They had fallen into a trap.
This was Zhuge Liang’s immediate thought. He hadn't expected… Lu Ziyu had already persuaded Liu Cong to surrender. This meant Lu Ziyu had long anticipated them crossing the river with the populace and plotting for Xiangyang.
Therefore, he had secretly recruited Madam Cai, setting up this strategy of waiting for the enemy to exhaust themselves, unleashing a barrage of arrows.
If that were the case.
Zhuge Liang dared not hesitate, and hurriedly reminded, "My lord, it seems Xiangyang City has already been persuaded to surrender by Lu Ziyu. There is no possibility of capturing Xiangyang now. Our previous plan must be completely discarded. We should first go… first go to Jiangxia, and travel by land to rendezvous with the eldest son, Liu Qi."
Liu Bei’s entire army was constantly retreating, trying to avoid the trajectory of the arrows. However, arrows were coming from all directions… a considerable number of armored soldiers had already fallen beneath the walls of Xiangyang City.
More terrifyingly, the Jingzhou navy had been mobilized. If they were to land, Liu Bei’s army would be completely surrounded.
“Kongming, Xiangyang City… there is no hope?”
Liu Bei grasped Zhuge Liang’s hand.
“It was my miscalculation.” Zhuge Liang’s expression was not good. In this predicament, he had to quickly find the optimal solution. “Alternatively, we could go to Jiangling first. The weapons and armor of Jingzhou are stored there. If we have these, within half a year, we can assemble an army of tens of thousands!”
“However, access by both water and land is blocked, and we can only travel by land… and this…” speaking of this, Zhuge Liang glanced at the civilians behind them. “Perhaps, if they are here, there is still a glimmer of hope.”
Liu Bei’s eyes also narrowed. He naturally knew what Zhuge Liang was referring to.
The civilians… because these civilians were present, Cao’s cavalry would be obstructed. If Cao’s forces ignored these civilians and charged forward with their cavalry, then… perhaps it would be more beneficial to the situation.
Liu Bei’s mind was rapidly weighing Zhuge Liang's words.
Zhuge Liang’s complexion was ashen. Truly top-tier strategists often reveal their capabilities in unfavorable situations.
How to find a turning point that could salvage the situation and reverse the tide was the true test for a top-tier strategist.
Zhuge Liang possessed this ability.
“My lord, no matter how Cao’s army chooses, it will be beneficial to you. The urgent matter is to first… first leave Xiangyang City.”
“Alright… I… I will follow the military advisor’s advice.” Liu Bei’s voice was faint. “Go by land, first to Jiangling!”
*Pfft…*
Liu Bei’s voice was flat, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
It was as if his heart had suffered a severe blow.
“Big brother… Big brother…”
Zhang Fei supported Liu Bei, surveying everyone.
“—You all go first, I, Zhang Yide, will cover the rear!”
…
…
The land of Yamatai was like a place where the primal nature of beasts was completely unleashed. Lu Bu here was like a killing machine that never stopped.
Lu Bu and his Halberd were always leading the way.
This was a city and county within the country of Wa. Unlike the towering city walls of the Han cities and counties, this place only had some wooden fences. And these… how could they possibly block the onslaught of the Halberd?
This vast area seemed to be entirely composed of open field terrain, with no siege warfare or naval battles.
Here, Lu Bu was invincible.
At this moment, facing Lu Bu, countless Wa people of the Dog Slave Kingdom retreated in fear. Those who mustered the courage had already fallen one by one on the path trampled by Lu Bu.
The blood stained Lu Bu’s “Beast-Faced Armored Suit with Linked Coils” even more crimson, and the Halberd, from which blood dripped continuously, appeared particularly grim and terrifying.
“General Ying, the enemy’s reinforcements have arrived! Approximately over a thousand men.”
“They’ve come at the right time!”
Lu Bu replied coldly, still striding forward.
The enemies here had finally completely lost their courage, discarding their Wa swords and fleeing desperately.
