Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

In the blink of an eye.

Thirty or forty burly Han light cavalrymen had already swiftly arrived at the edge of the dense forest.

Not understanding the situation in the dense forest, the leading officer waved his hand, ordering all the cavalry to stop their horses.

"dismount!"

At his command, all the light cavalrymen dismounted.

The thirty or forty light cavalrymen were equipped with varying gears. Some held hooks in their left hands and ring-pommel swords in their right, some carried crossbows, some carried bows and arrows, some carried halberds and shields, and some carried longswords.

Liu Bei looked at the light cavalry and immediately spotted Chu Yan, Luo Shi, and several squad leaders and sergeants, whom he had met by chance at the tavern in Shiwulipu.

However, Liu Bei was seeing the leading officer for the first time.

"There are crossbow bolts in the woods! Officers, take cover!"

Liu Bei kindly reminded them.

When Chu Yan, Luo Shi, and several other low-ranking officers from Tiebiwu saw Liu Bei, they recognized him as the customer who had eaten breakfast at the Shiwulipu tavern.

"Alert! Halberdiers and shieldmen!"

The leading officer shouted loudly.

At his command, seven or eight halberd and shield soldiers immediately lined up, raised their shields, and fiercely defended against the crossbow bolts fired from the dense forest, protecting the other light cavalry behind them.

"Who are you people?"

The leading officer shouted at Liu Bei and his men.

Liu Bei replied:

"I am Liu Bei, a resident of Dashulou Sangli in Renyi Township, which is nearby."

Why are you here?

"I originally went to Qingxi Manor to visit Fifth Guang. I didn't expect that he was kidnapped by the bandits Sun Qing and Wang Dang from Baishi Mountain and brought here by sword. So we followed along with the retainers and servants of Qingxi Manor."

How many people are in the dense forest?

"There are about a hundred bandits from Baishi Mountain. The retainers and servants of Qingxi Manor total forty or fifty, but most of them have already been shot dead or wounded. Many crossbowmen from Baishi Mountain are lurking in the dense forest."

After hearing Liu Bei's words, the leading officer nodded, frowned, and pondered.

The squad leader, Chu Yan, standing to the side, said:

"Captain Hu, this is completely different from the intelligence we received. If there are more than a hundred bandits in Baishi Mountain, we cannot rashly enter the dense forest."

According to the military system of the Eastern Han Dynasty:

Five men formed a squad, led by a squad leader; ten men formed a platoon, led by a platoon leader; fifty men formed a team, commanded by a team leader; and one hundred men formed a hamlet, led by a hamlet chief.

This garrison of troops from Tiebiwu was commanded by a squad leader named Hu Yong.

"Just some lowly bandits. Halberdiers and shield bearers in front! Crossbowmen and archers behind. Everyone, charge into the dense forest together! We must annihilate all these White Stone Mountain bandits. Leave no one alive!"

Team leader Hu Yong gave the order.

Thirty or forty light cavalrymen responded loudly and quickly formed ranks, each holding their weapons, ready to charge into the dense forest.

Shizhang Luoshi drew his ring-pommel sword from his waist and walked to the side of the squad leader Hu Yong.

Without a word, he suddenly swung his knife and slashed it hard across Hu Yong's neck.

Fresh blood gushed out.

Hu Yong, who was completely unprepared, was killed by Luo Shi with a single blow before he could even speak.

The crowd erupted in uproar.

I had absolutely no idea what had happened.

A platoon leader actually beheaded his direct superior, the squad leader, with a single blow!?

Isn't this a rebellion?

Everyone present was utterly shocked.

The incident happened suddenly and abruptly. Liu Bei was also surprised and widened his eyes, not knowing what Luo Shi meant.

After killing the squad leader Hu Yong, Luo Shi also killed a light cavalryman with a single blow.

—That light cavalryman was a close follower of the squad leader, Hu Yong.

Following closely behind, Chu Yan and several other squad leaders and sergeants quickly stabilized the ranks.

"Don't move! Don't panic!"

"Whoever moves will be killed!"

Holding a ring-pommel sword, Chu Yan shouted loudly to the thirty or forty light cavalrymen:

"You are all warriors recruited from various places by the military camp. Some are farmers who cultivate the land, some are brave and fierce knights-errant, some are convicts who have committed crimes, and some are righteous followers from the ten counties of Wuhuan."

