Chapter 70: Vanguard

  Liu Xuan did not know that Xun Yu would have such a guess, fortunately Xun Yu felt that this idea was too unreliable and soon threw it aside.

  Later, Liu Xuan again passed on the formula to Zhang Liao and had it sent to Cao Cao, also asking Cao Cao to pass on the basic formula in his hand to those generals.

  As for Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, since they had already arrived in Chang'an, Liu Xuan personally sent someone to guide them. This task naturally fell on Zhang Liao's shoulders, which also allowed the Xiahou brothers to have some interaction with Zhang Liao.

  These things, Liu Xuan did not avoid Liu Bei at all, so during this period of time, Liu Bei seemed a bit dazed, probably because what he had seen and heard during this period of time had already exceeded his understanding.

  At first, when leading the troops to fight against the Yellow Turban bandits, he had also seen the Yellow Turbans using magic spells. However, he never thought that the Emperor would also understand these mysterious arts. He wanted to ask for guidance, but thinking that he had just arrived in Chang'an and hadn't yet gained the Emperor's trust, although the Emperor recognized him as his uncle, if he asked again, it would seem too greedy.

  Liu Bei didn't know that Liu Xuan wouldn't be stingy with this set of skills, it's just that now isn't the best time to pass them on to Liu Bei.

  At first, the initial dragon energy was divided into three parts. Cao Cao's part was intercepted and killed halfway, another part should have gone to Sun's place, and the other part is on Liu Bei's body.

  Since meeting Liu Bei, the dragon energy in Liu Xuan's body has been responding. He has been quietly trying to seize that dragon energy for some time now. If he were to pass on the cultivation method at this time, Liu Bei, with the dragon energy in his body, would definitely make rapid progress. Moreover, the dragon energy would transform from a protective aura into true yuan energy that Liu Bei could wield. Wouldn't that mean allowing Liu Bei to grasp the usage of dragon energy as well? This was something he absolutely couldn't do.

  Moreover, Liu Bei didn't actively ask for it, so he pretended as if nothing had happened and acted as if he didn't know.

  In the spring of the 2nd year of Jian'an, March 191 AD.

  The imperial court ordered Lv Bu to be the General of Conquering the West, appointed as the vanguard officer, commanding the Hu Bao army in front, and the Emperor himself led 10,000 imperial guards out of Chang'an to conquer Li Jue and Guo Si.

  This time, the expedition was not secretive, but rather publicly announced. As a result, the troops that were originally expected to depart in February did not set out from Chang'an until mid-March.

  Liu Xuan rode on horseback, with Liu Bei and Zhang Liao on either side of him. Further back were all the civil and military officials who followed the army, and in the distance could be seen Huangfu Song and Guan Yu, Zhang Fei each leading their troops to guard the sides.

  It was Huang Zhong, who had accepted the imperial edict, but because the journey was a bit far away, he would not be able to arrive for the time being. Moreover, even if he really arrived, this battle would probably not involve Huang Han Sheng's turn.

  Not to mention Lü Bu, who was the vanguard general, and his various generals, Liu Xuan had strong generals such as Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei by his side. Liu Xuan looked around and felt that staying in this position was too safe, so safe that... it didn't feel like they were going to battle at all.

  Looking ahead, the dense army and horses stretched all the way to the horizon. The long queue almost reached the sky. Looking back was the same. Liu Xuan sighed: "It turns out that when thousands of troops marched, it was like this."

  Although he had seen big battles before, at that time it was not necessary to march slowly on the ground, so Liu Xuan also saw such a scene for the first time and couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

  "I wonder what kind of scene it would be if hundreds of thousands of troops went out to battle."

  Just then Zhang Liao happened to be standing nearby and overheard the conversation. He respectfully said to Emperor Xian, "Your Majesty is unaware that even if hundreds of thousands of troops were mobilized, it would still be like this."

  "Oh?"

  Zhang Liao pointed and said, "The army is numerous, the momentum is vast and far exceeds what can be seen with the naked eye. What can be seen at a glance is just this piece, unless you climb to a high place to look down, you can't see the difference."

  Liu Xuan nodded and thought for a moment before asking, "Do you think Wen Yuan can guess how Feng Xian will fight this battle as the vanguard?"

  Zhang Liao heard the emperor's inquiry and responded directly: "According to General Lv's habit, he will certainly rush quickly onto the battlefield, first give the enemy a head-on blow, then lead the army in a pincer movement. After winning the first battle, they would not occupy the city or county, but instead pursue the enemy."

  Generally, vanguards are responsible for opening roads, building bridges, detecting road safety ahead of time, clearing out some harassing enemies, and ambushing enemy scouts. They pave the way for the main force to follow, and on the battlefield, the vanguard must decide whether to help the main force seize a good position or launch an attack.

  Generally, the main goal is to seek stability, and once the main force arrives at the camp, the vanguard's task is completed. At most, during battles, the vanguard will come out again to fight a head-on battle - of course, this is not always the case, it is also possible that due to the vanguard being exhausted, they will go rest and let others fight the head-on battle.

  But it depends on who is doing the vanguard, if Lü Bu were to do it, not fighting a battle would be impossible. Even according to Zhang Liao's words, that is: "General Lü probably wants to decide the northwest in one battle, Your Majesty can just take over and doesn't need to participate in the war."

  Liu Xuan smiled: "If so, then it's even better."

  This time when they went out to battle, all 10,000 of the well-trained Imperial Guards in Chang'an were taken out, leaving only 3,000 troops who were still being trained and 2,000 newly recruited soldiers in the city.

