Three Kingdoms: Daily settlement helps Liu Bei revive the Shu Han dynasty.

Chapter 119 The Governor of Yu Province, Liu Shengzhu, since his arrival, the people have prospered.

Gouzhang City is thirty li to the east.

When Zhao Yun arrived with his cavalry, the city gates were still open.

The defending troops were clearly unaware that the front lines had been annihilated, and only a few dozen people stood sparsely on the city walls.

Zhao Yun did not wait for He Qi and immediately ordered the cavalry to charge.

The soldiers guarding the city wall were stunned by what they saw. By the time they remembered closing the city gates, the cavalry had already entered the city.

Zhao Yun charged into the city gate first, his gleaming silver spear felling a guard on each side, followed by cavalrymen who filed in.

The city's garrison numbered less than five hundred. Upon seeing the cavalry enter the city, they all threw down their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy.

The county magistrate was brought before Zhao Yun, trembling all over.

Zhao Yun did not kill him, but had him tied up and waited for Lu Yong to deal with him.

When He Qi and Taishi Ci arrived, the city wall of Gouzhang had already been replaced with a banner bearing the character "Liu".

"General Zhao, you're moving too fast," He Qi said with a helpless smile.

Zhao Yun replied with a smile, "When we arrived, we saw that the gates of Juzhang City were wide open and the garrison was small, so we led our troops to take it directly."

He Qi left 500 men to guard the city, while he, Zhao Yun, and Taishi Ci moved on to fight in Yuyao.

Yuyao City is located on the north bank of the Yaojiang River, nestled against Longquan Mountain.

The rammed earth city wall was about ten feet high, without any brick or stone cladding, and its circumference was only about a thousand paces.

The city is bordered by water to the north, with a tributary of the Yaojiang River flowing around it. The water is more than ten zhang wide and navigable by boat, forming a natural moat.

The city's garrison numbered about a thousand, but morale was extremely low.

After He Qi, Zhao Yun and others arrived, they did not rush to attack the city.

He ordered the magistrate of Juzhang County and the captured enemy general to be brought to the city walls, and shouted towards the city walls: "The reinforcements have been wiped out, Juzhang has fallen. Yuyao is now an isolated city, why don't you surrender immediately?!"

The magistrate hesitated for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before finally sighing and ordering the city gates to be opened.

At this point, the three counties of Shangyu, Gouzhang, and Yuyao all fell into Liu Bei's hands.

The central and northern parts of Kuaiji were completely pacified.

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Lu Yong received two settlement achievements in the past two days, but the evaluation was too low, with only a few attribute points.

Five days later, He Qi left some soldiers to defend Yuyao and returned to Shanyin with Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and He Chong.

Lu Yong received the four men in the main hall of the prefect's mansion. Zhang Fei, Xu Sheng, Zhou Tai, and Lei Hu were also present.

He Qi stood in the center, with Taishi Ci and He Chong on his left and right respectively.

It seems that the three of them are implicitly led by He Qi.

After all, He Qi was the county magistrate, and he had several thousand soldiers under his command.

He Qi stepped forward first, cupped his hands, and said, "He Qi greets the strategist."

Taishi Ci and He Chong followed closely behind, cupping their hands and saying, "Taishi Ci (He Chong) greets the military advisor."

Lu Yong quickly helped the three of them up and said with a smile, "There's no need for such formalities, everyone."

Our lord has been eagerly awaiting your arrival since he learned of your defection.

"Once the matter in Kuaiji is settled, you will return to Wanling with me, and the lord will bestow rewards upon you."

He Qi and the other two clasped their hands in greeting and said, "Yes, sir!"

Lu Yong looked at Zhao Yun: "Zilong, you've worked hard. Has our lord mentioned to you my plan to build an elite force?"

Zhao Yun's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "My lord mentioned it before, but he didn't say what kind of elite troops they were."

His tone already carried a hint of anticipation.

"Elite troops?" Zhang Fei's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. "Huai'an, when did you start working on this thing? How come I didn't know?"

Xu Sheng raised his hand and said, "Strategist, you can't abandon me!"

"The same goes for me!" Lei Hu said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Zhou Tai grinned, puffed out his chest, and didn't seem to care that the aggravation of his wounds was aroused. "The strategist has been planning this for a long time. I myself am the commander of the heavy infantry!"

His tone carried an undisguised pride.

"???" Zhang Fei was immediately indignant upon hearing this. "Huai'an, you've changed! You didn't even include me in this good thing?!"

After Zhang Fei finished shouting, the entire main hall fell silent for a moment.

