In the Woniu Mountain cottage, a total of more than 2,000 officers and soldiers gathered, but the war horses were pitiful.

The terrain of the cottage is dangerous, and in the past, Pei Yuanshao rarely took people out to loot, because he did not pay attention to robbing horses, and there were only more than 100 war horses in the entire cottage.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, heavy cavalry in the real sense had not yet appeared, and it could be used as the main force of mobility and scouts for spying intelligence, and the role of cavalry was still quite large.

The officers and soldiers who defected to Liu Wei did not have a cavalry background, and they temporarily put together more than 100 soldiers who could ride horses, and their riding skills were not very exquisite.

Leaving the cottage, more than 100 war horses followed the team, slowly marching towards the foot of the mountain along the mountain road, many soldiers on horseback were still a little busy when they were riding horses.

The procession of more than 2,000 people, like a long winding dragon, stretched from the top of the mountain to the mountainside.

Liu Wei rode a brown-and-yellow warhorse and walked at the front of the team. Zhao Yun and Dian Wei rode horses on either side of him, while Zhou Cang was slightly behind, urging the officers and soldiers to march faster.

"Yuanfu!" As soon as the team came down the foot of the mountain, Liu Wei shouted to Zhou Cang, who was not far behind.

Zhou Cang hurriedly rode his horse to his side, arched at him with both hands and fists, and asked, "What does Your Highness command?" ”

"Do you remember the route to Taojiazhuang?" Holding the reins in one hand, Liu Wei turned his head to look at Zhou Cang, and said to him: "This king wants to take Taojiazhuang, pass through Bishan, and unknowingly give Dong Zhuo a heavy blow from behind!" You can also visit the villagers in the village! ”

"Back to Your Highness, I remember the route!" Speaking of Taojiazhuang, Zhou Cang was stunned for a moment, then rode on horseback, bowed slightly and answered.

"You lead the cavalry, lead the way!" Waving his hand at Zhou Cang, Liu Wei instructed him: "When you arrive at the ferry, take the ferry boat so that the whole army can cross the river." ”

"No!" Liu Wei proposed to go back to Taojiazhuang first, where he lived for three years in Zhoucang, he was a little excited, after getting the order, he beckoned to more than 100 cavalrymen, and shouted to the cavalry: "Brothers, follow me to lead the way for the army!" ”

Zhou Cang mentioned the word "army", and Liu Wei couldn't help but smile bitterly. A team of more than 2,000 people, in the eyes of all princes, is at most a number of pioneers, but under Liu Wei's command, it is all the strength.

With such a force, it is not easy to survive in troubled times.

Looking at the backs of Zhou Cang and more than 100 cavalrymen, Liu Wei waved behind him and shouted to the officers and soldiers who followed him: "Soldiers, hurry up!" ”

The speed of the infantry was inferior to that of the cavalry after all, and it marched until noon, and Liu Wei could still see the floating shadow of Woniu Mountain when he turned around.

"Give the order to go down and rest here!" Looking up at the sun, which had climbed into the middle of the sky, Liu Wei reined in his horse and said to Dian Wei behind him: "Let the soldiers eat their stomachs first, and after half an hour, we will continue to march!" ”

"No!" Dian Wei answered, turned his horse, and ran to the rear, and as he ran, he shouted to the officers and soldiers: "Soldiers, rest in place, eat and continue to march in an hour!" ”

After walking all morning, the officers and men did feel a little tired. Hearing that they could rest, many officers and soldiers left the team one after another and set up pots and stoves around them.

When marching and fighting, food and grass are the most important. But Liu Wei knew very well that a team like theirs did not have an advantage in numbers, and what they wanted was to be able to hide in the mountains and forests at any time, and they would definitely not be able to carry their baggage.

Every officer and soldier in the team carried enough food to eat for a month. However, most of these grains are raw corn, and if you want to eat a full stomach, after the garrison, bury the pot to cook, which is indispensable.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose, and looking at the cooking smoke rising in the air like a swimming dragon, Liu Wei's brows twisted slightly.

Leading the army to fight the enemy and keep the officers and soldiers fed is the most important thing. Once a soldier, Liu Wei knows that a hungry army will not appear warriors.

But every time you eat, there are wisps of cooking smoke, and if there is an enemy nearby, it is invisibly to inform the enemy that they are eating and are in the weakest stage of defense.

Turning over and jumping off the horse, he glanced at the officers and soldiers who were busy making fires and cooking around him, and Liu Wei raised his feet and walked towards a small dirt slope not far away.

The dirt slope is not very high, and adults can reach the top of the slope in only twenty or thirty steps.

Liu Wei jumped up to the top of the slope, and Dian Wei hurriedly followed and jumped up.

Standing on the dirt slope, Liu Wei looked forward to the south. Earlier, he led people to the small village where he passed through Woniu Mountain, but he had been left far behind, and in front of them was a vast plain river.

The Woniu Mountain mountain system is not comparable to the Bishan Mountain, but it is the same as the Bishan Mountain, which is an east-west direction across the land. Between Woniu Mountain and the Yellow River, there is a relatively gentle flat land.

