Chapter 2: The Stormy Weather of Yan and Zhao Section 24

  April 185 AD

  Li Hong led more than 800 soldiers back to the Lulong Pass without any mishaps. Immediately, he continued to recruit scattered small groups of horse bandits outside the pass, began recruiting troops around Xu Wushan, and sent people to the Puyang County to purchase weapons and armor. Although there was not much money, it was more than enough to equip a force of over 1,000 men.

  This time, he deeply entered the Xianbei state to recruit and pacify the horse thieves. He did not dare to conceal the matter of robbing and welcoming the bridal procession, so he ordered a subordinate who was good at writing to write a letter, which was sent to Governor Liu Zheng's place. Soon, Liu Zheng replied with a letter, praising him greatly, and at the same time sent some grain and weapons and armor.

  Liu Zheng also gave a reply to the question of the establishment of the Lu Long army. Given that the number of Lu Long army is increasing, the establishment of Quyi can be increased. However, the officer at the level of Quyi is Jun Hou, with a salary of 600 stones, which he cannot afford to pay. If Marshal Li Hong can persuade them to continue receiving the salary of Tun Chang, they can expand the army according to Li Hong's requirements. As for the officers at the level of Tun Chang, Li Hong can appoint them freely, but their salaries will be halved. The reason is very simple: due to last year's Yellow Turban Rebellion, the taxes in Ji Zhou and Qing Zhou were greatly reduced, and they could not support You Zhou. At the beginning of spring, it was already good for the people of You Zhou to have seeds to plant, let alone having enough food and clothing. Therefore, the entire You Zhou is now streamlining its troops and compressing expenses. Due to the importance of Lu Long, the establishment can remain the same, but the salaries cannot be paid in full under any circumstances.

  Li Hong was at a loss for a moment. He didn't know if Governor Liu Zheng really had no money or if there were other reasons. He naturally couldn't do anything, so he temporarily ignored it.

  Li Hong liked to hang out with the soldiers, eating and sleeping together, training in combat, joking around, and it was impossible to tell that he was still a military governor of Lulong Pass. Li Hong never kept his salary for himself, not a single penny, all of which went to support the soldiers. So he was poor, even occasionally sending money to Xiaoyu's family had to be borrowed from Tian Chong. Li Hong had nothing except himself, even his armor was the oldest, and he left the good ones for the cavalrymen. He didn't drink or hold banquets, nor did he allow other officers to do so. So the soldiers loved him, treating him like a brother, obeying him, and supporting him.

  Li Hong led the troops very strictly, even cruelly. Every day's training tasks had to be completed by each soldier. Whoever didn't complete it would stay with him until they finished the required amount. He said it very simply: "If you don't train hard today, maybe tomorrow you'll die on the battlefield. This is a lifesaving skill, if you can't do it, then all you have is death." So everyone believed in him, and the soldiers trained voluntarily.

  By mid-month, Lulong had basically gathered two thousand people, but the army was still training in three battalions, and the officers began to have complaints.

  At this time, Li Song came back.

  Li Hong heard Xiao Lazi's report and rushed out of the Lu Long Building in one breath. Although he had only known Li Song for half a day, it was a life-and-death friendship that held special significance for Li Hong. Li Song was the first real Han person he met after re-entering the territory of the Great Han Empire. He was the one who led him into the Lu Long Pass and introduced him to Tian Jing. If he hadn't run into Li Song, where would he be now? Who knows?

  Li Song stood there, his appearance was not outstanding, ordinary and plain, carrying a small bundle on his back. Li Hong rushed up to him, punched him hard in the face, and burst out laughing: "Chang Yi, call me 'Zi Min' and listen."

  Li Song burst out laughing too. The scene of them fleeing for their lives on the grassland resurfaced in both of their minds. Li Song's eyes became moist, if it wasn't for Li Hong saving him, he would have been dead long ago.

  Li Hong saw Li Song and suddenly couldn't help but think of Tian Jing, Wang Jin, and Ji Ming. He could no longer control himself, and with a loud cry, he threw his arms around Li Song:

  "Long memory, I'll take you to see General Cao, to see all the comrades who died in battle at Lu Long Pass."

  Two people stood in front of Tian Jing's grave, silent for a long time.

  "Long memory, are you still walking?"

  "I won't leave you, I'll follow you all the way, until I die in battle like General Zhuo."

  Li Hong's eyes were filled with tears as he patted Ri Song's shoulder heavily, "Alright. We'll do it together. Whoever dies first will bury the other's bones here."

