Of course, Zhao Yu's banquet was not to welcome the messenger sent by Liu Bei. Although Zhao Yu already knew that Liu Bei had replaced Tao Qian in the position of Xuzhou pastor, he didn't have much thought about it, and he was willing to transfer some grain and grass to support Liu Bei. However, the messenger sent by Liu Bei was neither Guan Yu and Jian Yong, Liu Bei's cronies, nor Chen Deng, Sun Qian, Tao Qian's former ministers, but just an ordinary person, so naturally he could not afford the grand reception of his side.

Although Liu Bei's messenger was also fortunate to participate in this feast, he was not the guest of honor tonight, but the guest of honor that Zhao Yu entertained today was Peng Cheng Taishou Rong.

Several counties in the north of Pengcheng were lost one after another, which made Zhenrong shocked, he did not dare to stay in Pengcheng any longer, and hurriedly fled south with his headquarters and more than 100,000 people, all the way non-stop, into Guangling City. Zhao Yu knew that he was Tao Qian's township party, and he was also an official in Xuzhou, so he was naturally hospitable.

Guangling's wealth is counted in the whole Xuzhou, and Zhao Yu has been operating here for many years, so he is naturally rich. The utensils used in the banquet are all made of gold and silver, and the delicacies of the mountains and seas make Zhenrong salivate, and Zhenrong's eyes are already a little hot.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhao Yu gently slapped his palms, and a team of dancing girls rushed in, and there were bursts of silk and bamboo behind the screens on both sides. Those dancing girls are enchanting, graceful, and intoxicating.

Although Zhen Rong has also been Pengcheng Taishou for a few years, compared to Zhao Yu, it is too far behind. Zhen Rong couldn't help but be greedy, and under the pretext of toasting Zhao Yu, he suddenly pulled out the sharp blade on his waist, chopped Zhao Yu over on the table with one knife, and cut off his head with another knife.

The incident happened suddenly, and the guests at the banquet were all caught off guard, and the architectural dancer was also frightened by this bloody scene, and screamed again and again.

Zhen Rong jumped on a few cases and said loudly: "Zhao Yu colluded with Cao Cao, and Zhen was ordered by Lord Zhou Mu to kill him on the spot, and if there are those who are not satisfied, they will be killed!" ”

Half of this banquet were the subordinate officials brought by Zhenrong from Pengcheng, these people left their hometowns, and who didn't want to find a place to live, naturally they would not disobey Zhenrong's intentions. And those Guangling officials, because they saw that Liu Bei's messenger also suddenly appeared here, they were a little suspicious, and Zhao Yu was already in a different place, no one dared to come out to ask, but they were shocked by Zhenrong on the spot.

Zhen Rong said in a deep voice: "Do you have any of Zhao Yu's comrades among these people, you still need to inquire in detail, no one is allowed to leave the Taishou Mansion before the water is revealed!" ”

As soon as this order was given, the pro-soldiers who came with Zhenrong swarmed in and arrested all the subordinate officials of Guangling County, but none of them thought of resisting. The Guangling area has been peaceful for a long time, and even the Yellow Turban Rebellion has not affected here, and the soldiers under Zhao Yu don't know what the war is like, they are ignorant, and no one comes to inquire about it, so they become prisoners in a daze.

Seeing that the overall situation had been decided, Zhen Rong said to the messenger sent by Liu Bei: "You go back and report to Lord Liu, and say that the grain and grass from Guangling will arrive soon." ”

The messenger saw that Zhen Rong had cut down Zhao Yu, and he was trembling in fear, and suddenly got Zhen Rong's promise, and hurriedly retreated, not daring to stay here for a moment.

Watching the messenger withdraw, Fan Neng, the general of Zhenrong, asked, "Your Excellency, do you really want to transfer grain and grass to Liu Bei?" ”

Zhen Rong sneered and said, "Liu Bei is just a weaver and a peddler, how dare he steal the position of state pastor?" He wants the grain and grass of Guangling, which is tantamount to a fool's dream! I think that although Guangling is rich, it is not suitable to stay for a long time, so it is better to plunder the army and go to the south of the Yangtze River to find a place to live. ”

Fan Neng has been choking enough to flee with Zhenrong, and just now he was already thrilled to see the girls dancing at the banquet, and now he heard that Zhenrong allowed them to plunder, and couldn't help but smile cruelly: "The brothers below haven't tasted meat for some days, my lord, look, isn't it?" ”

Zhen Rong laughed and said, "Tell the brothers, play is play, don't overdo it." Order, each group should not be less than 10 people, and when you are done, remember to clean up. ”

Under his order, the people of Guangling City suffered. These soldiers who withdrew from Pengcheng had no ability to fight against the Cao army, but they were full of strength when they bullied the people, and all night, there were burning, killing, looting, and ** women everywhere, and a good Guangling almost became a hell on earth.

Liu Xin learned the news of Cao Cao's withdrawal from the army in Xiangyang, smiled and said to Fu Zhu: "This Cao Cao is still an acquaintance, but I don't know if Yuan Shao will send troops now?" ”

Historically, Yuan Shao would always use troops rashly after missing the opportunity, Liu Xin thought about it, this time he would not be an exception, but he really wanted to see Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fight.

