Chapter 825: Borrowing Grain

On the loess land, a team of more than 300 people walked sparsely. On the flank of the team, a knight in rags rode on a tall horse, swaying with the undulations of the horse."

Finally, someone couldn't help but come over, bowed and saluted and asked: "Army Commander, are we really going north to Liaodong?"

"Otherwise what? Except for the Western Regions, the grasslands, Liaodong, and Nanyue, is there any place in the world for us to settle down? The Western Regions are ten thousand miles away, the grassland barbarians have war horses to help, how can our commoner farmers compete? Nanyue is not weaker than the Western Regions, and it is also thousands of miles away, and there is miasma, the language is difficult to communicate, and the customs are different. I am afraid that before we run to Nanyue, we will all be killed by the Han army."

"Only Liaodong is close, with the danger of mountains and rivers, which can block the invading enemy. The Fuyu barbarians do not understand education, do not know etiquette, bully the weak and fear the strong. We only need to beat the barbarians, then we can trade, earn wealth, enrich our brothers, and have no worries from now on. What we worry about is just that the Northeast is a bitter cold place, but our brothers are united, what is there to fear about a little cold? Now my brothers are separated from their families, keeping their lives, arriving in Liaodong, I will be the master, settle new homes for you, marry new wives, and give birth to seven or eight children, pass on the family line, and establish a family temple again, isn't it beautiful."

Wang Yan said very loudly, explaining the necessity of going to the Northeast to the Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers under his command, and took the opportunity to promise a condition."

When the Yellow Turban Army fights, they all move with their families. Men fight, and the old, women, and children wait for the victory fruit after the fight. It is good to win the battle, but now the imperial court organizes the army to suppress the Yellow Turbans. After only a few battles, the wave raised by the Yellow Turbans was shattered, like flowers in the water and moon in the mirror, and the Yellow Turban Army was beaten and fled in all directions. In such a situation, the family can't take care of it, and they were all scattered early."

In this era, if the family is separated, it can basically be determined that they will never see each other in this life. Not to mention that this group of Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers did not actively separate, but were scattered by the imperial court. They were all spoils of war. They were either sent back to their original household registration or sold to local powerful families. It won't be long before they will form a new family. From beginning to end, only land and population are the most important. This is the truth that the powerful families realized early. If you want to find someone again, it is really difficult."

Now he already has prestige, killed the original leader, and killed two small leaders who were looking for trouble, and organized these Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers to set up a posture of fighting to the death, which kept their lives, and also instilled great fighting ideals into them, so naturally there was trust."

People in this era are like this. Whoever can let them eat full meals, they follow whoever. Although Wang Yan hasn't let them eat full meals yet, and even Wang Yan himself is hungry, he showed that he treats these Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers as people, so it's easy to talk. Just follow and see. Anyway, they can't go, and they dare not go, so they can only follow Wang Yan to the end."

They have walked for several hours. Wang Yan has said everything that should be said, and also understood some situations. This is the first battle of Liu, Guan, and Zhang pulling up the team to join Liu Yan. The leader of this group of Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers is Cheng Yuanzhi, the Yellow Turban general who was split by Guan Yu with one knife. This place is near Zhuo County, and Cheng Yuanzhi's army was broken by Liu, Guan, and Zhang."

At this time, a group of commanders such as Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, etc., are leading troops to beat Zhang Jiao's main force, chasing the Yellow Turban main force all over the ground. It is mainly because the combat effectiveness of the peasant army is much worse than that of the Han army, and the Yellow Turbans have no high-level commanders, the level of fighting is worse, and the military equipment is also worse. It is normal to lose."

And in these few hours, Wang Yan reorganized the team again."

The Yellow Turban Army has thirty-six channel commanders, the big ones have tens of thousands, and the small ones have thousands. Under this, the military system is about the same as the Han army, five people per squad, ten people per platoon, fifty people per team, one hundred people per battalion, two hundred people per regiment, and the highest military officer of this regiment is the so-called army commander. When it reaches this point, generally speaking, it is a direct dialogue with the channel commander, and the number of troops commanded is not fixed."

