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

Chapter 450 Fierce Tiger
About twenty miles southeast of Niyang, there is a three-way intersection, which is also an important official road between Niyang and Fuping counties.

The Kansai region has many gullies, or plateaus. Two places may seem close, but in reality, you have to go down into the gully and then up the plateau, which takes a long time.

Niyang is a county on the plateau, while Fuping County is located on the banks of the Jing River below the plateau.

This three-way intersection is the passage through the loess plateau, and it is also the only way from Zuofengyi to the north. To the north is Niyang, to the south is Fuping, and to the east is Pinyang County of Zuofengyi.

Li Jue and Duan Wei faced off at this crucial intersection.

In most cases, whenever there is war, the main battlefield is located on such a necessary route.

Actually, after crossing the river, Xin Ping and Guo Tu could have taken the Qin Chi Road south of Linjin and gone straight to Chang'an via Xinfeng.

However, Guo Tu thought that there was a battle going on in Xinfeng, so he took a detour to Niyang in order to avoid the battlefield.

Unexpectedly, the battlefield shifted to Niyang, and they ended up cutting in between the two armies.

When two armies are fighting, if another unit that is not flying a flag is discovered, it is most likely enemy reinforcements if it is not one of their own.

Xin Ping and his men came from the direction of Zuo Fengyi, and Li Jue and Duan Wei both assumed that the other side had brought reinforcements from Zuo Fengyi.

Many people might think that a few hundred reinforcements wouldn't be of much use on the battlefield...

However, battlefield commanders are actually extremely cautious when faced with this situation.

Finding only a few hundred people doesn't mean that's all there is. This could just be the vanguard. Troops are usually divided into three armies: front, middle, and rear. Who knows how many people are in the middle and rear armies of the reinforcement force?

Furthermore, when the battlefield is deadlocked, even a few hundred people can decide the outcome of the battle.

After much deliberation, Li Jue decided to personally lead his troops in a surprise attack on the "reinforcement force," control the crossroads, occupy advantageous terrain, and avoid being attacked from both sides.

This can be considered a "tough guy" mentality; when faced with an unexpected situation, the first thing he thinks about is how to win, not how to defend.

Duan Wei thought so too...

Li Jue was already a tough opponent, and Duan Wei couldn't allow Li Jue to receive support from the east. He had to capture the crossroads as soon as possible and cut off any possible aid Li Jue might receive.

Therefore, Li Jue and Duan Wei personally led their cavalry to intercept and kill this "enemy reinforcements".

Guo Tu and Xin Ping's men were already on a hurried journey, and the people they had arranged could not scout that far. When they realized they had mistakenly entered the battlefield, the dust from the galloping cavalry was already faintly visible.

Xin Ping was quick-witted; this situation was obviously deadly, so he immediately led Liu Xie back, which meant retreating eastward.

Speaking of which, Xin Ping was quite adept at escaping; he would run wherever there was no road—to avoid being pursued by cavalry, he had to flee to places where horses couldn't easily go.

For example, hillsides and forests.

To the east of Niyang, the boundary between Beidi County and Zuofengyi is a mountain range known as the Ziwu Ridge. Xin Ping and his group had just crossed the Ziwu Ridge half a day ago.

Qin Shi Huang once built the Qin Chidao (Qin Road) which crossed the Ziwu Ridge, and it was also a military route during the Han Dynasty.

The ridge is covered with dense forests and is quite steep, with the Diaolingguan Fortress controlling the road.

However, there are currently no troops stationed at the Ziwu Ridge fortress.

Previously, Liu Ai's men controlled Diaoling Pass. After Liu Ai's death, all of his troops were imprisoned. Chang'an has not yet formally established a court, so no one is in charge of Ziwu Ridge.

Dong Zhuo's remaining forces controlled Jingzhao, but did not take over Zuo Fengyi. They then all went to various counties to "collect taxes," as no one wanted to feed mosquitoes in the desolate mountains and wilderness.

Guo Tu was able to support Xin Ping because Zuo Fengyi's checkpoint was currently unattended.

In order to escape the cavalry pursuit, Xin Ping and the others scattered and ran for their lives. They did manage to escape, and Liu Xie was not lost.

