He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 91 Xu Sheng's debut doesn't seem to have gone very well.

However, when he first arrived, Li Xiuji had already figured out how far the bandits' arrows could travel. Just as he was about to enter the range of the arrows, he reined in his horse and turned to run away.

After the bandits unleashed a volley of arrows, it did nothing but increase the iron content of the soil.

"This monkey is so hard to catch, it's so annoying!"

The bandits had no way to escape and could not get any support. Liu Bei's army did not attack them, but simply surrounded them. This stalemate was the most challenging time for a person's will.

Clearly, these bandits did not possess such qualities; they trembled at the mere sight of banners obscuring the sky.

Since they couldn't hold out any longer, they had to find a way to change the situation. The bandits weren't unintelligent; they just used all their intelligence to harm people. Now, to save their own lives, these humanoid creatures began brainstorming.

"Boss, this can't go on. We get shot twice every day when we go out. The brothers don't even want to go on patrol anymore."

The leader of this mountain stronghold was a tall, dark-skinned middle-aged man. Before becoming an outlaw, he had been a minor officer under Tao Qian. After Tao Qian was defeated by Cao Cao and fled in panic, he settled here as an outlaw. He gradually gathered a group of people and began robbing merchant caravans to make a living. He was doing quite well and never considered accepting amnesty.

Having served as a military officer, he knew some military tactics. After considering for a moment, he said, "It's alright, I've already devised a plan that will surely make the government troops collapse without a fight. If Liu Bei's lackeys can harass us, we can use their own methods against them!"

"Boss, I don't understand what you're saying. When did you become so educated?"

Hearing this, the eldest brother was speechless: "I've always been very cultured! I told you guys not to just eat, drink, and have fun, but to read more books and study. Now you've been exposed."

To everyone's surprise, his men weren't ashamed of their illiteracy at all, and calmly said, "Boss, what's the use of us reading books? We don't need to know how to read when we're robbing people, as long as we can handle a knife."

"What are you saying? Do you think all the world's problems can be solved with a knife?"

"Of course, boss! Think about it, if we're strong enough and have enough people, why would we need to use our brains? We can just go down the mountain and fight them head-on. Why would we need any schemes?"

Looking at the innocent faces of his subordinates, untouched by the corruption of knowledge, the leader of this mountain stronghold was speechless. Faced with such subordinates who possessed a three-dimensional defense in their minds, respect and blessings were the only things he needed to do.

On the other side, under the banner of Xu, Xu Sheng, the main general of Liu Bei's army, was also trying to prove himself. Xu Sheng had actually joined Liu Bei's army long before Liu Bei's campaign against Zang Ba, but he had never had the opportunity to display his talents, nor had he been promoted by a powerful figure, so at this time he was just an ordinary subordinate general.

Moreover, in his view, Liu Bei's army is now truly full of hidden talents. For example, there was a young man named Sima Fu whom Xu Sheng had met once when he was collecting his salary. It is said that he was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's rule, and because none of his elders or brothers could see Cao Cao's sinister intentions, he had no choice but to come from Yuzhou.

This person is not only highly educated, but also adept at handling government affairs. While others are still struggling with calculations, he quickly and efficiently calculates the supplies to be distributed, and afterwards, he still has the energy to help others, so his colleagues in the department like him very much. Such a popular and capable person is naturally very eye-catching, and it seems he is now working under Chief Secretary Chen.

There were countless examples like this with Liu Bei, which made Xu Sheng, who initially thought he was good at martial arts and strategy and could make a name for himself under Liu Bei, put down his pride, recognize reality, and start to work hard instead of dreaming of instant success.

But this is far too slow. It would take forever before I could truly lead an army and become the vanguard of the king.

Just when he was feeling peckish, a perfect opportunity presented itself. He was pondering how to earn some military merit when suddenly his superiors issued a mission to suppress bandits. The task was to wipe out all the bandits entrenched near the trade routes. Moreover, this was the first time he had been given the opportunity to lead a team and independently take charge of a portion of the bandits.

