There was thunder of joy on the school field, and almost all the soldiers were so excited that their faces turned red and roared with all their might, they didn't know what saints and classics were, they didn't know what celebrities and gentlemen were romantic, they only admired brave people. Although the soldiers of the Changshui Battalion have been with Liu Xiu for so long, they only know that Liu Xiu's martial arts are very good, and they have made military exploits in Northern Xinjiang, and they have never had the opportunity to see Liu Xiu show their martial arts with their own eyes, especially the martial arts on horseback.

As for the newly recruited soldiers of Jiuyuan, most of them were famous horse thieves in the vicinity, who didn't know Lu Bu's prestige, when they found that the invincible Lu Bu was shot down into the dust by Liu Xiu with one blow, they were shocked at the same time, but also felt that Liu Xiu was their own superior and their blood boiled.

It must be a very pleasant thing to follow such a Shangguan to fight.

Against the backdrop of the fiery red battle flag, Liu Xiu held the iron halberd and slowly circled the field, enjoying the cheers of the soldiers like a tide, while Lu Bu knelt on one leg in the field and hung alone, only the zebra turned back and licked his hand from time to time to give Lu Bu a little comfort.

Lu Bu's mind was blank, even the great pain in his lower abdomen gradually faded away, and the thunderous cheers in his ears gradually faded away, he wanted to find out what was going on, but he instinctively avoided the truth of the facts.

He couldn't accept this truth, he didn't know how to face it, he didn't dare to see it, he didn't dare to hear it.

Seeing Lu Bu kneeling motionlessly in the field, like a stubborn stone in the stormy waves, Liu Xiu could probably understand his mood, he ordered the whole army to disband, each returned to the camp, dismounted himself, handed over the iron halberd to Zhang Fei, and went back to the big tent. Hao Zhaoxiao's face flushed and he greeted him, and while unarming Liu Xiu, he praised him: "My lord is good at martial arts." ”

Liu Xiu was not excited at all, but said earnestly: "Bo Dao, Sun Tzu has clouds, and there are five virtues for the future: wisdom, faith, benevolence, courage and strictness, and courage in the fourth." What's more, the courage of the horseman is not brave. ”

Hao Zhao nodded again and again: "What the adults have taught is, but if the adults are so brave, the soldiers will be more confident." ”

Liu Xiu smiled, the reason why he agreed to Lu Bu to compete in martial arts, and spent so much effort to lay out and build momentum, is this purpose, he only has 5,000 people now, if he can't build these 5,000 people into a confident elite, how can these 5,000 people alone influence the situation in northern Xinjiang. Not to mention anything else, the Xiongnu Zhonglang General and General Duliao and Xihe Changshi will not take him too seriously, they will be very polite because you are the favorite of the Son of Heaven, but in their hearts they will only treat you as a favorite minister, that's all.

Only when he establishes his absolute prestige in the Changshui camp will it be possible to gain the initiative in this struggle that is intertwined with internal and external affairs.

If a celebrity wants to become famous, he needs to build momentum, and if a celebrity wants to become famous, he also needs to seize all favorable opportunities to build momentum. These are secrets that are not for outsiders.

Everyone dispersed, only Cheng Lian and others were left on the school field, they looked at the lonely Lu Bu, they didn't know what to do, they had been with Lu Bu for a long time, they knew Lu Bu's surname, and knew that he couldn't accept this result, at this time, it was likely that he would be scolded by him, but if he didn't persuade him, would he just let him kneel there like this?

Huang sighed softly, stepped forward, and said to Lu Bu in a soft voice: "Abu, the eldest husband has a promise, if you don't report to Lord Liu, when will you stay?" ”

Lu Bu choked up and said, "Mother......"

"Don't say it, it's fate, it's your fate. If there is a Shangguan who can appreciate you, you don't have to hesitate anymore. Huang calmed down, "I hope he is also a trustworthy person, so that I can return home to the province one day, whether it is my home on the grassland or that distant home." ”

Lu Bu couldn't cry, hugged Huang's leg and swallowed: "Mother, my son must fight bravely to kill the enemy and glorify the ancestors." ”

Wei Shi was overjoyed, his eyes were moist, Lu Bu had been fooling around for so many years, and finally knew that he was motivated.

Huang touched Lu Bu's hair and sighed softly, with an indelible worry in his eyes.

