The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Little did Liu Yan know that Guan Yu was currently training new recruits at the drill ground. Upon hearing that he was to be entertained at the governor's mansion, he coldly replied, "I only know how to train soldiers, not how to socialize."

Zhang Fei was even more decisive. He grabbed his whip and stormed into the vanguard camp, declaring, "I'm not going to see that old fox."

Liu Yan wasn't annoyed that his attempt to poach Liu Bei failed. After all, Liu Bei had already acknowledged him as his uncle, and the army was ultimately still under his control.

He immediately waved his hand generously and said:

"Since that's the case, then so be it. There are still several remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion causing trouble within Youzhou. I will allocate another three thousand shi of grain and five hundred sets of armor to you. You shall immediately lead your troops to conquer and wipe out these rebels!"

"Thank you, Uncle!" Liu Bei bowed again in gratitude, overjoyed.

As they left the governor's mansion, the two exchanged a glance and saw smiles in each other's eyes.

"Fourth brother, you are truly insightful," Liu Bei said in a low voice. "Liu Yan really wanted to win over Second and Third Brothers, but fortunately we were prepared."

"But won't this jeopardize my second and third brothers' futures?"

Li Chang frowned, turned around and looked directly into Liu Bei's eyes, his expression more serious than ever before:

"Brother! You mustn't say such things again! What do you take us for? Do you only care about your future and not about brotherhood?"

Without my elder brother's future, what kind of future is this?

"Fourth Brother!" Liu Bei's eyes widened, immediately welling up with tears. He was deeply moved and bowed his head deeply. "I, your elder brother, have misspoke! I will never let you down in this life!"

Li Chang helped Liu Bei up: "Brother, alright. Now the key is that we've secured the supplies and armor, and we have a legitimate reason to launch our attack. Next, we should carefully plan our march."

The two hurried back to the military camp and immediately summoned Guan Yu and Zhang Fei for a meeting.

Inside the large tent, the four men sat together. After Liu Bei finished relaying Liu Yan's orders, he looked at Li Chang and asked, "Fourth brother, where do you think we should attack first?"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei both looked at Li Chang.

After the previous training, the first battle, and the reorganization of prisoners, they had long since gained complete faith in their fourth brother's strategies and were used to listening to his opinions first in everything.

Li Chang dipped his finger in tea and drew a map of Youzhou on the table, then said in a deep voice:

"What I mean is, north first, then south. First, attack the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Guangyang and Yuyang counties north of Zhuojun, then head west into Changshan State, and finally head south to wipe out the rebels on the border of Jizhou."

Zhang Fei scratched his head, puzzled, and asked, "Fourth Brother, the Yellow Turbans to the south are closer to us, why don't we attack the south first?"

Li Chang smiled and explained, "Although the Yellow Turbans in the south are nearby, they are numerous and powerful, and they are close to the main force of Ji Province. If we fight them head-on, we will suffer heavy losses."

The Yellow Turbans in the north are mostly scattered and weak, so we can quickly take them down, using the battle as training grounds while accumulating merits to expand our forces.

As Liu Bei thought of something, he added, "Zhuojun is our hometown. Pacifying the north first will stabilize our rear, prevent us from being attacked from both sides, and also protect our hometown people from the Yellow Turban invasion."

Li Chang nodded and pointed in the direction of Changshan Kingdom:

"More importantly, I observed the celestial phenomena last night and it appears that a great general will be born in Changshan Kingdom. If we can recruit him into our ranks, our strength will increase significantly, and the Yellow Turbans will have a great help in our future conquest of the world."

"A peerless warrior?" Guan Yu's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Who is Fourth Brother talking about? How does he compare to me and Third Brother?"

