Chapter 849

Entering the tent, Wang Yan ordered: "The entire army is to prepare meals; there must be meat and fish soup. Eat your fill at noon, and set out in the afternoon. Seek an opportunity to engage in battle, and do not let the war hinder our people. Transfer the Black Armor Battalion to Huang Zhong's position, and order him to lead his troops to attack. Do not wait for the enemy to come and attack us; we shall attack the enemy first. Advance the troops to Jixian, or rush to reinforce Taishi Ci's unit; a pincer attack from front and rear to break the enemy at Juyong, or attacking Jixian in one go, are both acceptable."

The purpose of such a deployment was precisely Jixian. Huang Zhong had three thousand men, the Black Armor Battalion had over eight hundred, and there were over two thousand militiamen, totaling over six thousand troops. Old Huang was also quite capable of fighting—a top-tier warrior of the Three Kingdoms—and combined with the piercing power of the Black Armor Battalion, four thousand men breaking through an enemy formation of twenty or thirty thousand was not much of a problem.

And once Huang Zhong killed his way to Jixian and Juyong, coordinating with the actions of Taishi Ci and Zhou Cang, they would have fifteen thousand combat troops and over six thousand militiamen on that side, totaling over twenty thousand troops; breaking Jixian would only be a matter of time.

As for the twenty thousand-strong army facing Feiru, Wang Yan would personally lead three thousand combat troops and over two thousand militiamen, totaling over five thousand troops to deal with them. Not to mention that he, General Wang, was personally even more capable of fighting, even if he weren't, with over five thousand troops, as long as they weren't fools, they could hold out for a few days.

In just one more day, the three thousand Yingwu Guards being transferred would arrive, and after a brief rest, they could be sent out to fight. In addition, the three thousand militiamen who had been conscripted, because they were being drawn from many places, would take longer to assemble and march. Even so, in four more days, these three thousand troops would also arrive at Feiru.

Furthermore, if the situation became urgent, there were also the logistics militia units escorting supplies. These men were also armored and armed, and well-trained. Over the next few days, they would arrive at Linyu one after another. It was just that they were a bit younger, all under twenty, but their combat effectiveness was not weak either. And the strength of the logistics militia units was over ten thousand.

It could be said that if they really played for keeps, the destruction of Liu Yu would be a matter of moments. It was just that the investment was too great and not worth it.

"Yes, General." An officer in the military tent instinctively accepted the order, stood up, and went out to arrange the transmission of orders and other matters.

Wang Yan unified the thinking of the officers in the tent once more, emphasized military law and discipline, and then waved his hand to dismiss the officers, letting them each go about their business.

As the troops busied themselves, the fragrance of food began to drift through the military camp. Since they were about to fight and risk their lives, they naturally had to have a full meal. Whether it was the regular combat troops of the Xuanwu Guards or the conscripted militiamen, the food was the same, and a portion was also brought to Wang Yan.

For a contestant like this, Grand General Wang can say with certainty that he is finished...

Chinese cabbage is a native vegetable of China, now called 'song' cabbage. Moreover, its form is not the same as the later Napa cabbage; there is a large gap, but it is not unusable. A lot of this vegetable is grown in Liaodong, and like later varieties, it belongs to the winter storage vegetables. Wang Yan also tried pickling sour cabbage and only implemented it after finding it feasible. In addition, the Doctor of Agriculture also has research underway, currently carrying out improvement and cultivation work, hoping to turn the current 'song' cabbage into the appearance of the later Napa cabbage.

The taste of the food is passable; after all, it's mass-cooked, heavy on oil and salt, so it's hard for it not to be fragrant. And most importantly, the cooks who make mass meals in Liaodong are all taught by the fat cook of the General's Mansion, and they are all of the generation of General Wang's grand-disciples. They study on their own in their spare time, developing new styles on the basis of stir-frying, deep-frying, steaming, and boiling, and are currently forming a new dietary culture.

After eating lunch and resting for half an hour, the army traveled light and fast. Wang Yan also donned armor and went into battle, acting as the vanguard, slowly riding his horse forward.

The enemy's situation had long been detected by the scouts. The twenty thousand-plus troops were only thirty miles away from their previous camp. Now that Wang Yan was leading the vanguard, marching at the normal speed of a horse's brisk trot, by the time they reached the place, it would be around dusk, and they could start fighting directly.

Wang Yan donned his armor and went into battle, his inner brute taking over. His thinking was also very simple: today, he would crush these twenty thousand-plus people, and tomorrow, he would kill his way directly to Jixian. There was certainly no need to worry about the rear; after all, the logistics teams and the volunteer troops were all on their way, and the local militiamen had not been fully conscripted, all for the sake of guarding against routed soldiers and chaotic civilians.

"General, the enemy has detected our army's movements and has already organized their troops and formed battle arrays, waiting for us to attack." A scout ran back to report.

