Han Ji

Wu Ba was speechless.

"Take him away." Liu Bei stood up. "Take him back to Luoyang along with Zhao Hongguan."

"promise."

The prisoners knelt to one side, trembling. Most of them were emaciated and dressed in tattered clothes.

Liu Bei walked over and asked, just like last time, "Who was forced to join the bandits?"

This time, far fewer people raised their hands. Most of Wu Ba's men were mountain bandits and thieves, and few were truly coerced.

"It wasn't forced; they're on a different team."

About a thousand people stood up, their eyes fierce and defiant, as if they had lost all hope in the Han Dynasty.

"Among you, who has killed civilians, raped, or plundered?" Liu Bei asked again.

No one answered.

"It doesn't matter if they don't confess," Liu Bei said to Jian Yong. "Interrogate them separately and have them identify each other. Those who are guilty of heinous crimes should be singled out and dealt with according to military law. The rest... should be sent to hard labor camps to build bridges and roads, to atone for their crimes through labor."

Jian Yong noted it down.

Suddenly, one of the prisoners looked up and said, "General, we surrender! We are willing to serve you!"

"I don't need your service," Liu Bei said, looking at him. "I need you to atone for your sins. Once you've atoneed, we can talk about other things."

The prisoner paused, then lowered his head.

The battlefield cleanup took a whole afternoon. The bodies were dragged out and buried, the weapons were confiscated, and the horses were gathered up.

At dusk, Liu Bei stood on the cliff top, watching the sunset dye the canyon blood red.

Guan Yu stepped forward and handed over the water bag.

"Brother, after this battle, Hanoi should be free from major threats."

"Hmm." Liu Bei took a sip of water. "Next is Ye City. Han Zhong has 50,000 men; it won't be easy to defeat him."

"We'll meet them head-on," Guan Yu said. "With our elder brother here, and with all our brothers by our side, we have nothing to fear."

Liu Bei laughed: "Haha, Yun Chang, you've learned to flatter now?"

"truth."

The two stood side by side, watching the sunset sink into the distant mountains.

The wind blew by, carrying the smells of blood and scorched earth.

The taste of a chaotic world.

"Let's go back to camp," Liu Bei said, turning around. "We still have a long way to go tomorrow."

"Yes."

The troops set up camp outside the canyon. A campfire was lit, and the soldiers gathered around it, roasting their rations and chatting quietly. The victory had been easy, and morale was high.

Zhang Fei returned carrying a wild rabbit, saying he had just hunted it and wanted to roast it for Liu Bei to nourish him. Jian Yong was calculating the spoils, muttering to himself. Qian Zhao was inspecting the horses, and Zhang Wu was sharpening his knife.

Liu Bei sat by the fire, watching the leaping flames.

"Brother, the rabbit meat is ready!" Zhang Fei handed over a roasted, fragrant leg.

Liu Bei took it, took a bite, and found it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

"tasty."

"Hehe, my cooking skills are pretty good, right?" Zhang Fei grinned, tore off a big piece for himself, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Guan Yu sat opposite him, leisurely eating his dry biscuits. Jian Yong leaned over to snatch some rabbit meat, but Zhang Fei slapped him away.

"Go call it yourself!"

"mean!"

Everyone laughed.

The firelight illuminated young faces, dirty and tired, but with a light in their eyes.

Looking at them, Liu Bei's initial confusion suddenly dissipated.

We cannot stop for the sake of these people.

He raised his water bag: "Today we have won a great victory. Let us toast our brothers with water instead of wine."

The crowd lifted their bags.

"Respect, Brother!"

The water bags collided, splashing water.

Night was falling.

Tomorrow, I'll head north again.

Ye City is waiting.

Han Zhong was waiting.

Further north, Zhang Jiao was waiting.

But tonight, allow yourself and your brothers to gather around the fire, eat a bite of hot meat, and laugh a couple of times.

In the western suburbs of Ye City, yellow dust rolled in.

Han Zhong's 50,000-strong army formed a ten-mile-long encirclement of Ye City, making it as impenetrable as an iron barrel. The Han flags on the city walls were tattered, the bricks were stained with blood, and corpses floated in the moat, their skin white from being submerged.

When Lu Zhi's army set up camp thirty miles away, it was already dusk.

Liu Bei stood on the high slope, gazing towards Ye City. In the twilight, the Yellow Turban campfires spread across the ground like stars, casting a faint red glow on the horizon.

