At the beginning of February of the third year of Guanghe, Liu Xiu came to Meiji again, went out of the Great Wall, left the seemingly endless mountain road, and returned to the endless meadow. The iron wolf didn't dare to slack off, didn't bother to ask Liu Xiu, and followed closely with a few Xianbei guards.

The broad vision made Liu Xiu's mood a lot easier, he turned his head to the Lu family in the carriage and said, "Madam, it seems that not only did I fail, but Feng Xue's surname has not changed much. ”

Lu Shi lifted the curtain, glanced at the vast grassland, and showed a relaxed smile on his face: "The wind and snow girl is a child of the grassland, and seeing the grassland is like going home, it is inevitable that she will be a little excited, but it is not a failure." Adult, you don't have to be nervous, the Tao is natural, and you can't force it. As long as you work hard, you will succeed one day. ”

Liu Xiu smiled silently, he was not in a good mood these days, but what he was worried about was not Tanshi Huai, he didn't put his hopes on what room in the first place, since Mrs. Lu also said that Tanshi Huai's realm should not be much higher than him, then he had a ready-made method, that is, to find a few more fierce people to beat him. He now has not only fierce people like Lu Bu, Xu Yu and Guan Zhang Zhao under his command, but also invincible heavy armor soldiers, so many people are beating Tan Shihuai, I don't believe that he can't be leveled. He was worried about the Northern Expedition, in his opinion, the chance of winning the Northern Expedition was only thirty percent, and it was more likely that the Yuan family took the opportunity of the Northern Expedition to grasp the military power, and the result of the Son of Heaven wanting to take advantage of the fire was likely to be self-defeating, losing his wife and losing the army.

Maybe it was because he was in a bad mood, so the atmosphere of the whole team was a little low, and seeing him smiling at this moment, Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei, who had been nesting in the car, immediately cheered up and climbed out first.

"Mother, I want to ride a horse, I want to ride a horse."

Lu Shi dragged one in one hand, "You slow down, slow down, when you are afraid of riding a horse in the future, what are you doing in such a hurry." ”

Zhang Lu looked back at Lu's face, hesitated and retreated, but Zhang Wei was unrelenting: "I'm going to ride a horse now." ”

Lu Shi raised his slap, glared at him and shouted, "Make trouble again? I'm going to beat you up again. ”

"I don't, I'm going to ride a horse." Zhang Wei said loudly: "After a month of driving, my legs are numb. ”

Lu Shi shook his hand, but he still couldn't bear to fight, Liu Xiu glanced at the little Taoist Zhang Xiu, Zhang Xiu hurriedly rushed over with a knight, and one person led a deputy horse: "Madam, with our protection, it will be fine." ”

"Then be careful." Lu Shi said uneasily.

"Auntie don't worry." Zhang Wei climbed on the horse's back with some impatience and ran forward under the knight's escort. Zhang Xiu jumped off the horse and arched his hand at Zhang Lu, who was greedy in the car: "Department teacher, please get on the horse." ”

Zhang Lu looked at the Lu family, saw his mother nodding in agreement, and immediately overjoyed, climbed out of the carriage, climbed on the horse's back with Zhang Xiu's help, and chased Zhang Wei. Lu Shi looked at his son's cheerful back, both relieved and worried.

"Madame, don't worry, Zhang Xiu is very cautious in doing things, with him, it will be fine."

"Thank you, sir." Lu Shi turned around and pulled a war horse and rode up, walking side by side with Liu Xiu. Looking at the vast world in front of him, Lu Shi let out a long breath and suddenly said, "Zhang Jiao came to look for me. ”

Liu Xiu turned his head to look at her in surprise and looked at her face. Lu's eyes flickered slightly, he bit his lip, lowered his head, and played with the reins in his hand. "He killed too much in Jinan, offended the local heroes, and someone wanted to assassinate him."

"He's a great martial artist, and no one will be able to hurt him."

