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

Chapter 28 Fishhooks and Bait

Upon seeing a large group of cavalry approaching, with a cavalryman shouting a death wish, the enemy retreated quickly.

Liu Bei continued to circle forward halfway, reaching the position where the enemy had previously gathered.

This was to let his men hiding in nearby houses know that he had arrived.

Hearing Liu Bei shout his determination to fight to the death, several of his men came out of the house, mounted the empty horses behind Liu Bei, and began to shout, "My lord is mighty!"

However, only six of his eight subordinates remained.

The other two had already died at their sentry posts.

But six is ​​enough; what was originally a bluff now seems to have gained some real momentum.

Two skilled horsemen rode their unsaddled horses forward for a short distance, making it appear as if they were giving chase.

The county soldiers retreated even faster.

"My lord is mighty!"

His men were shouting with great enthusiasm; these guys probably thought they'd won again...

However, the loss of two brothers left him somewhat saddened, but he didn't boast about himself anymore.

To be honest, Liu Bei was completely incapable of fighting. He was not used to riding without stirrups and a saddle, and holding that broken wooden sign was exhausting; his hands and legs were aching terribly.

On the contrary, his former bandits didn't care at all whether or not they had saddles.

When stealing or robbing horses, bandits usually had to ride unsaddled horses at high speed, so they had long since developed a special leg technique – bowlegs.

"My lord, shall we continue the pursuit?"

"I don't know what's good for me," a reckless bandit asked.

"What are you chasing me for! Get out of here right now..."

Liu Bei, annoyed, instructed his men: "Does Your Excellency really want to fight to the death with someone?"

Of course, they had to leave quickly. Liu Bei was pretty sure that the enemy was after Gongsun Zan.

If they were after me, then when I gave my name and shouted that I was ready to die, the enemy probably started firing a barrage of arrows...

The fact that the enemy was able to eliminate the night sentry silently and sneak directly into the middle of the camp means that they must have seen Gongsun Zan's entourage and flags, and must have recognized them.

They saw the flag, yet they continued to cautiously search the houses—all in an attempt to kill Gongsun Zan!
After thinking it over carefully, Liu Bei gave a wry smile.

This is probably the bitter fruit of my own actions!
This is the territory of Zhang Chun, the prime minister of Zhongshan State.

The horses Zhang Shiping was transporting belonged to Zhang Chun, and Zhang Shiping should now believe that Gongsun Zan was after the Zhang family's horses, so he would definitely report this to Zhang Chun as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Zan presented white horses as tribute to Luoyang, parading through the region with great fanfare...

Zhang Chun definitely has to deal with him!

However, Gongsun Zan was always dressed in the regalia of an official, so it was impossible to intercept him directly. Therefore, Zhang Chun sent elite troops to sneak into the camp and carry out the beheading.

However, they did not know that Gongsun Zan was not in the camp.

That small unit was well-trained and was mostly Zhang Chun's private army.

and many more……

wrong!

Wuji County is only thirty li away from here, but Gongsun Zan has been gone for a whole day and night, and has not sent any news back yet.

Could it be... that Gongsun Zan was deliberately waiting for Zhang Chun to come and kill him?

Liu Bei thought for a moment and then ordered, "Take the musicians and the heads of those two brothers with you. Let's go upstream to the sunken ship and see if Magistrate Gongsun's men are there... or rather, whether they have repaired the sunken ship at all!"

……

The sunken ship remains in the upstream river bend, but there is no one there.

Gongsun Zan's men are not here, or rather, they have never been here at all—there isn't even a campfire nearby.

Liu Bei stood by the river, staring blankly at the two small mounds of earth.

The mound contained the heads of two men who were on night watch. These were his first true subordinates, yet they died silently in this place.

Perhaps they made some noise before they died, otherwise Liu Bei wouldn't have woken up.

Several musicians acted as ceremonial musicians, playing a funeral dirge, which was considered a high-level posthumous honor for the two heads.

Liu Bei bowed to the two mounds, then turned around expressionlessly and instructed his men and musicians, "You may all return to Zhuo County."

"Shall we go back? And you, my lord?"

