Chapter 56 It's All About Acting

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In the evening, by the banks of the Juma River.

Liu Bei and Jian Yong were slowly "scouting the path" as they moved upstream along the Juma River, followed closely by a dozen soldiers and scores of voluntary retainers.

The soldiers were Liu Bei's private retainers and troops, while the volunteers were subordinates under Gongsun Zan.

This group of volunteers seemed to have a distinct fondness for white; most of them rode white horses, wore white-lacquered armor, and bound their heads with plain white scarves, making them look as though they were in mourning—conspicuous indeed.

Liu Bei's soldiers, on the other hand, were all dressed in crimson garments and black armor, the standard color scheme for regular armored troops of that era: red and black.

The two factions appeared sharply distinct from one another.

Liu Bei and Jian Yong proceeded at a snail's pace, taking two hours to cover a mere five li or so, an advance virtually tantamount to crawling.

Yet scouting and searching for the enemy were matters of zigzagging and cautious advancement; who could say when one might run into a large band of bandits? Moving slowly and prudently was only natural.

"It seems there are bandits ahead..."

Jian Yong suddenly pointed toward the woods to the west and whispered.

"Charge! Scatter and deploy, take a few captives alive!"

Liu Bei spurred his mount, drew his sword, and lunged forward, cutting a brave and fearless figure.

His retainers closely followed him onward.

The scores of volunteers looked on, and seeing a group of people near the small copse by the river bend ahead, they too followed Liu Bei forward.

Only, their charge was noticeably slower.

Just as Liu Bei reached the edge of the woods, a dense swarm of bandits surged out from the thicket, every single one of them wielding weapons.

The bandit leader at the forefront raised a thick, long spear and impaled Liu Bei with a single thrust, the spearhead visibly piercing straight through Liu Bei's back as a huge spray of blood erupted into the air.

The spear snapped, and Liu Bei collapsed forward without a sound, looking for all the world as though his breath had left him.

The bandit pointed behind Liu Bei and roared, "Kill!"

The bandit was masked, looking every bit like a fierce and ruthless thug.

The other bandits were likewise raggedly dressed, their faces covered with tattered cloth, and several had mud smeared across their features, screaming poverty at a single glance.

The dozens of volunteers in the rear froze at the sight, appearing somewhat startled, but then hurriedly wheeled their horses around to retreat. A few volunteers even wiped their faces with plain hempen scarves as they fell back.

Jian Yong also began running backward.

The bandits swarmed forward, surrounding Liu Bei's troops, and then pursued them for a few steps, watching as Jian Yong and the dozens of volunteers fled the scene.

"They've all run far enough... Big Brother, you can get up now."

Seeing that the volunteers had all fled into the distance, the masked bandit chief returned to Liu Bei's "corpse" and began calling out, "Hey... Big Brother?"

"Cough, cough... Next time, make sure Zuo Yuan thoroughly teaches you how to act; you hit way too hard!"

Liu Bei rose to his feet, clutching his ribs and coughing while wiping pig's blood from his face.

This masked bandit was none other than Zhang Fei, who had only recently embarked on a career in the arts and was still somewhat clumsy in his acting duties.

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Though he had been practicing his craft diligently, his technique in "killing" Liu Bei was still executed with excessive force. Using a fake spearhead that passed by Liu Bei's ribs, the shaft and arm still struck Liu Bei so hard that stars danced before his eyes, knocking the wind out of him and nearly suffocating him.

Liu Bei's collapse to the ground was entirely unacted—he had tumbled down just like a block of wood.

And that pig's blood, too; such a massive splash made it look as though his head had been lopped off...

"You're supposed to be stabbing someone, the blood is supposed to splatter onto your own face, not cover my entire visage..."

Liu Bei snatched the pig's bladder from Zhang Fei's hand and squeezed it right against Zhang Fei's face. "See? This is how you do it!"

"Right, right, next time I kill Big Brother, I'll have the hang of it..."

Zhang Fei removed his mask and wiped his face. "What do we do now?"

The surrounding "bandits" also successively stripped the tattered cloth from their faces—these were in fact the majority of Liu Bei's regular troops, numbering around six hundred men.

Liu Bei had staged a grand spectacle, employing hundreds of extras, solely for the purpose of faking his own death.

