Great Han Arrow God

Chapter 573 The Dead Man
The big move surprised and delighted the king.

It's not that he didn't ask to go to war, but the emperor never agreed.At that time, it was planned to send troops all the way, with Cao Shi and Wei Qing as the two trusted generals, no other people were needed at all, and even the famous general Li Guang had no chance.It was different now, Liang Xiao suggested to divide the troops to attack, not only Li Guang had a chance, but Wang Hui also had a chance.

Wang Hui was surprised.Li Guang and Liang Xiao had a close relationship, so it was normal for Liang Xiao to recommend him.However, his relationship between Wang Hui and Liang Xiao was limited to business affairs, and his private contact was very limited. Liang Xiao recommended him to go to the expedition, and he took his place, which made Wang Hui very grateful.

This also let everyone see Liang Xiao's calmness.He stayed behind not to be lazy, but to shoulder more important responsibilities. In case the front line is unfavorable, or if there is a problem in other directions—such as South Vietnam—he and Han Anguo can attack, and the court will not be unavailable.

People who originally thought that Liang Xiao was a little impulsive and rash, now feel relieved a lot.At least Liang Xiao is not the kind of person who is desperate for meritorious service.

Liang Xiao suggested that the Son of Heaven should finalize the case, and the matter of the expedition should be settled in this way, and the next step would be to discuss the details separately.How Cao Shi controlled the Qiang people along the way, and how Li Guang searched for the logistics and vital forces of the Huns along the way, must be prepared in advance.Especially along the way, Li Guang went deep alone without backup. If he couldn't catch the target in time and lost his way in the grassland, he might drag himself to death.

Therefore, Liang Xiao paid special attention to the preparations for this journey, and personally participated in their discussions.

He is familiar with the terrain of the Xiongnu in the west, and also has experience in fighting the Youxian King. In recent years, Han merchants have traveled to and from Hexi, and he has a better understanding of the situation in Hexi and the grasslands, but no one has deliberately collected them.When Liang Xiao passed through Chang'an, he made a special trip to the West Market, and found Guo Yu, a Yanmen giant merchant who is now doing a prosperous jewelry business, and asked him to recommend a few guides, and brought them to Ganquan Palace.

At the same time, Liang Xiao asked the emperor to transfer Guo Wenbin to Li Guang's side.Guo Wenbin became a man because of his mission to the Western Regions. I don't know if it was because he was born in a merchant or for other reasons. He has never been promoted.Liang Xiao took this opportunity to transfer him to Li Guang's army, and also gave him a chance to make meritorious service.

After careful discussion, they finally drew up a map and determined the most likely routes that the Huns would pass. Li Guang and Wang Hui focused on the investigation and acted accordingly.

Li Guang was very satisfied. He patted Liang Xiao on the shoulder and said, "It's better to have you as the lieutenant general. Everything will be well arranged. I don't need to worry about it."

Liang Xiao saw the black line on his forehead, and thought to himself, aren't you slapping Wang Hui in the face.They are dignified orders, they are all Jiuqing, condescending to be your deputy general, are you still not happy?Liang Xiao thought for a moment, and said seriously: "Da Xingling, General Li, there may be some words that are not very pleasant, please forgive me for being rude."

Li Guangyang raised his eyebrows and said casually: "It's okay."

Wang Hui also nodded slowly. "Your Majesty, please speak frankly."

"Presumably the two of you also know that this battle is a last resort. If it weren't for the fear that the Huns would gain an inch and the Northwest would be corrupted, we would rather not fight this battle."

Li Guang and Wang Hui glanced at each other and nodded in unison.Although they didn't participate in that debate, they had heard about it and knew that this battle had to be fought.

"But I don't know if you know why you have to divide your troops into two groups when the troops are not very abundant."

Li Guang frowned slightly, Wang Hui let out a long breath, and said with a soft smile: "This question has been lingering in my heart, I have some guesses, but I'm not sure. It would be great if I could listen to Junhou explain in person."

Liang Xiao nodded, his face became more serious, even a little solemn, as if he was about to face a funeral. "To tell you the truth, you are basically dead soldiers along the way."

Wang Hui was still smiling, but the smile on his face was unnatural.Li Guang's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't look too surprised.

"Ten thousand fine riders, three horses per person, this is the biggest bet the court can make at present. If you abandon the logistics and go deep alone, you will either not meet the Huns, or you will encounter enemies that are several times your own, no matter what Said, the consequences will not be too good."

Everyone was silent.They were only discussing how to capture fighters just now, and they basically didn't think that even if they encountered them, there would be a disparity in numbers.Now being reminded by Liang Xiao, they realize that the chance of survival is slim, and they can't help feeling awe-inspiring.