"Yes, but there are people behind those heroes, and Wu Gan, the assassin of Qingzhou, has written to impeach him many times, and even the Son of Heaven is a little uneasy, and he is called to return to Beijing urgently to report on his work." Lu Shi was silent for a moment, and then said: "Last year, Situ Mansion was on the plan, and he got another palace, and the officials in Jinan were beaten to the ground. ”

Liu Xiu didn't say anything, he knew the reason for this, Zhang Jiao wanted to kill Haoqiang, rich and poor, offended the family headed by the Yuan family, they used the power in their hands to suppress and retaliate against Zhang Jiao, according to the regulations, the Taishou at the end of the palace was demoted or even dismissed, this is Yuan Kui They want to use the power in their hands to squeeze out Zhang Jiao, an outlier who breaks the rules. This kind of thing has often happened before, and it is not without outliers in officialdom, but outliers usually have to bear very much pressure and resistance, and it is impossible to do without enough strength. Zhang Jiao is just a grassroots, his strength is in the homeless, and in the officialdom, the homeless people have no chance to speak, their support for Zhang Jiao not only can't help, but may even become Zhang Jiao's crime and be used by Yuan Kui.

However, since the Son of Heaven specially summoned Zhang Jiao to Beijing to report on his work, he would not let Yuan Kui succeed, and the appointment and dismissal of officials by Situ Mansion would eventually go through Shangshutai, and Shangshu Ling Chen Yu would of course have some help to Yuan Kui, but if the Son of Heaven did not nod, they could not do anything.

After the dismissal of the party, a large number of celebrities and party members returned to the court, and there were many in the prefectures and counties, but these people seemed to be more extreme, and the contradictions between them and the Son of Heaven showed signs of intensifying. If it continues to develop in this way, it will either be the next party reinforcement, or it will collapse and be destroyed soon.

There was not much time left for him.

"The Son of Heaven said that he would let his disciples become famous, but I don't know what the result will be?"

"It's being handled, Yangzhou must have no problem, and now it may be fighting for Yanyu, Qingxu and Jizhou."

Liu Xiu was very surprised, Zhang Jiao had a lot of appetite, and he actually wanted to wipe out all these states? He immediately laughed again, joking, these states account for more than half of the population of the Han Dynasty in taxes, and they are also the places with the highest concentration of wealthy families, so it's strange that Yuan Kui can let you succeed. On the one hand, the reason why the Son of Heaven trusts me, and on the other hand, it is not the reason why the state is barren and Yuan Kui disdains to fight.

Lu Shi looked at her sons who were chasing and fighting with Fengxue in the distance, her eyes were a little lonely and depressed, she watched silently and didn't say a word. Liu Xiu looked at her strangely, feeling that her expression was a little weird, Lu Shi felt his gaze, unconsciously stretched out his hand to pick up a lock of hair on the side of his cheeks, turned his head to meet Liu Xiu's gaze, and forced a calm smile: "I have good news to tell my lord." ”

"What's the good news?"

"Several professors from Jinyang Academy have made purer saltpeter."

Liu Xiu nodded happily. This is good news, and while getting purer saltpeter is still a long way from making explosives, it's a first step in the right direction. Jia Xu gave Jinyang School three years of funding in one go in order to help him fight for the merger of the state last year, and now he has returned to the state, and the Taoist priests of the Jinyang School can study with peace of mind.

Lu Shi suddenly said: "We have to hurry, I got the news, Taiping Dao is also doing the same thing." ”

Liu Xiu's eyes shrank, his smile suddenly turned cold, and he snorted secretly.

That night, Liu Xiu stayed in Meiji City, Shan Yu Qiangqu and the Xiongnu Zhonglang General Tian Yan came to visit side by side, after they inquired about the edict of the Northern Expedition, Tian Yan said with some embarrassment, "I have received the order of the general of Zhengbei, and I am about to rush to the camp of the general of Zhengbei in Gaoliu to listen to the order, what do you have to order?" ”

Liu Xiu knew that Tian Yan and Xia Yu were a little unhappy about listening to orders under his account, but for the sake of Duan Cheng's face, they did not explicitly object, and now they have the opportunity to have a relationship with a family like Yuan Shao, of course they will not let go, they are the most capable generals among the side generals, and it is expected that Yuan Shao will rely on them, if this battle is won, it is self-evident that his future career will be bright.

