“General! You were wonderful!” Wei Yan praised.
“Haha, it is not me that did well. Liu Bei is simply such a person.” Chen Deng shook his head and laughed. Chen Deng initially thought that upright and benevolent people existed in this world but later realized his mistake. It was simply a matter of whether people could hide their flaws.
Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Lu Bu. All of them are the same. They all want to conquer the world. Chen Deng hated Lu Bu not because of any lack of benevolence but simply because Lu Bu was an impulsive fool doing whatever that benefits himself.
Liu Bei was the same, making relations with others and then abandoning them when needed. He had also betrayed plenty of people yet remained innocent in the eyes of the people. This is because Liu Bei could hide it well.
Since all of them were the same, Chen Deng chose Lu Bu. Lu Bu was frank and could not conceal anything. His emotions are written clearly on his face, unlike the other two who could backstab you without a moment notice.
“General. You are acquainted with Liu Bei?” Wei Yan asked carefully.
“Yes.” Chen Deng did not keep this a secret. “If it was not for my father, I would have become Liu Bei’s subordinate.” Chen Deng felt his heart ache when he remembered his father.
“Once we wipe out Liu Bei and annex Jingzhou, Milord will bring the army to face Cao Cao in the North.” Chen Deng felt even more motivated as he thought this. This was a battle they had to win.
“Wenchang. Transmit the order for the soldiers to speed up making trenches as we advance towards Fancheng!”
“Understood!” Wei Yan nodded and left.
***
The Allied Forces continued to dig their trench. Meanwhile, Liu Bei dispatched soldiers to monitor and challenge their enemy. However, the Allied Forces continued to avoid battle.
“Milord. The enemy once again avoided battle.” Hu Che Er and Liao Hua reported for the fifth time. Liu Bei dispatched these two to probe the Allied Forces but the Allied Forces remained unmoved.
“Milord. I think the enemy are just cowards refusing to battle!” Liao Hua felt stifled. Amongst his troops, he had brought men skilled at insulting others. Yet, they were still ignored. Besides that, Liao Hua had also tried to initiate the attack but the result was disastrous. With all the trenches and cheval de frise, the horses were unable to get far enough before suffering from arrows. Even those that managed to reach the enemy camp were no match for the Yiyang Troops or Wei Yan. Thousands of lives were wasted in the attempt.
“How far have they progressed?” Liu Bei asked.
“They have already advanced ten kilometers in half a month. Very soon, they would reach Fancheng!”
Liu Bei listened as he looked at the map. He wondered if Chen Deng intended to build a trench all the way to Fancheng just to trap him.
“What a joke!” Liu Bei shook his head. Even if the trench was built all the way to Fancheng, Liu Bei simply needs to close the gates and stay in.
“Has the soldiers from Yuzhou arrived?” Liu Bei asked again.
“They have arrived Milord. The Qingzhou Troops and the Yuzhou Yellow Turbans total up to twenty thousand men!” Jian Yong replied. The last time, the soldiers transporting provisions were intercept by the White Horses. This time, Liu Bei had the all the soldiers arrive before transporting the provisions.
“How many troops are there left in Yuzhou?” The movement of troops caused Yuzhou to be short-handed. It would be bad if the enemy were to attack now. Fortunately, there were not that many cities to defend in Yuzhou.
“The Second General say there is no need to worry. He is training another twenty thousand troops.” Jian Yong replied.
“Twenty thousand troops? Where did the provisions come from?” Liu Bei frowned. Enlisting troops require provisions but Yuzhou was almost out of provisions.
“The Second General borrowed provisions from the people.”
“Borrowing provisions again?” This was the second time they borrowed provisions so it would be hard to execute.
“The Second General used your seal to borrow fifty thousand provisions.” Guan Yu knew it would be difficult since they haven’t returned the previously borrowed provisions. However, he had no choice if he wanted to help his brother. In other to convince the people, Guan Yu used Liu Bei’s seal and even posted a notice on the bulletin board.
“Milord do not need to worry about your popularity. As long as the provisions reach Yuzhou, you can just give the people a little more. The people will be grateful.” Jian Yong placated.
“N! Wenchang is truly like Han Xin!” Liu Bei bragged about his little brother.
“These Allied Forces who want to besiege my Fancheng are just having pipe dreams! Since they gave us this opportunity, let us exploit it! The time given to us is enough to transport provisions back to Yuzhou!” Liu Bei then gave the order to transport two hundred thousand provisions back to Yuzhou while the main army stay and prepare to defend Fancheng.
****
“Yuzhou’s troops have reached Fancheng?” Chen Deng read the letter that had been delivered through many hands.
