My brothers are all warriors capable of taking on ten thousand men; I'll roam freely in the Thr

The five thousand pursuing troops led by Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had completely collapsed at this moment.

"Retreat! Retreat! All troops retreat!"

Yuan Shao's face was ashen, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

That wasn't a battle.

That was a massacre.

Five thousand against twenty-eight should have been a crushing defeat, but now it's become a joke.

What terrified Yuan Shao even more was that Xiang Yu's double pupils were fixed on him.

Fifty feet.

Forty-five feet.

Forty feet...

The distance is getting closer.

With every zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) closer, Yuan Shao felt death drawing ever closer.

"Brother, run!" Yuan Shu had long lost his previous arrogance and was now almost crying out.

He saw it too.

They saw Xiang Yu moving through the chaotic army as if it were empty.

Seeing that jet-black Heavenly Dragon City-Breaking Halberd, every swing of it would take away several lives.

Seeing his elite Tiger Warriors, known as the "best in the world," being rendered as weak as paper figures by those twenty-eight riders, he was utterly astonished.

"Withdraw! Withdraw back to Luoyang!" Yuan Shao finally made the decision.

Once the order was given, the already rout-disorganized army completely lost its will to fight.

They abandoned their armor and fled in all directions.

Five thousand soldiers were utterly terrified by just over twenty cavalrymen.

Ironically, Xiang Yu and Li Cunxiao led their remaining twenty-three riders in pursuit!

"Yuan Benchu! Yuan Gonglu! Where are you going!"

Xiang Yu's roar was like a tiger howling in the mountains and forests, echoing in the night sky.

Li Cunxiao was even more engrossed in the killing, wielding the Yuwang Spear like a whirlwind, leaving limbs and broken bodies flying everywhere it passed.

Both of their eyes were bloodshot.

That wasn't anger.

It's the numbness that comes from killing too many people.

It is the almost instinctive ferocity brought about by battlefield killings.

Twenty-odd riders chasing three or four thousand men—this absurd scene actually unfolded on a spring night in the sixth year of the Zhongping era.

"Report—!"

A scout galloped in with a trembling voice, filled with disbelief: "General! There's... there's battle ahead! No, not battle, it's... it's a pursuit! Twenty-odd riders are chasing thousands!"

Along the official road, an army of about two thousand men was marching rapidly.

At the front of the army, one rider took the lead.

Immediately following was Cao Cao, the Commandant of the Army, whose brows were furrowed.

"More than twenty riders chasing thousands of men?" Xiahou Dun, standing beside Cao Cao, exclaimed in surprise.

"This...how is this possible?"

Cao Cao did not answer.

He urged his horse forward and climbed a high slope by the roadside.

Looking ahead, the official road, illuminated by the firelight, resembled a hellish scene.

Thousands of defeated soldiers surged in like a tidal wave, abandoning their armor and weapons, crying out in despair.

After the fleeing soldiers, the twenty-odd horsemen, like vengeful ghosts, relentlessly pursued them.

The two riders at the front, one wielding a long, black halberd and the other carrying a menacing giant spear, carved two bloody paths through the routed army.

"Is this the reincarnation of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu?" Cao Cao gasped, muttering to himself.

He originally led two thousand soldiers out of the city under the pretext of "being ordered by the general to lead troops to reinforce in case of emergency".

In reality, he wanted to see if there was an opportunity to secretly let Ji Xuanyuan go.

After all, the old friendship in Yingchuan remains, and the words spoken while drinking under the moon have not been forgotten.

More importantly, Cao Cao knew better than anyone else that Ji Xuanyuan was no ordinary person.

The good deeds we do today may prove invaluable in the future.

Who would have thought...

They didn't need his help at all.

With Xiang Yu and Li Cunxiao alone, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's 5,000-strong army was routed.

"Mengde, what should we do now?" Xiahou Dun asked anxiously.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then a glint of light flashed in his eyes: "Form ranks! Stop the routed troops!"

"promise!"

Two thousand Cao soldiers quickly deployed their troops on the official road.

Spears stood like a forest, and shields formed a mountain.

The fleeing Yuan army panicked even more when they saw a military formation blocking their way.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way now!"

"The pursuers are coming! The pursuers are coming!"

Cries and curses filled the air.

Cao Cao rode his horse to the front of the battle line and shouted loudly, "Brother Benchu! Brother Gonglu! Don't panic! I, Cao Cao, am here!"

Amidst the rout, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu heard this sound, as if hearing heavenly music.

The two men scrambled to the front lines and, upon seeing Cao Cao, almost burst into tears.

