Chapter 73: A Difference of a Single Hair

  Liu Bian arrived very promptly.

  Cheng Pu and others had just raised their battle flags and formed their array when Liu Bei arrived.

  As soon as they heard the sound of horseshoes behind them and saw the cavalry charging forward, raising a cloud of dust, the defeated soldiers who were gathering under Cheng Pu's command flag immediately panicked. They had just been intimidated by Lü Bu, and at the sound of horseshoes, they were frightened out of their wits, where was there still the courage to fight? With a shout, they scattered in all directions, unable to hear even Cheng Pu's military orders.

  The defeated soldiers fled in all directions, dispersing the main formation of Cheng Pu. Zhang Liao, Zhang Xiu and Huangfu Song were all skilled cavalry commanders from Liang Province, who saw this as a good opportunity and would not let it slip away. With a single order from Huangfu Song, Zhang Xiu and Zhang Liao, like two sharp arrows released from the bowstring, each led 500 elite troops to charge into Cheng Pu's battle formation.

  Cheng Pu was a northerner from Beiping, and he knew very well the pros and cons of cavalry charges. Seeing this situation, he realized that his intention to cut off Lü Bu's retreat route could not be achieved, so he had no choice but to form an array for battle while beating drums to alert Sun Jian.

  Liu Bian rode on his warhorse and observed the situation on the battlefield, then said to Jia Xian: "Wenhe, let Zhang Liao go and respond to Lü Bu."

  Jia Xian smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty's words are indeed correct."

  Breaking through Cheng Pu's battle array, guarding Lü Bu's retreat route, the most important thing next is to ensure that Lü Bu will not be surrounded by Sun Jian. Once surrounded, the cavalry loses its speed and will lose all its advantages, becoming Sun Jian's prey. At that time, even if Lü Bu is a good fighter, his Pingzhou cavalry will suffer heavy losses. Only when Lü Bu is safe can we consider entangling with Sun Jian and waiting for Huangfu Song to lead the infantry to respond.

  But who will go to respond to Lü Bu, there is a lot of mystery in this. Zhang Liao is a person from Pingzhou, and he used to be under Lü Bu's command, so if he goes to respond to Lü Bu, Lü Bu won't have any psychological resistance. Zhang Xiu and Huangfu Gui are different, they are both people from Liangzhou, especially Zhang Xiu who is still an opponent of Lü Bu. If they go to respond to Lü Bu, if Lü Bu feels embarrassed and refuses to come out, it will delay major events.

  From the arrangement of this candidate, Jia Xu saw the intricacy of Liu Bian's mind. However, he did not know that arranging interpersonal relationships was originally the foundation of office politics. Although Liu Bian was inferior to him in other aspects, his insight in this regard still had some value. Moreover, the conflict between Zhang Chao and Lü Bu was also provoked by him.

  The war drums sounded, Zhang Liao led the order, leading 500 Pingzhou elite cavalry to kill Sun Jian's big array, Huangfu Gui and Zhang Xiu continued to attack Cheng Pu, clearing up the defeated enemy, preparing for the next attack.

  Lü Bu and Sun Jian were in the midst of a fierce battle.

  Two people were somewhat helpless. Lü Bu was unable to break through the White Tiger Camp's blockade, and Sun Jian failed to peel off the skin of this Jiangdong fierce tiger. Although he had surrounded Lü Bu, the encirclement was not solid enough. Lü Bu, like a giant beetle caught in a spider web, relied on his own brute force to continuously charge and kill, several times almost tearing apart the encirclement and breaking out of the formation. Sun Jian led one thousand White Tiger Camp soldiers, pursuing closely without giving up, wanting to have a decisive battle with Lü Bu, but no matter what, he couldn't keep up with Lü Bu. Lü Bu rode his Red Hare horse, wielding his Guandao, charging back and forth in the formation, wherever he went, those who stood in his way were defeated.

  The two men fought evenly matched and inextricably, until Sun Jian couldn't tell whether Lü Bu was unable to escape or simply didn't want to.

  In fact, Lü Bu also had a hard time speaking out. He didn't want to kill his way out, but he really couldn't get out by killing.

