The Seventh Section: The Empty North of Horse Bone

  Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

  "Spare those who surrender! Spare those who surrender!......"

  The besieged county soldiers had different facial expressions, but they all focused their eyes on the face of Han Jun.

  If you don't yield, you will die.

  However, surrendering does not necessarily mean survival.

  The combat effectiveness of the Han army has always been known for its strength. In the mouths of the barbarian tribes around the Great Han Empire, there has long been a saying that "one Han is equal to five Hu". This sentence comes from the famous words of Han general Chen Tang, and with the conquest of the surrounding barbarians by the Great Han Empire, it has become a universally recognized fact.

  Even Shi Le, the leader of the Xianbei tribe, who had defeated a Han army of 10,000 men several years ago, only boasted that one Han soldier was no match for five Xianbei cavalrymen. Three Xianbei cavalrymen were enough to match one Han soldier.

  However, having strong combat effectiveness does not mean that the Han army's military discipline is strict. In fact, the Han army has always been prone to killing on the battlefield. Even if they captured enemies, Han soldiers often found these guys troublesome and would kill them off. After all, under the standard of calculating merit by the number of heads, the enemy's head was always a scarce resource.

  Measuring others by oneself, the Han army soldiers had no confidence in their own survival. At this time, people's herding mentality was fully demonstrated.

  If we die, let's all die together! If we live, let's all live together!

  So, the Han army stationed at Changxin, can really be considered as a heavy burden.

  Han Jun's troops had been eagerly awaiting him, and after a moment of internal struggle, his face changed several times before he finally made up his mind to head out. He removed his helmet, took off his armor, and came bare-handed to Zhang Kuang's horse, bowing deeply and saying in a hoarse voice:

  "We are willing to surrender, but we ask this commander to keep his promise..."

  "My promise, you will see it soon."

  Zhang struggled to suppress the excitement in his heart, putting on a calm and composed expression. However, some trembling voices still quietly betrayed him.

  "Put down your arms, I am a Yellow Turban rebel, and we will naturally treat you well!"

  The battle ended, and the Yellow Turbans began to count their losses and tend to their wounded. The casualties of this battle were not too great for the Yellow Turbans, with eleven men killed in action and twenty-seven injured. Among them, Tian Wei was struck by a veteran Han soldier during the charge, but fortunately his leather armor blocked the blow, and he only suffered minor injuries.

  Such a result made Zhang Kuang secretly sigh with emotion, and indeed, the war was fierce and dangerous. Even with Di Wei's strong degree of bravery, it was still inevitable to be injured on the battlefield. At the same time, it also further solidified Comrade Zhang Kuang's determination to command from the center and never easily fall into chaos.

  As for the casualties of the Han army, they were equally heavy. A total of 184 people in a village, except for 13 people who escaped successfully, 64 died, 15 were seriously injured, and most of the rest were lightly injured.

  Originally, according to the Han army's organizational structure, "部" (division) and "曲" (battalion) were the basic units, adopting a system of twos and fives. Each "曲" had 500 people, with two "曲" making up one "部" of 1,000 people. Under each "曲", there were five "屯" (companies), each with 100 people. Under each "屯", there were two "队" (platoons), and under each "队", there were five "什" (squads). Each "什" was further divided into two "伍" (sections), with each "伍" having five people.

  However, this is the standard organization. The Tuen that Zhang Kuang defeated had been expanded to twice its size due to military needs, with a full four teams. Only after such an expansion would a Tuen be considered capable of independent combat.

  It is worth noting that since the Emperor Guangwu, the military deployment of the Han Empire has had a tendency to be "empty outside and solid inside". In order to avoid vassals from rebelling, an official army in a large prefecture usually only had one or two "departments". Scattered in each county town, they could usually only get one or two "garrisons" of troops.

  In terms of supplies, since this county's troops were stationed not far away, they didn't bring much baggage. However, more than a hundred sets of fairly intact helmets and armor, as well as swords, had already made Zhang Kuang extremely delighted.

  Of course, what made Zhang Cang most happy was the capture of more than a dozen strong crossbows. These sharp weapons were considered to be an important supplement to the Yellow Turban Army led by Zhang Cang.

  After one battle, there were many casualties. Zhang ** ordered a halt and stationed troops on the spot to rest and reorganize for a day.

  The treatment of these captives by the Han army became one of the most important things after the war.

  This matter is somewhat difficult to handle. If they are let go like this, not to mention Zhang Kuang, all the Yellow Turbans will be discontented. However, if they are escorted in the marching troops, it's hard for people to feel at ease.

  Zhang Kuang thought for a moment and decided to first talk with the leader of the Han army before making any plans.

  "What is your honorable surname and great name?"

  "A prisoner of low status, surname Wang, name Guo, no alias."

  That Han army commander was quite bold and sat calmly in front of Zhang Kuang, took a big gulp of clear water, and replied without any hesitation.