"Your Highness!" Liu Wei stood on the hillside, looked into the distance for a long time, and didn't say a word, but Dian Wei smelled the smell of rice wafting behind him, and reminded him in a low voice: "The rice is cooked!" ”

"Well, it's time to eat!" Hearing Dian Wei's reminder, Liu Wei nodded, turned around and walked down the hill with Dian Wei.

The people who cooked for Liu Wei were a few officers who accompanied him. The officers not only boiled a pot of corn, but also steamed a piece of wild boar on top of the corn, and as soon as the lid of the pot made of thatch was lifted, a pungent fragrance overflowed to the surroundings.

Walking to the stove with Dian Wei, Liu Wei first glanced at the pot where he was cooking.

Several officers who were squatting by the pot saw him coming, quickly stood up and gave him a place.

Liu Wei didn't stop, and after glancing at what was cooking in the pot, he turned around and walked towards the pot where the soldiers were eating not far away.

After looking at the food in more than a dozen pots in a row, Liu Wei found that except for a piece of cooked wild boar meat in the pot where he was cooking, there was nothing else in the stoves of the officers and soldiers except cooked corn.

"What's going on?" Pointing to a cauldron where the soldiers were cooking, Liu Wei frowned slightly, and asked the officers who cooked for him, "Why are there only corn and rice in the soldiers' pots?" And there's a piece of meat in the pot I'm waiting for? ”

"Your Highness!" Several officers standing by the stove heard a little annoyance in his words, and hurriedly clenched their fists and bowed down, and one of the soldiers replied tremblingly: "There is not much meat in the cottage, I left the cottage with only a piece of wild boar, which is specially prepared for His Highness." ”

When he found that there was meat in the pot where he was cooking, but there was no meat in the pot of the officers and soldiers, Liu Wei was very angry. But after the officers answered his question, he just waved his hand at the officers and said, "I will eat whatever the soldiers eat." Eat that piece of meat in equal portions! ”

"Your Royal Highness......" Several officers tried their best to steam a piece of meat for Liu Bian, but he didn't expect him to appreciate it at all, when Liu Bian asked them to eat the meat, they all raised their heads, and the officer who answered Liu Bian's question even subconsciously called Liu Bian, as if he wanted to persuade him to eat the meat.

As soon as the officer spoke, Zhao Yun, who was standing not far from him, shook his head at him.

Seeing Zhao Yun shaking his head, the officer hurriedly closed his mouth and lowered his head in shame.

"The soldiers are willing to follow this king, but they can trust this king!" Glancing at the steamed officers again, Liu Wei turned around and shouted to all the officers and soldiers who were gathered around the pot, but did not eat, but stood up and looked at his officers and soldiers: "I, Liu Wei, have nothing else, I can only give you one word!" You are all loyal to the Han Dynasty, and you are all warriors who are willing to fight bravely for the Han Society! Since you've followed me, I'll treat you and others like brothers! ”

If the officers and soldiers were regarded as brothers, Liu Wei once said, but at that time, only the original men and horses in the cottage and the men who were the first to accompany him up the mountain were present, but at this time, there were 2,000 people gathered here.

"When this king fled from Luoyang, Dong thieves chased and killed everywhere! How embarrassing is the situation? Looking at the officers and soldiers present, Liu Wei shouted to them with some excitement: "Even Zhu Jun wants to capture this king and ask Dong Zhuo for credit!" But you, knowing that this king is down, are still willing to follow this king and protect my Han foundation with your life! You are the brothers that I Liu Wei really recognizes and can trust with your life! ”

All the officers and soldiers present turned their heads to look at Liu Bian, and Liu Bian's words made each of them feel a burst of excitement.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, scholars never looked at the Shu people in their eyes. In addition to Liu Wei, the officers and soldiers present, including Zhao Yun and Dian Wei, were all from common people, a noble Han family lineage, and saying to them that they were brothers was a supreme honor in the eyes of all the officers and soldiers.

"From this day forward, I have meat to eat, and every one of you will have meat to eat!" Looking at the faces of the officers and soldiers who twitched slightly with excitement, Liu Wei then shouted to them: "If I, Liu Bian, are incompetent and let you lack food and clothing, I will be the first to starve with you!" ”

"Your Highness is mighty!" As soon as Liu Wei's words fell, Dian Wei, who was standing behind him, raised his arms and was the first to shout.

The 2,000 officers and soldiers all raised their arms high and shouted: "Your Highness is mighty! ”

The shouts reverberated in the open field, and even the clouds on the horizon seemed to be frightened by the shouts, and they stagnated in the sky, and did not flow again for a long time.

"Eat!" The shouts of the officers and soldiers fell, and Liu Wei waved his hand at them and gave the order to eat.

When Liu Wei put the golden corn into the bowl and was about to eat it, he found that several officers on the side were like him, only eating corn, and no one moved the steamed meat.

Glancing at the meat in the pot, Liu Wei said to the officers: "You have eaten the meat, since it is steamed, don't spoil it." ”

Several officers looked at each other with bowls of noodles, and just when they didn't know whether to eat the piece of meat, Liu Wei stood up violently, and his eyes fell on a fast horse galloping from the south.