General Wang nodded. They were now only five miles away from the enemy; if they couldn't detect their movements at this distance, there would be a big problem.

He made no other arrangements and continued to maintain a steady marching speed.

After marching for another half hour, finally, the enemy troops, filling the field of vision, appeared in the distance, waiting in strict formation.

This place belongs to the Lingzhi area and is also the hometown of Gongsun Zan. Relying on their superior numbers, they divided into three battle arrays: the center army of over ten thousand, and several thousand on the left and right, spreading out their posture to set up a formation for a charging battle. Looking at it at a glance, there were enemies everywhere.

Youzhou is mostly a region of plains and hills. The enemy has twenty thousand, and our troops are less than six thousand. The enemy seems to be full of confidence, not fighting from behind city walls, but instead spreading out their posture for a field battle. In this kind of head-on collision, military strategy is of no use. The enemy dividing into three arrays is just the basic operation of a qualified commander, intended to disperse their forces for a multi-faceted attack.

If twenty thousand people formed a single battle array, it would be a huge waste of manpower. After all, the number of soldiers fighting in the front is limited, and more people in the back cannot even be seen. Dividing troops to attack together from multiple directions is the best choice.

Wang Yan didn't care and didn't change his formation. Unlike the two previous night raids in Liaodong, where he could take advantage of the enemy's panic to attack from multiple directions and use the cover of night to create the illusion of a larger force, this time it was a proper soldier-against-soldier, general-against-general battle. His forces were already small, and half of them were local Youzhou militiamen. They were said to have been trained for a year, but after removing time for farming and other labor, the actual training time was only two months, and they were not yet qualified combat soldiers.

It was just that the family fortune accumulated in Liaodong over six years had equipped these militiamen with armor and weapons, making them look more combat-effective than the many militiamen on the opposite side who only had single-layered tunics. If they really divided their forces, the discipline of these people would still be insufficient; they could only be scrambled, with veteran soldiers interspersed among them to charge together.

Leading the team, Wang Yan stopped at a distance of one arrow's flight, looking around at the enemy troops covering the fields; at this moment, it seemed as if they had already been surrounded.

Wang Yan gently waved his hand, and the personal guards beside him raised the yellow-based, black-lettered great flag of the Heavenly Martial General. Immediately after, behind the military formation, the *dong-dong-dong* sound of drums rang out, and over five thousand soldiers began to shout.

"I am Wang Yan. Now that the two armies are at war, I have some good words of advice. I was born a commoner, first followed the Yellow Turbans, was defeated at Zhuojun, and gathered the routed soldiers myself. Now I occupy a thousand miles of fertile land in Liaodong to the north, and have pacified five hundred miles of grassland to the west. What I do is all for the sake of the people. Under my rule, there are no acts of bullying, abusing, or harming the people, and even less so are there people who bully, abuse, or harm the people.

You all share the same background as I do, and should share the same fate as I do. Why must you fight to the death and serve those who enslave us? Even if you kill me here today, what benefit is it to you? You will still be unable to fill your stomachs, unable to cover your bodies, unable to get medical treatment when sick, and your children will all be slaves and servants to the families of the powerful.

The people you are serving today seize your land and property, bully your wives and daughters, and commit many evil deeds; why must you fight to the death for them? You certainly know in detail how things are under my rule. Abandon darkness for light today, and in the future, you will certainly live the same life as the people of Liaodong. I give you a chance; now, seize the people around you who bully the people, and I will punish them myself, making them cut mountains, build roads, and build water conservancy for you, until they freeze and starve to death.

I do not want you to lay down your weapons; you must protect yourselves even more. After dealing with the people who bully the people, I will distribute military rations to you so you can return home to protect your parents, wives, and children. When I conquer Youzhou, I will certainly settle things clearly with you.

At that time, I will distribute farm tools and seeds, and redistribute land. I will teach you how to have medical care when sick, and not suffer from cold and hunger. We share a common fate, fighting to live better. If you resist and do not surrender, when the two armies clash, swords and spears have no eyes; at that time, parents will have no sons, wives will have no husbands, and children will have no fathers. You will all die in vain, which I truly do not wish for.

My words are clear; why do you not act yet?"

Over five thousand soldiers shouted three times in a row, their voices like rolling thunder, shaking the wilderness.

This was something Wang Yan had written long ago, letting the soldiers memorize it. When two armies are at war, attacking the heart is paramount; since it is possible not to fight, there is no need to fight. Therefore, he urged the soldiers to memorize it proficiently, and now they were shouting together to call for surrender.

Although the transmission of sound is limited, this is an open plain. But with six thousand people shouting at the top of their lungs, the sound can travel five or six hundred meters, which is enough.

Now that they are blocking on three sides, the distance is about five or six hundred meters. The center army is the closest, only two hundred meters away, and many people are already within the range of the sound.

