Jizhou, Qinghe Commandery.
With Lü Bu’s arrival, Ganling, already gripped by fear and tension, became even more on edge, as if every rustling tree and whistling wind concealed an enemy.
As for Yuan Shao, for reasons unknown, he had the 50,000 shi of grain and supplies he had promised Lü Bu transported all the way to Beiqiu City, a mere eighty li from Dong Commandery in Yan Province.
“Brother Benchu is truly a generous and honorable man!”
When Lü Bu heard the news, his face was full of admiration.
“My lord.”
Standing beside him, Zhang Liao spoke with a grave expression.
“We only have four thousand troops. How are we supposed to transport fifty thousand shi of grain? Our scouts report that the southeastern part of Dong Commandery is completely deserted. There isn’t a single commoner to be found, and every city is empty.”
Having grain was, of course, a good thing.
In fact, since leaving Chang’an, it was the first time they had possessed such an enormous stockpile of food.
The problem was that they had no territorial base.
There was simply no way they could take all that grain with them, nor did they have any civilian laborers under their command to haul it.
“No matter.”
Lü Bu waved his hand dismissively.
“We’ll head to Liaocheng first and test the Yellow Turbans with a probing attack. As for the grain… Brother Benchu can deliver it to us.”
“That seems to be our only option.”
Zhang Liao nodded, though he remained pessimistic about their prospects in Yan Province.
As for the position of Governor of Yan Province…
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a trap.
Unfortunately, Lü Bu refused to believe him, convinced that he truly had what it took to claim the governorship.
…….
Late April.
News of the Taiping Prefecture establishing a Matchmakers’ Office, along with Zhang Jing taking a concubine, spread throughout the four commanderies almost simultaneously.
The rumors among the people said that— now that the Prefecture Lord’s own household finally had a mistress, he also wanted the unmarried men and women under his rule to find lifelong partners and establish families of their own.
Another version claimed that the Prefecture Lord had long intended to establish the Matchmakers’ Office so that the young soldiers serving in the army could all marry and settle down.
Regardless of which story people believed, the common folk throughout the territory were deeply moved.
The young men in the army practically had green lights shining in their eyes, shouting excitedly with anticipation.
The hardworking young women, upon hearing the news, became even more diligent than before.
Each of them looked toward their future husbands with a mixture of nervousness and hopeful expectation.
In such an atmosphere, the people’s daily conversations naturally turned into gossip about which family’s daughter was the prettiest, which widow was especially charming, which handsome young man from the eastern end of town had enlisted in the army, and who had grown up together as childhood sweethearts.
Whether the stories were true or not, everyone chatted about them with great enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Zhang Jing had already led an army of nearly thirty thousand men out of Wuyan, marching toward Dong’e.
Along the official road to Xuchang,
the army of Taiping Prefecture advanced in orderly ranks, the Qihuo battle banner snapping loudly in the wind.
At the center of the marching column—
“Hahaha!”
Xi Zhicai looked at Guo Jia and laughed.
“My lord, perhaps you don’t know this, but back when Fengxiao was studying at the academy, he was known as ‘Yingchuan’s Number One Devoted Romantic.'”
“So asking him to get married now is clearly making things difficult for him.”
“Zhicai!”
Guo Jia shot him a glare, his old face flushing slightly.
After all, how could such matters be spoken of so openly in front of everyone?
Hearing this, Taishi Ci cast Guo Jia a meaningful glance.
Dian Wei and the others didn’t quite understand what it meant, but it somehow sounded incredibly impressive.
“Oh?”
Zhang Jing was momentarily surprised before smiling.
“So, Fengxiao is a man of deep feelings after all.”
“But even so, starting a family is one of life’s great milestones. You can’t avoid it forever.”
“Besides, there are no pleasure quarters or brothels anywhere within Taiping Prefecture now. Holding a spear with only one hand isn’t a sustainable solution in the long run.” *M@sturbate joke
“Don’t you agree, Fengxiao?”
“……”
Guo Jia glanced at his right hand when he heard that.
