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

Chapter 342 Huang Zhong charges into battle with the might of a tiger; Cao Chun angrily drives his elite cavalry (1st update)
A scream suddenly rang out!
Xiahou Yuan gripped the arrow shaft tightly, which was embedded in his right eye.

If Huang Zhong hadn't reacted quickly, his arrow would have killed Xiahou Yuan instantly. Even so, Xiahou Yuan's right eye was completely ruined.

"General!"

The guards on the left and right were shocked. They had been so focused on covering Xiahou Yuan's retreat that they hadn't noticed the arrow that suddenly came from dozens of paces away.

It was Xiahou Yuan's bad luck that Huang Zhong didn't care who he was shooting at all. He just fired randomly as long as he saw a figure. It was purely by chance that he hit Xiahou Yuan. As a result, Xiahou Yuan's personal guards didn't have time to block the arrows for him.

Xiahou Yuan was ruthless and decisive. He pulled out the arrow the instant the pain numbed his senses. If he had waited until later to pull out the arrow, Xiahou Yuan might not have been able to withstand the excruciating pain.

"what?"

Huang Zhong happened to witness this scene while riding his horse.

Although Huang Zhong fired that arrow randomly without a target, very few people were able to dodge or block it.

Huang Zhong's ability to hit a target from a hundred paces away and never miss a shot was not just boasting; he truly possessed this skill. However, he never expected that his opponent, after being shot in the right eye, would not only survive but also pull out the arrow in time.

Unless the opponent is also a skilled archer, it is impossible for them to make the right decision in that instant.

"This person must be of high status!"

Huang Zhong drew his bow again, this time no longer shooting randomly, but aiming directly at Xiahou Yuan.

Seeing Huang Zhong's arrow coming, Xiahou Yuan's personal guards immediately tackled Xiahou Yuan to the ground, using their bodies to block Huang Zhong's arrow, and shouted, "General, run!"

This scene completely boosted Huang Zhong's morale: "To have such a loyal guard protecting me so desperately, and he is a general at that, if we can capture him alive, we might be able to save our lord from danger!"

With this in mind, Huang Zhong held back and unleashed three volleys of arrows, each one hitting its mark. With each arrow, a man fell, and in the blink of an eye, all four of Xiahou Yuan's personal guards were killed by Huang Zhong.

Such terrifying archery skills almost made Xiahou Yuan's soul fly out of his body. His strong will to survive made Xiahou Yuan keep running towards the crowd of soldiers, covering his eyes and walking with his head down, trying to avoid Huang Zhong's arrows.

This method of escape did indeed hinder Huang Zhong. Seeing that he could not kill Xiahou Yuan with arrows, Huang Zhong immediately put away his bow and switched to a sword. He then squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and the horse suddenly leaped up.

Wherever the long sword passed, there was no enemy who could withstand its attack.

"You treacherous general, do not flee! Huang Zhong is here!"

Hearing Huang Zhong's call, Xiahou Yuan was even more terrified. He dared not turn back or stop, and only ran away in panic.

However, how could two legs outrun four? Xiahou Yuan was caught up by Huang Zhong before he ran far, and was then knocked unconscious and captured alive by Huang Zhong with the back of his sword.

Huang Zhong then stopped two more Cao soldiers and pressed Xiahou Yuan for his identity.

When Huang Zhong learned that the general who had been shot in the right eye was actually Xiahou Yuan, he was both surprised and delighted, and felt a sense of unreality, as if in a dream.

"Xiahou Yuan is a commander-in-chief, how could he be building deer antlers here? Do you dare to lie to me?" Huang Zhong questioned again, his mind filled with doubts and puzzled by the Cao soldiers' explanation.

Two Cao soldiers knelt down and begged for mercy, urgently exclaiming, "It really is General Xiahou! How dare we conceal it?"

Unconvinced, Huang Zhong captured two more Cao soldiers and interrogated them about Xiahou Yuan's identity. The result was exactly as the two Cao soldiers had said: the one lying on the ground was indeed Xiahou Yuan!
"This is truly divine intervention!"

Huang Zhong was overjoyed and shouted, and immediately ordered people to treat Xiahou Yuan.