Wang Yan's imperial system was born out of the Ming Dynasty's guard system, combined with the system of the company he led, and the system of modern China, and after continuous improvement, it was integrated into a set of Wang imperial political and military system. It can govern the country or the company. So he didn't come up with new ideas, after all, it was already very perfect."

It's just that the team was reorganized. Ten people per group, with positive and deputy team leaders, one hundred people per team, with positive and deputy battalion commanders. These 328 people are enough here. He directly commands six positive and deputy battalion commanders, and the remaining 28 people are incorporated into the guard team, responsible for guarding Wang Yan and scouting enemy conditions. These 28 people are considered the top martial arts among these Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers. Their only eight horses were given to these people, and the battalion commanders were all walking."

And above the battalion commander, it is to command five hundred people, a proper general officer. The next level is the legion set up by combining the Seventeen Guards of the Ming Dynasty, such as Wu De Guard, Longxiang Guard, Baotao Guard, Feixiong Guard, etc. Each guard is full of 5,000 people. The person who commands the troops is not an ordinary general officer, but a proper title general. Of course, it is not just these seventeen. It's just a name, and there are as many as you want."

For small-scale battles, one legion can solve the problem. For large-scale battles, it is to dispatch various departments, combined by high-level commanders who have fought from the bottom step by step and understand the operation mode of the army, to form tens of thousands of people. On weekdays, these legions are scattered across the country to guard the local area. There is also a perfect supervision and logistics system, so that the soldiers only know the general, but not his Wang Emperor."

In addition, there is a standing army with a larger scale of tens of thousands of people, which is another set of modes, mainly to adapt to changes. For example, this time, Wang Yan intends to change the title of the general officer. It is very important to localize titles like school captain, governor, general of the middle, etc."

As for the official system, the Eastern Han Dynasty court implemented the Three Lords and Nine Ministers system, and the local area followed the Qin Dynasty's county system, calculating the rank according to the salary, which is what is often called the two-thousand-stone official."

Changing this salary into rank, that is, the rank of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and changing it into the level of modern times is the same. It doesn't matter if it's a deputy section level, it's a minor official, and if it's a deputy section level, it's a ninth-rank official. Anyway, it's just that meaning."

The change of the official system, no matter how it changes, is to improve efficiency, and more to centralize power. The Wang imperial system may indeed have a certain degree of advancement, but that's about it. Now Wang Yan and a group of Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers are still in a state of exile, have not yet had a place to stand, and talking about the official system is a later matter..."

Now in the Mobile Corps Commander area, there are troops everywhere, not Yellow Turbans, but Han troops, and there are also rangers who have not joined the Yellow Turbans in various places, that is, idle people who do not do their proper jobs. Some are really for righteousness, and some are hooligans. During this war, many people do evil, burning, killing, and looting is just common."

Of course, this kind of small-scale ranger organization is not in the eyes of Wang Yan and others. After all, that is sending weapons to them, but they still have to hide from the Yellow Turbans and the Han army. If they encounter the Yellow Turbans, they will definitely be wrapped up to continue fighting, and if they encounter the Han army, they will be chased and hacked, and they must cut off half of the people's heads to save some merit."

Therefore, this group of Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers did not walk along the main road, but specifically walked on rugged small roads, and also sent out scouts to investigate the situation to seize the opportunity to escape their lives."

Near evening, the scouts sent out reported: "Report to the Army Commander, ahead is the boundary of Anci. Ten miles away, there is a dock fortress. Looking from afar, it is large. I am afraid there are no less than a thousand people inside."

A dock fortress is a defensive fortification built by powerful landlords in order to protect themselves in troubled times. As long as the big gate is closed, outsiders can't do anything about it. And powerful landlords have family wealth and a lot of grain storage. Even if they are surrounded for two or three months, it doesn't matter."

