Chapter 827

As the troop grew, the organization naturally had to expand. Previously, Wang Yan had led as a Military Commandant, but now with fifteen hundred soldiers, that title was no longer appropriate. Thus, while on horseback, Wang Yan self-appointed himself as the Grand General of Heavenly Martialness.

History records: At that time, the Emperor walked the wild paths of Anci, gathering hundreds of remnants of the Yellow Turbans. The Emperor, dressed in a green shirt and straw sandals, stood on horseback with his hands behind his back and said to the army, "From this day forth, I am the Grand General of Heavenly Martialness. You shall address me as General."

At that moment, a fierce wind blew, muffled thunder rolled across the sky, birds fled in panic, and both men and horses were startled. Only the Emperor looked up and asked the heavens, "Am I not fit to be an emperor?" Once he finished speaking, the sky returned to normal, and the Emperor began his quest for hegemony...

After self-appointing as Grand General, he established the new positions of primary and secondary Military Commandants above the hundred-man commanders. Since a Military Commandant leads five hundred soldiers, he added the role of Military Adjutant to oversee military discipline and manage logistics. This position had some functions similar to a political commissar, but for now, they only assisted the Military Commandant in leading troops. The Military Commandant was the primary person responsible for these five hundred soldiers, followed by the Military Adjutant, and then the Deputy Military Commandant.

In the future, their authority might be increased to stand on equal footing with military commanders, but not now. The main issue was that the people under him lacked education and awareness; excessive power would only give them improper ideas and affect the troop's combat effectiveness. He needed to occupy a region and establish a base before he could properly manage military affairs. For now, there was only one prerequisite: drill the troops, fight battles, and improve combat effectiveness.

Over fifteen hundred men was already quite a lot. Although half of them had discarded their weapons while fleeing, over a thousand men could still be called a mighty force.

Therefore, Wang Yan decided to stop taking small paths and instead take the main roads. Although this was a severely affected area for the Yellow Turbans, the main battlefield still revolved around the three Zhang brothers, primarily in Jizhou. The remaining small factions were everywhere; after all, the Yellow Turbans had risen in response across various provinces, and their organization was not tight, being very scattered.

Even after the Yellow Turbans were extinguished, successive uprisings remained common, and a considerable portion of them still fought under the Huang Jin banner. Other rebel armies were also influenced by the Yellow Turbans to varying degrees.

Now, Wang Yan led his troops through Yuyang Commandery. This territory roughly corresponded to the area east of future Langfang, west of Tang Shan, north of Tianjin, and reaching parts of the Yan Mountains in the north. Occasionally, there were routed soldiers who had been crushed, as well as troops dispatched south by Liu Yan, but for Wang Yan, they were not worth worrying about.

To speak irresponsibly, even if they encountered a large force of ten thousand men, with Wang Yan leading the charge, victory was not impossible. And even if defeated, Wang Yan could certainly escape, and raising another troop would be a simple matter. For example, Old Cao was defeated and forced to flee in disarray more than once, left with only a few men by his side, chased and hacked at by others. After escaping death, he repeatedly raised new troops to fight for the world again.

Moreover, troop mobilization was not that easy. Ten thousand men moving in a scattered, disorganized way was almost impossible; there were no commanders that stupid.

In ancient military campaigns, mobilizing an army of ten thousand required thousands of civilian laborers for logistics, as well as troops to protect the transport of grain. These people did not travel with the main force. Either the grain went first, or it was escorted slowly at the rear. The simplest logic was that if a chance encounter occurred, the grain would not be entirely lost.

The remaining thousands also had to be divided into several units, the so-called vanguard and rearguard, separated by several or even dozens of miles, with scouts—what would be called reconnaissance soldiers two thousand years later—traveling even further ahead.

Breaking it down further, the army had various specialized units: selecting sites for camps, chopping wood, digging pits to cook, watering horses, and feeding them—all these were done by specialized personnel. In short, this path of warfare required considering eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, and movement, and even more importantly, the safety of the entire troop and mutual support between units.

It was not as simple as pulling someone up to command troops in battle. Setting aside the details of marching, just moving from one place to another over a hundred miles, being able to bring the entire army without losing a single person was already the mark of a very capable figure. In fact, during ancient marches, stragglers, those who got lost, and those who deserted were everywhere.

