Three Kingdoms: Mistakenly Becoming Liu Bei's Adoptive Father at the Start

Liu Liang said, "Ordinary military training focuses on individual martial arts skills. What we need to train is to obey orders without question and to advance and retreat as one. Individual bravery is certainly important, but the key to victory on the battlefield is for a hundred men to act as one and a thousand men to act as one body."

Liu Liang studied history in his previous life, so he was naturally familiar with military history as well.

In the era of cold weapons, discipline and formation were the power multipliers of combat effectiveness.

Even if you are as powerful as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, capable of defeating ten thousand men, without qualified soldiers to form a battle line, you can't fight against four hands with two fists.

This is called "overwhelming organizational strength".

Liu Liang gave an example: "For instance, when suppressing bandits, if ambushed, ordinary local militia would fight individually or even scatter. But the soldiers we need to train will advance at the sound of the drum and halt at the sound of the gong, remaining calm in the face of an ambush and undisrupted in an attack. This requires strict discipline, repeated drills, and absolute trust in the commanders."

A glint of light flashed in Guan Yu's eyes: "Sir, you understand formations?"

"I know a little bit," Liu Liang said modestly, but in his heart he thought: From Qi Jiguang's Mandarin Duck Formation to modern infantry tactics, two thousand years of essence is enough.

"Very well!" Guan Yu rarely showed a smile. "Then I, Guan Yu, will wait and see."

Liu Liang added, "There is one more thing. Many of these soldiers deserted the army due to dissatisfaction with their superiors or desertion, and they may harbor resentment. Xuande should personally visit each camp to comfort the soldiers, eat and sleep with them, and win their hearts. This is the strategy of 'buying bones with a thousand pieces of gold.' When the soldiers see that their commander treats them so well, they will surely swear to serve him to the death."

These words contained both concrete measures and principles of managing people, which made Liu Bei nod repeatedly: "Father's words are absolutely right! I will now go and inspect the various camps!"

Zhang Fei was even more direct: "Sir, you'll need to offer more advice on training the troops in the future! I'm just a rough man, good at charging into battle, but these delicate tasks will have to be handled by you, sir!"

Liu Liang appeared calm and collected on the surface, but inwardly he was ranting and raving.

His original intention was to "trick" Liu Bei, but by a twist of fate, he helped Liu Bei recruit an elite veteran army and won the initial approval of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

This "traitorous adoptive father" scenario isn't as easy as I imagined...

At that moment, the interface of "The Chosen One" inexplicably appeared in Liu Liang's mind.

[Reward for submitting a suggestion: Simple hoof bath recipe for warhorses]

[Implementation method: Mix mugwort, salt, and boiled wine to make a medicinal solution. Soak the horses' hooves in the solution after marching to prevent hoof diseases.]

[Military Value: Reduces non-combat casualties among warhorses, ensuring the cavalry's sustained combat capability]

Huh?

Liu Liang stared blankly at the [Simple Hoof Bath Recipe for Warhorses] that had suddenly appeared in his mind for a long while.

There are rewards for offering suggestions?

Regardless of whether the initial intention behind the suggestion was good or bad, as long as it was made, this "chosen one" would give out something?

This mechanism... is quite interesting.

But how could this "horse hoof care formula" be given to Cao Cao, who was forced to serve by the chosen one?

What was Cao Cao doing at this time?

Cao Cao was born in 155 AD and is 29 years old this year. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he was appointed as Cavalry Commandant by the court and was subordinate to Huangfu Song, the Left General of the Household.

At this time, Cao Cao was probably leading a cavalry force to suppress the main force of the Yellow Turban Army in Yingchuan Commandery.

However, Yingchuan is located near Xuchang and Yuzhou in Henan Province, and is nearly a thousand miles away from Zhuojun.

At this point, it would be virtually impossible to hand over the formula to Cao Cao.

Lacking reliable messengers, he had to put the idea aside for the time being and wait for the right opportunity in the future.

Liu Liang shook his head, his gaze falling on what was in front of him.

