Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 318 The opportunistic and treacherous Lü Bu, it turns out that the King of Qi was also in league with Yuan Shao!

The Han army was overjoyed with their great victory, and the news spread throughout the three armies. Young Master Xiahou, who was by his side, urged the military advisor to write down the merits, saying that his family had been high-ranking officials for four generations, and how could Fengxian be a match for him?
Having gathered the surrendered soldiers and horses, the General of the North had once again rendered great service, and it was widely rumored that he was on the verge of a promotion and a long-awaited reunion with his brothers.

Inside the Han army's main tent, a celebratory banquet was in full swing. Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan looked at each other in silence, while Xiahou Ba beamed with joy and stepped forward to toast his two elders, finally able to show his filial piety today.

He drank heartily, laughed heartily, looked up at the sky, and said to the crowd:
"Our family is really amazing!"

On the other side, Cao Cao, who was on a forced march, was troubled day and night for the past two days, and his headache was getting worse.

First, he received an urgent military intelligence from Guan Yu, reporting that Xiahou Ba had returned to surrender at night, saying that Xiahou Dun had feigned surrender to Yuan Shao and had endured humiliation and hardship for many years, such as sleeping on firewood and tasting gall.

Then Xiahou Yuan rushed to Huanyuan Pass and wrote a letter to Guan Yu, requesting that he be punished according to military law for disobeying orders and failing to come to the aid of his ally Lü Bu.

Then Guan Yu said that Xiahou Yuan was suspected of colluding with Yuan Shao and had long harbored the ambition to surrender to Yuan Shao.

Letters like these came one after another, each side had its own reasons, neither could convince the other, and the argument raged on.

When Cao Cao saw these letters, he was initially delighted, after all, no one had paid more attention to Xiahou Dun's situation in Yuan Shao's camp than him over the years.

Considering the various strange circumstances and details, it seems that he was quite passive and reluctant to work in Yuan's camp. Therefore, Cao Cao did have some doubts about Xiahou Dun's surrender to Yuan.

But what's done is done. Even if Xiahou Dun wasn't willing, he's now trapped in Yuan Shao's camp and has no chance of escaping.

Besides, it's all just his speculation. If he's wrong, and then they say Xiahou Dun was forced into it,

As a result, Xiahou Dun, who was in Yuan Shu's camp, in order to clear his name and prove his sincerity to Yuan Shu, took the initiative to kill several of his generals and leak some information about Cao Cao's camp as a pledge of loyalty.

That would not only make us a laughing stock, but also cause us unnecessary trouble, wouldn't it?

Therefore, Cao Cao had doubts, which he kept to himself for many years.

The best outcome would be to simply watch Xiahou Dun's passive resistance in Yuan's camp, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble and creating problems for ourselves.

By this time, he had seen more and more letters from Guan Yu and Xiahou Yuan. Among them, Xiahou Ba's description of Xiahou Dun's strange behavior in Yuan's camp matched all the suspicious points he had previously investigated.

This situation both surprised and delighted him; he was delighted that Xiahou Dun might not have betrayed him!

After all, he was a good brother who grew up with him since childhood. He had followed him since the beginning of the uprising, always supporting him and never abandoning him.

It can be said that Cao Cao would rather believe Xun Yu would betray him than Xiahou Dun would betray him.

This shows how devastating it was for him when he first heard about Xiahou Dun's surrender to Yuan Shao.

Now that there are doubts, evidence, and Xiahou Ba, Xiahou Yuan's son, testifying, how can he not have expectations?

If Yuan Rang returns, he can use his status as the General of the Northern Garrison of Yuan Camp to cooperate with my deliberate schemes and launch a coordinated attack from within and without.

Even with an army of 830,000, Yuan Shu was defeated by Cao Cao, which is quite evident!

As for the claim that Xiahou Ba would deceive himself?
Regardless of what Xiahou Ba said, it all matches the intelligence about Xiahou Dun that Cao Cao's camp has been investigating over the years.

Even in his own hands, he still held the life of Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Yuan's father, in his own hands!

