Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 77 Guan Yu: I see Zhang Niujiao as a bull, and he is like putting his head up for sale!
However, although today is a day of rest, Liu Bian does not plan to be idle.

After all, the forced march caused great damage to the soldiers' spirit and physical strength. In addition to ordering the Weijun prefect to provide the soldiers with meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits to supplement their nutrition, Liu Bian could only choose to fulfill some of his promises in advance to boost morale.

Previously, 79 soldiers of the Tunqi Commander under Sun Jian had been killed in battle, and 93 soldiers of the Yueqi Commander under Lu Bu had been killed in battle. Liu Bian decided to expand the establishment of each of the five schools of the Northern Army from 800 to 1,200 people.

As for the vacancies in each school, Liu Bian decided to promote some of the good families in the six counties and three rivers who had made military achievements in Yuzhou to the Northern Army to fill them.

In fact, Liu Bian originally planned to expand the number of students in each school to 1,500 at once, but was dissuaded by Cao Cao.

Cao Cao believed that if too many good family members were suddenly promoted to join the Northern Army, half of the soldiers in each school would be newly recruited good family members who would be unfamiliar with the tactics and orders of each school, which would greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of the troops during a major war.

Liu Bian readily accepted Cao Cao's advice, so each school was temporarily expanded to only 1,200 people, while the left and right Yulin cavalry were expanded to 1,500 people each.

The good family men from the three rivers and six counties who were promoted to the Northern Army were overjoyed. Not only did they have an unshakable iron rice bowl in their hands, but the standard armored weapons of the Northern Army soldiers kept many of them awake at night.

On the battlefield, the more sophisticated the weapons, the higher the survival rate of the soldiers. This is especially true for the standard black armor worn by Northern Army soldiers, which has far superior defense to the leather armor they previously wore. If they can be promoted to team leader (with fifty men under their command), they can also obtain more solid iron armor.

There are also welfare benefits for the Northern Army soldiers. Not to mention that they must eat meat for every meal, soldiers who retire due to old age or disability will be given various subsidies, and they can even serve as pavilion chiefs or jailers in local areas. Other welfare benefits such as death pensions have also been greatly improved under the prince's reforms. They only need to focus all their attention on training and fighting, and don't have to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation for their entire family.

And after being promoted by a group of comrades who had lived and ate together a few days ago, more and more young men from good families were eager to establish merits and be selected to join the Northern Army.

Seeing that the morale was high, the army continued its march the next day, galloping eighty miles from Yecheng to the outskirts of Handan.

Outside Handan City, a Yellow Turban Army of more than 30,000 people was stationed there. According to scouts sent out from the city, this Yellow Turban Army had attacked the city many times before, but was always repelled by 3,000 county and state soldiers led by the Handan City garrison commander.

When talking about the commander of Handan City, the scout's face flushed and a look of admiration flashed in his eyes.

When they reached the foot of the city, Liu Bian ordered Sun Jian, Lu Bu and others to lead the cavalry to station outside the city, forming a pincer attack on Handan City. He led Xu Chu, Dian Wei, Cao Cao and a thousand Sanhe knights into the city to meet with the Handan defenders.

Entering the city, although Handan had not yet fallen, it was in ruins after years of fighting. Many houses were set on fire by arrows, and black smoke billowed out. Liu Bian could not help but frown.

Although this Yellow Turban Army of more than 30,000 people was repeatedly repelled by 3,000 county and state soldiers, in terms of ferocity, the Yellow Turban Army under Bo Cai's command was slightly inferior to it.

Walking on the streets, Liu Bian and his group's clean, tidy and extremely fine clothes and armor naturally attracted the attention of the soldiers and civilians in the city.

But most people in the city were in a hurry and not many people stopped.

In this great battle, all the people in the city were mobilized. The young and strong either joined the army to defend the city or repaired the city walls. Even the old, weak, women and children did what they could, such as carrying rolling logs and stones, and boiling pots of hot soup for the soldiers defending the city.

Finally, with the guidance of the soldiers in the city, Liu Bian finally met the defender of Handan City.

"Yun Chang!"

