Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 342 Lü Bu: I'll take a bow, and you'll take bows too. So what if a million-strong army comes?
However, despite Guan Hai's arrogant words, he did not dare to be negligent in his deployment. He sent out all six hundred cavalrymen in the army to act as scouts, dividing them into four groups, and they sped off towards Linying in the southwest, Yingyin in the west, Changshe in the northwest, and Yanling in the north, in order to prevent Lü Bu's elite cavalry from rushing straight to Xu County without rest.

If he were to be stabbed in the back by Lü Bu while he was attacking the city with all his might, even if he were to defeat Lü Bu, he would surely suffer serious injuries and considerable losses.

Since Guan Cheng was quite apprehensive about the government troops, Guan Hai simply ordered Guan Cheng to lead 8,000 men to stay behind at the main camp to protect the grain and supplies, while he himself led the remaining 20,000 troops to attack the city.

However, the intensity of the siege today was significantly weaker, and the pressure on the city walls was much less than in the previous days. As a result, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were both wounded, and even Magistrate Han Hao had been working for two days and two nights without sleep. The rebels seemed to have completely lost the fierceness and urgency they had when they were trying to break through the city before the government reinforcements arrived.

Han Hao gripped the edge of the battlement, his brows furrowed, a nameless unease rising within him.

This situation suggests either that Guan Hai was confident of breaching the city, or that something unexpected had happened to the imperial reinforcements.

But Han Hao quickly composed himself, concealing his worries beneath a calm demeanor.

He did not confide his worries to the ordinary soldiers, but only discussed them privately with Lou Gui, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin.

As for the soldiers facing the city walls, Han Hao turned around and laughed loudly, saying, "One should strike while the iron is hot, but the second will be weaker and the third will be exhausted. The rebels have attacked for three days but have failed to achieve anything and have lost all their morale! They may have been scared out of their wits by the news that the royal army is coming. It's just a show of force before their retreat!"

Seeing Han Hao's confident expression and noticing that the attacks outside the city were indeed less fierce than before, the soldiers believed him and a few smiles appeared on their tense faces.

After all, this is Yingchuan County, which is adjacent to Sanhe. There is no reason why the imperial court's reinforcements would not come to the rescue, let alone why they would not act swiftly.

Below the city walls, Guan Hai scoffed at the petty tricks played on the city walls.

Guan Hai watched with a leisurely air as his subordinates reorganized their ranks, preparing to launch the second wave of the day's offensive. He then turned his head and whispered to his trusted confidant Xu He beside him, "How many more days?"

Xu He squinted and calculated for a moment, then bowed and replied, "General, my men will definitely be able to dig the tunnel in three days at most."

Digging tunnels to breach the city was Guan Hai's method of conquering the city, and it was also the source of his calm and composed confidence.

Xu County was indeed a fortified city, unlike Xinji County, which was not so easily conquered. However, during the siege over the past few days, Guan Hai also noticed many details.

The commander defending Xu County was quite inexperienced in warfare and clearly lacked combat experience. If it weren't for the exceptionally strong resistance from two other commanders on the city walls, Xu County would have been captured long ago.

However, Guan Hai did not believe that Xu County could hold out for long. The tunnel he had been digging since the day he arrived outside Xu County was his trump card.

Once the tunnel is completed, Xu County will surely fall!

However, Guan Hai still felt that the three-day construction period given by Xu He was too slow. His face darkened, and he stared at Xu He and said, "Two days! I can only give you two more days at most. Let your men put in more effort and dig the tunnel as soon as possible. After the city is breached, I will give you an extra ten percent of the reward!"

Upon hearing this, Xu He's face immediately lit up with ecstasy, and even his breathing became a little rapid.

He was originally a tomb raider, specializing in digging up burial objects from the tombs of wealthy and powerful families. Later, he joined the Taiping Dao and was assigned to steal from large tombs to obtain military funds for the Taiping Dao.

Therefore, Xu He had a group of men under his command who were skilled at digging and robbing tombs, numbering about a thousand.

The wealth of Xu County is far more valuable than the burial goods of those aristocratic families!
Xu County is not a small county like Xinji County; its wealth far surpasses that of Xinji County.

If what Guan Hai said is true, then...

Thinking of the mountains of treasure and beautiful women in the city, Xu He's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard. His voice trembled slightly with excitement as he said, "General, if I have my men work without sleep, can we dig the tunnel by tomorrow?"

Seeing this, Guan Hai's smile deepened. He slowly extended three fingers and said, "I always keep my word. I'll give you 30%! If you truly have extraordinary abilities, you can dig through for me today. I won't even blink an eye at the 40% reward!"

Guan Hai laughed heartily, patted Xu He's shoulder forcefully, and was generous with his reward.

In his view, he was not afraid of his subordinates being greedy and lustful, but rather of them having no ambitions.