The effect is of course there, and it is quite good. Wang Yan has excellent eyesight and sees it very clearly.

When the first time was spoken, the enemy's formation was already in chaos. There were officers loudly scolding, and even some beating people. By the second time, the formation was even more chaotic, becoming loose, and in some places, there were even gaps. By the third time, people were already dead. Some officers were surrounded in the middle, and seeing the hateful gazes, the soldiers were unable to contain their anger and directly hacked them to death with swords.

After the three calls for surrender, the enemy troops clamored for a while. Wang Yan waved his hand, the personal guards waved the great flag, and the rear soldiers began to form up, silently organizing into the arrow formation that General Wang likes best. He acts as the vanguard, and the people behind follow to hack; it is simple and direct.

Heaven and earth were silent; no one spoke. Of the two military formations, only Wang Yan's side was silently organizing and forming up. The soldiers on the opposite side were exchanging glances. After a moment of silence, the commander on the opposite side finally reacted, loudly scolding, while the people around him kept waving command flags, and the ranks became noisy and clamorous again.

However, the command of the flags did not receive a response.

Until Wang Yan saw that in the enemy's formation, under the reflection of the setting sun, a person swung the sword in his hand and struck directly at the neck of the officer who had his back to him. It was just that because of the neck protection of the armor, no blood was seen; it only made that officer stagger, and for a moment, he was a bit dazed.

But before he could recover, soldiers thrust their spears over, followed by several swords and spears, and in the gaps, several more people thrust their spears over. In the blink of an eye, the man was dead.

This seemed to be a signal. Not far from them, another officer was stabbed to death, and the soldiers further away also began to take action. Little by little, shouting and killing also rang out in the left and right wings. Finally, it spread to the rear of the generals in the front row. Perhaps because of the long-standing prestige, for a moment, they were actually in a standoff.

And then people took action and were killed. More people took action, and unable to fend them off, they gritted their teeth, their eyes bloodshot, and killed their way straight toward Wang Yan. That ferocious appearance made them wish they could eat Wang Yan alive.

The General was very calm. He didn't even need to wave his hand; his personal guards went up to intercept them. He himself picked up his bow and arrows, and before the battle had even started, he fired three arrows in succession. The enemy general dodged one arrow, parried one arrow, and was pierced through the throat by the third arrow, falling off his horse. Being able to dodge two arrows in a row could be considered having some ability.

After all, fighting depends on reaction speed. Wang Yan used a three-stone bow, the speed of the arrows was faster, and the power was greater. Being able to dodge two arrows in a row was already not bad. It's a pity that General Wang's archery was god-like, and the interval between the three arrows was too small, leaving no room for the enemy general to display his skills.

While the personal guards were fighting, Wang Yan was shooting cold arrows from behind, one arrow per person. The battle broke out quickly and ended quickly. Not a single personal guard died; they ended the battle with injuries but no losses.

In fact, his personal guards all have high combat effectiveness; he has trained them all. The personal guards are all professional soldiers. Of course, they have indeed raised chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs for a few years, but they have been with Wang Yan for a long time, and their military training time is even longer. His personal guards only number five hundred.

One can fight four or five elite soldiers. If they form a military array, one hundred can fight one thousand. Five hundred certainly cannot fight five thousand, but they have no problem in mobile warfare. In a head-on collision, they can also defeat two or three thousand people; they are all very strong.

At the same time, he is also constantly selecting from the entire army; those with powerful personal abilities are all here. From time to time, he will also demote a few to go to various places to be officers, and they all perform very well. It is another good thing that achieves several goals at once...

The enemy's infighting continued. Wang Yan remained unmoved, just watching like this until the setting sun disappeared and the entire army lit torches; only then did the chaos stop. The final result was that only a few people wearing armor survived, and most of them were killed.

Among them, there must have been people who died unjustly. After all, wearing armor doesn't mean bullying people, but the common people who were forcibly conscripted and had their eyes bloodshot didn't care about much; after all, there are no good things among soldiers at this time.

Although these people were under Liu Yu's command and might be a bit better than Gongsun Zan's, the improvement was limited. After all, deceiving superiors and concealing from subordinates is the basic skill of a manager. Liu Yu is a muddled smart man; his subordinates cater to his preferences, so he thinks his rule is well-governed, with no one picking up lost items on the road, doors not needing to be locked at night, the people being wealthy, and soldiers committing no offenses. But this kind of thing, in this era and the current situation, is really a bit difficult for people.

As for after Liu Yu was killed by Gongsun Zan, many people avenged Liu Yu, and even the Wuhuan people sent troops. There are many relationships involved in this. To say that there were people who purely avenged Liu Yu is certain, but it was definitely not everyone, yet they all fought under this banner. The more reason is actually very pure: they just wanted to finish off Gongsun Zan.

