He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 92 Liu Bei's Army: A Place for Talented Individuals

"What a great opportunity! Damn it!" Even after returning to the camp, Xu Sheng was still angry and kept regretting that he had missed such a good opportunity.

Dan Fu also felt a little regretful, but he quickly adjusted his mindset. Such an opportunity was given by the enemy, and it was something that could only be encountered by chance. It was really not worth sighing and complaining all day about such a low-probability event.

If we continue to think like this, we'll be just as foolish as the Song man described by Han Feizi, who guarded the tree roots and fantasized every day that a continuous stream of rabbits would run into and die on them.

"General, there's no need to worry. Let bygones be bygones. Our plans haven't been affected anyway. Just treat the bandits' ambush as an unexpected bonus," Shan Fu advised. He believed that a strategist should not only assist the general in managing military affairs but also be able to keep the general or his soldiers in check when they are emotionally unstable, preventing them from being swayed by emotions and becoming either fearful or overly excited.

After listening to Shan Fu's words, Xu Sheng took a few deep breaths, patted his face, and forced himself to calm down and think. He had just happened to encounter a good opportunity and then just happened to miss it. The current situation hadn't changed much; in fact, it could be said that the bandits on the mountain should be the ones who were anxious.

Since the antlers had already been repaired, the bandits would have to remove them before they could ride down the mountain. The base of the antlers was buried directly in the ground, and it might take them almost half an hour to dig them out. In that long, even if Xu Sheng's soldiers were fast asleep, they should be ready by now.

Seeing that Xu Sheng's emotions had stabilized, Shan Fu began to discuss other matters: "Since there are no other military affairs to attend to, let's write up a report on this operation and submit it to the General Headquarters for the Suppression of Enemy Soldiers. What if other units need this experience?"

"Indeed, our brother units might also encounter harassment from bandits day and night. How about this, Mr. Shan, please draft a document. You know I'm not very good at writing these kinds of documents and reports, I'll just sign it." Xu Sheng was somewhat at a loss with this new regulation. He had never heard of any general having to write a report after a battle.

Writing reports has now become a mandatory requirement for generals in Liu Bei's army. The purpose of this was to preserve the generals' combat experience and provide materials for compiling military academy textbooks in the future. It also ensured that the generals' experience would not be hidden away and carried to their graves, but could be continuously summarized and passed down.

Guan Yu was very interested in this idea. He had no one to teach him military strategy and had to learn it all by himself through hard work and experience on the battlefield. Therefore, he understood best how beneficial this method would be for ordinary people without family traditions.

Soon, Guan Yu wrote several reports based on his own experience in several major battles for research purposes. In order to enhance the educational function, Guan Yu also used the battles that he and Liu Bei had not won when they first arrived in Xuzhou as negative examples.

This attitude naturally set a very good example; not all high-ranking officials can share their past mistakes for others to learn from and be warned against. As the current top military leader, he has set an example, and other generals can only obediently follow suit; they can't very well go against their superiors.

In addition to adding the requirement to write battle reports and hold summary meetings, Lu Wan also set up a temporary department called the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters, specifically for coordinating this bandit suppression operation.

This "Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters" wasn't something Lu Wan wanted to joke about; rather, Lu Wan knew that if such a joint operation involving multiple prefectures and kingdoms didn't have a higher-level department to coordinate it, it would be an extremely chaotic situation.

Firstly, the soldiers came from different backgrounds. Although most of them were from Xuzhou, Xuzhou was a large administrative region. In terms of hometown identity, people still preferred to consider those from the same prefecture or state as fellow townsmen.

As for banditry in other counties and kingdoms, these officials, generals, and soldiers might not understand why they should risk their lives for a group of people who have nothing to do with them. Why not just send troops to suppress them in their own counties and kingdoms and mind their own business?

Furthermore, soldiers from different regions might not treat ordinary people from other places as human beings. This phenomenon is not uncommon. Throughout Chinese history, there have often been soldiers who were well-behaved in their hometowns, but once they arrived in other places, they would commit all sorts of acts of burning, killing, and looting. Such an army clearly did not meet Liu Bei's requirements and was incapable of shouldering the responsibility of restoring the Han Dynasty.

