Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 55 Who wants to farm?
In Luxiang County, Donglai Commandery, auxiliary soldiers were cleaning up the rubble from the city walls and filling up the tunnels.

Liu Bei's flag has been planted on the top of the city wall.

The city was in a mess, with many places in ruins and no tiles left. There were few young men and women left, only a few old and young.

The soldiers under Gongsun Du were a mixed group of Han and Hu people, and they plundered wherever they passed.

When Liu Bei was still in Beihai, some people who had fled there cried to him, saying that their wives and daughters had been kidnapped and their whereabouts were unknown.

The enemy army was powerful and he was powerless to stop them. He had to survive in the world with his crippled body. He was willing to serve as a laborer in Liu Bei's army to transport food and fodder in order to avenge his revenge.

If you ask ten people, ten of them will burst into tears.

Liu Bei sighed deeply. Since ancient times, thieves come like a comb, soldiers come like a rake, and officials come like a razor. Throughout the dynasties, there are only two armies that can do this without disturbing the people.

Gongsun Du treated the common people like this and the powerful families like this.

After entering Donglai, all you can see are ruined villages, abandoned wells, and messy vegetable fields with their roots uprooted.

The pots, steamers and pots in the stove were scattered and broken.

The Liaodong bandits were not much better than the Yellow Turbans. In fact, the Hu people were more brutal and cruel and would not care about the Han people at all.

Even after occupying this place for several months, the bloody killing did not stop.

Wherever Liu Bei went, he would send people to collect the corpses.

There were both men and women, and some of the corpses had been raped and humiliated, with their lower bodies rotten.

I watched as two soldiers carried the bodies to bury them.

Liu Bei's anger grew stronger and stronger. He threw the water cup heavily to the ground, clenched his fist and said angrily: "After we capture Luxiang County, no matter whether the Han or Hu bandits in the city surrender! Order the whole army not to leave a single defeated soldier behind!"

"The cavalry must hunt them down and kill them all! These bastards dared to come and harm Qingzhou. I will bury them here one by one and use them as manure for the fields."

Damn you, you bastard! Since killing the surrendered will affect my reputation, I won’t accept surrenders. I will only kill those who are determined to resist to the end and never surrender.

Be grateful to me for leaving you, the bandits, with a good reputation of never giving in.

Liu Bei laughed angrily in his heart.

When they arrived at the foot of Luxiang City, he ordered his men to build military equipment openly, while at the same time sending people to dig tunnels and earth under the city wall and use wooden pillars to temporarily support it.

The supporting pillars were burned down by fire, and the city wall collapsed immediately. More than ten gaps appeared in the old wall in an instant.

With the beating of drums and the sound of horns, the vanguards rushed in from all directions and captured the city in just two hours.

The defeated soldiers of the enemy army opened other city gates and fled. Liu Bei immediately ordered the military officers to wave the flags and asked Zilong to divide into two groups and lead the light cavalry to pursue, not to let anyone escape.

When Zhao Yun witnessed all these tragic scenes, he was also furious. After receiving the military order, he immediately led the cavalry to pursue and kill the Liaodong bandits.

"Da da..." The sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the city.

"Sir, Zhao Qidu has returned with his army, and he has also captured the leader of the Hu people from the Liaodong tribe!"

Liu Bei and many captains in the army were silently looking at the sand table in the Luxiang County Government Office, thinking about the deployment of the bandit troops in Dangli and Ye County.

I heard that Gongsun Du had also come to Donglai County, so it would be best to keep him here. A military officer came to report that Zilong had returned and captured the Hu cavalry.

Liu Bei was stunned. How far had they run? They wouldn't be chased to Dangli County, right? From the scouts' inquiries, it seemed that there were several hundred Hu cavalry there.

After a while, Zhao Yun came in to report, and behind him, several soldiers were pulling the tightly tied, dejected Hu leader with ropes.

