Chương 341: Sun Jian as Vanguard, Bao Zhong Dies

Meanwhile, in the allied camp of Suanzao, Yuan Shao was giving a perfunctory speech.

He was dressed in a gleaming suit of armor, sitting in the main seat of the alliance leader's tent, with the alliance leader's seal in front of him and the alliance leader's banner beside him, exuding an air of grandeur.

"Gentlemen!" Yuan Shao cleared his throat and said in a loud voice, "That old traitor Dong Zhuo has wreaked havoc on the court, deceived the emperor, and poisoned the people! Today, we, the nineteen brothers, have gathered here to restore the Han Dynasty and kill this national traitor! We must all work together to overcome this national crisis! Anyone who harbors disloyalty will be condemned by heaven and earth!"

He spoke with great passion and spittle flying everywhere, but what about the feudal lords below?

Some nodded in agreement, such as honest men like Kong Rong and Zhang Miao.

Some were picking at their nails, like Yuan Shu, who rolled his eyes as he did so.

Some secretly drank and chatted with the people next to them, such as Bao Xin and Liu Dai.

Some people had their own agendas and didn't listen at all, like Liu Bei.

To put it bluntly, most of these people are just there to make up the numbers.

If they were really asked to confront Dong Zhuo's Xiliang cavalry head-on, they would all run away faster than anyone else.

As soon as Yuan Shao finished speaking, a person stepped forward.

It was Sun Jian, the Prefect of Changsha, also known as Sun Wentai.

Sun Jian stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:

"Alliance Leader! Now that we've raised an army, let's stop wasting time on empty talk! This humble general is willing to lead my troops to capture Sishui Pass first, opening a passage for the main army!"

When Yuan Shao saw that it was Sun Jian, he was overjoyed.

Who doesn't know Sun Jian, the Tiger of Jiangdong? He's famously a formidable fighter, fearless in battle. With him on the front lines, victory is practically guaranteed.

"Excellent! Wentai is indeed loyal and brave!" Yuan Shao slammed his hand on the table.

"I hereby order you to lead your troops and attack Sishui Pass immediately! All the other warlords must come to Wentai's aid! The provisions and supplies will be allocated by Yuan Shu, the commander of the rear army, to ensure Wentai's military needs are met!"

"Thank you, Alliance Leader!" Sun Jian clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, then turned and led his men straight towards Sishui Pass.

After Sun Jian left, Yuan Shu, inside the main tent, smiled but secretly began to make his own plans.

Yuan Shu looked down on Yuan Shao from the bottom of his heart and was even more dissatisfied with him becoming the leader of the alliance.

How dare a bastard child climb over me?

Now that Sun Jian has volunteered to be the vanguard, if he really manages to capture Sishui Pass, then march into Luoyang and kill Dong Zhuo, then Sun Jian will be the one who achieves the greatest merit, and his prestige will definitely surpass that of the two brothers.

How could Yuan Shu possibly survive then?

He squinted, watching Sun Jian's departing figure, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.

...

Hua Xiong led an army of 50, 000 men, marching in a grand procession toward Sishui Pass.

On the way, he rode a tall horse, carrying his large sword, and boasted to his lieutenants:

"Just you wait and see! These so-called feudal lords only know how to oppress the people in their own territories. When it comes to the battlefield, they're all cowards!"

"This blade of mine, which accompanied the Prime Minister in pacifying Liangzhou, has chopped off at least eight hundred or a thousand Qiang heads, and has never met its match! This time, it's perfect—let's have some fun with the heads of these good-for-nothings!"

Li Su chimed in, "The general is right! Those young masters from Guandong probably can't even hold a sword properly, how could they be a match for us!"

Hua Xiong was even more smug, cracking his whip loudly, wishing he could fly to Sishui Pass in one step.

In less than three days, the army arrived at Sishui Pass.

The soldiers guarding the pass had already received the news and quickly opened the city gates to welcome them in.

Hua Xiong entered the pass, surveyed the terrain, and nodded, saying, "This place is good; easy to defend and difficult to attack. Let them try and see if they can crack this tough nut!"

