If there was anything Gongsun Zan worried about most at this moment, it was undoubtedly the matter of troops!
His five thousand cavalry had been reduced to just over four thousand after a series of fierce battles.
And Goguryeo?
The capital city of Wandu alone had a permanent resident population of 200,000, and the entire Goguryeo had at least six to seven hundred thousand people.
And these nomadic peoples were best at universal conscription!
Whenever necessary,
Everyone except the old, young, sick, and disabled could pick up arms and go to the battlefield.
Although their combat power was a bit low, you couldn't resist their sheer numbers.
Therefore,
As soon as Wandu was captured, Gongsun Zan sent a letter to Youzhou requesting reinforcements.
Or rather, an inquiry.
At the very least,
Gongsun Zan wanted to first understand his lord's approach to dealing with Goguryeo.
He had drafted two plans in his letter.
Reinforce troops to directly occupy Goguryeo, or to plunder and then withdraw.
However,
Before he could send back the reinforcement letter, he unexpectedly received some news.
Reinforcements were coming!
...
Let's rewind about ten days ago.
Youzhou, Zhuo Commandery,
The Prefect's Residence.
Li Xiuning, who was struggling with a pile of official documents, heard a report from a maid at the door.
"Madam, Prefect Liu is waiting to be summoned."
"Oh?"
Coming back to her senses, Li Xiuning rubbed her wrist and casually ordered,
"Take him to the reception room!"
"Yes!"
After the maid agreed and withdrew, Li Xiuning's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Her lord was becoming more and more unreliable!
Seeing that there was about to be a war in Liaodong, he packed up and ran off with his little lover?
Simply detestable!
If she weren't stationed in Youzhou, she would have loved to go along!
Right?
Yesterday, she seemed to have received news that Gongsun Zan had directly invaded Goguryeo?
If her lord knew, he would probably praise Gongsun Zan for his fighting prowess again, right?
But the problem was,
There weren't enough troops!
The First and Second Legions were gone, and the only remaining troops in Youzhou were the county soldiers.
If all these county soldiers were sent to Gongsun Zan, wouldn't it be a bit risky?
Although she thought this in her mind,
When she met Liu Qi in the reception room, Li Xiuning still made a promise.
"Prefect Liu, please rest assured!"
Looking at the worried Liu Qi, Li Xiuning smiled and comforted him,
"Although General Gongsun is a bit reckless, the Prefect's Residence will not abandon him!"
"I will order the cavalry to assemble immediately and rush to Liaodong!"
"Hoo~!"
Hearing Li Xiuning's assurance, Liu Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I will thank you on behalf of Bogui for saving his life!"
"Prefect Liu, what are you saying?"
Facing Liu Qi's attempt to kneel, Li Xiuning quickly had a maid help him up.
"General Gongsun is also avenging the people of Youzhou, and this is also due to the lord's orders, so it is only right for the Prefect's Residence to send troops to rescue him."
"Alright!"
"Prefect Liu, no more words, I will order the county soldiers to assemble now!"
Saying this, Li Xiuning saw Liu Qi off and directly ordered the county soldiers of several commanderies to assemble.
Of course!
Only the cavalry was assembled; the infantry would be too late even if they went.
Soon,
The cavalry stationed in various commanderies of Youzhou received the order and galloped towards Liaodong.
Apart from the three commanderies of Liaodong, the remaining eight commanderies had more than 16,000 cavalry.
All of them set off!
The cavalry from the closest commanderies, Liaodong Commandery and Youbeiping, arrived at Houcheng successively within three days.
Liu Shan, who was overjoyed, arranged matters in Houcheng and personally led these four thousand cavalry to depart first.
And at this moment,
Appearing before Gongsun Zan and his men was Liu Shan, who had traveled non-stop, covered in dust.
"This, this..."
After listening to Liu Shan's account, Gongsun Zan's eyes were a little red.
He knew that,
Strictly speaking, he had been reckless this time, marching beyond the frontier without the Prefect's Residence's orders.
But he hadn't expected that,
The Prefect's Residence had sent all the remaining cavalry of Youzhou without him even requesting it.
What was this?
This was unwavering support and trust!
And for a general campaigning abroad, how precious was such trust?
"Thump~!"
Growing more emotional, Gongsun Zan dismounted and knelt on both knees towards the direction of Zhuo County, kowtowing three times with a bang, bang, bang.
This was his response to Ye Feng's and the entire Prefect's Residence's trust.
As for anything else?
It would take time!
In short,
He, Gongsun Zan, would prove to Ye Feng and the Prefect's Residence that he was worthy of such trust.
...
Ye Feng, who was far away in Chenliu at this moment, naturally did not know that he had gained a loyal fan.
He didn't even know that Li Xiuning had ordered reinforcements to Liaodong.
But he wasn't worried at all.
Let them go wild!
With the lowest-ranking soldiers all loyal, what was the big deal if they went wild?
As long as you weren't foolish enough to self-destruct, Ye Feng wouldn't have time to bother with you.
He was busy now too.
For example,
How should one deal with a hulking man who insisted on carrying a spear for you?
Yes!
The former Yellow Turban rebel, Gu, had also been taken in by Ye Feng, and that strong man was among them.
It's just that,
This fellow didn't follow the Yellow Turbans to Youzhou, nor did he join the main Yellow Turban forces. Instead, he insisted on following Ye Feng to carry his spear.
