Establish Authority

  At dawn, the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, bringing warmth to the earth. Outside the Han army's camp, the open space was already filled with a forest of swords and spears. Fifty thousand Han soldiers stood there in dense formation, stretching along the mountain slope, their military appearance neat and tidy, their momentum majestic and powerful, waiting for the signal to launch an attack.

  Lu Zhi wore armor and helmet, riding a white horse on a commanding height on the mountain slope, gazing at the city not far in front, opening his throat and shouting loudly: "The whole army sets out!"

  As soon as Lu Zhi gave the order, the army slowly moved forward. As the Front Army's Sima, Gao Fei led his thousand cavalrymen in a swift gallop over the wooden plank bridge spanning the moat on the ground, racing towards Guangzong City five miles away.

  Banners and flags fluttered on the hillside, with people's voices like a tide. Spears and halberds stood like forests, swords and knives like seas. The 50,000-strong army advanced slowly. The cavalry surrounding Lu Zhi wore heavy armor, each of them tall and strong, with an air of invincibility on their arrogant faces.

  A team of infantrymen with their hair tied up and legs wrapped, carrying bows and arrows, holding spears and shields, crowded in front of and behind Lu Zhi. They had only marched a dozen or so steps when they immediately kicked up the dust on the ground. The dust and sweat made the faces of the infantrymen dirty and unkempt, and the coarse cloth of their orange-red military uniforms was stained with white salt marks, but they continued to march in an orderly fashion, displaying a well-trained military bearing.

  War horses neighed, one after another light cavalry constantly surpassed the infantry beside them, rushing forward. They wore armor, spirited and energetic, riding at a small gallop, on the crowded mountain slope, opening up a long queue, raising a thick layer of dust. The rumbling mule carts pulled high catapults, giant crossbow beds, and clumsy siege vehicles, struggling to come down from the mountain slope, whip cracks and shouts filled the air, both drivers and animals were drenched in sweat, trying to control their speed downhill.

  Gao Fei looked back and saw the majestic Han army, and his heart couldn't help but sigh: "The Yellow Turban Rebellion was just a peasant uprising, although it had a grand momentum, but facing well-trained and well-equipped government troops, it was still at a disadvantage. Before the imperial court became corrupt and decadent, openly rebelling would inevitably be suppressed. I absolutely cannot follow in the footsteps of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, I must first have a base, slowly develop, wait until I have strength, before competing for the world."

  The cavalry troops quickly rushed to the foot of Guangzong City, and Gao Fei stopped his troops at a distance of one thousand meters from the city. Looking at the men on the city wall who were wrapped in yellow scarves and holding various weapons, he thought about the disaster that was about to befall them and couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for them.

  "Rebel! Come out and meet your death!" Zhang Fei rode out first, brandishing his snake spear at the city gate and shouting loudly.

  The city gate of Guangzong suddenly opened, and dozens of horses and hundreds of infantrymen rushed out from the gate. The leader was a man with a black face like charcoal, his eyes were bright and sharp, and he had a short and hard beard on his chin. He was tall and strong, holding a long knife about half a meter in length, and led the way under the cheers of the crowd.

  "Haha, I always thought my face was the darkest in the world. Today, seeing this person, I realized there's someone even darker than me. I really didn't expect that Yellow Turbans would have such audacity and dare to come out and fight?" Zhang Fei coldly laughed and called out, "I am Zhang Yide from Yan, who are you? Report your name, my spear won't kill unknown small soldiers!"

  The tall and sturdy black man opposite him immediately shouted loudly: "I am Zhou Cang, under the command of General Di Gong!"

  "Zhou Cang? The Zhou Cang who yielded the great sword to Guan Yu?" When Zhang Fei heard the man opposite him introduce himself, he was startled in his heart and involuntarily turned his head, taking a glance at Guan Yu beside him. He saw that Guan Yu's eyes had narrowed into a line, with an unusual glint of light flashing in them, as if looking down on this person with disdain, seemingly not even bothering to give him a second thought.

  "Zhou Cang? Never heard of him! I see you're quite tall, but you're no match for me. I'll spare your life this time, hurry back and tell that bandit leader Zhang Jue to come out and accept his punishment!" Zhang Fei said with a flourish of his 18-foot snake spear, looking arrogant.

  "Hmph! No more nonsense, let's see if you're my match. We'll know after we fight!" Zhou Cang brandished his large sword and galloped out to meet Zhang Fei.

  "Haha, a fearless one has arrived. Watch me poke some holes in your body..." Zhang Fei's words had not finished when he saw Gao Fei charging out with his spear, looking flustered and shouting loudly, "Gao Xian-di, why are you stealing my credit?"

  Gao Fei laughed and said: "Wing-de brother, these nameless little soldiers are afraid of dirtying your snake spear, let me handle them!"

  "Third brother is back!" Zhang Fei felt displeased in his heart, and was just about to spur his horse and leave, when he heard Liu Bei call out from behind. He turned his head to see Liu Bei shaking his head, so he rode his horse back to the main camp, but his face was flushed with anger.

