Chapter 24: Tiger Trap Pass

  It's almost New Year's. After passing through Shanxi, the atmosphere of the New Year suddenly became much thicker, perhaps because it is located in the Central Plains, the lives of the common people are slightly better than those outside Shanxi. Only a little bit, there are still many beggars on the streets, and child traffickers can be seen everywhere. Before reaching Shangdang, the dry rations they brought were almost gone, and for this remaining section of road, they could only pretend not to see.

  Snowflakes fluttered and fell, the air suddenly turned cold. Wang Qian said clearly that the order from the superior was to arrive in Luoyang before the end of the year, and there were only a few days left until the end of the year. So they had no choice but to venture forward in the snow. Several people bought some thick clothes, and the horses galloped non-stop towards Luoyang. The water of the Yellow River had already frozen, and the thick ice surface could fully support a horse-drawn carriage. This way, they saved the money for hiring a boat.

  Three days before the end of the year, they arrived at Tiger Trap Pass. Tiger Trap Pass is the eastern gate of Luoyang, named after King Mu of Zhou trapped tigers here. The terrain of Tiger Trap Pass is treacherous, connected to Mount Song in the south and the Yellow River in the north, with mountains and ridges intersecting, forming a natural barrier. It has the momentum of one man holding the pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it, making it a place that military strategists have fought over for generations. Long Fei didn't care about these things, hearing the name Tiger Trap Pass immediately made him think of the story of the three heroes fighting Lü Bu at Tiger Trap Pass. The timing of his arrival was just right, he could still catch this good show, and he really wanted to see what Liu, Guan, and Zhang looked like now.

  Entering the Tiger Trap Pass, what comes into view is the army, everywhere is the army! Those with guns, those with knives, those with arrows on their backs, those riding horses, and those in carriages, all shapes and sizes. When they speak, it's surprisingly the long-unheard dialect of my hometown. A pure Northwestern accent makes Long Fei feel especially close to home. Without guessing, it's clear that these people are the ones sent by Dong Zhuo to defend the Tiger Trap Pass.

  Long Fei spoke in his hometown dialect and generously offered to treat the group, quickly becoming fast friends with them. After making some inquiries, he discovered that the one guarding Tiger Trap Pass was actually Zhang Ji, one of Dong Zhuo's four great generals. Speaking of Zhang Ji, it's worth mentioning that Long Fei knew very well that under Zhang Ji were two men who would later become unheralded heroes in the Three Kingdoms era. One was Zhang Ji's nephew, Zhang Xiu, a master archer who guarded the isolated city of Wan City, and even Cao Cao and Liu Biao didn't dare to underestimate him. The other was an even more famous figure, known as the Poison Master Jia Xu, a man on par with Guo Jia and Zhuge Liang.

  A large crowd was drinking happily in the tavern. Suddenly, a great chaos erupted on the street. From afar, dozens of war horses were seen galloping towards them from the direction of the city gate. The civilians and soldiers on the street scrambled to avoid being trampled, with those who were slower either getting whipped or sent flying tens of meters away before being trampled by the horse hooves. The noise in the tavern suddenly decreased, as everyone quietly watched the dozen horses galloping towards them.

  Those horses are all good horses, especially the one in front, with a fiery red body and a circle of white hair on its hooves. It is eight feet tall and twelve feet long, with a slender waist, long legs, and a round belly. When it runs, it moves slowly and steadily, and the rider on its back doesn't move at all. The young man is not very old, wearing a golden helmet and armor, with a precious sword hanging from his waist, and a fiery red cloak fluttering in the wind, looking exceptionally majestic.

  "Ah...... mom...... mom......" A four or five-year-old child was suddenly frightened by the chaos and didn't know what to do, standing in the middle of the street crying and shouting for his mother.

  Zhang Hua burst out laughing: "Brothers, whoever can knock that kid flying, I'll reward him with a vat of good wine!" The crowd behind him immediately gained spirit and added several lashes to the whip, causing the horses' speed to suddenly increase. Just as one horse was about to trample the child, a woman outside the crowd wailed and begged for mercy, already collapsed on the ground, pleading to spare her child.

