Chapter 356
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 .
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