The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 127: Zhuge Liang Slays Two More Kings of Wuhuan, Offers Strategies Against the Wuhuan (3rd Update)
With Tadun beheaded and his banner cut down by Guan Yu, his cavalrymen were thrown into panic in an instant.

Su Puyan, Wuyan, and Nengchen, who were shocked to see Tadun's banner disappear, all changed their expressions drastically.

Tadun was the bravest warrior in western Liaoning, known as the number one warrior in western Liaoning. Neither Su Puyan, Wuyan, nor the notoriously fierce Nengchen Dizhi could compare to Tadun.

Now, however, Tadun's banner had disappeared from the battlefield, which filled the three of them with fear.

"withdraw!"

Su Puyan, Wuyan, and Nengchen all dared not fight any longer and only wanted to get away as soon as possible.

With their commanders already terrified, the Wuhuan cavalry on the battlefield dared not linger in battle.

With the complete collapse of the Wuhuan formation, Zhuge Liang, seeing the opportunity, ordered all the reorganized infantry to advance.

The cavalry spearheaded the attack, followed by the infantry, who then launched a surprise attack. The Wuhuan army was routed, with corpses strewn across the fields.

Amidst the chaos of battle, Nengchen encountered Zhao Yun once again.

Because he had previously severed Zhao Yun's helmet plume in a duel, Neng Chen was quite arrogant and even wanted to take Zhao Yun's life.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yun simply raised his hand and with a single spear thrust, he killed Neng Chen.

"How could this happen?"

Even after dying, Neng Chen couldn't understand why Zhao Yun had suddenly become so powerful, especially since he had just slashed off Zhao Yun's helmet plume!

Zhao Yun didn't even glance at the corpse, much less take its head, and led his cavalry to pursue Liu Bei's banner.

Liu Bei, charging at the forefront, wielded his sword with both hands and stood firmly in the stirrups. His fierce and imposing presence terrified the Wuhuan cavalry.

When an ordinary person wields a sword on the battlefield, its effect is similar to mere twirling; however, Liu Bei, whose arms are longer than his knees, has an even greater reach and wields a double-edged sword that is far heavier than a regular sword, making him even more lethal than an ordinary person wielding two spears.

The one who felt it most deeply was Wu Yan.

When Wu Yan saw Liu Bei's banner and took advantage of the fact that Liu Bei was carrying two swords, he tried to take Liu Bei's head. However, Liu Bei instead slashed his shoulder with a sword. If Wu Yan hadn't reacted quickly, his entire right arm would have been cut off by Liu Bei!

The terrified Wu Yan could only lie on his horse and flee for his life, but he did not escape with his life. While fleeing, he was shot and killed by Huang Zhong with an arrow.

Only the most cautious Su Puyan, upon sensing the danger, withdrew from the battlefield as quickly as possible. Even so, Su Puyan only managed to take a few hundred cavalry with him in haste.

Of the four kings of Wuhuan, three died and one fled. The Wuhuan cavalry on the battlefield either fled or surrendered, and the Wuhuan completely collapsed.

Moments later, the Wuhuan people on the battlefield knelt down in a dark mass, their faces ashen.

"My lord, we've unexpectedly captured someone. This man claims to be Xianyu Yin, the Cavalry Commandant of Yuyang Commandery." Zhao Yun dragged the man to Liu Bei's horse and threw him down.

Upon seeing Liu Bei, Xianyu Yin hurriedly kowtowed and pleaded, "I beg the General of the Left to spare my life, considering the kindness of my cousin Xianyu Fu! I am willing to serve you as your horseman and whip-wielder, and will never betray you again!"

Xianyu Yin was unlucky. After Wang Song's defeat, Xianyu Yin fled to Youbeiping and hid in the mountains to avoid trouble.

As a result, he encountered a subordinate of Neng Chen who was plundering Han people. Xianyu Yin was outnumbered and also captured. Because Xianyu Yin was skilled in riding and archery, he was incorporated into the slave camp.

Upon hearing that Yan Rou was under Tadun's command, Xianyu Yin sought to meet him, but before he could, he was forced to join the war.

In this battle, Xianyu Yin's heart also collapsed along with the complete collapse of more than 30,000 Wuhuan cavalry. Before being stabbed to death by Zhao Yun, Xianyu used all his strength to shout "Xianyu Fu is my clansman" and thus survived.

Liu Bei frowned and snorted coldly: "Xianyu Fu heard of my name and led the officials and soldiers of Dai Commandery to surrender to me; but you first helped Wang Song and then helped the Wuhuan, repeatedly making enemies of me. How can I forgive you?"