But he listened to the frustration and said: "Back to the lord, a heavy snow has just fallen in the north, and it is not above the knee, and the subordinates think that even if Yuan Shao has the heart to send troops, there is nothing he can do." ”

Liu Xin said "oh" and said: "This is a coincidence, if Liu did not immediately order the use of troops against the Huns, I am afraid that it will really have to wait until the spring of next year." However, in this way, it is not surprising that the Xiongnu will fight back, inform Zilong and Hansheng of them, and the soldiers can rest for a while. ”

Heavy snow will not only affect the transportation of grain and grass, but even the galloping horses will be struggling. Liu Xin was very familiar with the cavalry tactics of the steppe tribes, they often chose mare as mounts, in the vast desert, only enough grass can provide mare's milk, and they do not need to carry other provisions. Now, this knee-heavy snow has fallen, not to mention the grass, not even the grass roots can not be found, and it is naturally impossible for these Hun cavalry to attack the Central Plains again, and this is also the reason why there will be more Hun attacks on the border after the beginning of spring every year.

Fu Zhu smiled and said: "The army of the Huns will not come, but the envoys of the Huns should also arrive in the next few days." When the lord ordered to attack the Huns, his subordinates were still a little worried, but they didn't expect that after those Huns were hit by this, they were much more honest, and they obediently sent messengers to come, which was really bad. ”

"Hehe, Gonghe, don't be too happy, we don't know what the Huns sent this envoy to talk about." Liu Xin nodded, and suddenly asked, "By the way, what is the name of this Hun envoy?" After he passed Liangzhou, the road should be smooth, why did he still walk so slowly. ”

These days, Liu Xin has been asking the frustration to pay attention to the movements of the Huns, and the frustration has not checked the information about the Huns, and has a general understanding of the situation of the Huns, and the situation of the Huns is also well understood, and he immediately arched his hand and said: "Hui Zhugong, this person is called Hu Chuquan, the younger brother of the Huns Shan Yu Fuluo, and is now the right king of the Huns." The Huns respect the left, so his status is still under Liu Bao, the king of Zuoxian, and he can be regarded as the third person among the Huns. ”

Liu Xin sneered: "The Southern Xiongnu have been attached to my Han for many years, right?" I still dare to stand up for myself and leave the right and right kings, where is my Han in the same situation? ”

Frustrated, the Southern Xiongnu were just attached to the Han Dynasty and declared themselves vassals to the Han Dynasty, and were not really included in the territory of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Xin didn't wait for a frustrated answer, and continued: "Gonghe, do you know why their Zuo Xian King named Liu Bao? ”

Fu Zhu shook his head and said, "My subordinates don't know. ”

Liu Xin said: "The surname Liu is the national surname of my Han Dynasty, and he named himself Liu Bao to show that he is also a member of the Han family!" ”

He smiled and said: "He is a Huns, not a Han, even if he changes his surname to Liu, he is not a relative of the Han family." ”

Liu Xin said: "All this stems from the policy of harmony and proximity that I implemented when the Han was weak, and Liu Bao has since believed that he has half Han blood. Why did he take the surname Liu and promote these things? Doesn't he have the wolf ambition to become the master of my Central Plains? ”

Fu Zhu was taken aback and said: "The incidents of the Xiongnu plundering the border have happened from time to time, and the lord is too worried. ”

Liu Xin knew many historical processes in later generations, and it was definitely not alarmist for him to have such thoughts. Seeing the disbelief on his face, Liu Xin smiled and said, "Gonghe, do you know why for many years, the Xiongnu and Xianbei grassland tribes have only attacked the border of our Han Dynasty and not penetrated into the interior? That's because they haven't mastered the art of siege yet! But as the world changes, one day they will master these skills, and when you look at them again, will they just raid the border? ”

This point is frustrated but some believe, now, the Huns will be captured by the border people all as slaves, and most of the captive Han are women, in case one day the Huns take away some Han people who know how to siege the city, and these Han people are forced by the Xiongnu to threat, their own mastery of the siege method and the discernment, then the Han will be really dangerous.

With thousands of years of knowledge, Liu Xin has always had a natural vigilance against these nomadic tribes living on the grassland, and has always regarded these nomadic tribes as his worst enemies. After Liu Xin defeated Dong Zhuo, he did not take advantage of the power of Xinsheng and continued to attack Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, although he was worried that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao would unite to confront him, but the main reason was that he was worried that "the end of the strong crossbow cannot wear Lu Mian". The "Lu Min" in Liu Xin's heart is naturally not other princes other than Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, but these nomads on the grassland.

Liu Xin's original plan was to first consolidate the territories he had already mastered, rest and recuperate, accumulate strength, and then take advantage of the defeat of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to defeat them in one fell swoop, sweep away the other princes, and unify the entire Han Dynasty. When the world gradually settles down, when the time comes, the people's livelihood will be slowly improved, the economy will be developed, and the strength will be strengthened, and it will naturally be easy to deal with those nomads on the grassland.

In fact, the reason why Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to defeat the Xiongnu was also due to the result of the two generations of Wenjing recuperating and accumulating strength. And now the Han family has experienced the corrupt rule of the Second Emperor Hengling, coupled with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which has been riddled with holes, and only Liu Xin's rule can be regarded as a happy land.

Therefore, although Liu Xin's original plan will progress more slowly, it is also a safe plan. However, this time the counterattack against the Xiongnu achieved unexpected results, which made Liu Xin quietly change his mind.