If a person is neither greedy for money nor lustful, then what they covet must be something far more valuable, such as the chair they sit on.

The more greedy Xu He was, the more at ease and comfortable using him became.

Moreover, if Xu He were to break through the city ahead of time, he would gain even more benefits than Xu He!

Chen Guoxiang Luo Jun once said that if his army could break through and hold the fortified Xu County, the imperial court would have at least 30,000 or even more soldiers tied down there!

This would be a great achievement, and King Chen would grant him Xu County as his fief and bestow upon him the title of Marquis of Xu County!
If that Prince Chen can really succeed, what does this Marquis Xu count for?
Just as Guan Hai was envisioning a glorious future of conquering Xu County, being enfeoffed as a county marquis, and even assisting King Chen in achieving great things, twenty miles away from the battlefield, the 150 scouts he sent towards Changshe ran head-on into a scout squad of the Han army.

Seeing that the enemy only had thirteen riders, Zhang Kai, the garrison commander of the rebel scout camp, grinned maliciously. Naturally, he would not let go of this opportunity to gain merit. He immediately led his men to spur their horses and give chase, brandishing their swords and roaring, "Men, follow me and kill! There will be a reward for whoever takes the head!"

However, after chasing for a while, Zhang Kai gradually felt that something was wrong.

The thirteen Han soldiers opposite were exceptionally slippery; not only were their horsemanship superb, but their archery was also incredibly accurate and ruthless.

One of them, in particular, was riding a magnificent chestnut warhorse with a longbow in hand. His bow and arrow moved with the fluidity of flowing water, and with each twang of the bowstring, a rebel scout would fall from his horse.

His quiver was half empty, and ten men had already fallen behind him.

The knight on the chestnut horse easily shot down another pursuer. Behind him, a man couldn't help but shout, his tone tinged with helplessness, "Boss! Leave a few for us!"

Upon hearing this, the knight on the chestnut horse spat without turning his head and laughed, "Bullshit! Military merit is earned through skill. Do you expect me to spare your head? Do you expect me to capture the enemy general alive and hand him over to you so you can cut off his head and report your military achievement next time we charge into battle?"

Cao Xing pouted and muttered softly, "Well... well, that's not impossible either..."

Lu Bu, riding on his red rabbit horse, immediately turned around and glared, but then another voice joined in. It was Xiahou Yuan who mocked, "A dignified General of the Valiant Cavalry with a salary of two thousand piculs, running around stealing the job of a scout, how shameless!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu flew into a rage, glaring at the two men and saying, "Bah! You, Xiahou Miaocai (Xiahou Yuan), are ashamed to be compared to a two-thousand-stone colonel and Cao Shengzhi (Cao Xing), a one-thousand-stone military commander? You can do it, but I can't? What kind of logic is that!"

Since its formation, Xiahou Yuan, relying on his superb archery skills, frequently led a dozen or so riders on daring reconnaissance missions. Originally, it was just Xiahou Yuan's frivolous behavior, but his old comrade Cao Xing, as Xiahou Yuan's military advisor, followed suit, relying on his archery skills to disregard the rebel army and often mingling with the scouts to conduct reconnaissance.

Yesterday at dusk, the two encountered rebel scouts again outside Changshe City, forty li from Xu County. After shooting and killing more than ten people, they let the rebel scouts go because it was too dark to pursue them further. They were then reprimanded by Lü Bu.

But these two bastards are all about admitting their mistakes, but they just don't humbly accept advice and never learn from their mistakes!
If it weren't for the impending battle, Lü Bu would have made those two bastards taste the whip.

Then Lu Bu also figured it out. After reprimanding him many times to no avail... since he couldn't persuade him, he decided to join.

Having taken over the jobs of Xiahou Yuan and Cao Xing, they had no choice but to obediently return to their respective duties.

Therefore, although Lü Bu was cursing, his hands did not stop moving for a moment. The bowstrings twanged repeatedly, and in a short while, three more rebel soldiers screamed and fell off their horses.

Seeing the smile on Lü Bu's lips, Xiahou Yuan and Cao Xing exchanged a glance, clearly harboring considerable doubt as to whether Lü Bu was trying to get them to obediently return to their duties or whether he himself was indulging in this pleasure.

Just as Lü Bu was engrossed in his pursuit, Zhang Kai finally snapped out of his frenzy.

He originally wanted to pick on an easy target, kill a few Han scouts and gain some military merit, but why did it seem like the Han scouts on the other side were always hovering at a distance that he thought he could catch up with but never closed the gap significantly?

Moreover, the more he chased, the fewer people he had left.

Zhang Kai glanced back and was horrified to find that nearly twenty of his men had been lost without his knowledge. He was filled with horror.

We're worried about suffering heavy losses if we continue the pursuit!
They gave up the pursuit, but were unwilling to give up!

