Chapter 52 Bo Cai: No matter what, one hundred and twenty thousand versus fifty thousand, the advantage is on my side!
Yingchuan County, ten miles outside Changsha City.

In the autumn wilderness, bonfires were scattered like stars, and the noise of more than 100,000 Yellow Turban soldiers setting up camp scared the crows and birds away.

In front of the central army tent, an apricot-yellow flag with the words "Huang Tian" written on it was fluttering. Under the flag, a man dressed in a coarse linen robe, a yellow turban wrapped around his forehead, and a ring-handled sword hanging from his waist, was standing. It was none other than Bo Cai, the commander of the Fang Daqu Commandery in Yuzhou.

Bo Cai's eyes swept over the people in the tent. Peng Tuo was as rough as a bear, Wu Ba was as vicious as an eagle, Liu Pi had a face full of curly beard, He Yi was as thin as a bamboo pole, Huang Shao had cunning eyes and eyebrows, and He Man had a ferocious face. These small generals who originally occupied their own areas were all summoned by him.

Of course, these small canal commanders would not really obey orders just because Bo was the big canal commander appointed by Zhang Jiao. It was mainly due to two reasons.

First, Bo Cai had an army of 60,000, while the six of them each had only over 10,000 men, and together they were barely as strong as Bo Cai.

Secondly, and more importantly, they faced the dilemma of food shortage.

Even the great god Huang Tian could not create food and grass for them out of thin air, let alone turn every one of their believers into heavenly soldiers and generals who did not need to eat.

The food and supplies looted from everywhere these days can only last for more than a month. But after this month, what will happen next month?

Only by capturing a city can we solve the urgent problem.

But they all had solutions to the problem, but they could not capture the county town, and they were reluctant to lose thousands of their more than 10,000 men to capture a city.

Without sufficient siege equipment, they could only sigh in despair as they faced the walls of the cities.

But Bo Cai gathered them together and said that he had built hundreds of ladders and was willing to use his troops as the vanguard to attack the city, which convinced these small generals.

"Changshe City has mountains of food and fodder, and the wealthy families in the city have hidden gold and silver, enough to supply our army for six months!" Bo Cai slammed his fist on the table, causing his wine bowl to tremble. His face flushed red as he said, "On the day we capture the city, each of you brothers will take ten percent. How about that?"

"Bo Shuai is so refreshing!"

Peng Tuo grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and was obviously very moved by Bo Cai's proposal.

The Bo Cai, who accounted for half of the army, only asked for 40% of the money and food, and promised to serve as the vanguard to attack the city and even provided siege ladders. What was there to refuse?
Huang Shao hesitated and said, "I just heard that the Crown Prince and Huangfu Song are stationed at Yangdi with their troops. If the Han reinforcements suddenly arrive..."

"Reinforcements?" Bo Cai stood up and pointed in the direction of Changsha City. "Over a hundred thousand Yellow Turban warriors of ours are attacking a mere county town. By the time Huangfu Song's army arrives, we'll have already razed the city!"

"Besides, we brothers have gathered here, a full 120,000 troops. How dare Huangfu Song come to fight with a mere 50,000?" He turned and looked around at everyone, his eyes blazing with ambition. "Even if the crown prince personally led the Han army reinforcements and arrived before you and I captured Changsha, what would happen?"

"Just a twelve-year-old kid!" Bo Cai sneered, snorted softly, and said with disdain, "That kid probably wets the bed at night. How can he lead troops into battle?"

"No matter what, 120,000 versus 50,000, the advantage is mine!"

Laughter erupted in the tent, but Huang Shao, stroking the dagger at his waist, interrupted quietly, "Master Bo, don't forget that although the prince is young, he was able to annihilate the Luoyang faction with lightning speed. He has also killed many of my Huangtian believers in recent days... This boy should not be underestimated."

"Huang Shao, are you afraid?" He Man squinted her eyes, her voice as harsh as gravel and grindstone, "If you're afraid of death, then hurry back home with your dead brother's cenotaph and become a coward!"

With a flash of the knife, Huang Shao's dagger was already against He Man's throat. His eyes were filled with murderous intent, and the tent suddenly became dead silent.

"Enough!" Bo Cai roared, his face full of rage, veins popping out on his forehead. He unsheathed his ring-handled sword half an inch and shouted, "With the enemy at hand, whoever dares to fight among us, I will chop him down first as a sacrifice!"

