I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 336 The Uncrowned King of Bingzhou

Han cavalry may not be as good as the Xianbei in archery and long-distance galloping, but in close combat, these are not really important.

As for horsemanship, it also came in handy in close combat. Some Xianbei soldiers with excellent horsemanship could perform many mounted tactical maneuvers that Han cavalry could not, in order to dodge the slashes of Han cavalry and then retaliate.

But this doesn't make much sense.

Because Han cavalrymen generally wore armor, their armor could defend against the poorly made swords used by Xianbei cavalrymen. When the Xianbei cavalrymen slashed at them, their armor could either defend against the blows or only cause minor injuries.

With a single blow from the Han cavalry, they were instantly killed.

The disparity in equipment became glaringly apparent at this moment.

The Han cavalrymen were like warriors in a game of Musou, slaughtering their way through the enemy ranks. The Xianbei cavalrymen fought back fiercely, but to no avail. They were generally cut off from their horses by the Han cavalrymen after the first engagement, suffering heavy losses.

Hulanji grew increasingly anxious. Although some people around him advised him to retreat quickly, he refused and kept sending his trusted confidants to lead even more elite cavalry into the battle in an attempt to salvage the situation.

As a result, before they knew it, a Han cavalry force charged right up to them!

The visitor was naturally Yuan Shu.

Under the protection of Xu Chong and five hundred elite cavalry guards, Yuan Shu aimed at the location of the Xianbei army's commander from the very beginning and launched a charge towards the place where the banner was located.

As before, Xu Chong led five hundred elite cavalry guards to protect Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu charged forward with his spear, and after the guards cut a bloody path through him like chopping vegetables, the location of Hulanji came into view.

Yuan Shu roared and charged straight at Hulanji with his spear. Hulanji was so caught up in the chaos that he didn't even notice what was happening. Only when the gleaming spear was right in front of him did he stare in astonishment at Yuan Shu's eyes, which were filled with rage.

This Han general...

So young...

He only had time to form his first impression of Yuan Shu before his life ended abruptly. He was struck down from his horse by Yuan Shu, who pierced his chest and killed him.

Yuan Shu completed his second kill of an enemy general on the battlefield.

After the second kill, Yuan Shu drew his sword and cut down the Xianbei army's banner. He felt his blood boiling and turned back to lead his personal guards in a fierce battle. They fought among the Xianbei cavalry, leaving men and horses covered in blood.

The Xianbei army could not withstand the fierce fighting of the Han army and had also lost its commander, so it quickly collapsed and soon began to flee.

The Han cavalry pursued relentlessly, and even Cao Cao and Wang Kui, who had been trapped in the county town for several days, opened the city gates and led their troops out to try and vent their anger.

What started as a surprise attack quickly turned into a pursuit. The Han cavalry chased after the Xianbei cavalry all the way from the city of Wangtao to the Great Wall, killing and fighting their way through the enemy lines. The corpses of the Xianbei cavalrymen were scattered all along the way.

Many Xianbei cavalrymen were captured alive, or, realizing they couldn't escape, knelt down and begged for mercy, pleading to be spared their lives.

A slightly luckier group of Xianbei cavalrymen crossed the Great Wall in an attempt to escape Han territory, but they seemed to have forgotten that there was a Qiangyin County north of the Great Wall, where thousands of Tianxiong Army troops were stationed, and Lian Da was closely monitoring their movements.

Lian Da's scouts quickly discovered the trail of the Xianbei deserters and reported it to Lian Da. Upon learning this, Lian Da concluded that Yuan Shu had won a battle and that the Xianbei cavalry had fled in disarray.

Moreover, the number of people is not large, and it is not on the same level as before. How can we let go of such a good opportunity?
Therefore, Lian Da immediately decided to lead a thousand cavalrymen to intercept the fleeing Xianbei soldiers.

Lian Da moved swiftly, and a thousand Han cavalrymen launched a rapid attack, intercepting the fleeing Xianbei soldiers. Another fierce battle ensued, with the pursuit continuing until they reached outside Han territory.

Lian Da wanted to pursue them further, but unexpectedly, a heavy snow fell. Lian Da believed that continuing the pursuit would be disadvantageous to his side, so he ordered his troops to return to Han territory and report the battle situation to Yuan Shu.

When he led his troops back to Qiangyin County, he found that Yuan Shu had already led his troops to Qiangyin County and had stopped there temporarily. He was very happy and immediately handed over all his spoils of war to Yuan Shu.

