I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 118 The Killing Knife
Upon hearing this, Jia Xu's expression remained calm, and his cold eyes seemed to have no unnecessary emotional changes. He was obviously an absolutely rational strategist.

Facing Li Ru's questioning, Jia Xu replied disapprovingly: "Even if you flee westward, you will still have to face Lu Bu, and you will not be able to escape this disaster."

After hearing this, Li Ru finally let out the anger in his chest: "Sure enough, my defeat was not unfair."

Both of them are top strategists and the difference in intelligence is not that big. Li Ru was defeated before because Jia Xu took advantage of his deliberate plan and caught him off guard.

Now Jia Xu only mentioned a few details, Li Ru immediately guessed his overall plan and troop deployment, and then he laughed bitterly: "I think the troops in the south are just a cover. You arranged Lu Bu to ambush in the west, and you personally came to Baihe Ferry to wait for me to fall into the trap. It's really a good plan. This time I lose sincerely."

Jia Xu looked at the surging river and said jokingly, "Wenyou, Emperor Gaozu bypassed Tongguan from here and headed straight for Luoyang. He eventually defeated Xiang Yu and established his empire. Today, it is just the right place for you to be buried."

Even ants try to survive, let alone a living person like Li Ru.

He did not have the loyalty and righteousness to be buried with Zhang Xiu. He had joined Dong Zhuo only for official position and power.

Therefore, after Jia Xu's threats, Li Ru, who had wanted to take advantage of his pride, no longer cared about his dignity. A real man can bend and stretch. He decisively admitted his defeat to Wang Jing and said, "I am willing to surrender. Please, Lord Qi, show some leniency and spare my life."

They served different masters in the past. Li Ru once offered advice to Dong Zhuo, causing considerable trouble for Wang Jing. He almost succeeded in dividing the Northern Army and caused a rift between Zhang Liao and Wang Jing.

Wang Jing has always been a narrow-minded person. He likes to take revenge and complain, so he did not agree immediately. Instead, he stared at Li Ru coldly, with a murderous tone in his voice: "Oh, but why do you think I will agree?"

Although he was afraid of death, Li Ru was not confused. He understood that it would be useless to beg for mercy at this time. The only way to survive was to show the value of his existence.

Therefore, Li Ru said to Wang Jing very directly: "Although Qi Hou has extraordinary powers and is feared by the world, Confucian scholars must not be of the same kind as Confucianists based on his recent actions in the capital. The imperial dynasty has respected Confucianism for hundreds of years, and there are so many Confucian scholars in the world. If Qi Hou wants to support Mohism and other schools of thought, in addition to appeasement, he may need a knife that dares to kill."

There are many smart people in this world. Although Wang Jing has never openly and directly expressed any malice towards the entire Confucian school, his support for Mohism already represents a certain political tendency.

Li Ru pointed this out just to show his value: "Qi Hou, I, Li Ru, am willing to be the knife in your hand. I will do what others dare not do. I will kill those others dare not kill."

Although he was not involved in the situation, Li Ru had already seen everything clearly in secret.

Wang Jing will eventually have a war with the Confucian school and even the entire aristocratic family. This war is inevitable.

As for the counselors under Wang Jing's command, Xun You came from a Confucian school, Jia Xu was a prudent man who protected himself, and Guo Jia and Xu Shu were both uneducated. Even if they had completed their studies, they were not people who could do such a cruel job.

But someone has to do the hard work. Revolution is not a dinner party, it involves bloodshed, and it is even very likely that in the end there will be a massacre without any recognition of relatives.

There is no doubt that Li Ru is such a knife that can kill people. His sinister character makes him most suitable for dealing with Confucianists and aristocratic families.

Wang Jing was moved. He looked at Li Ru meaningfully, chuckled and asked, "Oh, can you do it?"

Li Ru mustered up his courage, raised his head and chest, and said, "I can do it!"

Although he was born into a Confucian family, Li Ru himself did not have much partisanship. After all, he was a person who focused on practical interests. He even betrayed his old master Liu Bian and assisted a powerful minister like Dong Zhuo. He was extremely heretical. What else in the world would he not dare to do?
Li Ru also knew that although Wang Jing had top-notch advisers like Jia Xu and Xun You to plan for him, they might not be willing to do some of the dirty work.

But he is Li Ruken!
It’s just killing people. He even dared to murder the young emperor and the empress dowager. Is there anyone he wouldn’t dare to kill?
Jia Xu remained silent. He was well aware of the way to protect himself, and he would not do many things personally because that would cause too much hatred.

