Chapter 34: Surround and Annihilate the Bandits

  About eighty miles away from Yangxin County, a military force of over 20,000 men was marching westward in grandeur, with banners and flags fluttering, armor shining brightly, and an extremely majestic momentum.

  At the forefront of the troops, Liu Bei rode on horseback, gazing around him with a thoughtful expression.

  "This is Liu Xiong's first battle in the south!" The deputy general Wang Wei laughed.

  "Yes! It's quite different from the North, with lakes and rivers everywhere, unsuitable for cavalry battles."

  Liu Bei was deeply moved and smiled, saying: "If Cao's army reaches Jiangnan, their advantage will not be so obvious. As long as the southern troops unite to resist Cao, I think it is possible to defeat Cao's army."

  "If I heard this from anyone else's mouth, I wouldn't believe it, but if it comes from Liu Xiang's mouth, I will definitely believe it."

  "Hehe! That's too kind of you."

  "Hold on," Liu Bei smiled and asked, "How much does Zhigong know about the rebel army's situation?"

  "It's as if it's at your fingertips!"

  Wang Wei's face wore a scornful smile as he explained to Liu Bei, "The formal troops under Zhang Wu and Chen Sun number only three thousand. Although they now have over ten thousand soldiers, the majority are temporary recruits who are merely farmers, or perhaps some rascals with no combat strength. Liu Gongzi need not worry; in fact, we are more concerned about the Jiangdong army."

  Liu Bei nodded, "I'm also worried about the Jiangdong army, I'm afraid they'll suddenly appear from Yangxin County."

  Wang Wei burst out laughing, "Although it's possible, we just need to strengthen our scouts and completely grasp the enemy's movements."

  Two men were talking, and Liu Xuan rode up on horseback. In just two days, he had completely learned to ride a horse, only waiting for perfection. Unfortunately, he was riding an old horse that couldn't gallop long distances, which was also a pity.

  "Lord Jing, this is your first time participating in a battle, isn't it? You seem very excited." Wang Wei asked with a smile.

  "There is indeed!"

  Liu Jue and Liu Bei exchanged a glance, both recalling the Battle of Ru Nan, and couldn't help but smile at each other.

  "Imperial Uncle, I wish to follow General Guan to patrol all around, may I have your permission?"

  Liu Jue's identity was not a formal soldier, he just followed the army to fight, to a large extent Liu Biao wanted to temper his will, this point Wang Wei was very clear, he was about to object, but Liu Bei nodded and agreed, "Okay!"

  Liu Jiong was overjoyed and bowed his head on horseback, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for granting permission!"

  He turned his horse's head and galloped away, Wang Wei shouted after him but couldn't catch up. Watching Liu Xuan's receding back, he was worried and said: "Imperial Uncle, he has no experience in war, is it too dangerous to let him go on patrol? What if something happens..."

  Liu Bei smiled slightly, "Gongzi is very clever and rational, General Guan will also take care of him."

  Wang Wei could only sigh, Liu Bei was the commander-in-chief after all. Since he had already agreed, Wang's opposition would be futile. He let out a deep breath and turned to gaze worriedly at the back of Liu Xuan.

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  Liu Bei sent out three teams of scouts, each with about 100 people. The first team was led by Guan Ping, who was also the adopted son of Guan Yu. Everyone in the army called him "Little General Guan". He was around twenty years old and always wore a cheerful smile, which was very different from his father's taciturn nature.

  Perhaps due to their similar age, Guan Ping and Liu Xuan quickly became familiar with each other and often discussed military strategies together.

  In Wuchang City, the two of them agreed that in this battle, Liu Jing would follow Guan Ping, but Guan Ping did not dare to act arbitrarily and had to obtain the permission of the general-in-chief, Liu Bei.

  Guan Ping was about to set off, and he was looking ahead with his hand on the reins. At this time, he saw Liu Jing, a smile appeared on his face, and he urged his horse forward and asked: "How is it? Has the imperial uncle agreed?"

