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

Chapter 435 The Artist's Manufactured Destiny
At this time, the Liaodong pirates had not yet surrendered to Liu Bei.

Gongsun Du believed Shi Ren's words.

Pirates also need to make a living, so it's normal for them to vote for whoever wins.

"You've come here to persuade me to surrender?"

Gongsun Du was still somewhat polite to Shi Ren: "If I surrender, I'm afraid I'll be killed anyway... I still have the strength to fight, so you'd better not waste your breath."

Although Gongsun Du himself did not appear in Youzhou, and the Liaodong army did not directly confront Liu Bei's troops, Gongsun Du was well aware that if he did not have a sufficiently compelling pledge of allegiance, Liu Bei was unlikely to accept his surrender.

Liu Yi and Yang Yi might be able to surrender, but Gongsun Du himself would probably still die.

Gongsun Du has already sent his son, Gongsun Kang, to Lelang to gather troops.

Yang Yi suggested that Gongsun Du withdraw his entire army to Lelang (Korea), which was also the last resort.

Liaodong is indeed indefensible, but if Gongsun Du retreats to Lelang and resolutely resists, Liu Bei's troops may not be able to catch up with him.

Even if Guan Yu and his men were incredibly powerful, they would still have to capture cities one by one. Even if the counties surrendered, it would take time to take them over. Pursuing Gongsun Du would not be easy.

If Gongsun Du retreats all the way to Korea, Liu Bei's troops will have to cross the Mazi River (Yalu River) to pursue him, which will not only waste time but may also cripple their logistics.

If Gongsun Du had adopted a scorched-earth policy and remained in a defensive posture, he might have had a chance to hold out until Liu Bei's army ran out of food.

If we try to negotiate again then, there might still be a way out.

“Brother Shengji, I have come to save your life.”

Shi Ren shook his head: "Yuan Shao's two sons are in my hands. If you, Brother Shengji, surrender Yuan Shao's sons, then kill the Hu chieftain to show your sincerity, and hand over Liaodong intact to our lord, Lord Xuande, so that more people in Liaodong can live, our lord will not kill you."

“I can give Yuan Shao’s son to Brother Shengji as a pledge of loyalty. I guarantee with my life that as long as Brother Shengji swears to kill the barbarians and expand the territory for the Han Dynasty, he will definitely have the opportunity to redeem himself.”

“The fewer Han Chinese who die, the better Liaodong will remain, and the greater the chance of Brother Shengji surviving.”

Shi Ren had followed Liu Bei for so long, so he knew Liu Bei quite well.

Most of Youzhou had been destroyed, except for Liaodong, which was still somewhat intact.

Shi Ren knew that Liu Bei certainly did not want Liaodong to be reduced to scorched earth.

If Gongsun Du had ceased resistance and handed over the entire Liaodong region to Liu Bei, allowing the war to end quickly and more Han people to survive, Liu Bei might indeed have spared Gongsun Du.

"You're giving me Yuan Shao's son? What do you want then?"

Gongsun Du looked at Shi Ren with some confusion: "Why don't you go and claim the credit yourself? With such great merit, Lord Xuande will surely reward you with a high-ranking official position and noble title. Why give it to me?"

“If I hadn’t come, Brother Shengji would not have surrendered. If you hadn’t surrendered, what would have become of Liaodong? If Brother Shengji had resisted step by step, Liaodong would have been reduced to scorched earth. What good would that have done for our lord?”

Shi Ren said very seriously, "Being Yuan Shao's son is not a merit for me. I have made mistakes, and my lord, Lord Xuande, ordered me to extend my power overseas to atone for my sins. Only expanding territory can be considered my merit."

“My lord’s men are all my former comrades. If they launch a strong attack on Liaodong, they will suffer heavy losses. It is my duty to help my comrades reduce their losses.”

“I made a mistake in the past, and my lord spared my life... The lives of my comrades are precious, and my lord has always treated them as family. The lives of the Han people are also precious, and my lord cherishes them as his own children. As the saying goes, the ability to save lives is a skill.”

"Please, Brother Shengji, open the city gates and surrender, and come with me to expand the territory of the Han Dynasty and spread our might overseas."

