It was not only the emperor who was happy, but even Zhang Rang was very excited.

The suggestion he put forward last time was adopted by His Majesty, not only did the champion Hou Gaoshun give him a gift of 1,000 catties of gold, but also the two emperors-in-law lived up to expectations, both achieved good political achievements, and dealt a severe blow to the interests of the noble clan, which made His Majesty very happy, and his status in His Majesty's mind naturally rose a lot, which money could not buy.

At this time, Emperor Liu Hong was not only happy on the surface, but planned a big change in his heart, he called Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong and asked: "Last time I asked you to plan the rebuilding of the Southern Army, how are you preparing now?" ”

The contradictions between the eunuchs and He Jin have not yet fully broken out, and even if there are some small contradictions, they can be resolved peacefully, so Zhang Rang and others are not in a hurry to rebuild the southern army for the time being, so Zhang Rang said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the southern army cannot be formed immediately for the time being, and it is not too late to form the southern army after the war in Liangzhou is over and the military strength of the Marquis of Guangnian and the Marquis of Guangping is stable." ”

Liu Hong thought about it carefully, he was still too eager for quick success, the formation of the southern army in the warehouse was not a good thing, if the strength of the Marquis of Guangnian and the Marquis of Guangping was strong, and then the formation of the southern army, it would be a logical thing, nodded and agreed to Zhang Rang's suggestion.

Next, the reward for the Marquis of Guangping was discussed.

Liu Hong still adopted Zhang Rang's suggestion to add 2,000 households of food to Fangliang, the Marquis of Guangping, not only rewarding him for pacifying the thieves in the two counties, but also congratulating him on his happy son.

The general He Jin has also been in a good mood recently, and several people he recommended were approved by His Majesty and took the position of Taishou and Assassin Shi, becoming his help outside the capital; Bian Rang returned from the champion Hou, and the news he brought back reassured him a little; More importantly, the Marquis of Guangnian and the Marquis of Guangping severely suppressed the clans, making more scholars optimistic about him and supporting him, which was an unexpected gain for him.

However, the Yuan family was unwilling to accept the current predicament, and they could never let the champion Hou, Guangnian Hou and Guangping Hou continue to develop, and learned from the pain, and decided to send the family dead soldiers to assassinate several people, and even Tian Feng and Cheng Li and others were on their assassination list.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it is the ninth month of the lunar calendar, which is the season of autumn harvest, and for Taoyuan Fort, it is also the season of harvest.

For more than half a year, Gao Shun has been living in Taoyuan Fort in a low-key manner, except for quietly going to Hedong County once, and at this time, his wife Xu Ting has been pregnant for more than eight months.

And Ma Gui, Zhao Xiong, Cao Shan and others also have children, and this group of boys who are all born, Taoyuan Fort is filled with a joyful atmosphere all day long.

Everyone expects Xu Ting to give birth to a boy, so that Gao Shun's strength will be more stable.

In mid-September, the autumn harvest in the jurisdiction of Youhe and the two prefectures was basically over, and Gao Shun summoned Li Qiang and Ma Gui to discuss the matter of sending troops to recover Yunzhong County.

Li Qiang and Ma Gui both wanted to lead their troops to the battle, and this was the best opportunity to show off their military exploits.

Li Qiang asked impatiently: "Lord, I can't wait, my hands are already itching, when will we leave?" ”

Gao Shun smiled: "Haha, there are so many generals, why should I lead the army?" They must be given enough opportunities to exercise. "Xu Ting is about to give birth, this is his first child, so naturally he will not leave at this time.

Li Qiang applied with a smile: "Since the lord is unwilling to go on the expedition, why don't you let me do it for you?" I don't have any experience in leading troops in battle, so I have to be trained. ”

Ma Gui retorted: "Meng Wen, you have at least been on the battlefield, I have stayed in Taoyuan Fort for so long, and I have never even been to the battlefield, shouldn't I have to be trained?" ”

Gao Shun hurriedly stopped the words of the two and said: "You two don't earn it, even if you don't go to the battlefield to exercise, your level is higher than them, and the chaos is imminent, and Xu Lin, Wen Chou, Yan Liang, Zhang Fei and others have not grown up yet, this will affect our big plans, let them go, otherwise the loss will be greater in the future." ”

Li Qiang and Ma Gui understood what Gao Shun meant, and they were very disappointed.

