March 2nd, the sixth year of Jianning.
Since the Yangzhou rebellion was quelled, Huangfu Gui has been stationing his army north of Changsha City in accordance with the emperor's orders, and four months have passed since then.
With a total army of 100,000, they drilled every day. The gentry and powerful families around Changsha and even throughout Jingzhou were all terrified, fearing that they would follow the same path as the powerful families of Yangzhou.
Fortunately, Huangfu Gui's intentions lay with the southern barbarians, and the people of Jingzhou were quite well-behaved, so they did not do anything to him.
On this day, a scout suddenly galloped into the camp and headed straight for the central command tent.
"Report!!"
The scout entered the tent and bowed to Huangfu Gui, who was seated in the main seat.
"Reporting to the General, according to my intelligence, after Sun Sheng led the rebel army south, they passed through Longchuan and Panyu and have now reached Cangwu!"
Huangfu Gui gave a soft "hmm," then asked, "Have those barbarians made any moves?"
The scouts reported: "The barbarians from places like Lipu, Duanxi, Mengling, and Fengcheng have also responded and gathered 30,000 barbarian soldiers, moving towards Lingling."
The barbarians in Guiyang and Wuling are also gathering their troops and could attack at any moment!
"Good, I've waited so long, they've finally arrived..."
Huangfu Gui chuckled, then stood up, looked outside the tent, and shouted, "Beat the drums! Gather the generals!!"
"yes!"
One of the guards standing outside the tent responded loudly and then quickly left.
"Knock knock knock~!"
The dull drumbeats echoed throughout the camp, and the officers and soldiers hurried toward the central command tent.
Soon, everyone gathered inside the tent, where Huangfu Gui, dressed in full armor, sat in the main seat.
Tian Feng, Zhang Zhao, Ju Shou, Zhou Yi, Zhong Yao, and the military's civilian officials stood on the left side of the main tent.
Generals such as Lü Bu, Huang Zhong, Dian Wei, Dong Zhuo, Gao Shun, Xu Rong, Zhu Jun, Li Jue, and Guo Si stood on the right side.
This lineup is truly the epitome of luxury...
Looking at these young men under his command, the veteran general Huangfu Gui couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.
Glancing at the crowd, Huangfu Gui announced loudly, "Gentlemen, those barbarians have colluded with the rebels and are heading towards Lingling..."
"General!"
Before Huangfu Gui could finish speaking, Lü Bu stepped forward and declared loudly, "This humble general requests the position of vanguard!"
"General, when Fengxian quelled the rebellion in Yangzhou, he was the vanguard. This time, it would be better if this humble general led the troops!"
Huang Zhong also stepped forward, vying with Lü Bu for the position of vanguard.
"General, please let me go!"
"This humble general is the most suitable!"
"Let this humble general go..."
In an instant, Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si and others also stepped forward, and even Gao Shun, who was usually taciturn, couldn't help but vie with the crowd.
Unlike previous rebellions, this time the barbarian invasion was a war against outsiders, which meant real achievements. Naturally, the generals in the tent were unwilling to give them to others.
Seeing the generals arguing heatedly, Tian Feng, Zhang Zhao, and others on the left couldn't help but shake their heads and chuckle.
Huangfu Gui, seated at the head of the table, remained silent, stroking his beard with a smile as he gazed at the generals.
After a long while, when all the generals were tired of arguing, they stopped and all looked at Huangfu Gui.
Seeing everyone staring at him, Huangfu Gui laughed and said, "What? Stop arguing?"
Dong Zhuo said with a fawning expression, "Let's stop arguing. General, you should decide who should be the vanguard!"
The other generals remained silent, their eyes still fixed intently on Huangfu Gui.
Huangfu Gui smiled and said slowly, "This time, there will be no vanguard!"
"What??"
"No vanguard...?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.
When a large army goes on an expedition, how can it not send out a vanguard?
They all looked at Huangfu Gui with puzzled expressions!
Huangfu Gui looked at everyone and then asked, "Those barbarians knew that my 100,000 troops were stationed in Changsha, yet they still invaded. Do you know why?"
"this....."
The generals exchanged glances and shook their heads.
Seeing this, Huangfu Gui turned his gaze to Tian Feng, Zhang Zhao and others on the left.
Tian Feng understood, and immediately stepped forward, bowing to Huangfu Gui: "General, I believe there are two reasons for the barbarians' invasion."
First, the enemy was deceived by Sun Sheng and was unaware of the true strength of our army.
Secondly, the barbarians, having long lived deep in the mountains, suffered from food shortages, thus forcing the government to send troops to invade!
Huangfu Gui nodded: "That's right. Since last year, I ordered the counties of Lingling, Guiyang, and Wuling to cut off the barbarians' food supply. Now that so much time has passed, they naturally can't hold back any longer!"
"What? So the general had already made preparations?"
Dong Zhuo, standing below the tent, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, and the other generals also wore expressions of disbelief.
They originally thought that the army was stationed here to pursue and kill Sun Sheng and others, but no one expected that Huangfu Gui had already made preparations to take action against the Southern Barbarians.
Huangfu Gui smiled and waved his hand, "This general doesn't have that ability. This is all His Majesty's arrangement. This general is just following orders!"
Dong Zhuo suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! Your Majesty truly has foresight; you are indeed a divine being!"
Everyone nodded in agreement, expressing their deep admiration for the emperor's foresight.
Then Huangfu Gui continued, “His Majesty said that those barbarians have lived here since the Shang and Zhou dynasties. They are closely related to our Yanhuang lineage. Since Emperor Xiaowu, they have submitted to the Han Dynasty and have a high regard for it. They are not like the northern grasslands that often raid.”
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