Lu Bu kowtowed three times, stood up, tidied up his clothes, and walked towards Liu Xiu's big tent step by step, at the door of the big tent, he exchanged a look with Xu Yu, and lowered his head in shame. Xu Yu smiled faintly, "Please wait." He turned around and went into the tent, and came out again a moment later, "Your Excellency, please come in." ”

Lu Bu nodded, hesitated for a moment, opened the tent door and walked in, and saw Liu Xiu lying on the desk looking at a map, without even raising his head, and felt that he didn't know how to speak for a while, so he stood at the door of the tent in a daze.

Liu Xiu raised his head in some surprise, "Something?" ”

"Hmm...... My lord, Lu Bu...... Come and serve. Lu Bu stammered.

"Hehehe......" Liu Xiu smiled, pointed to the seat in front of him, and motioned for Lu Bu to sit down. Lu Bu walked over hesitantly, sat down a little stiffly, Hao Zhao poured a glass of wine and handed it to him, he also took it a little timidly, and looked at Liu Xiu with shame.

Liu Xiu patted the map in his hand, raised his head to look at Lu Bu, and couldn't help but smile when he saw that he looked like a little daughter-in-law who had just entered the door. "Fengxian, I have two arrangements, you choose one."

Lu Bu hurriedly put down the wine glass in his hand, put his hands on his knees, and bowed down: "Please command." ”

"One, you are a personal guard by my side, so let's familiarize myself with the situation first."

Lu Bu's eyes flashed, and he didn't say anything.

"Second, you take your brothers to take a trip outside the Saiwai, one is to inquire about the movements of the Xianbei people, and the other is to recruit some powerful horse thieves, as long as it is useful, the more people the better, if you can summon one song, you will be a military marquis, and if you can summon two songs, you are Sima. How is it? ”

"Your Excellency?" Lu Bu couldn't believe his ears, he was Sima so soon?

"I know you're famous on the grassland, and you shouldn't be able to have a problem with a few hundred people." Liu Xiu's calm tone was full of trust: "However, those rotten people who can only bully merchants and ordinary people, and run away when they encounter Xianbei people, I want an elite that is stronger than the Huns and Wuhuan people, and will become the main force of the Changshui camp in the future. ”

When Lu Bu heard this, he smiled, felt a lot more comfortable, and agreed without saying a word. When he came out of the account, he suddenly turned around, stared at Liu Xiu's eyes, and said word by word: "My lord, I admit defeat, but I don't accept it." ”

Liu Xiu met his gaze and said word by word: "Because of ignorance, so fearless." When you understand why you lost today, you won't say it again. ”

Lu Bu choked, was speechless, and went out as if he didn't understand. He followed Hao Zhao to the baggage camp to get equipment, and then left the camp with Cheng Lian and others. Hearing that as long as there are enough people and horses, they can all be officials, Cheng Lian and the others were inexplicably excited, and they were all enthusiastic, eager to fly to the prairie immediately.

Liu Xiu then marched westward, passing through Yiliang, Chengyi, Xi'anyang and Shuofang counties, comforting the soldiers of the fortresses along the way, and finally arriving at a vast lake (now Wuliang Suhai). At this time, although the Mongolian Plateau was not a steppe with severe desertification, and scattered rivers could be seen everywhere, lakes of this scale were still very rare.

Wang Yun said that this lake is called Poplar Lake - named after the poplar trees that can be seen everywhere in Hubian - in the first year of Yuan Shuo, when Wei Qing attacked Henan, it passed through this lake and went straight to the back of the Huns, and the Huns withdrew from the Hetao area. There was originally a General Wei Temple by this lake, which was erected by Wei Qing's son Wei Yan when he was in Shuofang, but later the Wei family was destroyed because of the witch curse, and the General Wei Temple was dilapidated.

Wang Yun's tone was very flat, obviously he didn't have any respect for Wei Qing, and he didn't have any emotion about what happened to the Wei family. Liu Xiu was very uncomfortable when he heard this, and said lightly: "Wei Qing drove the Huns out of the Hetao, and now we invite the Huns back, I don't know if this is a soft distance, or forgetting the war and causing danger." ”

Wang Yun was very embarrassed, and said in a snort: "The Huns are here to defect now, not to plunder. ”

Liu Xiu glanced at him with a smile and didn't say anything. Wang Yun himself felt embarrassed, licked his lips in embarrassment, and did not say any more. The Huns are now refugees who come to defect, but these refugees are not very disciplined, before and after Wang Mang's new dynasty, the Huns saw the civil strife in the Central Plains, and had no time to take care of the northern Xinjiang, so they took advantage of the gap to attack, and entered the land of no one in the state, and repeatedly hit the east of the river. Even after Emperor Guangwu ascended the throne, Yanmen, Yunzhong, Shuofang, and Wuyuan were also their frequent territories, and these counties were even canceled for a time, and although they were reset, their control was far less than that of the previous dynasty.

