Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

"These bandits who have taken up arms on White Stone Mountain are all desperate and fearless. How could they possibly surrender to the government troops so easily?"

Cheng Xiao looked very serious.

Clearly, he knew these bandits on White Stone Mountain very well.

As the son of Liu Jing, the patriarch of the Liu family in Zhuo County, Liu Buyi also heard that a group of bandits were entrenched on Baishi Mountain, robbing and plundering everywhere and committing all kinds of evil deeds.

Thinking of his family's safety, he couldn't help but feel worried, so he asked Cheng Xiao:

"Cheng Youjiao, may I ask what evil deeds these bandits from White Stone Mountain have committed recently?"

Cheng Xiao sighed and said:

"I heard that recently a group of merchants passed by the foot of Langya Mountain. More than a hundred carts of goods were robbed by the bandits from Baishi Mountain. They also killed more than a dozen of the caravan's private soldiers who were escorting them. The owners of the goods are very wealthy. They must have used their connections to find Commandant Gongsun of the Zhuojun Commandery and have him provide a large sum of money to support the army, vowing to wipe out the bandits."

Liu Bei knew that the Gongsun Commandant Cheng Xiao mentioned was Gongsun Hao, the current Commandant of Zhuojun, who came from the Gongsun clan of the Liaoxi Lingzhi branch—the same clan as his sworn brother Gongsun Zan, whom he had not yet met.

The Gongsun clan of Liaoxi was a prominent and powerful family in Liaoxi County, Youzhou. They were known for their high-ranking officials, with members holding the rank of "two thousand shi" for generations, making them highly regarded by the world.

If Liu Bei wanted to achieve great success in this life, he would have needed the assistance of the Gongsun family of the Liaoxi Lingzhi clan.

In his previous life, he recognized Gongsun Zan as his elder brother and treated him as such.

In this life, he had already made up his mind to "rebel against the Heavenly Gang" and subdue Gongsun Zan, a fierce general from the late Han Dynasty, to become his henchman and make him work for him.

Although this was a pipe dream for the time being, Liu Bei was confident that he could make Gongsun Zan completely submit to him.

Once Liu Bei subdues Gongsun Zan, Youzhou will be no problem, and then he can head south to attack Yuan Shao in Jizhou.

At this moment, Liu Ping, the head of Lousangting Pavilion, also asked:

"Could the Zhao Laoqi mentioned by the commander of Yangbao in Ironwall Fortress be the leader of the bandits from White Stone Mountain?"

Cheng Xiao shook his head and said:

"No. As far as I know, Zhao Laoqi was just an informant planted by the bandits of Baishi Mountain. He led a dozen scouts disguised as wandering knights, specifically to inquire about passing caravans in the Youzhou and Jizhou areas. I never expected that they would dare to openly appear at this Wu Family Inn outside the east gate of Zhuo County. They were wiped out in one fell swoop."

Liu Ping nodded and said:

"It's obvious that someone betrayed them."

Cheng Xiao hurriedly asked:

"Who?"

Liu Ping pondered for a moment and said:

"It's the man wearing a blue turban who stood next to Commander Yangbao and pointed out the bandits."

Cheng Xiao frowned:

"Do you know him?"

Liu Ping hurriedly said:

"I don't know him. But the commander of Yangbao in Ironwall Fort asked him to identify him, so he obviously knows Zhao Laoqi and his group. He might also be a wandering knight active in the You and Ji provinces."

Cheng Xiao nodded upon hearing this.

As everyone was talking, a commotion broke out at the entrance of Wu's Hotel.

A burly, shirtless man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, yelling and brandishing two ring-pommel swords, charged out of the hotel like a tiger unleashed from its cage or a lion shaking the heavens.

In an instant, he cut down two crossbowmen.

The halberd-wielding soldiers, shields in hand, surrounded the bare-chested giant and began thrusting and stabbing him with their halberds.

The bare-chested giant seemed to possess superhuman strength. Although two crossbow bolts were stuck in his left arm, he seemed to have forgotten the pain. After he cut two halberds in half with his twin swords, he suddenly lunged forward and slammed into two halberd-shield soldiers, sending them flying several steps.

He swung his ring-pommel sword, and with a single stroke, severed the neck of a panicked halberd-shield soldier, causing blood to gush out.

The halberd-wielding soldier had half his neck severed, his head tilted to the side, and he immediately collapsed to the ground.

The dozen or so halberd and shield soldiers nearby were terrified when they saw this, and they took seven or eight steps back, not daring to come any closer.

Behind the shirtless giant followed seven or eight angry men wielding knives, hacking and slashing as they tried to break through the encirclement.