Even though Grand General Wang already had fifteen hundred soldiers under his command, he did not have the entire army move together. Instead, he divided them into vanguard, center, and rearguard, separated by ten miles. The center force of five hundred carried the grain, logistics, and wounded; the vanguard of five hundred cleared the path; and twenty scouts were scattered thirty miles ahead. By evening, the vanguard was responsible for chopping wood and cooking. The rearguard of five hundred brought up the rear, with another twenty scouts fifteen miles behind to prevent being ambushed from the back.

Wang Yan moved between the three armies from time to time, chatting and communicating with people along the way, practicing marching in step, and passing on knowledge to the Military Commandants and other military officers about how to lead troops and fight battles. The overall marching speed was determined by the center logistics force. Every quarter of an hour, communication riders would come and go to report the situation to Wang Yan, until the horses' legs were worn thin.

Furthermore, when two armies faced each other, there was the saying "defeated like a collapsing mountain," meaning once the unit was broken, the entire army would scatter. This was a matter involving a combination of factors: soldier quality, the general's ability, and battlefield conditions. Excluding combat situations, in a pure battle between two armies, one side might collapse as soon as they engaged, or both sides might fight until blood flowed like a river, with eighty or ninety percent of the men gone, yet still fight to the death.

Looking at the overall level of the Three Kingdoms, those capable of withstanding high combat losses without collapsing were mostly special units that people loved to talk about, such as Gongsun Zan's White Horse Yi Cong, Ju Yi's Vanguard Death Squad, Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Liu Bei's White Ear Soldiers, and Lu Bu's Trap-Breaking Battalion.

In summary, the thousand-plus men led by Wang Yan, with the added bonus of his personal martial prowess, had few rivals. If there truly were opportunities for large-scale field battles, his troops would only grow stronger with every fight.

But unfortunately, there were no opportunities for major battles along this path. Aside from Huang Jin remnants of various sizes that swelled his ranks, there were only some Han army units of a few hundred or a thousand men that delivered weapons and grain.

This grain was certainly not enough for the army's consumption, but with an army in hand, why worry about grain? There were only two types of resources: population and land. With population, there was land; with land, there was population; and with land, there was production.

What was the nature of Wang Yan's troop? Up to now, they still operated under the name of the Yellow Turbans, without their own power or title. And what were the Yellow Turbans? Rebels. Then they certainly had to do what rebels were supposed to do, such as looting.

Especially now that the troop was growing, whenever they encountered a fortified manor along the way, they would inevitably surround the gate and demand grain and supplies. Just as Grand General Wang had previously taught his subordinates, they would not ask for too much, so as not to let the numerous innocent people inside the manor starve. They basically demanded grain based on the size of the manor; as for horses, silk, and the like, they would open their mouths wide.

If they did not comply, they would besiege the manor. Grand General Wang would personally lead the charge, hold the breach, expand the advantage, and thus break through from the inside out. He would judge the crimes of the powerful clans, seize the books they had accumulated, finally take away the wealth and tools the clans had gathered, and then take away many people from the manor who came to join them. In any case, if it was useful, he would take everything, leaving only grain, seeds, and some farm tools and oxen for the people in the manor. It was equivalent to a measured process of attacking the local tyrants and dividing the land.

It was just that the fruits of victory could not be preserved. After they left, after a period of struggle within the manor, a new powerful clan would inevitably emerge, but the foundation had already been looted by Wang Yan. After accumulating for some time, if they caught a few good harvest years, they would flourish again. It seemed to be an unbreakable cycle; there were always people who wanted to stand on the heads of the people.

Besides sweeping through manors and coercing the population, Wang Yan would also lead his troops to attack county towns. Now that the Yellow Turbans were causing trouble everywhere, there were not many soldiers in the county towns. He did not even need to lead the charge himself; after some of his howling soldiers died, the city would be broken.

Since he had added Military Adjutants, military discipline naturally had to be strict, and not offending the people was the most basic requirement. Of course, the "people" Wang Yan spoke of were the commoners, farmers, and servants, not the officials, wealthy households, and powerful clans—those were the "people" in the mouths of the scholar-officials.

