Han Ji

Yang Feng reported on the military situation: "After Han Zhong besieged the city, he tried to persuade the soldiers to surrender every day. I had to kill three of the envoys to try to persuade them to surrender to stabilize the morale of the troops. But our food supplies... ran out three days ago, and the soldiers are only getting a bowl of thin porridge each day."

Lu Zhi immediately ordered that the grain and fodder donated by Chen Bai be used to first aid the defending troops.

Liu Bei arranged for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to accept the surrendered soldiers, and Jian Yong to tally the casualties and lead the pursuit and annihilation of the remaining enemy forces.

I was busy until the afternoon before I finally had a chance to catch my breath.

On the city wall, Liu Bei leaned against the crenellations, watching the battlefield outside. Corpses were being cleared; large pits were being dug, and bodies were being thrown in one by one. Crows circled overhead, cawing loudly.

Zhang Fei climbed up the city wall and handed over a baked flatbread: "Brother, have some."

The pancake was hard, but warm.

"Where are the brothers?" Liu Bei asked.

"They've all eaten." Zhang Fei squatted to the side. "Yun Chang is reorganizing the surrendered soldiers, Xian He is settling accounts, Zi Jing chased after them for twenty miles and captured more than eight hundred deserters. Old Zhang is boiling medicine for his wounds."

"Do you have enough healing medicine?"

"It's not enough." Zhang Fei shook his head. "But all the doctors and craftsmen in the city have been mobilized, and Lord Lu has also sent people to Hanoi to source medicinal herbs."

Liu Bei remained silent.

"Brother," Zhang Fei suddenly said, "we lost many brothers in this battle."

"Um."

"I'm wondering... what are they after?" Zhang Fei looked at the large crater outside the city. "Some of them were fighting with me for meat yesterday, and now they're lying there."

Liu Bei did not answer.

He didn't know the answer either.

In chaotic times, human life is as worthless as grass. Today you bury someone else, tomorrow someone else will bury you.

But someone has to step up and gradually bring this chaotic world back on track.

Even if the price is blood.

"Yide," Liu Bei said, "After the war is over, let's erect a monument here in Ye City for our fallen brothers. Let's carve their names on it so that future generations will remember that there was such a group of people who died to quell the rebellion."

Zhang Fei nodded emphatically: "Good!"

In the evening, a military meeting was held.

Lu Zhi devised the next strategy: "Although Han Zhong was defeated, there are still several Yellow Turban groups in Wei Commandery, and the three cities of Liangqi, Chiqiu, and Wu'an are still in enemy hands. We must fight a quick battle and take Wei Commandery before Zhang Jiao's reinforcements arrive from the south."

"I am willing to be the vanguard," Liu Bei said, rising to his feet.

"No." Lu Zhi waved his hand. "You are exhausted from the recent battles. This time, you will stay in Ye City to reorganize the defenses and appease the people. Liang Qi and Chi Qiu, I will go personally."

"teacher..."

"This is a military order." Lu Zhi looked at him. "Xuande, a battle isn't over in a day. You are a sharp blade, but a sharp blade needs constant maintenance to last."

Liu Bei understood that Lu Zhi wanted him to rest and recuperate.

"Yes, sir."

That night, Lu Zhi divided his troops into 20,000 and marched north to Liangqi.

Liu Bei saw them off outside the city. The army departed, raising clouds of dust.

On the way back to the city, Jian Yong rode up to him and said, "Brother, Lord Lu is worried about you."

"I know," Liu Bei said, looking at the night sky. "That's why we must guard Ye City well, so that he has no worries about the rear."

"Don't worry," Jian Yong smiled, "we're here."

That night, Ye City began to restore order.

The surrendered soldiers were dispersed and reorganized into various camps, the wounded were given centralized medical treatment, and the people were given rations according to their households. Liu Bei issued an order strictly prohibiting any disturbance of the people, with violators to be executed.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei patrolled the city, Zhang Wu trained new recruits, Qian Zhao quelled the remaining bandits, and Jian Yong oversaw the supply of provisions.

After working non-stop for three days, Ye City finally started to come alive again.

On the fourth day, news arrived: Liang Qi, a Yellow Turban leader, fled without a fight upon hearing of Han Zhong's defeat. The county magistrate of Chiqiu defected and surrendered the city.

Of the seven counties in Wei Commandery, five have already been restored.

Only Wu'an in the far north remains, at the Taihang Pass, the throat of Julu.

