After receiving Zhang Ze's good news, Liu Xiu was ecstatic, this battle completely established his advantage, no matter what Yuan Shao could do with this battle, as long as he couldn't catch Tanshi Huai, his credit couldn't overshadow him. Judging from the experience described by Zhang Ze, the famous general Huangfu Song really did not cover it, and he beat the famous Xianbei general Murong Feng to the ground as soon as he made a move.

Liu Xiu quickly asked them for credit, and at the same time explained to the Son of Heaven the possible outcome of Yuan Shao's battle, and he told the Son of Heaven that there was no major war in Xianbei in the west, and it was necessary to move eastward, and be ready to meet Yuan Shao at any time, in case the Han army was defeated.

The edict of the Son of Heaven soon arrived, and he commended the soldiers who participated in the battle, and at the same time ordered Liu Xiu to march eastward, but not to enter Youzhou for the time being, and not to make any moves beyond the line until Yuan Shao's defeat was actually formed, so as not to arouse suspicion. At the same time, he issued an edict to transfer the five schools of the Northern Army, which had already marched to Youzhou, to Liu Xiu's command, and at the same time he commanded Dong Zhuo, the Taishou of Hedong. In this way, the actual number of troops under Liu Xiu's command has approached 30,000.

Among them, the attribution of the command of the Northern Army has a particularly strong symbolic meaning. The Son of Heaven didn't say much, but the meaning was already very clear, he hoped that Liu Xiu would make persistent efforts to completely cripple the Xianbei people in the first war, solve the threat of the northern Xinjiang once and for all, and master the military power, so that he could make a drastic move to rectify the government in the next step.

Liu Xiu smiled bitterly, the appetite of the Son of Heaven is getting bigger and bigger, at first he just wanted to win a battle to fill the façade, but now he actually wants to beat the Xianbei people and disable them, he is really greedy and swallows the elephant. If the Xianbei people were so easy to be disabled, where would there be today's situation. His victory was because of the sneak attack, and Zhang Ze and Huangfu Song's victory was because of the merit with Lian and Murong Feng, and they all seized the opportunity, but who can guarantee that there will be a chance?

Jia Xu and Xun You looked at the edict of the Son of Heaven, and also felt that the burden on their shoulders was very heavy, according to their preliminary estimates, there are at least seventy or eighty thousand troops on hand at present, and what is even more troublesome is that the Xianbei people are in Mobei, with their strength, they now have no strength to fight across the desert, unless the Xianbei people are sent to the door, they can also get some more results, otherwise they can only envy the fish in the abyss, looking at the ocean and sighing.

"If you want to defeat the remnants of the Xianbei people, you can't annihilate an army of 10,000 or 20,000 to solve the problem, although it is not easy." Xun You rubbed his hands and said thoughtfully: "Based on the current situation, it is estimated that at least more than 50,000 enemies must be annihilated, so that they will be out of breath in the next ten years in order to achieve His Majesty's goal, and this is ...... It's simply impossible. ”

"Not necessarily." Jia Xu moved his body and suddenly laughed: "Gongda, I think it's better to kill 50,000 people than to kill one person." ”

Xun You's eyes flashed, he sat there motionless and thought for a while, and suddenly laughed, "Not bad, not bad, it's still in Wenhe's words." ”

Liu Xiu had already vaguely guessed it, but he didn't want to say it, but looked at the two great strategists very enthusiastically.

"Sandalwood locust." Jia Xu laughed softly: "My lord, the Xianbei people are different from my Han, they are just an alliance, if there is no strong person to unite them, they are just a plate of scattered sand, maybe they don't need us to fight, they will also kill to the death." Now that Murong Feng and Helian have become fire and water, if Tan Shihuai dies, ......"

Liu Xiu was silent in thought, he admitted that what Jia Xu said made sense, if he could kill Tanshi Huai, even if he couldn't cripple the Xianbei people, it would be relatively easy to break them in the future. The system of the Xianbei people is still in the stage of relatively primitive tribal alliances, whether they can be unified together, to a large extent, depends on the personal charm of a certain hero, there are such people, they can twist into a rope, work together to the outside world, without such people, they are a plate of scattered sand, you beat me, I beat you is a common thing.

