil, it may be difficult for the lord to stand on his feet if he is so kind-hearted. Hu Zhao is also very entangled, not only hoping that Xiang Ao can always care about the people, but also hoping that Xiang Ao can be a little more ruthless, so that more people may be better.

"Brother Kong Ming doesn't have to worry. The lord is very intelligent, and he will be able to wake up in the future, and he will be the king. Xi Zhong comforted Hu Zhao and said: "Besides, aren't you another courtier?" The Lord is willing to sacrifice a little fame, and he is not afraid! ”

Hu Zhao looked at Xi Zhong, whose eyes were shining, and knew what he meant. But Hu Zhao is more kind-hearted than Xiang Ao, and if there is something ruthless in the future, Hu Zhao is worried that he will not be able to do it. Today, there is a drama Zhong who said clearly, while Hu Zhao is relieved, he is even more guilty of Xiang Ao in his heart.