pappabearbooks Chapter 67 Lü Bu's "Joining the Army" + Turning the Tables
Chapter 67 Lü Bu's "Joining the Army" + Turning the Tables
Chapter 69 Lü Bu's "Joining the Army" + Turning the Tables (Two-in-One)
"Why hasn't Lü Bu, Lü Fengxian, arrived yet?!"
"Yongdu has been waiting for almost half an hour! He should have arrived by now by normally!"
On the very day that Lü Ping led his army out on the expedition.
The weather is unusually nice.
Ever since offending Wang Fu and being exiled, Cai Yong had been in constant turmoil. He had finally managed to settle down and got up very early.
He was practicing a set of exercises in the courtyard that resembled those of beasts but were said to cultivate the mind and body.
This was taught to him by a physician surnamed Hua whom he met during his travels in Pei State. His name was something like Five Animal Frolics.
at this time.
I could hear a commotion outside the courtyard.
Cai Yong, who had just complained about Lü Bu's lateness, couldn't help but frown slightly again.
Why is it so noisy outside?
"It sounds like a war is about to break out!"
"When Prince Shi brought Lü Bu to become his disciple a while ago, didn't he say that he wouldn't send troops to Yunzhong for another half a month?!"
Could it be...?
"Is it going to be brought forward?!"
Similarly, Xiao Cai, who was also getting impatient waiting for Lü Bu, was curious. She ran to the edge of the courtyard, climbed onto a large rock, stood on tiptoe, and looked curiously outside the courtyard.
Just as his own father had guessed.
Hundreds of soldiers, carrying their weapons, were rushing toward the city gate.
Her eyes grew increasingly curious.
She paused for a moment when she saw Lü Ping surrounded by many soldiers, and then quickly searched for Lü Bu among the soldiers.
She breathed a sigh of relief after looking around and not seeing Lü Bu. She jumped off the rocks and ran to her father, who was imitating a monkey, leaping and bounding about. She whispered something to him.
"Father."
"A war is really brewing! I spotted Lü Bo!"
"Is there really going to be a war? Even Lü Zizhi is going?" Cai Yong asked, looking astonished.
"Then what about the books made of Cai Lun paper that he mentioned?! When will you give them to me?!"
Followed by.
He seemed to have thought of something again, and stopped what he was doing.
"wrong!"
"Since Lü Zizhi is going to war!"
"What about my newly accepted disciple?! Is Fengxian even coming?!"
"I didn't see Brother Lü in the crowd," Cai Dan whispered.
Upon hearing his daughter's words, Cai Yong's expression was complicated; he didn't know whether he should be happy or worried.
Just as the father and daughter were staring at each other...
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Xiao Cai, who had been somewhat worried, suddenly became delighted and ran to open the door.
"It's Brother Lü!"
Upon hearing the voice, Cai Yong instinctively straightened his back, composed himself, and prepared to give Lü Fengxian a good lesson on what punctuality and respect for one's teacher meant.
just.
The door opened.
To their surprise.
Standing in front of the door was just a wandering swordsman who looked somewhat familiar.
The man was holding a white cat that was struggling in his arms, and a letter written on Cai Lun paper.
"Is this the residence of Lord Cai?" The wandering knight looked down at Xiao Cai Dan and asked curiously.
"This is a letter that my elder brother, Lü, asked me to deliver."
Before the wandering knight could hand over the white cat...
When the white cat saw that it was Xiao Cai Dan, it jumped out of his arms and circled around Xiao Cai Dan, who often fed it salted fish.
But it turned out that it wasn't his own brother, Lü, who had come.
Xiao Cai immediately sensed something was amiss, and before she even took the envelope, a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes.
The familiar-looking swordsman handed the letter to Cai Dan and then turned to leave.
Cai Dan hung his head, holding the letter, and turned to enter the courtyard.
Cai Yong took the letter, placed it on the Hu table, and slowly unfolded it. Xiao Cai stood on tiptoe and tried to read it. In her eyes, there was still a last trace of struggle.
Cai Lun's paper was slowly unfurled.
The handwriting inside was crooked and messy, and even contained many typos, yet it inexplicably appeared extremely serious.
The gist of it is this: Lü Bufeng has been invited by his father to lead an army into battle and will not be able to come to the academy to study for a while. He asks Master Cai to take care of his raccoon cat during this time.
Look at the contents of this letter.
Cai Yong, who had prepared himself for a long time and was determined to change Lü Bu's image as a crude and vulgar warrior, frowned slightly, his expression complex.
Cai Yan's face immediately fell, her expression full of displeasure.
a few days later.
Outside the Wula Mountains.
In a valley, both sides were filled with men carrying knives and swords.
"Zheng Yong, you are Sui Gu?!"
