Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 532: Not Hasty or Slow
Dai County, Pingcheng.

Before daybreak, Zhang Fei, wearing armor and carrying a helmet, came to the county governor's mansion where Liu Bei was staying overnight.

Chen Dao didn't dare to stop him and could only take Zhang Fei to the side hall to rest.

Soon, Liu Bei, who was still asleep, came over quickly. Seeing Zhang Fei dressed like this, he asked, "Yide, what's the matter with this?"

"Brother, our scouts have been driven away by Xianyu Fu's Xianbei followers, making it difficult to investigate the situation east of Guangning and Sanggan."

Zhang Fei said in a relatively calm tone: "The messengers from Ji County have also been blocked. We have not received any letters from Ji County for five days. This shows that they have failed. The Grand Marshal is heading towards Daidi just as Wen Chang said. Brother should not sit idly by and watch. Please send troops to support them."

With Xianyu Fu's separation, the situation in Youzhou became further divided.

The troops that left were those led by Xianyu Fu, but there were also many scattered and powerful armed forces who brought their own food and came to Pingcheng to join Liu Bei.

Together with the Wuhuan in the western counties, Liu Bei's military strength continued to grow during this period and reached a scale of 30,000.

Especially the Wuhuan in the west, because Qian Zhao resigned from his post and fled, some Wuhuan tribes affiliated with the Yuan family were also encouraged by relatives and friends from surrounding tribes to go north to surrender.

Liu Bei actively welcomed the arrival of these forces. After all, he was willing to feed these people until their food and grass ran out.

But Zhang Fei's proposal made Liu Bei hesitate, so he said: "It is not the right time yet. If our army leaves Pingcheng and there is news of unfavorable battle conditions, the people will be excited and we will not be able to control it easily. Let's wait and see patiently. I expect the Xiongnu troops to arrive soon. When the time comes, we can unite our forces and get the military order from the Grand Marshal, so there will be no hidden dangers."

Zhang Fei also understood that there were three types of Han and Hu armed forces that came to surrender. One type was betting that the Grand Marshal would win, and the Wuhuan people in the western counties were very confident of this.

The second type is those who are attached to Liu Bei. They do not trust the Youzhou coalition forces to win, nor do they trust the Grand Marshal's Office. They can only trust Liu Bei.

As for the third type, they are the centrists, who are always in short supply and come here for various reasons.

No matter which type of people they are, as soon as the black bear shows signs of fatigue in the battle, they will immediately transform into a wolves pack and pounce on it to bite it fiercely.

These people are like this, are the Xianbei and Xiongnu people exceptions?

The more Liu Bei does not move, the more he pretends to accumulate strength, and the more troops he can attract.

It is better to let these people come to Pingcheng and wait for the results of the battle than to go over and surround them.

As for whether Xianyu Fu and his gang could defeat Black Bear, Liu Bei had no idea. As an old soldier who had fought for twenty years, he knew very well that on most battlefields, the number of people who really dared to fight would never exceed one third.

In any army, when the people within it who dare to fight, charge and are not afraid of death are severely hit, most of them will no longer need to disguise themselves and can just turn around and run away.

Although the mountain roads are dangerous, don't forget that in that kind of terrain, no more than a thousand people can come into contact with each other during the fight.

The more troops gathered at this time, the more the front line can be blocked, and the various armies can take turns to fight forward and consume the black bear's physical strength and soldiers, then there will be hope of victory.

But if the front line can't hold on, it will be like a bamboo breaking, and the axe will chop it from the top of its head to the little bird.

Therefore, Zhang Fei proposed: "Brother, I want to lead hundreds of elite cavalry to cross the Sanggan River. I will serve under the Grand Marshal, which will help to dispel the suspicion between the two families."

Zhang Fei firmly believed that the final victory would belong to Sima. If Youzhou was really a good place with friendship, why did they go to Xuzhou to start a business?
The main force of the Yellow Turban Army in Jizhou did not cause much damage to Youzhou, which can be seen from this point.

The Youzhou tyrants were rich, well-connected, and good at fighting. They also had friendly relations through marriage for generations. According to normal development, Gongsun Zan rose up with the interests of the imperial court in mind, and these tyrants had no choice.

After the turmoil in the world, where did Liu Bei go to seek justice for the court?

Even if the court supports the righteous cause, will the Youzhou gentry recognize him as Gongsun Zan's classmate, friend and old subordinate?

Although there is the traditional force of the Three Mutual Law that restricts Liu Bei's development in his hometown, Youzhou is a border state and the Three Mutual Law has limited binding force.

The real reason why they left their hometown to develop in the Central Plains was that the powerful people in Youzhou were not only tyrannical, but also had no bottom line... It was difficult to make a name for themselves in Youzhou, and if they did, they would be beaten.

