Chapter 6: The Road Encounter with Zhou Cang

  Ru Nan City, school grounds.

  Wang Can stood with his hands behind his back, standing proudly like a sharp sword out of its scabbard, revealing its edge.

  "One day of training, one moment of battle. Today is the time for you to go into battle." Wang Can's expression was stern, his eyes gleaming like electricity as he scanned the soldiers below him. In a low voice, he said: "The imperial army has come to attack, and they are heading straight for Runan City. Runan City will soon be engulfed in flames of war. Not just me, but all of you, will be threatened by the imperial army. Therefore, we must take the initiative to launch a counterattack, unsheathe our swords, protect Runan, and defeat the imperial army!"

  The soldiers remained unmoved, their eyes revealing a fearful expression.

  Government soldiers besieged the Yellow Turbans, as if it were a matter of course.

  Moreover, the government troops came with a strong momentum, can they defeat the government troops by taking the initiative to attack? None of the soldiers had confidence in their hearts, and this time when the government troops came to attack, all the soldiers were panicked and didn't know what to do.

  Wang Can clenched his fists and continued to shout: "I know many of you don't want to fight to the death, you want to lay down your arms, find a quiet place, find a wife, have a child, and live a good life. But have you thought about it, will the government troops let you go? No, because you are Yellow Turbans, you are rebels, the government troops won't let you go, just like they won't let me go, because I am also a rebel."

  "Haha......"

  Among the soldiers, there was a sudden burst of loud laughter, as if Wang Can was one of them, and they were extremely happy.

  Wang Can glanced at the soldiers and continued, "We have occupied Runan, and it's not easy to have a place to settle down. Now that the government troops have arrived, are we going to hand over Runan to them and flee into the mountains, living a life of uncertainty, worrying about every meal? I don't want to live like that, and I believe you don't either."

  "Fight."

  "Only by fighting can we keep Yu Nan safe!"

  "Desperately."

  "Only by working hard can we have no worries about food and clothing!"

  "We have no way out, except to draw the steel knife in our hands, there is no other choice."

  Wang Can's eyes were bloodshot, his whole body like a raging tiger or leopard, he let out a loud roar, gazing at the soldiers standing in formation, gripping their steel knives tightly, a faint smile floating on the corner of his mouth.

  All of the Yellow Turban soldiers were mostly refugees and common people who put down their hoes and turned into soldiers.

  These people care most about having enough food and a stable place to live.

  Living a good life is what the Yellow Turbans care about most.

  Wang Can's words moved all the soldiers, because they did not want to be displaced and homeless, did not want to leave Runan City, so Wang Can's words struck a chord in the hearts of the Yellow Turban soldiers, forcing them to take up their weapons and fight for their own happiness.

  "Kill!" Wang Can let out a loud roar, his hair fluttering in the wind, the battle knife at his waist clanging as it left its scabbard. The cold blade shone brightly under the golden sunlight, dazzling to behold.

  "Kill"

  "Kill"

  More than 70 soldiers raised their battle knives and responded with a loud roar, the sound of which was like thunder and shook the entire school field. The soldiers who were training on the school field looked at each other in surprise, but soon shook their heads. Wang Can's leading his soldiers to attack the government troops had already spread throughout the Yellow Turbans, and all the soldiers admired Wang Can's bravery while secretly lamenting that he was reckless, attacking the mighty government troops with just over 70 soldiers.

  Wang Can ignored the gazes of the surrounding soldiers and said in a cold voice, "Check if you have brought bows, arrows, spears, and dry rations. Prepare to depart."

  This time, Liu Bei made a big concession and fully equipped the soldiers under Wang Can's command with weapons and food.

  Bows and arrows, one hundred per soldier.

  Javelin, eight per soldier.

  Dry rations, prepared six days' worth of food per person.

  Under this basic premise, Liu Bi also specially sent people to escort Wang Can with weapons and food. Once Wang Can's soldiers ran out of weapons and food, they would be supplied again. It can be said that this time Wang Can's soldiers were fully equipped with all the necessary weapons except for war horses.

  The South lacks horses, this is an undisputed fact.

