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

Chapter 234 Ma Chao, the splendid warrior, has just made his debut; Liu Bei sends Yan Liang and Wen Chou to attack together (1st update)
Jiangyi Camp.

The routed soldiers fled in panic.

The officers and soldiers who had loudly complained in Xia Zhao and Deng Sheng's tent but were lucky enough to survive were now all disheveled and dejected.

They were as arrogant and conceited when they left as they were humble and submissive when they returned, fearing that Liu Bei might punish them in his anger.

To the surprise and delight of the generals, Liu Bei not only did not punish them, but also sent people to prepare hot soup and meals for them, saying only, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war; those with ambition can start over."

While pleasantly surprised, the officers and soldiers were also filled with shame.

If they hadn't been so eager to capture Pi's territory to rival Liu Bei, how could they have fallen into Zhong Yao's ambush?
Under Liu Bei's comforting warmth and food, the two thousand or so defeated soldiers who had returned gradually calmed their panicked hearts and dared not show the slightest disrespect to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei adopted Pang Tong's suggestion and did not advance on Pishi. Instead, he continued to cultivate land outside Jiangyi City in preparation for a long-term garrison there.

During his stay, Liu Bei frequently sent people to recruit people from the wild mountains outside the city to farm together.

It is now early winter in October, and the weather in Jiangyi is gradually turning cold.

In this era of war and chaos, the people not only suffered from man-made disasters, but also from the freezing cold.

Because Jia Kui already had a reputation for loving the people, and Pang Tong's "robbing the rich to help the poor" strategy had enabled the powerful families of Jiangyi to distribute a lot of money and grain in Jiangyi, many people in Yeshan were convinced of Liu Bei and were willing to come down from the mountain.

Within two or three days, more than a hundred households of people from the wild mountains came with their families.

Adhering to the principle of "establishing trust by moving a log," Liu Bei instructed Jia Kui to properly settle these hundred-odd households.

There are many vacant houses in Jiangyi City that are not occupied. After cleaning them, you can move in directly. There is almost no difficulty in settling in.

Watching the people gradually descending the wild mountain, Jia Kui admired Liu Bei even more: Liu Bei had served as the magistrate of Jiangyi for several years but had failed to bring the people of the wild mountain back to Jiangyi; instead, the number of people in the wild mountain had increased. As a result, Liu Bei had managed to get the people of the wild mountain to willingly come down the mountain after only a few days of his arrival.

"Report!"

With a shout, the scout rushed into the camp and delivered the latest intelligence report to the main tent.

Pang Tong quickly glanced at the scout report and smiled: "The generals from Guanzhong have arrived at Pishi. I predict they will come to Jiangyi soon to challenge us and show off their power. You all need to prepare early."

Guan Yu stroked his magnificent beard and said, "I have heard that Ma Teng's son, Ma Chao, is a warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men. I would like to experience his prowess firsthand."

Zhang Fei chuckled and tugged at Guan Yu: "Second Brother, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? I'll do it."

Guan Yu glanced at him without answering, leaving Zhang Fei to interpret the meaning of his gaze.

"Before leaving Youzhou, the strategist told me that we could have Yunchang, Yide, and Hansheng take turns fighting them to blunt their morale. What do you think, Shiyuan?" Liu Bei asked Pang Tong.

Pang Tong nodded slightly: "In that case, General, you may send someone with a challenge, saying, 'I have long heard that Ma Chao possesses the bravery of Lü Bu, but I have my doubts. Do you dare to duel me?'"

In regular battles, duels between generals are extremely rare.

However, Liu Bei's main purpose in coming to Hedong was to make Ma Chao submit and feel awe, rather than to kill Ma Chao on the battlefield. A duel between generals would be more appropriate.

Upon hearing Pang Tong's arrangement, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou all became interested. Occasionally engaging in a battle of wits could add some fun to the otherwise monotonous military journey.

Pang Tong was as cunning as ever, always using the tactic of first praising, then belittling, and finally provoking others when writing a challenge, in order to avoid the dissuasion of Zhong Yao and others.

As expected.

When the challenge was delivered to Pi Shi, Ma Chao, unable to resist the provocation, immediately replied with "Let's fight another day."

