Tiger Guards

Chapter 583 Cherishing One's Reputation
The Grand Secretary Fu Wan and the Grand Secretary Zhao Rui had not yet arrived at Lü Bu's General's headquarters.

Liu Bei's General of Chariots and Cavalry, located just over a hundred paces away, received a handwritten copy of Wei Yue's report.

This handwritten copy was extremely important, and Liu Bei held the silk scroll with a solemn expression.

The core members following him were also so quiet that they barely dared to breathe, almost to the point of holding their breath.

At this moment, Jian Yong couldn't help but speak up: "My lord, the two traitors Lü Bu and Zhao Bu have already joined forces. We must not be hesitant. If Lü Bu escapes, he will be like a tiger entering the deep mountains, and will be difficult to control. The troops of Heluo led by Wei Yue are really not worth mentioning."

The others nodded, but none of them spoke. These people, including Zhang Fei, were also listless.

Last night, because Gao Shun replaced the guards at the gates of Xudu, they were all too afraid to close their eyes and sleep.

I can only get a short nap in the morning, and now with this dangerous military situation, I feel the pressure coming on and on.

They weren't really afraid of Lü Bu; what truly terrified them was Zhao Ji, the new Zhao clan's militia that had slaughtered over 100,000 Hu tribes north of Yinshan.

Even the Tiger Step Army from Hedong and Taiyuan, as long as they are from Han territory, can be persuaded by their loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Even if they cannot shake the other party's stance, they can at least diminish some of the other party's fighting spirit.

However, these methods of upholding loyalty to the Han Dynasty were completely ineffective against the righteous troops under Zhao Ji's command!
Zhao Ji's core base remained unchanged, but after each large-scale war, the forces he relied on would change to some extent.

This Grand Marshal never favored any elite troops or generals, and always assigned troops and officers in a way that ensured stability.

For example, right now, would someone like Gan Ning care about the survival of the Han Dynasty?
Han Meng was a traitor to Yuan Shao, but he was given important positions by Zhao Ji and became almost the number one general in the five battalions of the Grand Marshal. Wei Xing, needless to say, was a fierce general who fought his way up with the Grand Marshal.

Han Meng and Wei Xing are not people who can be persuaded or tempted by words or official titles.

Liu Bei increasingly felt that he lacked a strategist and advisor. As his status and position rose, he felt that his knowledge, understanding, and judgment could no longer keep up with the drastic changes in the situation.

In this level of struggle, one wrong step can lead to total annihilation.

He could understand Lü Bu, but he couldn't understand Zhao Ji.

In fact, he could see through Zhao Ji, this scheming and treacherous rebel. What he truly couldn't understand was Zhao Ji's personal martial prowess.

Liu Bei could even see at a glance why Zhao Ji's army was so powerful.

If given enough time, Liu Bei would also carry out a small-scale redistribution of land to ensure he had a strong army.

But he has always lacked this time. Last year, Yuan Shu caused trouble, and this year he was summoned to the court.

Equal distribution of land was a difficult thing to do, and Liu Bei would not carry it out in a big way. He would simply conduct careful research beforehand, and then invent a pretext to implement it in a different way.

As long as he is willing to compromise and change the pretext for land redistribution, the powerful and influential families who cannot resist will tacitly agree to the small-scale land redistribution.

Unlike Zhao Ji, who kidnapped the emperor and marched north to Taiyuan, slaughtering countless Xiongnu tribes along the way, and deceiving and luring down prominent families in Taiyuan, leaving almost no one alive, his actions were truly cruel.

Then came the blatant equal distribution of land, which, while resulting in extremely high grain production efficiency and making the army more cohesive and combat-effective, also caused the entire world to become hostile towards it.

Without this hostility, how could Liu Bei have risen to power so rapidly?
As long as this hostility exists, even without Liu Bei, these people will find an equally capable proxy.

At this moment, Jian Yong's suggestion was not wrong, as the situation was almost obvious.

The options are either to kill Lü Bu, or to achieve one of three outcomes. A major success would involve killing Lü Bu and his core generals like Gao Shun, unifying the troops near Xuchang, rapidly mobilizing them, defeating Wei Yue before the summer heat, capturing Luodu, and gaining the influence to rally the world to besiege and punish Zhao Ji. Only by cleanly and decisively eliminating Lü Bu's faction and retaking Luodu under pressure can one gain the influence to rally all sides to besiege Zhao Ji. Otherwise, if you yourself are not skilled in warfare, why would others follow you and risk their lives?