When the situation became tense, He Yi suddenly chuckled, slowly picked up the wine bowl, and while gently shaking the wine in the bowl, he said slowly: "Everyone, the defenders of Changsha are no more than 3,000. Instead of bickering here about how to enjoy after the city is captured, let me make it clear that I like that beautiful married woman, so don't compete with me for her." As He Yi's voice fell, the tense atmosphere between the generals suddenly dissipated, and they discussed the taste of the women they had robbed these days. The tent was suddenly filled with obscene laughter.

At the same time, in Yangdi City
The Changsha commander realized that more than 100,000 Yellow Turban soldiers had gathered ten miles outside Changsha, and had sent people to cut down trees to build siege ladders. He immediately sent a messenger on horseback to Yangdi to ask the prince for help. After receiving the request for help, Liu Bian immediately ordered someone to summon Huangfu Song back to Yangdi for discussion.

When Huangfu Song heard that more than 100,000 Yellow Turban troops were preparing to besiege Changsha, he did not dare to delay for a moment. He jumped on his horse, waved his whip, and rode back to Yangdi City at full speed with more than a hundred personal guards.

"Your Highness, do you intend to have a decisive battle with Bo Cai?"

After listening to the narration of the messenger sent by Changsha Ling for help, Huangfu Song carefully observed the situation of the two armies and the terrain around Changsha on the map. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his face was full of solemnity.

"I believe we must fight now," Liu Bian said with a determined expression, his hands behind his back. "I may not understand military tactics, but I understand human nature. If we remain silent and allow Changsha to fall, the other cities will undoubtedly lose their resolve to hold out."

Liu Bian narrowed his eyes slightly, pointed at the map, and drew a circle with his hand. This circle included the cities of Changge, Yingyin, Yanling, and Xu County. His expression was serious. "Furthermore, Changsha City has a large amount of food and fodder stored. If this army of over 100,000 can obtain the food and fodder in Changsha City and then plunder Changsha, I am afraid their power will be even greater."

"Instead of waiting for it to grow stronger, we should fight now!"

Huangfu Song gazed at Changsha on the map, gently stroking his beard with one hand. He pondered for a long time before speaking, "Your Highness is quite right. That group of people has gathered over a hundred thousand. They may seem powerful, but in reality they are just a mob. We should fight them!"

In the crowd, the taciturn Xun You suddenly spoke up, "Your Highness, General of the Central Army, I have something to say."

"Gongda tried to explain it."

Liu Bian nodded to Xun You with an encouraging smile on his face. As the saying goes, "Just give it a try. Even if you say something wrong, I won't blame you."

Xun You's face remained calm as he nodded, seemingly motionless. He folded his hands in front of him and said, "Yang Di is only eighty miles away from Changsha. If our army uses the cavalry as the vanguard, we can seize the opportunity when they are not yet firmly established and use our elite troops to attack their slackness."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian immediately looked at Huangfu Song, his eyes filled with questioning and expectation. Huangfu Song looked at Xun You with admiration and nodded slightly, thinking to himself, it's a pity that this man is already a minister of the crown prince, otherwise he would really like to recruit him into his military headquarters.

"This strategy is feasible." Huangfu Song pointed to the map and drew a marching route on it. As he gestured, he said, "I propose that we send out 800 cavalrymen from the Colonel's Cavalry, 1,800 from the Left and Right Imperial Guards, and 4,000 from the Three Rivers, for a total of 6,600 cavalrymen, overnight. What do you think, Your Highness?"

After all, one school of the Northern Army and the left and right cavalry of the Yulin Army had to be mobilized. Although the prince had said that he could make his own decisions on matters of war, he still had to ask the prince for permission when it came to the imperial guards.

"Well, then let Sun Wentai be the commander-in-chief, commanding over 6,000 cavalry to attack the enemy. What do you think, Yizhen?"

Huangfu Song's eyes fell on Sun Jian in the hall. He still had an impression of Sun Jian's bravery. Moreover, Sun Jian had been leading the 800 cavalrymen of the Cavalry Captain's Department to help him train the 4,000 Sanhe Knights these days. He believed that there would be no problem. A look of relief appeared on his face.

"Good, with Sun Wentai leading the troops, I can rest assured."

Liu Bian nodded and looked at Sun Jian, who was holding the tiger-head helmet in his arm.

Sun Jian was wearing a red robe, which made him stand out in the crowd. When he heard that the prince wanted him to lead the troops into battle, he immediately held his head high, clenched his fists, and his eyes were full of burning fighting spirit.

"Wen Tai, do you dare to fight?"

Sun Jian knelt on one knee, clasped his hands together and said in a loud voice: "Your Highness has given the order. How dare I not serve Your Highness in battle?"

(End of this chapter)