Full of favor and good guarding, Liu Xin asked him to concurrently serve as the Taishou of Jiujiang and garrison Shouchun. Shouchun is an important town in Yangzhou, as long as Shouchun is held, even if a certain point on this defense line is broken through by Cao's army, the connection between the eastern and western counties can be guaranteed.

Tai Shici had already been appointed by Liu Xin as the deputy commander of the Western Regions Legion, but Cao Cao and Yuan Shao also had many brave men in their hands, and at this time it was an opportunity for these generals to show their skills, so that they could stay in the Western Regions with some talents.

In the same way, Guan Yu was also transferred to the Third Legion to assist Zhang He, while Zhang Ren was sent to the Western Regions to temporarily take the position of commander of the Western Regions Legion. Transferring Zhang Ren to the Western Regions is also to take advantage of his good guard.

The Western Regions Army has a total of 60,000 troops, and 40,000 troops are stationed in the Western Regions all year round, and the other 20,000 are either on vacation or stationed in Yiwu City for training. Now that the war is imminent, Liu Xin issued an order to transfer the Fifth Army to the south, and also issued an order to cancel the vacation. All officers and men of the armed forces, including the local armies, have been removed from their leave, and those who are on leave must also return to their respective units within the time limit.

Judging from the situation in the past half year, the countries in the Western Regions are relatively honest, and there has been no change in Dawan, Wusun, Kangju and other countries west of the Green Mountains. Moreover, the Uzberi Fortress and the Tulugert Fortress on the Green Ridge have been continuously built, which can be described as impregnable, with 40,000 people stationed in the Western Regions is enough, and the other 20,000 soldiers of the Western Regions Legion continue to stay in Yiwu City as a strategic reserve.

However, compared with Jingzhou and Jiangnan, the Western Regions are equally important, and that trade route means Liu Xin's rolling wealth. Although Zhang Ren is good at guarding, he is only one person, in order to avoid being one-armed, Liu Xin transferred Wu Lan and Lei Tong to the Western Regions Army as deputy generals. Like Zhang Ren, they are both the old subordinates of Liu Yan in Yizhou, and they are familiar with each other. Liu Xin transferred the three of them to the Western Regions Legion together, not only considering the issue of mutual cooperation, but also showing his trust in them.

Compared with the southern and western regions, Sili's defense was a top priority, and the four counties of Luoyang, Hanoi, Hedong, and Zuo Fengyi directly bordered Yuanshao's Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Cao's Yanzhou. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had already assembled heavy troops on the border to guard against Liu Xin. If the battle starts, these two are likely to send troops to take Si Li like the sneak attack on Xiangyang back then, especially Cao Cao, who is most likely to take risks.

In addition to dispatching the Fourth Army Corps to garrison Sili and Liangzhou, Liu Xin also allocated 30,000 men from the Engineer Corps to the Fourth Army Corps to be responsible for the construction of various fortifications.

Now, Chang'an City and Grassland New City have been completed, and the roads in various places have been handed over to the local government for maintenance, and the engineering corps has nothing to do for the time being. Originally, the Engineer Corps had been working very hard, and they should have had a good rest during this time, but when they encountered such a major battle, they had to be brought up. As a paramilitary force, it may not be possible to let them charge into battle, but relying on strong walls for defense is no problem.

Over the years, although the territory controlled by Liu Xin has expanded a lot, the number of troops has not increased much. It's not that Liu Xin can't afford to raise so many soldiers and horses, but he doesn't feel that there is a need for this. To maintain stability in the rear, the most important thing is to let the common people live a good life, otherwise, no matter how many troops there are, it is useless.

Now, in the face of such a big battle, Liu Xin's troops are a little nervous. In addition to the Fourth and Fifth Legions and the Western Regions Legion, he was able to use the five legions of each, second, third, sixth, and seventh, plus the Farming Legion. Jiaozhou had just been annexed, and the local ethnic situation was complicated, so the Seventh Army Corps could not be used. And the Reclamation Corps are called soldiers, but in fact they are all peasants, and it is impossible to count on them. As for the defense of Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Jiangnan, it had to be completely handed over to the local army.

In this way, Liu Xin could only put into the mobile force of four legions, 350,000 people. And his opponent Yuan Shao has more than 500,000 people, Cao Cao has more than 300,000 people, plus the Xianbei and Wuheng tribes who may participate in the battle, the pressure on the Han army in terms of strength can be said to be very great.

The elite of the Han army is not only in their equipment and training, but also in their tenacious fighting spirit and firm belief, not to mention that Liu Xin has so many fierce generals who can fight in battle, so Liu Xin is not worried.

Liu Xin looked at the civil and military ministers in the main hall, and said lightly: "Let's all discuss it, how should this battle be fought?" ”

For the Han people, who are mainly agricultural, sowing and harvesting is the top priority of every year. Liu Xin chose to launch a campaign before the autumn harvest, making it clear that he did not want to recruit the people, and even the people who were responsible for transporting grain and grass were not ready to be recruited. And his previous deployment directly excluded the two major armies, that is, to tell everyone that these 350,000 troops must defeat Yuan Shao and Cao Cao at the same time, and their own casualties cannot be too large, what do you think?

Everyone understood that this battle was not easy to fight, and the hall suddenly fell silent.