They wouldn't have been able to escape so easily, but Li Jue and Duan Wei's troops, one to the north and one to the south, pursued them to the crossroads west of Ziwu Ridge, where the two armies met and engaged in a skirmish.

but……

After entering the Ziwu Ridge Tiaoling Pass, Xin Ping discovered that Cao Ang was missing.

……

Cao Ang had already passed the transfer order checkpoint and was on the east side of Ziwu Ridge—he was actually in the lead.

Being young is great; it's much faster to run away than Xin Ping could with Liu Xie.

He made a point of remembering the route he had taken and ran eastward at breakneck speed.

He hadn't expected that escaping would only require him to run faster and have better stamina than others...

The conversation I had with Xin Ping a few days ago was actually a way to extricate myself—to prevent Xin Ping from going to the Hu region and to try to contact Zhong Yao in Chang'an.

Even if Xin Ping doesn't agree, at least he can realize that there might be other ways to resolve this matter, which will make him more lenient with Cao Ang—for example, by not keeping him tied up all the time.

If you are kidnapped and need to save yourself, you should try to ease the tension with the kidnappers and consider their perspective in order to give yourself a chance.

So Cao Ang has now escaped from the kidnappers.

But in reality, Cao Ang did not completely escape.

When he reached the crossroads east of Ziwu Ridge, he encountered the men left behind by Guo Tu.

There were only ten of them; they were Guo Tu's private soldiers, as well as messengers and spies.

Xin Ping and Guo Tu both knew that Cao Cao would definitely cross the river to pursue them, so they left a few people at each strategic pass, not to stop Cao Cao, but simply to send a message as quickly as possible.

These people recognized Cao Ang.

Moreover, Cao Ang's underwear and outerwear are all high-end products. Even if he takes off his clothes and gets his body dirty, you can still tell from his smooth skin that he is a rich man's son. He can't get away with it.

Perhaps Guo Tu's soldiers had limited combat strength, but at least they had weapons, leather armor, and ten men.

Cao Ang, however, was now unarmed.

After glancing back, Cao Ang picked up a stick from the roadside.

There's no other way. Xin Ping's men have discovered that we've escaped and will definitely catch up soon. There's only one path through Ziwu Ridge, so if we want to get away, we have to grit our teeth and go for it.

The plan wasn't to fight ten against one, but to charge forward...

Even without armor, he could probably outrun ten soldiers, right?

But this time he misjudged the situation.

Whether the messengers left at the crossroads by Guo Tu could fight or not was irrelevant; what mattered was that they were all lightning-fast mountain runners…

Those people ran like the wind on the mountain road; Cao Ang had no chance of escaping...

However, Cao Ang might have been somewhat lucky.

Just as Cao Ang was being blocked by ten soldiers, his savior appeared.

"Don't hurt the young master!!"

Like a tiger's roar, Dian Wei appeared.

In fact, Dian Wei had been there for a while.

There is only one road through Ziwu Ridge. Dian Wei would inevitably have to take this road whenever he came here, so it is not surprising that he appeared here.

Of the five warriors who went down into the river with him, three were swept away by the Yellow River, and only two made it across.

Since it was uncertain where Xin Ping went after crossing the river, one went southwest from Linjin, another went northwest from Linjin, and Dian Wei went due west. There was one person pursuing him on each of the three routes.

Dian Wei was also worried when he arrived at the Ziwu Ridge intersection. After seeing the group of people at the intersection, he was certain that Xin Ping had most likely come from Ziwu Ridge.

He hadn't made a move yet, mainly because he was considering how to fight ten people at once without a long weapon.

Dian Wei crossed the river on a floating log. He carried neither armor nor a large iron halberd, only a small hand halberd—this thing was only 1.8 feet long and was more commonly used as a throwing knife.

However, upon seeing Cao Ang rush out, Dian Wei disregarded all hesitation and charged forward with his small hand halberd.

After that roar, the birds in the forest suddenly fell silent, and then they all spread their wings and flew away.

Dian Wei galloped along the mountain path, facing the setting sun; his imposing figure resembled the legendary Kuafu.

