The Great Run surprised and delighted the King.

It was not that he had not requested a war, but the emperor never agreed. At that time, he planned to send troops all the way. With Cao Shi, Wei Qing and his two emperors were trusted as generals, and they didn't need anyone else at all. They didn't even have a chance to be famous general Li Guang. Now it's different. Liang Xiao suggested to divide his troops to attack. Not only did Li Guang have a chance, but he, Wang Hui, also had a chance.

Wang Hui was very surprised. Li Guang and Liang Xiao were close to each other, and it was normal for Liang Xiao to recommend him. However, Wang Hui and Liang Xiao’s relationship was limited to business, and private contact was very limited. Liang Xiao recommended him to go to war and replace him with his own position, which made Wang Hui very grateful.

This also made everyone see Liang Xiao's calmness and persistence. He stayed behind not because he wanted to be lazy, but because he shouldered more important responsibilities. If the front line is unfavorable, or if there is a problem in other directions such as Nanyue, he and Han Anguo can attack, and the court will not be left without anyone.

People who originally thought Liang Xiao were a little impulsive and reckless are now relieved. At least Liang Xiao is not the kind of person who does everything to make contributions.

Liang Xiao suggested that the emperor decided the case and the matter of going to war was decided, and the next step was to discuss the details separately. How Cao Shi controlled the Qiang people and how Li Guang looked for the logistics and living forces of the Huns along the way, they all had to be prepared in advance. Especially Li Guang went deeper along the way, without support. If he could not capture the target in time and lost his direction in the grassland, he would probably drag himself to death.

Therefore, Liang Xiao was particularly concerned about the preparations for the journey and personally participated in their discussion.

He was familiar with the terrain of the Xiongnu in the west and had experience in fighting with the Right Xianwang. In recent years, Han merchants have traveled to Hexi and the situation on the grasslands, but no one has specially collected it. When Liang Xiao passed by Chang'an, he went to the west market and found Guo Yu, a great merchant in Yanmen who is now doing a jewellery business. He asked him to recommend several guides and take them to Ganquan Palace.

At the same time, Liang Xiao asked the emperor to transfer Guo Wenbin to Li Guang. Guo Wenbin became a man because of his mission to the Western Regions. He was not known because he was a merchant or for other reasons. Liang Xiao took this opportunity to transfer him to Li Guang's army and gave him a chance to make meritorious service.

After careful discussion, they finally drew a map and determined several routes that the Huns were most likely to go through. Li Guang and Wang Hui focused on the investigation and adapted to the situation.

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

Liang Xiao was in a dark forehead and thought to himself that you were slapping Wang Hui in the face. They were all the great Daxing Orders, and they were all Jiujiu. You are not happy to be the deputy general for you? Liang Xiao thought for a moment and said seriously: "Daxing Order, General Li, there is something that may not be very pleasant. Please forgive me for any rudeness."

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

Wang Hui also nodded slowly. "Please speak frankly, lord."

"I believe the two of you also know that this battle is a forced one. If you were not worried that the Huns would be more frugal and the northwest would be in ruins, you would rather not fight this battle."

Li Guang and Wang Hui looked at each other and nodded at the same time. Although they did not participate in that dispute, they heard about it a little and knew that this battle would have to fight.

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

Li Guang frowned slightly, Wang Hui let out a long sigh and laughed softly: "This question has been lingering in my heart, with some guesses, but not sure. It would be great if I could listen to the Lord's explanation in person."

Liang Xiao nodded, his face became more serious and even a little solemn, as if he was facing a great mourning. "I'm going to hide it from you, you are basically dead soldiers all the way."

Wang Hui was still smiling, but the smile on his face was not very natural. Li Guang's eyes flashed slightly, but there was no surprise expression.

"Ten thousand elite cavalry, one man and three horses are the biggest bet that the court can make at present. If you abandon your logistics and go deeper alone, you will either not meet the Huns or encounter enemies that are several times more than you already have. No matter what, the consequences will not be very good."

Everyone was silent. They just discussed how to capture the fighter planes, but basically didn't think that even if they met, there would be a huge gap. Now, when Liang Xiao reminded them, they realized that the chances of survival were slim, and they couldn't help but feel awe-inspiring.

Guo Wenbin said in a trembling voice: "Since that's the case, then we will definitely die."

