Chapter Seventeen: Ghost City's Great Beam

  The first ray of sunlight at dawn slowly rose from the horizon, and in the camp of Fan Jun, soldiers who had rested for a night after having a good dream early started cooking and began their first day's journey.

  When you have rice, you will have food to eat and won't go hungry.

  Heavier and heavier taxes, corrupt local officials, endless military service and forced labor that the imperial court does not care about, as well as cruel and inhumane laws, have forced more and more people to take the path of rebellion.

  Most people can't walk this road to the end!

  But as long as you persist, maybe one day those things that were once indulged in dreams and didn't dare to think about with eyes open will come along with countless scars on the body.

  "Get up!" Fan Kuai glared at the soldiers with a pair of bright red eyes, kicking and beating those who were still lying on the ground and couldn't get up. The military discipline of Fan Kuai's troops had always been a big problem, not because these soldiers were not brave in battle, but because most of them were strong and simple-minded rough men, making these people strictly follow the strict rules was as difficult as climbing to heaven.

  The person who created this situation is none other than Fan Kuai himself. Among Liu Bang's many generals, Fan Kuai was one of the most trusted by Liu Bang, being both a brother and a brother-in-law. These two relationships, combined with Fan Kuai's straightforward personality, made him very transparent in his thoughts and actions, which made him a very useful enforcer and bodyguard for Liu Bang, who was a master at reading people's minds.

  The dawn breaks.

  Fan Jun led the troops to eat and drink, with a heroic ambition towards the earth wall that made them depressed yesterday. On the city tower, the banner of the Qin army was still fluttering, but most of the torches on the city had been extinguished.

  "Storm the city!"

  In the midst of cheers, Fan Jun easily jumped onto the wall of Xiping and led the vanguard to kick down the flag of Qin's army, shouting loudly.

  Fan Kuai followed the troops into the city through the open gate, excited but also a little depressed. He had just received news from inside the city that the Qin army had fled in the middle of the night!

  Just a short and not very intense battle, the Qin people were scared away! This group of timid Qin dogs was so frightened that they didn't even take or burn the grain and fodder in the warehouse. However, they can't escape either. The soldiers of the Fan army who entered the city earlier have already asked the citizens, and it is likely that the Qin army did not run far and hid in the nearby abandoned capital of Wei, Daliang.

  "That young Qin dog named Li Yuan won't think that hiding will save his life!" Fan Kuai sneered, ordering the troops to speed up their march through the empty city.

  Continue to pursue!

  Since I've offended Old Huang, there's nothing more to say, let's settle this with our lives.

  ——。

  Main beam.

  A lone castle, the former silence was broken with the arrival of Qin soldiers, and a group of birds hidden in the weeds were startled and flew rapidly towards the distance.

  "Hurry up, or else Qin's dog will run away again!" Fan Kuai was leading his troops in pursuit when he saw a flock of birds flying overhead and couldn't help but feel delighted.

  The diligent General Fan's soldiers didn't take Li Yuan's defeated troops seriously, from yesterday's battle it was just a group of local garrison troops hiding in the small city to survive. Such opponents really couldn't stir up any enthusiasm, however, it was said that their leader was a troublesome guy, if they could get his head, it would be a great achievement.

  People's hearts are often the most difficult to measure and also the easiest to guess.

  Li Yuan had an advantage over Fan Kuai, thanks to the vast amount of information from later generations, which gave him a basic understanding of Fan Kuai's personal temperament. Moreover, numerous historical and modern examples from China and abroad provided Li Yuan with different references. In comparison, Fan Kuai knew nothing about Li Yuan. As a butcher by origin, his combat experience came mainly from actual battles, after all, the cultivation of a famous general is a long-term process.

  Underestimating the enemy! From the bottom of his heart, Fan Kuai had never taken Li Yuan and this group of Qin state soldiers seriously. They were just a mob, not worth mentioning, and the counterattack under the city wall of Yongqiu was just a desperate counterattack. Last night's battle only deepened this impression.

  The Qin soldiers who escaped to this desolate city will certainly not be too many, and they are also scattered and hidden separately. This is obvious. Next, it's time for hunting or massacre.

  The wild grass was withered and sparse, occasionally blown down by the wind, and the figures of the Qin army soldiers could already be seen. What a bunch of bandits! Fan Kuai dismounted his horse with a pleased expression and rushed forward quickly. Although it would be more troublesome to search for a group of hidden enemies, but capturing them would bring merit. Who let these Qin dogs provoke someone they shouldn't have?

  After Ji Xin's death, Marquis of Wu'an Liu Bang ordered the execution of Li Yuan. Fan Kuai wanted to meet this unassuming but increasingly famous Qin man once more.

  Fan Jun's troops advanced along the faintly visible alleyway, encountering a fork in the road. Initially hesitant, Fan Jun saw the panicked fleeing figures ahead and could no longer care about anything else. Under the leadership of their respective generals and commanders, they prepared to pursue and kill the scattered Qin soldiers.

  ——。

  Li Yuan stood at the intersection of a high wall and an alley, with his back against the high wall and a relatively spacious road in front of him. Around Li Yuan were about 200-300 Qin soldiers, who looked extremely disheveled, most of them having lost their weapons.

  "Hah, Qin dog can't escape! Kill!" Fan Kuai shouted, and without hesitation, he commanded the soldiers to charge forward. Li Yuan was right in front of him, looking like a cornered beast ready to fight back desperately - this was perfect, as Fan Kuai had no patience for spineless enemies.

  It's near!

  Within twenty paces of the Qin troops, victory was within sight. The soldiers under Fan's command rushed forward in a frenzy, their eyes fixed on the heads of the Qin troops, nothing else mattered.

  "Ah!" One of Fàn Jiāng's soldiers suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet give way, and his sturdy body vanished from Fàn Jiāo's line of sight. Beneath the soft grass was a network of tunnels that had been dug out by the Qin army soldiers, and within those tunnels were sharpened bamboo stakes.

  The sharp bamboo shoots burst forth, sometimes even five or six roots pierced in unison, piercing the fallen soldiers of the Fan army, their internal organs ruptured, blood flowing non-stop. Some were even more unfortunate, directly pierced through the skull by the sharp thorns, and for a moment, brain matter splattered everywhere, a ghastly sight. The fallen Fan army officers' terrified cries echoed from beneath the ground, as if they were being tormented by the vengeful spirits of this city.

  "Ghost!"

  "There are ghosts, the vengeful spirits of the city have arrived!" The cries of the Qin army soldiers rose and fell from all directions, accompanied by mournful wails that sent chills down the spines of even the bravest warriors. In ancient times when technology was underdeveloped, the power of superstition over morale was unimaginable. Each soldier had killed at least one enemy, but to say they were not afraid of vengeful spirits coming for their souls would be a lie.

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