Chapter 28: The Maiden

  Liu Biao's unease and his own calmness were clearly visible to the 500 people from Jingzhou present, and it was believed that this would soon spread throughout Jingzhou.

  Yan Liang's purpose had been achieved, and he didn't want to waste any more expressions, so he said loudly: "The details of the alliance, I believe Ai Boji has already discussed with Liu Shijun in detail. If Liu Shijun has no objections, let us take this oath now."

  Liu Biao couldn't wait to end this tense scene and also repeatedly nodded in agreement.

  By rights, an alliance should be sealed with either a blood oath or incense and kneeling in worship, swearing to heaven. But considering Liu Biao's cautious nature, the ceremony had to be simplified.

  Both sides immediately bowed and made a vow to heaven, after saying a few words of alliance, this alliance was considered complete.

  After the swearing-in ceremony, Yan Liang and Liu Biao haggled over the scope of his power for half a day.

  Giving up land is equivalent to cutting flesh, Liu Biao was naturally heartbroken. According to his original intention, he only wanted to give Xinye, Zhaoyang and Shanyang three counties to Yan Liang, and claimed that he would fully supply the military rations for Yan Liang's troops.

  Yan Liang is not so easy to fool.

  Xinye is a rich and prosperous land, but the population of the three counties combined is only around 400,000 to 500,000 people, which is far from enough to support Yan Liang's army of over 100,000 soldiers, let alone his future plans to continue expanding his military.

  If the supply of grain and fodder is completely dependent on Liu Biao, it would be equivalent to handing over one's lifeblood to him. At a critical moment, Liu Biao could use cutting off supplies to control oneself.

  It is clear that relying solely on Liu Bei for food supplies is unreliable, and one must have their own foundation.

  Yan Liang bluntly rejected Liu Biao's proposal and instead demanded that all counties north of the Han River in Nanyang be placed under his own jurisdiction.

  Yan Liang was like a lion opening its mouth, and Liu Biao wasn't so foolish as to agree. After several rounds of haggling, they finally reached a compromise.

  Including Xin Ye, Chaoyang, Rang, Anzhong, and Huayang, the seven counties in the north were assigned to Yan Liang. Caiyang, Deng, and Anchang counties, which are closer to the Han River, remained under Liu Biao's rule.

  Jingzhou had not experienced war for a long time, and the registered households had as many as one million people. Among them, Nanyang was also a large county with a large population. The seven counties allocated to Yan Liang alone had a total population of over 1 million people.

  In this era of sharp population decline, 100,000 people is not a small number. According to the extreme ratio of one soldier for every ten civilians, 100,000 people can support an army of 10,000.

  Moreover, these 100,000 people were just registered households, and it is unknown how many more unregistered fugitive households there were.

  Yan Liang was very pleased with this division, and laughed loudly: "General Liu is indeed a broad-minded person. General, please rest assured, I, Yan Liang, will help you defend the north of Jingzhou. You can gallop south to Mount Nan, and enjoy peace and security without worrying."

  "With Yan Liang saying that, I can rest assured." Liu Biao's heart was bitter, but he still had to put on a strong and smiling face.

  The matter of ceding land and forming an alliance has been settled. Yan Liang didn't want to waste any more words with Liu Biao, so he bid farewell.

  Liu Biao, in a state of anxiety, feared that things would get out of hand and hastily bid farewell to leave this tiger-like general as far away as possible.

  Liu Biao departed under the escort of Cai Mao and led his troops away.

  "Mr. Boji, another day, Yan Mou will ask Mr. for more advice." Yan Liang bowed his hands to Yi Ji who was walking behind him.

  He was taken aback for a moment, then hastily cupped his hands and said: "General, you are too kind, I dare not, I dare not."

  Yan Liang didn't say much more, just smiled and watched as Yi Jie left.

  Liu Biao, who had already turned around, heard these words and turned his head to look. Seeing the two men's friendly expressions, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

  He said this parting word to show great respect for Yijue, but it was intentionally performed for Liu Biao to see, so that Liu Biao would suspect Yijue and think that Yijue had some unmentionable conversation with Yan Liang when he went on a mission to Xinye.

  Liu Biao's fleeting doubt did not escape Yan Liang's eyes, and he secretly smiled to himself as he turned his horse around and galloped away towards Xinye.

  Five hundred cavalrymen headed north back to XinYe, Yan Liang was in a great mood, and had already been thinking about the next step on the way.

  Although we have recently gained control of the seven counties in Jingzhou, and have established a foothold there, Yan Liang was well aware that his own strength was still very weak compared to the other lords of the land.

  Whether it was Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, or the Sun family of Jiangdong, their strength far surpassed his own.

  However, Yan Liang has a mind to shuttle between various forces, relying on his own bravery and extraordinary insight, fighting for his own world.

  "Xinye has been obtained, the next step is to win people's hearts, expand and train troops, gradually encroach on Jingzhou, and then reap the benefits of the Battle of Guandu..."

  Yan Liang riding his horse at a slow pace, planning the blueprint for the future in his mind.

  "General, it seems there is a fierce battle ahead." Zhou Cang's rough voice broke into Yan Liang's train of thought.

  He looked up and gazed into the distance, and on the highway by the riverbank, he indeed saw over a hundred people fighting.

  The two sides of the fierce battle, the side with more people and momentum wore different clothes, holding various colored weapons.

  The besieged side was dressed in a uniform of Qing color, surrounding a horse-drawn carriage.

  Yan Liang immediately understood that this was likely a group of bandits robbing a wealthy traveler.

  Jingzhou was still relatively peaceful under Liu Biao's rule, but now these bandits dared to rob people in broad daylight, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the change of ownership in Xinye.

  "General, it should be bandits who are plundering. Let General Zhou lead a team of soldiers to wipe them out." Zhou Cang also understood and asked for battle with cupped hands.

  Yan Liang had originally planned to agree, to eliminate this group of bandits, in order to establish his image as a guardian of the border and bring peace to the people.

  Just as he was about to nod, however, he suddenly discovered something interesting.

  "Let's see first."

  Yan Liang slightly raised the corner of his mouth and ordered the troops to halt, bringing only Zhou Cang and a few others forward on horseback.

  When they were thirty steps apart, Yan Liang saw the whole picture of the fight clearly.

  There were more than seventy robbers, while the big family's servants were only over twenty people, at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers.

  But these twenty or more men surrounded the carriage, supporting each other and helping one another, so that the robbers were unable to overpower them for the time being.

  Upon closer inspection, the position of each of those servants seemed to be extremely well-ordered, with a hint of military tactics.

  A mere squad of soldiers, how can they form a battle array? There must be a superior officer directing from behind.

  Yan Liang's eyes lit up and he quickly found that person, his eyes suddenly shining brightly in front of him.

  She was a young girl.

  That young girl had a face as lovely as an apricot, with a complexion as beautiful as a peach. She was wearing a blue satin jacket with a sable fur trim at the collar, and her attire was quite luxurious.

  She stood on the carriage, with the wind gently caressing her beautiful hair, extremely captivating.

  Surrounded by a group of robbers, she didn't have the slightest fear, instead calmly and composedly giving orders to the surrounding servants, repeatedly driving away the robbers who were getting closer.

  Seeing the girl with a clear and elegant appearance, and a calm demeanor, Yan Liang's heart moved slightly.