Chapter 54

After everyone cupped their fists at Zhang Liao and Xi Zhicai, they turned and left the Main Hall.

Watching the five depart, Zhang Liao said to Xi Zhicai: "Military Advisor, delivering the military report to the Imperial Court and His Majesty is trouble for you; before we set out, after you finish writing it, arrange for someone to send it out."

Xi Zhicai hastily cupped his fists and said: "Please, General, rest assured; I am already handling this."

"Good, we must quickly compile the Battle Report and send it to His Majesty!"

Zhang Liao solemnly said to Xi Zhicai, then asked: "By the way, have the townspeople in the city been arranged?"

"The townspeople in the city have already been properly arranged; our Military Discipline is strict, and the Soldiers strictly observe it; now we have indeed gained the approval of the entire city's populace!"

Speaking of this, Xi Zhicai's face instantly flushed red, and he excitedly said to Zhang Liao.

"This is all thanks to His Majesty's Wise and Brave rule; if it weren't for the Military Discipline he established back then, we could not have achieved such results!"

Regarding the Military Discipline initially established by Liu Bian, Zhang Liao and Xi Zhicai also admired it greatly.

"Since everything is arranged, we will depart tomorrow morning; I cannot stay too long in Shangjun City, for Xihe Commandery we do not need that many garrison soldiers!"

Zhang Liao said solemnly to Xi Zhicai.

Upon hearing Zhang Liao's words, Xi Zhicai also nodded in agreement.

"Xihe Commandery has ten Cities; besides the commandery seat Lishi City, which has a garrison of Ten Thousand troops, the other only four northern cities—Meiji, Pingding, Guangyan, and Luogu—each have Five Thousand troops stationed to defend against the Xiongnu from the north."

"For these four Cities, we should mainly seek surrender; being able to resist the Xiongnu Army in the borderlands is worth our winning over!"

Xi Zhicai solemnly recounted the situation of Xihe Commandery to Zhang Liao.

Regarding the Army that constantly fights the Xiongnu, even though Xi Zhicai is a civil official, he also greatly admires it.

Upon hearing Xi Zhicai's words, Zhang Liao also agreed, saying: "The Military Advisor is right; these four Cities are respectively guarded by the Garrison Commanders: Li Su of Meiji City, Hao Zhao of Pingding City, Wang Chang of Guangyan City, and Jia Kui of Luogu City."

After hearing Zhang Liao's introduction, Xi Zhicai asked him: "General, what are these four men like? Is there a possibility of winning them over?"

"Hehe, Military Advisor, you can rest assured; these four are all loyal to the Han Dynasty; otherwise, how would they have been assigned to guard the strategic frontier?"

"'Back when I was still under Ding Yuan, I already knew these four were contemporary heroes and heroes, all considering themselves Han Ministers.'"

Seeing Xi Zhicai's doubtful inquiry, Zhang Liao explained with a confident expression.

After hearing Zhang Liao's words, Xi Zhicai felt somewhat excited and happily said to him: "In that case, for us, these four Cities are actually the easiest to obtain!"

Zhang Liao also smiled and replied: "The Military Advisor is right; given my understanding of these four, as long as I write them a letter, they will surely submit to the Imperial Court."

"In that case, we only need to seize the commandery seat Lishi City, and we can easily control the entirety of Xihe Commandery!"

Xi Zhicai also did not expect that the surprise would come so suddenly.

"Exactly so; now we only need to go to Huayang County and wait for Zhang Long and his Army to arrive; then I will swiftly take Lishi City."

Zhang Liao smiled at Xi Zhicai and explained his battle deployment.

Regarding Zhang Liao's approach, Xi Zhicai also highly approved, after all, they only have Fifty Thousand Troops.

Sieging cities is not a problem for them; the biggest issue is lacking troops to Guard the Cities they hold.

If they had sufficient troops to take the captured Cities, their speed could be even faster.

However, this is unavoidable; who made Liu Bian's forces too few?

Although the total population of Sili amounts to over three million, enough to support three hundred thousand Army.

However, the places Liu Bian needs to defend also require manpower.

This three hundred thousand Army is utterly insufficient; this is still the reason Liu Bian's military strength is strong.

Otherwise, he would not dare to rashly send troops on two fronts; that would indeed be too dangerous.

The entirety of Sili borders Liangzhou to the west, Bing Province and Jizhou to the north, Yanzhou to the east, and Jingzhou to the south.

One could say the entirety of Sili is surrounded by these major powers, yet Liu Bian can confidently campaign against Liangzhou and Bing Province, thanks also to Dong Zhuo.

Otherwise, he still lacks a good reason to launch troops.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Liao said to Xi Zhicai: "Military Advisor, it's not early either; you should rest early too, for tomorrow we still have to hurry on the road!"

"'I will also immediately go instruct the Soldiers; I still need to give the Guard of Shangjun City a few more reminders.'"

"'Good, General, you should rest early too; I will take my leave first, and after I arrange for someone to send out the Battle Report, I will also rest early!'"

Xi Zhicai also smiled and responded to Zhang Liao, then turned and left.

The next morning, Zhang Liao led the remaining Two Hundred Thousand Five Thousand toward Huayang County.

And just as Zhang Liao and his group reached the City Gate of Shangjun City, the streets outside were filled with townspeople coming to see them off.

Only seeing these townspeople, under the lead of an elder, they all knelt before the Army and loudly shouted: "Commoners, we wish the General an Emperor's Return!"

Seeing the masses of townspeople kneeling before them to see off their Army, Zhang Liao and his companions felt their eyes swell for a moment.

"'How simple and honest these townspeople are! I have only earned their approval in these short three days; this is indeed the duty of a soldier!'"

Looking at the honest townspeople before him, Zhang Liao silently thought to himself.

"'General, these are my Han Subjects; they are so simple and honest, so kind! Your Majesty, Sage and Mighty! If it were not for the Military Regulations you established, we could not have won the People's Hearts like this!'"

Xi Zhicai was also deeply shaken by the scene before him, and he exclaimed with emotion to Zhang Liao beside him.

"'Indeed! I have finally understood the mission of a soldier!'"

Zhang Liao also replied with a complex expression to Xi Zhicai.

Afterward, he looked sincerely at the crowd before him and loudly said: "Folks, please rise; I thank you all, folks, please rest assured, we are the ones sent by His Majesty to rescue you."

"'His Majesty knows that you folks have been living poorly under the oppression of Dong Zhuo and other Rebel Parties; therefore, he specially sent me, the General, to exterminate these Rebel Parties, and afterward, His Majesty will dispatch Court Officials to come and settle you well.'"

"'Folks, rest assured; our Majesty is indeed the present-day Sage Monarch, and He can surely let everyone live good lives.'"

The crowd of townspeople below, upon hearing Zhang Liao's words, also became excited and engaged in lively discussion.

"'His Majesty… His Majesty has not forgotten us…'"

"'Wuu… wuu…'"

"'His Majesty, Sage and Mighty…'"

"'His Majesty, Sage and Mighty…'"

Afterwards, the entire street echoed with loud shouts of "Your Majesty, Sage and Mighty."