I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 344: Those who are good at fighting have no great achievements
Considering that the 5,000 cavalrymen were better suited for defense than offense, and in preparation for a full-scale northern expedition in the future, Yuan Shu decided to recruit skilled horsemen from good families in Bingzhou to join the army and expand his cavalry force.

Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Youzhou were the three major horse-breeding areas of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and also the three provinces with the highest proportion of people skilled in horsemanship. Although the people were not highly educated, they were excellent riders.

When Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu established his rule over the country, the Youzhou cavalry and the Bingzhou wolf cavalry played a significant role. In particular, the Youzhou cavalry played a decisive role, making great contributions to Liu Xiu's defeat of other competitors, which shows the skill of the people of the two provinces in riding.

Times have changed. Youzhou and Bingzhou are mostly devastated and sparsely populated, but their martial prowess remains strong. Therefore, Yuan Shu plans to recruit at least 20,000 men into the army to supplement the lack of combat power.

Similar to Luoyang, the number of regular border troops in Bingzhou was not large. Apart from the troops of the General Who Crossed the Liao River and the troops of the General Who Sent to the Xiongnu, there were only Great Wall garrison soldiers and a small number of camp soldiers stationed in Bingzhou, with a standing force of only a few thousand men.

In addition, there were the troops of the governor of Bingzhou and the soldiers under the command of the prefects of various counties, which varied in number and combat strength.

Whenever a foreign enemy invades, depending on the region, the military will be led by the General Who Crosses the Liao River, the General Who Sends Envoys to the Xiongnu, and the Governor of Bingzhou, or the three of them will cooperate in the battle. If there are too many foreign enemies, the governors of various prefectures will be asked to send troops to assist in the battle.

The main method is temporary recruitment, and the army is disbanded after the battle. However, because the frequency of battles is relatively high, temporary recruitment is more efficient, and the recruited good men are often highly skilled in combat.

In particular, the number of civilian knights was much larger than that of knights in the Sanhe region. Many local powerful families had sons and followers who could ride horses and fight. If the court summoned them, a dozen or twenty people would be dispatched at a time.

They were basically reserves, all registered with the government, and some of their armor, bows, and crossbows were not considered illegal. Given their frequent mounted battles, they could quickly form a fighting force.

According to Dong Zhuo's previous estimate, there were no fewer than 30,000 such people in Bingzhou.

However, the imperial court was in dire financial straits and had never mobilized such a large-scale army of Bingzhou cavalry. Most of the time, it only mobilized a few thousand or ten thousand men.

If Yuan Shu wanted to recruit soldiers to fill vacancies, as long as the pay was good, there would be many people willing to join the army.

After Yuan Shu arrived in Bingzhou, he took sole control of the military system there.

As the governor of Bingzhou, he controlled the soldiers under the command of the prefects of the nine counties of Bingzhou. As the Left General, he commanded the Tianxiong Army, the Great Wall garrison soldiers, and the border defense troops. At the same time, the General Who Crosses the Liao River and the General Who Sends Envoys to the Xiongnu were also under his command.

However, the affiliation of the various armies in Bingzhou was quite complicated, and the command system was not unified. In peacetime, there was no need to worry about generals becoming too powerful, but in wartime, this would be a great drawback.

Therefore, while settling the Tianxiong Army and expanding its cavalry, Yuan Shu also carried out a wave of integration of the military system in Bingzhou.

He submitted a memorial to the court, suggesting that, apart from retaining the troops under the General Who Crosses the Liao River, all other camps and garrisons should be dispersed and incorporated into the military systems of various prefectures, and that the prefecture-state military system should be restored in the seven prefectures of Bingzhou, excluding Taiyuan and Shangdang.

Each prefecture was equipped with a prefecture-state army of 3,000 men, totaling 21,000 men.

To alleviate the burden of maintaining the army on the imperial court, the policy of combining military and agricultural work was adopted. Military settlements and manors were set up to house and support the army. The army farmed during busy periods and trained during slack periods. They were under the command of the prefects of various counties, which enhanced the military defense capabilities and food self-sufficiency of the border counties.

The prefects of each prefecture could flexibly mobilize the troops for farming, military training, guarding the Great Wall, and border defense based on the actual situation.

