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

Chapter 46 In a Chaotic World, Might Makes All the Regret

Xun You saw Lü Bu standing on his horse, halberd in hand, surrounded yet still displaying a formidable formation, with bright banners and a dense array of spears and swords. He exclaimed, "The Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry are truly elite!"

He wore a bamboo hat, a blue robe, and a crane-feather cloak, and slowly walked to the front of the formation.

"Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare."

"I have long heard that Lü Bu is unparalleled in his time, and no one in the world can rival him. Seeing him today, I can see he is indeed extraordinary."

"Gongtai has a message to convey!"

Lü Bu did not stand on ceremony with him and answered according to Chen Gong's instructions.

“If you bring a large army to stop him, he already knows the full meaning behind it.”

Liu Bei was a hypocritical gentleman who seized the prefectures and counties from Tao Qian, deceived the world and stole a reputation, falsely claiming to be benevolent and righteous.

"Now you can let me leave. There's no need to fight to the death and let others profit unnecessarily."

"I was originally worried about how to explain this to the general, but I didn't expect that Gongtai understood it without saying a word and had already explained it to the general."

Xun You smiled with relief, "I hope General Lü will also pass on a message to him."

[Do you still remember the favor shown to him by secretly releasing him from Zhongmu? Cao Cao greatly favored him and is always ready to serve him.]

Watching Lü Bu lead his army through the city gate, his cavalry and spears forming a forest, they were awe-inspiring and powerful.

Dian Wei was still unconvinced, "Strategist, how could you let him leave so easily?"
Lü Bu is a thorn in your side, my lord!
"This is a rare opportunity! Let's trap him like a turtle in a jar. If I fight him for another three to five days, cutting off his water and food, our army will surely win!"

"Have you not heard that a cornered beast will fight even more fiercely? Even if we can seize this opportunity, apart from Lü Bu, our army will suffer heavy casualties."

Now that the four warlords are attacking together, our forces are stretched thin. The reason why Zhi Cai and Wen Ruo are leading inferior troops to resist an enemy several times larger is that they urgently need me to retreat Lü Bu and rush to their aid.

At this critical juncture of life and death, how can we strive for a temporary victory without considering the consequences, lest we lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of short-term gains?

He ordered the city gates to be opened and people to pass through, then gazed towards the direction of the State of Lu and spoke eloquently.

"Moreover, times have changed. Now, Lü Bu should not only not be our enemy, but we can also be his ally."

Liu Bei is a hero of our time. Now he has his troops stationed in the State of Lu. If he has no worries about his rear, even if we lead our army to him, it will not be easy for us to defeat him.

If we were to annihilate Lü Bu here, who would then come to repel the troops from Xuzhou?

"The strategist is right!"

Dian Wei seemed to understand, but then frowned.

"But Lü Bu is a faithless and fickle man, how can we trust him?"

"He may betray Liu Bei today, but who knows if he won't betray us tomorrow? And if he goes back this time, regroups, and then attacks again, what will we do then?"

“This matter is easy! Let us deploy our troops here and wait for Xuzhou to change hands.”

At this point, he couldn't help but nod and smile.

"This is precisely the brilliance of Zhicai's plan. Although Lü Bu is a man without integrity, he can be lured with benefits."

Even if we don't set up an ambush to trap him, we have 30,000 troops stationed in the city to defend it. How could he possibly break through the city so easily?

Rather than wasting time here with us, Xuzhou behind us can't wait any longer.

Could it be that Lü Bu, for the sake of the greater good of the alliance of lords, would be willing to sacrifice his troops and resources, gaining nothing in the process?

Are you a selfless and noble person who would sacrifice yourself to hold us back, watching helplessly as Liu Bei and Yuan Shu devoured the provinces of Yan and Yu, and used the opportunity to grow powerful?

Upon hearing this, Dian Wei was speechless.

Betraying the alliance and losing the trust of the world, in this game of strategists and warlords, even if Lü Bu was the bravest in the world, he had no choice from beginning to end.

"My strategists are truly brilliant!"
"Without this plan, how could we have repelled Lü Bu, defeated Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, broken the alliance of the warlords, and helped our lord seize the emperor to bring peace to the world?"

Seeing that Lü Bu's army had moved away, Xun You turned and left, handing him only the latest military report in his hand.

