Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

However, more than a decade later, with the tacit approval of Yan Liyou, who was dissatisfied with the Han Dynasty, some Xianbei tribes began to rebel against the Han Dynasty again, causing chaos on the border.

After the Han Dynasty offered some appeasement and comfort, Yan Liyou finally ordered the rebellious Xianbei tribes to surrender to the Han Dynasty.

Thus, the Xianbei rebelled at times and surrendered at others, their behavior being fickle and unpredictable.

The border areas of the Han Dynasty were also frequently plagued by unrest.

Furthermore, the Xiongnu and Wuhuan also occasionally participated in these activities. They would sometimes collude with the Xianbei to plunder the Han Dynasty, and then attack each other due to disputes over the distribution of spoils.

All of this made the border regions of the Han Dynasty never peaceful.

Amidst the chaotic border situation, the cunning and shrewd Yan Liyou had been quietly building his own army, especially his heavily armored cavalry.

As for the source of the armor, Yan Liyou obtained it through various channels.

Some of them were smuggled from Han areas.

Some, however, plundered Han dynasty armor craftsmen and forged their own armor in imitation of Han designs.

Some were obtained by plundering the armories of the border prefectures of the Han Dynasty.

Some were obtained through battlefield captures.

He would sometimes submit to the Han Dynasty, claiming to defend the borders for the Han, and other times he would join forces with the Xiongnu and Wuhuan to form an allied army to plunder the borders of Han territory and seize wealth and ironware.

Anyway, they have to change things up every now and then.

Therefore, over the decades, Yan Liyou accumulated more than three thousand suits of armor and built a three-thousand-armored heavy cavalry legion that he was very proud of.

With three thousand heavily armored cavalry at his command, every tribe on the grasslands feared and submitted to him.

Even the Protector of the Wuhuan during the Han Dynasty did not dare to underestimate him.

But there was one fearless Xianbei man who wanted to touch Yan Liyou's backside, stroke his whiskers, and ask about the weight of the Xianbei royal seal in his hand.

This person was Tan Shihuai, a fierce Xianbei leader.

When Tan Shihuai rose to prominence on the grassland, Yan Liyou had already entered old age, his mind was not as sharp as before, and his physical strength had dissipated in the long years of pleasure.

His sons were also incompetent, failing to gain the trust of all the Xianbei tribes, and even fighting amongst themselves over the Xianbei king's seal.

In a fit of anger, Yan Liyou banished several of his sons to distant tribes.

Therefore, when Tan Shihuai led his army to "pay his respects," Yan Liyou relied solely on his three thousand heavily armored cavalry.

But the valiant Tan Shihuai led his elite cavalry to a decisive victory over Yan Liyou's three thousand heavily armored cavalry.

The once-powerful Xianbei king Yan Liyou was thus forced to relinquish his throne as the ruler of the grasslands.

Tan Shihuai thus replaced Yan Liyou as the Khan revered by all the Xianbei people.

However, he did not care about the seal of the Xianbei king of the Han Dynasty and discarded it.

Disheartened, Yan Liyou led his tribe and settlements westward from the grasslands north of Shanggu County, migrating all the way to the foot of Langshan Mountain, more than a thousand miles away, where they established a new headquarters.

From then on, they were far removed from the political center of the Xianbei people—Danhan Mountain.

Meanwhile, Tan Shihuai took over the royal court of Tanhan Mountain, succeeding Yan Liyou and ruling over all the Xianbei tribes.

In order to gain the trust of the leaders of the various tribes, Tan Shihuai did not annex Yan Liyou's followers or incorporate his three thousand armored heavy cavalry after defeating him.

But Tan Shihuai also told the elderly Yan Liyou that once he gave the order, Yan Liyou must send at least two thousand of his armored heavy cavalry to fight.

Yan Liyou, intimidated by Tan Shihuai's authority, had no choice but to comply.

The world is ever-changing.

Yan Liyou never imagined that his three thousand heavily armored cavalry would be defeated by a Han Chinese named "Liu Bei".

Without military power, one loses the confidence to speak.

Yan Liyou, who was in his seventies or eighties, eventually became a puppet in the hands of the Tuoba tribe.

……

Looking at the armor and fine horses personally delivered by Tuoba Qiudun, Liu Bei felt extremely grateful to him.

This is exactly the kind of military equipment he urgently needs right now.

Liu Bei immediately sent Guan Yu to lead a team to take inventory.

It was learned that there were more than 500 suits of armor and more than 300 fine horses.

The eight hundred or so cavalrymen he now leads are mostly wearing leather armor.

Although leather armor is relatively lightweight and can provide some protection against arrows and iron weapons, it is still not as protective as iron armor for cavalry.

After all, iron armor is much harder and more durable than leather armor.

