Chapter 28: Game?

  Cao Cao liked cavalry and attached great importance to cavalry, which is not a rare thing.

  In Liu Xuan's memory, Cao Cao, even if he later became the most powerful minister of the Han Dynasty, controlled the court, and held the emperor hostage to command the vassals, but there was one achievement that even those who disliked Cao Cao the most could not ignore - Cao Cao possessed half of the northern border, placing a large number of his troops in the border towns to defend against foreign tribes.

  Even Cao Cao's own juniors and children would be sent to the border towns to get a close look at the threats posed by foreign tribes to the Central Plains.

  In this sense, Cao Cao was worthy of the name of Han's Prime Minister. Even his successors who inherited his cause when he was alive also put half of Wei's soldiers and horses in border towns. From its establishment to its demise, Wei never called for foreign troops to enter the Central Plains.

  When it comes to fighting against the Xiongnu, cavalry is an indispensable and important force - the northern terrain is flat, and the Han Dynasty's territory is vast. Without cavalry with high mobility, many battles would be difficult to fight.

  Liu Xuan remembered that Cao Cao not only valued cavalry but also personally organized an elite cavalry unit called the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, which became the most powerful and renowned unit of Cao Wei. Even many people who opposed Cao Cao were worried about how to defend against this powerful cavalry.

  This cavalry is not mentioned in the Romance - actually, the Romance hardly mentions any specific troops or horses, only briefly mentioning a few, and the name of the Tiger Leopard Cavalry is only slightly mentioned in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

  Liu Xuan was still thinking about whether to take the initiative to create the Tiger and Leopard Riders, but unexpectedly, after seeing Lü Bu's Bianzhou Iron Cavalry, Cao Cao actually took the initiative to propose the establishment of an elite cavalry. What else could Cao Cao's cavalry be besides the Tiger and Leopard Riders?

  But if the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were really formed this time, it would probably be very different from the original "that one". Because the original Tiger and Leopard Cavalry was more of a deterrent force, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Cao Wei's most elite cavalry, had few battle achievements: only a few records, which was quite inconsistent with its status.

  It seems that Cao Cao has already made it clear that he wants to use this elite cavalry as the mainstay for recovering the northwest counties, so this war is likely to be a series of battles. At present, the northwest is in the hands of Dong Zhuo, and it seems that killing Dong Zhuo will pacify the northwest.

  Liu Xuan knew that even if he killed Dong Zhuo, the northwest would not fall into his hands. Not to mention others, among Dong Zhuo's subordinates were several powerful generals: Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, Fan Chou, and his son-in-law Niu Fu. Which of them did not have their own troops under control? Without Dong Zhuo's restraint, they would immediately raise their flags and become warlords in their own right. Although he had the name of the Son of Heaven, it was impossible for him to make them submit just by relying on his title... even if he used his buttocks to think about it.

  "It's definitely going to be a fight, and besides, having spent so much effort cultivating these soldiers, if they don't go into battle and get tempered, they won't become truly strong troops."

  Liu Xuan was thinking about this matter all the way: "As for Meng De's words about forming an elite cavalry... The capital is not lacking in good war horses, but it's hard to find soldiers who are skilled in horse warfare and generals who can command them!"

  The formation of the cavalry is not a matter of one day and one night. Not to mention the source of soldiers, even if the general who unified the army could not find it for the time being. Cao Cao said that he would send his confidants to secretly plan and establish the cavalry, but how many confidants does he have now? Apart from Cao Cao himself, there is no one else.

  "If we can get Zhang Liao to surrender from under Lü Bu's command, that would be perfect!"

  Zhang Liao, Zhang Wenyuan, at this time under Lü Bu's command was just an ordinary general, hadn't shown anything extraordinary, but Liu Xuan knew that this man would achieve great things in the future. Moreover, Zhang Liao had been in Bingzhou for a long time and was familiar with cavalry warfare tactics. If he could get him to lead, then the combat effectiveness of the cavalry wouldn't be a concern.

  "But... for now, if we let Zhang Liao do this, isn't that just giving Dong Zhuo an excuse? We'd better wait a bit longer."

  Now, his relationship with Dong Zhuo is like well water not offending river water, the big road to the sky each walks on one side, seeing each other can still maintain the surface courtesy, of course, how it is in private everyone knows in their heart, so there's no need to say more.

  As for Dong Zhuo's rise to power, apart from wanting to demonstrate his authority by deposing the Emperor, another reason was that he himself was of humble birth.

  Illegitimate children inherit the family business, in those big families they will be secretly despised by people. If the emperor is illegitimate, who knows how those wealthy and powerful families will evaluate him privately!

  At this time, the status of scholars and aristocrats was extremely high. If the imperial family did not win over the hearts of these scholars and aristocrats, it would be equivalent to losing the world. Dong Zhuo wanted to use this method to strike at the dignity of the imperial court, making it more convenient for him to control the power of the court - many officials in the court were representatives of various powerful families. If these people were not close enough to the emperor, they would naturally not help the emperor deal with him.

