Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

On the grasslands, news travels like the wind, quickly reaching thousands of miles away.

It is not too late.

Therefore, Tuoba Jiefen decided to immediately send troops to Canhebei.

The Tuoba tribe was located at the foot of Gaoque Mountain, more than 600 li away from Canhebei. Even riding at full speed day and night, it would take two days and two nights to reach the destination.

If they were to march at full speed, covering 300 li in a day and night, they would already be exhausted.

Tuoba Jiefen believed that this trip to Canhebei would be a good opportunity to practice the surprise attack of the Yazhang army.

So he quickly mustered two thousand troops, made some preparations, and then led his army away from the Kaituoba tribe's camp, rushing eastward.

Accompanying Tuoba Jiefen were Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Qian Zhao, Dongye Ban, Xinyuan Jian, Zuo Zi, Zhang Ba, Wulu Dawang, Yang Feng, Lü Bu, Gao Shun, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, Wei Xu, Cheng Lian, Wei Yue, as well as Liu Bei's twenty-eight elite cavalrymen under Xu Wushan and Lü Bu's one hundred cavalrymen from Bingzhou.

This time, apart from leaving Jian Yong, Liu Yu, Liu Gao, and Zhang Fang to guard the camp, all of Liu Bei's troops participated in the battle.

Lu Bu's men were especially excited. They were all eager to fight the Xianbei when they heard they were going to attack the Xianbei at Canhebei. This was because the harassment of the Bingzhou border area was mainly carried out by small groups of Xianbei cavalry who were nomadic in the Canhebei area.

Lü Bu and his Bingzhou wandering knights hated the Xianbei cavalry at Canhebei to the core.

This time, Tuoba Jiefen led a group of elite cavalrymen selected from the ten tribes of Tuoba. Both the men and the horses were of excellent quality, so they set off first as the vanguard cavalry.

Two thousand cavalrymen, led by four Mohefu (chieftains) – Tuoba Hegu, Tuoba Baba, Tuoba Punai, and Tuoba Yilou – followed closely behind. They served as reserves and support troops, as well as the garrison force after a successful capture.

After marching for a day and a night.

That morning.

Tuoba Jiefen's two thousand troops had already rushed more than four hundred li away, and were only two hundred li away from Canhebei.

They were more than 200 miles away from the 2,000 cavalrymen led by Tuoba Hegu and others, who served as reserves.

Along the way, in order to avoid leaks, any suspicious Xianbei people they saw were seized and forced to travel with the army.

By the afternoon of the second day.

Tuoba Jiefen's two thousand troops had arrived at a place only fifty or sixty miles away from Canhebei.

Liu Bei rode over at full speed and offered his advice:

"There is a dense forest nearby where we can hide temporarily. After dark, we can sneak into the tent of Rilu near Canhebei."

"Firstly, the two thousand soldiers of the Yazhang Army are exhausted from their long journey and need to rest and recover their fighting strength."

"Secondly, we also need two thousand cavalry led by Tuoba Hegu and the other three Mohefu to quickly close the distance with the Yazhang army. In case of any changes, we can provide assistance."

Tuoba Jiefen adopted Liu Bei's advice and did not launch a rash attack on Rilu's camp.

He ordered the entire army to enter the dense forest to rest, and forbade any noise or disturbance, to wait quietly for night to fall.

At a command.

The two thousand soldiers then entered the dense forest. They were already exhausted, so they ate some dried meat and milk and fell into a deep sleep.

Tuoba Jiefen took a nap, then woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he ordered his men to summon Liu Bei.

This was Liu Bei's first time undertaking such a long forced march, so he was exhausted. He was so sleepy that he couldn't wait to finish the dried meat and simply went to sleep on the spot.

Tuoba Jiefen's personal guards woke Liu Bei.

Liu Bei had no choice but to rub his sleepy eyes and follow the guard to see Tuoba Jiefen.

When Tuoba Jiefen saw Liu Bei arrive, he quickly handed him a bowl of mare's milk wine:

"Xuande, drink some mare's milk wine to wake yourself up."

Exhausted and thirsty, Liu Bei drank the bowl of mare's milk wine in one gulp, and then said:

"Tuoba Jiefen, you dragged me here to discuss how to raid Rilu's headquarters, right?"

"Exactly."

Liu Bei had guessed Tuoba Jiefen's thoughts, and he looked up in surprise, asking, "Does Xuande have any suggestions?"

