The emperor was a little excited when he won the first battle. But after seeing the casualties statistics, he was silent again.

All divisions suffered casualties, most of which were Lu Bu's subordinates. He fought several battles with the Xianbei people, killing more than 600 people, and more than 200 people were seriously injured. Almost everyone was injured. He was tired of men and horses, lacked arrows, and his combat power was sharply reduced. He could no longer serve as the responsibility of a forward.

In contrast, the Central Army led by the emperor participated in the war for the first time, and caught the Xianbei people off guard, and the losses were not large. The three divisions of the Central Army also suffered the smallest losses. It was not because the Yulin Langs had higher martial arts than the Liangzhou knights, but because they had better equipment. Practice has proved that the armor of the Nanyang Iron Officers is stronger and the chance of being killed by arrows is greatly reduced. Compared with ordinary standard armor, it is at least 30%. Even the injured soldiers are mostly slightly injured, and they can be treated simply without affecting their combat effectiveness.

Lu Bu was indignant. The Yulin Cavalry and Liangzhou Army equipped new armors in different ways, but he was the most at a disadvantage. He only got more than a dozen sets of new armors rewarded, and ordinary soldiers still used old armors. If he could also have nearly a thousand sets of new armors like Han Sui and Ma Teng, his losses would be reduced by at least half, and he would have the power to fight again, so he would not have to fight desperately if he had to compete with Ma Chao like now.

Lu Bu couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, the weapons of the Nanyang Iron Official are indeed well-known. Unfortunately, the Yulin Cavalry is not equipped with horse armor, otherwise the battle will be better."

Ma Chao's expression suddenly changed. Han Sui and Ma Teng's subordinates all had horse armor, but Yulin cavalry did not. Although the emperor received Yang Biao's 300 million yuan, the emperor needed too much to afford horse armor. The emperor never said it, but this was a knot in the emperor's heart. Lu Bu's purpose at this time was obvious.

The emperor's face changed slightly, and his smile was a little unnatural. He understood Lu Bu's intention, but he felt even more sad. Lu Bu's words made him feel that the biggest contributor to defeating the Xianbei people this time was neither Lu Bu nor Ma Chao, nor him, but Sun Ce. Without the weapons provided by Sun Ce, could he gain such a clear advantage?

Liu Ye changed the topic in time. "Wen Hou, what is the situation in Fuping? Can you enter?"

Fuping was originally the capital of the Beidi County, just south of Qingshan Gorge and east of the river. Due to the Qiang Rebellion, this place was abandoned. When Lu Bu passed by there, the gate of Fuping was closed, and there was no one outside the city, and there was a dead silence.

"The scout said there were no people in the city, only some refugees who had nowhere to go, and I don't know where they came from."

Liu Ye and the emperor discussed it and decided to enter Fuping. Although Fuping was abandoned, there was still a city wall. If the Xianbei people attacked, they could withstand it for a while and there was a chance to react. The emperor agreed and immediately ordered to rush to Fuping, and sent scouts to Lingzhou and Lian County to inquire about the situation.

After packing up the battlefield, the soldiers of the Han army rushed to Fuping with spoils. Lu Bu said it was right. Fuping was empty and there were not many people in the city. The houses were scattered, wild grass was overgrown, and wild foxes appeared. Fuping's glory as the county governor back then could only see from the remaining city walls.

Even though the emperor had seen the destruction of Chang'an City, he was stunned by the scene in front of him and could not speak for a long time. He was patrolling Liangzhou, as far as Jincheng, and knew that Liangzhou was desolate and was often moved, and felt that this trip was eye-opening and had a personal experience of the predicament of Liangzhou, but he did not expect that he would fall to such a level. Now, the counties he passed by were in good condition. If it weren't for the invasion of the Xianbei people, he insisted on attacking, and I'm afraid he would never know the real situation in Liangzhou in this life.

"Jincheng is going westward, isn't it... all like this?" The emperor asked Huangfu Song. After he arrived in Jincheng, the ministers made suggestions at the same time, hoping that he would not go west again. At that time, he thought it was because there was not enough food and grass. Now it seems that he probably doesn't want him to see more.

Huangfu Song had a slight head. It was so difficult to hide it anymore, so it was useless to tell it. Besides, he felt that letting the emperor know some truth is not a bad thing. "Although it is not entirely true, it is almost the same. However, compared with other counties, the situation in the northern region is the most serious."

"Why?"

"After pacifying the Qiang Rebellion in the early years, most of them were accustomed to resettling the Qiang people in the northern part of the peace area. The Qiang people lived in a difficult life and were forced to migrate. The court failed to properly resettle them. Most of the money and grain allocated were greedy, and there were very few people in the hands of the Qiang people. The prefect, most of them were from the mainland and could not understand the hard work of the people in the border areas. They only cared about their own political achievements, levying heavy taxes, and even demolishing houses. The Qiang people were helpless to rebel again and again."

The emperor was in a low mood. He paid a lot of attention to the civil war in Liangzhou and knew that there had been many killings in Liangzhou. In the fourth year of Zhongping, Liangzhou Geng Bi was killed by Han Sui because of his greed for Cheng Qiu. At that time, he thought that the civil war in Liangzhou was tough and difficult to control. Now he realized that they had no choice but to have any difficulties. There were differences and hostility in Guandong and Guanxi.

