Chapter 25: The Defeat of Guo A Duo

After Yang Feng, Li Xian and Guo Si's men had been battling for a full two hours, Liu Bei and Zhao Yun rode in with five thousand Snow Dragon Cavalry; Yang Feng's chubby face, smeared with blood, lit up with joy when he saw Liu Bei.

"Xuan De, I'm here; these Western Liang bandits haven't broken into the palace!"

The Yulin Guard under Yang Feng, together with Li Xian's and Guo Si's troops, were startled and uncertain upon seeing the well‑armed iron cavalry, so each retreated to stand beside their commander, watching to see what was happening.

Liu Bei ordered Xu Huang and Jia Xu to lead the Guiyi Army together with Li Jue's Western Liang soldiers to encircle Guo Si's main camp, while he himself led the newly arrived Snow Dragon Cavalry to rescue Emperor Xian.

From a few hundred paces away, the Snow Dragon Cavalry formed a faint semicircular encirclement around Guo Si and Li Xian's Western Liang troops; Zhao Yun raised his spear, galloping close behind Liu Bei, while the more than five thousand Snow Dragon riders behind them each held a drawn Divine‑Arm crossbow.

"Good, General Yang Feng, you've worked hard! This time the Emperor will surely reward you richly!"

Liu Bei smiled, bowed his hands to Yang Feng in praise, then called out to Li Xian, who was not far away.

"General Li Xian, aren't you going to quickly lead men to encircle Guo Si's rebel force? Your uncle gave me a handwritten letter; you may take it and have a look."

Li Xian spurred his horse forward, questioning.

"My uncle really gave me a handwritten letter?"

"Of course, General, take a look yourself!"

Liu Bei produced a piece of cloth, waving it twice; Li Xian rode up to Liu Bei, and just as he took the cloth and was about to read the characters, Liu Bei suddenly drew his double‑edged sword.

"By imperial order, kill the bandits!"

Liu Bei lifted the reins, and his warhorse's hooves leapt into the air; the sudden shock broke Li Xian's heart and courage, leaving him unable to react further.

Liu Bei swung his sword down onto Li Xian's exposed neck, and Li Xian, clutching the torn cloth, could not defend at all.

"Ah!"

Li Xian let out a wretched scream and died beneath Liu Bei's double‑edged sword; Zhao Yun stepped forward and shouted loudly.

"Western Liang bandits, listen: Guo Si is now surrounded by us, he has hardly any men left! Will you surrender or die?"

These two Western Liang forces, after fighting alongside Yang Feng, were already exhausted, especially since Li Xian was dead; his troops had lost the will to fight.

Hearing Zhao Yun's blunt call and seeing the Snow Dragon Cavalry's arrows aimed at them, the deputy commander decisively ordered Li Xian's remaining soldiers to fling their weapons aside, drop to the ground and kneel nearby.

Yet Guo Si's men did not concede; the leading deputy commander shouted loudly.

"What a damn Liu Uncle, I think you're just a big‑ear bandit! Got the nerve to try to kill me? The Grand General will give us a report…"

Zhao Yun's face grew cold upon hearing the young officer insult Liu Bei; he drew a long bow from his horse, pulling the string to a full‑moon tension, and without showing any aim, swiftly released an arrow at the young officer.

"Bang!"

The deputy commander hadn't finished speaking before Zhao Yun's arrow pierced his throat, the spray of blood startling the nearby Western Liang troops.

The remaining few junior officers, seeing their superior killed by a single arrow, instantly felt fear; realizing the tide had turned, they led their thousands of troops to kneel and surrender.

From then on, the siege of the palace was lifted; Liu Bei ordered Zhao Yun to lead the Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Yulin Guard to take the captives, while he escorted Yang Feng into the palace to soothe the young emperor.

The two entered the palace and saw many items scattered on the floor, clearly the palace maids and eunuchs had already packed their belongings to flee.

The crowd, seeing a group of armored soldiers break in, the palace maids and eunuchs, unsure which side had entered, repeatedly knelt and begged for mercy, daring not to look up at Liu Bei and his men.

Liu Bei, somewhat helpless, pulled an elderly eunuch from the ground; the old eunuch, terrified, closed his eyes and trembled all over.

"No need to panic; Li Jue and Guo Si's rebel army has been subdued by us. Where is the Emperor now?"

