In order to distinguish the priorities of various types of letters, Liu Xin classified the letters reported from various places. Ordinary correspondence is handled by the ministries, but correspondence with chicken feathers is an urgent military situation and needs to be handled by the cabinet. The reason why chicken feathers are chosen instead of other feathers is only because chicken feathers are easier to obtain, not because Liu Xin watched the movie chicken feather letter when he was a child. He also ingeniously dyed the chicken feathers into various colors, and the red color belonged to the highest level of 100,000 urgency, which needed to be reported directly to him for processing.

Although Yang Biao couldn't see the content of the letter, he could guess from Liu Xin's face that something important must have happened, he had the heart to share Liu Xin's worries, so he couldn't help but take a step forward and asked, "Dare to ask my lord, what happened?" ”

Hearing Yang Biao's inquiry, Liu Xin threw the letter in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "Lord Yang see for yourself, the Huns dare to attack my Liangzhou border!" ”

Yang Biao picked up the letter and hurriedly read it, didn't laugh, and said: "My lord is angry, every winter and spring, the grassland tribes, such as the Xiongnu, Qiang, Xianbei, and Wuhuan, will all attack and disturb my Han border, and such incidents occur from time to time in Liang, He, and Youzhou Prefectures. However, these Yidi will retreat on their own after just plundering, and there is no great harm, and the lord does not need to worry. ”

For many years, it has become a common practice for the tribes on the grassland to raid the border of the Han Dynasty, even if Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu, the entire Xiongnu tribe was divided into two, and the Southern Xiongnu were attached to the Han Dynasty, but it was still inevitable to raid the border people from time to time, not to mention the emerging grassland tribes such as Xianbei. Yang Biao is in the center of the imperial court, and he receives many such military intelligence reports every year, and he is accustomed to it and is not surprised.

However, most of the attacks on the border occurred in early spring, because after winter, the heavy snow in the north would hinder the running of war horses, and the various tribes of the steppe were all people living on horseback, and it was difficult for them to bargain without the skill of riding and archery. Like this year, it is rare for something to hit Liangzhou not long after the onset of winter.

In the past, whether Liu Hong was the emperor or Dong Zhuo was in power, everyone was accustomed to turning a blind eye to the raids of the grassland tribes. Anyway, it was only the poor people who suffered, and it didn't have much impact on those upper nobles. On the contrary, most of these nobles have some secret trade with these steppe tribes, and they do not want to have bad relations with these steppe tribes.

However, it was Jia Xu who was now in charge of the affairs of Liangzhou, and it was the Fifth Army led by Huang Zhong who was guarding there. Needless to say, Huang Zhong, these generals under Liu Xin are all enthusiastic, how can they tolerate foreign bullying on their heads. And Jia Xu was originally from Liangzhou, and he hated the Xiongnu attack on the border. Especially after a long conversation with Liu Xin, Jia Xu could already feel that Liu Xin had seen far and had begun to pay attention to these peoples on the grassland, so he used the red chicken feather letter that represented the most urgent military situation.

Liu Xin came from later generations, and he knew that in the long years to come, these grassland tribes would be the greatest threat to the Han people, and even pushed the Han people to the brink of extinction several times. Therefore, Liu Xin was very dissatisfied with Yang Biao's words, "snapped" the table, and said angrily: "Liangzhou was not under Liu's rule in the past, even if Liu wanted to manage it, he couldn't manage it." But now it's different from the past, how can Liu sit back and watch them being bullied by foreigners and turn a blind eye? ”

Yang Biao just said this just to make Liu Xin relax, but he didn't expect it to arouse such a big reaction from him, and hurriedly said: "The adults are dedicated to the people, which makes the officials admire." It's just that these steppe tribes are all coming and going in a hurry, and by the time the adult's army rushes over, they have long disappeared. It is better to send an envoy to the Southern Xiongnu and reprimand them so that they can be restrained. ”

Over the years, although the Han Dynasty has not been as strong as before, it is still a behemoth in front of those steppe tribes, and sometimes, the words of the imperial court can still be of some use. Therefore, Dong Zhuo was able to easily help the Huns after being summoned to Qiang, in addition to promising heavy benefits, these grassland peoples still have a fear of the Han is also an important reason.

While speaking, Fu Zhi hurriedly walked in, saw Liu Xin's expression, and asked, "Does the lord have to use troops against the Huns?" ”

Among the advisors under Liu Xin, the one who was frustrated was definitely not the top, but his loyalty and character were the most reassuring one for Liu Xin, otherwise, Liu Xin would not have handed over such an important institution as the Phantom Spy to him. Therefore, even if it is a red chicken feather letter that goes directly to Liu Xin, another copy will be reported to Fu Zhi, so he already knows the content of this letter.

Liu Xin nodded and said, "Yes, Liu wants to teach the Huns a lesson!" ”

"Now that the army is closing the road, it is inconvenient for the team to advance and it is very difficult to replenish, I am afraid it is not a good time to use troops. ”

Yang Biao also echoed: "Yes, the soldiers and horses have not moved, and the grain and grass go first." If Lord Liu is determined to use troops against the Xiongnu, why not wait for the spring of next year......"

Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "Since the Hun soldiers are here, how can I go to the elite soldiers of the Han Dynasty?" Liu wants to see how powerful these Huns are on the grassland! ”

During the Northern Expedition to Dong Zhuo, Liu Xin's cavalry had already fought with those Hun cavalry, and they were defeated, almost annihilating the entire 100,000 Hun cavalry, and he really didn't take these Hun cavalry seriously. Therefore, Liu Xin was very confident in his cavalry, these cavalry were equipped with stirrups, and they could definitely surpass those steppe tribes who grew up on horseback since childhood, and he had to take advantage of the fact that those steppe peoples had not yet mastered the stirrup, offset their advantages in horsemanship, defeat them completely, and create a relatively peaceful environment for the development of the Han nation.

Fu Zhu was naturally very clear about the situation of the battle in Guanzhong, but he did not have such confidence as Liu Xin, so he hurriedly bowed and said: "Back to the lord, not only is it a matter of supply, but my subordinates are also worried about the vast grassland, and my Han cavalry does not know the path, and it is difficult to find the enemy's traces, so it is better to wait for the spring of next year to use troops according to Lord Yang's words." Please think twice! ”

Liu Xin laughed and said: "Gong and I am too worried, although the world is big, there is no place where my Han elite soldiers can't go." What's more, Liu's use of troops this time was not to exterminate the Huns, but just to teach them a lesson. ”

After a pause, Liu Xin said in a deep voice: "Gonghe, pass on my order, the cavalry of the First Army and the Second Army and the Sixth Army will leave for Liangzhou on the same day!" ”

The Sixth Army is an all-cavalry corps, with a total of 50,000 people, and the cavalry in the first and second legions is more than the other legions, with 20,000 people each, plus the 10,000 cavalry of the Fifth Army Corps originally stationed in Liangzhou, the Han cavalry gathered in Liangzhou will reach 100,000 people. Fu Zhu couldn't help but be taken aback, this is to teach the Huns a lesson, and it is clear that they are going to make a big move.

In the early morning of the next day, a large group of cavalry marched north from all over Jingzhou, and this time, Liu Xin sent Xu Huang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Pang De, Ma Chao, and Sun Cequan to Liangzhou.

Yang Biao also went north with these cavalry, and he offered to say that several of his family members had been to the area of the Southern Xiongnu, knew a little about the geography there, and were willing to let them serve as guides for the army. Yang Biao has now figured it out, no matter what happens in the future, his son is now working under Liu Xin, and he is helping Liu Xin to earn some points for his son.

When Liu Xin mobilized the cavalry to the north, Cao Cao also began to act. He is not worried about Yuan Shao, this person has thousands of troops and horses, but he is indecisive, as long as his actions are fast enough, after taking Xuzhou, I am afraid that Yuan Shao's men and horses have not yet started to move. The only thing he was worried about was Liu Xin, although Liu Xin promised not to use troops against him for two years, he didn't believe Liu Xin, because he could feel that Liu Xin was not a decent man, and he didn't pay much attention to his reputation. How can a person who will not be dragged down by his fame care about a verbal agreement? Therefore, when he learned that Liu Xin's army was heading north to Liangzhou, and no matter what happened there, Cao Cao felt that it was a good opportunity.

Since the defeat of Xiangyang City, Cao Cao also began to attach importance to the cavalry, especially the benefit of tying an iron ring under the saddle, and the combat strength of the cavalry under his command increased rapidly. This time, Cao Cao asked Xiahou and Xiahou Yuan brothers to lead 10,000 elite cavalry as the vanguard, wrapped their heads in white cloth, erected a big flag, and wrote the four big words "revenge and hatred", and killed Xuzhou.

Liu Bei killed Sun Guan, drove Zang Ba away, and under the pretense of the two of them marrying Cao Cao, he occupied Langya and successfully took over the 30,000 military horses in the city. However, Liu Bei also knew that these people were obedient to him on the surface, but they were not necessarily so obedient behind the scenes, so they stayed in Langya and did not leave, and besides, except for Guan Yu, there was no other person under him who could lead this army.

Hearing that Cao Cao's army had killed him, Guan Yu lifted the Qinglong Knife, arched his hand, and said: "Big brother, the soldiers are coming to block, the water is coming to cover the earth, Cao thief dares to violate my boundary, wait for the younger brother to lead the army to kill him!" ”

Liu Bei shook his head and said: "Now that the three armies are newly attached, the people's hearts are not stable, and the Cao army is powerful, so the enemy cannot be underestimated. It is better to abandon Langya and collect the soldiers of each county in Xuzhou. The city of Xuzhou is high and deep, which is enough to hold on. When the Cao army can't attack for a long time, Yuan Shao and Liu Xin will definitely move when they hear the wind, and when the time comes, the Cao army can retreat without a fight! ”

Guan Yu is not without his own opinions, but he has too much respect for Liu Bei, and has always looked at Liu Bei's horse head, and never disobeys his will, so he promised to step aside.

So, Liu Bei abandoned Langya without a battle, and hurriedly withdrew to Xuzhou with the 30,000 horses taken from Zang Ba and Sun Guan.