Achoo!

The cold wind howled and snowflakes danced in the air.

More than a hundred li north of Dai County, in a valley in the Tanhan Mountains, military tents stretched out, people came and went, and smoke rose from cooking fires.

Budugen, the former leader of the Eastern Xianbei, is now Liu Du, the prefect of Wuyuan County and the commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army under the command of the King of Yunzhong. He is urinating outside the main tent.

The biting cold wind made his teeth chatter, and he almost froze the urine that was flowing out.

He shuddered and hurriedly crawled back into the tent.

"Lieutenant Liu, what's wrong?"

Li Su, who was looking at the map, saw Liu Du looking bewildered, so he looked up and asked.

"Just now, I was urinating outside the tent with my eyes closed when I saw my lord's face and voice appear before me, and he was giving me earnest advice. I got so nervous that I almost wet my pants."

Liu Du made a self-deprecating remark.

"The last batch of Imperial Guards sent intelligence that our lord has entered Youzhou and organized troops to launch a counterattack against the Wuhuan people and rebels who invaded Youzhou."

"Logically speaking, with our marching at breakneck speed, we should have caught up with our lord and joined the battle."

Li Su gently put down the map and spoke slowly.

"Brother Li, how dare you say that!"

"Look at the path you led us down! We almost got lost in the Daqing Mountains. If we hadn't changed direction in time, we probably would be in the desolate northern desert by now!"

Liu Du gets angry whenever he talks about it, "I just don't understand how you could get lost like this."

"If we hadn't gotten lost and wasted over a hundred miles, we would have already entered Gaoliu City in Dai County and been enjoying a life of luxury. Why would we be freezing in this valley?"

Perhaps inheriting the trait of his ancestor, the lost general Li Guang, Li Su actually got lost while marching with Liu Du through the Daqing Mountains.

Liu Du recounted this story the whole way.

When Li Su saw Liu Du bring this up again, he said awkwardly, "Lieutenant Liu, please don't mention this matter again."

"After much persuasion, we finally arrived at our destination."

"Although Dai County is a hundred miles south of Tanhan Mountain, it is blocked by the Great Wall and guarded by soldiers. How can we enter so easily?"

Liu Du laughed and said, "Lieutenant Li, you don't know this. According to the scouts, the troops that occupied Dai County are Murong Xianbei. I know that very well."

"They're alright in immediate combat, but they'd be absolutely terrible at defending a city."

"I don't even need my three thousand cavalry to go out; your five thousand archers can turn them into hedgehogs."

Five thousand crossbowmen, five thousand arms outstretched with crossbows—it was an absolute feast of arrows.

“That’s true, but the heavy snow is blocking our way.” Li Su naturally agreed with Liu Du’s statement.

The five thousand crossbowmen were his troops. After the flood that left Shanwu with no battle, Liu Wei handed over these five thousand crossbowmen to Li Su for command.

First, he participated in the battle at Baiqushui in Yunzhong, and later he participated in the battle at Manyigu to block the reinforcements of Yufuluo, the Right Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu in Yunzhong, who was coming from Wuyuan, and defeated 20,000 enemy troops.

Subsequently, Li Su succeeded Zhang Liao as the governor of Shuofang Commandery. These crossbowmen were used to guard places such as Gaoque Pass and Jiming Pass, and were never sent to the battlefield again.

This time, under the command of Yao Guangxiao, the military advisor and chief secretary of the Prince of Yunzhong's Palace, he led an army of three thousand cavalrymen, including Liu Du, the prefect of Wuyuan County, to conquer Youzhou in the east and open up the passage between Hetao and Youzhou.

Li Su was extremely excited that he and his 5,000 archers could go back to the battlefield.

Hearing Liu Du praising the strength of his troops, how could he not be happy!

However, we cannot ignore the immediate problem, which is that it is snowing heavily outside.

Moreover, this place is located on the southern slope of the Yinshan Mountains, where the temperature is low and the snowfall is heavy.

