Flying Tiger Corps
The Yuan family harbored ambitious intentions, attempting to emulate the success of "Tian's replacement of Qi" with their own "Yuan's replacement of Han." In the original history, due to Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao, the Yuan family's conspiracy failed. This time, with the presence of Lu Bu, the Yuan family was destined to face another setback. On Dong Zhuo's side, without Lu Bu's emergence, Dong Zhuo would have quickly achieved the miraculous feat of swallowing an elephant and dominated the court in Luoyang. In the original history, Dong Zhuo only brought three thousand elite cavalry, swiftly entering Luoyang. To intimidate the court and the public, he adopted Li Ru's strategy: every night, he ordered his subordinates to quietly leave Luoyang, then magnificently marched back into the city the next morning with drums resounding and flags flying. It seemed as if Dong Zhuo's subordinates, a countless army, were continuously entering Luoyang. After several days of this, the court officials were all intimidated by Dong Zhuo's formidable strength. Subsequently, Dong Zhuo used this inflated image to quickly recruit remnants of He Jin and He Miao, rapidly strengthening his power. The West Liang army then truly entered Luoyang, and Dong Zhuo completely took control of the court. If Yuan Shao had followed Bao Xin's advice to strike first, there might have only been the Yuan dynasty and no Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Still, due to the existence of Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo's originally smooth plan to enter the capital and control the government was thwarted. He had to change his plan and try to win over Lu Bu.
On Lu Bu's side, he was secretly pleased with himself. Having entered Luoyang ahead of others, he achieved the merit of rescuing the emperor and successfully absorbed the elite troops from the capital. Lu Bu had now become a significant force capable of competing with Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and others. This was a feat established by understanding history. Since familiarity with history could help him make a splendid start, Lu Bu felt confident that it would also aid him in quickly pacifying the various warlords at the end of the Han dynasty.
Remembering the saying, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun," Lu Bu understood that the troops he could truly control were only a small part of the Bingzhou army, numbering around a thousand. In the past few days, the remnants of He Jin and He Miao, as well as the Western Garden Four Armies, were mostly controlled by the original mid-to-high-ranking officers. Lu Bu could only nominally control them. When the situation became deadlocked, these forces might not be sufficient.
With this in mind, Lu Bu realized that he needed to establish an elite force completely loyal to him. This force would serve as a foundation to intimidate and control other armies. With this in mind, while reorganizing and incorporating the remnants of He Jin, He Miao, and the Western Garden Four Armies, Lu Bu specifically promoted a thousand brave soldiers to be his personal guards. He generously rewarded these soldiers with three times the belongings of ordinary soldiers. Under such generous rewards, there would undoubtedly be loyal and courageous individuals. Compared to the previous superiors who were ungrateful and lacking in grace, these thousand men felt grateful to Lu Bu and were willing to devote themselves wholeheartedly. The saying "willing to throw themselves into the fray without hesitation" applied to them.
After returning to the main camp, Lu Bu combined these one thousand men with the original over one thousand Bingzhou troops he led, eliminating those officers and soldiers suspected of being infiltrated by Ding Yuan and Hao Meng. He then reorganized them into a force of two thousand.
Lu Bu slightly modified the organizational structure of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, adopting a five-four combination: five individuals formed a squad, with a captain and a deputy captain; five squads formed a column, with a captain and a deputy captain for each, totaling twenty-five individuals; four columns formed a platoon, with a captain and a deputy captain for each, totaling one hundred individuals; five platoons formed a company, with a captain and a deputy captain for each, totaling five hundred individuals; and four companies formed a battalion, with a military marquis and an assistant military marquis, totaling two thousand individuals; five battalions formed a regiment, with a commandant and a marshal, totaling ten thousand individuals. Officers, scouts, and logistical support from each battalion were organized into columns and squads. The battalion was the basic combat unit, including a general affairs column, a reconnaissance column, and a logistical support column.
Following this organizational structure, the two thousand men under Lu Bu were designated as a battalion. Lu Bu served as the military marquis, and Qin Yi served as the assistant military marquis. Lu Bu personally led the most elite platoon, while Qin Yi, Chen Wei, and Li Hei each commanded a platoon. Lu Bu, taking inspiration from Dong Zhuo's Flying Bear Corps, named this direct lineage army the Flying Tiger Corps.
Lu Bu once again selected one hundred elite soldiers from the Flying Tiger Corps, all of whom excelled in both equestrian and martial arts. He formed them into his personal guard. However, he was undecided on what to name this guard and, after pondering several options without satisfaction, decided not to waste more brainpower on the matter.