On the one hand, the economic strength of this dynasty is not as good as that of the previous dynasty, and on the other hand, it is also because of the consequences of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu's emphasis on literature and suppression of martial arts, the use of Confucianism to learn from scholars, advocating integrity, and suppressing military generals, so the military exploits of this dynasty are far inferior to those of the previous dynasty. The most obvious is the Western Regions, if it weren't for Ban Chao, the Western Regions would have been lost, of course, it is now equivalent to losing, and now the discussion is the question of whether to abandon Xiliang. And the state, it is equivalent to losing half, nominally it sounds better, the Huns are not enemies, they are guests, but the Huns are not honest, and they will restore their true colors as robbers at every opportunity, and make a cameo appearance as robbers.

"Your Excellency is ready to deal with the Huns?" Wang Yun asked with some concern. He felt Liu Xiu's hostility to the Huns from Liu Xiu's words, and this time when he came to Yangshu Lake, he mentioned Wei Qing again, did he want to expel the Huns like Wei Qing, or just want to make contributions like Wei Qing, Princess Shang, and be a general? With his three or five thousand men and horses, he can't deal with the Xianbei people, will he take the Huns at the knife?

"The Huns are now not enemies, they are guests." Liu Xiu shook his head helplessly: "I just want the guests to know a little bit of the rules of being a guest, and it is beyond my power to drive them out." ”

Wang Yun breathed a sigh of relief and didn't say anything more.

Liu Xiu said to Liu Biao: "Set up camp by the lake, I will stay here for a few days." ”

"Whoa." Liu Biao turned around and relayed Liu Xiu's order to Yuan Shao, Han Sui and others. Liu Xiu then called Xu Huang again and asked him to scatter the scout song. Xu Huang didn't talk much, but he was thoughtful, Liu Xiu selected more than 100 people from the people recruited from Wuyuan as scouts, and handed them over to him to be responsible.

Yuan Shao and the others were a little inexplicable, Liu Xiu had been in a hurry, in addition to stopping in Jiuyuan City for three days, he camped in Yiliang and other cities at night, completed the condolence work as quickly as possible, and set off the next day as much as possible.

"Isn't your lord thinking about the past?" Yuan Shao joked with Chen Chen.

Chen Chen held his hands and looked at the rippling poplar lake in front of him, feeling very comfortable, and finally saw a large area of water again. Although Chen Chen prides himself on being a benevolent man, after a period of trek on the grassland, he found that this lake is unprecedentedly beautiful.

"Maybe, I heard that Lord Liu is good at painting, so he must still have a certain appreciation for the beauty of mountains and rivers."

Yuan Shao was a little surprised, Chen Chen was the first time to praise Liu Xiu, although the bitter meaning in this praise was very obvious.

"However, I suspect that he stopped in this place, not only because of the nostalgia of the ancients, but also because of the Huns." Chen Chen looked at the surroundings and reminded softly: "Have you forgotten about chasing Hu Ze?" ”

Yuan Shao raised his eyebrows slightly, not very understanding.

"The heir of the Huns was King Zuoxian, and King Zuoxian was followed by King Youxian. Zuo Xianwang Huzheng and Liu Xiu had a conflict, and they couldn't even go to Luoyang, maybe they wanted to deprive him of his inheritance, so who should be next? It is the right sage king Qiangqu. The station of the right virtuous king Qiangqu is here. Chen Chen pointed to the grassland in the west of the lake, revealing an unfathomable smile: "I think Liu Xiu stopped here, maybe he meant to see Qiangqu." ”

Halfway through Chen Chen's words, Yuan Shao already understood, but he listened quietly, so as not to make Chen Chen unhappy. Besides, he also wanted to hear whether Chen Chen's opinion was in line with his own, and to see if this celebrity was really knowledgeable.

