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

Chapter 184 The Chaos of Betrayal
After recalling his armored cavalry, Liu Bei retreated to Zhuo County without looking back.

Liu Bei had already realized that this was not an assassination attempt.

The traitor from Taihang Mountain who attacked him... might not even be a traitor at all.

When the attack failed, the man immediately fled backwards, and his Taihang bandits also fled, heading towards the Xihe River.

However, Zuo Zi's main force is indeed in Xihe!
Moreover, if you continue west along the Qin Chi Road, you'll reach the rocky beach of the Laishui River Valley, an area that's really hard to escape from.

Similarly, if you chase after them and encounter a large-scale attack, it will be difficult for you to escape!

The news of Zhang Chun's breakout to the south came from Zuo Zi.

Is this news... true?
The army in Youzhou was currently tied down by the Wuhuan and Xianbei, and his own troops were all in Guangyang.

The Taihang bandit army was all in Xihe, and there was no one to control them.

If he and Zhang Chun were both severely injured, or if he were to die here...

Was the Taihang bandit who lurked in Xihe and shot arrows in the dark really just someone who was bribed?
Liu Bei sighed. He had been on such good terms with the Taihang bandits for the past few years that he and everyone around him had overlooked the fact that the situation was now different!

The Taihang bandits would indeed cooperate with him to kill Zhang Chun, because they wanted to protect the residents of Xihe and their own food supplies.

But what other approach would be more in line with the interests of the Taihang bandits?
The plan to allow the Taihang bandits to launch a large-scale invasion of Xihe and surround and kill Zhang Chun has probably been successfully achieved.

However, achieving this plan also meant that the families of the Taihang bandits had all returned to their side, and everything in Xihe was temporarily under their control.

At the same time, they knew that Liu Bei had no more troops at his disposal, and that the entire military force of Youzhou was currently fighting against the Hu people.

Zhuojun is now practically undefended!
Of all the areas north of the Yellow River, only Zhuojun maintained a sufficient supply of grain and provisions over the past two years!

Zhang Chun's four thousand cavalry were wiped out at Xihe, leaving nearly eight thousand horses behind, which fell into the hands of the Taihang bandits.

The grain in Xihe is about to ripen, and after the autumn harvest, the grain and fodder in Xihe will be enough to sustain tens of thousands of people in battle.

The Xihe warehouse also contained some spare military equipment, such as arrows and weapons, as well as a lot of raw materials such as leather and steel.

Meanwhile, the residents of Xihe already had the ability to produce military equipment, and Liu Bei and Bian Ji set up an assembly line to produce weapons and armor...

At this moment, all 30,000 able-bodied men of the Taihang bandits were in Xihe.

They had men, horses, weapons, and food...

The residents of Xihe respected Liu Bei and Zuo Yuan, but most of them were, after all, relatives of the Taihang bandits. In terms of kinship, family members were definitely the closest...

Furthermore, Zhuojun is currently largely undefended, and the Taihang bandits could easily take it all—meaning the entire Taihang Mountains would no longer have to worry about food, and they would temporarily become the strongest force in Youzhou and even Hebei.

Yes, they cannot hold official positions; they will only be regarded as “bandits of Taihang who plunder counties and occupy Zhuojun”, and occupying prefectures and counties will only make them rebels.

The problem is that the people of the Taihang Mountains have surely realized that the imperial court is currently powerless to subdue them...

—The Xianbei invaded and besieged Guangyang, putting the gateway to Youzhou in grave danger. Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju joined forces with the Wuhuan to rebel… But the imperial court did not send troops to help, otherwise Liu Bei would not have been without troops.

The Liangzhou rebellion has led to the plundering of Yongzhou. Now, the rebel army is besieging Chang'an. Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo have suffered successive defeats, and the Taihang bandits have also received the news.

Previously, due to concerns about the imperial court and lack of food and clothing, they indeed needed to rely on Liu Bei's protection.

However, the imperial court is currently powerless to suppress the rebels, and the troops in Youzhou are all tied up...

