Chapter 16: Hua Xiong

  "Isn't it the imperial army? If not, then is it a border army? Which route are they from?"

  The Han dynasty originally had strict control over the military, but as time went on, many problems were exposed, such as the frequent changes in the number of soldiers and horses in the capital city. The emperor even had to set up a new army to control them, similar situations occurred many times, leading to more and more chaos, and even lost control of the military forces from other places, almost becoming the private soldiers of local garrison officials.

  The man in front should be a small vanguard, judging from his armor and momentum, he should be the elite of the long-time war-torn border town. Such troops are mostly from the northern armies of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xuan already had some guesses in his mind, but he still needed Cao Cao, who was more familiar with this circle, to confirm it.

  "Look at their armor and weapons, they should be Western Liang soldiers!"

  The Western Liang soldiers are now mostly concentrated under Dong Zhuo's command, which means that Dong Zhuo has arrived!

  Liu Xuan's eyes narrowed as he recalled that there was indeed such a scene on the way back to the palace, but the situation in the book was different from now.

  The Emperor and the King of Chenliu had been fleeing for a long time and were delayed for many days before being found, and they did not rush all the way, only to be intercepted by Dong Zhuo halfway.

  This time I knew early on where the Emperor was going, and along the way, there was no delay in timing. I thought I wouldn't meet Dong Zhuo again, but unexpectedly, I still met this army.

  But he also saw that something was not right, originally Dong Zhuo had already blocked the road with a large army, but now only a small vanguard of about 300-500 cavalrymen could be seen, and no one seemed to be like Dong Zhuo.

  "Isn't this Dong Zhuo's vanguard? Hasn't Dong Zhuo arrived yet?"

  Although he was somewhat perplexed in his heart, the top of Liu Xie's head in his arms was getting hotter and hotter, at this time he had no energy to entangle with these guys.

  Logically speaking, Liu Xie's life and death have nothing to do with Liu Xuan. In fact, if Liu Xie were to die, it would be more beneficial for Liu Xuan. However, although he doesn't have much sense of belonging in this world and only sees the whole world as a tool for his revenge, deep down he is not that kind of person who doesn't care about anything. Moreover, Liu Xie is now only eight or nine years old, and to let such a child die just to make his own future path smoother, he really can't bring himself to do it.

  Moreover, Liu Xie did not have any real grudges against him, and now that he had fallen ill due to his own actions, he felt uneasy in his heart and naturally wanted to do his best to treat him.

  Seeing soldiers and horses blocking the way ahead, he immediately rode out of the formation and shouted: "What troops are you? How dare you block the Son of Heaven? What do you want to do?"

  The opposing troops seemed to have a moment of hesitation, and at the same time, many cavalrymen turned their eyes towards a tall general, as if asking what to do next.

  Looking at their reaction, Liu Xuan knew that these cavalrymen did not know who they were blocking, but rather the general who led them, which made Liu Xuan very curious.

  This man, although sitting on a horse, still looked like he was over nine feet tall, with a tiger's back and bear's waist. His facial features were quite square, his thick eyebrows seemed to be slightly raised, and his extremely spirited eyes were also sizing him up.

  Holding a large knife in hand, under the moonlight its cold light flashes --- even if it's not some kind of divine weapon, this knife is not an ordinary blade, it must be a superior weapon carefully crafted by artisans. Generally, those who can wield such a weapon are people with great martial prowess and prestige in the military.

  Liu Xuan took a look at the general and silently cursed: "Do all Han people take hormones to grow up? My height of over 8 feet is only slightly above average in this era, but generals with some reputation are always over 9 feet tall. Are they martial arts practitioners or basketball players?"

  In his heart, he muttered to himself, but his hands moved without slowing down by half a point. With a "clang" sound, he drew out the long knife at his waist and shouted angrily: "Leading soldiers to block the road, holding weapons in hand, isn't this an attempt to rob the emperor?"

  As soon as this statement came out, the officials behind also had some fear, and there were timid people who secretly scolded: "Even if you hijack, why do you have to shout it out clearly? Don't you think the other side dares not kill?"

  Of course, there were also loyal ministers, and one by one they drew out their weapons. Cao Cao and Chunyu Qiong shouted at their subordinates to form a battle array, with the emperor protected in the center.

  Cao Cao guarded the right wing, Xun Yu guarded the left wing, and Taishi Yang Bi and Wang Yun led the way, shielding the Emperor behind them. As they formed this array, the opposing troops grew even more chaotic. If it hadn't been for that general shouting angrily at the front, perhaps some soldiers would have already scattered to clear a path.

  "The enemy general will arrive immediately, we must not disrupt our formation!"

  His shout was originally not loud enough to reach the other side, but Liu Xuan was a special person with senses far superior to ordinary people. He immediately understood that this group of people were indeed the vanguard troops sent by Dong Zhuo, and their purpose was to block the Emperor and buy time for themselves to bring in reinforcements.

  As for the governor, it was because Dong Zhuo was appointed as the Governor of Liangzhou. Emperor Ling previously promoted him to be the Shepherd of Bingzhou due to his repeated military achievements, but Dong Zhuo refused to accept and leave Liangzhou, where he had painstakingly built up his power base and controlled many soldiers.

