Chapter Forty-Five: Rumors and News

  Xun Yu wore casual clothes, with his hands clasped behind his back, walking neither quickly nor slowly on the main street of Lingzhou City. Behind him, two attendants from Luoyang followed closely.

  "All along the way west, after leaving Chang'an, I haven't seen such a bustling and prosperous scene. This Lingzhou City is indeed a bright spot on this vast land of Xiliang."

  As Li Zhong took charge of Lingzhou, a series of measures were implemented to gradually restore the city of Lingzhou to its former prosperity during the Fu family's time.

  And because of Li Zhong's unconventional ideas for this era, the city is even more orderly, tidy and clean.

  Walking on the main street, a glance gives people a refreshing and comfortable feeling.

  As he walked, Xun Yu saw that not far away on the street side, construction seemed to be underway. Many workers were shouting slogans, the sound of hammering was ringing out, blending with the slogans, like a rhythmic melody.

  "This must be the sewer project that Captain Li was talking about? Let's go take a look."

  Xun Yu said, walking over with a calm and composed pace.

  As I approached, I saw that some of the workmen had dug a long trench along the street, three feet wide and deep. Others were laying down slabs of stone, polished to a high gloss, in the bottom and sides of the trench.

  Another group of people followed closely behind, covering the stone-paved trenches with stone slabs and filling in the necessary places with mud.

  A craftsman saw Xun Yu and others approaching, so he stepped forward to respectfully warn: "Please keep the noble people away from the construction site, lest they be accidentally injured."

  Xun Yu heard this and smiled awkwardly. He brought two attendants with him, slightly distancing themselves from the others, and then walked along this 'sewer'.

  "Master,"

  One of the attendants beside him said at this time: "I observe that so-called drainage project is a major defeat for that person."

  "Oh?"

  Xun Yu's eyes flashed, and he smiled as he asked, "What makes you say that?"

  "This sewer leads directly out of the city, if an enemy comes to attack, this will be a weakness!"

  The implication of this servant is very clear. The sewer connects inside and outside, although the space in it is only three feet, but it can still allow people to pass through.

  If there is a siege, the enemy will surely not let go of this shortcut.

  Xun Yu slightly nodded his head, but smiled and said: "Your words are not wrong, but I don't think Li Colonel hasn't thought of this. This person has just emerged, but judging from his actions, can be summed up in one word - bold and meticulous!"

  "These... words of yours make sense."

  Xun Yu nodded and smiled, "This underground waterway is indeed convenient for the residents of the city, but as you said, it's a weakness. I wonder what our Li Xiao Wei is thinking?"

  Xun Yu was also in doubt.

  Perhaps there's more to this waterway than meets the eye!

  Xun Yu had made up his mind in this way.

  Just as they were walking along, a horse's hooves echoed from afar.

  A group of about ten cavalrymen rode by on horseback at a moderate pace, not fast enough to disturb pedestrians.

  All that can be seen is that these cavalrymen, both men and horses, are fully armored, with long swords hanging from the waists of the riders on horseback, long bows hung from saddles, quivers on their backs, each one holding their heads high and chests out, with a certain air of majesty in every glance.

  "They even have armor on their war horses, although it's just leather armor, but it looks like it's well-made and has excellent defense...". Xun Yu observed while secretly calculating: "I suppose this is the elite cavalry that Li Shoujie mentioned? Indeed, they can be considered elite, and judging by their appearance, they are also battle-hardened warriors who have killed people and seen blood."

  Xun Yu's eyes were poisonous, and he made a judgment in an instant.

  "Judging from their appearance, they should be light cavalry." A nearby attendant said at this time: "With longbows as the mainstay and machetes as auxiliary, it must be light cavalry without a doubt. I didn't expect that even light cavalry would have full-body armor, and even the war horses were defended against water leakage. Just this set of equipment is considered elite."

  Xun You recalled his conversation with Li Zhen, remembered his unusual way of communicating, and connected it to the current sewer attack and this cavalry. Xun You felt that coming to Lingzhou City was indeed not a wasted trip.

  It also included delicious wheat rice enjoyed during the day, and those unseen meat dishes, with an indescribable fragrance that left a deep impression on Xun Yu.

  "He's really not a bad person."

  Xun Yu thought to himself.

  After exchanging a few words with Xun You, Li Jing didn't deliberately pay attention to him again and returned to the grassland the next day on some pretext.

  During this period, the situation in the world was changing unpredictably. Li Jue felt a sense of urgency with the emergence of new forces such as Han Sui and Zhang Chun from Liangzhou, Zhang Ju from Youzhou, and the Xiongnu people who were about to rise up.

  Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju's rebellion was too far away from Li Jing, so he didn't bother with it.

  Han Ji had Xun Yu's cooking on this side, so it was unlikely to change in the short term. Only the northern Xiongnu made Li Jing have a covetous heart.

  This time, the Han court ordered the Xiongnu to conquer Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, which will lead to a series of great changes within the Xiongnu. If Li Jing didn't remember wrong, the Xiongnu would be in internal strife.