So Liu Bei, at this time, became an obstacle for the Taihang bandits!
With such huge profits right in front of him, how could Zuo Zi not be tempted?

Even if Zuo Zi is unmoved, among so many leaders in the Taihang Mountains, there will always be someone who is tempted.

But if Liu Bei had lived, the Taihang bandits would not have gotten these.

Xihe belongs to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei will not allow anyone to seize Zhuojun. What Taihang Mountain can gain depends on what Liu Bei is willing to give them...

Yes, Liu Bei was a fair person and always very generous.

But if we kill Liu Bei, then everything will be ours!

Xihe, Zhuojun, and even the entire Youzhou could be seized in the opportunity... Even if we can't control these places for long, even if we just plunder them once, it would still be a huge benefit.

Even if they didn't want to openly rebel or had reservations, they could have killed Liu Bei, taken control of Xihe, and then led troops to support Wen Shu, coercing Wen Shu, the governor of Zhuojun.

This could also protect Xihe, and even turn all the Taihang bandits into Zhuojun soldiers.

Bian Ji, being a woman, was also able to coerce the mob and threaten the families of Zhuojun back then.
What Bian Ji did, the Taihang bandits can also learn to do.

Liu Bei was indeed an ally of the Taihang Mountains, but now he was also the only obstacle for the Taihang bandits.

The Taihang bandit who ambushed Liu Bei with a spear was not a traitor... but rather the Taihang bandits had already made their decision.

They were never Liu Bei's subordinates, so there's no question of betrayal.

This isn't about loyalty or disloyalty; it's about the overall interests of the Taihang Mountains and a golden opportunity for the Taihang bandits to transform from mountain bandits into a warlord force.

This opportunity was created by Liu Bei and Zhang Chun working together.

Fortunately, fortunately Liu Bei did not stay in Xihe... otherwise he probably wouldn't even have had the chance to regret it.

……

Meanwhile, in Zhuo County.

Jian Yong and Zuo Yuan stood on the city wall, looking down at the city below.

The city's garrison numbered less than two hundred, mostly Jian Yong's own personal guards.

Besides that, there were only a few dozen guards that Liu Bei left for Zuo Yuan.

Meanwhile, a force of at least three thousand men was requesting entry into the city.

"Registrar Jian, is Madam Zuo inside the city?"

A man approached the city gate and called out, "I am Wang Zhen, a subordinate of the leader of the Left Alliance. I have come to assist in the defense of the city on the orders of the leader."

“Wang Zhen…”

Jian Yong turned to Zuo Yuan and asked, "Does Sister Zuo recognize this person?"

“I recognize him, this is indeed the leader of Taihang… but why would Zuo Zi send someone without informing anyone?”

Zuo Yuan nodded slightly, then shook his head: "No matter what, the Taihang bandits are still bandits. If they bring troops into the city like this, wouldn't everyone know that you, sir, have something to do with the Taihang bandits? What do you mean by this, Zuo Zi?"

Although the county officials of Zhuo County were still Jian Yong's associates, it was impossible to openly allow bandits to guard the city, and even Liu Bei himself would not dare to do so.

Jian Yong gestured to his men to prepare bows and arrows, then said to the people below the city, "There is no battle in Zhuo County, so there is no need for support. Brother Wang, why don't you go to Guangyang to fight against the Xianbei? Guangyang is in dire need of reinforcements."

The king's eyes were small and widely spaced, and its forehead and nose were somewhat protruding, making it look like a bird's head overall.

But the bandit's nickname '鸩' (zhen) was certainly not just because it resembled a bird.

He looked up and cupped his hands in greeting to Jian Yong, looking like a scholar: "Registrant Jian, I am here on orders. If I go to Guangyang, I am afraid I will not be able to explain to the leader of the alliance... Moreover, we have fought a day and traveled dozens of miles. We are extremely hungry and thirsty. Please allow us to enter the city for some wine and food, Registrant Jian?"

"Wang Zhen, the city gate has been sealed with sand and stones and cannot be opened for the time being."

