Taiheiki

Chapter 76 Gifting a Horse
The captain's humorous and sharp words caused a burst of laughter. The recruits mocked their companions who asked questions, but there was a glimmer of hope in everyone's eyes.

At this time, an oxcart slowly approached and slowly stopped in front of the camp gate. A servant got off the oxcart and bowed to the leader of the team: "Please tell them that Kuai Anping of Nanjun wants to see Captain Wei!"

"Kuai Anping from Nanjun?" The team leader was startled when he heard this. Someone leaned over and whispered something in his ear. The team leader's face changed drastically. He bowed and said, "It's the Gongcao here. Please wait a moment. I will report to the captain immediately!"

The team leader immediately sent someone to pass the message, and he led the soldiers to remove the barricades at the camp entrance. Just kidding, there might be people in Jiangling City who didn't know who the prefect was, but no one didn't know who Kuai Anping and Kuai Sheng were. He had been a Gongcao for more than ten years and had served three prefects. When had he ever seen him come to pay a visit in person and wait for the other party to pass the message?

A moment later, the soldiers saw Wei Cong rushing out. From a distance, he bowed and said, "Kuai Gongcao has arrived. I don't know why I was unable to greet him from far away. I have kept you waiting for so long. Please forgive me!"

"That's all right!" Kuai Sheng had already gotten out of the carriage and said with a smile, "I heard two days ago that General Meng De was leading his troops to war. You and I are both minor officials under the governor, colleagues, so it's our duty to come and visit him. Today I see the solemnity of the camp and the heroic spirit of the soldiers. I didn't expect that Meng De not only has a talent for poetry, but also military strategy. I really admire him!"

Wei Cong felt uncomfortable when Kuai Sheng mentioned his "poetic talent" and forced a smile, saying, "I'm sorry for the hasty preparations. Please follow me into the camp and have a chat!"

The two men arrived at the central residence and sat down in the hall, host and guest. Kuai Sheng pointed to the soldiers on both sides and said, "Just now, my dear brother said that the army was hastily assembled, but when I came in just now, I saw that the soldiers were all fully armored and equipped. May I take a closer look?"

Wei Cong knew this was impossible to conceal, so he waved his hand and asked one of the guards in the corridor to come up. Kuai Sheng carefully examined the guard's linen armor, helmet, spear, and test-fired his bow and arrow. He sighed, "My dear brother, you are truly a man of great talent! You claim that this army was hastily assembled, but the armor and weapons of the soldiers are so strong and sharp. In my opinion, even the personal soldiers of the Bantun Barbarians brought by Feng Cheqi are no better than them. With such elite troops, how can we not defeat the enemy?"

"You're too kind, Gong Cao! How dare these newly recruited soldiers of mine compare to the Tiger Guards under Feng Cheqi's command!" Wei Cong laughed, "It's just that I once read the Art of War, and a famous general said: 'The only thing that can defeat ten with one is strong armor and sharp weapons!' What I'm saying today is just to emulate the ancient sages!"

"The reason one can defeat ten is simply because of strong armor and sharp weapons." Kuai Sheng repeated Wei Cong's words, finding them even more profound. He sighed, "My dear brother, you are a man of both civil and military talents, far superior to me. If there are any shortcomings in this expedition, please tell me. I will do my best to repay you in any way I can."

"Can you really make a fan out of copying poems?" Wei Cong saw that Kuai Sheng looked sincere and didn't seem to be pretending. "Since the Gongcao says so, then I'm being shameless. To be honest, the army is very short of arrows. I tried my best to persuade Doctor Ying, but he only agreed to give me 30,000 arrows! Can the Gongcao also give me 30,000 arrows?"

"Thirty thousand arrows?" Kuai Sheng smiled disdainfully. "That Ying Feng can really come up with something like that? Meng De! You shouldn't have asked that fellow. He came with Feng Cheqi and is a member of the imperial court. How could he understand your difficulties? I'll have someone send a hundred thousand arrows over later as a token of my gratitude!"

"Thank you, Gongcao!" Wei Cong was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly bowed down. Kuai Sheng held his hand and said with a smile, "Meng De, since we already have the same courtesy name, we should address each other by that. Calling me Gongcao, isn't that setting yourself apart from me?"

"This..." Wei Cong showed an awkward smile. He could pretend to have an attitude, but he couldn't pretend to have 100,000 arrows, especially at this moment. He had money but nowhere to buy them. It was really unreasonable for him to call him Gongcao when others took them out so readily.

"Brother Anping is right. It's indeed my fault!"

"Hahaha, that's right!" Kuai Sheng patted Wei Cong on the shoulder. "Men of like mind are like family. Don't be too concerned with material possessions. When I just came in, I noticed that your army, Mengde, had no horses. Although the south of the Yangtze River is full of swamps and dampness, which is not conducive to cavalry, it is winter now. After crossing the river, there are flat and hard land areas that are conducive to cavalry. I have a hundred fine horses at home, and I will share half with Mengde to strengthen the army's prestige. Don't refuse!"