Tough as a rock.

Wu'an Pass is located in the foothills of the Taihang Mountains, nestled between two mountains in a valley. The pass walls are three zhang high and constructed of brick and stone. The garrison commander is named Du Yuan, originally a border soldier who knew some methods of soldier training.

When Liu Bei and Lu Zhi joined forces and arrived at the pass, it was already late May. The summer heat was intense, but there was still a cool breeze in the mountains.

"A direct assault would result in too many casualties." Lu Zhi observed the situation and concluded, "We must outsmart them."

Liu Bei pointed to the mountain ridge to the west: "I have seen the map. There is a trail behind the pass that can lead around to the other side. But it is steep and only allows one person to climb at a time."

How do you know?

"The county magistrate who rebuked Qiu was originally from Wu'an, that's what he said," Liu Bei said. "He said that Du Yuan set up sentry posts on the woodcutting path, but each post only had two people, and the posts were not rotated frequently."

Lu Zhi pondered, "You want to lead men to climb over and launch a surprise attack from behind the pass?"

"Yes," Liu Bei said, "but we need to launch a feigned attack from the front to draw the attention of the defending troops."

"Who's going?"

"The students will go." Liu Bei paused. "We need a few good men. Yun Chang, Yi De, Zi Jing, and fifty daredevils."

Lu Zhi looked at him for a long time, then nodded: "Granted. But remember, if it doesn't work out, withdraw immediately; do not force it."

"clear."

That night, Liu Bei selected his men.

The fifty-man suicide squad consisted of veterans who had followed him for months, their faces scarred and their eyes filled with murderous intent. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei each led twenty men, while Qian Zhao led ten men as a vanguard.

Each person carries three days' worth of dry rations, rope, short knife, and crossbow. All armor is removed, and only light leather armor is worn.

We set off at midnight.

Starting from the foot of the mountain on the west side, there is a path at first, but it gradually turns into a narrow trail, and finally into a cliff.

Qian Zhao leads the way, using a short knife to carve out footholds in the rock crevices, tying ropes to them, and the people behind him pull on the ropes to climb up.

The night wind howled, making people sway precariously.

Zhang Fei, cursing as he crawled, exclaimed, "Is this even a path for a human to walk on?"

"Shh," Guan Yu whispered.

Halfway up the mountain, they indeed saw a sentry post and a small wooden shed, where two Yellow Turban soldiers were dozing off.

He groped her, covered her mouth, and slit her throat cleanly and swiftly.

Keep climbing.

As dawn approached, we finally crossed the mountain ridge. Looking down, Wu'an Pass lay at our feet, and the camp behind it was clearly visible, with wisps of smoke rising from its chimneys.

"Let's rest for a quarter of an hour," Liu Bei said in a low voice.

The group slumped behind the rocks, drinking water and eating dry rations.

Liu Bei counted them and realized that three people were missing; they had fallen down.

No one spoke; they simply chewed silently.

A quarter of an hour later, Liu Bei stood up: "Divide into groups. Yunchang, take twenty men, sneak up to the granary behind the pass, and set it on fire. Yide, take twenty men, seize the pass tower, and open the gate. Zijing, take five men, go to the stable to release the horses and create chaos. The rest of you, follow me, and rush straight to the central command tent to kill Du Yuan."

"Yes, sir!"

"Remember, use the fire as a signal, and act together."

Everyone nodded, their eyes resolute.

Going down the mountain is harder than going up. When rappelling down, someone slipped and fell with a scream, making a dull thud at the bottom of the valley.

The garrison inside the pass seemed to have heard this, and some of them looked in this direction.

"Quickly!" Liu Bei shouted in a low voice.

They finally landed and hid in the woods behind the pass. The guards on the pass faced outwards, their backs to them.

At 3:45 AM, it's time for the changing of the guard.

"Let's do it."

Guan Yu led his men crouching low as they crept towards the granary. Zhang Fei led his men, following the shadows of the gate wall, stealthily approaching the gate tower. Qian Zhao led his men to the stable.

Liu Bei led the remaining ten men and sneaked towards the central command tent.

There was a guard in front of the tent, yawning.

Liu Bei made a gesture, and two veterans crept over, covered the mouth from behind, and slashed with their knives.

He lifted the curtain and entered.

Du Yuan was eating breakfast—a bowl of porridge and two flatbreads. Upon seeing Liu Bei, he froze, and the bowl of porridge clattered to the ground.