Han officials

Chapter 100 The Tragic Liu Xuande
While Wei Zhe was working on the integration of Liaodong, the area west of Lulong Pass was also busy.

From Liaoxi County to Yuyang County, there were battles almost everywhere.

After General Meng Yi arrived in Youzhou, he relied heavily on the Cavalry Commandant Gongsun Zan.

It was precisely because of this that Gongsun Zan was able to lead 4,000 soldiers from Zhuo County as the vanguard to open the way for the army, and recaptured half of Youzhou along the way, making food and grass no longer a problem for the army.

For this purpose, Gongsun Zan, who was wealthy, also recruited a group of volunteers from Youzhou to follow him into battle. Because Gongsun Zan and his dozens of volunteers who were skilled in riding and shooting often rode white horses, forming the left and right wings, they were also known as the "White Horse Volunteers."

Liu Bei, who had once wanted to leave Gongsun Zan and fly solo, thus joined his senior brother's army. Not only that, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also became cavalrymen under Gongsun Zan.

After four years of precipitation, Liu Bei is now more calm than in the first year of Zhongping, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's martial arts have become more proficient.

Having experienced the hardships of the Yellow Turban War, Liu Bei and his men's performance this time can be described as that of veterans on the battlefield.

Even Gongsun Zan couldn't help but look at this junior fellow with a new respect.

The next day, in the western suburbs of Liucheng County, Liaoxi County.

The once lush and green fields are now littered with broken limbs, horse carcasses, and human heads.

However, Gongsun Zan, who was covered in blood, did not feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, he was smiling because he won again.

"Xuan De, after this battle, I will definitely take credit for your achievements!" Gongsun Zan patted Liu Bei's armor with a proud look on his face and said, "Don't worry, we are brothers. I will never let you suffer any loss again!"

Gongsun Zan naturally knew that Liu Bei had not been rewarded for his contributions in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, so this statement was meant to reassure him.

Liu Bei had no backing at the beginning, so his military achievements were blacklisted, but his Gongsun Zan was not a man without foundation.

The most important thing is that Liu Bei and his two sworn brothers are also the most capable generals under Gongsun Zan.

If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were not completely loyal to Liu Bei, and Gongsun Zan was too embarrassed to snatch them away, he would have probably found ways to transfer Guan Yu and Zhang Fei into his own White Horse Volunteers long ago.

Hearing this, Liu Bei immediately smiled, wiped the blood off his face, and said casually, "Thank you very much, brother!"

Liu Bei was not shy in front of Gongsun Zan because he knew his senior brother's temper.

Although Gongsun Zan came from a famous family in western Liaoning, he had a very explosive and straightforward temperament and hated red tape the most.

When Liu Bei was studying under Lu Zhi in his early years, he learned the habit of liking fancy clothes and beautiful cars from him.

From this perspective, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan have been friends for more than ten years.

After a brief rest, Gongsun Zan didn't delay any longer. He immediately mounted a white horse and said with a heroic smile, "Xuan De, are you still able to fight?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei laughed heartily and said, "Why not? I will just wait for the military order!"

Hearing this, Gongsun Zan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Okay, then today we will chase the enemy north and destroy them for breakfast!"

After saying this, Gongsun Zan led his vanguard troops across the Bailang River with high spirits, ready to completely wipe out Zhang Chun's remaining troops.

It’s not that Gongsun Zan was arrogant, but that he really fought too smoothly this time.

From Yuyang County, Youbeiping County, to Liaoxi County, Gongsun Zan and Zhang Chun fought more than ten battles of varying sizes over the past month, and Gongsun Zan was victorious in almost every one of them. He chased Zhang Chun so hard that he forced his army to abandon even his wife and children.

Of course, this only targets the Han army under Zhang Chun.

As for Zhang Chun's allies, the Wuhuan people, they had not suffered any major losses.

Although Zhang Chun was very arrogant when he first started his rebellion, his foundation was ultimately too shallow and he was unable to truly control the counties of Youzhou. Otherwise, he would not have been chased by Gongsun Zan and fled north for his life.

However, the continuous victories made Gongsun Zan forget why Zhang Chun was able to rise to power.

Although Zhang Chun and the Wuhuan people had their own plans, they would be the first to disagree with anyone who wanted to destroy Zhang Chun.

After all, it is not easy to find such a good cover. With Zhang Chun in charge, they can act much more freely.

As Gongsun Zan and his men pursued deeper and deeper, they soon ran into big trouble.

……

Half a month later, Guanzi City, Liaoxi County.