While Lu Bu was reorganizing his personal guards, on the other side of the main camp, Ding Yuan, having just rebuked Dong Zhuo's envoy Li Jue, summoned Hao Meng. "These days, my mind has been uneasy. Keep a close eye on every move within the camp, especially be cautious of Lu Bu," Ding Yuan instructed. Hao Meng accepted the order and went off, leaving the fifty-year-old Ding Yuan feeling somewhat weary. He quickly went to sleep.
A pigeon flying from Dong Zhuo's location to Luoyang landed on a hill not far from Xiaoping Crossing an hour later. Impatiently waiting, Li Su, holding Red Hare, grabbed the pigeon's leg. Unfurling the silk cloth, he read Li Ru's message: "Act according to the plan." Li Su turned to his trusted subordinates and said, "Let's go and pay a visit to my old friend."
By the time Lu Bu had finished reorganizing the Flying Tiger Corps, the sun had set, and the night had fallen. After having dinner with his soldiers and conducting an hour of drills with torches, Lu Bu assigned two teams to take turns on guard duty. The other soldiers returned to their tents for rest, while the guards surrounded Lu Bu's central military tent, forming a protective circle. Lu Bu was ready to settle down for the night.
At this moment, Wei Xu, Song Xian, and Cheng Lian approached to report, "We have counted the loot: from the palace, we found ten thousand units of gold, thirty thousand units of silver, twenty large carts of silk and satin, and rare jewels valued at approximately one hundred million coins. From the residences of the Ten Eunuchs, we seized twenty thousand units of gold, fifty thousand units of silver, over thirty carts of silk and satin, and rare jewels valued at around two hundred million coins. From the high-ranking officials' homes, we collected ten thousand units of gold, twenty thousand units of silver, and over ten carts of silk and satin, worth over a hundred million coins."
After delivering the initial report, they handed over a more detailed account for Lu Bu's review. Nodding in approval, Lu Bu said, "Did any of you embezzle any of it?" The three men quickly shook their heads, with Wei Xu adding, "Although we are greedy, we understand not to offend the general's rules. Moreover, the situation is not yet settled; it's not the right time to pocket money."
Squinting his eyes, Lu Bu scrutinized them for a moment. Seeing their calm and composed demeanor, it seemed that their words were genuine. He then inquired, "Did you leave any incriminating evidence? I don't want to be accused in the court tomorrow!" Wei Xu smiled faintly, "Brother-in-law, rest assured. For the palaces we targeted, we stationed soldiers outside to ensure no unauthorized person entered. We also followed Yuan Shu's soldiers to set fire to the looted palaces, ensuring that the palaces, along with their silk, satin, and jewels, were completely destroyed. Since the palaces turned into ashes, the fabrics and jewels inside couldn't survive. Besides, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's troops are also looting; they have no right to accuse General."
Lu Bu turned to Song Xian and Cheng Lian, "What about your situation?" The two grinned and replied, "Everything went smoothly. Following the general's instructions, we only killed those who resisted, not troubling the servants. After searching the residences of Eunuch Zhang Rang and Cao Jie, we heard that the general recruited Zhang Rang's relative, Zhao Rong, and Cao Jie's son-in-law, Feng Fang, into his troops. So, we returned their families and some wealth to these two generals. Additionally, we sent some gold, silver, and jewels into the palace for the empress dowager."
Lu Bu patted the shoulders of the three men, "Well done, well done! Once the situation is settled, I will surely reward you generously!" Wei Xu frowned and asked, "Brother-in-law, should we inform Lord Ding and send him some precious items?" Lu Bu thought for a moment, "No need. We'll meet tomorrow at the court meeting; it's highly likely that I will take you all back to Bingzhou while Lord Ding remains in the capital as a high-ranking official."
Wei Xu was delighted, "That's great! I've long wanted to quit working under that stingy old man."
Just then, Qin Yi came in to report, "General, a moment ago, Lord Ding met with Dong Zhuo's secret envoy. They seemed to have had some discussion, but it ended in disagreement, and Lord Ding dismissed the envoy."
Lu Bu ran through the events of the past few days in his mind and calmly said, "Dong Zhuo probably sent someone to invite Lord Ding to share power in governing the court. Lord Ding, thinking that he could control the government with the tens of thousands of troops under me, likely disagreed. They couldn't reach an agreement, and Dong Zhuo, being a treacherous person, I predict there will be changes tonight. Order all troops to be on high alert!" Lu Bu also sent messengers to inform Huang Zhong, Gao Shun, Xue Lan, Li Feng, and others stationed in the city to reinforce their vigilance.
Feeling the tension in the air escalating, Lu Bu, who had decided not to get involved in the power struggle between Dong Zhuo and the warlords from the east, made up his mind to withdraw from Luoyang and return to Bingzhou as soon as possible.