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

Chapter 419 Slaying Yan Liang

The man on the watchtower was indeed Liu Hui. He had already jumped onto the small boat with nine tassels on it, sword in hand: "All of you, get on!"

Liu Bei still ordered his guards to stand on the riverbank and use crossbows to inflict casualties.

Now that the roles of offense and defense have reversed, it's the perfect time to use crossbows to gain an advantage.

The river was several tens of meters wide; small boats and bamboo rafts could cross it quickly, but being hit by a crossbow bolt in the river would also mean a quick death.

Liu Bei's troops kept firing arrows from the riverbank, while Liu Hui's troops suffered heavy casualties in the river.

Even after reaching the riverbank, they couldn't stand steadily in the muddy water. Although Liu Hui's troops outnumbered Liu Bei's by several times, it was difficult for them to get ashore.

But Liu Hui confirmed that Liu Bei's side indeed didn't have many people.

It wasn't until most of Liu Hui's troops were blocked on the shallow riverbank that the two sides began hand-to-hand combat, and Liu Bei fought and retreated, gradually retreating back into his camp.

The military camp was several dozen feet away from the river. Liu Hui's troops got the chance to go ashore, and seeing Liu Bei "retreating," they immediately swarmed up and besieged the camp.

Liu Bei was not far in front of Liu Hui in the camp, and there didn't seem to be many armored soldiers around him.

"Charge! Kill Liu Bei!"

Liu Hui commanded his personal guards to charge forward.

"Brother, it seems there are troops coming from the east... cavalry!"

Liu Hui's troops fired arrows into the eastern sky from the outer perimeter, and his personal guards quickly alerted Liu Hui.

"...Quickly, charge into the camp! Kill Liu Bei quickly and we'll win! Hurry!!"

Some on the periphery began to turn east. Liu Hui realized that Liu Bei's main force was returning, but Liu Bei was right in front of him, and it seemed that with a little more effort, revenge was within reach...

But no matter what they did, they couldn't break into Liu Bei's main camp.

The main camp was a few feet higher than the surrounding area and was only fenced off with wooden railings, which were not enough to keep people out.

However, Zu Mao led a hundred or so heavily armored guards to block the way with spears and lances, while Liu Bei led his guards to defend the high ground with crossbows. Although Liu Hui had more men, he could not make any progress.

However, the close combat resulted in heavy casualties, and Liu Bei's personal guards were indeed caught in a fierce battle.

Liu Hui's troops were not weak in combat.

Liu Hui's core subordinates were all his relatives. They knew very well that if Liu Bei were to conquer Lunu, the Liu clan of Zhongshan would most likely face extermination. Therefore, they were very determined to fight.

In any case, this was certainly much less damaging than Liu Bei's forced crossing of the river and attack.

At that moment, the sound of horses' hooves came from the east.

Zhang Liao returned with his cavalry.

Zhang Liao was merely making a brief eastward detour; he wasn't actually heading to Wuji. The enemy had already witnessed Zhang Liao's troops returning.

However, Liu Hui is now completely out of her mind.

If Liu Hui were to run away now, she could actually escape.

However, upon seeing Zhang Liao lead his cavalry to break into Liu Hui's army from the rear, Liu Bei suddenly led his troops in a counter-charge against Liu Hui.

To lure the enemy with one's own body, one must lure them completely. Liu Bei did not want Liu Hui to escape, so he personally led his troops to charge towards Liu Hui.

The two drew closer and closer, the distance between them no more than twenty or thirty steps.

As expected, Liu Hui did not retreat. He stared intently at Liu Bei and led his personal guards to watch Liu Bei charge forward relentlessly.

However, halfway through the charge, Liu Hui's troops collapsed first, preventing the ensuing one-on-one duel between the two enemies.

Zhang Liao leaped out from the side on his horse and severed Liu Hui's neck with a single halberd strike.

The head rolled several times after hitting the ground, but its bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Liu Bei's direction.

Liu Hui's troops seemed to be quiet for a moment, then suddenly collapsed and began to scatter and flee.

……

……

Meanwhile, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu's journey went quite smoothly. After Tian Yu pursued Yan Liang to Xindu, Cui Lin arrived at Tian Yu's army from Qinghe and went alone to persuade Xindu to surrender.

The one guarding Xindu was not Yan Liang, but Cui Jun, the second son of Cui Lie, also known as Cui Zhouping. Upon seeing Cui Lin, he immediately opened the city gates and surrendered.

Neither Cui Lie nor his eldest son Cui Jun were in Jizhou; they had been in Luoyang.

