With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

After several rounds, Li Kui and Fan Tong were still evenly matched.

Both of them were panting and sweating profusely.

Li Kui had several wounds on his body and blood was flowing out.

Fan Tong's situation was not much better.

His clothes were torn in several places and his face was bruised.

Lu Yan felt that it was not a good idea to continue fighting like this, so he stopped the competition.

"Alright, alright, stop fighting! Take a break!"

Only then did Li Kui and Fan Tong stop.

They stood there breathlessly, staring at each other.

Lu Yan walked between the two of them and asked with a smile:

"Fan Tong, right? You're quite a fighter! Tell me, who are you?"

Fan Tong replied in a muffled voice, "I am from Beixiang and was once a military commander."

"Oh? A military general? Then why are you here?" Lu Yan asked with interest.

Fan Tong sighed and said:

"It's all because of that damn Liu Wen!"

"That old fellow relies on his position as prime minister to be tyrannical and exclude those who are not his equals!"

"I couldn't stand his expression, so I argued with him."

"In the end, he demoted me to a small garrison commander in Yunyang City!"

When Lu Yan heard this, he was immediately happy.

He patted Fan Tong on the shoulder and said:

"Good boy, you have backbone!"

He waved his hand and said:

"Let's continue the competition. Only a strong opponent can help you improve. Keep going, Xiao Kui."

"okay!"

Li Kui agreed excitedly, waving his sword again and rushing towards Fan Tong.

"Well done!"

Fan Tong also roared and rushed forward waving the meteor hammer.

The two men fought again.

This time, the battle between the two was more intense and more exciting.

Three hundred rounds passed in a flash, and Li Kui was eventually defeated due to exhaustion.

Fan Tong's meteor hammer stopped in front of Li Kui's nose, and he laughed loudly:

"Brother Li is indeed brave. I admire him!"

Li Kui wiped the sweat from his face and grinned:

"Brother Fan's hammering skills are even more exquisite. I have to admit I'm inferior to him!"

The two men admired each other and simply became sworn brothers in the middle of the training ground.

This drew cheers from the surrounding soldiers.

Lu Yan watched with great interest from the side.

Fan Tong was not only a martial arts expert, but also had a very generous personality.

It's exactly the talent I need.

He walked up to the two of them and said with a smile:

"Brother Fan Tong, I see that you are quite skilled. Would you be willing to stay in Shannan Prefecture and lend me a hand?"

Fan Tong originally had no good feelings towards these officials.

But Lu Yan's approachability and sincerity touched him.

Li Kui also chimed in:

"Brother, my master is a powerful man, you can definitely do the right thing by following him!"

Fan Tong finally nodded in agreement and joined Lu Yan's army.

That night, Lu Yan hosted a banquet to entertain Fan Tong, Li Kui and others.

After three rounds of drinking, Fan Tong wiped his mouth proudly, clasped his fists and said:

"Sir, there is something I don't understand, and I would like to ask you a question."

Lu Yan put down his wine glass and said with a smile:

"Brother Fan Tong, you don't have to be polite, but you can say whatever you want."

Fan Tong hesitated for a moment and said:

"Your Excellency's firearms battalion is unparalleled in power, and I have witnessed it today. However, while these muskets fire quickly, they are quite cumbersome to reload. If the enemy seizes the opportunity to charge, how will we respond?"

Fan Tong was indeed a brave general with a meticulous mind. He saw the disadvantages of the musket at a glance.

Lu Yan slowly explained:

"Brother Fan Tong is right. Reloading muskets is indeed time-consuming, so our musketeers all fire in three rows.

After the first row finishes firing, they quickly retreat to reload, and the second row takes over and fires, alternating back and forth to ensure continuous firepower. In addition, our army also has close combat units such as spearmen and sword and shield soldiers to prepare for emergencies."

Fan Tong nodded repeatedly and asked:

"Sir, I have observed that the cavalry under your command are all well-equipped and well-trained, but I wonder how you train your troops?"

Lu Yan smiled and said:

"The key to training soldiers is to focus on 'precision' and 'reality'.

"Jing" means elite soldiers and simple administration. Our cavalry are all selected from hundreds of miles away, strong and loyal.

