Wei Ni

After listening to Fu Gu's suggestion, Xiahou Hui understood it roughly.

He simply wanted to do the opposite, to prove the greedy nature of the barbarians and their desire to raise the price, so that Gongsun Yuan would despise them and think that they were incapable of accomplishing anything, and there was no need to worry about Mo Huba posing a threat to him.

The most important thing is that, considering the current situation, Gongsun Yuan will agree again, and will also take the opportunity to put forward conditions in a very tough manner, forcing Mohuba and his people not to get close to the Liao River.

As the Bai tribe of Xianbei moved away, the garrison in Liaoyang County was also transferred away.

But, wouldn't that backfire?
What if Gongsun Yuan gets angry and sends more troops to Liaoyang County?
Now the two thousand county soldiers in Liaoyang cannot stop the Wei army from crossing the Liao River.

Even if the Wei army was discovered when they went around Liaoze, considering the distance between Liaoyang and Xiangping, by the time Gongsun Yuan learned about it and reacted, the Wei army had already crossed the Liaoshui River.

Therefore, Xiahou Hui had already begun to regret asking Fu Gu for advice.

This was the first time he asked Fu Gu for advice after he made him his confidant and adviser, and Fu Gu also made a countermeasure with certainty, so he couldn't just not take it, right?
What if we don't handle it well and Fu Gu feels that he is being fooled?

But he couldn't just agree to it.

You cannot take chances in military affairs, especially when you can handle the situation, and you should not create unnecessary trouble.

Because of unexpected events, things often happen unexpectedly.

Fortunately, Mo Huba was there.

Just as Xiahou Hui was twirling his beard and pondering, Mo Huba, who had just learned about Fu Gu's proposal through the interpreter, explained guiltily that he had previously demanded a lot of money and food from Liaodong, and Gongsun Yuan had already sent an envoy to convey his anger. If he went to ask for it again this time, he was afraid that Gongsun Yuan would really turn against him.

This also gave Xiahou Hui a very appropriate reason to refuse.

He quickly claimed that he would never make things difficult for Mo Huba, and then asked him to leave only a few dozen scouts to keep an eye on the situation in the upper reaches of the Liao River from now on, and to cover up the matter without leaving any trace.

After that, he asked some other questions and then left, citing busy military duties as an excuse.

Mo Huba, who wanted to take the opportunity to get closer to the main general who was attacking Liaodong, did not dare to keep him any longer. He just took his people and walked him for more than 20 miles before leaving.

After he walked away, Xiahou Hui pulled the reins, slowed down and rode side by side with Fu Gu, and explained in a low voice, "Just now in the tent, I didn't follow Lanshi's advice, not because I didn't trust Lanshi's wisdom. It was because the leader of Mohuba had already said he would refuse, and he is a new member of Wei State. We are relying on his strength, so we should not force him, so as not to alienate him. I hope Lanshi will not worry."

"Ha, this is because I don't know much about it, so how can I be suspicious?"

Unexpectedly, Fu Gu patted his thigh upon hearing this and said in a very casual manner, "Besides, I have known Zhiquan for a long time, and Zhiquan is willing to be lenient with me on such a small matter, which makes me feel overly suspicious."

Uh?
Xiahou Hui was slightly stunned, then burst into laughter, "This is my fault, it's all my fault! Hahaha~"

The two of them joked around for a while, and Fu Gu finally brought up his thoughts in the yurt, but when he made his suggestion, his tone was full of negotiation. Perhaps he had realized that although he was from the north, he did not grow up in the frontier, so he did not know much about the frontier, so he was worried that his thoughts might conflict with reality.

"Lan Shi's words are inappropriate."

As expected, Xiahou Hui refused without hesitation. "Lan Shi may not know that slave trade is very popular between the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes in the northern border, and their leaders often sell weak tribesmen. If we buy slaves from Mohuba, it will not only prevent him from being hated by other tribes, but will help boost his prestige and make more tribes willing to follow him."

Ah ~
Is that so?
The tribal chief actually sold his people as slaves.
Fu Gu touched his nose, looking a little embarrassed.

After all, he was still too young, and he had lived in Luoyang since he was young, and had never gone out to study or travel, so it was inevitable that when he put forward strategies, his opinions were only insights but not practical.

"Besides, even if the Bai tribe of Xianbei becomes powerful, what does Wei have to worry about?"

Xiahou Hui did not notice Fu Gu's color, but looked far into the distance at the vibrant and lush fields in midsummer, and said generously, "In the past, Maodun made the Xiongnu as powerful as the sun, and then there was the event of Fenglangjuxu? Later, Tan Shihuai made the Xianbei territory thousands of miles, and now various tribes are still vying to be our Wei Kingdom's vassal and seek submission? From this, we can see that the threat of the barbarians on the border is not in the border, but in the court! If our Wei Kingdom had a clean government, a full treasury, and soldiers and common people were willing to die, what would the barbarians be worth? It is also possible to Fenglangjuxu again and make all the countries in the Western Regions counties!"

"nice!"

Fu Gu couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised, "Today I know that Zhiquan has the ambition to become the champion marquis!"

Do I want to be the second Huo Qubing?
How did you understand this?

I just want to kill the possibility of the Sima family becoming an imperial family and prevent China from sinking.

