Chapter 63: Sentinel Collision
In the afternoon, on the southern road of Duyang City.

Liu Bei's troops set out one after another, with teams of a hundred men marching on the wide and flat road.

There was a transport team sandwiched between two or three hundred-man teams, and the manpower of the transport team came from the recruitment in Xinye.

The weather was hot and the young and strong people in the transport team wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Nearly half of them wore straw sandals, and some even walked barefoot on the scalding ground.

Knights came and went from time to time to report information, and the front-line reconnaissance range had reached Ye County.

The reconnaissance and surveillance range was far enough that Liu Bei's armored soldiers could travel light, load their armor onto carts for transportation, or carry it on their shoulders on poles.

Ordinary leather armor is not heavy, and it is lighter and less labor-intensive to wear while marching...but it is summer now, and it is a dry summer.

Being a soldier was the best way out for ordinary people these days. For example, at this moment, the worst auxiliary soldier under Liu Bei could also have a pair of straw sandals to wear.

Soldiers will only starve when they are truly out of food.

Liu Bei stopped his horse under the shade of a tree on the road, looked at the advancing troops, and then raised his head to look at the cloudless sky.

He could endure such hot weather, and so could his soldiers and Cao's army.

But in such a dry and hot environment, it is almost impossible to fight during the day!
Without armor to protect them, it would be difficult for elite soldiers to effectively defend against arrows.

You can wear armor, but you will get heatstroke.

Fighting in the middle of summer is so inconvenient.

Cao's army had more heavy infantry, and fighting in this hot season actually reduced Cao's army's original advantage.

another side.

South of Duyang City, the county magistrate and others watched Liu Bei's troops slowly marching out, all with heavy expressions on their faces.

This was beyond their expectations. They didn't expect that Liu Bei's army would abandon Duyang and attack Ye County directly.

If, like last year, Liu Bei is followed by Liu Biao with 10,000 men, Duyang will be in danger.

Lü Chang, the Wumeng commander who was cooperating in the defense, squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. Two or three miles away, the troops of Hei Xiong and Gan Ning were sitting on the ground, most of them resting under the shade of trees beside the road, and some were sleeping.

More than a hundred knights bathed their horses in the Dushui River, and their armor and weapons were thrown on the shore.

The river, which was four or five meters wide and navigable during the flood season, was now barely knee-deep, with large rocks exposed on the riverbank.

Some infantrymen also broke away from the group and ran to the river to take a bath and cool off.

This made Lu Chang itchy, and he wanted to lead the few knights in the city to rush out and teach the other side a lesson.

There were only about forty or fifty horses of various kinds in the city. The enemy had not yet cut down trees to build a camp, nor had they dug trenches to siege the city.

As long as the door is opened, dozens of riders can rush in in the blink of an eye.

It was a distance of two or three miles and the enemy had no time to put on armor.

The more elite the soldiers are, the more they understand the power of armor; without armor, these elite soldiers will often flee decisively.

After much thought, Lu Chang found Han Guang, a prominent family in Duyang. This Han family was a descendant of Han Wangxin in the late Qin Dynasty and early Han Dynasty. The clan was prosperous and had many branches.

Han Guang is just one branch of the Duyang Han family. The most famous of this Han family is the lineage of Han Chun, the prefect of Nanjun. Han Chun is dead, and his son Han Ji is currently serving as the mayor of Yicheng under the rule of Liu Biao.

During the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, Han Ji and his family first hid in the mountains of Luyang. In order to avoid Yuan Shu's conscription, he took his people to Shandu and Zhuyang areas. Finally, he tried to avoid Liu Biao's conscription and fled to Jingnan.

As a result, last year Liu Biao sent 10,000 people to sweep the northern part of Nanyang, so Han Ji and a group of Nanyang scholars took up official positions.

The Han Ji branch had been an official of two thousand stones for generations and had a good reputation; the Han Guang branch did not pursue a good reputation, but developed a large industry, so it had more than a thousand followers, servants, and tenants.

In this Duyang area, the tribe is also known to be strong and powerful.

Han Guang was not a man who would settle down. He followed the enemy troops washing horses by the river, as Lü Chang was looking for them, and asked, "Brother, do you want to capture the enemy cavalry?"

Lu Chang was from Bowang County, which was the neighboring county of Duyang. They had known each other for a long time and were fellow villagers with the same views.

