Chapter 92: Pacifying the Northwest

  Ma Chao's problem was thus settled, and the crowd discussed some miscellaneous things. Unexpectedly, just as they were about to disperse, a guard at the gate rushed in and said that there was an urgent military report to be presented.

  "What? Has Guo Aduo caused some trouble again?"

  Guo Ze's nickname was Aduo, and Liu Xuan called him by that name as soon as he opened his mouth, which was a derogatory term. However, his eyes were fixed on the guards who had brought the edict, and he was indeed concerned about what new changes had occurred.

  The guards held the letter in their hands, and everyone looked at each other before finally staring at the letter. Only Zhong Yu, who was standing by the door, stepped forward to take the letter, checked it briefly, and then handed it over to Liu Xuan.

  Liu Xuan glanced over and rushed to the front of Zhong Yu, nodding his head. Zhong Yu immediately understood, opened the letter, and carefully read it.

  Everyone found that Zhong Yu's face was first very calm, but then a look of surprise appeared on his face, and finally his mouth was slightly open, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

  "Your Majesty!" The voice trembled, and it was unclear whether it was from excitement or fear of something, but the crowd felt that the former possibility seemed more likely.

  Liu Xuan was also curious at this time, and said to Zhong Yue: "What did the letter say?"

  Zhong Yu took a deep breath, and only then did he slightly calm down: "The letter was brought by Jin Cheng's governor Han Sui and Han Wen. The letter says that Guo Si was killed by his general Wu Xi, and the head was presented in front of the army, and the whole army begged to surrender!"

  "What?"

  As soon as this was said, everyone in the tent was shocked. It was something that no one could have anticipated, and it was a change of events that shook heaven and earth.

  Li Jue and Guo Si occupied the land of Longxi for a long time, and also operated for a considerable period. There were countless soldiers under their command, but they were successively betrayed by their subordinates, showing that these two men did not know how to win people's hearts.

  Li Jue was slightly better off, and at least he could be said to have been defeated in battle before being captured by the Liu Bei brothers and then executed.

  Guo Si became somewhat tragic, originally he had withstood Han Sui's attack, but unexpectedly provoked dissatisfaction among his subordinates, and was eventually beheaded by Wu Xi, who led the way in opening the camp gates to surrender to Han Sui. The root cause lay in Guo Si's great battle against Han Sui, where after winning with difficulty, he did not reward his meritorious officers, but instead believed that the victory was due to the effect of a female shaman's blessings, and gave her a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels.

  Liu Xuan dragged out a piece of cloth (at this time, many letters were written on cloth, and paper had not yet become popular), laughing and saying: "Heaven will destroy this thief!"

  Before he went to war, Li Jue and Guo Si had heard that they were quite superstitious about the local shamans and witches due to their long stay in the border area and frequent contact with foreigners. Every time they went into battle, they would invite several witches to follow the army, and before a major battle, they would inevitably pray for blessings.

  Unexpectedly, this witch became the downfall of Guo Ze, and Liu Xuan benefited from it for nothing.

  Guo Si had more than 30,000 troops under his command. Although he had been fighting against Han Sui and Ma Teng for a long time, his losses were not heavy. More than half of them were elite soldiers from the border regions. After some reorganization, the strength of the Imperial Guard could be further enhanced.

  Wu Xi's surrender was equivalent to all of them being sold out by Liu Xuan, so he was naturally very happy.

  More importantly, at the moment he received the letter, Liu Xuan felt that the dragon energy in this region had changed, and even the originally unconnected pieces of dragon energy began to merge together. If they were to converge into one piece, then the dragon energy in this world would undergo a qualitative change.

  Along with that, the dragon energy within him would also undergo a change - this change wouldn't be completed overnight, but Liu Xuan saw an opportunity to break through his Dragon Egg stage.

  "Guo Ze died, Wu Xi surrendered, the northwest region was completely pacified. As long as someone is sent to slowly take control of Xiliang, the northwest region will truly return to my rule. It seems that only after completing these tasks can the dragon's aura complete its final transformation, and when that time comes, it will naturally break out of the dragon egg and give birth to a golden dragon."

  It's just that this grand expedition, apart from beheading a clearly brainless Zhang Xiu, didn't really see any major battles. Instead, it was quite dull... He didn't think they would lose this battle, so he came out purely to join in the fun and see if there was anything interesting to watch.

  After all, there's nothing interesting in the palace, and Cai Yan has already been swallowed by him, but recently he is still cultivating the basic Phoenix power, so it's not suitable to roll around with him every day, which not only has no effect, but also accidentally hurts his lovely queen.

  As for Diao Chan? This girl is making rapid progress, but unfortunately, she's too tender, so tender that it's hard to swallow, Liu Xuan estimated that at least another year would be needed.

  "It's only the second year of Jian'an now, and it's only 191 AD. From now on, it's time for the lords of Guandong to perform, I just need to focus on farming in the northwest."

