I run a training class in Shu Han

Chapter 99 Information is an Advantage

After Meng Huo finished speaking, Zhang Bao turned green with anger.

"you!"

He gripped the spear tightly, regretting that he should have thrust it forward earlier and left several bloody holes in the other man's body.

Guan Xing stopped him.

"Xingguo, don't act rashly. Don't forget what the Prime Minister told you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bao suppressed his anger, let out a heavy snort, and snatched the spear back from Meng Huo's hand.

"Give it back to me!"

Li Hui stepped forward and said, "General Meng, you said you lost just now because your injuries flared up?"

"That's right!" Meng Huo said, head held high. "If you hadn't tricked me first, and if I hadn't been injured, how could I have lost to a mere brat?"

Li Hui did not refute, but still politely said, "Then General Meng means..."

Meng Huo thought for a moment and said, "I have fresh wounds and am not fit for one-on-one combat. Everyone says that the Han army is skilled in archery and horsemanship. Do you dare to have a contest with me?"

Upon hearing that they were going to have a horsemanship and archery competition, Zhang Bao immediately perked up and volunteered, "Let's compete! I'll compete with you!"

Meng Huo chuckled to himself upon hearing this.

Before Yong Kai rebelled, he investigated the generals of the Han Dynasty and had a general understanding of their backgrounds.

In terms of archery and horsemanship, the imperial court certainly had many famous generals who were skilled in these arts, but there was no one who had ever heard of Zhang Bao.

Furthermore, given Zhang Bao's young age, Meng Huo simply did not believe that he possessed any profound skill in horsemanship and archery.

It's a deal.

Meng Huo was secretly delighted and immediately ordered his horse to be brought over, along with a strong bow, which he pointed to the shooting range not far away.

"How about we settle this with five arrows?"

Zhang Bao said, "Who's afraid of who?"

After saying this, Zhang Bao ordered someone to bring his own horse, mounted it, and followed Meng Huo to the shooting range.

Li Hui was somewhat worried and asked Guan Xing, "In terms of archery and horsemanship, An Guo, you should have the upper hand."

Guan Xingdao said, "General, you may not know this, but Xingguo's horsemanship and archery are among the best in the martial arts class, and he is on par with me."

After the two rode to the shooting range, Meng Huo went into battle first.

He pulled his legs back and squeezed the horse's belly tightly, and the warhorse immediately galloped off.

Whoosh whoosh!

On the galloping horse, Meng Huo drew his bow and shot all the arrows into the bullseye of the target eighty paces away.

After the five arrows were fired, the barbarian soldiers cheered.

Meng Huo leisurely rode back, looking at Zhang Bao with a smug expression.

"It's not too late for you to admit defeat now."

Zhang Bao was furious upon hearing this and shouted, "Don't be so arrogant, watch my archery skills!"

Having said that, Zhang Bao cracked his whip, then drew his bow and shot several arrows in quick succession, all of which hit the bullseye.

Although Zhang Bao was skilled in archery, the bullseye was now full of arrows, leaving no room for the center, and Zhang Bao still had one arrow left to shoot.

Meng Huo was beginning to feel smug.

In fact, this was all within his calculations.

Even if Zhang Bao was skilled in archery, the bullseye was already out of position, so what would be the point of his last arrow?

Li Hui, who was watching the battle, realized that they were no match for the enemy. He frowned and sighed, "Oh dear, this is not good. We have fallen into a trap."

Zhang Bao was completely focused at this moment. He knew that this arrow was of great importance, and he took longer to aim than the previous four arrows.

Large beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, but he dared not wipe them away, his eyes fixed on the target.

"The Han general is afraid; he's a coward!"

"General Meng is mighty; all Han people fear him!"

Meng Huo's soldiers began to mock him in groups, which increased the pressure on Zhang Bao.

Guan Xing's expression was serious, and his fists were clenched tightly.

Whoosh!

As Zhang Bao fired his last arrow, the arrow flew straight toward the target and pierced the bullseye.

At the same time, an arrow was knocked away and fell to the ground.

Meng Huo gasped.

Because Zhang Bao knocked away his arrow.

There are nine arrows stuck in the target right now. Zhang Bao has five, while I only have four. The outcome is clear at a glance.

"good!"

Guan Xing shouted, and the soldiers of the Great Han cheered.

"No, no!"

Meng Huo suddenly shouted, "Han people, you tricked me! You shot down my arrow! I refuse to accept this!"

Seeing Zhang Bao win two games in a row, Li Hui's confidence soared.

"What does General Meng think?"

Meng Huo said, "These past few times it was you Han people who used trickery. If you want to compete, compete in military formation."

He pointed to the valley behind him: "Given this terrain, let's each lead a hundred men and fight in the mountains. If you win, you leave; if I win, you stay. It'll be fair and square, and no one will have anything to say."

Meng Huo looked at Guan Xing, then at Zhang Bao, and quickly made a mental calculation.

He had already experienced Zhang Bao's martial arts skills, and they were indeed formidable. But when it came to troop deployment and strategy, they were still far from proficient.

