Liu Xin knew that Fu Zhu must have made some efforts to capture Jiaozhou, so he couldn't help but wave his hand and said: "Since Gonghe has already set a four-way strategy, then there is no need to salute first and then soldier, and take Jiaozhou in one fell swoop with the momentum of thunder!" ”

Tian Feng arched his hand and said: "Jiaozhou is far away, the supply is inconvenient, and the subordinates also agree with the strategy of the lord. However, the subordinates dare to ask the lord, what kind of military horses do you need to mobilize? Who will be the leading leader? ”

Liu Xin pondered for a moment and said: "Jiaozhou is an uncivilized land, with many jungles and high mountains, if you want to use troops, you should use the Seventh Army Corps as the main force, and supplement it with the Third Army Corps. As for the leading generals, they are ready-made. The advanced training class of the Dahan Lecture Martial Arts Hall has been held for several months, so let the eight of them lead the four military horses and horses, so as to test their training results. ”

If you talk about plain field battles and siege of cities, the other legions are stronger than the Seventh Army Corps, but in Jiaozhou, what is more important is the jungle battle, of course, the Seventh Army Corps is the main one. There are exactly eight students in the advanced seminar of the Great Han Lecture Martial Arts Hall, namely Zhang Fei, Zhang He, Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Zhang Ren, Yan Yan and Tai Shizi, all of whom are generals who can stand alone. The Seventh Army Corps had just resolved the rebellion of the Shanyue tribe and was in the stage of recuperation. However, the military regulations of the Han Dynasty have always been strict, as long as the order is given, even the soldiers who are on vacation at home will be assembled in the shortest time, and they have basically met the requirements of coming when called, being able to fight when they come, and winning when they fight. Therefore, Liu Xin does not have to worry that this army is still fatigued.

He hesitated: "My lord, these eight generals belong to different legions, and it will be inappropriate for them to command the combined forces of the Seventh Legion and the Third Legion." Besides, Feng Lie, the deputy commander of the Seventh Legion, was still in Jiangnan. ”

Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "Gonghe, you are too worried." Liu just wants everyone to understand that they are not the private soldiers of any one person, but belong to the entire Han Dynasty, and their mission is to defend this country, defend this nation, and protect the thousands of people of the Han Dynasty! The leading coach was served by eight people, Yide and Junyi, and Feng Lie worked hard in Jiangnan and rewarded him with a three-month vacation. ”

Now that it had been agreed, the order was quickly communicated. This time, Liu Xin dispatched a total of 100,000 troops, divided into four routes, each with 25,000 men. Although it was dominated by the Seventh Legion, the Seventh Legion was relatively small, with a total of only 30,000 men, so in each way, the strength was even inferior to that of the Third Legion.

Although except for Zhang He and Zhang Ren, who had commanded the Third Legion, the other generals were not familiar with their soldiers, but when assigning tasks, Liu Xin still tried to take into account the tacit understanding between the main generals. The first road coach is Zhang Fei and Yan Yan is the deputy general. The second road is dominated by Zhang He as the main general and Zhang Ren as the deputy general. The third road has Zhang Liao as the commander and Gao Shun as the deputy general. The fourth road is dominated by Guan Yu as the main general and Tai Shici as the deputy general.

There is no problem with the other three roads, the main general and deputy general are originally partners, but the fourth road makes Liu Xin a little worried. Guan Yu and Tai Shi Ci are both arrogant people, and Guan Yu joined Liu Xin's camp later than Tai Shi Ci, but let Guan Yu be the main general, Tai Shi Ci will inevitably have some thoughts in his heart. If there is no harmony between the main and deputy generals, it is very likely to have fatal consequences for the three armies. Liu Xin originally wanted to talk to the two, but held back. Neither of them is a child, military law is like a mountain, and what the battle looks like depends on their own creation.

After years of Liu Xin's efforts, today's Han army has become an efficient and violent machine, and as the order is transmitted, it will operate rapidly, and a large number of grain, grass, and various ordnance have been quickly assembled in the border area.

said that 100,000 troops were dispatched, but in fact, Liu Xin had already sent the entire Third Army out. Except for the 70,000 soldiers who served as front-line combatants, the rest of the soldiers were not idle, but were responsible for escorting food, grass, equipment, and supplies. After the middle road was divided, the supply also needed to be divided into four routes, and the 30,000 people seemed to be stretched, so many people were recruited along the way. The local armies of the counties along the way also joined in to maintain order and clear the roads.

The official start of the war was set for the tenth day of October. In order to grasp the first-hand information of the counties of Jiaozhou as soon as possible, after receiving the order, Zhang Fei and others did not wait for the team to be assembled, and they proposed to rush to the front line first.

