[Thank you: Liutian Xie Xinlong Book Friend's monthly ticket support, thank you!]

——————————————

The sun sets, and a north wind blows by, with a faint solemn and murderous aura, the chill is blowing.

The footsteps of "bang bang" are getting closer and closer. Li Li, who is looking into the railing, is sensational. Before he moves, he raises his hand to wave to the person behind him to signal that they don't need to be polite.

Seeing this, the five people who climbed the city tower immediately understood it, so they walked lightly to the railings and looked at the beautiful mountains and rivers in the afterglow of the sunset with Li Li until the last ray of sunset dissipated.

"Lord, all the troops and horses of all battalions are here. I wonder when we will rush our troops to advance east?" Guo Jia, who was standing on Li Li's left hand, asked softly.

Li Li turned his head to look at both sides when he heard the sound, but saw that the commander of the Wuwei camp, Zhang Liao, the commander of the Feiyan Light Cavalry, Zhang Yan, the commander of the trap camp, Gao Shun, and the commander of the Wushuang Iron Cavalry, Zhao Yun, all stood beside him, and they all arrived.

After nodding to the four people, a knowing smile appeared on Li Li's face and said with a smile: "Actually, I am on the way to the east and are already on the way to the expedition. Now I am just temporarily garrisoning here, taking a break and waiting for the fighter's plane."

Guo Jia was a little surprised, his eyes turned, and he couldn't help but nod and smiled, "Haha, as the lord said, we have already advanced eastward. Now we are in Youzhou. One step forward is Shanggu County. You may encounter obstacles or harassment from Wuhuan cavalry at any time. Therefore, Dai County is undoubtedly an excellent place for the garrison to rest and recuperate. After the army advances into Shanggu County, there will be no chance to rest and recuperate!"

Li Li smiled and nodded, then turned his eyes to Zhang Liao on the right. He said with a laugh: "Wen Yuan has a great responsibility to go to Youzhou this time and is responsible for the heavy responsibility of the chief general of the central army. I wonder what Wen Yuan has to do with this battle?"

After hearing this, Zhang Liao smiled humbly and said respectfully: "My lord is joking. How can the last general dare to overtake the position of the chief general of the central army? Everything is left to the lord. The last general is still indifferent!"

Li Li shook his head and said, "No, Wen Yuan should not think I am joking. In fact, Wen Yuan is the commander of the central army in Youzhou this time. This is not a joke. It is true. I believe Wen Yuan also knows that Gongjin and Wen He are in Luoyang at this moment, and the one who raises the banner is my Li Li's commander's flag. What does this mean? Doesn't Wen Yuan understand yet?"

"Oh?" Zhang Liao was stunned when he heard the sound, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly realized: "It turns out that the lord came to Youzhou this time, not to reveal his identity. The princes in each town mistakenly thought that the lord was still in Luoyang. However,, I don't understand why the lord did this? Please make it clear."

Li Li smiled slightly and nodded and said, "Nothing is the only way to collect Youzhou for peace. If Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Du, Yan Rou and others knew that I was leading the troops in person, they would probably have no intention of dealing with Yuan Shao, Jizhou. Instead, they turned their fingers at our Xiliang army and were always on guard against me. Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and unnecessary fighting and casualties, I should not show up for the time being. Everything is led by Wen Yuan to command the army to fight. Therefore, the burden on Wen Yuan's shoulders is not light!"

"Thank you for your trust. I will do my best to live up to my entrustedness!" Zhang Liao bowed and responded.

Li Li nodded with a smile on his face. "It's still the question just now. What's your opinion about this battle? Just say whatever you think. There is no need to be a taboo, and it's okay to say it bluntly."

Zhang Liao nodded after hearing the voice, thought for a moment, and said respectfully: "Since the lord asked, the last general said boldly. Youzhou is no better than other prefectures and counties. There are hundreds of barbarian tribes of all sizes, with hundreds of thousands of people in its territory. Even in many counties, there are barbarian cavalry in their willful ragtags, and many cities are occupied by barbarians, and they are stationed in the city, plundering and doing whatever they want, with arrogance.

