In the fourth month of the second year of Jian'an, after two months of brewing, the Central Plains were once again swept by turmoil.
First, after declaring himself emperor, Yuan Shu sent Han Yin as an envoy, hoping to form an alliance with Lu Bu.
Lu Bu had initially agreed, but after Chen Gui's advice, he ultimately sent for his daughter and had Chen Deng escort Han Yin to Xuchang.
When Cao Cao heard of this, he was naturally delighted. He immediately had Han Yin executed and personally met with Chen Deng.
Chen Deng used the opportunity to secretly brief Cao Cao on various matters, then mentioned that Lu Bu hoped to be appointed governor of Xuzhou.
Cao Cao neither agreed nor refused. He merely recommended Chen Deng for the post of Grand Administrator of Guangling and granted Chen Gui a stipend equivalent to two thousand bushels.
After receiving these honors, Chen Deng set off back toward Xuzhou.
But the news reached Yuan Shu through Runan.
Yuan Shu had declared himself emperor just over a month earlier. He had launched grand construction projects, indulged in luxury and debauchery, and imposed exorbitant taxes. He had grown increasingly arrogant, so naturally he flew into a rage when he heard the news.
Afraid of Cao Cao's powerful army, he vented all his fury on Lu Bu instead. He ordered his generals Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui to join forces with Han Xian and Yang Feng, leading tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry to attack Lu Bu.
When Lu Bu heard, panic filled his heart. Remembering the letter Liu Bei had sent him earlier, he wrote a personal appeal and dispatched a messenger to Xiaopei to ask for help.
Yu Province, Pei County.
Ever since Liu Bei had gained Qin Tian's counsel, he had begun recruiting soldiers, buying horses, and stockpiling grain and supplies.
The Liu Bei Army already had fierce generals like Guan and Zhang.
There was no need to mention Zhang Fei. Guan Yu was a master at training troops.
Now that Xu Shu and Qin Tian had joined them, discipline in the army was even stricter, with orders obeyed and prohibitions enforced.
Although the troops had been well trained, however, they had never seen real combat, and their fighting ability remained a concern.
So Qin Tian directly advised Liu Bei to train through campaigning.
Put simply, they would send these bloodless rookies straight into battle.
Of course, they would not attack another lord's city. They would start by targeting bandits.
Pei County sat at a strategic crossroads, with mountains to the northeast. Bandits, mountain brigands, and remnants of the Yellow Turbans often gathered there.
These outlaws were poor fighters, but utterly vicious. They made perfect targets for Qin Tian's training campaign.
He had the generals lead troops out in every direction day after day, relentlessly sweeping the area.
Over the course of a month, they seized or wiped out more than a dozen hideouts of various sizes, including bandit strongholds and Yellow Turban remnants. They captured tens of thousands of coins, several thousand shi of grain, and more than two thousand bandits.
The ringleaders were all executed, while the rest were incorporated into the army.
For a time, the Liu Bei Army's combat strength rose by a whole level, and they gained plenty of money and grain to boot.
After spending some time together, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei gradually came to accept Qin Tian as their military adviser.
Guan Yu was all right, but Zhang Fei still held on to his pride and refused to lower his head.
Aside from the changes in the army, Liu Bei had gained more over the past two months.
Most importantly, word that he was recruiting soldiers and horses had drawn many worthy men to his banner.
The foremost among them was named Chen Dao, courtesy name Shuzhi. He was originally from Runan and had come all the way from home out of admiration for Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and virtue.
Liu Bei saw that Chen Dao was skilled in martial arts, disciplined, and knowledgeable about training troops, so he appointed him commander of his personal guards, responsible for training the men under his command.
There was also a scholar named Liu Yan, courtesy name Weishuo.
He was a renowned scholar from Lu State, with an impressive bearing, a gift for conversation, and the same surname as Liu Bei. For these reasons, Liu Bei valued him highly.
Since his staff was short-handed, Liu Bei appointed him as an Academician.
With these two men, Liu Bei's wings grew stronger. He spent his days brimming with ambition, eager to make his mark!
One day, with nothing pressing to attend to at his residence, he went to the camp to inspect it for the first time in a while.
When Xu Shu heard, he came out to welcome him.
The two entered the camp together and saw soldiers coming and going in orderly fashion. They already had the bearing of an elite force.
Hearing the camp ring with shouts of battle, Liu Bei said with a sigh,
"My army looks like this today thanks to Yuanzhi's help!"