  "Alright!" Liu Xing excitedly replied.

  Guan Ping burst out laughing and waved his hand, "Let's set off!"

  He led Liu Xuan and more than 100 patrolling scouts, riding horses to the south.

  The terrain near Yangxin County belongs to the hilly area, with undulating mountains and strange rocks. The forest is dense, and although it is early winter, the trees still have a thick canopy. The water flows without freezing, like a jade belt winding through the mountains.

  Although the scenery is beautiful, the population is very sparse. The population of Jiangxia County is mainly concentrated in the riverine areas of Chaisang, Wuchang and Xiakou.

  The jurisdiction area of Yangxin County is the largest in Jiangxia Prefecture and several times that of Wuchang County, but its population is less than 30% of Wuchang County.

  The crowd rushed out for over thirty miles, but still didn't meet a single person. At this time, Guan Ping saw that Liu Jing's war horse was struggling, so he waved his hand and the crowd slowed down their horses, gradually coming to a stop.

  "Master Jing, shall I exchange horses for you?" Guan Ping said with a smile.

  Liu Xuan knew that there were not many war horses in the army, and each war horse was loved by its owner as if it were their life. Although Liu Xuan yearned to have a strong and good horse, he did not want to take something that someone else loved.

  This is the character he brought from his previous life, although he has traversed thousands of years, it still exists vigorously.

  Liu Xuan shook his head, "No need to, after pacifying Zhang Wu and Chen Sun, I'll think of a way to get a good horse from the spoils of war."

  Speaking of good horses, Guan Ping's eyes showed a look of reverence, "My father's horse is the best in the world, even Cao Cao's Zuo Huang Fei Dian can't compare to it."

  "Of course, among men there's Liu Bei, and among horses there's Red Hare! I've always thought that apart from your father, no one else in the world is qualified to ride Red Hare."

  "Thank you, Master Jing, for your praise. If Father were to hear these words, he would surely look at you in a different light."

  As they walked and talked, several cavalrymen came galloping from ahead, carrying a woodcutter on horseback.

  "Reporting to General, this woodcutter was found in the forest ahead, he seems to know something."

  The woodcutter dismounted his horse, went forward on his knees and said with a quiver: "I pay homage to the general!"

  "Don't be afraid, tell us what you know and we'll let you go right away."

  "Yes!"

  The woodcutter made an effort to search in his memory for things that the other might be interested in, and soon some miserable affairs roused him to indignation, making him forget the danger before him.

  "I want to say that Zhang Wu and Chen Sun are really devils, they have taken away more than half of the young people in our village, the women all hide in the mountains, if they're even a bit slow they'll be caught and raped, and as for food, he's taken away all our grain..."

  Liu Xuan showed no interest in these matters and interrupted the woodcutter, asking: "We want to know, have you encountered any soldiers from Jiangdong in the past month or so?"

  "I've never seen it before!"

  The woodcutter shook his head, "Definitely haven't seen any Jiangdong soldiers, the last time I saw the Jiangdong army was two years ago."

  The crowd asked a few more questions, and indeed there was nothing unusual about the situation, so they let the woodcutter go. Guan Ping thought for a moment and said: "Although the woodcutter did not see any soldiers from Jiangdong, it does not mean that there are none. Perhaps he just didn't encounter them. I think we should continue to patrol south. What do you think, Master Xuan?"

  Liu Jiong smiled slightly, "You are the leader of this scouting party, so naturally it's up to you."

  "Alright! We continue our patrol southward."

  Guan Ping led the crowd and urged his horse on, rushing towards the mountain range.

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  The next day, Liu Bei led his army of 20,000 to Yangxin County and stopped three miles away from the county town. The troops quickly formed a battle array, with the 20,000-strong army covering the sky and earth, their swords flashing, and an aura of killing intent rising up.

  Although Yangxin County has a vast territory, the county town is small, with short and dilapidated city walls, broken gates, and little military significance, which cannot withstand large-scale attacks and may even hinder the escape of troops.