Upon hearing the news, Zhong Yao rushed over to advise, "General Ma, do not fall for this trick! This must be a scheme by Pang Tong, Liu Bei's strategist." Ma Chao's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't take it seriously: "Our army has just arrived. If we do not engage in battle, wouldn't we be demoralizing ourselves? The Commandant of the Capital Region can hold Pishi firmly while I personally go to Jiangyi, blunt their morale, and boost our army's prestige!"

All the generals in the tent echoed loudly.

Whether it was Yan Xing, Han Sui's son-in-law, Pang De, a fierce general under Ma Chao, or Yang Qiu, Liang Xing, and other generals from Guanzhong, they all scoffed at Liu Bei's fighting prowess.

If it comes to scheming and plotting, the generals of Guanzhong might hesitate to advance; but if it comes to dueling, none of the generals present will be afraid.

Seeing that it was impossible to dissuade him, Zhong Yao was filled with worry and could only sigh inwardly, then retreated to think about how to handle the aftermath.

Although Ma Chao was known for his bravery in Guanzhong and had many fierce generals under his command, Zhong Yao, who had experienced Pang Tong's chain strategy, dared not be careless.

Moreover, Liu Bei also had men under his command who could defeat ten thousand men!
Zhong Yao could only instruct Zhang Ji and Fu Gan to strengthen the city's defenses to prevent Pang Tong from falsely claiming to be fighting Ma Chao while actually launching a sneak attack on Pi Shi.

The next day.

Both sides set off from Pishi and Jiangyi respectively, traveling along the Fen River, and each deployed their forces along the way.

Under the banner of the commander, Ma Chao was dressed in a bright silver lion-head armor, wearing a bright silver lion helmet, riding a snow-white "Li Feisha" horse, and holding a tiger-headed golden spear. His brocade robe fluttered in the wind, making him look majestic and awe-inspiring.

Then Ma Chao stepped forward alone, spear in hand, his voice like that of a tiger: "I am Ma Mengqi of Fufeng! Liu Bei, do you dare to accept the challenge?"

A domineering and murderous aura spread outwards.

Liu Bei looked around and saw that Ma Chao was indeed exceptionally handsome. He immediately felt a desire to recruit him: if he could bring Ma Chao under his command, he would have a better chance of winning against Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the future.

"Let's test their strength first." Liu Bei stopped Zhang Fei, who was asking to fight, and gestured for Yan Liang to go first, with Wen Chou bringing up the rear.

Yan Liang understood, spurred his horse into battle, brandished his sword, and shouted: "I am Yan Liang from Hebei, do you dare to fight me?"

Ma Chao laughed mockingly: "I've heard of the two heroes of Hebei. You alone are no match for me! You can send Wen Chou to join the fray!"

In the past, Yan Liang would have been enraged by Ma Chao.

But as Yan Liang followed Guan Yu for a long time, his character gradually became more gentle and humble.

As the saying goes, "one is influenced by one's company." Even Guan Yu became gentle and humble, so what reason did Yan Liang have to be arrogant and self-important?
Therefore, when faced with Ma Chao's loud laughter and mockery, Yan Liang simply smiled and didn't take it to heart. Instead, he actually called Wen Chou to attack.

From behind, Pound cursed, "Two against one, utterly shameless!"

Yan Liang pointed his long sword behind Ma Chao and laughed, "General Ma, do you want to fight two against one, or do you want to duel me one-on-one?"

Ma Chao felt humiliated and scolded Pang De behind him, "Lingming, don't be rude!"

Pang De was about to speak again when Yang Qiu stopped him, saying, "General Ma is always brave and valiant; we must not embarrass him."

Secretly, Yang Qiu added in his mind: General Ma has already sent Yan Liang and Wen Chou to fight together. At this time, you are saying that it is shameless to fight two against one. Isn't that slapping General Ma in the face?

Yang Qiu couldn't help but suspect that Pang De was deliberately trying to embarrass Ma Chao by forcing him to fight Yan Liang and Wen Chou against two opponents.

Ma Chao, who had rebuked Pang De, pointed his spear at Yan Liang and Wen Chou: "Today I will surely defeat you two!"

Yan Liang and Wen Chou exchanged a glance and both grinned.

　Chapter 1 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)