Chapter 7: The Great Thief Peng Yue

  Under the dictatorship of Hu Hai and others, the speed at which the Qin Empire declined from prosperity to decline was astonishing. The old order was broken, and a new order gradually took shape.

  The internal contradictions within the Qin army gave Li Yuan an opportunity to take advantage of, Zhang Han's attempt to extend a helping hand was met with resistance, Wang Li's attempt to annex was out of reach, as for Yang Xiong and Zhao Bi, they had little knowledge of Li Yuan's situation, and Li Yuan was active between Xingyang and Dingtao, the insufficient military strength of Yang Xiong could only be helpless.

  The mutiny of the Qin army, known for its strict military discipline, was an unexpected move that broke the norm. Li Yuan's identity as a time-traveler, the sharp conflict between the local troops and the imperial court, the lack of high-ranking officers to confront Li Yuan, and the relief of being saved from death all combined to enable Li Yuan's army to take its first step towards independence from vassalage.

  Dig deep tunnels and accumulate large quantities of grain.

  Li Yuan's current idea is simple, with immature wings. The foundation of this family of over a thousand people is too thin to be thinner, without status, fame, or wealth. The fantasy of having famous and capable people flocking to join him with just one call is merely an absurd dream.

  The surroundings of Daliang are all powerful and heroic, without mentioning the likes of Xiang Liang, Zhang Han, Xiang Yu, and Liu Bang. Even the likes of Yang Xiong and Zhao Bi are much stronger than Li Yuan. Seizing the time to reorganize the army and firmly grasping military power is Li Yuan's top priority.

  No matter whether it was Zhou Xing, Wang Laoliu, or Hu Zhuang and He Ping, Li Yuan had never seen these people's names in any historical records. In other words, they were all unknown nobodies. Relying on these people to compete with Xiang Yu, Liu Bang and others, Li Yuan hadn't reached the point of being arrogant and ignorant.

  Talent is cultivated.

  Since he had taken the first step towards independence, there was no turning back. Li Yuan did not want to become a sacrifice for some powerful force before long.

  August 27th.

  The Qin army had been resting in Daliang for ten days when the peaceful situation was suddenly disrupted. The great thief of Daliang, who had always been in contact with Liu Bang and others, also began to eye this small and newly defeated Qin army. Peng Yue, the great thief of Julu Marsh, gathered several groups of small thieves, proclaimed himself the Lord of Julu, led more than 5,000 thieves, claiming to be tens of thousands of good men from Liang, and came to Rongyang.

  Great thief Peng Yue, word Zhong. This Han Dynasty founding meritorious general who was on par with Han Xin and Ying Bu was not an easy opponent to deal with. Peng Yue was the originator of guerrilla warfare tactics, retreating when the enemy advances, attacking when the enemy is stationed, and pursuing when the enemy is exhausted, harassing the Overlord Xiang Yu until he was at his wit's end. Fortunately, Li Yuan was not Xiang Yu, and Peng Yue's set of tactics had long been put into practice by Taizu in later generations. In terms of actual application, Li Yuan's level was not much worse than Peng Yue's.

  The bigger the family and business, the more worries there are; but Li Yuan is now penniless and has nothing to worry about. His response strategy is to remain unchanged in the face of countless changes, keeping his troops concentrated within the city of Xucheng, with one unit monitoring the thieves, while the rest continue to train, making it impossible for Peng Yue and others to find any weaknesses.

  The standoff continued until early September, Li Yuan saw the dismantling of the troops and ignored Peng Yue's external moves. Peng Yue finally lost patience, and as the rectification deepened, the combat effectiveness of the Qin army was also constantly improving, which made Peng Yue feel like sitting on pins and needles. The 5,000 thieves had to eat and drink, belonged to different factions, and looked at each other with dislike, not a few internal conflicts broke out, and the events of drawing knives became more frequent, making Peng Yue extremely annoyed.

