Chapter 52: Heavy Cavalry and Light Cavalry (Seeking Votes and Bookmarks)

  "Alas."

  Yan Liang responded casually, appearing on the surface as if he didn't take it to heart, but in reality, he was quite shocked.

  Yi Ji said strangely, "Brother Zi Yuan, isn't Liu Bei under Yuan Benchu's command? How can he suddenly come to Runan?"

  Xu You then slowly and calmly revealed the intelligence he had gathered while staying in Yuan's army.

  Yuan Shao had secretly ordered Yan Liang to arrest Xu You and send him to Guandu, but after several months, Yan Liang still hadn't brought Xu You, which made Yuan Shao suspicious of Yan Liang.

  Later, when Yuan Shao heard that Yan Liang not only disobeyed his orders but also changed the original battle plan and left Runan with Xu You to flee to Jingzhou and form an alliance with Liu Biao, Yuan Shao was extremely enraged.

  At this time, Liu Bei took the opportunity to speak out and said that Yan Liang had a rebellious heart. He volunteered to come to Ru'nan, first to attack Xuchang from the south, and secondly to keep an eye on Yan Liang.

  Yan Liang sneered after hearing Xu You's intelligence: "If Yuan Shao knew that Liu Bei was doing this to abandon him, I wonder what he would be furious about."

  "Does the general mean that Liu Xuande is using the name of monitoring the general to take the opportunity to leave Yuan Shao?" Yijue asked strangely.

  Yan Liang snorted, "Liu Bei is a hero, how can he be willing to submit to others for long? Gongsun Zan, Lü Bu, Cao Cao, these lords he has relied on before, which one hasn't he betrayed? Now that he betrays Yuan Shao, what's so strange about it?"

  A single word awakened her, and she suddenly became enlightened.

  After a moment of contemplation, Yi Ji said: "Now that we have established ourselves in Xinye, Liu Bei has come from afar with a small army and few generals. What is there to fear?"

  "We only chose a few thousand elite from the Yuannan Yellow Turbans, but once Liu Bei arrives in Yuannan, he can still gather tens of thousands of troops. Although they are not all elites, Liu Bei is still a man with some ability and should not be underestimated." Xun You explained.

  Yan Liang's concern was not how many Yellow Turbans Liu Bei could gather, but rather that once Liu Bei arrived in Runan, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, those scattered old subordinates, would inevitably reunite upon hearing the news. Even Guan Yu, who was in Cao's camp, would also follow historical precedent, hang up his seal, and go to join Liu Bei.

  Liu Bei was originally a hero, and with Guan Zhang Zhao and other tiger generals who were enemies of ten thousand people, although they couldn't beat Cao Cao, but for themselves, it was a strong enemy.

  After a moment of contemplation, Yan Liang's face gradually turned cold and arrogant.

  He downed a cup of wine and said loudly, "Liu Bei is a powerful hero, not to be underestimated. However, if he dares to come and cause me trouble, I will make him know the word 'error' just like Cao Cao and Liu Biao."

  His face, sharp as a knife, was surging with an aura of majesty, and his tone seemed to have an innate confidence.

  Everyone on both sides seemed to be infected by Yan Liang's confidence, and all kinds of worries dissipated like smoke. The entire hall was filled with an air of confidence.

  On that day, Yan Liang made some new deployments.

  In terms of marriage, Yan Liang ordered Yi Ji to take charge and make sure that the wedding with Huang Yueying was done in a grand manner, so that everyone in Jingzhou would know about his alliance with the Huang family.

  In military affairs, Yan Liang made good use of Wen Pin, ordering him to take charge of training new troops and strive to expand his forces to around 15,000 men within two months. The newly formed troops were also required to have a certain combat effectiveness.

  As for governance, he entrusted everything to Manchu officials, ordering them to establish laws and regulations, investigate the population of the seven counties, and quickly restore taxation.

  Xu You, on the other hand, established an organization called Siwen Cao under Yan Liang's suggestion, incorporating Xu You's intelligence network into this institution, which was specifically responsible for espionage work.

  Yan Liang deeply understood how important it was for an intelligence system to be superior, as historically, a single piece of intelligence could even decide the rise and fall of a country.