With dusk now falling and those volunteers keeping a certain distance, although Zhang Fei—the leading man—had delivered a mediocre performance, people of this era had never witnessed outdoor theater equipped with special effects, so the ruse should hold without giving the game away.

"We will regroup right here in these woods and wait for Gongsun Bogui's next move... The next act will be a real battle, so have the brothers change into their proper equipment, eat some dry rations, and rest up."

Liu Bei mounted his horse. "I will go to the Lu family estate to wait. You stay here and await my word."

...

Night fell.

Jian Yong and the volunteers finally returned to Gongsun Zan's camp.

"Prefect, we encountered a large band of bandits, and Big Brother Xuande... Big Brother... has been slain!"

Jian Yong's acting skills were vastly superior to Zhang Fei's; tears were literally streaming from his eyes.

The volunteers nodded slightly in agreement nearby.

"What?"

Gongsun Zan sprang to his feet. "How could this happen? Where did you run into the bandits?"

"Five li upstream..."

Jian Yong wept so hard he could hardly speak, looking utterly grief-stricken.

"Right at the river bend five li upstream, there were at least six or seven hundred of them. We were unable to provide rescue and had no choice but to fall back..."

The volunteers reported to Gongsun Zan while casting side-long glances at the bitterly weeping Jian Yong.

"They move so fast..."

Gongsun Zan frowned, looking from Jian Yong to the volunteers. "Was Xuande truly killed?"

"He indeed fell in battle, his chest pierced by a long spear..."

The volunteers gestured, indicating they had seen it with their own eyes and there could be no mistake.

"Xianhe... Xianhe, grieve no more..."

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Gongsun Zan turned and patted Jian Yong on the shoulder. "Xianhe, hurry to Colonel Zou's camp, ask them to send reinforcements, crush the bandits in one fell swoop, and avenge Xuande!"

Jian Yong sniffled, nodded, and trotted off toward the Juma River military camp.

This performance was markedly better than when he had once rejoiced upon receiving a flogging.

Late at night, the gates of the Juma River camp swung open, and several hundred men holding torches poured out, surging toward the upper reaches of the Juma River.

Gongsun Zan also dispatched notices to all the prominent local clans, announcing that Liu Xuande had fallen in battle.

Yet apart from the Lu family, the other clans seemed utterly indifferent as to whether Liu Xuande lived or died...

Only the Lu family dispatched their household troops to search upstream as well.

...

"Why hasn't Yan Gang arrived yet? Since the Taihang bandits have already appeared, he ought to be here by now!"

Gongsun Zan was losing his temper. "With this area completely undefended right now, he hasn't even sent a single message..."

"Big Brother Bogui, Brother Boji originally planned to arrive here tomorrow; it was that Liu Xuande who went and died a day early... Moreover, Liu Xuande rushed over wanting to capture people alive the moment he saw them, and the Taihang bandits couldn't just stand there waiting for him to slaughter them..."

A volunteer explained. "Still, isn't making our move right now sufficient?"

"Wiping them out certainly isn't difficult; the hard part is not blowing our cover... We can only let the Taihang bandits make the first move, and we will coordinate our actions accordingly."

Gongsun Zan sighed. "Yet the Taihang bandits are only familiar with Yan Boji. With him absent, we have no way to contact those bandits. How are we supposed to make the Taihang bandits strike immediately?"

"Alas... If not, should some of us first set fire to that military camp? The Taihang bandits aren't fools either; once they see the fire rise, they're bound to make a move."

The volunteer offered a suggestion.

"That... very well."

Gongsun Zan nodded.

Before long, flames broke out in Colonel Zou's main encampment on the banks of the Juma River.

...

Meanwhile, at the Lu family estate.

"Why have you returned alone? Where is Jiuchi!"

Liu Bei's expression was exceedingly grim. "Has Beixincheng been burned down?!"

"Jiuchi said that Your Honor has always been benevolent, and expressed a desire to accomplish this matter with as little bloodshed as possible..."

Zhang Baiqi did not exaggerate and reported truthfully.

"That fool Jiuchi, he's going to get himself killed by the Taihang bandits! Benevolence isn't applied that way! If you aren't in Beixincheng, Jiuchi most likely won't be able to burn the city down... If the Taihang bandits get hold of Beixincheng, Gongsun Zan won't fall for the ruse..."

Liu Bei gnashed his teeth in anger. "Go transmit the order to Zhang Fei! Tell him to fall back. Such a magnificent opportunity..."

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