Entering the city to loot the treasury, raiding the homes of the wealthy, and taking all usable supplies—these were all for settling down in Liaodong later. After all, the land of Liaodong had not yet been developed. Later, Gongsun Du would occupy Liaodong, subdue the surrounding barbarians, and only then develop the land of Liaodong. In this regard, Gongsun Du could be considered a pioneer, and the position he held gave him merit in the eyes of the Huaxia.

Of course, Gongsun Du was not yet the Administrator of Liaodong at this time. Later, after Dong Zhuo came to power, he was appointed Administrator of Liaodong. The process was unknown, only that a friend had strongly recommended him, but one could imagine that money had been used. After all, when Dong Zhuo was in power, the places he could command were only Hedong Commandery and Bingzhou. This was before Dong Zhuo entered the capital, the places he ruled. In reality, his main base was only Hedong Commandery. His rule over Bingzhou was slightly weaker; the Inspector of Bingzhou was Ding Yuan, who had a good son named Lu Bu...

Therefore, his appointments of others could only be nominal; in reality, without ability, it was all in vain. This was the same logic as the secretary buying the position of county magistrate in "Let the Bullets Fly." That was why Gongsun Du operated to become the Administrator of his hometown; his family had influence.

At this time, Gongsun Du was either studying in the Central Plains or acting as a local tyrant in his Liaodong hometown, developing his family and accumulating power. This kid would never have imagined that someone was leading a troop of tens of thousands, having looted construction supplies, and was heading straight to kill in his hometown.

Yes, after much time had passed, the combat soldiers under Wang Yan already numbered over twenty-three thousand, and the women, elderly, and children had reached over fifty thousand. Along the way, they had destroyed many powerful clans and broken four county towns. They were all people Wang Yan had half-coaxed and half-coerced into leaving. In addition, while marching, Wang Yan constantly sent out troops to search for Huang Jin remnants and the families they brought with them, capturing them to join the troop. It was hard not to grow.

For this reason, the organization was updated. Above the Military Commandant, positions like primary and secondary Commandant were established, as well as Military Chief Clerk. The Military Chief Clerk was the superior of the Military Adjutant, both responsible for supervising military discipline and leading logistics. The Commandant led three armies, that is, fifteen hundred men. A full complement of fifteen hundred was a constraint; the actual troop strength could reach two thousand. After all, once a unit reached a thousand men, there were more functions in the army, as well as the Commandant's own personal troops, and so on.

Above the Commandant were primary and secondary Colonel positions, with titles, named after the unit they commanded. For example, at this time, Wang Yan organized four guards: Mighty, Vast-Mighty, Flourishing-Mighty, and Heroic-Mighty. Their military commanders were the Mighty Colonel, Vast-Mighty Colonel, and so on. Additionally, a Military Sima was established as the superior of the Military Chief Clerk, with the same functions, and was also the second-in-command of a guard. One guard led three Commandants, originally said to have a full complement of five thousand, but in reality, it could reach seven thousand soldiers.

Originally, the positions of Colonel, Commandant, and General of the Household were all bestowed, not transferred, indicating that these three positions were of high rank and heavy authority, with a salary equivalent to two thousand shi, proper high-ranking officials. However, when it came to Wang Yan, whatever he said went. In any case, he was just using the official titles of the Han Dynasty to build his own military system. He could even change Colonel to "Dog," and with a title, it would be "Mighty Dog," and what would be the big deal?

In any case, as long as it was a military officer with real power commanding seven thousand men, who would care if it was "Dog"? Even if someone dared to complain that "Dog" was not a good name, they would probably be hacked to death. A name was just a code; it represented actual power.

Above that was Wang Yan, the rebel leader who self-appointed himself Grand General of Heavenly Martialness. By this point, only his personal command could make it work; otherwise, it wasn't even a question of whether his subordinates wanted to rebel against him, but that they couldn't even lead the troops.

He, the Grand General of Heavenly Martialness commanding over twenty thousand troops, now had to directly command Military Commandants in battle, skipping three full levels—this was a military taboo. But there was no other way; the Colonels and Commandants were all incapable of the responsibility. Letting them lead troops out to fight was just sending them to their deaths.

He had no capable people under him, and because of the special timing, they had expanded too rapidly. Anyone under him who knew how to read was basically an official. There was truly no one capable of handling things alone, so Grand General Wang had to do the work himself. After so much time, his originally clean face was covered in stubble.