"I was curious about who Sui Gu was, who had risen to fame so quickly and managed to gather hundreds of bandits after only a month on the mountain."
"I never expected it to be you!"
After leading his 150 trusted men and the 150 ruthless thugs that Zhao Yan had painstakingly assembled for him, they left the city.
Wang Ren joined forces with Sui Gu, a bandit leader from the Wula Mountains, who was introduced by his elder brother Wang De.
at this time.
After looking Sui Gu up and down, who had recently gained some fame, Wang Ren was quite surprised. It turned out that he was just the eldest son of the Zheng family who had fled.
"How could things have changed so much?"
"Ren almost didn't recognize you."
With narrow eyes, and having become extremely thin since entering the mountains, and bearing a scar on his face, Sui Gu exuded an inexplicable aura of ferocity.
Upon hearing the question posed by the young master of the Wang family, he merely raised his eyebrows slightly.
"The people in the mountains are poor."
"A thief's den is not as good as being in the city. You have to be on your guard everywhere. Over time, it has become like this."
Wang Ren was somewhat amazed.
Then, as if remembering something, he looked around curiously and saw that the only mountain leader who had come was Sui Gu.
He asked again, still puzzled.
Where is your younger brother?
"I remember your younger brother, who was always so fierce. He was even humiliated by Lu Zizhi in the past, and he harbors a deep hatred for him. Why haven't I seen him here?"
Then, Wang Ren, still curious, asked in a low voice.
"Moreover, I have heard that there is a rather famous leader in your mountains named Yu Du. It is said that he used to be the county magistrate of Wenguo County. He couldn't stand the county magistrate's harsh treatment of the villagers, so he killed the magistrate in a fit of anger and resigned his post to go up the mountain."
"He was the one who invited you up the mountain back then. You two must have been quite close, right? Why haven't I seen him here?"
Sui Gu merely glanced at Wang Ren and spoke indifferently, his tone neither sad nor happy.
"Zheng Xin is dead."
"When we first came up the mountain, we wanted to gather our followers and strength to go down the mountain to take revenge. So we spent a lot of money on some of the more valiant bandits, which displeased some of the leaders."
"They then conspired together and, without Yu Du's knowledge, hosted a banquet for the two of us."
"We two are used to staying in the city, so we thought it was a genuine invitation and only brought a few familiar companions with us."
"As soon as I sat down, a large number of swordsmen rushed out. Zheng Xin and his companions stayed behind to cover our retreat, while I alone escaped..."
"Zheng Xin died at their hands."
"His head was cut off and hung at the entrance of the village for several days."
As he spoke, a mocking smile even appeared on Sui Gu's face. He pointed to the group of thieves who had come with him in the distance and sneered.
"Of course, those leaders all died later, their deaths were even more gruesome than my brother's!"
"Those who came down the mountain with me this time are all their subordinates. I don't care whether they live or die."
"As for Yu Du, he is timid and dares not go down the mountain, so he is still sitting in the mountain to keep watch."
It's probably because I haven't run into any acquaintances in a long time.
Sui Gu, with a face full of sarcasm, spoke at length once he opened his mouth, completely unlike the Zheng Yong that Wang Ren knew.
Wang Ren looked stunned and hesitated to speak.
Just as the two were talking, a young attendant suddenly came running from outside and landed right beside them.
He spoke in a low voice, abruptly interrupting their conversation.
"Young Master!"
"Our men have found out news about Lü Zizhi!"
Wang Ren was not annoyed at all. Summer is a time when mosquitoes are plentiful, and after feeding on mosquitoes for most of the day in this valley, he felt refreshed.
"how?!"
The young attendant spoke again.
"That army, carrying the banner with the character 'Lü' on it, was slowly marching towards the Ula Mountains."
"After seeing that we had sent out people specifically to lure them over, they turned around and headed this way again."
"But..." The young attendant suddenly hesitated.
"Just what?" Seeing the young attendant's hesitant speech, Sui Gu's face already showed a hint of impatience.
"Speak quickly!"
"But that army doesn't seem to be in a hurry." Urged on, the young entourage spoke up in alarm.
"It seems quite safe. After walking for a while, they will stop to rest and recover their strength, and they also send out a lot of scouts."
"I'm afraid they'll spot us before they even get here."
Upon hearing the young attendant's words, the two exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing a serious expression.
to be frank.
The difference in troop strength between the two sides is not significant; at most, the quality of the soldiers is slightly better, but this can be compensated for by the superior weaponry of the officers and soldiers.
after all.
The Han soldiers were all fully armored.
Because the imperial court strictly controlled armor, this group of attendants and bandits rarely managed to produce more than a few suits of armor.
The original plan was to launch an ambush. If we could rely on a surprise attack, concentrate our superior forces, and kill Lü Ping, we could decisively defeat the government troops.
