Ahoy!! We are the Zhang Ran Expedition Team

Before leaving Xiao Pass, a final military council was held ahead of the official departure. It was to coordinate strategies, information, and objectives with the leaders of each tribe while preparing for the expedition.

Now that I had solidified my position as Commander-in-Chief, it was right to clearly establish things before moving on.

Since coming to Xiao Pass, there were barely over ten people including Qu Bu, but this time more than twice that number were attending the military council.

The original Luanling Army members led by me: Jiang Wei, Ma Dai, Fu Qian, Guo Yi, Fei Yi.

Xu Yuan, Fang De, Wang Ping and their lieutenants who participated as reinforcements from the same Han.

The Qiang leaders Chitu Da and Dang Di brought by Fang De.

And the leaders of various ethnic minorities who came over from the Ordos region.

It wasn’t just my imagination that the government office of Xiao Pass, which hadn’t felt cramped before, now felt narrow.

“First, we have tallied our total forces.”

It was Fei Yi’s announcement after finishing the survey going around with Jiang Wei among the ethnic minorities.

“40,000 Han troops led by the General of the Guards, General of the Left, General Who Conquers the North, and General Who Pacifies the West.”

20,000 Luanling troops under my command.

10,000 under Fang De, who was newly appointed as General of the Left succeeding Ma Chao.

10,000 troops of Xu Yuan who moved with me from the start and Wang Ping who joined last, two days later than Fang De.

This wasn’t all.

“In addition, about 10,000 Qiang troops that came with the General of the Left, and another 10,000 troops from various tribes in the Hetao region who agreed to join our cause.”

Including the ethnic minority troops, it was a large army of 60,000. Moreover, the fact that the vast majority of ethnic minority troops were cavalry gave them value beyond the simple number of 20,000.

‘However, unlike Han troops, they lack proper military discipline, making it difficult to carry out detailed operations.’

Though there was such a drawback, it wasn’t at a critical level if you think of it as a difference in utilization methods suitable for each branch. The ethnic minority cavalry would have roles suitable for them.

“60,000! That’s amazing!”

“Defeating those treacherous Cao Zhi bastards won’t be a big deal!”

Some tribal chiefs, intoxicated by the number 60,000, shouted boldly. They were leaders of small tribes who had never commanded troops in the tens of thousands.

Rather, those like Chitu Da, the Qiang leader who led over a thousand troops, or Tubin, the leader of the Murong clan which was the largest among the pro-Han Xianbei, were frowning.

I called on Tubin, who seemed to have something he wanted to say as he was mumbling his lips.

“Lord Tubin.”

“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”

“You seem to have something to say. Feel free to speak.”

With my permission, Tubin hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“There was a reason our tribe was late. It was to grasp the enemy’s movements and their strength.”

To package gathering information to weigh us against Cao Wei like this. Indeed, one doesn’t become the leader of a tribe for nothing.

Still, there was no need to point it out and hurt each other’s feelings, and now it was information that would help us, so I simply gave a polite compliment.

“Indeed, your insight is deep.”

“Haha, not at all. This was discovered by Tuoba Yiyi of the Tuoba clan who personally went to great lengths, so it should go to him. Since it’s come up, Tuoba Yiyi, why don’t you tell us directly?”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity the Great One has given. Commander-in-Chief, may I speak?”

Whether out of respect for the opponent who defeated him, Tuoba Yiyi’s attitude towards me was exceedingly polite.

I later found out that there wasn’t much age difference with his brother Tuoba Pigo, and he was approaching fifty. Though it was good for me that Tuoba Yiyi was taking a humble approach on his own, there was also a strange sense of burden.

‘Even his gaze is somewhat subtle.’

In any case, I couldn’t treat him coldly just based on my feelings. I gave Tuoba Yiyi permission to speak.

“From what I’ve personally seen and heard, Cao Wei’s forces amount to a total of 100,000.”

“100,000!”

Those who had been intoxicated by the large army of 60,000 just moments ago let out astonished voices as if they had suddenly come to their senses. It was almost a scream.

“They boasted of a million. They say they have an army of 100,000, but is that really true?”

Before fear could spread, Jiang Wei appropriately cut in to break the pressure given by the number 100,000.

As Jiang Wei said, it won’t be 100,000. Wei’s soldiers aren’t an inexhaustible resource. Pressuring Guanzhong and Yangfan simultaneously while sparing another 100,000 troops? That’s nonsense.

Moreover, the majority of troops Cao Zhang brought this time were cavalry. Even considering the support troops from ethnic minorities, it was difficult to believe the number 100,000 as true.

‘But it will be very close to 100,000.’

People aren’t fools. If it’s not even close to 100,000 and they go around saying “Our forces are 100,000,” people would think they’re bluffing rather than being scared.

They need to have at least about 80,000 and say “We’re 100,000” for people to really accept it and be scared.

Didn’t Tuoba Yiyi also say he personally saw and heard? He said it because it seemed the claim of 100,000 wasn’t entirely false at a glance.

‘Whether 80,000 or 100,000. There’s no doubt they’re far more numerous than us.’

Although I reassured them that it wouldn’t be 100,000, the fact that we were numerically inferior was something to keep in mind.

“100,000 may be an exaggeration, but it’s true they outnumber us. But there’s no need to be afraid. Our Han army has always fought Cao Zhi with inferior numbers. Yet we have always been victorious. That won’t change this time either.”

As I, the Commander-in-Chief, spoke calmly, the weight given by numbers in the tens and hundreds of thousands seemed to lighten, and everyone’s reason returned to some extent as focus returned to their eyes.

The morale had clearly dropped. But where in a battlefield facing combat isn’t it like this?

