Volume 1: Kyoto Winds and Clouds Chapter 48: Liu Zhang Returns to Qiu Li's Residence

  Who is Huang Zhong? Even the strong and powerful do not dare to resist him carelessly. A small tribe also dares to make a surprise attack! Huang Zhong raised his bow, shot the leader who rushed over with one arrow, and then retreated behind the troops. Zhao Yun and others commanded the troops, the swordsmen and spearmen combined perfectly, and nearly a thousand people from that small tribe were killed on the road in an instant.

  Qiu Li Ju's pupils contracted, his heart was trembling. So many years had passed, he thought the Great Han had already fallen, who would have thought that at this time of great turmoil, such an iron army could appear! However, what made Qiu Li Ju fortunate was that this unit did not have cavalry!

  Actually, Huang Zhong was wrong. He shouldn't have blocked the way of Chuli Ji's army. Because according to modern military training methods, even if a team is extremely brave, it can't withstand the charge of nearly ten times as many enemy troops. After all, in the era of cold weapons, it relies on individual physical strength. One person killing ten people is already very tiring.

  Looking at Huang Zhong in front of him, Qiu Li Ju felt a little pressure, he gritted his teeth and roared: "Braves of the vast grassland, we can't let a group of sheep block our way, braves, follow me to charge!"

  The Black Wind Cavalry moved, the sound of horseshoes trampling the earth was like a thunderclap in mid-air. A hint of solemnity also appeared in the eyes of Huang Zhong and others. Under the command of Zhao Yun and others, the Han army soldiers tightly grasped their weapons, awaiting the impending impact.

  Cavalry is stronger than infantry because of the impact force of horses. Although gunners can control cavalry, there will still be casualties. When the two armies collided, many Han soldiers were knocked out by the huge impact force after stabbing the Wuhuan cavalry with long guns, and the miserable cries echoed in the dense forest along the small road.

  "Father, this won't do!" Huang Xu looked at the dwindling Han army soldiers on the battlefield and anxiously said to Huang Zhong: "Young master has us holding back the Wuhuan people here. If we exhaust our troops, young master will definitely be angry when he returns! He said not to engage in a fierce battle with the Wuhuan people!"

  "But, young master, you raided the Wuhuan Mountain, if we let Chuligong go back, won't it be dangerous for you?" Huang Zhong wanted to stall Chuligong and give Liu Zhang a chance to escape. Originally, Zhao Yun and others didn't understand his idea, but after he said this, even Zhao Yun, Zhang Ren, and Huang Xu all laughed.

  Looking at Huang Xu and others' smiles, Huang Zhong was somewhat stunned. Huang Xu smiled and said: "Father, do you think the young master is a fool? I dare to bet that even if Qiu Li Ju can bring back 100,000 troops, he's still not the young master's opponent! Quickly let the troops retreat and let them pass. Otherwise, when the young master returns, we'll be in trouble!"

  "Huang Zhong hesitated for a moment, but he knew that the Han army could not withstand the enemy's attack for much longer. Even when Emperor Wu of Han fought against the Xiongnu, it was with the full force of the nation. Now, he only had over 10,000 men, how long could they hold off these fierce Wuhuan people? Looking at the continuous casualties among his soldiers, Huang Zhong gritted his teeth and gave the order: "Pass on my command, retreat!""

  Huang Zhong's order was given, and the Han army slowly retreated. Qiu Li Ju let out a sigh of relief, he really feared that the Han army would stick to it until death. Qiu Li Ju knew that he had to rush past this place, it was only a matter of time. But the people on Wuhuan Mountain couldn't wait, his sons Da Dun and Lou Ban were both on Wuhuan Mountain, now their lives or deaths unknown, how could Qiu Li Ju have the mood to waste time with Huang Zhong here?

  The Wuhuan cavalry saw the Han army retreat and did not pursue, directly rushing over the small road towards the direction of Wuhuan Mountain. What Chiqi didn't expect was that Huang Zhong and others had already become despicable spokespersons under Liu Zhang's manipulation. As soon as the Wuhuan army rushed over the small road, Huang Zhong and others led their troops to press on.

  Ambush, harassment, this is the biggest nightmare that Wuman people have experienced in the years of fighting in the grass valley. Now this nightmare will continue. The only thing that makes Qiu Liju feel relieved is that the battle just now consumed at least 2,000 Han soldiers. Perhaps 2,000 people are not many, but the Han army was originally small in number, and now their military strength is even more precarious!

  Just as Huang Zhong and Yu Ji were fighting desperately, Liu Zhang was leisurely heading to Jizhou. The original 8,000-strong army had expanded to nearly 30,000 people. Most of them were Han slaves, and a small part were Wuhuan horse slaves. These 30,000 people were like nomadic tribes, more than a regular army. Even the Wuhuan army had never been so extravagant as to bring tens of thousands of heads of livestock on an expedition.

  To avoid the army of Quli Ju, Liu Zhang did not return by the original road, but instead circled around, entering Shanggu from Longhua and then to Jixian. Quli Ju would never have thought that he would go back to Jixian from another road while fighting Huang Zhong at the same time. If Quli Ju had known, even if it meant exhausting his army of 100,000, he would have taken back the tens of thousands of livestock in Liu Zhang's hands. Unfortunately, he could not have known.

  Liu Zhang returned to Ji County, Huang Zhong was still following the Wuman army. However, Liu Zhang's mighty troops scared Liu Yan. Think about it, suddenly tens of thousands of livestock and horses appeared outside the city, including pigs, dogs, cattle, sheep, and over a million horses. Fortunately, Liu Zhang had traveled back to the Han Dynasty; if he had crossed into another realm, who knows, maybe they would have thought the Beastman tribe was attacking the city!

