The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

"Uh~~~"

Zhao Yun uttered a weak sound in his dazed state, feeling a splitting headache, as if his head was about to explode. The pain radiating from his limbs and bones made him furrow his brow.

Slowly opening his eyes, what he saw was not the eighteen levels of hell in the endless abyss, but an ordinary military tent. He could still faintly hear the neighing of a large number of warhorses, and the surroundings were filled with a faint smell of blood and herbs.

"Where...where am I?"

Zhao Yun was filled with doubt. Wasn't he surrounded by Yuan's army in Huaipu? How did he end up lying here? He wanted to recall everything, but the intense pain in his body made it impossible for him to concentrate.

"Zilong, you're awake!"

Just then, a soft footstep sound came from outside the military tent, followed by a familiar voice.

Hearing the sound, Zhao Yun turned his head and looked towards the door. He saw a strong man in white armor walk in. He was handsome and had a domineering air about him. He was Xue Rengui, whom he had met once in Xuzhou.

"General Xue, it's you!"

Zhao Yun was slightly taken aback, not expecting to meet the other party again, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face:

"Where am I? Where are Yuan Shu's 20,000 troops?"

Zhao Yun truly lived up to his reputation for loyalty; even at this critical moment, he was still thinking about attacking Liu Bei's 20,000 Yuan troops.

Seeing that Zhao Yun had woken up, Xue Rengui finally felt relieved. He quickly walked to Zhao Yun's side and said with a smile:

"Zilong, you're finally awake! You've been unconscious for two whole days. This place is safe; it's our temporary camp."

"Fortunately, I led the Great Snow Dragon Riders to arrive in time, otherwise you would have been executed by them."

Speaking of this, Xue Rengui felt a lingering fear. Zhao Yun was just a hair's breadth away from dying.

"What...what on earth happened?"

Zhao Yun was particularly curious about the situation at the time and wanted to know how he had managed to escape death.

"us·····!"

Xue Rengui also recounted the situation at that time.

The truth is that after Zhao Yun fell into a coma, he was captured by Yuan Shu's army. The commander Zhang Xun ordered that he be taken away and sent to Yuan Shu together after Liu Bei and the others were captured.

When the army reached Xiapi, they encountered Xue Rengui's 500 Snow Dragon Cavalry and 2,000 Great Wall Legion soldiers. A battle ensued, and Zhang Xun eventually exchanged Zhao Yun for Xue Rengui's surrender, allowing them to continue their pursuit of Liu Bei.

However, Xue Rengui told Zhao Yun that he had been captured by Yuan's army, but fortunately he arrived in time, and the two sides made an exchange, saving him from the brink of death.

Ever since Qin Xuan learned that Yuan Shu had sent troops to attack Liu Bei, he had Xue Rengui lead the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry to keep a close eye on the movements of both sides. Liu Bei had to die, but Zhao Yun had to live.

But who would have thought that Liu Bei would escape, leaving Zhao Yun to resist the advance of Yuan Shao's army.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun was startled, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

He gritted his teeth slightly and whispered with all his might, "General Xue, thank you for saving me! If it weren't for that, I, Zhao Yun, would probably have already lost my life at the hands of the enemy."

Xue Rengui waved his hand and smiled slightly, "Zilong, don't be so formal. You should get some rest. This is what we should do!"

"General Xue, now that Yuan's army is attacking Lord Xuande, I... I'm worried about their safety!"

Zhao Yun then thought of Liu Bei. Given the strength of Yuan Shu's army, Liu Bei and his men must be in a very dangerous situation.

Seeing Zhao Yun still worried about Liu Bei's life or death, Xue Rengui's lips curled into a clear sneer. This puzzled Zhao Yun, who was watching him intently. Before he could ask, Xue Rengui scoffed and said:

"They've long since disappeared, and they didn't even put up any decent resistance, leaving the innocent people in the city in deep despair. If I hadn't arrived in time, Xiapi would probably have been destroyed by Yuan's army. I don't care whether they live or die."

"Wh-what?" Zhao Yun's eyes widened in disbelief, but Xue Rengui's expression didn't seem fake.

"Alright, Zilong, you should rest well. You don't need to worry about the rest!" Xue Rengui didn't answer the other party, but only comforted him before leaving the military tent.

After Xue Rengui left, Zhao Yun's eyes were vacant, and he kept muttering, "Why... why didn't they resist? What... what was the sacrifice of me and those eight hundred soldiers?!"

