My Three Kingdoms is not right

A collective gasp filled the main room.

Someone muttered under their breath, "No wonder His Highness kept making us buy grain the other day..."

Looking at the familiar faces, Liu Xun said, "If I'm not mistaken, your military rations will gradually decrease, and there will be no food to buy in the city. But don't worry, I will replenish your supplies."

"If you have family members in the city and they don't have enough to eat, come to me. As long as I have a bite to eat, I won't watch you starve to death."

The room was quiet for a moment, then someone's eyes reddened.

A young female soldier wiped her face, her voice trembling, "Your Highness, I... I still have an elderly mother and a younger sister at home..."

"Write down the names and report them to Commandant Yao," Liu Xun said crisply. "Starting tomorrow, rations will be distributed according to the number of people."

The female soldier knelt on the ground with a thud, her forehead hitting the cold brick surface: "Your Highness is so kind and benevolent, my life belongs to Your Highness from now on!"

"Get up." Liu Xun helped her to her feet. "Let me continue."

"Today I saw people drawing water from a well in the south of the city. The water was murky and yellowish, and it was no longer safe to drink directly. Drinking unclean water will make you sick and even kill you."

"I have already told Chen Gong to spread the word throughout the city that drinking water must be boiled. But firewood is limited in the city, and I don't know if the people can do it."

"But you," his tone suddenly hardened, "from this day forward, not a single drop of raw water is permitted to be drunk. Every drop of water you drink must be boiled. This is an order."

He glanced around and asked, "Did everyone understand?"

"Understood!" Dozens of voices responded in unison, as if the young man before them was their general.

"Alright, that's all. Times are tough, let's work together to survive!" Liu Xun smiled slightly: "Remember, this news can't leak out, otherwise if it attracts a looting frenzy, none of us will be able to protect ourselves."

These words deeply moved the female soldiers. They had originally been ordered only to monitor this "distinguished guest," but over the months they had received considerable care from him, and now they had even been promised their lives. Several of them choked up, bowing respectfully with clasped hands.

"Your Highness's kindness will be forever etched in our memories!"

"I am willing to die for Your Highness!"

"I don't need you to die for me, just try your best to live!" Liu Xun waved his hand and said gently, "Go and get busy. Change your wet clothes, don't catch a cold. Commandant Yao, stay behind."

The soldiers filed out, bowing to Liu Xun as they left. Some seemed to want to say something, but in the end, they could only bow deeply with red eyes.

Only Liu Xun and Yao Tian remained in the main room.

Liu Xun gestured for her to sit down, and then sat down on a stool himself.

"Who else is in Commander Yao's household?" he asked bluntly. "Bring them all to the courtyard. It's higher up here, and safer."

Yao Tian shook his head: "I have no family."

Liu Xun was slightly taken aback: "I remember Commandant Yao is a native of Xuzhou. Didn't he bring his family to Xiapi?"

Yao Tian remained silent for a long time, so long that Liu Xun thought she wouldn't answer, before he heard her speak in an almost numb voice:

"My home is in Juling."

Juling?

Liu Xun was not very familiar with geography.

"In the fourth year of the Chuping era, Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian," Yao Tian's voice remained calm, "and massacred the cities of Juling, Qulu, and Xiaqiu. Not a single chicken or dog was spared, and the corpses blocked the Sishui River."

She paused.

"My whole family is dead except for me."

The main room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Liu Xun opened his mouth, as if to say something, but found that his throat felt blocked.

"I was serving under Tao Qian at that time," Yao Tian continued, his voice still calm. "When Cao Cao's army retreated and I rushed back, there was no one left in the city. Corpses were everywhere, soaking in blood, rotting so badly that no one could recognize them."

She lowered her head, looking at the tips of her boots: "Later I thought, it would be great if I could kill Cao Cao."

"Later, I followed Lü Bu because I felt there might still be a chance." After she finished speaking, she stopped looking at Liu Xun, turned around, and strode into the deepening twilight.

Liu Xun stood there, watching her retreating figure, his expression complex.

He finally understood why Yao Tian always had a cold face towards him, why she was unwilling to talk to him, and the hostility and struggle hidden in her eyes.

Her survival and her deep-seated hatred were both tied to the massacre orchestrated by Cao Cao. In Yao Tian's eyes, her participation in the attack on Xuzhou alongside Cao Cao was an indelible sin.

Liu Xun withdrew his gaze and sighed softly.

Chaotic times.

These two words are just light strokes on paper, but when they fall on a living person, they become a mountain.

In this grand sweep of history, how far can I go?

-----------------

The next morning, the mournful sound of the bugle from the city wall of Xiapi pierced through the morning mist that covered the water, trembling and carrying far in the damp and cold air.

The defenders on the city wall were already in position, with logs and stones piled on both sides of the crenellations, ready for battle.

But there were no enemies outside the city.

Cao's army camp was set up on a distant high ground. From afar, their banners could be vaguely seen, but they showed no intention of approaching the city.

The moat had long since merged with the vast ocean outside the city, its murky surface stretching to the horizon. Occasionally, a few small boats belonging to Cao Cao's army would patrol the water, like a few leisurely water birds.

As for Cao Cao's main infantry and cavalry forces, they were nowhere to be seen.

They retreated too far.

The crossbows on the city walls couldn't reach it, and even Lu Bu's legendary archery skills were useless.

Liu Xun stood on one side of the city wall, looking at the scene before him, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Cao Cao was determined to starve Xiapi to death.

Without attacking the city or engaging in battle, they simply surrounded it from a distance. They let the city be flooded, let the city's food supplies be depleted little by little, and let the morale of the defenders be worn down day by day.

Once the city is out of food and reinforcements, and once the soldiers are too hungry to lift their swords or draw their bows, then they can calmly harvest the crops.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from the direction of the city gate.

Liu Xun turned his head and saw Lü Bu, clad in heavy armor, wearing a purple-gold crown, and wielding a halberd, striding confidently onto the city wall. The morning light shone on her gleaming silver armor, making her beautiful face appear even more imposing and heroic.

Behind him, generals such as Zhang Liao, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Gao Shun followed in succession.

The soldiers guarding the city automatically made way, their eyes filled with reverence.

Lu Bu walked to the center of the city wall, slammed his halberd into the ground, and the shaft of the halberd embedded itself in the wall beneath his feet.

"Where is Cao Cao?!" she shouted towards the outside of the city, her voice carrying far across the open water. "Lu Bu is here! Do you dare to fight me?"

no respond.

The only sounds were the wind blowing across the water, the calls of waterbirds in the distance, and the fluttering of flags atop the city walls.

Lü Bu took two more steps forward, almost touching the crenellations, and shouted again, "Cao Cao! Didn't you want to attack me? I'm right here, why don't you dare show yourself?"

"You cowardly wretch! You're not even a woman!"

Still no response.

Cao Jun's small boats slowly glided across the water in the distance, and the soldiers rowing them didn't even glance at the city walls.

"Cao Mengde! You treacherous villain! All you do is dig canals to flood the city and harm the people. What kind of heroine are you?!"