I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 369: Wuhuan bandits attack in surprise, Zhao Zilong moves forward cautiously

"We must take back the king!"

Before leaving, Tadun was also full of fighting spirit.

This wonderful opportunity must not be wasted.

As long as he can defeat the Han army and take back the king this time, they will be able to truly get out of the shadow of the previous defeat.

Breaking the myth of the invincibility of the Han army is obviously particularly important for defending against future invasions by Han generals.

More importantly, once he regains the kingship this time, his reputation in the tribe will reach its peak.

The next king must be none other than Tadun.

The Wuhuan soldiers marched forward with the belief that they would win.

Their target had just finished three days of parade and rest and had just left the gate of Gouzi City.

"Zhao Yuanli, Dian Yuanli."

Liu Bei clasped his fists and said:
"I hope you two will be careful on this last leg of the journey. If you encounter the enemy, light beacons during the day and at night. The defenders of Gouzi City and Lulong Pass are ready to support you at any time."

"Please rest assured, Magistrate Liu. We will live up to your trust and protect the escort team to the death to ensure that Qiu Liju is sent to Lulong Pass!"

Zhao Yun and Dian Wei responded in unison, they were well aware of the difficulty of their task.

Lord Su’s intention was very clear: to consume the elite troops of the Wuhuan through field battles and to completely destroy their fighting spirit.

If they had been able to repel the bandits' deliberate attack in the absence of the lord, the idea that the heavenly soldiers were invincible would have been deeply rooted in the minds of these Wuhuan people.

This will give them a great advantage in their subsequent attack.

With such an important task placed in their hands, Zhao Yun and Dian Wei could not help but tighten their weapons.

"Don't worry, brother."

Zhang Fei also looked excited:

"My second brother and I are following here too. If the Wuhuan villains don't come, it's fine. But if they dare to attack us, we will make sure they never return!"

Liu Bei glanced at Guan Yu, whose face was as red as a date and who was nodding with his hand on his beard, and felt a little relieved. He then gave Guan Yu a few instructions, asking him to keep an eye on Zhang Fei and not to act recklessly, and that his brothers should cooperate well with the clerks and so on.

Yes, cooperate.

Although Su Yao initially wanted Guan Yu, who had already performed well, to lead the team.

However, this Lord Guan regarded himself as a guest general and frankly admitted that it was inconvenient for him to command the officials.

This surprised Su Yao a little. He didn't expect that the arrogant Master Guan would speak so modestly.

However, he understood after thinking about it again.

A person's character is closely related to his or her own experiences.

Although Guan Yu was quite proud of his bravery at this moment, he had never killed Hua Xiong with a warm wine, nor had he fought against Lu Bu with three heroes, nor had he killed Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Naturally, he did not have the arrogance that looked down on all the heroes in the world as he did in his later years.

After realizing this, Su Yao no longer forced it.

Instead, he gave the leadership of the team to Zhao Yun, who led his troops to surrender, and made Dian Wei, who had performed well in the previous battle, his deputy, and the two generals Guan and Zhang worked together to assist him.

However, what Su Yao didn't know was that Guan Yu's humble behavior in front of him was actually related to his own ability to fight.
But in front of others, Liu Bei was still a little uneasy.

Hence, he gave this earnest explanation.

After Liu Bei gave these instructions to his brothers, he followed Su Yao's order and allocated fifty auxiliary infantrymen and several carts of supplies brought from Lulong Pass to Zhao Yun. Then he said goodbye reluctantly and watched the team disappear in the wind and snow in the valley.

In this way, both sides, with the belief that they would win and the courage to fight to the death, continued to move forward.
It was not until the afternoon of the next day that the two sides' roads finally intersected.

"Report - Han troops have been spotted in the valley ahead!" The Wuhuan spies reported back on horseback. The news spread instantly among Tadun's troops. Upon hearing the news, the soldiers clenched their weapons and looked at Tadun nervously.

I only heard Tadun snort coldly:
"Finally here, attack at full speed, don't give them time to react!"

Following Tadun's order, the Wuhuan cavalry charged forward like wild horses, their hooves thundering and snow flying everywhere.
This scene did not happen, and the news that the scout reported immediately made everyone feel a little uneasy.

"Not only do the Han soldiers have fifty more men, they've even set up camp against the mountain ahead of time, waiting for us?" Kulumu tightened the reins of his horse, saying in disbelief.

"So what? The Han army made a big fuss and took their time to escort the prisoners. Shouldn't we have known what they were up to?"

Hao Duo sneered:
"You're not going to back out now, are you?"

Kulumu was provoked by Hao Duo's words, and his face showed embarrassment. He quickly retorted:
"That's not what I meant. I just think something is fishy. The Han army might be cheating by doing this."

"So what if it's a fraud?"

Hao Duo's eyes were like torches, and he pointed his sword forward:

"No matter what strategy the Han army has, we just need to move forward bravely and take back the king.

If there is an ambush, break it immediately!"

Seeing the two arguing, Tadun spoke up:
"It's not necessarily an ambush. The mountains are covered with snow right now, and no one can hide on either side. As long as the guy surnamed Su is not here, we don't have to be afraid of them!"

However, despite this, Tadun still slowed down the team's pace and sent out scouts to both sides, which was completely different from his initial reckless attitude.

The reason is also very simple.

Just as Su Yao said, the heavy snow hindered their attack and would naturally affect Tadun and his men's surprise attack.

The snow was deep and the road in the valley was difficult to travel.

Not only did it take them more than half the time to travel a journey that would have taken only a day in the spring and summer, but the mountain road they took was even more dangerous because they had to bypass Gouzi City. Along the way, as many as two or three out of ten people fell behind or were lost.

This damn weather and terrain are not suitable for fighting at all.

This is the case for a small-scale march, and it would be even more dangerous if it was a large-scale march.

This is the Liaoxi Corridor at that time.

After investigating the terrain here, Su Yao understood why the Han Dynasty later allocated this dangerous land to the Wuhuan people for garrison.

And why Liaodong formed powerful separatist regimes several times in later generations.

The future Sima Yi suffered a great loss on this dangerous Liaoxi Corridor. He felt the logistics were difficult, so after spending a lot of effort to conquer Gongsun's Liaodong regime, he simply gave up the place and moved the Han people into the interior.

This was certainly due to his short-sightedness and lack of consideration for the long term, but it was also due to the reality of the civil war at the time when he had no time to look north.

Before the emergence of the narrow and flat Liaoxi Corridor in later generations, the connection between Liaodong and the inland was too weak.

If there is any disturbance, this road will be blocked.

If left unchecked over time, it will be enough to establish a powerful separatist regime that threatens the Central Plains.

The same was true of Goguryeo, Liao, and Jin in later generations.

Let’s get back to the present.

When Su Yao discovered this problem, he naturally set the goal of making a small investment for a big gain.

Since there is no support here for the deployment of his army, he will fight with absolute quality advantage, with the least consumption and cost.

Zhao Yun, Dian Wei and others, under the instruction of Su Yao, marched no more than twenty miles a day, advancing step by step, and finally waited for the surprise attack of the Wuhuan people.

In the wind and snow, a smoke signal slowly rose.

Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others looked at the densely packed Wuhuan knights coming down the valley, and each of them grasped their weapons tightly, ready for battle.
(End of this chapter)