"Shi" refers to actual combat drills. Our cavalry conducts actual combat confrontation drills every day.

Simulate various battlefield environments to hone soldiers' combat skills and adaptability."

As Lu Yan spoke, he picked up a piece of charcoal and drew a simple formation diagram on the table.

Pointing to a few points on the map, he said:

"The key to cavalry combat is flexibility, maneuverability, and variety.

Our cavalry must not only master various formations, but also be adept at utilizing terrain to achieve victory through surprise attacks."

Fan Tong was fascinated by what he heard, and it opened the door to a whole new military world.

He was just a military commander with outstanding combat capabilities, but he did not have a deep understanding of military strategies and tactics.

After listening to Lu Yan's explanation today, I realized how narrow my vision was before.

The next morning, as the sky gradually brightened, the fire in Yunyang City was still burning.

Lu Yan counted the casualties and concluded that this siege was a complete victory.

The death toll was less than 20, and more than 100 people were slightly injured, with the casualty ratio hitting a record low.

On the other side, Fan Tong summoned his personal guards. In the center of the training ground, facing hundreds of soldiers with burning eyes, he said loudly: "Brothers, I have decided to follow Lord Lu and join Shannan Prefecture!"

There was a buzz of discussion in the crowd. Some were puzzled, some were doubtful, and some expressed support.

A burly soldier stepped forward and asked in a muffled voice, "General, what about that old villain Liu Wen? If we just leave like this, won't that give him an easy advantage?"

Fan Tong laughed heartily, patted the soldier on the shoulder, and said:

"Brother, don't worry, that old scoundrel Liu Wen won't be around for much longer! Lord Lu is a man of great talent and strategy, and he will definitely achieve great things in the future! Following him is a hundred times better than following that old scoundrel Liu Wen!"

Another young soldier also stood up and asked:

"General, is Lord Lu kind to us? Will he treat us unfairly?"

Fan Tong smiled and said:

"Lord Lu is kind and generous, and he is clear about rewards and punishments. He will definitely not treat us brothers unfairly!

Last night, Lord Lu hosted a banquet for me and discussed military strategy with me.

I'm completely impressed by Mr. Lu's insight!"

Fan Tong paused, then continued:

“Brothers, I know you are all good brothers who are loyal to me.

I, Fan Tong, cannot get to where I am today without your support!

Now I have decided to follow Lord Lu in order to find a better way out for my brothers!

Would you like to come with me?"

"willing!"

"I am willing to follow the general!"

"We all obey the general!"

The soldiers shouted loudly, expressing their loyalty and support for Fan Tong.

Fan Tong nodded with satisfaction and said:

"Okay! In that case, let's pack our bags and set off immediately for Shannan Prefecture!"

After the Battle of Yunyang City, Shannan Prefecture became famous, and several surrounding prefectures were in awe of Lu Yan.

Lu Yan struck while the iron was hot and began to reorganize the military and government affairs of Yunyang City.

He expanded the musketeers and began training new soldiers;

And brought a set of effective government affairs processes from Shannan Prefecture into Yunyang City.

Greatly improved administrative efficiency.

He abolished some harsh taxes and reduced levies.

While pacifying the people, he vigorously developed agriculture and commerce, and encouraged merchants to come and trade.

Yunyang City was just settled, and a lot of work needed to be done.

Lu Yan stood on the city wall, looking at the bustling crowd, feeling a lot of emotions in his heart.

After so many years of hard work, we have established a solid foundation in this chaotic world.

He turned his head to look at Li Kui beside him, who was grinning foolishly.

He showed two rows of big white teeth and was gnawing on a chicken leg that he had picked up from somewhere.

"Xiao Kui, can't you pay attention to your image?"

Lu Yan smiled and joked.

"Hey, sir, this isn't happiness!"

"We now have a large force with a population of 1.5 million!"

“It’s stronger than some small countries!”

Li Kui spoke vaguely and wiped his greasy hands on his clothes.

Lu Yan shook his head helplessly. Although Li Kui was extremely brave.

But his rough character has not changed at all.

However, it is precisely this simplicity and loyalty that makes Lu Yan trust him so much.