Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

The Han Dynasty's war machine has begun to operate. Although the country's national strength is no longer as strong as before and it does not seem to be operating as well as in previous years, it is still strong.

Huo Xian ran to the Southern Army and found Cao Zong who was training his troops. "Is the general ordering you around again?"

Cao Zong laughed and scolded, "This is in the army! Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're the Grand Marshal! I dare not disobey the orders of the general, but if you say something nonsense, I will refute it."

Huo Xian didn't take it to heart, mainly because there was nothing wrong with good friends joking around.

Cao Zong said after joking, "Wu Gang Chariot formation, is this what you thought?"

"Well, make more preparations." Huo Xian also said seriously, "This time we will fight the Xiongnu differently from the past. We must go deep into the hinterland. By then, the Xiongnu will have many people, and the cavalry I have will not be enough."

It's not just a matter of insufficient cavalry; we also have to consider the transportation of baggage, etc.

Although many people thought that Huo Xian was very good at obtaining food locally, whenever his troops passed through the enemy's towns, tribes, etc., almost all of their food and fodder would be robbed.

This was partly true, but Huo Xian was more aware of the consumption of leading tens of thousands of troops on a long expedition, and also understood the great pressure and burden it would put on logistics.

Therefore, it is completely necessary to make more preparations. War is never a direct fight between two armies. It also takes logistics into consideration and is a test of a country's comprehensive strength.

Cao Zong said with some envy, "You want to form a battle array with Wugang chariots, and the general will send someone to teach you how to do it."

Huo Xian complained, "You guys practice this all the time, and there are soldiers in the army who know this. You made it sound like the general practiced the formation just for me, as if he had never supported you before!"

Cao Zong pointed at the parade ground and asked, "Those are the general's men. The two sons of the general's family are here too. If I go to their house to ask for advice, I will surely be able to learn some of the general's experience in leading troops, but is this possible?"

Cao Zong and Wei Qing also had a good relationship. After all, Cao Zong's mother was Wei Qing's niece, so she was a real junior.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Wei Qing liked Huo Shan more. The emperor was even more so. Although he also loved his grandson, he still liked Huo Shan, the fake grandson and real disciple, more in his heart.

"I have to get my second and third cousins ​​into the army, otherwise they won't be able to be made marquises." Huo Xian stared at the parade ground and said, "Anyway, they still have some skills in commanding infantry."

Everyone knows that Wei Deng and Wei Buyi's military talents are indeed mediocre, and they do not have the ability to lead an army alone.

Even Wei Kang is not very capable. If he does not have a reliable deputy general, letting him lead the army alone would be harmful to him and would be playing with the lives of the soldiers.

But he is Wei Qing's son after all, and his family tradition is quite strict. Although the three Wei Kang brothers are mediocre in ability, they have acquired certain skills through learning from their family.

As long as they are not allowed to lead the army alone and as long as they are not assigned difficult tasks, these students with specialties still have some use and their abilities can be used in the army.

Cao Zong complained, "You are the only one who dares to let the son of a general serve as an infantry captain."

Hearing Cao Zong's complaints, Huo Xian couldn't help laughing. It seemed that it was really the case.

Needless to say, Wei Qing's prestige in the army was so great that even Huo Qubing could not suppress Wei Qing's prestige in the army. As for Huo Shan, there was no need to think too much.

As the son of Wei Qing, even though his abilities were mediocre, in the eyes of ordinary soldiers, he was still a capable person.

Huo Xian also felt deeply about this. As the son of Huo Qubing, many people in the army naturally had a good impression of him, not to mention the ordinary soldiers, who had a high degree of trust in him.

Just wanting to command Wei Qing or Huo Qubing's sons doesn't require just a little prestige. Moreover, Huo Xian is still a junior, and it seems even more stressful for him to command Wei Kang and others.

However, Huo Xian was not worried about this. He had always had a good relationship with Wei Kang and others, and he also understood the personalities of his three uncles. Even if Gongsun Jingsheng arrived in the army, he could only obey Huo Xian's orders.

Cao Zong said with some envy, "It's no problem for you to go and get people, but it's too difficult for me to go on the expedition."

Huo Xian patted Cao Zong on the shoulder and said, "An Guo also said before that it is a pity that the three of us brothers cannot go to the war together. This is to destroy the Xiongnu, and such a war is really rare!"