It was also because he had grown so fast, slaughtered several local powerful clans, and attacked several county towns, that he finally attracted the attention of Liu Yan, the Administrator of Youzhou. It was impossible not to notice. Wang Yan's actions were indeed very vicious to them. Killing powerful clans, breaking county towns, looting the population, and seizing supplies—this was truly rebellious.

In addition, Liu Yan had also heard of Wang Yan self-styling as Grand General of Heavenly Martialness. Looking at Wang Yan's actions, it was not hard to guess that Wang Yan wanted to declare himself king outside the borders. Although currently, this was lighter than the harm caused by Zhang Jiao and others, Wang Yan could not be allowed to bully Liu Yan like this.

Therefore, in late June, when Wang Yan and his party of over a hundred thousand people entered the territory of Liaoxi in a mighty procession, they encountered a strike from Liu Yan, the Administrator of Youzhou.

This afternoon, the main force was marching slowly north under the scorching sun. The children were better off; some sat on logistics carts, others rode on the backs of old oxen, mules, donkeys, etc. —in short, they all had a place. The old, weak, and women were not so lucky. Their men had been forcibly conscripted, and they carried their belongings on their backs at the rear. Although not much, it was still heavy.

Fortunately, they had looted many water carts along the way, and there were many rivers and wells along the route, so they could drink water at any time, which relieved a lot of the burden.

Wang Yan smiled and took the pulse of those who had fainted from heatstroke on the carts to confirm their condition. Although he was the culprit behind all this, he was selling favors to these commoners here, and they acknowledged it. Moreover, they did not think Wang Yan was harming them; after all, it was hard to survive anywhere. Wang Yan was very good to them and had promised many conditions, without any of the usual dignity of an official master, so people were still willing to trust the Grand General.

At this time, smoke and dust rose in the distance, and a burst of urgent hoofbeats came. A communication scout jumped off his horse: "Reporting to the Grand General, there are one thousand Han troops fifteen miles to the south."

Once this started, it wouldn't stop. Not long after, two more riders came, saying there were one thousand Han troops twenty miles to the west, and two thousand thirty miles to the north. They had already been surrounded.

Wang Yan walked along the main road with his hands behind his back, thinking about countermeasures.

Now his unit was near Lingzhi in Liaoxi. Walking another thirty miles north, it was exactly the county town of Lingzhi, which was the area of Luanzhou and Qian'an in Hebei two thousand years later. He hadn't been in a hurry along the way, even taking detours to attack county towns and destroy manors, just to snowball and grow. So now, after more than two months, they had only walked five hundred miles.

On the other hand, it was also because the troop had grown, with many women, elderly, and children. Besides, there was no rush. Even if they reached Liaodong now, there was no way to farm, and the farming season had already been missed. It was better to march north while looting, stockpiling supplies for the winter. In addition, many craftsmen like carpenters and blacksmiths had been captured.

Now was not two thousand years later; the climate was changing, and it was the Ice Age that inevitably occurred at the end of a dynasty. At this time, Liaodong was truly bitterly cold. Without sufficient preparation, going there was just seeking death. Or rather, he was leading over a hundred thousand people now; half of them would probably freeze or starve to death.

Lingzhi leaned against the Yan Mountains and stepped on the Bohai Sea, shielding Beijing and Tianjin and choking the area outside the pass, lying south of the Wuhuan, east of Mobile Corps Commander, and north of Luyu, which could be considered a strategic military location. The terrain was plains and hills, without high mountains or dangerous obstacles.

The scouts reported thirty-five hundred incoming troops. According to the usual principle of rounding up troop numbers, the incoming army had an upper limit of about five thousand soldiers. Liu Yan couldn't bring out any more; after all, Youzhou wasn't the only place that needed to strike at Wang Yan's group, and besides, Qingzhou and Jizhou also needed to be supported with troops. Most importantly, the Huang Jin army's combat effectiveness was not strong. With over twenty thousand people, Liu Yan sending five thousand was enough to open up a formation for field battle and beat the Huang Jin army until their heads were covered in bumps.

So there should be another unit of one to two thousand soldiers blocking that place, waiting to support, or waiting for him to act before attacking the center force to take Wang Yan's dog head.

