Of course Zheng Xuan was just teasing, Liu Bei had no such idea at first.
But what Zheng Xuan said really made Liu Bei think about it.
It was not uncommon in the classical era for high-quality intellectuals to join the army. The pattern of the Song and Ming Dynasties where the nobles and the military were lowly was really speechless. In the Han Empire, such a situation did not exist.
No matter how high-quality a person is, he must be good at both civil and military skills. Of course, it would be better if he was born into a noble family.
Men will not be criticized for earning merit by joining the army with swords. Recruiting imperial students to join the army will not cause much discussion. If intellectuals with knowledge join the army and perform well, Liu Bei will certainly not fail to do so.
Accept such high-quality and outstanding soldiers.
The high-quality and specialization of the army is a historical trend. Liu Bei does not mind adding fuel to this trend, allowing the Han army in the new era to embark on the path of specialization faster.
Of course, given the current situation, Taixue is the most important public opinion battlefield in Luoyang City, and Liu Bei will not let it go no matter what. Although future enemies are not enemies yet, it is always right to prepare for a rainy day.
.
Being able to establish one's own image among Tai students and win over a group of fanatical supporters will only bring benefits and no harm to the future.
After returning from the conquest of Yuan Shao, Liu Bei visited Taixue many times to deliver speeches, gradually establishing his image as an opinion leader among Taixue students, and successfully gained a group of fanatical supporters.
They all very much aspire to work in the General's Mansion after graduation.
In order to obtain more high-quality and fanatical supporters, Liu Bei believed that launching a war and winning victory was the best way.
It is human nature to worship the strong and the heroic.
As long as you become a strong man and a hero, it is natural for you to be admired by young people.
At the beginning, facing the old heroes and the old military group left over from the Wenjing era, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty chose to fight against the Xiongnu to break the deadlock, and supported a new army's meritorious group to compete with the old hero group and fight against each other in an all-round way.
Enhanced one's power and status.
What Liu Bei wants to do now is similar. In the future, he will continue to launch wars, win victories, and personally support a new and powerful military meritorious group.
First, they formed a confrontation with the ancient literature school and the eunuch group to obtain a relatively balanced situation, and then seek more breakthroughs at the political level.
Just relying on the Ancient Literature School cannot achieve any breakthrough at all, and can only tinker within a limited framework. Although this is a safe method, it is still far from the effect Liu Bei wants.
War is the best way to break the deadlock. Liu Bei also gained greater benefits each time through successful battles again and again.
However, what was a good thing for Liu Bei and the Han Empire was not a good thing for the Xianbei and Wuhuan people who moved to Bingzhou.
They don't know history, they only know survival. They have lived on this land for generations, and they naturally regard it as their own land.
Therefore, when the Han army's notice was conveyed, the Xianbei and Wuhuan people were surprised and angry. They could not accept the "tyrannical" style of the Han Empire and said they would use steel swords and blood to protect their property and land.
As for the Han army, the ultimatum has been issued, and they have done their best to benevolent and righteous. What will happen next is beyond their prediction.
As the Han army's battle announcement was issued, the Han people in Bingzhou also took action.
This is a matter of great benefit and no harm to them.
Everyone has been in love and fighting each other for so many years, and finally a winner has to be decided. If they can contribute to the Han army, then they will be able to occupy a more advantageous position in the future Bingzhou structure.
As for those barbarians, they don't care.
At this time, the most entangled families or forces are nothing more than those mixed Han and Hu families or forces. In order to survive better, they broke the boundaries and completed the union, and indeed obtained better living conditions. However, after the Han army's battle announcement was issued,
Their situation is very bad.
Should we help the Hu people or side with the Han people?
But no matter how entangled they were, most of the powerful Han people in Bingzhou still pulled out the weapons they could and provided sufficient help to the Han army on the way forward.
On the ninth day of February in the second year of Jian'an, the Han army led by Guan Yu fought a victory near Guangwu County in Yanmen County. With the cooperation of local Han armed forces, the Han army found a way and completely wiped out a Wuhuan tribe.
A good start.
The storm of the Han army in Bingzhou began to sweep violently.
Then the Han army moved all the way north and advanced rapidly. Anyone who encountered the Wuhuan tribe was invincible. Among them, the assistance provided by the local Han armed forces and the provision of local information were important aids for the rapid progress of the Han army.
Because of their transmission of various roads and intelligence, before February was over, the coalition forces of Guan Yu and Zhang Yan had already advanced to the Baideng area where Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, was surrounded by the Xiongnu army.
Here, Guan Yu and Zhang Yan joined forces with Bingzhou Han armed forces to surround and annihilate a Wuhuan tribe of 30,000 people. They won a great victory and captured many people.
Then Guan Yu also erected a battle monument here, prepared some sacrifices, solemnly paid homage to this ancient battlefield, and then led his army towards Dingxiang County.