The ten soldiers turned to look at Dian Wei, whose leather armor was embroidered with the insignia of Li Meng's troops—this was Guo Tu's deliberate act, for the sake of convenience.

The squad leader's gaze swept over Dian Wei's bare upper body and the ridiculously short halberd in his hand, and he grinned: "Just you alone?"

Dian Wei did not answer.

Ten against one, six men still surrounded Cao Ang, the two in the middle took off their crossbows, and the two in front drew their swords to meet Dian Wei—this was reasonable, and anyone would see it as a hunt with no suspense.

He switched the halberd to his left hand, slowed his pace, and then suddenly unleashed astonishing speed, just like a tiger hunting.

The two crossbows that had just been removed hadn't been reloaded yet.

The two soldiers who were heading towards Dian Wei stared wide-eyed, their swords only half-drawn from their sheaths.

Dian Wei had already closed in on them like a mad tiger.

That wasn't the kind of agility a martial artist usually displays; it was more like a wild beast charging headfirst into its opponent's arms.

The short halberd in his left hand pierced the soldier's throat like a venomous snake.

Almost simultaneously, Dian Wei grabbed the slashing blade with his right hand, and with a muffled thud of bones grinding together, the stolen blade was already plunged into its owner's neck.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before the two men had even fallen, blood spurted from their necks into the air.

Cao Ang also shrewdly stepped back—he did not try to help Dian Wei. This approach was actually very similar to Liu Bei's. He knew that with his limited skills, going forward would only cause trouble for Dian Wei.

"Go together!"

The eldest son drank it.

The remaining men quickly abandoned Cao Ang, scattering into a semi-circle, while two crossbowmen raised their crossbows.

But Dian Wei was no longer there.

He grabbed a corpse and held it in front of him, then hurled a short halberd with his left hand, piercing the eye socket of a crossbowman.

Then the man followed the halberd, and before the corpse fell, he had already pulled out the halberd blade and used it to cut off the hand of another person holding a crossbow.

Amidst the splattering blood, Dian Wei snatched the crossbow and used it as a club, swinging it around and smashing it down on the third man's head. The bronze crossbow mechanism shattered, and the broken crossbow arm flew out in all directions.

The soldier, wearing a helmet, staggered and fell, and Dian Wei's immense strength smashed a dent into the helmet.

Now, there are only five left.

The five people finally realized that this wasn't a hunt, but rather they were being hunted...

They were now surrounded by Dian Wei alone.

The five men formed a small formation, with three swords and two spears, and retreated step by step.

Yes, they are retreating.

Anyone would be afraid of a fierce man who could kill five people in an instant.

Dian Wei caught his breath; a bloody gash had appeared on his side—he had been shot by a crossbow bolt when he was seizing the crossbow, but luckily it had avoided his chest and abdomen, leaving only a gash on his side.

My hands were bleeding; I was cut when I disarmed the knife with my bare hands.

But Dian Wei looked even more terrifying after being injured.

This is a wounded tiger...

"Come and fight!!"

Dian Wei pounced again.

He knew he had to act quickly and decisively, and it was best not to let these people escape—Cao Ang was still behind them.

Two spears thrust forward in unison.

Dian Wei suddenly threw the short halberd out of his hand, turned sideways and tucked the two long spears under his armpits, then twisted and pushed them with great force.

Two spear-wielding soldiers staggered and fell, one with a halberd stuck in his face, and the other being knocked to the ground by the spear shaft.

As soon as he fell to the ground, Dian Wei switched hands and pierced his chest with his spear.

Perhaps due to excessive force, the spear clearly produced a harsh clanging sound as it struck the ground, indicating that it was driven very deep.

The last three dared not fight any longer and turned to flee.

Dian Wei drew his spear, hurled it, then rolled forward to retrieve his short halberd and threw it again.

The spear pierced through the fleeing squad leader.

The short halberd spun out and struck one man squarely in the back.

The last person ran extremely fast, even faster than Dian Wei.

But at that moment, Cao Ang stepped forward with his stick and delivered a fierce blow to the waist.

Cao Ang blocked the way, but Dian Wei caught up and grabbed the last soldier by the neck.

