My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 28 The Fierce and Brave Folk Customs of Huai Shuo

"Report!"

"Grand Commander! Our vanguard is less than five li from Huai Shuo. Please give your instructions."

A scout came to Li Chong to report.

Li Chong, who is over sixty years old, has long since turned white-haired, but his eyes are bright and his voice is loud and clear. He is indeed a veteran of many battles!
He looked into the distance and then ordered, "The entire army shall set up camp outside the city."

He then summoned his deputy general and chief clerk, and the group entered Huai Shuo City unprepared.

The town generals, led by the section chief, were already waiting there.

Li Chongke was specially granted permission by the imperial court to hold the title of General-in-Chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Even a local tyrant like a garrison commander was nominally subject to his control.

This time, the imperial court ordered all six garrisons to be dispatched, but Li Chong came to Huai Shuo to take command.

the reason is simple.

The current ruler of the Rouran is Douluofubadoufa Khan (meaning "King of Wide Fame"), whose name is Yujiulüchounu.

Yujiulü Chounu can be considered a great ruler of the grasslands. After ascending to the throne of Khan, he eased relations with the Northern Wei in the south and sent envoys to seek peace. In the west, he avenged the Gaoche (also known as the Tiele), killed the Gaoche king, regained actual control of the Western Regions, and took control of the Silk Road, which greatly increased the power of the Rouran.

therefore……

The Rouran royal court is now located in the western part of the country.

As for why not go to Woye, the westernmost of the six towns?

Because the area north of Woye was actually the activity area of ​​the Gaoche tribe, while Huai Shuo and Wu Chuan, which were nearby, were closest to the Rouran royal court.

However, like all powerful rulers in history, Yujiulü Chounu became superstitious in his later years. He was superstitious about the shamanistic magic of the grasslands and was extremely fond of a young witch named "Diwan". Under Diwan's instigation, he executed many trusted ministers in recent years, which caused his rule to be shaken!
And that was the message the imperial court received.

The mother of the ugly slave, along with the ministers and the ugly slave's brother Anagui, are launching a rebellion to overthrow the ugly slave's rule and install Anagui as the new ruler.

As the Rouran's national strength grew day by day, it was about to become a major threat to the imperial court.

Having seized this opportunity, we must launch an expedition and utterly crush the Rouran in one fell swoop!

The Khanate on the grasslands changed hands frequently. When one grassland overlord fell, a new tribe would always rise, but it would take at least several decades, which was enough for the central court.

He won't cause any trouble during his term of office, and decades later, he will be buried in the ground.

We should trust the wisdom of future generations.

…………

Inside the Duan Chang's residence.

Li Chongfeng was placed in the main seat, and the garrison commander, Duan Chang, began to flatter him, saying, "I have heard that the commander-in-chief is a veteran of many battles and a famous general of the world. Seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."

Li Chong waved his hand dismissively, "General Duan flatters me. I am old and frail now, how can I speak of bravery?"

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Chong went straight to the point and inquired about the specifics, "I wonder how General Duan's preparations for the northern expedition against the Rouran are going?"

"Light cavalry scouts have been dispatched north to investigate; the Rouran are indeed in the midst of internal strife, and the outcome is still undecided..."

"I have conscripted soldiers twice and called them by name. Now the troops are in good order and we are just waiting for the commander-in-chief's order to set up camp and march north to attack the Rouran!"

"So good."

Li Chong nodded in satisfaction. The section chief and others had already completed the preliminary preparations, which meant he didn't need to worry about so much.

Approaching seventy, Li Chong would have been too lazy to bother if the court hadn't insisted on sending him.

Having served three emperors and held a high position in the court, he had long since reached the point where there was no room for advancement. If he were to advance any further, he would only be able to remain in his current position within the Luoyang Imperial Palace.

"I will return to camp to prepare first, and then send someone to inform the various garrisons. I would also like to trouble General Duan to come with us to the military camp to discuss the Northern Expedition!"

"I will obey the general's orders."

Li Chong, Duan Chang, and others left the mansion and headed to Li Chong's camp outside Huai Shuo.

Upon entering the military camp, Li Chong saw a group of people drinking and laughing, and he couldn't help but frown.

When he set off from Luoyang this time, a large number of Tiger Warriors and Imperial Guards came with him.