Zuo Yuan realized something was wrong and leaned out to ask personally, "You have the Xihe reserves at your disposal, so why are you thirsty? Who gave you these orders? Why don't I know?"

The city gates were not sealed, of course; Zuo Yuan simply didn't make any definitive statements.

"Madam Zuo, the leader of the alliance is worried about an invasion by the Xianbei and has sent me to protect you. I came in a hurry and did not bring any food or water..."

Wang Zhen replied from below the city.

"Where is Zuo Zi?" Zuo Yuan interrupted him, "Why would he send you to protect me... Wang Zhen, who are you working for now?!"

Wang Zhen blinked, stared at the city wall, took a few steps back, and a forced, ugly smile appeared on his face, but he did not answer for a moment.

"Shoot him!"

Zuo Yuan suddenly ordered: "He wants to seize the city!"

The guards on the city wall and Jian Yong's troops fired arrows together.

Wang Zhen was startled and quickly hid behind the horse.

The horse was instantly struck by several arrows and died on the spot, while Wang Zhen, who was trapped under the horse's carcass, miraculously escaped with her life.

"Siege!"

When Wang Zhen realized he couldn't deceive him, he directly ordered an attack.

The Taihang bandits swarmed up and began to climb the city wall, and several of them dragged Wang Zhen out from under the horse's carcass.

……

When Liu Bei returned to the outskirts of Zhuo County, he saw the Taihang bandits attacking the county.

Without siege equipment, it would be very difficult to quickly capture Zhuo County. Gongsun Zan couldn't do it back then, and the Taihang bandits can't do it now either.

Some of the bandits were using carts to push wooden stakes and chisel through the city gate while shields were in place, while the majority of the bandits were building long ladders about two hundred paces outside the city.

"Lances! Charge!"

Seeing this, Liu Bei immediately ordered his armored cavalry to change into warhorses and rush towards the bandits—since they were already attacking the city, it meant that Liu Bei's suspicions were correct, and the Taihang bandits had indeed caused trouble!
I just don't know if this was an order from Zuo Zi...

If it weren't for Zuo Zi's order, Zuo Zi would probably be in grave danger right now.

Liu Bei led his army in a charge, and the bandits outside the city also saw Liu Bei's armored cavalry and sent out a detachment of cavalry to meet them.

There were probably seven or eight hundred cavalrymen, but perhaps they couldn't be called cavalrymen, but rather horse bandits—the Taihang bandits, though riding horses, couldn't really be considered cavalrymen, not even mounted infantry.

Those horses were clearly spoils of war obtained from Zhang Chun.

The weapons these bandits carried were mostly infantry spears, which were equipment from the Xihe warehouse.

The Xihe warehouse did have few cavalry equipment, but a lot of lances—long lances specifically provided to armored cavalry, with three-inch-long triangular cones at the tip. Because the shafts were easily damaged during training, a lot of lances were stockpiled.

The Taihang bandits took infantry spears but not cavalry lances, clearly because they didn't know how to use them... or they looked down on them, as cavalry lances didn't look impressive at all.

But Liu Bei quickly made them realize that lances don't need to be pretty.

The armored cavalry formed a fish-scale formation as they rode, with the rear ranks never facing their front-ranking colleagues.

Each row is spaced more than ten steps apart front to back, and more than five steps apart left to right.

If viewed from the side or front, it looks like a group of scattered soldiers without any formation.

Just then, the Taihang bandits charging towards them were also scattered soldiers with no formation.

Three hundred against eight hundred, but as soon as they made contact, the Taihang bandits were thrown into chaos, and those at the forefront were almost all pierced by lances.

The difference in length between a nearly two-zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) cavalry lance and a slightly over one-zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) infantry spear is too great.

Dozens of people were killed in a single blow.

However, there was only the sound of horses' hooves on the battlefield, and almost no cracking or exploding sounds.

Many of the Taihang bandits were also wearing armor, but it was all leather armor. In this two-way collision, even if they were wearing heavy armor, the triangular lance of the rider could completely pierce through them with the help of the horse's momentum.

Even if the spear shaft is pierced through, it won't break, but the armored cavalry in the front row will still immediately discard their spears and switch to swords after thrusting out their lances.

