Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

After successfully annexing the Rilu tribe, the Tuoba tribe's military strength nearly doubled, and its population increased by more than 40,000 people in four villages, making it the most powerful tribe among the western Xianbei.

Originally, the five western Xianbei tribes—Tuoba, Rilu, Zhijian, Luoluo, and Yanliyou—had similar populations and military strength, and could maintain a delicate balance among themselves.

The Tuoba tribe's annexation of the Rilu tribe disrupted this balance and widened the gap between itself and the other three tribes.

In a sense, the Tuoba tribe became a huge threat to the other three Xianbei tribes in the west.

The Tuoba tribe, having subjugated the Rilu tribe and gained its population and army, also faced a significant threat.

This threat mainly came from the Xianbei Khan, Tanshihuai, who was stationed at Tanhan Mountain.

At this time, the leaders of the other three tribes of the Western Xianbei were still under the command of Tanshihuai.

If Tanshihuai were to launch a war, he would inevitably join forces with the Zhijian, Luoluo, and Yanliyou tribes to launch a pincer attack on the Tuoba tribe.

The Tuoba tribe was already overwhelmed by just one Tan Shihuai.

Moreover, there is a huge risk of being attacked from both sides.

Therefore, on the very day that Tuoba Jiefen handed over eight hundred elite cavalry to Liu Bei, Liu Bei was already deeply aware of this.

……

At dusk.

Liu Bei, escorted by several warriors from Xuwu Mountain led by Dongye Ban, arrived at the camp beside Canhe Slope.

At this moment, Tuoba Jiefen, who had been busy all day, was drinking and eating meat with his cousin Hegu Xun.

When he saw Liu Bei enter alone, he ordered wine and meat to be prepared to entertain him.

Liu Bei had no appetite for wine. As soon as he sat down on the couch, he said:

"Tuoba Jiefen, in a few days, Tan Shihuai will learn of the internal turmoil within the Western Xianbei. What do you think he will do next?"

"Based on Tan Shihuai's past practices, he would send someone to the Tuoba tribe to summon my father to the royal court at Tanhan Mountain to personally inquire what happened, why he killed Rilu and annexed the Rilu tribe..."

As Tuoba Jiefen spoke, he tore off another piece of meat and chewed it vigorously in his mouth.

Liu Bei asked:

"What if the Khan didn't heed Tanshihuai's summons and didn't leave the Kaituoba tribe to go to Tanhan Mountain?

Tuoba Jiefen took a sip of mare's milk wine and said:

"Anyone who disobeys Tan Shihuai's summons without cause shall be punished with death. Next, Tan Shihuai will summon the leaders of all tribes to Tanhan Mountain, announce the crimes of my father, and then launch a military campaign to punish him and lead his army to attack the Tuoba tribe."

Liu Bei then asked:

"How many days of preparation are needed at the very least before the battle?"

Tuoba Jiefen thought for a moment, then pondered and said:

"Tan Shihuai will first gather the troops from all units, then stockpile provisions, produce enough dried meat, replenish warhorses, repair arrows, armor, swords, spears and other weapons, and then formulate an attack strategy... It will take at least ten days. If things go slowly, it may take one or two months."

Liu Bei nodded and said:

"Very well. In these ten days, we will take good care of storing up food and fodder, repairing weapons, feeding warhorses, and making all the necessary preparations for the battle at Canhebei. We will wait in comfort for Tan Shihuai to launch an attack on us."

Tuoba Jiefen pondered for a moment and said:

"We will not launch an attack on the royal court of Tanhanshan; we can only passively wait for them to attack. Tan Shihuai is not easy to deal with, but I am confident that I can defeat his attack at Canhebei."

Liu Bei then said:

"What if, while you are fighting Tan Shihuai at Canhebei, the Zhijian, Luoluo, and Yanliyou tribes launch an attack from behind, attacking the Tuoba tribe from the rear?"

Tuoba Jiefen was startled upon hearing this.

All his attention was focused on Tan Shihuai in the east. Only after Liu Bei reminded him did he realize that there were still the Zhijian, Luoluo, and Yanliyou tribes behind him who were still under the command of Tan Shihuai.

These three units have at least 30,000 troops.

If, while the Tuoba tribe and Tanshihuai's army were engaged in a fierce battle at Canhebei, the 30,000 troops of the three tribes were to silently launch a surprise attack from the rear, the Tuoba tribe would undoubtedly be defeated.

Although the Tuoba tribe had annexed the Rilu tribe, its military strength was relatively small. If the troops were to be divided, they would inevitably be even more vulnerable to attack.

Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Tuoba Jiefen's forehead.

"The Zhijian, Luoluo, and Yanliyou tribes will certainly not stand idly by. Intimidated by Tanshihuai's reputation and military strength, they will definitely attack the Tuoba tribe..."

Tuoba Jiefen pondered for a moment, then looked at Liu Bei and asked, "Xuande, how should we resolve this?"

