The remnants of Zhang Xiu’s Army and Liu Bei’s Army joined up. The Liu Bei’s Army only have four thousand men remaining, many of those were injured. Among them was Zhang Fei’s three thousand Qingzhou troops. On the other hand, the White Eared Soldiers and the Yuzhou Army had already been completely routed. Even Chen Dao was killed. Zhang Xiu fared no better. Only a thousand of his twenty thousand Xiliang Cavalry remained. Their pride had been destroyed and they may not even be able to work as guards. The only comfort Zhang Xiu had was that Hu Che Er still lived. However, even Hu Che Er was going to be overthrown. After losing an arm, his career as a warrior was pretty much over. They also left behind almost everything, taking only provisions with them so that they could move as quickly as possible. At their current state, they would be too weak to fight back against the Wolf Cavalry.
They advanced inside the forest for fourteen days even though the actual time needed to reach Hefei was only eight days. This is because they were avoiding pursuit. Even after fourteen days, they still could not see the borders of Yangzhou. As long as they have not left Yangzhou, the danger of pursuit was still there.
“Everyone. Set up camp and take a rest!” The forest was dangerous at night. There were already a few casualties bitten by snakes amongst the troops. There were also wounded soldiers whose injuries were infected by the humidity of the forest. As a result, they had chosen to move during the day and rest when it turned dark.
Even though the order was to set up camp, in actual fact, they only placed a few tents. They were afraid that a fire would alert the enemy to their location. Their food was simply eaten together with water. It was a very simple and crude meal. Some soldiers even decided not to eat because of this.
Besides that, it was Liu Bei who decided when it was time to rest. As Zhang Xiu had not yet fully recovered, this task fell to Liu Bei.
As everyone busied themselves, Liu Bei quickly found a stone to sit on and pondered. His eyes were lifeless as he shook his head with a frown. Nobody knew what he was thinking of.
“Milord. Do you have something troubling you?” After some time, a voice interrupted Liu Bei’s thoughts. Pang Tong appeared in his worn out clothes. His clothing had been damaged by the branches and the rough roads in the forests. He did not wear armor knowing that it would slow him down and that it would be over if they were found by the Lu Bu’s Army.
“Yuanzhi.” Liu Bei smiled as he saw this man but his smile was unsightly. “I am simply thinking about things. I do not have any particular worries.” How could Liu Bei tell Pang Tong about his thoughts? He was an ambitious person who wanted to ride in an Imperial Carriage when he was younger. Unfortunately, he was from an extremely poor family and could only sell straw sandals. He believed that his efforts would make others take notice of him. However, he was mistaken. The era full of opportunities was also full of dangers. He had always been humiliated since he was young. The only one that did not look down on him was his teacher Lu Zhi. Yet, he cut off relations with Lu Zhi as he did not want to be implicated by the man on his path to greatness.
Liu Bei had believed that his dream was nearing after obtaining Yuzhou. He did not expect it to actually drift away from him. Now, his trump card, the White Eared Soldiers, were dead. Liu Bei was now at a loss. He did not know what to after returning to Yuzhou.
At Yuzhou, he only has twenty thousand garrison troops and the ten thousand Qingzhou Soldiers held by Guan Yu. Besides that, the twenty thousand garrison troops could be as old as a fifty year old grandpa or an eight year old child. Their fighting capabilities would not amount to much.
On the other hand, the remaining ten thousand Qingzhou Soldiers were light infantries. If he wanted more heavily armored infantries, he would not only need armor but also elite soldiers. The money needed for even five thousand of such soldiers could easily reach ten thousand gold. Liu Bei could have been able to afford it last time but not anymore. Now, he would be struggling to even have enough provisions. He had spent so much just for his benevolent title and Zhang Xiu’s allegiance.
Unfortunately, all he obtained was benevolence and not Zhang Xiu’s allegiance. The reason for this is because Zhang Xiu now had stronger military strength than him. There was no reason for Zhang Xiu to listen to Liu Bei. Although Liu Bei may have Zhang Xiu’s gratitude for saving Zhang Xiu, it wasn’t as though Zhang Xiu had never provided Liu Bei with any help before.
Liu Bei could not help but feel discouraged and questioned himself. Perhaps the world has no place for a straw sandal seller like him. This suffering was something he could only think to himself and not tell others. That was why he did not want to reply to Pang Tong’s question.
Even though Liu Bei did not want to answer, Pang Tong had a way of asking him. “Is Milord thinking of General Zhang Xiu?”
“Yes.” Liu Bei subconsciously nodded and then shook his head.
“Milord. There is no need to hide things from me!” Pang Tong laughed bitterly and shook his head. “I have already become a part of Milord. Milord’s business is my business. Is Milord worried about the Xiliang Cavalry’s military leadership?
“Haha. I truly cannot hide things from you.” Liu Bei was truly worried about this. If he wanted to make a comeback, he needed new recruits and reinforce his troops. Otherwise, he could only wait for death. After all, his two neighbours were simply waiting to annex his troops.
“Didn’t Milord already scout General Yang Wu? Did he not pledge allegiance to you?” Pang Tong inquired.