"Second Brother, Third Brother, don't be impatient." Li Chang kept everyone in suspense. "You'll know when we get to Changshan. This man's martial arts skills are no less than yours, and he's equally loyal and brave. He's exactly the kind of person we need."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of excitement crossed Liu Bei's eyes. He knew all too well that a thousand soldiers were easy to find, but a good general was hard to come by, and quickly replied:

"In that case, let's do as Fourth Brother says! First north, then south, then down to Changshan!"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn't ask any more questions and nodded in agreement. Their fourth brother had never lied to them; if he said there was a peerless warrior, then there must be.

With the agreement reached, the four immediately began preparations for their expedition.

Three days later, the army officially set off.

On the drill ground, eight thousand soldiers had assembled.

Four thousand core troops stood in neat square formations, their swords and spears gleaming, exuding a murderous aura.

A thousand vanguard soldiers stood at the front, all dejected, yet dared not make the slightest move. Zhang Fei stood before them, whip in hand, his eyes fierce enough to devour a man.

Three thousand auxiliary soldiers followed behind, pushing supply carts and carrying tents. Although their equipment was rudimentary, they maintained good order.

Standing on the command platform, Liu Bei looked down at the well-disciplined troops below, full of vigor and high spirits, and proclaimed:

"Soldiers! Today we march to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion, restore the Han Dynasty, and save the people from their suffering! Those who achieve merit will be rewarded! Those who desert in battle will be executed!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The four thousand soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens and even startling the distant birds into scattering in all directions.

Just then, Li Chang frowned and noticed a problem.

"Brother, wait a moment." He walked quickly to Liu Bei's side and whispered.

"Three thousand auxiliary soldiers are too few. We brought so much food, weapons, tents, and siege equipment; three thousand men simply can't transport it all. Besides, we need to set up camp, boil water, and cook along the way, so we simply don't have enough manpower."

As expected, this was the first time leading a large army on a long journey, and there was not enough experience. What he had learned in his previous life was too general and theoretical.

They don't even know the specific route or the corresponding ratio of combat troops to auxiliary troops!

Liu Bei was taken aback and quickly looked at the troops. Sure enough, he found that the auxiliary soldiers were all carrying heavy supplies and panting heavily.

"What should we do?" Liu Bei asked anxiously. "We don't have any extra manpower."

Li Chang glanced at the vanguard battalion and the newly incorporated prisoner-of-war camp beside him, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"I've got it! Let the vanguard battalion and the prisoner axe battalion that Second Brother just brought serve as auxiliary troops, taking turns carrying supplies and setting up camp. They're idle anyway, so it's good to let them do some work."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei immediately clapped his hands and cheered, "Great idea! These bastards should be made to do more work! Anyone who dares to slack off, I'll beat him!"

Guan Yu nodded in agreement: "Fourth Brother is absolutely right. Letting them redeem themselves through meritorious service is better than keeping them around for nothing. As for my new Axe and Sword Battalion, they are still a long way from being ready for the battlefield."

Liu Bei immediately ordered that the two thousand men from the vanguard and the prisoner-of-war camp be temporarily added to the auxiliary troops.

When the soldiers of the vanguard camp heard that they were to be forced into hard labor, their faces turned green. But seeing the whip in Zhang Fei's hand, none of them dared to utter a word of dissent. They could only obediently carry the supplies and follow behind the auxiliary troops.

After a moment's thought, Li Chang decided to spare some conscience and issued the order again:

"Auxiliary soldiers transporting supplies can also be considered meritorious! Accumulate enough and they can be promoted to combat soldiers, enjoying the same treatment as combat soldiers: two meals a day! Meat once every seven days!"

"Ugh!"

"good!"

"Thank you, strategist! Thank you, three generals!"

The auxiliary troops were overjoyed; they seemed to see hope for the future.

Seeing this, Li Chang sighed. People in this era really have a hard time. They are so easily satisfied with just one more meal.

But... so many people have fallen on the road to this extra meal.

In the auxiliary troops camp, Jian Yong felt a mixture of admiration for Li Chang's benevolence and resentment.

Alright, his workload is going to increase! And his conscience won't allow him to refuse!