Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 552: Night Lobbying
As the sun was setting, Black Bear led more than a thousand riders and slowly approached the suburbs of Guangning City.

Zhang Fei rode up to them, saluted, and pointed at Guangning City: "Grand Marshal, I have failed to persuade them to surrender. The rebels are determined to hold on."

"Since the rebels are determined and words cannot move them, let it go."

As Black Bear spoke, he raised his hand and took off his mask. He smiled at Zhang Fei and said, "The Xianbei people are already frightened birds, and they are also watching Guangning City. If I capture the city overnight, it won't just be the Xianbei people who will flee."

Zhang Fei nodded: "But if we surround them without attacking, won't that damage morale?"

He did not care about the growing morale of the rebels, but was concerned about the thirty newly recruited centuries under his command. The reorganization method was based on the tradition of the Guanzhong soldiers. To some extent, the primitive military democracy system was maintained within these thirty newly recruited centuries.

The newly elected centurion supervisors and team officers are indeed motivated to maintain their status, but the overall situation is not good and the prospects are bleak, so they will not cherish the official status of the centurion supervisors.

"Wouldn't it be better if they were demoralized or defected?"

Black Bear pointed at the knights behind him and said, "General Yide, please rest assured tonight. This group of soldiers will be on duty. They are considered fresh troops."

"new force?"

Zhang Fei quickly came to his senses. These were charioteers on horseback. The charioteers were not just chariot drivers, but mainly armed with heavy-armored crossbows.

These chariot soldiers are not only good at crossbows. Currently, except for the training in tower ships and navy, they are learning all other infantry skills and have also mastered riding.

Zhang Fei also observed the chariot soldiers. They were well equipped. A squad of twelve people was equipped with two large carts and ten horses.

The chariot is also large in size, and what’s even more bizarre is that there are two types of carriages, both of which are detachable.

If you remove the roof of a light tank, it becomes a small boat; while the roof and compartment of a heavy tank are separate parts, fixed to the outside with table legs that look like wooden spikes.

When setting up camp, it can be taken down and laid on the ground to become an extra-large table or bed board; when setting it up before a battle, it can become an excellent shield against arrows.

There are seven hundred-man teams in a chariot camp, two of which are baggage teams. Some vehicles have some machines that Zhang Fei cannot understand fixed inside the entire carriage. When they set up camp and rest, they can use horsepower to quickly process wood and make spare axle parts.

The most exaggerated feature of the baggage train is its vehicle equipment. A squad consists of twelve people and is equipped with six large carts. In principle, each cart is pulled by four horses, with one spare horse.

Zhang Fei also knew what his new and old cavalrymen were working so hard for, so he followed Black Bear and said, "Since following the Grand Marshal, my new cavalrymen have come to their senses and know that they have committed serious crimes. They are eager to make meritorious deeds to atone for their crimes. If we do not attack Guangning now, we will inevitably be disappointed."

"Since you want to make a contribution so much, why don't we let them attack the city?"

Black Bear asked back with a smile. Zhang Fei was stunned, then laughed and said, "Grand Marshal, you are joking. How can they understand attacking a city? If they are ordered to attack a city, they will only lose their lives in vain."

"So when it comes to attacking strongholds, I am the professional... Since General Yide is so difficult to do, let's put it another way."

Black Bear thought for a moment, then said, "Why not tell the officers and soldiers that I want to surround the city and attack the reinforcements? Tomorrow I will have to trouble General Yide's troops to cut down more trees to build siege equipment and dig more trenches to seal off the city."

Zhang Fei smiled and bowed: "Yes."

Anyway, the ones doing the hard work were the three thousand newly joined soldiers who were eager to attack the city. Although objectively the more than 500 knights under Zhang Fei's command also had the normal need to break the city and make a fortune, they had followed Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun for a long time and had a certain "big picture view".

Under the influence of the overall perspective, these people can suppress their instinctive desire for wealth.

As for when to attack the city after finishing the hard work?
It is true that we will surround the city and attack the reinforcements, but if the reinforcements coming are a hundred thousand strong, what is the point of attacking the city?
Zhang Fei has plenty of ways to fool his soldiers, he just isn't used to Black Bear being so straightforward... He actually directly shattered the soldiers' fantasies, which would more or less affect their morale and cohesion.

In the night, the campfire crackled.

Black Bear and Zhang Fei sat in front of the campfire and drank wine. They talked about defeating the Xiongnu and killing the Xianbei. One was what Zhang Fei was curious about, and the other was what Black Bear was proud of. Soon, they drank most of the wine they brought. When they were drunk, Black Bear said with emotion: "In fact, compared with the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan, what I am worried about are the Dongyi tribes."

