Liu He led his army to cross the Yellow River from Mengjin to the north overnight, and safely entered Yi County in Hanoi on the morning of the second day.

Yiguan is located in the west of Yixian fifty miles, is the first of the eight Taihang Mountain, it crosses the southernmost tail of Taihang Mountain, and then points to the northwest along the direction of Wangwu Mountain, straight to Jiangyi County of Hedong County, that is, Jia Kui's hometown.

Although Jia Kui stayed in Luoyang, he also assumed the role of a guide this time, mainly responsible for leading Liu He's troops through Hanoi County and crossing Huo Dashan into the territory of Bingzhou.

After the army entered the narrow and rugged Yiguan Fortress, Jia Kui explained to Liu He: "Gongzi, the name of the Yiguan Fortress is related to the narrow roads in the Shan Dynasty. The end of the axle is also. For those who pass the pass, only one car can be accommodated in the passage. When Su Qin talked about the situation in the world, there was a saying that 'if Qin is under the road, the south will move', and the way in the language is about the pass. ”

Liu He didn't really care much about the name of Yi Guancheng, but in order to let Jia Kui show his talent, he still listened to his introduction very patiently, and followed Jia Kui's guidance from time to time to look at the steep mountains on both sides.

After a while, Zhao Yun drove his horse to Liu He's side and whispered: "Childe, I have already sent four hundred-man light cavalry teams to go forward forty miles, thirty miles, twenty miles, and ten miles respectively for reconnaissance and early warning, if everything is normal, the front team should send back the news of the convergence with Duan Xuan's people in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow." ”

Liu He nodded, and suddenly thought of something, so he joked to Zhao Yun: "This time, in order to be in a hurry, I chose to go north from Mengjin, and then enter Hedong from Yiguan and Jiangyi, but I hung Lu Bu, who was ambushed near Shaanxi, and I didn't have a chance for you to meet that tiger for a while." ”

Zhao Yun smiled indifferently and said, "Childe is joking." Competitiveness is just the courage of a horseman, although Yun is not talented, but he also knows which is more important. How can you always think about comparing yourself with others because of your personal reputation? ”

Liu He stopped laughing, and asked Zhao Yun with a straight face: "Before this expedition, I asked the logistics officer to nail horseshoes to all the war horses, just to adapt to this rugged mountain road, I don't know how effective the road protection is?" ”

Zhao Yun replied: "After the test of the past few days, everyone said that the effect is obvious, because the four hooves of the war horse are protected by hard and wear-resistant iron palms, the speed of wear is very slow, even if it travels thousands of miles, it will not wear down the cuticle." Hurt the meat of the hoof. ”

Guo Jia on the side interjected: "Although the four shoes are small, the role they play is really shocking. The Youzhou cavalry is already brave, and now the war horse has nailed the hoof, not only can it march longer distances, but the speed of the war horse loss has dropped by at least seventy percent, and I am afraid that there will be no opponent in the world in the future! ”

Liu He told Guo Jia with a proud face: "The horseshoe is just a gadget that my son equipped for the Youzhou cavalry, and when you see the terrifying combat power of the Youzhou cavalry after the unified combination of the Gaoqiao saddle and the stirrups, you will know what is called powerful!" ”

Guo Jia said with a look of surprise: "Isn't it only those five hundred armored horses equipped with Takahashi saddles and two-foot stirrups, when did Gongzi gather such equipment for nearly 10,000 troops?" ”

Liu He explained to Guo Jia: "It was Li Zhengfang who secretly brought it to Luoyang when he returned from Youzhou. These high-bridge saddles and double-foot stirrups were carefully crafted by hundreds of craftsmen from the Macheng Armory Workshop for more than half a year for the Youzhou cavalry heading south. Previously, in order not to arouse the vigilance and panic of other forces, I had Zilong secretly train the cavalry under my command, so that all these soldiers could adapt to combat with the assistance of Takahashi's saddle and stirrups. ”

"Except for the Takahashi saddle and the stirrups on both feet. Do you have other secret weapons hidden? Guo Jia stared at Liu He's eyes and asked.

Liu He touched his nose, then looked left and right. whispered to Guo Jia: "When the time comes, you will know the Tao, and now if it is exposed in advance, it will not work!" ”

Guo Jia protested: "I am your military advisor. I have the right to know all the truth about my army! ”

Liu He shook his head and said: "It's true that you are a military advisor, but your main responsibility is to give me advice from a strategic height, as for matters involving specific tactics, Zilong and Junyi are worried about it." ”

"Strategy? Tactics? Guo Jia pondered the two fresh words that popped out of Liu He's mouth, and no longer pestered Liu He to ask what secret weapons Liu He was hiding in the army.

After the battle of Weiqiao, there were still more than 5,700 cavalry left in Youzhou cavalry. In the battle of Weiqiao that day, the casualties of the Youzhou cavalry reached forty percent, but they also completely disabled the cavalry corps under Li Dao, and captured more than 2,000 Xiliang war horses when they evacuated.

After Zhao Yun led his army to Luoyang with Liu He, the wounded cavalry under his command were treated, and more than 1,000 people returned to the army, and the number of Youzhou cavalry recovered to 7,000.

Later, Murong Ping led 2,000 cavalry to escort Li Yan all the way from Youzhou to Luoyang, which was equivalent to supplementing Zhao Yun with 2,000 troops.

Now, Zhao Yun is leading 9,000 cavalry to escort Liu He back to Youzhou, although the number of people is not as large as when he went south, but the actual combat power is more than double that of the beginning.