  In the evening, Li Hong ordered Yan Wuwei to summon three village heads, Zheng Xin, Tian Zhong, and Hu Zi, along with Mu Zhuang and Tie Chui, to the Lu Long Building.

  The three battalion commanders of Ludongze, Zhao Wen, Yu Shi and Wu Zhao were all young men. Although they were slightly older than Li Hong, in the northern border, it was not about age that determined seniority, but rather bravery. So from the day they entered Ludongze, the three men admired Li Hong with utmost respect. Who dared to pursue the barbarian army with 400 men after a bitter victory? Only Li Hong dared to do so. No one dared to disobey him, this was the hard truth of his iron fist.

  This time, Li Hong single-handedly killed his way back to the Xianbei State, not only bringing back thousands of soldiers, but also plundering the great king and general of the Xianbei State. This made the three village chiefs even more convinced, and in their hearts, they secretly vowed to follow this madman to conquer the world, and future military achievements would be countless.

  Li Hong had the document sent by Governor Liu Zheng read aloud, then explained it again himself, and said: "We are all children of the great Han, and as soldiers we are all for protecting our homes and defending our country, for the sake of tens of millions of Han people to avoid the flames of war and destruction. We can sacrifice our heads, shed hot blood, and even give up our lives, can't we just take a little less money for this?"

  Several people looked at Li Hong, with different expressions on their faces, and no one responded.

  "The Xianbei state may invade our Great Han in the near future, and a life-and-death battle with them is inevitable. I, like all of you present here, will either live or die, and it's up to heaven's will."

  "I have allocated all my salary to the military pay of the soldiers in the Lu Long Pass. The money for those present can be less, but not a single cent can be deducted from the ordinary soldiers' pay. Wars are fought by them, and victories are exchanged with their lives and blood. Without them, there would be no glory for our great Han country."

  Tian Zhong used force to slap the table, "Good, well said. I've lived for 63 years, been a soldier for nearly 50 years, and this is the first time I've heard an official speak up for us soldiers. For your words, I don't want my salary anymore, I'll follow you from now on, until death in battle."

  "Húzi suddenly stood up: 'Sir, your kindness to us is as heavy as a mountain. Not only did you help us escape from the Xianbei country, but you have also treated us like brothers all along. Based on this kindness and trust, I represent all the horse helpers to say that everything will be decided by Sir, without any hesitation.'"

  Hu Zi was very famous among the northern border bandits, and he was a big shot, like a wooden stake. Yan Wu Wei and others could only be considered small and scattered groups. This time they were defeated by Murong Feng's troops and were pursued by the Xianbei people, with no way to escape. Just when they were at their wit's end, Yan Wu Wei brought Li Hong over. Li Hong led them in a wild goose chase across the grasslands and through the mountains, not only escaping the Xianbei people's encirclement but also giving the Xianbei king's welcoming party a good beating. This made them regard Li Hong as a god. What moved them even more was that when they arrived at Lu Long Sai, they were treated with respect and trust by Li Hong like brothers, which was what they needed most in their hearts. The northern border bandits who everyone shouted to beat up had become like family members in Li Hong's eyes. Because of this, all the big and small bandits, including Hu Zi, a big shot, were willing to work for this Lord Bao, whose name shook the entire north.

  Zhao Wen's three troops were not daring to express their opinions at this time. Although they had never fought side by side with Li Hong before, they also wanted to follow Li Hong's example and lead their troops into a bloody battle against the invaders, adding endless glory to their lives. This was the wish of every great Han warrior.

  Li Song and Zheng Xin, as survivors of the Battle of Lülong, didn't even have time to avenge themselves, let alone care about official ranks. They were determined to fight against the Xianbei people as soon as possible, to avenge their fallen comrades.

  Li Hong was deeply moved. With such united and determined subordinates, what kind of enemy could not be defeated?

  Li Hong immediately explained his plan to expand the Youzhou border army. He planned to divide the Youzhou border army into three divisions, each with three battalions, and each battalion would have 200 men. Zhao Wen was appointed as the commander of the middle division, Wu Shao as the deputy commander, and they were in charge of the original three battalions of the Youzhou border army before its expansion. Yu Shi was appointed as the commander of the left division, Yan Wuyi as the deputy commander, and they were in charge of the three battalions mainly composed of newly recruited soldiers, wounded soldiers who had recovered and returned to their posts, and scattered horsemen who had surrendered. Hu Ziwei Jun was appointed as the commander of the right division, Li Song as the deputy commander, and they were in charge of the main force of the horsemen who had escaped from the Xianbei. Zheng Xin was appointed as the commander of the vanguard battalion, Tian Chong as the commander of the rear guard battalion. At the same time, he arranged for Mu Zhuang, Tie Chui, Xiao Lan and others to go down and serve as battalion commanders, and the subordinate officers would be selected by each division commander from among their subordinates.