The Huns were able to run rampant in Mobei back then, because there were strong men like Mao Dun, and today's Xianbei people can be so strong, which is inseparable from the person of Tanshi Huai. This kind of thing has happened before, the Xianbei people have a tribal leader called Qi Zhiji, he has a good ability, gathered the tribes, and found a lot of trouble for the Han people, but at that time, the strength of the Han people was not weak to the point where it is today, and he did not become a big climate. However, in those ten years, the frontiers of the Han people were also tightened again and again, and even the Taishou and the Xiongnu kings died several times. Later, until Qianqian died, Xianbei people fell silent for a while, until the sandalwood locust was born.

If you can kill Tanshi Huai and let the Xianbei people commit suicide, even if the goal of the Son of Heaven cannot be completed, it can barely be regarded as a standard. Another advantage is that he can legitimately control the forces of the northern frontier.

"Is it possible?" Liu Xiu groaned, "We don't know where the sandalwood acacia is. "This time, the Han army mobilized the army to attack, Xianbei people retreated to Mobei in stride, their whereabouts were uncertain, the original regional division was completely scattered, the location of the army was difficult to determine, and even Xi Zhicai's Shenlong who saw the head and tail had no news, and I don't know if he was still alive.

"It's not possible now, but that doesn't mean it's impossible in the future." Xun You shook his head lightly, and carefully calculated: "After Yuan Shao's army is out of the fortress, the farthest is to reach the area of Gonglushui, if Tanshi Huai is there to fight with them, then although the Han army is the end of the strong crossbow, it still has a certain lethality, and the casualties of the Xianbei people will be relatively large, but if he pursues when the Han army retreats when the food is exhausted, the price paid will be much smaller." ”

He clenched his fists and raised his head to look at Liu Xiu: "If that's the case, we may have a glimmer of hope to ambush him." ”

Liu Xiu agreed with him, there is hope, but it is only a glimmer of hope, there are too many variables in this, and it is not easy to capture the fighter. The first is where Tan Shihuai will fight the Han army, and secondly, if he pursues, which way will he chase, it stands to reason that he will chase Yuan Shao all the way, but what if he doesn't chase like this? Secondly, if the Han army is pursued, can it hold out to the vicinity of the border stopper, if it is defeated by Tanshi Huai in the middle, Tanshi Huai does not need to chase to the border pass at all.

"Do your best." Liu Xiu also clenched his fists: "If you have a point of hope, you have to work very hard." Wenhe, you take stock of our belongings to see how many materials can be called, discuss with Wang Yun, and see if you can give us more credit. ”

Jia Xu nodded in agreement.

"Gongda, order Zhang Ze and Huangfu Song to withdraw, Fengxi's attitude is not clear so far, don't be taken advantage of by him." Liu Xiu thought about it for a moment, "Let Huangfu Song bring five thousand elite cavalry to the clouds." ”

"Whoa."

"Let's also go to the cat in the clouds, and leave it to Wang Yun to watch here." Liu Xiu thought for a while, and then said, "Wenhe, you write a letter to He Lian, probe his tone, and see if he dares to do something bigger." ”

Jia Xu smiled silently.

…… Yuan Shao shook off the sand and dust on his body, looked at the vast desert behind him, and felt palpitations. Now he no longer dares to show off his achievements, and he also understands why Liu Xiu spent so much effort to lure Xianbei people to Bingzhou to fight. Compared with this expedition across the desert, that battle was child's play, the farthest distance was only four or five hundred miles, and there was no need to worry about finding a water source.

But in the desert, the lack of water almost wiped them out, and during the days of his trek in the desert, he worried about the water source every day, he never knew if he would bring enough water, and he did not know how far ahead he would find a new source of water for the army. There is yellow sand everywhere, and there is no green in sight, and even the so-called oasis, only the sparse grass roots have just begun to turn green, which is not comparable to the patches of grassland in Bingzhou.

No wonder the sages did not advocate foreign conquest, what is the use of grabbing these barren lands? It's impossible to even graze, let alone farm.

However, the army finally came out of the desert without danger, and the Xianbei people may be in front of them, as long as they are caught, their hard work this time is not in vain.