As Liu He said to Zhao Yun just now, this time in order to save time and also to be surprised, he adopted Guo Jia's suggestion and chose a northbound route that no one could guess.

Liu He not only had to return to Youzhou this time, but also ruthlessly exploded Yan Liang and Gao Gan's chrysanthemums who were attacking Gaoliu City, so that Yuan Shao could really understand what it meant to steal chickens and rice, otherwise how could the anger that pressed on Liu He's heart come out?

Duan Xuan, who was stationed in Hedong County, had been secretly in contact with Liu He, and compared to other powerful forces, Liu He and Duan Xuan not only did not have any conflict, but actually had a relationship of mutual support. Although Duan Xuan was suspicious, his threat came from Chang'an, not Liu He, who returned to the north to save his father, so Liu He dared to choose to go to Jiangyi from Yiguan in Hedong County, which was controlled by Duan Xuan, and then go north along the Fenshui Road to directly enter Taiyuan County.

The army marched through the narrow Yiguan, and the long procession stretched for more than ten miles, which looked quite spectacular.

Fifty miles southeast of Jiangyi, Duan Xuan looked anxiously from time to time, wondering why Liu He hadn't shown up yet.

Some time ago, Liu He sent an envoy Tian Chou to discuss with him the matter of borrowing the Dao Yi Guan, and Duan Xuan felt very strange after hearing it. Duan Xuan has also heard about the situation in Youzhou, and he has been paying attention to when Liu He will lead his army to return to the north, wondering whether Liu He will return with Luoyang troops or only leave with cavalry.

If Liu He leaves Luoyang with all his troops, then Duan Xuan will have to consider the question of who to be his neighbor with; If Liu He only left with cavalry, Duan Xuan would also have to consider whether he would help when something happened in Luoyang in the future.

Others have dealt with Liu He relatively few times, and some of them can't figure out Liu He's temper, but Duan Xuan is different, he has been secretly in touch with Liu He, and has witnessed the rise of Liu He in recent years, so he doesn't dare to covet Liu He at all.

Since Liu He sent someone to say that he wanted to borrow the way, and it was to bypass Duan Xuan's core control area and go north directly, Duan Xuan naturally couldn't interfere with it, so he happily agreed. However, Duan Xuan reminded Tian Chou that the Baibo army entrenched in the Baibo Valley forty miles north of Jiangyi was very powerful, and if he was not completely sure, it was best to take a detour and never provoke them.

After Tian Chou returned to Luoyang, he reported to Liu He about the Bai Bo Army blocking the road to the north, but Liu He was very excited after hearing it, and even shouted: "Bai Bo Army, right?" Is there a guy named Yang Bong in there? ”

Tian Chou replied: "Yang Feng is now the leader of the Baibo Army, and it is said that he is quite capable of fighting. ”

"No matter how powerful Yang Feng is, can he fight better than Zhao Yun and Zhang He under my command?" Liu He's face was relaxed, and he didn't take Bai Bojun in his eyes at all.

Tian Chou didn't know that the reason why Liu He was so interested in this Yang Feng was because he suddenly remembered a fierce general with abilities comparable to Zhang He, and it seemed that he was following Yang Feng now.

So, who is this fierce general whose ability is comparable to Zhang He?

This person's surname is Xu Minghuang, the word Gongming, and he is a native of Yang County, Hedong County.

In February of the fifth year of Zhongping (188), Guo Tai and others, the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army, re-revolted in the Baibo Valley of the Xihe River, and they were called the Baibo Army. After the uprising, the Baibo army took the Baibo Valley as its nest and successively attacked Linfen, Xiangling, Pingyang and Yang County, and Xu Huang, who was serving as a small official in Yang County at that time, was coerced into the righteous army, and since then he has become a small leader under Yang Feng, the leader of Baibo, and can never return to the township.

In the official history, Xu Huang first followed Yang Feng to mess around, and later Yang Feng surrendered to Li Dao and was named the general of the cavalry, and Xu Huang was also named the captain of the cavalry. Later, Xu Huang persuaded Yang Feng to escort Emperor Xiandong back to Luoyang, so he had to be named the Marquis of Tingdu.

In the second year of Jian'an, Cao Cao protected the emperor and moved the capital to Xuchang, Yang Feng changed his mind to belong to Cao Cao under the instigation of Han Xianam, and followed Han Xian to send troops to rob the car, but was killed by Cao Jun near Kaifeng, Xu Huang took the opportunity to defect to Cao Cao, and since then he has become a loyal general under Cao Cao, followed Cao Cao to fight in the north and south, and made no meritorious achievements, becoming one of the "five good generals".

The five good generals in front of Cao Cao's tent were the former general Zhang Liao, the right general Le Jin, the left general Yu Ban, the chariot general Zhang He and the middle general Xu Huang. Correspondingly, there are five tiger generals in front of Liu Bei's account, namely Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun.

In a certain Luo's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the five generals of Shu obviously want to overwhelm the five generals of Wei in all aspects, but this is not the case. Even Huang Zhong, who has the weakest single combat power, seems to be able to tie with Zhang Liao, who is the strongest among the five generals of the Wei State, but in terms of resourcefulness and command ability, it is the "Five Sons of Good Generals" who overwhelm the "Five Tiger Generals".

Now Liu He has won Zhao Yun among the five tiger generals of Shu State, Zhang He among the five good generals of Wei State, and Tai Shici, who ranks first among the five fierce generals of Wu State, if Xu Huang is recruited when passing through Baibo Valley, it is equivalent to having the fourth general who can be alone in the town, and in the future, he will have a few more chances of winning with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Lu Bu. (To be continued......)