Chapter 513
Chapter 513
Liu Bei’s Army advanced comfortable with the White Horses doing all the work. Without the White Horses’ help, Liu Bei and his army would have long been spotted. That was why Liu Mang helped polish Pang Tong’s stratagem. In a sense, Liu Bei had another strategist that even he did not know of.
At the same time, Liu Biao’s scout, Liu Laogen, felt worried. He had travelled together with Zhao Yun for so long and yet no smokes of fire could be seen.
“General Liu. Is something wrong?” Zhao Yun asked.
“General, please stop calling me a general. I am just a common soldier.” Liu Laogen replied. He wasn’t in a particularly high position and only had ten subordinates under his command. “General Zhao. Why hasn’t the beacon been lit yet?” Liu Laogen then asked Zhao Yun worriedly. He already trusted Zhao Yun completely.
However, Zhao Yun who actually did not want those beacons lit gave a lame excuse. “Maybe they were lost despite the map given by you?”
“That cannot be!” Liu Laogen replied. His drawing may be terrible but he knew where the location of the sentries were. Even a person with little skill in military affairs should be able to read maps.
“Not good!” Zhao Yun suddenly shouted. “Maybe my men have encountered the Xiliang Cavalry!” His words frightened the scout.
“What should we do?” Liu Laogen also panicked. He did not stop to think that it would be even stranger if the White Horses were caught by the Xiliang Cavalry. This is because the White Horses would naturally have superior speed.
“General!” As the two were speaking, a rider suddenly appeared. His body was covered in blood.
“Chen Wei. Why are you here? Where is Sun Han?” Zhao Yun asked the soldier while giving a meaningful glance.
“General! We ran into the Xiliang Cavalry and were scattered!” Chen Wei spoke skillfully. It was why Sun Han chose him to send the report.
“What should we do?” Liu Laogen panicked again. The blood on Chen Wei’s body looked real, proving that it was a bloody battle. Naturally, it would be bloody since hundreds of soldiers were killed when the White Horses attacked the sentries.
“Let’s change routes or we would get overtaken. Once that happens, we would be finished!” Zhao Yun suggested. He was certain that his subordinates had finished their work so he wanted to delay the journey and get rid of this scout as well. Liu Bei no longer had any obstacles.
“It seems this is the only way.” Liu Laogen nodded. Zhao Yun looked at his with regret. He did not want to kill Liu Laogen but he had no choice. Liu Laogen’s family was in Fancheng so he would not follow Zhao Yun. More importantly, Liu Laogen already found out about the Yangzhou Army’s secrets. He needed to die.
Just as Zhao Yun was about to give the order to kill the two scouts, one of the scouts suddenly pointed towards smoke coming out from the distance.
“Look over there! There is smoke!”
“Smoke! The beacon is lit!” Liu Laogen was overjoyed. Fancheng would be able to see the beacon.
On the other hand, Zhao Yun expression turned worse as he looked at Chen Wei hoping for an explanation.
“Fancheng is saved!” Liu Laogen cheered while Chen Wei was at a lost. This was not their fault as there was actually an eighteenth outpost that Liu Laogen himself was not aware of. This group are the ones that spotted the Xiliang Cavalry and sent the warning.
“We must solve this problem at once.” Zhao Yun thought to himself. He did not know why Liu Mang wanted to help Liu Bei but he knew that he had to accomplish his mission.
“General Liu. Now that there is smoke, Fancheng would be vigilant while our enemies would be afraid. We need to hurry to Fancheng or else we might get locked out.” Zhao Yun suggested.
“Yes.” Liu Laogen agreed.
“Let’s go.” Zhao Yun said and the group once again moved towards Fancheng.
***
“Smokes!” Liu Bei’s immediately frowned. They were so close to Fancheng. Was their plan going to fail here?
“Milord. What should we do?” Hu Che Er asked. “As the surprise attack might fail, the battle may turn into an actual siege. While their heavy cavalry is powerful, it was not useful for sieges.”
Hu Che Er suggested they withdraw and Liu Bei hesitated. At this time, Jian Yong suggested they continue to attack.
“Milord, we should continue the attack. It is not the time to think of other things. Instead, we should charge towards Fancheng now that we are already here. Either way, Liu Biao would not forgive us for killing his scouts. At the same time, it would not be too late to withdraw once we reach Fancheng. Besides that, the Military Advisor’s plan have brought us this far. Do you think he would have brought this into his calculations?” Jian Yong advised.
In the end, Liu Bei agreed with Jian Yong’s advice as he had high hopes for Pang Tong. If Pang Tong knew about this, he would only be able to force a smile as this had nothing to do with him.
