The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 179: Five thousand cavalrymen enter Xuzhou, and the two treasures of cavalry and warfare are finally put to use

But when Gongsun Xu heard that his father was dead, he burst into tears and wanted to lead his troops north to fight Yuan's army to the death.

Everyone hurriedly persuaded him to stop, saying:

"The situation is hopeless now. General Gongsun is dead. If we rashly go north, we will die in vain."

"It is better to keep a useful body and wait for another opportunity to seek revenge in the future."

After being persuaded by everyone, Gongsun Xu finally gave up the idea of fighting Yuan Shao desperately.

He looked far to the north and saw a vast expanse of snow with no sign of light.

In recent years, the Gongsun family has experienced great ups and downs. At the peak of its prosperity, it even expanded its influence to Henan.

But now, all is gone.

"Today, Gongsun of Youzhou died..."

Gongsun Xu was a little dazed and muttered to himself.

"Yijing City collapsed in flames, and the people of Youzhou were displaced."

"I was born and raised here, but now Youzhou is in trouble."

"I saw with my own eyes that the people were slaughtered and the blood of my brothers in the camp flowed like a river..."

"How can I, how can I have the face to live alone...?"

They were all veterans who had followed the Gongsun family for many years, and now they couldn't bear to see the Gongsun family destroyed.

"General, this is not your fault."

"Since we left Yijing, we have been rushing to Black Mountain day and night to beg for reinforcements."

“Everyone tried their best…”

Gongsun Xu gnashed his teeth and drew his sword, ready to commit suicide:
"Now that Yijing City is destroyed, it's better to go with father!"

Everyone was shocked and rushed forward to hug him.

"Even though the foundation of the Gongsun family in Youzhou has been destroyed, the young general is still here."

"General, you still have a long way to go. How can you stop here?"

"If the young general leaves, how will we cope with the situation?"

The last question made Gongsun Xu stunned.

Only then did he realize that he was not alone in this world.

There are so many brothers willing to stay with him.

Gongsun Xu was moved and sad, and turned around and asked everyone:

"Now our Gongsun family's foundation has been destroyed, and the situation is over."

"If you follow me, you will inevitably get hurt."

"I want to send you away, what do you think?"

Everyone said in unison, clasping their hands:

"I am willing to follow the Major General!"

The sound was deafening and enlightening.

These five thousand Youzhou cavalrymen are all the trusted members of the Gongsun family.

In his early years, he followed Gongsun Zan to fight against the Wuhuan and Xianbei. They went through life and death together and had a deep friendship.

They have already regarded everyone as brothers and family. If they leave alone, how can they call home?
Wherever Gongsun Xu is, that is their home.

Now that Gongsun Zan is dead, they only recognize Gongsun Xu as the young master.

Gongsun Xu swallowed his tears and finally cheered up.

"...Okay, you brothers are right."

"Today, my Gongsun family has not yet avenged its great vengeance. We must not be discouraged and stop here."

After a pause, he asked again:
"Yuan Shao is now very powerful. With only 5,000 of us, we are no match for him."

"You must rely on strong support before you can achieve your goal."

After that, everyone said:
"The only one who can challenge the Yuan family in Hebei today is the Cao-Liu alliance in Henan."

"Liu Xuande of Xuzhou is an old friend of the late Lord."

"Now that we are in dire straits, why don't we go south and seek refuge with Liu Xuzhou?"

Gongsun Xu nodded, and he also thought of Liu Bei.

Gongsun Zan was as close to Liu Bei as a brother. When Gongsun Zan was still a child, Liu Bei carried him on his back.

Gongsun Xu affectionately called Liu Bei uncle.

Now that Gongsun Zan has perished, Youzhou's foundation has been completely destroyed.

There was no other choice except to go to Xuzhou to seek refuge with Uncle Liu.

"...Good, I will follow your advice."

"We have fast horses, so it won't take us long to get south."

After hearing these words, Gongsun Xu ordered everyone to mount their horses.

Five thousand Youzhou cavalrymen, with the sound of hooves like thunder, rolled away towards the south.

