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

Chapter 274 Terrorists

At this moment, at Mount Goushi.

Liu Bei, with only cavalry, caught up with Yuan Shao's troops outside Goushi County.

Yuan Shao's troops moved relatively slowly, and the more than seven hundred corpses they carried with them made their march even slower.

To transport the body, the carriages and horses could only travel along the imperial road, and the route was easy to determine.

Yuan Shao retreated overnight and camped here after sunrise, seemingly intending to travel by night and hide during the day.

This is indeed a way of sending off the spirit. In this day and age, people pay attention to yin and yang. Transporting the remains is a yin act, and it is necessary to avoid direct sunlight.

There is a temple called Shengxian Temple on Mount Goushi, and when the remains are sent back to their hometown, sacrifices are made to the ghosts and gods along the way.

However, traveling by day and hiding by night also means waiting to be pursued—this is the slowest way to move. If you are still moving slowly even when you know there are pursuers, then you are obviously waiting for them to come.

Liu Bei was very familiar with the area where Yuan Shao's army was stationed. This was near the post station where Liu Bei encountered Cao Poshi after rescuing Duan Jiong.

Lang Ge also robbed Yuan Shao's caravan in this area back then.

In those days, places with post stations were generally open areas with a wide view. The terrain around Goushi was not suitable for large-scale ambushes, but it was very suitable for small-scale bandits to rob merchants. Bandits did not rely on ambushes or sneak attacks to rob merchants, but rather on waiting for them to come to them. They would guard the post stations and roads that merchants would inevitably pass through, or they would launch a night attack when the caravan was encamped.

Yuan Shao's troops are now essentially waiting for their prey to come to them.

Upon seeing Liu Bei's troops, Yuan Shao's army quickly formed ranks, with archers and crossbowmen in front and cavalry on the sides. They even pushed carts to block the road as a wall, clearly indicating that they had been prepared in advance.

Guan Yu and his main force were still behind. Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun led their cavalry in pursuit, but their horses were worn out. Instead of launching a direct attack, they raised their flags and slowly approached within three hundred paces.

There is also a specially made flag in the very center of the flag.

Actually, this thing wasn't a flag, but a banner, which Qian Zhao and several soldiers held up with poles at both ends.

The banner was simple, hastily made of burlap, but very large, with four blood-stained characters on it: "Blood debts must be repaid in blood!"

Liu Bei stood beneath the banner, watching Yuan Shao's troops.

Yuan Shao sounded the gong, signaling a ceasefire.

This is not the gong signaling the end of the campaign, but rather the gong that continues to be struck to send out messengers.

When there is a stalemate or negotiations are needed, this gong sound is used to signal that the other party is about to send an envoy.

Then, a man wearing a silver mask appeared from the opposite side and walked to the middle of the two armies.

"What is the meaning of this, Lord Liu?"

The man did not remove his mask, and his tone sounded somewhat frivolous. For no reason, Liu Bei thought of Cao Poshi, who had tried to flirt with Zuo Yuan at the post station.

Liu Bei ignored him, so this definitely wasn't Yuan Shao himself.

The other party still doesn't show his true face during the meeting, which is the behavior of a bandit. Liu Bei is now the Right General and cannot lower himself to this level.

Zhang Fei was about to step forward, but Qian Zhao stopped him, drawing his hand halberd to meet him.

That hand halberd was the murder weapon used to kill Yue Yin.

"Why do people have to cover their faces when sending relatives back to their hometown? Is it because they can't be seen by others?"

Qian Zhao's opening remarks were anything but pleasant: "I don't talk to those who hide their true intentions... Let Yuan Benchu ​​come out and speak. He has to pay back the debt he owes me before he can leave."

"Why be so harsh... Xu Ziyuan."

The man removed his mask, looked at Liu Bei, and asked Qian Zhao, "I wonder what kind of debt General Yuan owes?"

"The blood debt that killed my teacher!"

Qian Zhao didn't look at Xu You, but instead looked at the troops behind him and shouted loudly, "Yuan Benchu, return my master's life!"

These words were spoken very loudly; Yuan Shao's troops should have heard them.

Following this shout, Liu Bei's army also roared, "Revenge! Pay with your lives!!"

A subtle commotion arose within Yuan Shao's army.

"...It seems that Lord Liu is determined to be our enemy..."

Xu You sighed, about to say something, when he suddenly realized: "What a clever tactic..."

So you're admitting you're acquitting this debt?!

Qian Zhao raised his hand halberd, pointed it at Xu You, and shouted, "A blood debt must be repaid in blood! It's a fight to the death!"

Behind him, Liu Bei raised his hand, and the war drums sounded.

Xu You's expression changed drastically, and he turned his horse and retreated.

He pulled out his halberd and threw it, which hit Xu You squarely in the back.