“All soldiers! Charge!”
***
“Smoke?” Sun Han was stunned. They had already destroyed all seventeen sentry posts but apparently, there was one more. Sun Han felt regret. He was finished.
“General. Do we go to Fancheng?” One soldier asked. He did not know what to do now that the plan has failed.
“No. We will do as ordered.” Sun Han said decisively. “We will wait for the General at the designated location.” Even if they went to Fancheng right now, they would be useless.
***
The people in Fancheng knew the enemy was coming the moment they saw smoke. Even those that did not see the smoke knew the enemy was coming when the alarm rang.
Everyone was alarmed and panicked citizens could be found everywhere.
“Don’t panic!” Fancheng’s governor came out to calm the masses. Meanwhile, Zhang Gui of the Zhang Family assumed responsibility of the city’s defenses. The Zhang Family was not very influential but was still a large noble family. Fancheng happened to be their base just like how the Kuai Family and Cai Family were based in Xiangyang.
When the Deng Family was around, Fancheng was not as prosperous. Now, the visitors all brought the Zhang Family several thousand gold every year. In a sense, Zhang Gui was the owner of Fancheng and the Commander of its soldiers.
“All soldiers prepare for war!” Zhang Gui shouted as he ordered the soldiers to bring anti-siege weapons like rocks and logs.
“General Zhang! Where did our enemies come from?” The governor, Song Zhong, asked calmly. He was a scholar with good relationship with the Lumen Academy and good enough reputation to be employed as a governor.
“The west.” Zhang Gui replied. The west was the Nanyang region and the only possible enemies that could come from there was Liu Bei.
“Yuzhou Liu Bei!” Song Zhong frowned. He actually had a good impression of Liu Bei since Song Zhong studied Confucianism. They generally feel closer to the Han. On top of that, Liu Bei had a decent reputation as a benevolent person. If Liu Bei was not benevolent, the common people would not follow him all the way from Xuzhou.
Liu Bei’s sudden attack here caught Song Zhong unprepared.
“Is Liu Bei here for the provisions?” Zhang Gui guessed. There were lots of provisions that had already been bought by Pang Tong. When Pang Tong fled, Zhang Gui planned to deliver a little bit of the provisions while embezzling the rest. Now, Liu Bei came to attack before Zhang Gui had the chance to do so.
“Liu Bei Liu Xuande? Come! Let’s see if you can capture Fancheng!” Zhang Gui smiled. Fancheng was a place that was easy to defend. With thirty thousand soldiers, and an abundance of resources, Liu Bei would need hundreds of thousands of soldiers and half a year of provisions to even stand a chance. Besides that, Jingzhou would be able to send reinforcements.
Zhang Gui was placated Song Zhong’s worries confidently. “Don’t worry. As long as I am here, they will not have this city!”
“In that case, I will feel relieved.” Song Zhong nodded. He did not know much about military affairs but he knew that Fancheng was easy to defend. He would be afraid if the assailant was Cao Cao but Liu Bei was just not worth worrying about. “I am old so please forgive me for leaving first.” Song Zhong said. It was windy on top of the walls which made Song Zhong feel ill.
“Governor Song, please take care of your health.” Zhang Gui replied.
“If General Zhang needs anything, feel free to find me at the governor’s home.” Song Zhong said and left with his subordinates.
At this time they saw a group approach the city. As the group was small and only had less than a hundred soldiers, Zhang Gui was certain that this was not the enemy’s main attacking force.
“Could it be the enemy’s scout?” One soldier asked. If that was the case, two horses per rider was too luxurious.
“Are the gates still open?” Zhang Gui asked his subordinates. Fancheng’s gates had a drawbridge which helps with the defense but it operating it was too time consuming. They still have not managed to close the gate since the warning. “Shoot down these scouts!” Zhang Gui then ordered.
“Yes!” The soldiers replied and three thousand archers readied their bows.
“Are they going to close the gate?” Zhao Yun asked as he hurriedly advanced.
“We need to move quickly.” Zhao Yun thought to himself. They would not have made it if they did not ride two horses. Just as Zhao Yun was wondering if he should charge straight in, the soldiers on the walls readied their bows. Zhao Yun immediately knew that if they were to charge in, they would die.
“Don’t shoot!” Liu Laogen and the other scout shouted. “We are on your side!”
“On our side?”
“We are General Liu Chuang’s subordinates!” They then explained that they were here to report that the Xiliang Cavalry was going to attack.
Zhang Gui still suspected them so he had Liu Chuang who was in the city confirm the soldiers identity. He found out that the two scouts were indeed Liu Chuang’s subordinates. This lead to Liu Laogen explaining that the rest were the White Horses from Yangzhou.