Not stated.

……

Xuzhou, Xiapi.

But Li Yi was in charge of military and political affairs in the south.

On this day, he received an urgent military report from Chen Deng in Guangling.

Someone reported that Sun Ce had died, and Sun Quan inherited his father and brother's business.

Sun Quan accepted the advice of Zhou Yu and Lu Xun and still chose to advance westward to seize Jingzhou.

In this regard, Li Yi hopes to see this result.

Behind Cao Cao was Liu Biao, and behind Liu Bei was Sun Wu.

The fight between these two families is the result that both Cao and Liu hope to see.

And the more fiercely the two families fight, the better. In this way, it will be much easier to unify Hebei and take over the southern areas in the future.

In addition, when the new emperor Sun Quan came to power, he issued an order to recruit talents and vigorously cultivated and supported his own wings.

In the original timeline, Sun Quan obtained a large number of talents from Xuzhou.

However, in this dimension, with Li Yi's mediation, a large number of Xuzhou talents returned to Xuzhou.

Including but not limited to,
A native of Dongguan, Xuzhou, Xu Yi's courtesy name was Jicai.

He has been appointed as the magistrate of Quyang by Liu Bei.

A native of Haixi, Guangling, Xu Xuan's courtesy name was Baojian.

This man was recruited by Chen Deng and employed as Gongcao in Guangling. He had a close relationship with another Guangling man, Chen Jiao.

A native of Jiangdu, Guangling, Huang Xiang's courtesy name was Xiuming.

He was good at seal script, official script, and clerical script, especially clerical script, and people of his time called him the "Saint of Calligraphy".

He was recruited by Xu Qiu of Donghai as Gongcao.

A native of Huaiyin, Linhuai, Bu Zhi's courtesy name was Zishan.

He has a magnanimous character and is very popular. He never shows his emotions on his face and is always respectful both internally and externally.

He was a famous minister in the history of Wu State.

After Lu Xun's death, Bu Zhi succeeded him as prime minister.

He is capable of commanding troops and handling internal affairs. Now he is young and promising, and there is great potential for him to achieve.

Therefore, Li Yi strongly recommended this person to Liu Bei to keep him by his side.

Liu Bei always trusted Li Yi, and Pang Tong, whom Li Yi had previously strongly recommended, was a young genius.

At this time, a young man named Bu Zhi came, and Liu Bei generously used him as the chief scribe.

On this day,

Li Yi still worked in the provincial government, and documents came in and out of the government office constantly every day.

While he was handling military and political affairs in the South, he was also keeping a close eye on developments in the North.

He also communicated with Cao's camp in the west from time to time to discuss terms of cooperation.

While he was dealing with it, he suddenly saw Pang Tong bringing an urgent document into the inner room.

"Shi Yuan, what happened?"

Li Yi asked with a frown.

Pang Tong spread the document in front of Li Yi and bowed and answered:
"Urgent news from Guanzhong."

"What happened in Guanzhong?"

Li Yi's face darkened and he immediately unfolded the silk book that had been sent to him and started reading it.

The book briefly says,

Cao Cao appointed Zhong Yao as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards, and gave him the power to supervise the troops in Guanzhong.

Starting from Yingchuan, it expanded westward to dredge the Guanzhong road.

In early March, Cao Cao appointed Cao Ren as the main general and led 6,000 troops, and it took half a month to capture Tongguan.

Then he left Cao Ren in Guanzhong, with Le Jin and Yu Jin as his assistants, to wipe out the bandits in Guanzhong.

He expanded his influence all the way to the Chang'an area.

Since Luoyang was burned down by Dong Zhuo, the local princes and bandits have taken turns to ravage Guanzhong, which has been in ruins.

But Cao Cao still chose to sweep Guanzhong and expand his influence to Chang'an.

The reason for doing this is to broaden the battle line.

At the same time, he opened up connections in the Guanzhong region to win over Ma Teng and Han Sui of Xiliang to join the anti-Yuan alliance.

