Chapter 86 Cai Mao's Rebellion
Before dawn, Black Bear arrived at Nanxiang County on horseback.

He refused to enter the city and stayed on the east gate tower.

Liu Qi was drunk and unable to stand steadily, so he was supported by two of his fellow villagers, one on each side.

Yi Ji simply stated his situation and determination to Black Bear, and said: "The Cai family is greedy and violent, and has harmed countless virtuous and talented people in Jingzhou! If we can eliminate this great harm, our lord Liu Zhennan will improve his internal policies and will be able to send troops to attack the traitors next year!"

This was an expression of determination to Hebei Province, and Black Bear did not take it as a surprise.

After listening, he raised his hand and pointed to the sparse campfires outside the city: "There are more than 3,100 Qingzhou soldiers there. If you want to motivate them to fight, it won't work just by relying on the righteousness of you Jingzhou people!"

Everyone in the world knows the vicious reputation of the Qingzhou soldiers.

Liu Qi spoke vaguely: "Hei Jun, I know that my prestige is too shallow to control such fierce men. I am willing to let Hei Jun deal with them!"

The Qingzhou soldiers would definitely cause huge damage, and Liu Qi did not want to take responsibility for this.

Black Bear turned his head to look at Yi Ji, who did not refute him, but said: "I can lead the Qingzhou troops, but after eliminating the Cai people, I want 5,000 young men and 500 craftsmen of all kinds!"

His eyes fell on Yi Ji's face again: "I also need enough equipment for ten thousand people, ten thousand rolls of cloth, and two hundred thousand dan of grain and fodder every month for the next year! I don't want the rest of the gold, silver, treasures, and beauties!"

Intoxicated, Liu Qi sneered, "If we destroy the Cai family, the Black Lord will get what he wants easily!"

"That being said, what the Cai family covets is nothing but the blood and sweat of the people of Jingzhou. I want to make it clear to you what I want."

Black Bear looked Liu Qi up and down: "After all, you and I are allies. How can you take it without asking for permission?"

At this time, the sun slowly rose in the sky, orange and red.

Liu Qi looked at Yi Ji, who had no objection, so Liu Qi said, "The greed and violence of the Cai people far exceeded the expectations of the Black Lord."

"My ambition is not here. If I accumulate a lot of gold, silver, and beauties, I am afraid I will lose the ambition to advance to Guanzhong."

Black Bear went to see where the camp was and said, "If you have no objection, I will join the camp and gather the Qingzhou soldiers."

Liu Qi asked hurriedly: "Does the Black Lord have any strategy or plan?"

"what's the plan?"

Black Bear turned around and asked in surprise, then looked around at Liu Qi and his dozen men and said, "Leave the fighting to me."

In fact, he was similar to the officers of the Jingzhou Army. They had little actual command experience and were mostly good at talking about military operations on paper.

Liu Qi looked shocked, and subconsciously thought that Black Bear had repeatedly instigated him to rebel... He must have a complete plan to raise an army to punish the rebels, but he didn't expect this to be the answer.

Yi Ji laughed and said, "Captain Hei, please stop joking. If we don't have a plan, we won't be able to swarm down like this."

"plan?"

Black Bear raised his hand and pointed to the east: "Liu Yuzhou will not intervene. At least before the situation deteriorates, he will abide by the alliance and will not cross the Han River."

Liu Qi's men can cross the Han River, but Liu Bei can't.

If he dared to lead his troops across the Han River, Liu Biao would dare to order the naval fleet to counterattack.

Seeing that Liu Qi and Yi Ji agreed with this view, Black Bear asked in return: "Since Liu Yuzhou will not intervene, what are the remaining officers of Jingzhou worth?"

Seeing Yi Ji about to make a suggestion, Black Bear raised his hand to stop him: "The fewer officers involved in this matter, the better. Otherwise, they will be proud of their achievements and look down on the Zhennan Shogunate. If we do it, the fewer people involved, the better it will be for us to dominate the Cai family's industry."

Yi Ji said, "If we do not negotiate with the officers and soldiers of the various armies near Xiangyang, and they send troops to help the Cai family, will we have to fight and kill each other?"

"Then let's fight! Liu Zhennan won't say anything, so we are following secret orders to fight the enemy!"

"Cai Mao colluded with Cao Cao, the evidence is irrefutable!"

"Anyone who dares to stop us is an accomplice!"

Black Bear threw the ground loudly, and when the two men stopped talking, he said, "Cai Mao is plotting a rebellion! We are the righteous army that has been ordered by Liu Zhennan to go south and wipe out the traitor Cai Mao!"

"Yes, Cai Mao is plotting a rebellion!"