In particular, the mission given to the army he commanded by his superiors was very vague: simply prevent the bandits on the mountain from escaping within the specified time. In his view, as long as he captured the mountain stronghold and wiped out all the bandits within the specified time, he had completed the mission, and done it very well. Even if the lord came, he wouldn't be able to criticize him.

When Xu Shengzhi finally received the army with a sense of triumph, he understood why his superiors had given him such a simple task: it was a large group of untrained recruits, some even with childlike expressions, their eyes fixed on him with curiosity as they lined up. The number of veterans was far beyond what a rising regime should be able to muster, barely reaching one-fifth. This meant that this army might even make mistakes in the most basic tasks of scouting and setting up camp.

The enormous contrast left him speechless with despair. Was he destined to live an unknown life forever? Although he felt his dreams shattered, the strategist accompanying him, upon learning of his emotions, brought him wine to comfort him and encourage him not to lose heart. He told him that as long as he had the ability, he would surely have his moment to shine.

Even Xu Sheng, who had seen all sorts of people, had to admit that this man named Shan Fu was quite nice; he was good at handling situations and spoke pleasantly. Xu Sheng made up his mind that even if this man was a scholar who knew nothing about military strategy, he was determined to befriend him. Once he became successful, he would definitely help Shan Fu out.

Just as the two were working together and improving their command skills, the bandits launched a counterattack.

Every night around midnight, a commotion would erupt on the mountain, sounding like thousands roaring. Liu Bei's soldiers would hurriedly dress and leave camp, preparing to defend against a night attack by bandits. But when they went out, they found only a desolate field bathed in moonlight; not a single bandit was to be seen. After putting away their equipment and sleeping for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the clamor would return.

Xu Sheng knew exactly what tricks these bandits were up to. This was a strategy to wear down the enemy, preventing Liu Bei's soldiers from getting proper rest, and then launching a real attack on the camp when they were exhausted and demoralized. Even the most famous generals of the past might not be able to withstand this.

Early the next morning, Shan Fu found Xu Sheng and immediately suggested stopping this situation: "General, it's not a good idea to keep letting these bandits harass us. The soldiers can't fight if they're dozing off. We should reinforce the camp, assign some soldiers to guard the night, and set up sentries in some hidden places so that even if the enemy comes to raid the camp, our army will have enough time to react."

"That makes sense! Our army should simply place some deer antlers along the road. That way, even if they rush down the mountain, they'll have to move the deer antlers first before riding in on horseback. This way, our soldiers on night watch will be able to react in time and won't panic because of the suddenness of the event."

At this point, Xu Sheng couldn't help but admire the person in front of him. He went up and patted the man on the shoulder, saying, "I didn't expect you to be so good at military strategy, Shan Fu. I will definitely report to General Guan when I get back."

Dan Fu shook his head and gave an awkward laugh: "Let's finish what we need to do first before worrying about the future. If we fail to complete the mission and get punished, the lord and the generals will definitely not use us anymore. Even if we have great abilities, we won't be able to use them then."

"Don't worry about that. I'll personally supervise the young men and make sure the construction is flawless!" Xu Sheng patted his chest loudly, as if this would prove that he was indeed highly capable.

Upon hearing this, Shan Fu nodded. Although this person couldn't compare to the top-tier monsters in martial arts, he was still among the best. For one thing, he wielded his ancient sword with incredible skill, making most people hesitant to approach. Not to mention his horsemanship; when he first arrived at the military camp, to establish his authority in front of these naive youngsters, Xu Sheng had specifically invited several veteran soldiers to train with him.

After witnessing Xu Sheng wielding a long spear and knocking several veterans to the ground without even leaving a speck of dust on him, the new recruits' eyes immediately filled with awe as they looked at Xu Sheng. The military is a place where strength is paramount; here, if you can fight, people will respect you.

Xu Sheng didn't bring too many men this time. He originally led a team of nearly 1,200 people, so it was impossible for him to bring several hundred more. Including his personal guards, a few dozen people would be enough. At the foot of the mountain, the group began logging to prepare the materials they would need.

