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

Chapter 143: A proud dragon has regrets
Zhang Fei never carried a shield, but he did carry two swords, which he wielded dual-wielded.

Actually, Liu Bei was the same—he wore two layers of armor, so why would he need a shield...?

With the aid of the warhorse, the flagpole easily pierced through the soldier who had pushed open the right door, pinning him to the door panel. The spiked end, with the soldier still inside, was driven into the door panel, and the tail end, as Zhang Fei released his hand and braced himself on the ground, caused the city gate to open wide.

The soldiers inside the city gate had just opened the gate and hadn't even had time to react when Zhang Fei rushed in, startling them so much that they scrambled back.

After crashing into the gate, Zhang Fei stopped advancing and instead reined in his horse, turning sideways and shouting from inside the gate: "Who's coming to die!"

Guo Xun, standing on the city wall, could not see the situation at the city gate, but he could see the troops charging outside and hear Zhang Fei shouting.

Guo Xun was stunned. This guy actually dared to come in and kill someone all by himself?
The troops outside actually dared to abandon their armor and charge?

What kind of people live here? They're so unreasonable!
Guo Xun shouted, "Close the door!"

But one door was blocked, and Zhang Fei was guarding the doorway.

At the other end of the city gate, a group of armored soldiers surrounded Zhang Fei, their spears already thrusting towards him.

The doorway was narrow, so not all the armored soldiers could rush in. Zhang Fei rode his horse, and the front row of soldiers used spears.

"Wow!"

Zhang Fei did not retreat. Instead, he roared and leaped from his horse, clearing the spears and plunging down.

With this leap, he used his body to press down on the armored soldiers, causing them to drop their spears. As he landed, he also wildly brandished his sword.

The momentum from that flying slam was immense, knocking several armored soldiers to the ground. They were all likely to suffer some kind of dislocation or other injury. Zhang Fei used the arms of those armored soldiers as they thrust their spears to cushion the impact.

After quickly getting up, Zhang Fei thrust his sword through one of the men, shoved the corpse forward, and blocked the people behind him.

This collision was merely to make the enemy more crowded.

After that, Zhang Fei stopped stabbing the enemy and instead began slashing wildly with his sword.

While a slashing sword can certainly break through armor, it's not easy to kill someone with a single blow. Moreover, Zhang Fei was constantly cutting off the enemy's hands and feet... This wasn't about killing the enemy, but rather about deliberately injuring them.

Although Zhang Fei was alone, the city gate was only about 15 feet wide. With two swords in hand, Zhang Fei guarded the gate, and at the same time, there were only three or four people who could attack him.

However, the armored soldiers in the front row had run out of spears and were attacked continuously by Zhang Fei, suffering multiple injuries. They could only parry and had no ability to retaliate.

But with people blocking their way from behind, these armored soldiers couldn't retreat inside the city gate.

Zhang Fei's daggers were so fast that the enemy could only parry and defend, unable to retreat or advance.

For a moment, it seemed as if Zhang Fei alone had defeated several enemy soldiers in the front ranks, leaving them unable to retaliate.

The enemy soldiers clearly did not expect Zhang Fei to dare to fight alone in the doorway, nor did they expect this young man to be so skilled.

This meant that the wounded but not dead soldiers in the front row of the city gate couldn't do anything to Zhang Fei, but they also blocked the soldiers in the back row from passing through...

In fact, Zhang Fei did not defend at all; he was constantly attacking from the very beginning, yet he managed to hold the open city gate all by himself.

Unlike Guan Yu, Zhang Fei did not aim to kill the enemy with every strike, but he was able to target the enemy's vital points with every attack, and he always adhered to the principle of defeating the enemy with the enemy.

He cut down the strong enemy into a weak one, and used the weak enemy to block the strong enemy behind him—it may seem that Zhang Fei was fighting against a hundred, but in reality he was only fighting against four, and all four of them had injured their hands, three of whom hadn't even had time to draw their short weapons...