"General, the Xianbei people are likely to be ambushed not far away, but our army is very tired, so we must not be careless at this time." The judge rode up to Yuan Shao and reminded loudly: "I think we should inform the whole army and be careful to guard against the enemy from sneaking up on our army's foothold." ”

The trial is a native of Yin'an, Wei County, and this time he should enter the Zhengbei General's Mansion and do a job. He can be literate and martial, scheming, and is a rare talent, of course, he is inevitably a little arrogant, and he doesn't get along well with other colleagues, especially for famous people such as Guo Tu who came to Yuan Shaolai.

"What Zhengnan said is very true." Yuan Shao pointed to the mountains in the distance, "The scout said that there is Gonglu Shui, which is the main river in Mobei, and I estimate that Tanshi Huai should be hiding not far away." They have to drink water, too. ”

The judge smiled disdainfully: "That's natural, but the Xianbei people must not have thought that we would cross the desert, as long as we are not careless, they will not have a chance." ”

Guo Tu kept his face gloomy and didn't speak, and suddenly sneered at this time: "General, I think that if the army is strictly regulated at this time, it is possible to scare the Xianbei people away, our army's food and grass consumption is nearly half, and it is impossible to move forward much further, it is better to show the enemy weakness and lure them over for a decisive battle." ”

The judge glanced at Guo Tu and said lightly: "Showing weakness to the enemy and neglecting guard are two different things. ”

Guo Tu's face flushed, and then he sneered at each other: "Could it be that Zhengnan thinks that only you know the military here?" The general has been lying in the ice and swallowing snow, and has fought bloody battles with the Xianbei people, can he not know these most basic truths? ”

The trial didn't say any more, Guo Tu pulled Yuan Shao, and if he said anything, he would be suspected of targeting Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao waved his hand and motioned for Guo Tu to stop talking. "Zhengnan is right, let's go to the front and set up camp, we haven't bathed for more than ten days, and now we have water, we need to clean it well. Hahaha, I'm getting spoiled. Kong Zhang, when you write the fu, you can't write these in, otherwise it will make Luoyang's relatives and friends laugh. ”

The personable chief secretary Chen Lin smiled slightly, "The general sheds blood and sweat for the country, what's so ridiculous." ”

The crowd laughed.

Yuan Shao rushed to the Gonglu water side and set up camp, and sent scouts to reconnoiter the whereabouts of the Xianbei people on all sides. The scouts reported that there was no sign of the Xianbei within fifty miles of them, and that they were likely to retreat farther away. Yuan Shao listened, both a little relieved and a little angry, he ordered to probe again, and then asked someone to pour a bucket of hot water and take a bath happily.

After washing the dirt off his body, he wore single clothes, barefoot, sat by the burning fire, watched the flames of the fire, and waited for the tea to boil, He Hao walked in.

"Beggo, sit, the tea is almost ready, and then we will have a drink and clear the turbidity accumulated these days." Yuan Shao smiled mysteriously: "Show you a good thing." As he spoke, he asked the attendant to take out a pair of teacups as white as jade and shook them in front of He Hao: "Have you seen it?" ”

He Hao glanced at it, "Luoyang's recently popular white jade translucent cup?" ”

"Hehe, it's better to be insightful." Yuan Shao carefully put the teacup away, and asked people to take out the tea leaves and wait for the water to boil. He Hao looked at his leisurely and complacent appearance, and couldn't help frowning: "Originally, do you think this is appropriate?" ”

"What's wrong?" Yuan Shao asked puzzled.

"The army has crossed the desert, but nearly half of the military rations have been consumed, and we can only stay here for three or four days at most, and if we can't find any trace of the Xianbei people in these three or four days, we can only return empty-handed, and this expedition will be considered a failure. At this time, do you still have the heart to drink tea? ”

Yuan Shao raised his eyebrows: "You can find Xianbei people without drinking tea?" ”

He Hao was speechless.

"Berqiu, I know you're doing it for my good." Yuan Shao leaned over and patted He Hao's hand, signaling him not to be too nervous, "I have my own measure." In fact, I have known for a long time that I can't find Xianbei people here, and they must have hid far away and didn't give us any chance. ”

"And you're still here?"

