Hanhou

In September of the third year of Yuanguang, the Xiongnu assembled an army of [-], guarding the military minister Shan Yu, and pressed against the Han side in mighty force.

The prefects of the counties received the emperor's orders and quickly mobilized frontier troops to strictly guard the fortresses at the top of the city.The people hurriedly harvested the millet, men, women and children of every family moved together and took turns working in the fields in order to return all the corn and wheat to the warehouse before the Huns arrived.

After the harvesting was over, Ding Nan, who was over [-] and under [-], was recruited by the county and went to the fortresses to join the defenders.

The women also picked up bows and arrows, sharpened short knives, and brought their half-grown children, and the elderly organized to patrol the villages and gather together to guard against wandering horsemen and casual seekers.

After repeated rectification and arrests, there are very few rangers, villainous youths, and rascals in Yunzhong, Dingxiang, and Yanmen.Even if there are caught fish, they dare not make trouble easily.

The old people from all over the towns said that they dared to pick quarrels and stir up troubles when the Xiongnu was oppressing the border, and made troubles for their own people. As long as they found out, they would all be hanged up and whipped hard without showing any affection!

Since cruel words are exported, they are definitely not just words.

In order to frighten Xiaoxiao and kill the chickens to warn the monkeys, several villages have already hanged the captured criminals on wooden poles, stripped off their shirts, and drew blood dripping with blood in front of everyone.

The villain fainted halfway, and immediately woke up with water.

Salt was added to the water, and when it dipped into the wound, the pain was so hot that the villain couldn't hold on and let out a heart-piercing scream.

No one feels sympathy for villains.

When foreign enemies invaded, he didn't think about defending his family and country, but wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to create chaos. What's more, he even sent news to the Xiongnu!If they succeed, how many frontier soldiers will die?Can the young men who defended the fortresses come back alive?

Thinking of this, the woman in charge of the execution was even more ruthless, wishing to dig out the hearts of these people with her own hands to see if they were black!

"continue!"

The elderly and disabled veterans can no longer go to the battlefield, but they can lead the people to guard the village.

Under their organization, women and half-grown children have become combatants.Coupled with the pre-reinforced walls, the archery tower made by craftsmen, and sufficient arrows and sharpened short knives, if you can't come by Hu Qi, if you dare to come, you must let them know how powerful it is!

In Yunzhong City, Wei Shang stood in front of a map, compared the information sent back by the scouts, and drew circles on the map with a pen.

Judging from the collected information, the Xiongnu's attack targets Yanmen and Daijun, and Dingxiang and Yunzhong may also be attacked.However, Wei Shang always felt that something was wrong.

After a big defeat, the troops of King Aries and King Loufan were damaged, and with the frequent plagues in the grassland, the number of people in the headquarters and other tribes continued to decrease, and it was possible to recruit [-] string-controlling people, which might exhaust the wealth of the Huns .

For the Huns today, this battle can only be won but not lost.

If it fails, the disadvantage of the Huns will become more and more obvious.At that time, the grassland will inevitably be full of flames of war, not to mention the counterattack of other departments, and the division of the headquarters may be possible.

With the style of the military minister Shan Yu, would he formulate such a strategy for advancing troops?

Wei Shang couldn't understand it. When he was frowning, the civil servants came to report that Wei Yue led the cavalry to arrive, and the army was stationed outside the city. He himself had led fifty cavalry into the city.

"good!"

Wei Shang couldn't help but be overjoyed.

With these [-] cavalry, Yunzhong County will be as solid as gold.In case of changes in the war, we can even organize a surprise army to go out of the city to cut off the Huns' retreat, and keep all the enemies who will commit crimes in the future!

Wei Yue entered the prefect's mansion and was immediately led into the study.

"Aon."

Wei Shang signaled Wei Yue to get up, pointed to the map hanging on the shelf, and said, "Do you feel that something is wrong?"

Seeing the markings on the map, Wei Yue's heart skipped a beat, and she said, "Ah Weng, the Xiongnu marched in a different direction."

"That's right!" Wei Shang said in a deep voice, "I just can't think of what the real attack direction is."

All the tribes in the grassland know that Yanmen, Shangjun, and Yunzhong are the most popular when talking about the military strength of the border counties in the Han Dynasty.Daijun and Dingxiang are slightly inferior to them, and they cannot stand up to their sufficient strength, so they will inevitably knock their teeth out.

Wei Yue was in Chang'an, and never ignored the news from Bianjun.

He had a similar idea to Wei Shang's. With today's Xiongnu, it would not be much worse if they assembled a hundred thousand strong soldiers without emptying their family.

The purpose of the Huns going south this time was to plunder, boost morale, and consolidate the ruling and deterrent power of the royal court.It would be too unwise to confront the increasingly powerful Han army head-on, and to focus on fortresses that are difficult to attack.