  This gave Li Zhen an opportunity to dye the river suite.

  That was the best pasture, and its importance to Li Zhuang is self-evident.

  Anyway, he had to take a bite of the fat meat in this grand feast. It was not Li Zhong's style to watch others share the delicious food with open eyes.

  This time back to Caichang, Li Zhong left Zhang Shan in charge of Lingzhou's military affairs and brought back Bai Lang and Nuo Luo.

  Back to the grassland, and then called Zhao Wu, together with Li Zhong, a total of four people, arrived at Li Zhong's study.

  "Let the three of you sit down," Li Zhong said, "According to the information from Xun Gongda, I think there will be internal strife in the northern Xiongnu soon!"

  As soon as these words came out, the three people present couldn't help but change their expressions.

  "What does your lordship mean?"

  Zhao Wu concentrated his mind and asked.

  "The internal strife of the Xiongnu is our opportunity." Li Zhong said in a low voice: "Our foundation is the war horse, and the pasture is the foundation. The larger the area of pasture we grasp, the faster we will develop. So I'm preparing to take action against the Xiongnu!"

  The three men heard this and swallowed their saliva.

  How big is the power of the Xiongnu? The grassland now has a little more power.

  All three of them found it unbelievable and had never thought that their master would have such an idea!

  "What's wrong, scared?!"

  Li Ding's mouth curled up, saying: "They're just Xiongnu people, what difference is there between them and Han Sui? Han Sui has an army of over a million, I dare to provoke him, and the Xiongnu are no exception!"

  Three people were silent.

  "Of course, I'm not going to defeat the Xiongnu, but I still have some self-awareness." Li Zhong hesitated and said: "It's just that taking advantage of the internal strife among the Xiongnu people, we can capture a pasture in the north. The goal is to make the Xiongnu surrender!"

  "If it's like this, then the opportunity is not small."

  "The White Wolf spoke up: 'Your Majesty, the Xiongnu Bialou are also known as the Jie people. Their sphere of influence is in the northern border near the Great River, where there is a vast grassland. They have a population of around 400,000 to 500,000, with about 10,000 strong warriors.'"

  "Ten thousand..."

  Li Zhong furrowed his brow and said after a moment: "The new and old soldiers of the grassland currently total over 4,000 people, the difference in strength is not great."

  After thinking for a while, Li Zhēn's spirit shook, and he clenched his fist, saying: "I have decided to launch an attack in November of this winter, striving to defeat the Jie tribes before the year is out and bring that pasture under our control!"

  "Now that it's almost September, over the next two months, intensify training for soldiers and quickly bring all soldiers up to first-class equipment standards. At the same time, continue recruiting troops and quickly narrow the gap in strength with the Xiongnu."

  Now that Li Zhēn has made up his mind, the three people present naturally would no longer have any objections.

  "In these two months, we must thoroughly investigate the distribution of power among the Xiongnu and Jie tribes. Knowing ourselves and knowing our enemies will allow us to win a hundred battles without danger. I'll leave this task to Bailang. Li Zhuo thought for a moment before saying: "We can use the form of merchant caravans to infiltrate and gather information."

  The white wolf cupped his fists and bowed, saying: "Your subordinate has received your orders."

  "Nuro, your task is to quietly gather the elite troops under my command to the northern edge of the hillside in the grasslands, and wait for my order to set out immediately."

  "Zhao Wu, your task is to assist in doing a good job of logistics work."

  He dismissed the two White Wolf Guards, and left Zhao Wu behind, saying: "At present, the imperial power of Liangzhou has completely collapsed, and many counties in Beidi Prefecture are already in a state without government. I want to bring these counties under my control, but I don't have enough manpower at my disposal..."

  Zhaowu also deeply understood this point, just like Li Zhuang, he was also very helpless.

  The meat on the edge is inedible, and it's all because of helplessness.

  "So, we must cultivate our own talents!" Li Zhēng's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness: "I don't need any great talent, just being able to handle daily government affairs is enough. So, in terms of education, it's time to start implementing."

  "Zhao Wu frowned and said: 'What does His Majesty mean?'"

  "I have decided to open a school in each of the townships in Lingzhou." Li Zhēng said, "This is a long-term project, but the earlier it starts, the better. The only problem now is that there is no one to implement it specifically, and naturally, the financial expenditure will not be small either."

  "In terms of education in Lingzhou, the elder is Mr. Li Yuanli, and I plan to ask him to take charge of this matter. However, before that, you need to make all necessary preparations."

  Zhao Wu nodded silently.

  His task is very heavy, not only to manage the entire pasture operation, but also to prepare for winter mobilization and logistics, now he has to prepare for all aspects of education, which makes him a bit overwhelmed.

  This is an unavoidable thing.

  Zhao Wu's ability is limited to this. If it were Xun Yu, he would probably turn his brain around and handle these things in an orderly manner with a few words.