"Rumble…"
The sound of footsteps grew louder, and the entire Rang Mountain, the area before this secret cave, was enveloped in a sky-obscuring dust and smoke…
The patch of grass before the secret cave was extremely wide.
This allowed the charge of tens of thousands of enemy troops to appear like dark clouds pressing down, filling the horizon.
Liu Bei's side had deployed all their forces, for their target was never the Dragon Swift Cavalry before them, but Xudu.
— To seize wealth, to seize grain, to seize women, to seize the Son of Heaven!
In contrast, the Dragon Swift Cavalry, including brothers Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Heng… numbered only thirty-two riders. Amidst tens of thousands of troops, they were like a tiny speck, giving the impression of "a mantis trying to stop a chariot" or "about to collapse at a touch."
"Here they come…"
Hidden at a high vantage point, Zhuge Jun surveyed the battlefield from behind the bushes. His palms were sweaty from clenching his fists tightly. The scorching weather and suffocating air made it feel as if one were about to suffocate.
Tense…
How could Zhuge Jun not be tense?
The battlefield was right before his eyes… and their actions were imminent.
The air was filled with tension and solemnity, almost pressing down on people until they couldn't breathe.
Puff… Puff!
Zhuge Jun panted desperately. He had imagined countless times being like Master Lu, strategizing within his command post and achieving victory a thousand miles away.
But… not even a thousand miles away, the deployment right before his eyes made his heart pound in his chest.
It wasn't just Zhuge Jun.
Because of the vibrations in the valley, amidst the flying sand and rocks, the falling gravel struck the faces of every student.
Every person's expression was extremely solemn, filled with urgency, oppression, shock, and fear. All sorts of emotions surged forth.
Puff…
Everyone gasped for air, trying their best to calm their minds.
"Five hundred paces…"
Zhuge Jun softly murmured…
"Four hundred paces!"
"Three hundred paces!"
Zhuge Jun had always been good at counting. When he softly uttered three hundred paces, Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, He Yan… all drew their bows and nocked arrows. Without exception, the tips of their arrows were coated with that mysterious white powder!
Beside them, others had already prepared torches…
"Prepare…"
Just as the enemy troops were merely two hundred paces away from the thirty Dragon Swift Knights, Zhuge Jun gave the order.
This time, it wasn't just Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, and He Yan drawing their bows and nocking arrows!
Xu Yi and Dian Man also picked up their respective pots, large beads of sweat appearing on the foreheads of every student.
Two hundred paces!
The distance between the two sides narrowed by another hundred paces.
"Throw…"
Zhuge Jun shouted.
Xu Yi and Dian Man swung their arms in large arcs and hurled the many pots they held. The two of them, one the son of Xu Chu and the other the son of Dian Wei, possessed sufficient strength and talent. With their full might, they managed to throw the pots a hundred paces. Immediately following were the sounds of "swoosh," "swoosh," "swoosh." Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, and He Yan shot their arrows simultaneously.
Awkwardly, two of the arrows flew with astonishing force, while one arrow was shot weakly.
Instantly, He Yan felt a bit embarrassed.
However, at such a moment, no one noticed these details. The tips of the arrows, accompanied by silver glints and sparks, were fire arrows… and these fire arrows were aimed at the pots in the air.
At this moment.
Zhuge Jun recalled the story of "The Thirteen Warriors Returning to Yanmen Pass" that Master Cai had once told them!
Among them… when the thirteen generals of the Han Dynasty fought to the death at Shule City, facing hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, the sentence that General Geng Gong chanted had been etched in Zhuge Jun's heart.
Puff…
Seeing the fire arrows pierce the pots, the pots scattered flames into the air.
They rapidly descended.
Zhuge Jun shouted loudly, "These are divine arrows from heaven; those who defy will face heavenly retribution!"
With an arrow shot.
It seemed that Zhuge Jun's long-suppressed feelings were completely released at this moment.
Of course, such a "chuunibyo" statement instantly drew the attention of all the students. This was too idiotic!
Who would have thought…
At this very moment.
"Swoosh…"
"Thump…"
The scattered flames in the air plunged into the enemy ranks, like a drop of water falling into the Yellow River, without stirring the slightest ripple.