At the same time, their direction of advance will be slightly shifted to the left and right. This is both to let the enemy's galloping horses carrying corpses pass and to let the next enemy slip behind and onto their comrades in the back.

If there is an enemy nearby, he will lightly draw his knife—which is essentially the same as holding the blade horizontally and waiting for the enemy to run into him.

Apart from that, all other actions are to dodge or block enemy attacks with the shield, and they continue to accelerate forward until the two armies completely pass each other.

The second rank continued to charge forward, employing the same tactics, advancing wave after wave until they completely penetrated the enemy formation.

The two cavalry forces clashed and passed each other; those who fell were almost all bandits from the Taihang Mountains.

In just one round, the Taihang bandits were reduced to one-third of their original number.

About ten of the armored cavalrymen were injured, but only one fell from his horse.

If cavalry charge head-on, casualties will be just that quick.

Moreover, armored cavalry and lances are most effective against rangers.

Even so, it was because many of the armored cavalrymen were not skilled enough with their lances and missed their targets. As long as they didn't miss, regardless of whether they hit a vital spot or not, being pierced by the triangular spearhead would render them unable to fight.

The enemy troops only realized after passing by that those who had fallen from their horses were actually Taihang bandits.

When the two armies clashed, those in the back ranks could barely see what was happening in front. But after passing each other and witnessing the battle's outcome, the bandits panicked, circled around in a large loop, and didn't turn back to continue the fight.

They were wiped out in a single charge, and the fact that they didn't immediately collapse under those circumstances shows that these bandits have pretty good willpower.

"Keep going, city gate!"

Liu Bei glanced back, then ignored the bandits behind him and ordered his men to continue charging toward the city gate.

Unlike Guan Yu, Liu Bei preferred to charge into the front ranks; he positioned himself at the rear of the armored cavalry formation—this was to prevent his guards from disrupting the formation in order to protect him.

Seeing the armored cavalry charging towards them, the Taihang bandits below the city gathered in a group, brandishing their spears. Some were firing arrows, while a couple turned and fled.

But Liu Bei ignored them all, rushed past the Taihang bandits, reached the city gate, and cut down the Taihang bandits who were breaking into the city gate.

Jian Yong and Zuo Yuan had already seen Liu Bei return from the city wall. After the armored cavalry arrived at the city gate, the gate was opened from the inside.

"Brother, it seems Zuo Zhi has rebelled!"

Upon seeing Liu Bei return, Jian Yong hurriedly informed him of Wang Zhen's deception regarding the city.

"Zuo Zi has never been my subordinate, so how can he be considered a rebel? The Taihang bandits are rebels by nature..."

Liu Bei appeared calm, though he was inwardly panicked, but he couldn't show it: "Raise my banners and send men out of the north gate to light the beacon towers."

When the bandits below the city saw Liu Bei enter the city, or rather, when they saw Liu Bei's banner, they retreated to a distance of two miles and did not continue their attack on the city.

"My lord, what should we do if the Taihang bandits attack?"

Zuo Yuan asked in a low voice, "Zuo Zi led 30,000 men down the mountain. If they obtain the grain supplies from Xihe..."

"As long as I am alive, the Taihang bandits will not launch a large-scale attack."

Liu Bei smiled at Zuo Yuan: "Don't worry, the credibility of the Taihang leaders is maintained by loyalty. If I were dead, they would all come, of course. But since I'm not dead, they won't betray their promise in front of all the Taihang bandits. Although they have actually done so, they still can't let all the people of Taihang know... who were the people who attacked the city before?"

“Wang Zhen often comes to Xihe to deliver intelligence to me; he’s cross-eyed.”

Zuo Yuan described Wang Zhen succinctly.

"Since Wang Zhen has withdrawn his troops, it means he doesn't dare to let his men openly attack me, otherwise there would definitely be people who value morality who would not accept him!"

Liu Bei nodded, indicating that he remembered the man: "In that case, I should invite them to talk openly and honestly..."

(End of this chapter)