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

The ten-odd days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Xianbei scouts who had gone north to investigate returned one after another and reported the truth about the three-line defense deployment at Yanmen to Suli and Miga.

The cities of Pingcheng, Qiangyin, and Shanwu are already under defense!

Even the Gaoliu Pass has had bunkers built!

In the past, the Han people would give up everything and let them invade and plunder at will!

But now there are people defending the city. Are they going to attack it? But they're not good at attacking cities!

The two Xianbei leaders immediately stopped their horses and discussed countermeasures in public.

"The Han Chinese defenses are too tight; a direct assault at the pass would result in too many casualties." Mika stared at the large group of people in his tribe:

"Qiangyin City is high, and if it is garrisoned, our Xianbei warriors can only go around it."

Suli shook his head indifferently:

"There's no need to forcibly attack the city. The old city of Dingxiang is dilapidated and has been uninhabited for many years. The Han army has only been here for a short time, how much can they possibly repair?"

We'll send small, mixed-race tribes to launch a feigned attack on Qiangyin City to draw the Han army's attention, while our main force of 20,000 will detour through the old Dingxiang area and directly raid the heart of Yanmen Pass!

They've used almost their entire brain!

They can use any tricks now!

Upon hearing this plan, the two immediately dispatched troops.

A few people later, thousands of soldiers from various Hu tribes who had submitted to the Xianbei took the lead and rushed towards Qiangyin, waving flags and shouting, pretending to launch a fierce attack.

Qiangyin City Wall.

Guan Yu personally oversaw the situation and immediately noticed something was wrong!

"Too few people, too weak!"

He stroked his long beard and speculated, "This is very likely a feint!"

The lieutenant asked, "General Guan, shall we go and inform the lord and the strategist?"

Guan Yu shook his head, picked up his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and said, "I'll go out and test the waters!"

After saying that, he personally led several dozen cavalrymen from his own troops in a direct charge against the thousands of Hu people!

Under the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, everyone is equal! Wherever it goes, the barbarians fall like scarecrows.

They reaped the Hu people like lightning, making them feel as if the other party was a god descending to earth, putting them under immense pressure!

After fighting his way in and out several times, Guan Yu returned to Qiangyin City.

He was no ordinary military general! At this moment, he saw through the simple schemes of the ancients!

He ordered his deputy: "You lead 1500 men to support our elder brother and the strategist! Then tell them that what they're doing here is just a feint!"

And at this time.

Twenty thousand Hu cavalry have surrounded Shanwu City, engaging in a drawn-out battle of cavalry archery and attrition!

Although they are not good at sieges, this is their way of sieges!

They didn't get close to the city walls, just kept shooting arrows to wear them down. Only when the opportunity arose would they ride up.

But Pang De was born in Xiliang, a place plagued by years of rebellion by the Qiang and Hu peoples!

The Qiang and Hu people also used this siege tactic, and their infantry siege tactics were far superior to those of the Xianbei people!

Pound personally oversaw the defense of the city, proceeding steadily and cautiously throughout.

Relying on the city walls, during the gaps in the enemy's arrows, the archers and crossbowmen took turns suppressing the enemy's repeated attacks from their high vantage point, firmly blocking the barbarian soldiers' charges!

The entire battlefield became like this: after the Xianbei finished shooting, the Han army would shoot, and after the Han army finished shooting, the Xianbei would shoot.

The siege battle was turned into a turn-based game!

Another round has passed.

Pang De exclaimed, "The archers trained by Brother Hansheng are truly extraordinary! Relying on the city walls and commanding the high ground, they were actually able to suppress the Hu cavalry!"

Qian Zhao nodded in deep agreement, "Of all the people I've ever met, his archery skills are the strongest!"

When the Xianbei offensive became exhausted and their formation became scattered, Pang De immediately launched a fierce attack!

He immediately led his cavalry in a surprise attack.

"I'm going to slaughter you all, leaving no one alive!"

After a round of attacks, the Xianbei army suffered hundreds of casualties and retreated in defeat, unable to shake the dilapidated city of Shanwu.

Seeing this situation, the main Xianbei force observing from the rear had no intention of providing support.

These 20,000 people were not just from their two tribes, but also from many other tribes that had initially followed them.

It's better to plunder than to attack a city.

After realizing that they could not breach Shanwu City in a short time, they left only a few thousand men to guard it.

The remaining main force decided not to waste any more time, turned their horses around, and planned to bypass Shanwu and go straight into the heart of Yanmen Pass to plunder grain, fodder, and people.

At each fortress they encountered, they would send some troops to garrison it, until when they stormed into Yanmen Pass, only a little over ten thousand men remained!

On the main road.

