Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 6 Fan Yan
Dozens of riders marched out of the county town and galloped north for twenty or thirty miles. In front of them, the grassland connected to the horizon, and the outline of a city gradually appeared.

This fortress-like city is the White Tiger City, which Yan Baihu built over several years by mobilizing tens of thousands of people. It is the place where the Yan family stationed their troops and also the place where the Yan family made their fortune.

This city was built against the mountain. The city wall is about eight meters high and is built entirely of blue bricks. The city wall is covered with battlements. There are twenty or thirty of them in just over ten meters. It can be foreseen that once a war breaks out, this section of the city wall with both offensive and defensive capabilities will become the enemy's nightmare.

Today, the main body of Baihu City has been repaired, but the arrow towers and corner towers on various parts of the city wall are still being expanded. However, they are no longer completed by conscripting civilians, but by using prisoners and military slaves.

Yan Yi and dozens of other riders arrived at the foot of the city and reported their identities. A military officer who was patrolling the arrow tower at the city gate hurried down to greet them.

Yan Yi reined in his horse and asked, "Where is Fan Yan?"

Fan Yan was very famous in Yan Baihu's army. The general was slightly startled, then realized: "Fan Yan is carrying earth and rocks from the corner tower in the east of the city."

Dozens of riders rushed into the city like a whirlwind, circled the city halfway, and arrived at the east city.

I saw a section of the city wall that was obviously thickened protruding outward, forming a wide corner platform, which was two or three feet higher than the other walls. A brick and wood attic on it was half built.

Hundreds of ragged prisoners and military slaves were like tireless ants, carrying baskets of stones and logs of wood onto the city wall amid the shouts and curses of several soldiers.

Compared with the ferocious-looking prisoners and the numb-looking military slaves, a middle-aged man with a skinny body but a dignified demeanor was particularly eye-catching.

Yan Yi stared at the middle-aged man for a while, and recognized that it was Fan Yan. He stretched out his hand to signal his followers to wait where they were, walked up to Fan Yan alone, rolled up his sleeves, ignored the other's surprised look, picked up the bamboo basket full of stones and walked forward.

Fan Yan opened his mouth wide and stared at Yan Yi blankly. He wanted to salute, but he was holding the bamboo basket in both hands and couldn't put it down. He was at a loss for a moment and could only take steps to catch up.

Yan Yi smiled at him, revealing two rows of white teeth: "I went to Geqi to recruit soldiers, passed by here, and came to visit the general."

Fan Yan calmed down and thought of the young man fighting cocks and riding horses. The surprise in his eyes was still there. "Time flies! I haven't seen you for over a year, and you're already leading troops. Congratulations!"

The people around seemed to have guessed Yan Yi's identity and looked at him with surprise and awe.

Several soldiers who were acting as supervisors threw down their whips and ran towards this side in a hurry.

A basket of stones weighed about sixty or seventy kilograms, which was not heavy for Yan Yi. However, since he was climbing up the city wall from a slope of about forty degrees, a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on his forehead when he reached the corner tower on the wall.

Every prisoner and military slave had to carry twenty or thirty baskets of stones like this every day.

Yan Yi had firsthand experience of the hardships these prisoners and slaves endured. He shook his arms and asked a leading soldier, "What are the daily rations for the prisoners and slaves here?"

The soldier said respectfully, "Young Master, the daily ration for each person is five liters."

Yan Yi frowned slightly. This ration standard was too low.

It should be noted that five liters refers to the weight of rice before husking, and after husking it is actually only two and a half liters.

Historically, before Zhuge Liang died of a serious illness, his daily rice intake dropped to three liters, and the rice Zhuge Liang ate was refined rice, which was not comparable to the coarse grains eaten by these prisoners and military slaves.

In other words, the daily rations of the prisoners and military slaves here are not even as good as those of a seriously ill old man.

Yan Yi thought for a moment, then instructed the soldiers, "Go and tell the craftsmen to increase the rations to seven liters."

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers rang out all around.

"Thank you, Young Master!" The prisoners and military slaves knelt on the ground and bowed deeply.

Yan Yi signaled everyone to stand up. Turning back, he saw Fan Yan had already emptied the basket of stones. He called over a soldier and said, "Go get Mr. Fan some water to quench his thirst."

Fan Yan wiped the sweat off his face, came to stand in front of Yan Yi, bowed and said: "Young Master, you are kind and benevolent."

