Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

The Qinling Mountains are rich in natural resources and are known as "a gathering place of plants from the north and south, and a bank of biological species from the north and south." During the Han Dynasty, the abundance of its wild animals is unimaginable to modern people.

At this time, in the middle of a section of the Yonggu River valley, a group of gorals were leisurely drinking water by the river. Downstream of the valley, two hundred soldiers armed with swords, guns, sticks and clubs were staring at them with a fierce look.

"With so many sheep, a lot of them can be shot down with just a rain of arrows. Why did the military advisor only let a few of us come over to intimidate them?" A soldier was puzzled.

The leader said, "The military advisor said that these sheep are much more responsive than us. Even with just one person, let alone so many of us, it would be difficult to get within an arrow's reach of them. Once startled, they'll run away in a moment. Even if there are some left behind, even if we shoot ten or eight, it won't be enough for so many of us! The military advisor wants to catch them all and replenish our military rations! Let's go, herd the sheep!"

At the leader's shout, the soldiers rushed towards the valley, yelling and screaming. The sheep were startled and immediately ran upstream. The soldiers also ran after them, but they were left far behind after a short distance. However, they did not give up, but continued to chase upstream along the valley. From time to time, there were noises coming from both sides of the valley, which was to prevent the sheep from running into the woods.

The flock of sheep was frightened by the humans on both sides and behind, and ran upstream in silence. The river became narrower and the terrain became narrower as they went upstream, until they reached the narrowest part where the river was sandwiched between cliffs. The flock was blocked by rows of branch fences in front of them.

However, the gorals did not take the obstacle seriously. The flock in front used the inertia of running to kick their hind legs and jumped two or three meters high, easily jumping over the fence. However, behind the fence, what was waiting for them were densely packed sharp tree stumps.

Sheep were strung on tree stumps one by one. The flock at the back noticed something unusual and wanted to flee to both sides. However, at this time, countless arrows flew down from the cliff. The bleating cries of the sheep echoed in the valley. They either fled backwards or jumped around on the narrow river, but found that there were rains of arrows greeting them everywhere.

The fleeing flock of sheep was blocked by the soldiers chasing them. After a brutal massacre, only a small number of the four or five thousand sheep in the flock escaped, and the rest were killed in the valley.

On the cliff, Liu Bei looked at the dead sheep scattered on the ground below, his face filled with excitement. "Military Advisor, you are truly amazing! With this method of catching animals, we no longer have to worry about food shortages."

Li Ru said, "I have observed these sheep for two years and understand their living habits. I also know the terrain here very well, so I was able to surround and kill them so easily. If we were in other places, even with more people, we might not be able to succeed. My lord, you must advance to Hanzhong as soon as possible."

"With the military advisor's brilliant plan, I believe we can capture Hanzhong this time."

Liu Bei then instructed a soldier, "Have everyone slaughter the sheep and have a good meal today. Roast the leftover meat and take it with you. We will set out tomorrow and launch a surprise attack on Hanzhong."

…………

Hanzhong is located south of the Qinling Mountains. Affected by the summer monsoon, the rainfall here is significantly more abundant than in Guanzhong, and the grass and trees grow very lush.

Liu Bei followed Li Ru's advice and divided the team into two five days ago. Guan Yu led two hundred elite soldiers, traveled lightly, crossed mountains and ridges from Chencang Road to Xiebao Road, and entered the Hanzhong Basin.

Liu Bei led a large army and continued to take the Chencang Road. However, as Zhang Mo had expected, when the army reached Hechi, they were stopped by the Di tribe leader Dou Mao and his men.

During the Han Dynasty, prefectures and counties were set up in the Di ethnic group's settlements, which were called the Thirteen Di Prefectures, and Hechi County was one of them. The Di king Dou Mao had more than 10,000 Di people. The number might not seem large, but they had lived in Hechi for generations since the time of Emperor Wu of Han and were very familiar with the terrain. Dou Mao took advantage of the geographical advantage and led two thousand soldiers to stop Liu Bei's troops in the upper reaches of the ancient river valley.