"Fine, let's just consider this a tough fight. Let's retreat!"

Zhang Kai felt a chill in his heart. After thinking for a long time, his desire for credit was instantly replaced by fear. He decided to give up the pursuit and turn back.

Anyway, when the thirty-odd men who died were reported back to camp, they said that they had encountered five hundred vanguard cavalrymen of the Han army and suffered losses during the retreat. They also made up a lie that they had shot and killed more than ten Han cavalrymen. Did Guan Hai really have to carry the heads of Han soldiers to report the merit?
The remaining hundred or so scouts naturally followed Zhang Kai and turned their horses to retreat.

Seeing this, Lü Bu, who was in the middle of an exciting shooting session, was immediately displeased!
I was really getting into it, how could you guys back down?

What cowards! Ten times my size, and you still dare not confront me?
"These spineless cowards, follow me and chase after them!"

Lü Bu shouted loudly, immediately reined in his horse, turned it around, and prepared to chase after it.

Qin Yi, a fellow villager and guard, was greatly alarmed upon hearing this and immediately tried to dissuade him, saying, "General, the enemy outnumbers us ten to one... how can you take such a risk?"

Lu Bu, however, was completely unconcerned. Holding his bow, he laughed loudly, "I'll hold the bow, you all hold...you all hold bows too. What can a million-strong army do to us!"

"kill!"

After saying this, Lü Bu spurred his horse and gave chase. The Red Rabbit Horse swept towards the rebel scouts like a ball of fire shooting out.

What could the others say when they saw this? They could only grit their teeth, roar, and follow closely behind.

Zhang Kai, who was hastily retreating, was shocked to see Lü Bu and his men acting like madmen, launching a counterattack against a force ten times their size with a mere thirteen riders. He was then enraged and shouted, "Damn it! Even a clay figure has some temper! Do you think I'm made of clay?! Turn around! Kill them all!"

Zhang Kai decided not to retreat anymore. Since the other side had taken the initiative to come forward, what was the point of retreating?
He immediately reined in his horse, grabbed his spear, and attempted to use his overwhelming numerical superiority to surround and kill the reckless Han scouts.

One hundred and thirty to thirteen, the advantage is in my hands!
However, to Zhang Kai's charioteer's dismay, the thirteen Han cavalrymen maintained a suitable distance for mounted archery and patrolled without engaging in close combat, which put the rebel scouts in a difficult position.

Their archery skills were poor, and they were unable to fight back effectively. One after another, men were hit by arrows and fell from their horses.

Moreover, while ordinary soldiers would feel their arms ache after firing ten arrows in a short period of time, the Han scouts on the other side showed no signs of fatigue and instead fought with increasing ferocity.

After several clashes, only a few Han soldiers were hit by arrows, and their armor remained unharmed despite several arrows sticking out of it. Zhang Kai even suspected that some of these arrows might have pierced the armor of the Han scouts.

More than fifty of their own men had already been shot down, leaving them with less than a hundred men!
Fear gripped Zhang Kai's throat completely. He grew increasingly terrified and no longer cared about face or military merit. Without looking back, he turned his horse around and fled.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Zhang Kai howled and lashed his horse hard with his whip, filled with regret for having been so greedy for military merit.

Just as he was fleeing for his life and couldn't help but look back to check on his pursuers, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound coming from the air, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The feeling of being firmly locked on made him feel like he had thorns in his back. A cold glint came flying through the air, and Zhang Kai instinctively swung his bow to block it.

With a crisp clang, my arm went slightly numb from the impact, but I managed to deflect the arrow.

The smile of relief that had just appeared on his face was met with a second arrow, which followed almost the trajectory of the first, striking him precisely in the throat. His smile froze instantly, his body stiffened, and he fell straight off his galloping horse, instantly engulfed by countless panicked hooves.

Even as he lost consciousness and fell from his horse, Zhang Kai still had a smile on his face, a smile that seemed to indicate he had survived a close call.

Seeing Zhang Kai fall from his horse after being hit by an arrow, Xiahou Yuan slowly lowered his longbow, a smug look on his face.

To shoot a man, shoot a horse first; to capture a thief, capture the king first!
If he were to be flexible and adapt, shooting the king first before the enemy, wouldn't that also be in line with military strategy?

Moreover, this achievement is definitely greater than Lu Bu killing all the other scouts!

Seeing the remaining rebel scouts completely routed and fleeing for their lives, Lü Bu finally reined in his horse and stopped the pursuit.

Lu Bu snorted, still feeling unsatisfied, and turned his gaze towards Xu County.

Shooting down a few small fry was just an appetizer; the 30,000 rebels under the walls of Xuchang were the real merits that Lu Bu should reap!
Lu Bu could clearly understand which was more important and which was less important!
(4026 words)
(End of this chapter)