Lu Chang nodded and said, "If we can capture them, we will capture them. If we can't, we will just scare them. It's good to test the enemy. I don't know who this Henghai Captain is. Liu Xuande used this man to besiege Duyang. He must be extraordinary."

"Brother, what you said makes sense. With Liu Xuande here, it is understandable that you and I are holding on."

Han Guang tilted his head and squinted at the battle flag of the 'Henghai Commandant' in the distance: "Liu Xuande is not here. If you and I hold on, we will lose our morale."

"Then I'll trouble you, my dear brother. I'll gather archers on the city wall to provide support."

"Okay, big brother, just watch me as I fight for the court and defeat the bandits!"

Han Guang's voice was heroic, and he immediately called on his clan brothers and brave men from the village to turn around and leave the city.

Two miles away on the river bank, a black bear sat on a boulder and looked down at the shallow river which was four or five meters wide. Two mature white geese, a male and a female, were leading seventeen goslings of different sizes playing in the water.

The drought in Hebei and Central Plains also affected Nanyang, so there was still a lot of grass along the river; the vegetation and grass on some flat land, hills and low hillsides grew slowly due to lack of water.

Some grasses even look green from a distance, but when you get closer you will find that they are dry like green tea, and will break into pieces if you grab a handful.

As he was looking at the geese, he heard a horn sound suddenly. He turned his head to look at the trumpeter by the river. As his gaze extended, he saw that the south gate of Duyang was opened, and dozens of riders filed out, all speeding towards him.

"General Qu! The enemy troops are attacking!"

After washing his horse and soaking his feet, the centurion commander of the cavalry team jumped up, drew his sword and shouted, "Left and right! Mount your horses and meet the enemy!"

Before he could shout, some of the knights were trotting towards the shore.

They dare to fight even without armor!

Black Bear stood up and frowned as he looked at the enemy cavalry charging towards him. The enemy team cooperated skillfully and sped up their order when leaving the city, but then the front team slowed down and joined up with the following knights.

Dozens of riders were galloping on their horses, the air was filled with smoke and dust, and it was unclear how many people were following behind.

He was slightly confused, but he just raised his right hand and pointed in the direction of Laiqi: "Kill the enemy!"

Lü Bu and Gao Shun, who were not far away, rode on their Yin Gan horses and Yin Gan horses, and two white-robed knights rushed forward with halberds in front and behind. The other three Taoist soldiers stood by the river with halberds in hand, alert for any enemy cavalry that might have slipped through the net and rushed over.

Under the shade of the trees on the road, the troops who were resting stood up one after another, and heard Zhang Ding shouting: "General Qu is by the river!"

"Hurry up and save Commander Qu!"

Another person shouted, Xuan Liang was resting barefoot, without even having time to put on shoes, he picked up a spear beside him and charged blindly with the crowd.

Sima Xu Lin only had time to mount his horse, and his troops moved without orders. They picked up the weapons at hand and strode towards where the black bear was.

Seeing that his troops were affected, Gan Ning shouted, "Do not move without my orders!"

As he shouted, his personal soldiers brought horses over. Gan Ning jumped on them, and the bells rang. He took the iron halberd in his right hand, rode his horse around the team, and shouted, "Form a formation! Form a formation! Do not move rashly!"

Anyone who dared to move would be stabbed to death on the spot.

When the army goes into battle, it must keep reserves.

It was not his business to control Xu Lin's troops for acting without orders, not to mention that their fanatical and aggressive fighting enthusiasm... was already terrifying.

Even his troops were almost driven by the fanatical militant sentiment.

At the very edge, there were more than 200 of Liu Qi's troops who were cooperating in the battle, gathering and waiting under the command of Wang Wei.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Han Guang saw seven or eight hundred people rushing towards him under the shade of the trees on the road, and saw knights on the shore mounting their horses with bare legs ready to fight back. He was frightened immediately!
He has successfully tested that the enemy is definitely the elite among the elite. This kind of enemy who rushes to the front at the mere mention of a war is too terrifying!
This is not the enemy he should face!
The enemy's fanatical war-loving nature was far beyond his imagination and understanding...

Aren’t these lunatics afraid of death?
If you are not afraid of death, why come to this crappy place like Jingzhou!
As Han Guang reined in his horse and shouted fearfully, several knights around him passed him and raised their iron halberds to fight with the two white-robed enemy riders who were rushing towards them.

