Gongsun He is tall, spirited, speaks loudly, and has powerful gestures, which look extremely infectious.

Seeing Liang Xiao, he was very polite, jumped off the horse and strode over. Liang Xiao didn't dare to slack off, hurriedly turned over and dismounted, took a few steps to meet him, and bowed. Gongsun He is not an ordinary person, he is Wei Qing's eldest brother-in-law, the future prime minister - although the end is very sad. But then again, in the court of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there are a few prime ministers who are not sad.

Of course, what made Liang Xiao even more careless was that Gongsun He guarded Longxi with the respect of the servant, which was unconventional, and I am afraid that the Son of Heaven did it intentionally.

Although it was hard along the way, Liang Xiao was not idle, he not only read the pile of bamboo slips that Dongfang Shuo wrote to him, but also thought about it a lot. The Great Han is not as good as in the Western Regions, and it can be determined by his temperament. The court is a place where rules are spoken, and Liu Che is an ambitious hero, and he is to blame for every move, and he can't deal with it carelessly. Every move you make, think twice.

It was Sun He, the servant who guarded Longxi, of course he had to pay attention to such a strange thing and think about it a little more.

"Liang Jun, you're finally back." Gongsun He glanced at the envoy in the distance, patted Liang Xiao's shoulder affectionately, and laughed heartily. "I often hear Zhong Qing mention you, and he admires you very much."

Liang Xiao hurriedly said a few words modestly. Gongsun He took the initiative to mention Wei Qing, which was naturally close. Gongsun He was originally a member of the crown prince, and he had served in the army many times, and was a close confidant of the Son of Heaven. Before he left Chang'an, he knew that Gongsun He Fengzhao married Wei Qing's eldest sister Wei Junru, who could be described as the confidant of the Son of Heaven.

"Thank you for saving your life." Liang Xiao said politely and led Dawan Envoy and Proton to Gongsun He. He also introduced the accompanying businessmen to Gongsun He. "Ladies and gentlemen. This important minister beside the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty. Gongsun He, one of the nine kings, is a servant of Gongsun. ”

When the Dawan envoy heard this, he didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute. The businessmen even understood it, and came forward to greet them one by one, and presented a rich meeting gift to thank Gongsun He for saving his life. High-ranking officials like Jiuqing, they usually don't see them at all. At this moment, it is natural to seize the opportunity to set it up.

Gongsun He calmly accepted the gift, and his own entourage wrote down the merchant's name. However, he is more enthusiastic about the interesting Liang Xiao. Liang Xiao's introduction brought him a windfall.

"Do you know why His Majesty asked me to come to Longxi?"

Liang Xiao arched his hand. "I was about to ask you for clarification."

Gongsun He smiled. "Last time, you sent Li Shuyun back a lot of Dawanliang stallions, and the Son of Heaven put these horses in Tianshui Pastoral Garden, and I, the servant in charge of the carriages and horses, naturally had to come and watch them, so as not to be robbed by the Huns."

Liang Xiao asked: "If this is the case, why are there Huns west of the river?" Along the way, I've met several batches. If it weren't for the timely rescue of the servants, these envoys and caravans might have been captured by the Huns. ”

Gongsun He smiled bitterly: "The children of Longxi have no intention of fighting. I'm also weak, and I'm stumbling left and right. ”

Liang Xiao thought for a moment. "How is General Li Guang now?"

Gongsun He snorted. "Him. Hunting in Chang'an. ”

Liang Xiao didn't say anything more. He understood the reason for Gongsun He's wry smile. From the Qiang and Xiaoyue clansmen, he had already heard about Li Guang's achievements last year. According to common sense, such a great achievement, even if it is not a marquis, a heavy reward is inevitable. Now that Li Guang is idle in Chang'an, it is naturally impossible to talk about rewards. He didn't have a reward, and the Longxi children who followed the army were even more unthinkable. In this way, where do the children of Longxi still have the strength to fight.

For them, the conquest had only two purposes: to protect their homeland and to reward them with knighthood. If there is no reward, it is just to protect the homeland, organize it yourself, and not let the Huns succeed, there is no need to wait for the dispatch of the government and work tirelessly to fight.

Defending the ground is, of course, much easier than pursuing. What's more, the children of Longxi have an impatient and rough temperament, and it is really impossible for them to endure this breath. In this way, the power that Gongsun He can rely on is very limited.

In the border county area, without the active support of local teenagers, it is impossible to have strong combat effectiveness.

Back in Zhidi Road, Longxi County, Gongsun He arranged for Liang Xiao to stay first, and then sent 600 li to report to the imperial court urgently.

Liang Xiao himself was an envoy appointed by the imperial court, and as a rule, he could accompany the Dawan delegation directly to Beijing. However, Dawan is a big country in the Western Regions, and Liang Xiao hopes that the imperial court can raise the level of receiving Dawan to show its attention. In addition, there are many good horses with him, whether he is directly handed over to the servant Sun He, or stay in Tianshui Muyuan, he also has to ask the Son of Heaven to make it clear.

While waiting for the court documents, Liang Xiao spent most of his time chasing the invading Huns with Gongsun He. King Hutu seemed to know his whereabouts, but unfortunately it was too late, and he was very annoyed, and sent troops to harass him, and Gongsun He was overwhelmed, sometimes almost several battles a day.

――

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty ......" Mei Gao walked quickly up to the main hall with a happy face.

When the Son of Heaven saw it, he was very surprised. "What's wrong?"

