Chapter 1: Below the Floodwater Pass

  In the first year of Chuping (190 AD), Xingshui Pass was taken.

  Horses neigh and people bustle about, the sound of killing shakes the sky.

  At that time, eighteen princes rose up in arms against Dong Zhuo. Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, volunteered to be the vanguard and led 8,000 soldiers to attack Boma Pass.

  The two armies fought under the pass, and the Western Liang general Hua Xiong beheaded Zu Mao, a great general under Sun Jian's command. The morale of Sun Jian's soldiers was greatly dampened. Hu Zhi, the defending general at the Guanqiao Pass, saw this from atop the pass and took advantage of the situation to open the gate and lead his troops in a charge out of the pass.

  "Die!"

  Luo Zheng glared with wide eyes and let out a loud roar, raising his battle knife high and striking down with all his might, beheading one of the Changsha soldiers.

  Blood flowers burst forth, severed limbs fly through the air.

  Warm blood splattered on his face, arousing man's most primitive desire for slaughter.

  Luo Zheng licked the bloodstains on his lips, his face twisted in a ferocious scowl. He pulled hard on the reins, and his warhorse let out a long whinny as it suddenly rose up on its hind legs, its massive hooves brutally kicking a Changsha soldier who had rushed forward too close, bursting his head open like a watermelon.

  "Drive!"

  Luo Zheng squeezed his legs together, and the warhorse immediately galloped out.

  "Hmm!"

  Heads flew up, blood splattered everywhere.

  Another Changsha soldier was beheaded and his body soon trampled into a heap of minced meat.

  Tens of thousands of people were killing each other, the battlefield was in chaos. If you hadn't experienced it personally, it's hard to imagine how cruel war was during the Cold War era. The phrase "human life is worthless" was given its best interpretation here.

  Splashing blood light, flying limbs, confused the soldiers' eyes.

  The fierce slaughter turned the area below the pass into a veritable hell on earth, with wounded but still living soldiers letting out despairing wails.

  "Right!"

  "Bang!"

  The earsplitting sound of clashing steel was almost enough to burst one's eardrums.

  Lu Zheng only felt a shock throughout his body, a fierce and violent power surged back, the tiger's mouth on his right hand suddenly cracked, blood gushed out, the five fingers holding the ring-handled knife suddenly loosened, completely losing consciousness, his body suddenly fell backwards, lying flat on the horseback.

  "This guy is really strong."

  Lu Zheng's heart sank, he tightly grasped the reins and desperately turned the horse's head, wanting to escape.

  A chill killing intent arrived in an instant.

  In the chaos, a majestic and powerful Han face was ferocious again, swinging his knife and slashing down fiercely.

  The wild power brought forth a piercing shriek, with sharp blades that seemed to slash through the void, an awe-inspiring spectacle.

  "Sun Jian, a commoner, killed a certain soldier."

  A thunderous shout burst out from behind, and Xiliang's fierce general Hua Xiong charged forward on horseback, swinging his sword to slash at the robust man.

  "This man is actually Sun Jian, the fierce tiger of Jiangdong."

  Luo Zhen took a deep breath and saw that Hua Xiong was fighting Sun Jian, so he quickly turned his horse's head and fled far away.

  Sun Jian saw Hua Xiong, and the murderous intent in his cold tiger eyes suddenly surged up. It was this guy who killed his beloved general.

  "Recalling the years of following me on southern and northern expeditions, loyal and devoted, I didn't expect to fall at the foot of Bomaoguan. The killing intent in my chest suddenly burst into flames, and I loudly shouted: 'Hua Xiong, you scoundrel, come and meet your death!'"

  "Then!"

  Two horses crossed each other, the wild power surged back, Hua Xiong only felt his whole body violently shaking, as if struck by lightning, and his heart was terrified. He secretly thought that Jiangdong's fierce tiger Sun Jian was indeed not a name in vain, and it was difficult to match him in strength.

  With great difficulty, he reined in his warhorse and turned around, Sun Jian had already charged over on horseback.

  "A single man can die."

  Sun Jian urged his horse to gallop swiftly and arrived, glaring with wide eyes and shouting loudly, fiercely wielding his sword to slash the sky, cutting down ruthlessly.

  Afraid you won't make it.

  Hua Xiong was fearless and shouted loudly, wielding his sword to meet Sun Jian in battle.