“This is my chance to return to the Han Dynasty, and it is also Brother Shengji’s last chance.”

……

Late May.

The gates of Xiangping City were opened.

Gongsun Du, dressed in hemp clothing, surrendered to Guan Yu.

Yang Yi presented the head of Su Puyan, the King of Wuhuan, while Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were delivered alive to Guan Yu.

The Han army did not suffer any losses at the Battle of Xiangping.

Shi Ren also met Liu Bei again.

"My lord... I desire to subdue the foreign lands. I request that you, my lord Yunren, join forces with Gongsun Shengji to conquer the Three Han states and establish a prefecture south of Lelang for the Han Dynasty..."

Shi Ren held a nautical chart in his hand, which showed the situation of the sea areas near Liaodong, Sanhan, and Yamatai, and even marked the tides and monsoons.

This was the result of Shi Ren's time as a pirate; he had indeed always been thinking about how to achieve great things overseas.

Shi Ren did not consider persuading Gongsun Du to surrender as a merit; he only wanted to use it to return to the Han Dynasty and become a strategist who expanded the territory.

Liu Bei accepted Shi Ren's suggestion and gave Gongsun Du a chance to atone for his sins.

Gongsun Du's son, Gongsun Kang, was recalled and sent to Xu Huang's army along with Yang Yi to support Xu Huang's attack on Goguryeo.

Shi Ren got his wish and obtained a separate commander's banner. Liu Bei sent him to recruit the pirates and go to Lelang with Gongsun Du.

Gongsun Du took nothing from Liaodong except his own troops and necessary provisions, and he did not hold any official titles or ranks—he never had any; all his positions were self-appointed.

If Gongsun Du can conquer the Three Hans and establish a new prefecture, he can be absolved of his previous crimes by expanding the territory, and then he will be rewarded.

……

In fact, Shi Ren's persuasion of Gongsun Du to surrender was a great achievement, far greater than Shi Ren's own efforts in sending Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to Liu Bei.

After Gongsun Du surrendered, almost all the foreign tribes surrounding Liaodong collapsed.

Goguryeo surrendered immediately after Gongsun Kang arrived in Wandu.

At the time, Xu Huang had less than three thousand men under his command. He originally thought that he might not be able to break through Wandu, but after Gongsun Kang and Yang Yi appeared at the city gates, the Goguryeo people dared not continue to hold out.

Xu Huang accepted the surrender in Wandu, appointed King Gao Nanwu of Goguryeo as a separate commander, left a thousand soldiers to garrison in the Goguryeo 'royal palace', and took Gao Nanwu's entire family, along with the Goguryeo 'royal guards', back to Liaodong.

Yes, the King of Goguryeo was appointed as a separate commander, and that was the lowest rank Xu Huang gave him.

After all, their 'Royal City Guards' were not even as good as the Han Dynasty's county soldiers...

Being able to become a commander of another tribe is considered a high-level skill, especially since Guan Yu's troops no longer needed to attack Liaodong after Gongsun Du surrendered, and could easily rush into Wandu and wreak havoc.

Yuchi Tai, the king of Buyeo who had surrendered earlier, was also a separate commander under Guan Yu. Yuchi Tai actually wanted to destroy Goguryeo.

Gongsun Du and his son Gongsun Kang did not cause any more trouble and cooperated well in carrying out a purge in Liaodong, arresting all those associated with Yuan Shao.

Moreover, the one who arrested him was Liu Yi, who had just returned to Liaodong.

Liu Yi attacked Yuan Shao in front of Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and others, and cut off Yuan Shao's retreat route. He had already pledged his allegiance to Guan Yu, and Guan Yu did not attack him at that time.

Zhang Liao also wiped out the remnants of the Wuhuan tribe at Bailang Mountain, seizing tens of thousands of cattle and horses, and together with Guo Jia, relocated 50,000 people to Liucheng.

These 50,000 people were all Han Chinese, of whom more than 30,000 were young women, more than 10,000 were children, and there were no adult men.

