The Three Kingdoms: Rise of the Western Liang Cavalry

The tent was deathly silent; everyone was stunned by Qin Lie's unexpected decision.

Qin Lie slowly turned around, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping across the faces of every officer and general.

"Pass on my orders!"

His voice suddenly rose, filled with unquestionable authority and decisiveness.

"The entire army breaks camp. Target—Mei'wu!"

Mei-wu!

The fortress that Dong Zhuo once built at great expense was a sturdy fortress comparable to the defenses of Chang'an!

It is located precisely between Fufeng and Chang'an, like a nail firmly wedged into the vital part of this Guanzhong Plain.

"Captain, this is...?"

Chen Wu asked, puzzled.

A cold smile curved Qin Lie's lips.

In his eyes burned a flame called "strategy".

"By stationing ourselves in Meiwu, we will have a solid base that we can attack or defend, making us invincible."

"Secondly, Meiwu is located next to Chang'an. With us here, we can deter Li Jue and Guo Si, preventing them from wantonly slaughtering the people. We can also make Wang Yun and Lü Bu in Chang'an feel like they have thorns in their backs, and they will not dare to underestimate our strength."

Qin Lie's voice echoed in the silent command tent, each word like a heavy hammer blow to everyone's hearts.

He paused for a moment, his gaze slowly sweeping over Chen Wu, Dian Wu, and all the officers and soldiers, finally settling on the sky tinged gray-yellow by the smoke of war.

"Thirdly, and most importantly."

His voice calmed down, yet it carried a power that could penetrate the heart.

"Li Jue and Guo Si allowed their troops to plunder, while Lü Bu and Wang Yun regarded our Xiliang army as traitors who must be eliminated as soon as possible."

"On this Guanzhong Plain, tens of thousands of Xiliang youths are nothing more than pawns and weeds in their struggle for power and profit."

"The more fiercely they fight, the more deserters there will be, and the more...homeless people there will be."

"These people were our comrades-in-arms, brothers who fought alongside us on the frontier."

"Most of them did not want to slaughter their fellow villagers, nor did they want to become traitors despised by everyone."

"They are just duckweed swept up in the torrent, unable to find their way or see any hope."

Qin Lie withdrew his gaze, and the flame in his eyes, which had been called strategy, now had a touch of compassion and burning intensity.

"I want to light a lamp for them in Mei Wu."

"A light that can guide them home in the darkest of nights of despair."

"I want to tell them that the spirit of the Xiliang army has not yet dissipated!"

"The blood of the Xiliang army should not have been shed in vain!"

"This Meiwu is our new home, the home of the people of Xiliang!"

These words brought tears to the eyes of even a Qiang leader like Dianwu, not to mention the Han generals and officers from Xiliang.

They seemed to see another path, a path that would neither lead to surrender nor to banditry, but rather a path to regaining dignity and honor.

"This humble general...understands!"

Chen Wu bowed deeply, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Captain Gao Yi! We are willing to follow him to the death!"

"I will follow you to the death!"

Inside the tent, all the officers shouted in unison, their voices almost lifting the tent roof off.

Military orders are absolute, and the 8,000-strong camp mobilized in the shortest possible time.

There was no delay, not a single complaint.

The soldiers rolled up their tents, packed their bags, and mounted their warhorses. The whole process was quiet and efficient, like a sophisticated war machine.

The army set off eastward.

The horses' hooves pounded the soft earth of the Guanzhong Plain with a dull thud.

The stench of blood and burnt flesh in the air grew stronger. All that could be seen along the way were ruins, corpses abandoned on the ridges of fields, and survivors huddled in the rubble, staring at the army with numb and terrified eyes.

Qin Lie neither ordered them to be driven away nor stopped trying to appease them.

He simply watched in silence, etching these human tragedies deep into his mind.

He knew that words were futile at this moment; only action could heal the wounds of this land and comfort the innocent souls of the dead.

His army maintained a disciplined formation, committing no offenses, like a silent torrent of iron flowing across this shattered landscape.

This in itself is a silent declaration.

Mei-wu soon appeared on the horizon.

That was a real behemoth.

Dong Zhuo spent countless manpower and resources, conscripting 250,000 laborers, and it took two years to complete the fortress.

The walls of the fortified village were almost as high and thick as those of Chang'an City.

Outside the walls was a deep and wide moat, and the walls were lined with arrow towers and corner towers, with the menacing crossbow windows like the eyes of a giant beast, overlooking everything around them.

It stands there silently, like a cold-blooded bystander, witnessing the madness and fall of an era.

There were originally members of the Dong clan and their personal guards stationed here, but when news of Li Jue and Guo Si's uprising arrived, they had already scattered like birds and beasts.

When Qin Lie's army arrived at the city, the fortified city was almost a ghost town.

"Chen Wu!"

Qin Lie reined in his horse, looked at the towering fortress walls, and gave the order in a deep voice.

"Your subordinate is here!"

"You will lead a thousand men to immediately take over the four gates, search the armory and granary, take inventory of all supplies, and draw up a defense map."

"Anyone who dares to conceal or damage this property will be executed without mercy!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Dianwu!"

"exist!"

"You shall lead your cavalry to control all the surrounding key roads and establish outposts."

"At the same time, send your best scouts to the outskirts of Chang'an, along the Wei River, and to all places where defeated troops might appear."

Qin Lie's voice paused, then became exceptionally clear.

Tell them not to fight, not to kill.

"Your only task is to spread my message: 'Qin Lie of the North is stationed in Mei Wu. All comrades of Xiliang who do not wish to be bandits and cannot bear to slaughter their fellow villagers are welcome to come and join us! Mei Wu has food, clothing, swords, and above all, justice!'"

He emphasized the word "fairness" very much.

A flash of understanding crossed Dianwu's hawk-like eyes, and he nodded heavily.

"Don't worry, grandson, I will definitely pass on the message!"

As Qin Lie issued his orders one by one, the entire army quickly and orderly moved into the massive fortified village.

The dusty granary was opened, and the mountains of grain inside made everyone gasp – Dong Zhuo's reputation for plundering the land was indeed well-deserved; the grain stored here was enough to feed tens of thousands of troops for more than a year.

The armory contained countless suits of armor, weapons, and arrows.

Meiwu, the former haven of powerful officials, has overnight become Qin Lie's most solid foundation.

And his net soon yielded a harvest.

On the third day at dusk, the first group of defeated soldiers appeared outside Mei'wu.

There were only a few dozen of them, dressed in rags, looking terrified, and their weapons were broken and incomplete.

They were like wild beasts that had been chased by hunters for three days and three nights, their bodies wounded, their eyes filled with exhaustion and distrust.

About a mile from the fortified village, they stopped and hesitated, watching warily the large "Qin" banner fluttering on the wall.