Chapter 83: Entering the Camp

  Sorry about that!

  Vehicles and livestock have lost thirty percent, and dozens of carts of fodder and grain have been burned. There are also over three hundred prisoners of war who cannot advance further, so Liu Xuan had to send someone to Xinye for help.

  At dawn, Guan Ping led over a thousand soldiers to Lin Dao. Guan Ping dismounted his horse and bowed to Liu Jing with a smile: "Congratulations, brother, on your great victory and initial achievement!"

  It had been months since they last met, and now that they were reunited in Xinye, Liu Jue was overjoyed. He playfully punched Guan Ping's shoulder and said with a smile: "You're saying that killing Zhang Wu has nothing to do with me, right?"

  Guan Ping scratched his head, "You're such a petty guy, can't you just let me take the credit for killing Zhang Wu? Or are you going to give me your horse?"

  The two of them burst out laughing, and Liu Xuan pulled Guan Ping to introduce him to Deng Wu. After exchanging formalities, Deng Wu sighed and said: "I didn't expect to be ambushed halfway, suffering heavy losses, and lacking in both men and livestock. I hope General Guan can provide assistance."

  In front of Deng Wu, Guan Ping put away his joking heart and nodded: "We captured a Cao army scout at midnight yesterday, only to find out that these Cao troops were preparing to launch a surprise attack on XinYe County. Fortunately, you appeared and they changed their target, otherwise we would not have been prepared and XinYe County would be in danger."

  Guan Ping took another look at the damaged vehicles and scattered grain, then said to Deng Wu and Liu Jing: "I'll take care of the aftermath! Your spoils of war and captives I will return to the Jingzhou army camp, the rest of the grain and vehicles will be temporarily stored in Xinye County."

  Guan Ping considered the problem very thoroughly, he would not occupy Liu Jue's war results, and instead of them, he eliminated their worries, making Deng Wu feel grateful in his heart. He organized his troops and vehicles, and 1,000 soldiers escorted more than 400 grain carts to continue advancing towards Bao Wang Slope.

  "It's no wonder he's the son of Guan Yunchang, with feelings and righteousness, public and private are clear, admirable!" The team walked out for nearly ten miles, Deng Wu couldn't help but praise Guan Ping. He had always admired Guan Yu the most, and now he also liked Guan Ping along with him.

  Liu Jue thought of another thing and asked Deng Wu: "Shang Wen brother, you are a native of Xin Ye, do you think Liu Xiong really lacks grain and fodder?"

  Deng Wu hesitated for a moment, his face showing a bitter smile. "To be honest, Xinye is a large county with fertile land, abundant water sources, and a large population, which can provide sufficient grain to support an army of 10,000. Logically speaking, there should be no shortage of food and grass. I think General Cai's intention is that this time Liu Xuande wants grain, it's likely that he is testing whether our Jingzhou army is really supporting him."

  Liu Xuan secretly shook his head. With Liu Bei's cunning, how could he let Cai Zhong, such a fool, guess his true intention? For some reason, Liu Xuan had an intuition that Liu Bei's real purpose in asking for grain was not the grain itself, but what was it then?

  ．．．．．．．．．

  After going through a battle, Liu Hu and Wei Yan had nothing to say, they sat shoulder to shoulder together, Liu Hu was enthusiastic, chatting with Wei Yan freely, Wei Yan's lifesaving grace made him regard Wei Yan as his bosom friend in an instant.

  "Lao Wei, where did you learn your martial arts? I really can't tell, the five-headed tiger combined couldn't beat you."

  Wei Yan smiled, he liked Liu Hu's straightforwardness and lack of pretension. "It was my father who taught me, I started learning martial arts at the age of five, I don't know how many whips I broke, the hardships are hard to describe in one sentence."

  "You are all persevering, and Brother Jing is the same, practicing martial arts in the river every night, sinking himself to the bottom of the river. Just thinking about it makes me shudder all over, I'm the laziest and most stupid, so I couldn't practice martial arts."

