Chapter 52

After the assembly at Fenyang Pavilion dispersed, the soldiers, in high spirits, broke camp and headed back. It was already the end of the first year of Guangxi. Although the year had been filled with incessant warfare and unbearable hardship, the approach of traditional festivals still stirred great enthusiasm and anticipation among the people. The powerful and influential families were also considerate, providing a lot of wine and meat. The soldiers feasted and drank along the way, not hurrying at all. They moved slowly for four days, and it wasn't until the 19th of the twelfth month that they caught sight of the iron-gray walls of Jinyang City.

Amidst the chaos, several book clerks were dispatched by Lord Yuanshi to handle the inventory and registration of various supplies and personnel, and Lu Yao and others had to accompany them.

Just as they were busy, they suddenly heard the sound of hooves thundering towards the city gate. Dozens of riders galloped out like a whirlwind, knocking over countless pedestrians along the way, causing a great commotion in the street.

Who in Jinyang City dared to be so arrogant? Lu Yao turned to look and was suddenly startled, "Huh?"

Xue Tong, who was beside Lu Yao, asked, "Daoming, what's the matter?"

Lu Yao, with a strange expression, nodded towards the galloping riders, "Old Xue, take a look at who's leading them."

Xue Tong shaded his eyes to look closely. The riders were clad in bright armor, looking very imposing. The leader, in particular, had a stocky, cylindrical body and a large head with a face full of fleshy wrinkles. Despite his efforts to appear rough and bold, Xue Tong sensed a hint of cruelty in him.

The cavalry moved extremely fast, disappearing at the end of the road in an instant. Xue Tong's eyes twitched slightly, and he muttered, "Damn, it's actually Long Jimeng... This guy is still alive?" This large, burly man was none other than the former high-ranking officer of the Bingzhou army, General Long Jimeng.

Long Jimeng was a high-ranking military official under the command of Sima Teng of the Eastern Jin Company, ranking just below a few others, far surpassing ordinary military commanders like Lu Yao and Xue Tong. He was a valiant and fierce general, one of the few in Bingzhou. However, what Lu Yao and Xue Tong remembered most about him was not his bravery but his insatiable greed for wealth.

When he was assigned to govern a region, he allowed his troops to plunder at will. The loot was used to bribe his superiors and to share with his subordinates. The people believed that his troops, nominally the imperial army, were even more vicious and cruel than the most ruthless bandits.

The soldiers and officers who knew about this despised Long Jimeng and his bandit-like troops. Many of them wrote to Sima Teng to accuse him of his evil deeds. However, Sima Teng, who shared a similar nature with Long Jimeng, not only failed to punish him but also trusted him even more. Later, the two even colluded to sell Hu people as slaves for profit. Long Jimeng was responsible for capturing Hu people, while Sima Teng arranged for merchant caravans to sell them in various regions of Shandong. The collusion between the appointed officials and military leaders was so blatant that it left people speechless.

Given their different paths, Lu Yao and Xue Tong had always kept their distance from Long Jimeng while in the Bingzhou army. After the disastrous defeat at Daling, they thought he had died in the chaos. But after the world turned upside down, they unexpectedly encountered him here. Both felt as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Lu Yao turned to ask the book clerk who was tallying the supplies. It turned out that after his defeat last year, Long Jimeng had fled north and hidden in the mountains near Yanmen. Upon hearing that Lord Yuanshi had captured Jinyang, he raised the banner of General Long Jimeng again and recruited refugees. In a few months, he had organized a considerable force and came to Jinyang two days ago to join Lord Yuanshi.

Despite his past, Long Jimeng was still a major general in the Bingzhou army, with commendable speech and demeanor, and an extraordinary martial spirit. Lord Yuanshi was greatly pleased by his conversation. Moreover, his status and reputation far exceeded those of the other Bingzhou army officers who had joined earlier, and he was well-versed in the situation in Bingzhou. Therefore, Lord Yuanshi specially consoled him and reinstated him to his original position. The thousand or so troops Long Jimeng had recruited were stationed in Yangyi, and Lord Yuanshi ordered the officials to provide them with ample supplies.

Lu Yao had no good feelings towards this man and could only sigh and shake his head.

In the following days, Lu Yao gave the soldiers a holiday to relax. Apart from the mandatory roll calls in the morning and evening, they were allowed to wander around Jinyang City.

Although the large amount of supplies seized from the Guo family fortress had been handed over to the Bingzhou governor's office, the soldiers had still plundered a considerable amount after breaking into the city. During the holiday, they spent lavishly on food and clothing, making the soldiers of other generals envious to the point of red eyes.

Fortunately, Lord Yuanshi soon distributed the New Year's rewards to the troops. With the support of the powerful families in Bingzhou and the substantial wealth accumulated by the Guo family fortress over decades, Lord Yuanshi, who had been financially strained, was like a poor man who suddenly found a fortune of hundreds of thousands of coins. His generosity in rewarding the soldiers was such that every soldier who received the reward was overjoyed.

In times of chaos, soldiers engaged in dangerous and bloody work, always with their lives on the line, and thus did not usually save money. Except for a few who had families, most of the soldiers spent their rewards extravagantly, mostly on food, drink, and gambling. The few taverns and merchants in Jinyang City made a small fortune as a result.

