"What? And state? Upper County? Westriver County? Shuofang County? ”

As soon as he heard that Li Ru advocated withdrawing the army and retreating to Shangjun and other places, all the generals exploded, and Dong Zhuo also hesitated.

Li Dao said dissatisfiedly: "Shangjun is desolate, flee there, how can our army eat?" ”

Li Ru shook his head and said, "Shangjun is not desolate. Shangjun and Shuofang County to the north of Shangjun and Xihe County to the east of Shangjun are nine out of ten of the land in these three counties, which are large grasslands with abundant water and grass. Therefore, most of the Xiongnu were also nomadic in Shangjun and Shuofang County, and their royal court was set up in Meiji City in Xihe County, and lived together with the Han people.

Retreat to Shangjun and Shuofang County, our army can plunder the Xiongnu tribes, and omit their cattle, sheep and women, which is enough to nourish our soldiers. Moreover, the grassland of the three counties is extremely fertile, and the water and grass are abundant, which is far from being comparable to the big curtain, otherwise Emperor Xiaowu and the Xiongnu will not compete for this land in Henan. Our army can graze war horses in Henan and accumulate strength. ”

Guo Yan said again: "But if you want to go to Henan, you will inevitably meet the Huns." The Huns still have tens of thousands of victorious soldiers, and our army is only 7,000 horsemen, so it is very unwise to provoke the Huns. ”

Li Ru shook his head and said, "Compared with continuing to provoke Jin Ma Chao and Xiliang Tieqi, it is wise to provoke the Huns." Moreover, although there are few soldiers in our army, they are more elite; Moreover, the officers and men of our army have no way to retreat in Henan, and they have the will to die. With this enemy, the Xiongnu, who have long been in decline, how can they be enough? Therefore, our army will inevitably be able to defeat the Huns.

After that, our army can continue to plunder the Xiongnu tribes and take their pasture cattle and sheep to support the soldiers; You can also take the opportunity to use the Xiongnu to surrender people, enrich the troops, and strengthen the strength. Why not? ”

Li Ru said again: "If your father-in-law wants to be self-reliant, if you want to be like Ma Teng and Ma Chao's father and son, and run rampant in a domain, you must get rid of the control of the court over your father-in-law, and gradually no longer obey the orders of the court." Because Shuofang County, Xihe County and Shangjun had fewer Han people and more Xiongnu, the Xiongnu even took Meiji City in Xihe County as a single court, almost the same capital. Therefore, the imperial court's control over Henan is not strong, and the father-in-law fled there, so it is naturally difficult for the imperial court to control and command your father-in-law. ”

After listening to Li Ru's words, Dong Zhuo had already agreed most of them in his heart, but he still had one last doubt.

Dong Zhuo said: "But if our family really retreats to Henan, will the imperial court see that our family has the heart of self-reliance and crusade against it?" ”

Li Ru said: "No. Because it also involves the struggle for power between His Majesty and the Great General today. ”

Niu Fu was surprised and said, "What? Where is this? How is it involved in the battle between the Son of Heaven and the Great General again? ”

Li Ru said: "Why was my father-in-law sent to Sanfu? Naturally, it was at the behest of the great general. Seeing that Ma Teng Ma Chao's father and son occupied Liangzhou and supported the Western Liang soldiers, the general naturally did not like it, and was afraid that the military power of Ma Teng Ma Chao's father and son was too great, so he did not listen to his orders as a general. Therefore, the general mobilized his father-in-law to come and eliminate Ma Teng and Ma Chao's father and son.

Because His Majesty wanted to pacify the Yellow Turban, he hurriedly appointed He Jin as a general. Taking advantage of the Yellow Turban's pacification, He Jin took advantage of the situation to record Shangshu and held both military and administrative power in his hands. How can His Majesty not be afraid of it today? What's more, He Jin is a relative, and the eldest prince born to the queen is his nephew. His Majesty was even more jealous of He Jin becoming the second Liang Ji, so he did not appoint the crown prince for a long time.

And the general sent Huangfu Song and his father-in-law and others to conquer Ma Teng and Ma Chao's father and son, His Majesty naturally knew that the general wanted to maintain his military power and consolidate his position.