It seemed that under Lu Bu’s ferocious slaughter, one tribe had been conquered.
“Father, you are injured.”
Lu Lingqi saw some bloodstains on Lu Bu’s shoulder. It seemed to be from a Wa sword that had struck here, at the connection to his arm. This was the weakest point of the fine steel armor.
Even fine steel armor could not be heavily armored at the joints, as it would affect the movements.
“How many men do we have left?”
Lu Bu asked with a pained expression.
“Nine hundred and twenty-seven!”
Upon hearing this, Lu Bu’s heart trembled slightly. After half a day of fighting, over seventy brothers from the Dragon Hawk Camp had been seriously wounded or fallen.
Compared to the thousands of Wa people lying on the ground, this seemed insignificant. But… along the way, at short intervals, one could still see the bodies of soldiers wearing the Dragon Hawk Camp armor lying on the ground.
*Hoo…*
Lu Bu let out a sigh. At some point, he had come to regard the soldiers fighting alongside him as brothers.
“General Ying!”
“General Ying… are we still fighting?”
Lu Bu’s voice carried a tremor. “Send men to transport the bodies of our brothers back to the ship!”
Upon hearing this, all the armored soldiers of the Dragon Hawk Camp looked at Lu Bu.
“General, the enemy’s reinforcements are about to arrive.”
“Even so, we must take our brothers back first. They cannot die in vain in a foreign land!”
One thousand against several thousand, with only over seventy fallen, this was already a great victory. Yet Lu Bu could not be happy. It seemed that since he met Lu Yu, he had become more sentimental.
Heh heh…
He really hated being like this.
*Boom!*
The Halberd struck the ground heavily. Lu Bu’s eyes snapped open, staring directly at the charging enemies.
“Believe me, it won’t take too many men to deal with them!”
Indeed…
As Lu Bu had predicted, when the enemy reinforcements, over a thousand Wa people, approached Lu Bu, accompanied by heavy gasps, they were so terrified by the sight that their legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
They were all seasoned Wa warriors, desperadoes. Ordinary scenes couldn't scare them.
However… the scene before them was enough to make these desperadoes’ faces turn pale…
Their throats visibly moved. Behind the enemy general, all along the way, there were dense corpses, almost filling the ten-foot-wide mountain path.
Wa swords, corpses…
And the nauseating smell lingering in the air.
The entire place was like a grim and terrifying Purgatory.
Of course, this was not what frightened these Wa people the most. What truly terrified them was that none of these corpses were intact. Those without heads were fine, but the truly terrifying ones… still had half a head on their necks.
Yet the other side of their faces had vanished.
Their glaring eyes conveyed the terror they felt in life.
*Gag…*
*Gag…*
Even these desperadoes couldn't help but retch uncontrollably at this moment.
*Stomp!*
Just then, Lu Bu took a step…
These Wa people, out of fear, instinctively retreated!
*Stomp!*
Lu Bu took another step, and the Wa people retreated again… In this way, with every step Lu Bu took, the Wa people retreated one step, until they could retreat no further.
“Even if you have an army of ten thousand, I, Lu Bu, can break it with a flick of my finger!”
Suddenly, Lu Bu raised his Halberd, clearly about to begin another round of slaughter.
“Wait…”
Just then, Himiko’s voice rang out.
“General Lu Ying, please show mercy…”
At this voice, Lu Bu lowered the Halberd he had raised and simply let Himiko continue speaking.
“I believe they already know their mistakes and have surrendered…” Himiko pointed at the fearful eyes of these Wa people and said, “Please allow me to persuade them, General Lu Ying!”
“As you wish!”
Two low and resonant words, Lu Bu uttered casually, then turned and walked away.
Himiko then conversed with the Wa people for a long time…
No one could understand their words, but… in the end, every Wa person laid down their weapons, appearing to have completely surrendered. This was very much in line with the Wa people’s extreme pursuit of martial arts, the “Bushido” spirit.
—The strong are to be respected!
