Chapter 50 Battle Report

  In the spring of Jian'an 1, the Emperor ordered General Who Pacifies the West Cao Cao and Colonel of the Imperial Forest Guard Zhang Liao to lead troops to quell the bandits. They captured many robust and elite soldiers and formed them into the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

  Later, when Liu Xuan was bored, he flipped through the historian's records and found that only this sentence was recorded. However, both Liu Xuan and Cao Cao knew that this time's suppression of bandits was a very important action for Liu Xuan's power.

  Because this expedition not only pacified the surrounding areas of Chang'an, creating a relatively stable living environment for the people living near Chang'an, but also brought those who were wandering around with considerable labor force and combat power under his command. In this way, whether it was to let them go to the fields or to join the army, Liu Xuan temporarily did not have to worry about population.

  Unfortunately, at this time no one noticed this matter, they were all attracted by the attention of Lü Bu and Niu Fu's great war, even the officials in the court, only a very small number of people saw the importance of Liu Xuan's expedition to suppress bandits.

  It was the existence of this group of people that made Liu Xuan's announcement to send troops to punish the bandits and at the same time issue an edict to eliminate the bandits on the second day of early morning without causing too much opposition.

  The officials were also very concerned about the safety of the surrounding areas, and the Han Dynasty civil servants were also very different from those in later times. They did not hesitate to use force when necessary, let alone a group of bandits who threatened the court's safety?

  The only worry is that Liu Xuan has sent out all the usable troops to fight, and the security guard work of Chang'an City seems to have become a headache. Although Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun have already started to reorganize the imperial guards, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. To put it bluntly, it will take at least a year or two to complete. For now, they are just disrupting the original organization of various soldiers and then reorganizing them for unified management.

  This troop should be the prototype of the Forbidden Army, but the problem of affiliation has never been settled. According to Zhu Jun and Huang Fu's intention, it was to ask the emperor to set up a special official in charge of managing the daily affairs of the Forbidden Army, and when the Forbidden Army went to war, another general would be dispatched to command according to the situation at that time.

  In short, the Lang Jiang in the Imperial Guard had management responsibilities but no right to lead troops into battle. The real commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard should be a general appointed by the Emperor, which can also avoid the situation where someone has too much power.

  However, Liu Xuan felt that the name of Lang Jiang in the Imperial Guard was not good, and it did not show the majesty of the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard - no matter what, Liu Xuan planned to put all the troops with real combat effectiveness in the entire dynasty into the system of the Imperial Guard, how could the highest leader be just a humble Lang Jiang?

  Perhaps at that time, the position of Zhong Lang Jiang was still not bad, but as his power grew bigger and bigger, his territory wider and wider, and wars more and more frequent and inclined to larger scales, the rank of Zhong Lang Jiang was no longer enough to intimidate people, at least a general title would be needed.

  "Establish the Zhonghu Jun, responsible for commanding the Imperial Guards."

  The Zhonghu Jun should be set up later in Shu State, but the troops under its command were only Liu Bei's personal bodyguards. The one who held this position was the famous Zhao Yun, also known as Zhao Zilong. Later people said that Zhao Yun was a bodyguard, which originated from this.

  Liu Xuan's Zhong Hu Jun was greatly different, however. In any case, being in charge of almost all the troops that could be used for battle in the empire, even if only nominally, was enough to make one proud.

  Moreover, there is another situation where the Imperial Guard also has the power to command troops, that is when the Emperor personally leads the expedition.

  Liu Xuanke didn't think he would always sit in Chang'an City, watching his subordinates go out to conquer everywhere. When his cultivation was almost complete, he would also take the battlefield personally. Apart from wanting to see all his enemies fall before him more intuitively, he also wanted to make himself remember that feeling of killing people, otherwise, after enjoying it for thousands of years, how could he still fight with others?

  Letting out a sigh, the bustling February has passed, looking up at the branches that have grown new buds, Liu Xuan sat in the pavilion, continuing to look at the battle report in his hand.

  Dong Zhuo and the Guandong coalition army were still facing off at Hu Lao Pass, but Liu Xuan suddenly ran away and blocked Tong Pass tightly. Dong Zhuo wanted to leave Luoyang, either by entering Jingzhou from the south, then going up to Yangping via Hanzhong, and finally returning to the northwest.

  Either go north and cross the river into Pingzhou, then turn west from the land east of the river, and after crossing the Yellow River again, you can return to the northwest.

  The first method is too troublesome and the route is tortuous. Moreover, Liu Xuan has already issued a decree to capture Dong Zhuo, and Dong's identity has changed from Han Dynasty's national minister to Han Dynasty's national thief, which really brings about the world's joint discussion. At the same time, in order to block Dong's southward route, Liu Xuan specially appointed Liu Biao as the governor of Jingzhou. This royal relative who had not made any moves during the battle against Dong also dispatched a large army and blocked several roads, making them impassable.

  It may not be possible for Liu Biao to send troops north to retake Luoyang, but it is still feasible for him to stop Dong Zhuo. Moreover, Dong Zhuo's main force is in the northwest, and the soldiers in Luoyang are dying one by one without being replenished.

  Adding the title of national thief to his head, Dong Zhuo's soldiers also had all kinds of thoughts, and from time to time, there were soldiers who secretly ran away, not only to avoid being caught and losing their lives, but also to harm their entire family.