Liu Xin agreed to everyone's request, and personally sent them to the east gate of Xiangyang. Dongcheng District is inhabited by high-ranking officials under Liu Xin, and the East Gate is not something that ordinary people can enter and leave at will, so Liu Xin chose this place as the best place for the generals to eat. However, for the sake of secrecy, Liu Xin still claimed that Zhang Fei and the others left Xiangyang because the first phase of the advanced training of the Han Lecture Hall had ended, and they needed to return to their respective military camps.

After bidding farewell to Zhang Fei and the others, Liu Xin returned to the State Pastoral Mansion, and was gossiping in the back garden with his wife and concubine, when the little maid Xia Feifei suddenly ran over in a hurry, and said: "Master, there is a Cai and Lord Cai outside, claiming to have returned from an envoy from the West, and they have come to ask to see him." ”

Liu Xin perked up and said, "Oh, Cai He is finally back!" Jue'er, you and I go with you to meet your brother and see what surprises have been brought. ”

It turned out that except for Ma Yun and Liu Xin, when Liu Xin met with his subordinates, several other women would not be present, but Cai Hezhong, Cai Jue's younger brother, and this time he organized a caravan to go to the Western Regions, and the Cai family also made a big effort, so today Liu Xin made an exception and called Cai Jue.

Cai He has been waiting in the hall, and after a few months of hard work, the young man has tanned and lost weight, but the whole person is much more energetic, giving people a new look. Seeing Liu Xin and Cai Jue walking out together, Cai He was even more energetic, stepped forward and said, "Sister-in-law, sister, Cai He is here to restore his life!" ”

Liu Xin laughed and said: "Cai He, you are now an official Han official, you can't call me my sister-in-law anymore when you see me." ”

Cai Jue gently poked Liu Xin's back and said softly: "This is at home, why do you want to do it so formally?" ”

For his youngest brother, he will naturally love him a little more as an older sister. To be honest, when I heard that Liu Xin had appointed Cai He as the envoy of the Han Dynasty to the five countries of Dawan, Guishuang, Kangju, Wusun, and Shenfu, Cai Jue was both surprised and happy, but more worried. After all, those places are unfamiliar with the people, and they don't even understand the language, and Cai He is just a fledgling young student, in case something happens, tens of thousands of miles away, it is impossible to lend a hand. Now, this younger brother finally appeared in front of him alive, and Cai Jue's eyes couldn't help but flash with crystal tears.

Liu Xin smiled and said, "Jue'er is right, this is at home. Cai He, you don't have to be formal, sit down and slowly tell me and your sister about the results of this mission and what you have seen and heard on the road. ”

Cai He didn't sit down immediately, but turned around and took a stack of papers, handed them to Liu Xin, and said, "Sister-in-law, this is the national letter of Kangju, Guishuang, Wusun, and the Four Kingdoms that I brought back. They offered to sign an agreement with the Han on a similar terms to the Treaty of Shule, but with the added condition that they would be guaranteed the free passage of the Han caravans in their country, as well as that their caravans could pass freely through the Han and that paper would be sold to them. ”

In the final analysis, the "Shule Treaty" was an unequal treaty that was beneficial to the Han Dynasty, and these countries actually took the initiative to sign such a treaty, which made Liu Xin a little surprised, but when he heard the latter two conditions, he couldn't help but understand everything, and these foreigners were not stupid.

Liu Xin nodded slightly and asked, "Did you promise them?" ”

Cai He shook his head and said, "I don't dare to make decisions about such a big matter, so I brought back all their national letters." ”

Liu Xin muttered: "For these countries, I have no intention of signing a treaty for the time being. Especially those two conditions, it is okay to sell paper to them, but in Dahan's free trade rights, it must not be given! ”

Cai Jue was surprised: "Why can't you agree?" Didn't they also promise to allow our Han caravans to pass freely in their country? ”

If a formal treaty can be signed with these four countries, it can be regarded as a great achievement of Cai He's envoy, and it will have unexpected benefits for Cai He's future promotion, even Cai Jue, who has never cared about political affairs, can't help but help his younger brother talk.

Liu Xin smiled and said, "Jue'er, you only know one thing, but you don't know the other." These countries can be regarded as behemoths in the Western Regions, but compared with our Han Dynasty, they are just a small land, how can they be equal? Moreover, I am afraid that you may not know that these Western businessmen are not like our Han businessmen, who only know how to concentrate on business, and they often like to steal other people's secrets. ”

"Steal someone else's secret!" Cai Jue, Cai and the siblings were all taken aback.

Liu Xin affirmed: "Not bad! They just love to steal other people's secrets. There are many things that the Western countries do not have. For example, papermaking, porcelain making, mulberry planting, egg raising, tea picking, and roasting tea are not mastered by Westerners, and once they steal them, it will affect the sales of silk and porcelain. Other secrets related to the military side are even more so. Do you say I will promise to let them pass freely in Dahan? ”

Cai He has been studying in the academy for ten years, so he naturally understands the meaning of Liu Xin's words, but these four national letters were brought back by him with great painstaking efforts and thousands of miles. ”