Chapter 22: Li Yu's Deception of Dong Zhuo, Liu Bei Wins a Great Victory at Han Zhong!

  Li Yu's great victory over Dong Zhuo at Yangping Pass, Li Yu immediately wrote a memorial and sent it to Liu Bei's army by fast horse after entering Xicheng, and the effect of this victory on Liu Bei's army was evident, greatly boosting the morale of Liu Bei's soldiers. Liu Bei also ordered that after the great defeat of Zhang Lu, the whole army would be rewarded for a month.

  At this time, Zhang Lu's brother Zhang Wei led an army of 100,000 soldiers to invade the border of Yi Province. Liu Bei led his troops to fight back, but Zhang Wei was cowardly and incompetent, and had not yet breached the border of Yi Province. Later, when Zhang Lu heard that Li Yu had defeated Dong Zhuo at Yangping Pass and taken over Bixian City, he sent a messenger to order his brother Zhang Wei to retreat back to Hanzhong, and then ordered Yang Song to go to Yi Province to negotiate a truce. However, Zhang Wei's army was too confident in itself, thinking that it could certainly capture Yi Province with its military strength. This provided Li Yu with an excuse to send troops to Hanzhong!

  At this time, although Li Yu had a great victory over Dong Zhuo's army, the number of soldiers under his command continued to decrease from 200,000 to less than 130,000. The five million prisoners captured in this battle were divided among various factions and units by Guo Jia and Fa Zheng, where they received education and training. Li Yu then had an army of 180,000, but claimed to have 300,000, intimidating Dong Zhuo and preventing him from sending troops to fight again. On the other hand, he could also intimidate Zhang Lu and Liu Biao in Jingzhou.

  Li Yu ordered Zhao Yun to guard Xiangyang City with Huo Gai as his deputy, leading an army of 50,000, including 20,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. Xu Huan was ordered to lead an army of 50,000 to guard Yangping Pass, while Leng Bao and Wu Yi led an army of 30,000 to guard Qishan. Guan Yu and Guo Jia were ordered to lead an army of 20,000 to garrison Chengdu Hanxing Wang's residence, in preparation for a surprise attack.

  Li Yu himself, along with Wang Xue, led an army of 30,000 to rush to Xiaomeng Pass, intending to scold Liu Biao for his betrayal and force him to retreat. This would cut off Liu Biao's hopes. However, these troop movements were made by Li Yu in the middle of the night, in order to deceive Dong Zhuo.

  Li Yu also ordered Zhao Yun to widely display flags and banners in Xiangyang City, creating a fake army, and to hang up large flags with Li Yu's name on them, making it seem as though he had not left. He also ordered Zhao Yun to send scouts into Dong Zhuo's territory, spreading rumors that Li Yu was leading an army of 300,000 to welcome the Emperor and kill the traitor Dong Zhuo. This made Dong Zhuo anxious, and he did not dare to continue sending troops to retake Xiangyang City.

  Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, Li Ru, suggested to him: "If Li Yu wants to advance on Chang'an, he must first take Tianshui City. Tianshui City is a necessary route for Li Yu, whether he comes from Qishan or Xiangyang City. Tianshui City is easy to defend but difficult to attack." He suggested that Dong Zhuo lead the Western Liang iron cavalry, with Ma Teng and Han Sui, to concentrate 150,000 troops in Longyou City. If there was a battle at Tianshui City, they could arrive within three days to provide support.

  He also ordered Lü Bu's subordinates, Zhang Liao and Hou Xuan, to lead an army of 100,000 to garrison Street Pavilion, where they could also arrive within two or three days to provide support if there was a battle at Tianshui City. Han Xin was ordered to lead an army of 150,000 to guard Tianshui City, while Li Su led an army of 50,000 to garrison Wuzhangyuan.

  Dong Zhuo himself remained in Chang'an with Lü Bu, leading an army of 200,000, with 100,000 as the rear army that could provide support for the battle at Tianshui City. Dong Wen was ordered to guard the capital with an army of 100,000. Chen Gong and Wei You, Song Xian, and Wei Xu were ordered to lead an army of 150,000 to garrison Tongguan, in order to prevent other lords from taking advantage of the situation to seize Chang'an.

  It can be said that Li Yu's rumor strategy was successful, and Dong Zhuo did not dare to think about retaking Xiangyang City again. He was now thinking about how to defend Tianshui City. Li Yu claimed to have an army of 300,000, which Dong Zhuo believed, as did Li Ru. Therefore, Li Ru's strategy was correct, and he concentrated 500,000 troops on the Tianshui City front line.

