Chapter 45 The Cost of Growth

The smell of blood gradually spread to the whole city wall with the wind, permeating the surrounding air, and the atmosphere of fear gradually enveloped the city and implanted into the hearts of every general.

At this time, You County is no longer the tense You County in peace not long ago. Fear and anxiety permeated the whole county. The city walls are bright red blood stains everywhere, the strong smell of blood can't be blown away, and the scattered weapons and tattered armor declare the cruelty of war.

I don't know when it rained in the sky. The light rain slightly eased the smell of blood in the air and slowly flowed down the city wall. Liu Pan stood on the wall and looked at the dilapidated city in front of him. He bit his lips and the bright red blood quietly left along his mouth, and the bitter salty taste permeated his mouth.

Liu Pan didn't listen to all this. He just stared at the ruined city in front of him, the smell of blood in the air and the red blood under his feet, reminding him of the helpless shouts of the soldiers, the desperate roar and the indignant counterattack.

Ma Liang looked at Liu Pan's eyes full of worry. Liu Pan had been standing here all morning. Ma Liang can feel his suppressed anger, self-reproach and chagrin under his calm appearance.

A few days ago, Liu Qi left Liu Pan and 1,500 soldiers and horses to guard You County with Huo Jun. At first, everything went well. Huo Jun consciously handed over all the affairs in the county to Liu Pan. However, Liu Pan really pushed it to Ma Liang without any interest in political affairs. Ma Liang deserves to be a famous sage in Xiangyang. He took good care of You County in less than half a day, and made Liu Pan's soldiers and horses coexist harmoniously with the original soldiers and horses.

After Liu Pan handed over the affairs to Ma Liang for handling, he led Ma to patrol all the key roads from Jiangdong to You County day and night. Nothing happened in the first few days, but the soldiers on patrol yesterday found that 3,000 soldiers and horses coming from Jiangdong and immediately informed Liu Pan of the situation. Liu Pan was so happy that he immediately led 1,500 soldiers and horses out of the city, and even Ma Liang and Huo Jun did not have time to inform.

After Liu Pan led 1,500 soldiers and horses to meet Jiangdong 3,000, Liu Pan easily killed the enemy generals and then 3,000 soldiers and horses in chaos. Liu Qi felt that Jiangdong's soldiers and horses were unbearable to chase behind him. Unexpectedly, 3,000 soldiers and horses were only the forward and there were 10,000 soldiers and horses behind him. After Liu Qi killed Jiangdong's general just now, his confidence increased greatly and he fought with Jiangdong's general without fear.

After 20 rounds of fighting with the other party, Liu Pan not only did not kill the other party, but gradually fell behind. It was Han Dang, the four generals of Jiangdong, who fought with Liu Qi. In that year, Sun Jian died and left Sun Ce four generals: Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang and Zhu Zhi. These four people followed Sun Jiannan to fight in the north. They were not only good at commanding the army, but also their martial arts skills were also extraordinary. Although Liu Pan was not weak, he was too young after all. After dozens of rounds, he was defeated by Xingdang, and the 1,500 soldiers and horses who followed him were also dead and injured. Fortunately, Huo Jun learned the news that he led the people and horses to pick him up before he rescued Liu Qi and the rest of the soldiers and horses.

After returning to You County, Liu Pan's 1,500 soldiers and horses were damaged, and only the remaining 500 disabled soldiers were also scarred and could not fight again in a short time. Han Dang sent a large army to chase Liu Pan all the way to You County after seeing Huo Jun's general Liu Pan. Han Dang then ordered the soldiers to attack the city immediately. 1,500 soldiers and horses were not enough to stop the siege of Han Dang's army. At the critical moment, Huo Jun talked about the support of more than a dozen families in the city. They were willing to send private soldiers to help Huo Jun defend the city. Then Huo Jun mobilized the people and private soldiers to gather 2,000 people together with the original 1,500 people. The defense only persisted, but even so, the casualties were still great, and they could only last for three days at most.

And Han Dang ordered the soldiers to attack the city day and night. Jiangdong could rest with tens of thousands of troops, but thousands of people in You County had to guard against the Han Dang's army's siege day and night.

Liu Pan was originally a follower of Liu Biao. He is the best in Xiangyang. As a martial artist, he yearns for the battlefield. But yesterday, when he saw the next tragic death in front of him, the wailing before death and desperate eyes made him suddenly understand what the battlefield was. Seeing the tragic death of his subordinates, but there was nothing he could do, he rushed to helplessly. Only then did he know that he was nothing after leaving his eldest brother. In the past, there was a big brother who could do it frankly. He was bold enough to have the eldest brother to deal with it because of an accident, but now that the eldest brother is not here, he even forgets the eldest brother's instructions.

Liu Qi suddenly found that he wanted to laugh, laugh at his ignorance and laugh at his stupidity. He couldn't wait to run to his eldest brother immediately to admit his mistake. But he knows that he can't do it now, because his friends have a lot of things to do.

Liu Pan turned around and let the rain on his body slide down: "Where is the arrangement of the 500 brothers?"

Ma Liang looked at Liu Pan, who finally spoke in front of him, and said, "They are arranged in the barracks in the east of the city."

Liu Pan nodded and turned away. Ma Liang looked at Liu Pan's back and felt that Liu Pan had changed, but he couldn't say where it had changed. He shook his head and left with Liu Pan.

Not long after, the two came to the camp in the east of the city. The camp was originally built for 1,500 people, but now there are only 500 people left, so the whole camp looks empty and lonely.

Liu Pan casually looked around the camp and walked to the drum platform. By the way, he picked up the wooden stick used to beat the drum and knocked it. The sound of deep drums echoed in the empty camp for a long time.

The soldiers in the camp came out of the camp to see what had happened. When they saw Liu Pan beating the drum, they subconsciously wanted to gather on the campus. Five hundred people stood very loosely. There were several empty seats between each two people, and they were still standing in a phalanx of 1,500 people.

After a drum, Liu Pan put down the wooden stick in his hand, walked down the drum platform, and came to the phalanx. Looking at the incomplete phalanx in front of him, he said, "Many of the brothers who went on the expedition with us yesterday didn't come back. There are your brothers, relatives and friends, but they didn't come back. They didn't come back because of my mistake. My mistake requires everyone's life to bear the consequences. This is my dereliction of duty. I will want the general to plead guilty and wait for his punishment. The general mentioned by Liu Pan is naturally Liu Qi. In the past, Liu Pan used to call Liu Qi Brother.

Ma Liang heard Liu Pan mention that Liu Qi was ashamed and said, "When the lord left, he entrusted the general and you to me, but I didn't do it. I was equally guilty and should also wait for punishment."

Then a soldier pointed to a vacant seat beside him and choked, "This is my brother. Before the expedition, my mother asked me to take good care of him, and now he hasn't come back."

"This is my brother Jieyi. We agreed to live and die together. I came back by myself and left the elder brother behind."

..................

The sergeants pointed to the vacant seats around them and told their own affairs. The sound of crying and self-blame kept coming. At this time, Liu Pan shouted, "I can't escape the blame, but you listen..." Liu Qi pointed out of the city.

The deep drums sounded again, but this time it was outside the city.

Liu Qi shouted, "That's the enemy's drum. They are attacking this city, the city we defend. Yesterday, we were defeated on the battlefield, leaving our brothers, relatives, friends, and our dignity. What should we do now?

"Revenge!"

............

"Good! Revenge! Let's take revenge now. After saying that, Liu Pan wanted to rush out of the camp first, and the soldiers howled and followed one by one.

.......

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