"Even if the feudal lords form an alliance to attack us, we need not worry. Look at the latest news from Yingchuan: Zhicai has first implemented a scorched-earth policy, using the people to deplete their grain reserves, and he is also sending Jiang Ziyi as an envoy to devour his cubs like a tiger."

Yuan Gonglu stole the imperial seal and believed himself to be the chosen one. He changed his ways and began to emulate Liu Bei's hypocrisy, treating the people with kindness.

Even if Huainan has abundant grain reserves, it cannot withstand such extravagance. Moreover, with Jiang Gan sowing discord and a tiger devouring its cub, the father and son will inevitably turn against each other, and internal strife will ensue.

Let's wait and see. Perhaps Zhicai will hold out for a while, and before our army can come to our aid, Yuan Gonglu will have already withdrawn his troops.

When we reclaim the lost territory, we should thank him for supporting the people of Yingchuan, saving us a large sum of money in grain and provisions.

"Yuan Gonglu raised up four armies, but lost both food and troops."

Dian Wei laughed as he spoke, pointing intently to two names that frequently appeared in the military report.

"Peerless General?"
It is unknown what abilities Lei Bu and Chen Lan possess that make them so feared by Xi Junshi and Yuan Rang, and why they are rumored to be incredibly powerful.
Having defeated the invincible Lü Bu, if I can reach Yingchuan in time to offer my aid, I must fight these two to see what a peerless general truly is, only then will I be satisfied.

"Lei Bu, Chen Lan?"

Xun You frowned slightly upon hearing these two men mentioned.

"Even if they fall into an ambush, their morale will not waver; if their commander dies, their momentum will only increase!"

In a normal army, let alone being ambushed and witnessing the death of their commander, once the flag is cut down, the army will be thrown into chaos, scatter and flee, with no morale whatsoever.

If what Zhi Cai said in the military report is true, then he truly embodies the style of a famous general from ancient times!
As Xun You pondered, he looked up at Dian Wei beside him and whispered softly.

"I used to think he was just an unknown person and didn't pay any attention to him. I didn't expect that his methods of leading troops were also unique."

General Dian, these two men are likely a great threat to our lord and must not be allowed to live. When we meet again, we must execute them in battle.

"only!"

They came with great fanfare, but returned quietly under the starry night.

Under the moonlight, the iron cavalry returned through the snow, and in the distance, the city of Xiaopei was reflected in the snow like silver frost, the moonlight like a ribbon, and banners fluttered between the majestic city walls.

Chen Gong led 10,000 newly recruited infantrymen behind, while Gao Shun led 800 men from the Trapped Camp in front, waiting for a long time.

The world was a vast expanse of white, and these eight hundred men, their cold clothes and iron armor covered by snow, remained motionless, standing like ice sculptures.

Upon seeing Lü Bu leading his troops back, Chen Gong rushed forward to greet him.

"The general's northern expedition was thwarted due to insufficient consideration; this is Gong's fault!"

"I have a plan that allows me to atone for my crimes by helping the general seize power and achieve great things."

Looking at Chen Gong, who was bowing down and admitting his guilt, Lu Bu, riding his Red Hare, neighed uneasily. Lu Bu, sitting high on his horse, watched him without saying a word.

Was it due to a lack of thorough consideration?

You prevented me from joining forces with Xuande to cut off communication, and you also made me lead only cavalry on the expedition so that I could come and go as swiftly as the wind. You, Chen Gong, are clearly too thoughtful and have been planning this all along.

But if Lü Bu asked himself honestly, was he really completely unaware of Chen Gong's plot?
They probably know that.

Chen Gong hadn't hidden anything from him, so how could he be completely unaware?
Otherwise, he wouldn't have repeatedly rejected Xuande's proposal to join forces; he simply didn't want to admit it.

He was unwilling to admit that this was his thought from the beginning, unwilling to admit that Lu Bu was a complete villain.

But, Gongtai!

If you want to take all the blame upon yourself, you are underestimating me, Lü Fengxian.

A traitor who served three masters, murdering his father for personal gain—I, Lü Bu, have never cared about my reputation.

In chaotic times, the strong rule! All reputation and morality should be trampled underfoot!
He held a halberd, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Gentlemen, heed my command: march on Xuzhou!"

(End of this chapter)