Upon hearing this, the eunuch instantly opened his eyes, saw that the person before him was the highly regarded Liu Bei, and, overjoyed, clutched Liu Bei's arm and wept loudly.

"Uncle, you finally came; the Emperor is terrified. We were just preparing to pull the Emperor over the wall."

Liu Bei patiently comforted him for a while; the eunuch, sobbing, led Liu Bei and Yang Feng to find Liu Xie and Empress Fu hidden in an inner chamber.

Seeing Liu Xie in tears, Liu Bei felt a pang of sorrow, thinking, "Hasn't this child faced such hardships all his life? Why is he crying like this now?"

Liu Bei knelt and performed a bow, and Yang Feng, seeing this, also hurried to kneel; Liu Bei said

"Your Majesty, do not worry; Guo Si is already surrounded by our forces, Li Jue's troops have all been handed over to me, and now we only await the capture of that dog‑named Guo Si."

Liu Xie rolled up his dragon robe, bowed to Liu Bei, who hurriedly stopped him, exclaiming that it was not appropriate.

"If not for Uncle's rescue, we would have been further insulted by the bandits; Uncle deserves this courtesy!"

Liu Bei steadied Liu Xie.

"Your Majesty! The city's turmoil is still unsettled; I will first lead troops to restore order, leaving General Yang Feng to protect you here. I will also leave two thousand cavalry, so you need not worry!"

Liu Xie grasped Liu Bei's large hand, crying, "

"Now everything depends on Uncle's rescue. Yang Qi, fetch my cloak; the spring wind is chilly and dry, give this robe to Uncle."

The weeping eunuch was actually the Palace Attendant Yang Qi; his old face, wrinkled like an orange peel, turned to fetch Liu Xie's cloak, and after returning he handed it to Liu Xie to drape over Liu Bei's back.

After thanking Liu Xie, Liu Bei took Zhao Yun and three thousand Snow Dragon Cavalry to rush toward Guo Si's main camp.

Yang Feng led his Yulin Guard and the remaining Snow Dragon Cavalry to guard over more than seven thousand surrendered Western Liang soldiers; these once‑rampant troops now could only sit obediently on the ground, no longer boasting their former arrogance.

Guo Si paced anxiously within the camp; his main camp now held only twenty thousand men, unable to hold out for long, and he did not know whether the troops he sent out had captured the city gates.

Outside the camp, a loud shout rang out; it turned out Jia Xu had again dispatched Li Jue's Western Liang troops to assault the city. This was Jia Xu's fifth attack, that hateful Jia Xu!

"When I break out, I'll first kill you, Jia Xu, you scoundrel!"

Guo Si thought resentfully, but alas, it could only remain a thought.

Guo Si's soldiers strained to hold the line, while the Western Liang troops fought each other relentlessly.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei and his comrades felt a surge of fury, so the Third Uncle led a dozen soldiers wielding shields and ropes to the gate. Then these Western Liang cavalry used ropes to encircle the gate, and a dozen warhorses pulled backward in unison.

"Boom!"

The not‑very‑sturdy gate collapsed with a boom, and the Third Uncle and his men, using this brutally crude method, captured Guo Si's gate.

"Charge! Take Guo Si's dog head!"

"Kill Guo Si and claim the reward!"

"Heard Guo Si's little wife is a thief, kill Guo Si and snatch her!"

"Guo A Duo is defeated!"

…

Amid the chaotic troops, someone shouted wildly in rhythm; hearing these booming shouts, Guo Si's eyes widened to the brink of bursting.

Liu Bei! Jia Xu! I'll kill you!

Guo Si's several personal guards frantically pushed Guo Si onto his horse and urged him.

General, as long as the green mountains remain, we need not worry about lacking firewood; let's retreat first.

Guo Si sighed, then led more than ten personal guards to break out from the chaotic army.

Along the way, Guo Si hacked down anyone he saw, whether his own subordinates or Li Jue's troops; anyone who dared to block him was slaughtered.

Zhang Fei held an eighteen-foot serpent spear, rode a Jade Horse, turned his head and said to Jia Xu.

"Sir, why not let me go and stab that scoundrel to death? What's the point of keeping such vermin?"

Jia Xu, watching the small detachment of Guo Si breaking away in the distance, gave a faint smile.

"Three generals, don't be anxious; some tasks are best left to such vermin."