Chapter 2: Zhang Fei's Rise to Fame (Part 1)

  Li Yu bid farewell to his wife Wang Xue and military advisor Guo Jia, leading 50,000 elite cavalrymen to rush to the front line. At this time, Zhang Fei had already led 30,000 cavalrymen to arrive at the forefront of the two armies' formation, while Zhao Yun and Xu Huang each led 20,000 cavalrymen on both wings, waiting quietly for Li Yu's command!

  At this time, Yan Xing also detected Li Yu's abnormality. Before Zhang Fei arrived, Yan Xing judged that Li Yu's troops had come based on the rolling dust brought by the rapid march of his troops! He immediately ordered Zhang Heng and Cheng Yi to lead their troops to form an array and prepare for a decisive battle. On the other hand, he sent someone to tell Li Ru in the rear array that Li Yu had formed a decisive battle formation and asked Li Ru to come over to respond.

  At this time, Yan Xingjun's army and Li Yu's army had all formed their arrays, only to see the two armies facing each other, with banners fluttering in the wind. The military formations of both sides were neat and tidy, but Liu Bei's army led by Li Yu seemed even more menacing!

  Here is the translation:

  Yan Xing sat on his horse in front of the two armies, gazing intently. He saw that Liu Bei's army was arrayed in perfect formation, with strong men and sturdy horses. In the center, a large flag fluttered in the wind, its pole eighteen feet high, painted with bright red lacquer, adorned with a golden finial, and bearing a white silk banner with a crimson border. The banner read "Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies" and "Victory Will Come with the Arrival of the Horse". Above the banner was embroidered "Grand Marshal of the Empire, Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Expedition", and in the center was a large character "Li". On either side of the flag were four smaller flags, each bearing a crimson border and a white silk surface, with red characters that shone brightly. The first flag read "Li Hanxing's Fame Will Shake the World", the second "The Familiar Copper Cauldron Will Astound the Age", the third "The Heaven-Defying Halberd Will Appear and Disappear Like a Ghost", and the fourth "The Yellow Horse Will Trample the Universe". On either side of the flag were also two gate flags, scarlet in color with yellow characters. The upper gate flag read "The Heroes Will Protect the Han Dynasty with Loyalty and Raise Their Ambition to Save the People from Water and Fire", while the lower gate flag read "The Great Hero Will Punish the Treacherous Minister and Capture the Dragon, Vowing to Die for the Han Dynasty". In addition, there were various other flags and banners that fluttered in the wind, including the Flying Dragon Flag, the Flying Tiger Flag, the Flying Halberd Flag, the Flying Leopard Flag, the Seven-Star Flag, the Eight-Trigram Flag, the Three Talents Flag, the Nine Palaces Flag, thirty-six Heavenly Gate Flags, and seventy-two Earthly Fiend Flags. Below the flags, Yan Xing saw countless generals, their armor shining brightly, with golden helmets and armor, silver helmets and armor, copper helmets and armor, and iron helmets and armor. The men were of varying builds, and the horses were of five different colors. Each general held eighteen different types of weapons. A group of high-ranking officers surrounded a single general, who rode a yellow horse. This was none other than Liu Bei, the King of Hanxing, Grand Marshal Li Yu, Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Expedition. Yan Xing's eyes widened in surprise as he gazed at this man, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath. He thought to himself, "This is indeed the hero who put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion and won the great victory at Tiger Trap Pass!" Now that he had seen him with his own eyes, he realized that Li Yu was truly a hero reborn! His reputation was not exaggerated after all! Yan Xing saw that Li Yu wore a golden helmet adorned with three feathers, thirteen tassels hanging from the top of his helmet, and eight precious stones embroidered on his forehead band. He wore a suit of yellow armor with nine layers of scales, over which he wore a cloak with a crimson border, half-hung and half-fastened. His boots were shaped like tiger heads, with golden buckles that shone brightly. The horse was equipped with a golden saddle and bridle, and its stirrups were made of copper. A quiver full of arrows hung from the saddle, and a halberd adorned with feathers was attached to the horse's side. In his hand, Li Yu held a whip, and he sat on his horse with an air of calm confidence, his spirit soaring!

  Yan Xing nodded his head and sighed: "Alas, it seems that the fortune of the Great Han Dynasty has not yet been exhausted. With talents like Li Yu who excel in both literary and military arts, the Han royal family still has a chance to revive. However, Yan Xing's mind changed instantly as he thought: "I have received great favors from Dong Zhuo, and I am now a powerful general in the imperial court. Li Yu and I are on opposite sides, and although our forces are outnumbered at present, Dong Zhuo has 300,000 soldiers behind him, which is enough to annihilate Liu Bei's army led by Li Yu. This will showcase my skills." He thought of this and rushed out of the gate, galloping towards Li Yu, and asked: "Is the general in front of me Li Yu, also known as Li Hanxing?" Li Yu raised his whip, parted the soldiers to either side, and rode forward, asking in return: "Not wrong, I am General Li Yu. Is the one who came here Yan Xing, the general of Xiliang?"