The second result was success, namely the killing of Lü Bu, Gao Shun, and others, the failure to integrate the army in time, and the failure to defeat Wei Yue before the sweltering heat, which led to Luodu being controlled by the Zhao family.

This would mean a complete falling out with the Zhao family. After Zhao Ji returns with his troops, he will definitely target our side first. Whether Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Liu Ai, and others will send troops to our aid is uncertain.

The third outcome was failure, namely the inability to kill Lü Bu and Gao Shun, which plunged Xuchang into chaos and caused the court, which had just begun to recover, to fall apart once again.

Of course, there is a fourth outcome, which is a major defeat, where one's own side is killed by Lü Bu and Gao Shun... Since they are already dead, there is no need to think about or analyze the subsequent impact of this outcome.

Jian Yong's suggestion was simple and direct, but Liu Bei really wouldn't listen and waved his hand in opposition: "We cannot put the emperor in danger. Besides, Lü Bu was attacked and killed as the Grand General of the Han Dynasty, which is against the law and reason. If I take action, Zhao Yuansi will be able to raise an army to quell the rebellion. His army is at its peak, and all sides are watching to see if it will succeed or fail. Our army will really have a hard time resisting him."

Seeing this, Jian Yong could only lower his head and remain silent.

Liu Bei was concerned about his reputation. As long as Lü Bu remained the Grand General, if he were to be killed in that position, it would be against the law, the principles of justice, and the common sense.

Zhao Ji could rightfully raise an army to punish the rebels, let alone Liu Bei, who was invited to court by Lü Bu and then turned around and killed Lü Bu... This is simply unacceptable.

Even if you are acting on a secret imperial edict, you cannot do this!

If you even murder the benefactor who promoted you and gave you opportunities, then what difference is there between you and Dong Zhuo!
Even if it were Dong Cheng, it would be acceptable. Dong Cheng is a relative of the emperor. If Dong Cheng suddenly kills Lü Bu, it must be at the emperor's behest, and there would be no public outcry. Even if there is some public opinion, it would only be related to Dong Cheng and not to Liu Bei!
The only question is whether Dong Cheng dares to do it, and whether he can kill Lü Bu in one fell swoop?
If Dong Cheng kills Lü Bu, Liu Bei can protect Lü Bu's former troops and integrate the armies around Xuchang more efficiently!

Unfortunately, Liu Bei did not believe that Dong Cheng had the ability.

After much deliberation, Liu Bei still did not want to get his hands dirty; he could obey the emperor's decree and fight to the death against Lü Bu and Zhao Ji, and if he lost, so be it, there was nothing to regret.

However, if he were to plot against or assassinate Lü Bu, even if he achieved ultimate success, Liu Bei felt that he would not be happy with such a success.

Soon, Liu Bei made a decision, stood up, and raised his right hand to attract everyone's attention: "I'm going to see the General! I should talk to him; he must be waiting for me."

Everyone wanted to offer advice, but knowing Liu Bei's temperament, they all tacitly agreed to go and see Zhang Fei, who was constantly worried about Liu Bei's safety.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei sat on one side behind Liu Bei, seemingly asleep with his eyes wide open, showing no sign of objection.

Jian Yong immediately rose and cupped his hands in greeting: "My lord, because you went to court, the Grand General lost power and inevitably harbors resentment..."

"No, if he wanted to kill me, he should have done so last night. Gao Shun's elite troops are unmatched in the world. If he intended to harm us, how could we sit here peacefully?"

Liu Bei asked in return, his mind becoming increasingly clear, and said, "Don't hesitate, quickly go to the General's mansion and deliver the letter."

"Here."

Seeing this, everyone agreed that there was some truth to it and bowed in respect.

Zhang Fei then stood up. He didn't say anything, but felt that he should talk to Lü Bu.

As Liu Bei said, the Trapped Camp all entered the city last night, and we can kill them at any time.

As long as they are killed, the officials and gentry of Xudu will still obey the orders of the Grand General after dawn.

(End of this chapter)