The wind was calm, the silence… a terrifying silence.
Liu Bei and Guan Yu had also noticed the fire arrows in the air. The proud Guan Yu’s lips curled slightly, as if the ambushes on both sides, and even the fire arrows, were within his expectations.
But… just as he was about to speak mockingly, and to boost the morale of the army,
"Boom…"
The entire patch of grass instantly radiated a scorching heat, and then, the scattered sparks began to burn on a large scale, spreading!
"Rumble!"
In almost an instant…
The soaring flames, like a fiery dragon, instantly swept across the entire battlefield, forming a vast sea of fire.
This was not fatal in itself.
However, it so happened that the thirty thousand enemy troops, including Liu Bei, were engulfed in this fire dragon.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei seemed stunned…
They did not understand why fire dragons were emerging from the ground!
The rolling smoke was suffocating… Many enemy soldiers instantly turned into fiery figures and lost their lives. But more were not killed by the fire or choked by the dense smoke!
It was the self-trampling in the face of this sudden conflagration… The number of those trampled to death was countless.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Flames, dense smoke…
The scorching temperature enveloped them. The thirty thousand enemy soldiers crowded in this area coughed desperately. They could no longer distinguish directions, running about like headless flies, colliding with each other. More collapsed, more turned into fiery figures, screaming piercingly as they moved through the crowd.
Wailing, crying.
In the blink of an eye, over ten thousand enemy soldiers lay on the ground, their screams of agony continuously echoing, causing countless students to tremble and fear as they witnessed it.
Terrifying…
Even though they were the enemy, the scene before them was too gruesome, too horrifying!
The voices continued to emanate, first deafening, then fading to calm, then to silence.
The silent screams mingled with the valley, like a requiem played on Rang Mountain.
Puff…
Zhuge Jun exhaled, Xu Yi and Dian Man exhaled, Cao Ang and Cao Anmin exhaled, and even He Yan exhaled a long breath.
The power of this white phosphorus was truly immense!
An hour earlier, the students and the armored soldiers of the Dragon Swift Cavalry had already scattered fierce fire oil in the jungle and bushes!
In the Great Han, this fierce fire oil had long replaced vegetable oil and become the core and main force of battlefield fire attacks.
And white phosphorus…
This mysterious powder with a spontaneous ignition point of only 40° in the air.
Similarly…
Lu Yu had specifically taught them in a lesson—the burning speed of combustible materials is directly related to the contact area with air.
It was for this reason that He Yan had successfully used a bag of white phosphorus to burn down a cowshed.
Of course.
There was a small story in the middle. The students thought the cow burned by the white phosphorus had fallen, and overjoyed… they went to cook these tragic cows, allowing them to serve their last purpose in the world.
However, the students who ate this beef all ended up in the infirmary in large numbers…
They were poisoned!
White phosphorus was toxic when burning, and even beef… became poisonous meat when burned by such flames.
The current situation was largely similar…
Out of the thirty thousand enemy soldiers, less than ten thousand were killed by the fire, and less than ten thousand were trampled to death. The majority of the enemy soldiers lost their lives to the poisonous gas from the scorching heat!
Speaking of which… it was almost unbelievable.
Setting up such a trap, scattering white phosphorus and fierce fire oil in the jungle…
Next, first throw the fuel, then the fire arrows, and after the fuel and fierce fire oil had fully spread and volatilized in the bushes, forming a flammable gas layer in the air, then shoot out the white phosphorus with a spontaneous ignition point of only 40°.
This type of incendiary material, widely used on battlefields in later generations, could cause extensive ulceration and burns the instant it touched the skin!
It could be said to combine physical and chemical effects…
Both point and area damage were present.
It could be said that just a few students and over thirty Dragon Swift Knights had incinerated everything in the blink of an eye.
Incredible, such a feat…
This ancient and miraculous record, winning a great victory against overwhelming odds, with the strength of over thirty people fighting against thirty thousand enemy soldiers, was almost unbelievable, almost impossible to replicate!
"Gulp…"
Xiahou Juan swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Terrifying… too terrifying. This scene was bound to leave a huge shadow on her young heart.
