Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 39 The Way of Reality and Illusion
Now that he had received the mission, Zhang Yu returned to the camp and asked people to summon Shi Yi, Hao Zhao, Li Song and others to discuss how to deliver the military order to Changsha City.

When everyone heard the news, their expressions were different. Shi Yi and Hao Zhao were eager to try, but Li Song was worried.

Li Song sat on the chair, frowned and said: "There are more than 100,000 Yellow Turban bandits. The officers and soldiers have sent scouts many times before but failed. How can Ji'an sneak into Changsha with only 100 cavalrymen?"

Zhang Yu flipped through the camp map Zhu Jun had sent him and said, "Although the enemy has many soldiers and horses and is well-defended, they have built their camp on grass, which makes it complicated. If we can find out the enemy's strengths and weaknesses and provoke them with cavalry, we may have a chance to sneak into the city."

"Then what does Ji'an want to do?" Li Song asked.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Shi Yi and I will go to the enemy camp to look for trouble. Bo Song, Bo Dao, and Tu Li will lead a hundred cavalrymen to follow me. Without my order, you are not allowed to go out without authorization."

"promise!"

Li Song took the lead and responded as his deputy.

"correct!"

Zhang Yu added: "This time we are not going to fight the enemy, but to break into the camp to deliver a message. If you engage in a fight with the enemy, do not fight them."

"Yes!" everyone agreed.

Everyone went back to the camp to gather their subordinates. Hao Zhao walked a few steps, and because he was worried about safety, he turned back and said, "There are many enemies, brother, you need to be careful when you come to the camp alone. If you are willing, Zhao is willing to enter the city on your behalf."

"Don't worry, Bodao. I have my own arrangements!" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

As the first "Three Kingdoms hero" accepted by Zhang Yu, Hao Zhao was often taken care of by Zhang Yu. On the contrary, Hao Zhao was more considerate of Zhang Yu because Zhang Yu treated him well. According to the game value table of later generations, Hao Zhao's loyalty to Zhang Yu was probably over 90.

Zhang Yu put on his armor, hid the general's order in front of his chest, and equipped his black-maned horse with two crossbows, a long spear, and a ring-handled sword. Then, followed by a hundred riders, he galloped out and headed straight for the Yellow Turban Army camp.

After running for more than thirty miles, Zhang Yu led a hundred cavalrymen to the Yellow Turban camp.

However, Zhang Yu did not rush to send the letter. Instead, he and Shi Yi separated from the main force and patiently inspected the Yellow Turban camp.

Zhang Yu and Shi Yi approached the camp for more than 200 steps to investigate the defense of the Yellow Turban Army camp. They not only investigated the defense of one side of the camp, but also spent time observing the movements of the Yellow Turban Army camp from all sides.

Seeing the Han cavalry appear outside the camp, the Yellow Turban soldiers rushed to the front of the camp to watch, but they did not leave the camp easily because they had no orders from their superiors.

More than two hundred steps away, Zhang Yu rode his horse slowly, looking at the swaying figure in the distance, and whispering to Shi Yi.

Suddenly, as if receiving orders from their superiors, six cavalrymen rushed out of the Yellow Turban camp gate and charged directly towards Zhang Yu and Shi Yi.

Zhang Yu and Shi Yi looked at each other, understood each other, and each rode his horse to a distance. The six cavalrymen were divided into two groups, chasing Zhang Yu and Shi Yi respectively.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Yu took the bow and pulled out two arrows from the quiver. When the man turned around and looked back, Zhang Yu didn't need to aim too much. His eyes quickly locked onto the target, and he raised his hand and shot, shooting down the leading Yellow Turban cavalryman.

One arrow is shot, the next arrow is strung, looking back at the moon, the arrow breaks through the air.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow brushed past the thief's cavalry, but Zhang Yu did not panic. Instead, he quickly turned around and changed hands, demonstrating his magical skill of shooting with both hands, and shot down another thief's cavalry.

In just a few breaths, two bandits fell off their horses and died, and the other bandit was so scared that he turned around and ran away.

At the same time, under Shi Yi's pulling, two cavalrymen were also killed, and a bandit cavalryman fled back to the camp in a panic.