Then he looked at Zhang Jing with a somewhat aggrieved expression, pursed his lips, and said, “My lord speaks wisely. Marriage really isn’t something I can avoid forever.”
“Pfft…”
Xi Zhicai almost burst out laughing.
His face turned bright red as he desperately tried to hold it in, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
“Hahahahaha!”
Dian Wei, Taishi Ci, and the others hadn’t fully understood the joke at first.
But when they saw Xi Zhicai’s reaction, it suddenly dawned on them, and they all burst into laughter.
“My lord is absolutely right!”
With a suggestive smile, Taishi Ci added, “Using only one hand to hold a spear really isn’t a long-term solution. Fortunately, I use a halberd.”
As for the establishment of the Matchmakers’ Office, and the matter of getting married, Taishi Ci had absolutely no objections.
On the contrary, he supported it with both hands.
If the government was even arranging wives for them, what was there to complain about?
After everyone had their fun, Zhang Jing’s expression became serious again.
“Fengxiao, Zhicai.”
“According to the intelligence Zhou Cang has sent back, Lü Bu has already entered Dong Commandery. Where do you think our army should ambush him?”
“Dongwuyang.”
The two merely exchanged a glance.
Yet they gave exactly the same answer.
“Good.”
Without asking for further explanation, Zhang Jing nodded decisively.
“Then we’ll focus our attention on Dongwuyang. If Lü Bu shows any intention of marching westward, our army will enter the city before he does.”
“My lord is wise!”
Guo Jia’s face lit up with delight.
His heart swelled with confidence.
This would be the very first strategy he would truly put into practice since entering Zhang Jing’s service.
…………
Early May.
Lü Bu established his camp at Liaocheng.
Leaving the main army stationed at Dong’e, Zhang Jing personally led a lightly equipped detachment of the central army to Renping.
Zhou Cang, who had been stationed at Linyi, also came to join him.
“My lord.”
Zhou Cang saluted respectfully.
“According to reports from our scouts, Yuan Shao has personally led his army into Qinghe. The Yuan forces stationed at Ganling likely number no fewer than seventy thousand.”
“What about Lü Bu?”
Zhang Jing remained calm.
Even if Yuan Shao brought a hundred thousand troops, so what?
He had no intention of confronting them head-on.
Besides, Jizhou had no navy.
“My lord.”
Zhou Cang’s expression grew solemn.
“Lü Bu is still stationed at Liaocheng. After several days of clashes between our scouting parties, we’ve lost seven of our scouts while killing sixteen of Lü Bu’s.”
“We’ve managed to compress the area his scouts can effectively reconnoiter to within ten li.”
Their army possessed more scouts than Lü Bu’s.
Both sides fielded armored cavalry with warhorses, yet they had still suffered casualties.
“Well done.”
Zhang Jing nodded gravely.
“Restricting his scouting range to ten li is sufficient. Have our scouts maintain the pressure.”
“As for Yuan Shao’s forces, remain vigilant at all times. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid engaging their scouts.”
Whenever an army was on the march, it would dispatch scouts.
And there were many different kinds of scouts.
For someone like Lü Bu, his army only employed one type— reconnaissance cavalry.
Their primary task was to survey the terrain twenty or thirty li ahead of the main force.
If an enemy had set up an ambush, these scouts generally wouldn’t discover it.
They simply rode through the area, observing the landscape as they passed.
They wouldn’t stop to conduct a thorough search.
Therefore, an army that relied solely on this type of reconnaissance would still fall into an ambush if one had been prepared.
The soldiers who advanced with swords and spears in hand, stabbing into bushes, thrusting into tall grass, and slashing through the woods, were part of a full-scale search operation conducted only after the scouts had noticed something suspicious.
After all, scouts were valuable assets.
But that also meant they were especially likely to meet an untimely end.
“I understand!”
Zhou Cang saluted with clasped fists before taking his leave.
“My lord!”
After Zhou Cang departed, Xi Zhicai pointed toward the opposite bank of the river and asked, “Isn’t that Lü Bu’s command banner?”
— The end of the Chapter–
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