Wang Jing curled his lips and showed Li Ru a brilliant smile: "Very good, I appreciate your frankness and determination, then work hard to become the sharpest knife in my hand."

"Ru, meet the lord!"

Li Ru was so excited that he could hardly control himself. Finally, he didn't have to die!
Moreover, Wang Jing was a more powerful leader than Dong Zhuo. Li Ru felt that he saw hope for his life and future again.

Li Ru was a bachelor, and since he had already joined Wang Jing, he sold out all his former colleagues for a better future.

Li Ru bowed and offered to take the initiative to Wang Jing, saying, "My lord, I will take down Hangu Pass for you without sacrificing a single soldier."

Wang Jing originally sent troops just to drive the Xiliang rebels out of Luoyang, but unexpectedly Li Ru gave him a big surprise.

"Can Wenyou really take this ancient fortress for me?"

Li Ru heard this and raised his head, his eyes showing a resolute look: "Ru is willing to sign a military order. If you fail, you will be beheaded!"

Such impassioned behavior was of course acting.

But Wang Jing listened to Li Ru's words: "I wonder if Wen You has any good ideas?"

"As long as you let me go, I will be able to take Hangu Pass within three days."

"Okay, as the saying goes, don't doubt a person you employ, and don't employ a person you don't trust. I trust you."

Wang Jingxin didn't care about Li Ru at all. He just saw that Li Ru was not doing well in the Xiliang army and knew that Li Ru would not be buried with Li Jue and others who were destined to be defeated, so he deliberately showed an attitude of trust in him and even let him take thousands of remnants of the defeated army from Pingyin County back to Hangu Pass.

On the hill, Wang Jing rode on horseback and looked far to the west. At this moment, Li Ru's figure just disappeared on the horizon. "Wenhe, do you think he will come back?"

At this time, besides the twelve sword guards and Xu Lan, only Jia Xu was accompanying Wang Jing.

Jia Xu twisted his beard, his tone was very firm: "Wen You is not a fool, he should know how to make the right choice."

Although Li Jue, Niu Fu and other remnants of the Western Liang Army still have some strength, without Dong Zhuo they are still wanted by the imperial court. Now they have become dogs that have lost their homes. Although the world is big, there is no place for them to stay.

Therefore, any knowledgeable person can see that the defeat of this group of bandits is only a matter of time.

On the contrary, Wang Jing was at the peak of his career at this time, and his great power was about to be established. As long as he did not collapse halfway, he could look forward to great achievements in the future, and he might even have a chance to compete for the Central Plains in troubled times.

As an ambitious man, Li Ru is at least a first-class strategist, so he has enough wisdom and vision to judge the current situation and understand how to make the right choice.

Wang Jing's words "trust the people you employ, and don't employ the people you doubt" did not refer to Li Ru's reliable character, but Wang Jing believed that Li Ru would not be stupid enough to defect to Li Jue again.

After Li Ru left with the remnants of Zhang Xiu's troops, Wang Jing immediately led his Bingzhou soldiers into Pingyin County and took over the defense.

After entering the city, Wang Jing immediately dispatched troops to control the government treasury and granary to ensure the logistical supply of the army.

When Wang Jing moved into the Pingyin County Government Office, the bloodstains in the yard had not yet been cleaned up.

As for the original county magistrate, his entire family died at the hands of the rebels.

Wang Jing simply sent a carrier pigeon to deliver a letter, asking Zhai Jie, a chivalrous Mohist scholar, to be the magistrate of Pingyin County, thus completely controlling the place in his own hands.

"General, Marquis Wen wants to see you."

"Let him in."

After writing the secret letter, Wang Jing had people set up wine and food in the lobby. After fighting all night, he was a little hungry.

The tall and strong Lu Bu, not daring to take off his armor, ran to ask for an audience with Wang Jing, exhausted.

As soon as he entered the house, Lu Bu knelt on one knee and asked Wang Jing for punishment: "I failed to do my job well and lost troops and territory. Please punish me, my lord."

Lu Bu was in a very anxious mood at this time. The defeat he suffered at the hands of Li Jue at Hangu Pass had completely shattered his pride and complacency.

Back then, when he came into contact with the remains of Chi You and acquired some military skills, he thought he could dominate the world and terrify everyone.

However, he was defeated by Li Jue's military tactics at Hulao Pass, and even he was played around by Li Jue several times. He had all kinds of amazing martial arts skills, but no place to use them.

