Overthrowing Wei: Starting with Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than surrender

Who is the person hanging the flag?

Lu Ding asked again.

The messenger's throat was parched; he swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva, his voice weak and feeble.

"I don't know him."

"The flag is for opposing Dong, and the words are also for opposing Dong."

"But the one leading the charge is not from the Liu family."

One of the elders immediately changed his expression.

"If it's not the Liu family, then why would Liu Family Village allow them to display their flag?"

The man gave a wry smile.

"It wasn't given away."

"They arrived last night."

"Go straight into the village, occupy the granary entrance, and plant the flag in front of the ancestral hall."

After these words were spoken, no one in the hall spoke again; everyone understood what it meant.

This isn't borrowing a name; this is stealing a name.

Lü Ding did not immediately express his opinion.

He simply looked down at the guard roster on the table; those 180 names had just been counted by people outside last night.

Now, some people have started using the phrase "oppose Dong" to pressure other bookmakers.

"How many of them are there?"

Lü Ding asked.

"It looks like it costs at least two hundred."

"There are riders."

"There is armor."

"Do they look like soldiers?"

The man thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"They don't look like officers or soldiers."

"It seems like... someone picked them out."

Lü Ding closed the register.

"Alright."

"You rest."

He stood up and said to Xu Huang:

"Playing the drums."

It's not a police drum.

It is a drum set.

A deep, slow sound, yet it carried far.

When the drums sounded, there was no panic in the village.

No one was running around.

The guards appeared from all directions, moving slowly but without hesitation.

They do not wear armor.

He did not carry a knife.

They simply took their long wooden guns and stood on the training ground.

One hundred and eighty people.

They weren't arranged neatly, but they naturally formed a row.

No one speaks.

They already knew—

problem occurs.

Standing on high ground, watching this scene, Lü Ding felt a sense of peace.

This wasn't something you could learn overnight.

It was achieved little by little over these past few days.

He spoke, his voice low but clear.

"There are people outside who have taken over Liu Family Village."

A slight commotion arose in the group, but it was quickly suppressed.

"The banner being hung is a flag to oppose Dong Zhuo."

"It's about serving the country and its people."

"But the people are not theirs."

Someone gripped the gun barrel tightly.

Lü Ding continued:

"We're not going."

These words surprised everyone.

"It's not that we're ignoring it."

"It's not about going now."

His gaze swept over everyone.

"Remember this."

"From today onwards, everyone outside will be watching how we move."

"It's too early; they're private soldiers."

"You made a mistake; it's a reversed name."

"But don't move—"

He paused.

"They'll also be seen as weak."

Xu Huang took over the conversation.

"So let's start tonight."

"The night shift changes every three hours, inside and outside the manor."

"Not leaving the village."

"Don't cross the line."

"Someone's coming—"

He tapped the ground.

"Form ranks."

It's not 沖.

It's not about chasing.

It means to stand still.

News began to come back that afternoon.

In Liujiazhuang, 30% of the grain has been cleared.

They don't rob ordinary households, they only take the granaries.

It was said to be "supplies for the campaign against Dong Zhuo".

The flag was planted perfectly straight.

The slogans were shouted loudly.

But the people in the village were turned away and couldn't even enter the ancestral hall.

By evening, some people had already taken a detour towards Lüjiazhuang.

They are not refugees.

It's for scouting.

They didn't enter the village.

It only lingered near Waitun.

Look at the wall.

On guard duty.

See if the fire is lit at night.

As night fell, groups of people appeared outside the village for the first time.

It wasn't a night raid.

It's a demonstration.

They lit torches and stopped a hundred paces outside the village.

Neither advancing nor retreating.

The firelight cast shadows that were so bright they made one's eyes dizzy.

There was no panic on the village wall.

One hundred and eighty people were lined up inside the wall.

Don't shout.

Do not move.

The torches illuminated shadows like a forest of guns.

At that moment, the people outside the village clearly hesitated.

What they were originally waiting for was—

chaos.

They were waiting for someone to run away.

What they were waiting for was shouting, crying, and the sound of a door slamming.

But there was nothing there.

Only the sound of synchronized breathing could be heard.

A gust of wind blew, and the strip of cloth on the tip of the gun trembled at the same time.

Like a living thing.

At the other end of the torchlight, someone muttered a curse.

"This is no ordinary Zhuangzi."

The other person lowered their voice.

"No flag."

"Ke Ren is tougher than the Liu family."

They stood there for a long time.

It went on so long that the torch burned out.

In the end, they didn't get close.

It slowly recedes.

The next morning.

People from the county have arrived.

This time, it wasn't three riders.

There were six riders.

There was no flag.

But he carried documents with him.

The leader didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point:

"Last night, someone reported that you had set up a military formation without authorization."

Lü Ding cupped his hands in greeting.

"Protect the estate."

"Do you really need so many people to protect the estate?"

The man's gaze swept across the training ground.

One hundred and eighty people are lined up to dismantle their guns.

They don't look like soldiers.

Yet they were even more disciplined than soldiers.

"Last night, some people outside hung up banners denouncing Dong Zhuo and occupied the village to plunder grain."

Lu Ding said calmly.

"We didn't move."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"You know?"

"Know."

"Why aren't you moving?"

Lu Ding looked up at him.

"The name is unclear."

"The person is unclear."

"If I moved, whose fault is it?"

The man fell silent.

After a while, he put away the documents.

"Your village—"

"It's already been remembered."

Lü Ding nodded.

"They remembered it from the moment they saw us."

The man mounted his horse.

Before leaving, he left only one sentence.

"The banner of opposing Dong will grow ever wider."

"But not every side is true."

The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance.

On the training ground, 180 people had already dispersed.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Lu Ding stood there, looking at the road outside the village that led to Liu Family Village.

That road will soon be traveled by more people.

It wasn't for Dong Zhuo.

It is for—

They use someone else's flag to devour others.

These four words, though not spoken aloud by Lü Ding, swirled in his mind again and again.

He stood there for a long time until the training ground was completely empty before turning around and walking into the hall.

The clan elders are still alive.

No one spoke first.

Their expressions were different from those of the previous few days.

At that time, their concerns were "whether or not to recruit people, and whether or not to train soldiers";

Now, they're thinking about which side they need to stand on to survive.

"They will come again."

Finally, an elder whispered.

It's not a question, it's an assertion.

Lü Ding nodded.

"meeting."

"And it won't just be a one-time thing."

"What about Liu Family Village?"

Someone couldn't help but ask.

Lü Ding did not answer immediately.

He walked to the window and looked at the figures of people who had already gone to work in the fields outside.

The hoe rose and fell, turning over the soil; the movements were slow, but steady.

"Liu Family Village no longer belongs to the Liu family."

When Lü Ding finished speaking, the hall was in an uproar.

"Once your food is stolen, you're no longer the same person."

"The moment they raised the flag, they became 'part of the anti-Dong campaign'."

"If anyone goes there again—"

"The government will only ask one question: Are you also in the banner?

That was said very lightly.

It felt like a stone pressing on everyone's heart.

"And what about us?"

The elder's voice was somewhat dry.

Lü Ding turned around.

"We are now—"

"It's nothing."

"It's not about opposing Dong Zhuo."

"They are not government officials or soldiers."

"Not a traitor."

Someone wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back.

Because they all saw it.

If it weren't for these 180 people standing last night, there would be more than just six riders sitting in the hall today.

"Starting today."

Lü Ding's tone softened.