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

Chapter 67 My place is full of fugitives

The upper reaches of the Juma River, a river bend.

Liu Bei was leading a small troop of cavalry to inspect the land he had just purchased.

The purchase of this land was still free—Prefect Liu Wei had issued many IOUs to raise funds for the army, and Liu Bei simply threw those bamboo slips with the amounts written on them into the county treasury, indicating that he had already paid the soldiers' bonuses out of his own pocket, and that the accounts were now settled.

River Bend is a dangerous and dangerous place where both barbarians and mountain bandits frequently appear. It is a completely uninhabited area and is not worth much to begin with. Selling a white note for two million coins is already considered a high price.

Actually, this area is very large, about the size of a county.

Dozens of miles to the north, on the hillside, lies a largely abandoned section of the Han Great Wall. Although this section of the Great Wall is unattended and only sections of broken and collapsed stone walls remain, it can still be utilized if troops are stationed there again—at least the stones are usable.

However, there are indeed many non-Han people here...

When Liu Bei was surveying the terrain, he had just crossed a small hill when he saw two 'wild horses' with saddles running towards him.

Liu Bei went up to the top of the slope and saw a group of Hu people besieging a mountain goods vendor near the river.

The mountain goods vendor was a burly man, quite tall and incredibly strong, wearing a straw hat and a plain linen short coat.

There were some goods scattered on the ground, which looked like wild mushrooms and mountain products such as rabbit and fox fur.

Two Hu people were lying on the ground groaning in pain. They must have been the owners of the two stray wild horses. They had probably been knocked off their horses and couldn't get up.

That burly man, relying solely on a broken carrying pole, fought on foot against the barbarian bandits, taking on ten men single-handedly, and even seemed to have the upper hand.
"Brothers, kill the Hu!"

Just as Liu Bei led his cavalry down the hillside, the burly man turned around, wielding a carrying pole with one hand and with a powerful sweep, knocked the barbarian behind him off his horse. He then grabbed the reins and mounted his horse.

The movements were fluid and seamless, executed in one go.

As he mounted his horse, he even swung his carrying pole to knock away another Hu man's short spear. When the carrying pole and the short spear collided, there was a sound like tearing silk.

The carrying pole wasn't very sturdy; it seemed to be broken.

Moreover, this burly man was tall and strong, and clearly much heavier than the barbarian. His horse had just been pulled back a step by him. The sudden increase in load caused the horse's hooves to lose their rhythm and stumble in the soft mud.

Several Hu people seized the opportunity to surround him. The burly man used the broken carrying pole to parry the attacks from both sides, but his weapon was too short to fight back, so he had to urge his horse forward to break through.

But the horse couldn't get going; instead, it became a bit weak.

The burly man simply leaped off his horse, dodged the attack of the barbarian with a somersault in mid-air, and kicked the barbarian who attacked him off his horse.

After landing, he rolled over once, picked up the short spear that had been knocked away, and raised it to continue fighting on foot.

"Kill the barbarians and save the people!"

Liu Bei had already led his cavalry to charge over.

Although it seemed that this strong man might not need to be rescued, Liu Bei still decided to lend a hand and do him a favor.

This person is exceptionally skilled; it would be best to recruit him as a bodyguard, since my current subordinates are mostly young and insecure.

His cavalrymen swarmed forward, and the Hu people began to scatter and flee.

Unexpectedly, when this tough guy turned around and saw a troop of cavalry charging towards him, he turned and ran just like the Hu people!
Liu Bei, riding swiftly, slashed down a barbarian in front of him who hadn't had time to turn around. Seeing that the fierce man was actually running away, he quickly shouted, "Hey, hey, hero, don't run away! We're here to help you!"

Why are you running? Are you some kind of bandits from Taihang Mountain?
No way, the Taihang bandits just brought a huge sum of money back to the mountains and are probably dividing up the loot right now. They have no reason to come out and sell mountain products to make money.

Moreover, the Taihang bandits just committed a crime, why would they show their faces now...?

