Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 142 Single-handedly Breaking Through the City
Liu Bei led his troops eastward straight to Ji County at an extremely fast pace.

Naturally, troops wouldn't be allowed to wear armor during a forced march; otherwise, they would be exhausted by the time they reached their destination.

Each squad was equipped with two pack horses to maximize the unit's mobility in such situations.

Ji County and Xiying are only about 20 miles apart. When Liu Bei arrived outside Ji County, he saw Guo Xun's governor's entourage entering the city from afar.

Guo Xun was supposed to return to Ji County to await news. After encountering Guan Yu, each of his two thousand troops chased Guan Yu's troops southward. Of course, Guo Xun wouldn't stay in the wilderness and freeze.

However, although Liu Bei arrived just in time, he still didn't have time to seize the city.

Because Guo Xun quickly closed the city gates as soon as he entered the city.

Liu Bei didn't bring any siege equipment, so it won't be easy for him to break through the city in a short time.

There were guards on the city wall. Although there weren't many of them, they looked quite capable, and they seemed to be all armored soldiers.

Liu Bei ordered his troops to stop a few hundred paces outside the city, where they donned their armor and rested for a while.

Then he ordered Zhang Fei to lead his men and raise the banner of "Protector of Wuhuan, Colonel Zou" to knock on the door... Zhang Fei had a loud voice.

That flag was originally given to Liu Bei by Zou Jing to recruit soldiers. It had been used for several years and looked a bit old.

To organize troops in front of the defenders at the city gates is a posture usually reserved for reinforcements and troops under orders—positioning themselves in a position clearly visible to those inside the city, donning armor on the spot, neither forming ranks nor setting up camp, and even sending men to openly knock on the gates.

If they are enemies, wearing armor under the city walls would be suicidal. If there are any armored soldiers in the city, they will definitely launch a surprise attack immediately.

A well-rested and well-trained army can launch a surprise attack on a force that has not yet put on its armor and is not firmly established. Even if the difference in troop strength is extremely large, it can still be defeated. Moreover, Liu Bei only has eight hundred men.

With armor, fighting against unarmored opponents is generally not a problem, even against five opponents.

If regulated according to standard procedures, the rate of armor wear by the Han army was very high.

If their military equipment were not cut back, the Han Dynasty's standing army should normally be fully armored (soldiers should wear leather armor, and officers of the rank of platoon leader and above should wear iron armor).

For example, the five battalions of the Northern Army were all fully armored, as were the Han troops under the Protector of Wuhuan. The armor coverage rate of border troops in various regions was also very high.

Even the county soldiers had armor regulations—according to the standard regulations, a medium-sized county had two units of county soldiers, and a large county had three units of county soldiers, left, middle and right. Each unit should have four to five hundred men (half the number of border troops and central troops), and all of them should be fully armored.

However, in reality, the number of soldiers in each county was generally increased to thousands or even several thousand men per unit—it was normal for military supplies to be withheld, as recruiting soldiers was much cheaper than preparing armor.

Moreover, soldiers could be recruited under the name of "Tuntian Soldiers"—the so-called Tuntian usually meant treating county soldiers as tenant farmers, and their rations could be distributed as military supplies... except that the military supply standards were based on regulations, and a Tuntian soldier was a unit of one thousand men.

Officials would provide armor to their personal guards, while the soldiers who were tenant farmers would all become auxiliary soldiers, who were not part of the official ranks.

So many large counties may appear to have thousands or tens of thousands of soldiers... but in reality, they only have about a thousand armored soldiers who are truly capable of fighting.

As for the elite troops like the Left and Right Imperial Guards, their armor was usually replaced with bamboo or wooden armor by the nobles—this kind of thing is lightweight and looks good. Anyway, the Imperial Guards rarely fight, so the young masters can just use it to make a show; the armor is too heavy.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the Han army under the Protector of Wuhuan was a government-organized force and was indeed an armored fighting force.

As for Liu Bei's garrison troops, they should at most only have armored personal guards—which is exactly the situation described in Guan Yu's story.

Liu Bei's troops now look exactly like the headquarters of the Protectorate of Wuhuan, completely different from the garrison troops... The garrison troops don't receive military equipment and wouldn't have that many horses.