  With a loud drumbeat, Zhang Wu and Chen Sun led their armies out of the city to battle, with over 9,000 troops. Except for the 3,000-strong central army which was slightly more organized, the two flanking armies were poorly equipped and disorganized, wielding various types of weapons, including even hoes and wooden clubs.

  Zhang Wu and Chen Sun recruited nearly 10,000 troops, not to confront the Jingzhou army, but to a large extent to surrender to the Jiangdong army as a bargaining chip. With more than 10,000 troops in hand, it's no problem to become at least a mid-ranking general.

  Unexpectedly, before the Jiangdong army arrived, the Jingzhou army killed them instead. Zhang Wu and Chen Sun were both extremely uneasy.

  Under the big flag, Zhang Wu secretly measured the Jingzhou army within a mile, and he had already received news that it was actually Liu Bei who led the army to kill him, which made him even more worried.

  But he did not dare to fight a battle and abandon the city, knowing that defeat in war and fleeing without fighting are completely different. Defeat can be attributed to insufficient strength, while fleeing is cowardice, and Eastern Wu would not tolerate him.

  "General Chen, you take the lead!" Zhang Wu loudly ordered Chen Sun, who was not far away.

  Chen Sun was about thirty years old, seven feet five inches tall, with a strong back and waist, holding a three-pointed double-edged knife. He had less military experience than Zhang Wu, and in Eastern Wu, Zhang Wu was the main general, while he was the deputy general.

  Chen Sun was fearful in his heart and didn't dare to go forward to challenge, he turned around and responded: "General Zhang, why not let someone else go first to test the situation, I'll follow up afterwards."

  Zhang Wu ignored him and shouted loudly to the soldiers: "Beat the drums, let's help General Chen!"

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  The drums sounded like thunder, shaking the sky and earth. The soldiers followed with loud shouts, urging General Chen to go into battle. Chen Sun had no choice but to urge his horse forward and charge towards the Jingzhou army.

  He brandished his three-pointed double-edged sword and shouted loudly: "I am Chen Sun! Who dares to fight me?"

  Under the military flag of Jingzhou, Liu Bei also noticed that there seemed to be a magnificent war horse among the enemy troops, which made him very moved. He asked Wang Wei in a low voice, "Who is the one riding the white horse?"

  Wang Wei smiled slightly, "That is Zhang Wu, his war horse is called Lu, a precious steed. My master was also quite taken with it, but unfortunately Zhang Wu didn't know when to stop."

  "What a magnificent steed!" Liu Bei exclaimed sincerely.

  At this time, Chen Sun came out of the array and fought fiercely, shouting loudly. Liu Bei was furious and asked his attendants: "Who will cut off the head of this rebel for me?"

  "Big brother, watch me behead him!"

  Zhang Fei let out a loud roar, urging his horse to gallop swiftly. His roar was like thunder, as if the heavens had descended upon the earth. In an instant, he arrived before Chen Sun, his 18-foot serpent spear flashing out like lightning.

  Chen Sun was so shocked that his hands and feet went soft, his legs trembled, he raised his knife to block, but Zhang Fei's spear was as heavy as a mountain, he couldn't hold it back. Amidst Chen Sun's mournful cries, Zhang Fei stabbed him through the chest with one thrust of his spear.

  Chen Sun's corpse fell from his horse, and Zhang Fei waved his long spear and shouted loudly, "Kill!" He charged alone into the enemy camp.

  Liu Bei saw the enemy general being killed and immediately ordered: "The whole army attacks, defeat the enemy!"

  Twenty thousand Jingzhou soldiers shouted to the sky, like a surging wave rushing towards the rebel army. The morale of the rebels was low and they collapsed before the battle even started. Everyone rushed to escape with their lives, and the battlefield was in chaos.

  Zhang Wu saw that things were not going well and turned his horse's head to flee. His horse was extremely fast, and in an instant he had escaped the battlefield first.

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