In fact, what this scout said is not accurate, because powerful landlords live in clans, plus tenant farmers, private slaves, and local property-owning farmers, which can reach thousands or tens of thousands of people. If it weren't for this, they wouldn't gather in the fortress to defend themselves. If the scale is small, they can't defend; if the scale is large, they can't afford it. They are all this scale of thousands or tens of thousands of people, which also represents the powerful forces of powerful landlords to a certain extent. After all, people can easily pull out a thousand armored strong men. Although it is not a proper military armor, it is a private cast armor, or even rattan armor, bamboo armor, leather armor, etc., which is much stronger than ordinary soil bandits and refugees without armor. Not to mention that strong men will also organize military training from time to time, and they will have a certain combat effectiveness when they are pulled out. Ordinary people can't do anything about these people."

Wang Yan thought for a while, then patted the scout on the shoulder: "Zhao Yu, well done. You go and explore again, pay great attention to the large troops of the Yellow Turbans and the Han army. Our brothers are exhausted, and we must not act rashly and delay our brothers' lives."

"Yes, Army Commander." Zhao Yu clenched his fist and hammered his chest with a bang. This is the military salute set by Wang Yan, which is to show strength. As for the name 'Zhao Yu', it was naturally given by Wang Yan. It is not just this Zhao Yu, more than 300 people, he changed more than 200 names."

Seeing the scouts leave, the battalion commander who asked Wang Yan if he was really going to Liaodong came over to lead the horse for Wang Yan and said: "Army Commander, our brothers have traveled sixty or seventy miles from Zhuo County, and the brothers are all thirsty and empty in their stomachs. We should make plans early."

He was originally named Zhang Wu, and Wang Yan changed his name to Zhang Wu."

"We will stop after walking another ten miles. You also heard what Zhao Yu said just now. The grain and grass for the next few days will depend on the powerful landlords in the dock fortress ahead." Wang Yan followed the undulations of the horse, smiling, and his language was very relaxed."

Zhang Wu was shocked: "Is the Army Commander going to attack the dock fortress ahead? Army Commander, no, our bare hands..."

"Don't panic, how can I not know that the dock fortress is difficult to attack? Our more than 300 people, trying to break through, is really a daydream."

"Then what is the Army Commander..."

"I will talk to the fortress owner to borrow grain. I believe he will definitely not make things difficult for us. In this way, his dock fortress is safe, and my brothers are full. This is a win-win situation."

Looking at the confident appearance of the new boss, Zhang Wu opened his mouth, but didn't say anything more. Although he felt that the Army Commander was having a disease and talking nonsense, the Army Commander was moody and had high martial arts. It was better to close his mouth for what shouldn't be said. He didn't want his head to be smashed. Anyway, he concluded that the powerful families in the dock fortress would definitely not come out to fight, and they wouldn't starve to death if they were hungry for one night. So whatever the Army Commander said, he would just wait and see how the Army Commander borrowed grain."

The basic quality of these Yellow Turban miscellaneous soldiers is certainly not good, but the will to run for their lives is definitely not bad. They fought a defeat in the morning, were chased and hacked by Liu Bei, and then were pulled by Wang Yan to march urgently, walking for half a day. The distance from the previous location is about 24 or 25 kilometers. Zhang Wu's sixty or seventy miles is exaggerated, but it is quite good compared to this group of scattered soldiers."

This day, they only ate a full meal before the battle in the morning, and haven't eaten a bite of food until now. On the way, they only caught a few small rivers and rested to drink water a few times. They didn't even go to the village, mainly fearing that their whereabouts would be exposed and they would encounter large troops to chase and block."

Now this team has no combat effectiveness, and they are all hungry and dizzy, but they can still walk. It is all because they fear the Army Commander Wang, and Wang Yan hasn't eaten either, so they are sharing difficulties. Besides, there are a few horses. If it really doesn't work, they can kill them for meat. So although they are very hungry, they have a bottom in their hearts. Although there is some resentment, it is not worth mentioning."