"Won't I come?" Yuan Shao smiled bitterly, "If it weren't for Liu Xiu's unexpected initiative, I could now stay in Danhan Mountain safely and steadily, waiting for Tanshihuai to attack the city, I don't believe that he would hide in Mobei for a year." However, Liu Xiu's meritorious service is the first, can I not attack? ”

"I know you're also embarrassed, but what's the use of attacking if you can't make meritorious contributions? Now that the army is tired and can't stay for a long time, it comes and goes, and countless money and food are used up in vain, don't you think this struggle is very boring? ”

"No, it won't be used in vain." The water boiled, Yuan Shao poured two cups of tea, handed one to He Hao first, and then picked up a cup himself, took a shallow sip, and motioned to He Hao and said: "Boqiu, taste, this is a new tea in Shuzhong, and the taste is very elegant." ”

He Hao took a sip, tasted it carefully, and felt that it was very good, the green tea leaves and the white teacups contrasted with each other, pleasing to the eye, and it was indeed rare. However, he was not in the mood to enjoy the cup now, he wanted to hear Yuan Shao's plan.

"Tanshi Huai is a generation of males, he will not swallow this breath, it is imperative to recapture Danhan Mountain. It's just that if he takes the initiative to attack the city, he may have to think about it, after all, the Xianbei people are not good at attacking the city, even if there are people like the Dou family to help him, when it comes to attacking and defending the city, he is still too far behind us Han people. ”

Yuan Shao said unhurriedly: "My original plan was to hold Danhan Mountain for at least half a year, the May Festival, the August Festival, and possibly even the New Year's Festival, the Tanshi Huai will be carried out elsewhere, until we are no longer able to defend it and take the initiative to retreat." ”

He Hao thought about it and felt that it was indeed possible.

"However, we have taken the initiative now, and it is not far away, and the veterans of the division are tired and vulnerable, will he wait at this time?" Yuan Shao smiled slightly, "If he doesn't attack, he won't be Tanshi Huai." ”

He Hao looked at Yuan Shao in surprise: "You came so far away, just to lure him to take the initiative and make a quick decision?" ”

Yuan Shao smiled and nodded: "I took his royal court, and I was forced in front of him thousands of miles away, revealing such a big flaw to him, it is impossible for him to be indifferent." Boqiu, I spent a lot of money to ask for a book, which was compiled by Liu Xiu before, and it was described in great detail for the Xianbei people. Later, I asked Zhang Ranming and others about the war in Northern Xinjiang over the years, I can bet with you that Tan Shihuai will not swallow this breath, he will definitely come to me, I ......" He stretched out a finger and shook it: "There is no need to go to him at all." ”

"What if you come?"

"Here, I'll kill him." Yuan Shao slowly retracted his five fingers and clenched them into a fist: "Is there any greater credit than cutting off the head of the sandalwood acacia?" ”

He Hao had to admit that if Tanshi Huai really took the initiative to attack the master, Yuan Shao's credit was indeed incomparable. At present, the Han army has 40,000 people, well-equipped, there is no danger of running out of food for the time being, and the morale is still quite strong.

"I have already ordered Zhao Bao and Gongsun Zan to move closer to me, but it's a pity that Liu Xiu is no longer within my command authority, otherwise we will attack in three ways, and the Xianbei people will die." Yuan Shao sighed, "What I'm most worried about now is that Liu Xiu has emptied the western Xianbei, which just leaves room for Tanshi Huai to move, and he ran too far to rush over to die." ”

He Hao couldn't help laughing, he shook his head, drank all the tea in the cup, Yuan Shao hurriedly stopped him, and said reproachfully: "Boqiu, the first tea is a little astringent, only the second tea and the third tea are the most fragrant." Just like the battle, the first merit is exciting, but it is just a test of each other, and only the decisive battle between the main forces can determine the victory or defeat. ”

As he spoke, he continued to water He Hao: "Be more patient, let's wait for the most exciting decisive battle." ”

He Haowaner smiled: "It's better to be respectful than to obey your fate." ”

…… After the Gonglu water flows out of the Langxu Mountain, it turns a corner, flows more than 400 miles to the east, and forms two lakes, in the ancient book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", these two lakes are called Daze, but in the Xianbei tribe, these two lakes are called the male otter lake and the female otter lake, because there are many otters in these two lakes, not only people and livestock have to rely on the lake water and the grassland by the lake, the otter skin is also a source of income for nearby herdsmen.