“It is time for us to move as well. Tell General Zhang Gui to have his twenty thousand soldiers hasten their trench digging. I want to see Fancheng’s walls in ten days!” Chen Deng ordered.
“Yes.” The messenger nodded and left.
Chen Deng had always asked Zhang Gui’s troops to make trenches to give Liu Bei the time to transport the provisions. The objective was obviously the provisions. Pushing too far ahead make Liu Bei unable to transport the provisions. Capturing Fancheng early would also mean that the provision goes to Jingzhou as Fancheng belonged to Jingzhou. So the only way to obtain the provisions was to have Liu Bei transport it out and then rob him. As Chen Deng only had five thousand soldiers that can actually fight while Liu Bei had fifteen thousand Xiliang Cavalry, the trenches also helped give Chen Deng a better fighting chance.
****
The Yuzhou Army left Fancheng. They were once again led by Guan Yu’s treasured son Guan Ping. The reason for this is due to a lack of talents in Liu Bei’s Army.
“Little General. Once you bring back the provisions, the Second General will take notice of you!” The Deputy General flattered.
“I can only hope so.” Instead of rejoicing, Guan Ping sighed. His previous defeat had already given others a deep impression. It would have been a different story if Guan Ping lost to famous generals such as Zhao Yun or Zhang Liao but the person he ended up losing to was some unknown person named Zhao Yi. No matter how he thought about it, he could not figure out who is Zhao Yi.
As Guan Yu was strict with Guan Ping, Guan Ping did not fall behind in both martial prowess and the art of war. As a result, Guan Ping also sees himself highly and he was able to fight fifty rounds against his father, one of the very best fighters in the world.
As far as his skill goes in the art of war, Guan Ping was actually more well-read and better at tactics compared to his father. He had thought of making a name for himself in his first battle but ended up facing defeat. If it was not because of his Deputy General, Guan Ping himself would have died.
“Don’t worry, Little General. We lost that time because we had too little troops. Now we twenty thousand troops!” The Deputy General consoled.
“Too little troops?” Guan Ping laughed wryly as he shook his head. Although only five thousand troops were elites, the total number of soldiers he had at that time was fifteen thousand troops. More importantly, the enemy only numbered two thousand.
“Little General. This time, you won’t run into the White Horses. Even if you did, they definitely won’t be able to return alive!” The Deputy General flattered, not knowing that the enemy was planning to attack.
Guan Ping and the others continued to transport the provisions through a rugged path. Due to the amount of provisions, lots of strength was needed to pull the carriage. Suddenly, they saw smoke rising towards the sky.
“A fire?” The Deputy General asked. “No, it must be a beacon.” It was only about one kilometers away from their position.
“Who light that beacon?” One person asked. As there was no reply, the only possibility meant that this was an enemy attack.
“Chen Yun! Quickly go and get your men to put out that fire!” The Deputy General shouted. Even though he flattered others a lot, he was still a general that had gone through hundreds of battles. “Kill any enemy you find!”
As for Chen Yun, he was once an elite in the Yellow Turbans. He was now 1000-men commander in Liu Bei’s Qingzhou Troops.
“Yes!” Chen Yun shouted and ran towards the smoke with a few hundred troops.
“Argh!” The ones that charged into the forest suddenly shouted. About four people fell into a well-disguised pitfall. Deep in the pits were wooden stakes ready to pierce through any victims. Even their armors could not save them. Some of them died a slow and painful death as they cried out for help, terrifying the ones still alive.
“Everyone! Be careful of traps!” Chen Yun warned and then ordered two of his men to help put the victims out of their misery. It was also mentally suffering for those who had to hear the pleas of help from those ran through by the wooden stakes.
“Yes General!’ The soldiers nodded and soon the screams stopped.
“He is over there!” The several hundred people soon found their enemy, a man wearing white alongside two horses.
“Capture him!” A Qingzhou sergeant shouted.
“Want to catch me? Impossible!” The rider saw the enemy and escaped. He had already accomplished his task of lighting the beacon. He had his horse start running before jumping up onto it. The Qingzhou Troops could only watch the enemy escape.
“Put out the fire! Quickly!” Chen Yun ordered.
“General! There is no water here!” One soldier replied.
“Dumbass! Just piss on it then!” With so many people, they gathered enough piss to put out the fire though an unpleasant smell also spread through the forest.
“Little General. The beacon has been extinguished.” The Deputy General reported.
However, Guan Ping did not look happy at all. “Extinguished? There is no use. The enemy is already here!”
The White Horses had appeared in front of the carriage carrying the provisions.
