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

Chapter 145 Each Has Its Own Meaning
On the other side, Guan Yu first strolled south for a while, then changed direction and circled east for a short distance, heading towards Anci.

It was already evening, and they were quite far from Ji County. No troops dared to continue pursuing him—in fact, those troops had long since given up on pursuing him, and Guan Yu had been the one to take the initiative in the latter half of the journey.

He scattered two thousand enemies south of Ji County, chipping away at their numbers by about three hundred, while suffering only a dozen or so casualties himself.

However, Guan Yu's troops were also very tired, so they sped up and shook off the enemy, breaking off contact.

At this time, Guan Yu planned to rest for the night at Anci Camp in the southeast of Guangyang, and then head north back to Ji County the next morning.

Guan Yu was unsure whether Liu Bei had successfully captured the city, because Liu Bei did not know Guan Yu's location and could not send him a message.

But Guan Yu knew that Liu Bei definitely didn't need his reinforcements, since the enemy army had already scattered and was even more exhausted than he was.

In this weather, it would be difficult to recover one's strength while camping in the wild. If the enemy forces tried to rush back to Ji County overnight, Liu Bei would surely be able to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

If Liu Bei captures Ji County, the enemy troops will only suffer hunger and cold outside the city when they return, so there is no need to worry.

If Liu Bei fails to capture the city, he will go to Anci Camp to meet Guan Yu, since Guan Yu is luring the enemy south, and Anci Camp is located southeast of Ji County.

The western camp was empty, and the Anci camp should have been empty as well.

But when Guan Yu arrived at the camp, he discovered that Anci Camp actually had soldiers, and quite a few of them, at least five or six hundred.

In fact, Guan Yu also hoped that the Anci camp would have county soldiers, since he was acting as Liu Bei's chief clerk and it was only natural for him to stay in the county soldiers' barracks, which would save him the trouble of setting up his own camp.

Moreover, the county soldiers have consumed a lot of Liu Bei's grain in the past two years, and their relationship is quite good; they might be able to cooperate.

Anci Camp was located between Anci County and Ji County. It was the garrison of the eastern commandery troops of Guangyang. The military commander in charge of the defense of this area was named Jiang Quyi, a native of Jizhou.

'Jiangqu' was the surname of a noble family in the Yan state during the Warring States period. During the Qin Dynasty, in order to avoid disaster, they moved south to Jizhou and changed their surname to Jiang. Anci was their ancestral home.

Guan Yu initially thought the military commander's surname was Jiang, but after hearing his personal guards call him "Jiangqu Sima" from his many grain transport trips, he realized that Jiangqu was a compound surname.

The person who came out of the camp to greet Guan Yu was indeed Jiang Quyi, and Guan Yu then led his troops into the camp.

It was certainly a good thing that someone in the camp was helping to cook, as Guan Yu's troops had been fighting all day and were exhausted.

……

Ji County.

late at night.

Liu Bei had just fallen asleep when he was suddenly woken up by his guards, who said that someone urgently wanted to see him.

"Liu Changshi, quickly lead the troops away from here!"

The man appeared to be a county soldier. He was looking around at the entrance of the inn when he saw Liu Bei come out and immediately spoke up.

"Who are you?"

Liu Bei felt that the other person looked somewhat familiar, but he didn't have a strong impression of him.

This man spoke with a local Guangyang accent and appeared to be a county soldier commander, accompanied by several soldiers.

"A certain Shi Ren once assisted Commander Guan in transporting grain and has just arrived from Anci Camp... Chief Clerk Liu, do not hesitate, that general Qu Yi has already surrendered to Guo Xun, and the entire Anci Camp is Guo Xun's army... I saw Commander Guan enter Anci Camp, so I came here immediately to inform him!"

Shi Ren continued hurriedly, "When Commander Guan went to Anci Camp, the camp had just received the Chief Clerk's order. Upon hearing the news of Guo Xun's death, he claimed that Guo Xun must have died at the hands of Chief Clerk Liu. He originally intended to lead the county troops to defend the camp and not obey the Chief Clerk's orders! But upon hearing that Commander Guan had called for reinforcements, he welcomed Commander Guan into the camp..."

Judging from his words, Shi Ren felt that Guan Yu had betrayed Liu Bei, so he came to deliver the message... He meant well.

Liu Bei, of course, knew that Guan Yu would not betray him; on the contrary, he suspected that Qu Yi was plotting to kill Guan Yu.

"Since you are a subordinate of Qu Yi, why did you come to me in the dead of night to deliver a message?"

