Liu Ye was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't say it out loud, so he could only talk about him. This situation is so useless to say it. Pointing out the truth will only embarrass each other.

Although it is more than 200 miles away from Qingshan Gorge, considering that the Xianbei people did not act in a unified manner, since there were Xianbei people in Qingshan Gorge, the emperor could not be safe. Liu Ye suggested that the emperor strengthen his vigilance and all soldiers should be prepared for battle just in case.

In order to reduce the logistics burden and increase the speed of movement, the emperor traveled lightly and simply. He was carrying cavalry and his luggage was relatively simple. He carried a tent and felt, lying on the ground, without a barn or a trench, but he just sent some knights to guard him from afar. Once attacked by the Xianbei people, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Liu Ye's back was full of sweat.

The soldiers had already rested for a day and were called to guard the emperor again, and they couldn't help but complain. However, compared with the danger brought by the Xianbei people, this was not enough to mention. No one dared to be careless and stood up to prepare. As the general of the Yulin Central Army, Ma Chao was responsible for the important task of protecting the emperor, and he did not dare to neglect him. He called the soldiers and arranged on duty. Finally, he came to Xiang and reported to the emperor to make arrangements for the deployment.

Lu Xiaohuan was also woken up. When he heard that his father Lu Bu had made contributions, he was so excited that he couldn't control himself. He was talking to Wang Yi. When he saw Ma Chao passing by the tent, he couldn't help but jump to Ma Chao. "Have you ever seen Taishi Ci?"

Ma Chao had already lost his vanguard against Lu Bu before, and he felt a little confused. He heard that Lu Bu was even more unhappy. Seeing Lu Xiaohuan provoking him at this moment, he became angry. However, considering Lu Xiaohuan's identity, he could not directly contradict him. So he bowed and said perfunctorily, "I've seen it" and wanted to leave, but Lu Xiaohuan stretched out his arms and stopped him.

"Who do you think is better than me, Aweng or Taishici?"

Ma Chao raised his sword eyebrows slightly, stopped, looked at Lu Xiaohuan, and suddenly laughed. "The noble man is by Your Majesty. I believe he knew that Taishi Ci had defeated the Xianbei people not long ago?"

"I know, didn't I, Awen, just defeated the Xianbei people, and beheaded more than a thousand."

Ma Chao laughed even more strangely. "Taishi Ci used ten thousand cavalry to fight against the 70,000 cavalry of the Eastern Xianbei, and won four battles and beheaded more than 10,000 people, and he lost no more than 2,000 people. Wen Hou fought against the Xianbei people with three thousand people, how much did he beheaded and how much did he lose?"

Lu Xiaohuan was speechless and his face was flushed. Even if she didn't know the specific data, she knew that Lu Bu would definitely not be able to achieve such impressive record as Taishici. Seeing Ma Chao ridicule, she couldn't help but say: "Taishici has the support of Wu Hou, the best armor and the armored cavalry, but I, Aweng, have no. But you, with the best equipment Yulin cavalry, you didn't see you beheading level one. Your Ma family and Han family have armored cavalry..."

"Guy Lu!" Wang Yi snatched it out of the tent in time and interrupted Lu Xiaohuan. Lu Xiaohuan was shocked and remembered the sensitive relationship between Ma Teng and Han Sui and Sun Ce. He did not dare to continue talking. He was just angry and stubborn, looking at Ma Chao viciously.

Ma Chao shrugged, smiled disapprovingly, bowed and turned around and left. Lu Xiaohuan was so angry that he stamped his feet, wishing he could catch up and fight with Ma Chao, but Wang Yi was tightly grabbed.

A few steps away, apart from a tent, the emperor sat opposite Liu Ye, silent.

The emperor raised his head and looked at the stars in the night sky, with tears in the corner of his eyes.

——

The next morning, the emperor set off and headed towards Liupan Mountain along the Gaopingchuan Valley.

Although they knew that the Xianbei people were nearby, they did not walk fast and were calm. However, everyone was alert. The armor and bows and crossbows were stringed, and the weapons were at hand. They were ready to fight at any time. The team was filled with a tense atmosphere. Scouts came and went, more densely, conveying the latest information, and invisibly adding some sense of urgency.

In the evening, Lu Bu sent news again. The Xianbei people were chasing him, and his momentum was arrogant. There were newly rescued people and captured cattle and sheep in his team. The speed was not fast, and the troops were disparity, so he needed to respond. In addition, he also received news that there were more than 3,000 people in the Xianbei team. Should I save it?

The emperor was in a dilemma.

If not rescued, the people who had just rescued Lu Bu would inevitably be recaptured by the Xianbei people, and the so-called record was greatly reduced. Lu Bu only had three thousand cavalry, and facing the superior forces of the Xianbei people, even if he could escape unsuccessfully, it would be impossible to protect these people to retreat. However, seeing that the people were kidnapped by the Xianbei people and the emperor did not move, the patrol of the border became a joke.

If saved, the emperor would have to face twice as many Xianbei people as he was. Moreover, this was just one of them. No one knew whether he would encounter other tribes, or Lu Bu's news was inaccurate. The Xianbei people had more than 20,000 cavalry, which would be a real fierce battle, with more than a few good and bad luck.

Between morality and safety, it is difficult for the emperor to choose.