  To avoid trouble, Dong Zhuo also did not dare to claim himself as the Governor of Bingzhou, and still referred to himself as the Inspector of Liangzhou. His subordinates were also ordinary, and they did not dare to call Dong Zhuo the Governor of Bingzhou, but still called him the Inspector, for fear of being caught and used as a handle.

  As for how the meeting came to this point, it was all because of He Jin's decision to invite outside troops into the capital. However, just as Dong Zhuo was halfway there, a scout rushed in to report that the palace was in chaos and the Emperor had been taken out of the palace. Dong Zhuo suddenly realized that this was an excellent opportunity for him to rise to power, so he immediately dispatched his general Hua Xiong with 300 cavalry to proceed ahead. If the Emperor had not yet been found, then it didn't matter; but if he had already returned to the palace, they must hold off the opposing forces until Dong Zhuo arrived.

  Hua Xiong was one of Dong Zhuo's top generals, but he was not good at strategy. He was more skilled in commanding troops and directing battles on the battlefield, and his personal bravery was also a top-notch figure in the Western Liang army. What this task is for, he doesn't understand, but he doesn't need to understand either, just do his job with all his heart.

  So when Liu Xuan shouted angrily, he didn't know how to respond and finally chose not to speak, anyway, he arranged his troops like this, no one dared to rush forward, and when Dong Zhuo arrived, naturally, Prefect Dong would help him make excuses.

  Hua Xiong's calculation is indeed correct. From a normal perspective, although there are soldiers in front of us, there are more ordinary officials. These people also understand some combat skills (the scholars of the Han Dynasty were not like those weak and bookish scholars of later times, many famous scholars were well-versed in both literature and martial arts, at the very least they understood decent swordsmanship, such as Lu Zhi and Wang Yun). However, if it really comes down to a fight to the death, how many are willing to risk their lives?

  As for those soldiers and horses in the capital, they still have to protect the Son of Heaven, so it's impossible for them to charge and kill fiercely. As long as you don't take the initiative to attack, they won't come out to provoke you either.

  But he had calculated a thousand times and ten thousand times, but never thought of a variable, that is Liu Xuan in front of him.

  Hua Xiong initially saw Liu Bei draw his sword (he didn't notice it was a dagger), and thought this young man was just relying on the emperor's authority to intimidate him, but afterwards he didn't think so.

  Only to see Liu Xuan's left hand supporting Chenliu King, his right hand holding a horizontal knife by his side, urging the war horse, he rushed straight over.

  "You ignorant little brat, today I'll let you know how formidable the heroes of the world are!"

  Hua Xiong, having long been in the thick of battle, had fought against those extremely ferocious Qiang people and Xiongnu, with more victories than defeats. How could he possibly be afraid of this young man who was clearly still underage?

  However, he also saw that the young man was able to walk at the front of the large team, and his status was probably not low. He just wanted to teach him a lesson, so he turned his big knife over in his hand, intending to use the back of the blade to knock him off his horse and be done with it.

  His behavior was naturally seen by Liu Xuan, but he didn't hold back at all. He charged towards Hua Xiong, their horses crossing paths, and with a swift slash of his long knife, everyone saw a flash of silver light, like a crescent moon suddenly appearing on the ground, followed by a burst of bright red splashing out, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream and the sound of something hitting the ground.

  Liu Xuan pulled the reins to stop the war horse, and the horse suddenly stopped after a rapid dash. The entire horse and rider rose into the air, perhaps due to Liu Xuan's strength. The war horse let out a loud whinny, and its front hooves kicked wildly in mid-air before landing - earlier, Liu Xuan's move had made the war horse realize his power, although it had suffered a setback, it didn't dare to be disobedient again, standing obediently, using its hooves to scratch the ground to vent its frustration.

  Turning his head, he saw Hua Xiong lying on the ground, with a long wound from his right shoulder to his left abdomen, his armor almost useless, cut open directly, and fresh blood flowing out, which was frightening.

  The large knife that was just in hand had also been broken into two segments and thrown aside. Although the blade still shone with a cold light, it no longer seemed as frightening as before.

  Hua Xiong struggled as if he wanted to get up, but his injuries were too severe, and every movement made the blood flow even faster. If not for his quick reflexes, rushing out in time to drag him aside and administer first aid, he would have bled to death.

  "Sure enough, it's a veteran of many battles, and after sensing something was off, he instinctively dodged to the back!"

  It was just that moment that allowed Hua Xiong to avoid a tragic death and preserve his life, but this injury would not be fully recovered in three to five months if it were not nursed.

  Liu Xuan turned back to look at the Western Liang cavalry, saw their faces full of fear, and shouted: "Whoever blocks my way again will be treated like this man! Quickly clear the road, otherwise I'll charge you with treason!"

  Although these Western Liang cavalrymen were elite border troops, they were still nominally Han dynasty soldiers, and being led by their superiors to block the Emperor had already made them uneasy. Now, seeing that a top general like Hua Xiong ended up in such a situation, they became even more fearful.

  When Liu Xuan drank, they hastily made way for him, not daring to block his path again. They feared being accused of some crime and then beheaded by a single sword stroke, and even after death, they would not rest in peace, lest they bring great calamity upon their families.

  Liu Xuan saw the Western Liang army open up a path, beckoned to the people behind him and was about to continue on his way when he suddenly saw dust rising in the distance, clearly indicating that a large group of people had arrived.

  "Has Dong Zhuo arrived?"