Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 115 Chaos!
After negotiating the details of the tribute trade with Budugen, Zhang Yu sent the corresponding memorial to the court. The court, perhaps burdened by the military situation in Youzhou and Liangzhou, quickly responded, not only agreeing to the trade with Budugen, but also allowing Zhang Yu to recruit and appoint subordinate officials.

For example, Li Song was appointed as the Colonel-in-Chief, assisting Zhang Yu in commanding the Thousand Cavalry Camp; Yu Yi was appointed as the Chief Clerk, responsible for official documents in the camp; and Zhang Liao was appointed as the Military Secretary, leading a separate army.

In addition, Zhang Yu had previously been worried about the conscription of 3,000 Xiongnu cavalry. As Zhang Yu had guessed, the imperial court did not adopt his suggestion. Instead, it stated in the reply letter that the military situation in Youzhou was urgent and troops were urgently needed to quell the rebellion, and that there would be no cuts in military expenses this time.

Liu Hong may have learned his lesson. In order to ensure sufficient military funds, he ordered the sale of Guannei Hou, which was worth 5 million coins. If he sold 20 titles, he could get 100 million. If the ministers did not allow it, Liu Hong would probably dare to set his sights on Ting Hou.

After seeing the reply from the court, Zhang Yu had nothing to say. Instead, in order to show his loyalty, he sent people to send a hundred good horses to Luoyang on the pretext of helping the court to quell the rebellion.

Zhang Yu would have been reluctant to give up the hundred fine horses last year. But as he controlled two tribes of Xiongnu, the Yan and Dai Wuhuan tribes submitted to him, and he traded with Budugen, Zhang Yu no longer lacked horses.

Especially after the trade, Budugen learned that Zhang Yu's mount had been killed in battle. When he sent people to Pingcheng for trade, he specially presented a fierce horse to thank Zhang Yu.

The horse given to him was very fierce, which was beyond Zhang Yu's expectation. Now Zhang Yu was confronting it in order to tame the fierce horse.

"Err!"

But I saw a white horse kicking the ground anxiously, its neighing was particularly high-pitched, and it was extremely wary of the people around it and full of aggression.

"This horse has a fierce temper. It has bitten and kicked many people in the stable!" Zhang Feng said, "Brother, if you want to tame this horse, you need to be more careful."

"How about I tame this wild horse for you?" Shi Yi said worriedly.

Zhang Yu rolled up his sleeves and said with a smile, "The joy of horse training lies in the fact that horses are unruly. Wouldn't it be boring if someone else did it for me?"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu tucked his skirt into his belt, asked the people around him to disperse, and slowly walked towards the white horse.

"Err!"

When the white horse saw someone approaching, it neighed at Zhang Yu, its voice full of anger, as if warning Zhang Yu.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu slightly bent his body and pressed his hands down, trying his best to show that he had no ill intentions. Despite this, the white horse was still restless and still full of vigilance towards Zhang Yu. If it hadn't been restrained by the reins, the white horse would have run away long ago.

The man and the horse confronted each other like this for a long time. Perhaps because they were tired from confronting each other for too long, the white horse stopped neighing.

Seeing the opportunity, Zhang Yu rushed forward quickly, approached the white horse fiercely, and tried to subdue it. But the white horse discovered Zhang Yu's intention, neighed angrily, and tried to bite and kick it with its hooves.

But Zhang Yu immediately held down the horse's head and jumped onto the white horse. Feeling someone riding it, the white horse suddenly became restless and bucked forward and backward, hoping to throw Zhang Yu off its back.

Zhang Yu steadied himself and untied the reins of the white horse. The white horse, sensing the release of its restraints, suddenly rushed forward, almost knocking Zhang Yu off the horse. The onlookers hurriedly dodged, fearing that they would be hit by the white horse.

In order to break free from Zhang Yu's control, the white horse rushed madly across the field, while Zhang Yu tried his best to keep his body steady, holding the reins and using all his strength to control the horse's head.

"Shut up!"