Liu Bei looked at Shi Ren with some surprise.

"I was once a merchant and had a past relationship with Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping. I heard of Liu Changshi's righteousness in seeking revenge for his friend a thousand miles away, and for that reason, I even adopted the courtesy name Junyi!" "Furthermore, I have a grudge against Guo Xun! That Guo Xun raised a private army of powerful clans to become bandits, posing as Yellow Turban rebels to plunder the people for military supplies... My family has also suffered as a result!"

“A few days ago, I joined the county army, thinking I could wipe out the traitor Guo Xun, but I never expected that General Qu Yi was also a member of Guo Xun’s faction!”

Shi Ren gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "It wasn't until I saw the military order delivered by Chief Clerk Liu that I realized only Chief Clerk Liu was capable of suppressing the bandits! The Chief Clerk ordered all the powerful clans to go to Ji County to join the army, and anyone who refused would be considered a Yellow Turban... These powerful clans are indeed Yellow Turban bandits! Chief Clerk Liu's actions are truly gratifying! I will certainly serve the Chief Clerk!"

Liu Bei nodded, then asked Shi Ren, "Since that's the case...would you be willing to lead me to Anci Camp to eliminate Jiang Quyi?"

“This… Chief Clerk Liu may have some doubts about me. I know that Commander Guan is incredibly brave and invincible, it’s not that I’m afraid of death… but if Commander Guan has already betrayed me and joined Jiang Quyi, I’m worried…”

Shi Ren was clearly a little nervous, but he didn't show any fear. He frowned and looked at the soldiers he had brought with him: "If Chief Clerk Liu wants to go, then I will risk everything. But these brothers are all my family members. They have been traveling all night and are exhausted. Please allow them to stay here and live."

This is self-proof, meaning that keeping hostages is indeed credible.

Liu Bei nodded, then shook his head and smiled: "Who is Guan Yu? He would never betray me... I will take you to see Guan Yu's righteousness. Your men can rest if they want, or come with you if they want... Don't worry, I have no doubts about your good intentions in coming here."

Shi Ren did indeed come to seek refuge with Liu Bei, and his intention in delivering the message was genuinely good.

Moreover, regardless of what will become of Shi Ren in the future, at least for now, the young Shi Junyi can be considered a hero.

……

Liu Bei did not actually send out too many troops; he only took one squad to Anci, leaving the other three squads to continue guarding Ji County.

This time, the journey was even more urgent. Liu Bei didn't even bring military rations, and instead rode packhorses on all of them, without stopping for a moment.

Because Liu Bei was neither there to rescue Guan Yu nor to fight a battle.

If Guan Yu could be so easily murdered, then he wouldn't be Guan Yu.

On the contrary, Liu Bei intended to rescue General Qu Yi...

If Qu Yi harbored the intention to harm Guan Yu, then it would be difficult for him to survive if he fell into Guan Yu's hands... Liu Bei needed someone to live.

If Qu Yi has no intention of harming others, then he should be recruited to our side, and a contingent of county soldiers would be a great help.

When Liu Bei arrived at Anci Camp, it was already broad daylight.

Guan Yu's troops were in the camp, but Qu Yi was no longer there.

Upon seeing Liu Bei arrive, Guan Yu was surprised: "Brother, what brings you here?"

"Shi Junyi rushed to my place to report the news, fearing that Yun Chang would be harmed if he entered the camp."

Liu Bei glanced at Shi Ren, then turned to Guan Yu and asked, "Where is General Qu Yi? Is he dead?"

Shi Ren looked at Liu Bei, silently bowed his head and clasped his hands, then clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to Guan Yu.

"Thank you for your kindness."

Guan Yu returned Shi Ren's greeting with a bow, then turned to Liu Bei and said, "Jiang Quyi has gone south. He has changed his name and is now called Jiang Yiqu. He plans to occupy the mountains to defend himself... I advised him to come and join my elder brother, but he truly cannot come..."

“His family was being held hostage by a powerful clan, who wanted him to take Changping and Anci. But he didn’t want to be an enemy of his elder brother, so he could only change his name and plan slowly.”

Liu Bei nodded: "Which powerful family is it? The Yuan family? The Zhang family?"

"The Gongsun family."

Guan Yu gave an unexpected answer.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's expression changed drastically: "We must leave this place immediately! Jiang Yiqu is already issuing a warning! Zhang Chun and the Gongsun clan are plotting to seize Guangyang!"

(End of this chapter)