"I can see how hard you've been working lately. You've grown thinner by the day, and I can't bear to see it!"
Xu Shu had once been a handsome young man renowned in all the surrounding villages, with fair skin, a short beard, and an elegant bearing. But ever since he had entered service, he had grown dark and weathered.
Seeing him now, Liu Bei felt guilty.
Xu Shu only shook his head and smiled.
"My lord, there's no need to say that. How can serving the state be called hard work?"
"As for the state of our army today, it is all thanks to the generals and the military adviser. How could I dare complain of hardship?"
Seeing Xu Shu's modesty, Liu Bei smiled.
"Yuanzhi, you're good in every way, except that you're far too humble!"
"Very well. Since you don't mind the hardship, I won't say more."
As he spoke, he looked into the distance.
"Speaking of which, have my second and third brothers offended the military adviser lately?"
Xu Shu heard the question and couldn't help laughing.
"I knew it. My lord didn't come to inspect the camp at all. You came to find out about this!"
"But don't worry, my lord. Since Zixuan took office, the two generals haven't caused any trouble. Zixuan is strict in enforcing the law, but he has always been fair."
"Over the past month, the two generals haven't said anything, but they've quietly come to accept him."
"Especially the third general. He doesn't grumble all day anymore. Clearly, he's no longer as dissatisfied as before!"
"At this rate, it won't be long before the generals and the adviser are in harmony!"
"Good, good. That's a relief!"
Hearing this, Liu Bei felt reassured.
What he feared most was discord between his generals and his adviser, which would keep Qin Tian from giving his all!
Now that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei could get along with Qin Tian, many of his worries had eased.
He was about to say something when the rhythmic cries of "One, two! One, two!" drew closer.
Looking up, he saw a young officer leading a squad of soldiers in a jog around the camp gate.
Seeing this, Liu Bei's expression shifted.
"Yuanzhi, what are Tanzhi and the others doing?"
Tanzhi was Guan Ping's courtesy name. He was the young officer leading the squad just now.
Unlike in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Ping was Guan Yu's own son. He was only seventeen that year.
When Liu Bei asked, Xu Shu looked back and smiled.
"My lord may not know, but Tanzhi is leading the soldiers in a drill, practicing running on the march!"
"They have to practice running on the march?"
Liu Bei was baffled. He had served in the military for more than ten years and had never heard of such a drill. At most, they practiced marching in formation!
But Xu Shu flashed a broad grin.
"My lord may not know, but this is a method taught by the military adviser. Ordinary training doesn't require them to practice advancing on foot."
"But the method the military adviser taught includes everything from marching to assembling and advancing. They have to drill it all!"
"Oh? Even marching on foot needs to be drilled?"
Liu Bei was suddenly interested.
"But what use is such a drill?"
"My lord, this method is extremely useful!"
Xu Shu smiled and gestured for Liu Bei to follow.
"Please come with me!"
With that, he strode toward the training ground, and Liu Bei hurried after him.
Before long, the two arrived at the training ground. There they saw squads of soldiers advancing in formation across the field.
Officers stood at the head of each formation, shouting,
"Whistle! Attention! Dress right!"
At their commands, the soldiers moved at once, their actions precise and perfectly synchronized!
Liu Bei watched, delighted.
"Could all these soldiers be veterans in my army?"
He had made the assumption because only veteran soldiers could move so neatly. Teaching a bunch of rookies to form ranks took ages.
Yet even if they were veterans, what he saw was enough to delight him!
People in later generations watched too much television and assumed that battles in this era consisted of two armies charging at each other and hacking away in chaos.
But that was not the case!
Except in unusual circumstances, most wars of this era were contests between formations, a clash of armies as a whole!
Obeying orders and maintaining discipline were the sole standards by which an elite force of the era was judged!
When two armies clashed, whichever side kept its formation intact would win in the end!
So seeing his own ranks in such perfect order naturally filled Old Liu with joy!
Xu Shu only smiled more broadly at his words.
"You're mistaken, my lord. These are newly recruited soldiers!"
"Of the men on the field, the most recent recruits have been with us for less than half a month!"
"They've only been with us half a month, and they can already do this?"
Liu Bei was genuinely astonished!
By the training methods of this era, it was no small feat to form ranks after two months!
And these soldiers were already moving so neatly after just half a month?
If they trained for a year or two, wouldn't they be able to go anywhere in the world?