After running for an unknown amount of time, the already tired white horse gradually became exhausted, and Zhang Yu took advantage of the situation and used his horse-driving skills to try his best to control the white horse.

"Whoo~"

The white horse could not break free from Zhang Yu and gradually succumbed to his control. When Zhang Yu pulled the reins eastward, the white horse could only gallop eastward; when he tightened the reins, the white horse slowed down.

"drive!"

Sensing the white horse's surrender, Zhang Yu laughed a few times, then tried hard to make the horse turn its head, and then squeezed his legs together and drove the horse back the way it came.

On the horse's back, Zhang Yu felt the wind blowing towards him and could not help but admire the impact and running speed of this white horse, which were incomparable to the black-maned horse that died in battle.

"Shut up!"

On the way back, Zhang Yu met Shi Yi, Zhang Feng and others who were looking for him, and he could not help but slow down his horse. Although the white horse was still wild, under Zhang Yu's control, it no longer bared its teeth and neighed at the crowd.

"Congratulations, sir, on the birth of your fine horse!" Zhang Liao rushed over, bowed and said with a smile.

Zhang Yu laughed a few times and said, "Bu Dugen said this horse can travel a thousand miles. I doubted it at first, but now I have tried riding it and I find that it is true."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu got off the horse and stroked the white horse's mane. He felt proud in his heart, saying, "Every real man would want to have a thousand-mile horse, but in later generations it only turned into a carriage."

Yu Yi came up and asked, "Since you have obtained a good horse, what would you like to name it?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "This horse is snow-white all over, but its four hooves are black. It might be better to call it Wutiyun."

Zhang Liao laughed and said, "Black Hoof Clouds suits the appearance of this horse, and it's also very catchy!"

Zhang Yu handed the reins to his left and right hands and said, "Don't let Wu Ti Yun eat too much for now, or he might break free and hurt someone."

"promise!"

After Wu Tiyun was taken away, Zhang Yu and the others inspected the cavalry's training.

Looking at the Yi Cong Cavalry practicing archery from afar, Zhang Yu asked, "How are the Yi Cong Cavalry doing now?"

Zhang Liao was full of confidence and said, "At the beginning of the year, we recruited 500 new cavalrymen. After going through the border crossing, we have honed our martial arts and practiced our formations. Now the cavalrymen in our army are quite brave. If we encounter a thousand cavalrymen from the Hu army, we will be able to defeat them."

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "When two cavalrymen are fighting, cavalry fighting is more important. The cavalry should also equip more spears and should not focus only on cavalry archery."

Due to the high intensity of war and complex terrain in East Asia, the quality of cavalry is very high. They must not only be good at riding and shooting, but also have the courage to fight on horseback. After all, if riding and shooting alone can conquer the world, then wouldn’t the nomadic people be invincible in the world?

In fact, many of those who can turn the tide of the battle rely on cavalry charges or infantry fighting to break through the enemy formations.

"promise!"

Zhang Liao walked for a while and asked quietly, "Now the Xianbei are trading with our dynasty, and the Xiongnu in our territory have surrendered. Your Excellency is so concerned about the cavalry now, is there another reason for his use of the troops?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Conflicts are gradually rising in the world. Pingcheng is adjacent to Youzhou. If the court has difficulty in pacifying Youzhou, they may transfer our troops to the east, or they may have other important orders. Now let the cavalry train diligently to be prepared for any emergency."

After a pause, Zhang Yu seemed to understand something and asked, "But are the soldiers in the army dissatisfied?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's active question, Zhang Liao said truthfully: "The soldiers are deeply indebted to you, how dare we feel dissatisfied? We have traded with the Xianbei externally, and we have intimidated the Wuhuan and the Xianbei Erhu internally. There is no war in Yanbei now, and the soldiers have been in the army for a long time and have rarely seen their families, so..."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He understood Zhang Liao's intention. It was just that the soldiers had been in the army for a long time, and now that the border counties were peaceful, they wanted to return home to visit their families.

"Wenyuan is right!" Zhang Yu said, "I will ask Shao Ran to draft a detailed rule for rest tomorrow so that the soldiers can be reunited with their families for a few days to comfort them."