It was much better than getting puffed up with a false sense of confidence over the 60,000 troops and then having morale collapse upon seeing the larger enemy forces.

“Lord Tuoba Yiyi, did you perhaps confirm their organization as well?”

“To arrive on time, I couldn’t grasp the detailed composition, but I found out which tribes have gone over to Cao Zhi.”

The Xianbei led by Budugen, the Western Great Man, and Su Li, the Eastern Great Man.

The Southern Xiongnu under Yuwen Wang Qubi, who was entrusted with governing authority over Hetao proper by Chanyu Huchuquan.

The Wuhuan who fell completely to being a vassal state of Wei after being crushed by Cao Cao.

Besides these, there were also Di, Qiang, and various other tribes, but those three were overwhelmingly predominant.

He hadn’t been able to confirm the specific numbers for each. But at Tuoba Yiyi’s final words that the total was about 30,000, I spoke with satisfaction:

“Excellent.”

As the sharing of information Tuoba Yiyi had discovered ended, praise for him poured out from around.

Though they had been swept away like autumn leaves before Cao Zhang and the Wei army, by gathering information on the enemy in the process, it became possible to claim they hadn’t collapsed completely helplessly.

The gazes towards Tuoba Yiyi, who had restored some of their wounded pride, couldn’t help but improve.

Perhaps annoyed that his half-brother was monopolizing everyone’s attention, this time Tuoba Pigo opened his mouth.

“Commander-in-Chief, would you allow me to provide additional explanation?”

“Additional explanation? About what?”

“I have heard something about Cao Zhi’s leadership.”

“Go ahead and speak.”

“Yes, Commander-in-Chief. As you well know, Cao Zhang is the leader of Cao Zhi’s forces, with Cao Zhen, Xiahou You, and Wen Qin as his lieutenants.”

That was personnel we had already confirmed.

Xiahou You who had been following Cao Zhang since around the Battle for Hanzhong, Cao Zhen who joined later. And Wen Qin who was newly added this time. From this parade of formidable names, we could see they had honed their edge thoroughly.

However, the real deal was the owners of the names that subsequently came from Tuoba Pigo’s mouth.

Jian Yong, Yang Xi, and Yan Yu.

They would be somewhat unfamiliar figures in the future.

For people who have encountered them through historical novels, they’re likely names that were merely brushed past, or names never seen at all.

At most, they might remember Jian Yong, who was quite active under Yuan Shao but eventually went over to Cao Cao.

However, in this period, especially in this region, the fame of those three was incomparable to anyone except Cao Cao.

Jian Yong, who was already the leader of a special cavalry unit composed of Wuhuan called Wuhuan Tuqi (Wuhuan Assault Cavalry) when he was Yuan Shao’s subordinate, continued to be active after submitting to Cao Cao, participating in campaigns to suppress Yuan Tan, subjugate the Wuhuan, conquer the Xianbei, and so on.

It was Jian Yong who defeated Kebineng, who had risen to be the great chieftain of the Xianbei after Tanshihuai, and brought Xianbei like Budugen and Xue Guini under Wei’s command. He was virtually an expert on northern ethnic minorities.

When Gongsun Kang sent the heads of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, Cao Cao once declared he would expose their heads and execute anyone who mourned for them. However, Jian Yong, who was once registered in the Yuan family, openly mourned and even held memorial services for them.

Nevertheless, Cao Cao, who valued Jian Yong’s talent, saved his life by violating his own military order. Not stopping there, he even recommended Jian Yong for promotion to military officer.

The other two were no less than Jian Yong.

Yang Xi was put in charge of Bingzhou around the time Cao Cao had just acquired it.

Internally it was devastated by Gao Gan’s rebellion, and externally it was in chaos from ethnic minority raids, but he showed remarkable skill in stabilizing Bingzhou.

He subjugated the Xiongnu, restored administration, and spread agriculture, earning universal acclaim as the best governor.

Even after Cao Cao merged Bingzhou into Jizhou, Yang Xi continued to govern the surrounding area, achieving brilliant military accomplishments such as executing the Xianbei leader Liu Lian and the rebellious Wuhuan king Lou Shi.

When Cao Pi ascended the throne and re-established Bingzhou, appointing him as Governor of Bingzhou, I realized but the more I learned, the more I saw he was a master of governing ethnic minorities no less than Jian Yong.

Though slightly lacking compared to those two, Yan Yu was no pushover either.

He was a legendary figure who rose to become the leader of the Wuhuan and Xianbei despite having been kidnapped by them.

He accumulated merits by participating in Cao Cao’s Wuhuan subjugation campaign, and as Wuhuan Commander, exerted powerful influence over the northern ethnic minorities.

Even Kebineng once paid tribute to Cao Wei through him.

Cao Zhang and his lieutenants were not easy, but those under them were even more so.

“It’s endless.”

No matter how many we killed, Wei’s talents showed no signs of running dry.

Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang He, Guo Huai, Hao Zhao, Zhu Ling, and so on.

Despite killing countless talents, those with outstanding abilities kept popping up.

The capacity to produce talents from the vast population occupying the Central Plains. It made me newly realize Wei’s healthy potential.

But we couldn’t back down. If we retreated, it was a foregone conclusion that the ethnic minorities in the Hetao region would be completely subjugated to Wei.

With the trio of Jian Yong, Yang Xi, and Yan Yu, they could sufficiently restore Bingzhou of the Later Han era. No, beyond that, they would put it completely under their influence.

‘In the end, we have no choice but to fight.’

Napoleon said:

If you want victory, you must risk everything.

They have risked everything.

So we too must rightfully risk everything.

The next day, we turned our backs on Xiao Pass.

It was the expedition.