Chapter 29: Brother Fei's Fury, Who Can Stand in His Way?

  After several days of repeated abuse, Zhao Xing welcomed his second wedding.

  Fortunately, Guan Ge had a light hand and only hit Zhao Xing's fleshy areas, so his face didn't have any bruises or swelling. After changing into the bright red wedding attire of the groom, he mounted a tall horse, looking quite dashing, attracting the attention of many young women and married ladies.

  Another round of noisy farewell, Zhao Xing was drunk by his enthusiastic and generous Qiang Hu relatives. In fact, getting Zhao Xing to drink was just an excuse, these Qiang Hus were using the joyous occasion to quench their thirst for Long River Daqu liquor.

  A few days ago, Jia Yu brought the betrothal gifts, and every household received them with joy. A jar of Longhe Daqu is now in Hexi, but it's not even possible to exchange it for a good horse. This one household of Qiang people can receive over ten jars, and at least around ten jars, which can be stored as another kind of hard currency.

  At first, Jia Yu said he wanted to give a dowry, and Zhao Xing also took the opportunity to buy people's hearts. Anyway, with the current production capacity of Xu's wine workshop, brewing thousands of jars of good wine is just a day's work.

  Zhao Xing, who was drunk to the point of being in a daze, was finally carried into the bridal chamber by his wife Hu Yan'er. Because of this, the future Emperor Xian, was often teased by Empress Renqiong, and each time he would be talked down and escape with his face covered.

  Drunk to this extent, let alone the bridal chamber, even getting into bed is a problem. Zhao Xing got drunk that day and didn't get to experience the exotic romance of foreign lands, but he also missed witnessing Guan Yu's prowess in capturing the enemy general amidst a multitude of soldiers. At the same time, it established Guan Yu as the number one tiger of Sleeping Tiger Mansion, established Jia Wen as a wise strategist, and established Hu Che Er, the Qiang person, as a fierce general.

  But on the day of Zhao Xing's big wedding, he got drunk and fell down on the spot, and was carried into the bridal chamber by his new wife, leaving many romantic imaginations behind. However, that night, there were many people who did not drink a drop, sharpening their knives and lurking around the Wohu Villa, even Li Tiezhu, who usually liked to join in the fun, was nowhere to be seen.

  Since that day when the strategy of dividing troops to resist the enemy was decided, Guan Yu and Jia Xu have been repeatedly deliberating on the plan, with several other generals including Hu Che Er participating.

  From a timing perspective, it's highly likely that the wind will arrive on the evening of Zhao Xing's big wedding day. From a defensive standpoint, however, the night of the wedding is also when everyone in the village is most off guard, making it the best time to strike.

  On the day of Zhao Xing's grand wedding, outsiders saw a scene of joy and harmony, with everyone drunk and unwilling to leave. However, upon closer observation, it would be discovered that the vast majority of participants in the wedding were relatives from Li Jia Zhuang, fellow villagers from Wo Hu Zhuang, as well as women, children, and the elderly from Qiang Hu, but young and strong men were nowhere to be found.

  Originally, the young and strong soldiers had already been gathered together in the daytime and hidden in several empty wine cellars. They waited until nightfall before quietly leaving the village, dividing into two teams: one team of villagers led by Guan Yu ambushed on both sides of the road to and from Wotuzhuang; the other team of Qiang soldiers was commanded by Hu Che'er himself, with Pei Yuanshao leading the way in front, Jia Xiang directing in the middle, and killing intent rising as they took a shortcut to rush straight to Qingfeng Ridge. Only a few village braves were left behind in the village, led by Zhou Cang, to coordinate and defend.

  In the depths of winter, in the twelfth lunar month, a cold wind howled through the fields, causing the people hiding by the side of the road to shrink their necks. Guan Yu's heart was however filled with excitement and his face showed a thrilled expression. This was the first time after Guan Yu had mastered his martial arts that he led soldiers into battle against others, previously he had fought against Xianbei bandits in northern Hebei province and Taihang Mountain bandits to hone his skills, but this time the number of people involved was much greater and the significance was much more profound.

  "Clip-clop, clip-clop..." A dull sound of horse hooves came from the nearby road, and a team of about 100 people were rushing over in a hurry.

  "Light the torches! Shoot the arrows!" Guan Yu gave the order calmly.

  Suddenly, hundreds of torches lit up on the originally dark plain, surrounding a group of people in the middle of the road!

  "Not good, big brother, there's an ambush!" The small leader who had come to scout out the place a few days ago shouted.

  "Brothers, let's go!" A masked big man shouted on horseback, and then turned his horse around and rushed back.

  "Guanchang Sheng of Xie County is here! Bandits, quickly dismount and accept your death!" A man on horseback blocked the way in front of the fleeing crowd.

  "Halt, fellow in front! Make way quickly or don't blame Old Guan for adding more souls to the underworld!" The masked big man wielded a broad-backed great chopping knife and spoke as he chopped towards Guan Yu.

  Facing the incoming blade, Guan Yu was fearless, dodging to the side on his horse and grabbing the attacker with his right hand like an eagle swooping down on a chicken, pinning them under his arm.

  "Guo Changzi has been captured by me, who dares to make a move? Watch me tear him alive!" Guan Yu's thunderous shout scared the crowd of soldiers so much that their livers and gallbladders were all split open, their faces as pale as earth.

  "Good fellow, slow down, we won't move if you don't, don't harm my brother's life..." The bandits were already frightened by Guan Yu's bravery, and now hearing one of them speak up, they all pulled tight on their reins, stopped in their tracks, and stood frozen on the main road, staring at each other, unsure what to do.

  Guan Yu loosened his grip on Guo Changzi and threw him to the ground, shouting loudly: "Do you surrender?"

  "Just now it was dark and the horse was unruly, you suddenly seized me, I don't accept this!" Guo Changzi however showed no fear.

  "Alright, let's remount and fight again! Let's see how easily I capture you!"

  As they spoke, Guo Changzi mounted his horse and charged forward. The crowd only saw the two men facing each other on horseback for a moment before their vision blurred, and when it cleared, they found that their leader had been captured again. This happened three times, after which Guo Changzi's face turned deathly pale, and he no longer resisted.

  "Today, I was defeated by your hands, and Guo has already surrendered. Whether you want to kill or rob us is up to you, but please spare the lives of my brothers. Recently, I heard that Wotou Village has brewed some good wine, and I had planned to sneak in at night to get a few jars to bring back to our mountain stronghold for drinking. But instead, I fell into your hands. My brothers usually only plunder wealth and goods, but have never committed any evil deeds that harm people's lives." Guo Chang said with a humble tone.

  The bandits on the road, though unwilling in their hearts, were also frightened. Whoever is surrounded by a hail of arrows would probably feel uneasy at heart.

  "Huh? Don't you recognize the family of Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao from Sleeping Tiger Manor?" Guan Yu said with a cold smile, turning to the crowd.

  "But are you two really Zhou and Pei, the brave warriors?" asked Guo Changzi, looking up.

  "Exactly!"

  "I don't know what the brave scholar meant by asking about these two, but it's annoying that Zhou and Pei are now resentful towards me for forcing them up the mountain, and have even harbored intentions to kill me?"

  "Guo Da, you're being too arrogant! I don't like hearing this kind of talk from you! If I wanted to kill you, I'd do it myself with my own hands, not bother asking Guan Yu for help!" A loud voice boomed from a distance, spoken by a burly man with a dark face.