Cao Cao's idea and practice of westward expansion were naturally tacitly approved by Xuzhou.

At present, the only direction Cao Cao can expand is to the west, and it is impossible for Xuzhou to bypass Yanzhou and take over Guanzhong.

At the same time, Xuzhou also hopes that Cao Cao can control Guanzhong, as these areas are too important.

Because Yuan Shao also had a large number of troops stationed in Bingzhou. If Henan did not take Guanzhong, Yuan Shao would send troops from Henei.

Yuan's army will also cut off Guanzhong's connection, and Henan will be even more exhausted to cope with it.

In history, Cao Cao also realized this, which is why he ordered Zhong Yao to supervise the military forces in Guanzhong.

With the strong support from Xuzhou, Cao Cao's work of sweeping Guanzhong was carried out relatively easily without encountering much resistance.

When they fought all the way to Chang'an, they took advantage of the situation to recover it.

Next, Cao's camp came into direct contact with the Xiliang camp, and Cao Cao also sent people to contact Ma Teng and Han Sui.

Invite them to join the alliance and fight against Yuan Shao.

The attitudes of Ma Teng and Han Sui on this matter have not yet been reported back.

Cao Cao was also not idle. He ordered people to clear the ruins of Chang'an and restore people's livelihood.

Then, in the name of the imperial court, he issued a proclamation to all parts of Guanzhong, ordering all counties and prefectures to submit to the imperial court.

Except for the counties influenced by Ma Teng and Han Sui, almost all the counties around Chang'an submitted.

"If we can control the Guanzhong region, Yuan Shao will be able to send troops from Weijun in the future, and we can also confront Yuan's army on the south bank of the Yellow River."

Pang Tong analyzed from the side, with a somewhat happy tone.

However, there was no trace of excitement on Li Yi's face, as he knew that war was never a joke.

Even a lion fights a rabbit with all its might, let alone the fact that Henan is the weaker party now?
"Continue to pay attention to the situation in Hebei. If there are any changes, please report them to me as soon as possible."

"...here."

Li Yi took a breath and looked out the window. Summer was about to come.

Since ancient times, the best time to mobilize troops is after autumn, when the weather is clear and pleasant.

Not only agricultural civilization, but even nomadic civilization likes to mobilize troops in the autumn when the horses are fat.

"Have the Danyang soldiers from Yuan Yin's side been sent over?"

Li Yi asked another question.

The Danyang soldiers are brave and good at fighting, and are very suitable as warriors to be the first to climb the ladder.

To put it in a more sinister way, these are all "cannon fodder" suitable for filling trenches.

But war is bound to result in death. If you want to gain fame and fortune, you must first put your life on the line.

Pang Tong replied:
"Taishu Yuan has organized the newly surrendered Shanyue people into a regular army."

"Generals Zu Lang and Fei Zhan are training in Xuancheng."

"Taishu Yuan said that it will take some time to train the new recruits, but they have already been used to suppress the other Shanyue tribes that have not yet surrendered."

"It shouldn't take long to deliver it to Xuzhou."

Using Shanyue people to fight Shanyue people is what Li Yi hopes to see.

As they were speaking, someone suddenly reported that a group of people had arrived outside the city.

Li Yi and Pang Tong were both startled and asked hurriedly who they were.

Others replied that they were troops from Youzhou and had already informed Langya Prime Minister Xiao Jian.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi knew that this group of people had arrived, and Liu Bei must have known about it.

He was in charge of affairs in the south, but he didn't know someone was coming from the north.

The servant then reported that General Liu had already left the city to meet him.

Since this was the case, Li Yi immediately led Pang Tong to meet him outside the city.

The ones coming from outside the city were the 5,000 Youzhou cavalry led by Gongsun Xu.

Li Yi arrived just in time.

Liu Bei immediately pulled Li Yi over and said to him:
"Sir, you came at the right time. I received a letter from Youzhou half a month ago."

"It is said that my nephew Gongsun wants to come to Xuzhou to surrender, and he will arrive today."