"Wenyuan is my younger brother. He is already quite old, so it's time to consider getting married!" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

Zhang Liao blushed and bowed, "Thank you for your concern!"

"You can just call me brother now!" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

Thanks to Zhang Liao's feedback, Yu Yi followed Zhang Yu's order and, based on the principle of three people taking one day off, successively issued policies for returning home to visit relatives, which made all the soldiers and officers happy.

While the soldiers and officers took turns returning home to visit their families, Zhang Yu was in Pingcheng, conspiring with his wife to privately raise troops.

Wang Ji sat in Zhang Yu's arms, pointed at the cloth on the table, and said, "My husband, if we follow the method of recruiting soldiers, we need to pay 3,900 coins per year to support the soldiers, and another 2,500 coins for winter and summer clothing. And the annual food ration is 25 dan, which costs another 2,500 coins. If you want to support one soldier, you need to pay 8,900 coins per year, and this does not include the expenses of bows, spears and other weapons."

Looking at the data Wang Ji had compiled for him, Zhang Yu already understood why the Eastern Han Dynasty only allowed him to recruit a thousand cavalry.

An ordinary soldier would need 8,900 coins per year. If he were a cavalryman, the combined price of bows, spears, horses, etc. would mean that a single horse would cost 20,000 coins.

Based on the scale of 1,000 cavalry, the minimum annual expenditure is 20 million. If the salaries of officers, military supplies, weapons, armor and other miscellaneous items are included, it would probably be 30 million.

If a soldier died in battle, he would have to pay 2,000 coins for burial expenses. If 30,000 cavalrymen died in battle, not only would the billions of cavalrymen he had spent previously be burned to ashes, but he would also have to pay more than 60 million coins later, as well as the cost of comforting the families of the dead.

No wonder the 30,000 cavalrymen were wiped out in the south of the desert, which directly led to the collapse of the border defense system!

The profit of the Canhebi Salt Pond managed by Zhang Yu is only 700,000 to 800,000 coins a year. If the business of Canhewu and the trade with Budugen are included, the annual income is only 2 million coins. If all of it is invested in forming professional cavalry, it is estimated that there will only be a hundred or so horses.

"Gold-eating beast!"

Zhang Yu sighed and said, "According to the numbers calculated by Madam, with the profits that Zhang family has earned over the past year, we have only been able to recruit more than a hundred cavalrymen. If converted into infantrymen, there are only about three hundred people."

Wang Ji nodded slightly and said with a smile: "The money spent on recruiting soldiers is huge. If you use this money to recruit soldiers, you must be a noble family to support them. Therefore, I think it is better for you to follow the method of Canhewu, where soldiers and civilians are united. Although the soldiers are not sophisticated, they are still useful."

"Oh?"

Zhang Yu looked puzzled and said, "There are people from my clan in Chanhewu, so we can use the villagers as riders. Now where can we get the common people of the Zhang family to do what the troops do?"

Wang Ji smiled and said, "Has Ji'an forgotten the two Huns?"

"The two Hun tribes of Zuonan and Lan?" Zhang Yu said thoughtfully.

"Ok!"

Wang Ji opened another piece of cloth and said, "Although the two Xiongnu tribes are Hu people, they have been farming and herding since entering the Great Wall a hundred years ago. If they are educated and governed, they can become Han people."

"Ji'an is now protecting two tribes of Xiongnu, and he can appoint a nobleman as the leader, so why not order people to go deep into the tribe, under the pretext of protecting the fortress, to give money and subsidies to recruit brave men from the tribe. Then, under the long-term care, the tribe can be used by our Zhang family."

Zhang Yu picked up the towel and read it. The content was the plan for recruiting soldiers from the Southern Xiongnu tribe that Wang Ji had just mentioned. Compared with the form of conscription, the plan of combining soldiers and farmers could save Zhang a lot of money. Five hundred soldiers could be supported with only one million coins.

While Zhang Yu was browsing, Wang Ji said, "This method has a disadvantage. If something unexpected happens, I don't know who the troops will obey!"