  Some people say that during the Three Kingdoms period, there were not so many people. This is due to Li Yu's policies of "shuang ding ru huang" (registering households) and "huo hao gui gong" (returning taxes).

  The implementation of the policy of "spreading the head tax into the land tax" was first implemented in Yi State, but other local lords responded one after another. The only difference is that the tax burden of other local lords is much heavier than that of Liu Bei's Yi State.

  What is "spreading the head tax into the land tax"? "Spreading the head tax into the land tax" means to spread the head silver into the land tax collection, abolishing the policy of "head tax" implemented by the Han Dynasty for a long time. As a result, landless farmers and other laborers were relieved of their burden of head taxes and labor services that had lasted for thousands of years; the tax burden on landlords was increased, which to some extent restricted or alleviated the concentration of land ownership; while the burden on small-scale farmers was relatively reduced.

  At the same time, the government relaxed its control over household registration, allowing farmers and handicraftsmen to move freely and sell their labor. This was conducive to mobilizing the enthusiasm of the vast number of farmers and other laborers for production, promoting social production progress.

  After the Qin Dynasty was established, a law called "one whip" was implemented, which continued into the Han Dynasty. Now Liu Bei followed Li Yu's suggestion to spread the head silver into the land tax collection, with part of the head silver collected according to the number of people. From then on, local lords responded one after another and implemented it nationwide. After spreading the head tax into the land tax, the head tax and land tax were combined, and the tax was unified based on the land area, simplifying the tax collection and examination procedures.

  Later, social productive forces developed to a certain extent, but naturally, there was an inertial effect of the development of productive forces. What is noteworthy is that at this time, the development of productive forces "was only an increase in the quantity of existing productive forces" rather than a qualitative leap. In agriculture, it was only an increase in cultivated land area and labor force, which precisely explains why rural areas controlled more population than before. In handicrafts, there were only some improvements in craftsmanship and specialization.

  As one of the more important links in the factors of production - production tools did not have a major breakthrough. It can be seen that at this time, the development of productive forces was very limited.

  "The land tax system" suppressed the consolidation of land, allowing many self-cultivating farmers to survive, and injected a strong stimulant into the rule of local lords. Self-cultivating farmers had great adaptability to the feudal system and greater exclusivity towards the relationships between local powerful families and nobles.

  Firstly, self-cultivating farmers were the main bearers of various taxes and labor services under the feudal regime, and their increasing numbers played a stabilizing role in the feudal state power. As Marx said: "The economic manifestation of the existence of the state is taxation." In feudal society, the agricultural population accounted for more than 90%, and the number of self-cultivating farmers was often seen as an indicator of the stability of the feudal economy.

  As a result, the population of the fiefs of local lords surged, with population growth reaching unprecedented levels. The rapid increase in population not only failed to reflect the improvement in productivity but also became a constraint on the development of productive forces. However, this constraint was welcomed by local lords, as it ensured they had sufficient soldiers.

  Because the growth of production materials could not keep up with population growth, it inevitably led to the majority of the population being busy with life and struggling to make ends meet. At this time, joining the army became a viable option! Moreover, from the Western Han to the Eastern Han, the population statistics were mostly around 50-60 million each time, which was clearly due to inaccurate population figures.

  After the implementation of the "land tax system", the population figures increased dramatically. By the time of Emperor Xian, the national population had reached 110 million (I made this up! Don't scold me!). Therefore, at that time, the various local lords had armies of several hundred thousand each!

  At that time, the Han dynasty was divided into nine states, and the most populous were Yizhou and Jingzhou. Yizhou, because it was the first to implement the "land tax system", now had a population of nearly 30 million! Jingzhou, due to its proximity to Yizhou and Liu Biao's relatively benevolent rule, also had a population approaching 20 million!

  Another policy, Huohao Gui Gong, made the local lords not lack money at all, so they dared to form various troops! Huohao Gui Gong is also known as Haosheng Gui Gong. When local officials collect taxes, they will use the excuse of loss to collect more silver, also known as Huohao or Haosheng. However, the scope of Haosheng is larger than that of Huohao, and Haosheng also includes Que Shu Hao and other items.