There were more reasons than just these. Because the governors and chancellors of the various prefectures and kingdoms were all of equal rank, in the event of war, one would say, "Come to my territory first; I have more bandits here. Let's take down the leaders first and curb the arrogance of these scoundrels." The other would say, "Come to my territory first; I have fewer bandits here, making it easier to fight. Let's pick the weakest link first." What were the generals supposed to do? They couldn't just grab Chan and choose.

There are also the Youzhou cavalry that Liu Bei brought with him before, and now there are nearly a thousand left. As Liu Bei's old core group in his campaigns, they not only have particularly good welfare and treatment, but Liu Bei's relationship with them is more like that of brothers than ruler and subject.

This force had effectively transformed into Liu Bei's Imperial Guard, obeying only his orders and disregarding the commands of others. Their primary duty was to protect Liu Bei in times of danger. Even if Guan Yu and Zhang Fei wanted to command this force, they could only do so as Liu Bei's sworn brothers, not as generals. Such arrogant and unruly soldiers disregarded everyone else; trying to command them was a pipe dream.

Given so many factors, there is a need for a department that can stand above all the prefectures and kingdoms, and use a comprehensive perspective and methods to plan and coordinate all the armed forces in Xuzhou, including the professional army, local militia, and the private armies of powerful families in neighboring areas, and to unify their command.

This command also has considerable power over personnel appointments and dismissals, completely disregarding any interference from other departments or administrative units; the capable rise and the incompetent fall. As long as someone is competent, they can be promoted immediately; if they procrastinate during missions or treat missions passively in various ways, the command can dismiss them immediately.

In terms of logistical support, the headquarters could unconditionally requisition all kinds of supplies in the Xuzhou area to meet the needs of bandit suppression. Whether it was food, weapons, arrows, horses, or vehicles, they could all be directly allocated. For example, to ensure the troops' combat operations, local merchants' food and medicine could be requisitioned directly, and civilian horses could also be requisitioned for transporting supplies (with some compensation for lost work time).

Furthermore, because this department wielded so much power, it couldn't be a permanent institution, and the existing bureaucracy couldn't accept having a powerful figurehead constantly above them. Therefore, it existed as a temporary entity, and the General Headquarters would be dissolved as soon as the bandits were eradicated.

Such a high-ranking and powerful department naturally needed to be careful in its personnel composition. The commander, needless to say, would definitely be Liu Bei. However, Xuzhou was busy with affairs, and he didn't have much free time to be the commander-in-chief. Therefore, Liu Bei only held the title and did not directly participate in the management. He focused more on providing logistical support and personnel selection for this bandit suppression.

Guan Yu served as deputy commander, effectively the leader, but only held military command authority, participating in strategic decision-making discussions and overseeing troop training and preparedness. He could not relinquish personnel authority, not even to Liu Bei's trusted advisors, and Guan Yu himself believed he shouldn't accept that power.

Zhang Fei was originally a suitable candidate, but although he had a close relationship with Liu Bei, and Liu Bei was willing to use him, he lacked strategic talent. With his seniority and abilities, he could have easily held any position, but his strategic vision and personality limited him, preventing him from ever leading independently. Liu Bei repeatedly tried to entrust him with important responsibilities but was dissuaded, only allowing him to venture out and explore when Liu Bei launched the campaign against Huainan. Now, he is stationed in Zhongli City, keeping a watchful eye on Liu Xun and Sun Ce, unable to leave his post.

The chief of staff is a key assistant to the commander, responsible for the daily management and coordination of the headquarters. They organize staff members to collect and analyze intelligence, formulate specific operational plans and action schemes, and provide professional advice and opinions to the commander. They coordinate the actions of various units to ensure the smooth implementation of operational plans. Tasks such as developing detailed marching routes, attack times, and coordinated combat plans based on the bandits' activity patterns and terrain characteristics fall to this person.

Is there any room for discussion about this position? Of course, it should be given to Lu Wan.