This was not comfort at all, it was just rubbing salt into the wound, which made Cao Zong even more speechless.

But no matter how speechless he was, it was because he accidentally made friends with Huo Shan and became good friends with him. Moreover, this bad friend was a person who liked to joke and poke people's hearts for no reason.

He couldn't beat him or scold him, and he didn't have any advantage in status to suppress him, so he could only endure the situation. This was the situation Cao Zong faced when facing Huo Shan.

After looking carefully for a while, Huo Xian asked, "It seems that the military's weapons are not as good as before."

"It's a little worse. We used to replace them more frequently." Cao Zong said honestly, "Now we use the old ones during training and replace them with new ones when we go out to fight."

Ultimately, it's a financial problem, so military equipment and other items must be used with caution.

Huo Xian said worriedly, "The Southern Army is already in such a state, the Border County soldiers must be even worse."

Cao Zong naturally understood this truth. The Southern Army and the Northern Army were the most elite troops in the capital of the Han Dynasty. However, the weapons and equipment of these troops in the capital were not as good as before, not to mention the border troops.

But if you think about it carefully, they still have advantages, at least they are much stronger than the Huns.

The Han army used iron weapons, but the Xiongnu who had lost the southern part of the desert had inferior smelting technology, and many of them were still using copper weapons, and some even used bone and stone weapons.

On the Han army side, soldiers were basically all wearing armor, whether it was iron armor or other armor. This situation definitely did not exist on the Xiongnu side, as only their elite troops received such treatment.

So there is no need to worry too much. Although the national strength of the Han Dynasty is not as good as before, it still has advantages in many aspects.

Cao Zong asked, "I heard that you are urging the preparation of more arrows and crossbows, and the arsenals in various places are also transporting crossbows and arrows to the border. I see that you are planning to engage in a shootout with the Xiongnu?" These were also the actual situations, so Huo Xian smiled and said, "It is better to be prepared than to be caught off guard. Let's not talk about the light cavalry shootout for now. Our bows and crossbows are powerful. If we really line up, it will be difficult for the Xiongnu to break through the formation."

Cao Zong naturally had no objection to this. He had fought against the Huns before, so he naturally understood that crossbows played a huge role when facing the Huns. It was even the main weapon to kill the Huns.

"There are still too few armored cavalry." Cao Zong said worriedly, "If it were a few years ago, I might have been able to gather 5,000 heavy armored cavalry for you. Now there are too few people, I'm afraid it won't be enough."

Huo Xian was not particularly worried about this. "Heavy cavalry has its advantages, but we cannot rely solely on them. We have enough of these people now. The Xiongnu will be terrified when they see them."

Cao Zong also admitted this point. Some advantages of heavy cavalry are obvious, so don't even think about wanting 10,000 heavy cavalry.

There were also two or three thousand heavy cavalry, and the Huns were frightened at the sight of them. This was the fact. Facing the heavy cavalry charging, the Huns' light cavalry could only retreat continuously and did not dare to engage in direct combat.

Therefore, even though it is not as wealthy as before, the Han Dynasty still has advantages in equipment and manpower.

Cao Zong looked at Huo Xian and said, "They may just have more people, and they have been riding horses since they were young. Although we have an army of 100,000, if we really get to the grassland, you may have fewer enemies."

Huo Xian understood Cao Zong's concerns. "Could it be that they really want all the people to be soldiers? If that were the case, our military achievements would be countless. I'm not too worried. Not everyone can take up arms."

Cao Zong couldn't help but look at Huo Xian, feeling that Huo Xian was hinting at something else.

After the Battle of Mobei, the Huns were defeated and fled to Mobei. After losing the Hexi Corridor, the Huns also lost their natural horse pastures. All of this greatly weakened their national strength.

The lack of a royal court south of the desert was a pain point for the Huns, but at that time everyone could still flee to the north of the desert.

And now if Huo Xian led his troops into the northern desert and reached the core area of ​​the Huns, it would mean that the Huns would have nowhere to escape. When facing the real situation of survival, the Huns would be determined to fight to the death.

Including some old and young women and children, they will also understand the consequences of the Xiongnu's defeat. By then, let alone wanting to regain the lush grasslands in the south of the desert, they will also lose the grasslands in the north of the desert.