Xiahou Hui muttered to himself and turned his head to look at Fu Gu. When he saw that his face was full of excitement and his eyes were full of eagerness, he swallowed back the words of apology.

That's it.

Let him go.

Although he was asked to be the second Huo Qubing, he did not have much confidence that he could do it.

But the dream still exists.

It was just right that he spread the news through Fu Gu's mouth to conceal the hopes in his heart.

Especially since the emperor Cao Rui has already committed licentious acts, he is looking forward to finishing the war and returning to Luoyang! And a general who is determined to open up new territories is more likely to be kept in the temple, isn't it?
Fu Gu didn't know what he was thinking.

Now that he saw Xiahou Hui did not make any excuses, he felt that his previous choice was wise!
Although the Fu family in Beidi was a famous family, it did not rise any further during the transition from Han to Wei. This was because although his uncle Fu Xun was called a close minister by the previous emperor Cao Pi and had the opportunity to be one of the Three Dukes, he died during the Taihe period, leaving the responsibility of bringing glory to the family to their generation.

He was the best of his generation in the clan and was appointed to the government office at a young age, with no shirking his responsibilities.

In recent years, while he was on duty in the capital and honing his skills, he was also carefully observing the development of the situation and keeping an eye on the noble children who might rise to prominence in the future, hoping to choose one of them to help his family.

There is nothing we can do about it.

People who have talent but no support often have to follow routine in their careers.

He is too young and it would be too slow for him to follow the routine, so he has to find someone who can promote him above his level.

Xiahou Hui thus entered his sight.

He was very keenly aware that Emperor Cao Rui valued Xiahou Hui very much, so he chose to make friends with Xiahou Hui early on. When Xiahou Hui was promoted to General of the Guards and officially emerged in the court, and personally invited him to serve as a military officer, he accepted without hesitation and pledged himself to be his confidant.

He knew he had a bit of a gambler's mentality.

But he also knew that if he expressed his position too late, even if Xiahou Hui relied on him as a confidant in the future, he would not be trusted as much as Ding Mi.

The friendship in humble times is the most precious.

Xiahou Hui now holds a high official position, but compared with the old and important ministers in the court, he lacks experience and is still considered "insignificant".

Since he doesn't want to follow the rules, he can't look ahead or behind.

Fortunately, he made the right choice.

Xiahou Hui, who seemed friendly on weekdays, occasionally made bold statements today, which were enough to make him see his lifelong ambitions.

Do you have the ambition to be the champion marquis?
Haha, he was making a double entendre.

After all, the world is still in a three-way balance of power. How can Wei have the spare energy to expand into the Western Regions and march to the northern desert?
The so-called champion is the one who has the best achievements among all the soldiers!
What he meant was that Xiahou Hui had the ambition to become the number one person in the Wei army.

For example, the general and the grand marshal were the highest-ranking officials.

Moreover, given Xiahou Hui's talent and the degree to which Emperor Cao Rui valued him, this was very likely to happen.

This means that his expectations are also very likely to come true.

How could he not be happy and encouraged?
Of course, food should be eaten bite by bite and the road should be walked step by step.

The most urgent task was how to successfully destroy Gongsun Yuan of Liaodong, and in order to gain praise from the court and the public, the battle record had to be as impressive as possible.

So, he was thinking about this on his way back to the temporary outpost.

Xiahou Hui and Guanqiu Jian had already decided on how to fight the war, and as he did not know much about Liaodong, he did not dare to say more rashly. Ding Mi also suggested to Guanqiu Jian to let spies spread rumors in Xiangping City, and the suggestion was carried out. It seemed that the only things left for him to suggest were some tricks to win over people's hearts.

Five days later.

After the Baima Volunteers who had gone to the other side of Liaosui to probe the military situation returned, Gongsun Yi reported three things to Xiahou Hui.

First, he had found a suitable place for the army to set up camp, about twenty miles away from the Liao River.

Secondly, the Liaodong Army was repairing its defensive fortifications at an intensive pace.

It expanded to both sides with Liaosui as the center. The moat dug along the Liao River alone was more than 20 miles long. Even if the Wei army built a pontoon bridge and crossed the Liao River with difficulty, they could not attack the city immediately.

Finally, the Liaodong Army also sent troops out of Liaosui and set up camp on the west bank of the Liao River. Judging from the flags, it should be led by Yang Zuo, with about 20,000 infantry and cavalry, who seemed to intend to attack while the Wei army was not yet stable in its camp.

After hearing this, Xiahou Hui smiled happily.

Because Gongsun Yuan was really too "considerate", his mind was full of how to force the Liaodong army to fight in the field, but he didn't expect that his general Yang Zuo would dare to lead his troops outside the camp.

Although it is said that countless examples in history have proven that "attack is the best defense", the defenders take advantage of the attackers' fatigue and lack of stability when they come from afar to launch a surprise attack, which is a practice that is well versed in military tactics.

But not everyone can perform like Zhang Liao!

Since you are so "sensible", I would be honored to refuse your offer.

"Come here, hurry back and pass on the message."

Xiahou Hui immediately gave the order, "Let Chen Sima lead the Zhen Hu troops, Zhang Hu and Qian Hong's cavalry, Gong Zun, Liu Mao and Wang Qi's infantry to march twice as fast, without siege equipment, but with ten days' worth of food, and rush here within five days." (End of this chapter)