December of the third year of Zhongping of the Great Han Kingdom (186 AD).

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Li Hong received the holy decree and felt fear for the first time in his life.

When the son was moody, he first praised him, then ordered him to reprimand, and this time ordered himself to go to Beijing urgently to report on his work, but did not say a word about whether he agreed to postpone the attack on the rebels. Li Hong had no way to guess the mind of the Son of Heaven, but he thought that he would enter Beijing alone, facing enemies all over the city, and his future would be uncertain and his life would be slim. He is reluctant to enter Beijing, he is used to staying with his subordinates, he can only feel safe and powerful when he is in the army, once he leaves the barracks and leaves his subordinates, what can he do? Could it be that he really went to the border county with Hu Zi and Yan Wudaunt to be horse bandits? Li Hong is unwilling, his brothers can't die in vain, everything now is piled up by dead brothers with their lives and blood, what qualifications do you have to give up lightly?

But if he resists and disobeys the order again and resolutely does not go to Luoyang, the consequences will be even more serious. With an edict from the Son of Heaven, he can dismiss his own protector Zhonglang General. He doesn't have any nostalgia for this Zhonglang general, what he is afraid of is the Qiang people. Now the composition of the Western Expedition army is very complicated, Nie Xiao's Qiang army accounts for almost half of the army, and he is no longer the leader of the Western Expedition army or is convicted and arrested, Nie Xiao and his Qiang brothers will definitely rebel. They have no hope left, what do they do if they don't do it, wait for death? The toughest leopards don't have steel teeth and claws, what are they afraid of?

Li Hong was at a loss and urgently summoned Xian Yufu, Xu Rong, Lu Yi, Zuo Yan and Li Wei.

"Adults can't enter Beijing." Ko Yi said, "The adults are fighting corruption in Xiliang with great fanfare and killing many people, and entering Beijing at this time is tantamount to asking for a dead end." ”

Xu Rong stroked his short beard in his hand, and said slowly and cautiously: "Your Majesty will not enter Beijing, and you will have heavy troops in your hands, Your Majesty will definitely be afraid, even if the traitors and the ministers of the court and the central government will slander your Majesty in every possible way in front of Your Majesty, but I think Your Majesty will not immediately remove your Lord's military power and force Your Majesty to death." But once the adults enter Beijing, they can only be slaughtered. I think it's better for adults to excuse themselves, and by next spring, things may change. ”

Xian Yufu pondered for a long time and said: "My lord, now the Tuoba Feng Chen soldiers of Xianbei in the north are in Beidi County, Liangzhou, Shuofang County, and Wuyuan County, and the Murong Feng Chen soldiers of Xianbei in the central part are at the border of Yuyang County, and the Karasuma people in the area of Beiping and Liaoxi are also ready to move, and the rebels in Liangzhou have not been completely pacified, in this case, Your Majesty should not have the possibility of killing you." The lord has just led his troops to defeat hundreds of thousands of rebels in Xiliang in Yicheng, and his military exploits are brilliant, and he has not been rewarded for his merits, and he has been dissatisfied with the soldiers in the army, if he kills you again, the morale of the army will definitely plummet, and how will the battle be fought in the future? For their own selfishness, the traitors in the court may try to harm you regardless of the rise and fall of the country, but the ministers of civil and military affairs in the court should be soberly aware of the current crisis of the Han Dynasty, and I think they will not be too difficult for the time being. ”

"You can go to Luoyang, but you have to wait a little longer to see if the situation on the border is getting more and more tense. If the Xianbei people and the Karasuma people drove their horses south to invade our Han at the same time, then there would be no danger for the adults to go to Beijing. The Son of Heaven killing you at this time is tantamount to self-destruction, and the border soldiers of the Han Dynasty are disheartened, how many of them will fight bravely to kill the enemy? ”

Li Hong looked at Zuo Yan and Li Wei, and said with a smile: "Zilie and Yuntian don't want me to go, Yuxing said that you can go, what about the two of you?" ”

Zuo Yan arched his hand and said, "I don't agree with you to go either." The Son of Heaven is mediocre and has always believed in the words of treacherous eunuchs, where will he care about the rise and fall of any country? At this time, the Son of Heaven summoned the adults back to Beijing to report on their work, and it is very likely that he listened to the treacherous rumors and wanted to deceive you to Luoyang to be imprisoned for punishment. The adults killed the son of Xia Yun, the middle servant, and cut off the financial route of Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang and others, how could they let you go? There are also the bureaucrats of the world in the DPRK and China, what will they do except compete for power and profit with the traitorous eunuchs? They pride themselves on being a family of ministers, and their eyes are above the top, and in their eyes, adults probably don't even have the qualifications to lift boots for Huangfu Song, let alone any importance. There are no adults in the Han Dynasty, and there are still people who can fight, and they can still drive away the Hu people, but the adults are a lawless barbarian, and they are a trouble, how can they not take the opportunity to kill them quickly?"