Zhao Yun initially thought Liu Bei would leave some troops to resist, but who would have thought that the enemy didn't deploy a single soldier? This is simply inhuman.

Zhao Yun's injuries were not serious; he only needed to rest for a while. Three days later, Zhao Yun recovered completely and left Xiapi with Xue Rengui.

To prevent Xiapi from being left without troops, Xue Rengui left a thousand soldiers from the Great Wall Army to garrison there.

These are elite troops! They are well-equipped with cavalry, infantry, archers, shield bearers, and more, and are equipped with a large number of powerful bows and crossbows, capable of withstanding dozens of the fiercest attacks from tens of thousands of troops.

················

Meanwhile, Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui led the remaining 15,000 troops in a relentless pursuit of Liu Bei's forces, and the two sides eventually met near Tangyi County.

"Liu Bei, surrender now, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

On the front lines of Yuan Jun's army, Zhang Xun felt confident that he could finally get revenge. He had suffered a great loss at Xue Rengui's hands and had been holding a grudge ever since. Now that he had met Liu Bei, he was determined to get his revenge.

If I can't beat Xue Rengui, can't I at least beat you?

Looking at Yuan Shu's army, which loomed like a dark cloud, Liu Bei felt a sinking feeling in his heart. Two thousand men against more than ten thousand had absolutely no chance of victory. What should he do?

Just as Liu Bei was racking his brains for a way to escape, Guan Yu suddenly spoke up:

"Brother, I'll lead a force to hold them off. You and Third Brother should retreat!"

"What? Second Brother, what did you say!" Before Liu Bei could even speak, Zhang Fei immediately shouted loudly. He would never abandon his brothers and run away.

"Yes, second brother, at worst we'll live and die together. I, as your elder brother, could never do such a thing, abandoning my brothers and retreating alone!" Liu Bei put on another show of brotherly affection.

"Brother, don't hesitate any longer, or none of us will be able to leave!" After saying this, Guan Yu held up his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, spurred his warhorse, and led his troops straight towards the distant Yuan army formation.

"Second Brother!" Seeing Guan Yu leading his men into battle, Zhang Fei immediately prepared to spur his horse to follow, but Liu Bei, quick-witted and agile, stopped him:

"Third brother, don't be impulsive. Let's retreat. Yun Chang won't die so easily."

"Brother, we absolutely cannot watch Second Brother die! Have you forgotten the oath we swore when we swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden?" Zhang Fei asked, his eyes wide.

"I...!" Liu Bei was speechless for a moment in the face of Zhang Fei's questioning, unsure of how to respond.

Just then, Jian Yong suddenly pointed to the Yuan army in the distance and shouted, "My lord, look! There seems to be movement behind the Yuan army!"

Jian Yong's words caught their attention. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw dust billowing behind Yuan's army, indicating that their battle formation was in disarray.

Something must have happened; someone is coming to rescue us!

Thinking of all this, a glint of light flashed in Liu Bei's eyes. He immediately grabbed his double-edged sword and shouted, "Charge!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Fei took the lead and spurred his horse out.

Liu Bei led the remaining men and charged towards Yuan's army like an arrow released from a bow.

Their goal was clear—to take advantage of the chaos in Yuan's rear, disrupt their formation, and seize a sliver of hope.

Yuan Jun's commander-in-chief, Zhang Xun, was standing at the front of the battle line, directing his army to launch a final encirclement and annihilation of Liu Bei's forces.

However, at that moment, a commotion suddenly came from behind, startling him.

"What's going on? Why is there such a commotion behind us?" Zhang Xun asked, frowning.

A bodyguard rushed over and whispered, "General, an army bearing the banner of Liu has appeared in the rear and launched a fierce attack on our rear."

"General, what should we do?"

Zhang Xun's heart sank; he hadn't expected so many unexpected problems to arise at this time.

How many people are on the other side?

The guard blurted out, "There are at least five or six thousand men, and they also have cavalry!"

Upon hearing that there were cavalry, Zhang Xun frowned even more deeply, feeling somewhat frightened, and his previous arrogance completely vanished.

"Brother Zhang, let's retreat quickly. There's no need for us to fight to the death. I don't know what kind of luck Liu Bei has had. I think we should just give up!" The wounded Qiao Rui said from the side. The current situation was very unfavorable for them, and there was even a risk of total annihilation.

"Damn Liu Bei!" Zhang Xun cursed through gritted teeth, then reluctantly ordered his army to retreat to avoid total annihilation.