Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

You have horses, and I have horses too. Waiting for you to run out of energy is the best option. The Wei cavalry, however, did not abandon their armor and weapons; they remained fully equipped.

Moreover, in terms of the quality of the horses... the horses of the Left Army of the Imperial Guards are also ranked first in the Great Wei.

After Sun Quan had galloped for about forty li, he could no longer maintain his speed and was forced to rest. But he had not rested for long when the sound of Wei army horses' hooves came from the west again.

Xu Xiang then let out a long sigh, reached out and grabbed a corner of Sun Quan's robe:
"Your Majesty, please give me the clothes! If things don't go smoothly, I can impersonate Your Majesty and delay things a little longer!"

Sun Quan took a deep breath and did not respond. Instead, he cooperated by taking off his outer robe. Watching Xu Xiang put on his imperial robe, he sighed, "Ziming!"

"Your Majesty, mount your horse!" Xu Xiang shouted sternly. "Move quickly!"

Just as Xu Xiang was getting dressed, the cavalry commander beside him also had a sudden inspiration. He quickly ordered half of his cavalrymen to abandon their horses and flee into the woods beside the road, leaving their horses behind. Then, maintaining a force of one man and two horses, they continued to flee eastward.

Another half hour passed before the Wei cavalry finally caught up. The road was winding, and seeing the Wei cavalry getting closer and closer, Xu Xiang shouted "Take care" to Sun Quan, then reined in his horse and stopped. The dozens of cavalrymen beside him also stopped, leaving only Sun Quan and two cavalrymen to continue eastward.

Dozens of riders stopped in the middle of the road. Xu Xiang, wearing Sun Quan's outer robe, rode from the front of the column to the back and asked the Wei cavalry who were catching up with him.

The Wei cavalry behind them numbered over a hundred, and the enemy was certainly no match for them; they could only attempt to negotiate.

"Who goes there!" Xu Xiang shouted.

"And who are you?" Li Tong, dressed in armor and holding a lance, lightly nudged his horse forward and asked from a distance of three zhang.

"I am the Emperor of Great Wu!" Xu Xiang declared in a deep voice. "You are all ordinary cavalrymen of Wei. Even if you capture me, each of you will only receive a small amount of wealth. If you come with me, I guarantee you in the name of the Emperor that I will ennoble you all! A cavalryman can be appointed as an official with a salary of 500 shi (a unit of grain). A platoon leader can be appointed as a military commander with a salary of 1,000 shi (another unit of grain). A centurion can be appointed as a general with a salary of 2,000 shi (another unit of grain)! And you, as the commander-in-chief, can be appointed as a general with a high-ranking title!"

Li Tong chuckled inwardly, then reached behind his back with the hand holding the reins and made a gesture before pretending to fall for a trap and asking, "Are you really Sun Quan?"

“I am right here! How could I be lying!” Xu Xiang replied.

"Alright, I'll verify your identity." Li Tong suddenly spurred his horse forward, and before the Wu soldiers could react, Xu Xiang was about to ask a question in surprise when Li Tong's lance pierced through his abdomen.

Without hesitation, Li Tong abandoned his lance, pulled two short spears from the leather pouch on the side of his saddle, and threw them out with both hands, one in front and one behind, piercing the chests of Xu Xiang's two cavalrymen on either side.

The Wei army behind him had already seen Li Tong's gesture, and with a single charge, they wiped out the exhausted Wu army.

A cavalry sergeant dismounted, picked up Li Tong's short spear and lance, wiped the blood off them, and handed them to Li Tong, saying, "Please accept these, Commander."

Li Tong, sitting on his horse, looked down at Xu Xiang, who was still alive, and spat: "Sun Quan has a purple beard, a long upper body and a short lower body, and a tall and strong figure. The court has already informed us of this matter. Why are you trying to deceive me? You deserve to die."

Xu Xiang's eyes widened in anger, blood trickling from his mouth as he tried to curse, but the Wei army sergeant who had just drawn his lance kicked him in the head, killing him instantly.

Li Tong didn't hesitate and immediately ordered his men to continue the pursuit eastward. This was a plain along the river, an open area with nowhere to escape. Sun Quan, riding his horse, grew increasingly terrified, thinking he was going to die here. But a cavalryman beside him seemed to see something and pointed towards the left front:

"Your Majesty, there seems to be a ferry crossing there! But I don't know if there are any boats there!"

Sun Quan took a deep breath, nodded heavily, and left the road as if gambling with his life, heading towards the wild ferry crossing to his left.

'I'll risk my life here today!' Sun Quan thought to himself.

Not far from the road was the riverbank, and the ferry crossing could be seen in the distance. From Li Tong's perspective, who was chasing behind, the three men and three horses were rushing towards the ferry crossing. Li Tong saw Sun Quan and his men walking towards the riverbank and became very anxious. He hurriedly led his men to give chase.

When Sun Quan arrived at the deserted ferry, he saw only an old man and a small fishing boat. Overjoyed, he rode his horse toward the simple dock, waving and shouting, "Old man, old man, take us across the river!"

When had the old man ever seen such a scene? Three knights charged toward his dilapidated dock without regard for anything else, weapons at their waists, shouting about crossing the river. Almost any normal person would be terrified.

The old man instinctively thought he had encountered bandits, so he gently swung the small boat with his bamboo pole, sending it about ten feet away from the dilapidated dock. Feeling safe, the old man then asked:

"Where did you thieves come from? Why are you trying to steal my ship?"

Sun Quan was anxious and repeatedly bowed to explain, then pointed behind him: "Old man, we've met with disaster! The bandits are not far behind us! Please take us aboard the ship quickly, and I will reward you with a thousand pieces of gold!"

The old man shook his head: "Where did you get this rich girl? I think you're the one who looks like a thief! Don't try to fool me!"

Sun Quan finally broke down. The will to survive took over his mind, and he refused to say another word to the old man. Gritting his teeth and with a flushed face, he turned around, took a large bow from the side of his horse, pulled an arrow from his quiver, held his breath, and shot. The arrow, from a distance of more than two zhang, struck the old man squarely in the throat.

Judging from the old man's appearance, he was about seventy years old and must have been a local. He had lived his whole life in this remote place, but unexpectedly, he had suffered such a misfortune today.

Sun Quan was overjoyed. He threw down his bow and arrows, grabbed his sword, and waded into the water. He swam more than ten feet in waist-deep water, climbed onto the small boat, took the bamboo pole from the old man and laid it flat in the boat. He then picked up the oar and realized that the two close cavalrymen who had been following him were not there. Instinctively, he called out:
"Xie Da, Feng Qi, what are you two doing? Aren't you going to get on the boat?"

The cavalrymen who served near Sun Quan were almost all from aristocratic families, literate, and had come to the central army to hone their skills.

Xie Da gripped the reins, pursed his lips, his face slightly flushed, and said nothing. Instead, he turned and rode away before the Wei army arrived.

Feng Qi sighed, "What crime did this old man commit by being killed by Your Majesty? I still have an elderly father at home, and I cannot bear to see another man's father die so unjustly! Your Majesty now has a ship, please take good care of yourself!"

After saying this, Feng Qi bowed, then mounted his horse and rode away following Xie Da's figure, even throwing down the weapon and leather pouch at his waist.

Sun Quan was momentarily stunned. He looked at his own hands, then at the figures of Xie Da and Feng Qi, and then at the old man's corpse floating on the water. He roared madly, grabbed the wooden oar, and paddled recklessly into the river. (End of Chapter)