"kill!"

The shouts and the sound of horse hooves were soon mixed with the neighing of horses, and the dust raised by the horses' hooves obscured the view of the spectators in the distance.

On the top of the city wall, Lu Chang clearly saw that the two knights who had taken the lead in the battle by the river had already penetrated Han Guang's cavalry! They appeared from the dust and ashes!
Han Guang led the remaining knights to turn eastward in an attempt to make a detour, but the two white-robed enemy knights also turned around to chase and kill them, and were lost in the flying dust.

Soon, the unarmored enemy cavalry on the shore also joined the hunt on horseback. These men and horses were extremely fast and raised even more dust.

Before they could catch up, Han Guang's thirty-odd riders were completely defeated and fled aimlessly.

Lu Chang had an unsightly look on his face, staring intently at the white-robed knight who was wielding a strange double-edged halberd and killing everyone after the smoke and dust had dispersed.

"Could it be Zhao Zilong?"

Lu Chang angrily punched the yellow earth-covered parapet in front of him. He knew that he had underestimated the enemy.

He immediately warned the officers and soldiers around him, "These must be Liu Xuande's elite troops. It will be night soon. Don't be careless!"

After saying this, Lu Chang turned around and went to find the Duyang County Magistrate.

The area outside the city was cleaned up in a short time, and military doctor Li Feng and his apprentice Taoist priest took over the wounded.

Except for Lu Bu and Gao Shun who finished off the seriously injured soldiers who fell off their horses, the other lightly injured prisoners were brought back.

There were five of them, as well as two prisoners who surrendered quickly.

There are clerks to receive the knights who come to report their achievements, and they will also ask their companions and record their achievements.

The two prisoners were stripped of their armor, outer clothes, and leather boots, and were pushed to the river bank wearing only simple inner clothes and trousers.

Black Bear looked him up and down and asked, "Who is the boss of the city? Is it Duyang Mayor Yin Cai, or Zhi County Mayor Lu Chang?"

The two captives were about to look at each other when Zhang Ding, who was standing next to them, kicked one and knocked the other over, cursing, "Tell the truth! Who is the commander in the city?"

"It's Lü Chang! The court even appointed him as the military commander!"

One person yelled in panic, fearing that he would be mishandled.

Black Bear turned his head and looked at Zhang Ding: "Give them two choices, either stay and join my army, or shave their heads and return. Let them choose."

Zhang Ding immediately asked in Nanyang dialect. The two hesitated for a moment, then mustered up the courage to ask, "After cutting off our hair, will you really not kill us?"

"My captain is such a great man, how could he joke with you?"

Zhang Ding asked back, and immediately drew out his dagger, saying: "Think carefully, if the city is breached, you two will die even if you surrender if you cut your hair like this."

Suddenly the two men fell silent. One of them obviously didn't want to go back. From the other's expression, he knew that if the other went back, his family would be in trouble.

They are the Han family's followers and fellow villagers, and their family members are in the city.

If I surrender to the enemy now, I might be made an example of by Lu Chang and have my entire family executed in public.

Anyway, Han Guang is dead and no one can protect their families.

Seeing that the two men were silent, Zhang Ding grabbed the hair bag in one hand and used the dagger in the other to roughly shave the two men's hair.

He even threatened the two men in his native dialect, saying, "My captain has a rule that if a person is captured for the first time, he will not be killed or injured. If he refuses to stay and serve, he will be shaved and sent back. If he is caught again before his hair grows longer, he will be executed directly."

Zhang Ding was too lazy to shave the two men's hair carefully, so he shaved off the two men's hair and threw it aside. He shouted at them, and the two men turned around and ran away using their hands and feet.

Zhang Ding squatted down by the river to wash his hands and dagger. In such dry and hot weather, after cutting off the other person's filthy hair, he felt his left hand and arm itchy, as if many lice and nits had crawled in.

On the other side, Li Feng also finished bandaging the lightly wounded, applied simple medicine, and then asked: "Commander Qu, what should we do with these five wounded?"

"Cut off half of their hair and let them go back to the city."

Black Bear gave some instructions, and when he saw the clerks finished recording their achievements, he said, "Keep resting, and we will break into the city at midnight."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)