Dahan: A 100-year-old veteran, I will build the strongest family

Chapter 72: Jin Dynasty Grand Marshal, General of Chariots and Cavalry, Marquis of Chengji County, with a fief of households

"Without your majesty's decision, there would be no victory today!"

Li Hong had no aversion to flattering Liu Hong. If he could flatter Liu Hong a few words, Liu Hong would like him more and use him more.

Well, Li Hong didn't mind praising Liu Hong a few words.

"Your Majesty, the Xianbei Chanyu Tan Shihuai has been captured by me."

Li Hong waved behind him, and immediately a carriage pulled by two horses was driven over.

Tan Shihuai, who was disheveled and listless, was locked in the carriage.

"Tan Shihuai, the Xianbei Chanyu!"

Upon hearing that the person imprisoned in the carriage was the eagle of the grassland, the Xianbei tribe's Chanyu Tan Shihuai, Liu Hong and a group of civil and military officials immediately became agitated, took a deep breath, and came forward together.

"He is Tan Shihuai, a very powerful person. I never thought that he would become a prisoner of our Han Dynasty."

"Yeah, it's really tragic. This is the overlord of the grassland, and we actually took him down."

The officials were all in an uproar and talking about it.

Obviously, they were very moved that Tan Shihuai, who had dominated the grassland for decades and was the lord of the grassland, became a prisoner in front of them.

Liu Hong was also shocked when he saw the dishevelled and listless old man in front of him. When he saw Tan Shihuai looking at him, Liu Hong's body trembled.

Liu Hong hurriedly pulled Li Hong aside and said to him worriedly in a low voice:

"Old General, this Tan Shihuai is the Chanyu of the Xianbei, and he has a great reputation in the grasslands. How should we deal with him? We can't kill him, right? That would cause chaos among the Xianbei tribes. Also, if we imprison him, I'm afraid the Xianbei people won't let it go, right?"

Seeing that Tan Shihuai had become his prisoner, Liu Hong not only did not feel the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment of a winner, but was instead somewhat worried.

In Liu Hong's view, Tan Shihuai was the leader of the Xianbei people. He personally led the Xianbei people to become the overlords of the grassland and had prestige in the Xianbei for decades. The Xianbei people would support Tan Shihuai.

Even the last Han emperor, Emperor Huan, was in awe of Tan Shihuai, and he felt a little timid when facing Tan Shihuai.

Li Hong glanced at the worried Liu Hong, but was speechless.

Although Liu Hong has some political skills, he seems to be just a typical bully who is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

However, Li Hong was not unhappy when Liu Hong performed poorly against the powerful Tan Shihuai, but became even happier.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Hong said to Liu Hong:

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I have already made arrangements. I have prepared two strategies in the north to attack and weaken them, and even to allow our Han Dynasty to expand its territory and reclaim the vast grasslands in the south and north of the desert."

"The Xianbei tribes have already been busy taking care of themselves and have no time to care about Tan Shihuai."

Li Hong pondered for a moment, then threw out his future plans to Liu Hong and painted a big picture for him.

"what?"

"General Li, you said you have prepared two strategies in the north to attack and weaken the Xianbei? Or even to expand the territory for the Han Dynasty and recapture the vast grasslands in the south and north of the desert?"

When Liu Hong heard what Li Hong said, his eyes widened and he couldn't help but exclaimed.

The empress and civil and military officials in the distance saw Liu Hong and Li Hong whispering to each other, and Liu Hong looked shocked, and they all became confused.

Li Hong pulled Liu Hong and said:
"Your Majesty, please keep your voice down. I have indeed found a strategy and am planning to attack the Xianbei. I am even planning to expand the territory for the Han Dynasty and open up tens of thousands of miles of grassland. However, this is a serious matter and it is not appropriate to let others know."

When Liu Hong heard Li Hong's reminder and confirmed that Li Hong was not talking nonsense, he was extremely surprised.

What did he hear?
Did Li Hong have a strategic attack, and even expanded the grasslands south and north of the desert into the territory of the Han Dynasty?

This was shocking news. After all, even the great and capable Emperor Wu of Han did not dare to include tens of thousands of miles of vast grasslands within the Han territory.

The grassland was occupied by foreign races, even if they spent time and effort to defeat the foreign races.

After a period of time, the grassland will still be occupied by other races and will not be able to become the territory of the Han Dynasty. In fact, the Han Dynasty has been established for hundreds of years, and fighting with the grassland will occur almost every few years or decades.

No one has ever dared to include the grassland in the territory of the Han Dynasty!
But, Li Hong actually said this?
"Hurry, tell me!" Liu Hong ignored the queen and civil and military officials who were waiting for him in the distance. He pulled Li Hong away again and asked Li Hong impatiently.

