When Cao Rui took an excuse to leave with his ministers, Man Chong sent men to summon Tian Yu and He Qi Bilu.
Tian Yu's face revealed a peculiar smile, and he bowed and greeted in front of the few people present and the fully armoured tiger guards in the hall, saying, "General Tian greets the Khan."
Ko Bie Neng hurriedly stood up and placed the small Khan's golden seal into his fur robe, bowing and greeting, saying, "I have seen General Tian."
These two had been engaged in a power struggle in the borderlands of Yan and Ping for over ten years. Today, they had become colleagues who could bow and greet each other directly, which was truly a twist of fate.
Just as Ke Bìnéng put his hands down, Tian Yù immediately said, "All the cavalry of the various tribes must adhere to the restrictions of the court. Khan, your tribe has had a total of ten thousand riders, which is indeed too many. The journey is far and military supplies are difficult to sustain; you need to reduce it by half now."
Half, the military needs to be reduced by half?
Ke Bieneng became increasingly confused. In other words, from the moment he entered the prefectural office of Daixian today, he had not understood the situation for a single moment.
Man Chong stands at eight chi tall, with a robust physique and a voice like a bell. His entire stature is almost enough to fit Ke Bìnéng inside. Facing the three of them, Man Chong said gravely:
"Khan, I am the former general of the Great Wei, in charge of the Secretariat and military affairs in the Western Pavilion. Do you know that?"
Now it's the fourth year of Taiping, and such a major structural adjustment in the court of Luoyang is not something that Ke Bìnéng hasn't heard of. Man Chong and Tian Yù are both generals, but the value of their generalship is one in the sky and one on the ground.
"Reported to the general, I am aware of that," Ke Bìnéng answered with a bow.
"That's good, General Man Chong will start to coordinate," he said, extending his finger to He Qi Bilu and ordering, "He Qi Bilu, follow orders!"
"Yes, sir!" Arthu Qi Bilu responded in a loud voice.
It was only then that Ke Bìnéng realized that since his son-in-law, He Qi Bilu, had joined his tent, the young man had only nodded to him without saying a single word!
Man Chong said, "I will command you to lead your 3000 light cavalry and merge with the 7000 cavalry of the Xianbei Khan. Select 5,000 weak soldiers from them and return them to their tribe."
"General Wen will lead his forces to assist you. Give you two days, can this matter be completed?"
He Qi Bilu's face twitched slightly, but he couldn't help glancing at the stern expression of Ke Bìnéng, before turning his head as if electrocuted and saying in a low voice, "Yes, sir! I will definitely complete the task!"
Ke Bìnéng had already discovered that he had fallen completely into the trap set by the Han people at this moment.
Lured by the Khan's rewards to lead his troops to Da Prefecture, ensnared by the inclusion of He Qi Bilu to cut off his support, and simplified the army to prevent his rebellion.
If there are ten thousand riders, that's still acceptable. Although they are part of the Great Wei army, their departure and retention are all under Ke Bìnéng's will.
Now only 5,000 riders remain. How much trouble can they cause? With He Qi Bilu's cunning, he will certainly keep all the loyal ones in the army and take away all those who are inflated by power.
With He Qi Bilu leaving, does that mean our tribe will be under the rule of He Qi Bilu?
Ke Bìnéng no longer could bear it and stepped forward quickly to He Qi Bilu's side, saying urgently, "General Man Chong, please wait a moment. My tribe's ten thousand riders all willingly offer to serve the Great Wei, how can only half of them follow the main army? And how can they be withdrawn?"
Man Chong replied coldly, "Khan, you just received an order and are you not following the imperial command?"
"The Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wufan tribes have been called to serve. The Xiongnu contributed only 3,000 riders, and the Wufan a total of 5,000. The Xianbei have more people; Yanmen and Taiyuan contributed 3,000 riders, plus your 5,000 riders, making a total of 8,000."
Tian Yù intervened and advised, "Khan, the Xianbei's current deployment of 8,000 riders is equivalent to that of the Xiongnu and Wufan combined. With more troops, naturally there will be greater accomplishments."
"General Man has already treated you very favorably!"
The people like Budugen don't follow my orders! Just as these words popped into Ke Bìnéng's mind, he tightened his heart, shook his head slightly, and stopped arguing. He immediately bowed and accepted Man Chong's deployment without looking at He Qi Bilu anymore.
No matter which aspect Ke Bìnéng wants to defend, he can't refute the arrangement.
The emperor had just enfeoffed him as the Khan of the Xianbei, and the purple sash and golden seal are clearly in his pocket. If he did not comply with the emperor's dispatch, coupled with his previous disturbances to the Great Wei, no one would dare say a word if he were killed on the spot!
If I question whether Budugen does not follow my orders, how can I claim the credit for their achievements of 8,000 riders?
Of course, Man Chong could also point to the Xianbei Khan's golden seal in his pocket and order him to dispatch them instead.
Will Budugen agree? There is no possibility!
It is more efficient to save our energy than to argue with Man Chong and Tian Yù here.
He Qi Bilu, having received Man Chong's order, went out to find Wen Qin. He dared not even glance at Ke Bìnéng. Ke Bìnéng, with a calm expression on his face, watched the back of He Qi Bilu without uttering a single word.
After Man Chong had divided the military affairs, his stern face suddenly softened, and he stepped forward to rest a hand on Ke Bìnéng's shoulder: "Khan, can you drink in the grasslands? Tonight, the emperor is hosting a grand feast for all the ministers. I'm going to challenge your drinking capacity!"
There is a saying among the Han people that goes, "If they come, make them feel at home!" We'll settle accounts with He Qi Bilu once we return to our tribe after this campaign!
Ke Bìnéng also managed to smile, "I have drunk many fine wines from the state of Bing, but I wonder where General Man Chong gets his wine?"
