The Three Kingdoms: Rise of the Western Liang Cavalry

Qin Lie continued.

"Please inform the two generals that Qin Lie's loyalty to the Xiliang army, sharing both honor and disgrace, is as clear as day!"

"Please give me ten days to reorganize the troops and procure provisions."

"Ten days from now, I will personally lead my 5,000 elite troops from Fufeng Camp northward to join forces with the two generals and jointly punish the traitors!"

He then turned and shouted at Qin An.

"Qin An! Bring me fifty jars of 'Shao Dao Zi' liquor, a treasure from my manor, and twenty fat cattle and sheep. Tonight, I will drink with the envoy and all the soldiers until we are completely drunk!"

"Let's celebrate our upcoming victory in advance!"

This maneuver, employing both soft and hard tactics, not only stated its position but also made reasonable demands, leaving Li Li with no grounds for rebuttal.

He had come to deliver orders, not to make decisions. Seeing Qin Lie's "sincere" attitude and being treated to fine wine and food, his arrogance and wariness gradually dissipated under the influence of alcohol.

That night, the central command tent was brightly lit, and the aroma of wine and meat filled the air.

Qin Lie frequently raised his cup, addressing Li Li as a brother and reminiscing about his past campaigns with Grand Tutor Dong, which drew enthusiastic responses from the generals in the tent, creating a lively atmosphere.

Secretly, he gave Chen Wu a wink.

Chen Wu understood immediately and quietly left his seat. He dispatched his most capable scouts, splitting them into two groups. One group kept a close watch on Li Li and his party's movements to prevent them from spying on the military camp's strength. The other group disguised themselves as merchants and refugees and headed towards Chang'an to ascertain the true size and deployment of Li Jue and Guo Si's army, as well as the city's defenses.

The banquet went on until late at night, and Li Li and his entourage were already completely drunk and had to be helped away to rest.

Inside the tent, the smell of alcohol mingled with the smell of killing intent.

The drunkenness on Qin Lie's face vanished instantly, and his gaze returned to its clear and cold intensity.

He looked at his trusted confidants, who were also still conscious, and said in a deep voice.

"Issue my order: the entire army is to be reorganized, and this process shall begin immediately!"

Orders, issued from the central command tent that seemed to be indulging in a banquet, spread rapidly throughout the entire military camp like mercury.

The five thousand soldiers were completely scattered and reorganized into five battalions, using "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness" as their motto.

Each battalion has 1,000 men, with one captain and two deputy generals.

The "Yi" battalion, with Chen Wu, a military advisor, concurrently serving as a captain, was responsible for the army's military law, discipline, and intelligence matters; it was the brain of the army.

The "Xin" battalion, commanded by Qin An, Qin Lie's cousin, consisted entirely of elite soldiers from the Qin family's private army and served as their personal guard.

The captains of the remaining three battalions were appointed by a few former border army officers who were capable and had high prestige.

However, Qin Lie cleverly placed the captains and platoon leaders from his most trusted Qin family private army into these three battalions, appointing them as deputy generals, captains, and other mid-to-lower-level officers. Like a fine spider web, he firmly controlled these three thousand soldiers.

The night was as dark as ink, and the clamor of the banquet had long since dissipated, but the Fufeng camp was still awake.

The torchlight flickered through the camp like flowing veins, infusing new commands and will into this massive, once-disintegrating body.

The smell of alcohol in the air was dispersed by the cold night wind, replaced by the crisp clinking of metal, the officers' hushed commands, and a restlessness that was forcibly suppressed yet omnipresent.

Change always begins in the deepest night, in the most resolute way.

As dawn broke, a thin layer of frost covered the tents and weapons, adding a touch of poetic coldness to this desolate place.

As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and illuminated the drill ground, five thousand soldiers had already formed five neat square formations according to the new organization.

Many of them still bore the weariness of a hangover and a sense of uncertainty about the future.

The Xiliang army has always prided itself on its bravery, but it is also known for its lax discipline.

When Dong Zhuo was alive, he could still use his power and authority to suppress them. But after Dong Zhuo died, this arrogant and fierce army became like wild horses that had broken free of their reins, driven only by their instinct to charge recklessly.

However, at this moment, Qin Lie, who stood in front of them, had a gaze colder than the morning frost of Fufeng and a more direct gaze than the lance in his hand.

"From this day forward, forget your former unit numbers, forget your former comrades!"

Qin Lie's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"You all have only one name—the Qin Family Army!"

"Your comrades are everyone to your left, right, in front, and behind!"

"Your unit designations are: Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trustworthiness!"

"Anyone who disgraces these five words, I'll personally rip their head off!"

There were no grand pronouncements, only the most direct warnings.

Training has begun.

This is completely different from the previous training that emphasized individual bravery and a swarm of attackers.

Qin Lie divided his cavalry into groups of ten, repeatedly practicing a strange formation.

Five riders were in front, forming a cone shape, responsible for the main attack; five riders were behind, keeping their distance, and carrying bows and crossbows, responsible for providing cover and follow-up fire.

"Idiot! Who told you to charge so fast! Your flank is exposed! Do you want your brother's back to be pierced by the enemy?"

Qin An's roar echoed across the training ground of the "Xin" camp. He lashed a rider with his whip across the back of a knight who was charging too fast, leaving a clear whip mark.

The knight was a veteran of the Qin family, skilled in archery and horsemanship, and his personal martial arts skills ranked among the top 100 in the army. Yet, he was being whipped in public, his face filled with humiliation and incomprehension.

Qin Lie rode slowly over, looked at the knight, and asked calmly.

"Zhang San, tell me, which is easier to break: one chopstick or ten chopsticks?"

"It's one, of course."

Zhang San answered in a muffled voice.

"very good."

Qin Lie nodded.

"On the battlefield, you are just one chopstick."

"You think you're brave enough to kill ten people, but if the enemy has just three people working together, they can easily kill you from the side and behind."

"And your ten-man squad, if it can be thrown like a fist, can crush enemies several times larger than you."

"What I need is not five thousand unparalleled warriors, but an invincible army!"

"It's fists, not sand, do you all understand?"

His gaze swept across the entire area, and the eyes of those fierce soldiers who had initially shown some disdain and resentment gradually changed.

They were veterans of the battlefield, and perhaps they didn't understand any grand principles, but they had seen the scene Qin Lie described more than once.

Many brave comrades, because they charged too fast, separated from the group and were eventually surrounded and attacked by enemies many times their size, dying from exhaustion.

Qin Lie didn't stop; he went to the infantry training ground.

The Xiliang army was famous for its cavalry, but its infantry had always been a weakness, mostly serving as auxiliary troops and not being valued.

But in Qin Lie's blueprint, a strong infantry force is the foundation upon which this army can go further and stand more firmly.

He ordered the artisans to work through the night to produce a batch of simple barricades and large wooden shields covered with leather.

During training, the infantry no longer followed the cavalry to pick off stragglers, but instead formed a tight shield formation, with spears thrusting out from the gaps in the shields like a steel hedgehog.

"When the cavalry charges, you are their backup!"

"It's the harbor where they turned back!"

"When the cavalry retreats exhausted, your shield formation will be a reliable wall they can stand on!"

"Hold on!"

"Anyone who dares to retreat a single step will be court-martialed!"