Li Hong laughed and said, "Junyi said it well, and hit the nail on the head. Zhong Yuan, what do you think? ”

Li Wei said with a smile: "The adults are brave and fearless, and they are arrogant, don't you even dare to go to a small Luoyang?" If the adults don't go, won't they make the world laugh? ”

Koji Yi stood up suddenly, pointed at Li Wei, and shouted loudly: "Li Zhongyuan, you crazy man, do you want the adult to die?" ”

Xu Rong hurriedly grabbed him and persuaded in a low voice: "Yuntian, Zhong Yuan is also serving under the adult's account, how can you hope that the adult will die early?" Can you wait for him to finish? ”

Li Wei didn't care, looked at Lu Yi with a smile, and said provocatively: "I will accompany the adults to Luoyang, do you dare to go?" ”

Lu Yi is a school captain, he has no holy decree, and he can't run around at will, let alone go to Luoyang, Li Wei is obviously looking for nothing to do. Sure enough, Lu Yijian raised his eyebrows, and said angrily: "Li Zhongyuan, this is what you said, okay, I will fight to the death, and accompany the adults to Luoyang with you, don't you regret it." ”

"Yuntian, don't fall for Li Zhongyuan." Li Hong pointed at Koji Yi and smiled, "He's taking revenge on you for pouring him wine yesterday." Are you going to Luoyang? If you dare to walk out of Yicheng, I will kill you. ”

Lu Yi glared at Li Wei fiercely and scolded: "Boy, you can't drink, just play this trick, you wait for the next time you drink and lie down." ”

Li Wei said solemnly: "Koji Yuntian, you are not allowed to go back on it, go to Luoyang with me." ”

"I'm not going." Koji Yi said arrogantly, "I don't go, I regret it, can you still drink me down?" ”

Li Wei looked at him angrily, his teeth itched with hatred, and he raised his hand and swore: "I must drink you down." ”

There was laughter in the big tent, and the tense atmosphere just now suddenly disappeared.

Li Hong asked Li Wei, "Zhong Yuan, tell me your opinion." ”

Li Wei arched his hand and said: "My lord, the situation in Luoyang is very complicated, especially after the Son of Heaven wantonly cracked down on corruption and severely damaged the traitorous eunuch party in the Gyeonggi area of Luoyang, the balance of forces between the DPRK and China has been broken, although we are not sure of the specific intention of His Majesty to summon the Lord back to Beijing, but we had better figure out the situation in Beijing first, and then talk about whether we can return to Beijing." If the situation in Luoyang is unfavorable to the adults, the adults will resolutely not return to Beijing, and we will find a way to spend money to buy the joints and get through this difficulty for the time being. If the situation is favorable to the adults, the adults will go to Luoyang to show their loyalty to the Son of Heaven. Hurry back, sir, I don't think there should be much danger. ”

"I have a few friends who are studying in Taixue, and they are very well-informed and have a very accurate grasp of the situation in Beijing. I will write a letter and send it to Luoyang immediately, so that we can get the news of Luoyang as soon as possible. ”

Li Hong and several old subordinates nodded appreciatively.

"Yu Xing, Junyi, I think we can also write a letter to General Zhou and Master Liu to ask about the situation, what do you think?"

"It would be better if we could get the guidance of the ministers of the DPRK and China." Li Wei asked in surprise, "Who is that Lord Liu?" ”

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Li Hong wrote to the Son of Heaven, carefully explaining the difficulties of the current restoration work in Xiliangzhou County, the huge casualties of the Western Expeditionary Army, the hidden dangers of the Huangzhong Qiang Army, and the crisis on the border of Beidi County, and asked His Majesty to give time to attack the Xiliang rebels, and at the same time tactfully expressed to the Son of Heaven the reason why he could not go to Beijing to report on his work.

While anxiously waiting for the reply from the Son of Heaven, Li Hong discussed the matter of reorganizing the army with the generals under his tent.

Nie Xiao replenished all the prisoners of the Qiang army outside the Saiwai to the army, increasing the number of Nie Xiao's army to more than 30,000. Under the persuasion of Li Hong, Storm Sand and his Xianlingqiang captives were all recruited as Han soldiers. Li Hong made it very clear to the stormy sand, first of all, he can't let them go now, let them go, who can guarantee that they won't rebel or rebel again? Secondly, there is the issue of eating. Even though the Son of Heaven decreed the forgiveness of their capital sins, they still had nothing to eat when they returned home. If you become a Han soldier, you will have military pay and food, and you will make meritorious contributions in the future, and you can also be promoted to an official position and make a fortune like the Xianbei people and Karasuma people, which is also beneficial to the development of the tribe. After discussing with a few of his subordinates, Storm Sand finally agreed. Eating enough to survive is still the first need of people.