"Damn, there are so many." Zhang Fei spat.

Guan Yu squinted for a moment and said, "Surrounding without attacking is just wearing down the defenders' supplies."

"The city won't hold out for long." Qian Zhao pointed to the city wall. "Look, even the soldiers guarding the flag can't stand still."

Liu Bei turned his head: "Zijing, can you sneak in?"

"Let's give it a try." Qian Zhao licked his lips. "Under the cover of night, sneak in through the sewage ditch on the north side. But someone needs to be there to meet us outside."

"I'll lead the troops," Zhang Fei said, patting his chest.

"No," Liu Bei shook his head. "Yide is too conspicuous. Yunchang, you take three hundred elite cavalry and wait three miles outside the north gate at midnight. When you see three fire arrows, rush over to provide support."

"Yes, sir," Guan Yu replied.

"What about me?" Zhang Fei asked anxiously.

"You come with me." Liu Bei looked towards Ye City. "Tomorrow morning, we'll launch a feigned attack from the front and cause some trouble for Han Zhong."

That night, at the hour of Hai (9-11 PM).

Qian Zhao selected ten men skilled in swimming, stripped down to their underwear, and covered them in mud. Each of them had a reed tube in their mouth and a short knife tied to their waist.

"There's an underground canal in the north of the city that leads to the city's water gate," Qian Zhao said in a low voice. "But there's a fence at the canal entrance, so we have to saw it open."

"I brought a saw." An old soldier patted the leather pouch at his waist.

Liu Bei handed Qian Zhao an iron tally: "Show this to the garrison commander. Lu Gong said the garrison commander of Ye City is a former subordinate of Huangfu Song and recognizes this tally."

Qian Zhao took it, stuffed it into her hair bun, and sealed it with mud.

"careful."

"Don't worry, brother."

Eleven people slipped into the night like eels. Liu Bei stood by the river until the last ripple disappeared.

Back at the main camp, Lu Zhi was waiting in the central command tent.

"They've been sent in?"

"They're inside."

Lu Zhi nodded and pointed to the map: "Han Zhong's camp is divided into three formations: front, middle, and rear. The front formation has 20,000 men, mostly forced refugees, and their fighting strength is weak. The middle formation has 20,000 men, which is Han Zhong's main force. The rear formation has 10,000 men, guarding the grain and supplies."

"The students plan to launch a feigned attack on the front lines tomorrow morning," Liu Bei said, "to force Han Zhong to send reinforcements from the central army, thus creating an opportunity for Qian Zhao."

"No need for a feint attack," Lu Zhi pondered. "We'll really attack him."

Liu Bei looked up: "What the teacher means is..."

"Burn his provisions."

The tent was quiet.

"The rear guard commander is named Chen Bai, not the one from Wen County; his name means 'defeat'," Lu Zhi said. "I can write him a letter, offering him official rank and titles to entice him to surrender grain. If he agrees, everything will be fine. If he doesn't..."

"Let's launch a full-scale attack," Liu Bei replied.

"Yes." Lu Zhi looked at him. "Do you dare?"

"dare."

"Alright." Lu Zhi picked up his pen and wrote a letter. "Take a thousand cavalry and set off at midnight, circling around to the rear of the enemy lines. If you see fire, it means Chen has been defeated and surrendered. If you don't see fire, then launch a full-scale attack, but remember, if things don't go well, retreat immediately and don't linger in battle."

"The student understands."

At midnight, Liu Bei mustered his troops.

A thousand riders, gagged and with bells removed from their horses, quietly left the camp from the west side. Zhang Fei led the way, Liu Bei followed in the middle, and Jian Yong brought up the rear. He shouldn't have come, but he insisted on going.

"More people means more strength," Jian Yong said. "Besides, if a fight really breaks out, I can kill a few people too."

Liu Bei couldn't persuade him otherwise.

After circling forty li, at the third quarter of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), they arrived at the north side of the Yellow Turban Rear Guard.

Looking from behind the earthen slope, one could see rows of grain depots and numerous watchtowers. However, the night patrol soldiers were few and far between, yawning.

"Chen Bai's discipline is lax," Liu Bei said in a low voice. "Yide, take three hundred men and take out the northern watchtower. Remember, don't make a sound."

"Just you wait and see." Zhang Fei crouched down and slipped away.