Zhang Xuan took the lead, wearing armor and a yellow robe. Yue Fei, Liu Bowen, and the others rode beside him, followed by 500 Yellow Scarf Warriors.
After a day and night of preparation, Zhang Xuan bid farewell to Zhang Jiao, who was in charge of the overall situation in Ye City. He led 500 Yellow Scarves Warriors and marched towards Julu Prefecture.
Looking at the 500 strong men under his command, Zhang Xuan was quite happy. These 500 strong men were different from ordinary soldiers. They were all martial artists who had cultivated martial arts. Most of them were martial artists in the middle and upper levels of the Muscles and Bones Realm. Some of the strong men at the peak of the Muscles and Bones Realm had also been discovered by Zhang Xuan and Yue Fei. They were appointed as captains, captains, and uncles.
After talking to Yu Yuefei a few times, Zhang Xuan had some understanding of the ancient army. These 500 strong men did not sound like a lot, but after a few battles, these ordinary strong men could quickly become the military, sergeant, or even captain.
The strongmen who were previously appointed as sergeants, ten-sergeants, and dukes were promoted to dukes, with a hundred generals and five hundred strongmen. They could quickly expand to five thousand strong soldiers. Although they were not as elite as the yellow-scarved strongmen formed by pure martial artists, they were not bad.
Although a Yellow-scarved Strongman was good, raising a Strongman cost a lot of money. Warriors not only needed to eat to train their muscles and bones, but they also needed meat to support themselves.
Zhang Xuanfang immediately understood why Yuan Shao's elite soldiers and halberds numbered less than a thousand, Gongsun Zan's White Horse Yi Cong numbered less than three thousand, and Cao Cao's elite Tiger Leopard Cavalry numbered only a few thousand after he unified the north.
It was not that these warlords were unwilling to train more elite soldiers, but because the resources needed to train elite soldiers were far more than ordinary soldiers, so they could train elite soldiers.
Immediately, Zhang Xuan handed over all the internal affairs and military supplies to Liu Bowen. Although he was best at planning the world's military strategy, with only 500 strong men, it was still very easy for him to take over as the army's chief registrar.
Hundreds of men and horses ran amok on the official road. The road was deserted, and the village officials in the relay station were nowhere to be seen.
As the news of the uprising in the Road of Peace spread, the counties around Ye City were all terrified. In some small counties, when the officials heard of the uprising in the Road of Peace, they hung their seals and fled overnight.
Some of the officials who still had some courage were only defending the city to protect themselves. It was even more impossible for them to take the initiative to attack and destroy the rebel army. Therefore, Zhang Xuan only met many Taiping soldiers wearing yellow turbans along the way. He did not meet any official troops.
Julu County has jurisdiction over fifteen counties. Although there are many counties, most of them are small counties. The big counties are only Guangzong County, Guangping County, Julu County, Yingtao County and Quyang County.
After two days of marching, Zhang Xuanji's troops had already passed through Wei County and Handan's jurisdiction. They arrived at the county closest to Ye City in Julu County, Guangping.
Guangping was a relatively large county in Julu Prefecture. To the west was Handan and Maocheng. To the east is Guantao, Yangping.
In the history of his previous life, Julu Prefecture was personally guarded by Zhang Jiao. It was said that he had 300,000 soldiers. When the imperial court sent Lu Zhi to attack the north, he only had the Three Rivers Knights and the soldiers who came to join him. There were less than 30,000 people, which was why Lu Zhi could not win for a long time and was punished by the imperial court.
Zhang Jiao eventually died in Guangzong and was beheaded by the imperial court. However, Zhang Jiao had given Julu to Zhang Xuan to attack. It was hard to tell if there was a deeper meaning behind this.
"Bowen, how many more days can we last with the rations we have?”Zhang Xuan slowed down when they reached Julu Territory and asked as he rode on his horse.
Liu Bowen said without thinking,"The Great Master had originally given us half a month's worth of food and grass, which was based on the standard of ordinary soldiers. However, our soldiers and horses are all martial artists, so the consumption is a little higher. In just three days, we have already consumed half of the food and grass. Although we still have a lot of property, there is no place to buy food due to the war and man-made disasters. Therefore, if we still let the strong men have enough food, we can only last for four or five days.”
Zhang Xuan nodded. When Zhang Jiao was preparing to attack, he had already confiscated the grain stored in the treasury of Ye City. The aristocratic families in the city who did not believe in the Way of Peace had also been purged. That was why they had food to support them. However, the food in Ye City was still insufficient.
"The people of the world are in dire straits, but the taxes of the Imperial Court have never been reduced. As long as Guangping is conquered, the stock in the city should be enough to support them for a period of time.”
This was how things were. In the early stages of the uprising, there was no food and grass, so they could only plunder from all over the country. However, some rebel armies could still uphold military discipline and only plunder from large families. However, some small groups of bandits could not fight against the powerful families, so they targeted the common people. Not only did they not get much food and grass, but they also did evil for nothing and tarnished their reputation. However, there was also the method of robbing the commoners of their food and forcing them to rebel with them. Otherwise, they would not be able to live.
Zhang Xuan paid great attention to military discipline during this march, and Yue Fei was famous for his excellent military discipline in the history of China. Therefore, the five hundred Yellow Turban strongmen were very disciplined along the way. Zhang Xuan did not send anyone to contact the Yellow Turban strongmen along the way, so there was no food supply.
Looking at the official road, Liu Bowen thought for a moment and said,"" The Great Virtuous Teacher has been preaching in Jizhou for many years. Many people have accepted the Path of Peace. As long as we take down the city and suppress the powerful families who don't submit, Julu will be as united as an iron plate. By then, we will levy taxes and recruit soldiers. We won't have to be as tight as we are now.”
"Alright, then we'll break Guangping first. The next battle will depend on Bowen and Pengju!”Zhang Xuan clapped his hands and looked at Liu and Yue.
The two of them cupped their hands in agreement. Then, Zhang Xuan asked,"According to the current speed of our army, we should be able to reach Guangping City before sunset. According to the report from the scouts, the county magistrate of Guangping County did not escape. Instead, he gathered the powerful families in the county and sent their guards and county soldiers to defend the city. Bowen, Pengju, do you have a good plan to break the city?”
"Mr. Liu, please." Yue Fei replied.”
Liu Bowen smiled and said," General Yue is a master of the art of war. I think you already have a good plan in mind. Bowen won't make a fool of himself. Hehe."”
Zhang Xuan couldn't help but laugh. Yue Fei was indeed not only a general, he was also a marshal. This mere Guangping County was naturally a good choice for him. He asked Ji Yu and Ji Yu just to hear their thoughts.
Yue Fei didn't decline and said,"There won't be many soldiers in Guangping County. Even if we include the guards of the powerful families in the city, there won't be more than a thousand. We have five hundred Yellow Scarves Strongmen, so we can attack the city directly. However, the damage will be too great. Therefore, Fei thought that we could attack at night. Most of the county soldiers are poor and suffer from night blindness. However, the array set up by the county magistrate's family on the city wall would depend on Mister Liu.”
Liu Bowen nodded slightly and said,"Break the formation!" It's as easy as flipping my hand!"
Zhang Xuan immediately raised his horsewhip and shouted at his men,"Attack Guangping and attack the city overnight! After the city is broken, no wine and meat will be allowed!"
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