diymy Chapter 92 Gao Shun
Chapter 92 Gao Shun
The busy autumn harvest began on the second day after returning to Yangle City.
Every day before dawn, Wang Lie would go to the Commandant's Office to report for duty, summarize the harvest progress reported by each county the previous day, copy it into a book, and put it in Liu's file.
Tian Yu traveled back and forth between various townships in Yangle County, personally overseeing the collection of grain, and forbidding officials from collecting even a single grain of millet more than allowed.
Dan Jing, along with a few men, visited the powerful families in each county, negotiated prices for grain, and withdrew the money from the county treasury, keeping clear and detailed accounts.
Xu Rong led the county soldiers on patrols in the countryside. In half a month, they caught two groups of petty thieves who stole grain at night. They tied them up and sent them to the county government office. Tian Yu publicly flogged them, and from then on, no one dared to have such thoughts again.
Liu Bei would go to the Commandant's Office every morning and return home at sunset.
The documents on his desk were piled up one after another. He, Wang Lie, and Cheng Yu read them one by one, annotated them, and returned them.
As for Jian Yong, he was dozing off to the side!
Seven days passed in this way.
That evening, just as he was about to send someone to deliver dinner, Han Dang strode in from outside.
"My lord, Cheng Pu has returned."
Liu Bei raised his head, a genuine smile appearing on his face.
On his wedding day, Cheng Pu escorted Hou Chong back to his hometown. The two should have returned long ago, but Hou Chong was implicated in the Party Prohibitions, and Cheng Pu only returned today.
"Let him in quickly!"
Cheng Pu strode across the threshold, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "My lord!"
"Lord Hou has gone into seclusion in Juyang. Before his departure, he entrusted me to deliver a message to our lord!"
"Tell my lord not to worry about him; he is old enough to enjoy his retirement, and now is the perfect time!"
"Before I departed, I selected half of the elite cavalry from my entourage to remain at the Marquis's residence, to ensure the Marquis's safety!"
Liu Bei nodded: "You've done a great job, Demou. You must be tired from your journey!"
"Was the journey to class smooth?"
Cheng Pu turned to the side and glanced towards the door. "When I returned, I brought someone with me!"
Liu Bei followed his gaze.
A person was standing outside the threshold.
As dusk settled, the light in the courtyard grew dim.
The man stood in the shade of the old locust tree; he wasn't particularly tall, but he stood extremely straight.
He was wearing a slightly worn dark robe, with a small bag slung over his shoulder. He looked young, around twenty years old.
Her brow bone was high, her eye sockets were slightly sunken, and her eyes looked particularly serene in the twilight.
"And who is this?" Liu Bei asked Cheng Pu.
The man had already stepped across the threshold and bowed respectfully.
"Shanggu Gao Shun, courtesy name Bo Shun, came to serve under Commandant Liu on the orders of his uncle."
Liu Bei's heart stirred. He had previously visited Gao Yan of Shanggu, who had mentioned wanting to send members of his clan to Liaoxi for training.
Liu Bei took it as mere politeness and didn't take it to heart. Little did he know that such a person truly existed, and that it was Gao Shun!
Gao Shun!
To outsiders, this name sounds like that of an ordinary young man from a remote border region.
But Liu Bei knew what this name meant.
Their resolve to charge into battle is one of certain death!
In those long dreams, he had seen this person—the elite Trapped Camp, seven hundred men, fully armored.
Every attack is relentlessly thwarted.
That would become the most fearsome infantry force in the world, and its creator and commander was this twenty-year-old young man.
At this moment, Gao Shun stood in the council hall of the Commandant's Mansion, travel-worn and with half-worn robes, his expression calm and composed, unlike someone his age.
He didn't look around or examine the furnishings in the hall; he simply stood there quietly, his eyes slightly lowered, waiting for Liu Bei to speak.
Liu Bei didn't rush to say anything, but gestured for Gao Shun to sit down.
