Chapter 37: The Coveted Warhorse

  A month's time is enough to change many things.

  Du Qi was in charge of the internal affairs of Wuji County. He handled matters impartially and was a straightforward person. Since taking office as the chief clerk, he had cleared up all the pending cases and divided the county seat of Wuji into five major regions: east, south, west, north, and central. He assigned officials to manage each region respectively. Once something happened in any of the five regions, Du Qi could learn about it in a very short time and then deal with it promptly.

  The county town was in good order, and Du Qi walked through all the villages of Wuji County within a short month, fully understanding the situation of Wuji County. This approach made Wang Lei admire him endlessly.

  After entering August, Wang Lei knew that a series of big things would happen in Luoyang.

  But Wang Lei was just a tiny county magistrate, the turmoil in Luoyang and the entire Great Han had nothing to do with him. He now only had one task, which was to train troops, constantly training troops. Speaking of training troops, Dian Wei was indeed a fierce man. With Dian Wei in charge of training, the soldiers he trained also exuded a strong and ferocious aura.

  In just one month's time, the soldiers had undergone a dramatic change, becoming robust and sturdy, with eyes that gleamed with ferocity like those of a fierce tiger.

  On this day, Dian Wei arrived at the county government office.

  He met Wang Lei in the hall and bowed his head to greet him: "General Mo Tianwei has arrived, I have seen you, sir!"

  "Sit!" Wang Lei waved his hand and said: "Brother, what brings you here?"

  Dian Wei nodded and said seriously: "Sir, the 400-strong Tiger Troop has undergone a month of training with very good results and already has a sharp momentum. But to make the soldiers of the Tiger Troop truly fierce, they must go through the baptism of war; otherwise, they will never experience the bloodshed and killing on the battlefield. I have come to see you, sir, to ask you to send troops to surround and annihilate the Black Mountain bandits in the vicinity of Wuji County."

  Wang Lei furrowed his brow and said, "The Black Mountain bandits are powerful, they're not easy to deal with."

  Dian Wei said, "The Heishan bandits have gathered a force of one million, and it won't be easy to attack them. But we're not going to attack the Heishan bandits' lair directly. My plan is to start with the smaller forces around Wujun County and gradually expand our own forces by defeating the surrounding Heishan bandit troops."

  Wang Lei's eyes lit up, and he praised: "This idea is great. We can not only let our soldiers grow through war, but also annex the Black Mountain bandits to expand our own power. Moreover, we can capture food and weapons to fight for more gains. It's a win-win situation, I agree."

  Dian Wei scratched his head, he actually hadn't thought of so much.

  I didn't expect there would be so many benefits.

  Wang Lei's heart was also stirred, and he asked: "Brother, since you plan to go to battle, have you figured out the situation of the Black Mountain bandits lurking around Wujixian County? Knowing oneself and knowing others is the key to winning every battle, so we must be clear about the situation."

  Dian Wei replied: "Although I don't know everything about it, I have grasped one or two things."

  Report!

  Xiao Hao walked in from outside the hall and handed over a piece of paper.

  Wang Lei scanned the document quickly and ordered: "Please ask Guo Jia to come, I have something to discuss with him."

  Xiao Hao turned and left the hall, Wang Lei said: "Brother, the matter of surrounding Hei Shan thief has to be put on hold for now. We just received news from our scouts that our neighboring Xinshi County has purchased a batch of war horses, which will soon enter Wujixian County. It is expected that in two days they will arrive near the county seat of Wujixian County and then head to Xinshi County. Warhorses that have been delivered to our doorstep cannot be wasted, this is the first battle for the Menghu Battalion."

  "War horse?"

  Dian Wei's eyes sparkled with excitement as he said: "The army camp is short of war horses, great, great!"

  Dian Wei said two good words and couldn't help but clench his fists and rub his palms together.

  Before long, Guo Jia walked in with big strides and bowed respectfully to Wang Yue.

