Chapter Five: The Bandits

  Li Yu and Wang Xue poured out their hearts there, recalling the past when they watched together the army of Zhang Liang, the Yellow Turban rebel. Suddenly a plan occurred to Li Yu, who gave orders to beat the drums and raise the banners!

  Before long, the drums sounded on both sides like bursting beans. In an instant, from Lord Liu Bei above to the major and minor generals below, each one's helmet and armor was bright, their swords and spears sharp, lined up in two rows, their formation neat and tidy. Soon all the generals had gathered!

  Li Yu sat in the handsome seat, with Wang Xue on his left and Lord Liu Bei on his right.

  The soldiers were led by the small captain, gathered in the drill ground. Li Yu was dressed in armor, holding a command flag, sitting high in the middle, majestic and solemn. With one order: "Roll call!" The central military officer held up the name list, calling out each name, all of whom were present: "Report to the general, everyone is here!" "Step aside!" After the central military officer stepped down.

  Liu Bei asked: "Fourth brother, now beating drums and raising tents, is there already a clever strategy to defeat the enemy?"

  Li Yu said: "Big brother, the bandits will be broken today! All generals listen to orders!"

  Zuo Guanyu, Zou Jing, Cheng Yuanzhi.

  Zhang Fei, Deng Mao, Jian Yong

  The two sides parted and replied: "I will be there!"

  "Generals, tonight we launch a surprise attack on Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army. The outcome of this battle is crucial, and I will not tolerate any carelessness. Our military has 17 strict rules, with 54 penalties for disobedience. Anyone who disobeys will be punished without mercy. My orders must be followed, do not take them lightly." The generals all shouted in unison: "General, rest assured! We are willing to follow your orders, even unto death!" Li Yu said, "Very well, I will give the first order. Where is Guan Yu?"

  "I am here!"

  Li Yu said "Guanyu is obedient!"

  "Present!" Guan Yu, since capturing Cheng Yuanzhi last time and earning the first achievement, had truly admired his fourth brother. He was eager to make achievements. Today, Li You sent the first arrow to his head, he felt that this was a recognition of him, and he was extremely happy in his heart. He hastily paid respects: "Your subordinate awaits your orders!"

  "General Guan! I know you're a brave warrior, with your horse and sword in hand. You have the courage of ten thousand men. Now, I'm giving you a special arrow, ordering you to lead two thousand cavalrymen out from the left flank, charging forward without stopping until you reach the enemy's central camp, where we'll meet up! You must carefully assess the terrain, understand the enemy's situation, and use a small force to defeat a larger one. We can only win this battle, not lose it. I'll be waiting for you in the enemy's central camp, don't make any mistakes!" "Understood!" Guan Yu took the arrow.

  "Zhang Fei, take orders!"

  Zhang Fei hastily stepped forward and saluted: "Your subordinate is here!" "Now, I order you to lead two thousand cavalry troops out of the right side, only to make a horizontal charge, gather at the enemy's central camp, and meet with me! Jointly attack the main camp. Once the Western main camp is broken, the Yellow Turban bandits will be defeated, and the battle will begin. You must quickly break through the enemy array, then lead your troops to kill the central enemy camp and meet with me, don't make any mistakes!"

  "Got it!" Zhang Fei said.

  Cheng Yuanzhi, listen to the order!

  "Yes!" Cheng Yuanzhi hurried forward to pay his respects. Since surrendering to Liu Bei's side, Cheng Yuanzhi had not achieved any merit and had been eager for battle, seeking an opportunity to make a name for himself. Today, Li Yu had entrusted him with an independent command arrow, which he felt was a recognition of his abilities, making him extremely happy. He hastily paid his respects: "Your subordinate awaits your orders!"

  "General Cheng Yuanzhi! I know you're a hero with your horse, sword in hand. Now I'm giving you a command arrow, ordering you to lead a thousand cavalry troops out of the right front flank, and charge horizontally all the way to the enemy's central camp, where we'll meet up! You must seize the opportunity to strike at the central main camp, do not disobey orders!"

