Start with a red name

Soon, Cao Ao led Zheng Liangcai and others, who had just returned to camp, to pay their respects.

Cao Ao, Tao Bin, and others, as founding members of the "Black Wind Gang," secretly received a lot of extra care from Geng Xuan.

Even so, of the eleven people who joined at the beginning, only five remain: Cao Ao, Tao Bin, Bai Ma, Hake, and Lu Dan.

Each of them, in less than two months, reached a position they never dared to dream of before.

This applies to both status and cultivation level.

However, the other six people besides the five of them, including the scarred dog whom Geng Xuan also favored, have all perished in these waves of life-and-death trials.

After that, before heading north into the "Wild Wolf Gorge", the newly established "Black Wind Gang" underwent a crucial developmental transformation at the Iron Arrow Mountain Villa.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, they absorbed many large and small bandit gangs, and initially formed the prototype of the "Black Wind Gang".

Compared to people like Cao Ao and Tao Bin, these people did not receive much extra care.

Of those who joined the "Black Wind Gang" as leaders of small factions, only Zheng Liangcai, Yue Yan, and Kang Jun have survived to this day.

The rest were all destroyed one after another by the waves of turbulent waters.

The risks are enormous, but the rewards are equally enormous.

For example, Zheng Liangcai, before joining the "Black Wind Gang," had the cultivation level of the initial stage of marrow refining, but he was not only older but also disabled.

Now, however, he has been "promoted" all the way to the level of the second realm of perfection, and his body has also been restored to its full health.

Compared to his frail and aged appearance when we first met, he now looks like a vigorous young man who is not yet fifty.

He speaks with a strong voice and a loud tone.

"...We joined up with Montau and his men overnight, and with their cooperation, we only needed to send out a thousand iron cavalry to defeat those rioting soldiers."

"Those rebel soldiers split into three groups, totaling less than two thousand. More than 1,200 were killed on the spot, and more than 600 surrendered. They were all brought along this time as well."

At this point, Zheng Liangcai paused, glanced at the "Canglang believers" who were devoutly worshipping Geng Xuan, this "divine son," before continuing:

"Those disorganized soldiers were not determined to resist. Their morale collapsed the moment they saw the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry leave the battlefield."

They surrendered as soon as they made contact.

Even including the wounded, the number of dead and injured among the chaotic soldiers was less than three or four hundred.

The reason why over 1,200 people ultimately died was because... during the capture process, they killed prisoners in a fit of rage.

No sooner had Zheng Liangcai finished speaking than the sound of repeated kowtows came from the side.

But those "wolf followers" who were prostrate on the ground kept banging their heads on the ground.

After filing his complaint, Zheng Liangcai then tried to smooth things over for them.

"...However, those mutinous soldiers did indeed have ways to get themselves killed."

With their skilled tracking techniques, they specialized in searching for ordinary tribal people scattered and hidden in the wilderness.

Before we suppressed them, thousands of people had already lost their lives at their hands.

Many of them came from the same tribe, or were even close relatives.

Geng Xuan listened silently until the end, then said:

"Since you have already surrendered, do not kill indiscriminately to vent your anger... Even if there is indeed a crime of slaughtering the old and weak, and there is a reason to die, it must be clearly investigated and punished according to the law."

"We'll let it slide this time since it's your first offense, but you should all be more careful in the future."

As he finished giving his instructions, another series of kowtows followed.

Then he looked at Zheng Liangcai and asked, "Iron Wolf, where are Meng Tuo and the others?"

"After a brief discussion, they decided to deal with these organized, unruly soldiers who were active in the open as soon as possible."

However, as a result, the number of troops gradually gathered, along with those who surrendered, would increase, leading to a heavier logistical burden.

At the suggestion of Deputy Envoy Yang Qian, every time there was a harvest, a group would be arranged to return east to the camp to reunite with the military commander.

Geng Xuan nodded slightly, understanding in his heart.

He had nothing to say about this arrangement, considering it quite reasonable.

Originally, after sending the more than 3,000 returning cavalry back to their camp, Zheng Liangcai was about to turn back west and take some provisions with him.

At the suggestion of Song Mingzhu, who was listening in, another group of iron cavalry of similar size was dispatched, led by Kang Jun, to join up with Tie Lang and the others.

Zheng Liangcai and the cavalry that returned with him will then begin construction of the camp after a proper rest.

