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

Chapter 239 Qingzhou is now secure
Taishi Ci had no intention of waiting and seeing, after all, Kong Zan and Qin Zhou were gone, and Qingzhou would inevitably be under Liu Bei's control.

Liu Bei appointed him as the acting commander of Beihai, which was a high-ranking position. It wouldn't be easy to find a boss who was more generous than Liu Bei.

After Guan Hai withdrew his troops, he immediately returned to the city, took the prisoners from the prison, and went out again.

Zhao Yun also led his Xuanjia cavalry into battle, but he did not go with Taishi Ci.

Taishi Ci followed Guan Hai's troops all the way towards Penglai.

Zhao Yun found a local to be his guide and led his cavalry north first, then east, driving around in a circuitous route, arriving near Penglai Wharf ahead of Guan Hai's troops.

With the besieging troops gone, Zhao Yun could lead his cavalry out of the city without any hindrance, and then he would have many more options at his disposal.

About two miles south of Penglai Wharf, there is a large area of ​​flat land and warehouses used for storing goods. This is the property of the Guan family, which is a cargo transshipment center, and hundreds of pirates are stationed there.

As soon as Zhao Yun arrived at the transfer station, he launched a night raid, and the armored cavalry scattered the remaining pirates in just a quarter of an hour.

Some of those who were lucky enough to survive escaped to the dock and fled by boat.

Zhao Yun ignored the pirates fleeing to the sea and only ordered his armored cavalry to intercept and eliminate the bandits who had fled inland.

To maximize the results, Zhao Yun personally patrolled the area around the transfer point to ensure that no pirates were missed, and even cleaned up the pirate corpses.

This is what makes Zhao Yun so outstanding—he is not as clever and adaptable as Taishi Ci, but Zhao Yun's execution and meticulousness are top-notch, and he rarely makes any mistakes.

Subsequently, Zhao Yun divided the armored cavalry into two teams, with one half hiding on the west side of the transport yard and the other half concealed in the east side of the wagon and horse stables, so that they could launch an attack at any time.

The transshipment yard seemed quiet again, with the occasional low mooing of cattle and horses, but this was normal for a cargo transshipment base, as there were already quite a few cattle and horses hauling goods in the wagon and horse sheds.

Two miles away in the bay, there were boats sailing around, and some of their lights were on.

This was probably the pirates' way of warning them, but it didn't matter, because only the tower on the north side of the transfer station facing the coast could see the lights on the ship, and Zhao Yun was in the tower at that moment.

Half an hour after they had prepared for the ambush, Guan Hai's troops arrived near the transfer station.

Once they reached their own territory, the Yellow Turbans visibly relaxed, and the vanguard immediately dispersed.

But as soon as the main force entered the transfer station, a loud "thump" of a drum was heard.

"Breaking the military!"

"kill!"

After the order to attack was given, there were neat shouts and the sound of horses' hooves.

The armored cavalry galloped in from the side of the dock.

It was already late at night. Since they had already charged at the dock and cleared away the corpses, the armored cavalry knew that the ground at the dock was very compacted and flat, so they didn't even need to use torches during the charge.

After all, Guan Hai's troops were carrying torches, so their target was very clear.

This was the dock and warehouse that the Guan family pirates had fortified themselves, but it became the best battlefield for the armored cavalry.

The armored cavalry leader was not Zhao Yun, but Zu Mao.

Zumo took the lead, acting as the spearhead, and easily tore through the pirate crew with his long sword, charging all the way from the east side of the dock to the west side.

At night, cavalrymen clad in black armor swept past like ghosts, tearing Guan Hai's main force in two with a single charge and throwing them into chaos in an instant.

The number of armored cavalry was unclear, and it was unknown how many troops were lying in ambush. Moreover, the armored cavalry did not carry torches, so they disappeared after charging past, and all that could be heard was the sound of horses' hooves moving back and forth.

Guan Hai's troops were basically unable to fight back and had no choice but to hide and save their lives.

Guan Hai himself was not in the vanguard; he was in the rear of his own main force.

Seeing that the vanguard had been ambushed, Guan Hai immediately organized the troops around him to light more torches: "Don't panic! Move closer to me! Move closer to me!"

This is the right choice. In the dark, if you don't know the number of enemies, you should first hold your ground and defend your position.

Guan Hai was quite capable of leading troops; at least he didn't panic.

But as Guan Hai lit more torches around him, he heard a drumbeat.

Zhao Yun led the other half of the Xuanjia cavalry out from the west, first unleashing a volley of crossbow bolts that sent Guan Hai's men and horses sprawling, then charging forward again.