"Mengde! Mengde, save me!" Yuan Shu grabbed Cao Cao's horse reins, his voice trembling with tears.

Although Yuan Shao tried to remain calm, his pale face and trembling hands betrayed his inner fear: "Mengde... quick, quickly stop those two killing gods behind us!"

Cao Cao looked behind the two men.

Thirty feet away, Xiang Yu and Li Cunxiao had already reined in their horses and stopped.

More than twenty riders stood silently, each one covered in blood, like demons returning from hell.

Behind them lay a trail of corpses and blood stretching for miles.

"Second Brother, reinforcements have arrived," Li Cunxiao said in a deep voice, wiping the blood from his face.

"Should we continue pursuing it?"

Xiang Yu did not answer immediately. He glanced at the army formation in front of him. The Cao banner fluttered in the night wind, and the general in front of the formation had a short beard, was wiry and sharp-eyed.

Eyes facing each other.

In an instant, Xiang Yu understood the deeper meaning in the other's eyes.

That wasn't the hostility you feel when you meet someone on the battlefield.

Rather, it was a complex look, filled with appreciation and tacit understanding.

My elder brother once said that Cao Cao was a man who could be befriended, but also someone to be wary of.

Xiang Yu slowly raised his right hand, and the twenty riders behind him reined in their horses in unison.

"We're not going to pursue them anymore," Xiang Yu said in a deep voice.

"Walk."

He turned his horse around and scanned the battlefield.

The bodies of five brothers from the Jingnan Army were scattered in a pool of blood.

"Bring your brothers along," Xiang Yu said in a low voice.

"They should return to Youzhou together; they are heroes."

More than twenty riders silently dismounted, carefully lifted their companion's body, and laid it across their horse's back.

Then, he mounted his horse, turned around, and headed north, without glancing at Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, or Cao Cao again.

It was as if these thousands of soldiers did not exist at all.

"Mengde!"

Seeing Xiang Yu retreat, Yuan Shao first breathed a sigh of relief, then angrily said, "Why didn't you pursue them? They only had about twenty men, exhausted and weary. Your two thousand soldiers were more than enough to surround and kill them!"

Cao Cao withdrew his gaze and looked at Yuan Shao, his expression calm: "Brother Benchu, military strategy says, 'Never pursue a desperate enemy,' let alone..."

He paused, then said meaningfully, "Xiang and Li are both capable of defeating ten thousand men. Today, they defeated five thousand soldiers with only twenty-eight horsemen, which is already astonishing. If we push them too far, they will fight like cornered beasts. Even if our army wins, we will suffer heavy casualties, and it will be a loss for us."

"You!" Yuan Shao was speechless with anger.

He knew perfectly well that Cao Cao was right.

But just watching Xiang Yu retreat like this was truly frustrating!

What angered him even more was that Cao Cao's words, seemingly meant to persuade him, were actually a way of pointing out in front of everyone the shameful fact that Yuan Shao had led 5,000 troops to be defeated by just over 20 cavalrymen!

"Damn it!" Yuan Shu gritted his teeth.

"They actually let Ji Xuanyuan escape! This will cause endless trouble!"

These words expressed Yuan Shao's true feelings.

The two looked at each other and saw deep regret and fear in each other's eyes.

Unfortunately, the cooked duck flew away.

What I fear is that today's humiliation will surely spread throughout Luoyang.

Five thousand against twenty-eight, they were slaughtered and fled in disarray...

If this gets out, their prestige among the scions of aristocratic families will plummet!

What's even more frightening is that Luoyang is currently at a critical juncture of power transition.

What He Jin needed were capable generals who could help him control the situation, not two useless men who were terrified by the border generals!

as predicted.

On the twelfth day of the fourth lunar month, at dawn.

The news reached Luoyang.

The entire capital was shaken.

"Have you heard? Yuan Shao and Yuan Gonglu led 5,000 troops in pursuit of Ji Xuanyuan, only to be routed by Xiang Yu with just 28 horsemen!"

"It wasn't just a complete rout! I heard that Yuan Shao was almost killed by an arrow from Xiang Yu!"

"Twenty-eight riders chasing after five thousand men... This is truly unheard of!"

The people in the city were buzzing with discussion.

The General's Mansion.

"Useless! Two pieces of useless trash!"

He Jin slammed the teacup in his hand to the ground, shattering it into pieces.

Before him, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu stood with their heads bowed, their faces ashen.

Grand Tutor Yuan Wei sat to one side, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

"Five thousand elite troops were defeated by twenty-eight men..." He Jin trembled with rage.

