Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 615 - 582: The Unchanging, the Changing

Zhao Yun, who was training cavalry on the Xuzhou Plain, naturally did not know that he, the highest commander of the Xuzhou defense zone, was about to be reassigned to Yanzhou. He was still training cavalry. He had fully mastered all the tactics of the White Horse Soldiers, and what remained was to integrate his Legion Talent into them.

"Fire!" Zhao Yun led the cavalry in a fast, crisscrossing maneuver, shadows merging into one, and then suddenly, all the cavalry drew bows and shot arrows the moment their horses leaped.

"Bang, bang, bang!" All the arrows were concentrated within the large circle drawn by Zhao Yun, while the White Horse Soldiers maintained their continuous firing.

"Report, General, Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping seek an audience." Just as Zhao Yun was preparing to activate his Legion Talent for further training, a scout rushed over.

"Zhangming, I leave these men under your command, I need to step away for a moment. Lead them in regular exercises," Zhao Yun said to Xue Shao, "and take the opportunity to practice your military formation with them."

"Understood!" Xue Shao bowed and said.

It must be said that Zhao Yun highly valued Xue Shao, a former centurion of the White Horse Soldiers. After all, not many officers were left who could train the White Horse Soldiers, and even fewer, like Xue Shao, could produce variety in training.

Zhao Yun glanced at his cavalry from a distance and sighed. Indeed, they did not have the pure white presence of Gongsun Zan’s time; although he was confident that his combat ability was no less than before, it lacked that dazzling quality.

In the Central Plains, it was not easy to maintain good horses, let alone pure-colored ones. It was well known that even major households like Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao would not focus on creating pure-colored cavalry. Probably only Gongsun Zan, the obsessive major household, would undertake such a task.

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"Alas, General Gongsun has grown distant, I’ve heard that during our recent supply deliveries, he has completely ignored us," Zhao Yun silently thought. Since the series of defeats at Long Cou Boundary Bridge and losing much of Youzhou to Juo Yi, Gongsun Zan could only stay in Beiping and his temperament had become much more peculiar, making it hard to see his former gallantry and boldness.

What reassured Zhao Yun, however, was that regardless of how Gongsun Zan changed, his attitude toward the Northern Barbarians remained unchanged—still as disdainful as ever. He continued to battle the barbarians and had not recalled the Youzhou Cavalry or a considerable number of Youzhou infantry known by Zhao Yun for defending the north against the Xianbei and Wuhuan.

It should be noted that Gongsun Zan’s ability to contend for the north against Yuan Shao was based on his formidable martial force, including, besides the White Horse Soldiers, a large number of border troops!

Gongsun Zan was a thorough racial nationalist, which is precisely why, even with a chance to turn the tide, he would never withdraw his border troops. In his heart, he could tolerate defeat or death, but the land of the Han Dynasty must never fall into barbarian hands. Even if he was not loyal to the Han Dynasty, he was faithful to his ethnicity, his everlasting pride.

Thus, unbeknownst to all, after Gongsun Zan summoned Tian Yu, whom he did not particularly like but recognized as capable and moral, he immediately gave Tian Yu an order to not participate in any Central Plains wars for twenty years and focus solely on battling the Northern Barbarians!

After Tian Yu accepted this task, Gongsun Zan transferred all the command of the troops along the northern defense line to Tian Yu. Thirteen thousand Youzhou Cavalry and more than thirty thousand border troops were handed over without anyone’s knowledge.

These cavalry and infantry were scattered everywhere, engaging in farming when there were no wars, but as soon as the Northern Barbarians invaded, they would take the initiative to attack under the leadership of the commander-in-chief. This was the second line of defense set up by Gongsun Zan when he was guarding the border. As for the first line of defense, it had naturally been the annihilated White Horse Soldiers.

After taking over this military authority, Tian Yu pledged under Gongsun Zan’s gaze to stand in for Gongsun Zan in guarding the Northern Frontier for the next twenty years. With such a promise, Gongsun Zan’s last obsession was dispelled, leaving him without any worries.

Although Gongsun Zan’s preferences were clear, he knew very well where to employ people. Although he did not like Tian Yu, if there was anyone who could guard Youzhou for twenty years after his death, it was likely only Tian Yu. After all, Gongsun Zan was not entirely ignorant of power schemes. Yuan Benchu, after his victory, needed to pacify the families of Youzhou, and Tian Yu, who was both disliked and capable, would definitely be chosen!

Gongsun Zan believed his judgment was not wrong, and in fact, in the previous life, Tian Yu did exactly as Gongsun Zan had predicted, stationed in Youzhou for decades. He did not participate in any internal conflicts of the Central Plains. During Yuan Shao’s time, he guarded the Northern Frontier; during Cao Cao’s and Cao Pi’s times, he did the same, constantly waging war against the barbarians for decades, leaving the Northern Frontier only a handful of times until his death.

Perhaps Tian Yu did not detest the barbarians as much as Gongsun Zan had, but he continued to do what Gongsun Zan once did—striking at the Xianbei, battling the Wuhuan, subduing the Huns, ensuring the peace of Youzhou and Bingzhou, and he was indeed the foremost figure of the Northern Frontier.

Zhao Yun, of course, did not know any of this, but he believed that Gongsun Bogui would definitely uphold his pride!

"General Zhao." As Zhao Yun had just stepped out of the military camp, he saw Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping, weary from travel, hurrying over.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you both," Zhao Yun said, clasping his fist in salute. Regardless of the other party’s status, since they were serving Liu Bei, Zhao Yun would not be discourteous.

"General Zhao, we sailed back from Shu Commandery to Mount Tai, and as we passed through this area by land, we came to see General Zhao. Incidentally, we have also brought over some military horses that we purchased in Xiliang," said Zhang Shiping, tired from the journey. This business deal involved buying horses from Liangzhou, transferring them via water transport through Shu Region, passing through Jingzhou and Yuzhou, and finally arriving in Xuzhou.

"Thank you both. What’s the price of horses these days?" Zhao Yun asked, expressing his gratitude. Now that Jizhou and Bingzhou had restricted the transportation of horses and Gongsun Zan’s horses were insufficient for his own use, and what horses Gongsun Du sent were not of good quality, one could only rely on the networks of the Zhen Family and the Mi Family, as well as these two horse traders, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, for transportation.

"The price of Liangzhou horses has reached 60,000 coins, but fortunately, we traded them for wine, which discounted the price to 20,000 coins on our end. The cost wasn’t significant; it’s mainly the trouble of transportation," said Zhang Shiping helplessly. Liangzhou wasn’t short on horses, but obtaining them was the issue. This time, their efforts to purchase horses almost ended in trouble. After all, Liangzhou was not the Northern Grasslands that Zhang Shiping was familiar with. However, the success meant that familiarity would come with time, and it would get easier with more trips.

"I made a small deal with the Southern Barbarian People and exchanged for quite a few rare and exotic treasures. General Zhao, would you like to take a look?" Su Shuang said with a smile. He and Zhang Shiping had split up in the Shu Region, both seeking to expand new trade routes.

Before Zhao Yun could decline, Su Shuang had already ordered his men to bring forth a giant elephant and a lion, which to Zhao Yun’s amazement, both possessed strong Inner Qi and appeared extremely fierce. It was truly unbelievable!

"General Zhao, do not be astonished. There is another creature, but so far, no one has been able to tame it. Therefore, please come and take a look!" Su Shuang said proudly, smiling. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)