After Lu Ning's army returned to their residence, the soldiers who went out to fight rested for a few days. Lu Ning then called the few so-called middle-level and above leaders under Lu Ning to discuss the next step of the Lu Ning army.
After everyone had arrived, Lu Ning glanced at them and said seriously,""As you all know, our army now has nearly five thousand soldiers and twenty thousand warhorses. However, our soldiers don't have enough time to train, their combat strength isn't strong, and their discipline is lax. This isn't a good sign! The enemy won't wait for us to train before attacking us. They can attack us at any time, so we must be prepared for battle.”
Zhang Liao stood up and said," Don't worry, my lord. I will train the soldiers as soon as possible. I will strengthen the training of the new soldiers who have joined our army. I will especially strengthen the education of military rules and discipline."”
Lu Ning nodded and continued,""Right now, there are many commoners coming to us from all directions every day. The total number has reached more than 20,000, which is putting a lot of pressure on us. We don't have any extra food to help the people. Although we have seized a batch of gold, silver, and jewelry, it can't solve our current difficulties. We can't use it to buy the food, cloth, weapons, and armor we need. We don't have anywhere to buy them. Even if we can buy some food, it's not a long-term solution. If this situation continues, I estimate that it won't be long before the people around us will be in turmoil and even kill each other. We may also be attacked by the Xianbei and Xiongnu Tartar Cavalry at any time. This is a very serious problem. Everyone, tell us what methods we can use to solve our difficulties.”
Lü Ning's subordinates looked at each other. What ideas did they have? Therefore, Lü Ning was really lacking in brains and advisors. He couldn't do anything about it. Who would be willing to follow someone who had nothing? He didn't even have a title, let alone anything else.
Zhang Liao looked left and right, and when he found that no one was talking, he mustered up his courage and said,"My lord, we have nearly 5,000 soldiers now. Although we don't have enough training time and their combat strength isn't very strong, I still think we should take down Yanmen Prefecture now. Only then did they have a place to settle down and take in these people. Otherwise, they would not be able to solve the problem at its root. Only by giving the people a place to settle down and land could they gradually get out of their predicament. We can't rely on the resources we've seized to sustain our operations. Moreover, our targets will be further and further away from our residences. Even if we manage to seize a certain amount of food, we won't be able to transport it back. It's already very good that our army is self-sufficient. How can we have the ability to feed the people? Moreover, if we don't settle these people, we won't be able to protect them with our current strength. We might even be implicated. We don't have the ability to make a decision with the Tartar Cavalry.”
After hearing Zhang Liao's words, the others also said in unison that they were going to attack Yanmen Prefecture.
Lu Ning glanced at them and said,""Aren't you afraid of fighting on two or even three sides? Once we take down Yanmen Prefecture, the Lu Ning army will have Ding Yuan's army in front, the Xianbei cavalry behind them, and the Qianghu and Xiongnu cavalry in the west. Even the court might send troops to clean up the mess. If they all pounce on us together, do we have the ability to handle it?”
Zhang Liao thought for a while and said,""My lord, what you said is the truth. These situations can happen, but we have no choice now. We can only rise up and resist. As for Ding Yuan's army, I don't think it's a big problem. As long as we take down the city and quickly seize Yanmen Pass, we only need to place two to three thousand soldiers at Yanmen Pass to barely stop Ding Yuan's attack. As for the other two routes, they will be difficult to deal with. I think as long as we plan properly and find an opportunity, we might be able to survive. If we don't have enough soldiers, we can recruit more and train them while letting them guard the checkpoints and cities. Under the leadership of the veterans, it should be feasible. As long as we have another two to three thousand cavalrymen, we can ambush and harass the Qiang Hu, Xiongnu, Xianbei, and other tribes. We can try our best to delay them from attacking us. That way, we still have a chance of survival.”
Lu Ning nodded after hearing this. Zhang Liao was indeed more far-sighted and thoughtful than the average person.
"Wenyuan, there are two to three thousand soldiers stationed at Yanmen Pass. If we want to stop the attack of Ding Yuan's army, we need a general to lead them. Otherwise, we won't be able to hold them." From what I know, Ding Yuan has a few good generals under him, especially his adopted sons, Lu Bu and Lu Fengxian. Their bravery is unparalleled in the current era. Lu Bu's subordinate, Gao Shun, was an expert in training soldiers and was also very good at leading troops to battle. Although he was not as brave as Lu Bu or Wen Yuan, his overall ability was very strong. To a certain extent, it was easy to deal with Lu Bu, but it was not easy to deal with Gao Shun. The reason was that although Lu Bu was brave, he was only a brawny man with a simple mind. Gao Shun was different. His overall ability should not be inferior to Wen Yuan.”
"How did my lord know about this?" Zhang Liao asked after hearing Lü Ning's words. But no matter what, we still have to attack Yanmen Prefecture. This is the only way for our army to survive. Without a base, it will be difficult for our army to establish a foothold in the north.”
"All of you agree to attack Yanmen County?" Lu Ning said to his subordinates.”
"Yes, my lord," everyone said in unison,"we firmly agree to attack Yanmen County."”
"Alright, since that's the case, I'll bring everyone to bet on him." Lu Ning said resolutely. You should immediately send scouts to Yanmen to collect intelligence. We will formulate a battle plan after we figure out all the situations. We cannot relax the training of the soldiers for even a moment. We must keep track of the enemy's movements around us and report to them as soon as there is a situation.”
Everyone said in unison,"All orders will be obeyed by the Lord."”
In the following days, Lu Ning gathered all the people who could read, write, and draw among the 20,000 refugees into a small team. Lu Ning told them,"All of you know that the court doesn't care about us now, and the government doesn't care either. We don't have any other choice now. We can only rely on everyone to manage it. From now on, you have to use all your abilities to help me manage and settle the refugees.”
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