Seeing Liu Bei's astonishment, Xu Shu was full of admiration too.
"That is the wonder of the military adviser's method. With it, they can take shape in just a few days and begin practicing formations after half a month!"
"After that, they practice combat drills, and in three months they become an army!"
"Moreover, soldiers trained this way obey every order and heed every prohibition. Once they form ranks, a single command is enough for them to assemble in ten breaths!"
"From ancient times to the present, no method of training soldiers has ever achieved such results!"
Liu Bei nodded repeatedly as he listened.
"The military adviser's method of training troops is truly unheard of!"
Looking at the formations on the field, he couldn't help asking,
"So does that mean my army is already capable of fighting?"
Xu Shu smiled.
"Training alone wouldn't be enough for a battle."
"But now, with the military adviser's strategy of training through campaigns, even the new recruits in our army are no longer afraid of blood."
"After one or two hard-fought battles, they'll be worthy of being called an elite force!"
Liu Bei couldn't help marveling at how much Qin Tian understood.
On the battlefield, new recruits were weak for two reasons.
First, they were likely to break ranks as soon as the fighting began. Second, they had never seen blood, so fear would seize their hearts!
By combining these two methods, Qin Tian had solved the biggest problems new recruits faced.
They only needed to fight one real battle to transform into veterans.
There was no denying that this method of training was extremely effective and astonishingly efficient.
Thinking of this, Liu Bei asked, puzzled,
"Strange, if the military adviser's method is so effective, why wasn't it introduced in Cao Cao's army?"
Xu Shu knew Liu Bei would ask, so he could only shake his head and sigh.
"Zixuan wanted to introduce it. But at first, he was burdened with work, handling both strategy and military affairs, and never led troops himself."
"After he brought the Yellow Turbans under control, Zixuan was busy resettling the people and implementing the tuntian system."
"Later, when he finally got the chance to lead troops, he had only just planned to introduce this method when Chen Gong rebelled. After Zixuan put down the rebellion, Lord Cao no longer let him command troops."
"That is why this method has only now finally seen the light of day!"
"Thank heavens for that. Otherwise, I'd never sleep easy!"
Unlike Xu Shu, who was expressing regret, Liu Bei was secretly relieved.
Thank goodness Old Cao hadn't used Qin Tian to train his troops. Otherwise, with the soldiers Old Cao already had, he could have crushed every warlord in the land!
As for why Old Cao wouldn't let Qin Tian command troops, Liu Bei didn't want to ask.
It was probably because he feared Qin Tian would rebel, just as Chen Gong had!
Chen Gong's rebellion alone had already caused such great harm.
No one dared imagine the consequences if Qin Tian rebelled!
After all, Qin Tian had no ties to some great clan to hold him back. He could take his wife and children and rebel whenever he pleased!
But Cao Cao feared that possibility. Old Liu did not, because he trusted his own judgment!
In his eyes, Qin Tian was a man of benevolence and virtue!
If Qin Tian ever rebelled, the reason would most likely lie with him, not with Qin Tian!
Old Liu had few virtues, but he knew how to trust the people he employed. He wasn't worried about giving Qin Tian great authority.
Thinking this, he felt even more fortunate to have landed such a great bargain. Then he asked,
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen the military adviser here today. Do you know where he is?"
But as soon as Liu Bei asked, Xu Shu shook his head with a wry smile.
"Even I haven't seen him, my lord!"
Liu Bei's heart tightened.
"Then do you know where the military adviser went?"
Seeing his reaction, Xu Shu knew Liu Bei was worried about Qin Tian's safety and hurriedly reassured him.
"My lord, don't worry. Zixuan should be inside the city. Lately, he's been spending all his time at the Forge, apparently overseeing the creation of some kind of weapon."
Hearing that Qin Tian wasn't missing, Old Liu let out a sigh of relief. But then he asked, puzzled:
"What powerful weapon is the military advisor overseeing the construction of?"
"I don't know either!"
Xu Shu shook his head and said:
"He only said it was a secret weapon. He wouldn't say what it was or what it was for!"
"A secret weapon?"
Liu Bei murmured, then hurriedly looked up and said:
"Yuanzhi, let's go take a look!"
Seeing Liu Bei like this, Xu Shu smiled and said:
"That's exactly what I had in mind. With our lord there, surely Zixuan won't be able to keep it from us!"
With that, he led Liu Bei toward the city.
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