"You can think so." Liang Xiao glanced coldly at everyone and said, "This is the best choice that can be made at present. The military strategy is cloudy, and then I will die. Now I will push you into the fire pit first, and then count on you to climb up, burning the Huns with the flames all over the body. I don't know if you are mentally prepared, but I have the responsibility to tell you this possible. If anyone wants to withdraw, it is still time."

Wang Hui lowered his head, silent, and could only pinch his fingers on the table, like an indecisive mood, as if considering gains and losses.

Li Guang disagreed and laughed. "Bo Ming, you're thinking too much. Don't say that our army is fully equipped and has sufficient number of war horses, enough to fight ten. Even before, our army did not have such good equipment and so many war horses, we have often competed with the superior enemy. Daxing Order, I don't know what you Yan people are. The children of our six counties in the northwest are not cowards."

Wang Hui was agitated by Li Guang and was immediately angry. "General Li, there are indeed many warriors in the six northwest counties, but we Yan people are not cowards."

Li Guang laughed and bowed. "It's useless to say more, and you can see the best on the battlefield."

Wang Hui did not show any weakness, and held his fists with his hands. "Dare not to accompany him."

Liang Xiao looked at Li Guang and then Wang Hui, and he was a little amused and confused. He didn't know whether he should be worried or grateful. Both of them were in their forties and fifties, and they were important officials of the Nine Ministers. Why were they still like young boys and so angry? Now discussing military and national affairs, do you think they would fight on the streets and get on with disagreement?

However, after Li Guang interrupted, the depressing atmosphere did not fly away, and everyone became active again. Guo Wenbin and others asked about the current equipment of the Han army. Li Guang was so beautiful that he bragged. Liang Xiao was also a little surprised when he heard this.

In a few years, the size of the pastoral gardens in the six northwest counties has expanded several times. Now they have nearly 400,000 various war horses, of which nearly 30,000 are cultivated by Western horses. The reason why they have developed so quickly is that the court has worked hard and allocated a lot of funds. Second, after the Xiongnu were defeated in Henan and Yinshan, their lives have not been settled. Many tribes can only sell war horses in exchange for daily necessities, and some tribes even surrender collectively.

The current reserves of war horses of the Han army have greatly increased. In theory, it is no problem to have 50,000 cavalry equipped with one person and two horses, and it is not difficult to have 10,000 cavalry and one person and three horses. The number of people is small, so it can be equipped with better war horses, such as Yuezhi horses, Wusun horses and other Western Regions horses. In terms of the quality of war horses, the Han army is no longer the same as before and has an advantage over the Huns.

In addition to war horses, the Han army's weapons and equipment advantages were more obvious. After the imperial court received iron smelting techniques from the Chen brothers of the Tangyi Houfu, the new armor and weapons they created were the first to be equipped with, except for the Central Imperial Army, the western border army. At present, it is unlikely that 50,000 people will be equipped with new weapons, but 10,000 cavalry is more than enough.

With the dual advantages of war horses and weapons, the combat power of these 10,000 cavalry is enough to be worth 50,000 Hun cavalry. The right Huns suffered heavy damage in the Western Regions and Henan in the past few years. Even if they have recovered in recent years, how much can they recover? All the old and weak are counted, which is about 100,000 to 150,000. Even if they face the front, as long as they are not ambushed, the Han army will have the power to fight.

After listening to Li Guang's analysis, everyone was overjoyed. Even Liang Xiao felt much more at ease and was very relieved. Whether it was the enrichment of war horse resources or the improvement of weapon quality, he had his contributions.

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

Liang Xiao and others were still unable to idle. Almost all of them lived in the palace and were ready to deal with emergency situations at any time. The censor Han Anguo was so busy that he was hit on the back of the head. First, the plan for the whole year was about to begin, and he had to make preparations; second, the plan for immigrants to eat was officially approved. He had to arrange preparations for each county and the county magistrate to supervise it, so as to avoid the phenomenon of passive resistance from county magistrates and county magistrates.

Even the emperor was very busy and had to go to bed until late at night every day.

In the entire Ganquan Palace, there are only two people with the most leisurely people, two "ill" people: one is Tian Fu who twisted his neck and rested in bed, and the other is Liang Xiao, who had a lazy attack and sneaked out to hunt every few days.

