The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 545 Liaodong
Xun You suddenly realized: "Your Majesty is personally leading the expedition to Liaodong this time, is it to..."

"The Liaodong area also belongs to the Central Plains, but the land of the Three Han can be divided up, not only for you, but also for my sons." Qin Shou shook his head.

Liaodong is still too close to the Central Plains, and he cannot guarantee that his son has no ambitions in his heart.

Xun You pondered for a moment, and suddenly thought of something: "The Shu family supports the second prince"

"If they want to place a bet, I will let them place a bet." Qin Shou's eyes flashed with a sharpness, and he sneered, "When the southern expedition is over, Chengji will stay in Nanzhong, and let him govern Nanzhong first. The Shu family? Haha, it's a waste of time."

After hearing this, Xun You suddenly realized. He knew that Qin Shou's plan was probably more than that. Qin Chengji would not only stay in Nanzhong, but also govern Nanzhong. Unfortunately, the current Bashu family has already supported him and has invested a lot of manpower and resources for this. If he wants to get a reward, he must continue to support him.

The emperor let Qin Chengji take charge of Nanzhong, probably because he wanted the Bashu family to help the court run Nanzhong. The emperor had a good plan.

However, isn't that what emperors have always done? Otherwise, it would be impossible to unify the world.

Xun You couldn't help but be impressed by Qin Shou's foresight, but he still had some concerns: "What about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Cheng Qian will understand my painstaking efforts." Qin Shou said firmly, "He is the eldest son and has a kind temperament. As long as the brothers behave themselves, he will not make things difficult for them. Moreover, I will leave this in my will, and all future emperors must obey it."

Xun You couldn't help but admire: "Your Majesty is wise! This way we can give full play to the strengths of the kings and avoid the situation where the tail is too big to be removed."

"Let's go." Qin Shou waved his whip and consoled them, "After we pacify Liaodong, I'll grant you fiefdoms."

The army continued to march eastward, with flags fluttering and iron hooves clanging. Qin Shou's back stretched out in the morning sun, as if covering the entire Tang Dynasty.

Xun You looked at the emperor's back and sighed in his heart: "Your Majesty has given the sons a fair chance to compete. I just don't know whether this policy of enfeoffment will eventually lead to harmony among brothers, or something else."

He dared not think any further and could only urge his horse to keep up. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and a storm seemed to be brewing.

The autumn wind blew the dragon flag. The armor of 30,000 Tang soldiers gleamed coldly in the sun, like a winding steel dragon, extending eastward to the horizon.

Qin Shou was wearing a bright armor, and the warhorse under him stamped its hooves nervously, as if it also sensed the coming fight. He raised his hand to block the glaring sunlight and looked far into the east at the land that had not yet surrendered.

"Your Majesty, the Wuhuan envoy has arrived." Xun You rode his horse closer and reported in a low voice.

Qin Shou nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on the distance, and said lightly: "Bring him to see me."

Soon, a Wuhuan nobleman wearing leather armor and a wolfskin hat was brought to the emperor. He placed his right hand on his chest and performed a Wuhuan salute: "I, Hubitai, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"No need to be polite." Qin Shou said in a steady voice and with a sharp gaze, "I am going east this time to quell the rebellion of Gongsun Kang in Liaodong. Wuhuan is adjacent to Liaodong, I wonder if you are willing to lend a helping hand to me?"

"If you want to conquer Liaodong, Wuhuan will definitely lend a helping hand to the emperor." Hubitai said without hesitation: "In the past, Wuhuan and the Central Plains were on good terms and obeyed Yuan Shao's orders and dispatches. Later, Yuan Shao was defeated by Your Majesty. Our leader Lou Ban went to Liaodong for help, but was killed by Gongsun. Therefore, we have a great hatred with Gongsun."

Qin Shou nodded immediately after hearing what the other party said. Speaking of which, there was also his own reason. If he hadn't defeated Wuhuan, Gongsun might have thought of joining forces with the other party. Now that Wuhuan was defeated and the army suffered heavy losses, Gongsun could not only not get help from the other party, but also had to support the other party. In this case, it would be better to annex the other party and strengthen his own power.

Therefore, the Gongsun clan of Liaodong and the Wuhuan became enemies.

A hint of hesitation flashed across Hubitai's eyes, and he said thoughtfully, "Your Majesty, I am naturally willing to obey your orders, but our army has suffered heavy losses, and the soldiers have been fighting continuously for many years and are already tired of war."

Xun You immediately said, "Your Majesty is going to divide the land of the Three Han among meritorious officials after pacifying Liaodong. If the Wuhuan warriors make military achievements, they may also be able to gain a place in that rich land."

Hubitai's eyes lit up, he knelt on one knee and shouted: "Three thousand Wuhuan cavalrymen are willing to die for your majesty!"

Qin Shou nodded with satisfaction and personally helped Su Puyan up: "Okay! Pass on my order, the Wuhuan tribe will assemble immediately and meet me at the Liao River in three days."

After Hu Bitai left, Xun You whispered, "Your Majesty, the Wuhuan people are greedy by nature, and I'm afraid they will rebel."

"No problem." Qin Shou said with a deep look in his eyes, "After pacifying Liaodong, I will make my own arrangements. These barbarians are just pawns on my chessboard."

The army continued to advance eastward. When the people along the way heard that the emperor was going to lead the army, they all welcomed the emperor with food and drink. Qin Shou and his men properly resettled the refugees and strictly ordered the army not to disturb the people, which won the support of the people along the way.

Half a month later, the Tang army arrived at the west bank of the Liao River. On the opposite bank, the flag of Gongsun Kang of Liaodong was faintly visible.

General Xu Huang and others had been waiting for a long time. They personally went ten miles to welcome Qin Shou and others into the camp.

Inside the central army tent, Qin Shou summoned all the generals to discuss matters.

"Report--" A scout hurried into the tent, "Gongsun Kang of Liaodong has assembled 50,000 troops to defend the east bank of the Liao River, and at the same time has mobilized troops from Goguryeo. Goguryeo's former general Baqi has led 20,000 troops to support him."

Upon hearing this, all the generals in the tent requested to fight. Xu Huang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the vanguard across the river and clear the way for the army!"

Qin Shou looked at Xun You and asked, "Gongda, what do you think?"

Xun You stroked his long beard and said thoughtfully, "Gongsun Kang is defending the dangerous place with the intention of delaying the enemy. The reinforcements from Goguryeo have not arrived yet, so our army should fight quickly and decisively. I suggest that the troops be divided into three groups: the main force will cross the river to contain the enemy; the left wing will bypass the shallows upstream to cut off the reinforcements from Goguryeo; and the right wing will ask the navy to cross the river from downstream to harass the enemy's rear."

"Good!" Qin Shou slammed the table and stood up, "Let's follow this plan. Dian Wei leads 10,000 elite soldiers as the vanguard and forces a crossing of the Liao River at dawn tomorrow; Xu Huang leads 20,000 troops on the left wing plus the Wuhuan cavalry and secretly marches north tonight; let Zhou Yu and Lu Xun lead the navy to attack from the right wing."

All the generals took the order and left, leaving only Qin Shou and Xun You in the tent.

"Your Majesty," Xun You hesitated for a moment, "The Crown Prince wrote to ask about Zhuge Liang's release of Meng Huo during the Nanzhong War?"

Not long ago, it was reported that Zhuge Liang released Meng Huo after capturing him alive, which immediately caused criticism from many officials in the court, and even Qin Chengqian could not understand it.

(End of this chapter)