Several of his men were somewhat at a loss.

“I’m going to Luoyang alone… You guys can’t swim, you won’t be able to get across.”

Liu Bei's eyes were gloomy, but his face remained calm: "If you encounter anyone blocking your way, go into the Taihang Mountains and find Jiu Chi."

Having said that, one of them picked up his sword, led his mount, and walked towards the river.

Gongsun Zan's followers were not at the location of the sunken ship at this moment, and the sunken ship was completely unattended.

This means that Gongsun Zan was digging his own grave!
Looking back, Gongsun Zan's indifferent attitude towards the situation in Zhongshan when he encountered refugees on the road suggests that he was aware of Zhang Chun's situation.

Gongsun Zan knew perfectly well that the white horses came from the Zhang family of Yuyang, yet he still presented them to Luoyang as a grand gift...

He was deliberately luring Zhang Chun to ambush him.

Those white horses, those musicians, Gongsun Zan's ceremonial banners, and even himself... they were all bait!

This ferry crossing, now a no-man's-land, was the best and last place to make a move within Zhongshan's territory.

Therefore, Gongsun Zan did not stay at the camp—and probably did not go to Wuji either—but waited elsewhere. When he discovered that Zhang Chun was showing signs of making a move, he sent his followers back.

Those who followed him went upstream overnight to "repair the boat" after returning, leaving no one behind.

Since this was discussed with Liu Bei and his followers, Liu Bei did not notice anything amiss.

But now that I think about it, the volunteers wouldn't have been so eager to do hard labor. Even if they were, they wouldn't have left the camp without exception.

They had to work through the night just to get all of Gongsun Zan's men and servants to leave.

As a result, he had no choice but to stay in the camp.

This is using someone else to do the dirty work, and also diverting the trouble elsewhere...

The ship repair was merely an opportunistic act by the militia. Even without the ship repair, they would probably have left the camp under the pretext that "the Ming court has not returned and something must have happened."

This was Gongsun Zan's way of preventing losses for his men, and also to facilitate Zhang Chun's private army's raid on the camp...

Of course, Gongsun Zan was certainly unsure whether Zhang Chun would make a move; he was merely testing the waters and creating opportunities for Zhang Chun—the location of the encampment was most likely given to Zhang Chun by Gongsun Zan's men.

No wonder Gongsun Zan suddenly presented a white horse; no wonder he wanted to travel the same road with him!

Gongsun Zan himself did not intend to harm himself, but he still planned to use himself as cannon fodder.

Or rather, everything else was bait, while he himself was used as the hook by Gongsun Zan.

Their own camp was specifically waiting for Zhang Chun to come and kill them.

If he were to die at the hands of Zhang Chun right after making a great contribution, and if Zhang Chun were to seize the twenty white horses that were to be offered as tribute, Gongsun Zan would surely return to Zhuojun immediately and demand that Liu Wei, the governor of Zhuojun, and Zou Jing, the Protector of the Wuhuan, raise an army to punish Zhang Chun, this traitor!
Especially Zou Jing. Gongsun Zan knew that he had saved Zou Jing's life, and if he died, Zou Jing would definitely have to do something.

Zou Jing had the authority to recruit Wuhuan cavalry...

His own life was the fuse that Gongsun Zan used to provoke Zou Jing into raising an army!

If he fails to scare away the enemy and dies here, then Zhang Chun's killing of meritorious officials and interception of tribute are both heinous crimes. Even if Liu Wei and Zou Jing do not directly attack him, they should at least raise troops to defend against him.

Liu Wei is a scholar, and Zou Jing is injured, so Gongsun Zan, a valiant general from Liaodong, is the most suitable leader!
This is probably what Gongsun Zan meant by "making preparations early"...

If nothing unexpected happens, those loyal followers and servants, including Gongsun Zan himself, probably went to the crossroads leading to Lu Nu to set up an ambush last night—if Zhang Chun makes a move, Gongsun Zan will definitely arrest some of the county soldiers who did it as irrefutable evidence.

Although Liu Bei knew all this, he was powerless to do anything about it.

Because everything Gongsun Zan did was beyond reproach.

(End of this chapter)