The last ten miles were very difficult. When a group of people were panting and dying over a hill slope, a large building appeared in front of everyone."

With the faint light of the starry night, I saw that on the plain, among the fields, a few lights were unusually bright. Rammed earth high walls, dense black shadows of buildings inside, high buildings inside, corner towers at the four corners, and vaguely visible straight roads, as if it were a miniature county town."

"Army Commander."

A battalion commander subconsciously greeted Wang Yan. He is the backbone. The words about borrowing grain were known to more than 300 people. Now looking at the big fortress below, they were all disappointed. Fighting is certainly impossible. People shrink in the fortress, and they can't do anything about it."

Wang Yan obviously felt the low morale and laughed: "Brothers, don't worry, just follow me to the distance of an arrow from the dock fortress, and see how I borrow grain."

After saying that, he lightly knocked the horse's belly and drove the horse forward. The other small miscellaneous soldiers looked at each other, and one by one followed behind, silently pressing towards the dock fortress."

A large group of dense shadows approached under the starry night. Although the ancients were mostly night-blind, this night of bright stars and sparse moon, not to mention the powerful landlord's family, the family soldiers responsible for observation and warning must not be night-blind."

Without accident, everyone revealed their figures, pressing forward in black. After a long time, the bell rang on the watchtower. This sound was melodious, but its frequent knocking became noisy. Soon, black shadows were clustered on the city wall of the dock fortress, and noisy sounds came from inside the fortress."

Wang Yan led the army to the distance of an arrow, and a few white-feathered arrows drew beautiful arcs, fell in front of him, and plunged into the land. It was really the distance of an arrow."

With a wry smile, Wang Yan didn't look back and waved his hand to stop the team, saying: "Brothers, rest here for a while. Those with weapons in front, in case of sudden changes. I will go forward to borrow grain alone. You don't be anxious, I will go and return."

After saying that, he rode out of the formation alone.

At this moment, although he was still in rags and his feet were still straw sandals, he already had a light leather armor on his body, and his weapons were on both sides of his waist, a curved knife and an eight-sided Han sword. The knife was snatched before, and the armor and sword were stripped from the old superior who was sent away without saying a word."

Tat-tat-tat-tat, the horse's hooves stepped on the sandy loess land, and the Army Commander Wang Yan went alone towards the towering dock fortress. Looking from afar, he didn't feel it, but looking closely, the city wall of this dock fortress was very high, perhaps two zhang, about six meters in two thousand years."

"Who are you, and what are you planning?" On the high wall, someone shouted loudly."

"I am the Yellow Turban Army Commander. My army was defeated in Zhuo County, and I drifted here with 328 brothers. Looking at the powerful families from afar, I came to visit. What I plan is nothing more than some weapons, grain, and horses. I borrow from the powerful families, and in a year, the powerful families can go to Liaodong to do business. I will definitely provide convenience to the powerful families and return the grain, soldiers, and horses."

Wang Yan raised his head and shouted loudly. This sound was strong and connected to the lungs, and the oral cavity and brain resonated. The sound was like a galloping thunder, really magnificent."

After his voice fell, everything was silent. Only the miscellaneous soldiers 200 meters behind were noisy, and there was no sound on the high wall."

After a while, one person burst into laughter on the wall, followed by the laughter of dozens of people. They laughed at this boy under the city who didn't know his weight, and dared to run here to shout. It was really bold."

The person in charge shouted: "Yellow Turban defeated soldiers, just like dogs, how dare you come to my Chen Family Fortress to be presumptuous, do you really think my Chen Family is easy to bully?"

Before long, Wang Yan heard a noise. After half a quarter of an hour, the heavy heavy gate welded with fine iron slowly pulled inward. The light of the torches reflected the faces of the knights in the front row, and the shadows were clustered behind, with thousands of soldiers."

