Chapter 4 Building and Breaking Military Camps

  Just as Chen Ke and others of the Sui army were luring the enemy to attack by the Liao River, they suddenly killed them and crossed the Liao River. The vanguard of the Sui army had already won a victory and was besieging the city of Liaodong, with an army of 200,000 surrounding the city of Liaodong, while the 50,000-strong Goguryeo army did not dare to come out of the city no matter how they were provoked by the Sui soldiers, all shrinking into the city one by one.

  Liaodong City is the first gateway to conquer Goguryeo. As long as Liaodong City is captured, the Sui army will march eastward and the land of Liaodong will be pacified in one battle. Moreover, Goguryeo will no longer have a buffer zone, and its hinterland will directly face the iron hooves of the Sui army.

  On the second day, at dawn, the horn sounded, and the Sui army's main camp was raised. Today, all the troops will be dispatched to cross the river and besiege Liaodong City. In front of the main tent, with Emperor Yang Guang of Sui as the core, a group of imperial generals stood in two rows, their bright armor reflecting the dazzling light of the rising sun. The generals stood silently like boulders, while the wind blowing from the Liao River made the large flags on both sides flutter and rustle.

  Under this temporarily built huge high platform, there are tens of millions of great armies led by the Emperor Yang of Sui himself. As far as the eye can see, only pieces of iron-colored helmets can be seen, and that iron color seems to have no end.

  Chen Kefu was still dressed in the same outfit as yesterday, with his nine younger brothers lined up at the front of the entire army. Although Yang Guang had already generously rewarded them last night, this matter of boosting the morale of the three armies could not be so hastily concluded. It wasn't until later that he realized what happened last night was merely a dress rehearsal, because today was the formal performance.

  Today, Yang Guang will reward the tens of thousands of soldiers who made achievements in yesterday's battle, in order to motivate the troops. Mao Yi is standing beside Chen Kefu, looking at the Left Wing Guard General on the high platform, proclaiming the names of the meritorious soldiers from yesterday in a voice as loud as a bell. The list is extremely long, with hundreds of people being rewarded for their achievements, including Yuwen Shu, who was responsible for the ambush yesterday, led by the Left Wing Guard cavalry.

  "General, you think the Emperor will transfer us away from your command? I heard that Eagle General has only two Deputy Commanders under him. If we really get assigned to another unit, what are we going to do? This time, we sneaked out without telling anyone in the village, it's already a big trouble. If we separate from you again, who will protect you in the future? If something happens to you, my old man will skin me alive!"

  Mao Yi's old man was Mao Bo, the steward of Chen Jia Zhuang. He took care of all the big and small matters in Chen Jia Zhuang, and treated Chen Ke Fu better than his own son.

  Chen Kefu didn't even turn his head, still maintaining the posture of standing upright and looking forward, and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, now is wartime, the imperial guards will be reorganized. I estimate that when His Majesty the Emperor arrives, he will arrange for me to command the war troops, so you can still be under my command."

  According to the Sui dynasty's military system, ten men formed a squad, with a squad leader. Five squads formed a company, with a company commander and deputy commander. Two companies formed a battalion, with a battalion commander and deputy commander. Two battalions formed a regiment, with a regimental commander who was a Colonel. The size of the regiments varied: large ones had 1,200 men, medium ones had 1,000 men, and small ones had 800 men. In other words, large regiments had six battalions, medium regiments had five battalions, and small regiments had four battalions. Chen Kefu speculated that since Yang Guang had promoted him to Lang Jiang in such a hurry, he would likely be given command of troops. If he was lucky, he might even get command of six battalions, which would give him more than ten officers above the rank of Colonel. Even if they were not assigned together at first, he could ask Yuwen Shu to arrange for his brothers to be assigned together, and there shouldn't be any problem.

  However, the Sui army reorganized its troops for each expedition. This time, all Sui armies were divided into two armies: land and water routes. The land army had 24 paths, with 12 armies on both left and right sides, each with one general and deputy general. There were 40 cavalry teams, each with 100 people. The infantry was divided into four battalions of 80 teams.

  Yuwen Shu finally finished reading the long list of military achievements, and next was Yang Guang personally awarding rewards to those meritorious generals. This could also be considered a way of buying people's hearts. Basically, all the generals who made contributions were promoted to some extent, and they also received gold and silver rewards. However, compared to Chen Kefu's reward yesterday, it was much less. It seems that Yang Guang, although wasteful, did not give excessive rewards to everyone he met.

  "Yesterday, Zuo Weiwei's partner Chen Kefu was invincible in the military, leading the charge to break through the enemy's formation, killing 31 enemies and obtaining two enemy school lieutenant heads and one general head. This is a great achievement. I will reward him generously, promoting him to Yingyang Langjiang, giving him two horses, 40 pieces of silk, 100 taels of gold, and ten slaves." Yang Guang spoke loudly in front of tens of thousands of soldiers, his words stirring their hearts.

