Chapter 270

"Leng Bao, you take ten thousand troops and head to take over Yuexi Commandery."

"Understood!"

The Rope River, an important tributary of the Jinsha River, was the only way to enter Yongchang Commandery.

Meng Huo sent troops to seize all the boats to the west bank and built earth forts all along the west bank.

In places leaning against mountains and cliffs, he erected high arrow towers, equipped with crossbows and catapults.

Meng Huo intended to use the natural barrier of the Rope River to block Liu Bei's attack and fight a war of attrition!

He knew Liu Bei wanted a quick victory and wouldn't drag it out with him for too long.

Meng Huo himself had over twenty thousand troops, and he found several other cave masters, totaling fifty thousand troops stationed on the west bank.

Furthermore,

Wuge Kingdom's ruler, Wutugu, twelve feet tall, commonly known as "Little Tongue," was on his way with thirty thousand Rattan Armor soldiers.

Meng Huo looked at the opposite side with fierce eyes.

"Liu Bei, this time I will make sure you die without a burial place!"

Before Wutugu arrived, Meng Huo welcomed a special guest:

Rodriguez, originally named Yang Feng, a mysterious cave master.

Recently, he had started something called Catholicism, believing that believing in the Lord would grant eternal life. His two yellow-haired bishops were gradually rising in the Yongchang area, and this time he also brought ten thousand religious soldiers to help.

On the east bank of the Rope River,

Liu Bei also led people to observe the terrain.

Guo Jia was left in Jianning; his health was average, and Liu Bei didn't want him to catch any diseases.

Pang Tong cupped his hands.

"My Lord, Meng Huo wants to rely on the natural barrier to wear us down."

Fa Zheng bowed.

"My Lord, I have heard that one hundred and fifty miles to the south, the water flow is slow, and the river is only waist-deep and can be crossed."

Liu Bei smiled.

"Fa Xiaozhi, Meng Huo is more familiar with the terrain than we are. Have you thought about why Meng Huo didn't heavily fortify that place?"

Fa Zheng was suddenly startled.

"My Lord, could there be some danger there?"

Miss Zhu Rong said from the side,

"I have heard that there are water ghosts there; anyone who crosses the river dies miserably in the water."

"Water ghosts?!"

Everyone was shocked.

Liu Bei, however, knew it wasn't any water ghosts, but that the water flow was slow there, and the corpses of animals and plants deposited on the riverbed rotted, producing many toxic gases, such as hydrogen sulfide.

The temperature was high, and when people crossed the river, they stirred up the water, releasing the toxic gases. People breathed the toxic gases and naturally died of poisoning in the river.

Liu Bei smiled.

"Everyone, do not panic. Wait for me to go there and perform a ritual, and I will be able to break the water ghosts!"

Miss Zhu Rong was instantly impressed.

"Husband, I didn't expect you to have this ability!"

Dailai Cave Master and others bowed in submission.

Liu Bei knew that the Nanzhong barbarians were still very superstitious; if he played the god and acted the ghost, his prestige would be even greater!

The livestream room also exploded.

"Can the Big-Eared Thief actually drive away ghosts?"

"It would be funny if he capsized."

"Liu Bei is shameless. We Italians have only just started preaching in Yongchang, and he's already here!" an Italian netizen raged.

"Drive out the Big-Eared Thief and let the Holy Church shine upon the Great Han!"

Late at night,

Liu Bei had his soldiers prepare offerings like beef and mutton, ascended the altar to perform sacrifices, and after a series of bluffing operations,

Liu Bei shouted,

"River God of this place, listen to my command! Quickly hypnotize the water ghosts!"

The barbarian soldiers watched, mesmerized.

"Lord Liu Xuande is mighty; he can actually command the River God!"

"Is Lord Liu Xuande a god from heaven? No wonder he can beat Meng Huo to a pulp!"

Liu Bei saw that the temperature had dropped enough, and with a wave of his hand,

The first batch of soldiers gently paddled sheepskin rafts and rushed toward the opposite bank.

The water temperature dropped, and the soldiers were cautious, not stirring up the rotting grass under the water, so naturally, not much gas escaped.

Dailai Cave Master exclaimed,

"Brother-in-law, they have crossed the river!"

"You really made the River God hypnotize the water ghosts!"

The barbarian soldiers were amazed, and their reverence for Liu Bei was like the surging river... they looked at him as if he were a god!

Miss Zhu Rong's eyes were also shining, and she couldn't wait to go and reward Liu Bei.

Pang Tong and Fa Zheng exchanged glances; Gao Zu slew the white snake, and their Lord commanded the River God—this could be used to build momentum, which was very important for pacifying Nanzhong and even Yizhou! Yi. **CHAPTER 487**

The soldiers crossed the Rope River one after another.

Liu Bei had the main army cross the river slowly, then advanced toward Meng Huo's camp.

He personally led six thousand cavalry, taking generals like Huang Zhong, Gan Ning, and Wei Yan, to raid Meng Huo's camp at night!

He looked at the pitch-black night sky in the distance.

"Liu Bang slew a white snake and ate the dividends for so long; can't I command the River God and eat some dividends?"

In Meng Huo's camp,

Rodriguez raised his glass.

"Barbarian King, this time my Holy Church knights will surely help you wipe out Liu Bei!"

Meng Huo drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

"Good, once Liu Bei is wiped out, you can preach anywhere in the Nanzhong region!"

Rodriguez was overjoyed. Once the timing was right, he could secretly kill Meng Huo, establish a theocratic state in Nanzhong, and then advance north into the Bashu region; at worst, he could still carve out a territory for himself.

"That Miss Zhu Rong is quite good; she'll be mine when the time comes!"

Everyone was dead drunk.

Meng Huo had Meng You keep a cautious eye on the situation across the river, while he himself fell into a deep sleep.

At the hour of the tiger (3-5 AM),

Everyone was sleeping soundly; having held the west bank for days, they had relaxed their vigilance.

Liu Bei, however, had been raiding all night and arrived outside Meng Huo's camp.

"Everyone, take one thousand cavalry each, charge into the enemy camp, set fires everywhere, and scatter the organized enemy troops!"

"Understood!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Huang Zhong led his men to instantly shoot the soldiers at the gate!

Soon, the gate opened.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A low rumble sounded, the earth shook, and the cavalry swept into the camp like a storm!

They frantically set fires, ignited the tents, and shot the barbarian soldiers running out of them.

The barbarian soldiers in their dreams were dazed, discovering their tents were on fire, and ran out in terror, only to be shot down! **CHAPTER 488**

— Author's Notes —

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