Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

‘With such talent to assist me, what worries do I have about not achieving my grand ambitions?’

Gongsun Zan sighed inwardly, regretting that he hadn't been the one to meet Li Ji in Zhuo County. Otherwise, with such a talented person to help him, what worries would he have about not being able to exterminate all the Hu people in the world?

However, when Gongsun Zan recalled the subsequent arrangements of Li Ji's plan, a meaningful and cruel smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

Originally, Gongsun Zan had always felt that the subsequent plan was somewhat overly fanciful, but at this moment, he felt that it might indeed have some feasibility.

‘To completely break the backbone of the Wuhuan in one fell swoop, making them a dog that can only eke out a living as a guard dog…’

Immediately, Gongsun Zan inquired in detail about the details of the information provided by these five White Horse Volunteers. After he was completely confident, he said to Zhao Yun.

“Zilong, it is late, rest first, and tomorrow we will act according to Mr. Zikun's plan.”

“Yes, General Gongsun,” Zhao Yun replied.

While walking towards the Wuhuan settlement with Zhao Yun, Gongsun Zan hesitated slightly before answering.

“Tomorrow, I plan to divide half of the newly formed White Horse Volunteers to be led by you…”

Zhao Yun was surprised when he heard this and subconsciously refused. “General Gongsun, how can this be?”

As Gongsun Zan's deputy general in this campaign, Zhao Yun knew very well the origin of this new army named “White Horse Volunteers” by Gongsun Zan.

Because Gongsun Zan loved white horses, and in addition, many pure white horses were among the eight thousand war horses mobilized by Liu Yu this time, and white steeds were collected by slaughtering a large number of Wuhuan settlements along the way, he barely managed to gather eight thousand pure white war horses for the “White Horse Volunteers,” enough for one person to have two mounts.

As for the source of the “White Horse Volunteers,” Gongsun Zan also drew the most elite confidants from his direct troops.

He also selected many brave and strong men from the 20,000-strong army who showed great hatred for the Hu people during the march and had considerable horsemanship and archery talents, before initially establishing this “White Horse Volunteers” force of about four thousand.

It can be said that this four thousand-strong “White Horse Volunteers” force is now the elite of the entire Youzhou cavalry, a truly elite cavalry.

Moreover, Zhao Yun often saw Gongsun Zan taking the time during the march to conduct equestrian and archery training for the “White Horse Volunteers,” truly embodying the essence of “as swift as the wind.”

All four thousand “White Horse Volunteers” can freely deploy and maintain formation while galloping at high speed on war horses. While using their legs to control the war horses to move and turn, they can also free their hands to hold strong bows and shoot targets from a long distance.

If it is in an open plain area, Zhao Yun believes that this “White Horse Volunteers” force can completely slaughter infantry three times its size without casualties.

And Zhao Yun asked himself that he had learned many secrets of training and commanding cavalry from Gongsun Zan, but he never expected that Gongsun Zan would be willing to hand over half of the “White Horse Volunteers” to him to command.

“I have made up my mind. Compared with the great ambition of killing all the Hu people, what is a mere troop worth? Moreover, I also know what Zikun meant by letting Zilong stay by my side, no more than wanting to train a truly elite cavalry for Xuande as well.”

“It's just that I don't care how many of the two thousand White Horse Volunteers are ultimately willing to trust Zilong, and willing to follow Zilong to fight in all directions. If the two thousand White Horse Volunteers are unwilling to follow Zilong, then I can't be blamed.”

After saying that, Gongsun Zan didn't give Zhao Yun a chance to speak again, flicked his cloak, and returned to his room.

Zhao Yun knew that Gongsun Zan's character was that of clear gratitude and grudges, and that Li Ji's proposed plan was of great help to his ambitions, so he was willing to repay him in this way.

However, Zhao Yun looked at Gongsun Zan's closed door and still bowed his hands in thanks from afar.

The next day.

Although Gongsun Zan seemed to be just giving Zhao Yun an opportunity, when dividing half of the “White Horse Volunteers,” Gongsun Zan deliberately selected the “White Horse Volunteers” who had no ties in Youzhou and handed them over to Zhao Yun.

“Zilong, do not fail my expectations of you, and even more so, do not fail Zikun's expectations of you.” Gongsun Zan patted Zhao Yun, who looked grateful, and reminded him solemnly.

“Yun will certainly not fail.” Zhao Yun replied in a deep voice.

Gongsun Zan pondered slightly, and then continued.

“I also know a thing or two about Zilong's abilities, understanding that even though Zilong is young, his martial prowess is no less than mine, and he seems to have an unusual keenness when leading cavalry. Even if the teaching time is only over a month, I have nothing more to teach you.”

“General Gongsun is too kind,” Zhao Yun replied humbly.

“No, this is not a compliment to you…”

Gongsun Zan shook his head before continuing.

“The White Horse Volunteers were formed by me with the core of the trusted troops that I originally commanded for many years, and the formation time is quite short, and it still needs more battles to improve.”

“If I only intend to give Xuande and Zikun two thousand elite White Horse Volunteers as a thank you gift, I should hone the 'White Horse Volunteers' for some time before saying so. Does Zilong know why I am now specifically handing over the 'Two Thousand White Horse Volunteers' to you?”