Xianyu Yin was shocked and hurriedly explained, "I helped Wang Song because I was unaware of General Zuo's reputation, and I am willing to accept this punishment; but I absolutely did not help the Wuhuan. I was captured by the Wuhuan and incorporated into their slave camp." Mentioning "slave camp," Xianyu Yin was filled with shame.

The dignified Cavalry Commandant of Yuyang has been reduced to a soldier in the Wuhuan slave camp. What a disgrace!
Upon hearing the words "slave camp," a cold glint flashed in Liu Bei's eyes.

For years, the Wuhuan have plundered Han people, killing the weak and driving the strong into slave camps. Among these 30,000 cavalry today, it is unknown how many Han people from slave camps are among them.

"Xianyu Yin, I spare your life today, not because of your cousin Xianyu Fu, but simply because you are a Han Chinese!" Liu Bei's words grew even colder. "Go to the battlefield immediately and select all the Han Chinese in the slave camp as atonement for your crimes!"

Xianyu Yin was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly: "This humble general will certainly not fail the general's orders!"

The Han and Hu peoples in Youzhou had a long history of grudges. Although Liu Bei was known for his benevolence, he was not so pedantic as to regard the Wuhuan people as Han citizens.

Moreover, this wasn't the first time Liu Bei had done something like this.

The more than a thousand miscellaneous barbarian cavalry who once followed Liu Bei were originally Han cavalrymen from the Wuhuan slave camp.

Most of these Han cavalrymen had been trapped in slave camps since childhood, and Yan Rou was one of them.

The difference is that Yan Rou was deliberately supported by the Wuhuan people. In the past, Yan Rou killed Xing Ju, the Protector of the Wuhuan, and took his place, which was a scheme by the Wuhuan.

It would be most beneficial for the Wuhuan to appoint a pro-Wuhuan Han slave to the position of colonel.

Ordinary Han people in slave camps were treated like cattle and horses, not only lacking food and clothing, but many also lacked the right to speak.

Slaves are not considered human beings!
Under Xianyu Yin's scrutiny, more than 5,000 Han cavalrymen from the slave camp were gathered separately, while the remaining 10,000 surrendered Wuhuan soldiers became even more terrified.

"Should the rest... be executed?" Zhao Yun approached and asked in a low voice.

Given Zhao Yun's nature, he would not normally propose killing prisoners of war. However, the sight of the Han people in the slave camp that he saw today greatly angered him. This was because those he had killed on the battlefield were not all Wuhuan people; some were Han people who had been kept as slaves by the Wuhuan.

How could Zhao Yun not be furious?
"Please, strategist, come quickly to discuss this!" Liu Bei did not make a decision immediately, but instead hurriedly sent someone to invite Zhuge Liang. If Zhao Yun was like this, then what about the soldiers who deeply hated the Wuhuan people, like Tian Chou?

A short while later, Zhuge Liang rode up and offered a compromise: "Why don't you use these 10,000 prisoners to exchange for the captured Han people in the various tribes of Liaoxi? This would not only demonstrate your benevolence, but also pacify the six commanderies."

Liu Bei was moved: "The strategist's words are excellent! The population of Youzhou is depleted. If we can exchange these 10,000 prisoners for tens of thousands of Han people, we may be able to restore some vitality to Youzhou."

Subsequently.

Liu Bei then shared Zhuge Liang's strategy with everyone for discussion.

Although these Wuhuan captives are very likely to cause trouble again in the future, Liu Bei cannot resort to extreme killing methods in order to redeem the captured Han people.

Furthermore, with Liu Bei having just pacified the various prefectures, he urgently needed stability to sustain the people's livelihood, and Zhuge Liang's strategy was clearly more suitable for the current situation.

After gaining the support of the people, Liu Bei sent envoys to appease the surrendered soldiers and sent people to Liaoxi to convey his "goodwill".

The selected 5,000-plus Han cavalry were all given wine and meat, and allowed to choose whether to join the army or return to their fields.

However, these Han cavalrymen in the slave camp had suffered greatly from torture and whipping, and had long been "tamed" by the Wuhuan like cattle and horses. Most of them did not understand the difference between "joining the army" and "returning to the fields," and they were all filled with fear and anxiety.

Left with no other choice, Liu Bei could only temporarily relocate them to different camps, to be settled after they returned to Zhuo County.

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(End of this chapter)