weaving

Chapter 1483 The Marquis of Yongning really has money!

At the end of the Si hour (9-11 AM), the scorching sun hung high overhead, bringing a touch of warmth.

A cloud of dust gradually rose on the official road to the northwest, and then four or five riders came galloping toward them. Before they even reached them, Liang Ren, the prefect of Suizhou, said, "They've arrived! We've finally waited for them."

He started walking forward as he spoke, but after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped. He turned back with a slightly embarrassed smile and said, "Master Yuan, please go first."

Yuan Shu naturally wouldn't bother with such trivial details. He smiled slightly, raised his head, and stepped out from under the large umbrella, heading towards the official road to meet him.

Meanwhile, Luo Rucai, accompanied by Ji Gui, led his generals onto the official road.

…………

Two rows of armored knights slowly rode in, their warhorses also clad in armor. They looked like divine warriors from the heavens, exuding an aura of menace.

Although there were only one hundred heavily armored knights, they gave off an oppressive feeling like a thousand troops.

Not to mention Yuan Shu, Wang Renzhe, and Liang Ren felt an unprecedented pressure, even the battle-hardened Luo Rucai and his troops felt a little breathless.

Behind the two rows of fifty heavily armored knights, Zhang Cheng, the Central Plains Bandit Suppression Commander and Earl of Yongning, appeared. Accompanying him were Hu Dayou, a seemingly very imposing commander of the heavy cavalry, as well as his adopted son and personal guards, including the central army officer Zhang Mingyuan, and civil officials such as Sun Shixiang, Liu Chengzhu, and Hu Yiwen.

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng rode slowly, while the central army officer Zhang Mingyuan spurred his horse forward and galloped ahead to Yuan Shu, Luo Rucai, and others, shouting loudly: "The Central Plains Bandit Suppression Commander, Yongning Earl, has arrived. All officers and generals, step forward to pay your respects."

In an instant, Yuan Shu, Luo Rucai, and more than ten other civil and military officials knelt on the official road and bowed in worship.

With a clattering sound of armor clashing, the guards protecting the Earl of Yongning retreated to the sides, and the Earl of Yongning, surrounded by his entourage, slowly rode forward.

"Yuan Shu, the Prefect of Daliang Circuit and Right Assistant Administrator of the Provincial Administration Commission, pays his respects to the Earl of Yongning!"

"...Wang Renzhe pays respects to the Earl of Yongning...Liang Ren pays respects to the Earl of Yongning..."

"...Luo Rucai pays respects to the Earl of Yongning...Ji Gui pays respects to the Earl of Yongning..."

Yang Shengzu, Yang Chengzu, Wang Long, Yang Mingqi, Luo Daien, Luo Daide and others also paid their respects to the Earl of Yongning.

Only then did Marquis Yongning Zhang Cheng dismount, laughing loudly as he said, "Please get up, everyone."

Instead of helping Luo Rucai up, he went directly to Yuan Shu, helped him up with both hands, and said gently, "Please rise, Councilor Yuan."

After Yuan Shu stood up, he looked the dashing young man up and down closely and exclaimed, "I never expected that the Earl of Yongning would be so young. Truly, heroes emerge from among the young."

"Hehe, Councilor Yuan is too kind. Zhang Cheng is just a military man. How dare I call myself a hero in front of you, sir?"

Zhang Cheng took Yuan Shu's hand and walked to Luo Rucai's side. As he walked, he said, "Eight years ago, Lord Yuan did not hesitate to destroy his family's wealth to recruit brave men and resist the rebel Li Zicheng. He held Suizhou City for seven days and nights and finally repelled the rebel army, saving the people of the city."

Such heroism truly impressed Zhang Cheng!

When Yuan Shu was told that he was pleased with himself, he was also happy. However, someone like him had long since cultivated the ability to keep his emotions hidden. He remained calm and said, "This trivial matter is not worth mentioning in front of the Earl of Yongning."

"Although the rebel Li Zicheng was brave back then, he was first defeated in the prefectural city. He then led his remaining troops to harass Suizhou. I, your humble servant, distributed funds to recruit brave men, and fought day and night, covered in arrows and stones. Fortunately, the city's defenses were strong, and we were able to barely withstand Li Zicheng's attack. If it were today, I would probably find it extremely difficult to do so. On the other hand, the Earl of Yongning fought against the rebels. He had no strong city defenses and faced an enemy several times his size, yet he was able to defeat the rebel army in open battle and recover the entire territory of Kaifeng."

"The Earl of Yongning is truly a divine being!"

"You flatter me, Lord Yuan. I dare not accept such praise."

As he spoke, the Earl of Yongning grabbed Luo Rucai's arm and said, "General Luo, from now on, Suizhou will depend entirely on you and Councilor Yuan."

Luo Rucai had lost the arrogance he had shown with Ji Gui earlier. He gave an awkward smile and said, "Please rest assured, Commander-in-Chief, I, Luo, will definitely guard Suizhou and protect the people of this region."

Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, led the two of them slowly into the reception pavilion.

The rest of the men observed the armored knights from outside. They had all dismounted and stood in neat rows on both sides of the road, each on their own horse, looking like exquisitely sculpted stone statues.

At this moment, the adopted sons and personal guards of the Earl of Yongning arrived around the reception pavilion to protect the Earl of Yongning's safety.

Two more rows of armored knights approached on the official road. Unlike before, each knight was accompanied by four mules in addition to his armored warhorse.

In fact, they were riding real warhorses that could be used in battle, while one of them was a riding horse and the other was a pack animal used for carrying heavy loads.

During normal marches, heavy knights wore cloaks and uniforms but not armor. Their clothing and armor, as well as the gear for their warhorses, were packed up and placed on the backs of their packhorses.

Moreover, they usually rode horses. To conserve their strength, warhorses were only armored when battle was imminent, and knights would also don armor and mount their horses to fight.

Just like the heavily armored knights at this moment, who have all dismounted and are standing on the official road holding their horses' reins, the purpose of which is also to conserve the horses' energy.

Imagine that the warhorse is already covered in armor, and the rider, in addition to his own weight of one or two hundred pounds, also has the weight of tens of pounds of armor. If the rider were to bear the entire weight on the warhorse, he would not be able to sustain it for long.

…………

Wang Renzhe and Liang Ren were focused on the Earl of Yongning in the reception pavilion, wondering what he would say to Yuan Shu and Luo Rucai.

Meanwhile, the generals of Cao Cao's camp were all looking at the knights and warhorses on the official road, especially their iron armor, which attracted the eyes of these warriors.

"Tsk tsk..." Luo Dede said sourly, "The Earl of Yongning really has money."

“If you have a lot of money, you have to be willing to spend it,” Yang Mingqi said from the side.

Rodney turned and glared at him, saying, "Hmph. He's willing to spend money, but he only uses it on his own people. Don't you guys even see what kind of people you're giving us?"

Wang Long, however, dismissed his words and said indifferently, "The Earl of Yongning promised to provide armor and weapons for our three battalions, so it shouldn't be bad."

“Three battalions?” Rodion immediately retorted, “Only three battalions? That’s hardly any men.”

Luo Dede said dismissively, "Exactly! We have 50,000 to 60,000 men, and we're only organizing three battalions, which is less than 20,000 men. What are we going to do with the rest?"

Watching them argue, Yang Shengzu wanted to say something, but before he could speak, Yang Chengzu beside him pulled him back, quietly shaking his head to stop him from joining the argument...