Chương 51: Arrival in Guangzong

In July, we went to Xiaquyang.

Liu Ce was inspecting the troops' drills on the training ground when a personal guard reported that the eunuch Zuo Feng had arrived at the camp gate with an imperial edict.

Zuo Feng's demeanor this time was completely different from his previous arrogance in Lu Zhi's army.

Upon seeing Liu Ce, he was incredibly respectful, bowing and scraping, his face plastered with a fawning smile, while his mind raced with calculations:

"This man is not to be trifled with! Not only is he His Majesty's personally acknowledged younger brother, but he's also a decisive and powerful figure with numerous military achievements!"

"We'd better be careful in serving him. If we anger him, he might kill me like a Yellow Turban rebel, and we'd have no one to complain to!"

He respectfully unfurled the imperial edict and, in his distinctively high-pitched voice, clearly read it aloud, word by word, the gist of which was: He ordered Liu Ce, the General of the Southern Army and holder of the imperial insignia, to immediately depart for Guangzong to replace the defeated Dong Zhuo and lead the remaining government troops to annihilate Zhang Jiao.

After the reading was completed, Zuo Feng stood at attention with his hands at his sides, awaiting Liu Ce's response.

Liu Ce calmly accepted the imperial edict, his heart unmoved.

The trip to Guangzong was already part of his plan.

He casually waved to the guards beside him:

"Go and give some money to Eunuch Zuo for his trouble. It's not easy for him to come all this way."

A guard brought over a small plate of gold. Zuo Feng's eyes widened at the sight, but he repeatedly declined.

"Oh dear! General Liu! This... how could I possibly accept such an honor! Serving His Majesty and the General is my duty, how could I possibly..."

Liu Ce gave him a half-smile, his eyes seeming to say, "Take it if it's offered to you, don't be ungrateful."

Zuo Feng was startled by that look, instantly understanding. He quickly took the gold, stuffed it into his pocket, and beamed with joy.

"Thank you for your generous gift, General! I am deeply grateful for your kindness! You are very busy with military affairs, so I will not disturb you any longer. I will return to Luoyang to report to His Majesty now!"

After saying that, he led his men and disappeared in a flash, as if afraid that Liu Ce would go back on his word, more than twice as fast as when he came.

After seeing off the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, Liu Ce immediately summoned his six core generals—Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin—to his tent.

"The imperial decree has arrived," Liu Ce announced to everyone.

"Dong Zhuo has suffered repeated defeats in Guangzong and has been dismissed and investigated. His Majesty has ordered us to go to Guangzong immediately, take over the remaining government troops, and annihilate Zhang Jiao."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei immediately shouted excitedly:

"Great! I've been resting here in Quyang for so long, I'm itching to go get some more fighting that old bastard Zhang Jiao!"

Dian Wei and Cheng Yaojin were also eager to get started, both saying they had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Even the usually composed Guan Yu and Zhao Yun had a glint of eager fighting spirit in their eyes.

Liu Ce ordered: "Return to your respective units to prepare your troops and inventory your provisions and weapons. Three days later, the army will set off for Guangzong!"

Three days later, Liu Ce led his more than 8, 000 men (including newly recruited soldiers) away from Xiaquyang and headed towards Guangzong.

Throughout the journey, Zhang Fei, Dian Wei, and Cheng Yaojin remained the most active members of the group.

They rode side by side on horseback, each one louder than the last, constantly discussing how to fight once they reached Guangzong, and speculating what other tricks Zhang Jiao might have up his sleeve. The atmosphere was quite lively.

The three of them kept talking, making Liu Ce's head ache, and he wished he could shut them all up.

Guan Yu shook his head helplessly, while Zhao Yun and Qin Qiong exchanged bitter smiles; it was impossible to find peace and quiet on this journey.

A week later at noon, Liu Ce's army arrived at the Han army camp in Guangzong.

Upon receiving the news, Deputy General Zong Yuan and Prefect Guo Dian of Julu had already led a group of officers to wait outside the camp gate.

