Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 5 Sharpening the Gun in Battle
"Xuan De, something terrible is happening!"

The visitor was Liu Bei's childhood friend Jian Yong.

"Officials in Jinan, Le'an, and Qi counties imposed heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes, which aroused the Yellow Turban Army of 200,000 people. The governor fled to Beihai and summoned soldiers from Pingyuan and Donglai counties to suppress the rebellion.

Pingyuan Xiang Liu Ji has submitted a letter to the court resigning from his post and returning home on the grounds that his aunt is in mourning. He recommends you, Xuande, to be the trial Pingyuan Xiang and lead the army to quell the rebellion.

The governor Jiao He readily agreed and sent the order to Pingyuan County. What should we do? "

Hearing this, Liu Bei sighed and said, "Liu Ji is greedy and lustful, and has no ability to lead troops. It is not surprising that he did this."

It's a pity that the abacus was wrong.

He had long wanted to incorporate more than ten counties in Pingyuan County into his own territory, but there were no vacancies for officials.

At this moment, Liu Ji seemed to be using Liu Bei as a scapegoat, but in fact he was helping him. Even if the road ahead was full of dangers, he would first occupy the plain and have a county to have the capital to start a business.

Compared with Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Liu Biao, who were all county governors or provincial governors, Liu Bei was far inferior.

Coming from a humble background, not being able to withstand sharp weapons, facing arrows and stones himself, carrying a bundle of firewood on his back, and desperately trying to break out of the impasse, how could he have any way out?

Faced with war and rebellion, the famous scholars who talked big and focused on their background were afraid, but Liu Bei was not.

A real man is fine if he lives, but when he dies he leaves a great name behind.

Seeing Jian Yong's worried face, Liu Bei shouted, "Xianhe, the sky is not falling. Going to war to suppress the rebellion is not something that can be done overnight. It takes time to mobilize food, fodder, weapons, and armor, and to train the soldiers. How can we talk about marching the army without the necessary equipment?"

Liu Bei knew that the united front work had to be done well first, so as to avoid chaos before the enemy attacked.

Not only Jian Yong, but also the officials and people in the county would be frightened and uneasy.

We must first build up their confidence and instill in them the belief in victory.

Liu Bei took the document, glanced at it quickly, and then said with a smile: "Even if there are 200,000 Yellow Turban bandits, they are just a mob. How many of them can actually fight?"

"Soldiers must be away from work for at least one or two years during training, and must be wounded and bleeding before they can be called combat soldiers.

"Qingzhou has been peaceful and military for many years, and we are grateful to God for being able to mobilize two to three thousand soldiers. Even the imperial court is like this, let alone the Yellow Turban Army that hastily started the rebellion?"

"Besides, the Yellow Turbans are just bandits. They don't even have enough to eat, so how can they understand the techniques of attacking a city? As long as we hold the city firmly, the bandits will fall without a fight." Liu Bei patted Jian Yong on the shoulder and said encouragingly.

Liu Bei was not afraid of them attacking the city, but he was afraid that they would not attack the city. He was afraid that the Yellow Turban Army would go to various places to hold the people hostage and cause chaos wherever they went.

If they don't produce anything, they can only rely on burning, killing and looting others. The more they gather, the more trouble they will cause.

The people in the city were protected by the city walls, and the nobles and powerful people could escape with the protection of their servants.

But what about the common people in the village?
No one knows, and no one thinks about it.

The officials only knew that the Yellow Turbans had suddenly risen up in the three counties, so they abandoned their posts and fled for their lives.

Liu Bei sighed and said, "Who would want to follow a bandit if they could survive?"

Within just two or three days, the official document from the state spread to the entire county, causing a huge uproar.

In order to prevent people from escaping and taking advantage of the chaos to rob and kill.

As soon as the official documents from other counties arrived, Zhao Yun led scouts and cavalry to the scene. His first purpose was to supervise the patrols and the guards who controlled the counties, townships, and villages, and second was to prevent the powerful from inciting the people to flee to other places.

Liu Bei appointed Zhao Yun as the Inspector of Pingyuan County. He rode his horse non-stop to various counties and villages, carrying Liu Bei's orders and supervising the officials who failed to carry out their duties.