  "Yes! Your order!" said Cheng Yuanzhi.

  Deng Mao, listen to the order!

  "Mo will be there!" Deng Mao said "I order you to lead a thousand cavalry troops out of the right front side, all the way just galloping, gathering in the enemy's central camp, and meeting with me! The enemy is strong, the opportunity is fleeting, seize the opportunity and then rush to the central main camp, no mistakes are allowed!"

  "General Deng will take command!" Deng Mao was extremely excited, he didn't expect that after just surrendering, he would be given the opportunity to lead troops independently!

  Li Yu picked up the fifth command arrow: "Master, Wang Xue is listening to orders!" "Yes!" Liu Bei and Wang Xue listened, and there was still our matter, hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.

  Li Yu said: "Big brother! You lead Wang Xue, and bring 20,000 infantrymen to ambush behind me. The enemy's attack on our camp is a must-pass route. After the night raid, Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army will definitely retreat from this route, you should set up many archers on both sides, wait for them to come over, lure them into your main formation, and capture them all, not allowing any of them to escape! Also, do not let them rush into the main camp. At that time, the main camp is already empty, if we fail, the consequences are unbearable! After our army breaks through the enemy's central main camp, you must also advance steadily! Remember not to let them see that our main camp is empty, before going out to battle, spread flags and banners in the main camp, making the enemy think that our main force is still in the camp!"

  "Got it!" said Liu Bei and Wang Xue.

  Li Yu did not expect Liu Bei to be so cooperative with himself, and he really believed in Zhuge Liang's loan of the seal and sword to Liu Bei!

  Zou Jing, listen to the order!

  "Present!" Zou Jing stood up and responded, "General Zou! You lead 10,000 infantrymen to occupy the high mountain on the left side, spread out banners and flags, create a fake army, give Zhang Liang and the Yellow Turban bandits the illusion that Colonel Lu Zhi is leading reinforcements from Guangzhou to Qingzhou. Then slowly strangle and kill the Yellow Turban bandits in Zhang Liang's army! Don't move too fast, if you do, it will be obvious which one is the fake army! The goal is to make Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army disheartened and appear to be a turtle in a jar. Remember! Remember! No mistakes are allowed!"

  Zou Jing stood up and responded: "Yes, sir!"

  Li Yu added: "General Zou, you should set up an ambush with archers on the mountain, and prepare many rolling logs and rocks. When they enter the mountain, we'll catch them like turtles in a jar, not allowing a single soldier to escape."

  Li Yu took out the seventh command arrow: "Jian Yong, listen to the order!"

  "Understood!" Jian Yun stood up and said, "Mr. Jian Yun! Before our troops depart, you will lead the vanguard, your mission is the same as General Zou Jing's, to command 10,000 infantrymen, occupy the high mountain on the right side, spread out flags and banners, create a decoy, make Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army think that Commander Huang Pu is leading reinforcements back to Qingzhou! Then slowly use bows and arrows to annihilate Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban bandits! Don't move too fast, or it will be easy to see through the ruse! The goal is to create an illusion that Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army is scattered and in disarray, like a turtle in a jar! You are a civil official, only suitable for long-range attacks, not close combat! Remember! Remember!"

  "Understood!" Jian Yun stood up and said: "Yes, sir!"

  Li Yu ordered: "Immediately prepare food, do not light a fire, only eat dry rations! Tell the soldiers that after this battle, we will make our names known throughout the world! On the day of victory, I will reward the three armies! You must also firm up your hearts, this battle will be won!"

  Zuo Guanyu, Zou Jing, Cheng Yuanzhi.

  Zhang Fei, Deng Mao, Jian Yong

  "We will win this battle!"

  Li Yu said: "Get ready to go down, in a moment, the three armies will act!"

  The crowd on both sides will disperse! The people from all directions have also acted according to orders, and for now, let's not mention it.

  Li Yu led four thousand cavalry troops away from their own camp and rushed to the front of the two armies.