—If you can’t beat them, you can join them!
…
…
On the official road from Xiangyang City to Jiangling.
Countless Great Wei elite cavalry were galloping. Finally… they reached the area where the civilians were migrating, stretching for several miles.
Innumerable civilians, supporting the old and carrying the young, were struggling forward. They didn’t know where they were going, drifting aimlessly, but they knew… if they stopped, they might soon perish.
“Quickly report to General Xiahou.”
The young officers here were Xiahou En and Xiahou Jie. Their voices had just been heard, “No need to report…” Xiahou Dun’s voice also came.
“General…”
Xiahou En and Xiahou Jie bowed to Xiahou Dun.
Immediately, Xiahou En reported the predicament before them. “I heard that Liu Bei fell into an ambush outside Xiangyang City, suffering heavy losses. The remaining scattered remnants are heading towards Jiangling, still fleeing with the populace, traveling less than thirty li per day.”
As these words were spoken, Xiahou Dun nodded.
Xiahou Jie requested, “This humble subordinate requests to lead a detachment of elite cavalry to disregard the civilians along the way and continue pursuing the enemy, to kill that long-eared bandit in one fell swoop.”
Xiahou En also requested, “This humble subordinate is also willing to lead a detachment of elite cavalry to pursue.”
Logically speaking, with the two young generals making such requests, their elder, Xiahou Dun, should have given them an opportunity.
However…
To the surprise of both of them, Xiahou Dun stroked his beard. “What did you just say?”
“Pursuing Liu Bei, killing Liu Bei.” Xiahou Jie immediately repeated.
“The sentence before that.” Xiahou Dun continued to remind.
“Disregarding the civilians along the way…” Xiahou Jie said truthfully. Who would have thought that as soon as he said this.
“Fool!” Xiahou Dun immediately shouted coldly.
Ah… ah…
Now, Xiahou En and Xiahou Jie were confused. What did their uncle mean by this?
“You are gravely mistaken!” Xiahou Dun shouted. “The reason the civilians of Xinye City followed them south was because that long-eared bandit falsely claimed that our Great Wei’s valiant soldiers would ‘kill without mercy those who are surrounded but do not surrender.’ They felt they had no way out and could only go south.”
“If you disregard their lives, wouldn’t that solidify the rumor that our Great Wei disregards the lives of the people? This is Zhuge Liang’s stratagem, which my worthy brother Ziyu had already seen through!”
This…
Xiahou En and Xiahou Jie looked at each other.
To be honest, General Xiahou’s words made a lot of sense. Coupled with the fact that it was recognized by Marquis Baima, the feasibility had undoubtedly increased by another notch.
After all… Lu Ziyu, unlike General Xiahou, his Dragon Hawk Camp was victorious in every battle. In terms of vision, strategy, insight, and overall perspective… they were lacking.
Under psychological pressure, his words were what the enemy thought.
It’s just…
“General Xiahou, then… with the civilians ahead, how can we catch up to that long-eared bandit?” Xiahou En quickly asked.
“Isn’t this simple?” Xiahou Dun raised his hand and pointed at the homeless civilians. “As my worthy brother said, pursuing the long-eared bandit is not important. It is important to welcome back the civilians of Xinye City along the way, and treat every civilian kindly. Tell them that Xinye City is fine, and their houses are all well! That is what is important!”
Hey!
Unexpectedly, General Xiahou was no longer reckless, but had started playing mind games.
This Xiahou Dun made Xiahou En and Xiahou Jie feel very unfamiliar.
“Don’t just stand there, hurry up and welcome back the civilians! Hurry, hurry…” Xiahou Dun urged as he saw everyone still愣愣地 in place.
*Da da da…*
The sound of horse hooves echoed.
*De de de!*
The neighing of warhorses also continuously echoed on this official road.