  Moreover, the soldiers under Wang Can's command were all infantrymen and not good at shooting in unison. Rather than equipping them with war horses after which the soldiers would be disorderly and irregular, it was better to have them all as infantrymen, so that Wang Can could still maintain discipline and give orders that were obeyed uniformly.

  After all the soldiers were ready, Wang Can gave a loud order: "Depart!"

  The sound of footsteps echoed, a black torrent rushed out of the school field and galloped away.

  Longshan Yu, a must-pass route from Runan City to Ge Po.

  Longshan Canyon has a complex terrain, with towering rocks and dense forests surrounding it, where ferocious tigers roam.

  The moon is in the middle of the sky, a crescent moon hanging in the air. Wang Can led more than 70 soldiers to Longshan Yu, where he gave an order and all the soldiers stopped at the entrance of the valley, starting to set up camp and build a fire, preparing to rest.

  Wang Can sat beside the bonfire, a soldier whispered: "Sir, we have only over 70 men, how can we fight against the government troops?"

  The soldier was the one who had advised King Wang in the morning, and now after a long march of more than half a day, some soldiers' heads had cleared up, and they were no longer as impulsive as they were when King Wang had incited them that morning. Instead, they felt a twinge of regret. Because they all thought of a serious problem, which was that there were only over 70 soldiers under King Wang's command, while the enemy had several thousand men. Such a huge disparity made the soldiers wonder how to fight? The soldiers were at a loss and didn't know what to do.

  Can't beat the government troops, can escape and keep their lives.

  However, more than 70 Yellow Turbans fought against several thousand government soldiers, and there was no possibility of winning.

  Wang Can turned his head and looked at the soldier, saying: "I remember you, you're the one who ran into the tent this morning to persuade me to let the soldiers go, huh? I remember your name is Liu Cheng, right?"

  The soldier heard Wang Can mention his name and was overjoyed: "Yes, I am Liu Cheng."

  Wang Can nodded, his expression cold, and rebuked: "What you should know, I will let you know. What you shouldn't know, don't go prying into it. As soldiers, our duty is to obey orders. Just carry out the orders of your superiors, don't ask questions that shouldn't be asked. I know what you're thinking. We have fewer men, they have more, and you're afraid in your hearts, right? Humph! How could I not know what's on your minds? You're afraid of death, do you think I'm not? If there was no chance of defeating the government troops, would I take the initiative to fight? You've also read books, so when something happens, think it through carefully. Don't just think about useless things."

  When Wang Can scolded himself, Liu Cheng regretted it in his heart. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have become the leader.

  But his regretful heart was instantly replaced by joy, just as Wang Can said, they were afraid of death, and Wang Can was also afraid of death. Without a guarantee of victory, it was impossible for Wang Can to take the initiative to fight. They were small soldiers, while Wang Can was a hundred-man commander, and Wang Can's identity was much more precious than theirs. Since Wang Can could take the initiative to fight, there must be a way to win, otherwise he would not have taken the initiative to fight.

  Upon reaching this point, a smile appeared on Liu Cheng's face again, and he laughed: "Hehe, I was wrong, I'll go do things now."

  Wang Can gazed at Liu Cheng leaving, a smile floated on his face, comforting Liu Cheng, which was equivalent to comforting other soldiers. With Liu Cheng's propaganda, the scattered military morale should be stabilized.

  "Come on, boys! Let's go kill!"

  A quiet night, suddenly a loud roar came.

  Wang Can, a carp leaped up, turned over and got up, picked up the sword and bow placed beside him, Wang Can quickly ran out of the tent. At this time, all the soldiers also picked up their weapons and ran out. Wang Can looked at the sleepy-eyed soldiers, a smile flashed in his eyes, fortunately, when resting, he ordered all the soldiers to sleep with their clothes on and place their weapons beside them, otherwise, the loud shout just now would have caused chaos in the military camp.

  "Rabbits, your uncle Zhou has arrived at your house, hurry up and come out to meet your death!"

  A loud, thick voice came from the woods beside the official road. Wang Can turned his head to look, and saw a tall, dark-faced man with a curly beard, about 26 or 27 years old, carrying a large knife and leading more than ten little rascals wrapped in yellow scarves out of the woods, rushing straight towards where Wang Can's soldiers were stationed.