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

Chapter 55 Hometown Sentiments
Zhang Baiqi entered the city, and Jiu Chi, Zhang Ba, and the others closed the city gates again.

"Everyone, squat down and don't move!"

Zhang Baiqi shouted loudly, directing his troops to take over the city's defenses.

The auxiliary soldiers were auxiliary soldiers, so naturally they had little will to fight. Once the city was no longer there to protect them, they were just a bunch of old, weak and laborers, and most of them squatted down with their heads in their hands.

Only about twenty people reacted after Yan Gang was knocked down. They were probably Yan Gang's close followers. Some raised their weapons to try to resist, some retreated to various parts of the city, and some tried to escape.

But now they are trapped in the small town and have lost their leader. Any reaction is useless. If they dare to make a move, they will all die at the hands of Zhang Baiqi and the Netherworld soldiers.

The commotion in Beixincheng subsided after a while.

The city's warehouses contained dry rations, weapons, and many slightly yellowed strips of plain linen.

The old and weak auxiliary soldiers were originally cutting plain hemp, and they all had plain hemp cloths tied around their arms.

The plain hemp headscarf was the symbol of Gongsun Zan's followers. Each follower was equipped differently, and half of them were Hu people. In order to distinguish friend from foe, they naturally needed a unified symbol.

Elite cavalrymen would often tie strips of cloth around their arms to wipe away sweat and to secure hooks and pegs.

The hook-and-shield was a common defensive weapon used by the Han army at that time. It was a small arm shield that was tied to the arm, with an iron hook extending from the middle. It could be used to lock enemy weapons or to hang ropes, climb, etc.

It has many uses, but it is also quite expensive to make, since it is made of iron.

Horses of that era only had single stirrups for mounting and dismounting; they lacked double stirrups and high saddles. Cavalrymen found it difficult to free their hands, making it inconvenient to hold a shield. Therefore, riders who could afford it would use hooks to enhance their defense, while those who couldn't would tie a piece of wood to their hands for blocking.

Inside the city, the scene was quite obvious: a group of auxiliary soldiers, without even arm guards, were all wearing plain hemp headscarves, clearly intended to help the Taihang bandits identify them.

Jiu Chi and the others naturally tied on plain hemp strips, transforming themselves into the garrison of Beixin City.

Compared to Yan Gang, Jiu Chi was definitely more like 'one of their own' to the leaders of Taihang.

At this time, the Taihang bandits were a loose alliance of small gangs, much like village chiefs leading their brothers to carve out territories and make a living in the mountains. There was no hierarchical relationship between them, nor any distinction of rank; the only difference was the strength of each mountain.

Most so-called thieves are not professional mountain bandits; they are ordinary people when they lay down their weapons, and thieves when they pick up knives and guns.

However, there are few suitable places to cultivate in the mountains, and people lack food and clothing, so they have to come down from the mountains to make a living every autumn harvest. This is actually the same reason why the Xianbei people raided the border in winter.

If we're just talking about familiar faces, Zuo Zi probably knows more Taihang leaders than Yan Gang, since he took Jiu Chi to play in the Taihang Mountains for more than two months and visited all the familiar mountain peaks.

Moreover, there are many fellow villagers from Shanggu in the mountains, and most of the leaders in the Northern Taihang Mountains know that Jiuchi is a subordinate of "Big Ears" of Zhuojun.

Jiu Chi didn't know the specifics of the agreement between Yan Gang and the Taihang leaders, but it didn't matter. He knew at least that Yan Gang had agreed to provide the Taihang bandits with some resources.

All these resources are now located within the North New City – essentially supplied by 'Big Ear'.

"My lord is right. There is so much food and weapons in this city, yet only so few people are left to guard it. It must be what Gongsun Zan prepared for the Taihang bandits."

Zhang Baiqi instructed Jiu Chi: "I will stay here to set up an ambush. You go quickly to find the Taihang bandits. Kill a few of the fastest ones first, and that will cause a rift between the Taihang bandits and Gongsun Zan."

"Don't order me around. I'm not a soldier now, and you're not the Marquis of Qu. I only obey the orders of my lord. It's not your place to give orders."

Nine-foot gave Zhang Baiqi a cold look: "I know the Taihang bandits well. You take your men and go report to the young master. I'll handle things here."

Indeed, Jiu Chi was not a soldier; he was merely a hidden servant under Liu Bei. When recruiting soldiers, he and several bandits were in the Taihang Mountains, so Zhang Baiqi was not qualified to command him.

In fact, Zhang Baiqi is not a soldier; he is now considered a living dead.

Zhang Baiqi and Jiu Chi knew each other before, and their relationship was not good.

