In order to prioritize the various types of letters, Liu Xin classified the letters reported from various places. General letters were all handed over to various ministries, while letters with chicken feathers were urgent military information and needed to be handled by the cabinet. The reason why chicken feathers were used instead of
Other feathers are just because chicken feathers are easier to obtain, not because Liu Xin watched the movie Chicken Feather Letter when he was a child. He also dyed chicken feathers in various colors ingeniously. Red is the highest level of emergency and needs to be reported directly to him for processing.
.
Although Yang Biao couldn't read the content of the letter, he could guess from Liu Xin's face that something important must have happened. He wanted to share Liu Xin's worries, so he couldn't help but step forward and asked: "How dare you
Ask your lord, what happened?"
The red feather letter just means that the military situation is urgent. It does not mean that the content in the letter is very confidential. After hearing Yang Biao's inquiry, Liu Xin threw the letter in front of him and said in a deep voice: "Master Yang, read it yourself.
How dare the Huns invade our Liangzhou border!"
Yang Biao picked up the chicken-feather letter and read it hastily. He stopped laughing and cupped his hands and said, "Sir, please calm down. Every winter and spring, all the grassland tribes, such as the Xiongnu, Qiang, Xianbei, and Wuhuan, will harass me."
On the border of the Han Dynasty, such incidents occurred from time to time in the Liang, Bing, and Youzhou states. However, these barbarians only plundered once and then retreated on their own. There was no serious harm, and there is no need to worry, my lord."
For many years, it has been a common practice for tribes on the grasslands to raid the borders of the Han Dynasty. Even when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu, the entire Xiongnu tribe was divided into two, and the southern Xiongnu attached itself to the Han Dynasty, but they still could not avoid plundering the border people from time to time, not to mention Xianbei and others.
A new grassland tribe. As Yang Biao was at the center of the imperial court, he received many military intelligence reports like this every year. He was used to it and was no longer surprised.
However, most incidents of border harassment occur in early spring. This is because after winter, the heavy snow in the north will hinder the running of war horses, and all the tribes on the grassland are people who live on horseback.
It is difficult for them to get an advantage for this special skill. Things like this year, when winter has just begun and it doesn't take long for Liangzhou to be disturbed, rarely happen.
In the past, whether Liu Hong was the emperor or Dong Zhuo was in power, everyone was used to turning a blind eye to the harassment of the grassland tribes. Anyway, the victims were only the poor people, and it did not have much impact on the upper-class nobles.
.On the contrary, most of these nobles are conducting some secret trade with these grassland tribes, and they do not want to have enemies with these grassland tribes.
However, Jia Xu is now in charge of Liangzhou's government affairs, and the fifth legion led by Huang Zhong is guarding it. Needless to say, Huang Zhong, Liu Xin's generals are all passionate, how could they tolerate the bullying of foreigners?
On his own head. And Jia Xu was originally from Liangzhou, and he hated the Huns' attacks on the border. Especially after having a long conversation with Liu Xin, Jia Xu could already feel that Liu Xin was looking far ahead.
, had begun to pay attention to these ethnic groups on the grasslands, so he used the red chicken feather letter that represented the most urgent military situation.
Liu Xin came from later generations, and he knew that in the long years to come, these tribes on the grasslands would be the greatest threat to the Han people, and even pushed the Han people to the edge of extinction several times. Therefore, Liu Xin's attitude towards
He was very dissatisfied with Yang Biao's words. He slapped the table and said angrily: "Liangzhou was not under Liu's rule in the past, and Liu couldn't control it even if he wanted to. But now it's different from the past, how can Liu do it?"
Just sit back and watch them being bullied by foreigners and turn a blind eye?"
Yang Biao just said this just to let Liu Xin relax, but he didn't expect that it would arouse such a big reaction from him. He hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, you are dedicated to the people, and I admire you very much. However, these grassland tribes are here.
Go in a hurry, and when your army rushes over, they will have disappeared. It is better to send an envoy to the southern Xiongnu to reprimand them in order to make them restrain themselves."
Over the years, although the Han Dynasty was not as powerful as before, it was still a behemoth in front of the grassland tribes. Sometimes, the court's words could still be of some use. Therefore, Dong Zhuo was able to easily recruit Qiang queens and Huns soldiers to assist in the battle.
In addition to the promise of huge profits, it is also an important reason why these grassland peoples still fear the Han.
While he was talking, Jushou hurriedly walked in. Seeing Liu Xin's expression, he raised his hands and asked, "Does the Lord want to use troops against the Huns?"
Among the advisers under Liu Xin, Jushou is definitely not the top one, but his loyalty and character are the one that reassures Liu Xin the most. Otherwise, Liu Xin would not treat someone as important as the Phantom Secret Agent.
He was put in charge of the organization. Therefore, even if it was a red letter sent directly to Liu Xin, a separate copy would be reported to Ju Suo, so he already knew the content of the letter.
Liu Xin nodded and said, "Yes, Liu wants to teach the Huns a lesson!"
Jushou muttered: "Now that the road is blocked by the army, it is inconvenient for the troops to advance, and supplies are also very difficult. I am afraid it is not a good time to use troops."
Yang Biao also echoed: "Yes, the troops and horses have not moved, and the food and grass have gone first. If Mr. Liu is determined to use troops against the Huns, why not wait until the next spring..."