The Huns are now in a situation where they have no way to retreat, which naturally means that they will fight to the death.

This may not be good news for the Han army. The Xiongnu's "fight to the death" is likely to cause them to burst out their combat effectiveness and penetrate deep into the grassland, causing the Han army to be attacked from both sides.

There was no advantage in terms of geographical location, let alone human and natural factors. This was also a severe challenge for the army led by Huo Xian. Even in terms of weather, the Han army had no advantage in essence.

Look, without the right time, place and people, this is simply the most inappropriate prerequisite for launching a decisive battle.

However, Huo Xian didn't care about these things at all. These prerequisites naturally needed to be taken into consideration, but this did not mean that the Han army had lost the advantage in the decisive battle. They could regain the advantage from other places.

Huo Xian never doubted the decisive battle against the Xiongnu, nor did he feel that the Han army had lost the initiative. It was nothing more than a matter of timing, and he was just thinking about how to achieve the greatest results at a smaller cost.

Huo Xian, who was preparing for war seriously, not only wanted to look at the Southern Army, but also naturally needed to keep a close eye on the Northern Army. A series of exercises needed to be intensified.

In the final analysis, these are just some targeted arrangements, and we have indeed thought of many possibilities, so when it is time to sharpen our weapons before the battle, we naturally need to prepare well.

The Southern Army and the Northern Army are the elite of the Beijing Army and they must be closely watched. The arduous combat tasks and tough tasks can only be tackled by the Beijing Army with stronger combat effectiveness.

As for the Qimen Army and the Yulin Army, Huo Xian will also keep an eye on them. They are the core combat force and the real ace troops.

These people are not only heavy cavalry, but also a large number of elite light cavalry. These are the trusted troops that Huo Xian used to build his career.

Therefore, there is no need to think too much about some things. It is very possible to command this army to complete a series of tasks.

Huo Xian, exhausted from the journey, returned to the Marquis of Guanjun's mansion and immediately heard Chen Sanlang say, "Lord, His Majesty has ordered you to go to the palace immediately after returning home."

Huo Xian couldn't help but complain, "If I run more frequently, His Majesty will find me annoying. If I don't go for a few days, he will scold me. What do you think I should do?"

Chen Sanlang smiled and said, "How would I know about these things? Your Excellency must have some ideas in mind, so I won't say anything nonsense."

These were also Chen Sanlang's inner thoughts. Although he was Huo Xian's confidant, he also understood that the way his own prince and His Majesty got along was difficult for others to understand, so it was not easy for him to offer advice.

Huo Xian turned around and mounted his warhorse. He decided to go to the palace first. Since someone had already been sent to deliver the message, it would be unreasonable if he didn't go. After all, some things had to be handled with discretion.

Seeing Huo Xian, Liu Che said unhappily, "What have you been doing these days? Didn't I tell you off? Are you angry with me again?"

This was what Liu Che was worried about. He felt that Huo Xian was completely capable of doing such a thing. He was so old that he would get angry when things didn't go his way. How could he be so childish?
What's more, this is when you are facing the emperor. How can you be angry with the emperor for no reason? You must know that thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. What's more, this person has been with you since childhood, so you should be more filial to him.

"I'm busy training the troops. Every day I'm either with the Southern Army or the Northern Army. Today I went to see the Qimen Army." Huo Xian took off his cloak and threw it to a eunuch. "Your Majesty, I'm wearing armor. I'm doing business!"

Liu Che smiled and just teased him. He knew Huo Xian was busy training soldiers these days. But he still had to ask to prevent the kid from imagining things.

"Give him a cup of honey water." Liu Che smiled and ordered, "He still likes to drink sweet water like he did when he was a child. What will you do when you are fighting?"

"Just bring some candied fruits, or some honey." Huo Xian directly gave his solution. "It's the spring when the war starts, and the weather is not too hot at that time, so the food is more durable."

Liu Che was even more speechless. His Guanjun Hou must have had a hard time fighting in the war. But there was one good thing, that is, he would not wrong himself. He ate and drank well.

Neither Huo Qubing nor Huo Shan would do the same as ordinary soldiers. They were generals, so they must receive the treatment they deserve and would not give up the preferential treatment they deserve.

If you win the battle, you will have everything. Leading the soldiers to the battle and returning victoriously is Huo Xian's goal! (End of this chapter)