  Yan Liang, despite being under heavy taxation, still managed to allocate a large sum of money for Cao's intelligence gathering in various provinces.

  Apart from providing funds, Yan Liang also specially arranged for Yi Ji to join Cao Cao as a deputy, letting him assist Xu You in gathering intelligence while handling the marriage.

  Although Yan Liang trusted Xu You very much, the intelligence system was a matter of great importance. Yan Liang could not possibly entrust such an important institution to one person's hands. Yi Ji's joining also ensured that Yan Liang had control over Cao Cao to some extent.

  As for Zhou Cang, although he was not good at commanding troops, he was skilled in martial arts and loyal, so Yan Liang ordered him to be in charge of commanding 500 elite personal soldiers.

  As for Liu Bi, his martial arts and military skills are mediocre, but fortunately, he is loyal to Yan Liang, who has not treated him unfairly. He was appointed as Wen Ping's deputy general, helping him train troops, which also allowed him to learn from Wen Ping and improve his own strength.

  In terms of cavalry, when Yan Liang defected from Yuan Shao, he brought with him over a thousand elite cavalrymen from Hebei. After defeating Cao Ren, Cao Hong and Liu Biao in succession, they captured many horses and armor, expanding their cavalry to around 2,000.

  Yan Liang then selected the strong and elite soldiers among them, formed a 500-strong heavy cavalry, known as "Iron Floating Pavilion".

  This iron floating pagoda was originally the heavy cavalry of the Jin Dynasty in history, and Yan Liang felt that it sounded quite majestic and cool, so he borrowed it to name.

  The Jin State's heavy cavalry had armor for both men and horses, and one heavy cavalryman required several attendants to serve him. Given Yan Liang's current strength, it was naturally impossible for him to afford such expensive heavy cavalry.

  Yan Liang's so-called 500 elite cavalry were actually just more fully armored light cavalry. These heavy cavalry had no significant advantage against northern warlords like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao who possessed large numbers of cavalry, but for places like Jingzhou which lacked horses, they were undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with.

  Apart from the heavy cavalry, Yan Liang also organized his remaining 1,500 cavalrymen into a light cavalry unit called "Shen Xing Ji".

  The armor and impact force of the Shen Xing Army are naturally inferior to those of the Tie Fu Tu, but its deadliness lies in its agility like the wind.

  Yan Liang first defeated Cao Hong and then Liu Biao, repeatedly rushing back and forth on the long journey of several hundred miles, relying on the strong mobility of the light cavalry.

  Yan Liang believed that although his troops and horses were not many, and his territory was not large, as long as he had the Iron Floating Pavilion and the Divine Speed Riders, these two elite cavalry forces would be enough to make any of the lords in Jingzhou dare not underestimate him.

  The expansion of power was proceeding in a hurry, and in the blink of an eye, several days had passed, and it was already the agreed-upon day for welcoming the bride.

  On the same day, Yi Ji led a large batch of betrothal gifts from Xinye to Huangjiacun, while Yan Liang changed into his new groom attire in the governor's mansion, receiving congratulations from all relatives and waiting for his bride to arrive.

  Recently, Xin Ye has been under the shadow of war for months. Today's rare good news has alleviated the tense atmosphere in the city to some extent.

  To celebrate his own grand wedding, Yan Liang took some wine and rice from the treasury on Xu You's suggestion, distributing them among the three armies as well as the common people in the city.

  The people in the city were moved by Yan Liang's kindness, and many families voluntarily lit lanterns and hung decorations to celebrate. The streets and alleys of XinYe City were filled with a strong festive atmosphere.

  At dusk, the setting sun dyed everything with its slanting rays.

  Yan Liang dressed neatly and brought Zhou Cang and other ten famous generals to welcome Huang's family carriage in the south of the city.

  Before long, a team of chariots appeared in Yan Liang's line of sight.

  A long procession with over a dozen horse-drawn carriages, several dozen male and female servants, and the carriage in the center of the procession, covered with red cloth, was even more eye-catching.

  Yan Liang's gaze was drawn to the horse-drawn carriage in the middle, he knew that inside sat Huang Yueying, the woman who would soon become his wife.