He had barely sat down, and before he could even take a sip of hot tea, the scout rushed in and said:

"Reporting to the General! Three thousand men have arrived from beyond the pass. It seems to be Bao Zhong, the younger brother of Bao Xin, the Chancellor of Jibei. They are hurling insults at you from below the pass, saying they want to claim the first merit and take your head!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Xiong chuckled and slammed his teacup down on the table:

"Hey! Anyone else so eager to die? Perfect timing, I just arrived, haven't even had a proper ceremony yet, let's start with him!"

He immediately donned his armor, mounted his horse, grabbed his broadsword, mustered five hundred elite cavalry, and shouted, "Open the city gates!"

As soon as the city gate opened, Hua Xiong charged out first, followed by his iron cavalry shouting battle cries that shook the heavens, their hooves kicking up clouds of dust.

Bao Zhongzheng and his men were cursing loudly at the pass. What were they cursing? They were cursing Dong Zhuo as a fat pig, Hua Xiong as a coward, and the Xiliang soldiers as useless good-for-nothings.

Just as they were cursing and spitting, the city gate suddenly opened, and a burly man, as black as an iron tower, rushed out, carrying a large sword and looking menacing, followed by a dark mass of cavalry.

Bao Zhong's legs went weak at that moment.

He just wanted to steal the credit, but who would have thought Hua Xiong would be so fierce? Wasn't it said that the Xiliang army was still on its way?

"You scoundrel! How dare you challenge your Grandpa Hua? Prepare to die!"

Hua Xiong shouted and charged forward with his sword.

Bao Zhong hurriedly raised his gun to defend himself.

The two horses clashed, in just one round...

"Snap!"

Hua Xiong raised his sword and brought it down, cleaving Bao Zhong off his horse! The sword was so fast that Bao Zhong's head flew three zhang away, his body still sitting on the horse, spitting out a mouthful of blood before falling to the ground with a "plop".

When his three thousand men saw that their commander was dead, they immediately panicked and ran away!

Hua Xiong led his iron cavalry in pursuit, cutting down enemies like vegetables, leaving corpses strewn across the field. They chased the enemy for ten miles, capturing a large number of prisoners and returning to the pass in great victory.

Back at the pass, Hua Xiong laughed loudly, "I thought he was so powerful, but he's just a piece of trash! He couldn't even withstand one of my blows! This kind of scum dares to try and steal the credit?"

He immediately ordered that Bao Zhong's head be placed in a wooden box and sent back to Luoyang overnight to report the good news.

When Dong Zhuo received the news, he was overjoyed and rewarded his soldiers with a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, as well as dozens of jars of fine wine.

Hua Xiong, having received the reward, became even more arrogant, spending his days drinking and eating meat at the pass, completely disregarding the warlords of Guandong.

"What nineteen warlords? I think they're nineteen useless cowards!" he boasted to his lieutenants.

"When they arrive, I can chop them all down by myself!"

............

A few days later, the scouts reported again: Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, led over ten thousand troops with his three generals Huang Gai, Zu Mao, and Zhu Zhi to challenge the pass!

Upon hearing this, Hua Xiong curled his lip and said, "Sun Jian? Heard of him? The Tiger of Jiangdong? I'd like to see just how fierce he is!"

He dispatched his deputy general, Hu Zhen, with 5, 000 soldiers to meet the enemy.

As a result, Hu Zhen went out and fought Sun Jian for only a few rounds before being killed by Sun Jian with a single blow!

Hu Zhen's five thousand soldiers were utterly routed, with less than half of them managing to escape.

Sun Jian's first victory greatly boosted morale! He immediately ordered the siege of Sishui Pass and launched a day-and-night attack, with drums beating and battle cries echoing throughout the land.

Logs and stones rained down, arrows rained down, and Sun Jian's soldiers charged upwards with their shields up, their battle cries deafening.

Hua Xiong was so badly beaten that he could only cower inside the gate and dared not come out.