Liu Qi gritted his teeth and said, "Our army has defeated Xiahou Dun, captured his baggage, and found the letters between Cai Mao and his brothers that showed they were communicating with the enemy!"

"Yes, the old lord secretly ordered you to lead the troops to suppress the rebellion!"

Yi Ji also spoke to support his point, and he immediately became more confident, even straightening his back unconsciously.

In response, Black Bear grinned and said, "Yes, I am following a secret order to fight against the thieves!"

He then bowed to a few people, turned around, went down the city wall, and rode his horse straight to the temporary camp by the river.

The camp is operating as normal, with smoke from cooking filling the air.

Liu Qi's 2,500 men and 500 Nanxiang County soldiers were already armed and lined up outside the temporary camp.

The more than 3,000 Qingzhou and Taishan soldiers in the camp were at a loss.

At this moment, there were a bunch of small boats parked on the river, and the soldiers on the boats were alert with bows and crossbows.

If the Qingzhou soldiers dare to mutiny, the outer Jingzhou soldiers will definitely dare to suppress them.

Black Bear rode his horse into the camp, and the Qingzhou soldiers slowly made way for him.

When Black Bear came to the open area, more than 3,000 Qingzhou soldiers surrounded the gap, with Black Bear and five Taoist soldiers in the middle.

The great general Lu Bu rode his horse and circled the black bear with a spear in hand. The Qingzhou soldiers did not dare to advance.

Liu Bei killed all the captured military officers in one go, leaving only Xiahou Lan, who was protected by Zhao Yun.

The officers and wounded soldiers from Qingzhou captured by Hei Xiong were detained in Xi County, and there was also Lu Bu who was patrolling with his Fang Tian Ji.

The Qingzhou soldiers were not very hostile. At least they had never seen anyone as willing to treat enemy wounded as Black Bear in their lives.

"Come closer!"

Black Bear drew out his sword and pointed it diagonally downwards, and nearby Qingzhou soldiers stepped forward one after another.

Black Bear controlled his horse to spin, pointed his sword diagonally at something nearby, and even distracted himself by controlling Lu Bu to draw a circle on the ground with his halberd.

"Everyone in the front, please sit down!"

"sit on the floor!"

"No noise!"

Staring, the black bear looked around.

After all, they were soldiers. Soldiers from Qingzhou, Taishan, and Dongping sat down on the ground near the edge of the circle, one after another. After most of the people sat down densely around the circle, Black Bear sheathed his sword.

He no longer paid attention to the people standing outside, and just pulled Sangzi to slow down his speech: "I am General Bai Goose Black Bear, and I was planning to sell you to Jiangxia Huang Zu! This damn Duanxi Gong can't fight, he only knows how to do business!"

"If you go to Jiangxia, you won't have a good ending!"

Most of them were veteran soldiers, who listened patiently and looked up at the black bear circling on its horse.

Most of them don’t know the black bear, but they know the great general Lu Bu.

Moreover, because of Lu Bu's presence, everyone was quiet.

Black Bear raised his hand and pointed to the southeast: "After I defeated Xiahou Dun, I seized Cai Mao's letter of treason! The Cai family is very rich, I want to help Liu Zhennan suppress the rebellion! And you wait!"

He pointed at the people in front of him and said, "You all will follow me to attack the Cai family! After the victory, I will give each of you a stone of grain and a piece of cloth, and send you out of Wankou! You will be allowed to go back and reunite with your families!"

The sound of people whispering to each other suddenly became a commotion and chaos.

Black Bear was not in a hurry and waited for these people to discuss.

After waiting for more than ten breaths, he slowly raised his right arm. The Qingzhou soldiers were at a loss and stopped making noises.

Seeing that everyone was quiet again, Black Bear continued, "After I leave the camp, you will elect your own officers and centurions. Each centurion will have 103 men. Once formed, you will leave the camp to receive the flags! I only recognize your centurions and officers! After this battle, you can go home!"

He then gave orders to Lu Bu, who pointed his halberd in the direction of the camp gate.

The Qingzhou soldiers on this line stood up and retreated, making way for a passage.

Black Bear rode his horse, Lu Bu reined in his horse and followed with his halberd, and behind them were four Taoist soldiers in leather armor holding halberds.

At the gate of the temporary camp, military officers ordered the soldiers to pull several carts of spears, and there was also a cart of 18-foot-long rifles.

Black Bear took a rifle and observed it, and found that it was made of normal bamboo and wood composite craftsmanship.

The pole core is made of hardwood, wrapped with bamboo skin, and the handle is wrapped with silk. It is painted with several layers of lacquer, making it very sturdy.

