All three men's faces were filled with excitement and exhilaration.
The day to win glory and serve the Son of Heaven had come.
After the three withdrew, Yang Xiu stepped forward to report, "Your Majesty, the six thousand defeated soldiers captured a few days ago have all been incorporated into our ranks. But there are currently no spare weapons or equipment in the storehouse to distribute to them."
The mention of this gave Liu Xie a headache.
Their troop strength had indeed increased considerably, but weapons and equipment could hardly be manufactured fast enough to keep pace. Superior weapons and equipment accounted for much of the strength of the Xu Province Army and the Feathered Forest Cavalry.
Now that they had six thousand more men, they had to arm them. That was another enormous expense, and the Zhen Clan was already close to being unable to sustain the burden.
"You never know how dear firewood and rice are until you run the household."
Liu Xie could not help feeling anxious. Only after his army grew did he discover that war was not really about whose generals were fiercer, whose strategists were more calculating, or whose soldiers were more elite.
It was entirely about logistics, money, and grain!
Without money or grain, even valor like Lü Bu's and cunning like Chen Gong's would be of no use.
He felt increasingly that he had to put making money on the agenda. He could not keep relying entirely on the Zhen Clan.
Fortunately, after Yang Xiu withdrew, Cui Yan brought some good news.
"Your Majesty, I have recruited seven hundred stouthearted men from among the people to join the Tiger Warriors Battalion."
"By the end of the year at the latest, the three-thousand-strong Tiger Warriors Battalion will be fully formed."
Liu Xie was