The fifty horses in Liu Bei's army were a gift from horse traders Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang.

These two men traveled north to trade horses every year, but recently returned due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Liu Bei invited the two men to his estate, prepared wine and food to entertain them, and explained his intention to punish the bandits and bring peace to the people.

The two guests were also men of principle. Having suffered under the bandits for a long time, they presented him with five hundred taels of gold and silver, one thousand catties of fine iron, and fifty fine horses.

These horses were not even worthy of being called cavalry; they were only enough for officers to ride and for scouts to move around.

This recipe isn't entirely useless.

At least, it can help these precious livestock get sick less often and run longer.

Using it on Liu Bei could be considered... a preliminary test of its effectiveness?

Yes, let's try it first.

Good things are better kept in your own hands than just wishful thinking.

Liu Liang did not intend to reveal the recipe immediately.

Firstly, the source cannot be clearly explained.

Secondly, I have a feeling that these practical "small technologies" might come in handy in the future.

We need to see if it really works.

Next,

Liu Liang's verification plan quietly unfolded.

He first found a small amount of mugwort and salt, and then asked Zhao San to find a jar of turbid wine, which he mixed with other miscellaneous items, making it inconspicuous.

After preparing the three items, Liu Liang chose an afternoon when most people were training and set up a small stove behind the tent by himself.

Following the recipe in mind, I crushed the mugwort, mixed it with salt, and then poured the cloudy wine into an earthenware pot to boil.

Amidst the rising steam of alcohol, he quickly poured the mixed medicinal liquid into several prepared wooden barrels and added water.

Then, he summoned Zhao San, pointed to the wooden bucket, and said it was an experiment to maintain the ancient method of horse hooves. He instructed Zhao San to lead ten commonly used horses with poor hoof conditions, and after each day's training, to soak their hooves in the medicinal solution for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, and to carefully record the changes.

Zhao San did as instructed.

Over the course of several days, the effects gradually became apparent.

The horses that were cared for showed a significant reduction in the dryness and roughness of their hooves, the small cracks did not widen, and their color became more lustrous.

The horses were calmer while soaking, and their gait seemed a little lighter afterwards.

Zhao San reported the details he had observed to Liu Liang one by one, his tone revealing his astonishment.

Liu Liang had a better understanding of the situation.

This remedy really works.

He then expanded the scope, assigning Zhao San and two trusted veterans to be responsible for providing hoof baths and care for all the horses in the camp every day, with the medicine being secretly prepared by him at regular intervals.

Soon, the condition of the horses' hooves throughout the entire stable improved.

Although the change was subtle, it did not escape the notice of the cavalrymen and scouts who dealt with horses every day.

Zhang Fei was the first to exclaim, "Hey? My black-maned horse's hooves feel so much better these past few days! It runs so much more energetically! Old Zhao, what good stuff did you put on its hooves?"

Following Liu Liang's instructions, Zhao San replied, "General Zhang, it's a traditional northern method taught by Mr. Liu. It involves using some common ingredients to soak the horses' hooves, which is said to reduce ailments."

Guan Yu noticed it too.

When he inspected the stables, he deliberately squatted down to carefully examine the hooves of several warhorses, and asked the grooms a few questions, keeping them in mind but saying nothing more.

Liu Liang had his own plans and kept quiet about the matter for the time being.

Liu Bei currently has a limited number of warhorses, so promoting medicinal baths on a large scale would not be very meaningful and could also risk revealing the formula.

But for Cao Cao, who was leading his cavalry in Yingchuan and fighting against the main force of the Yellow Turbans...

Liu Liang suppressed this thought.

The time is far from ripe.

All he can do for now is to continue to keep the complete secret of this formula firmly in his own hands.

Zhao San and his group only knew how to use the ready-made medicinal liquid, but they didn't know the specific proportions, let alone the crucial point that the wine needed to be boiled.

He kept the real recipe on a small piece of tanned sheepskin that he kept close to his body, marked with simple symbols that only he understood.

......