  The intention was to conquer the northwest and all its counties in one battle. Many of the court's skilled warriors, including Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun, and Huangfu Song, jumped at the chance to join the campaign.

  What's the point of having Liu Xuan reorganize the imperial guards, can't do without a few people? Moreover, Chang'an is the foundation of the court, absolutely cannot have any mishaps, so please let a few people stay in Chang'an to ensure the safety of the capital. Such words were suppressed, this time when Liu Xuan went on an expedition, he only brought his most trusted confidants, so there weren't many people.

  Among the three dukes, Yang Biao followed the army, and Wen Chen brought Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Li Su. In addition to these, he also brought a yellow gate attendant, Zhong Yao, who was promoted by Xun Yu to the position of Yellow Gate Attendant. Originally, he was just a small official in the court, but after Xun You was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, Liu Xuan was troubled that there was no suitable person for the position of Yellow Gate Attendant, so Xun Yu recommended Zhong Yao, who was also from Yingchuan.

  Zhong Yu, this person, Liu Xuan at the time really didn't think of it, just thought he was a fellow townsman of Xun Yu, later suddenly remembered that Zhong Yu seemed to be doing quite well in both the Romance and official histories, more importantly his son seemed to be the very same Zhong Hui who participated in the conquest of Shu.

  He wondered if the bell had been born at this point, and in his spare time, he chatted with Zhong Yu about family matters. He knew that although Zhong Yu had married early, he still didn't have a son. At that moment, Liu Xuan even suspected whether he had remembered wrongly.

  However, Zhong You himself was also very talented and learned. After chatting with him for a while, Liu Xuan was quite satisfied with his appointment as the Yellow Gate Gentleman-in-Attendance. Moreover, Zhong You's calligraphy had its own unique style, which could provide Liu Xuan with an additional pastime when he had nothing else to do.

  Wen Chen brought these few people, and after setting up camp every day, they would gather in Liu Xuan's large tent to discuss matters. However, there were actually not many things to discuss at the moment. Only Taifu Yang Bi advised Liu Xuan: "The General of the Western Expedition is leading his troops too hastily, and this may fall into Li and Guo's ambush."

  Liu Xuan nodded, not saying anything. Since he had spoken with Zhang Liao, he knew that Lü Bu was so arrogant and would not wait quietly for his main force to arrive. Now, this proved that Lü Bu was eager to make achievements, and Liu Xuan did not dare to reprimand him.

  "General Lü has been through many battles, with brave generals under his command as numerous as clouds. He himself is also a top-notch general in the world, so he probably won't underestimate the enemy's strategy. General Taoyi doesn't have to worry too much."

  Yang Biao saw the emperor say this, and could only secretly shake his head and sit back down. However, thinking about Lü Bu's strength, he slightly put his mind at ease.

  This time the imperial court went on an expedition, it was originally a weak attack on the strong, with fewer troops fighting more. If Lü Bu comes up with another trick, how can this battle be fought?

  Several civil officials in the account were not high-ranking officials, such as Xun Yu, Zhong Yao, and Guo Jia, who all sat at the lower seats. Only Li Su's rank was slightly higher. Seeing the awkward atmosphere, he spoke up: "General Lü's bravery is known throughout the world. When the enemy hears General Lü's name, they haven't even seen him yet, but their courage has already weakened by three points. How can they not be defeated before the battle?"

  These words were also to comfort Yang Biao, telling him not to worry too much. After all, Lü Bu's reputation was indeed intimidating. Although Li Jue and Guo Si were also famous generals of the Western Liang, they were still a notch below Lü Bu. Even if these two men were not afraid, what about his subordinates?

  As long as the first encounter did not withstand Lü Bu's attack, then the next step would be a complete collapse of the situation, and it could not be stopped. This is the effect of the prestige of a famous general.

  In fact, this name is now looking down at the soldiers under his command with a headache.

  The Hu Bīng Army was reorganized to consist of 1,000 Hu Bīng cavalry and 2,000 Hu Bīng Imperial Guards. Originally a guard unit, Lü Bu led the Hu Bīng Army as vanguard instead.

  The Hu Bao riders didn't need to worry, the cavalry came and went like the wind, and they were also old troops reorganized. Lü Bu was quite familiar with commanding them. However, those two thousand Hu Bao Imperial Guards were armored infantry, not that Lü Bu couldn't use them, but rather he just didn't like to.

  Fortunately, there was Gao Shun under his command. Lü Bu had Gao Shun disperse the infantry camp he commanded and merge it into the Tiger Warriors, allowing Gao Shun to bring out the might of these infantrymen in the shortest time possible. Although this period has been somewhat effective, it still fell short of Lü Bu's expectations.

  Cheng Lian saw this situation and spoke directly: "The general has been rushing along the way, and the soldiers are too tired. This place is already close to the territory of Li and Guo's two thieves, and it may be possible to fight with the enemy at any time. It's better to slow down for a few days and let the soldiers recover some strength."

  Lü Bu, although sometimes appearing reckless, was not a fool. He understood that if the soldiers were exhausted, what would be the point of fighting? So he nodded in agreement and turned to Wei Xu and Song Xian, instructing: "You two each take 100 light cavalry to scout out the surrounding area, we will set up camp here for today."

  Just as the words had not fallen, Lü Bu suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, his head slightly tilted, and in the flash of lightning, an arrow flew past his helmet, if Lü Bu hadn't dodged quickly, this arrow would have taken his life.