This became the first line of defense for Bingzhou.

Behind them was the main force of the Tianxiong Army, personally commanded by Yuan Shu.

The troops of each prefecture only play a supporting role, and when necessary, they can delay the enemy's advance and disperse the enemy's main force. The main task of meeting and defeating the enemy is left to Yuan Shu and Tianxiong Army.

He did this to strengthen the defense and early warning capabilities of the border counties, giving the main force, the Tianxiong Army, enough time to assemble and launch an attack.

At the same time, it can streamline and integrate the rather chaotic military system of Bingzhou, saving many rounds of wrangling and shirking of responsibility.

In addition, because the position of Xiongnu Zhonglang General was equivalent to that of the military commander of You and Bing provinces, and he could also control the Liao General and the Protector of Wuhuan, it affected Yuan Shu's command of the Bing province army.

So Yuan Shu simply submitted a memorial to the court, directly removing the General of the Central Army who was sent to the Xiongnu, and only retaining the General Who Crossed the Liao River in Bingzhou to command the troops of the Liao Crossing Camp. The troops of the Liao Crossing Camp effectively became Yuan Shu's subordinates and were subject to his control.

Yuan Shu added 3,000 soldiers to the Du Liao Camp, which was led by General Zhang Quan and was in charge of supervising the Southern Xiongnu.

The troops originally under the command of the Xiongnu General were simply incorporated into the Tianxiong Army by Yuan Shu, and added to the Tianxiong Army's cavalry, increasing the number of Tianxiong Army cavalry to eight thousand.

After Yuan Shu reorganized the military system in Bingzhou, the recruitment plan was launched smoothly. As Dong Zhuo said, the people of Bingzhou were fierce and there were many skilled horsemen. It was very easy to recruit cavalry. As long as the pay was good, there would be no shortage of soldiers.

However, Yuan Shu still adhered to his consistent style, having his own standards for recruiting soldiers and never recruiting just anyone into the army. His requirements for military discipline remained unchanged.

At the end of the third year of the Zhengshi era, Yuan Shu learned from many sources that the Xianbei people had indeed raided the border regions to the south this year, but they had not come to Bingzhou.

Perhaps the great victory at the end of last year frightened the Xianbei people, as they dared not continue to invade Bingzhou, instead targeting Liangzhou and Youzhou. Youzhou, in particular, was the focus of the Xianbei people's attention, with Shanggu, Dai, and Yuyang counties all being invaded by them. The scale of the invasions varied, but the scope was wide, and the counties of Youzhou suffered heavy losses.

This wave of invasions to the south also brought about significant personnel changes in Youzhou.

For example, the governor of Shanggu Commandery died in battle.

The governors of Yuyang and Dai prefectures were dismissed from their posts after being held accountable by the imperial court for their poor resistance and significant losses, and were replaced by new officials.

Yang Xi, the governor of Youzhou, was held accountable by Yuan Feng for his poor overall planning and mishandling of the situation. He was executed and transferred to Tian Yan, the Protector of the Qiang, as the governor of Youzhou to guard against another invasion by the Xianbei.

This incident also had some impact on Yuan Shu.

Of course, it's positive.

Because of the successful defense of Bingzhou, the Xianbei dared not continue their southward invasion. The court recognized Yuan Shu's achievements to a great extent, and officials such as Liu Biao, the governor of Shangdang Commandery, Jia Xu, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Cheng Li, the Right Vice Minister of the Court of State Affairs, successively submitted memorials to the court.

They suggested that the military affairs of Youzhou be placed under the jurisdiction of Yuan Shu, the governor of Bingzhou, or that Yuan Shu be appointed as the Xiongnu General, overseeing the military affairs of both Youzhou and Bingzhou, in order to solve the problem of the Xianbei's long-standing southward incursions and the enormous burden they had placed on the court.

After careful consideration, Minister of Works Yuan Feng rejected the suggestion, arguing that Yuan Shu had just assumed the post of Governor of Bingzhou, and his responsibilities were already very heavy. It would be inconvenient for him to take on even greater responsibilities in the short term, so as not to overwork himself or exhaust himself.