  The grain transported to the capital was eaten by sparrows and mice, which was called "sparrow and mouse consumption". In the Han Dynasty, for every dan (a unit of measurement) of grain collected, two dou (another unit of measurement) were added as consumption. Later, during Emperor He of Han's reign, the consumption increased from two dou per dan to four dou.

  At this time, Li Yu suggested to Liu Bei that he implement the policy of "Huo Sheng Gui Gong" (fire tax reform), and Liu Bei immediately put it into effect without hesitation. Initially, it was only implemented in Yi Province, but unexpectedly, seven months later, various lords across the country followed suit, making it a national policy. The Han Dynasty's "huo sheng" (fire tax) surcharge was changed to a statutory regular tax, and a system of "yang lian yin" (nourishing officials' silver) was established to combat the arbitrary apportionment behavior of local officials.

  This led to a significant increase in government revenue. At that time, even high-ranking officials like Liu Bei only received 180 taels of silver and 180 dan of rice as their annual salary, while seventh-rank county magistrates only received 45 taels. Local officials could not make ends meet with such meager salaries.

  As a result, the so-called "huo sheng" (fire tax) emerged. Also known as "hao yu" or "sheng yu", it was an additional tax levied without any fixed rules, which local officials were tacitly allowed to collect in addition to regular taxes. After Liu Bei entered Shu, Li Yu suggested three policies: "tan ding ru huang" (land tax reform), "huo sheng gui gong" (fire tax reform), and the establishment of a civil service examination system.

  Liu Bei was a wise ruler who immediately implemented the policy of "huo sheng gui gong" after hearing Li Yu's suggestion. He also ordered that, in addition to their regular salaries, officials in Yi Province would receive a "yang lian yin" (nourishing officials' silver) allowance. Each city would add a certain amount of fire tax to the regular land tax, ranging from 1-10% of the total tax.

  After the implementation of "huo sheng gui gong", this additional tax became part of the government's normal revenue and was uniformly collected and stored in the provincial treasury. A portion of it would be allocated to local officials as their allowance. This reform measure concentrated taxation power, reduced the people's extra burden, increased officials' salaries, and had a positive impact on improving governance and reducing corruption.

  However, other lords who followed suit still found ways to secretly collect additional taxes beyond the fire tax, so they did not fundamentally improve governance but rather alleviated their own financial difficulties.

  So now Dong Zhuo's territory is the largest, in terms of population, his population is also the most. With a large territory and a large population, it is natural that he has the most wealth. Moreover, Dong Zhuo also has a nickname called "Demon King", and he lives up to this nickname as he is very cruel. Therefore, it's not surprising that he ordered every family to have at least one child within two years! Under such policies, it's easy to know that his population is the largest. Additionally, it can be said that Dong Zhuo's army is also the most numerous now! So gathering 500,000 troops against him is simply a small matter, just a minor annoyance!

  Instead of saying Dong Zhuo concentrated his troops to prepare for a decisive battle with Li Yu in Tianshui City, it was said that Liu Bei led his army to fight against Zhang Lu's brother Zhang Wei, who led 200,000 Han Zhong soldiers. After receiving the good news from Li Yu, Liu Bei received another battle report within days, which belonged to Zhang Wei. Liu Bei's scouts reported that Zhang Lu's brother Zhang Wei ordered General Yang Ren to lead 20,000 troops as vanguard and set up camp twenty miles away. Zhang Lu's brother Zhang Wei led his army to camp in the rear!

  Liu Bei ordered the messenger soldier to invite Tian Feng and Chen Gong, two military strategists, as well as Gao Shun, Zhang Ren, Yan Yan, and Wu Anguo, four generals, to come and discuss strategies for defeating the enemy.

  Liu Bei said: "The two military strategists and four generals now have a good plan to defeat the enemy!"

  Tian Feng advised Liu Bei: "Report to the king, we should use the strengths of our Yizhou army and attack the weaknesses of the Han Zhong army, using cavalry as the main force to break the enemy!"

  Liu Bei nodded, and his trust in the cavalry was still very high. In order to build an invincible and unbeatable cavalry corps, Liu Bei followed Li Yu's suggestion, regardless of his younger brother-in-law Mi Zhu's life or death, and ordered that all warhorses needed by the Yizhou cavalry would be replaced with fine breeds of horses. This greatly increased the investment in horse breeding, and it can be said that a quarter of Yizhou's financial revenue was spent on raising horses! Mi Zhu, the official in charge of finances, could be said to have the most difficult job among all the officials in Yizhou.