Lu Yong glared at Zhang Fei and said, "Our lord needs you to take charge on your own. Why are you meddling in his affairs?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei scratched his head and said, "But I still feel like I've been cheated a bit."

"—" Taishi Ci, He Qi, and He Chong were speechless.

They didn't understand why they weren't serving under Lu Yong. As a general who could lead an army independently, why were they at a disadvantage?

Xu Sheng then stepped forward, looking at Lu Yong expectantly, and said, "Strategist, I don't want to be in charge alone, I just want to—"

Lu Yong raised his hand, interrupting Xu Sheng, and said, "Soon, Chongwen Academy will open a training course for senior generals. I will teach you everything I know."

Stop clinging to me all the time, go out and gain some experience.

Xu Sheng retreated again.

Zhang Fei then spoke up again, asking, "So, what kind of elite force are you planning to build?"

"We're all family, so there's no harm in telling you." After a moment of contemplation, Lu Yong explained, "I plan to build an elite force of three thousand men, divided into three parts."

"Firstly, there are 1,000 heavily armored infantrymen, clad in full iron armor and carrying large shields and steel swords, who will defend against the enemy head-on."

Secondly, a thousand light cavalrymen, equipped with longbows, crossbows, and sabers, were assigned to cover the flanks or to harass and pursue the enemy.

Thirdly, there are 1,000 crossbowmen, divided into repeating crossbowmen and heavy crossbowmen, for long-range suppression and close-range mowing.

Zhao Yun knew that the thousand cavalrymen were reserved for him.

But he still had a question, so he asked it: "Strategist, mounted archery requires extremely high horsemanship skills from the knights."

To date, there are only a little over two hundred people who can ride and shoot—”

Lu Yong smiled mysteriously and said, "I have a method that can free the knight's hands."

Zhao Yuntong's eyes narrowed slightly, and he was about to ask further, but Lu Yong raised his hand to stop him, saying, "This method cannot be revealed for the time being, otherwise if the enemy learns it, we will be in big trouble."

Zhao Yun cupped his hands in farewell and did not press the matter further, but his heart remained unsettled for a long time.

As the cavalry commander, he naturally knew that the cavalry's biggest weakness was horse control.

Ordinary cavalrymen had to hold the reins in one hand and their weapon in the other, and squeeze their legs tightly against the horse's belly to keep their balance.

To be able to shoot an arrow on horseback, one needs not only years of hard training, but also talent.

If the strategist truly had a way to completely free the knights' hands, then not only would the threshold for mounted archery be greatly lowered, but ordinary soldiers would also be able to master the skill of mounted archery.

In this way, the cavalry's combat power will be improved by more than one level.

While Zhao Yun was filled with excitement, he also hoped that this method could be implemented as soon as possible.

After making some further arrangements, Lu Yong told everyone to go and rest while waiting for news from Wanling. He himself still had a lot of things to deal with after the incident.

Meanwhile, half a month after Wang Lang and Yu Fan set off, they finally arrived at the Wanling area.

By this time, it was already early October.

Wang Lang lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.

The farmland on both sides of the official road stretched as far as the eye could see, and most of the rice had already been harvested, leaving only neat rows of stubble.

A wooden waterwheel sits at the inlet of the canal, turning slowly in the autumn breeze.

Several farmers squatted on the edge of the field to rest, their faces beaming with smiles, appearing incredibly relaxed and peaceful.

Not far away was a village, with wisps of smoke rising from its chimneys, and children chasing and playing at the village entrance.

He saw many barren fields, dilapidated villages, and displaced people.

He had forgotten how many years it had been since he had seen a scene like this.

Yu Fan sat on the other side of the carriage, looking around through the window.

He noticed that every ten miles or so along the official road there was a thatched hut with a large pot under it, steaming hot.

A wooden sign hangs outside the shed, bearing the words "charitable shelter".

There was also a wooden sign hanging next to it that read, "Free tea is provided for travelers, and the elderly and infirm may take a bowl of rice porridge."

As we continued our journey, the closer we got to Wanling, the denser the crowds became.

People thronged the roadside.

Woodcutters carried loads of firewood, peasant women carried baskets of vegetables, and merchants pushed carts—all sorts of people thronged together.

On these people's faces, Wang Lang and Yu Fan saw genuine smiles and eyes full of hope and longing.

Just then, a group of children ran past the carriage.

As a string of silvery laughter rang out, a children's rhyme also followed: "Governor of Yuzhou, the Holy Ruler Liu, since his arrival, the people have prospered."

Yu Fan stared blankly at the backs of the group of children, remaining motionless for a long time.

Wang Lang silently lowered the carriage curtain and muttered softly, "The one who can restore the Han Dynasty is none other than this man!"