After a long conversation with Fan Xian, Liu Xiang was in a happy mood. He was cheerful until he was summoned by Zhang Wen.
"What's so happy about Yicheng? You're smiling so happily." Zhang Wen asked with a dark face. He had returned from Chang'an and was promoted to lieutenant by the imperial court. This was originally a happy event, but the recent military situation made it difficult for him to laugh.
The gangster is useless and makes him very irritated.
"My unit has completed the military order and lived up to the expectations of the captain, so I am happy in my heart."
Zhang Wen thought for a while, without Liu Yicheng's rescue, Dong Zhuo would have been doomed, and he would have lost all six directions, lost all face, and had no fig leaf left. This only victory would have to be publicized to cover up other defeats. But Liu Yicheng
He is an obedient and capable general under his command. He will be rewarded heavily. Show it to others. It's not that I don't know how to use people, it's that you are too useless.
It was really wise to recruit this son in the first place. Huangfu Yi really gave him a hand, and the favor was repaid.
Thinking of this, he adjusted his expression and said kindly: "This time to rescue the friendly troops, they ran two hundred miles in one day and night, and killed forty thousand enemies before returning. Liu Yicheng is indeed brave and good at fighting. I will definitely go to your Majesty to ask for your credit."
When a superior wants to show kindness, he must be sensible. Liu Xiang bowed his hands and saluted: "Thank you for the promotion, Lieutenant Commander."
Zhang Wen encouraged Liu Xiang a few more words and asked Liu Xiang to retreat.
After walking out of the Chinese army tent, Sun Jian appeared out of nowhere, grabbed his sleeve and pulled him aside, and said mysteriously: "Yicheng, there is a big deal."
"What big deal?"
Sun Jian turned around and looked around. When he saw no one was around, he said, "Do you know about Hanyang Muyuan? It's in the northeast of Yongshi County. It was occupied by bandits. Someone carefully inspected it and found that there were thousands of horses inside.
, there were only one or two thousand guards, and I wanted to find an opportunity to capture it, but I was defeated too quickly, and I didn’t have time. I heard that Yicheng lost a lot of horses, do you want to replace them? Let’s go and kill him, do you dare?
?”
Liu Xiang recalled the terrain and found that Longguan was more than 400 miles away from Muyuan. It took half a month to go back and forth. He hesitated and said: "It's too far. Without military orders, we can't get through. If we send troops privately, we will die."
.”
"Hey, don't worry. I'll leave the military order to Sun. You just want to say whether you want to go or not?"
Then he must go. The herding garden in Hanyang County is full of Hexi horses. Even if it is taken over by the rebels, there will not be many war horses left, but there are many stallions. With these stallions, he can breed Hexi horses in large numbers in Youzhou.
He has a war horse. The fifty stallions he has are not enough. This is a good opportunity.
"How to divide it?" Liu Xiang didn't think that he couldn't take Muyuan and only needed a surprise attack.
"It's great." Sun Jian grinned widely: "Hahaha, I know that Liu Yicheng is also brave. He is responsible for leading the way and asking for military orders. He has 400 people participating in the battle, divided into 30%, how about it?"
It's quite reasonable. Sun Jian has actually given in, and Liu Xiang happily agreed: "It's a deal."
The two high-fived each other, and the matter was settled.
Just as he was about to separate and prepare, Liu Xiang stretched out his hand to hold Sun Jian, lowered his voice and whispered: "Muyuan is your Majesty's private property and is under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu. Although it is occupied by bandits, if we blatantly take back the horses,
Definitely can’t keep it.”
"They can still take back the horses we took back from the thieves? Why? Are they shameless?" Sun Jian looked puzzled.
Liu Xiang nodded: "Yes."
"Damn it, how can you be so shameless?" Sun Jian clenched his fists and walked around in circles for several times. He was so angry that he couldn't speak. He just wanted to reach out and hit people. He also wanted to get some horses to form a cavalry.