"Alright!" Li Hui laughed loudly after hearing this, "Let's have a match! Go and prepare the troops for a battle with our army."

Then, Li Hui looked at Guan Xing beside him and said, "Guan Xing, you will be the one to fight in this match."

Guan Xing listened from the side, somewhat hesitant.

"General, should we consult the Prime Minister first?"

Li Hui shook his head: "The Prime Minister said that in the matter of Nanzhong, winning hearts and minds is the best strategy. If Meng Huo is not convinced, capturing him a hundred times will be useless."

Guan Xing thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Li Hui said, "Very well. But there's one condition: stop when you've made your point; don't hurt anyone."

"Yes, ma'am."

The two arrived in the valley, and Li Hui brought out a map.

"General Meng, this is a topographical map of the valley. Which side do you choose?"

Meng Huo took the map and looked at it for a while.

The valley is gourd-shaped, narrow at the entrance and wide inside.

The eastern side of the mountain is steep and easy to defend, but difficult to attack.

The western slope is gentler, making it easier to deploy troops.

He thought about it and chose the east side.

"I'll guard the east. You can attack."

Guan Xing readily accepted, nodding, "Okay."

Half an hour later, both sides were ready.

Meng Huo led a hundred Yi soldiers and occupied the hilltop on the east side.

He set up roadblocks at the entrance to the mountain path, ambushed archers on the mountainside, and left a reserve force at the summit.

He believed his arrangement was foolproof.

Guan Xing led a hundred Han soldiers and stood on the west side of the valley.

Zhang Bao leaned closer: "An Guo, are you confident?"

Guan Xing smiled and said, "Anyway, I'm more confident than you are."

Meng Huo waited on the hilltop for half an hour, but Guan Xing did not come to attack.

Another half hour passed, but they still hadn't arrived.

"What are they doing?" Meng Huo frowned.

The scouts reported: "The Han army is cutting down trees at the foot of the mountain."

Cutting down trees?

Meng Huo was dumbfounded.

If you're going to fight, then fight. Why cut down trees?

After a while, the scouts came again to report: "The Han army is building rafts."

A raft? There's no big river in this valley, what's the point of building a raft?

Meng Huo couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, he held the pass and Guan Xing didn't attack, so they just waited it out.

He had one hundred men and enough food to last him three days.

Three days later, Guan Xing had no choice but to retreat.

An hour later, the scouts returned.

"General, the Han army... the Han army is coming from the west!"

Meng Huo jumped to his feet: "What? Isn't there a cliff on the west side?"

"They...they built a raft and came up from the mountain stream on the west side."

Meng Huo rushed to the edge of the cliff and looked down, and immediately gasped in shock.

There is indeed a cliff on the west side of the valley, but there is a mountain stream in the middle of the cliff. It is usually dry, but it has started to flow after the rain these past few days.

Guan Xing had a raft built and floated upstream along the mountain stream until it reached a platform in the middle of a cliff.

From there, there is a hidden path that leads directly to the top of the mountain.

Meng Huo didn't even know about this path.

"withdraw!"

He shouted and led his troops to block the path.

But halfway there, he heard deafening shouts of battle behind him.

He looked back and saw that the defenses at the mountain pass were in disarray.

Instead of launching a frontal assault, Guan Xing sent a small team to circle around the cliff to the back of the mountain pass, attacking from both sides.

The Yi soldiers guarding the mountain pass were attacked from both sides and collapsed in less than a quarter of an hour.

Meng Huo was caught in a dilemma.

Ahead lay the ambush of Guan Xing's troops, who had climbed up from the mountain stream.

Beyond that lies the mountain pass, which has already been breached.

He stood still, gripping the knife tightly in his hand.

Then, he heard a voice coming from behind him.

"General Meng, how have you been?"

Meng Huo suddenly turned around.

Guan Xing stood ten steps behind him, holding no weapon, simply watching him quietly.

"How...how did you get up here?"

Guan Xing pointed in the direction of the mountain stream: "That path. General Meng, you don't know it, do you? This valley used to be a path for herb gatherers. The platform in the middle of the stream leads directly to the top of the mountain."

Meng Huo knew that the situation was hopeless and sighed unwillingly.

"You win."

Guan Xing shook his head.

"General Meng, you haven't lost." Guan Xing stepped forward and looked into his eyes.

"Your formation is correct. Hold the mountain pass, ambush troops on the mountainside, and keep the main force at the summit. This is standard tactic. Anyone else would have failed to take it."

"Then why did you manage to take it?"

"Because I know things you don't."

Guan Xing said with some pride, "I know there are three paths in this valley. One you know, and two you don't."

Meng Huo remained silent.

Everyone is looking at the same map, so why can you see three different paths?

Guan Xing continued, "His Majesty once gave a lecture at the Imperial Academy called 'Information is Advantage.' Whoever has more information will win."

He looked at Meng Huo.

"General Meng, what you lost was not military strength, but information."