"Dongyi?"

Zhang Fei raised his hand and tapped his cheek, wondering, "I know that the Dongyi are strong, but they live deep in the mountains, hunting for a living, and don't communicate with the outside world. How can they be a big threat?"

"General Yide only sees the surface."

Black Bear thought for a moment and said, "Take children for example. If there were no wars in the Han area, even though the seasons have been irregular in the past hundred years and there have been occasional epidemics that have ravaged several counties, if a farming family has children, a hundred acres of land is enough to support a couple and four or five children. Although there are deaths, if a couple has children and has surplus food at home, they can feed new mouths."

"The land of Dongyi is barren. As far as I know, the mountains are covered with snow for six months in winter! In the cold winter, the men and women hunt, cut wood, and give birth. This shows their tenacity. As for children, giving birth is difficult, and there are more deaths. The children who survived must have strong bones and will be able to endure hardships when they grow up."

Black Bear took a sip from the wine bowl and continued, "Their blood and customs are like this. Now they belong to several countries and there are more than 100,000 households. If they can learn our iron smelting and forging techniques and equip them with iron armor in the future, how can we resist more than 10,000 strong men invading China?"

Zhang Fei was also aware of the harsh climate in the area where the Dongyi people lived. For the Dongyi, the bow was an integral part of their life.

They can make a living by hunting in the mountains and deep forests, and they must use strong bows. In addition to shooting elks and the like, they also shoot fierce beasts such as tigers, leopards, bears and badgers.

In Zhang Fei's eyes, the outflow of iron technology was inevitable.

War will cause the victims to spread outward, and they may become mixed Hu or Dong Yi.

It is normal for disaster victims to bring technology with them, and this cannot be controlled by today's strict defenses.

Especially for profit-seeking merchants, building workshops in Dongyi territory became a necessity in order to sell ironware to Dongyi at low cost.

The outward expansion of technology is difficult to change, and the roots and customs of the Dongyi people are even more difficult to change. This is the foundation of their survival.

If it is changed, it will lead to the extinction of the ethnic group.

If the Dongyi become a major threat to the country in the future, it is inevitable that the Dongyi will master iron tools and use heavy armor and powerful bows to disturb the lands of Yan and Zhao.

Seeing Zhang Fei lost in thought, Black Bear continued, "At first, the Xiongnu were strong, then the Xianbei became the threat. Now, if I am not here, the two Xianbei kings will fight, and the Wuhuan will surely become stronger. After the Wuhuan, the threat will come from the Dongyi. In this poor and remote area, the people fight for their lives with the heaven and earth. If a hero emerges, he will dominate for a time."

"Furthermore, the policies I implemented in Guanzhong benefited all people, except for the powerful. If I march eastward next year, based on my understanding of the powerful, they will drag their fellow villagers and followers out of the border, or convert to the barbarians, or escape to Liaodong. In my opinion, Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang have already raised a tiger to cause trouble. When the powerful of Yan and Zhao lead more than 100,000 households to Liaodong, their technology and atlases will be scattered among the Dongyi countries, and their country will surely prosper!"

Black Bear grabbed the wine jar and poured wine for Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei quickly held up the wine bowl with both hands and said in a daze: "The Grand Marshal has a long-term vision, which I cannot understand. Today, I know what to do after hearing what the Grand Marshal said. I will persuade you, brother. I only hope that this battle will severely inflict heavy damage on the heroes of Yan and Zhao, so that they will not be able to force the people to flee."

"This is one of the reasons why I came to Youzhou to meet with Lord Xuande. Another reason is that Jingzhou will soon deploy troops, and I hope Lord Xuande can control the land of Yan and Zhao. I never thought that the heroes of the two states were full of malice towards me, which disrupted my plan."

Black Bear raised his wine bowl and said, "Otherwise, how could I be so embarrassed if I mobilized 30,000 cavalry?"

"Yes."

Zhang Fei's doubts and concerns also disappeared. If he really wanted to fight, why would he bring only such a small number of people?
Judging from the efficiency of the subsequent troop deployment from Guanzhong, it was obvious that the various troops outside the Great Wall were mobilized in a hurry, otherwise they would have arrived a few days earlier.

Jian Yong was the governor of Yunzhong County, so he could naturally provide Liu Bei with military intelligence outside the Great Wall.

The larger the army, the more it relies on mature paths.

So Zhang Fei believed what Black Bear said and really wanted to fight. In September, he transferred 30,000 troops from Yunzhong to Daijun and Yuyang. The subsequent reinforcements and the reorganization and recruitment along the way were enough to sweep across the land of Yan and Zhao.

(End of this chapter)