Ganquan Mountain in late autumn is the most beautiful time. Some of the leaves are dark green and some are deep red, all over the mountains and valleys, full of vitality, but calm and spicy. The north wind gradually rises, the light and dryness of summer gradually fades away, but the cold winter has not yet arrived, the climate is pleasant, and the tones are gradually mature. Many fruits are ripe, but no one picks them, and they fall between the valleys and ferment naturally. A faint fragrance of wine permeates the woods, as if the God of Wine has come down to earth.

There are many beasts in the mountains and forests. Although there are no divine beasts such as Kuilong and phoenix mentioned in the Han Fu, there are many wild beasts such as deer and roe. Liang Xiao has also seen small beasts such as cloud leopards, lynxes, and wild boars.

The sun sets, the sky is still bright, but the valley is dark early. Liang Xiao got off his horse, threw the black bow to Tu Niuer, strode to the stream, scooped up the cool stream water, washed his face, and looked at the surrounding environment.

"Just camp here."

Pang Shuo and others responded and went to prepare. They followed Liang Xiao for a long time and had a tacit understanding between each other. Liang Xiao didn't need to say too much. The time was not long, and the camp was ready and the people on the alert were arranged. Pang Shuo arranged for people to take care of the beasts they hunted today and put them on the fire to roast them. After a while, the fragrance was everywhere, which made people salivate.

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

Suddenly, Liang Xiao stopped for a moment and glanced at the distance. He saw two figures, one big and one small, and the guards stood up and saluted the people. He frowned, but pretended not to see it, and continued to joke. Until the guards around him stood up one after another and kept silent, he raised his head in surprise and stood up immediately.

"His Majesty!"

The emperor was wearing casual clothes and standing in front of Liang Xiao, with only Huo Qubing behind him. There was a faint sound of a horse neighing in the distance.

"How is the wild creatures in the Forbidden Garden?" The emperor sat down, took out a knife, cut a piece of roasted wild boar meat into his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

Liang Xiao looked around and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, why are you here? This is not safe."

"I didn't want to come, but I was afraid that the wild animals in the Forbidden Garden would be shot by you, so I could only come and take a look."

"Oh, Your Majesty is a kind beast. He is really a kind king, and I admire him."

"Puff!" The emperor couldn't hold back his face, laughed out loud, and almost spit out the flesh in his mouth. He pointed at Liang Xiao. "Sit!"

"Where is the position of minister before Your Majesty?"

"Then you just stand."

"But Your Majesty has an edict, how dare I not obey?" Liang Xiao said, sitting in front of the emperor, picked up the wine bag and handed it to the emperor. "Your Majesty, this is a fruit wine made from wild fruits by hunters in the mountains, which is not bad."

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

Liang Xiao smiled and collected fruit wine. "Everyone has his own ambitions, so you should not force it. Some people are willing to cut a knife and an axe and become a pillar of the country, while others are willing to grow wild and watch the wind and rain."

The emperor remained silent and ate two pieces of meat one after another before stopping. Qin Ge handed over the handkerchief, wiped his mouth clean, then gently wiped off the grease from the knife, put the knife into the sheath, then raised his head and looked at Liang Xiao quietly.

Liang Xiao pondered for a moment, waved his hand to signal Tu Niuer and others to retreat. The emperor sat opposite Liang Xiao, with a bonfire in the middle, and the branches made a crisp sound from time to time. Huo Qubing sat in his arms, put his chin on his knees, turned his big dark eyes, looked at the emperor, and then Liang Xiao.

"I'm just useless?" The emperor spoke, his voice faintly, a little lonely and a little unconfident.

Liang Xiao did not answer immediately. He picked up a branch, plucked the fire, and pushed the fire under the wild boar a little more vigorously. The flames licked the wild boar's skin and squeaked. The already-baked flesh gradually turned black and radiated a scent of dryness. Liang Xiao let go of his hand and quietly watched a large piece of meat zoom, turning black and turning into inedible charcoal. He took out a knife, cut off a piece of burnt meat, and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor did not answer, stared at Liang Xiao without blinking. After a while, he also picked up a branch and spread the fire under the wild boar, sighing: "I know, I'm a little anxious."

Liang Xiao smiled. "Your Majesty is wise and brave. Whoever dares to say that Your Majesty is useless, then he is either a blind man or a fool."

(To be continued.)
Chapter completed!