Liu Xuan's Maiden Battle (Part 1)

  "Hurry up, hurry up and follow me... Hasn't he eaten yet?" Liu Xuan frowned and turned his head to shout loudly at the more than a thousand strong army led by Gan Ning, his slightly childish voice seeming to have an extraordinary feeling at this moment.

  Liu Xuan's starry eyes gazed at the over a thousand soldiers, and then shifted his gaze forward, with a look of puzzlement and heavy vigilance.

  Why did Liu Xuan end up like this? It turned out that Gan Ning and Liu Xuan had guessed that Ma Chao would use Liu Hu and the Tiger Tally to make a move. Gan Ning, disregarding everything, ordered the army to speed up, and the nearly 2,000 soldiers under his command increased their speed by more than double under his strict orders. Originally, it would have taken them till midnight to reach Jiangling, but Gan Ning managed to arrive at the Jiangling ferry crossing by dawn, after which they abandoned their boats and marched on land, rushing to reinforce Jiangling.

  Gan Ning and Liu Xuan led the army to rest for a while, then led the army to the military camp outside Jiangling City, but they were shocked to find that the military camp was in flames, and the barracks were damaged beyond recognition. This made Liu Xuan and Gan Ning's hearts sink.

  "Was I one step too late?"

  Gan Ning and Liu Xuan led the troops into the camp with a stern face, only to see a bloody scene. Gan Ning's army arrived at the camp, where some soldiers were still groaning in pain, while others were sadly wiping away their tears and snot. As soon as they saw Gan Ning arrive, they all turned around and ran away without saying a word, looking like they had seen a ghost.

  Liu Xuan slightly raised the corner of his mouth and secretly said: "Damn it, must you guys?"

  Gan Ning's mood was not as good as Liu Xuan's. Gan Ning was originally a straightforward and hot-tempered person, and when he saw these soldiers being so sloppy, his face immediately turned dark and gloomy. He turned around and roared at the people beside him, including Gan Zhong: "What's wrong with you guys? Have your eyes gone blind? Why aren't you gathering the troops?"

  "One incense stick, one incense stick... I haven't seen the main army gather, you all don't follow me anymore, go back home and sleep, damn it."

  After half a day of effort, Liu Xuan and Gan Ning finally figured out what was going on, both of them fell silent.

  It turned out that before this military camp, Ma Da and Sun Da had already led the army to this place. They first used a military token to deceive them into opening the gate of the military camp, claiming that Liu Hu wanted to lead the army to suppress bandits. The small school on patrol saw the military token without any doubt? Without notifying the generals who stayed behind in the big camp, they opened the door by themselves and were not on guard at all. However, those who welcomed them were Sun Da and other thieves with ferocious faces.

  Sun Dati wielded his twin hammers, roaring and killing in all directions... Mada and Sun Dati swept through the camp once, and the 10,000-strong army stationed here was still asleep. In an instant, they were caught off guard by Mada and Sun Dati, and many soldiers had not even had time to put on their armor or pick up their weapons before being slaughtered. After a round of slaughter, the military camp was in shambles, smoke billowing everywhere, and when they looked around, only about 2,000 people were left, a pitiful sight...

  Liu Xuan and Gan Ning discussed it briefly, then the two of them reorganized the defeated troops to press on Jiangling. They planned to coordinate with General Han inside Jiangling for a pincer attack, but unexpectedly Ma Da was as cunning as a fox and led his men in abandoning the city first.

  Helpless, Gan Ning and Liu Xuan discussed again, and finally Liu Xuan led a thousand elite soldiers to chase the rebel army, with General Gan Xing following closely.

  "Your Highness, Your Highness..."

  "What's wrong?" Liu Xuan came back to his senses and looked at Gan Ning's housekeeper, Gan Ying. He asked softly, "Brother Gan Ying, what's going on?"

  "Sir, this place seems a bit off." Gan Xiong furrowed his thick eyebrows and looked around cautiously, saying in a low voice: "I always feel that there's something eerie about this place."

  "Huh?" Liu Xuan was slightly stunned, his eyebrows furrowed, and his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings before slowly saying: "Gan Xiong big brother, you think there's an ambush here?"