Guan Yu retreated south in front of Guo Xun, while Liu Bei came from the west and arrived very quickly. It seemed unlikely that Liu Bei was with Guan Yu.

Liu Bei arrived at top speed, arriving just before Guo Xun returned to the city. This was not only because Guo Xun did not have many troops with him, but more importantly, because Guo Xun had never seen Liu Bei's army before.

Many people in Ji County certainly recognized Liu Bei, but since Liu Bei hadn't gone to knock on the gate, very few recognized Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei was a cook and head guard, and he rarely went out, usually staying home to paint. Zhang Fei, wearing two layers of armor, approached the city alone on horseback and shouted loudly, "Who's in charge of the city? Open the gates immediately!"

Someone poked their head out from the city wall: "Are you one of Commander Zou's men? Where is Qian Zijing?"

"Qian Congshi is recruiting Wuhuan cavalry in Shanggu. We have been ordered to come here to suppress the Yellow Turban rebels!"

Zhang Fei glanced at the city wall and, seeing that the man who spoke was dressed as a military officer, asked, "Is the Protector of the Wuhuan here? We have come here on orders from General Zong."

Zong Yuan had issued mobilization orders to the Protector of Wuhuan and the commanders of the various Hu cavalry tribes, but none of them had come before, so it was not surprising that they had come now, since marching always takes time.

Guo Xun was on the city wall. Hearing Zhang Fei say this, he looked at the flags and asked with some doubt, "Why are you so late? Come closer and talk to me."

Zhang Fei pressed on, spurring his horse to within a few dozen paces of the city gate: "We received the military orders and rushed here from the west! How can you say we're late?!"

The fact that they dared to get so close clearly meant they meant no harm. Their direct protest that they weren't late was the proper course of action for any unit, and Zhang Fei didn't make excuses; he spoke with conviction…

In addition, the soldiers outside the city were indeed completely unprepared as they put on their armor in public—armor was slow to put on these days, requiring binding in many places and mutual assistance to do so.

They do seem to be from the Protectorate of the Wuhuan Commandery, otherwise how could they dare to do this?

However, Guo Xun remained cautious and said to Zhang Fei, "General Zong is currently inside the city... Since you have been summoned here, you should ride alone into the city to pay your respects to General Zong."

"If you want me to enter the city to pay my respects, then open the gate!"

Zhang Fei shouted angrily.

Being conscripted but then refused entry to the city is certainly something to be dissatisfied about.

Guo Xun remained silent for a moment, then pulled his head back.

A moment later, the city gate actually opened!
Liu Bei was taken aback when he saw this from the outside; it was moving faster than he had imagined, and the troops hadn't even finished getting dressed yet.

But the opportunity couldn't be missed, so he immediately ordered: "Discard your armor and charge!"

The soldiers threw down the armor they hadn't finished putting on, drew their swords, and charged with Liu Bei.

Guo Xun opened the city gates just as the troops outside were putting on their armor, of course, because he was suspicious. He also allowed Zhang Fei to enter the city alone for the same reason.

He didn't believe any army would attempt a siege without armor, nor did he believe anyone would dare to breach the gates alone.

I had opened the gate to see if Zhang Fei would really enter the city, and also to confirm it. If anything went wrong, I would close the gate immediately. It wouldn't matter if he came in alone on horseback.

But some solo riding is something Guo Xun can hardly imagine.

As soon as the city gates opened, Zhang Fei immediately charged forward alone on horseback, holding the flagpole horizontally.

It's probably because Liu Bei gave Zhang Fei that fine horse from the Cao family when he was fourteen that Zhang Fei now particularly enjoys charging on horseback, and his spear-riding skills are also the most proficient.

The flag in his hand was about the same length as his lance, but the pole was too stiff, too sturdy, and too heavy. Normally, armored cavalry would not dare to use it for charging, because if they did not let go in time, they would be thrown off their horses.

But Zhang Fei can be used.

The instant the flag touched the soldiers, Zhang Fei abandoned the flagpole, swiftly drew two swords from his sides, and spurred his horse into the city gate.

(End of this chapter)