Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Pfft!” Zhang Fei, who was drinking water, spat it out directly, glanced around, and realized that the soldiers led by Gan Lan had already become a chaotic mess after just one wave of pursuit.

”Stop, let me ask, exactly how many people do we have?” Chen Deng asked with a dark expression, suddenly having the feeling he might have been deceived by Fa Zheng.

”Thirty thousand!” Gan Lan replied resolutely, making Zhang Fei feel significantly more confident.

”How many are auxiliary soldiers?” Chen Deng continued to question, his face still black.

”Cough, cough, cough, well, however many auxiliary soldiers you have, that’s how many auxiliary soldiers we have. General Gan and Military Advisor Fa brought only three thousand men,” Gan Lan said with an awkward laugh. The two thousand men he had were borrowed from Zhang Fei.

”Truly a genius bestowed by heaven!” Chen Deng sighed deeply, no longer harboring any dissatisfaction towards Fa Zheng.

In Xuzhou’s Xiapi, only Zhang Fei’s main force of six thousand regular soldiers existed, while the rest had been auxiliary soldiers assisting defense efforts. Of course, Chen Deng also had some troops, but adding up the scattered collection of regular soldiers, their total reached barely nine to ten thousand men. Essentially, Fa Zheng had deceived Chen Deng into defeating Yuzhou’s army of ten thousand with fewer than one thousand regular soldiers.

”Heh heh heh,” Gan Lan chuckled dryly. Only a madman like Gan Ning would dare lead auxiliary troops in a charge. Nevertheless, there was no denying that Fa Zheng had struck at an excellent moment. After the total collapse, auxiliary troops excelled in capturing prisoners and winning easy victories, not much inferior to regular soldiers.

”Do we still give chase?” Gan Lan asked cautiously.

”Go back and capture the prisoners, eliminating future worries first!” Zhang Fei said gruffly.

Zhang Fei, after all, was a seasoned general who naturally knew what needed to be done and what didn’t, just like Gan Lan mentioned. With insufficient regular troops, if the enemy managed to regroup, they’d quickly discover their weaknesses. First, swallow the parts already in hand and eliminate hidden dangers before proceeding.

After merging forces, they confiscated the weapons of Yuzhou soldiers, who had been shattered by Gan Ning and Fa Zheng’s surprise attack. Busy through the night, it was only nearing dawn that their work was completed. By this time, other ambush teams set up by Gan Ning’s four paths had also returned successfully with their spoils.

After all, Yuzhou’s troops had already become panicked and disoriented, failing to notice the difference between regular soldiers and auxiliary forces. Otherwise, with Li Yan’s capabilities, he’d have easily spotted such distinctions. But by the time it reached the last two paths of killing ambushes, even an ancient renowned general would have been powerless to turn the tide.

”Phew, at least nothing unexpected happened,” Fa Zheng laughed wildly despite the arrow lodged in his shoulder.

”Xiaoo Zhi, are you sure you’re okay?” Zhang Fei asked, somewhat worried as he looked at Fa Zheng glowing red in the morning light of dawn. Although Zhang Fei was incredulous about Fa Zheng’s reckless courage, the undeniable victory left him nothing to criticize—Fa Zheng had indeed proven himself on the battlefield.

”Of course I’m fine...” Fa Zheng laughed, glanced back at Xiapi City’s walls, then directly fell off his horse.

Turns out he wasn’t okay after being shot by an arrow. Earlier, he’d seemed fine due to the tense circumstances that kept him highly focused. Now that Zhang Fei and Gan Ning had fully disarmed all the prisoners, Fa Zheng’s relaxation caused his concentration to lapse, and dizziness from blood loss and fever promptly made him fall from his horse.

”Damn it...” Gan Ning reached out to catch Fa Zheng, shocked as he pressed a hand to his forehead. ”Summon the physician immediately, hurry!”

When the news of the Southern regions stabilizing reached Yanzhou, Chen Xi and others were overjoyed. As for Fa Zheng being struck by an arrow, everyone burst into laughter, initially thinking it was some sort of trick to deceive them. But when confirmed to be true, they were all dumbfounded.

”Accidents are ever-present on the battlefield,” Chen Xi said with a helpless smile after confirming the situation. ”Xiaoo Zhi’s condition isn’t serious, is it?”

”General Gan personally escorted Prime Minister Fa back to Mount Tai. After Physician Hua’s treatment, I heard he already regained consciousness by the time I left. He’ll likely head to Yanzhou shortly,” Li Youu’s steward replied with a bow.

”That’s good. But did he resolve Yuzhou’s issues so quickly?” Jia Xu asked with a rare touch of a smile.

Li Fan lowered his head and recounted Fa Zheng’s activities over the past month in Yuzhou without adding any personal opinions. As expected of Li Youu’s steward, he displayed no emotion whatsoever.

”Indeed impressive. Though risky in strategy, his timing was perfect—a moment too soon and he’d likely have been blocked; a moment too late and the walls might’ve fallen with enemy morale soaring,” Guo Jia nodded in agreement, sneezing as he spoke. Ever since his fall into the Yellow River, he’d been battling a lingering cold.

”Not inferior to you,” Lub Su said with a smile. He’d always regarded Fa Zheng highly. Despite Fa Zheng’s usual lackadaisical attitude and seemingly unreliable behavior, his capabilities were undeniably strong.

”Let’s split forces once he arrives. I’ll lead an army to Jiyin for a two-pronged attack on Yuan Shao,” Chen Xi proposed to the group.

”Agreed,” Jia Xu nodded and glanced at Li Fan. In truth, seeing Li Youu’s old servant, he already sensed the time was ripe. Li Youu must have received intelligence about the situation in Guanzhong by now.

”Gather all our scattered forces. It’s time to finally converge. My earlier claim about defeating Yuan Shao with one hand wasn’t mere bravado,” Liu Bei said with a chuckle. ”As for Kongming and the others’ deployment, Zichuan, I’ll leave that to you.”

”When Wen Ze returns, I plan to dispatch him to Xuzhou, Kongming to North Huai River, Ziyi to North Huai as well, while Xiuruo will remain stationed in Yuzhou,” Chen Xi reiterated the arrangements he’d discussed with Liu Bei earlier.

”Yide, Zijian, Xiaoo Zhi, Ziyang will be assigned to your authority, while Xingba will follow me for a bold Yellow River crossing,” Liu Bei confirmed with a nod.

”No problem! At Ye City, I’ll feign an attack and then launch a direct assault on Yuan Shao’s main force. The grudge between Zijian and Juo Yi has long festered—in essence, this gives Zijian a chance to end it. Knowing him, he must have been waiting for this moment for quite some time,” Chen Xi sighed.

The loss of Hua Xiong’s beloved Xiliang Iron Cavalry weighed heavily on his heart; those soldiers were his loyal bond-forged comrades, yet now he had lost more than half. Though such bloodshed was expected in war, it cemented deep animosity between him and his enemy.

”Keep an eye on him—those Vanguard Death Soldiers may very well be the fiercest troops in the world,” Liu Bei remarked with a nod. ”I won’t draw forces from here. With the border shifted to the Huai River, we can now free up internal troops. Those thirty thousand men will be entirely handed over to you.”

”Understood.” Chen Xi calculated the previous border arrangements between Yanzhou and Xuzhou, realizing three thousand was indeed the upper limit.

”Chen Shuzhi will also be transferred to your command. Protect yourself—don’t be a fool like Xiaoo Zhi,” Liu Bei reminded with a half-joking tone. ”Zhongkang will look after me here, but you need to stay vigilant over there.”