  Chen Gong also agreed with Tian Feng's suggestion and said: "The king agrees with the military advisor Tian Feng's suggestion, and I suggest that we should use General Zhang Ren's cavalry as the vanguard. General Zhang Ren's cavalry is the elite of the battlefields in various places, and their combat experience is richer than other generals' cavalry. In addition, order Generals Wu An and Gao Shun to ambush and encircle, and order General Yan Yan to lead the main force to attack from the front! Strive to annihilate Zhang Wei's 100,000 Han Zhong army!"

  Liu Bei currently has an army of 100,000 men and is evenly matched with Zhang Wei in terms of military strength. This time he went to defeat the enemy, if he wants to take advantage of the situation to capture Hanzhong, it is unrealistic for now.

  But Liu Bei's bravery was underestimated by Chen Gong and Tian Feng, who meant to let Liu Bei sit back and wait for good news! They didn't understand Liu Bei, who was a famous general in the Battle of Three Heroes against Lü Bu. Liu Bei's eagerness for battle was not inferior to anyone else's. Standing up with righteous words, he said: "I have decided that tomorrow we will engage in a decisive battle with Zhang Wei! Order Zhang Ren to lead 10,000 cavalry as vanguard and attack Zhang Wei head-on, order Wu An Guo to lead 10,000 cavalry on the right wing to encircle from the right side and attack Zhang Wei's right flank, order Yan Yan to lead 10,000 cavalry on the left wing to encircle from the left side and attack Zhang Wei's left flank, order Gao Shun to lead 10,000 soldiers to encircle from behind and cut off Zhang Wei's retreat route. Then, with a pincer movement, we will annihilate Zhang Wei's 100,000-strong Han Zhong army! I have decided that tomorrow I will personally lead 20,000 cavalry with Zhang Ren as vanguard, while Chen Gong and Tian Feng, the two military strategists, will lead 50,000 infantry to follow up and attack!"

  "This won't do, Tian Feng and Chen Gong both knelt down in urgency, Chen Gong bitterly remonstrated: 'Your Majesty, since ancient times, gentlemen do not besiege walls, let alone Your Majesty leading the army to personally decide the battle today!'"

  Tian Feng also knocked his head to the ground and said: "The great king is the pillar of our great Han, if the great king suffers any damage, the world of Han will inevitably fall into an irreparable situation! Absolutely not! Great King! Although the great king's participation in the war can boost the morale of the entire army, this battle can be won with the bravery of our generals and soldiers, no need for the great king to participate in the war!"

  The four generals didn't think so much, they were still excited just now? Because they can charge into the enemy array with their great king, but unexpectedly two military strategists said that, as if waking up from a dream, and bitterly advising Liu Bei not to participate in the battle!

  Liu Bei drew out his dual swords and roared: "How can a great man fall behind others? Now all the generals are fighting bravely, my fourth brother Li You is leading the vanguard, my second brother Guan Yu is assisting in the battle, greatly defeating Dong Zhuo. My third brother Zhang Fei's prestige shakes Liu Biao's 150,000-strong army. How can I, as the eldest brother, fall behind my three younger brothers?! Besides, what ability does that little villain Zhang Wei have? Compared to Lü Bu, how is he? At Tiger Trap Pass, the isolated king still dared to engage in a great battle with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, those two younger brothers! What about Zhang Wei?! No need to say more, I will definitely do the same!

  Tian Feng and Chen Gong saw that their efforts to persuade Liu Bei were in vain, so they secretly instructed Zhang Ren to protect Han Xing Wang Liu Bei. Zhang Ren was worried sick by the two military strategists, one of whom said that if Han Xing Wang suffered any losses, he would be beheaded, while the other emphasized that this battle must be won and not a single hair on Han Xing Wang's head could be harmed! Zhang Ren was anxious and decided to hand over his cavalry, which he had led for a long time, to Liu Bei, and lead new troops into battle himself. Chen Gong and Tian Feng did not dare to follow Liu Bei's orders to lead their troops in a rear attack. Instead, they ordered the 50,000 infantrymen to stay within one mile of Han Xing Wang Liu Bei at all times. Although Han Xing Wang led cavalry, they had to keep up with him. It can be said that the infantry was used as cavalry, but the soldiers did not feel tired because their great king, Liu Bei, who had a reputation for being undefeated in battle and had defeated Lü Bu, would lead the vanguard in person to fight against Zhang Wei's Han Zhong army. This boosted the morale of the troops to an extent that cannot be described in words. At this time, the soldiers of Yi Zhou were full of energy and eager to fight, feeling like tigers ready to slaughter sheep.

