After Cao Rui left with his ministers on the pretext of something, Man Chong sent someone to call Tian Yu and He Qibu in.
Tian Yu showed a strange smile on his face, and in front of the few people and the tiger guards in full armor in the hall, he bowed and greeted: "This general greets the Chanyu."
Ke Bineng quickly stood up, stuffed the small golden seal of the Chanyu into his fur coat, and responded with a bow: "Greetings, General Tian."
These two people have been fighting on the border of You and Bing for more than ten years, but today they have become colleagues who can greet each other face to face. It is really a joke of fate.
As soon as Kebi Neng put down his hand, Tian Yu said, "All cavalry units must abide by the imperial court's restrictions. Chanyu, your unit has a total of 10,000 cavalry, which is indeed too many. The journey is long and the military rations are scarce, so we need to reduce the number by half."
Half, we need to reduce the military strength by half?
Ke Bineng became even more confused. In other words, he had never understood the situation since he entered the prefect's mansion in Dai County today.
Man Chong was eight feet tall, with a sturdy build and a voice like a bell. His entire body could almost fit Kebi inside. In front of the three people, Man Chong said in a deep voice:
"Chanyu, I am the former general of the Great Wei, in charge of the Privy Council and the military affairs of the world in the West Pavilion. Do you know?"
It is now the fourth year of Taihe, and Ke Bineng has vaguely heard about such a major structural adjustment in the Luoyang court. Man Chong and Tian Yu are both generals, but the value of their generals is worlds apart.
"General, I understand." Ke Bineng replied with a bow.
"That's good. I will start making arrangements." Man Chong pointed at He Qibu and said, "He Qibu, listen to my orders!"
"I'm here!" He Qibu responded loudly.
Ke Bineng suddenly realized that since his son-in-law He Qibu came into the account, he only nodded to him and didn't say a word!
Man Chong said: "I order you to lead your own 3,000 light cavalry and join forces with the Xianbei Chanyu's 7,000 cavalry, and select 5,000 weak soldiers from among them to return to the tribe."
"General Wen will lead his troops to help you. If I give you two days, can this be done?"
He Qibu's cheek twitched slightly, but he still couldn't help but glance at Ke Bineng's gloomy face, then turned back as if he had been electrocuted: "I will obey your order and will definitely get it done!"
By this time, Ke Bineng had already discovered that he had completely fallen into the trap of the Han people.
He used the reward from the Chanyu to lure him to lead his army to Dai County, won over He Qibu to cut off his support, and streamlined the army to prevent himself from rebellion.
If there were 10,000 cavalry, that would be easy. Although he was in the Wei army, he could leave or stay as he wished, and it all depended on Ke Bineng's thoughts.
Now there are only 5,000 cavalry left, how much trouble can they stir up? Given He Qibu's cunning, he will definitely keep all those who are loyal to him in the army and take away those who curry favor with the powerful.
Now that He Qibu is gone, will his own tribe be under the rule of He Qibu?
Kebi Neng could no longer bear it, and quickly walked up to He Qibu and said anxiously: "General Man, please wait a moment. All of our 10,000 cavalrymen are willing to serve the Wei Dynasty. Why are we only leaving half of them with the army? Why are we going to withdraw?"
Man Chong replied coldly: "The Chanyu just received the order, so you won't obey the imperial court's orders?"
"The Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan tribes joined the expedition. The Xiongnu only sent 3,000 cavalry, and the Wuhuan sent a total of 5,000 cavalry. You Xianbei have more people. Yanmen and Taiyuan sent 3,000 cavalry, plus your 5,000 cavalry, a total of 8,000 cavalry."
Tian Yu persuaded, "Chanyu, the Xianbei sent out 8,000 cavalry this time, which is equal to the total number of Xiongnu and Wuhuan. The more troops we have, the greater the merits we can achieve."
"General Man has treated you well!"
Budugen and his men don't listen to my orders! As soon as this sentence popped up in Kebineng's mind, his heart tightened. He shook his head slightly and stopped arguing. He immediately accepted Man Chong's orders and never looked at He Qibu again.
No matter which angle Ke Bineng wanted to argue from, he couldn't refute the arrangement.
His Majesty had just conferred upon me the title of Xianbei Chanyu, and I had the purple ribbon and golden seal in my arms. If I did not obey His Majesty's orders, and because of my previous harassment of Wei, no one would dare to say anything even if I was killed on the spot!
If I question myself and say that Budugen is not under my command, how can the credit of eight thousand people be attributed to me?
Of course, Man Chong could also point to the golden seal of the Xianbei Khan in his arms and let himself command them.
Is it possible that Budugen will agree? No way!
Instead of wasting time arguing with Man Chong and Tian Yu, it is better to save some energy.
He Qibu received Man Chong's order and went out to look for Wen Qin, not even daring to look at Kebi Neng. Kebi Neng looked at He Qibu's back calmly, without saying a word.
After Man Chong finished assigning the military duties, his stern face became kinder. He took a few steps forward and put his hand on Kebineng's shoulder: "Can the Chanyu drink on the grassland? Your Majesty is hosting a banquet for all the ministers tonight, and I would like to ask the Chanyu how much he can drink!"
The Han people have a good saying: If you are here, you should make the best of it! When the troops return and join the tribe, we will settle accounts with He Qibu!
Ke Bineng also managed a smile: "I have drunk a lot of fine wine from Bingzhou, but I wonder where General Man's fine wine comes from?"