Ma Gui asked, "Lord, what about Xu Lin or Xue Yin as the commander?" ”

Gao Shun shook his head and objected: "I am not optimistic about either of them, especially Xu Lin, his temper is too stubborn, too stubborn, and lacks training, so he is not suitable to lead an army alone. ”

There is another reason, that is, Xu Lin is his brother-in-law, and he must not be too biased, otherwise it will affect the overall unity.

Li Qiang asked: "Then who will take over the post of Dingxiang County Taishou?" ”

Ma Gui suggested: "My lord, if Zhen Yu is the Taishou of Dingxiang County, and Wenchou is in Yunzhong County, Dingxiang County will be safe, and it will be convenient to gradually implement the separation of military and political affairs in the future." ”

Li Qiang retorted: "No, that's your father-in-law, and it's not appropriate to implement the separation of military and government for the time being." ”

Gao Shun said: "It is indeed inappropriate to implement the separation of military and government now, my opinion is that Dingxiang County should maintain the status quo, and let Du Bian concurrently serve as the county chief and be responsible for logistics supply; After the war, Xue Yin served as the Taishou of Dingxiang County, or by the people of the Koji Dynasty, they were older, their future achievements have been finalized, and there will not be much room for development, and this move will attract more poor families and good families to come to defect. ”

Li Qiang and the two supported Gao Shun's opinion.

Ma Gui asked again: "Lord, when will the war start?" How many troops to use? ”

Gao Shun thought for a moment and said: "Draw cavalry troops from Taoyuan Fort and expand Xu Lin's cavalry to ten parts; Cavalry was transferred from Zhao Xiong of Yanmen County, and Wen Chou's cavalry was expanded to ten parts; The cavalry was drawn from Ningcheng and Xue Yin's cavalry was expanded to ten parts; After the arrival of the troops, the battle should start immediately, sooner rather than later, and the Xianbei people must be taken by surprise. ”

According to the news brought back by the scouts, Yunzhong County only stationed cavalry at the root of Budu, about 8,000 people, and Gao Shun used twice as many cavalry to ensure that he was fully sure that he would successfully recover Yunzhong County.

Ma Gui felt that the troops were too small and there were no reserve troops, and if the Xianbei Helian King sent reinforcements, he would suffer heavy losses due to the untimely assistance; He suggested: "My lord, I suggest that Yan Liang, Zhang Fei or Li Su lead the cavalry of the headquarters to temporarily take over the defense of Shanwu County and use it as a reserve force, so as to ensure that nothing goes wrong." ”

Gao Shun considered that this time it was Wen Chou who led the troops, and if Yan Liang or Zhang Fei were sent to sit in Shanwu County, they would definitely have opinions, so he asked Ma Gui to pass on the order and let Li Su lead the cavalry of the ten tribes to temporarily station in Shanwu County.

Li Qiang said: "My lord, do you want Guan Yu to give support from the south of the Yellow River?" ”

Gao Shun was now unwilling to have contact with Zhou Fei on the bright side, and only attacked the root of Budu to recover Yunzhong County, and the battle was small, so he vetoed Li Qiang's suggestion.

With the issuance of the order, the northern frontier began to be lively again, with the cavalry army galloping past, and the queue transporting the baggage was endless.

Outsiders who don't know the truth think that there is another alien invasion; On the contrary, the people of northern Xinjiang were in a peaceful state of mind, their lives were not affected in any way, and they firmly believed that the champion Hou would be able to withstand the raids of foreign races and keep them safe.

And Tian Feng was not calm after receiving the order, the lord planned to recover Yunzhong County, and they couldn't be idle, so they contacted Cheng Li to discuss the matter of taking the initiative to attack, which was also to train the army and appease the restless hearts of Yan Liang and Zhang Fei and others.

Cheng Li responded positively to this, and now that the stone road leading to Liaoxi County has been built, it is a good time to send troops, so he contacted Xu Rong again to strive for a joint attack on Xianbei in the east.

After receiving Cheng Li's reply, Tian Feng ordered someone to send an order to the king of Xianbei in the central part of the country, and ordered him to prepare 5,000 cavalry to stand by.