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

Chapter 265 Zhao Yun Captures a General with One Arm; Changshan and Zhongshan Return to Liu Bei's Hands (2nd Update)
Squinting at Zhao Yun, who stood alone with a gun in front of the courtyard gate, Han Fan's palms were sweating. He lowered his voice and instructed his deputy, "Zhao Yun is fighting alone. He must have a trick up his sleeve. We must not be careless."

The deputy general's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice tightened: "Prime Minister Han, Zhao Yun has entered the city. We have lost the advantage of the city's terrain. In a head-on confrontation, we are no match for him."

Han Fan stared intently at Zhao Yun and sneered, "We have to fight even if we're no match for him! If we lose, we won't be able to detain Gao Rou and the other officials and officers! The General has only been gone a few days, and there's already a problem in Zhen Ding City. Do you think we'll survive when we get back?"

Taking a deep breath, Han Fan began to rally the crowd: "Zhao Yun is just one man, while we have over a thousand. Each of us could drown him with a single spit. What is there to fear? Whoever captures or kills Zhao Yun will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces and promoted three ranks!"

While it is true that a great reward will surely bring forth brave men, this saying might have been more effective if Zhao Yun had shouted it when he first arrived.

However, Zhao Yun had just scattered five hundred men with thirty riders. Shouting "Capture and kill Zhao Yun" at this moment would be no different from telling everyone to smash a rock with eggs.

Zhao Yun's past reputation and current achievements have already demoralized Han Fan's thousand-plus soldiers!
Without morale, the soldiers, no matter how many there are, are just a rabble. If Zhao Yun hadn't been humble and hadn't refrained from mocking them, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would probably have said things like, "I regard them as worthless weeds," "They're just targets for sale," or "I am Zhang Yide of Yan! Who dares to fight me to the death!"

Among these thousand or so men were the remnants of the five hundred who had been scattered earlier, and they were even more afraid of Zhao Yun.

An old soldier, hunching his shoulders, whispered to those around him, "Don't believe you can get a thousand gold coins as a reward. If we go forward, we'd only deserve to be shot by Zhao Yun. The corpses at the door are still there."

The young soldier beside him swallowed hard. "I...I understand. I saw General Wang charge forward from afar, and in the blink of an eye, he was dead."

The young soldier had barely finished speaking when his platoon leader kicked him and then hissed, "Are you looking for death! Anyone who disrupts morale will be beheaded!"

Although he reprimanded the young soldiers, the squad leader glanced at Zhao Yun fearfully before looking away, as if afraid of being locked onto by Zhao Yun's gaze.

In the tense yet quiet atmosphere, a sharp clang suddenly rang out. A soldier's spear had slipped from his grasp and fallen to the ground. The soldier, pale-faced, stammered, "I...I slipped."

Before the words "slip of the hand" could be uttered, a startled roar came from somewhere, and immediately a cacophony of noise rose and fell, causing the thousand-plus people to lose their formation in panic.

Zhao Yun seized the opportunity, brandished his spear, and thirty White Horse Cavalrymen hidden in the courtyard surged out like fish, unleashing a barrage of arrows at Han Fan's army formation, further exacerbating the chaos among Han Fan's thousand-plus soldiers.

These thousand-odd soldiers were not well-trained elite troops; most of them were county soldiers conscripted by Han Fan from various counties in Changshan State, and their discipline was extremely poor.

The real elite troops of Changshan Kingdom have already been taken away by Yuan Shang, so what's left can only be used to bluff.

In an instant, the army of over a thousand men collapsed like an avalanche.

Some people lost their armor and weapons, some pushed and shoved and cried, and some even knelt down and begged for mercy.

Han Fan's face was ashen. He brandished his spear, killing two deserters, and roared, "Those who desert in the face of battle will be executed!"

But the sound was quickly drowned out by the chaos.

Zhao Yun seized the opportunity, spurred his horse straight at Han Fan, and with a single move knocked the spear from Han Fan's hand. He then shattered Han Fan's confidence with a surprised tone: "You can't even hold a spear properly, yet you dare to use one?"

Han Fan was so angry he was about to draw his sword when Zhao Yun snatched his armor away, tucked it under his arm, and ran back into the courtyard. He then threw Han Fan heavily in front of Gao Rou.