Li Yi asked, "My Lord, do you know why?"

Liu Bei remained silent. In fact, although the battle report from Youzhou had not been sent back, Gongsun Xu had sent an envoy to surrender first.

Everyone knows it and can guess a little.

"Okay, let's go meet the person first."

Liu Bei didn't want to think too much, so he took Li Yi out of the city to meet Gongsun Xu. Gongsun Xu was outside the city at this time, waiting anxiously with a restless mood.

Finally, the city gate was opened and Liu Bei came out with a hundred people.

Gongsun Xu hurriedly dismounted, stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and bowed:
"Gongsun Xu greets uncle!"

OK OK...

Liu Bei smiled and helped him up, praising him:
"I haven't seen you for a few years. You have grown up so much."

After a slight pause, he asked tentatively:
"Where is Brother Bogui?"

Gongsun Xu gritted his teeth and shed tears:
"My father is dead!"

When these words were spoken, everyone in Xuzhou was shocked.

Ugh……

Liu Bei had guessed it long ago, and he couldn't help but sigh to the sky.

There were tears in his eyes, even though he had been extremely disappointed with his elder brother since Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu.

But after all, we were classmates and childhood friends, and we have been friends for many years.

After hearing about his death, I still couldn't help feeling sad.

Gongsun Xu burst into tears, fell at Liu Bei's feet, and cried:

"When the fire broke out in Yijing, Xu was not here, so he was spared."

"I heard that my father had passed away, and I no longer wanted to live."

"But thinking of my parents and relatives, all of whom have gone to hell, and the blood of soldiers and civilians flowing like a river..."

"I, I, I hear the cries of the ghosts, and I can't help but feel heartbroken!"

"The hatred of our country must be avenged."

"I am heading south today. I don't know when I can return to Youzhou and avenge my parents."

"Youzhou's troubles were caused by my father's arrogance and violence. He lost the harmony among the people and eventually led to his downfall."

"When it returns to the yellow earth, soul, come back, perhaps you can think about it and regret it."

"I heard that my uncle was in Xuzhou, doing benevolent and righteous things, cleansing the world, and bringing peace to the people."

"I came here to meet you, and I beg you to take me in!"

When Liu Bei heard this, he couldn't help but shed tears.

After wiping away her tears, she helped Gongsun Xu up, patted his shoulder, and said softly:
"Your father and I were old friends. Now that your father has passed away, I am deeply saddened."

"My dear nephew, please stay in Xuzhou without any worries. No one can hurt you here."

Gongsun Xu thanked him and gritted his teeth and said:

"As I crossed the Yellow River along the way, I saw many fortifications on the south bank."

"My uncle wants to mobilize troops in Hebei. My Gongsun family has a deep blood feud with Yuan Shao."

"If uncle needs anything, as the only descendant of the Gongsun family, I am willing to go through fire and water for Xuzhou without hesitation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Youzhou cavalrymen behind him dismounted and bowed in unison:
"I am willing to go through fire and water for Xuzhou, no matter what!"

"I am willing to go through fire and water for Xuzhou, no matter what!"

"..."

The shouts of the crowd shook the earth and sounded like a mountain collapsing.

Everyone harbored a deep hatred and vowed to seek revenge on the Yuan family.

"...good good."

Liu Bei nodded and said to everyone:
"Gentlemen, rest assured that I will definitely avenge General Gongsun."

Although this is just a blank check, it is still very useful in winning the hearts of the people in Youzhou.

Everyone thanked again.

Liu Bei ordered Gongsun Xu and his men to enter the city.

In order to entertain the guests from afar, Liu Bei, for the first time, ordered people to kill sheep and cattle and bring out good wine to entertain everyone.

Since preparing for the war in Hebei, the entire Xuzhou has been tightening its belt.

Things like cattle and sheep are important strategic materials.

Including cattle, in addition to plowing the land, they are also an important tool for military service.

But in order to win the hearts of the people, Liu Bei broke this precedent.

At the banquet, Liu Bei also invited senior officials from Xuzhou.

