NOVPUB...
At the gates of Chang’an City, Hua Xiong tossed a handful of coins and swaggered in. His current appearance was such that unless someone had known him before, no one would recognize him. Yesterday, when he heard the Han Emperor was going to abdicate in favor of Dong Zhuo, Hua Xiong understood that the time had come, and even more so that the time of the abdication would mark the death of his former lord, Dong Zhuo.
Since arriving in Yongzhou in November last year, Hua Xiong had spent four months integrating the Yongzhou thieves, and had even placed his own trusted aides among them. Perhaps they couldn’t form military formations yet, but it was still possible to make an intimidating appearance. As for the true combat power, it lay in the four thousand Private Troops he had replenished.
Speaking of which, Hua Xiong found it quite strange; aside from a Cavalry Troop under his command, he now also had an Elite Infantry that he had trained himself in the Mountain Area of Mount Tai. Combined, there were a total of seven thousand men. In comparison, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei now had only a mixed force of four thousand infantry and cavalry, while Zhao Yun, although he had over ten thousand men, could only really count on one thousand five hundred Elite Cavalry and two thousand five hundred mixed infantry. The others totaled just over a thousand men and were mostly infantry.
Because of this, Hua Xiong always felt it was odd. Under his command, what was called a mixed Infantry and Cavalry force could be split into two separate ones, and Zang Ba, his lieutenant, had another thousand men under him, making up two solid mixed Infantry and Cavalry forces.
Originally he thought that the troops trained at Mount Tai would switch to Tuntian Soldiers after the battle there, but Liu Bei, after reviewing them, assigned an entire regiment of refurbished infantry straight to him, which puzzled Hua Xiong. Moreover, he had been given a full complement. Under the guidance of the veterans, the new Tuntian Soldiers had all become silent and resolute, unwavering in their support for Hua Xiong, which he found baffling.
However, puzzled as he was, Hua Xiong was still very grateful for Liu Bei’s trust. A straightforward person has this one advantage; things they don’t understand, they simply don’t think about. What the higher-ups command is exactly what they do.
Yet, because of his gratitude for Liu Bei’s trust, Hua Xiong trained his men even harder. He wanted to shape them into Elite Troops. Whenever he passed by the Bingzhou Camp, looking at the Vanguard Camp with its soldiers resembling walking dead, Hua Xiong would feel a combination of envy, jealousy, and hatred. Seven hundred men attacking Lyu Bu while he rode Red Hare would run for their lives with their heads in their hands, and it was said that Gao Shun had shown mercy…
Hua Xiong yearned to reach that level, so he had secretly asked Gao Shun before. The answer he got was, "Strict Order is the mark of the elite in this world." Initially, he thought it was a joke, but after practicing for a long time, Hua Xiong found that this was not a job for mere mortals. However, now things were much better—his men might really be able to reach that standard!
Hua Xiong felt he needed to look into Military Books. Round Formation, Phalanx, Spearhead Formation... such were simply insufficient to showcase his level. So, he was now studying the Xuanxiang Formation, and he had already reached the normal difficulty level. It was rumored that there was an upgraded version, Eight Gates Golden Lock, and an advanced version, the Ultimate Eight Trigrams Array...
Nevertheless, Hua Xiong was already quite adept with formations. After all, the same Formation could have different effects in the hands of different people. For instance, the Round Formation executed by the Vanguard Camp had a completely different effect than when performed by the Yellow Turbans.
Now, Hua Xiong’s Spearhead Formation had reached a certain realm of mastery, managing to barely distribute the Cloud Qi to the soldiers at the edge of the formation. However, this was something he could only occasionally achieve when commanding his infantry troop.
As for commanding cavalry, Hua Xiong just laughed. If cavalry could share the power of Cloud Qi among the soldiers on the edges during an attack, Hua Xiong believed he could probably charge straight through formations with his cavalry—no need for circling around or interlacing. With ordinary troops, he could simply break through and then cut them to pieces!
However, the more obedient his men were, the more Hua Xiong felt the terror of Gao Shun. He could now collect the dispersed Inner Qi of his troops within the Cloud Qi above their heads, using the Military Formation, and then distribute it during battle to strengthen their attacks.
And what about that fellow, Gao Shun? Each time he thought of this, Hua Xiong shuddered with fear. Likely, Gao Shun had already mastered the precise allocation of this power, and rapidly shifting this energy between offense and defense was truly no issue for him. He might even be able to concentrate all the Inner Qi released by his men into certain individuals through the Military Formation. Realizing this, Hua Xiong finally understood why he had never seen the Vanguard Camp suffer many casualties in battle.
However, Hua Xiong did not believe his own forces would be crushed if they were to face Gao Shun’s Vanguard Camp. The four thousand infantry of his trusted aide would surely fight to the death. In the end, even if his own formation was obliterated, Gao Shun would probably only have half a camp remaining!
Of course, these were all Hua Xiong’s estimates. If not necessary, he would absolutely avoid clashing with Gao Shun. The more he learned about him, the more he discovered his fearfulness. He now understood why Lyu Bu suppressed Gao Shun. Such a man was too dangerous. If only three thousand men reached the previous standard, once they took action, even Dong Zhuo would likely suffer greatly in attempting to extinguish them.
In the past few months, Hua Xiong had already scoped out the area thoroughly, and now he simply needed to stay in the chosen location for a few days. As for the kidnapping, it would take place on the evening before the day the Han Emperor was to abdicate, as expressly instructed by Chen Xi. no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
For safety’s sake, Hua Xiong decided to take action personally. However, what was relatively troublesome was that he discovered as soon as his infantry group left his side, they immediately became lax and indisciplined, showing no semblance of the ferocity of elite troops. Yet once he returned, his infantry unit would transform into one of the world’s most elite forces!
Sitting in a corner of a tavern far from Jia Xu Family’s residence, with windows open on both the left and right walls, enjoying the gentle breeze, no one would take notice of this man from Guanzi clad in a thin shirt. Even less could anyone imagine that this man could still clearly see every detail of Jia Xu Family’s home from such a distance, and by turning his head, he could also observe every move of Li Ru’s household.
"Hmm..." Hua Xiong, looking at the loosely spread soil in the garden of Jia Family’s backyard, grew curious. Soon another basket was laid out, and even with slow reactions, Hua Xiong now knew what was happening.
[Jia Wenhe, thinking only of himself and disregarding others. If he had reported this information to people like Li Que, they could have definitely avoided it. This guy actually ran off on his own, despite the high treatment given by Minister Dong. He never once offered a strategy, and now, when it’s time to repay, he simply leaves.]
Hua Xiong thought indignantly, but he quickly calmed himself. He was no longer Hua Xiong of Xiliang, but his eyes did not hide their disdain. If one cannot even deliver loyal service for the salary received, what’s the use of talent? Retaining such a person is nothing but a disaster.
[Never mind, I’ll first rescue the strategist. As for Jia Wenhe, you’re lucky. Chen Zichuan has ordered that you must be brought back.] Hua Xiong casually ordered a few pork legs to gnaw on, yet his gaze never left the residences of the Jia Family and Li Family.
On the border of Yongzhou, a horse market organized by Xiliang Soldiers now had four thousand horses, although many were still untamed wild horses. They had been feeding on the grains supplied by Yongzhou Bandits until now. After all, the bandits were quite clear that they were still raising funds and didn’t have enough to buy so many horses anyway.
[bookid=3280030,bookname="Immortal Three Kingdoms"]