His achievements weren't many. He had killed more than 600 Xianbei soldiers while defending the city, and now, in a pursuit, he had killed more than 800 Xianbei fleeing soldiers and captured more than 1,000 others. He reported these achievements to Yuan Shu, which earned him high praise from Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu's side also achieved remarkable results.

A surprise attack and the ensuing pursuit resulted in the annihilation and capture of over 6,000 Xianbei cavalrymen, almost completely destroying the main force of the Xianbei cavalry.

Adding to the gains made by Lian Da's side, after several battles, the Xianbei army that had invaded southward had been completely annihilated, and the Han army had won a resounding victory.

In this battle, the Xianbei gained nothing, and nearly 9,000 people were killed or captured, resulting in a crushing defeat. The Han army, on the other hand, achieved great success, successfully defending its territory, property, and people, and winning a major victory that was rare in more than a decade, which was a great triumph for them.

Of course, the biggest achievement of this battle was not the more than 6,000 Xianbei soldiers captured, but the more than 9,000 warhorses captured.

Yuan Shu lacked warhorses, and upon arriving in Bingzhou, he intended to purchase them and expand his cavalry. However, before he could take action, he captured so many warhorses in one battle, which made Yuan Shu very happy.

He immediately ordered these warhorses to be well cared for, in preparation for future expansion of the cavalry.

He plans to train a force of about 10,000 elite cavalrymen, each with two horses, starting with these captured warhorses.

The battle began in late November and ended at the end of December, lasting just over a month. Although it was not very large in scale, it was of profound significance.

First, the Han army successfully defeated the Xianbei cavalry raiding southwards using the tactics of scorched earth and defensive counterattacks, achieving a resounding victory. This victory greatly inspired the soldiers and civilians of the Han Empire on the border, making them proud and strengthening their confidence in resisting the Xianbei.

Secondly, the battle resulted in the elimination of nearly 9,000 Xianbei soldiers, wiping out almost one-tenth of their able-bodied fighting population, which was a very heavy blow to the entire Xianbei tribal alliance.

Thirdly, through this battle, Yuan Shu initially established his prestige and formidable image as a skilled and courageous warrior, greatly enhancing his presence in Bingzhou.

Fourth, Yuan Shu ordered the collection of the heads of Xianbei warriors who had died in battle in Qiangyin County, which were then used to build a Jingguan (a mound of skulls) to demonstrate his military might to the Xianbei and deter others, thus establishing Yuan Shu's absolute authority. To further enhance his prestige, Yuan Shu even dragged Xianbei prisoners on a procession from Yanmen County back to Taiyuan County, escorting them along the way, turning these once arrogant bandits into tools for increasing his power.

Yuan Shu used this to demonstrate his martial virtue, allowing many people in Bingzhou to witness his mighty and skillful fighting, which greatly strengthened his power base.

As a result, after the news spread, the prefects of various counties in Bingzhou all had a completely new feeling about Yuan Shu. They all wrote letters to congratulate Yuan Shu on his victory in the great battle, and did their best to flatter him. Their obedience to Yuan Shu increased significantly.

This battle can be said to be the battle that established Yuan Shu's reputation in Bingzhou. Even he himself did not expect that the battle would go so smoothly and so brilliantly.

Just as he had previously believed, in border regions like Bingzhou, the law of the jungle prevailed, and power was directly correlated with force, even more so.

The higher the mound of Jingguan (a type of human pyramid), the more solid the foundation of power and the more direct the authority.

Therefore, after a major battle, the capture of nearly nine thousand men and a large number of warhorses made Yuan Shu the uncrowned king of Bingzhou.

Officials who had initially been puzzled, suspicious, questioning, and dismissive of Yuan Shu's policies all put aside their ulterior motives. Officials who had planned to outwardly comply but inwardly defy, procrastinate, or falsify documents also abandoned their methods.

They dared not disobey Yuan Shu's decrees, and all issued decrees prohibiting the trade of ironware with the Xianbei people as Yuan Shu requested. They also worked overtime to send the population and farmland statistics from various places that Yuan Shu needed to Jinyang County.

In less than a month, all the information Yuan Shu had requested was in place. So, while he was reorganizing the situation after the war, he also conducted a thorough survey of Bingzhou's population and economy, and basically understood the entire situation of Bingzhou.

These circumstances greatly helped Yuan Shu's next action plan for governing Bingzhou, and Yuan Shu thus began to decide on his first targets.

He planned to seize land and, more importantly, people from a group of landlords and powerful families through a cleansing campaign, and begin building large-scale estates in the five northern counties, transforming them into war fortresses and forward bases as quickly as possible.