Gongsun Zan's face was weather-beaten, his armor was tattered, and he no longer had the rebellious spirit he had before.

However, his eyes remained firm. He did not become depressed or desperate because he was surrounded. Even though he suffered several wounds, he continued to run back and forth. He did not go down the city wall to rest for a while until the attacking troops retreated.

At the same time, the three Liu Bei brothers were in a rather embarrassing state.

There was no way, it was because they accidentally stepped into the trap of the Wuhuan in western Liaoning a few days ago.

One must admit that Qiu Liju, the Wuhuan leader from Liaoxi, was quite strategic. He had clearly received the news long before, but he waited until Zhang Chun was about to flee to the Liaodong vassal state before taking action.

If Qiu Liju hadn't kept Zhang Chun hanging and given him hope, this guy would have given up on himself long ago.

It was precisely because of this that Gongsun Zan suffered a crushing defeat in that battle, with more than half of his troops killed or wounded.

If it weren't for the extraordinary combat power of Gongsun Zan's vanguard army, they probably wouldn't even have the chance to retreat back to Guanzi City.

At night, after drinking a bowl of wild vegetable porridge, Liu Bei suddenly felt sad.

"Alas~ It's all my fault for being too careless. I've gotten you into trouble again!"

Looking at the injuries on Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei couldn't help but burst into tears.

After all, if it weren't for him, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei wouldn't have fallen into such a deadly situation with Gongsun Zan.

However, Guan Yu did not blame Liu Bei at all. Instead, he consoled him, saying, "Brother, why do you say that? We were only following orders. What does the current situation have to do with you?"

At this point, Guan Yu stroked his beard and smiled carelessly, saying, "Besides, if the three of us brothers could die together, it would be a beautiful thing!"

Hearing this, Zhang Fei also smiled heroically.

"That's right, that's right. It's just death, what's there to be afraid of?"

You have to know that Zhang Fei is a typical man of Yan and Zhao, and valuing righteousness over life has long been engraved in his bones.

However, the more reasonable Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were, the more guilty Liu Bei felt.

"It's all my fault. If only I had persuaded my brother back then, everything would have been fine!"

After hearing what he said, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei couldn't help but look regretful.

Because a few days ago, Liu Bei had suggested that Gongsun Zan contact Liaodong and work together to encircle and suppress the remaining troops of Zhang Chun.

After all, apart from Wei Zhe who enjoyed a great reputation in Liaodong, Taishi Ci, a vassal state of Liaodong, was also a fierce general.

If they could get his help, Zhang Chun's remaining troops would be unable to escape.

However, Gongsun Zan refused without hesitation, saying that he could still wipe out the rebels without Liaodong's intervention.

Without timely battlefield reports from Gongsun Zan, Taishi Ci, a vassal state of Liaodong, would not be able to grasp the battle situation, let alone cooperation between the two armies. This gave the Wuhuan tribe in Liaoxi an opportunity to take advantage.

In fact, Liu Bei also knew in his heart that his senior brother was afraid of the man in Liaodong and was afraid that the other party would steal the credit.

But isn't that what he actually thinks in his heart?
The shadow of a famous tree.

Ever since the news of Wei Zhe's transfer to Liaodong as the prefect came out, the Wuhuan tribe in Liaodong voluntarily withdrew from Liaodong County.

The other party didn't even dare to stay in the vassal state of Liaodong. After all, everyone knew the relationship between Taishi Ci and Wei Zhe.

This is the deterrent power brought by Wei Zhe's pacification of the Xianbei and destruction of the Three Han within a few years.

After all, the Hu people have always been afraid of power but not virtue.

If they had known that killing the Liaodong governor would attract Wei Zhe, they would probably have taken the initiative to escort Yang Zhong away.

To be honest, Liu Bei was very envious of Wei Zhe.

Obviously, they were all volunteers of the Han army, but after five years of not seeing each other, the gap between them had become huge.

Today, Wei Zhe has become the Marquis of Never-Sleeping Han Dynasty and has been appointed as a two thousand stone official for many times.

And he? He is still a commoner, a commoner.

It was this envy mixed with jealousy that ultimately prevented Liu Bei from sticking to his own ideas.

Thinking about it now, Liu Bei felt mixed emotions.

After a moment's silence, Liu Bei walked towards Gongsun Zan with a serious expression...

　I thought a lot today and changed my mind.

　　I won’t think too much about my next creation. I’ll just follow my feelings, otherwise the process will be too slow.

　　There’s more to come, I’ll try to write more tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)