Chapter 81

Chapter 715: Unbinding the Hair and Tucking the Collar to the Left (披髮左?) (2)

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The destination of the several hundred determined troops led by Lü Bu and Wei Yue was the Hangu Pass. A short distance behind them, the main force of Lü Bu's army followed. Lü Bu personally led the determined troops to arrive at the Hangu Pass, coordinating with the timing of the main force's arrival to open the gates of the Hangu Pass.

Apart from the conversation between Lü Bu and Wei Yue, no one in the determined troops spoke a word. This was because among them, only a few held weapons, and their armor was also shabby. They had to disguise themselves as the defeated soldiers of the Jiangyiduan, so they could not carry much equipment.

No matter how much Lü Bu and Wei Yue were with them, it was still a daunting task to charge into the enemy's camp with poor equipment and few numbers. Wei Yue, aware of the soldiers' unease, could not help but say a few words.

"Why are all of you so gloomy? Are we going to die or something?"

Still, no one spoke, only watching Wei Yue's reaction.

"All we need to do is open the gate of the Hangu Pass. The rest will be taken care of by the main force, and the greatest credit will be ours. What's there to worry about?"

Indeed, through Wei Yue's words, this complicated mission seemed to become simple.

The determined troops found some comfort in Wei Yue's words, but the atmosphere remained heavy.

* * *

Mo Taigou, following his brother Mo Taibai's orders, scouted the area near the Hangu Pass. As a scout, he needed to monitor the movements of the enemy scouts and confirm the situation at the Hangu Pass.

The road from Dongguan to the Hangu Pass was the only one, except for the rugged mountain paths that the Gaozhu soldiers could traverse like flat ground. Therefore, he set out ahead of Lü Bu.

Fortunately, the Hangu Pass was quiet, and there were no enemy scouts. It seemed that no scouts were deployed in the direction of Dongguan.

Mo Taigou, having completed his mission, returned to Lü Bu with a few of his subordinates.

"Mo Taigou has completed the scouting mission as per my brother's orders."

"Mo Taigou, you have done well. So, how was the Hangu Pass?"

"Quiet as a mouse."

"Scouts...?"

"None."

Though the answer was too simple, it contained almost all the information Lü Bu needed.

"Gaozhu...?"

"Following Guo Jia's strategy, we are preparing to attack the Hangu Pass from the east if necessary."

Guo Jia was also preparing a strategy similar to that of the Guanshu army's military advisor, Si Yuan. Of course, the eastern attack force was not the main attack. It was a contingency plan in case Lü Bu's determined troops failed to open the gate of the Hangu Pass.

"General Lü, I will return to my brother. If necessary, signal me. Our Gaozhu soldiers will present the Hangu Pass to you."

Mo Taigou showed his loyalty. Lü Bu patted his shoulder.

"I will signal when needed. Do not act before then. Losing more Gaozhu soldiers will affect future plans."

"That won't be a problem. The Yingbao merchant guild is sending food to Gaozhu, so no one will starve. We may not be able to grow like piglets, but we can maintain the size of the Gaozhu army."

Indeed, if a standing army of two thousand could not be maintained, how could it be called a country?

Mo Taigou left, and Lü Bu's determined troops continued toward the Hangu Pass. Soon, the distant silhouette of the Hangu Pass came into view.

From that moment, they suddenly started running. The formation quickly broke, and they ran in a disorganized manner, looking like defeated soldiers.

The defending force at the Hangu Pass was five thousand Red Armored Soldiers. Since the Red Armored Soldiers were archers, they were not much help in a siege, so they were assigned the simple task of guarding the Hangu Pass.

No one in the Guanshu army thought the Hangu Pass would be attacked. After all, to attack the Hangu Pass, one had to break through Dongguan, which was natural.

Even when the Guanshu army attacked Dongguan, it took a long time, so even in the worst-case scenario, if Lü Bu attacked Dongguan, it would not fall easily.

If Dongguan was attacked, the news would reach the Hangu Pass, so the defending force was at ease. However, who could have predicted that Dongguan would fall so easily to Guo Jia's strategy?