Dealing with the more than three thousand cavalrymen who had entered the camp with Zheng Liangcai and others took Geng Xuan some time.

These three thousand cavalrymen were composed of two parts.

Three thousand of them were riders from many different tribes.

At first, they had to maintain the illusion that everything was normal after the other tribesmen dispersed into the wilderness and hid.

If there are any issues that arise, such as Dong Guan's requisition of supplies or troops, they must be the ones to handle them.

Once everything settled down, they were the only force among the tribes capable of fighting against the Sand People. The other six hundred or so were the Sand People prisoners who had surrendered and survived.

—Whether in Xuanzhou or Youzhou, within a range of two thousand miles north of the Hang River, the Sand People surpass the Tribal People in both population size and the wealth and resources they control.

Once all of this is converted into military force, the disparity in strength between the two sides becomes even more pronounced.

The three thousand "Canglang people" easily became "one of their own".

It took quite a bit of effort to capture the more than six hundred sand people.

Because of their previous experience of mass killing prisoners in a fit of rage, they, who already harbored strong hostility towards the "Black Wind Army" for bringing disaster and chaos, became even more distrustful of it.

This made recruiting new employees very difficult.

Considering their previous experiences, Geng Xuan "generously" gave them more time and more opportunities.

Finally, after "eliminating" 140 people, the remaining 485 people, amidst their anxiety and fear, became members of the "Black Wind Army".

Geng Xuan, who is able to see through the changes in people's hearts, discovered that the undercurrents that were surging in the shadows had become clearer because of this incident.

Believe in "Canglang Tian" or not.

Different race, yet not different race.

Being part of the current "Black Wind Army," regardless of whether an individual is aware of this or what their specific inclinations are, identity labels will naturally categorize them.

Of course, so far, this change has not brought about malice or hostility between them.

Within, Geng Xuan acts as a central figure, uniting the two.

Outside, there is a common enemy, Dong Guan, whom we need to confront.

Until this direct threat is resolved, the two sides can remain partners who can trust each other and cooperate sincerely.

As for what happened after that...

With that in mind, Geng Xuan shook his head slightly and decided to put it aside for the time being.

……

On this day, three more groups of sand people, each numbering several thousand, arrived at the camp from the east and south, escorted by cavalry.

After dark, in the dead of night, Liu Mu personally led the remaining iron cavalry, escorting over ten thousand sand people into the camp.

Many carriages followed them back.

The truck was full of grain, as well as freshly slaughtered mutton that hadn't even had time to be cured.

"...There are still many valuable items, but they are too inconvenient to carry, and we can't bear to destroy them, so we'll leave them to Dong Guan."

After summarizing the day and night's activities, Liu Mu jokingly remarked.

Geng Xuan smiled.

This is certainly not a genuine "cheap" deal for Dong Guan.

In the present day, apart from things like food and weapons which have direct value to both sides, other so-called valuable items, including gold and silver, are actually of little value and may even become an additional burden.

Geng Xuan also believed that Dong Guan would not make such a basic mistake at this time.

After a brief, lighthearted remark, Liu Mu became serious and said:

"Because Dong Guan's troops came from the northeast direction."

Therefore, after capturing the 'Siyebao' in the east, we did not dare to venture too far eastward to avoid being caught up by Dong Guan's main force.

We are still moving further south.

They eventually plowed out a safe zone that was fifty miles wide from east to west and over two hundred miles wide from north to south.

Within this area, Dong Guan could neither gain a single person nor obtain a drop of clean drinking water.

Liu Mu said with a confident expression.

To not even get a drop of water is obviously an exaggeration.

However, if the prefixes "clean" and "for the needs of hundreds of thousands of troops" are added, Liu Mu's execution difficulty is suddenly reduced.

For Dong Guan, the difficulty of obtaining it has increased accordingly.

"...I've looked into it, and the nearest place that could barely be a place for Dong Guan to stay is about eighty miles to the east."

Moreover, given the size of the water resources in that settlement, it could only meet the needs of tens of thousands of soldiers at most.

It is far from being able to support the consumption of hundreds of thousands of troops.

……

Just as Liu Mu was reporting the results of this operation to Geng Xuan.

A day behind, Dong Guan also personally led his army to the location Liu Mu had described, about eighty miles east of the "Black Wind Army," where they faced off against them. (End of Chapter)