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

Kebineng was intimidated by Guan Yu and had no choice but to agree reluctantly, but he already regretted it in his heart. He shouldn't have been blinded by the lard and fallen into the other party's trap. Now he couldn't stop.

Seeing that Kebineng was so sensible, Guan Yu nodded secretly, and the huge weight in his heart was finally lifted.

Although the royal court of Gaoliu was burned to ruins by the Qin army, fortunately, almost all the Xianbei people were skilled in riding and archery. They had already scattered with their valuables and families when the fire became uncontrollable. Only a small group of unlucky people perished in the fire.

After spending a day or two clearing away the remains at the scene, Kebineng led his men to another camp to rest.

At the same time, he also sent his trusted confidants with his tokens to the nearby Wuhuan people, inviting Pufulu, the Wuhuan leader who was on good terms with him, to join him in fighting against the Qin army.

Pufulu was the leader of the Wuhuan tribe who occupied Dai County. Although his forces were not as strong as those of Tadun in Liaoxi, Supuyan in Liaodong, and Wuyan in Youbeiping, he still had two or three thousand cavalry.

Although the two belonged to different tribes, they had a very good relationship. Kebineng was determined to drag his good brother from Wuhuan into the same trap.

To this end, he specially sent his most eloquent subordinate to persuade him, and even promised a lot of generous conditions.

Guan Yu looked at the people sent by Kebineng, opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He felt uneasy. Although he wanted to object, he didn't know how to persuade them. Bringing in so many forces would probably be useless.

The Pufulu tribe was located more than 200 miles northwest of the Xianbei Gaoliu royal court, beside a large pond. The area was lush with water and grass, making it an ideal gathering place for nomadic peoples.

At the same time, it is also the closest to two different ethnic groups. This is why the Pufulu tribe is weak and does not pose a threat to Kebineng's Gaoliu royal court. Otherwise, Kebineng would not have dared to befriend them.

As for their falling out, that only happened after Kebineng expanded his territory and the conflict between the two sides became irreconcilable. At present, their relationship is still relatively harmonious.

Kebineng's trusted confidant arrived at the Pufulu tribe the day after he set off. As soon as he showed the token given to him by Kebineng, the Wuhuan patrol guards immediately brought him to Pufulu himself.

"I am a messenger sent by Lord Kebineng of the Xianbei to pay my respects to Lord Pufulu of the Wuhuan!"

Upon seeing Pufulu, his confidant greeted him respectfully and handed him the small knife that Kebineng had given him.

Pufulu was tall and strong, with a robust build, broad shoulders and a thick back, and dark skin. He wore a headband made of animal skin, a style unique to the Wuhuan people, with two smooth animal teeth embedded in it. He was also wearing a woolen coat.

Upon seeing that it was a trusted confidant sent by his good brother Kebineng, he immediately welcomed him with a hearty laugh. However, after casually taking the small knife, his expression changed instantly, and he scrambled to his feet from the low table, anxiously asking:

"What happened to my dear brother? Did something happen to him?"

The small knife in Pufulu's hand, which was only a little over a foot long, was made by a craftsman from the Western Regions using the finest materials and was given to Kebineng as a gift.

He was forced to flee to Kebineng's territory when he was being heavily pursued by enemies within the Wuhuan. Kebineng sent troops to rescue him and allocated a piece of land around the Gaoliu royal court for his tribe to use as a place to live.

The blade with a soaring eaglet carved on the hilt was given to Kebin at that time. If Kebin ever needs any help, he can bring this token and I will do my best to assist him.

"A few days ago, the Qin army suddenly launched a surprise attack on the Gaoliu royal court and set it on fire, causing us heavy losses. Lord Kebineng was furious and is preparing to gather a joint army from the grasslands to march south and attack Qin!"

His trusted confidant had a rudimentary understanding of Han Chinese culture, and he could give a plausible explanation for his arguments.

"What? The Qin army actually dared to launch a preemptive attack? Will Kebi be alright?"

Upon hearing this, Pufulu's eyes widened like saucers, his voice rose considerably, and his face was filled with disbelief.

The royal court of Gaoliu was burned down! That was Kebineng's stronghold. How could this happen?

"My family member is unharmed, but I am still furious!"

Pufulu was relieved and readily agreed to his confidant's request without any hesitation. Kebi had helped him escape the crisis of destruction, and now that he was in trouble, he should help him in return.

The next day, Pufulu gathered all the mobile troops under his command, totaling more than 3,500 cavalry, and led them to Kebineng's new camp under the envoy's guidance.

··········

Dai County, Sanggan region.

Yue Fei's army had already moved here due to logistical problems.

After five or six days of intense fighting, the army's rations had been exhausted, and they were waiting for logistical supplies to arrive.

The Beiwei cavalry were elite Han Chinese troops, and they were simply unable to resupply locally for extended periods like nomadic tribes, nor could they rely on cattle and sheep for sustenance.

Firstly, it was too difficult; the amount of beef and mutton consumed by tens of thousands of cavalry was too large to meet all needs. Secondly, preservation was also difficult, unlike the potatoes and sweet potatoes commonly used by the Qin army, which were more resistant to storage.

Inside the Beiwei military camp, campfires flickered, and the sweet aroma of sweet potatoes wafted on the wind, making mouths water.

Yue Fei squatted by a campfire, using a forked branch to pok at the potatoes in the embers. His adjutant, who was already impatient, quickly picked up a few sweet potatoes before they were fully cooked and began to eat them with great gusto.

"General, what should we do next? Should we send someone to request reinforcements? According to the information we have gathered so far, Kebineng seems to be gathering a large army. I'm afraid we are..."

The lieutenant swallowed the sweet potato in his mouth, then quickly gulped down a mouthful of water. Only after the hunger in his stomach had subsided considerably did they begin to discuss serious matters.

How many men did they gather?

As Yue Fei picked up a burnt potato and placed it aside to cool, he asked casually, as if what he heard was less important than the burnt potato.

"I'm not sure, but there should be quite a few of them. I think we should still request reinforcements?"

"Who can we ask for help from? The legion doesn't have many cavalry units available right now, so it's impossible to send out any extra elite troops!"

Yue Fei immediately retorted that it was impossible to use infantry in such a grassland environment, and that the cavalry of his Yue Fei Legion was in short supply and had no extra troops to deploy.

As for asking Qin Xuan for help, Yue Fei didn't even think about it. After all, this was a battle where he could demonstrate his abilities to the Qin generals. Asking for help at the first sign of trouble would only make him a laughingstock.

How can we convince those people?

Their biggest problem right now is logistics. As long as the logistics don't fall apart, Yue Fei is really confident that he can win the battle with 10,000 elite cavalry.

"The problem is that Kebineng still has Zhuge Liang by his side. The brothers still haven't killed him, and they don't even know if he's alive or dead!"

The deputy general raised another thorny issue: Kebineng is not the scary part; what's scary is having a strategist like Zhuge Liang by your side, which greatly increases the difficulty of the battle.

It's not the sheer number of Xianbei cavalry that's scary, it's the cunning of a ru

The deputy general was worried that, given their numerical advantage, the Xianbei would abandon their brute force tactics and instead employ strategy and tactics.

Yue Fei then took it to heart and, after some thought, decided to have the Black Ice Guard report immediately, requesting both intellectual and troop support.