It can also be regarded as a way to reward everyone for their hard work during this period, and by the way, it also shows his importance to Gongsun Xu.

Gongsun Xu was deeply grateful and could not thank him enough.

At the banquet, Liu Bei asked Gongsun Xu about his well-being and what happened in Youzhou after he left.

After hearing this, Liu Bei was also deeply saddened.

He sighed deeply and continued to speak to Gongsun:
"I have been poor for half my life, and I have nothing to give to my nephew. I can only tell you one thing."

“There are many people in the world who have great ambitions and uphold virtues.”

“It’s a pity that most of them can’t be consistent.”

"Once you violate it, you will become hypocritical. I hope my nephew will take this as a warning!"

Ugh……

Gongsun Xu was filled with emotion when he heard this.

He saw everything his father did over the years, but he was unable to persuade him.

"My uncle is kind and virtuous, and I am deeply grateful for his kindness."

"I will keep in mind what you have taught me, and I hope I will never do anything immoral in the future!"

Afterwards, Liu Bei toasted to Gongsun Xu and other senior generals of his army one by one to thank them for their loyalty to his nephew.

After one round of toasts, Liu Bei ordered Li Yi to offer another round of toasts.

Li Yijian is talkative, optimistic, friendly and very good at getting along with people from all walks of life.

Upon seeing this, all the Youzhou generals developed a liking for this young and humorous strategist from Xuzhou.

After one round of drinking, everyone got drunk and finally forgot the pain of the country's destruction and the family's demise.

After they were all drunk and unconscious, they were sent back to their rooms to rest.

The next day, early morning.

After Gongsun Xu sobered up and simply washed up, he wanted to go to the provincial government to thank Liu Bei.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he went out, he met Pang Tong.

After a banquet last night, Gongsun Xu could call out the names of the officials of all ranks in Xuzhou.

Then he stepped forward and bowed:
"Pang Gongcao has come here, what do you have to say?"

Pang Tong responded:
"I don't deserve your advice, but the Lord has ordered me to invite the young general to the parade ground."

Gongsun Xu nodded and said:
"I was just about to go and pay my respects to the envoy, and then go to the training ground."

"Since Marquis Tan has invited me, I will go now."

Immediately, Gongsun Xu followed Pang Tong to the training ground.

Li Yi is already here, reviewing the cavalry on the parade ground.

Gongsun Xu arrived and greeted Li Yi first.

Then Li Yi asked:
"What do you think of my Xuzhou cavalry?"

Gongsun Xu took a closer look and saw horses leaping and neighing, and the knights looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

I couldn't help but sigh:
"I didn't expect that outside of Youzhou, there are still such majestic cavalry!"

"I wonder which general trained the Xuzhou cavalry."

Li Yi smiled slightly and said:
"This is an old friend of the young general."

He ordered the general commanding the cavalry in the parade ground to come over to pay his respects, and it turned out to be Tian Yu.

Gongsun Xu was surprised and delighted to see his old friend again, and said:
"Guorang had previously returned to Youzhou, and then to Xuzhou. He didn't want to go around in circles, so he came to Xuzhou as well."

Tian Yu smiled bitterly and said:
"It is unacceptable to have a beginning but no end in view of the fact that you have a beginning."

"General Gongsun died, and Yu was also deeply saddened."

Gongsun Xu advised:

"It's over, why should we be sad and grieving?"

"Since you and I are able to meet here, we should join forces to defeat the thief and avenge my father."

Tian Yu bowed and agreed, saying that he would do his best.

Gongsun Xu looked around again and asked:
"Why don't you see Zilong?"

Tian Yu smiled and replied:
"Zilong is the governor of Jiujiang, and is in Huainan."

When Gongsun Xu heard that his old friend was now a high-ranking official at the level of a prefect, he couldn't help but feel happy to mention his old friend.

"I knew long ago that Zilong was not as talented as Baili. Now that he is the governor of Jiujiang, I am happy for him."

"It's just that I haven't seen him for many years. I miss him a little."