"If you don't pacify Liangzhou and recover your hometown, you will be ashamed of Fu Nanrong." The emperor clenched his fists and sighed to the sky.

Huangfu Song coughed a few times and gasped, saying, "Your Majesty has this ambition, Liangzhou will have hope. Your Majesty, Liangzhou has good horses and soldiers, Qin has won the world with it, Han has defeated the Huns with it, Your Majesty moved the capital to Chang'an, ten years of rest and recuperation, ten years of peace, ten years of peace, and a revival is expected. The ice is three feet long, not a day of cold, so don't be anxious to achieve success."

The emperor bowed and bowed. "I hope the Grand Tutor will remind you all the time and do not hesitate to teach you."

——

The emperor stayed in Fuping for a night, and Han Sui and Ma Teng led the rear army to catch up and meet with the emperor.

Seeing that the emperor made military achievements and heard Ma Chao say that Lu Bu was provoking trouble in front of the emperor, Han Sui and Ma Teng were very unhappy, but they had to make some statements, sending elite cavalry equipped with new types of weapons to join the war. With these two thousand elite cavalry, especially four hundred armored cavalry, the advantages of the Han army became more obvious. Yan Youli did not dare to fight at all. Seeing that the Han army was chasing him in a hurry, he threw down the cattle and sheep and the captives, fled in panic.

The emperor chased Lingwu Valley and stopped moving forward. Going further forward is the desert, and the danger coefficient doubled. The marching in the desert is dangerous, and the food and grass they carry cannot last long. Once they get lost in the desert or have no food and water, they may be defeated without the attack of the Xianbei people.

Standing on Helan Mountain and looking at the desert from afar, the emperor was filled with emotion. Although the confrontation with the Xianbei people was short, he gained a lot. The Xianbei people were not scary. When fighting head-on, the Han army had obvious advantages, but it was not easy to defeat the Xianbei people. Not only did he need 100,000 elite cavalry, but also needed sufficient money and food to support the army to the desert and chase them all to the Xianbei people's hometown.

If you want to truly defeat the Xianbei people, you must first defeat Sun Ce. Only by defeating Sun Ce and pacifying the world can he raise enough money and grain to conquer the Xianbei people. Otherwise, even if you have the Liangzhou cavalry, he will not be able to go on an expedition. He can only wait for the Xianbei people to come to the door and cannot take the initiative.

The emperor's mood was never as urgent as ever.

——

The boat slowly landed on the dock. The soldiers threw down the cables from the shore, lowered the anchor, and fixed the boat. Then they opened the door and lowered the springboard. The guards and infantry rode on the shore in a row, and Bai Lishi and Yi Congying also followed him to the shore and lined up their formation.

Sun Ce got on the shore, and Yu Fan, who was standing on the shore, quickly greeted him and bowed to him. "Congratulations to the lord for his triumphant success."

Sun Ce waved his hand. "Zhongxiang, let's talk about these polite words later. Is there any news in Jiaozhou?"

Yu smiled. "Lord, there is no news. No news is good news."

Sun Ce agreed with Yu Fan's opinion. He was confident in Sun Jian's ability. After all, he fought all the way. Even if Xi Zhicai, Liu Yao and others joined forces, it would not be easy to wipe out Sun Jian's entire army at once. No news came, which means that Sun Jian could withstand it.

"Lord, have you ever made any other arrangements besides sending me a message?"

Sun Ce smiled. "I sent someone to Jiaozhou to check the situation and notified Zhou Gongjin, asking him to move his troops south and enter Jiaozhou to fight."

Yu Fan nodded and said nothing. The two left the dock, the carriages were ready, and the team started. Sun Ce leaned against the wall of the car and looked at Yu Fan opposite him. "Zhongxiang thought I was too worried?"

Yu Xiang smiled. "Lord, care will cause chaos. Father and son, brothers, and blood are connected, which is very natural. But..." He looked at Sun Ce, slowed down his speech, his smile on his face became weaker, but he became more serious. "Even father and son, brothers, we cannot forget the righteousness of the monarch and ministers. Although the gains and losses of Jiaozhou are important, the lord cannot make things messed up because of this."

Sun Ce didn't say anything and looked at Yu Fan quietly. As soon as he got ashore, Yu Fan said such words to him. Naturally, he felt that it was very important and he had to say it.

"The lord is wise and has been with five states for several years, and now he has half of Youzhou. It is no longer the time when the General of the Cavalry was fighting in Xiangyang. You can travel from Lujiang day and night." Yu Fan paused and said, "At home, he is a father and son, and goes out to be a monarch and minister. If the lord does not believe that the General of the Cavalry has such ability, he should not entrust him with such tasks. Wouldn't it be better to arrange other people? Is it because General of the Cavalry is your father? Nepotism is a taboo for the lord."

"This... was asked by my father."

"He asked, the lord agreed?"

Sun Ce was so amused that Yu Fan said nothing but save face.

"Lord, everything is too much. Even if the family, country and the world are still different, public and private matters must be distinguished. If something happens in Jiaozhou, the lord will send troops to rescue him at all costs. If something happens in Youzhou, will you save him? If something happens in Jingzhou, will you save him?"

Sun Ce couldn't stand it and smiled mockingly, "Isn't there something wrong at the same time?"
Chapter completed!