The only downside is that the iron armor is quite heavy, usually weighing fifty or sixty pounds, which is several times heavier than leather armor.

This places high demands on the load-bearing capacity of cavalry and warhorses.

Once cavalrymen donned iron armor, they gained numerous advantages. Not only could they charge into battle despite the arrows, but they could also effectively defend against the cuts and wounds from sharp swords, spears, and halberds in close combat.

Because of the immense power of armor in warfare, ancient rulers considered the possession of armor a serious crime.

If someone in the private sector were to privately forge armor, the government would usually consider it treason or have treasonous intentions, and would punish them severely, with the most serious offenses resulting in death.

According to the "Treatise on Criminal Law" in the Book of Han:

"Those who privately manufacture weapons and armor will be forced to perform hard labor in the city."

It means shaving off one's sideburns and beard. If the person is male, he will be forced to do hard labor building city walls for life; if the person is female, he will be forced to do hard labor pounding rice for life.

The famous Han general Zhou Yafu was convicted of treason by the Court of Justice for secretly keeping 500 suits of armor to be buried with him. It was even said that after his death, he planned to rebel in the afterlife.

Now, Liu Bei has acquired more than 500 suits of iron armor, which is clearly not enough to distribute among 800 elite cavalry.

After thinking for a moment, he had someone summon Lü Bu and Gao Shun.

"Fengxian, as a centurion and the vanguard of eight hundred elite cavalry, you led one hundred elite cavalry and one hundred Bingzhou wandering knights in this fierce battle, which was tasked with the assault and suffered heavy casualties. Therefore, I am thinking of giving you two hundred suits of iron armor."

Lu Bu looked at the heavy iron armor and pondered for a moment before saying:

"Iron armor is of course the best. But wearing iron armor will greatly affect the speed of a cavalry charge. As a cavalryman, it is more suitable to wear lighter leather armor."

"certainly."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "If you are on a mission of a long-distance raid, leather armor is naturally more suitable. But if you are on a mission like today, of charging into battle, capturing enemy generals and flags, iron armor is the most appropriate."

"When marching, you don't need to wear iron armor. Just have these two hundred suits of iron armor carried by fine horses and follow behind the army as baggage."

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu was overjoyed and said:

"That's great. With these two hundred suits of armor, when we attack the Zhijian tribe at Juyan Lake, the casualty rate of my vanguard cavalry will definitely be greatly reduced if they wear the armor during the charge."

"That's exactly how it should be."

Liu Bei continued, "At that time, you can have the armored cavalry run around the perimeter of the vanguard camp in a wing-like formation, and place the leather-armored cavalry in the middle. This will greatly reduce cavalry casualties."

So Liu Bei gave Lü Bu another hundred fine horses to carry two hundred suits of iron armor.

Followed by.

Liu Bei then gave Guan Yu's vanguard a hundred suits of iron armor and fifty fine horses.

Liu Bei was given one hundred suits of iron armor and fifty fine horses from his own central army.

One hundred suits of iron armor and fifty fine horses were given to Gao Shun's rear guard.

The remaining fifty fine horses were distributed among Xu Wushan's twenty-five warriors, who served as centurions, with two horses for each of them.

Equipment distribution complete.

Tuoba Qiudun then transported a large quantity of dried meat, cheese, and flatbread, which were distributed to all the soldiers on the western expedition.

Everything was assigned before going to bed that night.

After the soldiers had eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to their respective yurts and had a good night's sleep.

The soldiers on night patrol were naturally assigned by Tuoba Qiudun and Tuoba Sihai.

The next morning.

Tuoba Qiudun then ordered that hot beef and mutton, which had been prepared in advance, be served as breakfast, so that all the soldiers on the western expedition could eat their fill.

Thus, Liu Bei led 1,000 elite cavalry and 2,500 light cavalry as the first wave to embark on the westward expedition against the Juyan Lake Zhijian tribe.

Tuoba Daxi led a thousand heavily armored cavalry and seven hundred light cavalry as the second wave.

Tuoba Yizhan and Tuoba Chekun led their 3,400 light cavalry as the third wave.

Three young and valiant generals, Babapeng, Pulu, and Yiloujin, led 1,500 light cavalrymen to escort the army's supplies as the fourth wave.

Each wave of troops was about one or two miles apart.

Of course, Lu Bu's cavalry, as the vanguard, could advance four or five miles ahead of the main army.

During the march, Liu Bei continued to send out a large number of scouts within a radius of a hundred miles.

Not only that, but he had also sent out several waves of scouts to the Juyan Lake and Helan Mountain areas before going to bed last night to investigate the enemy situation.

……

To be ignorant of the enemy's situation is the height of inhumanity and makes one an incompetent general.

—Sun Tzu's Art of War, Chapter 1: Maneuvering