Zhang Yu asked, "Madam, are you worried that I might be transferred to another position?"

"Ok!"

Wang Ji frowned and said, "In order to prevent generals from becoming too powerful, the court often changes official positions, and even transfers them to Luoyang. If you leave, I don't know whether the two Xiongnu tribes will be willing to obey your orders!"

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes and said, "Madam, what you said is not without reason, but if I can use money to buy the hearts of the Xiongnu, why should I worry that the two Xiongnu tribes will not obey my orders?"

"Husband, do you want to act according to my plan?" Wang Ji asked.

Zhang Yu reached out and hugged Wang Ji, saying with a smile: "Madam, what you said makes sense, why shouldn't I listen?"

The big hand touched it uneasily, and Zhang Yu said: "I was worried about how to make the Xiongnu people serve me. If I rule the people with nobles, I need to control the nobles before I can make the people serve me. Now if I lure them with money, I can make the people serve me."

Wang Ji tilted her head back, feeling the desire rising in her body, and panted, "Bypass the noble, show me your kindness, my husband is wise!"

Zhang Yu licked her crystal earlobe and asked, "Madam, do you know that I tamed a fierce horse a few days ago?"

"What's wrong?" Wang Ji asked with his eyes closed.

"I want to tame you now!"

After saying that, Wang Ji exclaimed, and soon the sound of clothes tearing was heard in the house.

Zhang Yu was not a gentleman who could remain calm under the influence of a woman's sensual beauty, but an ambitious man full of desires. Wang Ji seemed to enjoy this feeling, and often talked with Zhang Yu from the desk to the bed.

After discussing the matters, Zhang Yu thought about the candidates and asked Li Song, the protector of the two Xiongnu tribes, to recruit troops for Zhang, and Meng Ningzhi to join the tribe to assist.

Although the number of troops and horses remained the same, this arrangement gave Zhang Yu a deeper control over the interior of the Xiongnu. Even if Zhang Yu no longer protected the two Xiongnu tribes, he could still command the two Xiongnu tribes with his penetration into the interior of the Xiongnu.

As Zhang Yu used his resources to further control Yanmen County, drastic changes also took place in the world.

In September, Meng Yi led Gongsun Zan and other generals to defeat Zhang Chun, who fled in defeat. Gongsun Zan, eager to gain more merit, pursued him but was besieged by Qiu Liju in Guanzi City in western Liaoxi.

In the same month, Sun Jian was awarded the title of Governor of Changsha for his meritorious service in the campaign against Qu Xing, and was responsible for suppressing the rebels in various counties in southern Jing.

In October, "White Horse General" Gongsun Zan was still besieged by the Wuhuan in Guanzi City. Sun Jian was ordered to conquer the remaining rebels in southern Jing, beheaded "Pingtian General" Guan Hu, and was granted the title of Tinghou.

In November, Gongsun Zan was besieged in Guanzi City, and Sun Jian defeated the two bandits Zhou Chao and Guo Shi.

At the same time, because Yufuluo led 3,000 cavalry to attack Youzhou, the Xiongnu royal court was in turmoil. The people were worried that Qiangqu would continue to conscript men in the country to help the Eastern Han Dynasty conquer Wuhuan. Xiu Tugehu, under the pretext of visiting the Chanyu, led his troops into Zuoguo City and killed the Chanyu Qiangqu.

Wang Rou, the Lieutenant General who protected the Xiongnu, returned to Taiyuan to visit his relatives and escaped the disaster. However, the soldiers in his camp who protected the Xiongnu were defeated by the Xiongnu because they were in the city, and suffered heavy casualties.

After breaking through Zuoguo City, the Tugehu took advantage of the situation to break through the Xihe County seat dozens of miles away, beheaded the Xihe County governor Xing Ji, and led the former Zuoxian King's tribe to rebel. The nobles of various Xiongnu tribes swore an oath of blood alliance and jointly elected Xubu Gudu Hou as the Chanyu to rebel against the Han Dynasty.

For a moment, Bingzhou was shaken!
(End of this chapter)