  On September 11th, Peng Yue, who couldn't bear it any longer, issued a challenge letter and wanted to have a one-on-one duel with Li Yuan before the battle.

  Leaders made an appointment to fight in front of the array, and such events were not uncommon in the cold weapon era. Peng Yue was also very confident in his own military strength. If he won Li Yuan, his prestige among the thieves would only be higher, and it would be easier to suppress some disobedient thieves at that time.

  Peng Yue had this intention, and Li Yuan was also worried about how to quickly establish prestige in the army. Confronting bandits for a long time, Li Yuan was not completely without pressure. Liu Bang's army would advance westward soon, and only then would there be fish in troubled waters. If they were blocked at Daliang for a long time, it wouldn't be good.

  At high noon, the two armies formed their lines on the banks of the great river, with the Qin army to the west and the bandits to the east.

  Peng Yue was about thirty years old, with a height of nearly 1.85 meters, half a head taller than Li Yuan. He had a full beard and a pair of leopard-like eyes that stared like bronze bells, his appearance was extremely frightening. People who were timid would be afraid to speak in front of him.

  "Li Yuan, you little kid! Peng Zhong has come to avenge his brother's death. Today, we'll settle the score once and for all. What do you say?" Peng Yue boomed in a loud voice, taking big strides forward, trying to intimidate him first.

  "Great Leader Peng Dehuai, how magnificent!"

  "Kill the Qin bandits!"

  The bandits worshiped strength and saw that Peng Yue's momentum was overwhelming. They cheered loudly, praising Peng Yue's actions.

  Compared to the chaotic shouts of the bandits, the Qin soldiers were silent, their faces flushed with suppressed anger, their hands tightly gripping their weapons.

  "Peng Zhong, are you a performer? Why are you shouting so loudly." Li Yuan Chang stepped forward, his expression cold and stern, his voice not loud but enough to be heard clearly. The greatest test since crossing over was in front of him, leaving no room for even the slightest mistake. His eyes had already condensed into a fierce and solemn battle intent, and the back of his right hand grasping the copper spear also bulged with powerful veins, just like the rough scales on an alligator's back.

  "What did you say? You dare to scold me, you little thief." Peng Yue glared with a pair of bull eyes, seemingly unable to believe his ears. Li Yuan looked at least ten years younger than him and was also smaller in stature. Such an opponent, in Peng Yue's opinion, wouldn't be a problem to defeat, and as for whether to spare his life or not would depend on Peng's mood. Now, Li Yuan actually dared to provoke him, it was simply seeking death.

  "Who is the little thief scolding?" Li Yuan repeated calmly.

  "You little scoundrel, I'll scold you!" Before realizing he had been deceived, Peng Yue immediately added another sentence. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late to take back what he had said.

  "Looking for death!" Peng Yue was furious and rushed towards Li Yuan, holding his sword and stabbing it at Li Yuan's face, since he couldn't gain the upper hand in words, he would settle it with a fight.

  Li Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, his footsteps changed and moved, his left hand rounded shield blocked upwards, his right hand copper spear flashed towards Peng Yue's ribs, the sword and shield roared, what made Peng Yue astonished was that in terms of strength, Li Yuan seemed to be on par with him!

  "Come again!" Peng Yue's eyes flashed with fierce flames, his body slightly retreated, letting the long spear pass by, and immediately counterattacked.

  "Ah!"

  Li Yuan responded with a loud shout, suddenly abandoning his shield and gripping the bronze spear in both hands to meet the attack, its sharp point tearing through the air with a shrill whistle.

  The collision of forces just now made his heart surge, but in terms of strength, Peng Yue was slightly stronger. At this moment, Li Yuan's mind had no distractions, and he didn't see the sharp sword stabbing at his chest. He fought with his life on the line, and even if he was pierced through the heart by a single sword, he would still use his spear to kill his opponent in the same way.

  ;