Guo Wenbin tremblingly said: "If this is the case, then we are bound to die."

"You can think of it this way." Liang Xiao glanced over the crowd with cold eyes, and said again: "This is the best choice we can make at present. There is a saying in the art of war, put them to death and survive. I will push you into the fire pit first, Then I expect you to climb up and burn the Huns with flames all over your body. I don’t know if you are mentally prepared for this, but I have the responsibility to tell you this possibility. If anyone wants to withdraw, there is still time. "

Wang Hui lowered his head and remained silent, only his fingers resting on the table kept pinching and releasing, as if in a mood of hesitation, as if he was weighing gains and losses.

Li Guang didn't think so, and laughed. "Bo Ming, you think too much. Don't say that our army is fully equipped and has enough horses to fight against ten. Even in the past, when our army didn't have such good equipment and so many horses, we didn't There is no shortage of contests with superior enemies. Da Xingling, I don’t know how you Yan people are, and the children of the six northwest counties are not cowards.”

Wang Hui was provoked by Li Guang, and immediately became angry. "General Li, there are indeed more warriors in the six northwestern counties, but we Yan people are not cowards."

Li Guang laughed and cupped his hands. "It's useless to talk too much, we will see each other on the battlefield."

Wang Hui did not show any weakness, and clasped his hands together. "Dare not to accompany you."

Liang Xiao looked at Li Guang, then at Wang Hui, a little dumbfounded, not knowing whether he should be worried or thankful.These two people are both in their 50s and [-]s, and they are important ministers at the Jiuqing level. Why are they still acting like brats, so angry.Now that we are discussing military affairs, do you think that if there is a fight in the street, if there is a disagreement, you will get up with your arms?

However, after Li Guang's interruption, the oppressive atmosphere disappeared, and everyone became active again.Guo Wenbin and others asked about the current equipment of the Han army.Li Guang's eyebrows were beaming, and he was bragging.Liang Xiao felt a little surprised when he heard this.

Over the past few years, the scale of pastoral gardens in the six counties of Northwest China has expanded several times, and now it has nearly 40 war horses of various types, including nearly [-] horses bred from Western Region horses.The reason why it develops so fast is that firstly, the imperial court allocated a lot of funds, and secondly, after the successive defeats of the Huns in Henan and Yinshan, their livelihoods were not settled. Many tribes could only sell war horses in exchange for daily necessities. Collective surrender.

The current horse reserve of the Han army has greatly increased. In theory, it is no problem to equip [-] riders with one man and two horses, and it is not difficult to equip [-] riders with one man and three horses.With a small number of people, better war horses can be equipped, such as Yuezhi horses, Wusun horses and other Western Region horses.In terms of the quality of war horses, the Han army is no longer what it used to be, and has an advantage over the Huns.

In addition to war horses, the Han army has more obvious advantages in weapons and equipment.After the imperial court received the iron smelting technology donated by the Chen brothers of the Marquis of Tangyi, the new armor and weapons made were the first to be equipped with the central imperial army and the western frontier army.For now, it is not possible for 5 people to be equipped with new weapons, but [-] riders are more than enough.

With the dual advantages of horses and weapons, the combat power of these ten thousand cavalry is enough to be equivalent to fifty thousand Hun cavalry.The Huns on the right suffered heavy losses in the Western Regions and Henan in the past few years. Even if they have recovered in the past few years, how much can they recover?All the old and the weak are counted, that is, about 15 to [-].Even in a head-on confrontation, as long as they don't fall into an ambush, the Han army is still capable of fighting.

After listening to Li Guang's analysis, everyone was overjoyed, and even Liang Xiao was relieved a lot, and at the same time he was very pleased.Whether it is the abundance of war horse resources or the improvement of the quality of weapons, he is credited.

-

At the end of August, Cao Shi, Li Guang and others left Ganquan Palace and went to their respective battlefields. Ganquan Palace, which had been busy for several months, finally became quieter.

Liang Xiao and the others still couldn't be free, almost all of them lived in the palace, ready to deal with emergencies at any time.Han Anguo, the official censor, was so busy that he had to make all kinds of preparations for the year-round plan to start soon; second, the immigrant food plan was officially approved, and he had to arrange the preparations for all counties In order to avoid the passive resistance of county guards and county magistrates in various counties and counties.

Even the emperor was so busy that he didn't go to bed until late at night.

In the entire Ganquan Palace, there are only two people who are most relaxed, two "sick" people: one is Tian Fu who twisted his neck and rests in bed, and the other is Liang Xiao who is lazy and slips out to hunt every three days.