Dividing troops like this was underestimating Grand General Wang's ability to command troops. After such a long time, a fairly sound military structure had been built, basic infantry combat methods had been passed down, and every day there were troops forced to march to exercise their bodies, drilling and preparing for battle under the scorching sun. Although they were still a rabble, compared to before, they were much stronger.

After thinking for a while, Wang Yan ordered: "Pass the order: the Mighty Guard presses twenty miles forward to set up camp; the Vast-Mighty Guard takes a detour to set up camp ten miles west of Lingzhi City; the Flourishing-Mighty Guard marches urgently to protect the logistics and families; the rearguard Heroic-Mighty Guard stops ten miles further. Each Military Commandant should find opportunities to fight the incoming southern army on their own; if they can't win, they can just flee to my location."

In wilderness battles, without mountains or rivers to block, the enemy dividing troops to harass was nothing more than trying to make Wang Yan mobilize his troops and reveal gaps. The so-called art of war and strategy, in the general direction, the Instructor had already clarified the essence of the art of war with actual actions: only by using more to attack fewer. Except for special situations like fighting with one's back to the river or defending a dead city, everything that could be flexibly moved was for the purpose of using more to attack fewer.

Let alone Liu Yan sending troops to the south, west, and north, even if it were eight directions, Wang Yan could just stand still. I will walk my own path, and see if you dare to come and seek battle. His original purpose was to break through Lingzhi on the way and loot again, so continuing forward now was fine. Of course, this was also because his army's combat effectiveness was not good; otherwise, would Liu Yan dare to send a few thousand people to fight?

This was also a hypothesis; after all, if his subordinates truly had combat effectiveness, why would he, Grand General Wang, need to travel thousands of miles to Liaodong? He would just kill Liu Yan, occupy Youzhou, farm for three to five years, move south, farm for another three to five years, move south again, and the great cause would be settled.

As for him sending the Heroic-Mighty Guard to find opportunities for battle, one was to see the quality of those thousand enemy troops, and the second was to probe where the hidden troops were. If the enemy troops were not very good, the five thousand-plus men of the Heroic-Mighty Guard would just wipe them out. If the enemy was strong and they couldn't win, five thousand-plus men were not that easy to kill. His Military Commandants might not know anything else, but they were all fast at running away. Mainly because they had been attacking local tyrants and looting county towns for these two months, eating quite well, and their bodies were well-nourished. They hadn't practiced their legs any less in these two months...

In any case, Wang Yan judged that there could be two small battles today, equivalent to both sides bumping into each other on the ring; the punches were just polite greetings to understand each other's strength, and a big battle wouldn't break out. What the situation would be after that would depend on the circumstances.

The communication cavalry acknowledged the order and left. Liao Hua from behind stepped forward: "Grand General, this subordinate requests to fight."

"You have not grown up yet, your muscles are thin and your bones are weak, so wait another two years. In this chaotic world, the Han Dynasty is about to collapse. A real man should practice civil and martial arts; why worry about having no place to use them? Do not be impatient, just protect our military families well, and that will be a great merit."

Wang Yan casually taught Liao Hua. Young people were always like this, always wanting to show off. He was only sixteen; although in this era many were already fathers, he was indeed lacking quite a bit and was not suitable for battlefield fighting; he still needed to practice more.

He only allowed people to be soldiers when they reached seventeen. Those under seventeen were sent to the logistics team to work.

Liao Hua nodded in resignation and asked again: "Grand General, should we put on armor to meet the battle?"

"I predict there will be no major battle today, do not be impatient, go, go."

Wang Yan waved his hand, then continued to chat and treat illnesses for the people he had looted, smiling, fully exerting his ability to win people's hearts.

When the logistics team had advanced fifteen miles, and tens of thousands of people were scattered for several miles to set up camp and rest, Wang Yan rode his horse, with Liao Hua and other personal guards carrying his armor and weapons, and ran to the vanguard camp.

At this moment, a communication soldier ran over on a fast horse and reported to the Grand General: "Reporting to the Grand General, the Heroic-Mighty Guard engaged with the enemy troops. Halfway through the battle, two thousand soldiers killed their way out. The Heroic-Mighty Guard was defeated, and casualties are unknown. The Commandant said the enemy general is Liu Bei, and he told me to report to the Grand General."