Due to the sharp increase in the number of troops and war horses stationed near Yicheng, the people of Hanyang and Wudu counties returned to their hometowns one after another, making the supply of grain and grass very tight. Although Gai Xun transferred a large amount of grain and grass from Sanfu and Nanyang, in the face of Liangzhou, which had nothing, it was a drop in the bucket and far from meeting the needs of Liangzhou. Seeing Li Hong's predicament, Nie Xiao and his subordinates knew that it was impossible to continue attacking Jincheng, so they immediately gave up the idea of chasing and destroying Han Sui. Li Hong was very grateful for their understanding, and personally went to Nie Xiao's tent to express his gratitude. Li Hong promised the Qiang people in Huangzhong that as long as they took Jincheng, they would have the final say in the land of Huangzhong. In order to solve the problem of the survival of the army, Nie Xiao asked Li Hong to join the Han army again. When Li Hong saw the 30,000 Qiang army, he also had a headache, but he gritted his teeth and agreed. What if you don't say yes now? We can't let the Qiang people in Huangzhong starve, and then go around burning, killing and looting.

After Li Hong came back, he was unanimously complained by everyone. Not long ago, the lesson of the betrayal of these Qiang people in Wuxi was too profound, which made everyone feel uneasy, worried that they would betray again. If these more than 30,000 Qiang people suddenly defected in the process of attacking the rebels in Jincheng and Longxi, it would be the fate of the entire army to be wiped out for the army of the Western Expedition, and the consequences would be very terrible. In addition, the addition of more than 30,000 cavalry was really unaffordable for the army of the Western Expedition, and Zuo Yan and Tian Shige, who were in charge of logistics, almost shook their heads. The most important thing is that now these Qiang people obey the ruthless man of the leopard, once Li Hong leaves Xiliang with the army, which Han court general dares to command them, and who can command them? Who would dare to put a pack of vicious wolves on their side? In this case, the fate of this army can be imagined, either disbanded or slaughtered, the biggest possibility is that these Qiang people rely on their strong strength to raise the banner and rebel, if this is the case, then isn't it now raising a group of enemies?

Ko Yi said: "The adults patted their butts and left, but they left a big hidden danger for Xiliang, which is also called Xiliang Pingding?" ”

Li Hongli defied public opinion, insisted on his own opinion, and never wavered. He is also telling the truth, what if he doesn't agree? Kill them? Now the Han army does not have this strength, it is impossible. Ignore them? The Qiang people will definitely think that they have broken their promises, and in turn will take revenge on the Han people madly, and it is the people of Xiliang who will suffer. Now the best way is to recruit them as the border army of the Han Dynasty, appease and domesticate them, let them be fed and clothed, and let the war-stricken Xiliang temporarily stabilize for a while. Let's talk about the future later.

The generals couldn't convince each other, everyone quarreled for a long time in the big tent, and finally Li Wei said: "Everyone calm down, I think the adult's opinion is good, and the effect is still great, if the adult still wants to go to Luoyang in the end, this hidden danger in Xiliang can come back safely, maybe it can play a little role, what do you say?" ”

Thinking about it, everyone thinks that what Li Wei said is very reasonable, no matter what, keeping Li Hong is still the most important thing, and all the means that can be used are still good to use.

"If something happens to your lord in Luoyang, you will immediately instigate Nie Xiao to rebel, and the army will withdraw all the way to Sanfu. In this way, I don't believe that the emperor will kill the adults. Li Wei smiled, "You should be able to do this kind of thing, right?" ”

Lu Yi glanced at Li Wei in surprise, shook his head and said, "Zhong Yuan, I really don't understand why the Lord moved you to Zuojun Sima?" Your idea is good, but it's a pity that our battle in Yicheng was fought in vain, and the Xiliang War has recurred, and the lives have been ruined, so you don't feel guilty at all? ”

"Guilty?" Li Wei smiled, "I don't feel guilty at all. The adult is dead, do you think Xiliang will not be chaotic? Won't all the creatures of this world be in ruins? Yuntian, are you drinking too much and your brain is confused, can't you see that the big man has been blown away? ”

"Okay, okay......" Li Hong was worried that Li Wei was going to say something shocking, so he hurriedly interrupted him and said, "I don't care about the future, I just care about the present, Xiliang can stabilize for a while, it is always a good thing for the Han and the people of Xiliang." ”

The next day, Li Hong summoned the senior generals of the army, such as Sima, Lieutenant, Du Lieutenant, Nie Xiao, and Storm Sha, to discuss the reorganization of the army.