Zhao Yun pursued the Eastern Xianbei all the way to Wuhou Qinshui (Laoha River in Chifeng), killing thousands of enemy soldiers and capturing tens of thousands of cattle and horses. The Eastern Xianbei fled westward in full force.

By the end of June, the area surrounding Liaodong had been completely pacified.

……

……

In the other two routes from Youzhou, Zhang He, despite being wounded, pursued the Wuhuan people of Shanggu all the way to the outside of the ancient Great Wall of Guangning. Shanggu County, which had once been occupied by the Hu people, was returned to the Han Dynasty.

Xianyu Yin encountered fierce resistance from Kebineng, a new Xianbei force, in northern Yuyang.

At this time, the Eastern Xianbei, who had been pursued westward by Zhao Yun, also joined forces with Kebineng's tribe in the Luanping area.

The Eastern Xianbei had a large population, but none of the tribes were willing to fight to the death. After all, they were not the Chanyu (ruler of the Xiongnu), but rather a loose alliance of chieftains—none wanted to suffer losses and they all waited for others to make the first move, resulting in no one stepping forward. With no one stopping Zhao Yun's advance, after several tribes were initially crippled by Zhao Yun, the various Eastern Xianbei tribes began to withdraw from Liaodong.

The Xianbei royal court was not originally located in Liaodong. The royal court established by Tan Shihuai was located at Tanhan Mountain in the northern part of Dai County.

After Tan Shihuai's death, the Xianbei people experienced a great deal of internal strife.

Tan Shihuai's son, He Lian, was inexplicably shot in the back and died in battle. The Xianbei split into two parts, east and west, and fought each other.

Helian's son, Qianman, was young, and his brother's son, Kuitou, took charge of military and political affairs. However, only the Xianbei west of Tanhan Mountain were willing to follow him. The eastern chieftains, such as Suli, Mijia, and Queji, formed an alliance to govern themselves and refused to submit to their authority.

A few years later, Jianman grew up and fought with Kuitou for power, and the western Xianbei were split in two again. Several Xianbei tribes in the central part, that is, the northern part of Yuyang, also broke away from control.

Afterwards, Kui Tou was killed by Jian Man, and the tribes that were close to Kui Tou fled westward.

But Jianman never truly seized power, and he was killed by Kui Tou's younger brother, Budugen, who allied with the central Xianbei... As a result, all the Xianbei tribes west of Tanhan Mountain scattered and fled.

From Helian to Jianman, every leader who became Chanyu died in internal strife, and each of their power grabs led to the Xianbei splitting up again.

This truly follows the rhythm of one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things...

After all, every time someone comes to power, they have to settle scores... and the Xianbei's way of settling scores has always been through massacres. Tribes that have chosen the wrong side can only run away.

Currently, the nominal Chancellor of the Xianbei is Budugen, but in reality, not many people recognize him.

The Xianbei west of Tanhan Mountain have all fled. The largest tribe in the east is Kebineng, which has been absorbing smaller tribes in the past two years. It has about 8,000 households and about 40,000 people.

Steproot actually only controls 6,000 units, which is less than Kebineng.

After the eastern chieftains, including Suli, Mijia, and Queji, arrived in northern Yuyang, they decided to elect Kebineng as their Chanyu.

The Han army is currently fighting fiercely, with almost every Han person in Youzhou killing Hu people. However, Kebineng is holding off the various families in Youzhou led by Xianyu Yin. The chieftains are essentially having Kebineng step forward to hold them off.

Kebineng, being young, was blinded by the old men's constant claims of "Tan Shihuai reborn" and, having received manpower and supplies from them, assembled a large army of 20,000 cavalry, attempting to first repel Xianyu Yin and then resist Zhao Yun to the east...

If he could really do that, then he could truly be a reincarnation of Tan Shihuai.

Tan Shihuai rose from a small tribal leader to become the Chanyu (ruler of the Xiongnu) while fighting against the Han Dynasty.

but……

Just as Kebineng began organizing a large force to attack Xianyu Yin, he encountered two reinforcements from the Han army.

Zhang Fei and Qian Zhao.

Zhang Fei arrived late, but he still made it to the final battle.

Unfortunately, Kebineng encountered an artist who was skilled at arson.