"Hahahaha." Man Chong laughed a few times heroically: "Do you know where the current emperor is from?"
Ke Bineng rolled his eyes and said, "Who in the world doesn't know that the Cao family originated from Qiao County!"
Man Chong said: "Let me tell you, there is an ancient well in Qiao County, and a yellow dragon appeared in it. The wine in the banquet tonight is the Jiuniang Spring Wine brewed with the water from this well..."
... That night, Cao Rui had a banquet with the military officials and the leaders of the Wuhuan, Xianbei and Xiongnu tribes. At the banquet, Kebi Neng, the newly appointed Chanyu of the Xianbei, was treated as a king in terms of etiquette, different from the marquises of Budugen and others.
On the morning of the third day, He Qibu returned to Yunzhong with the selected 5,000 "old and weak" soldiers, and a review began outside Dai County.
Yes, that is exactly what a military parade means.
Both the Secretariat and the Privy Council remained in Yecheng. Wang Chang, the Right Supervisor of the Privy Council who had been in charge of the review in Mobei, was not there, so the Western Pavilion Minister Man Chong was in charge of the deployment personally.
There was no time to build a high platform for the parade, so Man Chong used the city wall on the south gate of Dai County as a parade platform. The emperor, the ministers accompanying the army, and the leaders of the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu tribes all watched from the city wall.
Only Cao Rui sat on the makeshift chair, while the rest of the people stood in a row at the back.
It was already two quarters past three in the afternoon, the agreed time for reviewing.
Man Chong said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty. All departments have completed their preparations. Please order the review!"
Cao Rui looked at the various military formations arranged in the distance below the city and said softly, "Accurate!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" After Man Chong shouted these two words, he personally waved the red flag in his hand, and the sound of gongs and drums instantly rang out not far from the top of the city.
Man Chong was in charge of the military parade, and Jiang Wei also participated in the dispatch and planning of various departments. Jiang Wei stood beside the emperor and introduced the various departments distributed near and far in the south of the city.
"Your Majesty, on the far west side are General Wen's Yulin Left Cavalry..."
Cao Rui waved his hand to stop Jiang Wei and said with a smile: "My own army, there is no need for Bo Yue to introduce it to me, I can tell them apart by looking at their flags."
Jiang Wei paused for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please look at the east of the city. From east to west, there are the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei tribes. The Wuhuan is divided into two parts, and the Xianbei is also divided into two parts."
"According to General Man's plan, all the troops will march before your majesty's eyes. The central army will practice cavalry formations, and the Wuhuan, Xiongnu, and Xianbei will each send out a thousand cavalry to practice."
Cao Rui nodded: "I understand."
Jiang Wei lowered his voice and said, "General Man has already arranged for all the arrows to be collected to avoid any accidents."
Cao Rui turned to look at Jiang Wei and said with a smile: "Just take care of these little things. You won't let me get shot on the top of the city wall, will you?"
Jiang Wei didn't laugh, but replied solemnly: "Absolutely not!"
While the two were talking, Wen Qin's Yulin Left Army slowly moved from west to east.
All the armies were one mile away from the south of the city, and the cavalry under Wen Qin moved in a marching formation fully armed in the width of this mile.
First, he passed through the Zhongling Army and the Five Colonels Camp, and then he passed through the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu tribes.
Four thousand light cavalry were in the front, carrying bows and arrows, holding sabers in their right hands and raising them upwards, and they passed in an orderly manner under the command of the sound of gongs and drums.
The 5,000 heavy cavalry were in the rear. The so-called heavy cavalry meant that the knights wore full armor, their main weapons were replaced with spears, and their bows and arrows were replaced with short crossbows that were easier to fire, but their military appearance was still strict.
It can be said that under the management of Wang Chang and Wen Qin, the Yulin Left Army is worthy of being the most elite cavalry of the Wei Dynasty.
When the light cavalry passed by, the Hu people on the city wall were relatively calm, but they just stared at the army formation intently. After all, they were light cavalry! Although the military appearance was a bit strict, the light cavalry of their own tribe was also capable of fighting.
When the heavy cavalry passed by, the leaders of the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu tribes could no longer laugh. To become a leader, every one of them had grown up on horses and was familiar with cavalry.
From the perspective of battle formation alone, the fact that the heavy cavalry could march in such an orderly formation was already beyond the imagination of these Hu people. How could they not know the chaotic situation in their own tribes when charging and marching?
Ke Bineng squinted his eyes and stared at the Wei cavalry formation below him very seriously, as if he wanted to carefully record this scene in his mind.
The course of the Zhongling Army Camp and the Wuxiaowei Camp was almost the same as that of the Yulin Left Army, except that the Zhongling Army Camp was composed of heavy cavalry, while the Wuxiaowei Camp was composed of light cavalry.
In terms of the cavalry's formation, it matches the functions of the Central Commander-in-Chief Army to escort the emperor and the Five Colonels Battalion to respond quickly.
Eighteen thousand cavalry passed by, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard from the city. But just as the light cavalry of the Five Colonel Battalion passed by, a louder and more rapid sound of horse hooves came from the west.
It seemed as if the earth was shaking slightly.
Armored cavalry.
Two thousand armored cavalry, the knights wearing bright light armor, which has better defense than heavy armor knights, and the war horses are also covered with horse armor.
If the heavy cavalry that just passed by made Ke Bineng shocked and exclaimed, the arrival of the armored cavalry made Ke Bineng dumbfounded.
How could there be such cavalry in the world? (End of this chapter)