The knife of the Zhu Hu people is very sharp, and the powerful people in Youzhou use it very skillfully.

Seeing Zhang Fei's determined expression, Liu Bei did not rush to agree or refuse, but instead thought about the impact of Zhang Fei's departure on the army.

After thinking about it, he decided to just watch the whole thing. Even if the situation got worse, it was the newly joined subordinate troops that were instigated to defect and leave him, and they would not take over his main army. While he was thinking, Zhang Fei said, "My second brother and Zilong have gone to the Grand Marshal, but I haven't gone yet. It's hard to say what else it is. If I go, the Grand Marshal will at least give me 3,000 cavalry captives."

"If Yide wants to go, then go, but you can only lead 200 to 300 cavalrymen, and return to Jixian to defend this city. I will send an official letter to Xianyu Fu and Tian Yu, and Yide must not be taken lightly. When you go, you must be alert to all parties."

Liu Bei looked very tired and said, "Go to Zilong and borrow another 500 horses. Each person can have three horses. This way, you can bring more food and fodder."

Zhang Fei stood up and thanked him happily, and was about to leave, but suddenly stopped and turned around: "Brother, Zilong is a straightforward person. I am afraid it will be difficult for me to borrow so many horses. Please write a handwritten letter, so that Zilong will be more willing to talk to you."

Zhao Yun's prestige among the Wuhuan followers was even higher. As Zhao Yun's name spread to the border counties, the curious young people among the Wuhuan gathered together on white horses and formed a group of more than a hundred white horse knights.

Go find Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun can coordinate his servant knights and borrow a group of horses from them.

The sky gradually darkened and dark clouds appeared.

Zhang Fei led more than 500 cavalrymen out of Pingcheng and headed southeast. He would follow the valley riverbed road washed by the Sanggan River to the downstream Zhuolu area.

There were only more than 200 knights in his own army, but Guan Yu and Zhao Yun lent him more than 100 knights. Now there were more than 500 knights, each with three horses, and they galloped away.

As long as they don't take the initiative to draw their swords, Xianyu Fu and other Youzhou troops will not take the initiative to attack them at this critical moment.

After all, Zhang Fei was still one of the powerful people in Youzhou, and the powerful people in Youzhou were more kind and tolerant towards him than Guan Yu and Zhao Yun.

If Zhao Yun did this, he might be able to pass the first road block smoothly, but would be besieged when he got to the second road block.

Guan Yu had a bad temper and might have drawn his sword and killed someone while eating and drinking at the first checkpoint.

Also during the night, rain continued to fall in the mountains.

After a day of preparation, Black Bear's troops set up camp on the road.

To the northwest is a road destroyed by mountain torrents. Even after the mountain torrents recede and the road is rebuilt, there is still water from the river ahead that will erode and wash away the mountain road.

The entire camp was like a long snake along the road, stretching for seven or eight miles from beginning to end.

At the southernmost end, the dense forests on both sides of the hillside had been cut down and two simple fences had been built to resist and slow down the raids of the Youzhou cavalry.

Inside the tent, firewood was piled on racks, and next to it was a fire pit, which provided lighting and also dried the firewood with moisture.

When Black Bear came to the tent for inspection, the seven soldiers in the tent were about to stand up, but he waved his hand to stop them: "Don't move, I'm just here to take a look."

He moved his eyes to the fire pit, where an old soldier was boiling horse oil in a clay pot. The old soldier was a squad leader and stopped his work and said, "Your Majesty."

"Don't be stingy with supplies. Eat well, drink well, and sleep well. When the rain stops tomorrow, collect more firewood and grass. There will be enough horse meat for us to eat until September!"

Black Bear looked at the two soldiers who were sitting side by side polishing their swords and said, "I have ordered people to start brewing wine. Perhaps we can celebrate the Double Ninth Festival here."

One of them said with a smile: "I can accompany you, Your Excellency, and even celebrate the Zhongyuan Festival, so why should I be afraid of the Double Ninth Festival?"

"Well said, after the wine is good, drink one more bowl."

Black Bear glanced at the other soldiers and nodded slowly, "Go to bed early after curfew. General Taishi will attack the enemy camp tonight. They are the ones who are nervous and scared. You can go to sleep peacefully."

"Yes!"

The sergeant replied, bowed slightly and escorted Black Bear out of the military tent. The conditions were not good now, and a good and peaceful sleep was better than anything else.

The temperature was also low, and only after the first batch of sweet rice wine was brewed could the damage caused to the entire army by the rain be quickly repaired.

The black bear walked out of the tent. The tent was filled with the smell of horse oil, and the entire valley road area outside the tent was filled with the smell of cooking horse meat.

(End of this chapter)