"It's alright, this weather is much milder than the blizzards of winter."

"Fortune favors the bold. I think we can take advantage of the heavy snow to launch a surprise attack on Gaoliu City!"

Liu Du, however, disagreed.

"How can we march like this?"

"The road to Gaoliu City is as familiar to me as my own backyard. I could walk there even with my eyes closed, let alone in the snow, haha!" Liu Du said confidently.

Previously, the Xianbei Budugen tribe had been active in this area, and often crossed the Great Wall to plunder Dai and Yanmen Pass counties when the Han army was not paying attention.

It's no exaggeration for Liu Du to say that this place is like his backyard.

Li Su pondered for a moment: "We've finally got a chance to go on an expedition, we must seize this opportunity!"

"Instead of being trapped in this valley, exposed to the cold wind, and possibly freezing to death, we should cross the Great Wall and get into Dai County as soon as possible."

Liu Du laughed heartily and patted Li Su on the shoulder: "Then it's settled. I will immediately order the three armies to have a good meal before setting off."

"Tonight, we'll drink hot wine in Gaoliu City!"

"Alright, I'll have the military clerk submit a copy of our action plan to the strategist right away!" Li Su was persuaded by Liu Du and readily agreed.

Although Liu Du was the commander-in-chief and Li Su was the deputy commander.

However, before the two set off, Yao Guangxiao had instructed them that all their military actions must be agreed upon by both of them and reported in writing.

"In addition, the strategist instructed us to bring Yuwen Lie, who is traveling with the army. Should we release him to join us?"

"Hehe, it's only because our lord is merciful that he's been spared for more than half a year, and he's been served good food and drink. He's been given plenty of crucian carp from the Yellow River in Wuliangsuhai!"

"If it were someone else, the grass on their grave would already be three feet tall."

Liu Du then mentioned another person.

This is Yuwen Lie, a general under Tuoba Gao of the Tuoba Xianbei, whom Liu Wei captured alive at the foot of Yunzhong City during the Battle of Yunzhong.

Seeing that he was quite resourceful, Liu Wei kept him in custody.

They were locked up like that for six months.

When Yao Guangxiao led his troops from the Hetao region to open up the Mobei passage, Liu Wei instructed Shen Lianzhong to pass on a verbal order to bring Yuwen Lie along, as he wanted to see him.

Meanwhile, Xun You, who had been kidnapped from Luoyang by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was taken to Wuyuan City in the Hetao region by Yao Guangxiao and Cai Yong for drinks and conversation.

Xun You wanted to return, so Yao Guangxiao took advantage of his drunkenness and arranged for several Xianbei and Xiongnu women to serve him, making him a bridegroom every night.

Yao Guangxiao was just waiting for Liu Wei to return so he could surrender; his job was to keep Xun You in check.

"Since the lord has also instructed that he should be allowed to provide appropriate advice on military matters."

"We've already seized Gaoliu City, so let him just watch from the sidelines!"

"I wonder what use this person would be if he were left behind!"

Liu Du didn't like Yuwen Lie.

Yuwen Lie's tribe, the Yuwen clan, originally lived in the desert north of Yehuling and had some dealings with Liu Du.

In the end, the Yuwen tribe migrated to the Seraleng River and submitted to the Tuoba tribe of Darhan City.

This made Liu Du look down on him!

Li Su neither confirmed nor denied Liu Du's disdain for Yuwen Lie.

After all, his sister was his lord's concubine, and I heard she was already heavily pregnant when they set off from Hetao.

If this were to result in the birth of a son or daughter, the Xianbei uncle here would become even more arrogant.

Unlike Li Su, who could only climb up the ranks step by step through his own abilities.

However, if Liu Wei hadn't encountered Li Su selling fish in Shanwu City, Li Su would probably still be fishing by Daihai Lake!

"Lieutenant Liu, now that the decision has been made, let's get ready!"

Li Su looked serious.