Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

By the afternoon of that day...

The other three tribes' leaders, each leading a dozen or so of their own tribe's young commanders, arrived at Canhebei one after another.

The tent at Ritsu's residence was too small to hold many people.

So Tuoba Jiefen chose an open area on the bank of Canhebei, laid out carpets, set up low tables, and prepared wine and meat to entertain Mohefu from the four villages under Rilü's rule, as well as dozens of minor commanders under their command.

The three Mohefu from dozens of miles away were all very surprised to see that the person sitting in the main seat was Tuoba Jiefen, the son of Tuoba Lin, the leader of the Tuoba tribe.

In fact, they noticed something was wrong as soon as they stepped into the area of ​​Canhebei, which was about ten miles away.

Along the way to Canhebei, light cavalrymen galloped everywhere, scouting various places with extremely vigilant expressions. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would rush over to examine it closely, afraid of missing any danger.

When they arrived near Canhepo, the soldiers coming and going all looked like new faces.

Meanwhile, the Xianbei people in the village, standing beside the yurts, remained silent, trembling with fear.

Therefore, although the three Mohophs did not arrive together, when they realized that something was wrong, they all wanted to ride back to their own villages.

However, at this moment, they were blocked by squads of Xianbei cavalry.

They were only allowed to enter; they were not allowed to leave.

Left with no other choice, the three Mohefu had to follow the envoy sent by Tuoba Jiefen to Rilu's tent.

Afterwards, they followed Tuoba Jiefen all the way to the meeting place that had been set up on the bank of the Canhebei River.

Tuoba Jiefen sat in the main seat.

To his left sat his four uncles: Tuoba Hegu, Tuoba Baba, Tuoba Punai, Tuoba Yilou, and Hegu Xun.

To his right sat five people: Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Qian Zhao, Lü Bu, and Gao Shun.

The area was surrounded by Xianbei cavalry.

Meanwhile, the four Mohefu under Rilu's command, along with dozens of junior commanders, were all disarmed and sat in the seats arranged for them, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"You are all warriors from various towns and villages. Today, I have invited you to this meeting at Canhebei to inform you that I, Tuoba Jiefen, am now your master. Everything else remains the same."

Tuoba Jiefen swept his imposing gaze over the four Mohefu and spoke in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, one of the four Mohefu reacted extremely strongly:

"Where is our leader, Rilu? Where is he now? Rilu was the leader unanimously elected by our four villages after discussion. You are from the Tuoba tribe, how can you be the leader of our tribe?"

Tuoba Jiefen continued in a deep voice:

"Rilü was beheaded by me for attempting to assassinate the Khan in his tent. His head is here!"

As he spoke, he threw Rilu's head in front of everyone.

Everyone was startled.

The man named Mohefu was utterly shocked:

"Ri Lu assassinated Tan Shihuai!?"

Tuoba Jiefen sneered and said:

"Rillu intended to assassinate my father, Khan Tuoba Lin."

Upon hearing this, Mohefu was even more shocked:

"Tuoba Lin is Tuiyin of the Western Xianbei, the leader of the Tuoba tribe... When did he become Khan?"

"It happened recently."

Tuoba Jiefen squinted and said in a deep voice, "As you have all seen, our Tuoba tribe's main force has captured Rilü's main camp and surrounded the entire village. I summoned you here to inform you that I, Tuoba Jiefen, have been appointed your lord by the Khan. From now on, anyone who dares to disobey any order I issue will be punished with death!"

The Mohefu led the roar:

"Tuoba Jiefen, we do not recognize you as our leader. This is against the rules of the grasslands. Leaders are elected by the tribe, not appointed. Even Tanshihuai did not have the authority to appoint leaders. Your father, Tuoba Lin, certainly did not have that authority."

"Hegu Xun!"

Tuoba Jiefen shouted.

"exist!"

Hegu responded loudly.

Tuoba Jiefen gave him a wink.

Hegu Xun nodded, drew his sword, strode up to the Mohefu man, and swiftly plunged the sword into his heart.

Even in death, Mohofu's eyes remained filled with disbelief.

Public sentiment was stirred.

The remaining three Mohefu and dozens of young commanders were all filled with indignation, but dared not speak out.

Their weapons had been taken away, and all around them were Xianbei warriors, fully armed and ready for battle.

Therefore, none of them dared to move.

Tuoba Jiefen said coldly:

"Who else doesn't acknowledge me as an adult? Step forward!"

No one stepped forward.

Killing someone to establish authority was a quick and effective method that achieved its intended purpose.

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Tuoba Jiefen continued:

"Very well, since you all acknowledge me as your master, then you must all obey my every word. Anyone who dares to disobey will suffer the same fate as this Mohofer, a crime punishable by death. I mean what I say!"

The three Mohofers and dozens of young men were all terrified, and no one voiced any objection.

Tuoba Jiefen then announced that his four uncles would serve as the Mohefu of the four villages, and the junior commanders of each village would be reappointed by the new Mohefu.