On the fourth day, Li Hong summoned all the generals above the rank of military candidate to announce the new system after the reorganization of the Western Expeditionary Army.

Lieutenant Xian Yu commanded the 30,000 infantry corps.

The infantry army was divided into five divisions, including Xian Yuyin, Yan Rou, Yushi, Huaxiong, and Yan Liang, with 6,000 people each.

Sima of the other department, Sima Yan of the army, Xiao Lazy, Wen Chou, Zhang He, Hu Zi, Fan Li, Gao Lan, Qu Lu, Gao Geng, Yang Chun and other ten people are divided into five subordinates.

Captain Xu Rong commanded an army of 40,000 cavalry.

The cavalry army is divided into five divisions, the captain Liyi, the leader of the first Lingqiang, the wind and sand, the leader of the Huangzhong Qiang, Nie Xiao, the commander of the Lieutenant Heng, and the commander of the eight thousand cavalry corps at the foot of the Duwei Loulu.

Other Sima, Jun Sima Tieyue, Lei Zi, Shoot Yingtong, Shoot Tiger, Lu Huanyang, Tube; All kinds of Qiang Xiaoqu handsome Baili Yang, camels, nine sheepskins, chopping horses and other ten people are divided into five subordinates.

Sima Zhao Yun of the other department led the Black Panther to follow three thousand iron horses.

Sima Jiang Wu of the other department, Sima Pang De of the army, Arc Ding, and four people of Abandonment Shen.

Captain Zheng Xin, military Sima Chen Ming commanded the scout battalion; Captain Tian Chong, and Sima Jiwei of the other department commanded the Cao battalion.

Zuo Yan is the marching Sima, Li Wei is the Zuojun Sima, and Wei Zheng is the assassin and the leader of the fake history.

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On the same day, the Divine Decree arrived at the camp of Yicheng.

Hanyang Taishou Fu Xie fought bravely and martyred the country, and the Son of Heaven issued a special decree to make him the Marquis of Zhuang Jie, and ordered Li Hong to be merciful to his family. Fu Xie's son Fu Gan has been following Li Hong in the camp, crying and worshipping him.

(After the death of ancient emperors, princes, ministers, and others, the imperial court assessed a title to show commendation according to their deeds and morals during their lifetimes, which was called a nickname or a nickname.) The criterion for assessing the nickname is the law. The initial system of the Zhou Dynasty was abolished by Qin Shi Huang and not used. Restoration in the early Han Dynasty. In the future, the emperor's name was discussed by the ceremonial officials. After the death of the noble minister, it was given by the imperial court. In addition, there are private words, which began in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and most of them were established by the protégés of the relatives after the death of the scholars, so they are called private words. ）

The Son of Heaven allowed Li Hong to play, postponed the attack on the remnants of the rebels, and urged Li Hong to return to Beijing as soon as possible to report on his work.

Li Hong immediately wrote a letter to truthfully report that the Qiang soldiers in Huangzhong and the Qiang captives outside the Saiwai had been recruited into the Xiliang border army, and asked the Son of Heaven to immediately send food to Xiliang for disaster relief. He did not mention anything about returning to Beijing to report on his work.

The eight-hundred-mile fast rider sent several replies from Luoyang to the camp.

Liu Yu's reply was clear, he said that the emperor was going to celebrate the great victory of Xiliang in the first month, and urged Li Hong to come back early. He reminded Li Hong that on the way back to Luoyang, he must worry about being assassinated.

General Zhou Shen's reply was very cautious, and he told Li Hong that it was the idea of the Son of Heaven to ask Li Hong to return to Beijing to report on his work. The eunuchs did not make this suggestion to the Son of Heaven, and no one in the court and the central government made a similar expression to the Son of Heaven, and this move of the Son of Heaven also caused all kinds of speculation in Luoyang. He advised Li Hong to be careful, just in case, if he could not return to Luoyang, he would try not to return, if he had to come back, he would have to bring more guards, there were too many people in Luoyang who wanted to kill him.

Li Wei's friend told Li Wei in detail about the recent changes in the political situation in Luoyang, focusing on when the Son of Heaven was crowned prince. They believe that the Son of Heaven recalled the general at this time, vaguely warning the general He Jin. Therefore, when Li Hong returned to Luoyang, the Son of Heaven would not be unfavorable to him, and it was others who wanted to kill him.

On the same day, the edict of the Son of Heaven was delivered to the camp.