Chapter 511 (1/2)

Zhao Yun led his men through a narrow and winding path. Their destination was Fancheng, the same as the Xiliang Cavalry. As Zhao Yun and his men were lightly armored and had two horses, they were faster than the heavily armored Xiliang Cavalry.

“Report. We will enter Jingzhou territory in about fifty more li.” A scout reported to Zhao Yun.

“Fifty li.” Zhao Yun muttered. This meant that Fancheng was near as Fancheng was Jingzhou’s new border city.

“What about the Xiliang Cavalry?”

“They are at least thirty li behind us!” The scout replied. Due to superior speed, Zhao Yun and his men even had the leeway to take breaks and still come out ahead. This is unlike the heavily armored Xiliang Cavalry that is less suitable for travelling over long distances.

“They are still so far away?” Zhao Yun furrowed his brows. The Xiliang Cavalry set out at night to launch a surprise attack on Fancheng. The moonlit night would help hide them but was still bright enough to light the way. However at that rate, the sky would turn bright before the Xiliang Cavalry arrived, causing a new variable.

While Zhao Yun hesitated, a scout reported that someone was approaching them. Zhao Yun quickly ordered his men to hide their secret orders.

Two riders approached Zhao Yun’s men. As they approached, Zhao Yun was able to tell from their uniform that they were Liu Biao’s men.

Zhao Yun’s opinion of Liu Biao’s men improved. These two riders were clearly scouts and they had approached from the direction of the Xiliang Cavalry. That was at least a hundred li away from Fancheng. To have scouts from so far away meant that Jingzhou had capable people as well. The scouts also looked like proper soldiers.

Jingzhou had placed lookouts all over and these lookouts were provided with horses. After all, Liu Biao was restless when Zhang Xiu had thirty thousand Xiliang Cavalry with him. Liu Biao needed to keep a close eye on Zhang Xiu.

“Stop them!” Zhao Yun gave the order and his men shouted for the newcomers to stop.

“Who are they?” The two hurriedly rode past the White Horses as they ignored the warning. As a result, the White Horses shot at them with arrows from atop their horses. With the stirrups, mounted archery was easier to accomplish. After being intercepted, one of them told the other to escape first while he would hold the White Horses back.

“We are the White Horses working under His Majesty the King of Shu!”

“Oh! It’s the Yangzhou Army!” The two soldiers immediately felt relieved since Yangzhou was now their ally.

“Wait! Why are the Yangzhou Army here?” The older soldier skeptically shouted.

“Why are you here?” Zhao Yun also asked the soldiers the same question at the same time.

“We are Jingzhou’s soldiers. We discovered enemy movement and are heading back to Fancheng to make our report.”

“We are the same! We have been hanging around Nanyang so we naturally found out about the Xiliang Cavalry being dispatched! We came here to warn you all!”

“Really?”

“Of course! Aren’t we allies?” Zhao Yun smiled at the two.

“That’s great! Our horses can barely run anymore and we had been thinking of switching horses at a nearby village! Now that we have run into you, we can go to Fancheng together!” The soldier exclaimed.

“Men. Help these two men exchange horses.” Zhao Yun ordered.

“General. Exchange with our horses?” One soldier asked with doubt. This is because of the secrets of their horses. Even if the White Horses dies, they could not divulge this secret.

“It is of no matter. Isn’t it just two horses?”

“Thank you General!” The two soldiers cupped their fist at Zhao Yun.