……

At the end of June, the northern part of the Yanshan Mountains was covered with lush vegetation.

Summer is characterized by the southeast monsoon, which blows from southeast to northwest.

The wind was moderate, and the wind speed was not fast...

The area north of the Yanshan Mountains is a leeward slope with less moisture and much less precipitation than the area to the south.

Especially in the northwestern plateau, although the summer is affected by the monsoon, the climate is much drier than south of the Yanshan Mountains.

It's perfect for starting a fire.

Driven by the wind, the fire can spread northwestward along the northern foothills of the Yanshan Mountains, engulfing vast grasslands surrounded by the Luan River...

In Zhang Fei's art academy, the subject of arson is truly intricate, involving a range of scientific knowledge such as astronomy, geography, climate, architecture, botany, and materials.

Of course, Zhang Fei didn't know much about astronomy and geography, but he was from Youzhou... and he really knew the situation in the Yanshan area.

Therefore, it is usually necessary to use local people in wars, as familiarity with the environment is indeed very important.

Upon seeing the main force of the Xianbei, Zhang Fei ordered the brothers of the Wufeng Battalion, who had received advanced arson training, to set a large fire.

Let's start from the woods on the northern foothills of the Yanshan Mountains.

The place where the fire was lit was dozens of miles away from the Xianbei people's camp, but only five miles away from Zhang Fei's own camp...

It felt like I was about to self-immolate.

Qian Zhao was terrified, worried that if the fire went down, he might burn himself up before it even reached the enemy.

And they set fire before even seeing the enemy...

"It's easier to start a fire if we're far enough away; if we're too close, the enemy will just run away..."

Zhang Fei confidently patted his chest: "Don't worry, this fire will only burn the enemy... You and I just need to control the enemy's movements from the outside of the fire line."

Sure enough, once the fire was lit, it formed a fire line dozens of miles wide and traveled straight towards Kebineng's camp with the wind.

Zhang Fei and Qian Zhao led their troops, one on the left and one on the right, controlling both ends of the fire line.

It was as if two armies were holding a large net made of raging fire, trapping Kebineng's main force in the net.

Kebineng is doomed.

The Xianbei had many warhorses. Even if we could defeat them in a normal battle, we might not be able to catch up with them.

Even Zhao Yun couldn't catch up with those Xianbei chieftains from the east...

But whether it's a warhorse or a nag, they won't obey orders when they encounter a fire.

Horses are very intelligent animals. When they encounter a fire, they know to flee downwind and will run away immediately upon seeing thick smoke and flames.

Before the two armies even made contact, half of the Xianbei horses ran away... those that didn't run away were simply held back by their owners in time.

Even if you manage to hold them back, the horse won't run to either side of the fire line, let alone try to break through it. In this situation, whipping it won't work.

Kebineng's newly formed 20,000 cavalry could only flee northwest, and they had to keep running without stopping!

Summer winds are not fast, usually at the speed of walking or jogging, which is enough to move leaves and make flags flutter.

However, the direction of the summer monsoon is fixed, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, and it generally does not stop.

The fire line will not stop; it will continue to move northwest, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, depending on the wind.

The grasslands north of the Yanshan Mountains are vast, and a single day's fire can spread for hundreds of miles...

Zhang Fei and Qian Zhao were on opposite sides of the front line, preventing the enemy from breaking through from the flanks. They also had to run a marathon, but it was relatively easier for them, since they could stop when they couldn't run anymore.

But the Xianbei people, who were facing the front lines, could not stop.

After Zhang Fei set the fire, he knew where to ambush the enemy—because the enemy could only run towards the nearest water source.

Even Zhang Fei himself didn't know the exact area burned by the fire.

Anyway, the fire spread from Luanping all the way to Luanhe Bay in the northwest.

The fire line spread from the initial twenty or thirty miles to over a hundred miles in the end.

If this happened in later generations, countless people would surely condemn Zhang Fei for destroying the environment.

But now, this has become a kind of "divine will".

At least the Xianbei people and many Han soldiers felt that this was the will of Heaven... otherwise why would the fire keep chasing and burning the Xianbei people?
(End of this chapter)