  Li Yu sat on his horse and said, "Today's victory or defeat is in this one move. Come with me to gallop across the battlefield! We have already established our great merit!" After finishing speaking, he pointed with the halberd in his hand, replacing military orders. The four thousand cavalry troops behind him charged forward together, their horses' hooves pounding the ground. At this time, the silver moonlight shone on the ground, and everywhere there were crickets chirping sadly. The fragrance of the night filled the air, weaving a soft net that covered all the scenery. Everything that met the eye was covered by this soft net, even the grass and trees did not seem as real as they did during the day. They all had a vague, ethereal color, each hiding its details, keeping the secret of Li Yu's night raid, giving people a dreamlike feeling! At this time, Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army was still immersed in a beautiful sleep!

  Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Cheng Yuanzhi, and Deng Mao, the four generals, seeing Li You's bravery in taking the lead, led their troops to charge into the enemy camp. They didn't want to show weakness either, so they separately led their armies to charge into the enemy formation! Don't underestimate this ten thousand cavalry, it's like a ten thousand tigers charging into a flock of sheep! The effect of the surprise attack soon became apparent, Zhang Liang's Yellow Turban army suffered heavy casualties, and blood flowed like rivers! When Zhang Liang came to his senses, he immediately ordered the withdrawal of the camp and prepared for a counterattack. However, the messengers on both sides reported that the middle general Lu Zhi and the imperial envoy Huang Pu had arrived with reinforcements from Qingzhou! Zhang Liang was frightened! He thought that if this continued, adding the defenders of Qingzhou, his military advantage would be gone! He hastily ordered his subordinates to dismount and draw their swords, ordering them to attack Liu Bei's main camp at all costs!

  The whole army came to fight, and Li Yu would not let them be so happy so soon. Li Yu had already thought of Zhang Liang's move, and saw the five routes of cavalry, taking advantage of the dark night in the enemy camp, frantically harvesting the lives of the Yellow Turban bandits! Li Yu danced with his Fang Tian Hua Halberd like a windmill, his white robe had turned blood red! This halberd broke through the dead and wounded, one after another! Guan Yu, Guan Er Ye, danced with his Qing Long Yan Yue Dao, opening up and closing down, killing countless enemies, like a war god! Zhang Fei, Zhang San Ye, swung his snake spear left and right, this snake spear, at this time, was like the other half of Yan Wang, coordinating with Zhang Fei's dark face, like Yan Wang, pronouncing the death sentence on the enemy army! Cheng Yuanzhi and Deng Mao were not weak either, two big knives, like tigers entering a sheepfold, killing countless enemies! Behind them, Liu Bei and Wang Xue organized infantry to attack from afar, just a round of bow and arrow calls, summoning the Yellow Turban bandits! As they approached, they rushed forward, harvesting the lives of the enemy army, like farmers harvesting rice, steadily eating away at Zhang Liang's army! And Zhang Liang's army was afraid of Lu Zhi and Huang Pu Song's armies taking advantage of the emptiness to kill them from both sides, so they could only rely on their rear army and central army to organize a counterattack! At this time, Zhang Liang's vanguard had already lost nearly all, unintentionally, Li Yu's night raid made Zhang Liang lose 100,000 soldiers in his vanguard!

  Zhang Liang was furious in his heart, he swung his big knife and knocked down countless soldiers of his own army, letting them continuously organize their troops to counterattack. Zhang Liang gritted his teeth at this time, just thinking of mobilizing part of the left camp to support the central camp's attack on Liu Bei's main camp! However, at this moment, Zou Jing's army moved on the left side, 10,000 infantrymen steadily advanced and killed into the left army, which restrained Zhang Liang's left army troops! Zhang Liang looked far away at the smoke and dust rolling on the mountain on the left side, unaware of how many troops there were! He didn't dare to do it anymore, he gave up this idea!