One man then introduced himself. “City General. I am His Highness the King of Shu’s subordinate, Zhao Yun Zhao Zilong of Changshan. We had orders to cut off Yuzhou’s supply route and discovered that they were heading here to capture Fancheng. So, we came here to notify you!”
“You are a General?” Liu Laogen was surprised.
“Yes. That is our general, Zhao Yun.” Zhao Yun pointed at the imposter. This worked as the imposter looked more like a general compared to the young and handsome Zhao Yun.
“Yes. I am Milord’s, subordinate, Zhao Yun Zhao Zilong.” The imposter lied.
“Zhao Yun?” Zhang Gui have heard of Zhao Yun’s reputation before but he was still unconvinced.
“Did you all defect?” Zhang Gui asked.
“Impossible!” Liu Chuang shouted in reply. Liu Chuang explained that Liu Laogen would not betray them as he had family in Fancheng. Besides that, Liu Laogen’s son, Liu Jie was living in Zhang Gui’s house. As Liu Chuang was considered a distant relative to Liu Laogen, he had introduced Liu Jie to work in Zhang Gui’s house.
“Let them in.” Eventually, Zhang Gui believed them and allowed the White Horses in. If they were really allies, he could not leave them outside the city after they came to warn him about the enemy.
“Quickly come in. We are going to close the gates.”
“Close the gates? If you do that, how would Milord enter Fancheng?”
Liu Laogen was shocked when he heard this and turn around to see Zhao Yun.
“What…” Just as Liu Laogen was about to ask, Zhao Yun suddenly took out his sword and shouted. “White Horses! Follow me to capture Fancheng! Kill them all!”
“Kill! Kill!” Zhao Yun took the lead and the White Horses followed behind him.
“Quick! Close the gates!” Fancheng’s defenders were shocked when their allies suddenly became their enemies. Although the order was given, the gates can’t be closed to easily.
Zhao Yun charged through the gates that had about a hundred people. He alone, killed over a dozen soldiers. Even his longsword had bent from overuse. He then grabbed a pike from one of the Jingzhou soldiers and continued to fight.
It is said that Zhao Yun could charge into a group and leave without any injuries. This was obviously an exaggeration but it was a fact that Zhao Yun was a fearsome warrior. He was stronger than Guan Yu and had a fifty percent chance of defeating the now upgraded Zhang Fei. That was how strong he is. This was why he was like an unstoppable force at Fancheng.
“Stop him!” The reinforcements arrived at the gates but Zhao Yun was unafraid. The rest of the White Horses trained by him were also not to be trifled with.
“You are Liu Bei’s subordinates?” Liu Laogen asked as he watched the scene in a stupor.
“I am sorry.” Zhao Yun who had returned after a third charge apologized. When he stood there, he was like wall. The Jingzhou Army did not dare to approach him.
Zhao Yun initially thought of lying but decided to tell the truth as he admired Liu Laogen. It is unfortunate but Liu Laogen had to die. Zhao Yun decided to at the very least allow Liu Laogen the truth.
“We are really the White Horses. We are really His Highness the King of Shu’s subordinates.”
“Then why?”
“That is because Milord wants Liu Bei to capture Fancheng!” Zhao Yun himself did not know why but he did not care. After having a chat with Liu Mang, he had sworn absolute loyalty to Liu Mang. If Liu Mang told him to die, he would do it. This is because Zhao Yun had a dream. He wished to quickly help Liu Mang unify the land and end the war. That is the only time when the citizens could settle down peacefully and when they would no longer be invaded by foreigners.
“The King of Shu?” Liu Laogen could not understand. Weren’t they supposed to be allies?
“I myself do not know. All I can do is send you on your way.” Zhao Yun replied and killed Liu Laogen.
“This is a sacrifice.” Zhao Yun looked at the pike in his hand. He knew that he wouldn’t have killed Liu Laogen last time. “For the Lord, and the Han! Kill!”
As the battle continued, the morale of the Fancheng’s soldiers continued to drop. Zhao Yun was unstoppable. However, the defenders soon found out that Zhao Yun would not chase after them. They would not die as long as they do not approach Zhao Yun.
“Liu Chuang! What is the meaning of this?” Zhang Gui shouted angrily.
“General! I do not know!” Liu Chuang himself panicked. He could not understand why Liu Laogen did this.
“I order you to chase the enemy out and retake control of the gates! Don’t come back until you do!” Zhang Gui gnashed his teeth in anger. All of this was Liu Chuang’s fault.
At this moment, the ground started to quake. The heavy cavalry approaches!