The First Volume: The Storm in Kyoto Chapter 30: Huang Zhong's Heart of Loyalty

  Before training soldiers, they must be selected. To make Yan Yan surrender willingly, Liu Zhang let him select from the 200,000 troops first. Seeing Liu Zhang's confidence, Yan Yan didn't dare to underestimate him and chose young and strong men between 25 and 35 years old from the 200,000 people, leaving behind either children or old men for Liu Zhang. Of course, this was just Yan Yan's intention.

  Huang Zhong was extremely disdainful of Liu Zhang's unkind treatment of Yan Yan, but Liu Zhang told him that this was the only way to make Yan Yan submit willingly. Although Huang Zhong had not yet reached the point of blindly following Liu Zhang, he never dared to underestimate this young master. In Luoyang, where aristocratic sons ran amok like tigers and wolves, Liu Zhang was able to use the emperor's name to establish his own "bad reputation" without incurring the emperor's displeasure - could a child really do such a thing? Huang Zhong couldn't help but look forward to Yan Yan and Liu Zhang's contest.

  Liu Zhang had never been a soldier, but could he train soldiers? That's for sure! In later generations, whether it was junior high school, high school, or university, the first month of school would always have military training. An ordinary instructor can train those unruly students into a well-disciplined team, let alone Liu Zhang who now holds the power of life and death. What? You say that this kind of training can't produce elite soldiers? Don't underestimate the importance of military training, modern armies also start from such training.

  While Yan Yan was teaching his troops the art of killing, Liu Zhang wasn't idle either. He carefully explained some key points of modern military training to Huang Zhong, who listened with rapt attention, almost as if he were about to kneel down and become a disciple on the spot. But this only made Huang Zhong even more perplexed - if Liu Zhang knew the principles of military training, why didn't he explain them clearly to Yan Yan? When Huang Zhong asked Liu Zhang this question, Liu Zhang only said one sentence: "Yan Yan is not my man!"

  Huang Zhong suddenly realized that although Liu Zhang was the son of Liu Yan, what if Liu Yan were to die? At that time, both Huang Zhong and Sheng Yu would have to choose one of Liu Yan's sons. Since Liu Zhang was Huang Zhong's benefactor and had such great abilities, Huang Zhong naturally did not have any other thoughts. However, Sheng Yu was different - he was appointed by Liu Yan as a bodyguard for Liu Zhang, and was therefore Liu Yan's man, not Liu Zhang's man.

  At this thought, Huang Zhong felt a chill. Liu Zhang was only eight years old this year, and Liu Yan was just over forty, but Liu Zhang had already thought about things that would happen many years later, perhaps in ten or twenty years. However, it was precisely these ten or twenty years that Huang Zhong and Yan Yan would inevitably become a force to be reckoned with, and what Liu Zhang needed to do now was to subdue Yan Yan! Having understood Liu Zhang's thoughts, Huang Zhong's already resolute heart became even more determined towards Liu Zhang. How could such a genius not follow him, but instead choose those mediocre people? It was simply idiotic behavior! Just thinking about it made him want to laugh!

  Huang Zhong, having completely devoted himself to Liu Zhang, no longer had any objections to Liu Zhang's words. The training method he originally thought was useless turned out to be so effective that Huang Zhong took great pleasure in it. However, what made Huang Zhong somewhat dissatisfied was that he wanted his son Huang Xu to join the army for training as well, but Liu Zhang flatly refused. Huang Zhong did not give up and every time he saw Liu Zhang, he would bring up this matter again. Finally, Liu Zhang was driven to a corner and shouted at Huang Zhong: "If you want your son to die, then let him join the army for training!"

  Huang Zhong was stunned, he didn't understand why Liu Zhang said that. As for Huang Zhong, this tiger general, Liu Zhang also liked him from the bottom of his heart. In order not to let Huang Zhong have any bad ideas, Liu Zhang told Huang Zhong the story of Miao helping to grow, and the Miao in the story was Huang Xu. Miao is a good seedling, and Huang Zhong's expectation of his son becoming a dragon is also correct. However, considering Huang Xu's age, if he undergoes that kind of intense military training, it may harm his body, which would be a loss.

  Looking at the eight-year-old Liu Zhang, Huang Zhong suddenly had a kind of illusion. He was not facing a child, but an elder. Every word that Liu Zhang said was so reasonable, and he benefited greatly from it. For this reason, Huang Zhong made a decision that would affect him for the rest of his life: he let Huang Xu serve as Liu Zhang's personal attendant, while attendants were usually chosen from among the descendants of family slaves who were intelligent. When the master grew up, the attendant became the master's steward! This was also a way for Huang Zhong to indirectly show his loyalty!

  As for Huang Zhong's loyalty, Liu Zhang would naturally not refuse. Although Huang Xu had been seriously ill before, his body was forged with great internal energy. Perhaps not as good as Huang Zhong's physical quality, but much stronger than Shi Er and Yan Yan. If there were famous teachers to guide him, Huang Xu's achievements would be no less than Yan Yan's. Moreover, Huang Xu and Liu Zhang were about the same age, as long as he didn't die in battle, he could basically accompany Liu Zhang for a lifetime. Such a trusted general, how could you not want him!

  He handed over the task of training soldiers to Huang Zhong, and Liu Zhang only went to guide him once a day. A month passed, and the soldiers under Huang Zhong's command had undergone great changes in both spirit and temperament, even Liu Yan was shocked when he came to inspect them, but Liu Zhang was not satisfied with this. Because he knew that soldiers who had never seen blood, no matter how good their morale was, were of no use. After thinking for a few days, Liu Zhang told Huang Zhong that he planned to use the bandits and horse thieves near Youzhou to train his troops. Huang Zhong agreed with Liu Zhang's opinion after hearing it. However, Huang Zhong secretly mourned for those bandits and horse thieves in his heart. Being targeted by Liu Zhang was obviously not a good thing!