"Mr. Ji Fang is clever." Yuan Shao praised and slapped his palms with a horsewhip, "I really want to see how Lord Liu deals with these Huns." ”

"Huangkou Xiaoer, what does he know?" Chen Chen pursed his lips disapprenously, "The affairs of the Huns have been followed for a long time, it is not easy to be meritorious, and if you are in a hurry, you will change, and he should be most anxious about it now." His Majesty mobilized the people to let him come to Northern Xinjiang, and it has been almost three months now, if he can't achieve the results as soon as possible and eat up the rice that His Majesty prepared for him, how can he stay in Northern Xinjiang? When the time comes, not only will his own efforts be in vain, but His Majesty's face will not be able to hang up. ”

Yuan Shao laughed quietly, he had already had this idea, but he didn't want to show it, so as not to make people think that he was watching Liu Xiu's jokes. Chen Chen is a celebrity, he can speak unscrupulously, as long as he does not conform to him. If you want to talk about the competition of interests in the officialdom, Chen Chen's level is far worse than him.

"I think adults must have a plan, we just have to wait and see." Yuan Shao said perfunctorily.

"Alas-" Chen Chen sighed: "Your Majesty is too young, so many dignified ministers don't need it, but with such a frizzy young man, even if he is meritorious, sooner or later he will still cause trouble." You see that he has invited a few celebrities along the way, but he is so attentive to a horse thief, and he actually risked his life, competing with him in front of everyone, the sword has no eyes, in case there is a mistake, he loses or even dies, what should I do? ”

Yuan Shao frowned, he also felt that Liu Xiu was too reckless in this matter of Lu Bu, a dignified captain of Changshui, actually competed with a horse thief, and won in vain, but it was a big mistake to lose, it was really not worth it. Just as he shook his head and sighed, a rapid drum suddenly sounded, Yuan Shao was taken aback, jumped on horseback and looked around, only to see a black crow in the east, as if a large army was attacking.

"Enemy attack!" Yuan Shao turned over and dismounted, and shouted loudly: "Array, array!" ”

The soldiers who were resting by the lake suddenly became nervous and ran to their battle flags one by one. There are nearly 1,000 people under Yuan Shao, and many of them are his disciples above the team leader, many of whom have experience in the army, plus most of these people are the original soldiers of the Changshui Battalion, who cooperate with each other most tacitly, and the speed of action is also the fastest, and they are quickly ready for battle.

Yuan Shao, with the help of his entourage, put on his armor, turned over his horse, and listened to the drums of the Chinese army.

The drums of the Chinese army have been beating slowly, unhurriedly, and the flag has not been moved, which means that the other side has stopped from a safe distance, and there is no danger for the time being, but the guard has not been lifted either.

Yuan Shao breathed a sigh of relief, and quietly wiped his sweat-soaked palms on his robe. Although after several months of hard training, he defeated the infantry battalion in the exercise, but this is not Luoyang, and the upcoming exercise is not a drill.

The war drums rang three times, and then fell silent, which meant that the vigilance was lifted. Yuan Shao was confused, but he still jumped off his horse and ordered to continue camping.

After a short time, the Chinese army sent someone to invite, saying that the right sage Wang Qiangqu was here, and Lord Liu invited a few Simas to meet together. Yuan Shao suddenly realized that the black oppressive piece of the sky was the Huns. He exchanged a knowing look with Chen Chen and smiled in unison.

Qiangqu, the right sage king, is of medium stature, looks very strong, has a round face, and smiles with three points when he meets people, when Yuan Shao enters the tent, Qiangqu is kneeling in front of Liu Xiu's side, and respectfully talking to Liu Xiu. His son, Yu Fuluo, a young man in his twenties, knelt behind him, and looked up as soon as he heard Yuan Shao's footsteps entering the tent.

Liu Xiu smiled and introduced: "King Youxian, this is my famous family of the Han Dynasty, the son of the Yuan family of the fourth and third princes, Yuan Shao and Yuan Benchu, this is Yingchuan famous man, Mr. Chen Chen and Chen Jifang. ”

Qiang Qu hurriedly bowed and saluted, his Chinese spoke very well, if you didn't see his hair, you basically couldn't feel that he was a Huns. Yuan Shao hurriedly returned the salute. Yu Fuluo stepped forward to salute again, and Yuan Shao also greeted politely, and then sat opposite Qiangqu.