The once powerful general who had conquered the frontiers suffered repeated defeats after entering the Central Plains. First he lost to Wang Jing, and now he lost to Li Jue, whom he had always looked down upon. One can imagine how angry and frustrated Lü Bu felt. "Come, sit down and have a drink."

Wang Jing did not rebuke him, but instead laid out a few side dishes and personally poured wine for Lu Bu: "Victory and defeat are common in the military, Fengxian does not need to worry about it."

A defeated general could still receive such courtesy. Lu Bu took the wine glass and was deeply moved: "My lord, I..."

"Ha, no need to say more, just drink this cup first."

Although Wang Jing was angry, he was well versed in personnel management. To subdue a general like Lu Bu who was not very smart, he had to use both kindness and force, a two-pronged approach.

Show your power. Wang Jing had already demonstrated this when he killed Dong Zhuo in the Luoyang Palace.

And now is the time to show him kindness. While Lu Bu is defeated and discouraged, give him comfort and encouragement so that he will become obedient in his heart.

The whole process may have to be repeated many times, just like training an eagle. Although the process is quite troublesome, once it succeeds, you can get a peerless warrior like Lu Bu, so it is still very cost-effective.

After a meal, both of them were very satisfied.

When leaving the county government office, there was no panic or frustration on Lu Bu's face, and he once again turned into the mighty Lu Fengxian.

Jia Xu, who was standing in the dark and observing, saw Wang Jing's brilliant management methods and secretly admired and sighed: "My lord is really amazing. He can make the unruly flying general Lu Bu so willing to serve him. He is much stronger than Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo."

On the other side, Li Ru returned to Hangu Pass with the remaining troops.

The general guarding the pass was named Wang Fang, who happened to know Li Ru. He asked, "Law Master, why are you the only one back? Where are General Zhang and the others?"

Seeing Wang Fang asking about Zhang Xiu's whereabouts, Li Ru immediately pretended to be sad and about to cry: "Alas, Qi Hou personally led the army to attack, with 3,000 soldiers as the vanguard, and attacked Pingyin by surprise. The county was captured overnight, and General Jianzhong has died on the battlefield, his body and head are separated, the scene is too tragic to describe."

"How could this be?"

Wang Fang was also a fierce general in the Xiliang army, but after hearing what Li Ru said, he was so frightened that his face turned pale and his lips turned blue. "Although Pingyin County is not a big county, it is protected by city walls and formations. How could it not be able to hold out for even one night? How many soldiers did Qi Hou bring? Are you really going to kill us all before you stop?"

"It is said that there are 50,000 troops, and they will attack us from both inside and outside together with the Left General Huangfu Song who is stationed in Chang'an, to capture Tongguan and Hanguguan and destroy us."

In order to create panic, Li Ru not only deliberately exaggerated the numbers, but also spread rumors, saying that Wang Jing had joined forces with Huangfu Song and that the Xiliang Army was in imminent danger. However, with just a few words, Wang Fang completely lost his composure and became disorganized.

After all, Li Ru was deeply trusted by Dong Zhuo before, so Wang Fang did not suspect any fraud and reported the news directly to Li Jue in a hurry.

"Are you serious? The imperial court has already dispatched tens of thousands of troops to attack!"

Li Jue, who came from a school of military strategists, had a combat style very similar to Han Xin's. Before every major battle, he would plan before fighting and act after making plans. Unfortunately, this time Li Ru brought him false information.

Li Jue had too little intelligence about Luoyang at the moment. In addition, Wang Jing came from a noble family, so he believed the news when he heard it. He mistakenly believed that Wang Jing had secretly joined forces with Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others to eliminate them, the remnants of Dong Zhuo.

After listening to Wang Fang's report, Li Jue felt a chill running from his tailbone straight up to his forehead. He felt cold all over and asked again, "Are there really tens of thousands of troops?"

Wang Fang had long believed this, so he replied anxiously: "General, Pingyin County was taken in one day, and even Wen Jin was killed on the spot. How could this be false? I have personally questioned the remnants of the army that Li Wenyou brought back. They even saw Wen Jin's head with their own eyes. I heard that he managed to escape with his life by chance under the cover of night."

Li Jue became even more worried after hearing this. The news of Zhang Xiu's death in battle and the attack of the imperial army spread throughout the Hangu Pass along with the thousands of defeated soldiers brought back by Li Ru. All the generals of the Western Liang Army, who followed Li Jue's lead, were terrified and felt that a disaster was about to happen.

