The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Within Changshan County, traces of a sporadic fight still remain in the mountains and fields; the autumn wind swirls the withered grass, on which are stained a few drops of bright red blood.

At the foot of an earthen slope.

Zhao Yun stood holding his spear, the tip of which was still stained with droplets of blood, and his plain white battle robe was billowing in the wind.

What a fine young general!

Xiahou Lan, standing beside him, was brushing the dust off his clothes and gazing in the direction of Youzhou with a sorrowful expression.

"The imperial army is slow to arrive, and Liu Yan, the governor of Youzhou, only cares about himself and doesn't care about the lives of the people of Changshan. The more we suppress the Yellow Turban rebels, the more they grow. Our few dozen men won't last much longer."

Xiahou Lan sighed, full of helplessness, "A few days ago I heard from the villagers who fled that a Prefect Liu came from Zhuojun, who is a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan."

Not long ago, he decisively defeated the Yellow Turban rebels at Yuyang and Guangyang. Not only did he not oppress the people, but he also distributed all the captured grain and fodder to disaster victims, earning him a great reputation in the Youzhou area.

Zhao Yun gripped his silver spear tightly, a flicker of emotion crossing his eyes.

He had practiced martial arts since childhood and harbored a desire to protect the people. Now, in this chaotic world, he only wanted to find a benevolent ruler so that he could realize his ambitions. However, chaos was everywhere, and there were very few officials who truly cared for the people.

"Is Lord Liu truly so benevolent?" Zhao Yun asked softly, his voice filled with doubt and disbelief.

But in his mind, he had already pictured Liu Bei.

"It's probably true! Otherwise, it wouldn't have been spread so widely!" Xiahou Lan nodded emphatically.

"Our stubborn defense is not a solution. We should pack our bags and go to seek refuge with this Prefect Liu. That way, we will have someone to rely on to truly quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion and protect our homeland."

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment, already considering joining them, but ultimately couldn't bear to leave his hometown folks behind, so he decided to wait and see for a few more days.

Just as the two were discussing, a fast horse galloped up from afar. The man from their village who was delivering the message was covered in sweat, his face filled with extreme fear, and his voice was so hoarse it was about to crack:

"Zilong! Brother Xiahou! Something terrible has happened! More than three thousand Yellow Turban rebels have gathered together and are heading towards our hometown village, threatening to massacre the village and take revenge on us!"

"What?!"

Zhao Yun shuddered, a strong murderous aura surging around him, his eyes turning bloodshot.

The village was full of unarmed villagers, mostly the elderly, women and children. If it were to be breached by three thousand Yellow Turban rebels, it would surely be a tragic scene of families being destroyed and people dying!

"You scoundrels, how dare you invade my homeland! You're courting death!"

Yun was furious!

With a loud shout, he leaped onto his horse, and the white steed beneath him neighed and galloped away.

He pointed his gleaming silver spear straight ahead and charged directly toward the village without the slightest hesitation.

"Brothers! Protect our homeland, defend our land, follow Zilong into battle!"

Xiahou Lan roared, and dozens of his fellow townsmen behind him, each with a passionate heart, did not flinch and spurred their horses to follow closely behind Zhao Yun.

……

Liu Bei's army left Guangyang and continued westward, advancing without hindrance.

Li Chang rode on his horse, with a black crow on his shoulder circling around him from time to time, taking in all the movements within a radius of dozens of miles.

Changshan is a mountainous region with deep forests and treacherous roads. Remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion often hid in the valleys and villages, robbing and plundering, appearing and disappearing like ghosts.

"Fourth Brother, Changshan is so big, which way should we go?" Zhang Fei reined in his horse, scratching his head as he asked. "We can't possibly search every single mountain, can we?"

Li Chang raised his hand and pressed down on the black crow that was about to take off. He was a level ten raven speaker and knew the black crow's information!

"This is bad!" Li Chang's expression changed drastically. "A large group of Yellow Turbans is gathering in the southwest!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately reined in his horse and, without hesitation, ordered: "The entire army, turn southwest! Advance at full speed!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu arrogantly replied, "The Yellow Turbans? Before us, they are nothing but insignificant..."

"These mere pebbles are not even half as good as ours!" Li Chang interrupted, continuing the conversation.