  "Come, Gaotang, let's exchange a few moves!" Gaotang had exchanged blows with Zhang Fei the day before and found that he could hold his own against him for dozens of rounds without being defeated. He thought to himself that his martial skills were indeed not weak. Moreover, he knew that Zhou Cang was not as skilled as Zhang Fei, but was still a fierce warrior. If he were to die under Zhang Fei's spear, it would be a waste. Even if he didn't die in battle, he would still end up following Guan Yu with his tail between his legs. Rather than benefiting Guan Yu, it would be better for him to capture Zhou Cang and make use of him himself.

  Zhou Cang was taken aback at first, and when he looked closely at the person who came galloping on horseback, it turned out to be Gao Fei. He exclaimed in surprise: "Really is you? So you didn't die?"

  Listening to Zhou Cang's tone, Gao Feng seemed to understand a thing or two. Since he was a fierce general under Lu Zhi's command, and Lu Zhi had been confronting the Yellow Turbans for some time, Gao Feng's name would naturally be known to the Yellow Turban army. He sneered coldly and said: "It is indeed I, Gao!"

  As soon as the words fell, Zhou Cang and Gao Fei clashed on horseback, their blades raised. A loud clang was heard, and in an instant, the two men's first exchange of blows came to an end.

  Gao Fei reined in his horse, turned its head around, and felt a bit dizzy. He muttered to himself, "Damn it, fighting on horseback is really tough, not as enjoyable as fighting on the ground."

  "Xiaoyou! Three rounds and he's done for, you have two more rounds, if you can't finish him off, I'll take over!" Zhang Fei shouted loudly in the formation.

  "It turns out that two horses intersecting once is considered one round." Gao Fei secretly exclaimed in his heart.

  Cavalry battles are different from infantry battles. Cavalry battles count rounds, while infantry battles count moves. A round refers to two people riding horses and clashing with each other within the range of their weapons. Of course, at this time, it is impossible for the horse to stop, no fool would pull the reins when they enter the attack range, or else they would have been stabbed by a spear long ago.

  So, during the time when two horses intersect, quickly attack each other. Depending on the speed and angle of attack, it may be one move or a series of moves. When the two horses are separated by a relatively far distance, then rein in the horse to turn around, this is considered a round of fighting.

  Gao Fei gazed at Zhou Cang in the distance, carefully recalling the direction and angle of Zhou Cang's sword strike earlier. With a loud battle cry, he charged forward on horseback, ready to engage Zhou Cang in another round of combat.

  Zhou Cang was not weak at all, he knew that Gao Shun was a fierce general in the Han army. The day before yesterday, he led his troops to break through the siege, but encountered Gao Shun's pursuit. In a hurry, Zhou Cang led his troops to counterattack, and several thousand bandits immediately surrounded Gao Shun, causing him to exhaust himself to death. Later, the government army's reinforcements arrived, and seeing that the situation was not good, he returned to Guangzong. It was thought that Gao Shun would die like this, but unexpectedly saw him again today, which made Zhang Jiao rebuke him for deceiving and cheating. In a fit of anger, he re-emerged from the city to fight again.

  "Today it's either you die or I perish!" Zhou Cang bellowed loudly, his Brow-Scarf Blade already raised high. As he clashed with Gao Fei, one slash hacked down fiercely.

  Gao Fei didn't block, but shook the Dragon Traveler spear in his hand and stabbed it out. Zhou Cang was shocked, never expecting Gao Fei to risk his life with this desperate move. However, the knife in his hand had already been chopped down, and its force couldn't be withdrawn. He tilted his face upwards, dodged backwards, and used all his strength to lift the knife in his hand, barely blocking Gao Fei's spear.

  But unexpectedly, Gao Fei's long spear suddenly changed its move, the tail of the spear swept out horizontally, and a heavy blow knocked Zhou Cang off his horse. At the same time, he hastily restrained his horse, which let out a loud whinny, raised its two front hooves high, and when it landed, Gao Fei's Dragon Head Spear was already pressed against Zhou Cang's throat.

  Zhou Cang's face turned cold, and he never expected to be captured by Gao Feng's unintentional move. A hint of admiration appeared in his eyes, and he closed them, raised his head, and shouted loudly: "Kill me!"

  Gao Fei's mouth corner revealed a faint smile, and he shouted at Lu Heng in the array: "Tie him up!"

  Lu Xun hastily dismounted and brought two cavalrymen carrying ropes to bind Zhou Cang quickly, then took him back to their own camp.

  Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei all nodded in satisfaction at the scene before them, but each of their minds held different thoughts. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were filled with admiration, while Liu Bei had other plans in mind - he thought to himself that if he could also win over Gao Fei as his sworn brother, it would be even better.

  The Yellow Turbans under Guangzong City saw Zhou Cang being captured, and Gao Fei riding on horseback with a majestic momentum. They all felt fearful and rushed back to the city, closing the city gate tightly and dared not come out again.

  On the city wall, a man in a Taoist robe looked at the dust rising behind the thousand cavalrymen below and shouted loudly: "The whole city is on alert!"

  Gao Fei saw the people wrapped in yellow scarves on the city wall, pulling their bows and arrows to the fullest, aiming at the bottom of the city, not allowing anyone to approach half a step. A solemn and murderous scene unfolded before him. He turned his horse around and returned to the formation, seeing the thousand cavalrymen in front of him. Thinking about the high and thick city wall, he shouted: "The whole army dismounts, rests in place, and waits for the arrival of the siege troops!"