He intended to use this as a starting point to prepare for a counterattack against the Xianbei.

Yuan Shu now feels that the original five-year plan is about three years.

In Yuan Shu's view, the original plan for a comprehensive border construction project and trade restriction plan were somewhat like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Even if it is to continue, the Xianbei should not be the only enemy. Instead, the implementation of his integrated border defense plan for the three prefectures of You, Bing, and Liang should be based on the goal of completely eliminating all foreign tribes in the northern frontier.

After this battle, Yuan Shu fully realized that the Xianbei people were indeed only a minor concern compared to the Eastern Han Empire, and not a major enemy at all.

Their population, troops, and fighting strength were limited, making them far inferior to their predecessors—the Xiongnu Empire.

At this moment, the so-called 100,000 archers were the entire trump card of the Xianbei tribe. If it really came to this, it would be a battle for survival, and there was no room for error. If they failed, Tan Shihuai and the Xianbei tribal alliance that he had worked so hard to unify would be wiped out.

This is why the Han Empire could fail countless times, while Tan Shihuai could not fail even once.

The two sides were not even in the same league. Despite the large area controlled by the Xianbei, they had not had time to fully integrate such a vast territory.

Moreover, due to the harsh living environment on the grasslands and the oppression and exploitation of the lower class by the upper class in Xianbei society, the living conditions of the lower class of Xianbei were even worse than those of the Han people. The Xianbei people who drank milk and ate meat every day, as imagined by the Han people, simply did not exist.

Or rather, only a small number of top-ranking nobles could do this. Most people could only eat a small amount of grain and limited dairy products to survive. Not having enough to eat was the norm, and they didn't even eat meat as often as ordinary Han Chinese.

In this battle, Yuan Shu captured nearly four thousand Xianbei prisoners of war, most of whom were thin and skinny, dark-skinned and emaciated, showing no signs of having eaten meat and drunk milk every day. Only a very small number, about a few dozen, of the captured Xianbei prisoners of war looked somewhat strong.

Unsurprisingly, upon interrogation, these dozens of strong prisoners of war were all people of some status in the tribe, or sons of some chieftain, belonging to the second-generation officials among the Xianbei people, which is why they were able to eat meat and drink milk.

As for the other prisoners of war, they were lucky if they could kill a sheep and eat meat once a year; they couldn't even dream of it on ordinary days.

Even on the one occasion when they ate meat, several families would slaughter a sheep together, and then everyone would share the meat, barely managing to satisfy their cravings and taste the flavor.

Most of the time, they don't even eat as well as their livestock.

When Yuan Shurang had a Han Chinese soldier stand with these Xianbei soldiers, he immediately stood out from the crowd. The Han Chinese soldier was more than a head taller than the Xianbei soldiers, and his physique was also incomparable, clearly a size larger.

Faced with such an opponent, it is no wonder that the Han cavalry won a great victory in this battle, while suffering very few losses themselves.

Yuan Shu provided his soldiers with three meals a day. For technical troops like cavalry, who required high levels of physical exertion, the food standard Yuan Shu gave them was even better than that for infantry.

So they all became ruddy-faced and grew stronger day by day, each of them beginning to develop into the appearance of a burly, broad-shouldered general.

Behind this is Yuan Shu's massive investment of money and resources.

This is why such a powerful cavalry force with overwhelming combat superiority over the Xianbei was able to be formed.

That's why many people believe that Yuan Shucai truly "loved his soldiers like his own children." Other generals only talked the talk, but Yuan Shucai was genuine and truly treated his soldiers as his family.

No one in the entire Han Empire could achieve what Yuan Shu did, so it was unlikely that anyone else could lead an army capable of overwhelming and defeating their opponents.

This is why the Xianbei people became a "border threat".

Because they have an advantage in horsemanship and speed, and both sides are treated similarly, and both are starving and hungry, if one side has an advantage and the other does not, then they can only be beaten.
But as soon as the Han army improved their treatment and demonstrated their numerical advantage, the Xianbei immediately lost ground.

However, even the small request to let the soldiers eat more could not be fulfilled by anyone, because the entire system of the Han Empire had gone terribly wrong. Corrupt people were in power, conscience had vanished, and everyone was thinking about getting as much as possible. Who would think about doing things seriously?
How can the Han Empire be well-governed while surrounded by such a bunch of scoundrels? How can border defenses be properly constructed?
So, in addition to the border defense construction plan, a pest control plan gradually took shape in Yuan Shu's mind.

He wanted to get rid of the insects, to rid the country of this scourge, and to send all these insects to heaven!
(End of this chapter)