Li Hong was also speechless when Liu Hong asked him about it. He just wanted to give Liu Hong a shot of prevention. He wanted to report to Liu Hong later and work hard to weave a blueprint, but he didn't expect Liu Hong to be so impatient.

However, Li Hong did not hesitate. There are advantages to speaking out now.

This will allow Liu Hong to use him more, and maybe the reward this time will be even greater.

"Your Majesty, I have already reported the matter of the Begging Army to you in a bamboo slip. Did you know that this is one of my strategies to attack and weaken the Xianbei tribes?" Li Hong said to Liu Hong.

"I've said it, I've said it. I know. When I saw the formation of the Beggar Army, I was happy for two days. Yes, this is done very well. With the Beggar Army, if it can really grow, those foreign races will have a hard time." Liu Hong nodded. When he heard Li Hong's previous bamboo slip report on the formation of the Beggar Army, Liu Hong's eyes lit up. The only uncomfortable thing was the weapons, money and food of the Beggar Army, which were not easy to get.

Li Hong nodded and said:
"The Qihuo Army is indeed a move to inflict heavy damage on the foreign races and let the Han people sit back and watch the tigers fight. This is obvious!"

"And what is being carried out in secret is my second strategy for the Han Dynasty to conquer the grasslands south and north of the desert. To be honest with your majesty, I have reached a cooperation intention with the Western Xianbei Marshal Pushou, the Central Xianbei Marshal Kebineng, and the Eastern Xianbei Marshal Suli. We, the Han Dynasty, support them to become the new Xianbei leaders and can exchange weapons and food. With so many heroes rising up and their ambitions increasing, we can cause chaos in the Xianbei and plunge them into a bloody battle, greatly weakening the Xianbei power. With the cooperation of the Qihuo Army..., when the Xianbei power is greatly weakened and the winner is finally decided, our Han army will clean up the mess, support puppets or send Han people to the grasslands, so that we can plan to conquer the grasslands south and north of the desert."

"Of course, this requires your Majesty's strong support, whether in the military or in terms of money, weapons, and so on."

Li Hong did not hide the matter from Liu Hong. In fact, he could not hide it. On the way back, Li Hong discussed the matter with Jia Xu.

Jia Xu's advice was to tell Liu Hong, which would surely gain Liu Hong's strong support and he would make important decisions for him.

In this way, conquering the vast grasslands in the south and north of the desert will be twice as effective with half the effort, and it will be of great benefit to the Li family.

"This... incite fighting among the Xianbei tribes and weaken their power, so that my Han Dynasty can clean up the mess and take control of the grassland?!" When Liu Hong heard Li Hong's plan for the grassland, he felt as if he had suddenly been enlightened.

During the history of the Han Dynasty, when conquering grasslands, most people wanted to attack and conquer them, but few thought about conquering and occupying them.

However, Li Hong's two strategies gave Liu Hong a very complete and refreshing feeling.

"General Li is truly a brave warrior and a master at commanding troops. Even Lian Po cannot compare to him!"

Liu Hong was extremely excited, and he immediately pulled Li Hong back to the empress and the civil and military officials who were looking puzzled and curious.

At this time, the people watching around and the civil and military officials had no idea what Li Hong and Liu Hong were whispering about.

Liu Hong excitedly pulled Li Hong back, and everyone fell silent.

Liu Hong stepped onto the dragon chariot, took an imperial edict from Zhang Rang, and said loudly:
"Just now, General Li gave me another big surprise, and his contribution is no less than the great victory in the northern expedition. However, there are some things that I cannot talk about now, but I already feel that this imperial edict needs to be redrafted."

"General Li, listen to the order!"

Li Hong's body trembled, and a strong sense of joy and anticipation flashed through his heart, but he did not hesitate, and hurriedly said respectfully: "I will obey your order!"

"General Li led the army to the north, destroyed the Xianbei royal court, and saved 800,000 Han people. You have made an unprecedented contribution, and you still have strategies in your mind, which can control the Xianbei. From today on, I will appoint you as the General of Chariots and Cavalry, promote you to the position of Grand Marshal of the current dynasty, grant you the title of Marquis of Chengji, and give you a fief of 3,000 households. You will participate in the government and be responsible for conquering the grasslands. I hope General Li will not let me down!"

Liu Hong stood on the dragon chariot, held high the imperial edict, and loudly praised Li Hong.

It has to be said that the pie that Li Hong painted was so big, round, fragrant and tempting that it made Liu Hong feel extremely excited and excited.

"what?"

"Appoint Li Hong as General of Chariots and Cavalry, Grand Marshal of the current dynasty, and grant him the title of Marquis of Chengji County, and a fief of 3,000 households?"

As Liu Hong praised Li Hong on the spot, the empress and civil and military officials around him, such as Yuan Feng, Cao Song, and Yang Ci, were instantly in an uproar.

(End of this chapter)