The nearest barbarians to Youzhou are Wuhuan. Their power is spread across five counties including Shanggu County, Yuyang County, Youbeiping, Guangyang and Liaoxi. Some tribes are no longer outside Youzhou, but live together with the Han people. In addition, Gongsun Zan's strength has been greatly damaged in the past two years, and most cities in western Liaoning and Youbeiping have fallen into the hands of the Wuhuan people one after another.

In addition to Wuhuan, the Xianbei tribe was even stronger, far better than the Wuhuan. However, the Xianbei tribe was fighting in internal conflicts. Since the death of the Xianbei Great Shanyu Tan Shihuai, the Xianbei was initially divided into three major tribes, east, middle and west. With Tan Shihuai's son and Lian being killed by arrows, the central and eastern Xianbei split again, divided into six tribes including Budugen, Fuluhan, Suli, Kebineng, Mijia and Queji, and their strength was further weakened.

The most active Xianbei tribes are: the Budugen tribe entrenched between Dai County and Shanggu County, the Kebineng tribe entrenched outside Shanggu County and Yuyang County, and the Xianbei leader Suli in the eastern part of western Liaoning. As he spoke, Zhang Liao's expression became more and more serious and his tone was very heavy, as if he was very worried about the situation of the people of Youzhou and was quite afraid of the barbarian tribes around Youzhou.

After arriving at the breath, Zhang Liao continued: "These Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes have great strength, ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 tribes, and at most more than 50,000 tribes. Each tribe has at least 10,000 light cavalry, and most of them have tens of thousands of string control men, with strong strength. What's more, in recent years, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao have fought repeatedly, and there are rebels Yan Rou in the territory, which has caused trouble in the city and the people to live in poverty. As a result, many people fled to Wuhuan or Xianbei tribes one after another, and became slaves. So far, tens of thousands or even 100,000 Han people have become slaves of barbarian tribes, bullied and in a dark way.

Therefore, the counties and counties that Gongsun Zan is actually controlling are limited to Zhuo County, most of Yuyang County, Shanggu County, and Youbeiping County. That's all. Nearly half of the counties in Youzhou have fallen one after another and are occupied by the Wuhuan or Xianbei tribes. This shows how difficult the people of each county have made in their livelihoods." Speaking of this, Zhang Liao looked gloomy and his mood seemed extremely heavy, and he paused again.

Seeing this, Li Li gently patted his shoulder, signaling him to calm down, look at the situation objectively and calmly, and not to act emotionally.

Zhang Liao nodded with emotion, calmed down and said seriously: "In view of this, we will believe that the main purpose of our army's eastern expedition is not to collect Youzhou as soon as possible, but to focus on eliminating the barbarian tribes entrenched around Youzhou, collecting and suppressing each barbarian tribe, and dismantling the barbarian forces as much as possible. While launching a large-scale attack on the barbarian tribes, we will recruit Yan Rou's rebels and force Gongsun Du from Liaodong and Gongsun Zan of Youzhou to open the city to surrender. After the actual acquisition of Youzhou, we will gather heavy troops to fight against the grasslands and annihilate the barbarian tribes in one fell swoop. At least three thousand miles away from the border. Only in this way can we ensure peace in Youzhou for ten or even twenty years!"

"Hahaha!" Li Li laughed happily after hearing this, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile: "Wenyuan is so bold and has a good ambition!"

Guo Jia smiled and echoed: "What the lord said is very true. General Wenyuan has both a martial arts and a compassionate feeling, which really makes me admire him."