Huangfu Song insisted on continuing to retreat and led the Xianbei people to the left and right of Liupanshan to fight again. At that time, the land was good and the stability could be obtained. The reinforcements of the county soldiers from the two counties in the northern region were enough to defeat the Xianbei people. The risk of fighting with the Xianbei people was too great. If it was unexpected, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Liu Ye regretted it. If he had known this, he would never have suggested that the emperor patrol the border. He had not had many opportunities to meet Xianbei people and could take advantage of it, but now he encountered it, and it was not a few thousand people, 20,000 or even more, and it was difficult to get rid of the tiger. At this moment, the court's dignity has become secondary, and the safety of the emperor is the key. He agreed with Huangfu Song's suggestion and continued to retreat.

The emperor refused to retreat again. The Xianbei people were not stupid. Even though they knew that Liupanshan was not good for them, how could they chased them? Besides, the people who were walking were slow and could not walk far away would be intercepted by the Xianbei people. Even if the Xianbei people sent some cavalry to chase Liupanshan and see the situation, these people could not be saved. The Western Expedition was originally intended to pacify Liangzhou. If the Liangzhou people knew that he would not save him when he saw the Xianbei people, what was the point of this Western Expedition? Who would take the imperial court seriously?

The emperor ignored Huangfu Song and Liu Ye's hard advice and decided to lead his troops to reinforce Lu Bu. Regardless of whether the people could be rescued in the end, he would at least try. He told Huangfu Song and Liu Ye that although the Xianbei people had a large number of troops, they were not all elite and their equipment was not good. Although our army was slightly inferior, they were all carefully selected elites. Nearly half of the knights were equipped with new armor and some armored cavalry, which were not weak and had the chance to win, at least they could not lose a crushing defeat. If the Xianbei people had more troops than expected, they would have time to retreat. If the war was not good, it would be at least stronger than not fighting.

Huangfu Song and Liu Ye could not change the emperor's decision, and Ma Chao praised the emperor's decision. Cheng Gongying, Jiang Xu and others also expressed their willingness to follow the emperor to fight. Seeing this, Huangfu Song had no choice but to agree, and Liu Ye could only make a fuss and decide to follow the emperor to attack.

The emperor immediately led the central army to advance north and notified Han Sui to lead the rear army to prepare for the support.

——

Before Lu Bu could retreat across the river, he was caught up by the Xianbei people.

When Lu Bu learned that tens of thousands of Xianbei people were surrounded by people, he left the people without saying a word and ran away. The disparity in troops was so great that he was not sure to escape. Moreover, the Bingzhou Army was embarrassed, and was excluded by the Liangzhou people and stayed away from Bingzhou. It was difficult to replenish troops. If the losses were too great, he could not play a role in balancing the Liangzhou Army, and he might become the abandoned son of the emperor at any time.

When his own survival becomes a problem, the life and death of the village party can only be left to fate. Lu Bu has no psychological burden.

Lu Bu fought and left. With his personal bravery and a slight advantage in his equipment, he did not encounter much trouble and retreated safely to the river.

Just as he arrived at the place where the Gaopingchuan River flowed into the river, the emperor's edict was sent. When he learned that the emperor was leading the elite cavalry to reinforce, Lu Bu was surprised and happy. He immediately ordered the retreat to stop and sent scouts to inquire from all directions, and prepared for the battle.

The next morning, the Xianbei people chased after him one after another, looking across the river from Lu Bu. They were frightened by Lu Bu's reputation and knew that there was no advantage in frontal impact. They did not rush to launch an attack, but were waiting for more companions to come, hoping to form enough advantages to surround Lu Bu.

When Lu Bu received the news from the emperor and knew that the emperor had arrived thirty miles away, he took the initiative to launch an attack, leading his troops across the frozen Yellow River, rushing straight into the Xianbei formation, rushing left and right, as if entering a nobody's land.

The Xianbei people were not in a hurry. They fought with Lu Bu and did not fight head-on. Lu Bu rushed over and retreated, while the others surrounded him from both wings. Lu Bu retreated, and they turned around and chased him, biting him. Lu Bu knew the tricks of these Xianbei people, and was not in a hurry. He patiently fought with the Xianbei people, and involved more Xianbei people in the battle, consuming their physical strength, and creating opportunities for the emperor.

The two sides chased each other within a radius of more than ten miles, and it was difficult to distinguish.

More than an hour later, when the Xianbei people felt that the time was ripe and could launch the final attack, the scout sent news that reinforcements from the Han army arrived. When they learned that the Han army had limited troops and only four or five thousand people, the Xianbei people did not take it seriously and distributed ten thousand cavalry to fight. The others continued to surround Lu Bu, preparing to catch them all in one fell swoop.

The emperor led his troops to arrive and saw the Xianbei cavalry lined up in a loose formation, surrounding the fan. The smoke and dust kicked from horse hooves filled the sky and blew over with the wind. He was both nervous and excited. After a few months entering Liangzhou, this was the first time he met the Xianbei people and the first battle in his life. Whether he could become the lord of the revival and whether the hard work of these years was wasted, it was finally time for testing.

The emperor turned his head and saw the same light in Liu Ye's eyes. Now that things have come to this point, there is no way to retreat. Even if there is a sea of ​​swords and fire in front of him, he can only rush forward with his teeth. Liu Ye raised the spear in his hand, shook it hard, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, I will follow Your Majesty into the formation. The Battle of Zhongxing will start from now on."

The emperor laughed, raised the exquisite long halberd in his hand, and let out a long roar.
Chapter completed!