If Lü Ping had been taught this beforehand...
With the enemy having cavalry, let alone ambushing them, even escaping would be a problem.
Wang Ren and Sui Gu were not fools; they naturally understood this point.
Thinking this way.
The expressions on their faces grew increasingly solemn.
The atmosphere froze for a moment.
Seeing the expressions of the two men, the young attendant who came to deliver the message simply lowered his eyelids, held his breath, and dared not look at them or speak.
A while later.
Both of their expressions changed slightly.
They spoke almost simultaneously.
"Or...or...maybe we should just forget about it?"
The mastermind behind this incident, Wang Ren, the eldest son of Wang Zhi, the governor of Wuyuan County, showed a hint of hesitation on his face and said awkwardly.
It's just the opposite of him.
Sui Gu, who exuded a fierce aura, now had a ruthless look in his eyes and shouted sharply.
"No! Issue my order: drive out all the villagers we previously intercepted, as well as those from nearby villages!"
"They're driving us into this valley right under their noses! They'll kill a few more every now and then!"
"Since he's not in a hurry, then I'll make him anxious!"
That's all.
Seeing Wang Ren's expression and hearing his words, Sui Gu was stunned for a moment. He then looked angrily at the son of the prefect, whose status was far higher than his own, and shouted sternly.
"Wang Ren? What did you just say?!"
"It's come to this... and you actually want to let it go? How can you let it go! It's already a life-or-death situation!"
"Tell me, if you go down the mountain now and Lü Zizhi and his men spot you, close in and follow you relentlessly, how will you escape!"
talking.
Sui Gu suddenly drew his sword, pointed it at the group of retainers looking towards them from a distance, and still spoke sternly.
It looks extremely fierce.
"Besides, even if you could walk!"
"But what about them?! What about us?!"
The words were finished.
Seeing the situation, Wang's trusted confidants, sensing something was amiss, were about to get up when they were suppressed by a group of ruthless bandits who suddenly drew their swords and posed a subtle threat.
even.
Three or five bandits from Wula Mountain, armed with knives, slowly approached and stood beside Wang Ren.
Wang Ren, who had previously held a somewhat dominant position, was so frightened that he became submissive for a moment, noticing the several bandits who were seemingly holding him hostage beside him.
He looked anxious, opened his mouth but couldn't speak!
In a short time.
The positions of superior and inferior have changed!
Seeing that his men had surrounded Wang Ren, he stopped talking. Sui Gu, however, just snorted coldly and turned to give orders to the young attendant.
"go!"
"Do as I say!"
"Don't worry about the villagers. If Lü Zizhi isn't in a hurry, then let him be!"
The young squire who had witnessed everything bowed his head and spoke in a slightly trembling voice upon hearing the order.
"promise!"
After making the promise.
The young attendant, who belonged to Wang Ren, hurriedly ran away, completely disregarding the life or death of his young master.
And then he watched as the young attendant left.
Sui Gu then snorted coldly, held his knife in his hand, and slowly sat down next to Wang Ren again.
Wang Ren's body trembled slightly, and he subconsciously tried to avoid Sui Gu.
only...
He was about to make a move when he seemed to remember something and hesitated, so he could only sit obediently.
This group, which was originally meant to intercept and kill Lü Ping, broke out into a small-scale conflict that was quickly quelled before they even encountered the Han army.
The atmosphere in the valley became incredibly eerie.
"Achoo!"
.
"Who's cursing me?!"
"I remember my father saying that if I suddenly sneeze, it means someone is cursing me..."
at the same time.
Lu Bu, whom the Cai family father and daughter had been talking about for several days after receiving the letter, suddenly sneezed.
It stands on the edge of a valley.
He looked around blankly, seeing only a few lush trees that blocked out the sun.
"Where am I? Where is my father? Where are Cheng Lian and the others?!"
"This direction isn't wrong, is it?"
"How come... these past few days, I've only been walking around this area a bit to avoid the scouts Wei Yue sent out, how come I can't find them anymore in the blink of an eye?"
Looking around, he noticed a rather fresh-looking dirt path leading up the valley, seemingly just trodden out by someone.
The valley doesn't look very high; it seems like it could be climbed in half an hour, or even less than half an hour if you walk fast enough.
Lu Bu, who seemed somewhat lost, hesitated for a moment, then sighed, dismounted, and tied his horse to a tree to the side.
Carrying his long spear as a crutch, he climbed step by step up the dirt road.
Since the weather was still clear, he planned to stand on a high place and see if he could spot the army led by his father, whom he had lost track of.
Because of his youth, he was extremely fast.
Lu Bu climbed higher and higher, and it seemed that he was about to reach the top with only a short distance to go.
suddenly.
A series of hushed conversations could be heard from ahead.
Lu Bu's figure suddenly froze.