Liu Bei sensed something was wrong, so he chased after him and asked, "Don't you want these furs anymore?"

Hearing Liu Bei's shout, the burly man slowed his pace and glanced back, seemingly hesitant, and kept his head down, unwilling to show his face. "Hero... we are neither government soldiers nor bandits, we are simply here to kill the Hu people, you don't need to run."

Liu Bei probably realized that the burly man was likely a fugitive.

Liu Bei himself was a fugitive, so he was all too familiar with situations where he didn't want to show his face.

Those mountain goods must have come from the Taihang Mountains, but this person didn't sell them in Laiyuan City. Instead, he went to this desolate wilderness and walked along the river... He's probably a wanted criminal.

Looking at the muscular man's appearance, Liu Bei felt a pang of emotion; it was quite similar to when he first transmigrated...

Liu Bei didn't dare to enter the city at that time, and he often went to deserted places. He also disguised himself as a peddler and sold things in the countryside to obtain dry food supplies. It was because of this that he became familiar with the terrain of Yanzhou.

"Kill the barbarians first...A true man should kill the barbarians and destroy the enemy, and achieve merit through martial prowess!"

Liu Bei didn't need to arrest any wanted criminals. He was indeed envious of the man's skills, but if the man wanted to leave, he didn't intend to stop him—mainly because he probably couldn't.

Therefore, he only said "kill the Hu," and then turned his horse to chase after the Hu people.

Seeing this, the strong man was probably indeed indignant at the barbarian attack. He turned around, ran a few steps, and used the short spear in his hand as a javelin.

The short spear flew out, whistling through the air in a slight arc, and accurately struck the back of a fleeing bandit forty paces away.

The spearhead could even pierce through the barbarian's chest!

“It’s truly amazing!”

Liu Bei, standing nearby, gave a big thumbs up.

That's really impressive. To throw a spear from dozens of steps away, it was so powerful and accurate!

Liu Bei stopped his horse and asked the burly man from afar, "Hero, I am recruiting brave men. Would you be willing to join the army to kill the Hu?"

"...I am not from a respectable family, but a fugitive, and cannot serve in the army."

The burly man remained silent for a moment before responding to Liu Bei in a deep voice.

"Ha...then you've come to the right person! None of the soldiers here are from respectable families; they were all fugitives who risked their lives to be executed...even I myself was a fugitive exiled to the barbarians."

Liu Bei pointed at the cavalry chasing the Hu people and laughed: "I am Liu Xuande of Zhuojun, and I am about to establish farmland here. Since you have the opportunity to come here, would you like to become my comrade-in-arms?!"

The cavalrymen were indeed mostly former bandits, and most of the newly recruited refugees did not know how to ride horses.

"The barbarians are rampant here, and the place is extremely dangerous. Why build farmland here?"

Seeing that Liu Bei had no intention of dealing with him, the burly man relaxed considerably, walked to the discarded mountain goods, and picked up the leather.

"This is the land of the Han Dynasty! Why can't we build fields here? Building fields here is to expand the territory of the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Bei pointed his sword at the mountains to the north: "This kind of border region... the powerful and wealthy fear its dangers, and the corrupt officials dislike its remoteness. But a place without powerful and corrupt officials is a paradise for the people! If you are a fugitive, then you should be exiled here to guard the border, defend the territory and expand the borders for the Han Dynasty, and atone for your sins and make contributions!"

"Yes...a paradise is one without powerful and corrupt officials..."

The burly man removed his bamboo hat, revealing his eyes: "I am Guan Changsheng from Hedong. Since I am here to defend and expand the territory of the Han Dynasty, I... am willing to serve as a substitute for execution!"

This man had thick eyebrows that reached his temples, eyes that seemed to flash like lightning, and a dignified appearance.

Upon seeing his appearance and hearing his name, Liu Bei paused for a moment, swallowed hard, dismounted, and grabbed Guan Changsheng, saying, "Good! Brother Guan, from now on, call me brother!"

(End of this chapter)