  "I don't know if there are any ambushes, but we'll be careful and won't make a big mistake." Gan Xiong was General Gan Ning's sworn brother, growing up with him since childhood. During the time Gan Ning learned martial arts, Gan Xiong had the good fortune to go along, and his own martial skills were once guided by Gan Ning's master. Among the Eight Hundred Gallant Heroes, Gan Xiong's martial skills ranked second only to Gan Ning's.

  This time Gan Ning sent out Gan Xiong, which shows his care for Liu Xuan. Liu Xuan was also very moved by this.

  Liu Xuan listened to Gan Xiong's words, hung his head in thought for a moment, and then said to Gan Xiong: "Brother Gan Xiong, trouble you to lead the troops to go and scout out the situation."

  "Oh." Gan Xiong nodded dully and turned to leave.

  The army, after a brief rest, Gan Xing led the vanguard cautiously forward.

  Among the rocks, Zhang Ming's eyes were excitedly watching Gan Xiong lead his army forward slowly, with great anticipation in his eyes, and from time to time, he muttered unclearly: "Come on, come on, let me chop you all down and go to Xudu to collect the reward..."

  Time slowly passed, and Gan Xiong also led his army to arrive at the central part of Luanshi Beach, Gan Xiong furrowed his brow vigilantly looking around this area, tightly grasping his long spear, secretly guarding against sudden events.

  Gan Xiong found that as he got closer to the Rocky Beach, the strange feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger. Before he could even reflect on what it was, a excited roar made Gan Xiong leap up like a cheetah, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a dangerous gaze.

  "Haha... brothers, kill them, let's kill them, we'll go north and get General Cao to personally grant us titles and make us generals..."

  "Kill, kill, kill..."

  Over a thousand bandits under the command of the brave General Zhang, shouted and charged towards Liu Xuan and Gan Ying. Zhang Ming's loud shouting and his troops' disorderly charge made even Gan Ying momentarily stunned, not to mention Gan Ying... Even Liu Xuan behind him looked surprised at Zhang Ming's crazy face and the over a thousand enemy soldiers.

  Liu Xuan's mouth twitched slightly, and he secretly wailed in his heart: "Damn it, is this the ambush set by Mada? This...this is too damn unfair!"

  Liu Xuan saw that each of the enemy soldiers had red eyes, as if they had taken stimulants or been given a shot of adrenaline, and were charging forward with reckless abandon. Liu Xuan furrowed his brow, then quietly instructed the messenger: "Pass down the order to form a defensive array."

  The orderly immediately raised the flag, and the drumbeat suddenly rose. In a moment, Gan Xiong heard it, his face cold as frost, raising his gun to shout loudly: "Listen to my command, form an array."

  In an instant, a thousand troops suddenly split into three lines, arrayed in strict formation and waiting.

  Liu Xuan, standing in the military formation, gazed at the charging enemy army with a tense and excited expression. To be strict, this was his first time commanding a battle, and Liu Xuan could even clearly hear the sound of his own heartbeat pounding away...

  As he watched the enemy soldiers getting closer and closer, Liu Xuan slowly raised his right arm, his sharp eyes fixed intently on the enemy army.

  Two hundred steps, one hundred and fifty steps...

  "Why hasn't the order been given yet? The...the enemy soldiers are charging over."

  "It's true. Now that they've come, why not give the order to engage the enemy?"

  Gan Xiong's eyes, laced with worry, gazed in Liu Xuan's direction, filled with doubt and confusion. However, upon hearing his subordinates muttering complaints under their breaths, a sudden surge of irritation flashed across Gan Xiong's face, and he abruptly turned around, bellowing: "What are you all murmuring about? Shut your mouths!"

  Gan Xiong seemed to have some prestige in the hearts of these soldiers. With this one loud shout, many soldiers were all stunned and silent like cicadas in winter.

  As the enemy army's silhouette drew closer, Gan Xiong's anxiety grew. Just then, Liu Xuan's voice finally rang out, and Gan Xiong's heart slightly relaxed, shaking his head to cast aside the distracting thoughts in his mind. His sharp gaze swept across the enemy lines, as if searching for an opponent.