If you can win, let alone, if you can't win or even lose, it's hard to say whether you can return to the grassland alive.

Acting with the character of the military minister Shan Yu, he would not make such mistakes.Even though he was hotheaded, Bank of China said he was not dead yet.No matter how much you hate this person, you must admit that he is a qualified counselor and will not let the military minister Shanyu go to a dead end.

"Ah Weng, Yanmen and Dingxiang should be empty soldiers. The Xiongnu's marching direction is likely to be concentrated here and here!"

Wei Yue pointed at the map, first clicked on the vicinity of Dai County and Shanggu County, and then drew a long line, which landed on the newly built Shuofang County.

"How sure are you?" Wei Shang looked solemn.

"At least fifty percent."

Wei Shang fell into deep thought.

Regardless of Daijun, when Shanggu County was attacked, as long as the defense was not broken through immediately, reinforcements could be dispatched from Shangjun.What is difficult is Shuofang County.

Not long after the Hetao area was newly included in the territory, Shuofang City was newly built.Not to mention the fortress outside the city, there are not many people gathering here.If the Xiongnu's offensive focus is here, with the thousands of frontier troops in the city, can they defend until the reinforcements arrive?

More importantly, will the Huns take the opportunity to detour and go south with cavalry?

Wei Yue knew what Wei Shang was worried about, and the safest solution was to dispatch troops from Wuyuan County and Xihe County to stabilize Shuofang City.But in this way, there must be a lot of movement, and if the Xiongnu learns about it, it is hard to guarantee that there will be another change.

If you want to resolve potential crises, hold the initiative of the war in your hands, and bring the Xiongnu into your own pace, you must be surprised and win by surprise.

"Ah Weng, when the Huns go south, Longcheng will definitely be empty."

"You mean?" Wei Shang paused.

"Surround Wei and save Zhao, surprise attack breaks the situation."

The Xiongnu army was pressing down on the border. In addition to passive defense, the Han army could also send troops to attack.

The grassland is vast and boundless, and thousands of cavalry enter. As long as you are careful not to be discovered by the rangers and other troops, and not to lose your way on the way, flying to Longcheng and setting fire behind the Huns is definitely a good way to break the situation.

"While the Xiongnu are going south, raid Longcheng from three sides and take down the place where the Xiongnu sacrificed to heaven. At that time, please contact the envoys and go out of the city to surround the enemy. Even if they can't wipe out all of them, at least half of them must be left behind!"

This plan is very risky. If you are not careful, the Han army entering the grassland will be surrounded.But once it succeeds, the powerful enemy that has plagued the Han Dynasty for many years will be greatly weakened. It cannot be done in one battle, but tens of thousands will be reduced, laying an important foundation for the complete demise of the Huns.

"I will write to Xiangyan Gate immediately."

Wei Shang acted resolutely. Even if he had to take considerable risks, as long as he could destroy the Xiongnu and completely eliminate the border troubles, he had to give it a try.

Wei Yue left the prefect's mansion and rushed to the barracks immediately.

Because Zhao Jia was not around, he had to be responsible for the deployment of troops, and he also had to personally take care of the supplies. While he was busy, he couldn't help thinking of what Li Danghu said, he was really not used to not having Zhao Jia in charge of logistics.

"Calculating the time, it's time for Ah Duo to return to Chang'an, right?"

Wei Yue stepped out of the big tent, just in time for a letter eagle to fly down from the sky.

The sharp claws scratched the armor, making a slight friction sound.When Wei Yue moved it to his shoulder, he turned his head and rubbed Wei Yue's forehead affectionately.

Most of the letter eagles in the camp were trained by the surrendered Hu people and distributed to the scouts to facilitate the transmission of news.Now that the war is approaching, the scouts sent one report after another, and Xinying went back and forth to the grassland in the city every day, rarely stopping.

After reading the news sent back by the scouts, Wei Yue became more and more certain that the Xiongnu's main attack direction would not be Yanmen and Yunzhong.That being the case, it is imperative to attack Longcheng.

To ensure the smooth progress of the plan, the army must start as soon as possible without any delay.

Wei Yue handed Xinying over to the soldiers, flew on his horse, and rushed to the prefect's mansion again.

The chief secretary watched Wei Yue leave, and while he was busy checking the supplies, he pondered in his mind, what could be done in an hour or two when Captain Zhao was around, would take a whole day or even more for him.

Looking at the whole army, Peng Xiu is the only one who can really keep up with Captain Zhao.In stark contrast, dissatisfaction and comparison dissipated in an instant and never existed again.