Yan Yi pulled him to a battlement and said with a smile, "I have paid for the general's redemption. You can go home today."

"Thank you, young master." Fan Yan looked calm.

Yan Yi looked at his face and asked, "General, are you still upset about what happened in the past?"

"How dare I harbor any personal grudge." Fan Yan raised his eyelids. "It's just that I see the lax discipline in the army, the empty positions and wasted funds, and I often feel that I can't achieve anything, and I feel discouraged."

Yan Yi had personally witnessed Fan Yan's outspokenness.

"I understand the general's feelings." He reached out and pressed against the parapet, looking north. "Disaster is imminent, and the army is in a state of utter decay. Every time I think about this, I can't sleep at night."

Fan Yan's expression changed. "Young Master, are you referring to Yuan Shu's intention to take control of Jiangdong?"

Yan Yi sighed, his expression solemn. "Yuan Shu isn't a concern, but his subordinate, Sun Ce, is as brave as his father, Sun Jian, and he harbors ambitions to conquer Jiangdong. I'm afraid you and I will both die at his hands in the future."

Fan Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. "I've heard of Sun Ce's bravery, but he's not even an adult yet. Are you overestimating him, Young Lord?"

Yan Yi smiled bitterly and said, "From what I just said, I'm afraid I still underestimated him. I heard that the general once faced Sun Jian in battle. I wonder how our army compares to Sun Jian's army?"

Fan Yan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "The Jian army is well-equipped, while ours is poorly equipped; the Jian army enforces discipline, while ours is lax; the Jian army's soldiers are elite, while ours lacks training; the Jian army has clear rewards and punishments, while ours is unsystematic; the Jian army has many brave generals and counselors, while ours lacks talent."

Yan Yi's eyelids twitched as he listened. Although the sky was clear in front of him, his heart was filled with gloom. Every word Fan Yan said was like pouring a bucket of cold water on his heart.

Fan Yan had a good impression of Yan Yi at the moment. Seeing his grim expression, he couldn't help but console him, saying, "Young Master, don't worry too much. Our army actually has a solid foundation. As long as we work harder, strengthen our armaments, rectify military discipline, and eliminate the accumulated problems, we can fight even if Sun Wentai is resurrected."

"General, there's no need to comfort me. I know what's going on." Yan Yi smiled and bowed solemnly to Fan Yan. "The situation is tough right now. Our army desperately needs good generals, just like a drought-stricken seedling needs rain. I hope you'll put aside past grudges and come out to lend me a hand."

Fan Yan sighed, "When I first sought refuge in Jiangdong, I was fortunate to be taken in by the Marshal. My wife and children at home were also taken care of by Madam. I will never forget this kindness. If you wish to serve me, just give me your orders."

Yan Yi said sternly, "How dare you hold the general hostage with such a small favor?"

Fan Yan stared at Yan Yi's angular face, but didn't respond. Instead, he talked about something else: "Two years ago, Tian Kai and Liu Bei fought against Yuan Shao in Qi. The two sides fought fiercely for two years, and their food supplies were exhausted. The soldiers plundered the civilians, causing no sound of chickens or dogs within a hundred miles of Qi, and no green grass in the wild. This disaster inflicted on the people was worse than a natural disaster. Now the people of Danyang have fled to Wucheng, and our army, from the captains to the common soldiers, treats them like cattle and horses. Although there are laws to control them, the looting continues. What do you think should be done?"

Yan Yi said in a deep voice: "In troubled times, severe punishments should be used, and execution is the right move!"

Fan Yan nodded and continued, "But plundering refugees is a widespread phenomenon in the army, implicating many. Above the soldiers are squad leaders, above the squad leaders are platoon leaders, above the platoon leaders are garrison commanders, military marquises, military officers, and generals. The looted goods are distributed among these ranks. If you want to punish them severely, you will not only encounter many obstacles, but also cause dissatisfaction within the army and establish your own opponents. What should you do?"

Yan Yi pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then said in a cold voice, "In the past, Sun Wu, a commoner, commanded the army, yet he dared to execute his favorite concubine in front of King Helu of Wu. Although I am far inferior to the sage, the sword in my sheath is still sharp! Anyone who disobeys military discipline, rebels against the army, slows down the army, slacks off, acts recklessly, disrespects the army, deceives the army, deceives the army, slanders the army, betrays the army, or steals the army will be dealt with according to military law!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Yan bowed deeply and said, "If you can keep your words, I will fight to the death for you!"

(End of this chapter)