  War horses clash, weapons collide.

  In the midst of the earth-shaking battle cry, within tens of meters around them, no one else could stand their ground.

  Sun Jian exerted his divine bravery, with each stroke of his sword like a thunderclap. His momentum was great and his power was overwhelming, killing Hua Xiong who was exhausted from defending himself and unable to cope.

  After barely holding on for thirty rounds, he knew he was no match for Sun Jian and urged his horse to leave.

  Sun Jian hastily turned his horse's head, wanting to pursue, but the 8,000-strong army under his command had already been defeated and was fleeing in disarray. Just as Hua Xiong was about to escape into a group of several dozen Western Liang cavalrymen, Sun Jian gave up the chase and hastily retreated.

  Hu Zhi led his troops in a surprise attack, chasing and killing for ten miles, beheading over a thousand men and capturing several hundred, before finally withdrawing back to the Zhenwu Pass.

  The northern city garrison, stables.

  Luo Zheng fetched a basin of hot water and took a piece of green cloth, carefully cleaning the wounds on Huang Zong's horse.

  In this era of low productivity and cold weapons, the war horse was the most important partner for cavalrymen. Once a war horse was lost on the battlefield, it meant death, with extremely severe consequences.

  In some sense, war horses were more important than women.

  The Western Liang army's combat strength was so strong because more than half of the Western Liang army were cavalry.

  Compared with infantry, cavalry has more obvious advantages.

  The impact force formed by the galloping war horse can enable the cavalry to exert a killing power far beyond that of infantry.

  Luo Zhen loved and cared for his war horses even more.

  A woman can be taken by force, but a warhorse is a lifesaver on the battlefield.

  Luo Zheng was born in a peaceful era, but three months ago, he inexplicably came to the chaotic world of Han Dynasty's end. After experiencing dozens of bloody battles, big and small, he quickly adapted to the survival rules of this era.

  Mysteriously arrived in this chaotic world of war and fire, and unfortunately became a soldier in Dong Zhuo's army.

  Such an encounter is indeed unfortunate.

  However, in order to survive well, one must adapt to the survival rules of this era.

  As a soldier, mercy and pity will only get you killed faster.

  Don't want to be a cold corpse on the battlefield, only by ruthlessly killing all enemies around you can you survive.

  In just three short months, several bloody battles.

  Luo Zheng transformed from a new recruit to an old soldier, no longer fearing blood and death, the kindness and compassion in his bones were replaced by coldness and ruthlessness, without any softness or mercy.

  On the battlefield, the survival rate of cavalry is much higher than that of infantry.

  Luo Zheng was promoted to a military marquis due to his achievements in several bloody battles, as well as his ability to read and write. From an ordinary soldier, he became a commander of two troops with 200 cavalrymen under him. Only he knew how much blood had been shed along the way.

  However, as a mere military marquis, he still cannot escape the fate of dying on the battlefield at any time.

  The Han military system consisted of five men forming a squad, with a squad leader; ten men formed a company, with a company commander; fifty men formed a battalion, with a battalion commander; one hundred men formed a regiment, with a regimental commander; two regiments combined to form a division, with a division commander; two divisions combined to form an army, with an army commander, who led four hundred men.

  The next is the school lieutenant, who can lead a battalion of five troops and horses, which is considered a combat unit.

  The camp is the most basic combat unit in the Han Dynasty military system, and the commander of the garrison has a certain degree of autonomy.

  As for the army officers, they are only mid-to-low level officials who can only follow orders and do not have the right to command troops on their own. Moreover, every battle requires them to charge forward first, in a situation where life and death are uncertain and the battlefield is constantly changing, they really have no control over their own fate.

  Luo Zheng's sole goal was to keep climbing up, and then climb even higher.

  In this era of uncertainty, to avoid being beheaded by the enemy and taken as a trophy, one can only think of every possible way to grasp sufficient power. Having enough troops in hand is the only way to secure one's life and live longer than others.

  To grasp power, one can only desperately climb up and become a higher-ranking officer.

  As for the tiger driving a shock, the fierce general coming to surrender, that is something that only happens in legends and will never come true.

  The yellow-maned horse was drenched in sweat and trembling with pain. However, the warhorse recognized its master and knew that he was treating its wounds, so it remained calm and didn't kick or struggle.