Liu Bei said in a deep voice:

"The troops stationed at the Yamen near Canhebei will never expect the Tuoba army to launch a surprise attack on them. Therefore, I believe they will be completely unprepared. After nightfall, we should simply charge in and catch them completely off guard."

After pondering for a moment, he asked again:

"Have scouts been sent out to the vicinity within a hundred miles?"

Tuoba Jiefen hurriedly said:

"There's nothing unusual within a hundred miles. Although our two thousand-strong army is a large target on the grasslands, we take more secluded paths the closer we get to Canhebei. Any Xianbei who discover us have been brought under our control. I believe news of the approaching army hasn't leaked out yet."

"That's good."

Liu Bei then asked, "How far are Tuoba Hegu and the others from us?"

Tuoba Jiefen pondered for a moment and said:

"We have been resting in this dense forest for more than two hours. We believe they are still 150 li away from us. In a few more hours, they will be closer. And they have been traveling on the main road."

"The spies here in Rilü will at most discover the two thousand troops led by my four uncles. My uncles can easily fool them with any excuse. They won't suspect anything. After all, no one believes that under Tanshihuai's rule, anyone would dare to openly annex other tribes."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei felt even more certain that everything was foolproof, and thus said:

"Tuoba Jiefen, don't worry, we'll take over Rilu's headquarters tonight!"

Another hour passed.

It had gotten completely dark.

But the moonlight on summer nights is very bright.

The two thousand soldiers in the military camp, who had been sleeping for more than three hours, mounted their warhorses after eating dried meat and drinking milk.

Each cavalryman in the Yazhang Army brought at least three horses to change on the road. This is why they were able to reach the Canhebei area so quickly.

The Tuoba tribe had cavalrymen who frequently traveled to and from Canhebei to deliver messages. They recognized Rilu's camp and thus acted as guides, leading two thousand camp soldiers straight ahead.

Rilu's tent was situated in front of a small hill, nestled against the mountain and overlooking the water.

The pond it faces is called Canhebei.

According to intelligence reports, there were only a little over a thousand Xianbei cavalrymen stationed at the Rilu Yazhang.

Of these more than a thousand men, only six hundred were elite cavalrymen carefully selected from various tribes. The remaining six hundred or so were ordinary cavalrymen sent by various tribes to serve in rotation.

The Xianbei tribes under Rilü's rule, though comprising four settlements, nearly 40,000 people, and 8,000 cavalry, mostly spent their time herding cattle and sheep and hunting wild animals in their own tribes when there was no war.

When Tuoba Jiefen led his two thousand troops to attack, the Xianbei cavalry stationed at the Rilu camp did not react at all; many of them were already asleep.

The shouts of battle and the sound of horses' hooves roused them from their dreams.

They scrambled out of their beds and saw torches everywhere, and no one knew how many troops were charging towards them. They grabbed swords and bows and arrows and hurriedly went to ride their horses.

Liu Bei, Lü Bu, and others followed two thousand of their own troops into the wooden palisade, killing anyone they encountered.

The sword, similar in shape to the ring-pommel sword of the Han people, slashed the throats of one Xianbei man after another.

They were particularly adept at slashing and striking while mounted on horseback.

Especially kill these panicked and demoralized garrison troops.

Almost one cut, one kill.

The more than 1,000 Xianbei cavalrymen guarding the Rilu camp were quickly killed, with hundreds killed. The remaining 700 or 800 tried to break out, but found that the area around the wooden fence was already filled with the Tuoba tribe's camp army, who were waiting in full force.

A hail of arrows came flying like locusts.

Several Xianbei people who charged ahead were instantly riddled with arrows.

Seeing this, the seven or eight hundred people behind them dared not rush forward and quickly retreated back into the wooden fence.

The torches illuminated the scene.

Tuoba Jiefen, carrying Rilu's head, shouted at the army guarding Rilu's tent:

"Your lord, Rilu's head, has been severed by our Tuoba tribe. Our Tuoba army of ten thousand has already besieged Canhebei, surrounding this place in layers! Your 800-strong garrison, lay down your weapons and surrender, and we will spare your lives!"

In the firelight, the eight hundred guards could see clearly and recognized that the head held up by Tuoba Jiefen was indeed Rilu's.

Upon seeing Rilu killed, the eight hundred defenders, trapped in the encirclement, immediately lost their fighting spirit and threw their weapons to the ground.

"We surrender! We surrender! We only beg Lord Tuoba to spare our lives."

……

When the superiors issue a summons, a wooden sign is used as the signal. Although there are no written words, the people dare not disobey.

—Book of the Later Han Dynasty