He maintained his original decision, appointing Tian Yan, a former subordinate of Grand Commandant Duan Jiong, as the governor of Youzhou to prevent another invasion by the Xianbei.

However, because of his meritorious defense, Yuan Feng, in the name of "a good warrior does not boast of great achievements," increased Yuan Shu's fief by one thousand and granted him a fief of nine thousand households, just one step away from becoming a marquis of ten thousand households.

Yuan Shu didn't pay much attention to these matters, because the Xianbei people who raided Youzhou from the south were not the main force; the main Xianbei force had gone further east.

According to news from Youzhou, the main force of the Xianbei people, led by Tan Shihuai, went to Liaodong to conquer the Fuyu and Goguryeo people.

At the end of the third year of the Zhengshi era, Tan Shihuai decisively defeated more than 10,000 Buyeo troops within the territory of Buyeo, occupied the capital of Buyeo, and King Wei Qiutai of Buyeo fled south and his whereabouts became unknown.

In addition, Goguryeo also seemed to be affected by Tan Shihuai's invasion. King Gobaekgu of Goguryeo sent troops north to resist and won a small victory, repelling a vanguard of the Xianbei people.

Yuan Shu wasn't quite sure why Tan Shihuai had suddenly launched an attack on the two countries in Liaodong, but upon closer examination, he guessed it was to strengthen his forces and make up for the loss of nine thousand men that he had previously annihilated, which was why he hadn't dared to advance further south.

To be honest, Yuan Shu really thought more highly of Tan Shihuai because of this. A leader like him, who rose to power purely through prestige and military achievements, did not rush to seek revenge after suffering a defeat. Instead, he stabilized the internal situation and then attacked other enemies to make up for it.

This is something that ordinary leaders cannot do. It at least proves that Tan Shihuai has good political qualities and some political skills. He can use political tactics rather than pure violence to lead his people, which will enhance the stability of the Xianbei regime.

Therefore, Yuan Shu became more wary of Tan Shihuai and arranged for more scouts to go north to investigate the movements of the Xianbei people.

However, the fact that the Xianbei people did not come to Bingzhou was a great thing for Yuan Shu, as it meant that he had enough time to reorganize Bingzhou's internal affairs and expand his army. What he needed most now was time; he needed enough time to enhance Bingzhou's agricultural production capacity.

The more time he has, the stronger his production capacity, and the more he accumulates, the more confident he will be in fighting against the Xianbei, and the more capable he will be of fighting against the Xianbei with local forces without having to ask the court for supplies.

Time, it's still time, it's just time.

Tan Shihuai's actions gave Yuan Shu time.

Throughout the third year of the Zhengshi era, he did not conduct any military operations in Bingzhou. In the spring of the fourth year of the Zhengshi era, while Yuan Shu was busy arranging spring plowing and construction tasks, the Xianbei people still did not go south to Bingzhou. Instead, they launched another war against the Buyeo and Goguryeo kingdoms.

This time, the previously escaped King Wechyutai of Buyeo and King Gobogu of Goguryeo joined forces to resist the Xianbei people and also requested reinforcements from Xuantu County.

Several years ago, Geng Lin, the governor of Xuantu Commandery, led an army to attack Goguryeo. Goguryeo was defeated, and Gao Bogu chose to surrender. At that time, the court decided to accept him and first placed Goguryeo under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Commandery, and later placed it under the jurisdiction of Xuantu Commandery.

Therefore, at this moment, Goguryeo was nominally a vassal state under the jurisdiction of Xuantu Commandery. When the Xianbei people invaded Goguryeo, they were invading Han territory. Geng Lin, the governor of Xuantu Commandery, then sent troops to assist in the battle.

The three-way allied forces fought against 20,000 Xianbei cavalrymen personally led by Tan Shihuai. The battle lasted for a month, with several engagements and victories on each side.

Finally, at the end of March, Geng Lin, the governor of Xuantu Commandery, was wounded by an arrow and died from his injuries. The morale of the allied forces was greatly weakened, and Tan Shihuai seized the opportunity to advance and defeat the Han army of Xuantu Commandery and the Goguryeo army, achieving the final victory.

(End of this chapter)