  No need to mention Zhang Ren's anxiety, Liu Bei was overjoyed! The next morning, the sun rose early, and the two armies lined up in front of their camps. It can be said that Liu Bei got up earlier than anyone else, just preparing to lead his army out to attack and kill people for fun! Liu Bei shouted loudly: "Brave warriors of Yi Province, follow me to slaughter the Han Zhong army! Charge!" Zhang Ren heard this and thought it was a great opportunity to show off his skills as the vanguard. Without waiting for Liu Bei to finish speaking, he led his troops in a charge against Zhang Wei's Han Zhong army. Zhang Wei was caught off guard and didn't expect the battle to start so soon. He didn't understand military tactics and had only given his vanguard, Yang Ren, 10,000 soldiers to fight against Zhang Ren. Meanwhile, Liu Bei saw Zhang Ren leading the charge and swung his sword, advancing with a smile, charging into the enemy's formation and killing Yang Ren's 10,000 troops. Three thousand against ten thousand! Fortunately, Zhang Wei wasn't stupid enough to stay still and immediately ordered his entire army to surround Liu Bei and Zhang Ren's three thousand cavalrymen!

  Here is the translation:

  Actually, Zhang Wei didn't see the opportunity, he just saw Liu Bei rushing in and was afraid that Yang Ren would kill Liu Bei and steal the credit. He didn't know that Yang Ren had already been killed by Zhang Ren and Liu Bei.

  Chen Gong and Tian Feng saw Zhang Wei's 90,000-strong Han Zhong army move out, and immediately led their own 50,000 infantry to join the battle.

  Liu Bei led his Yi Zhou army, which was mostly made up of new recruits and former prisoners of Dong Zhuo's army. Although they were outnumbered, their combat strength far surpassed that of Zhang Wei's Han Zhong army.

  The two armies clashed for less than an hour before Zhang Wei's army began to show signs of defeat. Zhang Wei, fearing death, retreated while fighting.

  After retreating 30 miles, he met Yang Bai, who had been sent by Zhang Lu with a relief force of 50,000 soldiers. However, Gao Shun saw them but let them pass without attacking.

  Yang Bai saw that Zhang Wei's army was in disarray and being pursued by Liu Bei, and decided to join the battle directly. The Han Zhong army saw Yang Ren's relief force arrive and their morale surged.

  Liu Bei's Yi Zhou army and Zhang Wei's Han Zhong army clashed again, but this time Liu Bei had fewer soldiers and could not gain the upper hand. He retreated steadily to meet up with Tian Feng and Chen Gong's infantry, who were arriving from behind.

  As they retreated 30 miles, Liu Bei saw the dust rising in the distance and knew that it was Chen Gong and Tian Feng's infantry approaching.

  Liu Bei felt a sense of relief and said to Zhang Ren, "The enemy is numerous, we must use a clever strategy to win." Zhang Ren replied, "Everything will be done according to your orders."

  Liu Bei divided his army into two groups, with Zhang Ren leading one group from the left and Liu Bei leading another group from the right. They clashed in the center.

  At this time, Liu Bei's plan succeeded, and Zhang Wei ordered his soldiers to surround Liu Bei wherever he went. This made Zhang Ren's attack even more effective.

  Liu Bei and Zhang Ren led their armies with high morale, clashing and killing everywhere. Zhang Wei did not listen to Yang Bai's advice and ordered his entire army to engage in battle, shouting that they would capture Liu Bei alive.

  Tian Feng and Chen Gong saw that Liu Bei and Zhang Ren were surrounded and immediately led their infantry to join the battle without resting.

  Liu Bei led his army in a fierce attack, swinging his double-edged sword and covered in blood. The Han Zhong army followed him, and Tian Feng and Chen Gong pursued them.

  The two armies clashed for less than an hour before Liu Bei became exhausted from killing. He saw that the Han Zhong army was not pursuing Zhang Ren's group and decided to retreat.

  As they retreated 30 miles, Liu Bei saw that Zhang Wei's army had already been defeated and ordered his entire army to fight with all their might. The soldiers killed many of the enemy, and Liu Bei himself rode out on horseback, swinging his double-edged sword and killing over a hundred people.