  Not to mention these soldiers, even the generals under Dong Zhuo's command are no longer united. If they hadn't been trapped in Luoyang, this group of people would have led their own troops to flee in all directions long ago.

  At present, Dong Zhuo can only trust three or five generals, who are all dispatched to various places for defense. Except for a few trusted men guarding him in Hu Lao Pass, the rest are people with ulterior motives. Dong Zhuo wants to remind them that the allied forces outside the pass will not care about you so much, if you do not fight bravely, you will end up with no good ending.

  Because of this situation, the battle was deadlocked. However, at this time, the war had just started, and the Kwantung Army's morale was high, with no intention of retreating. The two sides were stuck in a stalemate.

  Liu Xuan noticed that the battle report mentioned that Liu Bei also made a name for himself in this battle. Apart from claiming to be a relative of the Han imperial family and writing the declaration against Dong Zhuo, he was called out by Li Meng, a general under Dong Zhuo's command, simply because he was the author of the declaration. As a result, wielding his double-edged sword, Liu Bei fought a battle with Li Meng at Tiger Trap Pass, beheading him after a dozen or so rounds, astonishing the heroes of the eastern provinces.

  At that time, Guan Yu, also known as Guan Yunchang, beheaded Hua Xiong, and Liu Bei also showed his own strength. Many people looked at Gongsun Zan with a few eyes - at this time, Liu Bei was considered to be under the account of Gongsun Zan, and he deliberately sold well to Yuan Shao, so Yuan Shao was quite polite to Liu Bei.

  Therefore, when Guan Yu beheaded Hua Xiong, no one said anything, and naturally there was no such good story as "Wine Beheading Hua Xiong". When Liu Xuan learned about it, he didn't know whether to sigh with regret or feel happy that he had already begun to have a greater impact on this world.

  Apart from these, there's nothing else worth paying attention to. With Liu Xuan stirring things up like this, it's likely that the battle in Guandong won't be decided for another year or two. Of course, with Dong Zhuo causing so much chaos and angering both heaven and man, it's also possible that his subordinates will kill him in order to survive. At the same time, it's also not out of the question that Dong Zhuo will insist on escaping from Luoyang and heading north.

  Let the Ministry of War pay more attention to Dong Zhuo's side, and Liu Xuan took a look at Cao Cao and Lü Bu's battle report.

  To be honest, the battle between these two is not worth paying too much attention to. Cao Cao's side has been smooth sailing since they sent out their troops, wiping out all the bandits in the north of Chang'an and bringing peace to the area while also recruiting many young men - originally there were a lot of old, weak, women and children among the Yellow Turbans, but after several rebellions and being surrounded by government troops, most of them had died. The remaining bandits who managed to survive are mostly young men, with only a small number of women and children mixed in.

  Liu Xuan ordered Cao Cao to send the women and children to Chang'an, while also ordering him to suppress bandits and reorganize the able-bodied men on the spot.

  This time, Cao Cao took out the troops from Chang'an, which was initially organized into the Imperial Guard. This troop also formed the foundation of his Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. It can be said that as long as the organization went smoothly, this batch of soldiers he brought out would eventually become minor officials, and with these people as the basis, he could govern those bandits, fighting and training at the same time to finally form a fledgling army.

  After making a circle, not only did the soldiers of Hu Biao's ride have enough, but they also had a lot of surplus. Liu Xuan was not prepared to take these troops back, but instead planned to let Cao Cao stay outside, on the one hand to prepare for war horses, and on the other hand to guard against Li Jue and Guo Si's two divisions, more importantly, to defend against the northern Huns.

  During the Han Dynasty, whenever there was a major upheaval, the Xiongnu would take advantage of the situation to raid and plunder. This had been happening for hundreds of years, and Liu Xuan himself believed in an iron-blood policy towards foreign tribes - only dead Xiongnu were good Xiongnu. Therefore, when Cao Cao suggested eliminating the bandits, he directly stationed his troops north of Chang'an to guard against the Xiongnu and keep an eye on Guo and Li, and Liu Xuan agreed without hesitation.

  Apart from this, there is another point. If Dong Zhuo wants to escape from Hedong to the northwest, Cao Cao can also intercept and kill him nearby, and he will definitely not be able to let this old thief escape.

  With such arrangements, there would naturally be no more omissions, and Liu Xuan didn't bother to pay attention again - at this time, the means of communication were lagging behind, and if the commander had to wait for the imperial court's orders before taking action, it would be too stupid. Of course, it was up to the general-in-chief to act according to his own judgment, as long as the final result met Liu Xuan's expectations.

  Liu Xuan was thinking about whether he could destroy the White Wave Bandits led by Yang Feng, because he remembered Xu Huang under Yang Feng.

  But later on, Xuhuang was under Yang Feng's account after Yang Feng surrendered to the imperial court. It seems that Xuhuang was not under Yang Feng at this time. Moreover, in order to eliminate the White Wave Bandits, it is necessary to cross the river and move eastward, running too far will easily lead to changes, so this idea was abandoned.

  As for the latest battle report from Lü Bu's side, Liu Xuan only took a glance before tossing it aside.

  "Lü Bu is indeed worthy of being called the world's number one fierce general. After all, Lü Bu didn't become famous by just bragging."

  Lü Bu's battle report was all good news, and it's estimated that Niu Fu's unit will be completely annihilated within a month. As for what happens next... Liu Xuan plans to take some time to rest and recover, after all, with his current strength, going head-to-head with Li Jue and Guo Si wouldn't be wise.