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

Chapter 59 A Trivial Matter
There is a loss, but also a gain.

The idea of ​​adding unnecessary details to a nine-foot snake made Liu Bei very hesitant.

But Zuo Yuan managed to turn the tide.

The way of Heaven is indeed balanced; there are those who are useless and those who are clever and useful.

Countless exceptionally talented individuals remain unknown due to their humble status.

"...We, the courtesans, are probably just bait that can be discarded at any time..."

Zuo Yuan's words by the Zi River are still vivid in my mind.

That insignificant bait that Gongsun Zan casually discarded has now become a wall blocking his path.

If it goes on for too long, there might be flaws, but Zuo Yuan only needs to control Zhuo County for five days.

Liu Bei's original plan was to use the horn-shaped straw hat given to him by the Taihang bandits to join forces with them in the Juma River area to deal with Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan assumed that the Taihang bandits were his allies and would not be on guard.

Liu Bei ordered Zhang Baiqi and Jiu Chi to attack Yan Gang. Since the Taihang bandits did not receive Yan Gang's promise or support, they would naturally think that Gongsun Zan wanted to lure and kill them. This was to create enmity first.

Then, Duan Jiong would lead the troops under the banner of Zou Jing to suppress bandits, attack Zhang Fei near the Lu Family Manor, and lure Gongsun Zan into pretending to be a bandit from Taihang Mountain to take action.

The ox-horn hat hangs in the Lu family manor, and the real Taihang bandits will not trespass on it. If Gongsun Zan were to impersonate a Taihang bandit and attack Zou Jing's banner, then Liu Bei and Zhang Fei would use the nickname "Big Ears" to call on the real Taihang bandits to besiege Gongsun Zan.

The ox-horn hat is the reputation of the Taihang Mountains and the foundation for receiving external support. Violating the gate where the hat is located would damage the reputation of the Taihang Mountains and would lead to a united attack, thus creating conflict.

With grudges and conflicts already established, and given that Gongsun Zan temporarily considered the Taihang bandits as allies, there's a high chance of eliminating Gongsun Zan.

However, if Beixincheng falls into the hands of the Taihang bandits, they will gather a large army to try to attack the county town. Only when they cannot conquer the county town will they resort to looting grain from places like the Juma River.

This means that the Taihang bandits will not arrive for at least a few days, making the plan impossible to implement.

If he had missed those few days, Gongsun Zan would have received news from Beixin City and would have known that the Taihang bandits had not made contact with Yan Gang, and he would not have been fooled.

Therefore, Liu Bei had no choice but to abandon his plan and return to Zhuo County to ensure his mother's safety.

Meanwhile, they raided the villa of Prefect Liu Wei, prompting Liu Wei to order Gongsun Zan to deal with the bandits.

Ideally, we could control Zhuo County for a few days and keep Gongsun Zan outside the city. This would leave Gongsun Zan with no way out and he would have no choice but to suppress the bandits on the spot.

This created the situation Liu Bei desired—the county town was captured by the "bandits," and Gongsun Zan had to try to retake the city while fighting the Taihang bandits outside, while Liu Bei hid in the shadows and could once again find an opportunity to ambush them.

Moreover, Liu Bei was a 'dead man' in Gongsun Zan's eyes, and Gongsun Zan would never have thought of his existence.

This plan is far too complex, and the slightest mistake could lead to failure. But Liu Bei is now a 'dead man,' and only now can he implement this complex plan without any scruples.

Since everyone's dead, things like capturing Zhuo County or colluding with Taihang are unlikely to fall on Liu Bei's shoulders...

It was Zhang Baiqi of Taihang who did everything!

After finishing the business, we can have some miracle doctor "revive Liu Bei," since feigning death or going into shock on the battlefield is not uncommon these days.

……

The following afternoon, when Gongsun Zan led his army to the city of Zhuoxian, the city gates were already closed.

There were guards on the city wall, but there were no flags or other ceremonial guards. All that could be seen were people carrying defensive weapons and heavy objects such as large logs and stones piled on the wall.

Gongsun Zan raised the banner of a separate commander, but still no one opened the gate for him.

"Who's on the city wall? Where is Zou Dan?!"

Gongsun Zan led his troops to within a hundred paces of the city walls and loudly questioned them.

