Chapter 89: Dispatching Troops to Yi Province

Zhang Xiu and the others accepted with unwavering resolve.

After that, Liu Xie led the great army out and departed.

This time, the main force stationed in Wan City had scarcely moved at all.

Only Lu Bu took with him fifty thousand trained cavalry.

The rest were entirely new recruits recently levied from Jingzhou.

After the battles they had already fought, the army in Nanyang had begun to take shape.

It was already a formidable fighting force.

Had he brought them along, then in the coming war against Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang, the pressure might have been eased somewhat.

But Liu Xie did not bring them.

Instead, he chose to go with three hundred thousand new soldiers.

His purpose was to hasten the formation of Jingzhou’s combat strength.

And there was another reason: to further temper the relationship between himself and Jingzhou.

So long as he could take root in the hearts of these Jingzhou troops, the rest would become much easier.

What was more, the commanders Liu Xie had brought this time were far more numerous than before.

Foremost among them, in terms of sheer strength, was naturally Lu Bu.

Besides him were Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Wen Pin, and the other generals of Jingzhou.

There were more than ten commanders altogether.

At this point, Liu Xie could truly be said to have achieved both abundant troops and an ample cadre of generals.

The embarrassed circumstances of the past were entirely gone.

Before, they had possessed an army of several hundred thousand in name only, yet aside from Hu Che’er, there was no general worth using.

Now it was different.

He not only had many troops, but also many great generals and strategists.

Chen Gong had also come with them this time.

Troops, generals, and advisers alike—everything was in place.

This campaign could truly be called complete in every respect.

“Gongtai, what do you think we should do in this war?” Liu Xie asked Chen Gong beside him on the road.

Hearing this, Chen Gong hurriedly bowed with clasped fists.

“Your Majesty, the alliance between Hanzhong and Yizhou is clearly based on the assumption that we will not only strike Yizhou, but also Hanzhong.”

“That is why they have already sent their armies forth.”

“In truth, this is only to be expected.”

“Zhang Lu must have foreseen that once we have taken Yizhou, we will turn our hand against Hanzhong as well.”

“So, in this humble man’s opinion, our deployment against the feudal lords is not yet ideal.”

“This war is meant to temper the troops, Your Majesty.”

“So we need only advance according to the situation.”

Chen Gong said quite a lot.

In truth, the first part of his words had already guessed at Liu Xie’s intentions, while the latter part laid out what Liu Xie intended to do, or rather, his plan for this war.

Liu Xie drew a quiet breath and could not help but feel a little moved.

For Chen Gong had, in essence, spoken what was in his heart.

That was right.

This time, he truly had no intention of playing any clever tricks with the enemy.

A direct confrontation would do.

“By the way, where has the Yizhou army gathered?”

“And Zhang Lu?”

“Where is the Hanzhong force stationed?” Liu Xie asked.

“Your Majesty, the Yizhou army is all encamped in Ba Commandery.”

“Ba Commandery is also the first territory we must face.”

“And the Hanzhong troops are there as well.”

“According to the scouts’ reports, Hanzhong and Yizhou together have assembled nearly two hundred and fifty thousand troops there.”

“All of Yizhou’s famed generals have been sent out.”

“By the looks of it, they intend to tangle with us around Ba Commandery.”

Chen Gong stepped forward and gave a brief account of the situation.

Liu Xie nodded lightly.

That much was already plain to see.

They had concentrated all their forces on the front line, and did not intend to engage him in any elaborate contest of stratagems.

It seemed the other side understood as well that if this turned into a war of attrition, or into some game of schemes, they held no advantage.

Though this was their own land, in truth, if it came to open war, they ought to know that his three hundred thousand troops, together with so many renowned generals of the age, were not something they could compare with.

“Very well. Since that is so, we shall camp twenty li from them,” Liu Xie said.

“As for the rest, we can take our time.”

He was not in a hurry.

After leading the army on a march of more than ten days, they finally halted less than twenty li from the enemy force and made camp.

With the arrival of both armies, the two sides immediately entered into a standoff.

The enemy had two hundred and fifty thousand men.

Liu Xie had three hundred thousand.

Altogether, more than five hundred thousand soldiers stood facing one another here.

The atmosphere was thick with hostility.

Yet neither side moved to strike.

It was not that they did not wish to fight.

Rather, both sides had their own intentions.

The Yizhou side feared the might of Liu Xie’s army.

After all, there was a fierce man like Lu Bu among them.

One misstep, and they would be plunged into peril.

As for why Liu Xie did not attack, it was because he wanted to see what they would do.

It was also a sign of patience.

No matter how one looked at it, Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu had joined forces and sent their armies out, so their strength could not be weak.

They had clearly made full preparations.

As for his own side, they had marched a great distance, and most of the troops were still new recruits with little battle experience.

Although Lu Bu was present, Liu Xie still wanted to be cautious.

“Generals,” Liu Xie said with a smile, looking at the people below him.

“We have been outside Ba Commandery for several days now, and the other side has shown no movement at all.”

“Tell me, what do you think should be done?”

The crowd looked at one another.

In the end, it was still Chen Gong who stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, in this humble man’s opinion, our army should send out a probe and issue a challenge.”