Liu Bei said in a deep voice:

"In order to completely eliminate the huge threat from behind, the Tuoba tribe must quickly annex the Zhijian tribe, Luoluo tribe, and Yanliyou tribe in the next ten days or so, and take their population and army under our command."

"In this way, the Tuoba tribe's forces will reach forty to fifty thousand men, which will be enough to rival Tan Shihuai's army. The combined forces of the central and eastern Xianbei will be no more than fifty to sixty thousand."

"With 50,000 troops against 60,000, and also having the advantage of terrain, they can wait in comfort and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. Their chances of winning are still very high."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Jiefen deeply agreed, but then frowned and said:

"Currently, the army at Canhebei numbers over 12,000. Even if we forcibly conscript able-bodied men from the four villages, the total force would only be a little over 20,000. If we lead them westward to conquer the Zhijian, Luoluo, and Yanliyou tribes, the defenses around Canhebei will inevitably be weakened..."

Liu Bei immediately said:

"The more than 10,000 troops at Canhebei basically do not need to move. They can remain stationed in place and actively prepare for war."

"The eight hundred elite cavalrymen bestowed upon me by the Khan can be transferred westward to the foot of Gaoque Mountain as a mobile force."

"These eight hundred elite cavalry, together with the thousand guards of the old camp of the Tuoba tribe and the more than four thousand troops guarding the camps of the ten Tuoba tribes, make a total of six thousand troops. We can launch a surprise attack on the nearby Yanliyou tribe and annex it in one fell swoop."

"Then, after some reorganization, we will take advantage of the situation to divide our forces into two groups and launch a surprise attack on the Zhijian and Luoluo tribes further west. If they are unprepared, we will surely achieve a great victory."

"Therefore, in the process, we must be quick, block the news, and catch them off guard."

"Finally, we will reorganize our army and return east, gathering all 40,000 troops in the vicinity of Canhebei to meet Tan Shihuai's attack. Then we will surely have a chance of victory."

Tuoba Jiefen was greatly excited upon hearing this, and couldn't help but slap his thigh, proclaiming in a triumphant voice:

"Xuande's strategies are beyond my reach. Let's proceed accordingly."

After a moment's hesitation, he added:

"But... is Xuande only taking eight hundred elite cavalry with him on this westward journey? Should we send Hegu Xun with two thousand cavalry to accompany you?"

"Need not."

Liu Bei explained, "Firstly, these eight hundred elite cavalrymen are the best among the eight thousand cavalrymen of the Rilu tribe. Secondly, as the front line for defending against Tan Shihuai's sixty thousand troops, Canhebei requires a large army and cannot be divided further. After all, no one knows when Tan Shihuai will launch a war. What if he launches a surprise attack with only twenty thousand troops from the central Xianbei?"

Tuoba Jiefen listened, nodded silently, and said:

"That's true. The Xianbei army in the central region alone numbers 20,000, plus the 3,000 elite cavalry directly under Tan Shihuai's command, which is enough to launch a surprise attack on Canhebei."

"Perhaps, Tan Shihuai will never mobilize the 40,000-strong army of the Eastern Xianbei... who knows..."

Liu Bei quickly comforted him:

"Tuoba Jiefen, you don't need to be afraid. The Canhebei defense line is guarded by four Xianbei generals: Tuoba Hegu, Tuoba Baba, Tuoba Punai, and Tuoba Yilou, and you also have Hegu Xun to assist you. If it's about defense, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Even if the incident is sudden, the reinforcements from the west will arrive at Canhebei within two days to help in the battle."

"In addition, to the north of Canhebei is Manhan Mountain. You can order your men to build fortified camps and strongholds in strategic locations on the mountain. If necessary, you can retreat there to protect yourselves. You can also set up ambushes in the surrounding forests."

Tuoba Jiefen nodded and said:

"I'm preparing to thoroughly explore the terrain around Canhebei in the next few days. Your suggestion is excellent. The Canhebei area is flat and suitable for open battle, but not for defense. It is indeed necessary to build mountain strongholds and fortified villages in the Manhan Mountains in the northwest, to store grain in peacetime and to station troops in wartime."

The two had finalized their plan.

Tuoba Jiefen immediately ordered his personal guards to set off for the Khan's tent in the Tuoba tribe to report to Tuoba Lin everything he had discussed with Liu Bei and the actual situation of the military situation at Canhebei.

Liu Bei decided to get a good night's rest and led his 800 elite cavalry back to the Tuoba tribe early the next morning.

Building a strong military requires continuous real-world combat experience.

Learn from experience in real-world situations.

His tactics also need to be tested in actual combat to continuously improve their effectiveness and make them more combat-ready.

This is why Liu Bei asked Tuoba Jiefen for permission to fight.

……

From Shanggu westward to Dunhuang, bordering Wusun to the west, there are more than twenty towns, whose leaders are called Zhijian, Luoluo, Rilu, Tuiyan (Tuoba Lin), Yanliyou, etc.

—Book of Wei