Ganquan Mountain in late autumn is the most beautiful time. Some of the leaves are dark green and some are deep red. The mountains and valleys are full of vitality, but they are calm and spicy.The north wind is blowing up, the dryness of summer is gradually going away, but the harshness of winter has not yet arrived, the climate is pleasant, and the color tone is gradually becoming mature.A lot of fruits are ripe, but no one picks them, so they fall in the valley, ferment naturally, and the faint scent of wine permeates the woods, as if the God of Dionysus descended to earth.

There are many animals in the mountains and forests. Although there are no beasts such as Kuilong and Phoenix mentioned in the Han Fu, there are many beasts such as deer and roe deer. Liang Xiao has also seen small beasts such as clouded leopards and lynxes. The class is even more uncommon.

The sun was setting and the sky was still bright, but it was getting dark early in the valley.Liang Xiao got off the horse, threw the black bow to Tu Niu'er, strode to the edge of the stream, scooped up the cool water, washed his face, and looked at the surrounding environment.

"Just camp here."

Pang Shuo and the others responded and went to prepare separately.They have been with Liang Xiao for a long time, and they have a tacit understanding with each other, Liang Xiao doesn't need to say too much at all.It didn't take long, the camp was ready, and the guards were also arranged. Pang Shuo arranged for people to take care of the wild animals hunted today, and set them on the fire to roast them.After a while, the fragrance overflows and makes people salivate.

Liang Xiao and the others sat together, drinking and eating meat, talking and laughing, the atmosphere was relaxed, bursts of laughter burst out from time to time.

Suddenly, Liang Xiao stopped for a moment and glanced at the distance.Vaguely, he saw two figures, one big and one small, and the vigilant personal guards stood up and bowed to those who came.He frowned, but pretended he didn't see it, and continued talking and laughing until the guards around him all stood up and kept silent, then he raised his head in "surprise", and then stood up.

"His Majesty!"

The Son of Heaven was dressed in casual clothes, standing in front of Liang Xiao, with Huo Qubing as his entourage behind him.In the distance, there are faint figures and the faint neighing of horses.

"What's the taste of the wild animals in the Forbidden Garden?" The emperor sat down, took out a small knife, cut a piece of roasted wild boar into his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

Liang Xiao looked around and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, why are you here? It's not safe."

"I didn't want to come, but I was afraid that you would shoot all the wild animals in the Forbidden Garden, so I had to come and see."

"Hey, Your Majesty, this is a beast of grace. He is really a benevolent king. I admire you."

"Pfft!" The Son of Heaven couldn't hold back his face, and laughed out loud, almost spitting out the meat in his mouth.He pointed to Liang Xiao. "sit!"

"Before Your Majesty, there is no place for a minister."

"Then you just stand."

"But Your Majesty has an edict, so how dare I refuse to obey it." Liang Xiao said, sitting down in front of the emperor, picked up the wine bag and handed it to the emperor. "Your Majesty, try it. This is the fruit wine made from wild fruits by hunters in the mountains. It's not bad."

The emperor glanced at him, took a big gulp of the fruit wine, smacked his lips, and tasted it. "Yes, it has a taste of the mountains and wilds. However, wild things are wild things after all, and they are not elegant."

Liang Xiao smiled and took back the fruit wine. "Everyone has his own aspirations, and you can't force them. Some people are willing to chop with knives and axes to be talents of pillars, while others are willing to grow in the wild and watch the wind and rain."

The emperor remained silent, and ate two more pieces of meat in succession before he stopped.Qin Ge handed over the handkerchief, he wiped his mouth clean, then carefully wiped off the oil on the knife, put the knife back into its sheath, then raised his head and looked at Liang Xiao quietly.

Liang Xiao pondered for a moment, then waved his hand to signal Tu Niu'er and others to retreat.The Son of Heaven and Liang Xiao sat opposite each other, the bonfire was raging in the middle, and the branches made a crisp sound from time to time.Huo Qubing sat with his legs crossed, resting his chin on his knees, turning his big dark eyes, looking at the emperor, and then at Liang Xiao.

"I'm just so useless?" Tianzi opened his mouth, his voice was faint, a bit lonely, and a bit unconfident.

Liang Xiao didn't answer right away, he picked up a branch, poked the fire, and stirred up the fire under the wild boar.The flames licked the wild boar's skin, creaking, and the already charred skin gradually turned black, exuding a burnt smell.Liang Xiao let go of his hand, and quietly watched a large piece of meat become charred, blackened, and turned into inedible charcoal.He took out a knife, cut off a piece of charred meat, and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor didn't answer, but stared at Liang Xiao without blinking.After a while, he also picked up a branch, scattered the fire under the wild boar, and sighed softly: "I know, I'm a little impatient."

Liang Xiao smiled. "Your Majesty is very wise and brave. Who dares to say that His Majesty is useless, then he is either blind or a fool."
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(End of this chapter)