  Yan Xing replied: "Not talented is indeed a certain family!"

  Li Yu said: "Hehe! Now that we meet, forgive me Li Yu for wearing armor on my body. Our Xiliang and Yizhou were originally friendly neighboring countries. Unfortunately, our commander is not courteous enough, I bowed to you on horseback! General Yan Xing, you are not enjoying the peace in Xiliang, but have come to my Yizhou, what brings you here?"

  "Hum! Li Yu, don't pretend to be ignorant. You people from the grasslands don't follow the law, and your master Liu Bei was originally appointed as the King of Han by the previous emperor himself. But instead of serving the imperial court, he's been acting recklessly and opposing the government. I'm here with a clear edict from the Son of Heaven to eliminate you all. Li Yu, you should understand reason and turn back from your mistakes. If you surrender now, General Lü Bu can still vouch for you in front of Dong Zhuo and get you a high-ranking position and let you ride a fine horse! You should throw down your halberd and surrender immediately. I'm showing mercy because of the heavens' benevolence, and I'll speak well of you to the prime minister. If not, once we engage in battle, my 100,000-strong Western Liang army will trample your entire force, take over your master's territory of Yi Province, and leave no one alive!"

  Li Yu listened and didn't get angry, instead he smiled and thought to himself that boasting was not his style. Li Yu cupped his hands and continued: "General Yan Xing! Please restrain your fierce aura and calm your thunderous anger. I have two words of loyalty to offer, General Yan Xing, are you willing to listen?"

  Yan Xing heard him say "Tell me about your future!"

  "General Yan Xing! Do you remember when we four brothers took an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden, vowing to live and die together? At that time, we had no soldiers and no generals, yet the Yellow Turbans' army of one hundred thousand could not defeat us. What makes you think you can now? Ha! It's simply a case of 'a snake swallowing an elephant'! If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself. Not only is this entire province of Yi under my control, but even this simple defense line is like an iron bucket. Your army of five hundred thousand, led by Dong Zhuo, has not been able to cross the Lei Pool even once! Now I have tens of thousands of elite soldiers at my command, and hundreds of brave generals. We will surround you on three sides! It's laughable that you still think you can conquer Yi Province. Are you dreaming? My elder brother Liu Bei is a noble and esteemed member of the imperial family. The late emperor personally appointed him as the King of Han Xing in Yi Province, and gave him the Imperial Sword to execute traitors. Can Dong Zhuo compare to this? Dong Zhuo has committed treason by deposing the emperor and killing the young emperor. He has brought chaos to the palace and terrorized the people. The current Emperor Xian has been forced to move the capital to Chang'an. Dong Zhuo's brutal policies have enraged heaven and earth, and his tyranny has left Luoyang in ruins. My brother Liu Bei could not bear to see the Han dynasty and its people suffer, so he joined forces with eighteen other warlords to overthrow Dong Zhuo. He is truly a heroic figure! As for you, General Yan Xing, your title of 'Dragon Rider' is nothing but an empty name. In these chaotic times, heroes are rising up everywhere. The emperor is in hiding, and the court has no way to deal with this situation. Dong Zhuo dominates the imperial court, so what kind of 'Dragon Rider' can you still be? I, Li Yu, am the commander-in-chief of the entire army, but I still remember our past friendship and advise you to retreat back to your Western Liang province and enjoy peace. Don't become a sacrifice for Dong Zhuo's tyranny! If you insist on fighting me, then my Yi Province iron cavalry will show no mercy. We will view your Western Liang army as rebels against the Han dynasty, and you will be our sworn enemy. You are not even comparable to Zhang Jue of the Yellow Turbans or Dong Zhuo himself! Both of them were defeated by me, and I predict that today will not end well for your Western Liang army. You may end up dying in Yi Province! Your province is small and weak, with only ten million people, and your army of one hundred thousand is the backbone of your people. As a Buddhist, I value human life and do not want to annihilate your entire army. Therefore, I advise you again, General Yan Xing, do not become a sinner against Western Liang!"

  Yan Xing was so angry that his lungs were about to burst. He didn't expect Li Yu to be so ruthless at such a young age, which greatly damaged the morale of his own army. He couldn't help but rage and shouted: "Good you, Li Yu! You don't listen to my good advice, fine! Come on, come on! Let's have a duel to the death!" After finishing speaking, Yan Xing was about to charge forward on horseback to fight Li Yu. Just then, someone galloped out from the left flank and arrived in front of Yan Xing, saying: "Please, General Yan, let me observe the enemy's formation for you. Since Li Yu is just a useless coward, why bother yourself with going forward personally? Let me go and take his head."

