Chapter 304 (1/2)

Falling Out Between Friends

“General Yang Wu. Come and have a drink! This wine is worthy of you!” Liu Bei’s camp was full of joy. After all, they had ambushed and defeated the Wolf Cavalry. Although they could not route the Wolf Cavalry entirely, they had killed over three thousand of the Wolf Cavalry that originally consisted of five thousand men. Besides that, the horses had also been captured, allowing Liu Bei to have a small team of heavy cavalry, giving him strong maneuverability and power over infantries.

Liu Bei would now have a cavalry regardless of whether Zhang Xiu submitted to him. Although it would still be better if Zhang Xiu submitted.

With the Wolf Cavalry gone, so was one of Liu Bei’s worries. Although the armor of his White Eared Soldiers were good, they were still no match against cavalries like Cao Cao’s Tiger Cavalry. They would only be able to defend and not attack. This was why Liu Bei celebrated and invited Zhang Xiu when the Wolf Cavalry was defeated.

“General Yang Wu. Your uncle was a hero. Under his leaders.h.i.+p, the Xiliang Cavalry is invincible. You are no inferior to him in both martial arts and leaders.h.i.+p. Your uncle can rest easy in the afterlife.” Liu Bei lifted his wine and flattered.

Zhang Xiu’s uncle was not actually an invincible person although he had some talent. He was only a deputy general. When the general of the Xiliang Cavalry perished, he climbed up the ranks. After Dong Zhuo’s death, he his chance. He followed Guo Si and Li Jue into Changan to seize Han territory. He later obtained a t.i.tle but he was actually a bandit. n.o.body knew what the Emperor would have thought if the Emperor knew about this.

The man then perished when he attacked Liu Biao due to lack of provisions. He was killed by an arrow. Zhang Xiu then took over and surrendered to Liu Biao, helping Liu Biao to conquer Jingzhou and then becoming the gatekeeper for the North. He too, would have been killed several times if it was not because of Jia Xu.

Liu Bei was very happy while Zhang Xiu acted modestly.

“Lu Bu had to flee with his tail between his legs because you brought your five thousand cavalries!” Liu Bei continued to praise. This was the most he could do as continuous praise would be annoying. Yet, Liu Bei compared Zhang Xiu with Lu Bu. Lu Bu was the G.o.d of War. Although many generals hated him, their hatred was mostly envy. Lu Bu was strong, handsome and even had one of the most beautiful woman as his wife. Truly a representative of the Three Kingdom’s ‘Mr Perfect’. Anyone who says that they are not jealous is lying. Saying that Lu Bu fled because of Zhang Xiu meant that Zhang Xiu was a successful person.

“Hmph!” Zhang Fei was not pleased. Zhang Xiu would not have been able to defeat Lu Bu alone. If he and Chen Dao did not join the battle, they would currently be looking at Zhang Xiu’s head. Liu Bei seemingly praised Zhang Xiu continuously, forgetting about Chen Dao and himself. Zhang Fei stood up and wanted to comment on this but Chen Dao pulled him back down and said, “Third General. Do not interrupt Milord’s important affairs.” Chen Dao looked at Zhang Fei and shook his head. Zhang Fei could only helplessly remain sitting.

“Hahaha!” Zhang Xiu laughed. “If it was not because of your subordinates, General Zhang Fei and General Chen Dao, I would not have been able to do that. Come. I need to pay respects to these two generals!” Zhang Xiu said and then drank.

Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, a bodyguard walked in and said, “Report. Millord, General Liu Pi seeks an audience!”

“Liu Pi?” Liu Bei frowned. “He still has the face to come back!” Zhang Fei shouted. Liu Bei had looked for Liu Pi twice. The first time, he received the reply that Liu Pi was coming soon. The second time, Liu Pi was not around. Now, Liu Pi showed himself after the battle was over.

“Brother. Let me go and beat him up!” Zhang Fei’s had a violent temper caused by the wine.

“Milord. Let Liu Pi in.” Pang Tong suggested. He wanted to gain control of Liu Pi. He would not want Liu Pi without his military power. Naturally, he wanted Liu Pi to remain in Liu Bei’s circle.

“Alright. Let him in!” Liu Bei waved his hand and Liu Pi entered. When Liu Pi entered, everyone was stunned. This was because there was a strong stench of blood from his body. The stench was more nauseating and powerful compared to the ones that partic.i.p.ated in the battle earlier.

Besides that, his armor was still b.l.o.o.d.y. It could be seen at a glance that he had just returned from battle.

Before Liu Bei could speak, Liu Pi went up and knelt. He then said, “Milord. You must help me seek justice1! Milord!”

“Huh?” Liu Bei suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. “Stand up and speak!”

“Milord. Yesterday, my army caught a scout from the Lu Bu’s Army! According to the scout, Shouchun is running out of provisions. Lu Bu also sent provisions from Lujiang. As time was short, this general had commanded Liao Hua to set up an ambush with two thousand men. This general would then bring reinforcements of five thousand men. We were prepared to seize the provisions at the official road!” Liu Pi narrated clearly.

“Shouchun lack provisions? Lu Bu’s Army’s transport unit?” It was true that Shouchun lacked provisions. This could be found out from the captured cities and defeated generals. However, the people present looked at each other when they heard about the Lu Bu’s Arrmy’s transport unit. They pondered on its possibility. This is because they had ambushed Lu Bu’s Wolf Cavalry at the official road. However, they did not see any provision being transported.

As everyone pondered, Liu Pi explained the stratagem. At this moment, everyone imagined the scenario in their heads. Shouchun lacked provisions so they dispatched a transport unit. Naturally, they would need protection. As they were being held up by Sun Ce, only the Wolf Cavalry could rush to Shouchun and back to Lujiang before the enemy could react. The Wolf Cavalry was also unable to move together with the transport unit because they would not be able to utilize their speed and would reduce their strength as cavalries.

So the supposed plan was for the transport unit to stay at the front with the Wolf Cavalry following behind. If the transport unit was attacked, the Wolf Cavalry would be able to rush to the battlefield and help it.

The people present raised their heads. ‘Lu Bu’s Army is full of talents. Unfortunately, the movements of their Wolf Cavalry was discovered by Liu Bei’s spies. This caused them to fall to Pang Tong’s scheme and have their provisions robbed by Liu Pi. Otherwise, they really would have reached Shouchun.’

“General Liu Pi. This is truly a huge meritorious service. Here I was, wondering where you went. Who would have thought that you made such a great contribution! This is truly two simultaneous happy events!” Pang Tong then ended the pondering mood by cupping his fist towards Liu Bei. “Milord. We should offer a drink to General Liu PI!” Pang Tong constantly defended the man’s hidden potential.

“Of course! Of course! Someone come and give General Liu Pi a seat!” If what Liu Pi said was true, he had really contributed a lot. Shouchun lacked provisions and their supplies were taken. This would make Shouchun even harder to defend.

The seats and the drinks had moved over. However, Liu Pi did not dare to sit or drink.

“Liu Pi. What’s wrong? Could it be that Brother’s drink was not tasty and you don’t want to drink it?” Zhang Fei’s voice was loud and his temper was bad. He did not like to deal with a Yellow Turban. He also looked at the Mi Family in disdain.