amaotonovel Chapter 475 Liu Bei's Speed
Chapter 475 Liu Bei's Speed
Liu Bei snatched the sword hilt and tried to twist it as Zhou Cang had instructed. After a few tries, he was dismayed to find that he couldn't do it either. His hands were trembling so much that he couldn't muster any strength. He had no choice but to throw it to Zhao Yun and say, "Zilong, you do it."
Zhao Yun tried several times but still couldn't unscrew it. Zhou Cang hadn't taken precautions on the way here, causing water and impurities to seep into the seam and rust. But Zhao Yun was no ordinary man. Seeing that he couldn't unscrew it, he simply used force to break the sword hilt off. Then he saw the rolled-up paper scroll hidden inside the hilt.
Zhao Yun pulled out a scroll of paper about the size of a palm and the thickness of a thumb and handed it to Liu Bei. Liu Bei quickly took it and said, "Come and see it together."
Zhao Yun, Chen Dao, Liu Feng, and others quickly surrounded him, while Liu Bei carefully unfolded the scroll as if he were stroking his newborn son, A Dou, and looked at the densely packed small characters on it.
The calligraphy was written by Guan Xing, and the very first sentence was "Reporting to the King..."
What follows is naturally the whole process of Guan Xing resisting Lu Xun on Guan Yu's orders, surrounding and annihilating Han Dang and Xu Sheng, and capturing Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin, which is written in nearly forty pages in total, including both sides.
Although Liu Bei learned the outcome of the battle from Zhou Cang, he was still so shocked that his hands trembled and his lips quivered. Guan Xing's victory in this battle was too brilliant, so brilliant that even his own great victory in the Northern Expedition paled in comparison.
It's worth noting that Guan Xing wiped out a whole bunch of famous generals from Eastern Wu. Putting aside the fact that Liu Bei didn't think much of Lu Xun, Han Dang was an old comrade-in-arms who had fought alongside Liu Bei against Dong Zhuo and even shared drinks with him during the campaign. Yet, Guan Xing managed to force such a veteran general to commit suicide.
And then there's Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang's cousin, the tiger among the dragons, tigers and dogs of the Zhuge family, who also became Guan Xing's prisoner.
And then there's Lü Dai, a great talent that even Liu Bei dreamed of, yet he was forced to surrender by Guan Xing.
And then there's Shi Xin, who is Shi Xie's son. With him around, I have leverage to negotiate with Shi Xie. Although Shi Xin isn't much, his father is awesome.
and also……
Looking at the long list of captured prisoners, Liu Bei felt like he was dreaming.
Even Liu Bei, who was mentally prepared, was like this. Zhao Yun and Chen Dao were even more so. Their eyes were so wide that their eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets, and their bodies were stiff as if they had been frozen. Like Liu Bei before them, they had all fallen into a state of shock.
In contrast, Liu Feng appeared much calmer, staring at the battle report while cursing under his breath.
Guan Xing is so incredibly brave?
Why should Guan Anguo be allowed to do this? Isn't he just a spoiled brat?
Liu Feng had always looked down on Guan Xing, thinking that Guan Xing was good for nothing except for abusing his father's power.
But now, this notorious playboy has become an unparalleled war god who is even more powerful than his father. How can people bear this?
If I were to fight this battle...
Liu Feng's eyes turned red with jealousy, but he wisely remained silent instead of speaking.
Liu Bei read the battle report three times, then carefully rolled it up again, stuffed it into the hilt of his sword, and put it in his pocket. Only then did he get up and shake Zhao Yun and Chen Dao, who were in a daze, and ask, "Zilong, Shuzhi, what do you two think?"
Chen Dao was the first to regain his senses, patting his dizzy head and saying, "I am ashamed of myself. The young general's ability to quickly turn the surrendered soldiers of Eastern Wu into our own army, and even increase their combat strength instead of decreasing it, is something that not only we, but also the entire Han Dynasty, can probably only be matched by Marquis of Huaiyin, Han Xin. I can only admire you beyond words."
Zhao Yun said, "Your Majesty, with the complete annihilation of the elite forces of Eastern Wu and Sun Quan being utterly eliminated, the situation in the world will inevitably undergo earth-shattering changes. Shouldn't we also take some action?"
A word to awaken the dreamer.
Liu Bei suddenly turned around and asked Zhou Cang, "When you came here, did anything happen in Jingzhou or Jiangling?"
Zhou Cang shook his head and said, "I don't know, I only took the back paths."