Zhang Yu turned his horse forward and laughed loudly, "The arrow is on the string and must be shot. How can you escape now?"

"Ha ha!"

Shi Yi couldn't help laughing a few times and said, "The cavalrymen in Neijun are too weak to fight. They can't even ride and shoot."

Most of the Yellow Turban rebels were from the Central Plains, and few of them were good at riding horses, let alone the more difficult horseback archery. After all, the difficulty of horseback archery is very different from that of foot archery.

The reason why nomadic cavalry is strong is largely because the Hu people have been riding and shooting since childhood. If the Central Plains dynasty does not use the cavalry composed of border people from Liang, Bing and You to deal with the Hu people, the cost of training them is too high.

Today, the border cavalry from Shuofang are competing with the rebel cavalry. It is undoubtedly like adults beating children, and they are really bullying the Yellow Turban cavalry.

"go!"

Zhang Yu tested the strength of the Yellow Turban cavalry, and boldly reined in his horses with Shi Yi to the front of the camp, laughing loudly, "Zhang Ji'an of Yunzhong is here, is there anyone who wants to die?"

"Is there anyone who wants to die?"

Zhang Yu rode his horse to the front of the camp and shouted to challenge the Yellow Turban soldiers in the camp.

"How dare you be so arrogant!"

Upon seeing this, the commander-in-chief Liu Pi pounded his hands angrily, looking extremely angry.

"Captain, the Han cavalry are so provocative outside, I am willing to lead the troops to attack!" said the attendant indignantly.

Liu Pi turned around and glared at the attendant, saying, "With your two legs?"

"You're outside, they've already left!"

The attendant was indignant and silent, saying, "Are we just going to sit back and watch the Han cavalry show off their power?"

"Bear it!"

Liu Pi was reasonable and said, "We are many and the enemy is few. If the enemy sends two cavalrymen to provoke us, they must have other intentions. Our cavalrymen are not as elite as the enemy cavalrymen, so we cannot leave the camp easily. We should build a deep camp and wait and see the movements of the Han cavalrymen!"

The gap in cavalry strength between the two sides was too great, which made Liu Pi unwilling to send out scouts to fight. After all, if there were too many people, Zhang Yu would run away; if there were too few people, they would not be able to do anything to Zhang Yu.

"Yes!" The servant accepted the request with resignation.

Zhang Yu shouted outside for a long time, but the Yellow Turbans never came out to fight. The Yellow Turbans saw Zhang Yu shouting, but did not take any concrete measures. The previous spirit and momentum were lost, and the Yellow Turbans, whose military discipline was loose, either stood up to be on guard or lay down to relax.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu had an idea in mind and said with a smile: "Blow the horn and order the hundred riders to gather."

"promise!"

Shi Yi blew the horn to gather the riders.

"Woo~"

In an instant, the dull sound of a horn resounded through the sky.

Li Song and Hao Zhao led their men to raise flags and beat drums, galloping on horseback, and coming with great momentum. Seeing this, the Yellow Turbans in the camp suddenly became nervous, and the soldiers who had been resting before stood up one after another, alert to the possibility that Zhang Yu would lead his cavalry to launch a sudden attack.

"What's going on?" Liu Pi hurried over and asked.

"The Han cavalry suddenly blew the horn and summoned the rest of the troops." said the attendant.

Liu Pi looked outside the camp and saw Li Song and Hao Zhao leading a hundred cavalrymen coming with a bluffing attitude, as if they were planning to attack the camp.

"Someone prepare for battle!"

"promise!"

Liu Pi couldn't figure out Zhang Yu's intention, so he ordered his soldiers to assemble and prepare for battle.

At the same time, Li Song and Hao Zhao came with a hundred cavalrymen, waiting for Zhang Yu's orders.

"Jian!"

Li Song held the reins and asked, "What do you want me to do now?"

Zhang Yu looked at the hundred cavalrymen under his command, pointed to the open space, and said with a smile: "Come on, take off the saddles and dismount to fight."

"Why?"

Hao Zhao followed and asked in confusion, "Brother, instead of letting us cover you while you break through the enemy lines to deliver the letter, you asked us to dismount and fight?"

Zhang Yu stopped his horse and looked at the Yellow Turban Army camp from afar. He laughed and said, "If it's empty, make it real; if it's real, make it empty."