He also stated that from now on, all four villages would be incorporated into the Tuoba tribe, and all Mohefu, Xiaoshuai, and others would no longer be elected by the tribe members, but would be personally appointed by the superior—the leader.

Followed by.

Tuoba Jiefen then used kind words to comfort these Mohefu and Xiaoshuai, and temporarily placed them under house arrest in a wooden fenced-off yurt in Canhebei.

They were to be allowed to return to their respective villages only after the situation had stabilized.

These Mohefu and the tribal leaders, being under someone else's roof, had no choice but to bow their heads and obey orders.

Of course, most of them were still dissatisfied.

Following this, the four Mohefu—Tuoba Hegu, Tuoba Baba, Tuoba Punai, and Tuoba Yilou—each chose one of these junior commanders who genuinely submitted to them, as their advisors, according to Tuoba Jiefen's wishes.

They used this chosen young man to learn about the inner workings of each village.

Tuoba Hegu served as the Mohefu of this relatively large village near Canhebei, so he did not need to travel far.

Meanwhile, Tuoba Baba, Tuoba Punai, and Tuoba Yilou each led five hundred cavalrymen, and under the guidance of the surrendered commander, they headed to their respective villages.

As per Tuoba Jiefen's instructions, the four newly appointed Mohefu were to quickly organize the cavalry of their respective villages and assemble them in the vicinity of Canhebei.

After more than a day of busy work.

By the afternoon of the second day.

The four villages under Ri Lu's jurisdiction, totaling eight thousand light cavalry, had all gathered in an open area near Canhebei.

Tuoba Jiefen strictly followed the military orders of Khan Tuoba Lin. He first selected the 800 most valiant elite cavalrymen from among the 8,000 cavalrymen, and then personally handed them over to Liu Bei.

From the remaining 7,200 cavalrymen, 3,000 were selected and brought under his command, temporarily led by Hegu Xun, as the second echelon of the 2,000-strong Tuoba tribe's guard.

The remaining four thousand cavalrymen were evenly distributed among the four Mohefu: Tuoba Hegu, Tuoba Baba, Tuoba Punai, and Tuoba Yilou.

In this way, each of the four Mohefu, including Tuoba Hegu, commanded an army of 1,500 men.

……

Liu Bei led the eight hundred Xianbei cavalrymen, who had been personally handed over to him by Tuoba Jiefen, to another open space.

Lü Bu and others also followed.

Liu Bei first selected 100 riders from his 800 elite cavalrymen to form his personal guard, and appointed Dongye Ban and Xinyuan Jian as captains, each leading 50 riders.

Guan Yu was appointed as a centurion, with Yang Feng as his deputy, leading one hundred elite cavalry.

Qian Zhao was appointed as centurion, with Wu Lu Da Wang as his deputy, leading one hundred elite cavalry.

He appointed Zuo Zi as centurion and Zhang Ba as his deputy, leading one hundred elite cavalry.

Gao Shun was appointed centurion, and Hou Cheng was appointed his deputy, leading one hundred elite cavalry.

Song Xian was appointed as centurion, and Wei Xu as his deputy, leading one hundred elite cavalry.

Cheng Lian was appointed as centurion, and Wei Yue was appointed as his deputy, leading one hundred elite cavalry.

Everyone was delighted with this arrangement.

Seeing that all the generals had been given official positions, while he himself seemed to have not been appointed, Lü Bu hurriedly asked:

"Xuande, what about me?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then said:

"Fengxian, how about appointing you as a centurion? I'll also give you a hundred elite cavalrymen, plus the Bingzhou chivalrous band, all under your command. For now, there will be no deputy."

He was hesitant.

After all, Lü Bu's combat strength far surpassed that of the other generals, so he naturally could not be ranked alongside them.

But we can't put all eight hundred people under his command.

They had no choice but to elevate his status and use empty titles to control him.

Lü Bu was very pleased to hear this and said:

"Of course. Although I am currently only in charge of two hundred men, as we grow stronger, sooner or later I will truly be in charge of a thousand men."

Liu Bei was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Seeing that Lü Bu was able to exonerate himself, he saved himself a lot of trouble.

At this point, the eight hundred Xianbei cavalrymen had been assigned.

Xu Wushan's twenty-eight elite cavalry were directly commanded by Liu Bei.

His relationship with these twenty-eight people deepened day by day, and he began to regard them as his confidants.

Followed by.

Liu Bei then ordered his generals to lead their own elite cavalry in practice of his self-created three-three system of tactics, urging them not to slacken their efforts until they were proficient.

He stated that "military law is merciless" and hoped that all generals would obey orders without question.

For a moment, all the generals obeyed orders with awe.

With the great battle approaching, everyone intensified their training and dared not relax.

……

Tan Shihuai then established his court on the banks of the Tanhan Mountain and the Chuqiu River, more than 300 li north of Gaoliu. His army was very powerful, and the leaders of the eastern and western regions all came to him.

—Book of the Later Han Dynasty