Gao Shun thanked him and sat down at the last seat, his back straight and his hands on his knees, his posture impeccable.
Jian Yong, who had been dozing against the wall, opened his eyes and lazily glanced at Gao Shun.
Cheng Yu sat next to Jian Yong, holding a scroll of documents in his hand, but his gaze had already shifted from the documents to the new young man.
Liu Bei then probed, "Bo Shun, what are your thoughts on Liaoxi after your journey here?"
Gao Shun was silent for a moment, then he raised his head and his gaze met Liu Bei's.
"Commander Liu, along the way from Shanggu to Yangle, Magistrate Cheng also briefed you on the situation in western Liaoning!"
"If I may be so bold as to tell you the truth..."
"Speak freely!"
Gao Shun's voice was not loud, but every word was clear: "There are 4,200 cavalry in Liaoxi. They have been farming for two years and are self-sufficient. The population is 220,000, and refugees are still arriving one after another."
"From the perspective of border region management, the Commandant has done an excellent job."
"But Shun believes that western Liaoning has a fatal flaw."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Cheng Yu put down the documents in his hand, and even Jian Yong opened his eyes completely.
"Oh! What defect?"
Liu Bei had already guessed what he was going to say, but he still played along.
"All those under Liaoxi's command are cavalry," Gao Shun said calmly, as if stating something obvious.
"Four thousand two hundred men, each one a mounted soldier when mounted and a garrison soldier when dismounted, are enough to deal with the foreign tribes beyond the Great Wall, cavalry against cavalry."
He paused for a moment.
"But what if we go beyond the border regions?"
Cheng Yu's gaze sharpened slightly.
Gao Shun continued, "If we enter the Central Plains, the mountains, cities, passes, and forests will all be terrains that restrict cavalry."
"Once the cavalry's speed is restricted by the terrain, they lose all their advantage."
"At that time, we may face infantry several times our size, enemy troops defending the city, or archers lying in ambush on both sides of the mountain road."
"When cavalrymen dismount, they become infantrymen, but without systematic infantry combat training, their formations are not tight, and their coordination is poor. They will be powerless against a real infantry phalanx."
These words were extremely direct, even somewhat merciless.
Cheng Yu suddenly spoke, his tone devoid of emotion: "Liaoxi is a border prefecture, and the duty of a border prefecture is to defend against foreign invaders."
"You just said 'if we enter the Central Plains'—do you think there will ever be a day when the Central Plains need Liaoxi troops to enter?"
That's a very clever question.
He didn't ask "Will the Central Plains be in chaos?" but rather "Does Liaoxi need to enter the Central Plains?"
The former is a judgment on the general trend of the world, while the latter is a questioning of Liaoxi's own positioning.
If Gao Shun doesn't answer well, he will either appear arrogant or short-sighted.
Gao Shun looked at Cheng Yu, his gaze calm, showing no hesitation whatsoever because of this question.
"And who is this gentleman?"
"Cheng Yu of Dongjun, courtesy name Zhongde, is currently serving as an official in the Commandant's Office."
Gao Shun nodded, acknowledging the formalities, and then spoke.
"Mr. Cheng asked Shun whether Liaoxi needed to enter the Central Plains."
His voice remained low: "In my opinion, the question shouldn't be whether Liaoxi needs it, but rather—whether Commandant Liu's talents are limited to just one place."
The hall fell silent.
This statement is even bolder than the previous one about "fatal flaws".
Cheng Pu stood to the side, his thick eyebrows slightly furrowed. It wasn't that he thought Gao Shun was wrong, but rather that he felt this young man was far too outspoken.
But Cheng Yu looked at Gao Shun with a scrutinizing gaze.
Jian Yong leaned against the corner of the wall, a slight, almost imperceptible curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. Interesting!
Liu Bei laughed. Yes, that's how Gongsun Zan's White Horse Cavalry came to be wiped out.