Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 27 Who Will Decide the Fate?
The musicians certainly knew how to play the drums; they often performed ensemble music, so they were naturally familiar with the marching drums.

They brought drums and sirens, which are small to medium-sized instruments used for dance and ceremonies. The drumheads are very thin and light, so they are not really suitable as military drums.

But the musicians were professionals after all, and when several drums worked together, they actually produced a powerful, resonant war drum sound.

“Boom…boom…boom…boom…”

The drumbeats became faster and faster, and more and more synchronized.

It was the fifth watch of the morning, and the enemy hadn't made much noise. Although it was a small drum, it sounded incredibly loud in the quiet environment.

"That's it, don't stop the drumming! Close the door tightly!"

Liu Bei nodded, then suddenly lashed out with his elbow, breaking the already dilapidated wooden window on the side of the house, and leaped out of the window.

"Kill the thief!"

The shouts of battle could be heard in the distance.

Those weren't enemies; they were a few fierce bandits under Liu Bei's command. They had heard the drumbeats.

However, although they shout and clamor for battle, they certainly won't actually charge into battle.

After all, they weren't soldiers and had never been trained in battle formations or drums. Although they knew that they should advance by beating the drums, they wouldn't charge at the sound of the drums; they would just follow along with the shouts and cries of battle.

Perhaps Jiu Chi, who had served as a county soldier, would instinctively charge forward, but Jiu Chi is not here now.

Only regular troops who have undergone rigorous military training are more sensitive to the sound of drums.

Liu Bei was gambling, betting that the force that launched the night raid on the camp was an elite army that knew when to advance and when to retreat.

After all, being able to launch a night raid at dawn, preventing the night sentries from even sounding the alarm, being able to search and advance cautiously, and being able to shoot upon hearing a sound... this must not be some third-rate rabble or green recruit.

At this moment, Liu Bei had already rushed to the back of the house, where he kept his horses.

Gongsun Zan's twenty white horses, along with the dwarf horses pulling the carriage, are all here.

Liu Bei swiftly cut the ropes binding the horses with his sword, freeing them all. He then picked up a broken plank from the stable to use as a shield before mounting the lead horse.

A herd of horses will always produce a lead horse. If no one is riding it and it is not saddled or bridled, the horses will all follow the lead horse.

The lead horse among these horses is the very one that Liu Bei had intended to give to Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao's mount—even after acquiring so many horses, Cao Cao's horse remains the king of horses.

However, this horse did not belong to Gongsun Zan, but still belonged to Liu Bei, and it was a pure black horse.

Because Liu Bei had previously contributed it as military supplies, and Gongsun Zan said it should be used to "reward the person who made the greatest contribution." Coincidentally, Liu Bei "defeated Tan Shihuai's main force and killed seven centurions in battle," and that person was the one who made the greatest contribution.

It's true that I have a special connection with this horse.

Without a saddle or stirrups, Liu Bei had no choice but to ride on the horse, holding a broken wooden board in one hand and a sword in the other, relying entirely on his legs to control the horse.

This situation actually offered little fighting power, but Liu Bei still spurred his horse out, and even made the horse run around the house first.

Dozens of horses were freed from their restraints and began to run alongside the lead horse.

Gradually, the sound of hooves grew louder.

The war drums inside the house had not stopped when the sound of horses' hooves began, and the enemy's footsteps could no longer be heard.

Several enemies are slowly approaching this way, carrying bows.

They were originally only ten steps away from the musicians' house, but after hearing the drums of the charge, they hesitated for a moment and their steps became very slow and cautious.

Then, seeing Liu Bei riding his warhorse out from behind the house, the enemies almost simultaneously raised their hands and fired an arrow, then turned and ran, their reaction was astonishingly fast.

As he ran, he shouted, "Cavalleria! Cavalry!"

These arrows were shot hastily, but very accurately, most of them heading straight for Liu Bei's face.

Fortunately, Liu Bei was prepared. The broken wooden board in front of him blocked the arrows. Only one arrow, which was slightly off-target, grazed Liu Bei's arm, probably causing a minor scratch.

But at this moment, Liu Bei felt no pain.

The group was close together, and Liu Bei could see their attire clearly; they were all dressed in light brown crimson robes.

Although they weren't wearing tassels or armor, their attire was almost identical. They were definitely county soldiers, and probably the elite of the county soldiers—new recruits were issued red uniforms, which would turn this light brown after wearing them for a while.

These are veterans.

No wonder they're so cautious.

The archers didn't run around randomly; instead, they quickly ran to the other side, presumably intending to regroup with the other enemies.

Most of the enemies were in their original camp locations, which were the empty houses.

The shouts of Liu Bei's bandits could be heard nearby, but no one was seen; they were probably hiding inside houses, using the buildings for cover.

Their shouts and cries for battle attracted the vast majority of the enemy.

There were dozens of houses there, and the enemy didn't know which houses were occupied, so they could only search slowly. Liu Bei's side shouted for an enemy attack but then remained silent, and only a few archers came over.

"Form ranks! Cavalry is coming!"

Those guys carrying bows were still shouting.

The enemy also seemed to be gradually closing in; although they couldn't be seen clearly, the dark figures quickly merged together.

A small force launched a night raid. Upon hearing the drumbeats of the advancing troops and seeing the cavalry appear, they did not scatter in panic, but instead regrouped and retreated slowly.

This is definitely not some ragtag army.

However, these enemies who launched the night raid made little noise, instead clearing a path with arrows and cautiously searching their way into the camp, which obviously meant that they were also uneasy.

Since they were being bluffing, Liu Bei naturally had to pull a fast one.

The sound of dozens of horses galloping is impressive; if accompanied by the drumbeats of an advance, it would undoubtedly resemble a cavalry raid.

The more elite the recruits, the more apprehensive they become in such situations, while greenhorns are ignorant and fearless.

Liu Bei rode his horse around in a half-circle, but instead of heading directly towards the enemy, he led his herd of horses in an arc.

He didn't want the enemy to see the empty herd of horses behind him; he had to be far enough away that they couldn't see him clearly in order to maintain his deterrent effect.

Of course, this deterrent effect is only effective against elite troops, and not against ragtag troops—if the opponent were the executioners, they would probably have already swarmed in.

The enemy gradually gathered together, seemingly preparing to form a battle formation against the cavalry.

Liu Bei circled around to a position about sixty or seventy paces from the enemy's flank, raised his sword, and roared with all his might:

"Liu Bei of Zhuojun is here! Who will fight to the death?!"

However, he squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, slowing the horse down...

This shouting for battle was only meant for the enemy to hear.

The position was just right, not too far, not too close. You could see the other person's figure in the thin mist, but you couldn't make out their features clearly.

Moreover, this tactic is very similar to how the Xianbei cavalry surrounded the executioners before, which involved going around in an arc to the outside and then 'attempting to outflank and outmaneuver' them.

"withdraw!"

With no one willing to fight to the death, the enemy ordered a retreat.

Instead of scattering, the enemies retreated slowly, firing a volley of arrows at Liu Bei to suppress him.

But at this distance, in this environment where people couldn't be seen clearly, the arrow was only used to stop the cavalry from accelerating, not to kill them.

If you were really shot to death, then it would just be bad luck.

If the enemy retreats, then we should naturally advance.

Liu Bei, sword in hand, roared once more: "Come quickly and fight to the death!"

Then gently spur the horse forward, slowly moving it forward.

The enemy began to retreat rapidly.

(End of this chapter)