After a brief speech, Guo Jia curled his smile and said with a serious expression: "The current situation in Youzhou is indeed not optimistic. Compared with the situation where the lord fairly settled the Western Regions and wiped out the Qiang and Hu, it is even better than that. Especially in recent years, Gongsun Zan of Youzhou has changed drastically, no longer as brave as he was, he was arrogant and extravagant, and was content with pleasure but not enterprising. This has caused the counties of Youzhou to be frequently ravaged by barbarians, and the border cities have fallen one after another, and hundreds of thousands of people have suffered from enslavement."

"This is by no means an alarmist, but it is true. Twenty years ago, the Xianbei Da Shanyu Tan Shihuai unified the Xianbei tribes and established the Xianbei royal court. The vast territory and the large number of tribes had the strength to compete with our Han Dynasty. When the Xianbei was the strongest, it had an extremely broad territory; from east to west, its territory was more than 14,000 miles, and from south to north, there were also seven thousand miles of territory. At that time, Tan Shihuai had a million people under his command, and there were no less than 300,000 soldiers who controlled the Xian. They defeated Fu Yu in the east, attacked Wusun in the west, resisted Dingling in the north, and confronted the Han Dynasty in the south.

In order to strengthen the rule, Tan Shihuai divided the Xianbei territory into the east, middle and west divisions, and appointed a leader to take charge. Unfortunately, Tan Shihuai, who was wise for the rest of his life, never thought that it was he who divided the Xianbei into three that caused the Xianbei to split. His son and Lian Pingyong were incompetent, contented with enjoyment, were lustful, and were shot to death by arrows when he robbed the northern county. Since then, the Xianbei in the central region has split again, and then fought for years and fought endlessly, resulting in the Xianbei tribe gradually declined and its strength was not as strong as before. Even so, the strength of the Xianbei tribes should not be underestimated, far above the Wuhuan."

After hearing what Guo Jia said, Li Li nodded thoughtfully. He knew why Guo Jia talked about the former prosperity of the Xianbei people in such detail. The purpose was to remind him not to underestimate the Xianbei tribe, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

I have to say that Guo Jia is getting more and more familiar with Li Li, and he can often understand his thoughts. Just now, Li Li only mentioned that Zhang Liao was the chief general of the central army, and Guo Jia immediately guessed that Li Li did not pay attention to the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes entrenched on the Youzhou border. Then he solemnly reminded him, but did not say it directly. Instead, he tactfully advised Li Li not to underestimate the Xianbei tribe, and must be paid enough attention, otherwise it will inevitably lead to losses.

In fact, Guo Jia’s reminder was right and timely. Before this, Li Li didn’t take the barbarian tribes seriously, thinking that when the army under his command arrived, he would scare all the barbarians and scatter the scattered. It was no problem to destroy such scattered people. However, after hearing Guo Jia’s reminder, Li Li couldn’t help but think of many things. Tan Shihuai, more than ten years ago, actually occupied the homeland of the Huns, almost covering the inner and outer Mongolia and some counties on the northern border of later generations. The territory of the territory is not much different from the current Han territories. The Huns, who were once entrenched on the grassland, fought against the Han Han for hundreds of years, and went through the East and West Han Han. On the other hand, although the current Xianbei tribe is divided, it is a century-legged worm that dies without being stiff. It has only been more than ten years, and its foundation is still there, and it is indeed not to be underestimated.

With a sudden turn of mind, Li Li pondered for a while, then smiled and said, "It seems that the biggest enemy of our Eastern Expedition is the Wuhuan and the Xianbei. If we want to really grab Youzhou, we must first destroy these barbarian tribes that are indecently and will not be able to survive in the future. Sooner or later, we will have to compete with the barbarians. Fortunately, we have prepared very well. Except for the 10,000 camps and 20,000 county government soldiers, the remaining 100,000 troops are all war cavalry. With these 100,000 iron cavalry in hand, I think this Eastern Expedition will definitely not return without success. It should be able to slaughter the barbarians and securely collect Youzhou."

————To be continued————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Chapter completed!