  But this abandonment, the vanguard thoroughly lost, the vanguard died, escaped, and surrendered! Li Yu's five cavalry routes and one infantry route finally converged on Zhang Liang's central camp! And after several rounds of fierce fighting, Qingzhou City also began to send troops to raid Zhang Liang's rear army! The rear army suffered heavy losses! On the right side of Zhang Liang's army, Jian Yun moved inappropriately, holding back 10,000 soldiers and horses, which restrained the right wing of Zhang Liang's army! Now Zhang Liang can only use his own central camp's troops to resist Li Yu's attack like a raging storm!

  The dark night, the moon is high. But under the sky, it's a desolate scene! The Liu Bei army, led by Li Yu, is crazily harvesting the lives of Zhang Liang's army, like they're ripe wheat waiting to be reaped! Zhang Liang regrets, his heart is filled with hatred! He never thought that Liu Bei's army could launch a surprise attack on his own well-rested Golden Army of 200,000 soldiers, who were waiting in ambush! He hates it! He gazes at the distant Liu Bei army, gritting his teeth and waiting!

  Li Yu took the lead, raised his spear to the sky and shouted "Kill!" as he charged into the enemy camp. At this time, the Yellow Turban army could not withstand Li Yu's spear, so Zhang Liang ordered his men to shoot arrows. Li Yu wielded his spear, protecting himself and his horse, and charged through the archers, killing many Yellow Turbans and causing their bodies to roll on the ground. The general guarding the main gate of the camp rode over to block him, but was met head-on by Li Yu. The general swung his sword: "Are you Li Yu?" "That's right, it's me!" "Li Yu, you're going to die!" Li Yu heard this and became enraged: "You want me to die? Or should I kill you instead?" He raised his spear: "Bandit! Come and take my life!" The enemy general rushed towards Li Yu to attack. But he was no match for Li Yu, and with one blow, Li Yu's spear beheaded him. Zhang Liang saw that his deputy generals were desperately trying to retake the main gate, which had been breached, so he ordered his men to surround Li Yu and take back the gate. The two sides clashed, but Li Yu was not concerned about them at all. With a few swift strokes of his spear, he sent their weapons flying, and they fell off their horses one after another. In an instant, the Yellow Turbans were fleeing in all directions, and Li Yu had already occupied the main gate of the central camp!

  Guan Yu led two thousand cavalrymen and charged into the fray. They killed their way to Li You's location!

  Zhang Fei and Zhang San led two thousand cavalry troops to break through the enemy's formation and headed towards Li Yu's position!

  Cheng Yuqi and Deng Mao converged in the enemy's formation earlier, now the two groups of cavalry are rushing straight towards Li Yu!

  Liu Bei and Wang Xue led two infantrymen to kill the remaining enemy and came towards Li Yu's place!

  The two divisions of Zou Jing and Yan Yong on both sides also successfully held down the left and right wings of Zhang Liang's army. The rear army was also restrained by the defender of Qingzhou and could not come to reinforce, now Zhang Liang can only rely on the central army to fight against Li Yu!

  Li Yu led the troops from all directions to complete the final deployment against Zhang Liang's central army, preparing for a decisive blow!

  Zhang Liang sat upright on his horse with his sword across his lap and asked: "You, the enemy general, must be Li Yuzhi, who lifted the siege of Jiegu County!"

  Li Yuxiao laughed and said: "Not talented is indeed this commander! Are you the thieving general Zhang Liang, the third brother of Zhang Jue?"

  Zhang Liang replied, "It's indeed your Third Master! Today you led the army to defeat my vanguard, plundered my central camp, and ruined my achievements. Today I must take your head to vent my anger!"

  Li Yu smiled and said: "If there is a way for me to be here, I will stay. But I don't know who will take whose head! Do you dare to fight?"

  Zhang Liang cursed: "Little thief, look at the knife!" After that, he raised his knife and came over!

  Li Yu stopped Guan Yu and Zhang Fei from going forward to fight, Li Yu rode his horse forward! Horizontal Heaven Painting Halberd clashed with Zhang Liang's forceful slash on Mount Hua!