Well. Ever since he saw the cavalry of the Anping Army, their heroic posture moving freely was really heart-warming. He had been thinking about forming his own cavalry regiment.
"Brother Wentai, don't worry, they have a good plan, we have a wall ladder."
"What does Yicheng mean?"
Liu Xiang took Sun Jian and explained in a low voice: "Let's come here in plain sight. The horses belong to Muyuan. The people in the Shaofu will have an excuse to go back. They will be guilty if they lose Muyuan. Getting the horses back can reduce their culpability. It will definitely not happen."
For the sake of face. Even if we are killed, we still have to go back. If our guilt is reduced, we may not die. If you were them, what would you do?"
"Then others will definitely die." After saying this, Sun Jian understood that these horses were not so easy to get.
"That's right, so we can't come in plain sight. If we rob the Qiang and Di tribe and seize the horses, what excuse do they have to ask us for it? If it's the Xiliang horse thieves who broke into Muyuan, why would they implicate us?"
"Hehehe." Sun Jian smiled cunningly and raised his eyebrows: "Then let's pretend to be horse thieves?"
Liu Xiang coughed, pretended to be serious, and cupped his hands to Sun Jian: "Where the eternal sorrow is, there is a cloud in Xiliang. Now in the vast sea, there is no need to send the final army. So, it is a cloud in Xiliang, the fastest in a thousand miles.
The horse bandit, who are you? Tell me your name."
Sun Jian was stunned for a moment. This was a poem and a title. He thought for a moment, and an idea flashed, and he joked: "The wind is violent at the end, but I am smiling. A gust of wind in Xiliang, the most irritable person in a thousand miles."
Horse thief."
Liu Xiang continued to tease: "Where our army passes, the sky is three feet high and the earth is thin."
Sun Jian found this remark easy to deal with, and he replied triumphantly: "Wherever our army goes, no chickens or dogs are left behind, and not a blade of grass grows."
The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes a man's happiness is so simple. After this incident, they felt that their friendship had become much deeper.
The subordinates behind them had different moods. Zhao Yun and Shi A felt that their lord was only seventeen years old and his personality was approachable. He had never been serious and rigid. He liked to make fun. This was quite normal. They had seen him a lot.
But Sun Jian's subordinates, Huang Gai and Han Dang, were a little surprised. They have been following the lord for many years. They have only seen the lord fight with others with knives, but never with others to compare poems. This is really strange and gives them a lot of experience.
.
After the joke was over, the charter was agreed upon. Sun Jian went to get the military order to mobilize troops to suppress the bandits, and Liu Xiang went to prepare the cart. He would pull Sun Jian's infantry when he went, and the horse materials when he came back. He would wait for the military order and set off immediately.
I've been waiting for half a month.
On the second day of May, Sun Jian obtained the military order to wipe out the Qiang and Di rebels in Hanyang.
The military order was given to Liu Xiang, and Sun Jian assisted the left wing in the name of joining the military. The order was issued that day, and three thousand cavalry and one thousand civilians set out on the same day, driving 500 carts and pulling 400 infantry under Sun Jian's command.
Go west along Longguan Road.
We traveled all the way and stayed overnight, sent many scouts, and drove for seven days to the lower reaches of Huangshui River, lurking ten miles north of Muyuan. This place was more than 150 miles away from Yuzhong, and had already entered the territory of the bandits' influence.
When they rested until midnight, the civilians stayed behind to take care of the vehicles. The two armies, 3,700 men on foot and on horseback, with Sun Jian in front and Liu Xiang behind, quietly entered the pasture of Muyuan and marched towards the stables.
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Hanyang Muyuan covers a large area, covering dozens of square kilometers. There are six horse stables. Normally, it can raise more than 10,000 horses. The exact number is not known now. Sun Jian's people only explored the location of the horse stables.
The horses are raised from a few hundred to a thousand.
Their first target is the garrison area. There are more than a thousand soldiers and horses stationed there. If they kill this place, the other five places will be lambs to be slaughtered.