  Chen Kefu hastily dismounted and knelt down to thank Yang Guang. Yang Guang lightly helped him up and patted his armor in front of the tens of thousands of soldiers, saying to Yuwen Shu and other generals, "This young man has the bravery of ten thousand men, he should be the pride of our great Sui dynasty's younger generation. In the past, Emperor Wu of Han had Huo Qubing, now I have Chen Kefu, truly a gift from heaven." He looked at Chen Kefu's armor and smiled, "This armor is similar to the one I wore when I was still the King of Jin, as the Grand Marshal of the army, the Bright Silver Qilin Armor. Unfortunately, the materials are not quite right, and the craftsmanship is not up to par, it doesn't match your bravery. Bring me my old Bright Silver Qilin Armor, I want to reward my brave warrior with it."

  Before long, several soldiers brought up the armor from Yang Guang's mouth, and after opening the sealed box, the rising sun shone on the well-maintained bright armor, reflecting a dazzling silver light that was blinding to the eyes.

  Under Yang Guang's indication, Chen Kefu directly put on this magnificent and exquisite armor in front of hundreds of thousands of troops with the help of several soldiers. The armor was indeed worthy of being Yang Guang's personal battle armor. After putting on the entire suit of armor, it was about 1.85 meters high and fit Chen Kefu's body perfectly. All the scales of the armor were strung together with golden threads, looking luxurious and majestic. On the forehead, there was a green jade that gathered the essence of heaven and earth, connecting the human spirit; on both sides and the back, there were square-shaped headgear; inside, it was lined with black cowhide and red deerskin velvet. There were also leather cheek guards on both sides. Its strength could be called the king of armor. The front and back of the armor were riveted with yellow cowhide, lined with red deerskin velvet. On the front, there was a golden beast in the shape of a qilin, used to protect the abdomen and card buckle belt. Moreover, the entire suit of armor was not heavy, Chen Kefu felt it and estimated it to be around 40 kilograms.

  Chen Kefu was originally from the south, but grew up in the rugged Hebei region. His handsome face, paired with his sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, combined with his strong physique honed from years of martial arts training, and topped off with this magnificent silver armor that seemed to radiate an aura of grandeur, made him look like a jade-faced young nobleman. People generally liked beautiful things, and Yang Guang was no exception; as he gazed at Chen Kefu now, his affection for him grew even stronger.

  "How can a hero be without a fine horse? Come, I shall reward my beloved general with my own steed." The steed was a rare white horse from the Western Regions, with a robust build and not a single impure hair on its body. Even the veteran generals who had fought many battles couldn't help but feel envious and jealous of Chen Kefu at this moment. A good warhorse is extremely important for a general who often fights on the battlefield. Although the Emperor had just rewarded Chen Kefu with money and titles, these generals didn't think much of it. But now, seeing the Emperor not only give Chen Kefu his own armor but also this magnificent horse, they couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.

  "Does your lordship have a courtesy name?" Yang Guang was extremely fond of this young general.

  Chen Kefu used to be a person who liked dancing with knives and guns, and would get a headache as soon as he picked up a book. Moreover, there were no elders in his family, so until now, he still doesn't have an official courtesy name.

  "Your Majesty, I have been unfortunate since childhood, and my family was attacked by bandits. Only I survived, so although I am this old, I do not have a courtesy name."

  Such things have long been seen as nothing unusual over the years. After Yang Guang comforted him for a few words, he said, "Today, I will give you a courtesy name, Chen Kefu, Chen Kefu, and the courtesy name Po Jun is good? You are born to be a general, and this Po Jun is in charge of killing and fighting in the army, which is just right."

  His Majesty the Emperor bestowed a plaque with an inscription, what a great honor it is. The tens of thousands of soldiers below are basically all peasants, who become soldiers during wartime and return to being peasants after the war ends. For them, just seeing the emperor's face is a great honor, let alone receiving such a generous gift as a plaque with an inscription.

  "As soon as the army is broken, I will let General Yuwen lead three thousand cavalry to you alone. Don't disappoint my expectations." As soon as Yang Guang's voice fell, an old general with a white beard beside him said, "Your Majesty, according to the rules, the Eagle General can only command one thousand soldiers and horses. Moreover, although this Broken Army General is brave and has fought in three armies, he has never led troops before. It's not very appropriate to give him three thousand people at once, I beg Your Majesty to think thrice."

  "In those years, Huo Qubing was also a young general, who defeated the Xiongnu in a big way. The old pillar country does not need to say more, this matter is settled like this. Pass on the order to the three armies, move the camp immediately, I want to take down Liaodong City before nightfall!"