Ji Han Liu Zhang

"Shouchun was conquered by Cao's army?" Wenhou Lu Bu couldn't believe it. He questioned the scout in a serious tone. After getting the scout's affirmative answer, he looked lost.

"So fast."

Lü Bu came to his senses and muttered, knowing that Yuan Shu had crossed the Huai River and left Zhang Xun, Le Jiu and others to defend Shouchun. Lü Bu had already concluded that Shouchun would be captured by Cao Cao sooner or later. After all, Yuan Shu, as the commander, had no fighting spirit, so how could he expect his subordinates to have any fighting spirit?

However, although it was determined that Shouchun City would be captured by Cao Cao, according to Lu Bu's calculations, Shouchun City was high and had deep moats, a large number of soldiers and sufficient food, so it should be able to hold out for at least several months.

While Shouchun City was resisting the attack and defense of Cao's army, he could slowly move to Shouchun, and then break out when Cao's army was exhausted from siege, defeat Cao Cao, save Shouchun, prevent Yuan Shu from being defeated, and avoid himself from being alone and helpless.

Unfortunately, all men are doomed to fail. Lu Bu never expected that Shouchun City would fall to Cao's army much earlier than he expected, which put him in an awkward situation.

After all, if he marched forward, Lü Bu believed that Cao's army had just captured Shouchun and their morale was high, so they could not be easily dealt with. However, if he simply retreated, it would seem to Lü Bu that he was afraid of Cao Cao, which would damage his reputation.

"March..."

"retreat……"

Lu Bu was in hesitation for a moment.

After a long while, Lu Bu slapped his head and shouted to the guards standing at the entrance of the tent, "Go and get Mr. Gongtai." Undecided, Lu Bu decided to ask Chen Gong for his opinion.

Soon, Chen Gong walked into the central army tent leisurely, bowed to Lu Bu and said, "General."

"Gongtai, our army came here to help Yuan Shu defend Shouchun, but now Shouchun has been broken by Cao's army. Should we advance or retreat? Please give me some advice, sir." Lu Bu asked.

Chen Gong responded, his tone was calm but very firm: "General, Shouchun has been captured by Cao Cao. Cao's army has obtained a lot of food and supplies. Moreover, the morale of Cao's army is also strong after the capture of Shouchun. At this time, it is better to retreat."

Chen Gong gave his opinion. They came here to rescue Shouchun, but now Shouchun City was broken by Cao's army. They had no target anymore, so they should just retreat and not stay here.

Hearing this, Lu Bu hesitated for a moment: "Yuan Shu sent Yan Xiang to offer many rare treasures and made a marriage agreement with me, but he only asked me to come here to help. Although Shouchun has been captured, if I return without firing a single arrow, I will be betraying my ally."

"Alliance?" Chen Gong looked a little strange when he heard these four words. He looked at Lu Bu seriously and then looked away.

Chen Gong earnestly said: "General, our army came here to rescue Shouchun, but we left without firing a single arrow. This is not our army's fault. It is really because Zhang Xun, Le Jiu and other generals left by Yuan Shu to defend Shouchun are too incompetent."

"If Shouchun City is still in the hands of Yuan's army, we can still fight with them. But Shouchun City is now in the hands of Cao's army. If we approach, we will have to face a strong city. This is not a wise choice. It is better to return to Xuzhou as soon as possible."

Lu Bu paced back and forth in the central army tent with a conflicted look on his face. He didn't want to leave just like that. After all, he had already come here, and it would be a bit exhausting to go back home without doing anything.

After a while, Lu Bu came up with an idea. He said to Chen Gong, "Sir, let's wait and see for a while, and then act accordingly. If things are really irreversible, I will leave now."

Lu Bu decided to stay and fight against Cao's army for a while, and then return to Xuzhou. This showed that he was not afraid of Cao Cao or Cao's army, and he deserved the title of "Lü Bu among men, Red Hare among horses".

At Xiacai City, which is opposite to Lu Bu's camp, the soldiers on the city wall are defending very strictly. This is because the person guarding the city is Yu Jin, the best general of Cao's army who is not of the same surname. Yu Jin's character has always been known for his strictness. Therefore, when he defends the city, he will not miss any small loopholes and will do everything to perfection.

"Liu Yuzhou." On the top of the city wall, Yu Jin saluted Liu Bei who was coming towards him.

"General Yu." Liu Bei returned the greeting, and then he introduced the two strong men standing behind him. He pointed at one of the big men with a reddish complexion and said, "This is my second brother Guan Yu."

Then Liu Bei pointed at another fierce man with a leopard head and round eyes and said, "This is my third brother Zhang Fei, Zhang Yide."

Yu Jin did not take Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, whom Liu Bei introduced solemnly, to heart, nor did he take them seriously. He just bowed lightly to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei respectively.