  Wei Yan was curious in his heart, so he dived to the bottom of the river. How could this be a way to practice martial arts? However, he knew that asking too many questions was taboo for a martial artist, so he just smiled and said: "I found that you have great strength, bravery and ferocity, but your only shortcoming is that your basic skills are not good enough, you can't achieve the level of 'ears listening to all directions' and 'eyes observing six paths'. Actually, this can be learned, and it's not difficult. When I have time, I'll teach you, at most in a year, you won't encounter the kind of danger you faced last night again."

  Liu Hu was overjoyed, "You'd better say it's settled, no backing out!"

  Wei Yan smiled slightly, "I, Wei Yan, have never broken a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold. When have I ever gone back on my word?"

  ...。。

  The troops marched another seven or eight miles, and ahead was Bó Wàng Pō. At this time, a cavalry of over 100 men rushed towards them, led by a great general on a white horse with a long spear, silver armor and red tassels, tall and majestic, awe-inspiring, like a god descending to the world, it was precisely Zhao Yun.

  Liu Jiao saw Zhao Yun from afar and was overjoyed. He urged his horse to gallop forward, waving his hand and shouting: "Brother Zilong!"

  Zhao Yun's face revealed a joyful smile, he had not seen this brother for two months, and his heart was especially happy, also didn't know how his martial arts practice was going now, turning Liu Xuan into a highly skilled martial artist had always been Zhao Yun's wish.

  It was not only that he wanted to repay Liu Xuan's life-saving grace, but also because he discovered Liu Xuan's martial arts talent, and he hoped that one day, he could fight side by side with him on the battlefield, which had become his responsibility.

  "Brother Xian, I heard you were ambushed last night. Are you alright?" Zhao Yun asked with concern.

  "I'm fine, but last night was indeed thrilling. In short, it's hard to put into words, I'll tell you slowly when I have time, brother."

  At this time, the grain cart team also followed up. Deng Wu had met Zhao Yun before and rode his horse to salute him, saying: "Deng Wu, a general of Jingzhou, pays respects to General Zhao!"

  Zhoa Yun saw the grain carts stretching far and wide, with a distance of several miles. He was overjoyed in his heart and returned the courtesy to the crowd, saying: "General Deng has worked hard, everyone has worked hard along the way. Please follow me back to the camp, my master has prepared wine for you all to wash away the dust and calm your nerves."

  Zhoa Yun turned his horse's head and led the cavalry team towards the military camp in a majestic manner.

  Bowang Slope is located about twenty miles northwest of Xinye, and it is a must-pass route from Wan City to Xinye. There happens to be a geomorphic fault there, and Bowang Slope is located at the high point of the fault.

  Further northwest, the terrain drops sharply. Standing on the slope and looking northwest, the view is broad, with rivers and forests all within sight. Hence the name Bowang, a strategically advantageous location that military leaders must contend for.

  Liu Bei adopted a strategy of waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, and his main army was stationed in an advantageous position on the slope. The Li Dian's army camp was three miles away, visible from the high ground.

  Liu Biao has been confronting Li Dian's army for over ten days, with Li Dian having more than 6,000 troops and Liu Bei having around 5,000. The two sides were evenly matched, but last night Cao's army was defeated, losing over a thousand men, while Liu Bei's army gained an additional thousand reinforcements from Jingzhou, thus gaining the upper hand in terms of troop strength.

  Although the military strength began to take the upper hand, Liu Bei did not feel excited in his heart. He had just received news that Xiahou Dun led 20,000 troops from Wan City towards Xinye and would arrive at Bowang Slope in two days at the latest.

  Although Liu Bei was worried in his heart, he still warmly welcomed the arrival of Liu Xuan and others. The camp gate was wide open, colorful flags were flying high, and Liu Bei personally led dozens of generals to welcome them out.

  Deng Wu and Liu Xuan hastily stepped forward on one knee, "At your service, Emperor Liu!"