The Tiger Guard and Feathered Forest Guard were the central army responsible for protecting the capital Luoyang. After Emperor Xiaowen adopted the "Surname System," he still left a way for Xianbei people who could not become high-ranking families to rise in rank. That was to enter the Tiger Guard and Feathered Forest Guard and get promoted based on military merit. Although they could not easily rise to high positions like the "high-ranking families," at least they retained a way to rise.

Everyone in the central army knew that this campaign against the Rouran was a golden opportunity to gain military merit. The Rouran were in internal strife, and by following the army into battle, they could easily accumulate a lot of merit and be promoted!
therefore.

Many of the central army's men followed Li Chongbei to the Six Garrisons, and some even used their connections to join the army on the expedition.

Back at the camp.

The section chief took the initiative to ask, "Who are those soldiers?" "Please excuse me, they are Tiger Warriors and Feathered Forest Guards, accompanying me on this northern expedition."

"Oh."

The section chief nodded, then said, "Grand Commander, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

"But it doesn't matter."

“The people of Huai Shuo usually only know how to defend the border for the country, but they are unaware of the teachings of the king. Luoyang is the capital city under the emperor’s nose. The status of the generals in the central army is extremely high. I hope the general will keep a close watch on them so that the people of Huai Shuo will not accidentally offend the central army.”

Li Chong knew better than anyone what kind of people the Central Army was, so he naturally understood the warning in the section chief's words.

He waved his hand and said, "It's alright. I already told you before I came, General Duan, please rest assured."

"So good."

The group walked to the marching map and began to discuss the specifics of the northern expedition.

………………

call out!
An arrow flew through the air and struck the rabbit squarely in the neck.

shhhhhh!
Several more arrows were fired, and the fleeing hares were hit one after another.

Gao Yu, sitting on his horse, looked into the distance and nodded in satisfaction. Hou Jing, also sitting on his horse, praised him as well.

“Moheduo, Mulan’s archery skills are quite remarkable, and those Hu people’s archery skills are also good! Your team has quite a few elites.”

"That's natural!"

Gao Yu is very proud!

Today, he took the initiative to lead some of his soldiers out hunting. Hunting and encirclement are both methods of training soldiers in ancient times.

After all, animals like hares are very agile and are more suitable for honing archery skills than shooting at stationary haystacks or targets in the army. If they encounter wild boars, it can greatly enhance the soldiers' courage!

In the military camp, he noticed that the few white slaves from Central Asia he had bought were quite skilled at archery, and it was clear that they had been practicing riding and archery since childhood!
Looking at it now, it's true!
Hou Jing simply followed Gao Yu out out of boredom. After Gao Huan was promoted to commander, Hou Jing was promoted to military supervisor, which meant he was in charge of supervising the army's battles.

The military has strict regulations on this.

If a soldier in a squad fails to advance, the squad leader will kill him; if a squad leader fails to advance, the platoon leader will kill him; if a platoon leader fails to advance, the supervisor will kill him!
Not a moment.

Mulan and the others then brought the prey they had hunted to Gao Yu's side.

After Liu Yi and the other slaves dismounted, they knelt on one knee and offered the wild rabbit with both hands.

"This is what you hunted, so it belongs to you."

"Thank you, sir!"

Liu Yi and the others were overjoyed and immediately kowtowed in gratitude.

Seeing this, Gao Yu didn't bother to correct them and just let them be!
He looked at Mulan and couldn't help but praise her, "Your archery skills have improved a lot. If you practice for another three to five years, you might be able to catch up with me."

"........."

Mulan rolled her eyes, she hated pretentious people the most.

Unfortunately, he couldn't refute it.

"Alright, come back to camp with me!"

At Gao Yu's command, the horse turned around.

They hadn't walked far when they encountered a caravan. The caravan was very wary of Gao Yu and his companions. After Gao Yu identified himself...

The leader of the caravan immediately identified himself as belonging to the Lou family.

"Since we're going the same way, let's travel together."

The group walked another three or four miles when Liu Er suddenly dismounted, lay down on the ground, and then got up and said, "My lord, there is a small group of cavalry approaching us from the front."

"Could it be that they are also soldiers who went out hunting?"

Regardless, he urged everyone to stay alert, as being cautious was always the right thing to do.

Soon!
They could see a group of cavalry charging towards them, blocking the caravan's path and forcibly stopping Gao Yu and his companions.

Gao Yu reined in his horse and shouted, "Who are you?"

"Hmph, you don't need to know. Quickly leave your valuables, and you might save your lives!"

(End of this chapter)