Liu Bei's target was Zhang Lu. He tried to recruit Dou Mao, but the Di people valued bloodline. Liu Bei, a Han Chinese and a distant relative of Emperor Wu of Han, had no prestige in their eyes.

Unable to recruit them, Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei as the vanguard and engaged in a bloody battle with the Di people in the valley. Dou Mao was outnumbered and had to retreat with his troops back to Hechi. Liu Bei also had no ability to break the city, so he left 500 men behind and continued to go south with the others. Dou Mao saw that Liu Bei's target was not them, and was afraid of Zhang Fei's bravery, so he did not bother him again.

Five days later, Liu Bei's troops arrived at Ju County. There were only 500 county soldiers in the county. Naturally, the county magistrate did not dare to take any action and sent someone on horseback to report to Zhang Lu.

Seven days later, more than 4,000 people of Liu Bei arrived outside Yangping Pass. Zhang Lu, who had already received the news, sent his younger brother Zhang Wei to lead 10,000 people to guard the pass. Among them, 5,000 were inside the pass, and 5,000 were camped on a mountain outside the pass, forming a pincer attack with Yangping Pass.

Liu Bei did not rush to seize the pass, but first found an open place outside to set up camp.

Yangping Pass is located in the upper reaches of the Han River, with a river sandwiched between two mountains. It is the terminus and confluence of Chencang Road and Jinniu Road from Yizhou. It is backed by Mian County and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Not to mention the enemy camps outside the pass, just the people inside the pass alone, if Liu Bei attacked head-on, there would be no possibility of capturing it.

"Zhang Lu was the grandson of Zhang Ling, the founder of the Celestial Master Dao, and a member of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. In the second year of the Chuping reign, Liu Yan appointed him as the Supervisor of Righteousness Sima. Together with Zhang Xiu, the other Sima, he led troops to attack Zhang Gu, the governor of Hanzhong. After Zhang Gu's death, Zhang Lu killed Zhang Xiu, seized his troops, cut off the Xiegu Road, and murdered the imperial envoys. This shows that he had long harbored rebellious intentions.

Last year, Liu Yan died of illness and his eldest son Liu Fan ascended the throne. Zhang Lu refused to obey Liu Fan's orders and established his own separatist regime in Hanzhong. Liu Fan had sent troops to attack him but failed. At the beginning of the year, upon hearing that Liu Fan had proclaimed himself emperor, he also proclaimed himself emperor in Hanzhong and established the United States.

Inside Liu Bei's tent, Li Ru was explaining Zhang Lu's basic information to everyone. "Zhang Lu has been emperor for less than a year, and he's only occupied Hanzhong for a short time. The people influenced by the Five Pecks of Rice Sect are still a minority. He also fought Liu Fan last year, weakening his position. As long as nothing unexpected happens to Yunchang, Yangping Pass will be taken soon."

Liu Bei was a little worried and asked, "Can Yunchang and his men really enter the charity house in Mian County? Will they be discovered?"

Li Ru explained, "Over the years, countless civilians have fled from Guanzhong. Zhang Lu set up a charity house to provide food for travelers. As long as two hundred people don't go there on the same day, they won't be discovered. Based on their journey, they should have almost all arrived."

After a while, a soldier came in to report, "My lord, there is thick smoke rising from the direction of Mian County. We observed from a high vantage point and it seems that a house is on fire."

Li Ru smiled and said, "This is Yunchang sending us a message. Everything is going well over there."

Then he said to Jian Yong, "Take 500 men with you. At 3:00 AM tomorrow, bring enough hay and go to the foot of the mountain south of the enemy camp outside the pass. Set fire to the mountain and cut off their southern route."

He then said to Zhang Fei and Zhang Fan, "You two take the remaining troops. When you see a fire inside the pass, lead your troops straight to the pass and seize it with all your might."

"promise!"

The three of them clasped their fists in response and went out to prepare their troops.

Zhang Fan was the general sent by Taishi Ci to support Liu Bei. Originally, he was planning to take a stroll and then go back, but after seeing Li Ru's arrangements and his confident look today, he felt that Liu Bei had an 80% chance of taking Hanzhong.

After Zhang Fan returned to his tent, he immediately sent someone to report the situation here to Taishi Ci by flying eagle.