Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

After the high-level military meeting inside the command tent concluded, the overall strategy was finalized.

Next, the various military units began to make intensive preparations for their expedition.

Liu Bei, holding a white banner, walked out of the tent with Jian Yong, Qian Zhao, Guan Yu, Lü Bu, Gao Shun, and others.

At this moment, all one hundred Xianbei warriors of the guard were already standing solemnly outside the tent.

Liu Bei saw this, nodded, and said loudly:

"Where are the banner bearers?"

A burly Xianbei warrior strode out from the ranks and responded:

"The banner bearers are here!"

Liu Bei handed the white banner to the banner bearer and said in a deep voice:

"The white banner is as if the Khan himself were here. As the banner bearer, you must protect it thoroughly!"

The banner bearer took the white banner from Liu Bei's hands and declared in a grand voice:

"As long as we are here, we will remain!"

One hundred warriors of the guard also shouted in unison:

"As long as we are here, we will remain!"

Seeing their high spirits and energy, Liu Bei nodded in approval and exclaimed loudly:

"Archives! Follow me to the barracks!"

"yes!"

One hundred guards escorted the banner bearers as they walked out of the wooden fence and mounted their horses.

Liu Bei and the others then leaped onto their horses and rode away.

The guards followed closely behind Liu Bei and his entourage.

The group rushed back to their military base.

As Liu Bei led his army galloping past countless yurts, he suddenly heard someone shouting from behind:

"...Xuande! Xuande!"

It got louder and louder.

Qian Zhao reminded Liu Bei:

"Xuande, someone is calling you!"

Everyone reined in their horses and stood still.

Liu Bei turned around and saw Tuoba Yizha riding a horse and chasing after him, a dozen feet away.

After a moment's thought.

He then addressed the crowd:

"You all go back to the camp first. I want to say a few words to Tuoba Yizha."

"it is good."

Jian Yong and his men immediately abandoned Liu Bei and led a hundred brave warriors to continue their swift advance.

Tuoba Yizha galloped up to Liu Bei, reined in his horse, and looked at him.

Liu Bei also looked at her.

The two locked eyes.

I stared blankly for a while.

For a moment, Liu Bei didn't know what to say to his future wife.

After all, the two had only just met, yet Tuoba Lin had already paired them up as husband and wife.

"I heard you're only fifteen years old..."

Tuoba Yizha, her cheeks slightly flushed, was the first to break the silence.

Liu Bei nodded, but then quickly added:

"I'll be sixteen soon."

Tuoba Yizha whispered:

I'm eighteen years old.

He was actually three years older than Liu Bei.

There's an old saying: "A woman three years older than her husband is like a golden brick in your hand."

Liu Bei's mind was filled with all sorts of random thoughts.

He didn't care about the woman's age; the key was Tuoba Yizha's appearance, which perfectly matched his aesthetic standards and was undoubtedly his ideal wife.

Radishes and leafy greens are a matter of personal preference.

But Liu Bei now prefers this type.

"Hmm."

Liu Bei hesitated, unsure how to answer. After a moment's thought, he finally uttered four words: "...Wait for me to return."

The four words were spoken extremely softly, yet they were full of tenderness and affection.

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Yizha blushed with embarrassment.

She paused for a moment, seemingly savoring Liu Bei's deep affection.

A while later.

Tuoba Yizha then said:

"Now, you are the commander-in-chief of the western expedition, and also my husband... I am skilled in archery and horsemanship, no less than a man, and I can accompany the army to protect you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei smiled slightly and said softly:

"I have a large army here, so you don't need to worry. But the Khan only has a thousand guards, and he needs you to protect him."

"Furthermore, in the vicinity of Canhebei, several hundred miles to the east, if there is any alarm, the Khan will lead his only thousand-strong guard eastward to provide support. Therefore, Tuoba Yizha, you should stay by the Khan's side."

Tuoba Yizha nodded repeatedly upon hearing this:

"The Khan said you have the bearing of a great general. Indeed, when you consider the battle situation, you always have the whole picture in mind. Good! Xuande, I will listen to you. I will wait for your return."

"Um."

Liu Bei nodded to Tuoba Yizha, then turned his horse around and rode away.

Tuoba Yizha remained rooted to the spot, watching Liu Bei's figure disappear behind the yurt not far away.

Although Liu Bei was galloping away on his horse, he could still feel a pair of beautiful eyes staring at him from behind.

The war is tense.

He had no choice but to temporarily abandon Tuoba Yizha and return to the army's garrison as soon as possible.

By this time, Liu Bei's nearly one thousand troops, who had come from Canhebei, had already eaten and drunk their fill thanks to Tuoba Lin's generous reward. Even the thousands of warhorses were well-fed and strong.