Liu Bian saw the burly figure on the top of the city wall from afar, waving his arms. His voice unconsciously became a little louder, and a smile of surprise appeared on his face.

Guan Yu, wearing a gold, silver and iron armor made of scale-like plates, was concentrating on deploying defenses on the top of the city wall. When he heard the shouting, he was startled at first, then slowly turned his head to look in the direction where the voice came from.

Since he left Xindu and stationed in Handan, no one called him "Yunchang" anymore. This call of "Yunchang" couldn't help but stir up some waves in his heart.

However, when those sharp and majestic phoenix eyes looked at Liu Bian, a hint of surprise flashed across them, and the lance in his hand shook unconsciously. Seeing this "Second Master Guan" reveal such an expression, the smile on Liu Bian's face became even more intense.

"His Royal Highness!"

After Guan Yu confirmed that the smiling face was indeed that of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he subconsciously widened his eyes and cried out in surprise, and the lance in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

Following Guan Yu's shout, officials, soldiers and civilians on both sides of the street looked at Liu Bian in surprise. This brightly dressed young man was the prince?
But didn’t Prince Liu She of Zhao go to Xindu?

Moreover, Prince Liu She of Zhao is already in his twenties, but the man in front of him seems not to have reached the age of coming of age yet.

"Your Highness, Guan Yu, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Guan Yu woke up as if from a dream, hurriedly tidied up his clothes and armor, trotted down the city, knelt on one knee, and saluted Liu Bian respectfully.

King Liu Yu of Zhao, who arrived late, also stumbled over to the audience and almost fell to the ground.

Seeing that the King of Zhao saluted the young man, everyone could understand that this prince was actually the crown prince of the Han Empire.

Liu Bian stepped forward quickly, held Guan Yu's arms tightly with both hands and helped him up, and then supported King Zhao Liu Yu and a group of people. Then he put his arm around Guan Yu's and walked with him towards the top of the city wall.

On the top of the city wall, Liu Bian looked Guan Yu up and down, his eyes full of concern. He personally tidied up his slightly messy armor for him. After confirming that Guan Yu had no injuries, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved. However, he also joked: "Yun Chang has lost weight, but his complexion is still rosy."

When Guan Yu heard this, his face turned even redder, but he was still quite moved.

The prince, a precious person, personally led the cavalry on a rapid march of nearly 700 miles to come to the rescue. After seeing him, the first thing he was concerned about was not the enemy situation in Jizhou and the military strength of Handan City, but his health.

However, the prince cared about him, and he could not let personal matters override public interests. He soon became stern and changed the subject to the more than 30,000 Yellow Turban troops outside the city.

"The leader of the bandits outside the city wears a yellow turban decorated with ox horns, so he is called 'Zhang Niujiao' and calls himself 'General Black Mountain'. He has gathered more than 30,000 people to plunder everywhere, and the combat power of his troops is not comparable to that of ordinary Yellow Turban Army." Guan Yu looked solemn, and pointed to the Yellow Turban Army camp in the distance as he spoke.

Guan Yu also admitted that although it seemed that he was able to repeatedly repel the Yellow Turban Army outside the city, it was actually entirely because the Yellow Turban Army outside the city lacked experience in sieges.

Although Handan City was a strong city, it was also too large to be defended by 3,000 county and state soldiers. If it weren't for Guan Yu's bravery, running from one city wall to another, and successively killing the enemy's first climbers, Handan City would have fallen long ago.

Liu Bian, leaning against the parapet with one hand and holding his horsewhip in the other, pointed to the large banner with the inscription "Black Mountain General Zhang" in the distance and said to Guan Yu with a smile, "I am stationed with a large army in Handan and want to see your bravery and combat skills!"

"I wonder if Yunchang dares to leave the city and defeat the bandits?"

After saying that, Liu Bian raised his eyebrows and looked at Guan Yu, his eyes full of encouragement and expectation.

Guan Yu also smiled, pointed the spear in his hand at the big banner in the distance, and snorted softly.

"I see the horns of an ox, like putting his head up for sale!"

(2230 words)
(End of this chapter)