What was originally thought to be a battlefield of slaughter on the banks of the Jing River was now continuously staging an extremely bizarre scene. Countless Cao army soldiers, supporting the old and carrying the young, were telling the civilians that Xinye City was fine, that Cao’s army and the civilians treated each other with respect, and then, in a very friendly manner, welcomed back the civilians.
In addition to this, the soldiers also spoke of the series of decrees issued by King Wei for Xinye City.
Such as exempting them from land taxes for three years, helping the civilians reclaim wasteland, and living in peace and contentment…
In a single day, they had won the favor of a large number of civilians.
Of course…
If they encountered Liu Bei’s troops along the way, the Great Wei elite cavalry did not mind drawing their swords and showing no mercy!
…
…
Jingzhou, Xinye City.
King Wei Cao Cao and Lu Yu entered the city almost at the same time. However, Cao Cao went to the yamen, while Lu Yu went to another place.
“Ah… ah…”
The sounds of wailing continuously echoed from the medical clinic.
“Shiyuan, Shiyuan… bear with it a little longer. Applying medicine will hurt. Just endure it a bit more.”
Pang Degong, along with his son Pang Shanmin, were guarding here. Pang Tong had lost an arm due to the divine sword falling from heaven… He was now wailing in the medical clinic.
In fact, several days had passed since his arm was severed, but the wound had to be dressed daily. The process of applying medicine was extremely tormenting.
“Uncle, Uncle… I… I don’t have an arm anymore, I… I don’t have an arm anymore!”
Pang Tong was in so much pain that he was on the verge of fainting. His face was as pale as paper. He gritted his teeth, seeming to try to stop himself from wailing, but when people are at their weakest, they can’t help but reveal a childlike dependence on those around them.
It was fortunate that Liu Bei still had a shred of conscience… When requisitioning houses, he did not requisition the medical clinic. This clinic was located in the outskirts of the city, and even if the city were to be burned down, it would not reach Pang Tong.
Indeed, this was due to Liu Bei’s indebtedness to Pang Tong.
However, the greater reason was that Liu Bei could not afford to offend the Pang family. The Pang family was considered a second-tier prominent clan in Jingzhou. If anything were to happen to the Pang family, Liu Bei would completely lose the hearts of the Jingzhou clans.
This was his foundation!
Hearing that Pang Tong had lost an arm and was staying in this medical clinic, Lu Yu had rushed over. Poor Pang Shiyuan, how did he lose an arm so suddenly?
“Who are you?”
Pang Shanmin, the son of Pang Degong, did not recognize Lu Yu and blocked him at the door.
“Lu Ziyu…”
Lu Yu announced his name…
A person’s reputation precedes them. Pang Shanmin was stunned for a moment, his words becoming a little stammered. “You… you… you are Marquis Baima, Lu Ziyu?”
“Genuine article!” Lu Yu could not bother with further conversation. “Is Pang Shiyuan here?”
“He is having medicine applied?”
“Why was his arm severed?” Lu Yu continued to ask.
This…
Before Pang Shanmin could answer.
“This does not require Marquis Baima’s concern.” A weathered yet powerful voice emerged. It was Pang Degong approaching Lu Yu.
“May I ask who you are, senior?”
“Pang Degong!” Pang Degong did not conceal it.
“My apologies!” Lu Yu immediately bowed, performing the etiquette of a junior to an elder.
Pang Degong stroked his beard.
“Is Marquis Baima here to arrest our Pang family?”
“Not so!”
“Then Marquis Baima intends to use our Pang family!”
“Not so!”
Lu Yu’s two consecutive negations completely bewildered Pang Degong.
“My Pang family and Marquis Baima seem to have no acquaintance, do we?” Pang Degong inquired. “Then, it’s not possible that Marquis Baima is here to treat my nephew?”
“Senior, do you not know?” Lu Yu’s expression was solemn. “In the Northern territory, I have a title—the Peerless Medical Immortal! Why don’t you tell me about your nephew’s condition, so I may examine him.”
Hmm…
Peerless Medical Immortal!
Indeed, this title truly impressed Pang Degong.
…
…