The bandits who were spying from the mountain were also puzzled by this scene. Were they fishing? Otherwise, why would so few people dare to come out and repair deer antlers? They couldn't figure it out no matter how hard they thought about it, so they decided to pass the question on to someone else. Besides, they wouldn't hide such important information, so they reported it directly to their bandit leader.

Now it was the bandit leader's turn to guess what was going on: "How could there be such a brainless person? A general leading an army is supervising soldiers repairing deer antlers. He doesn't seem like a normal person at all."

"Who cares, boss? As long as we get rid of this guy, the rest will scatter like birds and beasts."

The bandit leader grinned menacingly, sniffed, and waved a finger in front of his men: "Don't rush. Let them tire themselves out first. We'll make our move after noon, when they're exhausted. When we strike, we must crush the government troops!"

Time passed slowly. Xu Sheng reined in his horse and stood in the middle of the mountain path, watching as his soldiers slammed the last batch of deer antlers heavily into the ground. The sharp wooden stakes, interlocking and stacked, resembled the fangs of a giant beast, completely blocking the narrow path leading to the mountain stronghold.

"General, the antlers are in place. Now these turtles trapped in a jar won't be able to escape even if they had wings." The lieutenant wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice filled with both exhaustion and excitement.

Before Xu Sheng could reply, a frenzied roar suddenly erupted from the direction of the mountain stronghold. Dozens of ruthless bandits charged down like trapped beasts, their leader, a burly man with a thick beard, wielding a long-handled machete, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Xu Sheng's banner: "Brothers! Cut off that corrupt official's head!"

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77

The henchmen who rushed out with the bandit leader let out terrifying screams, trying to instill fear in the people in front of them.

As soon as these people get scared and try to escape, the bandits can kill them all.

"Quickly, form a defensive formation to protect the general!" The deputy general was also shocked by the bandits' attack and immediately ordered the soldiers to protect Xu Sheng.

The bandit leader seemed to have some backbone, charging directly at Xu Sheng, intending to eliminate Liu Bei's army's command center. In the bandit leader's mind, he already pictured Xu Sheng lying on the ground, barely breathing.

It was all just a fantasy. In reality, Xu Sheng raised his hand to parry the blade and then thrust his spear at a vital spot. However, this bandit leader was a seasoned veteran, extremely quick-witted. Seeing the deadly attack coming, he twisted his body, rolled off his horse, and dodged it.

He hurriedly climbed onto one of his men's horses and shouted, "This is bad! We're in trouble! Retreat!"

"You think you can just walk away after offending me? Not so easy!" With that, Xu Sheng spurred his mount to give chase, but his personal guards quickly surrounded him, advising, "General, you mustn't fall for the enemy's feigned retreat. These bandits might have already laid an ambush in the mountains, just waiting for you to get enraged and rush in."

Xu Sheng knew that this was the bandits' home turf, and it was not surprising that they would set up traps there. So, he was both anxious and angry that such an opportunity to eliminate the bandit leader and perhaps even force the mountain stronghold to surrender had slipped through his fingers.

But who can be blamed for this? Who knew that the bandits would have the audacity to attack the government troops? And if Xu Sheng had been more experienced in combat, the bandit leader would not have been able to escape from him.

Ultimately, it all comes down to practice, bro.

Although Shan Fu had agreed to Xu Sheng's task of supervising the construction of the deer antlers, he had actually made preparations. If the people on the mountain made any unusual movements, the reserve force in the stronghold would immediately rush up to protect Xu Sheng. He had originally planned to place some troops in the woods on both sides to see if they could ambush them, but unfortunately, their camp was within direct line of sight of the bandits on the mountain, and any unusual activity would be detected. Moreover, the woods on both sides were relatively sparse, and it was uncertain whether they could hide anyone, so he had to abandon the idea.

By this time, the reserve team had arrived at Xu Sheng's side. Shan Fu did not join Xu Sheng because someone needed to be in command and stay in the camp.

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