At a distance of only five steps, the halberd was extremely lethal, and Xu You cried out and fell from his horse.

Yuan Shao's army also sprang into action, with many archers rushing towards Liu Bei, firing arrows as they ran.

Qian Zhao turned and quickly retreated back to the army. They were now at least 150 paces apart from the enemy troops. Qian Zhao had been hit in the back shoulder by an arrow, but at this distance, the arrow could not penetrate the armor and would not cause any damage.

Xu You was also wearing armor. Although he was hit by a hand halberd, he did not die.

After falling from his horse, Xu You saw Yuan Shao's troops charging out. He sat on the ground, raised his hands, and shouted, "Retreat! Do not fight them!"

But at this moment, footsteps and hooves thundered, and since Xu You was not a military commander, Yuan Shao's troops would not listen to him.

Liu Bei watched Xu You from afar, knowing that Xu You might have already seen through his intentions, but it didn't matter; it was useless now that he had figured it out.

Yuan Shao's troops have already launched their attack, led by Chunyu Qiong.

Liu Bei led his troops without moving, allowing Chunyu Qiong's troops to advance to within a hundred paces of him and fire arrows.

After the two sides exchanged fire for a while, a flag with the character "Han" on its tail suddenly appeared in Liu Bei's army, and the crown prince's canopy was also raised.

"Ming Jin!"

Chunyu Qiong saw Liu Xie's banner from afar and was greatly alarmed: "Retreat immediately!"

……

Liu Bei raised the banner of revenge so that Yuan Shao's troops would know that he had come to avenge his master.

This was not for the sake of having a legitimate reason to attack, but to cut off Yuan Shao's idea of ​​seeking fame in the simplest way.

Liu Bei did not mention plotting to assassinate Liu Xie, but simply concluded that Yue Yin died at the hands of Yuan Shao.

This was all to reduce the struggle for the crown prince position to a personal feud, and everything was for revenge.

The plot to assassinate the crown prince required a conviction by the court, but in reality, Yuan Shao could not be convicted. He could easily shift the blame to He Jin.

But avenging one's master doesn't require any evidence...

Taking action against someone you've identified as an enemy is a private matter.

It is only right to avenge one's master. Regardless of whether Yuan Shao was a model citizen or a filial son returning home, it was justified for Yue Yin's disciples to kill him, even if it meant resorting to any means necessary.

This is also a statement, transforming himself into a terrorist hunting down a murderer—the hatred for the murderer of his master will never be forgotten, no matter where he runs or what his name is, he will hunt him down to the end.

This may seem like a simple declaration of war against a personal grudge, neither glamorous nor flashy, but its actual impact is far greater than most people imagine.

This is to tell others that in killing Yuan Shao, I don't care about the law or my status, I don't care about gains or losses; all I want is Yuan Shao's life, and those who are not involved should stay out of it.

This is not a power struggle; there is no room for compromise. It's a fight to the death, and anyone who stands in our way will perish.

This is how terrorists declare war.

It's uncertain who will win or lose, but who among the others would want to make an enemy of a terrorist?

What should you do if you are targeted by terrorists?
Either kill Liu Bei quickly...

Or, wait for endless vendettas.

In reality, there was only one option: Yuan Shao's troops would inevitably attack Liu Bei.

But this attack... the arrows all hit Liu Xie's banner.

This became an attack on Liu Xie.

Moreover, Liu Xie was also a disciple of Yue Yin.

This crime can't be completely shaken off.

—Either we kill Liu Xie and Liu Bei immediately, or we'll have to wait for the personal feud to turn into a national feud, which will be even more difficult to handle in the future.

This is a trap for the enemy.

It wasn't a frame-up, but rather a trap to ensnare Yuan Shao, leaving him in a dilemma.

After Chunyu Qiong sounded the retreat, the troops withdrew and rescued the seriously wounded Xu You.

"Ziyuan, how are your injuries?"

Yuan Shao brought Xu You back, his brows furrowed, seemingly worried about Xu You's injury.

"In the beginning, Liu Bei was luring you to attack and kill him. Dong Hou was in Liu Bei's army; if his troops fought back, it would be considered treason; if they didn't fight back, Liu Bei would keep pursuing them..."

Xu You was quite capable; he did indeed see through Liu Bei's intentions.

Yuan Shao hesitated, looking quite unwilling: "What should I do?"

"To annihilate Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo in one fell swoop..."

Xu You whispered, "Benchu, if you cannot eliminate Dong Zhuo, once he ascends the throne, you will become an enemy of the state... and perhaps the Party Prohibitions will be imposed because of you, and no one will dare to help you anymore..."

Yuan Shao turned around and looked at Liu Bei's troops in the distance.

Liu Bei remained in the same spot, neither advancing nor retreating.

(End of this chapter)