"There's no time to think!" Liu Bei pointed his whip southwest.

"The Yellow Turbans have gathered; they are bound to wreak havoc on the people. If we are even a step late, the people will suffer! Second and third brothers, you two lead all the cavalry ahead, and my fourth brother and I will follow with the infantry!"

"Yes, sir!"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei responded to the order and immediately mustered fifty cavalrymen, who sped off towards the southwest like lightning.

……

Within half a day, the two sides bumped into each other in the open field outside the village.

Zhao Yun took the lead, his silver spear wielding with impenetrable speed; with each thrust of the spear, a Yellow Turban bandit fell to the ground.

The white horse trampled over the bandits, going in and out repeatedly as if it were in an empty field!

However, the Yellow Turban rebels were too numerous, and they surrounded them in dense numbers, with swords and spears like a forest.

This group of Yellow Turban rebels were also enraged by Zhao Yun, and they actually fought to the death without retreating!

Besides, if they couldn't defeat Liu Bei's army of several thousand, how could they possibly be defeated by these few dozen?

In just half an hour, several of Zhao Yun's dozens of riders were killed or wounded. Xiahou Shang was stabbed in the shoulder, his clothes stained with blood, but he still fought desperately to protect Zhao Yun.

"Zilong! We're surrounded! If this continues, we'll all die here!" Xiahou Lan roared, knocking down a group of bandits in front of him with a single spear thrust.

Zhao Yun was covered in blood, his plain white battle robe was already stained red, and his strength was rapidly depleting, but he still stood firmly in front of the village, determined not to let the Yellow Turban rebels set foot in the village even if he was the last one left!

Watching his brothers fall one after another, he felt utterly powerless. Was he destined to die here today?

Even if the young Zhao Yun was strong, he could only charge into the enemy lines with a few dozen men, but he could hardly stop these thousands!

Just as these thousands of men were about to storm into Zhao Yun's hometown.

A black line appeared in the distance!

stomping on...

When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei arrived, the sounds of battle on the open field were already clearly audible.

Looking up, one could see that three thousand Yellow Turban rebels had surrounded a small force of a few dozen riders, and the encirclement was tightening!

The young general in white robes, who was the leader, fought desperately with his gun. He was covered in blood but did not retreat. He was about to give up!

"It's the Yellow Turban rebels! More than three thousand of them!" Zhang Fei's eyes were bloodshot. Before Guan Yu could give the order, he roared, "Second Brother, I'll go first!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Fei led his cavalry, like a fierce tiger, straight towards the rear of the Yellow Turban rebels.

The eighteen-foot spear swept out, instantly felling a group of bandits. His roar shook the wilderness: "You cowards! I am Zhang Yide of Yan! Who dares to fight me to the death!"

With just one roar, the Yellow Turban rebels, who were originally fighting to the death, were terrified!

Some timid people, upon seeing Zhang Fei's face and being frightened by his roar, were also intimidated.

He was so frightened that he fainted!

"Oh no! Zhang Yide, Butcher Zhang is here!"

"Run!"

The names of men are as famous as the bark of trees; now, throughout the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Youzhou, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Li Zicheng are renowned far and wide!

Only by facing Guan Yu and Zhang Fei directly can one truly understand their terror.

Guan Yu followed closely behind, leading the remaining cavalry to encircle them.

The Green Dragon Crescent Blade unleashed a chilling light, and wherever it passed, Yellow Turban rebels were beheaded.

With his long beard flowing, he exuded an imposing aura!

A few dozen riders fought their way to the appearance of hundreds!

Zhao Yun, who was already in dire straits and exhausted, suddenly heard a deafening battle cry behind him.

Turning his head, he saw two generals and several dozen riders charging towards him.

The two leading generals were incredibly brave and instantly routed the Yellow Turban rebels who had surrounded them!

"Zhang Yide?" Xiahou Lan reminded him, "Zilong, that's Liu Bei's third brother! The other one must be Liu Bei's second brother, Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang!"

"It's Lord Liu!" Zhao Yun exclaimed excitedly!

"We never expected that Lord Liu would actually come to our rescue!"

The dozens of riders behind them, too, regained their strength. "Great! It's Lord Liu! We're saved!"

Zhao Yun, wielding his Dragon Gallant Silver Spear, charged out once more.

"Follow me, kill!"