"I believe that everyone is tired of the lack of food and pay, and we've had enough of Hu Yong's rudeness. We can't eat or sleep well, and we're also beaten and scolded by Hu Yong, treated like slaves."

"I've heard that the Xianbei are about to invade the border again. When that happens, the court will surely conscript us prefecture and county soldiers to go to the frontier to die. Right now, the court is tyrannical, the officials are cruel, there are refugees everywhere, and people are thinking of change. Rather than going to the border to die, we might as well find a mountain stronghold and live happily for one day at a time."

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes darting around nervously.

"I, Chu Yan, have rebelled today! Follow me, and I promise you'll all be happy. If you don't want to follow me, I won't force you; just live your own lives."

Everyone was stunned by Chu Yan's words: How could the well-behaved garrison troops suddenly rebel for no reason?

Upon hearing Chu Yan's words, one of the light cavalrymen left the battle formation on his own, preparing to depart.

Luo Shi rushed over and slashed at the back of the light cavalryman's head with his sword.

The light cavalryman let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground, dead.

Chu Yan said sternly:

"Who else is unwilling to follow me?"

The remaining thirty or forty cavalrymen were all terrified and couldn't help but say:

"We are ready to obey Commander Chu's orders!"

"We are willing to follow Squad Leader Chu and Squad Leader Luo."

Chu Yan let out a cold laugh:

"From now on, brothers, don't call me Squad Leader Chu anymore. Just call me Brother Chu. What kind of bullshit squad leader is this? I don't want to be one."

Upon hearing this, the thirty light cavalrymen looked at each other, none of them daring to make a sound.

"What will happen to our family in the countryside?"

"A light cavalryman asked."

Chu Yan shouted loudly:

"Don't worry, everyone. Your families can also come up the mountain to have fun. As long as we kill everyone in the dense forest who knows about our rebellion and prevent the news from leaking out, we can bring our families to White Stone Mountain."

Liu Bei, standing to the side, looked at Geng Yong, Qian Zhao, Zhang Fei, Wu Tu Lu, and others, and was also taken aback.

"White Stone Mountain..."

"It's Baishi Mountain again..."

To everyone's surprise, Liu Bei witnessed a mutiny without any warning right there in the dense forest.

Chu Yan and Luo Shi rebelled for no apparent reason.

Liu Bei never expected that Chu Yan, who would later become the supreme commander of the Black Mountain Army, would start his rebellion in this way.

These soldiers, originally from the Iron Wall Fortress, transformed into bandits of White Stone Mountain, and naturally became even more ruthless in their killings.

"Yes, it's Baishi Mountain again..."

Liu Bei pondered, "They won't kill us, will they? We witnessed their entire rebellion firsthand... If they dare to come and kill us, then we have no choice but to fight to the death."

Wutulu then said in a deep voice:

"Don't worry, Xuande, let me talk to them."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked towards Chu Yan, Luo Shi, and the others.

Chu Yan was not alarmed to see that Wutulu was unarmed. "The Wuhuan people..."

Wutulu laughed and said:

"I am a friend of Sun Qing and Wang Dang, the leaders of Baishi Mountain. I heard that you are going to join Baishi Mountain Stronghold. I can introduce you."

Chu Yan looked at Wu Tu Lu and nodded:

"Thank you. I've known General Zhang Niujiao of Baishi Mountain Village for a long time. Since you're a friend of Sun Qing and Wang Dang, please stand aside to prevent us from harming innocent people."

Wutulu pointed at Liu Bei and his group and said:

"Several of us are friends of Sun Qing and Wang Dang."

Chu Yan said in a deep voice:

"Then all of you stand aside. Don't leave yet. We'll talk to you after we've killed all the retainers and servants of Qingxi Manor."

"it is good."

Wutulu nodded in agreement.

From their conversation, Liu Bei learned that Chu Yan did not fully trust Wutulu and that a thorough investigation would be conducted afterward.

Even if they tried to escape, they couldn't outrun these light cavalry. They might as well stay put and see what the enemy had to do.

At this moment, Liu Bei was still holding that six-foot-long sword in his hand.

With his longsword in hand, he felt no fear whatsoever.

Moreover, he still wanted to befriend this group of "bandits," as it would be very beneficial for his future ambitions of conquest.

So they stepped aside, clearing a path for Chu Yan and Luo Shi to easily advance into the dense forest.

……

Hooks and long weapons are used interchangeably to compensate for losses during rapid attacks.

—Treatise on Military Preparedness