Emperor Zhaolie of the late Han Dynasty: Rising to power in Liaoxi

Liu Bei smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Ah, let's not talk about this anymore!"

"The Wuhuan are our allies; let us not utter any discordant words!"

"Guorang, arrange for people to select usable warhorses. All the remaining foals and mares, along with the Xianbei prisoners, should be taken back to Liaoxi."

"Remember, send a few capable men with you; the mission is to push them back to western Liaoning!"

"We only distributed cattle and sheep, but not horses to the Wuhuan!"

Tian Yu smiled knowingly and said, "This humble official understands, my lord need not worry!"

The group exchanged glances, then burst into laughter!

After a selection process, 1,832 usable warhorses were found.

Eight hundred horses were reserved for the Xianbei rebels, leaving 1,032 remaining. Liu Bei still prioritized equipping Yan Gang's eight hundred men with two horses each to increase their fighting strength.

Then there were Han Dang's bandit gang members, each of whom was also equipped with two horses.

Han was overjoyed.

One person with two horses means that the army's marching speed, raiding ability, and sustained combat capability will all be increased several times over!

In the past, the biggest weakness of the Han army when it went beyond the Great Wall was the lack of cavalry and poor mobility. Now, this weakness is being made up for little by little!

In just one day, Liu Bei's army grew from 2,300 cavalry and 1,000 infantry.

They quickly became a combined army with 2,300 core Han cavalry, 800 auxiliary soldiers, and 600 Wuhuan cavalry.

They achieved full cavalry formation, with a total force of 3,700 men, resulting in a significant increase in strength!

After a day of rest, the army broke camp again and continued its northward advance.

Over the next five days, the army advanced with unstoppable momentum, successively encountering three scattered small towns of the Queji tribe.

Each settlement had only a hundred tents and a few hundred elite cavalrymen, and its defenses were even more lax than those of the larger settlements before.

Often, as soon as the Han army's scouts discovered the location, the vanguard cavalry would charge.

The Xianbei people either knelt down and surrendered, or they offered only slight resistance before collapsing completely. They were utterly crushed and won one victory after another.

After five battles, the Han army captured nearly a thousand warhorses and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.

More than 500 young and strong Xianbei men were recruited and surrendered, further expanding the ranks of volunteer soldiers, while the total casualties of the Han army were still less than ten.

The series of easy victories subtly changed the mindset of his generals.

During a meeting in the military tent, Gongsun Zan slammed his iron halberd into the ground and laughed loudly.

"Five matches in a row, and it was over before I even broke a sweat. It wasn't very satisfying!"

"you do not say!"

Han Dang took a swig of mare's milk wine, grinned, and said, "They always said how powerful the Xianbei were, how fierce their cavalry were, but now it seems they're nothing special!"

"The Queji Department, weakened by the plague, has long since become a toothless tiger, utterly insignificant!"

Even the previously composed Yan Gang and Zou Dan now smiled and echoed, "Our lord is awe-inspiring! Our army is incredibly powerful, and the Xianbei people have surrendered at the mere sight of us."

"The Queji tribe is now like a frightened bird; as long as our army continues its northward advance, the Queji royal camp will fall in no time!"

An air of arrogance quietly spread within the tent.

Everyone thought that the Xianbei people were nothing special, and that the border troubles of the past few decades were simply due to the incompetence of the previous border troops.

With Liu Bei now in command, it's only a matter of time before the Xianbei are pacified.

Only Cheng Pu, Tian Yu, and Xu Rong remained sober.

Cheng Pu frowned and stepped forward, saying in a deep voice, "My lord, gentlemen, do not underestimate the enemy!"

"We have successively captured scattered villages on the outskirts of the Queji Commandery, but its core main force has never shown up."

"The successive victories have been too smooth, abnormally so. Queji has dominated the grasslands for many years; he is not one to sit idly by and wait for death. There must be a trap!"

Tian Yu added, "My lord, we have penetrated nearly 800 li into the grasslands and are getting further and further away from western Liaoning."

"Our escape route is long, and if it is cut off by the Xianbei, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"In my humble opinion, we should postpone our advance, first gather our forces together, ascertain the location of the main force of the Queji, and then decide on our course of action."

Tadun chimed in at the opportune moment: "Although Queji is reckless, he has roamed the grasslands for many years, so we must be wary of him."

"He will never stand idly by as we sweep through his villages."

But no sooner had he finished speaking than Gongsun Zan slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his face full of dissatisfaction: "Aren't you all being a little too cautious!"

"It only boosts the morale of others and diminishes our own!"

"No matter how cunning Que Ji is, he's nothing more than a sick tiger whose body has been ravaged by the plague!"

"So what if his main players come?"

"We now have 4,500 men, each with two horses. Even if Que Ji and his entire clan come, we can defeat them in one battle, and then kill him, thus ending the threat to the Liaoxi border forever!"

"That's right!"

Han Dang immediately chimed in, "My lord, instead of waiting here, we should take the initiative!"

"Why don't we split our forces and attack from the east and west, line up in a row and push northwards?"

"Each general will lead an army to sweep away all the Xianbei villages along the way. It will be swift and steady, and we'll see who achieves the most merits before heading straight for the King's camp!"

The generals inside the tent echoed his sentiments, their spirits high, each eager to seize this opportunity to achieve further military merit.

Looking at the excited generals in the tent, and then at the grassland map on the table, Liu Bei felt a sense of relief.

In his decades-long career of battles, he had seen countless storms and waves, but he had never experienced such a smooth run of victory after victory.

With his forces now greatly increased and their mobility maximized, he is confident that even if Que Ji has laid an ambush, he can lead his entire army to a safe retreat.

Moreover, his purpose in this trip was to defeat Queji's troops and completely resolve the border troubles in western Liaoning.

Dividing forces and advancing sideways is the best way to quickly eliminate the outer forces of the Queji Department and force its main force into a decisive battle.

After a moment's hesitation, Liu Bei finally made the decision, agreeing to the generals' request to go to war: "Very well! Let's follow Yi Gong's plan, divide our forces into two routes, and push horizontally northward!"

He immediately made a plan, assigning seven generals under his command: Yan Gang, Zou Dan, Xu Rong, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Gongsun Zan, and Tian Yu, each leading a contingent of troops.

They advanced northwards.

"All generals, remember this: though the troops are divided, we are still a united front. Maintain daily communication without error!"

Liu Bei glanced at his generals and gave them a stern warning.

"Even though the Xianbei are easily defeated, we must proceed cautiously, step by step, and not be greedy for quick success or rush into battle, lest we fall into an enemy ambush!"

"Those who disobey orders will be dealt with according to military law!"

"This humble general obeys! I will certainly not fail my lord's trust!"

The generals shouted in unison, each one full of vigor and ambition, their eyes filled with the desire to achieve great things.

The next day, just as dawn broke, the armies set off, their banners obscuring the sun and the sound of horses' hooves echoing across the grasslands.

The eight armies, like eight sharp arrows, sped towards the depths of the grassland, sweeping northwards.

But no one noticed that at the same time the army broke camp, in the deep mountains of the grassland, several Xianbei scouts were keeping a close eye on the movements of the Han army as they split up.

As he watched the Han army gradually disperse, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

He then mounted his horse and galloped swiftly towards the royal tent of Queji in the north.