March of the third year of Zhongping (186 AD).

The emperor forgives the world.

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Li Hong and his subordinates were busy preparing for the westward journey to Liangzhou all day long, day and night.

The money, grain and arms of Jizhou were delivered one after another.

The soldiers of Zhongshan Kingdom, Shi Weizheng, were the soldiers of the army, and the thief Cao Fanli, rushed to Handan with 5,000 infantrymen. Soon, Zheng Xin, Wen Chou and Zhao Yun led their troops back from Changshan Kingdom, and brought back the 4,000 infantrymen from Julu County and Bohai County.

The Western Expedition Army camp outside Handan City became larger and larger, and there were more and more soldiers and supplies.

Xian Yuyin, Zhang Baiqi, Zuo Yan, Huang Ting, and Fang Biao walked into the Western Expedition Camp with the 48,000 troops and the armies provided by Youzhou.

Li Hong went far away. Seeing Zhang Baiqi, Li Hong was so happy that he almost yelled out. He got together, and finally got together 50,000 people.

Li Hong helped them up one by one, greeted each other happily, and then went straight to the point.

"Sir, keeping his promise and not abandoning us. We are very grateful to you." Zhang Baiqi said excitedly, "All the situations of Master Xianyu have told us. Please make clear what to do with us."

Li Hong held Zhang Baiqi's hand affectionately and said, "Many of you must stay and follow me to the west. If the elderly, weak, sick and disabled, or if there are special circumstances, you can deal with them as appropriate and immediately dismiss them home. There is no way, I can only do this."

Zuo Yan said worriedly: "If you release the Yellow Turban prisoners privately, if the court knows, the emperor will hold him accountable."

Li Hong smiled and said, "I don't care about it now. As long as I can take 50,000 troops to Xiliang, even if the court wants to hold me accountable, it will be a matter of the future. Also, if any of you are willing to go back to Taihang Mountain, go back.

Zhang Baiqi glanced at him in confusion and asked, "What does sir mean?"

"You all know that Zhang Niujiao died in the battlefield of goiter. If anyone of you hates me and doesn't want to be with me, you can leave and I will never stop you."

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

Li Hongxiao said: "The journey of the Western Expedition is difficult and the battle is fierce. Our Yanzhao army must be united in unity and work together, otherwise it will be difficult for everyone to come back alive."

Now that the troops are fully equipped, what Li Hong hopes most is that Xian Yufu, who is far away in Luoyang, can bring him good news.

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Xian Yufu was busy and rushed back to Handan day and night, and told all the soldiers of the Western Expedition Army this good news before the imperial edict arrived.

The camp of the Western Expedition Army suddenly became boiling.

In the central army's tent, Li Hong and Xian Yufu sat opposite each other, Yan Rou, Xian Yuyin, Yushi, Zheng Xin, Hu Zi and other generals sat around to listen to Xian Yufu talk about Luoyang.

"Because the benefits of the world outweigh the disadvantages, all the factions in the capital did not object, and they all expressed their support in unison. However, the issue of our military route and military supplies in the west has caused fierce debate among all the factions." Xian Yufu said in a heavy mood: "Mr. Liu saw that the princes and ministers and the attendants of the Central People quarreled in the court every day, and there would be no result in the short term, so I asked me to come back first."

"There is no result in the short term?" Xian Yuyin asked in surprise, "If there is no result in the short term, should we set out as scheduled as required by the emperor?"

"Of course. Even if the court does not give us a marching route, we must set out. Do you want to resist the order?" Xian Yufu said, "The reason why the court quarreled so fiercely that His Majesty was unable to make a decision for a long time was because it touched the interests of all parties."

"We rushed from Jizhou to Xiliang. The nearest route was to enter Shangdang County, Bingzhou from Huguan, then from Shangdang County to Hedong, then from Hedong County to cross the Yellow River to Fengyi County, then to Chang'an, and Fufeng County. Wherever the army went, all places had to provide food and grass supplies, which was a huge expense for counties and counties in various places. Who would be willing to spend? A large army of 50,000 people, including 20,000 war horses, the daily consumption of horse feed alone is very amazing, let alone the food for 50,000 soldiers. A county in Shangdang, Bingzhou has a population of only more than 200,000. Think about how many people there will be in a small county in Shangdang County? They themselves are just barely maintaining food and clothing, and there is no extra grain for us."