Liu Bei nodded at Pang Tong’s words. He had tried being friends with Zhang Xiu and Zhang Xiu had also replied actively. Zhang Xiu had been respectful to Liu Bei. However, when Liu Bei mentioned about the movements at Nanyang, Zhang Xiu started to stutter and change the subject. This simply meant that he refused to enter the Liu Bei’s Army. Zhang Xiu could not be blamed for this. If the White Eared Soldiers were still around, or that Shouchun was captured, Zhang Xiu would unhesitatingly join the Liu Bei’s Army. After all, he was having a disagreement with Cao Cao, Liu Biao and Lu Bu. He could only surrender to Liu Bei. Now, Liu Bei had nothing. It would be difficult to rely on such a person.
Zhang Xiu was desperate but he still had ten thousand Xiliang Cavalry and thirty thousand troops at Nanyang. On the other hand, Liu Bei only had thirty thousand troops at most. Even if he also had an entire province, it was not as prosperous as Nanyang. Zhang Xiu would not surrender to Liu Bei like this. Even if he did, he would only remain as a high ranking officer at Nanyang.
“Does Shiyuan have anything he can teach me with?” Liu Bei knew that Pang Tong already had a plan when he saw Pang Tong’s expression.
“Haha Milord. You are at a dead end. Although you want the Xiliang Cavalry, you do not have to take it from Zhang Xiu’s hands.” Pang Tong pointed out.
“Hm?” Liu Bei was now completely confused. The Xiliang Cavalry belonged to Zhang Xiu. He would not be able to obtain them unless Zhang Xiu surrendered.
“In other words, getting Zhang Xiu to surrender to you and getting the Xiliang Cavalry to surrender to you are two completely different things.” Pang Tong pointed out again. Liu Bei no longer knew whether Pang Tong has gone mad from hunger.
“Are you saying…” Liu Bei frowned and then shook his head. “No. We cannot do this. Although I do not have any kindness for Zhang Xiu, I also do not have any hatred for him! How could I do such things?”
“Milord. Did you not know that a great man has to be ruthless? You must be more ruthless like Cao Cao when making decisions if you want to become accomplished!” Pang Tong cupped his fist as he said. However, mentioning Cao Cao only served to make Liu Bei angry.
“I won’t become like that Traitor Cao! I say no means no! There is no need for more words!” Liu Bei was now angry and no longer listened to Pang Tong.
Pang Tong sighed as he looked at Liu Bei’s leaving figure. He knew about Liu Bei’s misgivings but the consequences may be inconceivable. It was something Pang Tong needed to do. If it failed, he could simply repay this with his life.
Pang Tong calmed himself and then left. Instead of going to his own tent, he went to Zhang Fei’s tent.
“Military Advisor?” Zhang Fei frowned when he saw who arrived. Although his brother had admitted his fault to Chen Dao’s death, Zhang Fei knew that Liu Bei would have just taken his soldiers and left if it was not because of Pang Tong. The White Eared Soldiers would not be completely routed. “Is something the matter? If not, let me rest.” Zhang Fei said as he simply went towards his bed.
“Third General. I know you have complaints against me and that you hate me.” Pang Tong said to Zhang Fei.
“Hmph! How could I dare? If Brother finds out, I would need to apologize to you!” Zhang Fei replied without courtesy. Pang Tong did not mind. He knew that Zhang Fei was such a person. “Even then, I still hope that the Third General can coordinate with me for Milord’s great cause! If the Third General still has complaints, I am willing to receive punishment from the Third General here!”
“Hm?” Zhang Fei frowned and turned around. It was not the words of punishment that made him turn but the words of his brother’s great cause. He may hate Pang Tong but he also knew that Pang Tong was his brother’s advisor. In the end, he had no choice but to listen to Pang Tong. “Speak.”
“Third General. Milord went to Yangzhou on an expedition to conquer the Central Plains but the casualties we received is too heavy. We have lost Chen Dao and five thousand White Eared Soldiers. If we return to Yuzhou like this, it would be many more years before Milord could succeed. The Lu Bu’s Army may also decide to attack Yuzhou in this time. We will have nobody to defend the city. That is why we need the Xiliang Cavalry. I hope the Third General can help me with this.”
“What should we do?” Zhang Fei asked. He was supportive of anything that would bring advantages to his brother.
“Third General. We do it like this.” Pang Tong said with a smile.
“You!” Zhang Fei stumbled the moment he heard Pang Tong’s words. This is because if something goes wrong, the Liu Bei’s Army may be wiped out.
“Do not worry, Third General! If something goes wrong, push the blame to me! Do not make things difficult for Milord!” Pang Tong explained to Zhang Fei.
“Hmph! Who do you think I am? Do you think I need you to take the blame? If something goes wrong, I will accompany you to hell!”
“In that case, I await good news from Third General.” Pang Tong excitedly withdrew from Zhang Fei’s tent.
The same thing then happened at Liao Hua’s tent. Liao Hua was easier to persuade compared to Zhang Fei as Liao Hua originally wanted to be close to Pang Tong. If it fails, blame Pang Tong while if it goes well, he gains merits. Why would he reject this?
After that, Liao Hua felt somewhat uneasy. He looked at Zhang Xiu’s camp and approached. However, he instead went to another person’s camp.