After being silent for a long time, Guo Jia first said: "Your Majesty, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao have a lot of capable people, as long as our army moves, the two of them will definitely truce and choose to join forces to fight against our army." Weichen thought that when a surprise soldier was dispatched, he would go straight to Yecheng. ”

If you look closely at the map, you will find that in fact, Cao Cao's foundation Puyang and Yuan Shao's foundation Yecheng, as well as Liyang, where they fought several times, are actually not far from Sili Hanoi County. Therefore, most of Yuan Shao's and Cao Cao's forces were concentrated in this area. As long as Yecheng is conquered, it is likely to cut off the supply of grain and grass for Yuan Shao's army, and Cao Cao's own food and grass are not good. At that time, even if the two families can join forces, eating will become a big problem for them to solve first.

Cheng Yu shook his head and said: "Yecheng is an important town in Jizhou, hundreds of thousands of yellow turbans have not been able to conquer the siege for more than a month, and Yuan Shao has been operating there for several years, it is extremely strong, and there is enough grain and grass in the city. If our army can't attack for a long time, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao strike a truce, and the two families join forces to take our back road, then the army will inevitably fall into the predicament of being attacked by the enemy on the back of the belly, Your Majesty must not be careful! ”

Guo Jia has always liked to use odds, while Cheng Yu has always sought stability, and the focus of their considerations is naturally different. But everyone knows that if we go step by step and fight for each city and pond, this war will be protracted, and no one wants to see it. And the best way is to find an opportunity to annihilate the main forces of Yuan Cao's two armies assembled on the front line of Puyang, Liyang and Yecheng, in that case, the world will be pacified just around the corner.

Liu Xin pondered for a long time, and suddenly said: "I have a way, we can besiege Yecheng without attacking!" ”

Han Xi suddenly realized, stroked his palms and smiled: "Your Majesty is really a clever plan!" ”

Fu Zhu suddenly arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, don't forget, there are also Xianbei and Wuheng in the north, they are all soldiers, if the clan goes south, it is a force that cannot be underestimated, and it cannot be guarded against." ”

A hint of coldness flashed in Liu Xin's eyes, and he sneered: "If they don't come to the troubled waters of the Central Plains, I can still let them live for a few more days, if they don't measure themselves, then they won't be far from destruction!" ”

The general direction of the strategy has been determined, and the specific tactics are not what Liu Xin needs to consider, otherwise what is the use of those generals? Liu Xin was about to announce the dissolution of the dynasty, when he suddenly saw Cheng Yu get up and said: "Your Majesty has already proclaimed the emperor, you should be the prince as soon as possible!" ”

As if they had discussed it in advance, Guo Jia and Han Xi also stood up together, arched their hands and said, "Please Your Majesty make the prince early!" ”

Liu Xin glanced at the three of them coldly, and said unhurriedly: "According to what Zhongqing has seen, who should I appoint as the crown prince?" ”

Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, and Han Opera all bowed their heads and said: "With Your Majesty's holy judgment, Weichen does not dare to speak falsely. ”

Liu Xin was a little unhappy in his heart, he was sure that Cheng Yu and the others must have discussed this matter in advance, but Liu Xin also knew that there were not too many problems with the loyalty of these three people. Therefore, even if Liu Xin was unhappy in his heart, he didn't embarrass them, just waved his hand and said: "The big war is coming, now is not the time to discuss this matter, let's discuss it when the war subsides." ”

Everyone didn't dare to say more, so they gave up their hands and retreated, but Liu Xin's throat seemed to have a fish bone inserted, which was very uncomfortable.

In summer, the Mobei grassland is the time when the water and grass are abundant, and you can see the scenery of wind blowing grass and seeing cattle and sheep everywhere. Whether it is the Xiongnu or the Xianbei or the Wuheng people, at this time, most of them are scattered on the grassland as a family unit, grazing horses and sheep, and sometimes they can't see the second family after dozens of miles down.

In today's Mobei grassland, the Xiongnu have declined, and Wuheng has been defeated by Xianbei several times, resulting in a situation where Xianbei is dominant. However, since the death of Xianbei Shan in Tanshi Huai, Xianbei's internal turmoil has become increasingly turbulent. The son of Tanshi Huai and Lian Ben have no talent, are greedy, and are betrayed by the clansmen. After Helian's death, his son Jian Man was young, and Shan Yu's position was occupied by Helian's nephew Kuitou.

Although Xianbei at this time was barely maintaining a whole, it had fallen apart one after another. Some clansmen loyal to the father and son of Tanshi Huai tried to support Jian Man and regain the throne. Some other powerful clansmen are also ready to move, including the two younger brothers of the leader, Budugen and Fu Luohan, who are mainly entrenched outside the Bingzhou Sai, and some Xianbei people led by Kebineng are entrenched outside the Youzhou Saiwai. The Suli, Mijia, Que Ji and other departments are respectively entrenched in Liaoxi, Beiping, and Yuyang.

These Xianbei tribes, on the surface, still obey the orders of the leader, but in fact, they are all yang and yin, and no one obeys anyone.

But today's situation is a little strange, from time to time you can see groups of Xianbei middle-aged men galloping by, their targets are the same place, that is, Danhan Mountain at the southern end of the desert, and that is where the base camp of Xianbei Shan Yuting and Kuitou is located, and they are all ordered by Kuitou to rush there to assemble.