"Ha ha ha," Man Chong laughed generously, "Do you know where the current emperor is from?"
Ke Bìnéng's eyes rolled and he said, "Everyone knows that the Cao family originated from Qiao County!"
Man Chong said, "I will tell you that there is an ancient well in Qiao County with a yellow dragon emerging from it. The fine wine at tonight's banquet is made from the well water of this well, known as Jiuhuang Chun - Nine Brew Spring Wine…"
……That night, Cao Rui and the various ministers in the army, as well as the leaders of the Wufan, Xianbei, and Xiongnu tribes, shared a banquet. At the feast, Ke Bìnéng, the newly appointed Khan of the Xianbei tribe, was treated with respect according to royal etiquette, distinguishing him from Budugen and others who were given the title of Marquis.
On the third morning, He Qi Bilu led the selected 5,000 'elderly and weak' back to Yunzhong, and a review began outside of Dai County.
That's right, it means a military parade.
The Secretariat and the Secretariat were both left in Yè City. King Wang Chang, who had previously directed the review at Mojiapi, was absent, so it was personally coordinated by the Minister of Western Palace, Man Chong.
There was no time to build a high platform for the parade, so Man Chong used the city wall of Dai County's southern gate as the reviewing stand. The emperor, the ministers traveling with the army, and the leaders of all Xianbei, Wufan, and Xiongnu tribes were all watching from the wall.
Only Cao Rui was sitting on a temporary chair, while the others were standing in a row behind him.
By the second beat of the hour, it was time for the scheduled review.
Man Chong's voice was resounding as he reported with a bow, "Reporting to Your Majesty. The various troops are now ready. Please issue the order for the review!"
Cao Rui looked down at the rows of troops arrayed in front of the city, and whispered, "Agree!"
"Obedient to Your Majesty's command!" Man Chong shouted these two words after which he personally waved his red flag. The sound of gongs and drums echoed in the distance near the city wall.
This time, the parade was under Man Chong's overall management, and Jiang Wei also participated in the planning and issuance of orders for each troop. Jiang Wei stood beside the emperor at the moment, pointing to the troops distributed near and far to the south and giving an introduction.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, on the western side is General Wen's Yulin Left Rider..."
Cao Rui waved his hand to stop Jiang Wei and smiled, "I don't need my own troops to be introduced by you, Wang Shuang. Just look at the flag and you'll know which is which."
Jiang Wei paused for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please look to the east side of the city. From east to west, they are the Xiongnu, Wufan, and Xianbei troops. Among them, the Wufan are divided into two groups, as are the Xianbei."
"According to General Man's plan, each army will pass in front of Your Majesty. The middle army will practice mounted formation, and the Xianbei, Wufan, and Xiongnu will also deploy 1,000 riders from each group for practice."
Cao Rui nodded: "I understand."
Jiang Wei lowered his voice: "General Man has made arrangements. The arrows of all the troops have been collected to prevent any unforeseen incidents."
Cao Rui turned to look at Jiang Wei and smiled, "These small matters can be taken care of by you. The emperor doesn't need to worry about being shot from the city head."
Jiang Wei did not smile, but instead answered with a solemn face, "Absolutely not!"
As the two were speaking, Wen Qin's Yulin Left Army moved slowly from west to east.
The army of each department is one li away from the south city gate, while the mounted soldiers under Wen Qin's command moved slowly in a march formation, fully armed.
First, they passed the Zhongjingling and Wu Xiao camp, followed by the troops of Xianbei, Wufan, and Xiongnu.
The 4,000 light cavalry moved in front, carrying bows and arrows, raising their right hands with swords over their heads, passing in an orderly manner under the command of the gongs and drums.
Behind them, five thousand heavy cavalry moved, consisting of knights wearing full armor, their main weapons replaced with long spears and short crossbows with easy-to-fire bows. The military appearance remained strict.
One could say that under the guidance of King Wang Chang and General Wen Qin, the Yulin Left Army was fully deserving of being the most elite cavalry in Great Wei.
As the light cavalry passed, the Huns on the city wall were relatively calm, though they watched the formation with rapt attention. After all, it was light cavalry! Although the military formation was strict, their own tribe's light cavalry was also capable of fighting.
As the heavy cavalry passed, the leaders of the Xianbei, Wuhan, and Xiongnu tribes could no longer hold back their laughter. They had all grown up on horses and none of them were ignorant of mounted warfare.
Just in terms of formation, the appearance of heavy cavalry in such a strict formation was beyond the imagination of these Huns. They themselves were well aware of the chaotic state their own tribes were in during both charges and maneuvers.
Ke Bìnéng squinted his eyes, extremely serious, watching the Great Wei cavalry formation below from the city wall as if he were trying to etch the scene deeply into his memory.
The passage of the Zhongjingling and Wu Xiao camps was almost identical to that of the Yulin Left Army. The difference was that the Zhongjingling camp was entirely made up of heavy cavalry, while the Wu Xiao camp was all light cavalry.
In terms of cavalry form, it does indeed match the Zhongjingling's role of escorting the emperor and the Wu Xiao camp's quick response capabilities.
Eighteen thousand cavalry units passed by, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard continuously below the city wall. But as the Wu Xiao camp's light cavalry passed, a louder and more urgent sound of horse hooves came from the west.
As if the earth itself was shaking.
Armored cavalry.
Two thousand armored cavalrymen, each rider clad in bright armor, which offers even greater defense than that of heavy cavalry riders, with their horses fully clad in horse armor as well.
If the heavy cavalry just passed made Ke Bìnéng shocked and amazed, the arrival of the armored cavalry caused Ke Bìnéng to be speechless.
Is there such cavalry in the world? (End of this chapter)