"Along the way, Shangdang County, Hedong County, and Fengyi County, as long as the better fields are almost all the private property of the powerful people in the capital, they have paid for them to buy them. The county and county have to pay for grain, but if not, they naturally have to pay tribute to these wealthy people and ask them to donate and lend them. So if they are not willing to do so, who is willing to lose their property for no reason?"

Everyone remained silent.

"Jizhou has done its best and can no longer reach out to them." Li Hong thought for a moment and said, "We will immediately write a letter to tell His Majesty that the troops have been assembled, and ask His Majesty to quickly send the troops to the westward marching route and the military supplies on the march. If these things cannot be delivered in time, it may be very difficult for the army to set off as scheduled. We will leave all these headaches to His Majesty to deal with. What do you think?"

Everyone laughed. Li Hong turned around and said to Zhao Yun sitting beside him, "Zilong, you draft a document for me according to this meaning. You must be sincere and anxious..."

"Brother Yuxing, have you seen the emperor when you go to Beijing this time?" Zheng Xin asked.

"I am such a young official, what qualifications do you have to meet the emperor? Don't dream in daydream." Xian Yufu continued, "Before I left Beijing, a major incident happened in the capital, and Grand Marshal Zhang Yanzhang was dismissed."

"Why?" Yu Shi asked in surprise, "Are you dismissed such a large official and made a mistake? Or did you offend the traitor?"

"I heard from Lord Liu that it was for our Western Expedition that he offended His Majesty and the Central General Secretariat, so he was dismissed from office." Xian Yufu frowned, touched his three strands of whiskers, and slowly said, "The Taiwei meant that there were already 100,000 troops on the battlefield of Xiliang. In order to pay for the huge expenses of the battlefield of Xiliang, the treasury had basically been emptied. Now, due to the defeat, 50,000 troops were recruited from Youji and the two prefectures of Youji to join the war. Although the number of troops increased by only 50,000, the expenditure of troops increased exponentially. Where did this money come from? The defeat on the battlefield of Xiliang was not because of insufficient army personnel or insufficient military supplies, but because the generals were incompetent. If Huangfu Song, who was idle at home, was appointed as the commander, the situation in the battlefield of Xiliang would immediately change."

Li Hong and his subordinates all laughed.

"Is the old magistrate who said this clearly means he can't get along with Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and other eunuchs? It would be nice not to put him in prison. Now the power struggle in the court is getting more and more intense, and if you are not careful, it will be a disaster. In this court, it is indeed not a place for people to get along." Yu Shi said indignantly, "Mr. Liu is kind and loyal. Can he stay there?"

"He is a royal family member with a noble status. He has just arrived in Beijing and has no relationship with the various factions in the capital and is very favored by the emperor." Xian Yufu smiled, "So Lord Liu is not offended by anyone now, and he gets along well with the powerful people in the capital and is very popular."

"Who is the next Grand Marshal? Have you heard of it in Luoyang?" Yan Rou asked.

"Mr. Liu said that the emperor valued General Zhang Wen and Zhang, and it was probably him. According to the Han Dynasty, important officials of more than three dukes must handle the government affairs in the capital and serve the emperor. But now Mr. Zhang is responsible for suppressing rebellion in Xiliang border county. If he is the Grand Marshal, he will be the first important official in our dynasty to exercise the power of the three public powers outside." Xian Yufu looked at Li Hong and said, "This shows the emperor's favor for this person. If he arrives in Xiliang, if he can get his appreciation and recommendation, it will definitely work better than fighting ten victories."

The subordinates sitting around Li Hong nodded. Someone immediately gave him an idea of ​​how to bribe, how to meet his preferences, and how to become a general as soon as possible.