For Yu Jin at the moment, on Liu Bei's side, only Liu Bei's name was still famous. He served as the Governor of Yuzhou and was highly regarded by his mentor Cao Cao. As for the generals who followed Liu Bei, he did not take them seriously. After all, they were just defeated generals who were defeated by Lu Bu and fled here, and he needed to lead the troops to rescue them.

Seeing Yu Jin's slightly frivolous attitude, Guan Yu narrowed his eyes, emitting a murderous aura. On the other side, Zhang Fei widened his eyes and stared at Yu Jin with a bad look.

"Liu Yuzhou has fought against Lu Bu several times, so he must be very familiar with Lu Bu's side. Can you tell me any inside story?" Yu Jin asked Liu Bei directly without any preparation.

Here, when Yu Jin mentioned that Liu Bei fought against Lu Bu several times, his words were slightly meaningful. After all, as everyone knows, Liu Bei took Lu Bu in, and as a result, Lu Bu attacked and captured Xuzhou, and his family also fell into Lu Bu's hands. Liu Bei had fought against Lu Bu several times, and he ended up being defeated.

Yu Jin said that they had a fight, but in fact he was asking Liu Bei about his rich experience in fleeing from defeat, and how brave the soldiers on Lu Bu's side were.

Liu Bei was no mediocre person. He understood the deep meaning in Yu Jin's words, but his expression remained calm. He showed his temperament of not showing his emotions. He only replied: "Lü Bu has brave generals such as Gao Shun and Zhang Liao under his command, and Chen Gong is also a strategist. In addition, most of his soldiers are from Bingliang. Although his troops were small in the past, they should not be underestimated. But now Lü Bu controls Xuzhou and has recruited tens of thousands of soldiers. We must be careful when facing him."

"You are very magnanimous." Hearing Liu Bei's words, Yu Jin silently praised him. Liu Bei did not change color because of his words, and when he mentioned Lu Bu, he did not belittle Lu Bu's side because of their past dirty dealings with Lu Bu. It can be seen that Liu Bei's heart is as broad as the sea.

"In this case, it is advisable for our army to hold the city firmly and wait for Sikong to come." Yu Jin put away his previous affected frivolous attitude, and treated Liu Bei and his party seriously.

Liu Bei nodded and responded, "Our army is no match for Lu Bu. We must wait for Cao Gong to lead the army here. Only then can we repel Lu Bu." After that, Yu Jin stayed in Xia Cai City for several days but never waited for Lu Bu's army to attack. He looked at Lu Bu's camp from afar and guessed that Lu Bu stayed there probably to save face and avoid being branded as a coward who feared Cao like a tiger.

A day later, Yu Jin saw the army coming from Shouchun. The vanguard flag had the word "Xiahou" on it. He knew that the coming general must be Xiahou Yuan, who was always swift in marching.

Just as Yu Jin had expected, the coming general was none other than Xiahou Yuan. When Xiahou Yuan and his entourage arrived in Xiacai, they did not stay in the city but set up camp outside the city, forming a pincer attack with Xiacai City to contend against Lu Bu's army.

A day later, Cao Ren led his army to Xia Cai, accompanied by Zhang Ren and Huang Zhong. Although Zhang Ren and Huang Zhong only came here to pacify Huainan and crush Yuan Shu's ambition, Lu Bu was willing to help Yuan Shu, so they naturally had to accompany him here and meet Lu Bu.

Not long after, Cao Cao, who was leading a large army to attack Huainan, also arrived at Xiacai. The Cao army, which had just captured Shouchun and had repeatedly defeated Shu's troops, was now at its peak and its arrogance was very impressive.

Lü Bu led a few cavalrymen out of the camp and observed that Cao's army was in good spirits. He immediately decided to suppress the morale of Cao's army, so he rode out alone and shouted in front of Xiacai City: "I am Lü Bu of Jiuyuan. Who dares to fight me to the death?"

"I am Lu Bu of Jiuyuan. Whoever is not afraid of death dares to come out of the city and fight me to the death." Lu Bu shouted several times in succession, and the sound waves rushed straight to the wall of Xiacai City. When the sound waves reached the wall of Xiacai City, they went up along the wall and reached the ears of Cao Cao, Liu Bei and others on the top of the city.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei knew that Lu Bu was invincible and understood that sending generals out of the city to fight Lu Bu alone would be like sending a sheep into a tiger's mouth, so the two of them watched Lu Bu's domineering and abnormal behavior indifferently.

"Sikong, I would like to go out of the city to meet Lu Bu. This thief is too rampant." Sima Le Jin, a subordinate of Cao Cao, was famous for his courage and he hated to see anyone being arrogant in front of him. So Le Jin stood up and bowed to Cao Cao to ask for orders.