  Long Fei swiftly picked up a small wine cup from the table and flung it out with his wrist strength. The horse that was galloping rapidly suddenly had something heavily smash into its head. The horse was startled, lifted its front hooves, and stood up on its hind legs. The rider on the horse didn't react in time and was thrown off, landing heavily on the ground. The horses behind couldn't stop in time. Several miserable cries were heard, and that guy had already been trampled once, lying there motionless.

  Just as Long Fei threw the wine cup, Zhao Yun sprang out of the tavern in one arrow step. He picked up the frightened child from under the horse's hooves and handed it to the woman who was about to faint.

  "You're causing trouble again, didn't you say you wouldn't interfere with trivial matters?" Wang Qiang scolded angrily.

  Long Fei smiled: "I'm used to it, I'll definitely pay attention next time! Please, madam, supervise!"

  Zhang Huo pulled the reins, and the red warhorse stopped steadily. More than a dozen bodyguards had already surrounded Zhao Yun in the center. Turning back to look at the guy lying on the ground motionless, Zhang Huo angrily said: "Who are you? How dare you be so bold and hit my men! Do you know where this is? Who am I?"

  Zhao Yun let out a cold snort: "This is Tiger Trap Pass, my surname is Zhao, my name is Yun, and my style name is Zilong. No matter who you are, if you ride your horse to crash into people, I'll have to take care of it!"

  "Good...!" Long Fei shouted loudly, and the surrounding villagers also responded in unison.

  Zhang Hua scanned the surroundings, scaring everyone into hastily lowering their heads and holding back their voices. Turning his head to look at Zhao Yun again: "Zhao Yun? Humph! You injured my men, so you must die. Brothers, take him down for me!" A dozen or so cavalrymen rushed forward, with two dismounting and approaching Zhao Yun.

  In the tavern, someone suddenly shouted loudly: "Dong Zhuo's soldiers have arrived, no wonder they were despised by the people, this is a sign of defeat!" This remark shocked everyone inside and outside the tavern. This was Tiger Trap Pass, in Luoyang territory. Who was the greatest in Luoyang? Not the Emperor, but Dong Zhuo! To utter such insults against Dong Zhuo on his own turf, in front of his subordinates, could only be explained by one reason: seeking death!

  Everyone stared at Long Fei, and the several Western Liang soldiers who had just been drinking with him hastily stood up and retreated far away. Zhang Huai angrily said: "Where did this madman come from? He actually insulted Taishi, and didn't take him down into pieces!"

  Several cavalrymen dismounted and entered the wine shop. All that could be heard was a loud commotion inside, and then the several cavalrymen who had entered came out with their faces bruised and swollen. Zhao Yun suddenly struck out at the two men surrounding him on the street, easily knocking them to the ground, dodged Zhang Xiu's slashing sword, and entered the wine shop.

  Zhang Xiu glared at his subordinates, who had been subjected to such humiliation before, and angrily shouted: "Useless things, all of you are a bunch of useless things!" He also yelled at the surrounding Western Liang soldiers who were watching the commotion: "All of you come together, take action! My uncle has wasted his efforts on raising this group of white-eyed wolves!"

  "Hahaha……" Long Fei laughed, leading the crowd from the wine shop to come and measure Zhang Hua up and down. The young man Zhang was not bad, a few years older than Zhao Yun, without Zhao Yun's good skin, but with a healthier ancient copper color, and his appearance was also good, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, straight nose, and square mouth. Red horse, red cloak, very majestic.

  Zhang Xiu also looked at Long Fei, wearing coarse cloth clothes and thin-soled shoes. His figure was very tall, and his whole body was extremely symmetrical. His two eyes were unforgettable at a glance, because nothing could be seen from Long Fei's eyes. Zhang Xiu grasped the treasure sword: "Who are you? Are you in cahoots with him?"

  "What do you think?"