If that scoundrel dares to deceive, isn't he afraid that his father, Xiahou Yuan, will die without a burial place and be branded as an unfilial son for life?
It should be noted that the Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, a principle that had been deeply ingrained in people's hearts for four hundred years.

Even though Lü Bu killed his adoptive father Dong Zhuo for the sake of the court, he was still cursed by the people of the world.

If Xiahou Ba were to cause his father's death because of the traitor Yuan Shu, then no matter how vast the land is, where would he find refuge?
Thinking of this, Cao Cao couldn't help but smile. As long as he had Xiahou Yuan in his grasp...
Wait! Xiahou Yuan!

Upon realizing that Xiahou Yuan had already been sent to Huanyuan Pass, Cao Cao suddenly gasped, sensing something was amiss.

Reading through these letters again, and after reading them several times, I came across Xiahou Ba's words about needing the garrison at Huanyuan Pass to cooperate in rescuing Lü Bu and attacking Yuan Shao's army from both sides.

Cao Cao gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

No! No!
Something must be wrong.

What a coincidence! It's all such a coincidence!
Although it was his own decision to send Xiahou Yuan to Huanyuan Pass, in theory no one should have known before he made this decision, and therefore no one could have been plotted against.

The problem is that it's too coincidental.

He had just sent Xiahou Yuan out to fight alongside Guan Yu outside the city, to coordinate with Lü Bu to attack Yuan Shu's army from two sides and cut off one of Yuan Shu's arms.

Just as Xiahou Yuan was being sent there, his son Xiahou Ba arrived.

Using Xiahou Dun's forbearance as an excuse, he spoke of the story of sleeping on firewood and tasting gall, and also said that Yuan's army had already investigated in advance that Lü Bu would turn against them, and demanded that Huanyuan Pass be sent out to rescue Lü Bu and cooperate in attacking Yuan's army from both sides.

But as you all know, I have already formed an alliance with Cao Cao and Lü Bu, so you should know that I will never sit idly by and watch Lü Bu be ambushed and die, leaving him to fight alone.

Regardless of whether Lü Bu was ambushed or not, as long as he saw Yuan's army in chaos, he would definitely send people over to rescue them or to cooperate with them, and they would certainly launch a pincer attack on Yuan's army.

Since you two have been lying in wait for so many years, one a General Who Guards the North and the other the adopted son of the Prince of Han, you could have clearly been able to cooperate with me from within and without after I led my main force to arrive, and then decisively defeat Yuan Gonglu's army of 830,000 to intimidate the world!

Why risk exposing your identity for a rescue of Lü Bu that is bound to happen?
Why so urgent?
Was it because they feared that once I reached the front lines, this plan would not be able to hide from me and would lead to unforeseen changes, or was it to make me anxious and thus transfer Xiahou Yuan, who had always been by my side, away from my side?

As his mind raced, cold sweat beaded on Cao Cao's forehead. The more he pondered the matter, the more suspicious he became.

First of all, it was clearly a plan he and Lü Bu had discussed, and he had just received the news from Yang Xiu. How could Xiahou Ba, who was far away at Huanyuan Pass, say that Yuan's army also knew about it?

Could it be that the news leaked from Lü Bu's side?

But how is this possible!

What information could leak faster than someone who is an accomplice receiving messages from their fellow criminals?

Unless Yuan Ying knew in advance:
[Lu Bu is about to rebel!]

Unless you yourself are not an accomplice, and there is another accomplice!
It must be that scoundrel Lü Bu, who is greedy and short-sighted, who was deceived by Yuan Shu's promise of marriage and the benefits of being a general.

Therefore, he contacted Yuan in advance, pretending to form an alliance between Cao Cao and Lü Bu, but in reality, he wanted to be a loyal subject of Yuan.

Therefore, cooperating with Yuan Shu to carry out this plan is a deliberate attempt to harm me in order to gain tremendous merit!

Cao Cao thought it made more and more sense. After all, Lü Bu had no ambition to conquer the world or become emperor. Perhaps being the King of Qi was enough to satisfy his appetite.
Once Cao Cao understood this, he suddenly felt enlightened!
[So Lü Bu was also in league with Yuan Shao!]