To know that the entire plan, setting fire to tens of thousands of people… the origin of it all was on her!
In contrast, Zhuge Jun, Huang Xu, Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, Xu Yi, Dian Man, Xiahou Ba, Xiahou Heng, He Yan…
They too couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
Such a scene of doomsday was hard to shake off.
A fire… a few bags of white phosphorus, dozens of jars of fierce fire oil, all it took was this… to incinerate thirty thousand people overnight?
This was the lives of thirty thousand people!
These students had little experience in the world and inevitably still harbored some "motherly" sentiments, lamenting for heaven and pitying the world. But… ultimately, these sorrows and regrets vanished after Zhuge Jun's words.
— "Have you… forgotten the principles Master Lu taught you?"
Zhuge Jun asked everyone.
The students turned their heads blankly to look at him.
— "Killing one person is a crime, slaughtering ten thousand makes one a king. Slaughtering tens of thousands makes one the king of kings. Which hero in the historical stories told by Master Lu and Master Cai did not kill anyone?"
— "Today, if we students do not kill them, when they enter Xudu city, they may… slaughter our relatives, abduct the people important to us, and turn Xudu city into a sea of fire, just like the burning of Luoyang in the past. Is this something we can calmly accept?"
At this point…
Cao Ang nodded in support.
He sighed, "Perhaps, this is what Master Lu once mentioned as 'self-defense'!"
That's right.
Lu Yu had casually mentioned self-defense. He had heard it from Teacher Luo. Often, self-defense was linked to emergency avoidance!
For example…
In a large forest, there was a panda that wanted to eat you, and coincidentally… you were also starving, on the verge of death.
Whether out of self-defense or emergency avoidance, you could kill that panda and roast it or stew it!
Of course, whether this was truly possible… Lu Yu didn't know!
If something happened, go find Teacher Luo to argue! When he mentioned this in class, it was just for fun, who would have thought Cao Ang would actually take it to heart.
At this moment.
A nauseating aroma drifted over, and precisely this smell made every student feel sick.
But…
Disgusting as it was, this nausea made them all clear-headed.
This was the chaotic world. Being a good person required understanding more great treachery and villainy than being an evil person.
As the saying goes— "A general's success is built upon the bones of ten thousand."
…
…
Rang Mountain path.
Only over ten riders could be seen galloping.
The one leading them, who else could it be but Liu Bei Liu Xuande!
As the man most skilled at escaping in the thirteen provinces of the Han, as someone who had been engaged in handicraft business since childhood, who participated in the street stall economy, upon seeing city guards… ah, upon seeing city administrators, he would turn and flee, disappearing without a trace.
He was too perceptive!
The moment he saw the pots being shattered by fire arrows in the air, igniting scattered flames, the moment he felt the ground beneath him becoming increasingly slippery, Liu Bei's heart was filled with the sixth sense of impending disaster.
Do not assume that Liu Bei's escapes were always due to luck. His keen intuition and sharp insight into the situation were the key.
Unfortunately…
It was too late. Liu Bei could only save those around him.
Only… Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and a few personal guards managed to escape this conflagration. This was also because Liu Bei had long ago identified escape routes.
He had this habit. When setting up camp in any terrain, the first thing he would consider was the escape route. For decades, he had been accustomed to it!
However… in this great fire, the three thousand troops were almost annihilated. Liu Pi, Gong Du, Pei Yuanshao, and the like all turned into fiery figures before Liu Bei's eyes, dying tragically!
"Come on, come on…"
Almost as he escaped Rang Mountain, his warhorse let out a whinny.
It turned out that Liu Bei abruptly reined in his warhorse. He looked back unwillingly in the direction of the Rang Mountain secret cave, the dark smoke almost filling the area.
Defeated…
Defeated again! A defeated with unwillingness.
It was always like this, always like this…
Liu Bei wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He felt… that even tears were a luxury for him!
— "Send someone, send someone to investigate. I want to know… Yinlin is not in Xudu. Who? Who set this trap! This fire attack!"
A cold voice echoed…
Liu Bei would never know that he was destined to clash with fire his entire life!
Turning his head, he continued, "Yun Chang, Yi De… your elder brother wants you to remember today's shame!"