The commander of the Hangu Pass was the Red Armored Soldier general, An Xie. Like the Jiangyiduan, the Red Armored Soldiers had six generals.

The overall commander of the Red Armored Soldiers and the leader of the six generals was Che Zhongwang. Under him were Juying, An Xie, Baili Wenyu, Dou Ziliang, and Zhang Shi. Together, they were known as the six generals of the Red Armored Soldiers.

However, Che Zhongwang, along with Juying, Dou Ziliang, and Zhang Shi, had already been killed in the gorge battle against Lü Bu's army.

In particular, Che Zhongwang met a tragic end, beheaded by Lü Bu's military advisor, Guo Jia.

But this news had not yet reached the Hangu Pass. It would remain unknown unless Lü Bu revealed it. With the Red Armored Soldiers' ten-thousand-strong force destroyed in the gorge, who could have brought the news?

Of course, because this bad news had not reached the Hangu Pass, the day was peaceful. But this peace would soon be shattered, as Lü Bu was now approaching the Hangu Pass.

* * *

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the thick stone chimes echoed throughout the Hangu Pass.

Hearing this, the commander An Xie rushed to the city wall. By the time he arrived, hundreds of Red Armored Soldiers' archers were already preparing to shoot at the west.

"What's happening?"

An Xie asked, and a subordinate ran up to report.

"Please look over there. Hundreds of unknown people are running toward us."

"Who are they?"

While asking the subordinate, An Xie did not hesitate to look for the answer himself. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the west. Indeed, hundreds of people dressed in the uniforms of the Jiangyiduan were running toward the Hangu Pass.

"Jiangyiduan? Why are the Jiangyiduan here...? Could it be that Dongguan...? No way...!"

An Xie was shocked, never having thought that Dongguan could fall so easily.

But as the commander of the Hangu Pass, An Xie quickly regained his composure.

"Threaten them with arrows! Don't kill them! If they are from the Jiangyiduan, they are our allies, so don't kill them. Just threaten them to stop them!"

Following An Xie's orders, a rain of arrows was shot at Lü Bu's determined troops.

Lü Bu quickly stopped the determined troops. One of them shouted in the Jangzhu language.

"We are from the Jiangyiduan! Please open the gate and save us!"

An Xie shouted back.

"What? Speak in Chinese! I can't understand a word of the Jangzhu language!"

Of course, this was a lie. As a general of the Red Armored Soldiers, who dominated Guanshu, it was impossible for An Xie not to understand the Jangzhu language.

When they spoke urgently in Chinese, An Xie asked.

"Where are you coming from? How did the Jiangyiduan end up here?"

The Jiangyiduan had no reason to come to the Hangu Pass from the west. They were responsible for transporting supplies, which was the job of the Red Armored Soldiers. Suspicion was natural.

"Dongguan... Dongguan has fallen!"

"Who dared to attack a place where the Guanshu army's flag is planted?"

"Lü Bu led a large army and attacked, causing Dongguan to fall!"

"Idiots! The Jiangyiduan is full of idiots! How could Dongguan fall so easily! If our Red Armored Soldiers were in charge of Dongguan, this would never have happened!"

Then Lü Bu stepped forward and shouted.

"All of this is because of you Red Armored Soldiers!"

"What do you mean? You lost Dongguan because you were weak, so why are you blaming us Red Armored Soldiers?"

"You were annihilated by Lü Bu, and your uniforms were stolen, which is why we were deceived and opened the gate! So, isn't all of this your Red Armored Soldiers' fault?"

"What? Our Red Armored Soldiers defeated by Lü Bu? Impossible! With 20,000 Red Armored Soldiers, there is no force in Guanshu that can defeat us! What nonsense!"

Though he said this, An Xie was internally confused.

'Indeed, Dongguan is not a place that can fall so easily. But how can I believe that our Red Armored Soldiers, led by General Che, were annihilated by Lü Bu?'

While An Xie was at a loss for words, Lü Bu quickly surveyed the troops on the city wall.

'They are all Red Armored Soldiers,