"The Beizhong Lang General's Mansion no longer has the function of supervising the military of the three states, and even I myself am under the orders of the general Zhengbei in this Northern Expedition, and I am responsible for the task of attacking Xianbei in the west, as for your task, I will not talk much if I have issued it from the General Zhengbei." Liu Xiu said calmly: "If you want to say it, there is only one sentence: be careful." ”

Tian Yan smiled embarrassedly, arched his hand, and withdrew. Qiangqu sat quietly, Liu Xiu picked up the wine glass and looked at him: "Does Shan Yu want to take Yu Fuluo and the thousand Hun cavalry away?" ”

Qiang Qu shook his head, stood up, and beckoned to Fu Luo: "Kneel!" ”

Yu Fuluo didn't know why, but he still knelt down, Qiang Qu knelt down, and the father and son kowtowed to Liu Xiu together: "My lord, I also received an order from the general of Zhengbei, and I will lead 13,000 Hun cavalry to fight with the general of Zhengbei, and the Huns were favored by the emperor of the Han Dynasty, so I have to obey General Yu Zhengbei, please forgive me." ”

Liu Xiu smiled indifferently, although he was still a general of Beizhonglang, but his power was not so big, not only the military power of Liangzhou and Youzhou was cut out of his hands, but even the power of the Xiongnu Shan Yuting was allocated to Yuan Shao. The Huns dispatched 13,000 cavalry this time, which is already all the strength of the tribes, plus the 5,000 Hun cavalry under Tian Yan, Yuan Shao has taken almost all the Hun cavalry.

He still had hundreds of thousands of Huns under his command, and if he forcibly recruited soldiers, he could also recruit 10,000 or 20,000 people, but his promise to the Huns was broken. So far, he has no such plan, with the 10,000 horses he already has in his hands, it is enough to hold the state.

"It's nothing, you can just go with peace of mind." Liu Xiu said with a smile: "Your Majesty's edict, I also know it, you know the kindness, I am very happy, fight under the account of the general of Zhengbei, our Han will not treat you badly." ”

"Thank you, sir." Qiang Qu pressed Yu Fuluo's head and made him kneel in front of Liu Xiu: "My son is not a weapon, only under the adult's tent there is still a little growth." When I'm not in the state, please teach me a lot. ”

Liu Xiu's eyebrows furrowed, how is this a bit like the meaning of Tuogu? He looked at Qiangqu, and Yu Fuluo also raised his head and looked at his father in surprise. Qiang Qu smiled miserably: "The Huns are divided, the general of Zhengbei is generous, many people have taken refuge in him, I have nothing to do with it this time." To tell you the truth, I am very pessimistic about the Northern Expedition, and I don't know if I can return to Sene this time, so I ...... If something happens, please make my son a single for the sake of my loyalty to the Han. ”

Liu Xiu took a deep breath, held it for a while, and slowly spit it out, and nodded solemnly: "You can rest assured to fight, I hope you will return triumphantly, in case anything happens, I will definitely let Yu Fuluo be the next Shan Yu." ”

"Thank you, sir." Qiang Qu wiped the tears in his eyes, slapped the frightened Yu Fuluo hard, and shouted: "Dog, don't thank you, adult?" ”

Yu Fuluo fell to the ground, crying silently.

Liu Xiu was in a heavy mood and sighed.

…… In mid-March, Liu Xiu returned to Yangshu Lake, the city gate of Hu City was closed, the previous batch of transactions ** had passed, the new transactions ** had not yet arrived, Hu City was very quiet, only the howling north wind tirelessly pulled the city flag, hunting sound. The camp of Yangshuhu, which is separated from Hu City for several miles, is lively and jubilant, and the sound of war drums can be heard from afar, and the cheers come and go, like a tide.

Jia Xu came with some subordinates on horseback, and Lu Bu followed, he was wearing battle armor, but he was not wearing a helmet, and he had a small purple and gold crown on his head, which was exactly the same as that worn by Liu Xiu, and a red pompom suddenly trembled in front of the crown, which made Lu Bu even more handsome.

"Your Excellency."

"Your Excellency."

Liu Xiu turned over and dismounted, patted Lu Bu's shoulder first, and said with a smile: "Fengxian, I haven't seen you for half a year, you are beautiful again, who have you hooked up with recently?" ”

Lu Bu smiled awkwardly, leaned closer and whispered, "My lord, I have learned now." ”

"Do you study well?" Liu Xiu laughed: "I've seen cats that don't steal fishy, but I haven't seen a man who is chased by a woman but is indifferent." Haven't you heard of it, men chase women, separated by heavy mountains, women chase men, separated by heavy yarns. ”

Lu Bu rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders helplessly: "The parents of the one who gave birth to me, the adult who knows me." ”

Everyone laughed, Guan Yu stood outside, looked at Lu Bu with a serious face, and asked Zhang Fei: "Yide, who is this, it sounds like a wanderer." ”

Zhang Fei said while laughing: "He is Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian, and Zhao Zilong, the two beautiful men under the account of Mr. ”

"And." Guan Yu was dismissive.