Liu Bei didn't care about that. When he saw that Zhao Yun's armor was covered in blood, he quickly walked closer to see if he was injured.

After learning that nothing happened, he said with a sense of relief: "Zilong, even if the bandits escaped, as long as they don't return to Liaodong, they will die in Donglai sooner or later. There is no need to rush to chase the enemy. Your own safety is the most important thing."

If Liu Bei were to conquer Gongsun Du and kill Zhao Yun, he would be heartbroken.

Zhao Yun's face was different, he cupped his hands and said: "Sir, I am fine, you can fight the horse..."

Liu Bei comforted him, saying, "Battlefield is dangerous, and it is hard to guarantee the safety of men, let alone horses."

"I still have one or two good horses. You can choose them later. As long as the people can come back, I will be willing to give up the Dayuan horses shipped from the Western Regions even if they were killed in the battle." He patted Zhao Yun's arm gently to comfort him.

Then he pointed at the leader of the Hu people and said, "Since you have escaped safely, what is the use of this prisoner? The Xianbei barbarians have killed people all over the Han land and are tyrannical. The military officers will record their military exploits, drag the Hu bandits out and execute them to comfort the people."

Zhao Yun did not dissuade them. Since they were able to escape and return, the leader of the Hu people was no longer important. Besides, no one in the entire military camp could speak the Liaodong Xianbei language, so they could not ask anything.

It would be better to kill him and avenge the nearby people and the local nobles who were killed.

Liu Bei had long learned from his scouts that Gongsun Du had hired more than 2,000 Xianbei cavalrymen to forage for grass and grain in the county, plundering them as military pay and giving them women from the two counties of Donglai as gifts.

The Hu people are hateful, and people like Gongsun Du are even more hateful!
I heard that this man has more than a thousand cavalrymen under his command.

The reason why we brought more bows, crossbows and Wugang chariots from the plains was to deal with these cavalry.

Liu Bei turned to Qian Zhao and said, "Zijing, a few years ago you asked me what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to wipe out the Xiongnu and drive out the Xianbei. This time, watch how I destroy the Xianbei Huqiyi in Donglai."

"Send the order down to set up the pots and cook immediately. The combat soldiers should check their armor and weapons. The auxiliary soldiers should check the grain, hay, and military equipment. We will march out to Dangli County early tomorrow morning to destroy it and have breakfast!"

"Yes!" The captains bowed in response.

After receiving the order, they rushed to their own troops and took quick action.

The famous saying of Chen Tang of the early Han Dynasty has been widely circulated in the army, "It is appropriate to hang the heads of the barbarians in the streets and houses to show thousands of miles away that those who openly offend the mighty Han will be punished even if they are far away!"

Don't think that you can take advantage of the chaos in the Han Dynasty and rob women from all over the place and bring them back to the north, waiting to see if the Han army will kill you.

The captains had already been rubbing their hands, eager to try it out.

A small county called Lu was conquered in no time.

The merit was not enough to be shared equally among the soldiers, so they just went to the camp and had a sip of soup.

The Armored Battalion, the Sound-shooting Battalion, the heavy cavalry of the Huben Cavalry, and many auxiliary soldiers who were eager to make merit and wanted to be the first, hadn't even had a drink of soup!
I hope the Liaodong bandit army will not be frightened and flee on boats upon hearing that the Han army has arrived. It would be best if they could confront the Donglai army head-on.

The soldiers under Liu Bei were happy to hear about the war. They were not afraid of the upcoming fierce battle at all. Instead, they were afraid that the enemy would escape.

After all, we have traveled thousands of miles, across three or four counties, to suppress the bandits. If they escape, wouldn't all the efforts of walking such a long distance be in vain?
After receiving the order, Guan Hai angrily cursed: "You joined the Han army because you didn't want to farm and serve as a corvée. If you are run away by these dogs, won't you have to farm with the people in autumn when you return? This is unacceptable."

(End of this chapter)