  Since Huang Xu joined Liu Zhang's team, the orphans who were previously taken in by Liu Yan were also brought over. Shi A became the head of a nursery school run by Liu Zhang himself, and every day he had to teach Liu Zhang, Huang Xu, and those orphans basic skills. Of course, it's up to each individual to practice after being taught by their master. Shi A only taught them basic skills and let them practice on their own, as for what they could achieve, that was not something Shi A was responsible for. And the head teacher of these orphans was Huang Xu!

  Huang Zhong had nothing to say to his son, and after consulting with Liu Zhang, Huang Zhong passed on the military training methods he learned from Liu Zhang, along with his own insights, to Huang Xu. Those orphans were still young, and while Huang Xu was teaching them martial arts, Liu Zhang also invited some down-on-their-luck scholars to teach the orphans how to read and write. To ensure the loyalty of the orphans, Liu Zhang also had Huang Xu brainwash them. But what Liu Zhang didn't expect was that Huang Xu not only washed the brains of the orphans but also his own!

  Liu Zhang had not gone out for more than a month to practice his troops. Those arrogant and domineering young masters, although they were somewhat afraid of Liu Zhang, could not resist their own spoiled nature. Seeing that Liu Zhang had not left the mansion for several days, they began to act tyrannically on the streets again. As for the officials in Ji County, they did not dare to control those second-generation ancestors. Those aristocratic families could not deal with Liu Zhang, but it was easy to deal with the officials of Ji County.

  After entrusting the training of his troops and personal guards to Huang Zhong and his son, Liu Zhang resumed his indulgent lifestyle. However, unlike before when he would venture out with nearly a hundred bodyguards, now he only brought Shi Ai along. This was because those Imperial Guards had been reassigned by him as low-ranking officers in the armies of Huang Zhong and Yan Yan, while his personal elite guard had yet to be trained.

  On this day, Liu Zhang, who had not gone out for a long time, strolled on the street with Shi Ah following behind him. Looking at the bustling crowd of people on the street and the happy smiles on their faces, Liu Zhang couldn't help but admire Liu Yan's ability. In such a short period of time, Liu Yan was able to restore vitality to Ji County, which had just been ravaged by the Wuhuan people. Even if the Wuhuan people hadn't invaded Ji County, it wasn't something that an ordinary governor or prefect could do. However, Liu Zhang didn't think that most of the credit belonged to him. If he hadn't intimidated all the influential families in Ji County, Liu Yan wouldn't have been able to take control so quickly.

  "Don't...don't come over...help!" A faint voice came from a secluded alley, and Liu Zhang knew it was a girl as soon as he heard it.

  Liu Zhang furrowed his brow and said to Shi Ah: "Go! Take a look!"

  Shi Ah nodded and followed Liu Zhang to the entrance of the alley. Suddenly, two martially dressed men rushed out from the corner of the alley and said to Liu Zhang: "This young master, my young master is busy with something, please take a detour!"

  "Put down your swords and spare your lives!" Liu Zhang dared to claim himself as king in Luoyang, when was he ever threatened by anyone.

  "Looking for death!" The two warriors heard Liu Zhang say this and immediately became furious, swinging their weapons and charging forward.

  Shi Ah beheaded two people with one sword, and the two fell down covering their throats in terror. Shi Ah wiped his treasured sword on one of them and said: "If you don't drink the wine of respect, you'll have to drink the penal wine!"

  After entering the alley, Liu Zhang found that in another corner, a young man in fine clothes was making moves on a little girl, and the girl was curled up into a ball, shouting and resisting, with a hint of despair in her eyes.

  "Shout! You shout! The louder you shout, the more excited I get!" The young man in fancy clothes seemed to have entered a state of frenzy, like a madman, constantly molesting the girl's body without noticing someone approaching from behind.

  "Save me!" The girl's eyes lit up when she saw Liu Zhang and Shi Ah.

  "Save you?" The young man in Chinese attire burst out laughing: "Go ahead and shout! Shout until your throat is hoarse, no one will dare to save you!"

  "Smack!" Liu Zhang slapped his forehead lightly and said: "Must a bad person always say this?"

  Shi Ah saw Liu Zhang's action and thought of what happened when he met He Lingsi, and couldn't help but laugh.

  "Who are you?" Hearing someone speak, the young man in fine clothes turned his head to look back and found that the two people behind him were not his guards. His excited state also calmed down a bit.

  "You dare to cause trouble on my turf and don't even recognize me? How bold! Liu Zhang smiled: "I'll give you a chance, now kowtow to this girl twice and scram, I'll spare your life!"

  The young man in Han attire stared at Liu Zhang, who really didn't know that the person in front of him was the son of the Governor of Youzhou, the notorious fierce god who had been making waves recently. Because of the Wuhuan invasion, he had been sent to a relative's house in Jizhou by his father. After hearing Liu Zhang's words, the young man burst out laughing: "Your territory? Do you know who I am? I'll give you an opportunity now, kneel down and kowtow three times, then roll away, and I'll spare your lives!" Liu Zhang and Shi Ah looked at each other in dismay, while the girl's eyes dimmed. Liu Zhang and his friends didn't know who the young man was, but the girl did - this young man was the son of the commander of Jicounty.