Han Ji

As dawn approached, we arrived at Eagle's Beak.

The cliff indeed resembled an eagle's beak, jutting out into the air, with a wooden stockade built atop it and towering fences. The stockade gates were tightly shut, and sentries moved about on the walls, torches casting a dim, yellowish light in the morning mist.

Liu Bei ordered his troops to hide in the forest, while he himself, along with Jian Yong and a few personal guards, sneaked closer to observe.

The stockade walls were made of logs, three zhang high, and there was a moat dug outside, with bamboo spikes stuck in it. It certainly didn't look like the work of ordinary bandits.

"Look over there," Jian Yong pointed to a corner of the stockade wall, "there's fresh soil, it looks like it was recently raised."

"It's like someone is giving me pointers." Liu Bei squinted.

At the beginning of Chenshi (7-9 AM), the village gate opened.

A group of about fifty men emerged, carrying hides and medicinal herbs, and headed down the mountain. The leader, a scarred-faced man, cursed as he walked, "Hurry up! If you're late, Blackie will skin you alive!"

After the group had gone far away, Liu Bei retreated back into the woods.

"As planned, wait for them to return," he ordered. "Everyone, take cover."

Guan Yu's three hundred men were already in position. The path was lined with rocks and bushes, and the men lay prone, motionless. The crossbows were strung, and the arrowheads were smeared with mud to prevent glare.

Zhang Fei's group was on the back mountain.

The cliff face was nearly vertical, overgrown with vines. Zhang Fei spat on his hand, grabbed an old vine to test his strength, and turned back to shout, "Stay close! If you fall, no one will collect your body!"

Two hundred men climbed upwards like geckos. Someone slipped, sending loose stones tumbling down, their sound particularly jarring in the silent valley. A shout came from the top of the stockade wall: "What's that noise?!"

Zhang Fei held his breath and pressed himself against the stone wall. After a while, the people on the wall muttered "Wild boar, I guess," and the footsteps faded into the distance.

He continued upwards.

At 9:00 AM, the bandits who had come down the mountain returned.

They traded for salt, cloth, and a few jars of wine, chatting and laughing. When they reached the middle of the valley, the scarred leader suddenly stopped.

"No, that's not right." He sniffed. "It smells like a horse."

Before the words were even finished, the arrow had already left the bowstring.

The first volley of arrows came from the left, felling seven or eight men. The bandits were thrown into chaos, and Scarface roared, "Ambush! Run back!"

A second volley of arrows came from the right, blocking their retreat.

Guan Yu rose from behind the rocks, his Green Dragon Crescent Blade dragging on the ground, and walked step by step into the valley. The morning light lengthened his shadow, falling onto the pool of blood.

"Those who surrender will not be killed." His voice was not loud, but every word struck people's hearts.

Scarface gritted his teeth, drew his sword, and lunged forward. Guan Yu dodged the blade, his Green Dragon Crescent Blade flashing upwards, slicing Scarface and his blade in two.

The remaining bandits froze, then knelt down in a group.

"Tie them up." Guan Yu sheathed his sword. "Leave ten alive, deal with the rest."

"Yes, sir!"

Almost simultaneously, shouts of battle erupted in front of Eagle's Beak Village.

Liu Bei led five hundred men out of the woods and charged straight at the gate of the stronghold. The sentries on the wall cried out in alarm, and gongs were sounded loudly. Arrows rained down sparsely, their aim poor.

"Break down the door!" Liu Bei shouted, brandishing his sword.

Soldiers carried hastily cut tree trunks and charged towards the village gate. The thuds echoed through the valley. Someone poured hot oil on the wall, and several soldiers screamed in agony from the burns.

Liu Bei looked up and saw a burly, dark-skinned man behind the wall, directing his men to fire arrows.

Liu Bei drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and pulled it taut. The bow was a powerful three-stone bow, and the arrow was a fine-feathered arrow. He squinted, held his breath, and released the string.

The arrow flew like a meteor, covering thirty paces, and struck Zhao Heihu squarely in the shoulder.

Zhao Heihu screamed and fell backward. Chaos erupted on the wall.

Just then, a loud noise came from behind the village.

Zhang Fei scaled the cliff top, pierced the fence with his spear, and leaped over. Two hundred men behind him attacked like wolves among sheep, hacking and slashing at anyone in sight. The bandits, caught off guard from behind, scattered in an instant.

