Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 185 Lü Bu: My men, follow me as I charge into the royal court!
My name is Zhang Liao, courtesy name Wenyuan, and I am eighteen years old this year (by Chinese reckoning).

My family has lived in Mayi County, Yanmen Prefecture for generations. We were a small but powerful clan, and our original surname was Nie.

Three hundred years ago, our ancestor Nie Huiyi decided to take a gamble in order to upgrade his family from a powerful clan to a noble clan. He consulted with Wang Hui, the Grand Commandant and General of the Garrison, about the plan to encircle and annihilate the Xiongnu army.

Finally... well, he tried, and then he became impotent.

The plot to conquer Mayi failed at the last minute. To escape the retaliation of the Xiongnu, the entire family left their homeland and changed their surname to Zhang. They did not return to Mayi until two hundred years ago, where they continued to run the horse trading business.

I, on the other hand, practiced riding and archery and read poetry at home. I was noticed by Xing Ji, the governor of Xihe, and appointed as a county official. However, I did not expect that I would hear of the Southern Xiongnu rebellion as soon as I took office. Even Xing Ji was killed, and all the soldiers and people in the city fled.

However, instead of fleeing to Taiyuan County with the crowd, I hid in the mountains and forests until news of the Xiongnu rebels besieging Jinyang City came. Only then did I descend the mountain, intending to escape back to my hometown of Yanmen, where I unexpectedly encountered a group of Xiongnu rebels.

Although he managed to escape by stealing a horse, he was eventually pursued by more than thirty Xiongnu rebels. He was eventually rescued by a general riding a red Akhal-Teke horse and holding a lance, who then became his guide.

Yes, this general is none other than Lü Bu, a household name in Bingzhou, who was recognized by the Crown Prince and made great contributions during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and was thus ennobled!

At dawn, on the grassland about two hundred miles north of Hequ in Xihe County, the morning mist was like a light veil, and drops of dew condensed on the tips of the grass. The water droplets hanging on the weapons reflected the pale light of the sky.

Suddenly, a crimson warhorse snorted, a soft sound that instantly startled a group of warhorses.

The horses raised their heads, shook their manes, and neighed, while the soldiers gradually awoke from their slumber.

The soldiers on night duty rubbed their bloodshot eyes, stomped their aching feet, their boots kicking up damp mud that smelled of grass, and muttered complaints about the cold morning.

A cavalry force of seven thousand men rested on this grassland, wrapped in a cashmere blanket they carried with them, huddled together, without setting up camp or lighting a fire to cook food.

The first thing the cavalrymen did after waking up was to wipe the dew that had condensed on their weapons with a dry cloth. Apart from the good families of the six counties, most of them had never seen the grasslands with such a huge temperature difference between day and night in summer.

When he woke up in the morning, even the black iron armor he wore was covered in water droplets. If he didn't wipe the water droplets off in time, his weapons and armor would inevitably rust over time.

Of course, the army naturally carried weapon maintenance ointment, which was essentially a type of fat. They would take some with their fingertips, apply it gently to the surface of the weapons and armor, and then wipe it evenly with a dry cloth.

Zhang Liao, who was working in Lü Bu's Yueqi Colonel's unit, accepted some dry rations from an older soldier, thanked him, and swallowed them with cold water without any pretense.

As he was eating, suddenly his head felt heavy, and a hand pressed down on Zhang Liao's head. A bag containing dried meat came into Zhang Liao's view.

Lu Bu, clad in black iron armor, looked at the young man with a hint of appreciation in his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, as if he had struck gold.

"General Lu!"

The young man was patted by Lü Bu, and he instinctively jumped up, straightened his body, and clasped his hands in a salute to Lü Bu.

Lu Bu was also taken aback, then smiled and pulled him to sit down together. He carefully took out two pieces of pork stomach from his food bag and handed them to Zhang Liao. He then ordered someone to bring a wine bag: "These are pork stomachs made by my wife. You've done a good job leading the way, so this is a reward for you."

Zhang Liao accepted the stomach that Lü Bu offered and was about to get up to greet him in thanks when Lü Bu pressed him down with his thick arm and said irritably, "Why are you so rigid, just like Zilong? I'll just give you the stomach and you can eat it. There aren't so many formalities in my army."

Zhao Yun, who was being fed hay by Lü Bu, paused slightly. He looked at Lü Bu with a helpless expression, then shook his head slightly with a bitter smile on his lips.

Seeing that Zhang Liao was still somewhat reserved, Wei Xu laughed and came over, joining the conversation with some dried meat. He patted Zhang Liao's shoulder and said with a smile, "Wen Yuan, don't be so polite with Fengxian. He dislikes all these formalities. Besides, my sister-in-law's stomach is a rare delicacy. I asked him for some, but he wouldn't give it to me and almost beat me up!" Lü Bu swallowed a mouthful of wine, glanced at Wei Xu, and took a bite of the stomach. Marinated with peppercorns, ginger, and other seasonings, the stomach warmed him instantly upon tasting it.