"Fifty horses!" Wei Cong widened his eyes. This was a very significant gift. He subconsciously wanted to refuse it, but he couldn't bear to do so.

"Meng De, I know that after you killed Zhang Bolu, many people in the county coveted the land and houses he left behind, so they are hostile to you. But not everyone is like this, at least not me!" Kuai Sheng said, "My family has been here for over a hundred years since our seventh-generation ancestor migrated to Jingzhou. Now our clan is strong, with many children and many lands and houses. We can be said to be at our peak. But everything in the world rises and falls, and no one can escape it. That's why the wise man, even in times of peace, thinks of danger. It's because those who don't think about the future will inevitably worry about the present!"

"From what I see, even if the Wuling barbarians come across the river, it won't be a big problem for the Kuai family, right?" Wei Cong nodded. He had a very deep impression of the power of the aristocratic families like the Kuai family and the Huang family. He knew very well that the invasion of barbarians like the Wuling barbarians might be a disaster for small farmers, but it would not pose much threat to local tyrants like the Kuai family, and it might even be beneficial; because it would be difficult for the Wuling barbarians to defeat the Kuai family's tightly organized clan armed forces and capture their sturdy Wu Fort. In order to avoid being harmed, the neighboring common people would surrender to the Kuai family and become their new followers and slaves in exchange for their protection. Those who refused to surrender to the Kuai family would either be killed by the barbarians or forced to flee, leaving large tracts of ready-made unowned farmland for the Kuai family to annex. In this way, even if the exiles returned after the war, they would have nowhere to go and could only become guests of the Kuai family's followers, which would undoubtedly further strengthen the Kuai family's strength.

Therefore, after a major war, the area would often become a powerful estate, with hundreds or even thousands of hectares of arable land, and the provinces and counties would be bordered by powerful families. For example, the "Records of the Three Kingdoms" often mentions a certain scholar of noble character. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion arrived, thousands of households in the surrounding area pledged their allegiance to him. He then led these followers to a strategic location in the mountains to build a fortress to defend himself, and he would constantly teach the people about the "Spring and Autumn Annals." This is essentially what they describe. However, the historical records don't mention that these scholars originally had powerful clans and armed forces. The people who attached themselves to them would then have to pay a portion of their harvest from their crops, and would also be drafted to join the clan's armed forces, becoming the scholar's retainers and guests.

"Yes, to the Kuai family, the Wuling barbarians are nothing!" Kuai Sheng nodded. "But the imperial army is another matter. You know, every time the army passes through, the fields are reduced to ruins, the crops wither, the people suffer, and the prefectures and counties are emptied! Such a scene, how can we not be heartbroken!"

As the saying goes, "Listen to the tone of a person's words, listen to the sound of a gong or drum." When talking to someone like Kuai Sheng, one often needs to listen not only to what he says, but also to the hidden meaning behind his unspoken words. Had he really just been describing the tragic situation of the imperial army's passage? Clearly not, at least not exclusively. Wei Cong nodded and tentatively said, "Yes, although I'm an outsider, I've now established myself in Nanjun. What you just said, brother, resonates deeply with me!"

"That's right!" Kuai Sheng clapped his hands and laughed, "I usually tell those guys who still care about Zhang Bolu's family property: Although Meng De is a newcomer, most of us also moved here a few generations earlier. Why should we force you to divide it with me? Now the imperial army has arrived. Once the chariots are moving, the daily expenditure is thousands of gold. Even a mountain of gold is not enough. And the court officials have to borrow their salaries every few days. Where can they have extra money and food? Isn't it up to Feng Cheqi to find a way? He has a sharp weapon. , the murderous intention arose, whether it was Feng Cheqi or Han Taishou, it was a very tempting idea to destroy a few local tyrants and take their wealth to fill this bottomless pit! It is really ridiculous that everyone does not work together at this time, but pushes out a man like Meng De who has elite soldiers and unparalleled talents! "When Wei Cong heard this, he had to admire Kuai Sheng's vision and insight. Others were still thinking about grabbing the cake with Wei Cong, an outsider, but he had already thought that Feng Gun would take the whole cake away. Faced with this behemoth who wanted soldiers and status, the only thing the local tyrants could do was to unite as much as possible to overcome this difficulty. Of course, outstanding talents like Wei Cong who were both civil and military should be pulled over as much as possible!
"Brother Anping, please rest assured. In my heart, Nanjun is my hometown and I will never isolate myself from others!"

"That's good!" Kuai Sheng said with a smile, "My dear brother, when you go out to fight this time, you must not only be wary of the Wuling barbarians in front of you, but also be careful behind you. Feng Cheqi and Han Taishou are fine, but Ying Langzhong is definitely not a good person. When he was the Wuling Taishou, he was good at using the Shen Han technique and was good at using strange strategies. You must know that it is easy to block an open spear, but it is difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark!"