  "If anyone has any suggestions or dissatisfaction, speak now." Li Hong said with a smile, "Tomorrow we will reorganize and set out to the grasslands for cavalry formation training."

  "Out of Lu Long's lair?" Zhao Wen asked in surprise.

  "Yes. Real combat drills, can't be half a point sloppy." Li Hong nodded solemnly and said: "The scouts will start dividing into two routes to scout out the enemy situation from tomorrow. One route heads northeast towards the Bailin Pasture, one route heads towards the Dayan Mountain. The scouting soldiers can report back every three to five days as appropriate."

  Zheng Xing nodded immediately.

  "The old general's rear guard had the most things to do, war horses, grain and fodder, weapons and equipment, all need to be stockpiled in large quantities, preparing for the upcoming big battle."

  Tian Zhong appeared extremely excited, and loudly said: "Don't worry, Your Excellency, I will do my utmost to dispel your worries and difficulties. The iron cavalry of the Lulong Pass will surely conquer all under heaven, and sweep away all obstacles on this land of Yan and Zhao."

  "The winds and clouds of Yan Zhao." Li Hong muttered to himself, "The winds and clouds of Yan Zhao, what a great phrase. What momentum."

  "We'll call our cavalry the Wind and Cloud Iron Cavalry, what do you think?" Zhao Wen said, looking at everyone.

  "The war flag of the Iron Riders has a big leopard in the middle, how about that? The general held this flag high on the Rainbow Plains and killed the enemy until they were fleeing with their pants down, almost annihilating the entire army." Yan Wuyi excitedly shouted out loud.

  "All right, I'll follow Wu Wei's opinion. I'll order people to work through the night to make it." Tian Zhong stroked his small goat beard and burst out laughing happily. He was old, but still had a place to use his skills, whoever would be excited beyond measure.

  "The Xianbei people have a world-renowned iron cavalry called the Black Eagle Iron Cavalry, whose military achievements are numerous and unmatched. In the future, when there is an opportunity, I must duel with it to see who is the number one in the world."

  Li Hong suddenly remembered Tie Gong, and thought of that eagle soaring through the nine heavens.

  The troops set out on the second day and arrived at a large grassland sixty miles away from the Lulong Pass, where they pitched their camp.

  Li Hong followed the training method he had learned from Tie Guo and carried out extremely rigorous training for the 1,800 cavalrymen of the three songs. However, in cavalry warfare, man and horse are one, which is the best state, and it takes at least a year or two to reach this level.

  Li Hong sat on the grass, exhausted and helpless. Although some of these warriors were former cavalrymen, such as Liu Zheng who had left him two complete iron cavalry units, or veterans of the grasslands like Hu Zi's unit, they all lacked basic tactical training and understanding of cavalry warfare. Compared to the Xianbei and Wuhuan people's iron cavalry, this army was indeed a notch lower.

  The cavalrymen, due to their inability to accurately understand cavalry tactics, resulted in a complete lack of coordination in formation and usage, making it difficult for the group cavalry combat advantage to be exerted, and it was hard to form a massive fighting force.

  Li Hong gazed out at the small cavalry units galloping back and forth across the grasslands, his thoughts drifting to the Xianbei battlefield, to the thrilling Battle of Juyan. Those brave and skilled Xianbei horsemen, under the command of the ox-horn bugle and battle flags, seamlessly shifted formations, precisely coordinating with each other, almost flawlessly propelling the army forward. Especially the Black Eagle Iron Cavalry, whose invincible aura alone was enough to crush any enemies who dared to confront them.

  Li Hong let out a sigh, lay down on the tender grass that had just sprouted, and gazed up at the azure sky in despair. For a moment, his ambition to establish the world's greatest iron cavalry was greatly frustrated.

  The soldiers' tactical literacy is poor, and the individual's riding and shooting combat skills are also quite different from those of the Hu people. If a solution cannot be found in the short term to make up for this deficiency, facing the enemy cavalry on the battlefield would be suicidal.

  Suddenly, a horseman flew in from afar, shooting towards Li Hong like an arrow. Li Hong sat up abruptly, looking at him with a solemn expression, and a ominous thought flashed through his mind.

  "Something bad has happened..."