Li Hong said angrily: "What are your ideas? I am a general of the Pinglu Zhonglang. Can you give me some face? Don't talk nonsense like in the past. This is a serious matter. Is there nothing I can do?"

Hu Zi asked in surprise: "Sir, now know how to bribe the powerful?"

Li Hong said hatefully: "I don't know, but I don't bother to do it. You follow me and don't do these things. If I know, you will be more beautiful."

"Are there any rumors about Zuo Feng's death in the capital?" Yan Wuwei asked with a smile.

"There are many happy people, but few unhappy people. The emperor was unhappy and ordered the prefect of Wei County to find the murderer immediately. After hearing this news, Lord Lu Zhilu was very excited and asked his friends in Beijing to drink day and night to celebrate." Xian Yufu smiled, "You are not to be jealous and slanderous villain."

"Brother Yuxing, this time we will meet Brother Bo Gui in Xiliang. Haha, he is treating him again this time." Li Hong suddenly thought of Gongsun Zan who was far away in Xiliang, and immediately smiled happily.

"We can't see him." Xian Yufu smiled faintly and said, "After the court issued an order to recruit us to Jizhou, Lord Yang of Youzhou Governor's Office wrote letters repeatedly, asking the court to transfer Brother Bo Gui back to Youzhou from the battlefield in Xiliang to strengthen the defense of the northern border. The court has already approved it. Brother Bo Gui is probably on his way back to his hometown."

Li Hong shook his head in disappointment and said to everyone with a smile: "I have always hoped to fight side by side with Brother Bo Gui. Now it seems that this wish is difficult to realize."

Yan Rou smiled and said, "You two are heroes in the northern border, one with a white horse and one with a black panther. You will definitely have the opportunity to kill the enemy side by side in the future. But your official position is getting bigger and bigger, and after the Western Liang is pacified, you may be a general. When that time comes, he will definitely not want to serve in your account."

"Go to dream." Li Hong smiled, "If I were a general, you would at least be a lieutenant. None of them were more important than his official position. Then he wouldn't be angry to death, haha..."

The big tent suddenly burst into laughter.

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Late at night, the camp of the Western Expedition Army was brightly lit and laughing. The soldiers sat around the fire in groups, laughing and talking loudly, so excited that they couldn't fall asleep.

In order to celebrate the emperor's decree of a general amnesty, the Yellow Turban soldiers were lucky enough to be released from prison and restored to their freedom. They specially added meals and allowed the soldiers to celebrate all night.

In the central army's tent, Li Hong leaned over and lay on the ground to check the map of Xiliang. This was brought back by Xian Yufu from Luoyang. It was specially collected by the Secretary of the Shangshu Liu Yu for him. In addition to the detailed maps of the northwest prefectures and counties, there were other related information, and two large luggage were full of them.

Zhao Yun led Zhang Baiqi and Huang Ting walked in.

Li Hong hurriedly came up to them, asked them to sit down, and asked with a smile: "It's so late, have you both of you rested yet?"

The two of them were worried and had to say a few perfunctory words, but didn't say anything.

Li Hong sighed and said slowly: "You two come to see me late at night, are you going back?"

A hint of shame flashed across Zhang Baiqi's face and nodded.

Huang Ting lowered his head, coughed a few times, and whispered: "I have no martial arts, no knowledge, and I can't help with following the adults, so..."

Li Hong nodded and said, "I understand. Is your family still here?"

"It should be still here. I guess they all went back to Taihang Mountain with Zhang Shuai." Huang Ting said sadly, "I am very tired of fighting and killing. I can't bear this blood. Don't worry, I will never join Zhang Shuai's Yellow Turban Army after I go back. I will take my family to farm on the mountain to make a living. As long as I am safe, I will be content."

Li Hong reached out and patted his arm, and smiled and said, "Then go back. In Fanyang, you have done a lot of things for me and made great contributions. I want to thank you. If I am still alive and live well in the future, come to me if you have any difficulties. After all, I owe you favors and I will always repay you."
Chapter completed!