  The defenders of Jicheng City saw this situation and immediately reported it to Yan Yan. Yan Yan and Liu Yan stood on the city wall, only to find that the incoming troops were actually flying the Han army flag, which left them somewhat perplexed. However, this was not surprising for Liu Yan. The 30,000 people brought by Liu Zhang had been submerged in the crowd of livestock. Moreover, many of these 30,000 people were slaves captured by Wuhuan, and they wore Wuhuan costumes, so Liu Yan naturally treated them as a formidable enemy.

  "Father, stern face!" Liu Zhang saw the soldiers on the city wall drawing their bows and arrows, seemingly about to start attacking. He hastily rushed out of the crowd and shouted towards the city wall: "I'm back!"

  "Prince... Prince?!" Yan Yan's eyes widened in shock.

  "Jiang Er?!" Liu Yan's jaw dropped!

  Liu Yan and Yan Yan knew that since Liu Zhang had decided to attack the Wuhuan, he would not easily fail. But they could never have imagined that after only three or four months, Liu Zhang would return with so many livestock. Liu Yan and Yan Yan suspected that Liu Zhang must have plundered all the livestock of the Wuhuan people.

  Since Liu Zhang was back, Liu Yan quickly opened the city gate to let him in. Liu Zhang's troops naturally found a place to camp, and the army of slaves and livestock, Liu Yan also arranged for them. After all, Youzhou had been plagued by war many times, and it was also sparsely populated, so arranging some people was still more than enough, but those livestock made Liu Yan a bit entangled, because they needed to eat fodder!

  Having taken care of the troops and horses, Liu Zhang had also finished washing up and was waiting for Liu Bei to drink the wine to dispel his travel dust. At the banquet, Liu Bei only saw Zhang Fei and Shi An, and asked somewhat puzzled: "My son, why are there only three of you? What about Huang Zhong and the others?"

  "Huh? Didn't they come back?" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Alright, their pressure is greater than mine. Tomorrow morning I'll lead the troops to help them."

  Liu Yan blinked and asked: "Have you two broken up?"

  "Yes!" Liu Zhang smiled: "I had Huang Zhong lead 12,000 men to intercept Qiu Li Ju, and I took Shi E and Yue De to tour around Wu Huan Mountain, and incidentally seized some cattle, sheep and horses!"

  Liu Yan had a head full of black lines, was it just a little? Tens of millions! It's estimated that the entire Han Dynasty only had so many livestock! In the heyday of Emperor Wu of Han, there were only over 200,000 horses raised in the Western Garden. Just now, Liu Yan made an estimate, and the horses brought back by Liu Zhang, not counting those ridden, already numbered tens of millions!

  "Wuhuan Mountain?!" The accompanying Yan Yan's wine cup shook, and half a cup of wine spilled out. His face also turned pale! As for Wuhuan Mountain, Liu Yan didn't understand it, but Yan Yan knew that it was the court of the Wuhuan king, and Liu Zhang's achievements could already be compared to those of Huo Qubing.

  Feeling something was off about Yan's expression, Liu Yan smiled and asked: "Yan, what's wrong?"

  "General Shi, I am shocked by your skills!" Yan Lian said with a solemn face: "That Wuhuan Mountain is the royal court of the Wuhuan people. You have fought to that place, and whether you win or lose, it's no less than the achievement of Huo Qubing!"

  "What? Wu Wan Wang Ting!" Liu Yan's eyes widened, his son was only this big. Thirteen years old and already had such great merit, if he reached thirty years old, that would be something!

  “Don't be surprised, Father!” Liu Zhang laughed: “I'm not as good as Huo Qubing. I only led troops to burn, kill and plunder on Wuhuan Mountain, and most of these cattle, sheep and horses were looted from small tribes on the grasslands. I and Yi De, Shi A at least eliminated 70 or 80 small teams, killing more than 100,000 Wuwan people before getting this little something!

  "Over a million people?!" Liu Yan and Yan Yu sucked in a breath of cold air, their eyes changed as they looked at Liu Zhang and the others. What kind of person was this?! He was simply a god of slaughter!

  After the surprise, Yan Yan looked at Liu Zhang with a defeated face. Originally, he should have had some credit here, but because of his arrogance, he lost this opportunity. Holding a cup of wine, one cup after another of bitter wine went down his throat, Yan Yan was heartbroken and regretful, and eventually he got drunk, so drunk that he passed out.

  Compared to Yan's depression, Liu Yan was very excited. What can make a father feel more proud than his son being talented and promising? That night, Liu Yan got drunk too! When he returned home, he hugged Mrs. Liu and kissed her passionately, saying that she had given birth to a good son for him, and hoping that she would continue to strive and give birth to another son, not necessarily as talented as Liu Zhang, but just another son.

  The next morning, Liu Zhang did not consult with Liu Yan and directly ordered the 80,000-strong army to set out and support Huang Zhong. However, they met halfway, as Qiu Li Ju had abandoned all his supplies and fled for his life, while Huang Zhong's troops were infantry, making it difficult for them to chase after cavalry. Liu Zhang said that next time, Qiu Li Ju would not be able to escape. At first, Huang Zhong was skeptical, but when he heard that Liu Zhang had brought back tens of thousands of livestock, including over a hundred thousand horses, he finally understood Liu Zhang's intention and felt a thrill of excitement.

  Liu Yan was still in a state of excitement after waking up from his wine, his son had won against the foreign tribe, this not only gave him face but also gave the old Liu family face. Liu Yan immediately wrote a battle report and sent it to the imperial court, along with several tens of thousands of cattle, sheep and horses as gifts for Emperor Liu Hong and Empress He Lingsi.