"Your Majesty, Daxing Temple has sent news that Liang Xiao has returned and has arrived safely in Longxi County. He also returned with Dawan Proton. ”

The Son of Heaven was overjoyed and couldn't help laughing. "Good, good. He came back just in time. Dawan proton? In this way, there are already two great powers west of the Green Ridge that have surrendered, and the right arm of the Xiongnu can be broken. Mei Gao, you go to Daxing Temple immediately, let Wang Hui not delay, and immediately send someone to lead Liang Xiao into the customs. ”

"Yui!" Mei Gao answered, but did not leave. The Son of Heaven looked at him in surprise. "What, what's the matter?"

Mei Gao grinned and said: "Your Majesty, Liang Xiao must have brought a lot of good things when he came back from the Western Regions, and the minister wants to strike first and blackmail him, lest he go to Chang'an and be surrounded by others, and he will have no part in the minister." ”

The Son of Heaven was in a good mood, stretched out his hand and pointed at Mei Gao, laughing. "It's good that you're so young and forgetful. Liang Xiao returned from thousands of miles, and you only thought about blackmailing him. Okay, I fulfilled your wish and sent you as a welcome envoy to Longxi. ”

Mei Gao turned and left.

The Son of Heaven rubbed Huo Quai's little head vigorously. "Xiao is sick, Liang Xiao is back, you have to listen carefully, and in the future, like him, you will raise the prestige of the country thousands of miles away."

Huo Quzhi grinned and broke free from the Son of Heaven. "Your Majesty, you hurt me."

――

"Master, stop chasing, don't chase." Alpha shouted.

Liang Xiao drew his bow and shot down the Huns who were desperately fleeing with an arrow, and said dissatisfiedly: "Why don't you chase?" I'm going to kill all these Hun dogs. ”

"Ah Xiao, I can't chase it anymore." Tu Niu'er also caught up and reached out and grabbed Liang Xiao's reins. "Lord Gongsun, they are all lagging behind. After chasing again, we may be surrounded by the Huns again, just like the last time. ”

Liang Xiao looked back and couldn't help but be embarrassed. He chased too happily and let the horse run wildly, but he forgot the gap between the two horses, and Gongsun He was gone.

Now on the battlefield of Longyou, according to the strength of the war horse, it can be divided into three levels:

Dawan horses and Yueshi horses are the best war horses, tall and strong, fast, good endurance, and docile temperament, whether as a riding horse or as a war horse, they are the best choice.

The Xiongnu horse is second, with medium speed and good endurance, which is slightly inferior to the Dawan horse and the Yueshi horse. However, the Xiongnu horse has a characteristic: it is not picky, unlike the Dawan horse and the Yueshi horse, which must be fed with concentrate, once the feed can not keep up, the state will be greatly affected. If the Hun horse has a good one, it will eat good, and if it is not good, it can be dealt with like gnawing some pasture, and it will not affect the combat effectiveness in the short term.

The weakest strength is the mount of the knight of the Han army, whether it is speed or strength, it is not as good as the Hun horse, and when it is in good condition, it can barely make a draw. When the state is not good, he is directly left behind by the Hun horse to eat ashes.

This is still a war horse produced in Longxi, and the gap with the Hun horse is not too obvious. If it's a horse from the Central Plains, it's even worse.

Fortunately, the knights of the Han army had obvious advantages in weapons and equipment, and when they fought head-on with the Huns, they were not controlled by others, as long as they entangled the Huns, the Han army could gain the upper hand. However, compared with Liang Xiao and others, the soldiers of the Han army were a little unable to keep up. Whether it is a war horse or equipment, it is a lot worse than Liang Xiao and them.

It's no wonder that these knights and mercenaries around Liang Xiao are either herdsmen who grew up on horseback, or mercenaries who live by fighting, plus the iron armor, spears and combat knives that Liang Xiao has equipped at all costs, it can be said that they are the most well-equipped warriors in this era, and compared with those Longxi knights who rely on standard equipment to fight, they certainly have an advantage.

Because of the addition of Liang Xiao and others, the Han army finally had an obvious overall advantage, but the gap in strength also caused a disconnect in tactics. Once Liang Xiao and the others charged with all their might, the Longxi knights often couldn't keep up with the rhythm, leaving opportunities for the Huns.

Prior to this, Liang Xiao and others were surrounded by the Huns because they rushed too fiercely, and Liang Xiao and others were strong in battle, and the Huns couldn't bite for a while, and Gongsun He arrived in time, so they didn't suffer heavy losses.

Liang Xiao restrained the war horse, looked at the Huns who were far away, and spat out.

Gongsun He led his troops to catch up, and the mount was already panting and sweating like rain.

"Liang Jun, you slow down." Gongsun He smiled bitterly: "You are like this, I feel like an old man, and I can't breathe after running a few steps." ”

Liang Xiao laughed embarrassedly. "The adults laughed, it was me who was reckless. Adults are not old, but the mounts of adults are not good enough. ”

Gongsun He glanced at Liang Xiao and shook his head helplessly.

"Liang Jun, this is something that can't be helped. If my Han army can equip a good horse like you, can I still make the Huns so rampant? To tell you the truth, the biggest obstacle for the imperial court to fight back against the Huns now is the war horse. Neither quantity nor quality is enough to support such a tactic. The number of horses registered in Taifu Temple is only 300,000, even if one person has two horses, it can only supply 150,000 troops, less than half of the Xiongnu. ”

Liang Xiao was stunned and arched his hand: "Many times the adults have given teachings. ”――

(To be continued.) )