Cui Zhouping claimed that Yan Liang had gone to Zaoqiang and asked Zhao Yun and Tian Yu to spare the Cui family, saying that the Anping Cui family had been coerced into providing food and supplies to the rebels in order to protect their relatives.

Moreover, Cui Zhouping revealed that Yan Liang had brought a large force from Zaoqiang and would soon return to Xindu.

Zaoqiang did indeed have troops stationed by various powerful families from Anping County before, so what Cui Zhouping said was probably true.

Zhao Yun did indeed give them a chance and did not kill anyone.

However, the Cui family of Anping assisted the enemy, so Zhao Yun sentenced the entire Cui family to be exiled to the border, and all their land and property were confiscated. All members of the Cui family, along with their retainers and servants, were to kill the Hu people to atone for their sins.

Cui Lin's surrender letter was meritorious and was recorded by Zhao Yun as a military achievement, leading to his promotion to military strategist and advisor to the army.

As soon as Cui Lin took office, he discussed a plan with Tian Yu.

The next day, Zhao Yun ordered Cui Zhouping to lead the Cui clan and servants to transport grain and fodder, while he himself led his cavalry to mingle among them, without carrying any flags, and quickly headed towards Zaoqiang.

Halfway there, they ran into Yan Liang, who was marching towards Xindu.

Knowing that Yan Liang was going back to Xindu, Zhao Yun was mentally prepared for this encounter, while Yan Liang was completely unprepared.

Yan Liang's army was a coalition of powerful clans, and their scouts recognized the Cui family.

It was perfectly normal for the Cui family to transport grain to Zaoqiang, as Zaoqiang was originally the place where the Cui family stored their grain.

Therefore, when Yan Liang first encountered Zhao Yun, he was almost unprepared and even sent someone to ask Cui Zhouping if something had happened to Xindu.

"General Zhao, Yan Liang is completely unprepared. Shall we make our move?"

Tian Yu and Cui Lin's plan was simple and direct: to use acquaintances to commit fraud and launch a surprise attack on Yan Liang when he was off guard.

However, as usual, after Zhao Yun spotted Yan Liang's location from a high vantage point, he shook his head and said, "Don't make a move yet, lest he escape... Guo Rang, you take command of the troops, I'll be right back."

Subsequently, Zhao Yun led several elite cavalry guards and charged straight into Yan Liang's army.

Even after Zhao Yun charged into Yan Liang's central army column, Yan Liang remained unaware of the situation and continued marching normally.

He saw a small number of cavalry running towards them, but these cavalrymen did not harm anyone. They appeared to be messengers sent by Cui Zhouping to report on the situation...

Even when Zhao Yun was twenty paces in front of him and still hadn't slowed down, Yan Liang turned around and shouted, "Who goes there? Why don't you dismount?"

Zhao Yun did not answer, but charged forward on his horse, his spear flashing like lightning.

Qu Hou, a guard beside Yan Liang, sensed something was wrong and quickly rode to meet him, but was knocked down by Zhao Yun with a single spear thrust.

Yan Liang was shocked and was about to raise his halberd when he saw Zhao Yun's spear already at his chest.

With a single spear thrust, Yan Liang was slain from his horse.

Zhao Yun then reined in his horse, leaped off, drew his sword, and beheaded Yan Liang. He then mounted his horse again, pulled down the hideous mask, raised the severed head, and shouted, "Yan Liang is dead!"

Yan Liang's men saw Zhao Yun's mask again, and seeing that Yan Liang had already been beheaded, they were too terrified to approach Zhao Yun.

Only some powerful clansmen who had not participated in the Battle of Jieqiao attempted to surround and kill Zhao Yun, but none of them were a match for him.

Zhao Yun once again charged out from Yan Liang's central army ranks, and anyone who got close to him died under his spear, as if there were no people around.

In the distance, Tian Yu, who had been standing in Zhao Yun's original spectator position, began to beat the drum.

A great battle cry arose, and armored cavalry surged out from behind the Cui family's grain transport team.

With Yan Liang dead, the army was attacked during the march and left without command. The army that Yan Liang had reorganized collapsed almost instantly.

After killing Yan Liang, Zhao Yun once again pursued the defeated enemy army northward, while Tian Yu received surrendered soldiers along the way.

Zhao Yun pursued the enemy all the way to Yuecheng County in Hejian. He learned from the defeated prisoners that a large number of Wuhuan people were causing trouble in Hejian, so Zhao Yun once again stationed his troops to rest and reorganize.

(End of this chapter)