  Wang Lei waved his hand, signaling Guo Jia to sit down. He said, "I just received news that a batch of war horses will be passing through the border of Wuji County in Xincheng County. Among them, there are about 600 war horses and about 400 soldiers escorting them. Fengxiao, our army is short of war horses, I plan to take down these 600 war horses. Do you have any strategy?"

  Kuo Chia thought for a moment and said: "The war horses purchased by Xinshi County are likely to cause disputes."

  "As long as it's done cleanly, I'm not afraid."

  Guo Jia smiled and said: "If the adults are not worried, Guo Jia will be looked down upon if he shows weakness."

  Wang Lei asked: "You have many plans, think of a way quickly."

  Guo Jia thought for a moment, then said: "The simplest way is to let the 400 Tigers pretend to be bandits from Black Mountain and ambush the officials escorting war horses on their way to Xinshi County. At that time, even if the county magistrate of Xinshi County investigates and suspects us, we can find excuses to shirk responsibility."

  Wang Lei applauded and praised, with a thick smile in his eyes.

  Guo Jia said, "Taking down this batch of war horses is easy, but the trouble is how to settle them. The county magistrate of Xinshi County buying war horses is clearly to strengthen his own strength. According to observations over this period of time, the county magistrate of Xinshi County is not a good person either, and he has extraordinary power under his command. If we don't settle the war horses properly, I'm afraid it will provoke an attack from the county magistrate of Xinshi County."

  Wang Lei furrowed his brow and said, "Feng Xiao, although we are in Ji Zhou, it's easy to get war horses, but getting hundreds of them is not easy. This is a heaven-sent opportunity, and we can't afford to miss it."

  Guo Jia nodded and said, "The adults are right, the opportunity is not to be missed. I have already mentioned the strategy for taking down this batch of war horses earlier. Dian Sima will lead the soldiers from the Hu Ben camp disguised as bandits from Hei Shan to launch a surprise attack and bring back the war horses. As for the county magistrate of Xin Shi County, with just a bit of manipulation, he can also be taken care of."

  "How to solve it? Don't be mysterious, just say it directly."

  Wang Lei hastily asked.

  Guo Jia explained: "Apart from the 400 men under General Cao, we will also gather yamen runners and ordinary soldiers from Wuqi County. After General Cao takes action, immediately have the yamen runners and ordinary soldiers rush to pretend to provide reinforcements, shifting suspicion away from our lord. At that time, even if the Magistrate of Xinshi County suspects our lord, after all, our lord has dispatched soldiers to provide reinforcements. As long as we persist in this, the Magistrate of Xinshi County will be powerless."

  "This suggestion is good, anyway I have a thick face and am not afraid of him."

  Wang Lei's face was filled with a thick layer of smiles, and he said with a smile: "Dian Sima, do you understand?"

  "Rest assured, sir, I understand."

  Guo Jia's tone changed, and he continued: "Several hundred war horses are not a small number. After obtaining this batch of war horses, where to place them is a problem. I suggest that the army be immediately withdrawn from the city, and in the outskirts of the city, find a secluded place to set up camp, and hide the Hu Tiger Camp. Only after obtaining the war horses can all the war horses be placed in the military camp outside the city without being discovered."

  Dian Wei laughed and said: "Mr. Guo's wonderful plan is unmatched, Dian Wei admires it."

  Wang Lei's eyes were full of expectation, and once he had a war horse, his strength could rise to another level.

  Four hundred infantry and four hundred cavalry, with a huge difference between them.

  Dian Wei stood up and bid farewell, heading to the military camp to lead out the 400 soldiers stationed in the city. The soldiers of the Hu Lao Camp left the city, no one knew what the reason was, nor did anyone pay attention, as long as the Black Mountain bandits didn't attack, everything would be fine.

  Moreover, the county magistrate has trained soldiers many times before, so it's normal for them to be taken out of the city.