Chương 353: Final Deployment

"The Third Army consists of: 10, 000 cavalry under Gongsun Zan, 10, 000 infantry under Qu Yi, 10, 000 infantry under Zhang He, 10, 000 infantry under Yu Jin, and 10, 000 infantry under Xu Huang."

Gongsun Zan, Qu Yi, Zhang He, Yu Jin, and Xu Huang all stood up and said, "Your subordinates obey!"

Liu Ce put down the wooden stick and looked at the newcomers:

"Li Jing, you will temporarily assist me in commanding the First Army."

Li Jing stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Yes, sir!"

"Li Ji, you will temporarily assist Xu Da in commanding the Second Army."

Li Ji stood up and said, "Yes, sir!"

"Su Lie, you will temporarily assist Xue Rengui in commanding the Third Army."

Su Dingfang stood up and said, "Yes, sir!"

Finally, Liu Ce looked at Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang and said:

"Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang, you two and your soldiers will stay behind to protect the rear."

Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang exchanged a glance, then stood up, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "Yes, sir!"

Although it's a bit of a shame that they couldn't play, they understand the great responsibility of staying behind to defend the rear.

Liu Ce looked around, his tone becoming serious as he said:

"Once the First and Third Armies arrive at their destinations, they must quickly surround the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition and Dong Zhuo's army, and absolutely not let a single warlord escape! Strive to capture both the warlords and Dong Zhuo this time! The Third Army must break through the city walls as soon as possible and cut off Dong Zhuo's retreat!"

The generals responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Next, everyone spoke, pointing out any gaps or omissions.

Ju Shou asked, "How should the provisions and supplies be allocated?"

Du Ruhui replied, "The granaries in Youzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou are full, enough to feed the army for several years."

......

Xun You suddenly spoke, his tone calm: "My lord, there is something I need to be aware of."

Liu Ce looked at him and said, "Gongda, please speak."

Xun You said, "Among the nineteen lords, many have no enmity with our lord, and some even respect him. It would be inappropriate to treat them all as rebels. It would be better to treat them differently: those who are willing to surrender should be incorporated into our ranks, and those who resist should be annihilated. This way, we can reduce resistance and also win over the hearts of the people."

Liu Ce nodded and said, "Yes, Gongda is right. Let's do it that way."

Cheng Yu added, "And then there's Dong Zhuo's side. The Xiliang army is fierce and brave, but Dong Zhuo is tyrannical and unpopular. If we can divide and weaken them, and persuade his generals to surrender, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Liu Ce nodded again and said, "That makes sense."

Jia Xu remained silent, but occasionally nodded in agreement.

Everyone chimed in, perfecting the plan until it was flawless.

Finally, Guo Jia suddenly smiled and said to Liu Ce:

"My lord, now that I recall the names you spoke of, I am filled with utmost admiration."

Liu Ce raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh?"

Guo Jia shook his head with a wicked grin and said, "One minute they're supplying the coalition against Dong Zhuo with provisions, letting them fight Dong Zhuo fiercely; the next minute they're saying they're rebelling without your and the Empress Dowager's permission. That's... truly impressive."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this.

Liu Ce touched his face and said in a serious tone:

"Who told me to be so shameless?"

Everyone laughed.

After laughing, Liu Ce waved his hand and said:

"Alright, all of you, go and prepare. In three days, the First Army will depart with me. The Second and Third Armies will proceed according to plan."

"promise!"

The crowd filed out and went about their business.

...

As soon as I entered, I saw that the courtyard was full of people.

Cai Yan was teaching Liu Chen and Liu Ying to read. The little ones sat on the ground, scratching at the ground with twigs.

Zhen Jiang was doing the accounting on the side, the abacus clicking away.

Zhang Ning led Liu Yao to identify medicinal herbs, and Liu Yao kept sneezing because of the smell of the herbs.

Ren Hongchang was embroidering, while Zou Yu and Du Xiuniang were discussing making new clothes for the children.

The five Zhen sisters huddled together, chattering away.

......

The backyard was as lively as a market.

As soon as Liu Ce appeared, the children rushed over to him.

"Father!" Liu Chen ran the fastest and grabbed Liu Ce's leg.

Liu Ying also ran over and hugged the other leg.

Liu Heng, Liu Yao, Liu Xi, Liu Sui, Liu Yi... all the runners rushed over and surrounded Liu Ce completely.

Liu Ce was overjoyed, patting each of them on the head and giving them hugs and kisses.

Cai Yan walked over, brushed the dust off his shoulders, and asked softly:

"My lord, is it time for war again?"

The other ladies also looked at him, their eyes filled with concern and reluctance.

Liu Ce nodded, then smiled and said, "After this battle, things will be much easier. Soon the world will be at peace, and the Han Dynasty will no longer experience large-scale wars so often."

Upon hearing this, all the women nodded in agreement.

Then everyone came up to him and said words of concern.

Cai Yan straightened his clothes: "Husband, swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield, you must be careful."

Zhen Jiang handed over a sachet: "This is a good luck charm that I made myself. Husband, please wear it."

Zhang Ning held his hand: "Husband, I'm waiting for you to come home."

Ren Hongchang's eyes reddened slightly: "Husband, come back soon."

Zou Yu, Du Xiuniang, Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, Zhen Rong, Zhen Mi, Mi Zhen, and Gan Mei all stepped forward, offering words of advice, hugs, or kisses.

Surrounded by people, Liu Ce felt a warm glow in his heart.

He hugged and kissed them one by one, and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, I'm tough as nails. You all stay home and take good care of the kids, I'll be back."

Cai Yan nodded, her eyes a little red, but she held back her tears.

Zhen Jiang pulled him aside and gave him a few more instructions.

Zhang Ning said nonchalantly, "If anything happens to my husband, I won't let you off the hook!"

Ren Hongchang whispered, "My husband must come back safely..."

Liu Ce responded to each of her requests, and finally hugged Cai Yan, whispering:

"I'm leaving the household to you."

Cai Yan nodded, her voice slightly choked as she said, "Don't worry, my husband."

Princess Liu Yue of Wannian stood aside, watching this scene with a smile on her lips.

She walked up to Liu Ce and whispered, "Uncle, take care."

Liu Ce smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, don't worry."

...

Three days later, outside Zhuoxian County.

Because Liu Ce had ordered the deployment of troops, supplies, and provisions when Liu Hong passed away.

The Second Army is in Bingzhou, the Third Army is in Jizhou, and the First Army is in Youzhou; they have long been prepared.

On the day of departure, the area outside Zhuoxian County was packed with people.

The soldiers of the First Army stood in neat rows, their banners obscuring the sun, their armor gleaming.

The army of 50, 000 was arranged in five square formations, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Liu Ce stood on the command platform, clad in armor with a long sword at his waist, exuding an imposing aura.

Behind him stood six generals: Li Jing, Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.

Below the stage, the eyes of 50, 000 soldiers were all fixed on him.

Liu Ce took a deep breath and spoke.

"Brothers!"

"We're heading south today not to fight the barbarians, nor to quell a rebellion, but to... make dumplings!"

The soldiers below the stage were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Liu Ce smiled and continued:

"The warlords of the coalition against Dong Zhuo met at Suanzao and said they would kill Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo, on the other hand, confronted them at Hulao Pass, and the battle raged fiercely."

"Let them fight, what's it to us?"