In that short time, Liu Bei had already led his troops to the city walls.

The swordsmen and shieldmen didn't have time to put on their armor, but at least they had their shields. There weren't many defenders on the city wall, so there weren't many arrows either, and they managed to shoot down a few people sparsely.

Liu Bei rushed into the city gate and stood with Zhang Fei. The two of them, with four swords, began their real charge.

"Hahaha... Break it for me!"

Seeing that Liu Bei had arrived and his mission was complete, Zhang Fei no longer needed to guard the city gate. He pulled down his iron helmet visor to protect his face and suddenly lunged forward again, using himself as a weapon to smash into the enemy ranks, his sword flashing wildly once more.

This wasn't actually a risky move; it was a normal tactic for armored soldiers to break through enemy lines. Wearing two layers of armor was simply to create chaos in the crowd.

Taking advantage of Zhang Fei's powerful flying smash, Liu Bei led his swordsmen and shieldmen forward, pushing the enemy soldiers back and making it difficult for them to gain a foothold and harm Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei rolled on the spot, slashing the enemy's legs and feet several times, and crashed out of the city gate like a wild boar, entering the city.

……

Charging without armor, especially in open field battles or sieges, against armored enemies, is obviously disadvantageous and can result in significant casualties.

But if the city gates have already been breached and people have entered the city, that's a different story.

For the attacking side, breaching the city gates is an encouragement stronger than any stimulant, but for the defending side... it's all over. If they can run, they should run; if they can't, they should lie down.

Of course, there were defenders who could maintain their morale even after the city gates were breached, but not everyone had such courage.

Even Guo Xun himself didn't have the guts.

Moreover, Guo Xun was on the city wall at this time, and the steps to the city wall were actually on the other side of the city gate, that is, on the left and right sides of the city gate.

"Guo is the governor of Youzhou! You rebellious traitors, are you not afraid of having your entire family exterminated?!"

At this moment, Guo Xun, just like Liu Wei a day earlier, was also forced into a corner of the city wall by Liu Bei, who was holding a blood-stained sword.

He genuinely didn't recognize Liu Bei, and Liu Bei, like Zhang Fei, had pulled down the visor on his helmet.

The faceplate is not a mask, but a curtain of armor similar to scale armor, fixed to the top of the helmet. It can be lowered forward to expose only the eyes, or it can be draped backward behind the helmet.

The two ring holes at the top of the helmet are actually for attaching the faceplate, and the protruding protective plates on the sides of the face are also for securing the faceplate, not for designing any style or inserting any decorations.

Only opera singers would insert feathers and phoenix wings into the ring holes on the top of their helmets and the side panels...

However, this type of face armor was originally equipment from the Tang Dynasty—which means Liu Bei made his troops look very much like the Tang army.

"Oh... Governor Guo is saying we are thieves?"

Liu Bei nodded and waved to his men behind him: "In that case, they must be thieves."

His men took out yellow turbans and began to tie them on the heads of Guo Xun's soldiers in front of him.

"You! Who exactly are you?"

Guo Xun looked at the Yellow Turbans in horror; his feelings were probably exactly the same as Liu Wei's yesterday.

Zong Yuan once told him, "The dragon soars too high... and regrets it."

"The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in Guangyang, and Governor Guo was unfortunately killed by the Yellow Turban rebels, which is truly heartbreaking..."

Liu Bei did not answer, but slowly raised his sword.

Chop it down.

……

A few days later, the powerful clans in various counties of Guangyang received military orders.

The Prefect of Guangyang and the Governor of Youzhou have both served the country loyally. Liu Bei, the Chief Clerk of the Commandery, has temporarily taken over the military and political affairs of Guangyang and ordered all families in the commandery to go to Ji County to raise an army to suppress the Yellow Turban rebels.

Anyone who cannot refuse to comply will be considered a Yellow Turban rebel.

(End of this chapter)