Chapter 7: Military Training

One day, after Gongsun Xu finished practicing horsemanship in the wild, he heard someone calling his name on the road. Turning around, he saw it was Zhang Fei. After three years apart, Zhang Fei had become even more robust. It turned out that during these three years, Zhang Fei had made significant progress in martial arts at home. His father felt there was nothing more to teach him and decided to let him venture into the military. Coincidentally, Gongsun Zan had just been promoted to Zhonglangjiang, so Zhang Yun wrote a letter of leave, allowing Zhang Fei to come to the vassal state of Liaodong. Upon arriving, he happened to encounter Gongsun Xu, who was preparing to return to the military camp. The two were naturally very pleased to see each other. However, Gongsun Xu was calculating that, in addition to Zhao Yun, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou, who had joined the army the previous year, the addition of Zhang Fei now made their strength formidable. Although Zhang Fei was just over sixteen years old, he would grow rapidly after some time in the military.

Gongsun Zan pursued the rebel Zhang Chun and others with 3,000 cavalry. His son, Gongsun Xu, accompanied the army in battle. After thirty days of intense fighting, Gongsun Xu proposed a scheme to sow discord. The Wuhuan leader, Tan Zhiwang, fell for the ruse and sought to separate from Zhang Chun to establish a separate camp. As a result, Zhang Chun was defeated by Gongsun Zan, and in the chaos, Zhang Chun was wounded by Gongsun Xu, leading to his great defeat and retreat. Three days later, upon receiving the news of Zhang Chun's defeat, the Wuhuan leader Tan Zhiwang was filled with terror and led his followers to surrender to Gongsun Zan. After this battle, the court first promoted Gongsun Zan to Cavalry Commander. Following the surrender of the Wuhuan leader Tan Zhiwang and his followers, Gongsun Zan was further promoted to Zhonglangjiang and granted the title of Duting Marquis, taking up residence in the vassal state.

The Xianbei leader shouted, "Not good, there is an ambush, retreat!" At that moment, a hundred cavalrymen charging forward were about to reach Gongsun Xu and the others when more than ten of them fell off their horses, causing immediate chaos in the ranks. Just as the leader's words reached them, everyone rushed back. After a fierce battle, over two hundred Xianbei were killed, and more than three hundred fine horses were captured. The Xianbei leader fled, while Gongsun Zan's side, being well-prepared, suffered a total of twelve casualties, which could be considered a great victory. Later, Gongsun Zhan discovered that the pits dug by his son had overturned more than ten cavalrymen, breaking the legs of their horses. However, the army had veterinarians, so they should be able to heal them. After the fierce battle, over two hundred Xianbei were killed, and more than three hundred fine horses were captured. The Xianbei leader fled, while Gongsun Zan's side, being well-prepared, suffered a total of twelve casualties, which could be considered a great victory. Later, Gongsun Zhan discovered that the pits dug by his son had overturned more than ten cavalrymen, breaking the legs of their horses. However, the army had veterinarians, so they should be able to heal them. At this moment, Gongsun Zan thought about how his son had actually used a strategy to repel the enemy, and he felt particularly pleased. He picked up his son and said, "My son must be a hero." The soldiers all shouted loudly, "The young general is a hero."

After a quarter of an hour, the Xianbei people pursued them. The crowd looked at the seven who were still digging and laughed heartily. Someone said, "There’s no need to dig anymore; this little pit won’t bury you. Just obediently follow the master, ha ha ha." The Xianbei leader waved his hand, and a hundred men prepared to surround them. At that moment, a series of furious roars suddenly echoed from both sides of the valley: "Don’t let a single Xianbei dog escape!" Following this, dust rose as a general charged down first, and upon seeing the Xianbei, he thrust his spear as if he had encountered an enemy. In the blink of an eye, five or six men were knocked off their horses. Then, numerous cavalrymen surged down from both sides of the valley, and it seemed that even more people were rushing down through the dust.

Everyone laughed heartily and said, "Even if the young master doesn't say anything, we would do the same." The thoughts of the soldiers in the army are quite simple; they admire warriors. Even a child of eight or nine years old would take risks, so why should they be afraid? After half an hour, the Xianbei cavalry discovered the seven who were playing and reported back to their leader. The leader thought that they must be the children of wealthy families out for a leisure trip, and if captured, they would fetch a high price. Thus, he led his troops in pursuit. Meanwhile, the six followed Gongsun Xu's instructions and fled towards the valley. After entering the valley, the seven stopped, and Gongsun Xu dismounted, saying, "Everyone get down to dig a pit; it should be slightly larger than a horse's hoof and about the same depth, but the key is to make it large enough." The others did not waste words and began to dig. The forty ambushers looked at each other in confusion, still not understanding why Gongsun Xu and the others were digging a pit.

