Volume 1: Kyoto Winds and Clouds Chapter 34: An Unexpected Encounter on the Road of Learning

  Yan Yan was a famous general in Shu, and his military training methods were indeed unique. However, even if his methods were exceptional, they were still only suitable for the generals of the Han Dynasty. Liu Zhang's military training methods, although basic by modern standards, had been refined over thousands of years through the collective efforts of all the great military minds in the world. It's like comparing two pieces of jade: one is a beautiful piece of jade, while the other is just a fragment from the edge of a He Shi Bi. No matter how perfect the beautiful jade may be, unless it can match the quality of the He Shi Bi, it cannot be compared to it, not even if it's just a fragment.

  On the field, the two armies finally collided. Yan Yan and Huang Zhong were both high-ranking generals and did not participate in the trial by combat, instead commanding from behind. Otherwise, Huang Zhong could have defeated Yan Yan in just a few rounds, which was also one of the reasons why Yan Yan felt no sense of belonging to Liu Zhang. Think about it, Yan Yan came under Liu Yan's command with great ambitions and aspirations, only to be sent to protect Liu Zhang. He thought that even if he wasn't the number one general under Liu Yan, he would at least be the number one person under Liu Zhang. But Huang Zhong's abilities far surpassed his own, and even Shi Yi was not someone he could handle. This contrast was unbearable for Yan Yan, and he needed an opportunity to prove himself, or else he wouldn't have agreed to engage in a trial by combat with Liu Zhang.

  "Hiss..." Yan Yan looked at the two armies colliding, and suddenly his pupils contracted, taking a cold breath. His troops were like waves crashing against rocks, being defeated by Huang Zhong's army. It was seen that Huang Zhong's army had perfect coordination between shields and spears, some old soldiers who had lost their shields hid behind other swordsmen and stabbed Yan Yan's army from time to time, soon Yan Yan's thousand men were beaten to the point of not being able to get up.

  "Dong!" A loud gong sounded, and Huang Zhong's troops slowly retreated, still without a single sound. But Yan Yan's troops were almost all on the ground, wailing in pain, with only a few people able to barely stand up. Yan Yan's gaze towards Huang Zhong and Liu Zhang changed. After tallying up the results of the battle, not only was Yan Yan stunned, but even Liu Yan was extremely shocked! A battle between 1,000 men had ended with Yan Yan's complete defeat, while Huang Zhong's troops had fewer than 50 casualties. In ancient wars, it was common to lose 800 men for every 1,000 enemies killed, but now Liu Zhang had taught them a lesson - that soldiers could have such effects after training! To think that Liu Zhang's soldiers had only been trained for three months! If given three years' time, how strong would these soldiers become?

  Liu Yan was stunned. He knew his son had talent and that he aspired to be the modern-day Huo Qubing, but now it seemed that Liu Zhang was not Huo Qubing at all - he was actually the reincarnation of Sun Wu or Jiang Taigong!

  Yan Yan was shocked, he had never thought that an eight-year-old child, with a seemingly playful way of practicing, would actually be stronger than his elite soldiers who were trained with all his might! No! It wasn't just strong, it was fundamentally on a different level!

  Just as everyone was shocked by Liu Zhang's military achievements, Liu Yan regained his composure and walked onto the drill ground with a smile, saying: "I have decided to entrust Liu Zhang with full authority over the training of all troops in Youzhou. Does anyone have any opinions on this?"

  Everyone with a discerning eye can see that Liu Yan has made up his mind. Of course, some people think this is Liu Yan's deliberate attempt to let Liu Zhang show off, in order to take control of the military power of Ji County and even Youzhou. However, those who have such thoughts are all deep and cunning individuals. They see how much effort Liu Yan puts into paving the way for Liu Zhang, who dares to come out and make a fuss? After all, Liu Yan is still the governor of Youzhou, holding the power of life and death over the entire state! As for Yan Yan, he has already submitted and will not say anything more.

  "Father! I have already taught all the military training methods to Huang Zhong, let him handle it!" Others had no objection, but Liu Zhang's opinion was loud and clear. He was waiting for Tong Yuan to summon him to learn martial arts! What does military training have to do with him?

  "Liu Yan hesitated! He could unhesitatingly hand over the military power to his own son, but he couldn't unhesitatingly hand it over to Huang Zhong, an outsider. After some thought, Liu Yan smiled and said: "In that case, let Huang Zhong be in charge of training the troops, with Yan Yan as his deputy!"

  The art of checks and balances is the most favorite trick of Chinese emperors and princes. No matter how much an emperor or monarch trusts someone, they will always find someone to check him. Huang Zhong was Liu Zhang's trusted aide, and Liu Zhang trusted him very much, but wasn't Yan Yan also a trusted aide in Liu Yan's eyes? As soon as Liu Yan gave the order, Yan Yan immediately knelt down and said: "Your subordinate will never betray your trust!"

  The martial arts competition came to an end, and Yan Yan never dared to disturb Liu Zhang again. Liu Zhang's life returned to normal, practicing martial arts every day, waiting for Tong Yuan's letter. Finally, three months after Tong Yuan left Ji County, Liu Zhang received his letter. Tong Yuan asked Liu Zhang to meet him on a mountain in Zhengding Prefecture, Changshan County, Hebei Province, where he would teach Liu Zhang martial arts.

  Although Liu Zhang did not know why Tong Yuan chose that mountain to temporarily reside, Liu Zhang knew that if nothing unexpected happened, Zhao Yun would soon find Tong Yuan to pay his respects! Thinking of the Silver Spear and White Horse, Zhao Zi Long, Liu Zhang's heart was inexplicably excited. In his previous life, the person Liu Zhang admired the most was Zhuge Liang, but his favorite general was Zhao Yun!