  Luo Zheng finished treating the wound and added more fodder to the trough.

  "Pal, eat your fill, there may be another fierce battle in a few days, it's all up to you."

  Luo Zheng patted the horse's head and a rare smile appeared on his face.

  The yellow-maned horse turned its big head and nodded at Luo Zheng, let out a loud snort, before turning back to chew on the fodder.

  Early spring chill still lingers, night wind strikes, freezing people's hands and feet numb.

  The Western Liang army was complex, with many Qiang and Hu people, as well as Han soldiers, and their equipment was also uneven.

  Most soldiers only had one piece of cloth armor. Except for some high-ranking officers, it was extremely rare to wear iron armor. In the entire Dong Zhuo army, only the most elite Flying Bear Army under Dong Zhuo's command could be equipped with iron armor.

  The armor's protective ability is poor and has little warmth retention effect.

  Fortunately, although it was cold in early spring, the soldiers who were used to the bitter cold could still endure.

  In the cavalry camp, bonfires were lit everywhere, and after filling their bellies, the soldiers lay down beside the fires and fell fast asleep.

  The sky quickly darkened.

  Luo Zheng lay on the ground covered with dry grass, gently stroking a bronze ring on his right hand's ring finger.

  It was this magical bronze ring that brought him across to this most chaotic and darkest of times at the end of the Han Dynasty.

  It was this ring that allowed him to survive on the brutal battlefield.

  Luo Zheng closed his eyes and concentrated his mind to sense it.

  Soon, the simple and unadorned bronze ring sent a warm current, making him feel comfortable all over his body. The dozen or so light and heavy wounds left from the daytime killings healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving no scars behind.

  Lu Zheng spat out a mouthful of turbid air, sat up and moved his limbs around, feeling his strength increase by several degrees.

  I estimate that I can now lift a 300-pound sack of rice.

  Thinking back to when I first arrived in this chaotic world, even running a few miles would leave me panting and out of breath. Now my strength is almost comparable to that of the great warriors of later generations. It's hard not to feel a sense of disconnection from the past.

  If it weren't for the bronze ring's healing properties, he would have died countless times already.

  Every time he was seriously injured, as long as he concentrated his mind and communicated with the bronze ring, a hot flow would flow out of the bronze ring and inject into his body. No matter how serious the injury was, it could be cured instantly.

  Even being stabbed through the chest with a blunt instrument, he still managed to survive.

  And every time after recovering from an injury, his strength would increase by a few points.

  Otherwise, a 21st-century non-combatant, how could he possibly survive on the brutal battlefield.

  Luo Zheng got up and left the camp, finding a secluded spot.

  As soon as he had the idea, the void in front of him warped and a doorway appeared, seemingly leading to another world.

  Lu Zheng took a step forward and stepped in, space-time shifted, and the night turned into day.

  This is a vegetable garden, about one acre in size, with many vegetables planted.

  At a glance, there were no less than thirty kinds of crops in the vegetable garden. In addition to tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, and calabazas, there were also corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, all growing very luxuriantly, with some already ready for harvest.

  There is a big fireball hanging in the sky, several times bigger than a millstone.

  In the middle of the vegetable garden, there is a small pond with a diameter of about two meters. The water is very clear, but you can't see the bottom. What's even stranger is that the water in this pond seems to be inexhaustible, and no matter how much water is taken away, the water level will not drop.

  All around was fog, connecting heaven and earth, the vegetable garden seemed like an independent world wrapped in thick fog.

  Those thick fogs not only blocked the view, but also seemed like solid objects, sealing off all directions.

  Luo Zheng set up a fire by the water pool and cooked a pot of corn on the cob and sweet potatoes, having a hearty meal.

  Born in this chaotic world, not only is life constantly threatened, but even having a full meal has become a luxury.

  Especially since the first year of Zhongping, the world has been in great chaos. Agricultural production and handicraft industry have suffered severe damage, grain and various materials are severely lacking, and after Dong Zhuo controlled Luoyang, he expanded wildly again, and the army is seriously short of food.

  Ordinary soldiers have two meals a day, but it's already very good if they can drink half a bowl of millet porridge each time.

  Want to eat until full, no need to think about it.

  Fortunately, the bronze ring can open this unknown garden in time and space or world, allowing Luo Zheng to have a full meal every night, so as not to go hungry like other soldiers.