Although it is already summer, it is still a bit chilly in Xihe County at night and in the early morning. With the howling wind blowing, dozens of soldiers have caught a chill at night in the past few days.

"Why should I give you this food that your sister-in-law prepared for me?" Lu Bu picked up a small stone from the ground and casually threw it at Wei Xu, spitting out a curse. He then warily protected the bag of dry rations in his hand and said, "You have a wife, go eat what your wife makes. Why are you always trying to steal my food?"

The stone landed on Wei Xu's black iron armor. The half-inch-thick armor made a "thud" sound when hit, but it did not hurt the body underneath. Moreover, Lü Bu did not use any force. After all, Wei Xu was Lü Bu's mother Wei Shi's nephew, that is, Lü Bu's cousin.

Wei Xu laughed loudly at Lü Bu's possessiveness and hoarding of food, joking and teasing him with Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and others nearby.

Of course, everyone knows that Lü Bu is not one to eat alone. However, when he is on campaign, Lü Bu is usually unwilling to share the food prepared by his wife, Yan Shi, with others. But now he is willing to share it with Wen Yuan, which means that his general must appreciate him very much, just like Zhao Yun.

Zhang Liao watched as Lü Bu and his men laughed and joked. When they were alone, Lü Bu sat quietly to the side, gazing tenderly at a brocade handkerchief embroidered with mandarin ducks. His fingers gently caressed the mandarin ducks on the handkerchief, and his eyes were filled with deep affection that almost overflowed.

Although this shattered his idolized image of Lü Bu, he genuinely felt that following such a loyal and righteous general who could joke and play with a group of friends seemed like a good idea.

As for the so-called merit of leading the way... Don't be fooled by the fact that Lu Bu and his generals were all from Bingzhou. The embarrassing thing is that none of them came from good backgrounds. They were a group of people from Wuyuan County who had never even left the county, let alone traveled this road to the Southern Xiongnu royal court.

Luckily, Lü Bu was recruited by the Crown Prince to take up his post in Luoyang. After settling down, he recruited these old comrades to serve as his generals in Luoyang. Otherwise, it is unknown whether he would have spent his whole life in that desolate and barren land of Wuyuan County.

However, if it weren't for this, he, who often traveled around with his family's caravan and had been to the Southern Xiongnu royal court several times, would not have had the opportunity to serve under this pride of Bingzhou, especially in a surprise attack on the Xiongnu royal court!

The scout commander Cheng Lian had already scouted out the location of the Xiongnu royal court, which was no more than fifty li away!

Since the time of the Marquis of Champion, the act of trampling the Xiongnu royal court on horseback has long been a dream cherished by every man.

Although the Southern Xiongnu cannot be compared with the Xiongnu at their peak, they still bring a great sense of accomplishment.

Zhang Liao prided himself on being skilled in archery and horsemanship. Although he could not compare to a brave and experienced general like Lü Bu, he thought his performance would not be too bad compared to the Yueqi Sima, who was only two years older than him, was called "Zilong," and had not been on the battlefield much.

Just as Zhang Liao was filling his stomach and imagining how he would perform in his first battle with the army, he heard a crisp sound of armor clashing.

Zhao Yun skillfully handed Lü Bu a helmet adorned with red tassels. Lü Bu nodded slightly, slowly tightened the crimson ribbon under his chin, and patted the black iron armor on his chest.

The soldiers, who were already familiar with Lü Bu's habits, put away their food, put on their pheasant-feathered hats, and mounted their horses in unison with Lü Bu.

(The image below shows the armor of a regular cavalryman, which includes a thigh-high trouser to protect the thighs, unlike that of an infantryman.)
Lu Bu sat on the warhorse named "Chi Tu," a fiery red horse bestowed upon him by the Crown Prince. This intelligent Chi Tu seemed to sense the immense fighting spirit in Lu Bu's eyes, excitedly raising its head and neighing, its front hooves rising high, eliciting a chorus of neighs in response.

Looking back at the rows of knights behind him, he saw that the two thousand Yue cavalry he had personally trained, the two thousand Yulin cavalry under Xiahou Yuan, the one thousand Feixiong Army under Xu Rong, and the two thousand Liangzhou cavalry under Li Jue were all rare elite forces.

There was a time when he dreamed of being like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, leading 100,000 cavalry across the desert, driving out the barbarians, and establishing merit and fame.

Although we no longer have 100,000 cavalry, these 7,000 cavalry are enough to raze the mere Southern Xiongnu royal court to the ground!
Lu Bu laughed heartily, spurred his horse on, and galloped away in a cloud of dust.

"My lads, follow me on horseback to the royal court!"

(2930 words)
(End of this chapter)