He picked up the lance and weighed it in his hand, and couldn't help but envy Jingzhou's military equipment manufacturing capabilities.

It’s not that Jingzhou’s technology is so advanced, but that Jingzhou can now manufacture leisurely according to the process and is willing to use materials. There is no need to rush to produce inferior consumables.

Putting his rifle back into the cart, Black Bear said to several unknown officers nearby, "Cut the cloth. I want thirty-three battle flags, nine feet long."

Several military officers immediately ordered the veterans to start making the battle flag that Black Bear wanted. It was a battle flag with very simple specifications.

The width of the cloth is two feet. A piece of cloth is two feet wide and four feet long.

Under Black Bear's command, the silk was divided into four parts, each of which was a flag that was two feet wide and ten feet long.

There are four big characters written on the flag. The upper half of the flag is folded and sewn together, with an arrow shaft passing through the middle.

The part of the arrow shaft that passes through is cross-woven with the top of the flagpole and tied securely with a string.

When such a battle flag is erected, it will flutter even without wind.

The numbers were written in black on the flags, starting from Team 01, Team 02... Team 21... Team 32, Team 33.

While Black Bear was writing the battle flag number, he called more military officers over.

As soon as the battle flag numbers were written, three teams of 100 men walked out of the camp gate, and the supervising military officers came forward to check the number of people.

A century has 103 people, ten squads, two squad officers, and a centurion supervisor. According to common sense, there should also be a clerk and a guard for the centurion supervisor.

Black Bear distributed the first three battle flags and ordered the new military officers to help these centuries-man teams write their names on their respective battle flags.

From the hundred-man general onwards, everyone's identity and military rank are written on this battle flag.

At the same time, a separate list was made, which only recorded the identity information of the centurion and two team officers for each century.

During the period of troop movement to the south, the distribution of supplies, the equipment installation, and the subsequent demobilization expenses all require the cooperation of these soldiers.

Before noon, the Qingzhou, Taishan and Dongping soldiers were organized into thirty-one teams of one hundred men.

Standing on the top of Nanxiang City, Yi Ji looked from afar, his heart beating fast.

He really couldn't imagine how Black Bear dared to delegate authority and reorganize the prisoners like this.

Although I was surprised at the efficiency of the reorganization, the other side was Qingzhou soldiers!
Equipment such as spears and halberds from Nanxiang City were transported out of the city one after another and distributed and equipped in an orderly manner.

In the afternoon, the camp was filled with smoke, and Black Bear walked through it with a frown on his face.

Even he did not dare to fully arm the Qingzhou soldiers.

Only those above ten men in length were guaranteed to be equipped with leather armor, each with a spear or halberd, and each century-man team was given an additional twenty ring-handled swords.

Even so, the spear still had nearly half of its gap.

We can only wait until dark. Gan Ning and Wang Wei will escort the engineers who were reorganized from Lu Chang's battalion when they go south.

After they arrived, the spears and halberds they transported could barely make up for the shortage of Qingzhou soldiers.

However, most of the Qingzhou soldiers had no armor to protect them. If they were forced to attack Cai's manors and forts, or even fight with Cai's armed forces, there was a possibility of mutiny.

We don't ask them to defeat the enemy, but to fill the front line, delay and consume the energy and attention of the enemy's manpower.

With this worry in mind, Black Bear returned to Nanxiang City and stated his request to Yi Ji: "I need at least 2,000 pairs of long shields, and door panels are also fine."

Yi Ji also knew that he could not send the Qingzhou soldiers into battle, so he said, "There are still armor and shields in Fancheng and Pinglu. You can go ahead and seize the armories of the two cities."

"Lord Ji, even if there is enough armor, we cannot distribute it all to the Qingzhou soldiers."

Black Bear refused outright: "Try to find shields for them, even if they are crude. If that doesn't work, go cut down bamboos and make bamboo shields. It doesn't matter if they are heavy and inconvenient, as long as they can be placed in front of the formation and can block the enemy's arrows."

"Tonight we will have a feast for the soldiers. Tomorrow you will lead the troops on foot."

"The rest of the troops will board the boats. Although they will depart later, we will strive to arrive at the Xiangyang dock at the same time as you."

At this time, Liu Qi was drunk and sleeping soundly. Black Bear continued to plan, saying, "Sir, if you go to the north bank, you must open the armories of Pinglu City and Fancheng. In this way, when I lead the team to the south bank by boat, we can obtain the equipment replenishment from the north bank."

As long as we surround Xiangyang City and cut off the internal and external traffic, we can then send troops to attack Caizhou.

After the Cai clan was arrested, all the Cai family's manors and mines that were spread all over the place collapsed upon hearing the news.

(End of this chapter)