  Now that Li and Guo have been eliminated, the matter will be turned back to the people's livelihood. Liu Xuan estimated that he would have to return to the palace and sit in solitude again.

  At the same time, the reorganization of the Imperial Guard can continue, and because many surplus young men have been caught, the establishment of the provincial troops must also be put on the agenda. The Imperial Guard only needs to garrison some key locations.

  "The Hu Bao riders should also be recalled to the capital, and cannot stay outside for long." The Hu Bao riders will be the elite troops of the imperial court for a very long time to come, and their role will even surpass that of the Hu Bao army. If the Hu Bao army is still restricted from leaving the capital due to its duties, then the Hu Bao riders will not be subject to any restrictions at all, and that is Liu Xuan's true sharp claws.

  In addition, he also needs to take some time to have a good talk with Cao Cao and comfort him - because Liu Xuan gave the position of General of the Western Expedition to Lü Bu, which is the general number that Cao Cao has always been thinking about. If Liu Xuan doesn't comfort him well, it may cause dissatisfaction from this hero.

  Now Cao Cao is not like Lü Bu, Lü Bu has already pledged allegiance, Cao Cao only thinks that being with Liu Xuan can gain the greatest benefit so he assists him, so Liu Xuan still needs to put in some thought.

  After a moment's thought, he had a general idea and ordered the crowd: "Since Guo Si is dead, the reception will be handed over to you. As for Han Xi's reward, give him the title of Zhonglang General."

  Han Sui is from Jincheng, which is also a county in Xiliang. He has great reputation in Liangzhou and is sworn brothers with Ma Teng - but this brotherhood is purely based on self-interest and lacks any emotional connection.

  So although Ma Teng leaned towards the imperial court, it does not mean that Han Sui would be willing to hand over all his power. Liu Xun's attempt to strip him of his position as Taishou of Jincheng will likely be resisted, so he can only put it aside for now and first take control of the surrounding areas of Longzhou before finally dealing with Han Sui.

  He rewarded him as Zhonglang General, just because Liu Xuan had long had the idea of abolishing the title of Zhonglang General. After a while, he abolished the title of Zhonglang General and summoned Han Su to enter the capital to take office. At that time, Liangzhou was basically under his control. If Han Su did not obey, he could also eliminate this hidden danger.

  If he is willing to follow the imperial court's arrangement, then Liu Xuan would not mind granting him a life of wealth and honor.

  With that consideration, there was nothing more to say, and Liu Xuan went back to rest on his own. The remaining civil and military officials discussed how to deal with the mess left behind by Li Jue and Guo Si.

  It has been only three months since we set out in the spring, and even if we return to Chang'an immediately, it will be at most late autumn.

  However, after the war, even if this battle ended in a draw, there were still many things to deal with, and the imperial army could not just leave like that.

  Arrange local officials, post notices to comfort the people, restore civil life and re-govern the chaotic public order during this period, catch those who take advantage of the chaos to do evil, so that the people can rest assured. Each thing looks not big, but they are all particularly difficult and time-consuming things.

  These things must be done, because the imperial court is governing this land, they are not bandits or Yellow Turban rebels, and it's impossible for them to sweep through one place and then leave to sweep through another.

  So, even if it's troublesome, it still has to be done in the end.

  Several people began discussing who could come and take office here. After a good discussion, Linlin and others finally thought of some people.

  Because of Ma Teng's arrival, Liu Ye also took his seat. Xun Yu, Liu Ye and Guo Jia jointly recommended several people, including Cheng Yu, Lü Qian, Mao Jie and Man Chong.

  Unfortunately, Liu Xuan was not present at that time. Otherwise, he would have been overjoyed, because all these people were great talents and the foundation of the later establishment of the Wei State. With these people, there would be more people available for him to use.

  The main thing is that these people are good at internal affairs, and the officials in the court still rely on the old emperor's leftover team. He wants to cultivate his own team and needs some time. But if these people come to supplement, it will undoubtedly speed up the pace of changing blood.

  Xun Yu and others did not know what Liu Xuan's views on these people were, so the few people they recommended did not directly enter the court, but stayed in various places in Guanzhong to serve.

  These people are quite talented and have also served as officials in various places since their early years, so they don't lack experience. Now that they've been recommended, it's unlikely that anyone would think they can't be used.

  Yang Biao thought for a moment, these few places were just occupied, indeed need some young and capable people to sit in town, those people in the court are either too old or lack of adaptability, even if they have more experience as officials than these people, but really want to do things, I'm afraid it's still not comparable to these few, so he nodded slightly as a sign of recognition.

  Yang Biao's approval was seen, and Xun Yu and others did not have much to worry about. This time, Yang Biao actually represented the old forces in the court, especially the attitude of the three dukes.

  Having obtained Yang Biao's approval, it would be equivalent to no resistance from the three dukes, and then the emperor's agreement would make this matter thoroughly settled.

  However, it's hard to settle on a specific position just yet, because before that, there are still some things that need to be resolved.