Zhang Sheng was formerly the military commander of Jiu Chi. After killing the prefect Hou Yan, in order to eliminate any future threats, he mobilized the county troops to massacre several pavilions where the prefect's retainers and guests lived, using the method of killing innocent people to claim credit. Jiu Chi's hometown was among them. Jiu Chi refused to harm his neighbors and became a deserter. Moreover, he hated Zhang Sheng, and by extension, he hated Zhang Sheng's personal guard, the Hundred Cavalry Commander.

Zhang Baiqi didn't hate Jiu Chi, but he was from Liangzhou and had no feelings for Youzhou.

This is a common situation these days. The two couldn't get along, but fortunately, neither of them were impulsive or reckless, and both had to rely on Liu Bei, so they didn't turn against each other directly.

However, it's hard to say whether they'll stab you in the back.

After all, the Netherworld Soldiers also had grudges against the other soldiers, who all wished the Netherworld Soldiers would die quickly. During training, the Netherworld Soldiers were truly ruthless.

This level of coordination is already the maximum they can achieve.

In fact, Liu Bei was also worried that the two of them would not cooperate well, but at the moment they were the only ones he could use. There was no other way. If he had not been conscripted to join the army, Liu Bei should have come by himself.

This is the disadvantage of not having an official position; even if one were to obtain only a minor official post with a salary of 100 shi (a unit of grain), one would not be so passive as to be summoned by others.

According to Liu Bei's plan, Zhang Baiqi should stay in Beixin City with Jiu Chi. Jiu Chi is familiar with the Taihang bandits, and Zhang Baiqi has rich combat experience; only by working together can they ensure the completion of the mission.

Liu Bei needed them to thwart Gongsun Zan's plans in Beixin City, to make the Taihang bandits see Gongsun Zan as a liar, and to prompt Gongsun Zan to divide his forces.

Jiu Chi can use his identity as a Taihang bandit to lure people into Beixin City, while Zhang Baiqi can act as the executioner. If he can fool them, he can fool them; if he can't, he can kill the first Taihang bandits who enter the city in Yan Gang's name, and then set fire to Beixin City.

Even if we can't deceive the city, it's fine. We can directly attack Beixin City and intercept and kill a few Taihang bandits. This will cause Yan Gang and the Taihang bandits to lose trust in each other, which will also have an effect.

This task isn't difficult, and it doesn't require killing too many people. It's enough to make the Taihang bandits stop trusting Yan Gang and Gongsun Zan.

—If Gongsun Zan wants to feign a bandit suppression campaign, Liu Bei will have to force him to actually suppress the bandits. Then we'll see who those Taihang bandits kill…

Zhang Baiqi naturally planned to use a simpler and safer method. Now that they had already tricked their way into the city, all they had to do was set up an ambush in Beixin City, lure and kill a few Taihang bandits in Yan Gang's name, and then burn Beixin City down. This mission would then be considered a complete success.

But clearly, Jiu Chi was a little unhappy.

Zhang Baiqi is ruthless and will surely kill anyone who comes. But for Jiu Chi, there are too many fellow villagers from Shanggu among the Taihang bandits. What if the first one to come is an acquaintance?
"If I leave, can you fulfill your husband's request?"

Zhang Baiqi looked at the executioners around him and felt very uneasy.

“We have a deep sense of local kinship, which you might not understand… It doesn’t necessarily have to be about killing people. Zhangba and I can persuade them.”

Nine-foot pointed to Zhang-eight beside him: "Brother Zuo Zi is Zhang-eight's cousin, his own cousin."

Zhang Ba clearly didn't have a good impression of Zhang Baiqi either, and glared at him while holding his spiked club.

"The young master's orders are to kill the traitors and burn down Beixin City! You dare disobey?!"

Zhang Baiqi asked with a frown.

“Young master has always been kind and benevolent. If we can avoid killing and establish a good relationship with the Taihang heroes, that would be even better… Besides, young master didn’t say that we had to kill anyone. He just wanted to stir up trouble between the Taihang heroes and Gongsun Zan. I’m familiar with all the Taihang heroes. You can go now, but don’t come here looking so fierce and frightening!”

Jiu Chi indicated that he did not intend to disobey the order, but simply wanted to find a different way.

"Since that's the case, then this place is yours... If you ruin my lord's plans, I will kill you!"

Zhang Baiqi was not good with words. He knew that most soldiers would not obey his command, so he had no choice but to back down and lead the Dark Cavalry to find Liu Bei to report the news.

"Tch... Zhangba, go to the western mountain path and find Brother Zuo Zi. Tell him that Da Er has prepared food and weapons for him and that he should come and get them quickly."

Nine-foot spat at Zhang Baiqi's retreating figure, then turned and ordered Zhangba to carry out his orders: "Tell him to hurry up, this city must be burned down in two days."

(End of this chapter)