  Chen Gong saw that the time was ripe and waved his flag. On the left wing, Yan Yan led 10,000 cavalry in a charge. Tian Feng waved his flag, and on the right wing, Yan Yan's old general led 10,000 cavalry in a charge.

  Liu Bei laughed loudly and shouted at Zhang Wei, "You rebels who dare to assist Dong Zhuo will not be able to return! If you want to live, why don't you surrender now?"

  Zhang Wei was enraged and sent Yang Bai out to battle. Liu Bei charged forward with his double-edged sword, but Zhang Ren tried to intercept him from a distance.

  Yang Bai thrust his spear at Liu Bei's heart, but Liu Bei parried it with his left hand and struck back at Yang Bai's head with his right hand. Yang Bai was no match for Liu Bei and was beheaded in one stroke.

  Liu Bei killed Yang Bai in just one exchange, and Zhang Ren was stunned by Liu Bei's bravery. This made the morale of Liu Bei's army surge even higher, and they fought without fear of Zhang Wei's Han Zhong army.

  At this time, Zhang Wei, as the commander-in-chief, saw Liu Bei behead Yang Bai in one move and wanted to retreat. However, it was unfortunate that Gao Shun made his move at this moment. Gao Shun observed the situation and saw that Liu Bei had beheaded Yang Bai, causing the morale of the Han Zhong army to plummet! He galloped forward, gun in hand, to assist in the battle, intending to surround and annihilate the Han Zhong army from all sides. Moreover, Gao Shun personally targeted Zhang Wei.

  Gao Shun thought to himself that he had just defected over, and Liu Bei gave him an opportunity to lead troops independently, entrusting him with such a heavy responsibility. How could he let Liu Bei down? At this time, Zhang Wei saw that there was no way to retreat and ordered Yang Ren to engage in battle. Yang Ren reluctantly wielded his large knife and galloped forward to meet the enemy.

  Yang Ren's martial arts skills were not on par with Gao Shun's, and the two clashed. Gao Shun thrust his spear straight at Yang Ren's heart, and Yang Ren drew his knife to meet it, but Gao Shun's spear sent his knife flying! Yang Ren was shocked and turned his horse around to flee. However, Gao Shun would not give him a chance! He swiftly launched a second attack with his spear, catching Yang Ren off guard, and with one thrust of the spear, he pierced Yang Ren's heart, sending his lifeless body tumbling to the ground.

  At this time, General Yan Yan was also in high spirits, wielding his large knife as he slaughtered his way through the enemy lines. This knife truly lived up to its reputation - anyone it struck would die instantly! In no time at all, he had killed his way to Zhang Wei's position. Zhang Wei had no choice but to raise his own knife to meet General Yan.

  General Yan was in his prime, and his knife moved swiftly as he galloped forward. Seizing the opportunity, he swung his knife straight at Zhang Wei's head. Zhang Wei saw the knife coming and narrowly avoided it by ducking down, but his helmet was knocked off by General Yan's blade. At this moment, Zhang Wei was in a state of utter disarray, his hair disheveled, and his soul shaken.

  He turned his horse around to flee, but Zhang Ren blocked his way. Zhang Wei had no choice but to retreat from the rear, only to be intercepted by Liu Bei, who wielded his double-edged sword as he prepared for battle. Earlier, Zhang Wei had witnessed Liu Bei's bravery, and he did not dare engage him in combat. He turned his horse around and fled eastward.

  However, Wu An Guo was approaching from the east, wielding a large hammer. Zhang Wei was unaware of Wu An Guo's prowess and attempted to break through his lines on horseback. Wu An Guo thought to himself that this was an opportunity too good to pass up - he would not let Zhang Wei escape! He wielded his hammer as he galloped forward, intent on crushing Zhang Wei.

  Zhang Wei raised his knife to block the attack, but all he heard was a loud crash as Wu An Guo's hammer shattered his knife and sent his hands flying. Zhang Wei did not dare engage in combat again and turned his horse around to flee northward.

  At this time, Wu An Guo was also a renowned general, and he took advantage of the momentary distraction between the two horses to strike from behind, landing a blow squarely on Zhang Wei's back armor. With just one hammer strike, he shattered Zhang Wei's rear armor, sending him tumbling to the ground.

  Zhang Wei clutched his horse's saddle as he spat out blood and fled. It was fortunate that Zhang Wei had worn two layers of armor, or Wu An Guo's hammer would have crushed him to death!