Arriving in this chaotic world at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, this was the first time Liu Bei had ever seen such a bloody and gruesome scene. He could no longer contain himself and felt a wave of nausea.

Liu Bei knew that this group of bandits from Baishi Mountain originally had more than a dozen people gathering at Wu's Inn, but now only seven or eight people remained. Obviously, during the melee in the main hall, five or six of them were killed by the Zhuojun government troops led by Yang Tai, the commander of Tiebiwu Fortress.

At this moment, Yang Tai, the commander of the Iron Wall Fortress, did not come out to give orders, and Liu Bei guessed that he might have been wounded.

After all, seeing that they were surrounded by government troops, the bandits of Baishi Mountain fought like cornered beasts, trying to escape. Therefore, each of them was fearless and disregarded their own lives, only wanting to fight their way out.

Although the government troops who came to arrest them were numerous, they were certainly unwilling to risk their lives. Therefore, no one was willing to step forward.

The bandits of Baishi Mountain also knew the principle of "capture the king first, shoot the horse first, and shoot the man," so they launched a fierce attack on Yang Tai, the commander of Tiebiwu, right from the start.

Yang Tai was seriously injured and unable to command his troops.

In this way, they were able to break through successfully.

At this moment, seven or eight bandits from Baishi Mountain had broken out of the lobby of Wu Family Inn and were about to escape the encirclement of the halberd and shield soldiers and flee for their lives.

Liu Bao, the patrolman in the southern part of Zhuo County, was furious to see that the government troops had lost their command and no one dared to step forward to stop them. He drew his ring-pommel sword from his waist, used the scabbard as a shield with his left hand, and charged towards the bare-chested man in the lead with the gleaming ring-pommel sword in his right hand.

"Ah Leopard—"

Liu Buyi couldn't stop him at all, so he had no choice but to draw his long sword and follow Liu Bao.

Seeing this, Liu Ping had no choice but to draw his sword.

"Brother, wait a moment, let me do it!"

Liu Bei, who was standing nearby, quickly stopped him, saying, "Let me borrow your knife!"

Liu Ping hesitated:

"Xuande, you..."

In his eyes, Liu Bei was, after all, just a fifteen-year-old boy who, though courageous, was probably not strong enough.

"Brother, rest assured! I have been learning swordsmanship since I was a child, and I have now been practicing for ten years."

Even Liu Bei's statement was still somewhat of a formality.

After all, he was a seasoned swordsman who had practiced swordsmanship for no less than twenty years in modern society.

Normally, it takes a year of sword training to develop true combat ability.

The saying in the martial arts world, "One month with a staff, a year with a knife, a lifetime with a spear," illustrates this point.

Liu Ping, the head of Lousang Pavilion, had occasionally heard that Liu Bei was secretly practicing martial arts. Seeing Liu Bei's calm demeanor, he knew that Liu Bei had come prepared, so he lent Liu Bei the ring-pommel sword in his hand.

"Brother, step back!"

After receiving the ring-pommel sword from Liu Ping, Liu Bei gripped it tightly with both hands and strode forward.

He was also worried that he was too young and not as strong as the bandits of White Stone Mountain, so he gripped his sword tightly with both hands.

At this moment, the fierce battle was raging on the field.

Liu Bao, a guerrilla from the south, was raising his sword, preparing to attack the bare-chested giant wielding two swords in the middle.

The shirtless giant reacted swiftly, suddenly kicking Liu Bao away.

Liu Bao's attack had barely begun, not even fully unleashed, when he was sent flying back a few feet, his ring-pommel sword slipping from his hand and crashing to the ground with a clang.

Upon seeing this, Liu Buyi took a large step forward with his right foot, his legs forming a lunge stance, and thrust his sword straight at the bare-chested man's vital abdomen!

The bare-chested man slightly turned his body, and with both swords, he struck down, alternating left and right, to slash at Liu Buyi's thrusting longsword.

Liu Buyi felt a sudden, powerful force press down on the sword, and his right-hand sword pierced the ground diagonally.

In a panic, he hastily drew his sword and retreated, staggering as if he were about to fall.

Suddenly he felt someone supporting him from behind. He turned around and saw it was Liu Bei.

"Brother, let me have a word with him!"

Liu Bei said in a deep voice.

……

Han dynasty ring-pommel swords were mostly straight-bodied with clear blade lines, a slightly inward-curving blade, and were typically single-edged with a slightly slanted tip. The back of the blade was broad and strong, with a thick spine and thin edge, making it easy to chop and chop, and also tough and not easily broken.

—From the "Treatise on Carriages and Clothing" in the Book of the Ji Han Dynasty