In Lu Wan's view, the military development of Xuzhou was somewhat abnormal, consisting almost entirely of infantry with only a very small number of cavalry. The majority of these troops were the old troops that Liu Bei had brought with him when he marched south, as well as the few horses that Qian Zhao had bought for Liu Bei by spending all his family fortune when he marched south.

This troop composition is clearly problematic. While infantry is the most basic unit and capable of undertaking the crucial task of holding the line, cavalry's mobility and striking power are unmatched and unsurpassable by infantry. Unless Liu Bei's entire army consists of Astartes, a way must be found to cultivate cavalry.

Moreover, many of Liu Bei's generals are cavalry experts. Using them to command infantry troops is like using a high-precision machine tool wrench. They can get things moving, but whether the leader will eventually kill them is another matter.

Before the Han Dynasty was shattered into pieces, horses mainly entered the interior from the three provinces of Bing, Liang, and You. At the same time, there were also horse farms in some areas of northern Han. These channels together supported the horse administration of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In the current situation of warlordism, obtaining horses in the south is a very troublesome matter. So now Lu Wan has come to the headquarters to talk to Guan Yu about how to get horses.

The oxen pulling the cart gradually stopped, and Lu Wan turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

The headquarters in front of us was a modified version of Cao Bao's former home. The building itself occupied a large area and the environment was quite nice, so it would be a pity to burn it down. We simply remodeled it and used it as the headquarters.

Lu Wan encountered no obstacles along the way and went straight to the innermost part, where Guan Yu was frowning as he looked at a report.

Perhaps sensing that something was blocking the light in front of him, Guan Yu looked up and saw that it was his old partner. He even smiled and greeted him: "Good morning, Wen Yuan. Please make some tea first. I will finish reading these reports soon."

Lu Wan wasn't in a hurry. The success of this bandit suppression was already predetermined; it was just a matter of whether it was a small victory or a major victory.

"Sigh—how did these guys fight? Those who should be attacking say to play it safe, while those who should be defending are jumping up and down, eager to unleash their full potential." In a short while, Guan Yu finished reading all the reports. He scratched his head, looking rather helpless.

"Besides the unreliable command, these new recruits have caused just as much trouble. It's really—"

Guan Yu picked out a few of them and called to Lu Wan, "Wen Yuan, look, these newly selected recruits are far inferior in every aspect. They might not even be able to defeat the Yellow Turban Army when the sorcerer Zhang Jiao caused chaos back then."

They couldn't even defeat the Yellow Turban Army? That can't be right. Could it be that their casualties were too high?

Lu Wan took the report and examined it closely. "Good, good, good," she thought. "These new recruits are all quite talented. Some broke their arms while playing around with their buddies; some were just greedy and ate a few brightly colored wild berries, then fainted; and some were even craftsmen, saving a portion of their daily rations instead of cooking them, and then buying a small jar to brew their own wine, which they drank and sold in the camp. Besides these, there were deserters, ladybugs, and those who went to coordinate with friendly forces after their equipment went missing, only to end up getting their supplies into the hands of the general, and so on."

Of course, the most outrageous incident was the discovery of a subsidy fraud case by the quartermaster Sima Fu. Liu Bei's army had a rule that if someone brought their own armor when enlisting, they would be registered separately and given much more subsidies.

This is not hard to understand. Even after iron smelting developed, armor remained a very important strategic resource. Soldiers with armor and those without were completely different concepts. Therefore, soldiers who could provide their own armor were a very important component of Liu Bei's army, saving Liu Bei a considerable amount of money.

The subsidies were originally intended as a recognition of those who provided their own equipment, but it turned out that there are always ways to circumvent the policy. Some people wanted to earn the money but couldn't afford armor, so several people pooled their resources to make a set of armor. One person would put it on, register for the subsidy, and as soon as they left, they would take off the armor and hand it to the next person, who would then register it. This happened repeatedly, with just one set of armor being registered many times.

While this method was clever, it was ultimately exploiting Liu Bei and caused significant disruption to the army's operations. For one thing, the data specifically used to register armored soldiers could no longer be trusted and had to be re-registered.