Zhao Yun pondered slightly, and he already had an answer in his heart, but he still replied humbly.

“Yun is foolish, please give me your guidance, General Gongsun.”

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zan explained earnestly, “The White Horse Volunteers are, after all, just the elite that best suits my style of using troops, but they may not completely suit Zilong himself.”

“If, after the White Horse Volunteers are fully formed, even if I give Zilong two thousand White Horse Volunteers, then what Zilong commands will always be a White Horse Volunteers.”

“While the combat style of these two thousand White Horse Volunteers is not fully formed, Zilong still has the opportunity to imprint his own mark on them and train an elite force that is completely suitable for his own style.”

Zhao Yun looked enlightened and realized Gongsun Zan's good intentions, gratefully saying, “Thank you, General Gongsun.”

Gongsun Zan waved his hand, answering indifferently to this.

“No need to thank me, my life is clear on gratitude and grudges, I will repay kindness, and I will also repay grudges. Zikun spent so much effort to come up with a good plan, I have nothing of value, only to repay it with elites.”

Immediately, Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun handed over military power to each other. As always, after dealing with this Wuhuan settlement, they first marched east along the plan to a tributary of the Gengshui River.

The water flow of this tributary is unusually gentle, and even the deepest part is difficult to submerge the horse's hooves.

After that, Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun each led 10,000 cavalry to split up, one leading the army along the tributary southward in the water, and the other leading the army along the tributary northward against the water.

The constant flow of water quickly smoothed out all traces of the cavalry's march left in the riverbed.

About a day and a half later, Tadun led the army along the traces all the way to this tributary. Just as he was about to cross the river in a hurry to pursue, he suddenly discovered that there were no hoof prints on the opposite bank.

This made Tadun's face particularly ugly. He subconsciously felt that the Han dogs were repeating their old tricks, and he was being tricked for the second time.

Only, Tadun hurriedly led his troops back to the newly burned Wuhuan settlement, dispatching scouts to spread out and check for hidden marching traces within a radius of ten miles around.

However, Tadun almost turned the ground around in the surrounding area, but he could not find any other marching traces.

“Where are the people?”

Tadun, who was in a daze, inexplicably felt like he was punching cotton with no place to exert his strength.

He clearly felt that he was about to bite the tail of the Han army, but he was stunned to let the Han army disappear abruptly in front of his eyes.

Moreover, the situation of this Wuhuan settlement was exactly the same as the previous Wuhuan settlement, and obvious fire-starting objects were also found in it.

This sense of familiarity made Tadun fall into a deep confusion and self-doubt.

Tadun had read many Han military books, but neither the military books nor the Han teachers had taught him how to deal with this kind of situation.

Where did the real Han cavalry completely disappear in which link?

Was it misguided all the way here from the beginning, or did something go wrong in one of the links?

Even Tadun, who was often praised in the Wuhuan clan as being extremely brave and resourceful, was like this. The other Wuhuan chiefs discussed it for a long time without reaching any conclusion.

In the end, the more the chiefs discussed it, the more mysterious it became. In addition, the Jingguan built by the clan members unconsciously appeared in their minds.

This made many chiefs feel awe in their hearts and began to associate with ghosts and gods, thinking that the Han cavalry might have disappeared out of thin air.

“Enough!”

Tadun slammed the table and said loudly.

“With Mount Wuhuan illuminating the way forward for our clan, and the Great Han's fortune is exhausted and about to collapse, even with the help of the Great Han ghosts and gods, how can it shake Mount Wuhuan in the slightest?”

As soon as this was said, the minds of the Wuhuan chiefs in the tent were obviously much more stable.

For the Wuhuan people, Mount Wuhuan is the most sublime belief, the origin of everything for the Wuhuan clan.

“The Han dogs are cunning, they must have just played some small tricks and fled in panic…”

Tadun had already made a decision in his heart at this moment, and said.

“But the Han dogs must still be in the Saibei area outside the Great Wall of Youbeiping County, within the territory of our Wuhuan clan, and may continue to plunder and sweep other settlements to replenish military food.”

“Therefore, the chiefs in Youbeiping County will each send ten trusted men back to the settlements to investigate the situation, and there is no worry about not finding the location of the Han dogs.”

…

While Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, and Tadun were chasing each other outside the Great Wall of Youbeiping County, Liu Yu in Ji City was always worried about Gongsun Zan's situation.

He was afraid that once Gongsun Zan's entire army was wiped out, the Wuhuan cavalry that had been lured away would return to Ji City with anger, then it could be predicted that the Han territory south of Ji City would begin to be wantonly retaliated and ravaged by the Wuhuan.

Therefore, Liu Yu, often worried about this matter, occasionally found it difficult to fall asleep even in the middle of the night. He simply got up to take a walk around the residence and, when passing by Li Ji's residence, unexpectedly discovered Li Ji standing on a pavilion, seemingly observing the stars.

This caused Liu Yu to blurt out a question from afar.

"Zikun, are you also not asleep yet?"

(End of Chapter)