Therefore, although His Majesty agreed to send 100,000 officers and troops to be deployed in Sanfu before, when Huangfu Song was about to go to war, the imperial court has not issued an edict until now.

Behind this, His Majesty must not want to see the general succeed, so he did not issue an edict. For His Majesty, protecting Ma Teng and Ma Chao's father and son from being attacked by the general at this time can curb the power of the general to the greatest extent. Therefore, His Majesty must have a grudge against Huangfu Song and his father-in-law who obeyed the orders of the general.

Therefore, my father-in-law led his troops to break away from Huangfu Song and go to Henan, that is, he showed his loyalty to His Majesty and chose not to obey the general's orders. Although doing so will definitely incur the resentment of the general, His Majesty must be biased towards his father-in-law, and the court will naturally not condemn his father-in-law who retreated to Henan with troops without permission.

Moreover, in recent years, the Xiongnu have become more and more pampered, and they have become more and more dissatisfied with the frequent requisitions of the imperial court. The Huns had plundered Bingzhou before and killed Zhang Yi, the assassin of Bingzhou. The imperial court was unable to conquer the Xiongnu, so it did not respond. In fact, the imperial court must have been very jealous of the Xiongnu. Therefore, if the father-in-law went to Henan, attacked the Xiongnu, and plundered cattle and horses, it was in line with the intention of the imperial court. The imperial court will never question the father-in-law who has made meritorious contributions.

Take 10,000 steps back and say, even if the court decides to ask the guilty father-in-law, how can the court ask the guilty? Not to mention that the imperial court does not have much control over Henan, the imperial court still has to focus its main energy on the struggle for power between His Majesty and the general, and on dealing with the Black Mountain Army and the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army in various places. Moreover, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court experienced a decline in strength, and the prestige accumulated by the two Han Dynasty for four hundred years gradually collapsed, and the people's hearts became chaotic. How could the imperial court have the strength to ask the father-in-law who held 7,000 elite horsemen again? ”

After listening, the big stone in Dong Zhuo's heart finally landed safely.

Li Ru said: "Moreover, Henan is not only suitable for the development of my father-in-law, but Henan is also connected to Liangzhou in the east and Liangzhou in the west. If the situation changes, the father-in-law can choose to raid and merge the states and take the entire merger as his own; or competing with Ma Teng and Ma Chao's father and son for Liangzhou, it is all a great good. Isn't this far safer and more cost-effective than being trapped in Guanzhong and fighting against the Xiliang soldiers in the middle of the day? ”

Dong Zhuo nodded, patted Li Ru's shoulder, and said with satisfaction: "Our family has Wenyou, this is a gift from God!" Okay, just use Wenyou's strategy, and our family will lead the army to retreat to Henan! ”

Without further ado, after Dong Zhuo ordered the soldiers to rest and recuperate, he immediately urged the soldiers to go to the north, that is, Shangjun and Shuofang County. The topography of Guanzhong is 800 li in the east-west direction, and only 2 or 300 li in the north-south direction. Relying on the speed of the cavalry, Dong Zhuo led the army out of Guanzhong and entered the border of Bingzhou, that is, Shangjun.

And Ma Chao didn't know at this time that Dong Zhuo had chosen a path diametrically opposed to the historical trajectory. In history, Dong Zhuo chose to garrison troops in Hedong County, Bingzhou, overlooking Luoyang City. And now, Dong Zhuo, who followed Li Ru's advice, chose Shangjun and Shuofang County next to Hedong County as the place to be stationed.

After resting for two days and recuperating their strength, they saw that 2,650,000 stone of seized grain and 160,000 displaced people had already set out on their way. Ma Chao left Liang Xing and Yang Qiu behind, leading two infantry, that is, 4,000 infantry, to garrison the street pavilion. Before leaving, Ma Chao considered that in addition to the two places of Jieting and Sanguan in Liangzhou, the other city fortresses were no longer defended, so he persuaded Ma Teng to levy another 10,000 foot cavalry to garrison Jincheng, Jixian, Caohan, Guzang and other places.