Now it all makes sense why the message was being delivered so urgently.
The envoy I sent to Xuzhou to discuss the Cao-Lü alliance had just left when Lü Bu's envoy arrived in Luoyang!

Just as they received news of the Cao-Lü alliance from Lü Bu's envoy, news came from the front lines that Lü Bu was about to reach Huanyuan Pass.
Of all the brilliant strategies in the world, speed is the only way to win!
Because of the speed, he himself did not have enough time to get there, so he could only send Xiahou Yuan, the fastest soldier under his command, to Huanyuan Pass!

This seemed to be a spur-of-the-moment decision, something no one could have predicted beforehand. Little did they know that the speed of the decision forced Xiahou Yuan to be his only option.

Because of the speed, even if I realize there's a problem, I won't have time to deal with it!

Xiahou Yuan was the fastest marcher. If he had led his troops there slowly, or sent someone on horseback to deliver the message, the battle of Huanyuan Pass would have been over by the time he arrived.
It's truly terrifying to think about!
This feeling of being powerless even when you see through someone's plan is all too familiar!

Yuan Shu!!!

Years in advance, they deliberately made Xiahou Dun act in a way that was incongruous and strange, arousing suspicion.

They had already discussed it with Lü Bu beforehand, claiming it was an alliance between Cao Cao and Lü Bu, but in reality it was an alliance between Yuan Shu and Lü Bu, a feigned two-pronged attack to cut off Yuan Shu's arm.

In reality, their plan was to lure me into sending my garrison out of the city, so that they could seize Huanyuan Pass, the gateway to Luoyang, before my main army could arrive. They deliberately made Lü Bu march at breakneck speed and sent envoys ahead of me, making it so that if I wanted to reinforce Huanyuan Pass, I would have to send Xiahou Yuan.

He arranged everything in a very urgent manner, making the changes happen faster than the transmission of news.

The goal is to settle everything before my main force reaches Huanyuan Pass, so that even if I react in time, the message will be too late to be relayed, leaving me helpless and powerless.

"Yuan Gonglu!"

Cao's conspiracy theory is absolutely correct.

"You truly are the greatest strategist of our time, having patiently endured for decades and manipulated the world like a puppet!"

Muttering to himself, Cao Cao raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, only to be startled to find that the headache that had plagued him for days had disappeared without any medicine.

The thought was chilling. Facing Yuan Shu once again, Cao Cao recalled how he had launched a fierce attack on Lujiang and a surprise attack on Shouchun, only to hear repeated rumors:

Yuan Shu decisively defeated 70,000 troops from Jingzhou! He captured all three southern commanderies of Jingzhou!

Yuan Shu decisively defeated 100,000 troops from Jingzhou and flooded Xiangyang!

Yuan Shu's power shook the land, he seized all nine commanderies of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, and we are now like turtles in a jar!

At that time, Huainan was right in front of him, but Yuan Shu came to crush him with his overwhelming power, and he felt suffocated by the fact that no matter what he did, it was all in vain.

At this moment, the same suffocating feeling once again weighed on Cao Cao's heart.

Lü Bu colluded with Yuan Shao!

At that time, it is likely that instead of the defenders of Huanyuan Pass and Lü Bu attacking Yuan's army from both sides, it will be the Yuan-Lü alliance that surrounds Cao's army in order to break through Huanyuan Pass.

Unfortunately, Xiahou Yuan, whom they had just sent, was bound to believe the words of Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Dun.

As Guan Yu said, Xiahou Yuan had long intended to defect to Yuan Shao. This time, he was going to lead the Battle of Huanyuan Pass, coordinating with Yuan Shao from within and without, so that Yuan Shao would lose this gateway to Luoyang.

If Huanyuan Pass is lost, and there is no strong pass to block the way, how can we resist Yuan Shu's army of "830,000"?

More and more pessimistic thoughts kept surfacing in Cao Cao's mind. Yuan Shu's terrifying and treacherous nature was like a shadow that covered the sky, shrouding his heart like a haze.

How to do?
How can we possibly send someone to deliver the order in time?

Could it be that Huanyuan Pass is...
and many more!

still have a chance!

