Free Web NovelChapter 293: Stockpile Grain
Long Chen gently lifted Rosanna’s chin with his index finger, smiling.
"You treat me so well, how should I repay you?"
Rosanna pushed her chest forward.
Her sapphire-like eyes emitted a seductive charm, and her golden hair brushed against Long Chen.
She smiled seductively and said, "I still want to experience that feeling of soaring to the heavens from last night~"
Western women are indeed wild and bold.
Long Chen could only sigh to himself. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
But... he liked it.
He then turned over and softly whispered in Rosanna’s ear, which was as white as mutton-fat jade:
"Last night, we only tried twenty-four positions. Today, let’s try the remaining twelve..."
"You bad man..."
Rosanna covered her face with the blanket. Even a bold woman like her felt extremely shy at this moment.
...
After a passionate night.
With Rosanna’s help, Long Chen dressed himself.
"My lord, I’ll return to the Moon Worship Sect for now. I’ll come back to report to you once I have news."
Rosanna said, blinking her blue eyes.
"Alright, I’ll wait for you."
Long Chen rubbed Rosanna’s golden hair, then got up and left.
...
On the official road from Youzhou to Xuzhou.
Dust filled the air, and startled birds scattered.
The earth-shaking sound of horse hooves echoed across the land.
At the junction of the official road from Youzhou to Xuzhou, the area was sparsely populated and desolate.
Yet today, a large cavalry force had arrived.
The general leading this cavalry was none other than Liu Xuande, a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan.
Following closely beside him were Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, standing like two majestic door gods guarding Liu Bei.
"Big brother, we’re almost there!"
Zhang Fei shouted in his unique loud voice.
"Yes, we’re almost there."
Liu Bei raised his eyes and looked ahead with a face full of emotion.
That is Xuzhou.
That is where Liu Xuande’s dream began.
He glanced back at the troops behind him.
Although they were called a cavalry force, there were actually only three to four thousand cavalrymen. The remaining thousands of troops were infantry.
Moreover, most of these soldiers were the old, weak, sick, and disabled that Gongsun Zan of Youzhou no longer wanted.
He conveniently gave them to Liu Bei, which not only earned him a reputation for righteousness but also helped him deal with the burden of Youzhou’s troops.
A clever man like Liu Bei could see through this ploy, but there was no other option.
If someone was willing to lend him troops, it was still a good thing.
"Second brother, do you have the confidence to train these soldiers into an elite force within a few months?"
Liu Bei looked to his left at Guan Yu with anticipation.
Guan Yu’s face reddened, his eyes half-closed, as he stroked his long beard with his left hand and frowned:
"It will be difficult."
"Sigh, even if it’s difficult, we must try. We don’t have much time left."
Liu Bei sighed.
"Don’t worry, big brother. Second brother is well-versed in the Spring and Autumn Annals."
Zhang Fei laughed heartily.
"Alright, enough idle chatter. Let’s pick up the pace and try to reach the Xuzhou governor’s office today to meet Governor Tao."
Liu Bei said seriously, spreading his hands. freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei cupped their fists in response, then each gathered their troops to continue the march.
Meanwhile, after resolving the siege of Xuzhou, Long Chen had already withdrawn his troops.
As the Inspector of Yangzhou, the Champion Marquis, and the Grand General of the Han Dynasty, he couldn’t stay in Xuzhou indefinitely.
Doing so would be meaningless and would only make Tao Qian suspicious of his intentions, which would be detrimental to his future plans.
Therefore, Long Chen was the first to lead his troops out of Xuzhou.
Long Chen had Zhang Liao personally lead 2,000 Yellow Turban warriors and 3,000 Jiangdong cavalry to take up the position in Guan County.
At the same time, he secretly dispatched Zhao Yun with 5,000 Dragon Cavalry to Yanzhou to join Guo Jia and Lü Bu.
Now that Cao Cao had returned to Yanzhou with his army, the tens of thousands of Bingzhou soldiers under Lü Bu’s command might not be able to withstand Cao Cao’s forces.
Moreover, under Cao Cao’s command, there are countless fierce generals and numerous capable strategists, making Lü Bu and his entourage too weak and outnumbered.
Sending Zhao Yun over can greatly enhance their strength.
This would allow them to better restrain Cao Cao, leaving him without a flawless battlefield to the south, and giving our side opportunities to act.
Long Chen decided to first lead the remaining army to Yangzhou.
After this great battle, Long Chen actively absorbed experiences and lessons.
For example, our grain supply is still too low to support a hundred thousand troops for a prolonged war.
Additionally, there is a lack of armor and siege equipment, all of which need to be stocked in advance.
Regarding troop types, our cavalry has suffered significant losses in this battle, so we must quickly purchase another batch of warhorses.
The previous batch of warhorses was provided by Gongsun Zan of Youzhou.
It seems we will have to trouble the talented merchants Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang to make another trip to Youzhou.
However, it is estimated that the number of warhorses purchased will not exceed three thousand.
Because Gongsun Zan is also a very ambitious figure, he would not provide too many warhorses, thereby greatly enhancing our strength.
Long Chen understood Gongsun Zan’s thinking: he simply did not want to nurture a tiger that could become a problem.
If he sold too many warhorses to us, wouldn’t that indirectly strengthen Lord Long’s cavalry?
It is known that Gongsun Zan of Youzhou relies on his cavalry, the White Horse Volunteers, for survival.
As the saying goes, "How can others sleep soundly beside one’s bed?"
Furthermore, Lord Long already has the climate to become the number one great lord under heaven.
Selling more horses to us would only further solidify his own throne.
Of course, these are just Long Chen’s current speculations, which Guo Jia and Xi Zhiai have also repeatedly suggested.
Do not rely too much on the warhorses provided by Gongsun Zan...
This is also why Long Chen is now racking his brains to connect with the Moon Worship Sect, the leading sect in the Western Regions, to establish a relationship.
Although the Western countries have long-standing prejudices against the Han Dynasty and frequently clash with them on the frontiers, resulting in hostile relations,
the Moon Worship Sect is different.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Moon Worship Sect aims to unify the Western Regions, while our goal is to unify the Han Dynasty.
Their interests are not infringed, so we can temporarily seek cooperation, each taking what we need to strengthen our power.
Of course, once both of our goals are achieved, there might be a prolonged war between the Western Regions and the Han Dynasty.
But these are matters for the future. Our current goals have not been achieved yet, so what about the future?
As long as the Moon Worship Sect agrees to our requests, we won’t need to worry too much about warhorses for the next five years.
Of course, if we could build a horse farm ourselves, that would be the best.
This way, we could be self-sufficient in warhorses without relying on others.
However, this plan is difficult to implement and can only be tentatively planned in our minds.
Moreover, the time for vying for dominance in the Central Plains is approaching.
Therefore, he decided to return to Yangzhou to carry out agricultural and military reforms to enhance his overall strength.
On the journey, Xi Zhiai and Long Chen shared the same carriage!
Xi Zhiai was dressed in a blue and white robe, with a wine gourd hanging at his waist, containing fine wine.
Graceful from the clouds, he exuded the demeanor of a reclusive sage.
