Han Ji

At midnight, take action.

Three thousand cavalrymen charged into the supply camp like ghosts. The defending troops were caught off guard, and Liu Bei's forces set fires everywhere, but did not pursue the fleeing soldiers.

Stacks of grain, hay, and tents burned fiercely, the flames illuminating half the sky.

Zhang Jiao, standing in the central army, saw the firelight behind him and his face turned ashen.

"Quickly! Send reinforcements! Send reinforcements!"

But by the time reinforcements arrived, Liu Bei's troops had already fled far away.

For the next ten days, Liu Bei fought against Zhang Jiao's army on the Julu Plain.

Attacking supply lines, harassing camps, intercepting messengers... the guerrilla tactics were executed with unparalleled skill. Zhang Jiao's 100,000-strong army was exhausted by the mere 3,000 cavalry, and their marching speed was greatly reduced.

Lu Zhi's main force took the opportunity to rest and reorganize, while a detachment was sent to recapture the surrounding counties, and the main force began to advance.

At the end of June, Zhang Jiao finally gave up pursuing Liu Bei and led his army to retreat to Guangzong.

"Zhang Jiao intends to hold Guangzong," Lu Zhi judged. "Guangzong is a well-fortified city with ample supplies, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"The student requests the order to pursue them," Liu Bei said. "We cannot allow him to retreat safely into Guangzong."

"Yes," Lu Zhi said, "but we cannot launch a direct attack; we can only harass."

"clear."

Thus, the wilderness pursuit entered its third phase.

Liu Bei's three thousand cavalry relentlessly pursued Zhang Jiao's rear guard, harassing them day and night. The Yellow Turban rearguard was being annihilated repeatedly, and their morale plummeted.

Zhang Jiao set up ambushes several times, but Liu Bei saw through them each time, resulting in losses for Zhang Jiao.

In early July, Zhang Jiao's main force retreated in disarray into Guangzong City.

The pursuit is over.

Battle results: Over 10,000 heads were taken and several thousand prisoners were captured. Government troops suffered fewer than 1,000 casualties.

Standing ten miles outside Guangzong City, Liu Bei looked at the Yellow Turban banner rising from the city wall and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally...we've arrived."

Guan Yu handed over the water bag: "Brother, take a rest."

Liu Bei accepted the drink but did not drink it. He turned to look at the two thousand cavalry behind him.

Everyone was wounded, their armor tattered, but their eyes remained sharp.

"Brothers," he called out, "you've had a tough journey."

Two thousand people remained silent.

"I know many people want to ask, why are you fighting so hard?" Liu Bei paused. "I can't explain it either. But I know that if we don't fight, the Yellow Turbans will move south, cross the Yellow River, and reach Luoyang. At that time, our parents, wives, children, and our hometown will all suffer."

He raised his water bag: "Many brothers have died along the way. Their blood will not have been shed in vain. I, Liu Bei, hereby swear: In my lifetime, I will bring peace to the world, ensure the people live in tranquility, and allow my fallen brothers to rest in peace in the afterlife!"

"I swear to follow my elder brother to the death!" Zhang Fei was the first to shout.

Then came the roar of two thousand men: "We will follow you to the death!"

The sound reverberated across the wilderness.

Liu Bei tilted his head back and drank the water in the bag in one gulp.

The water is bitter, but my heart is warm.

He turned around and looked towards Guangzong City.

"Set up camp," he said. "The real battle is yet to come."

Thirty li outside Guangzong City, Lu Zhi's central command tent.

"Zhang Liang went to Xiaquyang before our army surrounded him." Lu Zhi placed the secret report on the table. "He took 20,000 elite troops with him, and the city still has 80,000 defenders with ample supplies."

Liu Bei stood at the lower end, his gaze fixed on the Quzhou location on the map: "Zhang Jiao divided his troops to secure a retreat route. However, the supply route from Xiaquyang to Guangzong is long and can be cut off."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Lu Zhi tapped his finger on Quzhou County. "A new batch of grain, about 10,000 shi, has just arrived from Youzhou. It will be transported to Guangzong via Quzhou in three days. If we intercept this batch of grain, Zhangjiao City will not have enough grain for three months."

"Students are willing to go."

Lu Zhi looked at him and said, "Your troops have been fighting for days, and both men and horses are exhausted."

"It is precisely because we are exhausted that we need to fight quickly." Liu Bei clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Lu Shi, with two thousand elite cavalry, each with two horses, we will launch a raid day and night, intercept their supplies, and return immediately."

There was a moment of silence inside the tent.

"Who's going?" Lu Zhi asked.