“After a battle, we will know their condition.”

Liu Xie nodded lightly upon hearing this.

What Chen Gong had said was exactly what he himself had been thinking.

“What is the situation on Zhang Lu’s side?”

“How many troops does Hanzhong have in total?”

“And how many have they sent this time?” Liu Xie asked, paying no further heed to the immediate battle.

Instead, he asked about Hanzhong.

“Your Majesty.”

“The land of Hanzhong has a total of one hundred and ten thousand troops.”

“In the previous battle in Jingzhou, they lost more than ten thousand.”

“This time, Zhang Lu has sent nearly ninety thousand men.”

“And all of his generals have been dispatched as well.”

“On the Yizhou side, every soldier has been committed, with nothing held back.”

Chen Gong reported respectfully.

Liu Xie was turning something over in his mind.

“So that means Hanzhong now has only about twenty thousand troops left?”

“And as for commanders, there are only a handful, yes?” Liu Xie summarized.

Chen Gong subconsciously nodded.

But very quickly, he seemed to realize something.

He lifted his head abruptly and looked at Liu Xie in astonishment.

“Your Majesty, do you mean...?”

His eyes flicked toward the surrounding area, and he stopped himself.

Liu Xie merely smiled at him.

He said nothing.

He knew Chen Gong had likely already guessed his meaning.

And he also knew that some things were not suited to being spoken aloud just yet.

But between the two of them, everything was already understood.

“Good. Since that is so, then from tomorrow onward, Fengxian, you shall go out and issue the challenge.”

“How does that sound?” Liu Xie asked Lu Bu with a smile.

“As you command, Your Majesty. I have been hoping for this!” Lu Bu was brimming with fighting spirit.

These past few days he had been cooped up long enough to go mad.

He had long wanted to charge out and challenge the enemy.

Unfortunately, Liu Xie had issued no orders, so he could not act on his own.

Now that Liu Xie had finally told him to go out and challenge them, it was exactly what he wanted.

The next day, Lu Bu rode out alone to challenge the Yizhou army in front of their lines.

“I am Lu Bu, a general under Jingzhou!”

“Who dares come out and meet me in battle!”

“What, are you all nothing but cowards?”

Lu Bu sat astride his horse alone at the gates of the enemy camp and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Traitorous Lu Bu, do not be so arrogant!”

“I, Zhang Yi, will face you!”

At his taunts, someone inside could finally stand it no longer.

He immediately rode out to meet him.

Lu Bu snorted coldly.

“Zhang Yi, I do not know your name.”

“But if you have come seeking death, then I shall simply hack off that dog head of yours!”

He had never even heard of Zhang Yi.

But since someone had come out to answer the challenge, Lu Bu naturally intended to kill him.

With another cold snort, he charged forward swiftly.

As expected, there was not the slightest surprise.

The moment they met, Zhang Yi was struck down from his horse and killed.

“Hahaha! Is this all your Yizhou has to offer, nothing but useless trash?”

“Not a single man with enough skill to be worth mentioning?”

“In that case, you might as well come out and surrender at once.”

“It would save our Majesty the trouble of entangling with you here.”

“That would be a terrible waste of time!”

Lu Bu continued cursing at the camp gate.

Inside, the soldiers were furious beyond measure.

Soon after, another man burst out from the enemy camp.

“Lu Bu, you are truly too much!”

“Do you really think yourself invincible under heaven?”

That man was practically exploding with rage.

But Lu Bu merely let out a contemptuous laugh.

“And who might you be, fool?”

“In my view, you ought to spare me the trouble and slit your own throat.”

“Hmph. For me to lay a hand on you would dirty my Sky Piercer halberd.”

Lu Bu did not treat him as anything at all.

His disdain and contempt were so blatant it seemed they would drive the other man to the grave.

“Hmph! I am Ju Fu!”

“Lu Bu, are you not so formidable?”

“Today I shall take your head!”

Unable to endure it any longer, the man raised his saber and charged forward with a shout.

Lu Bu snorted coldly and came at him with his halberd.

There was no suspense whatsoever.

Facing Lu Bu, who was like a war god, the man was slain in a single exchange.

The two challengers had both been cut down in one stroke.

This time, no one from the enemy camp dared to come out anymore.

Lu Bu’s reputation was already known to all, and now that they had seen the strength he displayed, even fewer dared to step forward.

No matter how fiercely Lu Bu shouted at the gate, the people inside, though furious, did not dare ride out to fight.

Because to ride out would be to court death.

While Lu Bu continued his challenge there, on the other side, within Liu Xie’s camp, Liu Xie and Chen Gong sat facing one another, chatting.

“Your Majesty, are you preparing to go to Hanzhong?” Chen Gong asked in a low voice.

That was right. Yesterday, when Liu Xie spoke, he had already heard the implication.

But he still felt it was far too risky.

“Yes. Gongtai, you think this is dangerous, do you not?” Liu Xie asked softly.

“Yes. In this humble man’s opinion, it is far too dangerous.”

“If the matter is ever exposed,”

“the consequences could be extremely severe.”

Chen Gong said with concern.

Yet Liu Xie seemed utterly composed.

Calm.

And unhurried.