Chapter 10: Refine My Elite Troops!

  "From today on, you will practice three times a day. The seven-day meat ration is changed to every three days. Eat well and give me a good practice!"

  As soon as Yuan Fang finished speaking, the two thousand soldiers present all cheered excitedly.

  It is worth noting that in the Beiyang Army, only elite troops like the First Regiment could have meat every three days, while secondary soldiers like those of the Pingyang Regiment had to practice military drills for three days and then get one day off, with meat served only once every seven days.

  Yuan Fang knew that if soldiers couldn't eat meat and trained a lot, their bodies would get sick. Not to mention going into battle, they'd collapse from exhaustion first.

  Yuan Fang pointed with one hand, and the cheering soldiers quickly fell silent, listening intently to his speech.

  "Those three army officers and two administrators, not only did they gather to gamble in the military camp, but also extorted money from me, intentionally making things difficult for me. I punished them with a stick, stripped them of their military status, and gave them a severe lesson! From now on, whoever dares to make things difficult for me, Yuan Fang, or disobeys my orders, will lose his life!"

  The most murderous words came from Yuan Fang's mouth, and the 2,000 soldiers' hearts suddenly rose, all of them fearful.

  Yuan Fang had never led troops before, but he was well-versed in military strategy and knew that leading soldiers required both kindness and strictness.

  First, they use money to buy people's hearts, which is kindness; now, they utter harsh words, which is intimidation.

  Hao Zhao, who was standing behind him, looked at Yuan Fang's actions and couldn't help but nod his head slightly, secretly admiring Yuan Fang.

  "Distribute this money as a reward for them, two hundred coins per person, to fill your pockets!" Yuan Fang waved his hand and glanced at Hao Zhao.

  "Take it!" Hao Zhao swung his sword and let out a loud roar.

  The money was handed out, and the soldiers were overjoyed and grateful as they clutched it in their hands, the sound of coins clinking loudly. The atmosphere also reached a fever pitch.

  Yuan Fang took advantage of this momentum and shouted loudly: "This money is just a small token! You all train hard, make achievements in battle, help me capture Qingzhou, and no reward will be too great. I, Yuan Fang, don't care about these few coins, do you care about your lives?"

  "For the young master, I'll risk my life!" Hao Zhao raised his fist and let out a loud shout.

  More than two thousand soldiers and men all followed the shouting voice, their waists straightened, their eyes congested, eager to fight.

  Yuan Fangxun finished speaking, and won the loyalty of the soldiers. Returning to the camp, he made some personnel arrangements, assigning Yuan Gui and several other trusted followers to manage the army's accounts and supplies, grasping these vital tasks firmly in hand.

  Then he let Hao Zhao report several people and promote them to fill the vacancies of the military candidates.

  Hao Zhao being straightforward and honest, Yuan Fang believed that anyone he recommended must be a capable person, so he didn't need to investigate or ask questions, and appointed them all.

  After all this was done, it was already evening.

  Yuan Fang was about to take a rest, but seeing Hao Zhao seemed to have something to say, he asked: "Bo Dao, this young master likes to listen to straightforward words, what do you have to say, just say it."

  Hao Zhao's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, seemingly astonished by Yuan Fang's perceptiveness, which had discerned that he had something to say.

  "The young master's eyes are sharp and his subordinates admire him."

  Hao Zhao nodded his head, "I was thinking of saying that the young master's method of boosting morale is truly impressive. However, the cost of three days' worth of meat seems a bit too high, I'm afraid that in the long run, the expenses will be difficult to sustain."

  Hao Zhao was also meticulous and did not flatter Yuan Fang excessively. He even saw the hidden dangers in Yuan Fang's methods.

  "Don't worry about the money, I have my own way." Hao Zhao had not yet fully become his confidant, so Yuan Fang would not tell him about the matter of robbing Yuan Xi of one million dollars.

  Hao Zhao saw Yuan Fang so confident and no longer worried, he cupped his hands and bid farewell.

  Watching Hao Zhao leave, his reminder still lingered in her ears.

  Yuan Fang was well aware that war was all about money. Two thousand troops not going into battle would cost tens of millions of dollars in annual expenses, and if they were to go to war, the expenses would increase exponentially.

  One million yuan seems like a lot, but it's actually not enough when you start using it.

  But as long as we can win battles, constantly take territory and capture population, these are not problems.

  "At this point, I have no way out, I can only go all out, this Qingzhou, must be taken!"

  Yuan Fang clenched his fists tightly, his determination growing stronger.

  Two days later, Yuan Fang led two thousand soldiers and horses, officially set off, all the way to Qinghe State, which borders Qingzhou.

  Yuan Fang took a step forward and soon had informants sending out the message.

  Ye City, the Yuan Mansion.

  "This scoundrel, how dare he beat up my men and even strip them of their military rank! What a huge gall!" Yuan Tan roared in anger.

  Yuan Fangzheng held the five military officers accountable, using thunderous methods to eliminate dissent and win over the hearts of the Pingyang Camp army. The informants had already been sent into Yuan's hands.

  Yuan Tan originally thought that with this trick, he could give Yuan Fang a warning, making him unable to convince the crowd and unable to send troops.