After becoming a colonel, Gongsun Zan moved to the military camp, and Gongsun Xu also followed him to live there. Currently, the army has only four thousand cavalry and five thousand infantry. If there is no war, the court does not allow conscription. The court does not wish to allocate excessive funds for this purpose. There must be signs of a nation's impending demise. Even with such lax military preparedness at the borders, it is evident how foolish those in the court are. However, as Gongsun Zan was newly in command of the troops, he did not pay much attention to the issue of having too few soldiers. Instead, he first selected one hundred elite cavalrymen from among the many riders to serve as his personal guards.

Having military power, one must certainly understand the scope of defense. Four months after becoming familiar with military affairs, Gongsun Zan set out with dozens of cavalry to patrol the frontier, as understanding the geographical layout of the border is a military priority. In order for his son to acclimate to military life more quickly, Gongsun Xu accompanied him on this patrol. Suddenly, a scout returned with a report of hundreds of Xianbei cavalry. Gongsun Zan retreated with his men to an empty pavilion and said to Gongsun Xu, "Xu'er, stay behind; the rest come with me." After saying this, he prepared to launch an attack. Gongsun Xu grasped his father's reins and said, "Everyone is risking their lives; why should I be left behind? I wish to fight alongside my father." Unable to refuse, Gongsun Zan had no choice but to take him along. The enemy approached from the east, unaware of their presence, and Gongsun Zan prepared to lead his troops into battle.

At this moment, Gongsun Xu suggested, "Father, the enemy has not yet discovered that there is a valley suitable for ambush five li behind us. You should lead forty men, divided into two teams, to lie in ambush on both sides of the valley, while leaving six men with me to lure the enemy. We must not delay, Father, please prepare quickly." Just as Gongsun Zan and the librarian were about to reprimand their son, they suddenly realized that this was indeed the best plan. Even if they charged into battle, the chances of winning were slim, and if they failed, their son would still be captured. They could only nod in agreement. Gongsun Xu then gave further instructions, and Gongsun Zan left six men to take care of Gongsun Xu before going to lie in ambush. After Gongsun Zan left, Gongsun Xu said to the six men, "When the Xianbei come, you must shout: 'Young master, hurry and run!' Then we will all run towards the valley together. Remember, you must act as if you are very concerned about my safety, putting on a desperate stance to protect me."

After spending two years in the army, Gongsun Xu has made some progress in martial arts, excelling in horsemanship, and his title as a young general has become increasingly renowned. However, up to this point, Gongsun Xu does not possess a specialized weapon of his own and temporarily practices cavalry combat with a spear. He recalls that when he parted ways with Yan Liang and Wen Chou, they advised him not to be overly fixated on martial skills themselves, but rather to find the most suitable techniques for himself based on his training. The same applies to weapons. At that time, Gongsun Xu noticed that Yan Liang's saber was slightly different from an ordinary broadsword; its blade was longer and appeared quite flexible, and Wen Chou's spear was similar. Thus, Gongsun Xu has been diligently seeking his own path in martial arts. Although he has yet to finalize his long weapon, aside from the saber for close combat, Gongsun Xu had a peculiar weapon crafted for himself, which is essentially a military dagger he used in his previous life, albeit with some modifications. Now, he has utilized about seventy percent of the skills he had in his past life in close combat with the dagger.

After this battle, the reputation of Gongsun and his son rose significantly in Liaodong, especially the title of General of the Minor, which spread throughout the region. The Xianbei people took this as a warning and no longer dared to easily cross the passes. Due to this great victory, Gongsun Zan was promoted to the magistrate of Zhuo County and concurrently served as the Liaodong Commandant. In the following two years, although Gongsun Zan had many skirmishes with the Hu people, there were few major battles. Gongsun Zan utilized these two years to reorganize the army, following Gongsun Xu's suggestion to eliminate the old and weak, and to recruit young and strong men for military service, focusing on training. During these two years, many people came to enlist in the army, and Gongsun Zan promoted a number of capable soldiers from the ranks, among whom the most outstanding, Zou Dan and Guan Jing, became Gongsun Zan's deputy generals. Gongsun Xu still had some impression of these two, as they were exceptionally talented and also historical figures.

In the year 178 AD, during the Guanghe era, Bian Zhang and Han Sui rebelled. The court summoned 3,000 elite cavalry from Youzhou (present-day southwest of Beijing) and granted Gongsun Zan the command seal to lead these 3,000 cavalry. When Gongsun Zan's army arrived in Jizhong, Zhang Chun from Yuyang (present-day southwest of Miyun, Beijing) lured the Liao West Wuhuan leader Qiu Liju and others to rebel, capturing the city of Youbeiping County (present-day southeast of Fengrun, Hebei) and cities belonging to the Liao West County vassals.