Before leaving, Zhao Yun asked, "Many county officials are from powerful families. What should we do if some of the senior officials are afraid of the Yellow Turbans and insist on fleeing?"

Liu Bei was silent for a while and said: "Leave half of the servants behind, register their names and properties, and let them go. When they come back later, we will punish them and put them in jail." Zhao Yun nodded gently.

With enemies approaching from outside, Liu Bei quickly took office and began mobilizing Pingyuan County.

With the seal of the Prime Minister of Pingyuan, he issued eleven official documents in succession, mobilizing the county's auxiliary soldiers, civilians, soldiers, equipment and armor, ships, arrows, silk, food, fodder, and straw to Gaotang.

The troops will advance forward along the waterway.

Taking the water route can reduce the loss of food and fodder. Leaving more food can save the life of one more refugee.

Of course, after the battle, the military rations must not be used before the Yellow Turban Army is defeated.

It’s not that Liu Bei didn’t think about trying to persuade the Yellow Turbans to surrender, but he wanted to wait until the battle was over before talking about it. He wanted to dampen the enemy’s fighting spirit and wake up those who were blinded by anger before he could talk about surrender.

I still remember that Cao Cao also relied on the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou to get started.

According to statistics of Pingyuan County in the past few days, including his troops, there are no more than 3,000 combat soldiers, and the rest can only be used as auxiliary soldiers.

Some people were left behind to guard the city, while the rest were sent to Jinan to prevent the Yellow Turbans from turning to Pingyuan County.

Liu Bei simply put aside the letter from Jinan King Liu Kang forcing him to march on his desk. No matter who urged him, he would not go to war until the food and grass arrived.

After finishing his meal, he said goodbye to his wife, put on his armor and went to the military camp outside the city.

On the east side of the camp, Liu Bei's old subordinates were lined up in an orderly manner.

As for the rest of the troops who came from neighboring counties, the combat soldiers and auxiliary soldiers were mixed together. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led the military officers to organize them many times, but it was still quite chaotic. After only a few steps, the camp was dispersed.

If you encounter a small group of cavalry on the battlefield, a simple feint charge from the enemy might scare you into exposing your back to the enemy and causing you to collapse instantly.

Liu Bei only needed one glance to understand that in the huge Pingyuan County, the only ones available were the few hundred freelance soldiers under his command.

The rest are all auxiliary soldiers in the name of combat soldiers. They can't chew hard bones and can only be used to make soup.

Some military garrisons even had grey-haired soldiers and children filling in the ranks.

He then ordered the military officers to beat the drums. When they heard the sound of the war drums, the noisy soldiers gradually quieted down, lowered their heads and dared not whisper to each other anymore.

Liu Bei stamped the dirt off his feet and walked up the stairs.

With a stern look at the nearly 3,000 soldiers below him, he spoke after a while: "Maybe some of you know me, Liu Bei. Even if you don't, you must have heard of me. If I greet you normally, it's fine.

But when the battle was about to begin in front of the military camp, there was no room for courtesy as before. The formation, advance and retreat, and the spoils were all carried out according to orders, and the laws were as strict as a mountain.

If anyone disobeys the order, everyone from the Prime Minister Liu Xuande to the common people can be executed according to the law!"

Liu Bei paused for a moment and continued, "In addition to distributing military salaries, there will also be a merchant caravan accompanying the army to buy what you have captured on the battlefield at market prices.

It will be divided into three equal parts: one for the county, one for the army, and one for you to take home.

After each battle, the military officers would calculate the amount and exchange it with the merchants for money and food. The exchanged money and food would be sealed with mud and mailed back home by the relay station.

This order is based on all the spoils of war. After the war, those who kill will be killed, those who injure and commit rape will be punished, and those who report them can take all their money."

Liu Bei spoke very slowly, fearing that someone would not understand him if he spoke too quickly.

Finally, he said solemnly: "Those who fail to pass the 20-day drill will be demoted to auxiliary soldiers and will not be included in this order."

Liu Bei sighed slightly and had to sharpen his sword before the battle.

(End of this chapter)