Lu Bu happened to listen to their conversation in his ears, and was very surprised by Guan Yu's reaction, he was very unhappy, but he didn't have a seizure, he just glanced at Guan Yu intentionally or unintentionally, and snorted with his nose.

"The camp is so lively, what are you doing?" Liu Xiu asked as he walked inside.

"It's nothing, the soldiers are practicing the usual, today is a big feast, no matter which skill, as long as you can enter the top ten, there is meat to eat, there is wine to drink, and no one wants to lag behind, so ** is stacked, there is a Lou Fushi to challenge Lu Fengxian, although he lost in the end, but the archery is really good, whether it is kneeling shooting, standing shooting, or galloping shooting, they have achieved quite good results."

"That's a good thing." Liu Xiu laughed, "When can we have a few more Lu Fengxian, we will not be afraid of Xianbei people." ”

"My lord, we are not afraid of Xianbei people." Lu Bu said loudly: "Although the Xianbei people claim to grow on horseback, we don't take them seriously, whether they are long or short. He clapped his hands and scolded loudly at the horn soldier beside him: "Shaft, I'm blind, I can't see the adults coming back, why don't you blow the trumpet and let those rabbit cubs come out to line up?" ”

The horn soldier was not angry, puffed out his cheeks, and blew the horn with all his might, spreading the news of Liu Xiu's return to the battalions.

The originally noisy camp suddenly fell silent, and it seemed that everyone did not believe what the drum meant. Jia Xu said with a smile: "My lord, forgive me, I have not told the generals about Luoyang, and there are only a few long histories that know about this matter." I just learned that the adults had returned, and in my haste, I did not alarm the soldiers of the battalions. ”

"You've handled it well." Liu Xiu held Jia Xu's hand and squeezed it gently. Jia Xu is the biggest contributor to his return to Bingzhou this time, if it weren't for his decisive and violent means, Yuan Kui would not easily give up Bingzhou and this ten thousand elite horses. This is the foundation of his life, if he is ruined by Yuan Shao, not to mention when he can make a comeback, he will not be able to pass the dad's level.

At this moment, a tsunami-like roar suddenly erupted in the camp: "Welcome back to the camp!" ”

The battalions responded with a bang: "Welcome back to the camp!" ”

Immediately afterwards, the camp gate was wide open, first of all, the middle camp rushed out of two columns of iron horses, waving flags, and the sound of hooves rumbled, like thunder, like a flood, roaring. Immediately afterwards, the left and right battalions also opened, and two columns of iron cavalry rushed out of the camp, quickly outflanking like two long dragons, and the smoke and dust were billowing and murderous.

Just when Liu Xiu was smiling and Zhang Lu and the others were shocked, the iron cavalry had already surrounded Liu Xiu and his party in the middle, a horn sounded, and the galloping iron cavalry quickly slowed down and formed a circle, and the soldiers turned over and dismounted, knelt on one leg, and shouted in unison:

"Welcome back to the camp!"

"This ......" Liu Xiu was both surprised by the quick reactions, standard tactical movements, and smooth cavalry formation of these soldiers, and also surprised by their uniform behavior at the moment.

"My lord, this is just a small tactic to welcome the adults." Lu Bu grinned, "It's okay for adults to look at it, right?" ”

"Yes, very good." Liu Xiu's heart was full of joy, and the mood that had been depressed all the way finally really let go, and he returned to Yangshu Lake, returned to the barracks, and returned to the feeling of being on his own turf...... That's nice! He opened his arms and slowly turned around, enjoying the warm gaze of thousands of soldiers throwing at him, and said loudly: "The soldiers are hard! ”

The soldiers responded in unison: "Defend the country, don't work hard!" ”

Liu Xiu laughed, the horses of each battalion hugged up, scrambling to greet Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu was noisy one by one, and then entered the camp together, the soldiers in the camp were already neatly lined up in their respective camps, and saluted Liu Xiu in turn, the straight body was full of masculinity, and the passionate war drums seemed to beat on everyone's heart, making people's blood boil.