Liu Xin waved his hand and said: "Since the Huns are here, why can't our elite soldiers go? Liu wants to see how powerful these Huns are on the grassland!"
During the Northern Expedition to Dong Zhuo, Liu Xin's cavalry had already fought against the Huns' cavalry and defeated them, almost wiping out a hundred thousand Xiongnu cavalry. He really did not put these Huns' cavalry on
In his eyes. Therefore, Liu Xin was very confident in his cavalry. These cavalry
Soldiers equipped with stirrups can definitely surpass the prairie tribes who grew up on horses in riding skills. However, he must take advantage of those prairie tribes who have not yet mastered stirrups to offset their superiority in riding skills.
They were completely defeated and created a relatively peaceful environment for the development of the Han nation.
Jushou was naturally very clear about the situation of the Battle of Guanzhong, but he did not have the confidence of Liu Xin. He quickly leaned forward and said: "Returning to my lord, it is not only a matter of supplies, but my subordinates are also worried about the vast grassland, and my Han cavalry does not know the path.
It’s hard to find the enemy, so it’s better to follow what Mr. Yang said and wait until the next spring before using troops. Please think again, my lord!”
Liu Xin laughed and said: "You are too worried, sir. Although the world is big, there is no place that our elite soldiers cannot go. What's more, Liu's use of troops this time is not to wipe out all the Xiongnu, but to teach them a lesson."
That’s all.”
After a pause, Liu Xin said in a deep voice: "My lord, please pass on my order. The First Army Corps, the cavalry of the Second Army Corps and the Sixth Army Corps will leave for Liangzhou today!"
The Sixth Army is an all-cavalry army with a total of 50,000 people. The First and Second Army have more cavalry than the other armies, each with 20,000 people. In addition, the Fifth Army was originally stationed in Liangzhou.
The legion had 10,000 cavalry, and the number of Han cavalry gathered in Liangzhou would reach 100,000. Jushou couldn't help being surprised. This was not meant to teach the Xiongnu a lesson, but was clearly about to go to war.
Early the next morning, large groups of cavalry decamped from all over Jingzhou and headed north. This time, Liu Xin sent Xu Huang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Pang De, Ma Chao, and Sun Ce to Liangzhou. Such a powerful
The lineup never appeared even during the Northern Expedition to Dong Zhuo.
Yang Biao also went north with these cavalry. He took the initiative to propose that several of his family members had been to the southern Xiongnu area and knew a little about the geography there. He was willing to let them serve as guides for the army. Yang Biao had now figured it out.
, no matter what happens in the future, his son is now working under Liu Xin. He helps Liu Xin, which can be regarded as earning some points for his son.
When Liu Xin mobilized a large group of cavalry to go north, Cao Cao also started to take action. He was not worried about Yuan Shao. This man had thousands of troops but was indecisive. As long as he moved quickly enough, after taking Xuzhou, Yuan Shao's troops might not be able to survive.
He has not started to take action yet. The only thing he is worried about is Liu Xin. Although Liu Xin promised not to use troops against him within two years, he
He didn't believe Liu Xin, because he could feel that Liu Xin was not a gentleman, and he didn't pay much attention to his reputation. How could a person who wouldn't be weighed down by his reputation care about a verbal agreement?
?So, when he learned that Liu Xin's army was heading north to Liangzhou, regardless of what happened there, Cao Cao thought it was a good opportunity.
After the defeat at Xiangyang City, Cao Cao also began to pay attention to the cavalry. Especially after realizing the benefits of having an iron ring tied under the saddle, the combat effectiveness of his cavalry increased rapidly. This time, Cao Cao asked brothers Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan to
He led 10,000 elite cavalry as the vanguard, all with their heads wrapped in white cloth, erected a large flag, and wrote the four characters "Revenge", and rushed to Xuzhou in a mighty manner.
Liu Bei killed Sun Guan and drove away Zang Ba. Under the guise of the two of them joining forces with Cao Cao, he occupied Langya and successfully took over the 30,000 troops and horses in the city. However, Liu Bei also knew that these troops obeyed him on the surface but secretly
He was not necessarily so obedient, so he stayed in Langya and did not leave. Moreover, except Guan Yu, he had no other useful people to lead this army.
Hearing that Cao Cao's army was coming, Guan Yu raised his Green Dragon Sword, raised his hand, and said: "Brother, if the soldiers come to block it, the water will come to cover it. If Cao Cao's thief dares to invade our territory, I will wait for my younger brother to lead the army and kill him!"
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "Now that the three armies are newly attached, people's hearts are not stable, and Cao's army is powerful, so we cannot underestimate the enemy. It is better to abandon Langya and collect troops from various counties in Xuzhou. The city of Xuzhou is high and the pond is deep, so we can hold on. Wait for Cao's army.
If we can't attack for a long time, Yuan Shao and Liu Xin will surely take action, and when the time comes, Cao's army can retreat without a fight!"
It was not that Guan Yu didn't have his own opinions, but he respected Liu Bei too much. He always followed Liu Bei's lead and would never go against his will, so he agreed to step aside.
Therefore, Liu Bei abandoned Langya without a fight, and hurriedly retreated to Xuzhou with the 30,000 horses he had captured from Zang Ba and Sun Guan.