Caught off guard, Guan Hai was caught off guard and immediately intercepted by Zhao Yun—who could blame him for having the most torches and being the most conspicuous among them…

Guan Hai was indeed a fierce man, and he fought Zhao Yun to the death with his sword. But courage could not overcome the huge gap in strength. Zhao Yun charged in on his horse, and with a single spear thrust, Guan Hai was knocked off his horse.

"Surrender and you will not die!"

This time, Zhao Yun didn't kill Guan Hai. Instead, he used his spear as a club to knock Guan Hai off his horse. After all, someone who could get so many people around him to light torches as beacons must be a leader.

Guan Shen was right next to Guan Hai. When he saw Guan Hai fall from his horse in one blow, he rushed to his rescue, but Zhao Yun knocked his weapon away with a backhand spear.

Seeing Zhao Yun turn his horse around, seemingly about to finish off Guan Shen with another spear thrust, Guan Hai quickly shouted, "We are willing to surrender! We are willing to surrender! May I ask your name, General?"

"Zhao Zilong, a military commander under Prefect Liu of Qingzhou."

Zhao Yun's spear tip barely stopped at Guan Shen's neck.

After Guan Hai surrendered, many of the bandits behind him scattered and ran away.

After all, not all of these Yellow Turbans were Guan Hai's men, and who knew if they would die after surrendering?
Right now, of course, protecting my own life is the most important thing.

But the thieves who fled back did not get far before they were blocked by a group of people.

The leader was also a heavily armed knight in black armor: "Donglai Taishi Ci is here! Surrender and you will not be killed!"

Some of the bandits who still had a little courage tried to break through the blockade, but Taishi Ci drew his bow and fired two arrows at once, killing two people at once!
Then several more arrows were fired in quick succession, each shot spaced only a breath apart. Even in the darkness of night, every arrow hit its mark and the target was instantly killed.

Almost everyone who charged at Taishi Ci was hit by an arrow.

Only two bandits rushed to within a dozen steps of Taishi Ci, but at that moment Taishi Ci put his bow on his horse, swiftly drew two hand halberds from behind him, and threw them with both hands.

The two thieves fell to the ground simultaneously, ten paces away from Taishi Ci, both struck in the face by halberds.

Such a burly man not only stunned the hastily assembled prisoners around Taishi Ci, but also made the thieves on the other side, who were preparing to escape, dare not move again.

The bandits, already terrified by the night raid by armored cavalry, all surrendered.

At this point, the prisoners that Taishi Ci brought finally came in handy—disarming them and tying them up for guarding, which indeed required a lot of manpower…

After capturing Guan Hai, Zhao Yun charged back and forth again, wiping out the resisting bandits and seizing their weapons, armor, horses, and supplies, which were all imprisoned at the transport depot.

At daybreak, Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci counted the number of people together. Guan Hai and Guan Shen then realized that Zhao Yun's troops consisted of only six hundred cavalrymen, and Taishi Ci had only brought more than four hundred prisoners.

Guan Hai sighed, "I never imagined that an army of ten thousand would collapse because of a few hundred men..."

In this night battle, the Xuanjia cavalry suffered only five casualties, while Taishi Ci's side suffered no casualties.

Guan Hai's subordinates suffered nearly a thousand casualties, and more than five thousand were captured.

Many other thieves fled in different directions under the cover of night, but they were no longer a significant threat.

Qingzhou has been truly pacified.

……

After receiving news of Zhao Yun's great victory, Liu Bei also arrived at Penglai Wharf.

"My lord, what should we do with Guan Hai?"

Zhao Yun brought Guan Hai before Liu Bei.

Seeing Taishi Ci standing beside Liu Bei, Guan Hai glared angrily: "Taishi Ci! You tricked me!"

Taishi Ci did not respond to Guan Hai's anger, but instead pleaded with Liu Bei: "Please spare Guan Hai's life, my lord, and let him make amends for his mistakes."

Guan Hai was stunned, not expecting Taishi Ci to speak well of him.

“Ziyi, this man took your money for the journey, but then broke his promise and put you in jail. Why are you still pleading for him?”

Liu Bei asked.

"Although Guan Hai had aided and abetted the tyranny of King Zhou, his son was coerced by Kong Zan and had no choice but to do so, which is understandable."

Taishi Ci replied, “Although I was betrayed by him, I have already repaid him with deception and trickery, and I have no more grudges against him. If Your Majesty wishes to govern Qingzhou, maritime trade is indispensable. If Guan is not a thief, he can help Your Majesty to facilitate trade and expand the economy across the seas. I beg Your Majesty to forgive him and allow him to serve.”

(End of this chapter)