Looking at Liu Ce's well-disciplined and brightly armed troops, and then comparing them to their own soldiers who had suffered many defeats, appeared demoralized, and were poorly armored, Zong Yuan and Guo Dian both showed expressions of shame and unease.

Upon seeing Liu Ce dismount, the two hurriedly stepped forward, bowed deeply, and showed utmost respect.

"This humble general, Zong Yuan, pays his respects to General Liu!"

"Your humble servant Guo Dian greets General Liu!"

"system……"

【Ding……】 [Name]: Zong Yuan Gender: Male Age: 41 [Strength]: 78 Commander: 82 [Politics]: 71 [Intelligence]: 75 【Charm】: 73 [Appearance]: 71cm 【Ding……】 Name: Guo Dian, courtesy name Junye Gender: Male Age: 37 [Strength]: 71 Commander: 78 [Politics]: 82 [Intelligence]: 78 【Charm】: 74 [Appearance]: 72cm Liu Ce stepped forward, offered a slight hand to help him up, and said with a calm smile:

"Generals, you've both worked hard. No need for such formalities. The mess Dong Zhongying left behind must be difficult to clean up, right?"

Zong Yuan and Guo Dian repeatedly replied, "No, no, with the general here, we have a pillar of support!"

After a few brief pleasantries, the member of the clan said:

"General Liu, the camp is ready for you and your soldiers. Please follow me."

Liu Ce nodded and gave instructions to Guan Yu and the others:

"Yun Chang, Yi De, Zi Long, you lead the troops to the designated area to set up camp and let the brothers rest well."

"Yes, sir!" Guan Yu and the others accepted the order and left.

After arranging the troops, Liu Ce followed Zong Yuan and Guo Dian to the central command tent.

Along the way, they saw that the camp layout was somewhat chaotic, many tents were damaged, and most of the soldiers were listless and their numbers were far less than expected.

Liu Ce clicked his tongue inwardly in amazement:

"Holy crap! That fat bastard Dong Zhuo is ruthless! It hasn't been long, and he's already reduced everything to this little bit? This speed of squandering is comparable to a Double Eleven shopping spree!"

Upon entering the main tent, they listened to a more detailed report from Zong Yuan and Guo Dian on the current situation: There are fewer than 40, 000 soldiers available, and morale is generally low. Food supplies are also quite tight, and can only last for about half a month.

"I have a general understanding of the situation."

Liu Ce said to Zong Yuan, "I would like to ask General Zong to immediately issue an order to summon all military commanders and above to the main tent for a meeting. I want to see everyone."

"This subordinate obeys!" Zong Yuan immediately sent someone to relay the order.

Soon, Han army generals of all ranks arrived at the main tent, which quickly filled with people. However, the atmosphere was somewhat somber and oppressive, and many generals still wore the dejected look of defeated soldiers.

Liu Ce sat upright in the main seat, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone, silently assessing the condition of these generals in his mind.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a figure standing at the end of the crowd out of the corner of his eye, and it looked somewhat familiar.

He looked closely, and a sense of surprise welled up inside him:

"Huh? Holy crap, Liu Bei? What's he doing here? It seems he finally gave up the straw sandal weaving and selling business I 'carefully arranged' for him and joined the army."

"I never expected that despite my initial 'support' and my desire for him to 'live a peaceful life,' he still ended up on this path of military service. It seems that the trajectory of fate is indeed difficult to reverse."

"Look at the two men beside him, they have an imposing presence. They must be his newly sworn brothers."

At this point, the generals began to step forward one by one to introduce themselves.

When it was Liu Bei's turn to stand at the end, he stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying:

"Liu Bei of Zhuojun, Liu Xuande, pays his respects to General Liu."

At this moment, Liu Bei was also secretly observing Liu Ce, who was sitting in the main seat.

At first, I only felt that this person had a dignified demeanor and looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before.