But there are also smart people under Li Jue.

Li Jue's nephew Hu Feng questioned the authenticity of this matter: "Where did the 50,000 troops in Luoyang City come from?"

But Hu Feng is so young, how can he compare to Li Ru's shrewdness?

As a great fraudster, Li Ru was prepared for such doubts: "Luoyang does not have 50,000 troops, but the allied forces of Guandong do. Not to mention 50,000, I'm afraid as long as there is enough food and grass, an army of 200,000 can be put together. Now our army is sitting on the stronghold of the pass, it seems to be worry-free, but in fact it is like a trapped beast, imprisoned in its own territory."

After saying this, Li Ru bowed to Li Jue and said, "General, please make plans as soon as possible on how to break through the current predicament."

These words made the Xiliang army generals present even more uneasy.

Originally they thought they still had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and the two passes were easy to defend and difficult to attack, and extremely dangerous, so they thought protecting themselves should not be a problem.

If all else fails, they can use this as a bargaining chip, waiting for a good price to force the imperial court to offer amnesty. It is obvious that they want to learn from the advanced rebellion experience of Ma Teng and Han Sui in Xiliang.

But now, after hearing what Li Ru said, everyone suddenly felt insecure. Although Hangu Pass and Tong Pass were strong passes, they had limited food and grass. If they were really attacked from both sides by the imperial army in Luoyang and Chang'an, wouldn't their tens of thousands of troops be caught in a jar?
Once the official road is blocked, they will have nowhere to escape even if they want to!
This panic spread rapidly as the Bingzhou soldiers approached the city. Even though Li Jue wanted to stop it, he found it was completely ineffective.

Even he himself was frightened, let alone the other ordinary soldiers?
On the east side of Hangu Pass, the soldiers of Bingzhou did not launch an attack immediately after arriving, but set up camp on the spot. They then cut down trees for materials in front of the defenders and made siege equipment in a swaggering manner.

Wang Jing's battle flag was erected directly in the camp, and they were ready for a strong attack.

Not only that, Wang Jing also came to the bottom of the city wall alone and challenged: "Listen, everyone inside, the imperial court's 100,000-strong army will arrive soon. If you don't surrender now, you will all be defeated after the city is captured!"

One hundred thousand troops!

Li Ru exaggerated Wang Jing's military strength by fifteen times, but Wang Jing exaggerated it even more by thirty times!
These words were roared with full force, and echoed endlessly throughout the entire Hangu Pass. All of Li Jue's troops were immediately like frightened birds, unable to sleep or eat, and were in a state of panic.

"General, it seems that what the doctor said is true. Marquis Qi Wang Jing really has 50,000 troops."

"Wait, that's not right, didn't he just say there were 100,000 soldiers?"

"Are you stupid? That's a lie! Do you understand what bragging is?"

"You're the fucking idiot. What if he really has 100,000 people?"

In the meeting hall, the generals were arguing about how many troops Wang Jing brought to attack Hangu Pass.

"Shut up, everyone!"

Li Jue shouted loudly, and the hall suddenly became quiet.

Holding his forehead, Li Jue now felt his head buzzing. Besides being annoyed by his subordinates who were all muscles, he was also troubled by the worsening situation.

After Dong Zhuo's death, the Western Liang Army was defeated and fled from Luoyang. It immediately lost its financial source, and its food supply could only be maintained by looting.

However, there was less and less to be looted in the surrounding counties and villages, and the food stored within the walls was only enough to feed the soldiers for four months at most.

Li Jue knew very well that he had to break through the current predicament as soon as possible, otherwise defeat was inevitable sooner or later.

However, Wang Jing was leading his army in Luoyang to the east. The name of the Huangyu Liedao had already frightened the soldiers from Xiliang under his command. Therefore, going east was undoubtedly a dead end.

There are also 30,000 elite troops of Huangfu Song stationed in the Western Capital Chang'an. Facing this peerless general who is one of the three heroes of the imperial dynasty, it is difficult for him to gain any advantage even if he attacks forcefully. In the current situation, he and others are caught in the middle, which is extremely difficult.

It seems that it is very safe to sit in a stronghold, but in fact it is like being trapped in a city with no way to escape.

After Li Ru pointed this out, Li Jue could no longer calm down.

"Go and call the doctor."

Unable to think of a solution or find a way out, Li Jue had to ask Li Ru to come over and ask him for advice: "Wenyou, the enemy's vanguard has reached the city. Do you have any plan to retreat?"

(End of this chapter)