"Yun Chang, Yi De, and Zi Jing are enough to follow me."

Lu Zhi nodded: "Agreed. But remember, although Zhang Liang has left, Guangzong still has cavalrymen roaming around. If you encounter a large force, do not linger in battle."

"The student understands."

At Shenshi (3-5 PM) that day, two thousand cavalrymen set out from the camp.

One man on two horses, lightly equipped and swiftly traveling. They passed through deserted villages and ruined towns, all devoid of human habitation, only wild dogs gnawing on bones. Zhang Fei spat, "What kind of world is this?"

Guan Yu gazed ahead: "This is how it is in chaotic times."

Liu Bei remained silent, only urging his horse to gallop faster.

At dusk, they arrived at an abandoned village to rest their horses. The houses inside the village were half-collapsed, the well was dry, and the stove was cold. The soldiers gathered firewood to start a fire and baked hard cakes to fill their stomachs.

They led scouts to investigate, and at the second watch of the night, they reported back: the grain convoy was lodging at the post station fifteen li north of Quzhou, the garrison was encamped outside, and the civilian laborers were lodging inside the post station.

How many people are on the other side?

"Three thousand guards, over a thousand laborers, and one hundred and twenty carts."

"What's the terrain like?"

"The post station is backed by a mound and faces the main road. There are sentries on the mound, but the men and horses are tired and mostly sleepy."

Liu Bei spread out the loose soil on the ground and drew a simple diagram: "Yide will lead five hundred men to lie in ambush in the woods on the left side of the road, and Zijing will lead five hundred men to lie in ambush in the ditch on the right side of the road. Once the grain convoy is halfway through, we will block both ends. Yunchang and I will lead the remaining cavalry to charge straight at them."

The generals agreed.

They prepared the meal at midnight and set off at dawn.

Before dawn, they had reached the ambush site. The forest was deep and the ravines treacherous, making it easy to hide troops. Liu Bei lay in ambush on a high slope by the roadside, gazing towards the post station. The lights were scattered, and there was no sound.

At the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), smoke rose from the direction of the post station.

At 3:45 AM, the caravan set off. The creaking sound of the carts grew closer, with the guards on horseback in front and the laborers pushing the carts behind, the formation loose.

The vanguard crossed the middle of the ambush line, while the rearguard had just entered the gully.

"Kill!" Liu Bei leaped onto his horse.

Crimson clouds neighed and charged down the high slope. A thousand riders followed, their hooves thundering.

The guards were thrown into chaos. Some drew their swords to fight, while others tried to flee on horseback. But Zhang Fei had blocked both their escape routes, leaving them with no way to advance or retreat.

The outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion.

The guards were mostly local militia who had been coerced into surrendering. Seeing the overwhelming force of the government troops, most of them surrendered. Those who resisted were scattered by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's troops, and hundreds were beheaded.

The laborers were already prostrate on the ground, trembling with fear.

Liu Bei reined in his horse and surveyed the battlefield. The supply wagons were intact, with only a few overturned.

"General, spare my life..." An old laborer crawled forward, his forehead touching the ground.

"Stand up and speak." Liu Bei dismounted. "Where are you from?"

"Youzhou... Zhuojun," the old laborer said in a trembling voice.

Zhuojun. Liu Bei's heart stirred.

"Why did you become a thief?"

"We can't survive." The old laborer wiped away his tears. "Last year there was a severe drought, and the harvest was completely lost. The government didn't reduce the taxes, and we ran out of food. When we heard that the Yellow Turbans had food to eat, we... so we joined their grain convoy."

"Do you know that this grain, transported to Guangzong, is being used to feed the rebel army?"

"I don't know... but there's nothing we can do." The old laborer kowtowed, "General, we are all unfortunate people, please give us a way to survive..."

Liu Bei remained silent.

Behind him, Zhang Fei muttered, "The same old excuse again..."

"Yide," Liu Bei interrupted.

He looked at the laborers kneeling on the ground, about a thousand of them, all of them pale and emaciated.

"How many of you are from Zhuojun?"

More than a hundred people stepped forward from the crowd.

"Step forward."

More than a hundred people walked out nervously and gathered in one place.

"I am also from Zhuojun." Liu Bei looked at them. "My surname is Liu, my given name is Bei, and my courtesy name is Xuande."

A slight murmur rippled through the crowd.

"You...you are Liu Xuande from Lousang Village?" A young man asked, his eyes wide.

"Exactly."

The young man knelt down with a thud: "I am Li Shun, from Lijia Village west of Zhuoxian County! A few years ago, when you left your hometown to be recommended for the civil service, I even squeezed onto the street to watch you!"