"Your grandfather Zhang Yide is here!" Zhang Fei roared like thunder, his eighteen-foot spear sweeping across, sending three bandits flying.

Attacked from both sides, the gate of the stronghold was quickly smashed open. Liu Bei led his men in and saw Zhang Fei grabbing Zhao Heihu by the hair and dragging him up from the ground.

"Brother! This black bastard is trying to run away!"

Zhao Heihu still had an arrow stuck in his shoulder, his body half-covered in blood. He glared at Liu Bei and hissed, "You...you're the newly arrived Commandant Liu Bei?"

"Yes." Liu Bei stepped forward. "Where are your funds and provisions hidden in your camp?"

"Pah!" Zhao Heihu spat out a mouthful of blood. "Prefect Su will not let you get away with this..."

The words came to an abrupt halt.

Liu Bei's sword tip pressed against his throat: "Say it again?"

Zhao Heihu's Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally chickened out: "The cellar... is under the shrine in the back hall..."

Jian Yong led his men to search. Half an hour later, they returned with five million coins, six hundred bushels of millet, twenty bushels of salt, and thirty catties of iron. There were also several boxes of leather armor, all of uniform style, resembling standard military armor.

"There's definitely something fishy going on." Liu Bei kicked his leather armor. "Take him back to camp and investigate him slowly."

The remaining bandits in the stronghold were all brought to the drill ground and made to kneel on the ground. Liu Bei stood on the steps and glanced over them.

"Those with skills, blacksmiths, carpenters, and doctors, step forward."

A dozen or so people stood out sparsely.

"Are you willing to join the army?" Liu Bei asked. "Those who are willing will be spared death and paid according to their skills. Those who are unwilling..."

He paused, then said, "They are guilty of the same sins as these people."

The dozen or so people immediately kowtowed, saying, "Yes! Yes!"

The remaining hundred or so people looked ashen-faced. Some cried and begged, while others cursed.

Liu Bei turned to Zhang Fei and said, "Yide, come here."

Zhang Fei stepped forward, spear in hand.

At noon that day, a fire broke out in Laoyingzui Village.

Liu Bei led his army down the mountain, their horses laden with spoils and escorting surrendered soldiers. Guan Yu's group had already met them at the foot of the mountain, and the ten prisoners were tied together in a string.

On the way back to camp, Jian Yong whispered, "Brother, wouldn't killing them all be too cruel?"

"In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary." Liu Bei looked towards Nanzheng. "If we don't let Su Gu see how ruthless we are, he'll think we're weak."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Those with skills, be well appeased."

It was already late afternoon when they returned to camp.

At the camp gate, Qian Zhao greeted them: "Brother, someone from the city has come."

"Who?"

"The clerk Zhao Lü said he was ordered by the prefect to come and ask when the commandant would return to camp, and he brought ten baskets of oranges as a reward."

Liu Bei sneered: "Comfort? You're more interested in how many of us have died or been wounded."

"I followed my elder brother's instructions and said that the commander had won a great victory in suppressing the bandits, beheading over a hundred and seizing a considerable amount of spoils," Qian Zhao said. "Zhao Lu looked unwell and left without even unloading the oranges."

"Well done." Liu Bei dismounted. "Have the brothers unload the cargo, and treat the wounded immediately. As for the fallen... give me their names, and double the compensation."

He entered the camp and saw Xun Cai helping to distribute medicine in front of the wounded soldiers' tent. Her sleeves were rolled up, her hands were covered in medicine mud, and when she looked up and saw him, her eyes lit up.

"My husband!"

"I'm fine." Liu Bei walked over, took her hand, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It wasn't hard work." Xun Cai looked at the bloodstains on his armor, her voice softening. "You won?"

"We won."

She let out a long sigh of relief.

That night, a banquet was held in the camp.

The meat was captured cured meat, and the wine was murky liquor found in the village. The soldiers gathered around the fire, gnawing on meat and drinking wine, talking about the day's battles. Zhang Fei, his face flushed from drinking, shouted how he had pierced the fence with a spear.

Guan Yu ate his meat quietly, occasionally glancing outside the camp where torches burned all night on the newly erected watchtower.

Liu Bei sat in front of the main tent, listening to Jian Yong report on the accounts.

"Five million coins, six hundred bushels of rice, and a quantity of salt, iron, and leather armor. At market prices, the total value is over ten million coins." Jian Yong counted on his abacus. "That's enough for us to last another three months."