Cao Cao remained silent when he heard this. All the generals present, who had fought against Lu Bu before, looked at Le Jin, who had asked for orders to go into battle, with an expression of admiration. At the same time, there was also a hint of silent mourning in their eyes. After all, they were lucky to end up with an intact body after fighting against Lu Bu alone.

"Wen Qian, wait a moment. Let's talk about it after Lu Bu's arrogance has died down a little." Cao Cao rejected Le Jin's request to fight with an excuse. The reason he gave was that Lu Bu's arrogance was at its peak at the moment and he needed to be tempered for a while. Besides, Cao Cao planned to let Liu Bei's men go out of the city to fight first, and then let Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan take advantage of the situation.

The sun gradually rose into the sky, and Lu Bu, who had been shouting and cursing in front of the city wall for a long time, felt a little bored. He stood there with such arrogance and domineering attitude, but Cao's army was like a turtle and remained unmoved. It would be better for him to just return to the barracks and be done with it.

However, Lu Bu felt that his shouting and cursing was not in vain. After all, he had come here alone, and Cao's army did not dare to move out. In terms of morale, he was inferior to him and was overwhelmed by him.

Just as Lü Bu was about to return to the camp, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly sounded in Xiacai City, the city gate opened, and a general with a leopard head and round eyes rode out of the city gate. He stopped his horse in front of the city gate and said, "You slave of three surnames, don't run away."

"Zhang Yide." When Lu Bu heard the words 'a slave of three surnames', he gritted his teeth. He recognized the man in front of him. After all, he had fought with Zhang Fei before in Xia Pi.

Lu Bu and Zhang Fei had no idea what was going on. One of them brandished his Fang Tian Hua Ji, and the other raised his Ba Zhang Snake Spear. They started to use killing moves against each other. For a moment, the scene was like a violent storm with thunder and lightning.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei were watching the battle on the top of the city wall. Cao Cao laughed and said, "Xuan De, there are few people in the world who can fight against Lu Bu. You, my third brother, have the courage that ten thousand men cannot match." Liu Bei was silent when he heard this. He was concerned about the battle situation in front of him and his mind was completely on Zhang Fei.

Although Zhang Fei was brave, he was no match for Lu Bu. After a hundred moves, Zhang Fei gradually fell behind.

Seeing this, Guan Yu, who was holding the line, held up his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, rode forward and said, "Yide, retreat."

Guan Yu brandished his Green Dragon Crescent Blade and fought with Lu Bu. Zhang Fei had no intention of bullying the weak with his superior numbers and did not want to bring down his brother Guan Yu's momentum, so he led his cavalry to retreat a few steps and provided support for Guan Yu.

As Guan Yu had the ability to take the head of a general in the midst of thousands of troops, he launched an offensive against Lu Bu, which was as continuous as a storm, and fought with Lu Bu.

Cao Cao on the top of the city wall looked at Guan Yu's heroic figure, his eyes lit up slightly, and an expression of joy at seeing a prey appeared on his face.

After more than two hundred moves, Guan Yu gradually felt a little tired, stopped attacking, and started to defend.

As Guan Yu fell into a disadvantage, Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren rushed out, and the two of them went into battle together to replace Guan Yu to fight Lu Bu. Seeing this, Lu Bu understood that the opponent was using a strategy of fighting in rotation, but he showed no fear and looked more and more excited as the fight went on.

When it was Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren's turn to play, Cao Cao's expression became concerned, instead of the watching look he had when Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were about to fight.

Although Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren were outnumbered two against one, they showed signs of weakness after just over fifty moves and were unable to withstand Lu Bu's fierce attack.

Huang Zhong, who had been standing aside and watching the battle, rode forward after noticing that Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren were retreating. As an outsider, Huang Zhong had no obligation to fight Lu Bu alone, but when he saw Lu Bu's overwhelming power, his fighting spirit was shaking, and he wanted to fight with Lu Bu.

"I'm here to help." Huang Zhong shouted, taking over Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren who were about to retreat. He brandished the long sword in his hand and slashed at Lu Bu.

Lu Bu used his usual defensive moves to block Huang Zhong's slash, but with just this one move, Lu Bu realized Huang Zhong's extraordinaryness. Knowing that the man in front of him was no less powerful than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, with whom he had fought for a long time before, he became cautious.

When Huang Zhong and Lu Bu fought, it was like a comet hitting the earth. Both sides felt the extremely fierce force and superb martial arts level coming from each other.

Lu Bu first shouted and cursed for a long time, and then fought a round-robin battle with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren and others. Although he was born with supernatural powers and had twice the energy of ordinary people, it was time for him to take a break.

As a result, Lu Bu, who was facing such a strong enemy as Huang Zhong, ended up being evenly matched with him. He was unable to overwhelm Huang Zhong in terms of momentum and moves.

After fighting for more than a hundred moves, Lü Bu knew he could not defeat Huang Zhong. In addition, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others were watching him closely, so he rode away after a feint. (End of this chapter)