  Looking at Long Fei and others' arrogant appearance, Zhang Hua became even angrier: "Take action! All of you come up, capture the leader, General will reward one thousand coins!"

  The money offensive was effective, and some Xiliang soldiers were moved. They slowly approached Long Fei's encirclement, with someone leading the way, and soon many others followed. Zhao Yun, Ta Leng, and Wang Qian immediately surrounded the city in a circle to guard against the surrounding Xiliang soldiers. Long Fei, on the other hand, had an expression of indifference and instead walked towards Zhang Huai: "What's the point? Just us few people making such a big fuss isn't worth it. No need for you all to take action, I'll go with him myself!"

  Long Fei stretched out his hands, and the Western Liang soldiers looked up at Zhang Hua on horseback. Zhang Hua snorted: "I thought he would be a man who would rather die than yield, but it turns out he's just a softie. Bind him for me and take him back to the mansion to deal with him properly!"

  "Halt!" A loud shout. The Western Liang soldiers hastily stopped their hands. On the outer edge of the crowd, a middle-aged general with a golden helmet and armor sat majestically on his horse, looking at this group of Western Liang soldiers with a face full of anger. Everyone made way for him, and the general rode into the inner circle. Zhang Huai dismounted and saluted: "Uncle, why have you come?"

  "I won't come, are you going to turn the sky upside down?" Zhang Ji stared at Zhang Xiu.

  "They insulted Tai Shi, I'll catch them and hand them over to Uncle for punishment..." Zhang Xiang brought up the topic.

  Long Fei looked at the uncle and nephew, and said to Zhang Ji: "I'm telling you, General Zhang, you should take good care of your nephew. On the main street, he's riding his horse recklessly and hurting people. All the civilians and soldiers can see it clearly! Isn't that right?"

  "Right! Right! Almost cost lives!" Someone in the crowd responded, perfectly coordinated.

  Zhang Xiu glared at those people: "Don't shout! All of you shut up!"

  Zhang Ji cracked his whip and struck Zhang Xiu's back with a loud "crack". The shouting crowd immediately fell silent. "You disobedient thing, I've told you so many times, but you never listen! Come on, take him away and teach him a lesson!" Several soldiers rushed over and bound Zhang Xiu without hesitation. Zhang Ji glanced at Long Fei, turned his horse around and walked towards the edge of the crowd.

  As soon as Zhang Ji left, the Western Liang soldiers also lost their interest in drinking, let alone drinking with someone who had scolded Dong Zhuo. They dispersed one after another. Long Fei suddenly became a hero in the hearts of the people who dared to fight against the powerful and wealthy. The shopkeeper and his assistants at the wine house welcomed him with smiles, constantly serving wine and dishes. A woman carrying a child hurriedly knelt down to thank the benefactor for saving her life, while Zhao Yun hastily helped her up and said some kind words before sending her away.

  Although it's not a big deal, it's still a good thing, and several people are delighted. Just as they were getting into the swing of things, a man in a gray robe with a scholarly air, holding a wine cup and smiling: "May I invite you gentlemen to have a drink?"

  Long Fei looked up and saw that the man was about thirty years old, with a small mustache on his chin, eyes not big but shining inwardly, and a long shirt that was somewhat worn out but clean. "Please sit down, sir!"

  The two men drank three large cups in a row. Long Fei then said: "I am Long Fei, these few are my friends, may I ask who you are, sir..."

  "Ah, surname Long, originated from the Yu Long clan, and you're from Tianshui, so it turns out we're fellow townspeople!" The other person slightly shook his head: "From what I know, there aren't many people in the world with the surname Long. The most famous one is probably Dragon Chui, a great general of Chu, and after that, there are hardly any notable figures!"

  Long Fei said: "My father's surname is Long and I'm also surnamed Long. I have nothing to do with that other Long, I am who I am!"

  "Hahaha……" The man chuckled a few times, raised his neck and drank the wine in his cup: "Brave and generous, Jia Yu admires you. If you trust me, follow me to meet General Zhang Ji. With your talent, you will surely be highly valued by General Zhang!"