Ha ha……

Li Yi smiled slightly and said:
"Don't worry, Major General. We'll fight in Hebei later."

"I will transfer him from the south to the front line so that you brothers can meet again."

Gongsun Xu was overjoyed when he heard this, "It would be a great honor to fight alongside Zilong again!"

good……

Li Yi nodded and asked Gongsun Xu:
"The young general has been in Youzhou for a long time and is well versed in cavalry warfare."

"How does the Xuzhou cavalry compare to the Youzhou cavalry?"

Gongsun Xu glanced at it, pondered for a while, and then slowly answered:
"The horses are strong and fat, and they have been trained by Guo Rang. They should be as good as our Youzhou cavalry."

He took another careful look at the horse the cavalryman was sitting on, and pointed his finger:
"This is not a horse from the Central Plains!"

Gongsun Xu was born and raised among a herd of horses, so he could tell the breed of a horse at a glance.

"...Haha, young general, you have a good eye. This is the horse that I bought from Gongsun Du in Liaodong."

"...Hmm." Gongsun Xu nodded and sighed, "I said this horse is very fat, no wonder."

Li Yi ordered someone to bring two more things and then gave them to Gongsun Xu to look at.

"What do you think of this, Major General?"

"This is……?"

Gongsun Xu stared at the thing with eyes wide open.

These two things are the Gaoqiao saddle and double-sided stirrups invented by Li Yi before.

When it was brought out before, Li Yi ordered people to keep it strictly confidential and then produce it on a large scale.

Now there are seven or eight thousand pairs.

"This is a Takahashi saddle with double-sided stirrups."

"It is suitable for cavalry combat. Major General, you may want to give it a try."

Li Yi introduced the functions of the two things to Gongsun Xu.

Gongsun Xu was an expert in cavalry warfare, and he was extremely excited when he saw this new and strange thing.

He immediately mounted his horse to try it out. As soon as he got on, without even urging the horse to spur him on, he shouted excitedly:
"This saddle is very stable. If the horse charges, it will not fall off easily."

exactly.

Gongsun Xu urged his horse to run two more laps around the training ground and practiced two more rounds of horseback archery.

While the high-bridge saddle controls the longitudinal balance, the double stirrups provide the lateral balance.

This enabled Gongsun Xu to save a lot of energy when fighting on horseback.

After one round, Gongsun Xu was also filled with emotion.

If the Gongsun family had these two items during the Battle of Jie Bridge that year.

Why were they defeated by Yuan’s infantry?
Ugh……

It's in the past……

"Good stuff!"

Gongsun Xu dismounted from his horse, walked to Li Yi, and admired the two items.

Then he asked how many of these things were left.

Li Yi answered truthfully that there were about seven or eight thousand pairs.

This was created more than two years after he invented it, with Xuzhou craftsmen working at full capacity and fully utilizing the production lines.

Apart from the losses, there is no problem with this fully armed team of Youzhou cavalry.

Li Yi also informed Gongsun Xu of his plan to fully arm the 5,000 Youzhou cavalry.

"This thing is very rare, but I have been looking for an opportunity to take it out and fully arm it."

"To prepare for future wars in Hebei."

Gongsun Xu nodded and responded:

"There are many plains in the north, which is a good time for cavalry to show their prowess."

"To be honest with you, Marquis Tan, the five thousand cavalrymen under my command are all the most elite soldiers of my Gongsun family."

"They have all fought with my father for many years, and with me for two years. They are all experienced and powerful."

"If Marquis Tan trusts me, you can arm them one by one."

Li Yi nodded and said:

"What are you talking about, young general? I have been waiting for you to come here just to take this thing out."

Coming from the bitter cold land of Northeast China, it has been tempered by two generations of the Gongsun family.

There is no doubt that in the whole Xuzhou and even in the whole Henan.

This team of Youzhou cavalry is the strongest in terms of individual combat capability.

Therefore, there was no doubt that the not-so-large number of Takahashi saddles and double-sided stirrups were given to them for use.

……

(End of this chapter)