"Minister Gao, I'm leaving this to you!"

The courtyard was silent. The officials and officers stared at Han Fan, who had been thrown to the ground, and then looked up at Zhao Yun, who had a calm expression. For a moment, no one made a sound.

After a moment, a captain finally broke the silence, his voice trembling slightly with shock:
"General Zhao...you've captured Han Fan already?!" Another clerk stared wide-eyed, pointing at the disheveled Han Fan on the ground, stammering, "Over a thousand men! The general charged into their ranks single-handedly, as if taking candy from a baby?!"

Zhao Yun dusted off his sleeves and said calmly, "The enemy's sudden collapse was not due to my efforts; it was just luck."

"A rout?!" A garrison commander nearly jumped up, his voice trembling as he listened to the soldiers still crying and fleeing outside the courtyard: "If it weren't for the general's divine might, how could those people have collapsed before even engaging in battle?"

The general took a deep breath and looked at Zhao Yun with a complicated expression: "General, you defeated a thousand troops with thirty horsemen and captured Han Fan alive, yet you say it was 'lucky'? Could it be that in your eyes, Han Fan and his ilk are all like clay chickens and earthenware dogs?"

Zhao Yun glanced at Han Fan, whose face was ashen, and said calmly, "I haven't thought of it that way, but it's close enough."

With a "pfft," Han Fan coughed up blood, his heart pounding in his throat from Zhao Yun's calm and composed words.

"A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated," Han Fan exclaimed indignantly.

How could Han Fan, a scion of a prestigious family in Hebei, tolerate being captured alive by Zhao Yun with one arm and mocked as a chicken or a dog?

"As you wish, kill him." Gao Rou's tone was cold.

Zhao Yun did not hesitate and directly stabbed the indignant Han Fan to death with his spear, leaving Han Fan's incredulous eyes gradually fading away.

Gao Rou was immediately surprised: "General Zhao, won't you ask why I killed Han Fan?"

Zhao Yun shook his head: "Gao Xiang is the Chancellor of Changshan. He has his reasons for killing Han Fan. This is not something I need to ask. I must immediately pursue the eight thousand soldiers that Yuan Shang took away. They are elite troops recruited and trained by our lord. We cannot afford to lose them because of Yuan Shang. As for the rest, Gao Xiang can decide."

Afterwards, Zhao Yun ordered his officers to quickly go to the stables to fetch horses and go out of the city to pursue Yuan Shang and his eight thousand soldiers. These officers were all skilled in riding and archery and could launch a surprise attack as soon as they mounted their horses.

Gao Rou, along with the officials and Han Fan's head, quelled the unrest in the city.

Gao Rou is also a ruthless person.

Anyone who dared to disobey was to be killed without exception. During the days that Han Fan had kept Gao Rou under house arrest, her temper had already been ignited.

In less than half a day, Zhen Ding City had changed hands!
Also today.

Qian Zhao, who had traveled day and night from Lingqiu, and Tian Feng, who came from Zhuoxian, chose to attack the city directly after being forbidden from entering by Liu Yu, the Chancellor of Zhongshan. This frightened Liu Yu so much that he hurriedly mobilized the troops inside the city to resist.

Even when Liu personally came to the city wall to question Qian Zhao, it could not stop Qian Zhao and Tian Feng's determination to attack the city.

As the troops inside the city were transferred to the city walls for defense, Tao Sheng, who had been under house arrest, also found an opportunity to escape. He went to the city walls and told them that Yuan Shao had been placed under house arrest by the Liu family and Liu Yu. He then regained control of Lu Nu's troops and opened the gates to welcome Tian Feng into the city.

Inside the mansion.

Yuan Shao, who was under house arrest, looked up at Qian Zhao, Tian Feng, and Tao Sheng who had suddenly arrived, and couldn't help but sigh to the sky. He then shook his head and sneered, "In just a few days, Xianfu has already shown signs of defeat. Although Xuande is in Hedong, Zhuge Liang in Zhuo County can plan the overall situation for Xuande. I advised Xianfu not to be an enemy of Xuande long ago, but Xianfu did not listen, and in the end, this disaster has still occurred."

　Chapter 2 is here. The rest will be updated tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)