Sandalwood sat cross-legged by the lake, stroking the otter skin around his neck, silent. He was in his forties, but he looked young, as if he was in his early thirties. The back was straight, the swarthy face was hidden under the neatly groomed beard, and under the two thick eyebrows dyed like ink, a pair of eagle-like sharp eyes were half-open and half-closed.

Murong Feng sat opposite him, the arrow wound in his chest made him look haggard, although he was half a head taller than Tanshi Huai, but sitting there was completely suppressed by the momentum of Tanshi Huai, and he couldn't see the demeanor of a famous Xianbei general at all.

"Even if Helian betrays you, you shouldn't be careless to this point. Yanran Mountain is nearly a thousand miles away from Beihai, you didn't send scouts, just handed over your back to He Lian to watch? ”

Murong Feng's face flushed, and he stopped talking. Of course, he was not stupid enough to be so stupid, the scouts sent fifty miles, but who would have thought that the Han people would come so quickly, and the fighters would be so accurate, and the fight would be so insidious, and 10,000 people would fight 15,000 people and dare to divide the troops and divide 5,000 people to fight an ambush.

"I read this letter, and you have all fallen for the Han people." Tanshi Huai took out the letter that was used as evidence from his arms, "You touch it, the ink is still wet. ”

Murong Feng was surprised, he took it and wiped it on the handwriting with his fingers, and sure enough, his fingers were also stained with black. He was puzzled, this letter had been in the hands of Tanshi Huai for almost a month, how could it still be wet.

"It's just that there are some chemicals that are easy to absorb water in it, and as long as you put it in a damp place, it will always stay wet, but if you look closely, you can still see that it is different from the new one." Tan Shi Huai's finger tapped on the letter, "This is a seemingly ingenious, but in fact redundant means, as long as one of you calms down at that time, you will find that there is a flaw in it, but it's a pity ......"

Murong Feng gasped, there were so many hands and feet in such a letter.

"Han people are very cunning and will be fooled if they are not careful." Tanshi Huai rubbed his hands, the letter was broken into pieces, and said lightly: "Don't mention this matter in the future." ”

"Yes." Murong Feng lowered his head in convincing.

"No matter how cunning Liu Xiu is, he is just a small fish, and what we have to deal with this time is Yuan Shao, a big fish." Tan Shihuai raised his head and looked at Murong Feng quietly, his eyes suddenly showed a look of regret, if it wasn't for the rush to solve the wind crack and send Murong Feng, the general, it must be much easier for them to deal with Yuan Shao all the time, if the wind crack didn't betray him, then the three of them joined forces, even if the big Han came another 50,000 people?

"With the divine power of the king, it is naturally not a problem to solve the children of a family like Yuan Shao."

"Nope." Tan Shihuai shook his head: "Yuan Shao is a child of a family, but there are many talented children in the family, not all of them are gentlemen. You always reject the Dou family, this is your biggest mistake, and you can't make the same mistake with Yuan Shao now. He can be stupid, but we can't put all our hopes on him being stupid, we have to treat him as a strong opponent, and to despise his opponent is to despise himself. Why have we fought with the Han people for so many years, and there has been no progress in the real surname? It's because you refuse to accept the culture of the Han people, and you refuse to accept the Han scholars, and you think they are useless. Including you and Feng Crack, I don't even know Chinese characters until now, and I can't read their books, how can I understand their people? ”

Murong Feng was stunned, and he felt a little unwilling. The meaning of Tanshi Huai's words is very obvious.

Tanshi Huai sighed silently: "Since you are back, first watch Yuan Shao for me, boil him for a few days, and wait until I defeat Zhao Bao and Gongsun Zan on the East Road, it is estimated that Yuan Shao should be in a hurry." ”

(To be continued)