Han Sui then also arrived, and Qiang Qu even called Jiuyang, for him, the celebrities in Jincheng were far more familiar than the celebrities in Luoyang. After greeting Han Sui, Qiang Qu turned to Liu Xiu and said, "Your Excellency is really Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the two Simas are celebrities." ”

Liu Xiu waved his hand reservedly: "It's all about your faces, don't think I'm arrogant, so come to help me." I also often hear about the prestige of King Youxian, although Ling Lang is young, his fame is not small. ”

Qiang Qu was very surprised, if he still had a little reputation, then he believed that after all, he was the Right Xian King, and his strength in the Xiongnu was second only to Shan Yu and Zuo Xian Wang Hu Zheng, but to say that his son Yu Fuluo's reputation was not small, it would be a bit empty. However, he was very happy in his heart, Liu Xiu said this, obviously to give him face, this is a good start, Zhang Xiu's words are not bad at all, this Lord Liu is a relatively easy person to get along with.

He didn't know that the reason why Liu Xiu was particularly interested in Fuluo was because some people said that Yu Fuluo was the culprit who snatched the talented woman Cai Wenji, and the Huns in the Wuhu Chaos were the descendants of Yu Fuluo. However, Cai Wenji is not born yet, and it is estimated that the surname of history repeating itself is not big, but Yu Fuluo can go to Hedong to rob, naturally he is not a guy who keeps his place, in Liu Xiu's words, he is a guy with anti-phagogenes, and he should be taken care of.

Qiang Qu said a few words modestly, and then talked to Liu Xiu about the hostile situation outside the border plug. The Xianbei people came several times last winter, and they were all defeated by him, and at present, the area around Gaoque Fortress is very tightly defended, and it is not easy for the Xianbei people to break through the Wolf Mountain and enter the Han realm. However, in the past two days, the scouts have sent news that the Xianbei people have made an abnormality, and there may be a big action in the near future.

"Big action?" Liu Xiu put down the wine glass in his hand.

"Well, it stands to reason that the Xianbei people want to prepare the Dragon Temple in the first month, and at this time, several tribesmen should rush to Danhan Mountain, but I got the news that the three largest tribes in the western Xianbei are all in their original stations." Qiang Qu shook his head and said with some shame: "However, that's all I heard, and I didn't dare to pack the ticket because of the delay, or if they were plotting to invade the Han land." When the adults first arrived here, I was worried about what they had heard, and I wanted to disadvantage them, so for the sake of caution, I asked them to consider it. ”

Liu Xiu's eyes rolled and he understood what Qiangqu meant, which can be said to be both a kind reminder and a threat. The Xianbei people are outside the fortress, and the Han people can't stop it, and if they want to save their lives, they have to rely on the help of the Huns. In other words, you should not treat the Huns as enemies, but as benefactors, because without the Huns, this land would have been irrelevant to the Han people for a long time.

"Hahaha......" Liu Xiu laughed, picked up his wine glass and said, "Thank you for the reminder." With a friend like Youxian Wang, Xianbei people are here, so what am I afraid of. ”

Qiang Qu also smiled with satisfaction, raised his wine glass, and said humbly: "My lord, we Huns have been gifted by the Han Emperor, let us live here, this is our home." How can we tolerate the Xianbei people coming, naturally we have to fight side by side with the Han brothers to defend the country. ”

Liu Xiu gritted his teeth with hatred, fuck, dare to threaten me? The more he hated in his heart, the brighter the smile on his face, full of praise, and praised Yu Fuluo fiercely, and then set up a banquet to wash the dust for Qiangqu.

Qiang Qu said: "It should be me to pick up the wind and wash the dust for the adults, how can I let the adults invite me?" I can't afford it. If Shan Yu knew about it, Shan Yu would blame me for being rude. ”

Liu Xiu said generously: "It's okay, I'll invite you today, and you will invite me tomorrow." I don't think Shan Yu will say anything, besides, he has been worried about some things recently, and I don't think he has time to care about this little thing. ”

Qiang Qu heard this, and his heart moved, he had already learned from Zhang Xiu that two great wizards had been punished by the gods and died unexpectedly, and he also knew that Hu Zheng was finished, and he was very likely to become the next Shan Yu. And Zhang Xiu also told him, this Lord Liu Xiu Liu is the favorite minister of the Son of Heaven, and he is likely to preside over the war in Northern Xinjiang for a period of time in the future.

The reason why he took the initiative to see Liu Xiu was to come to explore Liu Xiu's tone, and he informed Liu Xiu of the information that Xianbei people "may" have abnormal movements, and also wanted Liu Xiu to realize his important surname, and now Liu Xiu took the initiative to mention Shan Yuting's matter, so he naturally understood his "hard work".

Qiang Qu laughed and patted his chest very boldly: "Whatever the adults say, I will do it, everything is at the command of the adults." ”

(To be continued)