There is nothing new under the sun; fighting back and forth is all for oneself.

General Wang keeps his word. Seeing that the emotions of these people had stabilized, he immediately organized manpower to carry out pacification work. He also organized manpower to count money, grain, and military weapons, began to organize the mess cooks to bury pots and prepare meals, and even sent people back to Feiru to urgently send meat.

While cooking was being done on this side, he had people dig pits and find firewood to burn and bury the corpses. What drifted in the air was the smell of human flesh. But the soldiers all acted as if they didn't smell it. The two armies totaled thirty thousand people, all surrounding the mess cooks, waiting for food to eat.

After the military secretary counted the grain and left the portion for the next day's breakfast, he began to distribute grain to the common people. The grain brought with the army was not much, only about half a month's worth; more still had to be sent slowly by the transport teams.

But this half-month's worth was intended for fighting. After all, the grain consumption for fighting is higher. Although they still couldn't eat their fill, it was certainly better than the usual food. So this half-month's worth, when distributed to the soldiers, they would take it back to have porridge every day, and a whole family could eat for half a month.

What was contrasted between these two and a half months was the current status of people's lives, which was not much better than a family having only one set of clothes...

Wang Yan didn't eat. He took six personal guards with him, and under the illumination of the torches, chatted with the common people who had turned over a new leaf and abandoned darkness for light, sitting in the cold wind waiting for food. He even broke up the combat and militia teams, sat down with them, and answered their questions.

The reason he brought six personal guards was not to guard against common people holding weapons; he wanted to pull off a show, to let them know he was the Heavenly Martial General. It wasn't that he had to explain to people when he went over. At this time, although six personal guards were few, they were also many. They represented absolutely not just the identity of six personal guards; with them came the absolute power and will to control life and death.

He was chatting with the common people as a Yellow Turban rebel born a commoner, and also as the Heavenly Martial General talking to the people under his rule. Although these common people couldn't feel it, these were two distinct things that truly existed. The cautious gazes they looked over with, and the trembling and excitement in their speech, all explained this point.

"This humble one has met the General."

Arriving at another group of people, they hurriedly stood up.

But before they could stand up, General Wang sat down on the ground first: "Do not be so polite, sit, all sit."

Looking at the crowd who had sat down again, by the light of the torches, he saw the face of one of them, and smilingly pointed at him and said: "What is your name?"

"Replying to the General, this humble one's surname is Chen, given name Chong, from Yuyang."

"No courtesy name?"

"My father was a tenant of a great clan; the name was chosen by myself after I learned a few characters later, so I have no courtesy name."

Wang Yan nodded smilingly: "I am the same as you; I also chose my name myself, and the courtesy name was also stolen from a little bit of literary ink I learned, chosen by myself. Since this is the case, I should choose one for you. 'Chong' means emptiness; Laozi says 'Great fullness is like emptiness, its use is inexhaustible.' Are you the eldest son?"

"My elder brother died young; this humble one is the second son."

"Since this is the case, I will give you the courtesy name Zhongying." Wang Yan used his finger to write these two characters on the ground, waved his hand to stop Chen Chong from kowtowing in thanks, and laughed, "Earlier, in the military formation, I saw you were the first to draw your sword in the center army, and my heart was very comforted. If we brothers also have to meet with swords and spears, fighting to the death, how sad that would be. Fortunately, you all had the courage to draw your swords to seek a life for yourselves.

Zhang Kun has already told you how I treat the people, so I will not repeat it. After you return home, you should spend the winter with peace of mind. I said earlier that once I conquer Youzhou, there will be civil officials going to your villages to distribute work, to help you get through the cold winter and wait for the coming spring. You all have weapons; after returning home, if there is any bullying, you should unite as one, draw your swords, and kill them.

How do we commoners survive? First, the sword in our hands; second, the unity of all brothers, making people afraid to bully us..."

Wang Yan smilingly did ideological work for these common people, and took the opportunity to depict a picture of the future, wanting them to work for him, to make their own lives better and better, and not to be ridden on their heads by others to act as tyrants...

Zhang Kun sat smilingly on the side. At this moment, his heart was very beautiful. Because he was a regular soldier of the Xuanwu Guards, he had received the assignment from the military deacon to come and tell these people how good life was in Liaodong.

But what he didn't expect was that General Wang actually called out his name in one breath. He was just a soldier at the very bottom level. The General had indeed seen him, but that was four years ago, when the General was inspecting Pingguo and entered their home to see the situation. At that time, he was not old enough and had not yet joined the army, and their family was also Wuhuan people who later changed to the surname Zhang.

But now the General actually called out his name in one breath. This is the General! With millions of soldiers and civilians under his rule, working hard and tired all day just to let them live a good life, and now even more so, the General who personally came to the front line to fight for more people, the General they worshiped in their homes, called out his name in one breath...