knife

Chapter 581 Present and Past

Yang Lixin reined in his horse and looked at a village on his left, billowing smoke, his face full of displeasure.

Dozens of men galloped out of the village, laughing and joking. They carried bundles of all sizes on their backs, and some women, bound together, were even lying across their saddles.

Seeing Yang Lixin standing by the roadside with a stern face, these men were not afraid at all. Instead, they spurred their horses up to Yang Lixin and laughed loudly, "Boss, this woman is not bad. Should we keep her for you?"

The man grabbed the woman's hair on the horse and pulled hard, lifting her face to face Yang Lixin.

Yang Lixin took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his dissatisfaction, and waved his hand, saying, "No need."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" the man laughed. "Back in Nanyang, the boss forbade us from being unruly, saying it was our place to live and work. We were all so bored. It's good to be out here! Boss, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now!"

"A major battle is imminent. You've been acting recklessly for several days now. It's time to stop. We've already penetrated deep into Yong'an County, and the enemy could appear at any moment. How can you fight like this?" Yang Lixin said sternly.

"Understood, boss! My orders to the men are that they can leave their weapons unsheathed for three days and do as they please. By tomorrow, you will see a disciplined and brave army!" The man laughed and said, "Boss, from Hedong all the way here, when have we ever let you down?"

Yang Lixin looked at the guy and shook his head helplessly. "Go on, go on. You're already a Xuan Yuan Rank 8 expert, yet you still personally rob money and women. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Boss, isn't this the fun of being a bandit? Even though I'm an official now, I still feel that being an official isn't nearly as enjoyable as it used to be!"

"Were you happy before? Have you forgotten being chased around like a rabbit?" Yang Lixin scolded.

"So when you pulled us out of here, boss, we didn't hesitate at all. Compared to that, being half official and half bandit is much more fun, hahaha!" With a loud laugh, the guy slapped the horse's rump and galloped away with his men.

Yang Lixin rubbed his forehead, looking somewhat helpless.

These are his subordinates.

An army mainly composed of outlaws from all walks of life.

The military discipline was very touching.

In Nanyang, Yang Lixin used extremely forceful methods to suppress them.

Nanyang was territory that He Zudao had assigned to Yang Lixin.

That's my own home. I have to get everything I need from home, including food, drink, and other necessities. If I mess up the house and don't get any money, then life will definitely be tough.

Yang Lixin understood this simple truth.

So when his men were in Nanyang, they had to keep quiet. Even if they did something bad, they only dared to hide it and were very careful.

So even though Yang Lixin knew nothing about governing a region, the people of Nanyang actually lived more comfortably during the two years he ruled.

Because Yang Lixin, this former outlaw hero, slaughtered most of the disobedient wealthy families in Nanyang, and the remaining few were terrified and very obedient.

In Nanyang, Yang Lixin rented out the land he had seized from wealthy households to the common people. Although the rent was high, he took 60% of the land, but he didn't charge any other fees. This allowed the farmers to earn more than before in a year.

This management model, where you can do whatever you want as long as you pay your taxes, unexpectedly boosted Nanyang's economic development, something no one could have predicted.

So despite Yang Lixin's bandit background, he had an excellent reputation in Nanyang.

However, once he came out, war was about to break out, and his men revealed their true colors. At this point, he could no longer forcibly restrain them, as he actually knew what kind of people many of his men were.

Right now is a time when we need manpower, and if we anger those soldiers, they're capable of anything. Fortunately, while their military discipline isn't great, they're decent fighters and willing to risk their lives.

In the past two years, Yang Lixin has also been dedicated to training his troops.

Of course, he wasn't training his old bandit underlings, but rather recruiting new soldiers.

These training methods were taught to him by Feng Congwen.

Yang Lixin felt somewhat saddened when he thought of Feng Congwen.

That scion of a noble family was capable, but later his ideals differed from those of the general. Wouldn't it have been better to follow the general? Instead, he chose to join Linghu Ye, then betrayed him on the battlefield, fell into the general's trap, and ultimately died by his own hand.

From Hedong all the way to Luoyang, the two of them truly became friends.

Yang Lixin's core force of three thousand personal guards was trained using the methods taught by Feng Congwen, and their combat effectiveness is indeed stronger.

In another three to five years, we'll get rid of all these unambitious former bandit comrades and let them do whatever they want.

Yang Lixin rode his horse slowly.

This battle is not particularly difficult.

The two commanderies of Yong'an and Ruyin rebelled against the State of Chu and became isolated forces. Meanwhile, General He Zudao was holding back Han Zheng's troops in Ruyin. The morale of the army in Yong'an was wavering, and many officers and soldiers deserted. Feng Kuan was advancing like a hot knife through butter, capturing several cities in succession. If it weren't for the fact that the General wanted to take advantage of the situation after taking Yong'an to advance on Jinghu and seize the Jianghan Plain, there would have been no need for him to launch a large-scale southward campaign.

Li Guohua from Luoyang has always been eyeing Nanyang with covetous intent!
Nanyang is a strategic location for protecting Xiangfan. If Nanyang is not lost, Xiangfan will be as stable as a rock.

Now that he has taken away the main force of Nanyang, it would be strange if that cunning Li Guohua didn't take the opportunity to make a move.

But the general clearly had other considerations; in his view, the Jianghan Plain was perhaps more important!

Even if Nanyang is lost, as long as Xiangfan remains, we can still hold this strategic point.

But Yang Lixin couldn't bear to part with it.

But there was no way to negotiate; since the general had already issued the order, there was no room for bargaining.

I hope this battle will end soon so I can quickly return to my base.

Feng Kuan had 25,000 men, He Yiming's forces had reportedly increased to 15,000, and he himself had 20,000. This army of 60,000 was about to break out of Yong'an. The only truly capable fighting force in Yong'an was Kang Zhen's tens of thousands of Tiger Warriors. Originally, when Lin Hong was in power, the Yong'an county troops were quite formidable, but due to the recent internal strife in Yong'an and Lin Hong's downfall, the army he had painstakingly cultivated had long been wiped out by their own people.

Therefore, when a country is about to collapse, it always starts to fall into chaos from within.

In the Qin state, powerful and wealthy families fought for power and profit, and things went awry.

The same thing happened in the State of Chu; the Empress Dowager and the elder statesmen got into a physical fight.
Isn't the same in the Northern Yuan? If it weren't for the three princes vying for the throne, would Li Dachui have found an opportunity to sow discord?

Thinking about all this, Yang Lixin couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

For people like them, the chaos of the world should be considered a good thing. If there were no chaos, Yang Lixin would still be a bandit being chased around by government troops. But with the chaos, he could become General Yang.

If General He gains power, he could rise even higher!
(End of this chapter)