  Only a loud "bang" was heard! Zhang Liang was startled, he didn't expect Li Yu to have such great strength, and his own hands were slightly numb! However, Li Yu had a bottom line in his heart, with this move, he understood Zhang Liang's strength. Li Yu flipped his wrist, and the Fang Tian Hua Halberd swung horizontally towards Zhang Liang's waist! Zhang Liang hastily withdrew his sword to block it! There was a "clang" sound, before Zhang Liang could even catch his breath, Li Yu flipped his wrist again, and the Fang Tian Hua Halberd came at Zhang Liang's face with a Golden Rooster Chaotic Headbutt! Zhang Liang hastily withdrew his sword to block it, barely blocking the fatal blow. Before he could even gasp for air, Li Yu horizontally pushed the Fang Tian Hua Halberd, using the halberd handle as a stick, and struck Zhang Liang's waist, causing him to spit out blood and fall off his horse! The soldiers behind him rushed forward to rescue him!

  Li Yu pointed at the halberd image in front of Fang Tian, replacing military orders, and the five troops rushed into the enemy camp!

  The Yellow Turban bandits saw that their commander had been defeated and had long since lost the will to fight, with countless dead and wounded. The two armies clashed in a chaotic battle. Zhang Liang's troops had no will to fight either, so they protected Zhang Liang as he retreated to the rear.

  Li Yu said to Guan, Zhang: "Although we won this morning, the Yellow Turbans are numerous and our troops are few; we must send out a surprise attack to win." So he divided the troops, with General Guan leading the left flank to launch a surprise attack, and Zhang Fei leading the right flank to launch a surprise attack. The drums sounded as a signal, and Zou Jing, Jian Yong, and others came out to respond. The next day at dawn, Liu Bei led his army forward with drums beating. The Yellow Turbans were cut off from their route of retreat, Zhang Liang fled, and the only option was to engage in battle. The six armies emerged simultaneously. When the remaining Yellow Turban troops saw this, they snatched up their weapons and fled. Li Yu's army sounded the drums together and attacked from behind. The enemy suffered a great defeat. They were killed all the way to the foot of Qingzhou City, where Governor Gong Jing also led the civilian militia out of the city to assist in the battle. The Yellow Turbans were defeated, and many were beheaded. Thus, the siege of Qingzhou was lifted.

  Li Yu made a name for himself in this battle, defeating 200,000 enemy troops with an army of 40,000. Zhang Liang fled after vomiting blood! The casualties were only 20,000 men and horses, and 170,000 surrendered soldiers were obtained. The elderly, weak, sick, and disabled were released to return to their fields, and 106,000 able-bodied men were obtained, with 20,000 horses! At this time, Liu Bei's army had 150,000 troops, countless wealth, sufficient food and supplies, 30,000 cavalry, and 120,000 infantry.

  Gong Jing personally came to Liu Bei's military camp to reward the troops after they finished their work.

  Liu Bei said: "Recently, I heard that Zhonglang General Lu Zhi and the bandit leader Zhang Jue fought in Guangzong. As I had previously studied under Lu Zhi, I want to go and assist him."

  Gong Jing said: "This is a good thing, I wonder what Xuande's intention is?"

  Li Yu said: "The great army is on a distant expedition, and countless soldiers and horses have been killed or injured. The money and food are insufficient, please provide assistance to the governor!"

  Gong Jing said: "This matter is easy. In this battle, I will capture 10,000 soldiers and send them all to Xuande. As for the money and grain, I will allocate 100,000 from the treasury to General!"

  Li Yu and Liu Bei bid farewell to Gong Jing!

  Entertain the three armies for three days, then lead the army to prepare to surrender to Guangzong.

  (In the early Three Kingdoms period, there was no warlord chaos. It wasn't until Dong Zhuo usurped power that the warlord chaos began, and various regions started to occupy land and become kings! Don't rush! The early stage is just killing!)

  Longing thoughts for each other, yet longing is hard to express!