  Dong Zhuo actually wanted to support Liu Xie, because he was younger and more convenient for himself to control the court. However, Liu Xie was weak and sickly, and there was no good excuse to support him to take the throne - even a madman like Dong Zhuo knew that such a thing needed an excuse that the officials could accept, otherwise he couldn't do it.

  Moreover, there is another thing that Liu Xuan does not know. Since Dong Zhuo knew that Liu Xuan could defeat Hua Xiong head-on, he thought that this prince was a person who was obsessed with the way of martial arts and would not be good at plotting and scheming. However, as an emperor, what you need to grasp most is plotting and scheming. Otherwise, how can you see through the tactics of your ministers? And in that chaotic imperial court, balance the forces of all parties, even gain benefits for yourself, and make your ministers do things for you?

  Liu Xuan is not even twenty years old, and such a young person, no matter how talented, cannot be good at everything. If he excels in one thing, then he must not be good at others or even doesn't understand them.

  Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo would never have thought that Liu Xuan was not just a simple twenty-year-old, even if he had not participated in those things when he and others established the empire together. With his clear mind and quick wit, some basic things could still be done well, and with Cao Cao's help on the side, it was enough to cope for now.

  If Liu Xuan's plans went smoothly, he would not need to worry about these things in the future. The struggles of the imperial court and other such things would never appear in his dynasty - all he needed was for his officials to keep moving forward according to the goals he set out for them, nothing more.

  Sitting behind his desk, Liu Xuan held a scroll of ancient writings, but in reality he was still thinking about the current situation on the imperial court and what he needed to do next.

  This book in hand is just for show to the person in front of me.

  Xun Yu stood respectfully by, as the Emperor was reading a book and had him fetch pen and ink, so he, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, also had to attend on one side. Until the Emperor finished reading and ordered these things to be taken away, he could not go back to rest - As an imperial minister close to the Emperor, although he can get closer to the emperor, this job will not be easy, even his own rest time has to follow the emperor's schedule.

  Liu Xuan flipped through the bamboo slips, looked up at Xun Yu, who had been standing there for half an hour, still steady and calm, without a glance to either side. This composure alone was enough to make people take notice.

  Liu Xuan suddenly put down the book in his hand and said to Xun Yu: "Wen Ruo, what do you think of the current situation in the world?"

  As soon as Liu Xuan spoke, he noticed that Xun Yu, although looking very calm, was still slightly shaken all over his body. If not for his exceptional eyesight, it would have been hard to notice in the dim light.

  It was already past bedtime, but the emperor did not sleep. Who could force him to? Not only was Xun Yu waiting beside him, but Cao Ang was also standing at the door, ready for Liu Xuan to summon him at any time.

  Xun Yu turned around and faced Liu Xuan, cupping his hands: "I don't know which aspect Your Majesty is asking about?"

  Liu Xuan smiled, turned around and took out a white paper from beside him - it was called white paper, but there were some yellow marks on it, at this time it was already top-grade good paper, if he wasn't the emperor, he wouldn't be able to take out such a big piece casually.

  "Come and play a game with me!"

  Although he has ascended to the throne as emperor, he doesn't go around saying "I, the Emperor, this and that". That kind of language is mostly used in imperial decrees. In everyday life, it's still "I" and "me" - after all, Han dynasty emperors weren't that grandiose to begin with. At the end of the day, it all started with Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, who was a thug of an emperor. Even in his imperial decrees, he used the first person pronoun throughout, barely stopping short of saying "I, your old man".

  "Your Majesty, tomorrow is the day when Cai Shangshu's daughter will enter the palace and complete her marriage with Your Majesty. It would be better to rest early."

  Xun Yu was puzzled, this usually unremarkable new emperor, how come he's acting so strangely today? Staying up all night and wanting to play games? Is it because of the big wedding tomorrow that he's nervous?

  If that's the case, Xun Yu would be even more disappointed in this emperor - the world is in chaos, warlords are rising, and the imperial court has long lost control over local areas. Yet the Emperor still indulges in a woman's affair and now wants to play games?

  "Is it really impossible to save the Han dynasty's rivers and mountains?"

  Xun Yu was a member of the aristocracy, but he still had some feelings for the Han dynasty. Of course, it's also possible that this was because the Xun family were beneficiaries of the Han empire and did not want to see its downfall, as that would mean new turmoil and a redivision of power. Whether the Xun family could again make the right choice was something no one could be certain of.

  That is to say, Xun Shi was loyal to the Han Dynasty to a certain extent, and Xun Yu, this new generation of talented people in the Xun family, may be more loyal than those elders - young people, still with some hot blood.

  Liu Xuan didn't respond, but instead picked up a brush and drew on the white paper for quite some time. In just a moment, a map that seemed real yet wasn't appeared before the two of them.

  He then took a brush and circled the central part of the map: "Suppose all these vassals are standing on this map, if one wants to become the master of the world, what should he do?"

  Xun Yu was startled by Liu Xuan's words, and he even suspected that the new lord might be displeased with him and wanted to find an excuse to kill him. But when his gaze fell on the map that seemed to be but wasn't, a sudden flash of insight burst forth in his mind, and he involuntarily let out a cry of surprise.

  "Huh? What's this..."