  Yan Xing turned his head to look, and it was Zhang Heng, the deputy general who had set out with him from Xi Liang. Zhang Heng wielded a large knife and was also renowned in Xi Liang for his bravery. Yan Xing felt at ease when he saw that it was him, and said: "General Zhang Heng, be cautious! Li Yu has gained fame many times, I suppose his reputation is not unfounded!" Zhang Heng smiled and said: "Haha! It doesn't matter if you guess or not. I, Zhang Heng, specialize in beheading those who have gained fame, only then can my martial arts be displayed!" After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for Yan Xing to respond, and charged out of the formation on his horse!

  Yan Xing was helpless, but he was also very confident in Zhang Heng's martial arts skills. Yan Xing thought to himself that even if they couldn't defeat Li Yu, they could still retreat safely. With this thought, Yan Xing returned to his own team and helped Zhang Heng observe the enemy's formation.

  Zhang Heng arrived at the front of the two armies, swung his large iron knife and galloped towards Li Yu. Li Yu saw this and raised his hand holding the Fang Tian painting halberd, ready to go forward and fight!

  At this time, someone rushed out of Li Yu's army, and it was none other than General Zhang Fei! Zhang Fei ran and shouted: "Fourth brother! Let him go to Third Brother. Third Brother will let these people from Xiliang know what it means to be a frog at the bottom of a well - sitting in a well and watching the sky! With them, they can also fight with my fourth brother! They really don't know how to live!" Li Yu was completely at ease with Zhang Fei, but he also reminded him: "Third Brother, be careful!" After finishing speaking, Li Yu returned to his own team to observe the battle for Zhang Fei.

  Three generals Zhang Fei and Zhang Heng's war horses faced each other, and Zhang Heng immediately cursed: "Who is this black devil? The general wants to fight Li Yu and Li Hanxing! You black slave, the general is in a good mood today, spare you from death and go back to exchange Li Yu!"

  Zhang Fei sat on his black horse, shouting loudly: "You scoundrel! You're really asking for death! I am the third general of Yizhou, Zhang Fei, also known as Yanren Zhang Fei! You nameless little rascal! Can you compare to Lü Bu's servant? Shut up and report your name!"

  Zhang Heng smiled and said: "Now that you're seated on horseback, I am General Zhang Heng, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Western Liang Eight Banners under General Yan Xing's command!"

  Zhang Fei was delighted and scolded, "Ah! I just asked you a name, why say so much! Come on, take your third grandfather's spear!" After finishing, he swung his long spear and fought with Zhang Heng to one place.

  Zhang Heng's martial arts can't be compared to General Zhang Fei, they're not even on the same level! General Zhang Fei wielded his 18-foot snake spear and used a "Fishing for the Moon in the Ocean" move, using the spear to scoop upwards with great force. He shouted: "You bastard, open up for me!" With a loud clang, Zhang Heng's large iron knife was knocked flying by General Zhang Fei's spear.

  Zhang Heng knew he couldn't handle General Zhang Fei, so he turned his horse around and tried to flee, saying: "This black devil has incredible strength!" But General Zhang Fei was enraged by his words and chased after him. With a single thrust of his spear, General Zhang Fei struck the back of Zhang Heng's head, piercing his helmet and creating a hole! The tip of the snake spear emerged from the other side of his head!

  General Zhang Fei still wasn't satisfied and shouted: "You bastard, get up for me!" But Zhang Heng's brains were already splattered everywhere, and he couldn't withstand the weight of his own body. His head was literally torn off by General Zhang Fei's spear! The corpse fell to the ground, and the horse ran back to the Western Liang army's camp.

  At this point, the entire Western Liang army was stunned - it had all happened in just one round! They had been defeated by General Zhang Fei, who had killed their famous general Zhang Heng with a single spear thrust! But even death wasn't enough, as General Zhang Fei wanted to separate his head from his body. This black general was truly ruthless!

  Li Yu watched from the formation and felt relieved, thinking to himself: "Look at you guys! This is my third brother, who killed the enemy general in one move! Haha! He truly deserves the reputation of being able to take down a top general like taking something out of his pocket!" Li Yu gave an order, saying: "Beat the drums for the three armies, to cheer on my third brother!"

  Zhang Fei heard this and the war drums behind him began to beat loudly! He didn't return to his own camp, but instead circled back on his horse in the formation, pointed his 8-foot snake spear at Yan Xing and cursed: "Yan Xing, you scoundrel! Come, come, come, let's fight a few rounds. Let me, Zhang Fei, take a good look at you!"

  Will Yan Xing go to war? Let's see below!

  You are the best gift I have today!