Zhao Jia, who was missed by everyone, hastened to return to Chang'an.After facing the king, he quickly mobilized the generals, prepared the necessary supplies, and set off with Han Yan to the frontier fortress where the war was about to start.

The day after Zhao Jia and Han Yan left, Gongsun He and Ning Cheng were summoned into the palace.

Although the two are colleagues, they have little friendship, and there is almost no intersection except for court meetings on weekdays.It was a bit strange to be called into the palace together.

When the emperor and his ministers were face to face, Liu Che ordered the eunuch to step back, took out several volumes of bamboo slips, and handed them over for a closer look.

After flipping through the contents, Gongsun He's expression suddenly changed, and Ning Cheng's expression also changed for the first time.

"Your Majesty, please arrest Tian Fu and Tian Sheng!" Gongsun congratulated.

Ning Cheng didn't rush to speak, but put down the bamboo slips and waited patiently for the emperor's order.

"This matter must not be publicized." Liu Che glanced at the two of them, and said in a deep voice, "Leave it to the two of you. Remember, Tian Fu and Tian Sheng broke the law, and the East Palace cannot be involved."

"promise!"

Knowing Liu Che's intentions, Ning Cheng bowed his hands and agreed, and he already had a secret case in his mind about what crime he should be charged with for bringing him into the lieutenant's mansion.

After leaving the proclamation room, the two stood still in front of Weiyang Palace, looked at each other, neither said a word, but unexpectedly had a tacit understanding, they could more or less guess the other's plan, and how should they cooperate.

After the two left, Liu Che sat in the hall, not interested in dealing with government affairs, and picked up the secret report that he knew by heart long ago, with a cold expression, so cold that he had no emotion at all.

In the Jiaofang Hall, Chen Jiao saw Wei Zifu bent over on the ground, and remembered Liu Che's words last night, she was not moved by her entreaties at all.

"Wei Liang violated the palace rules, and closed Yongxiang with five sticks. The prince temporarily moved to Xu Meiren's hall."

"promise!"

Wei Zifu turned pale with shock, and wanted to continue crying and begging, but was gagged by the palace guards and dragged on.

Xu Meiren sat beside Chen Jiao and remained silent the whole time, let alone interceding for Wei Zifu.After the person was taken away, he said softly: "Your Highness, the prince should move the house. That Wei Liang will always be a disaster, please take care of it."

"No need." Chen Jiao opened the censer, picked up the silver spoon with her plain hand, shook it lightly twice, then closed it, and handed it to the eunuch to remove, "After all, she is the birth mother of the eldest son of the emperor."

"Your Highness..."

"I know what you want to say, she can't die yet. It's my idea to let you take care of the prince, and His Majesty also agrees, don't think too much."

"promise."

Xu Meiren agreed softly, seeing Chen Jiao frowning slightly, she immediately warmed her fingers and said, "Your Highness, can I pinch for you?"

"Alright."

Chen Jiao lay down on her side, Xu Meiren took off the golden hairpin for her, covered her forehead with her fingers, and pressed gently with her strength.

"From now on, I'm afraid I won't be able to live without you." Chen Jiao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Your Highness likes it, it's my concubine's luck." Xu Meiren said softly.

She's not stupid, but she's not brilliant either.The biggest advantage is that you can see yourself clearly and know how to choose.As early as when she was pregnant with the princess and was moved into the Jiaofang Palace, she knew the path she should take in the future.

As it turned out, she was right.

The emperor's love will not last long, no matter how good the color is, it will not be able to resist the fragrance of Xinrui.If you want to live in the palace for a long time and raise your children safely, you should not have unrealistic thoughts, and you must really think clearly about who you can rely on.

Like Wei Liangren, maybe she can also understand that it's just that she went the wrong way at the beginning, and now it's impossible to turn back.

Inside the Changle Palace, the Queen Mother had not received any news from outside the palace for several days, doubts inevitably arose in her heart.

When the eunuch retreated from the palace and sat alone in meditation, the palace door was suddenly pushed open. Liu Che stepped into the palace, neither saluted nor said a word, but threw a roll of bamboo slips at the Queen Mother's feet.

"The Son of Heaven?"

"Mother may wish to take a look."

Wang Zhi picked up the bamboo slips and unfolded them. When he saw the contents, his pupils constricted suddenly.

"Son, this is slander!"

"Slander?" Liu Che stared at the Queen Mother, and said word by word, "Mother, it is my uncle and your brother who said this, could it be that he is also slander?"

Wang Zhi was speechless.

Liu Che threw another piece of silk, and his eyes fell on the Queen Mother's face, like a sharp sword.

"The queen mother secretly contacted rebellious people in order to imitate the Lu family? It's a pity that I am not the emperor of Xiaohui, and my son will not be a young emperor who is at his mercy!"