On the other hand, Qianzhao's progress was not as fast as Guan Yu's, but he fought two battles of tens of thousands of people in Gaonu County and Dingyang County in Shangjun throughout February, annihilating two tens of thousands of troops.
Xianbei tribe.
The Southern Xiongnu cavalry played a certain role in the annihilation operations. They were often able to pursue the Xianbei people after their collapse, kill them, and maximize the results of the battle. However, frontal attacks were always carried out by leading the Han army.
It's not that Yu Fuluo doesn't want to.
After the tragic death of Huchuquan, Yu Fuluo was a die-hard pro-Han faction, and even his subordinates were also die-hard pro-Han faction. He was very willing to lead the Southern Huns cavalry to charge into battle and perform meritorious service for the Han Dynasty. However, Yu Fuluo was asked to serve as an auxiliary
, expand the results of the battle, and leave the matter of frontal attack to him.
It just so happened that this group of Xianbei people also lived a semi-agricultural life, and they also defended the city and fought positional warfare. They lost their flexibility and maneuverability to a certain extent, which gave Lianzhao a lot of room to display.
The Thousand Niu Army was formed in Shu, and 60% of them were Han people. They were good at fighting and had a solid foundation in techniques and tactics. They had also received standard Han army combat training, but they lacked formal combat experience.
And now, it's time for formal combat.
He led them to move forward in formation, and used the coordination of various arms and tactics to launch beautiful attacks on the battlefield. They easily overturned the resistance of the Xianbei people and achieved two consecutive victories in four days in mid-to-late February.
The victory of thousands of people fighting.
Then the army turned around and headed north, sweeping away small-scale Xianbei settlements along the way. Based on the intelligence transmitted by the local Han armed forces, they led the troops to continuously launch raids and destroyed many large-scale Xianbei settlements.
After the Thousand Niu Army achieved more than a dozen victories, Qianzhao felt that his own condition had improved, and so had the condition of the entire army.
So in the battle in Kucha County at the end of February, the Qianniu Army joined forces with the Southern Huns cavalry and local Han armed forces to attack Kucha County. After the Xianbei people failed in the field battle, they defended the city and fought against the odds that the Han army once faced.
Of course, the final result cannot be changed. Qianzhao commanded the Qianniu Army to surround the county town and attack fiercely. The low and dilapidated county wall could not stop the Qianniu Army's attack. The Xianbei tribe of more than 50,000 people finally captured the county town.
Was surrounded and annihilated by the Qianniu Army.
After such a battle, Qianzhao defeated the entire Xianbei forces in Shangjun, then cheered up and attacked Shuofangjun.
Throughout February and until early March, Liu Bei received good news of victory. Guan Yu and Qianzhao advanced rapidly and won many battles in Shangjun, Shuofang County, Yanmen County and Dingxiang County.
The Qianniu Army and the Tianwei Army also displayed the majesty of the Han army.
By mid-March, the statistics of the battle results of Guan Yu and Qianzhao had reached the point where they had killed more than 20,000 enemies and captured more than 170,000 people.
According to their military intelligence report, it was mentioned that the local Han armed forces in Bingzhou responded to the imperial army's attack on a large scale, and their help provided effective support for the imperial court to eliminate foreign forces. Both Guan Yu and Qianzhao were saved from being destroyed by the Xianbei people because they obtained the information in time.
, the result of a sneak attack by the Wuhuan people.
Until this time, Liu Bei believed that there would be no trouble in this battle. With the support of the local Han armed forces, the imperial army would be able to quickly wipe out the local Xianbei, Wuhuan, Xiongnu and other armed separatist forces and restore the state.
This is the inevitable result of the restoration of the overall comprehensive strength of the Han Empire, and cannot be stopped by the grassland tribes.
However, in mid-to-late March, around the 21st, Liu Hui suddenly brought a piece of news to Liu Bei.
"The actions of the imperial army in Bingzhou have stimulated the Central Xianbei. The Central Xianbei seems to have taken action. According to intelligence, a considerable number of Central Xianbei cavalry have been recruited, but it is currently unknown what the purpose of their actions is."
Liu Bei felt a little unhappy when he heard the news.
"The imperial army has not conquered Xianbei in central China, so why are they being stimulated at this time?"
"The specific situation is unknown. This news was brought back by the intelligence dealer we sent to Youzhou. He said that he saw the Xianbei people gathering troops. It seemed that there was a military operation.
In previous years, even if they wanted to go south to plunder, they would usually act collectively after autumn, but now it is not long before spring, even the Xianbei people should prepare for agricultural production, which is very unusual."
"That's certainly unusual..."
Liu Bei frowned and said: "I thought that as long as I planned it properly and dispatched three armies, I could complete the strategy of merging the states, but if the central Xianbei stepped in, it would be different... Why couldn't I insist on destroying them before?