Both men and horses are resting.

Liu Bei did not disturb them.

After arriving at the army's camp, he immediately summoned Jian Yong, Liu Yu, Liu Gao, and Zhang Fang, and told them that he still had a thousand yurts bestowed upon him by Khan Tuoba Lin at Canhebei that were left unattended.

Liu Yu, Liu Gao, and Zhang Fang immediately volunteered to go to Canhebei to help Liu Bei manage this thousand-fold yurt.

Liu Bei readily agreed and also ordered them to move all the goods and followers of the Tuoba tribe to the Canhebei area.

He thought that, after all, the area around Canhebei was closer to his hometown of Zhuojun in Youzhou. After his victory in the western expedition and the yurt bestowed upon him by Tuoba Lin, he would still move them to the area around Canhebei.

Jian Yong also wanted to go to Canhebei.

However, since Liu Bei needed Jian Yong by his side to assist in military affairs during his western expedition, he did not agree.

So Liu Yu, Liu Gao, and Zhang Fang returned to the Tuoba tribe's camp, reported to Tuoba Lin, and then packed their goods to prepare to travel to Canhebei, hundreds of miles to the east.

Tuoba Lin naturally agreed, allowing Liu Yu and Liu Gao to assist Tuoba Jiefen after arriving at Canhebei.

Watch the sunset over the western plains.

Liu Bei felt that the time was about right. By marching now, it would get darker and darker, so as not to disturb the scouts of the Yanliyou tribe or the Xianbei herders.

After an afternoon of rest, the thousand-strong army had fully recovered their strength.

Therefore, Liu Bei gave an order and led his army to advance rapidly westward.

Babapeng, Pulu, and Yiloujin jointly commanded 600 Xianbei light cavalry, closely following Liu Bei.

At this time, five generals, including Tuoba Qiudun, also led their respective cavalry units and, in accordance with the orders of Liu Bei, the commander-in-chief of the western expedition, hurriedly headed west.

Liu Bei's cavalry were all elite, and their horses were superb steeds that ran extremely fast. They quickly left Baba Peng, Pulu, and Yiloujin far behind.

Not to mention the five generals of Tuoba Qiudun.

They were left even further behind.

The moonlight in summer is quite bright.

It illuminated the westward-bound grasslands.

Since the mission was to enter the nomadic territory of the Yanliyou tribe, Liu Bei had already sent out 28 elite cavalrymen from the White Feather Society, led by Xu Wushan, into seven teams of three riders each, before the march began. These teams were sent out to scout out the situation within a range of at least 100 li ahead.

They were instructed to leave three riders every hundred li to report the results of their reconnaissance within that area.

After Liu Bei led his thousand-strong army westward for more than a hundred li, they encountered the first wave of scouts—three elite cavalrymen from Xu Wushan.

They reported to Liu Bei: No suspicious persons have been found within a hundred li. Everything is normal.

They then galloped westward for another hundred miles.

Three elite cavalrymen from Xu Wushan and two Xianbei scouts were waiting for Liu Bei ahead.

It turns out that these two Xianbei scouts were actually spies sent by Khan Tuoba Lin to the Yanliyou tribe.

Upon seeing the two men, Liu Bei immediately summoned them to his side, took out the carved wood given to him by Tuoba Lin, and showed it to them.

The two Xianbei scouts, seeing the white banner beside Liu Bei, knew he was the commander-in-chief of the western expedition, and relayed all their intelligence to him:

Yan Liyou had already learned about the Tuoba tribe's attack on the Rilu tribe, but he believed it was a tribal feud, which was common on the grasslands.

Therefore, he was not worried that Tuoba Lin would lead his army to attack him, because Tuoba Lin was his junior and had always treated him with great respect.

However, Yan Liyou's sons quickly gathered 5,000 troops from the five villages under their command and came to the outer perimeter of Yan Liyou's camp at the foot of Lang Mountain. Together with the 3,000 troops of their own army, they formed a strong defense to guard against a surprise attack from the Tuoba tribe.

After learning this news from the two scouts, Liu Bei knew that he would be facing the well-prepared 8,000-strong Xianbei army of Yanliyou.

Even if he launches a surprise attack, it will be a tough battle.

But at this point, the bow was already on the string and had to be released.

Liu Bei had no choice but to continue leading his army rapidly towards the Langshan area.

……

The captain's urgent message flew across the vast sea, while the Xiongnu chieftain's hunting torches illuminated Wolf Mountain.

—Gao Shi, Tang Dynasty, "Yan Ge Xing"