This gave Ye Feng a headache.
Carry a spear?
If it were for a young lady, fine, he would take a loss.
But you're a grown man?
How could he carry it?
What?
You mean a weapon!
You should have said so earlier!
Even a weapon wouldn't work!
My system space is so convenient, why would I let you help carry weapons?
Don't you know how Old Dian from history died?
It was during a fight that he couldn't find his weapon and was killed by a bunch of low-level soldiers.
Do you think I would make such a mistake?
Impossible!
Even when chatting with my little sister, I have to ensure my weapon is always at the ready!
However,
This guy was like a plaster, sticking to Ye Feng from Suanzao all the way to Chenliu.
"No?"
"What exactly do you want?"
Annoyed, Ye Feng glared at the burly man in front of him and said speechlessly,
"I'm not Guan Er, who needs someone to carry his sabre, and besides, you're not Zhou Cang!"
"Hmm?"
As Ye Feng's words fell, the burly man's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.
"Qu, Qu Shuai, you know me? I am Zhou Cang!"
"???"
Looking at the astonished burly man, Ye Feng opened his mouth but couldn't speak for a long time.
This guy was Zhou Cang?!
No?
Shouldn't Zhou Cang have become a bandit with Pei Yuanshao after the Yellow Turban Rebellion failed?
Where was Pei Yuanshao?
Did he return to Youzhou with those Yellow Turbans?
But after Ye Feng recalled carefully, he didn't find anyone who looked like a fighter among them.
"Pei Yuanshao?"
Hearing Ye Feng's question, Zhou Cang scratched his head in bewilderment.
"Qu Shuai, you know him too? He seems to still be following General Di Gong!"
"And you?"
Looking at the burly man who had assumed the role of Zhou Cang, Ye Feng couldn't help but ask,
"Shouldn't you also be under General Di Gong? Why are you here?"
"This, this..."
Under Ye Feng's sharp gaze, Zhou Cang sheepishly touched his nose.
"I was sent out by General Di Gong to scout for information in Qingzhou."
"Scout for information?"
"Yes!"
Zhou Cang's sheepish expression deepened, and he lowered his head, saying,
"When your Second Legion entered Qingzhou, General Di Gong asked us to keep an eye on it."
"Oh?"
Ye Feng nodded noncommittally, not surprised by this.
But he was still curious!
Since this guy went to Qingzhou to spy, why was he here?
"This, this..."
Perhaps thinking of something embarrassing, Zhou Cang's face turned a little red.
"As soon as we entered the territory of Qingzhou, we encountered the Second Legion."
"They were too powerful!"
"The red-faced man leading them almost split me in two with a single blow."
"If I, Old Zhou, hadn't run fast, all my brothers might have been wiped out there."
"Red, red-faced man?"
Hearing Zhou Cang's description, Ye Feng's expression became a little strange.
"Was he using a Green Dragon Crescent Blade?"
"What?"
"It's just..."
As Ye Feng described it, Zhou Cang was stunned for a moment and quickly nodded.
"So that's called a Green Dragon Crescent Blade? It's indeed imposing! It's just a bit too heavy!"
"If I, Old Zhou, weren't tough-skinned, I really couldn't have withstood that blow."
"..."
Listening to Zhou Cang's slightly exaggerated account, Ye Feng had a rough understanding of what had happened.
How to put it?
This unlucky fellow was ordered by Zhang Bao to monitor the Second Legion.
As a result, he was discovered by Guan Yu because he was too close and was hit by a saber from the second brother.
Although the second brother might not have used much force, and this guy narrowly escaped death.
But he also lost all his subordinates and didn't dare to see Zhang Bao directly.
Afraid of death!
What if Zhang Bao found out the truth, wouldn't he kill him with a saber?
There was no other way,
Zhou Cang could only flee this way while gathering refugees and bandits along the road.
His original intention was to gather a decent team and then return.
But who knew,
Before his plan could be realized, he ran headlong into Ye Feng.
Now it was bad?
Not only were the cannon fodder he painstakingly gathered gone, but he also didn't dare to return to see Zhang Bao.
As for returning to Youzhou to be a commoner?
He was unwilling!
He, Old Zhou, was also a man with some strength, how could he live a mediocre life?
And coincidentally,
Ye Feng, this Prefect of Youzhou and Qu Shuai of the Yellow Turbans, was an idol he had always admired.
Therefore,
He wanted to stay by Ye Feng's side, even if it was just to be a small soldier.
It's just that,
The soldiers around Ye Feng were all recruited by the system, and he never considered recruiting soldiers.
One desperately wanted to stay, while the other didn't accept, so they were stuck in this awkward situation!
"This..."
Looking at the eager Zhou Cang, Ye Feng smacked his lips with some difficulty.
Although he understood what had happened, he still had no intention of keeping Zhou Cang.
Why?
Nonsense!
Not to mention Zhou Cang's combat strength was just so-so, the only thing worth praising was his loyalty.
And did he lack loyal subordinates?
Not at all!
Besides,
How nice it was for him and his little lover to be affectionate, why keep a big light bulb here?
To shine?
Ye Feng didn't want someone guarding outside while he was doing things.
However,
Regardless of how it was, Zhou Cang was a historically famous general, so it would be a waste to just give up.
Or maybe...