With a horizontal pull, the neck was visibly dislocated.

Dian Wei stood amidst the corpses, looking around, his chest heaving.

"Is the young master alright?"

Once Dian Wei was certain that no one else was there, he protected Cao Ang and turned to walk back.

"The Commandant is truly a tiger general!"

Cao Ang shook his head: "With Commandant Dian by my side, I am at ease, but Your Majesty..."

At this point, he felt safe, but Cao Ang remembered the advice he had given Xin Ping earlier.

At this point, Cao Ang didn't want Xin Ping to do as he said...

Previously, it was to extricate himself, but in reality, Cao Ang did not want Cao Cao to get involved with the Yuan family.

……

Meanwhile, Liu Bei had arrived at Hangu Pass and received news from Jia Xu that Cao Cao was still in Hedong.

At this time, Zang Ba of the Southern Route Army also sent a message through Zhang Fei, which was bad news.

Zang Ba was ambushed by Lü Bu's troops in Xiaopei.

Zang Ba was about to capture Xiaopei, but Lü Bu's troops suddenly appeared in the rear, defeated the transport team led by Sun Guan, seized the warhorses and wagons of Zang Ba's army, and also hijacked Zang Ba's military rations.

Zang Ba's troops suffered minimal losses, but they ran out of supplies and had to retreat to Pengcheng.

Currently, Lü Bu occupies Xiaopei, posing a constant threat to Xuzhou.

However... this was not because Lü Bu colluded with Cao Cao.

On the contrary, Lü Bu was attacking Cao Cao's territory—Wei Yue, Song Xian, Hao Meng, and others were attacking various counties in Pei State.

The attack on Zang Ba and the seizure of Xiaopei was probably just a coincidence; Lü Bu clearly intended to take advantage of Cao Cao's absence to conquer Pei.

This looks a lot like Yuan Shu.

Liu Bei could even conclude that this was orchestrated by Yuan Shu, and that Lü Bu had most likely returned to his old ways—being a mercenary.

Cao Cao's army went to Hebei, and Cao Cao himself went to Chang'an. Yu Province was relatively undefended, so it was normal for Yuan Shu to take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Zang Ba's expedition gave Lü Bu an opportunity to plunder, which is quite normal for Lü Bu to seize military supplies and horses, after all, that's the kind of person Lü Bu is.

However, this unexpected event forced Liu Bei to reassess the situation.

Zhang Fei sent a messenger to inquire with Liu Bei whether to return to attack Lü Bu, as Zang Ba had just been defeated and Xuzhou was not necessarily safe, and Zhang Fei was, after all, the governor of Xuzhou.

"Yuan Shu may be plotting to seize Qing and Xu, and with Lü Bu's assistance, if we don't stop him, we will surely suffer the consequences..."

Xu Shu suggested, "My lord should send General Yide to Xuzhou."

"Why doesn't my lord send Cao Cao's troops to attack Yuan Shu and Lü Bu? After all, Lü Bu attacked Cao Cao's hometown."

Xun You suddenly offered another solution: "Have someone send a message to Xiahou Yuan, informing him that Yuan Shu has already invaded Pei State. If Yuan Shu were to capture Yu Province, Yingchuan would likely also be doomed."

What if Cao Cao hadn't gone to attack Yuan Shu?

Xu Shu asked.

“Yuan Shu and Lü Bu are not like Lord Xuande. Lord Xuande was a benevolent and kind gentleman. Cao Cao dared to expose Yingchuan to Lord Xuande's military might because he knew that Lord Xuande never took hostages. Therefore, Cao Cao did not take hostages from Hebei. But Yuan Shu and Lü Bu are both wolves in sheep's clothing. Yuan Shu plundered Yan and Yu two years ago. How could the families in Yingchuan dare to ignore him?”

Xun You shook his head and said, "If the families of Yingchuan are held hostage by Yuan Shu, Cao Cao will not be able to control them... My lord only needs to have General Zhang clear the way and let Xiahou Yuan return to deal with Lü Bu. My lord can still go to Chang'an. I will go and discuss this matter with Cao Cao and Xiahou Yuan."

(End of this chapter)