  Under the reluctant gaze of Liu Yan and his wife, Liu Zhang set off with Shi E and Huang Xu! Originally, Huang Zhong was also going to follow, but Liu Zhang left him behind. Such a great general, if only serving as a guard, would be too much of a waste of talent. Huang Zhong received Liu Zhang's order and didn't insist, he just handed over the newly recovered Huang Xu. Since Liu Zhang didn't like to bring too many miscellaneous things, Liu Yan only packed one horse carriage worth of stuff for him. Like this, Liu Zhang complained for a long time. However, he soon found out that Liu Yan's method was very correct.

  Three people traveled south, and Liu Zhang was depressed to find that Youzhou was vast and sparsely populated. After being ravaged by Wuhuan, except for some large cities, many villages were uninhabited! Sometimes, no village was seen in half a day, even if it was seen, it was just a small village of ten or twenty people with broken walls and ruins. Under such circumstances, Liu Zhang could not avoid sleeping outdoors, and the things prepared by Liu Yan came in handy.

  After five days, Liu Zhang's initial excitement had worn off and he felt a bit bored. The scenery in Youzhou was really not that great, everywhere was gray and hazy, without any vitality. Occasionally, they would see some people farming, mostly women, old men, and children, but young and strong men were rarely seen.

  Within these five days, Liu Zhang and his group had repelled no less than twenty bandit attacks, with the smallest consisting of a few people and the largest numbering in the tens. If it weren't for the fact that Liu Zhang and company were all from martial families, they would have been robbed clean by now. However, Liu Zhang's basic marksmanship had become even more solid through these bandits. Adding to this, the fighting process inevitably resulted in casualties, and within just these few days, a hint of killing intent had appeared on Liu Zhang's body!

  On the fifth evening, Liu Zhang and his two companions saw a large city again. They were excited to find an inn to stay in, bathe, eat, and were busy with joy. After settling down, Liu Zhang decided to go out for a stroll. He hadn't seen a market for several days, and the things Liu Yan had prepared for him were almost gone. If he didn't replenish some, he was worried that it wouldn't be enough. Liu Zhang inquired about the location of the market from the inn's servant, and then set off with Shi Ah and Huang Xu.

  The market in this city is not small, and the goods are dazzling. Liu Zhang first replenished some daily necessities, then walked towards the depths of the market. Suddenly, Liu Zhang heard the sound of fighting, and he, who liked to intervene in other people's affairs, took Shi Ah and Huang Xu in the direction of the sound.

  The Chinese have always liked to watch the excitement, and the place where the sound came from was already surrounded by three layers inside and out. After much difficulty, Liu Zhang and his two companions squeezed their way to the front, only to find that a government official and a large black man were engaged in a fierce battle. However, Liu Zhang could see that these two men were more interested in showing off their martial arts skills than in actually fighting each other.

  "Zhang Butcher! I'm taking your meat today!" The official-looking man shouted loudly: "You'll not only give me the meat, but you'll also have to treat me to a drink. Otherwise, I'll be back every day!"

  "Hey! You want meat? Beat me first!" The big black man swung a butcher knife, forcing the officer holding a wooden sword to retreat repeatedly.

  "Gongzi, that big black man is a master!" Shi Ah said in Liu Zhang's ear: "His martial arts are not as good as Yan Yan, but they're almost the same!"

  Liu Zhang's eyes lit up, and he was surprised to meet such a master in this place. He suddenly had the intention of recruiting him. And Liu Zhang saw Shi Ah with such insight, and asked again: "Who do you think will win between the black big man and the official?"

  "That official's martial arts skills are lacking, thinking of winning? Maybe in the next life!" Shi Ah laughed and said: "Young master, look! The big black man is about to make his move, within ten moves, the official will definitely lose!"

  As soon as Shi Ah's voice fell, the big black man swung his pig-killing knife fiercely. The officer was no match for the big man's divine strength and retreated ten steps in a row. At the tenth step, the big black man's pig-killing knife was pressed against the officer's throat. Ten moves, not one more, not one less!

  The big black man won, threw the pig-killing knife onto the chopping board, picked up a piece of pork and said: "Brother, you lost! However, your martial arts skills are not bad. If you practice more, I'll be in trouble! Come on! This piece of meat is for you!"

  "You..." The officer seemed to have suffered a great insult, he suddenly stood up and said: "Zhang's surname, if I don't take you down today, how can I explain it when I go back! Brothers, let's take down Zhang Butcher together!"

  "This..." The big black man was stunned, he liked to make friends with heroes, often inviting people to compete in martial arts, and since he was generous, many heroes liked to socialize with him. This officer usually had a good reputation, but today he was acting out of character, the big black man found it hard to accept for a moment and asked: "Brother, what have I done wrong, why do you want to arrest me?"

  "Don't blame me, Zhang Tufu! Originally I wanted to win you over and have you follow me obediently, but who knew you were so formidable..." The officer said with some difficulty; "The superior has given an order, Zhang Tufu is in collusion with Wumeng, now he is ordered to be captured, if there is any resistance, kill him without hesitation!"

  "Fart!" The big black man was furious: "The thing I hate most in my life is the foreign dog thief. Even if you slander me for treason, you can't say that I colluded with foreigners!"

  "What's the difference, if someone wants you to die, just obediently accept death!" The officer said helplessly: "Zhang Tufu, if you surrender, I won't let your son be affected. But if you continue to resist, even your son will not be spared!"