As Cao Cao read through the letters sent from Huanyuan Pass again and again, his gaze was fixed on one name.

Guan Yu!!!

Guan Yu reported: Xiahou Ba has been in Yuan Shao's camp for a long time and cannot be trusted.

Xiahou Yuan reported: "My brother endured hardship and my son tasted gall. They have endured humiliation and hardship for many years. Today is the time to overthrow Yuan!"
Guan Yu reported: Xiahou Yuan has neglected his duties for personal reasons. In order to save Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Ba, he has fallen into a demonic state and can no longer distinguish between friend and foe.

Xiahou Yuan reported: Guan Yu harbors resentment towards Lü Bu, disobeys orders, refuses to leave the city to help, and watches helplessly as his allies perish.

Guan Yu: Xiahou Yuan is in league with Yuan Shao!

Xiahou Yuan is in league with Yuan Shao!

Upon seeing the last letter, which read "Xiahou Yuan's Communication with Yuan Shao," Cao Cao slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed "Good!" several times.
"Yun Chang? Yun Chang!"

Thank goodness for you, I'm so glad I have you!

Cao Cao has not received any new information about the letters from Huanyuan Pass. He is still on his way and has no way of knowing whether Xiahou Yuan intends to communicate with Yuan Shao.

Or perhaps Guan Yu harbored a personal grudge against Lü Bu and wanted to watch Lü Bu die, or perhaps he genuinely realized that Xiahou Yuan was problematic.

But none of this matters.

After vaguely sensing that Yuan Shu had already extended his invisible hand, Cao Cao no longer trusted anyone outside Huanyuan Pass, whether it was Lü Bu, Xiahou Ba, or Xiahou Dun.

His only wish now is to hold Huanyuan Pass and prevent his main force from arriving only to find his tens of thousands of men crashing head-on into Yuan's 830,000-strong army.

"Yun Chang!"
"Lu Bu is a despicable man; you absolutely must not stand by and watch him die!"

"Yun Chang, Cao Cao has forged an imperial edict!"
"You absolutely must not obey my orders to go out of the city and attack Yuan's army from both sides!"

Seeing that there was still hope, Cao Cao was now not seeking merit, but only hoping to avoid mistakes. He only hoped that whether it was Lü Bu, Xiahou Yuan, or Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Ba, they would all wait until he arrived at Huanyuan Pass before making any decisions.

At that time, he will be able to clearly distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous.

Meanwhile, when Lü Bu led three thousand surviving cavalry back to Langya to reunite with Chen Gong, he was shocked to hear devastating news.

Chen Gong's face was grim as he told him:

"Fengxian, Xuzhou is in dire need of help!"

Lu Bu: "???"

"The King of Han's main force never went to Huanyuan Pass. It was all a lie. He has deceived everyone in the world!"

A month ago, he launched a military campaign to destroy Qi, citing the King of Qi's assassination of the King of Han's adopted son, his betrayal of the superior state, and his defection to the Han army at Huanyuan Pass as pretexts!

Lü Bu: "!!!"

Lu Bu's face turned red with anger, and he began to curse loudly.

"He's talking nonsense!"

I hadn't even reached Huanyuan Pass yet!
The fact that I killed that damned adopted son who was only there for a one-day experience hasn't even happened yet, so how can he use that as a pretext to attack my Qi state?

How shameless!
Does that mean that if I kill even one of the Han people, and that person pulls out a "Adopted Son Experience" card, I, with my magnificent Fangtian Halberd, am not allowed to kill them?
Wouldn't that mean that if you kill a mere soldier in battle, and he pulls out this card, it's as if you're killing the adopted son of the King of Han?

This is absolutely outrageous!!!

Chen Gong had no time to appease Lü Bu's anger, and only spoke hastily.

"At present, the King of Han has joined forces with Ji Ling and other generals in Pei State, and the main force will now march into Xuzhou."

Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and other generals may not be able to stop it; the destruction of the Qi state may be imminent.

"We currently have 30,000 infantrymen in Langya. Fengxian, you should make a decision as soon as possible."

After pondering for a long time, Lü Bu finally said something.

"Please sir, teach me."

(End of this chapter)