Seeing the blank look in his eyes, Liu Bei knew he couldn't count on him and decisively said, "It will take the strategist time to get here. I don't have time to wait for him. Shuzhi, prepare a horse for me. I want to go to Nanzheng to see the strategist myself."
"Zilong, immediately send someone back to Chengdu with news of the great victory at Anguo to reassure the people of Bashu. Also, tell the gentry of Yizhou that we need grain..."
Now that the Han army has won one great victory after another, the great cause of restoring the Han dynasty is about to be realized. Even the most foolish gentry of Yizhou should know that they should actively perform, right?
Moreover, how many official positions would be vacant if Jingzhou were recovered? Liu Bei didn't believe that the gentry of Yizhou wouldn't want these positions. If they wanted them, they would have to pay and contribute. He couldn't just let his father give them away for free.
Zhao Yun clasped his hands in greeting and left. Liu Bei then gave Liu Feng a few more instructions, telling him to guard the western city well before leaving the county office, mounting his warhorse, and leading dozens of his personal guards to Nanzheng to meet Zhuge Liang.
On the official road leading to Nanzheng, the capital of Hanzhong Prefecture, dozens of warhorses galloped at full speed. At first, they were able to walk side by side, but gradually the distance between them widened.
Liu Bei rode Dilu, which, although not as good as Red Hare, was still a fine steed capable of traveling a thousand miles. In addition, the flat terrain at the bottom of the Hanzhong Basin was conducive to the galloping of warhorses, and soon he left Chen Dao and others far behind.
After traveling for more than two hours, Liu Bei actually saw a messenger carrying a command flag on his back heading to Nanzheng. If he was not mistaken, it should be the messenger he had sent to Nanzheng to deliver the order to Zhuge Liang.
Even the messenger who set off early couldn't outrun the mad Liu Bei, which shows just how excited he was.
I can't help but be excited! Now that we have Jiangdong, there's hope of taking back Jingzhou. Once we take back Jingzhou, we can connect Bashu, Jingxiang, and even Jiangdong into one, dominating the entire Jiangnan region. Then we can launch a northern expedition to realize our grand ambition of restoring the Han Dynasty.
Although Liu Bei regarded restoring the Han Dynasty as his lifelong dream and shouted the slogan of restoring the Han Dynasty loudly, he also knew that the hope was too slim. Therefore, he only used the restoration of the Han Dynasty as a slogan. As for whether he could succeed, he had no idea.
But this time was different. He truly saw hope. If he could connect the Jiangnan region into one, and with the Longxi highlands he had already reclaimed, he would have the strength to confront Cao Cao head-on.
If we can secure one or two more decent victories, the balance of power between Liu Bei and Cao Cao should tip in our favor.
For the first time in decades of fighting, Liu Bei felt that his future was bright and he had inexhaustible energy. He quickly caught up with the messenger and said, "You're going to deliver the order to the strategist, right? No need to go, I'll go myself."
The messenger was stunned when he saw that it was Liu Bei. He wanted to say something but found that Liu Bei had already run far away. Helpless, he stood there with his mouth open, not knowing what to do.
Chen Dao arrived shortly afterward, inquired about the situation from the messenger, and then added him to his team. The messenger wouldn't be able to go back and report at this point, so it was better to bring him along.
It was more than 400 li from Xicheng to Nanzheng, but Liu Bei was riding Dilu, which could travel a thousand li a day. At 8 o'clock in the evening, he arrived in Nanzheng smoothly, explained his purpose, rushed into the city gate and went straight to the governor's mansion.
As darkness fell, the unfortunate Zhuge Liang was still busy with his work. Although he was not yet the prime minister, he bore the responsibilities of one, having to coordinate the front lines, manage the affairs of Chengdu, and oversee the transportation and allocation of provisions. His workload was far greater than that of Liu Bei, who was a hands-off manager.
After Zhuge Liang finished reviewing the last few official documents, he ordered them to be sent back to Chengdu. He was about to go back to rest, waving his feather fan, when he saw Liu Bei jump two meters away and leap across the threshold.
Zhuge Liang's hand holding the fan paused, his heart tightening. He asked impatiently, "Your Majesty, why have you returned? Has something happened?"
As he asked the question, Zhuge Liang felt a sense of unease; anything that would make Liu Bei come in person must be of great importance.
Liu Bei rushed to Zhuge Liang's side, handed him the hilt of his sword, and said breathlessly, "Take a look at this."