"I know!" Although he knew Kuai Sheng's words were meant to provoke, Wei Cong fully agreed with Ying Feng's assessment: Take the dispatch of Cai Buyi as the vanguard. Ordinary people would only see him using a local tyrant like Cai Buyi as cannon fodder to test the enemy's strength; but on closer inspection, wasn't this a pre-emptive move for the subsequent reshuffle of Nanjun? And if Wei Cong followed in Cai Buyi's footsteps, even more potential consequences would emerge. Wei Cong didn't think any of this was just a coincidence.

"Alright, my dear brother, you're about to go out on a military expedition and have a lot to attend to, so I won't bother you any more!" Kuai Sheng stood up and said, "I'll send arrows and horses as soon as possible. If you need anything, just let me know. Don't be shy! Meng De, remember, you're also a Jingchu person now!"

"Brother, I will definitely remember your kindness!" Wei Cong was deeply moved. Even if Kuai Sheng had ulterior motives, he had invested heavily. Jingzhou wasn't Liangzhou or Youzhou, where even fifty fine horses couldn't be bought with money. Even during the chaotic Three Kingdoms era, renowned warlords like Cao Cao and Lü Bu, when controlling a single state or several counties, could only muster two to three thousand cavalry. Kuai Sheng gave them to Wei Cong without blinking an eye. This alone showed his extraordinary generosity.

After personally escorting Kuai Sheng out of the camp, Wei Cong watched the oxcart disappear from view. Turning back to camp, he saw Wang Shou standing in the hall, clearly having something important to report. Wei Cong knew that Wang Shou was in Wubao, overseeing the craftsmen making armor and weapons, and that something was probably missing. He said, "Talk inside if you have anything!"

Wang Shou responded and followed Wei Cong into the house. After they sat down, he said to Wei Cong, "My dear, you originally asked me to make the soldiers' armor and shields crimson, but now we've run out of crimson fabric and dye. Should we go to the market and buy some?"

"How much is still missing?"

"It's still missing about half!"

"Forget it, let's not waste money, we won't make it in time!" Wei Cong thought for a moment and said, "Let Zuo Qu wear crimson armor, and You Qu wear plain armor (that is, undyed linen, which is white); and let the elite soldiers wear black armor!"

"The left wing wears crimson armor, the right wing wears plain armor, and the elite soldiers under your command wear black armor! I'll remember this!" Wang Shou carefully used a knife and pen to carve Wei Cong's orders on the bamboo slips he carried with him. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Wei Cong say, "Also, when you return, make twenty sets of horse armor out of thinner linen!"

"Horse armor?" Wang Shou was stunned. He knew very well that there were only five horses in Wei Cong's entire army, which were not enough for Wei Cong and other senior officers to ride. They did not need to fight the enemy hand-to-hand, so what was the use of horse armor?

"Hmm!" Wei Cong saw through Wang Shou's doubts. "Kuai Gongcao just came to visit. After learning that I'm short of military supplies, he promised to send me 100,000 arrows and 50 fine horses. I plan to select 20 of the tallest and strongest horses, equip them with armor, and use them to charge into battle!"

"One hundred thousand arrows and fifty fine horses? Kuai Gongcao is truly generous and skillful!" Wang Shou was delighted upon hearing this: "Great! I'll immediately urge the craftsmen to make them when I get back!"

"Well, tell the craftsmen that it doesn't need to be as thick as the ones used by the infantry, nor does it need to cover the entire horse's body. It just needs to block arrows from medium and long distances and protect the horse's chest and ribs. Otherwise, if it's too heavy, the horse won't be able to run, which will be counterproductive!"

"Yes, yes, I'll remember it!" Wang Shou quickly wrote it down with his pen and knife, then stood up and said, "Don't worry, my dear. I will definitely not let you down with the twenty pieces of horse armor!"

After seeing Wang Shou off, Wei Cong had Zhao Yannian summoned. He first recounted the story of Kuai Sheng's gift of the horse, and then asked, "You've been dealing with the Qiang people in the northwest for so many years. Do you understand the art of cavalry warfare?"

"This..." Zhao Yannian replied somewhat awkwardly, "I'm from Jingzhou. I've been a military officer since I was a teenager. Although I learned to ride a horse, I can't draw my bow, wield my staff, or charge forward from a distance!"

"What about the Fifth Master and the others?"

"They, like me, are from Jingzhou. They can use bows and arrows, spears and lances, but they are not good at riding horses!" Zhao Yannian replied, "If you want to find men skilled in cavalry, I'm afraid you'll have to select from the six northern counties, or the warriors of You and Bing. Most of your current soldiers are from Jingzhou, so finding those skilled in cavalry will be difficult!"

(End of this chapter)