  Who would have thought that Yuan Fang's methods were so ruthless and he easily broke through the obstacles he had secretly set.

  "This scoundrel even dares to move against Brother's people, he really is extremely reckless. Brother, what should we do now?" Yuan Xi said with hatred.

  Yuan Tan hesitated for a moment before saying, "The matter should not be delayed, you should also hurry up and lead the army to conquer. As for that inferior creature, I will send someone to give Zhu Ling, the guardian of Qinghe, a signal first, ordering him to deliberately disobey the inferior creature's orders. I think that inferior creature can do nothing with just 2,000 soldiers."

  Yuan Xi nodded repeatedly, but then worriedly said: "But that Zhu Ling is not one of our direct descendants, will he listen to Big Brother's words?"

  "If he were a clever man, he should know my weight in the Yuan family. He dares not to listen!" Yuan Tan snorted coldly, extremely confident.

  Yuan Xi finally felt at ease and hastily prepared to set out for Pingzhou.

  ……

  Several days later, Yuan Fang led his army to arrive at Qinghe State.

  Below the province, prefectures and counties coexisted. In reality, Qinghe State was equivalent to Qinghe Prefecture, except that the head of the prefecture was called a governor, while the head of the state was called a minister.

  Qinghe Commandery was located in the easternmost part of Ji Province, bordering Pingyuan Commandery under Qing Province. Yuan Fang wanted to take Qing Province and also sent troops from Qing River.

  "The Qinghe State government is located in Ganling City, and its subordinate counties include Ganling, Dongwu, and Beiqiu. The guardian general Zhu Ling has 3,000 troops stationed in Ganling City..."

  Hao Zhao was talking endlessly about the situation in Qinghe country, he seemed to be a master of all trades, nothing escaped his infallible memory, which saved Yuan Fang the trouble of gathering intelligence.

  "What's the story with Zhu Ling?" Yuan Fang asked.

  "Zhu Ling, courtesy name Wenbo, was a native of Qinghe Prefecture. He was originally a powerful and wealthy man in the county of Zhu. When County Magistrate Ji Yong betrayed Yuan Gong and surrendered to Gongsun Zan, Yuan Gong sent Zhu Ling to lead troops to quell the rebellion. Ji Yong took Zhu's family as hostages to coerce him, but Zhu Ling continued to attack the city, resulting in his entire family being killed. Yuan Gong then promoted Zhu Ling to Commandant and ordered him to defend Qinghe Prefecture."

  Hao Zhao clearly and logically laid out Zhu Ling's details, making everything clear and easy to understand.

  Yuan Fang listened and felt quite surprised.

  He only knew that Zhu Ling was originally a general under Yuan Shao, and later defected to Cao Cao. Although he was not as prominent as Zhang Liao among Cao's generals, he was also a capable general in Cao's camp.

  Yuan Fang didn't know that Zhu Ling still had such a tragic past.

  "Hmm, it seems that Zhu Ling is also someone who won't let personal feelings interfere with official duties..."

  Yuan Fang secretly admired her, but then asked: "I wonder whose person this Zhu Ling is?"

  "As far as Mouzhang knew, Zhu Ling did not have a good relationship with any of the princes. Perhaps it was because of this that, despite his talent and achievements, he had always been only a Duwei in the military."

  Hao Zhao's tone had a hint of regret, as if lamenting that Zhu Ling was just like him, not being utilized to their full potential.

  "I've offended Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi, they won't let it go easily. They'll probably secretly instruct Zhu Ling not to follow my orders. But hearing what Hao Zhao said, Zhu Ling might not be an easy person to buy over... I need to meet him..."

  Yuan Fang nodded slightly, and had already made up his mind.

  On the same day in the afternoon, Yuan's large army arrived at Ganling and set up camp south of the city.

  Before the camp was finished, Yuan Fang led a number of riders and entered Ganning City, rushing to Zhu Ling's barracks.

  Yuan Fang held the tiger tally and entered the camp, going straight to Zhu Ling's central command tent.

  Zhu Ling was about to go and pay his respects to Yuan Fang, but before he could even get up, he heard that Yuan Fang had already arrived. He hastily came out of the tent to greet him, and by the time he did, Yuan Fang was only a few steps away.

  "The young master Zhu Ling, pays his respects to the three gentlemen." Zhu Ling hurriedly bowed slightly, with a tone that was neither arrogant nor humble.

  "General Zhu, I've long heard of your great name. Come on, let's talk inside." Yuan Fang also didn't stand on ceremony and smiled as he walked into the tent.

  Zhu Ling followed him in, Yuan Fang being the commander-in-chief, naturally took the seat of honor.

  The two sat down, and Zhu Ling was about to make some polite remarks when Yuan Fang spoke up and said: "General Zhu, be honest with me, did my elder brother not secretly instruct you to disobey my orders and cause trouble for me?"

  Zhu Ling's expression changed at once.

  Thank Tianxu for his reward, and also thank Gui Taiji for his vote. I have already been classified as the top three, so Yanzi begs you to collect and vote, striving to reach a higher level.