"Our army is more than happy to grant Your Majesty's request!"

When Yuan Shao saw that Xie Zhiyu had actually taken the initiative to ask the Han army to come and train, he was naturally more than happy to oblige.

Immediately, Yuan Shao turned to look at Dong Zhuo, who was chatting and laughing with the Xianbei generals: "Brother Zhongying!"

"Hey~, here it comes!!"

Upon hearing Yuan Shao's shout, Dong Zhuo responded and then, with his belly protruding, approached.

Yuan Shao then introduced, "Your Majesty, this is Dong Zhuo, also known as Dong Zhongying. He is known as the greatest warrior of Xiliang. He once led the Xiliang cavalry to kill countless Qiang people and is also skilled in training troops..."

"Oh, it's General Dong. We met back in Juyan. General Dong is truly worthy of being called a great general for training such a strong army!"

When the Xiliang cavalry was mentioned, Xie Zhiyu couldn't help but recall his own destruction of Juyan and subsequent defeat by Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo. He also praised Dong Zhuo highly.

"Haha, that's all thanks to the soldiers' bravery and sacrifice. I, Dong, am merely benefiting from their efforts!"

Dong Zhuo humbly waved his hand in response to Xie Zhiyu's praise, but his laughter betrayed his smugness.

Seeing this, He Lian stepped forward and said with a smile, "I can also send some men to assist General Dong in the training. This will help your soldiers adapt in a short time!"

Xie Zhiyu smiled and nodded: "That would be the best!"

Upon seeing this, Yuan Shao and Li Ru exchanged a glance, and a smile appeared on their faces at the same time.

Subsequently, under the arrangement of the three parties, Dong Zhuo, along with more than a dozen instructors and staff officers from the Han army and some Xianbei officers, stayed with the Xiongnu army.

Upon returning to his camp, Yuan Shao generously allocated a batch of armor and weapons from his army to the Xiongnu forces, including cavalry equipment such as horseshoes, saddles, and stirrups.

Seeing the gifts sent by the Han army, Xie Zhiyu felt their sincerity and had no other thoughts. He waited patiently for the Han emperor's investiture and prepared for his future journey west.

...

December 23rd, the eighth year of Jianning.

As the year draws to a close, the people of the Han Dynasty, who have been busy all year, put aside their own affairs and began to prepare for the New Year.

The markets and streets of various prefectures and counties were bustling with people and vehicles, with Luoyang being the most lively.

On the streets of Luoyang, besides the locals buying New Year's goods and the vendors hawking their wares, the majority of people are the younger generation of families from various places.

These people were all sent by their elders to Luoyang to pay New Year's greetings to the officials in the court and to build relationships.

The Han Dynasty is currently in a phase of rapid development. As long as a family can establish a relationship with officials in the court and obtain some useful information from them, it will be enough for them to rise to the top.

Two hundred meters from the east gate of the palace lies East Street, where most of the residences of officials with a salary of 500 shi or more were located.

At this time, at least ten luxurious carriages were parked in front of the residences of various officials, and people who came to pay New Year's visits were all carrying gifts and standing in front of the gates of the various residences, waiting to be received by the officials.

The arrival of these people made the spacious East Street somewhat crowded.

Liu Hong, dressed in casual clothes, strolled slowly down the middle of the street, watching the scene with great interest, and couldn't help but marvel at the power of the "gift-giving culture".

Zhao Yun and Dian Wei followed behind Liu Hong, one on each side, their wary eyes constantly scanning the people approaching Liu Hong.

Before long, the group arrived at the residence of Cao Song, the Minister of Revenue of the current dynasty.

Compared to the entire East Street, the area in front of the Cao Mansion was undoubtedly one of the most bustling places.

Nearly thirty carriages were parked in front of the Cao residence, and the sons of various local families lined up in an orderly queue in front of the side gate of the Cao residence.

On the other side of these young men, the servants carrying gifts also formed a long procession, which was quite a sight.

Just then, the side gate of the Cao residence opened, and the Cao family's steward, carrying a stack of name cards, stepped over the high threshold and came out.

"Greetings, Steward Cao!"

The people in line also bowed respectfully to Butler Cao.

Butler Cao waved his hand: "Alright, my master is busy with official duties and doesn't have time to see all of you. Whoever's name I call out can go in. If I don't call out your name, go back now and come back tomorrow!"

As he spoke, Steward Cao flipped open the name card in his hand and announced loudly, "The Zhao family of Henan!"

"Hey~, I'm here!"

A young man in the group excitedly agreed, then quickly left the group and went to Steward Cao.

Eight burly men carried four large boxes of top-quality goods, following behind the young man from the Zhao family.

Butler Cao glanced indifferently at the wooden crates, then gestured for them to enter.

"Thank you for your care, Steward Cao!"

The young man from the Zhao family bowed to Steward Cao before leading his men, carrying the gifts, through the side door.

After the other party went inside, Steward Cao picked up the name card again: "Li family of Chenliu!"

"Your Excellency is here!"

Another young man walked out of the group with an excited look on his face, followed by eight strong men carrying four large wooden boxes.

Butler Cao waved his hand: "Go in!"

"Thank you, Steward Cao!"

Then, the young man, along with his men, walked briskly into the Cao residence amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.

"The Wang family of Hedong, the Fang family of Henan, the Chen family of Fufeng..."

Afterwards, Steward Cao read out several more names. Without exception, each of these young men was accompanied by a subordinate carrying a large sum of money.

"Heh, it looks like Cao Song is about to make a fortune again!"

Standing in the middle of the street, Liu Hong looked at the scene before him and couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhao Yun, standing to the side, frowned and said, "Young Master, should we send someone to warn them? Such unhealthy practices are really damaging to the dignity of the imperial court!"

"No need. As long as they're not colluding to harm the people, there's no need to crack down on them so hard..."

Liu Hong already knew the purpose of these people coming to give gifts through the Investigation Department.

Families from all over gathered in Luoyang simply to use the connections of these officials to engage in business, factories, workshops, or even activities such as going to foreign lands or overseas.

This is fundamentally different from the past practices of collusion between superiors and subordinates, land annexation, and exploitation of the people.

As long as these people don't try to take advantage of the people and the land, Liu Hong doesn't bother to interfere too much.

"Alright, it's almost time. Let's hurry and pick up Zhen'er!"

After glancing at the Cai residence not far away, Liu Hong led Zhao Yun and Dian Wei to continue walking forward.