Hearing this, Hao Zhao seemed to be thinking about something, and suddenly understood Zhang Yu's plan.

"Get off your horse and have a rest. Come and fight with me!" Hao Zhao understood Zhang Yu's plan, excitedly called his subordinates and shouted.

In order to have a rest, Zhang Yu unsaddled his horse and sat on the ground, looking relaxed.

At this time, the Yellow Turban Camp was facing a great enemy, and Liu Pi led his men to personally supervise the defense to prevent Zhang Yu from launching a surprise attack. However, they saw that the Han cavalry outside the camp had no intention of attacking, but dismounted to rest, which immediately puzzled them.

"what happened?"

Looking at the Han cavalry fighting and playing outside the camp, Liu Pi was full of doubts, and he was increasingly unable to understand Zhang Yu's thoughts.

"Is this an attempt to lure the enemy?"

Seeing that there was no movement outside the camp for a long time, Liu Pi sat down on the ground and asked in confusion.

"It seems so!" replied the attendant.

Liu Pi was puzzled and ordered, "Let the soldiers be on guard and observe the movements of the Han cavalry!"

"promise!"

Just like that, strange phenomena began to appear inside and outside the Yellow Turban camp. Zhang Yu and Hao Zhao led the Han soldiers to dismount and fight, while the Yellow Turban army was on high alert.

About half an hour later, the Yellow Turban soldiers relaxed and returned to their previous behavior, some lying down to rest, some guarding with spears, and the number of guards was decreasing.

Zhang Yu looked at the sky and saw that it was almost dusk, so he ordered, "Bo Song, blow the horn."

"promise!"

The dull horn sounded again, and the Han cavalry gathered loosely, their expressions full of joy and relaxation.

At the same time, the Yellow Turban soldiers in the camp responded. Many soldiers stood up and were on guard, observing the movements of the Han cavalry outside the camp.

However, the Han cavalry were still outside the camp. Unlike the previous fight between two people, this time everyone was practicing horse riding and archery.

The attendant met Liu Pi who was about to investigate and reported: "Captain, the Han cavalry are practicing archery outside the camp and have no intention of attacking!"

"How dare you, you brat, play tricks on me like this!"

Realizing that he had been tricked again, Liu Pi cursed and turned back to the military tent.

Seeing that the Han cavalry outside the camp were not moving, the Yellow Turban soldiers relaxed one after another and no one went up to be on guard. It was obvious that they were annoyed by the repeated noises of the Han cavalry.

As the night gradually darkened and it was time for dinner, wisps of smoke rose from the Yellow Turban camp.

At the same time, Zhang Yu rode his horse at a gallop, glanced at the smoke in the distance, and shot the target.

"color!"

Seeing Zhang Yu do it so effortlessly, the cavalrymen applauded and cheered.

Then, Shi Yi followed Zhang Yu and hit the target, also winning cheers from the cavalrymen.

Zhang Yu was drawing his bow and watching his men practicing shooting. Li Song rode over on horseback and said, "Jian, the bandits are having their meal!"

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes and observed that it was getting dark. He said, "Tomorrow morning, lead your troops to make a noise so that they can help me leave the city."

After that, Zhang Yu rode out with a bow in hand, shouting, "Let me shoot!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu intended to ride and shoot, the riders made way for him.

Zhang Yu ran past the target and shot back with an arrow that hit the bull's eye.

"My son will follow Mr. Li back to the camp!"

As soon as he finished speaking, amid the puzzled and shocked gazes of his followers, Zhang Yu sped up his horse and headed straight for the Yellow Turban camp.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yu rode his horse to the Yellow Turban camp.

"Whoosh!"

Taking advantage of the soldiers' laxity on the fort, Zhang Yu raised his hand and shot down the soldier on the watchtower with an arrow.

"Zhang Ji'an in the clouds is here!"

Before the Yellow Turban soldiers could react, Zhang Yu rode his horse into the spacious passage between the two camps at lightning speed.

When the Yellow Turban soldiers on the camp realized what was happening, they put down their food, held their spears and bows, and climbed up to the fort to look. All they could see was the man's figure going away, while his hearty and cool laughter echoed in the air!
(End of this chapter)