"Benchu, Gonglu, how can I, this general, explain myself to the officials in the court? How can I explain myself to the people of the world?"

"General, please calm down..." Yuan Shao said with difficulty.

"Xiang Yu and Li Cunxiao are not human! Their bravery and martial prowess are truly beyond comprehension..."

"Enough!" Yuan Wei suddenly spoke, his voice icy cold.

"A defeat is a defeat. What's the point of making excuses?"

He looked at Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, his eyes filled with disappointment: "Our Yuan family has held high office for four generations, and our name is known throughout the land. Today's humiliation not only damages your reputation but also undermines the prestige of our Yuan family! From this day forward, you two will reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors, and without my permission, you are not allowed to participate in court discussions!"

"Uncle..." Yuan Shu said urgently.

"Shut up!" Yuan Wei shouted.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu dared not say anything more and could only bow and retreat.

After the two left, Yuan Wei looked at He Jin, his expression softening slightly: "General, things have come to this point, there's no point in pursuing the matter further. The most urgent task is for the new emperor to ascend the throne."

He Jin took a deep breath and suppressed his anger: "The Grand Tutor is absolutely right. Although Ji Xuanyuan has fled, he is still far away in Youzhou. The most important thing right now is to ensure that Bian'er can successfully succeed to the throne."

He paused, a sharp glint in his eyes: "However... I'm afraid Empress Dowager Dong won't be so docile."

Yuan Wei smiled faintly: "What can Empress Dowager Dong do? Her nephew, Dong Ren, is merely a general of the Guards, with no soldiers or generals under his command. If the General wants to eliminate him, it will be as easy as turning his hand."

A fierce glint flashed in He Jin's eyes: "The Grand Tutor means..."

"The new emperor is about to ascend the throne," Yuan Wei said slowly.

"There should not be too much discord in the court."

April 13th.

Southern Palace, Chongde Hall.

At the tender age of fourteen, Liu Bian, wearing a twelve-tassel crown and dressed in black robes and crimson skirts, slowly ascended the imperial steps and sat on the dragon throne, which symbolized the highest power in the world, under the watchful eyes of all the officials.

Amidst the thunderous shouts of worship, Liu Bian's face was pale, and his fingers trembled slightly.

Beside him, behind a beaded curtain, Empress Dowager He was ruling from behind a screen.

Your Highness, He Jin and Yuan Kui stood side by side before the officials, their expressions solemn.

A new dynasty has begun.

However, the undercurrents never ceased.

Shortly after his coronation ceremony, He Jin, together with the three high officials, impeached Dong Ren, the General of the Guards, on the grounds that "Dong Ren formed cliques for personal gain and plotted rebellion."

Ding Gong, Liu Hong, and others seconded the motion.

Liu Bian was actually an edict issued by Empress Dowager He and He Jin, dismissing Dong Ren from all his official posts and ordering him to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

Three days later, Dong Ren committed suicide in his residence out of fear and anxiety.

When the news reached Yongle Palace, Empress Dowager Dong fainted on the spot.

Upon waking, this mother of Emperor Ling and the new imperial grandmother fell seriously ill and never recovered.

Half a month later, Empress Dowager Dong passed away.

Rumors circulated in the palace that He Jin had secretly poisoned the body, but no one dared to investigate.

With this, the Dong family, relatives of the imperial family, was completely eliminated.

He Jin held absolute power and shared control of the court with Yuan Wei.

On the surface, Luoyang seemed to have returned to calm.

With the new emperor ascending the throne, the empress dowager ruled as regent, the general assisted in governing, and the grand tutor helped him.

It presented a picture of "harmony between the emperor and his ministers, and stability in the court."

But those who are observant know that the real storm has only just begun.

Northern Frontier, Youzhou.

A fierce tiger has returned to the mountain.

Meanwhile, in Luoyang, those forces that had been suppressed, marginalized, and humiliated were quietly gathering strength in the shadows.

For example, the eunuch clique that lost their power.

For example, other aristocratic families that were suppressed by Yuan Wei and looked down upon by He Jin.

For example... that military officer who, on the banks of the Mengjin River, meaningfully let Xiang Yu go.

In this game of chess, the pieces have begun to move on their own.

How long can the player in control remain in power?

No one knows.

Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, in Zhuojun, Youzhou.

Ji Xuanyuan stood on the city wall, gazing southward.

In his hand, the scroll of the imperial edict, a bright yellow seal, gleamed faintly in the sunlight.

"Your Majesty, I remember your entrustment."

"But this road..."

He slowly gripped the imperial edict tightly, his eyes flashing like swords:

"It's my turn to walk this path myself."