  Sun Jian led a thousand White Tiger Volunteers to block the enemy's formation, while four or five thousand infantrymen blocked his two wings. The two wings extended forward and had already merged behind him, constantly squeezing inwards. The Bingzhou cavalry continued to charge and kill, but the space for them to maneuver was getting smaller and smaller. If these were not the elite of the Bingzhou cavalry, they would have lost speed due to lack of space and become ghosts under Sun Jian's knife. Despite this, Lü Bu still faced the dilemma of his entire army being annihilated.

  With Lü Bu's martial arts skills, it wouldn't be difficult for him to kill his way out, but to bring all these troops with him, he had more heart than strength. However, letting him abandon his troops and escape on his own was absolutely impossible.

  Now he could only hope that reinforcements would arrive before he lost speed.

  "Kill!" Lü Bu urged on Red Hare, charging again and again against the defensive formation of White Tiger General. Under his charge, White Tiger General exhausted all his strength, yet still could not form a complete array. However, the people around Lü Bu were getting fewer and fewer, the force of the charge was getting smaller and smaller, almost relying on his own strength to resist Sun Jian and White Tiger General.

  Sun Jian hid among the White Tiger Guards, looking at Lü Bu with eyes that were about to split apart, his teeth itching with hatred. The White Tiger Guards were the elite troops he had accumulated over many years of war, mainly composed of Dan Yang soldiers and Longsha barbarians, all of whom were truly elite and his greatest reliance. It was only after he had enlightened himself to his own destiny as the White Tiger that he named them the White Tiger Guards, preparing to take them on a campaign to conquer the world. Who would have thought that in just half an hour of fighting against Lü Bu, more than 200 of them were killed?

  Sun Jian hated not being able to behead Lü Bu on the spot, but he couldn't.

  Although he didn't fight against Lü Bu, from the way Lü Bu wielded his spear, it was clear that Lü Bu's skills were no lower than his own. The halberd in his hand was also a sharp weapon, and the Red Hare horse was a rare fine steed. Even with the Wu knife in hand, he had little chance of winning.

  If it were a one-on-one fight, he might have mustered the courage to engage in battle. However, in a formation of troops, he didn't possess such confidence. The reason was simple: he was strong, but only as an individual, whereas Lü Bu was not only strong himself, but also had capable people by his side. That general who wielded a bow and arrow had exceptional marksmanship; if he revealed even the slightest opening, a cold arrow would shoot over. With such a skilled archer lurking nearby, he couldn't focus solely on fighting Lü Bu.

  He could only rely on his military strength advantage, little by little consuming Lü Bu's physical strength. As long as he waited for the cavalry to lose their speed, he would have achieved a great success.

  So, Sun Jian has been suppressing the urge to fight Lü Bu, not forgetting the heavy burden on his shoulders, commanding the army, slowly squeezing Lü Bu's living space. At the same time, he hoped that Cheng Pu and Han Dang would cut off Lü Bu's retreat as soon as possible and join the encirclement.

  Just then, a fierce drumbeat came from the north.

  Upon hearing the war drums, Lü Bu felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, while Sun Jian's heart turned cold as ashes.

  Zhang Liao led five hundred elite cavalry from Pingzhou, broke through the infantry's interception and rushed to Lü Bu's face, shouting loudly: "General Lü, His Majesty has personally led a large army to come and rescue you."

  Lü Bu was both delighted and ashamed, and he shouted loudly: "Wen Far, watch me slaughter this tiger!"

  "I wish to be the vanguard for General!" Zhang Liao laughed and said: "General, take a rest for a moment, let me try first."

  Lü Bu burst out laughing: "What's this? Wen Far also wants to steal credit? Bring out some real skill!"

  Amidst loud laughter, two men, one on the left and one on the right, roared like thunder as they charged towards Sun Jian.

  Sun Jian let out a long sigh, his mood somewhat gloomy. Liu Bei had risked danger to come and rescue Lü Bu with the honor of the Emperor, but Yuan Shu was 200 miles away, completely unreliable. The opportunity for battle had been lost, it was not possible to continue fighting. He immediately ordered the army to retreat and return to defend Liang County.

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