No one answered from the city wall, except for one person who shot an arrow at Gongsun Zan's banner.

The arrow did not injure anyone; it is extremely rare for an arrow to kill someone from a hundred paces away.

This is a warning, and also a declaration of war.

"...That incompetent Zou Dan couldn't even hold out for a single day?!"

Gongsun Zan's face twisted with rage: "Someone, go to the prefect's villa and check on the situation!"

After giving the order, Gongsun Zan led his troops forward with shields raised, intending to test the strength of the city.

Dozens of men lined up on the city wall, raising their bows to shoot. They were Zhang Baiqi's underlings, and although not all of them were skilled archers, they were all experienced veterans.

These dozens of arrows didn't actually cause much damage, but most of them were very accurate.

Gongsun Zan's soldiers who went forward to probe all held up their shields, and the arrows mostly hit the shields with very few missing.

Upon seeing this, Gongsun Zan immediately retreated a mile away.

Since there are dozens of elite archers in the city, it will be very difficult to breach the city without siege equipment.

"Report! The fortified village of the prefect is safe, and all the officials and soldiers of the prefecture and county are at the prefect's villa... Prefect Liu has sent his chief clerk to deliver the order to the military commander..."

Not long after, the people sent to Liu Wei’s villa returned, bringing with them the prefectural clerk.

"Gongsun Bogui, my lord asks you, why have the bandits come here?! Shouldn't you be defending Beixin City? Why did you allow the bandits to seize Zhuo County?!"

The chief clerk, a close subordinate of Liu Wei, immediately confronted him aggressively, demanding, "Are you the magistrate of Zhuo?! Do you know the crime of losing the city?!"

"The thieves are cunning, and I was caught off guard for a moment... Please rest assured, Prefect, I will surely retake this city within a few days."

The chief clerk was speaking on behalf of the prefect, and Gongsun Zan naturally replied to the prefect: "If I cannot quell the rebellion of the Taihang bandits, I will offer my head to the prefect as punishment!"

"Hmph... If you can't quell the rebellion, not only will your head fall into the hands of the bandits, but my lord and I will also fall into their hands!"

The Chief Clerk's anger at this moment represented his own: "You, Gongsun Bogui, asked the Prefect to order the suppression of the bandits, but you have led the bandits all the way into the city! If Zhuo County is lost, even Grand Commandant Liu will not be able to protect you!"

"...Shut up! Don't demoralize our troops!"

Gongsun Zan gritted his teeth and retorted, "If you had even a little bit of courage, and had left even half of the county and prefectural officials in the city, how could the bandits have taken it over?!"

"you!"

The chief clerk was speechless, yet dared not leave in a huff—who knew if there were still thieves outside?
She could only sit aside and sulk.

"How many bandits are inside the city? Who attacked the city before?"

Gongsun Zan suppressed his anger and questioned the chief clerk.

"I don't know... we were already out of the city when the thieves entered."

The chief clerk shook his head.

"Does the governor's villa have siege equipment?"

Gongsun Zan asked again.

"No, if such equipment were kept in the villa and were stolen, wouldn't that bring disaster to the governor's fortified village?"

The chief clerk shook his head again.

"Who else is in the city? Are there any defense supplies left in the treasury? When you left the city, did you take any weapons or armor with you?"

Gongsun Zan then inquired about the city's military preparedness.

"I don't know..."

The chief clerk shook his head again: "We are here to escort the prefect out of the city and have no interest in such trivial matters."

“A trivial matter?! Ha...haha…”

Gongsun Zan, enraged, laughed and drew his sword: "What a trivial matter!"

Having said that, he plunged his sword into the chief clerk's neck.

The chief clerk knew nothing, so Gongsun Zan couldn't determine the situation in the city.

Considering that Zou Dan couldn't even hold out for a day, the Taihang bandits inside the city might be quite numerous, so we have no choice but to deal with them slowly.

"Set up camp at Shiliting and requisition the people of Shiliting to build a long ladder..."

After considering the matter for a while, Gongsun Zan saw that it was getting dark, so he led his troops to retreat to Shili Pavilion, west of the city, to set up camp and build weapons.

This is an inevitable choice.

Therefore, Duan Jiong would go to Shiliting to provide support...

(End of this chapter)