Brother Zhang Lu followed closely behind the Lu family, holding one of Lu's hands, Liu Xiu at this moment was too different from Liu Xiu in their impression, who would have thought that the person who was silent along the way would actually have such a might.

Guan Yu's face flushed with excitement, stroked the ring knife, and followed closely behind Liu Xiu, enjoying the undisguised enthusiasm in the eyes of the soldiers. Lu Bu looked very unhappy, "Where did this stupid boy come from?" ”

"Heavy Armor Centurion." Jia Xu smiled slightly, paused, and said, "Another sharp weapon in the hands of adults." ”

"A centurion is also a sharp weapon?" Lu Bu raised his eyebrows, clenched his fists, and a touch of anger flashed in his eyes.

After entering the account, Liu Xiu met with the winners of today's martial arts competition, announced a big feast, the camp was full of applause, the cattle and sheep were slaughtered in the camp, and a jar of wine was sent to the camps, and everyone ate meat and drank wine, and returned happy.

After the banquet, Liu Xiu left Jia Xu behind, drinking tea face-to-face, and exchanging the situation after the farewell. Jia Xu was not excited about Liu Xiu's sincere gratitude, but just smiled: "My lord, I just don't want to be driven around by the people of the Yuan family anymore." ”

Liu Xiu couldn't help but smile and took a sip of tea: "What does Wen He think of this Northern Expedition?" ”

Jia Xu drank the tea unhurriedly and rolled his eyes: "My lord, what do you think Your Majesty is thinking?" Although he is not a wise man, he should not fail to see the ambition of the Yuan family. ”

Liu Xiu's face was a little gloomy, and he sighed softly: "Your Majesty hopes to solve the threat to the northern Xinjiang with the help of the Yuan family's strength, as for the future, all he thinks about is to fly all the birds, hide the good bow, kill the cunning rabbit, and cook the lackeys." ”

"Yes, but Your Majesty is not a high ancestor, he doesn't have that kind of strength." Jia Xu slowly turned the teacup in his hand and said slowly: "He can only borrow strength." If my guess is right, my lord's performance in Luoyang during this time should be quite good, and the Son of Heaven trusts you, so ...... You should be one of his choices. ”

"One?" Liu Xiu thought for a while: "The other is Zhang Jiao? ”

"As I said, Your Majesty, though not wise, is not stupid, and it is impossible for him to put all his hopes in one person." Jia Xu smiled lightly, but there was some indescribable helplessness: "My lord, no matter whether the Yuan family can win this battle or not, it is a foregone conclusion that they will have the power of the army." With the financial resources of Jizhou as support, and the assistance of talents between Ruying, the strength of the Yuan family is beyond the control of His Majesty. My lord, this is an opportunity. ”

Liu Xiu didn't speak, Jia Xu's meaning was already very clear, the signs of the collapse of the Han Dynasty had sprouted, and at this moment, it was most practical to seize every opportunity to develop his strength. Compared with the Yuan family, a poor disciple like him is congenitally insufficient, and if he takes it lightly, the final result can only be swallowed by Yuan Shao. Jia Xu is willing to help him, more to help himself.

"I know what I know."

Jia Xu breathed a sigh of relief, and continued: "Accumulation, the adults do not have the accumulation of the fourth and third princes of the Yuan family, so they are currently at a disadvantage. However, just as money can fight a war, but with money you may not be able to win a war, the Northern Expedition is actually an opportunity for adults. Yuan Shao is a talent, and it can't be said that he can't use soldiers, but he is a little too big this time, 50,000 cavalry out of the grassland, the best result is to return in vain, and the worst result is ......" he paused, "...... Annihilated. ”

Liu Xiu blinked, but still didn't speak.

"Yuan Shao is not stupid, so the biggest possibility is that he moved the army out of the fortress, and the Xianbei people avoided his sharp edge, he fought a few small victories, and then accepted it when he saw it, and when he reported to the imperial court, he was a big victory, beheaded thousands, and then promoted to a knight, and may even grasp all the military power in northern Xinjiang."

Liu Xiu's heart tightened, in this way, wouldn't I be pinched to death by him again? "That'...... And how? ”

Jia Xu picked up the teacup and drank it all: "Make greater merit and force Yuan Shao to play really." ”

(To be continued)