Chapter 172 Westward Expedition, Soldiers Out to Luoyang
On the official road of Luoyang, there are more than ten thousand troops marching towards Guanzhong with flags flying, and the whole team exudes unrivaled momentum.
"My lord, this Wei Jian is really hateful. I have been with him for many years in vain, and even I hid it! It seems that I got the advantage of him last time!"
Xun You looked at the thousands of war horses behind him and was furious!
Liu Zhang had no reaction when he heard this, his eyes were a little hollow, and he seemed to be absent-minded.
No wonder, the happy life with Cai Yan has just begun, how could Liu Zhang be willing to leave?
Coupled with working day and night these days, Liu Zhang was also a little listless.
Jia Xu smiled at Xun You, but he didn't mean to blame Wei Jian.
"Gongda, Wei Xi is a smart man, and smart people will naturally do smart things! He directly provided us with five thousand war horses, which is like providing help in times of need for us! It's like giving us a helping hand in times of crisis!"
Xun You nodded with a depressed look on his face. He agreed with this, but when he thought of Wei Ji's pretentious behavior before, he still got angry.
"I understand this truth, but the Wei family clearly has this ability, but they insist on showing me that they want to cry without tears!"
"Hahaha, Gongda, don't be angry!"
Liu Zhang also came to his senses and laughed several times at Xun You.
"Even if Wei Jian doesn't replenish his horses this time, there's nothing we can do. After all, it's really difficult for others to do so."
"But since he can lend a helping hand, I naturally have to accept his favor!"
"Wen He is right. Now he is really helping us in times of need!"
Xun You sighed and stopped complaining. After all, he was just angry at Wei Xi's concealment.
"My lord is generous, I admire you!"
"Gongda, you have never lived a hard life. You don't know how valuable food and rice are when you are not a family member! Do you know what it was like when I led the troops to fight against the Yellow Turbans for the first time?"
When Liu Zhang saw his mighty troops, he couldn't help but think of the tragic situation when he first led the troops, and he couldn't help but be filled with emotion!
In just over a year, the gap is so huge!
"I heard that my lord had two thousand soldiers and horses at that time, but I'm not very clear about the details."
Xun You definitely didn't know that he was in He Jin's house at that time, so how could He Jin take the initiative to reveal the matter of withholding Liu Zhang's military equipment!
Liu Zhang kept shaking his head and smiling bitterly, and then called Dian Wei over.
"Evil, tell Gongda about the situation when we led the troops for the first time!"
Although Dian Wei was optimistic, he couldn't help but feel angry when he thought about the scene at that time.
"Military advisor, you don't know how hateful that guy He Jin is! You might not believe it even if I tell you, he said it was two thousand troops, but in fact..."
Dian Wei became very angry when he thought of this. The angrier he became, the more he spoke. He kept telling Xun You about the situation with words and curses.
Xun You was also gradually infected by Dian Wei from the beginning of listening to the story. The more he listened, the more shocked he became. He never expected that Liu Zhang was in such a condition at first!
"Lord, how did you lead these two thousand remnant soldiers to kill Bo Cai!"
Xun You had to re-examine Liu Zhang's abilities. He originally thought that Liu Zhang had at least thousands of elite soldiers to rely on, but he didn't expect that he relied entirely on his own abilities!
"Hahaha, military advisor, you don't know that my lord was so scared that he almost peed his pants for the first time! He was so scared..."
"Shut up and get out!"
Liu Zhang looked at Dian Wei angrily, never expecting that he had no control over his words and would talk about everything!
"Military advisor, look, my lord still doesn't admit it. He obviously..."
Dian Wei shut up in the middle of his words and ran away on horseback without looking back, because he found that Liu Zhang had raised his sword.
When Liu Zhang saw Dian Wei running away, he felt like explaining to Xun You, but he just blushed a little.
"Ahem, military advisor, don't listen to evil talk. How could I..."
"Lord, I understand! I understand..."
Xun You kept blinking and gave Liu Zhang a meaningful look.
Liu Zhang still didn't understand what Xun You meant, so he was even more angry with Dian Wei and decided to punish him severely!
"Lord, I heard Han Sheng say that they have brought all the best equipment from Luoyang's arsenal! Things are different now!"
Jia Xu knew that Liu Zhang was extremely embarrassed and quickly changed the subject for him.
"That's right! We asked for more than a thousand war horses from He Jin, plus the 5,000 war horses provided by Wei Jian, we now have a total of 11,000 horses! We have reached the standard of one person and two riders!"
"And the weapons and equipment are not the same! Now our rear general's troops are truly elite soldiers!"
Where had Liu Zhang ever fought such a rich battle? At this moment, he was really a little bit overwhelmed, and he was even confident that he could confront the Xiliang rebels head-on.
"Lord, don't be careless!"
When Liu Zhang was getting carried away, Jia Xu warned Liu Zhang that if Liu Zhang had this mentality, he would definitely face failure.
"My lord, the Xiliang army is a Qiang and Hu Yiyi. They have been fighting with foreign tribes for many years. Their combat effectiveness is definitely not the same as that of the Yellow Turban Army!"
When Liu Zhang was told by Jia Xu, he suddenly woke up from his complacency as if he was enlightened.
Yes, I said before that I should not underestimate the Xiliang rebels, but why did I start to get carried away after seeing my own team!
"Indeed, Wen He will have to remind me more in the future to prevent me from getting carried away!"
Liu Zhang bowed his hand to Jia Xu with a guilty look on his face.
"My lord, there is no need to be like this. Our army is not completely incapable of fighting. We just need to be careful! The commander of this Western Expedition is the cavalry general Zhang Wen. Our actions may be somewhat restricted."
Zhang Wen and Jia Xu's words reminded Liu Zhang.
This time against the Xiliang rebels, Liu Zhang could not act completely independently, and he had to be under the jurisdiction of Zhang Wen.
Liu Zhang didn't quite understand Liu Hong's promotion of Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen was originally a senior agricultural official and one of the nine ministers in charge of finance. He was a civil servant.
Zhang Wen also had no experience in leading troops in combat. Liu Zhang clearly remembered that Zhang Wen was indecisive and inconsistent in history. He could have defeated Han Sui's border, but missed the opportunity due to his improper command.
"Wen He is right. Zhang Wen is a man of great ambition and talent. How can he lead troops in a war? I just don't understand. Since Your Majesty asked me to put down the rebellion, why didn't you give me the command?"
The more Liu Zhang thought about it, the angrier he became. Zhang Wen was not only promoted to the rank of Chariot and Cavalry General, he even had the right to take holidays!
"My lord, you really can't blame your majesty for this matter. Even if your majesty has this intention, the ministers headed by He Jin and Yuan will not agree."
Xun You nodded and agreed with Jia Xu's words.
"My lord has been in office for only one year, and he has already become a general. If he makes great achievements again, how will he be rewarded? These are unspoken rules, and no one will touch them."
"So your Majesty has never thought of sending me on an expedition?"
Xun You nodded again, but this aroused Liu Zhang's dissatisfaction.
"Then Wenhe must also know what His Majesty means?"
As the confirmation continued, Liu Zhang realized that he was the only one who was kept in the dark.
"Since the two military advisors know this, why didn't you tell me earlier?"