"In the future… in the future, we will definitely return!"
As he finished speaking!
Liu Bei only then noticed that Zhang Fei's back was almost exposed. It turned out he had also been scorched, his wounds festering. Do not forget… his previous injuries had not yet healed, and he was still poisoned!
At this moment… he was slumped on his horse, on the verge of death, as if using his last bit of willpower to hold on.
"Third brother? You…"
"Big brother, don't mind me, I can still hold on!"
Zhang Fei gritted his teeth and persevered.
Guan Yu, looking at him, immediately raised the most important question.
"Big brother, now… where are we going?"
"Jingzhou…" Liu Bei blurted out, "Now… the entire realm, only Jingzhou can accommodate us brothers!"
"But… the Son of Heaven?" Guan Yu frowned.
"We can't manage that much anymore!" Liu Bei sighed helplessly. "Liu Jingsheng and I are both of the Han imperial lineage, he will at least shelter us. Moreover… he needs to establish a buffer zone between himself and Cao Cao!"
That's right…
It was a buffer zone!
Liu Bei had previously served as a buffer zone between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao;
He had served as a buffer zone between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu;
He had served as a buffer zone between Lu Bu and Cao Cao. He understood… according to Yinlin's plan, before completely annihilating Yuan Shao, he would inevitably leave a buffer zone between Cao Cao and Liu Biao!
And… this buffer zone was Liu Bei's only chance.
Puff…
Liu Bei finally let out a sigh.
"Let's go, we brothers will… will return!"
…
…
Xudu city, in the infirmary.
A report of victory had been sent immediately. A swift horse from Rang Mountain traveled at full speed, arriving at Xudu in an instant.
"Victory report… victory report…"
The knight on horseback was out of breath. He reached the entrance of the infirmary, dismounted, and quickly ran inside. "Students and Dragon Swift Camp achieve a great victory, burning three thousand enemies!"
This shout immediately drew the attention of many people inside the infirmary.
Although Xun Yu had blocked the news of Liu Bei's army of thirty thousand troops secretly attacking Xudu, the people of Xudu city were not deaf and naturally heard some rumors.
Many were already contemplating that when the city was breached, they would drag their families and head for the north gate, to escape to the countryside first.
Although Liu Bei consistently presented himself as "benevolent and righteous," who knew if he would commit any heinous acts on the day the city was breached? The common people dared not gamble.
But…
Upon hearing of the great victory, and so exaggerated.
— Dragon Swift Camp incinerated thirty thousand enemy soldiers…
Instinctively, most people thought it was a bit fake. After all, everyone in the city knew that the main force of the Dragon Swift Camp had followed Situ Lu to Guandu, and the Xudu city garrison numbered at most forty to fifty people?
Forty to fifty? Incinerated? Great victory?
This… how does it sound like a fairy tale?
This is not how you falsify military merits, right?
Who would have thought…
At this moment.
The guardian of Xudu city, Zhao Rong, and the prefect of Xudu, Man Chong, also rushed over.
— "Great victory, great victory!"
They said in unison…
Man Chong walked up to Xun Yu, his hand on his sword hilt, his eyes solemn, showing no hint of joking.
And everyone in Xudu city knew that Lord Man never joked.
"The scouts I dispatched have reported that a great victory has been won. A few students set fire and burned Liu Bei's thirty thousand troops to ashes, and even the large-eared thief Liu Bei's whereabouts are unknown!"
Breathlessly.
It was truly rare for the usually calm and collected Lord Man to report so breathlessly.
This time.
The entire infirmary erupted. Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, the heavy stone hanging in their hearts finally lifted.
… Even Xun Yu's injuries seemed to have miraculously healed as he suddenly sat up.
— "Where is Kongming? Where is Ziyou? Where are they?"
This…
Man Chong and Zhao Rong looked at each other, seemingly without any news of them.
Xun Yu suddenly thought of something.
— "Quick, quick, help me go to the Ministry of Personnel, quickly invite… invite Miss Cai Yan to come. We must… must request an award from the Emperor for these students!"
— "Also, quickly… quickly send an urgent report to Guandu, to let Sikong Cao and Situ Lu rest assured and at ease!"
…
…