Unlike the soldiers' high spirits, many powerful families in the Taiyuan Kingdom were uneasy during the last half of the year. Many were considering their next steps.

Lu Yao's successful operation had not only brought ample supplies and a large number of people to Jinyang but also deeply shocked the powerful families in Bingzhou who were still on the fence. In the days that followed, Wen Qiao was busy traveling around the Taiyuan Kingdom, meeting the clan leaders and fortress owners, appealing to their emotions, reason, and interests. Born into a powerful family in Taiyuan, Wen Qiao had excellent eloquence and demeanor. Using the example of the Guo family fortress in Qixian, he was successful wherever he went.

Of course, there were those who were blind to the situation. In Yangqu, a fortress, perhaps not having witnessed the harshness of the government troops, spoke disrespectfully and refused to submit.

This time, Liu Kun did not send Lu Yao but dispatched Ding Miao to handle it. Ding Miao was a famous fierce general, looking gentle but with a temper like a demon. He launched a fierce attack on the fortress and captured it in one go. He then beheaded all the male inhabitants and sent the women to the brothels. Two days later, he returned triumphantly to report.

In the face of the Hu people's threat, the Han people's brutal self-destruction deeply pained Lu Yao. However, he had to admit that such extreme actions were very intimidating to those with divided loyalties. Without such measures, it would have been difficult to unify the entire Taiyuan Kingdom in the shortest time.

After this, the situation in the Taiyuan Kingdom was completely transformed. Liu Kun's orders were strictly followed in all thirteen counties. In just half a month, representatives of almost all the powerful families in Bingzhou came to Jinyang to meet the new governor, presenting supplies, household registers, and a number of people to strengthen Jinyang. They also sent hostages as ordered.

In addition, Liu Kun recruited many people from Bingzhou to strengthen his staff. Among them were Xu Xian, Mo Han, Wang Ju, and Wang Dan, all prominent figures in Bingzhou. Xu Xian, whose courtesy name was Xiaozong, was from Shangdang and was a disciple of the great general Du Yu, who had led the campaign to conquer Wu. He was skilled in the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Book of Changes and was well-versed in criminal law. He had previously served as the governor of Dong'an. Mo Han was from Fanchi, Yanmen, and his family had made a fortune through trade with the Xianbei people, enjoying considerable prestige locally. Wang Ju and Wang Dan were from prominent families, with generations of high-ranking officials.

The military strength of the Jinyang army also expanded rapidly in the following half month. Every day, hundreds of people came to join the army, and the total number of troops quickly increased from over five thousand to nearly ten thousand.

A significant portion of the new recruits came from the remnants of the Bingzhou army. The original Bingzhou army was a famous strong force, with fifty thousand troops. Apart from those killed or captured by the Xiongnu, a considerable number of scattered soldiers were distributed in various places. Drawn by the reputation of the new Bingzhou governor, Lord Yuanshi, they flocked to join. On the other hand, Liu Kun's position as the Protector of the Xiongnu also had some effect, and many mixed Hu tribes voluntarily joined his ranks. Liu Kun settled them in Xinxing and Yanmen, granting their leaders official positions and treasures, and selected several thousand of the strongest to join the army.

People with a bit of foresight could see that a new and powerful regime was rising from the ruins of Jinyang. The establishment and growth of this regime undoubtedly represented the strength of the Han people in Bingzhou, capable of resisting the Xiongnu, and also represented that the prestige of the Jin Dynasty had not been extinguished by a single defeat, and the court still had the resolve to maintain local stability!

What made Lu Yao extremely happy was that among the new recruits was his old subordinate, Guo Huan. Guo Huan was from Xinxing Commandery and was a distant relative of the Guo family in Taiyuan. He was tall and had a strict and upright personality, and was known for his skill with a long spear in the Bingzhou army. When Lu Yao first entered Bingzhou, Guo Huan had followed him and was a trusted and capable subordinate. After the disastrous defeat at Daling a few months ago, Lu Yao had led the army in a fighting retreat, and Guo Huan, ordered to hold the rear, had disappeared. Lu Yao had thought he had died, but now they were reunited, and he was overjoyed. Along with Guo Huan, over a dozen fierce men came to join, most of whom were officers above the rank of squad leader in Lu Yao's original unit, including Fei Cen, Xu Mu, and Yang Ruo, all of whom were capable subordinates.

Lu Yao's unit had now expanded to over eight hundred men. He set up three infantry squads, each with two hundred men, led by Xue Tong, Gao Xiang, and Guo Huan, respectively. The cavalry squad of fifty men was still led by Shen Jing. There was also a logistics squad of eighty men led by Deng Gang, with several vehicles. Lu Yao personally led a hundred elite guards, all skilled in riding and archery, who were the cream of the entire army. Two literate men were recruited from the refugees to serve as clerks.

Notably, He Yun was relieved of his position as the leader of the elite guards and appointed as a squad leader under Guo Huan. This was undoubtedly a significant blow to He Yun, but he knew it was a punishment for his collusion with Gao Xiang and Shen Jing at the Guo family fortress, and there was nothing to argue about. The new leader of the elite guards was Chu Kun, a simple and honest young officer whom Lu Yao had a high regard for and intended to promote.

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