  At this time, General Yan Yan arrived on the scene, exclaiming, "You're all stealing my thunder! This isn't even a sneak attack - it's outright robbery!" General Yan was wielding his large knife as he chased after Zhang Wei, who suddenly turned around and charged towards him.

  General Yan was delighted, thinking to himself that today was his lucky day. He galloped forward to meet Zhang Wei, who was terrified at the sight of him. As soon as Zhang Wei opened his mouth to say "I surrender," General Yan's knife flashed in the sunlight, striking true as it sliced through the air towards Zhang Wei's head.

  Zhang Wei had no chance to escape - with one swift stroke of General Yan's blade, his head was severed from his body, and his lifeless corpse tumbled to the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

  The main general of the Han Zhong thieves, Zhang Wei, and two deputy generals, Yang Ren and Yang Bo, were beheaded. They all turned their spears around and fled in all directions, making a mess everywhere. The Han Zhong army was so chaotic that it seemed they regretted being born with only one leg to run away.

  However, how could Chen Gong and Tian Feng give them the opportunity to escape? Chen Gong and Tian Feng took advantage of the situation and led their troops to pursue and attack from behind. Meanwhile, Liu Bei, along with Zhang Ren, General Yan Yan, Gao Shun, and Wu Anguo, launched a pincer movement to encircle and annihilate the enemy.

  In less than an hour, the Han Zhong army was defeated, throwing away their armor and helmets, with blood flowing like rivers across the fields. The number of captives was countless. Liu Bei ordered his troops to quickly clean up the battlefield.

  This battle was as easy as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Liu Bei was so excited that he almost chased into the Han Zhong border, but was pulled back by Zhang Ren and Yan Yan.

  In this battle, Liu Bei's army of 100,000 suffered a loss of only 20,000, while capturing nearly 40,000 enemy soldiers. It can be said that Liu Bei's army achieved a great victory. Although the Han Zhong army had many fleeing soldiers, this was still a complete victory for Liu Bei's army.

  Chen Gong and Tian Feng went out of the camp thirty miles to welcome Liu Bei's triumphant return! Oh, how beautiful! He couldn't help but sing Li Yu's theme song: "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I'm beautiful! I'm beautiful! ...............". The first thing Liu Bei did when he entered the commander's seat was to issue an order to reward the three armies' officers and men for their hard work for three days.

  On the fifth day at noon, Liu Bei received a handwritten memorial from his mentor Lu Zhi, who was sent by fast horse to Chengdu, advising Liu Bei that although he had won a great victory over Zhang Lu's army in Hanzhong, his own army was exhausted and could not continue fighting. The memorial suggested that Liu Bei should withdraw his troops back to Chengdu to rest and regroup for another battle. It also mentioned that although Liu Bei had defeated Zhang Lu's brother Zhang Wei, the main force of Zhang Lu's army was still intact, and if they were to fight again, it would be a deep invasion into Hanzhong territory, which might lead to unexpected changes.

  Liu Bei discussed the matter with his two military advisors, Chen Gong and Tian Feng. Chen Gong agreed with Lu Zhi's suggestion, saying: "Although we have won this battle, Liu Biao's army in Jingzhou is still watching from a distance at Xiaoyao Pass, thirty miles away. We should withdraw our troops back to Chengdu to rest and regroup, waiting for the right moment to attack Hanzhong again."

  Tian Feng also discussed the matter, saying: "I agree with the suggestions of Chen Gong and Lu Zhi. If we were to fight again now, it would be difficult to determine victory or defeat. This battle has been going on since the war between Sun Quan and Liu Bei began, and our army has been fighting on three fronts. The great general Li Yu has defeated Dong Zhuo's army at Yangping Pass, and Zhang Fei has taken over Xiabian, laying a good foundation for our future advance into Xiliang. On the other hand, Zhang Fei is stationed at Xiaoyao Pass, deterring Liu Biao's army in Jingzhou. If we were to fight again, we would have to deeply invade Hanzhong territory, which would be unfavorable to us. It would be better to withdraw our troops while we are still victorious, and Zhang Lu will not dare to offend our borders again!"

  Liu Bei agreed with the suggestions of his two military advisors and ordered his army to quickly retreat back to Chengdu.

  From then on, the situation in Yi Province, which had been precarious for more than two months since the Battle of Red Cliffs and Liu Bei's great victory over Han Zhong, was finally turned around!

  I'm still waiting for you at WL, please turn back!