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows. In his impression, at this time, Liu Bei should have run to Qingzhou to fight the Yellow Turbans. In any case, the time was unclear. After Liu Bei defeated Cheng Yuanzhi, he first went to Qingzhou, then to Yingchuan Commandery, and even saved Dong Zhuo in Yingchuan, only to be looked down upon by Dong Zhuo.

Now coming to fight him, Grand General Wang, either he hadn't left, or he had been recalled by Liu Yan. After all, Wang Yan had caused widespread harm, and the damage was not small. The three Liu, Guan, and Zhang brothers had brilliant records before, and Liu Yan had no one else to use, so recalling them was possible.

Wang Yan ordered: "Order the Heroic-Mighty Guard to retreat to the logistics team, reorganize the troop, count the casualties and how many enemies were killed, and report to me. Go quickly."

Liu, Guan, and Zhang led the troops, three thousand against six thousand, and killed his subordinates until they were defeated and lost—this was a normal situation. The three of them led the charge, and he had no capable generals under him; it would be strange if they didn't lose.

It wasn't that his subordinates were useless, but that Liu, Guan, and Zhang were strong. Against ordinary Han troops, his subordinates had more men against fewer, and had no record of defeat until now. They could only fight favorable battles and couldn't fight hard battles; this was understandable.

As for casualties, in ancient warfare, as long as they didn't kill prisoners or slaughter cities, there weren't many who died in battle. Most died from lack of treatment after the battle; at this time, medical conditions were poor, and there were no anti-inflammatory means.

There were no conditions now either. Once they settled down in Liaodong, he would organize manpower to produce penicillin on a large scale using local methods, which would always reduce combat losses. This was a must-have for a transmigrator, and even more so his traditional craft. Previously, when he was conquering the world, he relied on this, playing with his life to build a health system and anti-inflammatory drugs that transcended the era, saving more wounded soldiers. Thus, he had many battle-hardened veterans under his command, and coupled with generous treatment, his military officers were all willing to die for him, and his combat power was formidable.

After a long time, the communication soldier reported the casualties: in one battle, over two thousand men were gone—either dead, fled, or captured by Liu, Guan, and Zhang. As for those who fled, it would take some time, and they would come back on their own. In addition, it was reported that this battle was not without gains; they had caused many casualties to Liu, Guan, and Zhang's troop. If it weren't for Liu, Guan, and Zhang being too strong and piercing through the military formation, they could have won.

After a while, scouts reported that Liu, Guan, and Zhang had led the troops to escort the prisoners into the city. By this point, the previous soldiers had all entered the city, intending to fight a city defense battle against Grand General Wang.

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, comforted the soldiers as usual, arranged for night defense, and sent the Heroic-Mighty Guard back to the battlefield to search for their brothers-in-arms, then slept soundly for a night ten miles outside the city.

Early the next morning, before dawn, after breakfast, Wang Yan let the soldiers eat, drink, and relieve themselves, then sent fifteen thousand soldiers to escort the grain and logistics to set off, bypassing the east mountain of Lingzhi to continue north. He personally led fifteen thousand soldiers, armored and armed, to the foot of Lingzhi City.

At this time, Lingzhi City was already heavily guarded, with all four gates closed, and the city walls were crowded with figures, waiting in full battle array. Outside the city, Wang Yan could even smell the stench of "golden juice" (boiling excrement).

Looking at it this way, the Heroic-Mighty Guard's statement yesterday was not false. Liu, Guan, and Zhang must have suffered losses; otherwise, they wouldn't be fighting a city battle against him, Grand General Wang, but would have raised their troops to come out and harass him with Mobile Corps Commander tactics, slowly grinding him to death.

Outside the south city gate, Wang Yan was dressed in armor newly forged by craftsmen over the past two months, feet stepping on combat boots made by an old woman skilled in needlework, shoulders carrying a horse spear gifted by nature, riding a red-maned warhorse obtained from Zhang Fei, lightly tapping the horse's belly, slowly arriving at the foot of the city, pulling the reins, and standing still.

He looked up and laughed: "Xuande, it has been three months since we parted in Zhuojun. Today, we are crossing swords again. Why not come down from the city, and we can reminisce..."