For Liu Bei, who was on the defensive, a living Xiahou Yuan was far more valuable than a dead one.

From the surrendered soldiers of Cao Cao, Huang Zhong learned that Liu Bei was besieged on a hillside ten miles to the northwest. After a moment's thought, Huang Zhong did not immediately go to Liu Bei's aid. Instead, he sent a surrendered soldier to inform Cao Chun, and then led Xiahou Yuan to the walls of Lecheng, shouting, "Where is Tian, ​​the Attendant? I am General Huang Zhong, and I have captured Xiahou Yuan. Open the gates at once!"

The soldiers on the city wall were shocked to hear this and stared at Huang Zhong below the city wall in disbelief.

Although the soldiers had heard of Huang Zhong's reputation, they found it rather ruthless that he had captured Xiahou Yuan alive so soon after arriving.

Upon hearing the news, Tian Feng rushed to the city wall, recognized Huang Zhong, and immediately ordered the city gates to be opened.

Upon seeing the unconscious Xiahou Yuan, Tian Feng was both surprised and delighted: "Congratulations, General, on your great achievement. With this, the crisis in Lecheng is over. General, you may enter the city to rest first."

Huang Zhong shook his head and said, "Our lord is still waiting for me. I must go and greet him first. Tian Congshi, please have the physician treat Xiahou Yuan's injuries as soon as possible. We must not let Xiahou Yuan die."

Tian Feng also understood the importance of things.

With Xiahou Yuan dead, Cao Cao will surely be enraged and come in person. Cao Cao has five armies in Hebei. If he angers Cao Cao and a fight to the death is formed, it is not something Liu Bei can afford at the moment.

Xiahou Yuan's survival would allow Cao Cao to weigh the pros and cons: whether to fight Liu Bei to the death or to seek another opportunity.

Although Cao Cao might not necessarily compromise just because Xiahou Yuan was captured alive, it at least opened up another possibility.

"General Huang, rest assured, I will do my best to save Xiahou Yuan's life." Tian Feng then briefly told Huang Zhong about Liu Bei's battles and deployments over the past few days.

After understanding the general situation, Huang Zhong led his troops out of the city and headed straight for Liu Bei's location, which was ten miles to the northwest.

Before Huang Zhong arrived, some defeated soldiers rushed into Xishan to see Cao Chun, weeping as they reported that Xiahou Yuan had been captured alive by Huang Zhong.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Chun was astonished.

Xiahou Yuan was captured alive?

Am I suffering from tinnitus and hearing loss?
However, the truth would not change just because Cao Chun and others did not believe it. When Cao Chun heard that "General Xiahou personally led people to repair the deer antlers," his last bit of hope vanished.

It is indeed something Xiahou Yuan is capable of personally leading people to repair deer antlers.

In this situation, if Huang Zhong were to launch a surprise attack, being captured alive rather than killed would be extremely fortunate.

"We've fallen for Liu Bei's trick again!"

Cao Chun's face gradually darkened.

It becomes clear that Liu Bei chose a place where the water supply could be cut off and set up camp on the mountain, just to lure him into surrounding the mountain, thus giving Huang Zhong, who came from Nanpi, the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on his camp.

They also realized that during the days of siege, the so-called messengers sent down the mountain by Liu Bei's generals were not trying to betray Liu Bei, but simply wanted to freeload in their own army.

What angered Cao Chun even more was that these messengers were most likely sent down the mountain by Liu Bei's orders to freeload, and when they returned, they would probably boast to their comrades: "Cao Chun, you little brat, you're as stupid as a pig, yet you treated me to such good wine and meat."

Before Cao Chun could come up with a solution, someone reported that Li Dian's troops were under attack by cavalry and requested reinforcements.

Cao Chun was furious, his blood boiling: "Huang Zhong, you scoundrel! You captured my brothers and attacked my camp again. Do you think the Cao family has no one to rely on?!"

"Pass on my order: the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will follow me into battle."

Cao Chun was burning with rage and only wanted to use the might of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to defeat the invading enemy. If he could capture Huang Zhong alive, he might be able to rescue Xiahou Yuan.

(End of this chapter)