  No words, this Wang Tuan is a long time, from the lower class. A 40-year-old man, still only serving as a Tuan Zhang in the county and national army, it can be inferred that there should not be any powerful support after his death. This situation adds a few possibilities to Zhang Kuang's upcoming recruitment.

  "Mr. Wang's command today was extremely decisive, and his subordinates fought well, I must say I'm impressed."

  Wang Tuan Chang is indeed a veteran, having seen bloodshed before and having plenty of guts. Even in the face of the current situation, there's not much fear on his face.

  "Old Wang, I'll be blunt - if General Guan didn't have those two 'thousand-man-breakers' under his command, it's hard to say who would've won this battle today!"

  "What the gentleman said makes sense. The Yellow Turbans' uprising was too brief, and indeed our military strength is insufficient. I think that with your talents, even if you were to become a military marquis, it would be more than sufficient."

  At this point, Wang Tun fell silent, clearly unwilling to mention something.

  "When today's Han dynasty has lost its way, disasters have arisen on all sides. Furthermore, eunuchs and imperial relatives are vying for power within the court, while powerful clans and aristocratic families are running amok outside, and the common people are already at the end of their rope."

  I, Taiping Dao, rose up with a simple desire to give these innocent civilians a chance to survive. I only wanted to give the humble commoners an opportunity to showcase their talents."

  Yu Province is a key area for the spread of the "Taiping Tao" teachings. This Wang Tun, also has some understanding of the teachings of the "Taiping Tao". Now that he has been defeated and captured, even if he manages to escape and return, according to the military law of the Han army, at best he will be stripped of his official position and imprisoned, at worst he will be beheaded and displayed publicly.

  For his own life and the desire for fame, Wang Tunchang had already planned to join the Yellow Turbans at the moment of surrender. Now, he wanted to see how much this young commander valued him.

  If I were just a small soldier, I'd find a way to get out of here.

  "Now is the time for our great cause of the Yellow Turbans to flourish like wildfire. With your exceptional abilities, Mr. Wang, how can you let them be wasted so easily?"

  Young Master Zhang is quite bold, daring to invite sir to take the position of 'military advisor' in our department, teaching these passionate Yellow Turban men how to engage in battle and fight. In the future when our Taiping Dao great undertaking is accomplished, sir can also return home with honor and glory!

  Zhang Kuang said this, in order to show his sincerity, stood up and gave Wang Tun a deep bow. Wang Tun did not expect that the young general would be so courteous and respectful, and he was deeply moved.

  In the Han Dynasty, it was considered glorious to die for one's country and to die in revenge. From the large scale of dying for the state, to the small scale of dying for oneself, friends, or elder teachers, numerous cases of sacrificing one's life to seek revenge can be seen everywhere. Often, a single insult would lead to drawing swords against each other. They would rather lose their lives than live in shame, and this spirit was quite prevalent among scholars.

  Although Wang Tun was a military man by birth, he was not good at literary matters. However, there was one sentence that he had heard when he was young and received enlightenment:

  He who takes me for a common man I shall return as a common man; he who regards me as a noble I shall respond with nobility!

  Since Zhang Kuang had fully demonstrated the sincerity of the Yellow Turbans, Wang Tunchang also went along with it. Moreover, he had been suppressed by his subordinates in the Han army for many years and had a bellyful of resentment, so Wang Tunchang unhesitatingly agreed to Zhang Kuang's request.

  "My king is a rough man, since General Zhang looks up to me like this, I'll entrust my life to him!"

  With Wang Yun's lead, most of his soldiers were also willing to join the Yellow Turbans.

  A very small number of unwilling die-hards, seeing the prestige of Wang Yun, did not go to trouble them and agreed that as long as they served in the Yellow Turban Army for a month, they would let them leave.

  As a result, Zhang Kuang's subordinates have not only increased in number but also greatly improved in quality.

  Of course, Zhang Kuang had also considered the possibility of these "former Han army" pretending to surrender.

  However, Zhang Kuang had his own way of dealing with this. He was confident that as long as they got through today, the loyalty of these "former Han soldiers" to the Yellow Turbans would increase greatly. By then, even if it was a fake surrender, it might become a real one.

  Because, Zhang Kuang will tonight, in front of the whole army, "enlighten" He Lao Si. This fact is enough to make these superstitious people who believe in "omenology" thoroughly convinced of themselves!

  Ps: The chapter title comes from Song Dynasty Chen Liang's poem: "Not seeing the southern army for a long time, rumors say the northern troops are empty. On the spot, with only one hand, after all, it still belongs to me, the hero of ten thousand men."

  The so-called military advisor has multiple meanings. Here, it refers to "serving as a military commander, teaching the entire army war skills and rules of war".

  The phrase "a hero among people" comes from the Spring and Autumn Annals, which records a strange person named Yu Rang. If you are interested, you can search for "Yu Rang".