Liu Bei had already led Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong's main force to arrive ahead of time, seizing strategic locations and setting up camp.

Several particularly eye-catching flags were also erected: General of the Han Dynasty, Governor of Bingzhou, Liu!

Prefect of Yanmen, Li!

Zhang, the General Who Pacifies the Barbarians of Han!

This is clearly the main force of the Han army, with all their elite troops deployed here!

The more than 10,000 Xianbei cavalrymen arrived in a grand procession, and upon seeing the sparse Han army ahead, they immediately underestimated them!

"Oh, is this the main force of the Han army?"

"This is the Han Chinese general!"

"A mere few thousand Han soldiers think they can stop our ten thousand warriors? The advantage is on our side!" Mika said disdainfully, raising his voice to give the order:

"Charge! Raze the Han camp to the ground! Capture that Han general alive! Yanmen Pass is ours!"

As the bugle sounded, Xianbei cavalry spurred their horses, brandishing their swords, and surged towards the Han army camp in a dark, overwhelming mass.

At that moment, Zhang Fei, wielding his eighteen-foot spear, personally led a thousand elite cavalrymen and suddenly charged out from the mountain pass on the flank.

There was no methodical groundwork laid, no probing or maneuvering.

Zhang Fei charged ahead, his spear sweeping and thrusting, slashing at anyone he encountered and stabbing at any horse he saw, fearless and extremely fierce in his charge.

A loud shout:

"Zhang Yide of Yan is here!"

The Xianbei cavalry had fought many battles and were used to fighting, but they had never seen such a fearless and fierce general!

He didn't want his own life! He wanted the lives of the Xianbei people!

A thousand cavalrymen forcefully broke through the Xianbei vanguard formation, moving like the wind and sweeping all before them.

The Xianbei vanguard was thrown into chaos instantly. Soldiers and horses were frightened and fled, trampling each other, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. The entire charging force was stunned and stood still.

On the main battlefield, Huang Zhong was stationed at the front of the camp, with thousands of archers lined up in preparation.

A rain of arrows poured down, densely covering the Xianbei army formation.

Liu Bei personally led his infantry to defend the gate, where swords and spears stood ready to hold off the Xianbei troops who were charging forward.

After several attacks, the Xianbei army was unable to break through the Han army's camp, and casualties continued to mount.

Left with no other option, Suli and Mika ordered a temporary withdrawal of their troops to rest and recuperate in place.

They looked at each other: Damn it, why weren't the Han army this difficult to fight before? Didn't they always win after just one charge?

The two fell into deep thought, completely baffled!

In this battle, the Han army won a great victory, but did not severely damage the main force of the Xianbei.

Fortunately, the 10,000 Xianbei cavalry still had a strong foundation. They were caught off guard and suffered a loss, but their overall combat strength was not greatly reduced.

after the war.

Li Chang immediately pointed out:

"Although we temporarily repelled one wave of them, the Xianbei are almost all equipped with two horses each, making them extremely agile! If they want to leave, we simply cannot stop them, let alone catch up with them!"

Zhang Fei nodded: "Our cavalry are not afraid of them at all in a direct confrontation! Most of the Xianbei are emaciated and weak, like they're starving!"

Li Chang continued, "Only the upper echelons of their tribes, those Xianbei who suck the blood of the lower-ranking Hu people, would be so fat and strong!"

At this time, Liu Bei was still pondering Li Chang's first sentence and the defense plan he had previously proposed.

He suddenly said, "The Xianbei's goal is to raid southwards. If there's a target they consider more important than raiding southwards..."

"Fourth brother, the more I think about it these days, the more I realize there's a loophole! No matter how we defend, we can't stop these barbarians. There's only one way to stop them! Let them find a better target!"

As he spoke, he suddenly pointed to himself and laughed, "Fourth brother, this time I'll think of a solution before you do!"

He stood facing north: "Let me, Liu Bei, be the bait! The lives of the people of Yanmen have just begun to improve, and we cannot let these hateful barbarians ruin them!"

"As the governor of this region, I should stand before the people!"

Behind him, there are countless lights shining in homes!

"Big brother!"

"My lord!"

"General!"

Everyone present suddenly stood up!

Zhang Fei, his eyes gleaming, said, "Brother! Let me do this! I'll use your name as bait!"

Huang Zhong clasped his hands in a fist salute: "General, your kindness is beyond my ability to repay! I've come to use your name as bait!"

Li Chang stepped forward, but before he could speak, Zhang Fei pressed him down.

At this moment, even an old fox like Jia Xu seemed to be getting hot from Liu Bei's radiance!

At this moment, no one was debating whether or not the people of Yanmen should be used as bait; everyone was only concerned with who would be the bait!