Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 28 Episode
When Si Qing went hunting in Shicheng Mountain at noon, he had already learned from Yan Yi that Yan Baihu refused to collect money and copper.

As the saying goes, when the lord is worried, the minister is humiliated. Yan Yi was frustrated, and Si Qing's mood was also affected, and he seemed a little depressed.

But he could never have imagined that under such circumstances, Yan Yi would still want to conquer Qian Tong.

War is a place of life and death; the road to survival and destruction must be carefully considered.

Si Qing, thinking of the enormous potential risks involved, advised, "Young Master, Qian Tong has five thousand soldiers, and they are on the defensive, relying on the camp for defense. Young Master, you only have the Sanqu troops given by the commander-in-chief and a few hundred newly recruited soldiers. This is too risky."

Yan Yi withdrew his gaze from the sand table. He knew very well that this matter was extremely risky, but Sun Ce's crossing of the river was imminent. If it would take a year or two to eliminate even one Qian Tong, how could he stop Sun Ce?
What's more, stationing in Haiyan can provide very good cover for this raid. The opportunity is rare and he really doesn't want to miss it.

Yan Yi acts very decisively and will not easily change the decisions he makes. He is also mentally prepared to take risks.

However, Si Qing's words also made him realize that the most important thing now is to dispel the concerns of those around him and unite people's hearts.

He tried to sound confident, speaking at a steady pace, "Zi Yue, although Qian Tong has 5,000 troops, they're divided between two camps, allowing us to defeat them one by one. Qian Tong is a bandit, and his military discipline is lax and lacks training. Some soldiers don't even have weapons and are still using hoes and clubs. Our army may be small, but it's the elite. If we operate properly, Qian Tong will never expect us to surprise him during the march to Haiyan. Attacking the enemy when they're least prepared and taking them by surprise is the key to victory in military strategy and must be practiced. It's April now, and Wu is experiencing heavy rain. We can launch a night attack during the rain. If we can quickly defeat a camp, we'll be invincible."

Si Qing nodded slightly. Seeing that he had made up his mind, he stopped trying to persuade him and instead began to think about how to increase his chances of winning.

In the evening, one of Yan Baihu's personal guards came to report that the Sanqu troops allocated to Yan Yi had already assembled in Baihu City, waiting for Yan Yi to go and receive them.

The next morning, Yan Yi took Si Qing and thirty or forty cavalrymen to Baihu City.

Baihu City is a veritable military city. Two avenues intersect and lead to four city gates, dividing the city into four areas, each with a military camp.

Yan Yi went to the military camp in the east of the city. After entering the camp gate, he saw a straight road leading to the opposite camp gate. The barracks where the soldiers lived were distributed on both sides of the road. Each barracks could accommodate ten soldiers and were arranged very neatly.

Next to the barracks was a ten-acre drill ground. A military officer in chain mail was giving orders to hundreds of soldiers, training them in formation.

Seeing Yan Yi coming, the general shouted, asking the soldiers to line up, and then went forward to greet him.

"Greetings, Young Lord." The military marquis stopped in front of Yan Yi and saluted with his fists clasped.

Yan Yi knew this military marquis and had had many interactions with him. This man, Wei Kuan, was a personal soldier of Yan Baihu, often moving around Yan's residence. Later, due to his military merits, he was promoted to the rank of military marquis and transferred to Yan Baihu's personal guard battalion, becoming Yan Baihu's confidant.

"It's been a while since we last met. How have you been lately, Mr. Wei?" Yan Yi said with a smile.

Wei Kuan had a long face with thick eyebrows and a broad nose. His face was well-defined, exuding a fierce air. He grinned and said, "Everything is fine. It's just that I haven't been to the battlefield in a long time, and I'm feeling bored. I heard that the young master was about to go to Haiyan, so I went to the commander-in-chief and asked for this assignment."

"Then you've made the right choice. You'll definitely receive military merit, but it depends on whether you have the courage to claim it." Yan Yi said this with a hint of meaning, glancing at the soldiers not far away. "Who are you bringing with you?" Wei Kuan puffed out his chest, the iron plates on his armor clashing against each other. "One section of cavalry, one section of infantry, and one section of archers. Five hundred and eighty-seven in total. All of them are veterans who have fought with the commander for many years, and their weapons are the best in the army."

A hint of surprise flashed in Yan Yi's eyes. Although he had guessed that Yan Baihu must have sent him elite troops, the elite level of these three troops still exceeded his expectations.

These were the foundation on which Yan Baihu built his fortune. All of them together were less than two thousand people, and this time, nearly thirty percent of them were allocated to him.

The cavalry song, in particular, was Yan Baihu's favorite. Now, with one song, plus the dozens of personal cavalrymen already accompanying him, the total number already accounted for half of the entire army's cavalry.

Yan Yi sighed slightly. Although Yan Baihu had many shortcomings, he was indeed very good to him.

He collected his thoughts, straightened his face, and instructed Wei Kuan, "You continue to practice, I'll watch from the side."

Wei Kuan clasped his fists in acceptance, then strode over to the soldiers and yelled at them to disperse into groups of five and practice in formation. He then waved his flag, directing the soldiers to constantly change formations.

The original owner was not familiar with military affairs and had no memories of this to pass on to Yan Yi, so military affairs have always been Yan Yi's weakness.

However, he studied diligently every day and absorbed knowledge about military affairs crazily. Two days ago, he heard a lot of experience from Fan Yan. Although he still had a partial understanding, he already had a rough idea in his mind.

The military strategists of this era can be roughly divided into four schools: the "military strategy" represented by Han Xin, the "military yin and yang" represented by Sun Bin, the "military situation" represented by Bai Qi, and the "military skills" represented by Wu Qi.

After watching for a while, Yan Yi realized that Wei Kuan attached great importance to the soldiers' use of weapons and their coordination with each other. He should be a person who specializes in military skills.

After training for half an hour, Wei Kuan waved his flag and asked the soldiers to form a square formation and rest on the spot, and then came over to ask Yan Yi to give them a lecture.

Yan Yi walked in front of the crowd, his eyes sweeping across their faces, his emotions fluctuating.

The troops before him were his starting point.

He stood with his sword in hand, his upright figure like a spear, his eyes sharp, his voice resonating throughout the room: "From now on, you are the sword in my hand. My rules are simple: rewards for merit, punishments for faults. Fame, wealth, titles for wife and children. The greater your ability, the greater my wealth and honor! But if anyone disobeys orders and violates military discipline, I will never tolerate it!"

The soldiers had complicated expressions. Some looked excited, some looked uneasy, and some looked indifferent.

Yan Yi knew Yan Baihu's soldiers well, knowing their likes and dislikes, and their bad habits. If he had more time, he could have trained them slowly, but since he needed to use them immediately, he had to resort to some tricks.

"Go get the general's register. No more training today. Let's cook!"

(End of this chapter)