Wang Yan laughed loudly, which was exactly what he wanted."

Powerful landlords are not easy to bully, otherwise how could this huge dock fortress be built. Wang Yan didn't bring many troops, and the powerful families were strong and powerful, so how could they tolerate Wang Yan's boy being presumptuous. They might not understand the battlefield situation, but it is also reasonable to send some people to pay attention to the situation around them. They must have discovered the whereabouts of Wang Yan and others early. For this encounter, they were even more prepared."

If not, this powerful family would definitely not dare to take the initiative to attack. How could they have to be a turtle for two days to see the reality. After all, if Wang Yan's department was a bait, just to open the gate of the dock fortress, what should they do? That would really be a clan extermination."

Zhang Jiao is very fierce. At the beginning of the uprising, he slaughtered many powerful families. Hundreds of thousands of people moved together. This dock fortress is just a small sampan, which can be destroyed with a flick of a finger. It is already awesome to be able to hold on for two hours."

If it were otherwise, these local magnates certainly wouldn't have dared to take the initiative to attack; they would have had to play the turtle for two days to test the reality of the situation. After all, what if Wang Yan's troops were just bait, meant only to trick them into opening the fortress gates? That would truly mean the annihilation of their entire clan.

Zhang Jiao was quite fierce; at the start of the uprising, he slaughtered many local magnates. With hundreds of thousands of people moving together, this fortress was nothing more than a small sampan; it could be destroyed with a flick of a finger. If they could hold out for two hours, that would be considered impressive.

Without waiting for the enemy to attack, the laughing Wang Yan suddenly drew his curved saber and Han sword, tightened his grip on the horse's flanks, and launched a fierce charge toward the Chen family army opposite him.

As the saying goes, high skill makes for a bold heart. In a fight within this kind of gatehouse, if they could even break a layer of Wang Mou's skin, he would consider himself the loser.

The miscellaneous soldiers in the rear, who were still discussing whether the military officer could borrow grain, fell silent. Although the distance was great and their vision poor, they could still see the figure of the military officer getting further and further away. Before long, the sounds of shouting and killing came from the distance.

Everyone stood there blankly, looking at one another.

"Has the military officer killed his way in?"

"I suppose so?"

Everyone accepted this fact and remained quiet for a while longer. The scout Zhao Yu vaulted onto his horse, and with a *clang*, drew his saber from its sheath: "The military officer borrowed grain for us brothers, and now he is trapped in the enemy formation; how can we sit by and watch? Those with weapons, follow me and charge! Whether we live or die, we leave it to fate."

Having said this, he galloped away, following in the footsteps of the military officer to slaughter his way toward the fortress.

After Zhao Yu, everyone gritted their teeth and tightened the cloth strips around their waists—whether they would be eating well or drinking fine wine depended on this one attempt—and one by one, they picked up their weapons and charged over. Even those without weapons were infected by the atmosphere and followed along, heads down, charging together.

Wang Yan was naturally aware of the commotion in the rear. As brothers in adversity, they hadn't watched him, their leader, go off to die alone, but had actually run over to save him. Not bad, not bad at all.

In fact, he really didn't need anyone to save him; after all, he was currently inside the gatehouse, and he had blocked all the people of the Chen fortress inside. Although there might be many soldiers in the rear, the people in front were only facing four or five of him at any given time. In this short while, the cavalry in the front row had already been mostly killed by him.

He didn't believe there was an army that wouldn't rout at a time like this, and besides, these people were just private soldiers of local magnates who had received some training. Although the martial spirit of the Great Han was strong and the folk customs were relatively simple, and this was a battle to defend their homes, they still had some fighting spirit, but it was nothing more than that.

He, Wang Mou, was perfectly matched to the martial power values of the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. Even Zhang Fei would only last one move under his hand; how could these people be his match for even a single round?

He just wanted to borrow some grain; why did it have to come to this...