Battle Royale of the Sinners

Although Lu Bu and his men wore Xiangnu outfits, they took over the county without a resistance. Since all of their soldiers were drafted by Liu Ping, no one could stop their massive army.

Unlike Tong or Ju Shou, Lu Bu did not chase away the family members of the local nobles, who joined Liu Ping in his crusade. He did not understand the logic behind the government reformation that Tong pursued, and Lu Bu did not like socializing with someone else's families. Zhang Liao and Gao Shun also did not fare well with the government management, so all of them left the domestic jobs to Li Feihong.

After they entrusted the desk jobs to their advisor, the three generals left to check the deserters inside the city.

As for the bullied strategist, he sat in the main seat in the government hall and accepted his fate.

"Those warmongers ... Now I know why Tong was so excited when he recruited Jia Xu or Ju Shou."

He finally understood the shortage of government workers issue. Their clan needed more talented civil officers who could help them in managing the cities.

Li Feihong gazed at the trembling old civil officers in government hall, who were left behind. He smiled at them as he consoled them, "Don't worry, we're not really from Xiangnu."

Hearing that the invaders were not part of the barbarians, the officials rejoiced.

"Excuse me if I ask. Which affiliate are you from?" An elderly officer asked their new boss.

Li Feihong thought about it for a second before he grinned, "We're the Immortal Yellow Turbans, the subordinates of the Immortal King."

…

Four thousands of Wang Kuang men, who had parted way with Zhang Yang, gathered at the government barrack as Lu Bu had summoned them. Because they were jobless, starving, and freezing as they only had their underwear with them. They were willing to surrender and join Lu Bu Army as they had nothing to lose.

Lu Bu, however, had an ugly expression as he looked at their sorry state.

"Give them clothes and food first. Then, we can talk," Lu Bu chased them away. He did not want to see these unsightly soldiers even one more second.

On the other hand, Han Hao and his one thousand men did not reply to Lu Bu's summon. They exchanged their gold and treasures for food and clothes as they plan to leave Nie County tomorrow.

Han Hao wanted to move south to Shangdang. They wanted to return to their birthplace, Henei City.

One hour later, the four thousand soldiers received their clothes and filled their stomach. Zhang Liao and Gao Shun managed to gather the information about Zhang Yang Army and their status.

The two generals reported the result of the investigation to Lu Bu, who then told them heart-wrenching news.

"I don't want you lots in my army! Go home!"

Zhang Liao and Gao Shun frowned. An excellent opportunity to get free soldiers was hard to come by. Why would their boss decline it?

"Because you lost a few horses, you cried and quit your job! I don't need sissies in my ranks! Get lost!"

"Fengxian, they are still professional soldiers. You should not be harsh toward them," Complained Zhang Liao.

"Boss, every cavalry treat their horses like their children. You can't treat them like this," Gao Shun also protested.

Lu Bu groaned as he was taken aback by the reprimand of his subordinates.

"Alright, you take care of them. But I don't want them in my army. That's the bottom line!"

Both Zhang Liao and Gao Shun shook their head and sighed. Lu Bu's mood was unpredictable sometimes. Had they not picked up by this temperament god of war since they were still rookies, they would have forsaken him ages ago.

'He's going to get stabbed in the back one day if he keeps this up.' Zhang Liao thought.

Meanwhile, Gao Shun gave the four thousand jobless men a bitter smile.

"You've heard it. Unfortunately, we cannot take you in as our soldiers. But don't lose hope! South of here where you've come from, our guys in Shangdang will be more than happy to welcome you. I know the governor and the grand general of the new Shangdang Army. I'll write a recommendation letter to the guys so you can return to your family."

Hearing that they still had a chance to go home, the four thousand men were delighted. They bowed to Gao Shun in frantic as they thought that he was their benefactor.

Zhang Liao elbowed Gao Shun and whispered to his ear, "Hey, since when that you can write?"

Gao Shun gestured his colleague with his eyes and whispered back, "I can't. I was going to ask you or Feihong to help me."

Zhang Liao facepalmed, 'For some reason, the boss and his subordinate have something in common,'

…

October 29th.

6 AM.

In the end, all five thousand ex-soldiers of Wang Kuang departed from Nie County toward Shangdang, including Han Hao.

The former thousand-man commander was surprised when he heard that Lu Bu refused to take in the men, so he asked around.

"Ah, he said we were weak or something and chased us away." One of the four thousand men answered.

"He's the same as Zhang Yang?" Han Hao questioned again.

"No, they're not! Look at my robe! You see this?"

He fetched a leather bag and opened it to show the content inside. The bag was full of rice!

"They also gave us food and a recommendation letter. They allowed us to pass Shangdang and return home!"

"Are you serious? Why should Xiangnu help us? It doesn't make any sense!"

"We were fooled, commander. Those men were not Xiangnu, but Jinyang Army! One of us recognized their grand commander Lu Bu of Jinyang. The rest of their soldiers are also the famous heavy cavalries at the border. The Imperial Army had been tricked."

Han Hao's eyes widened in shock.

Julu and Jinyang had formed a secret alliance and targeted the Emperor in this war! With Jinyang Army at the back of the main force, then the Emperor would face Julu at Jinyang City.

Emperor Ping had been surrounded without a path to escape!

Han Hao's body could not stop shaking. He was not trembling because of the weather, it was fear. If this was true, then they had escaped death without realizing it.

'We've probably cheated death.'

He was elated that he picked the right choice for not following Zhang Yang. Han Hao was also enlightened about the truth of this war after he understood the whole picture.

'The edict was a complete bullcrap. Jinyang and Julu are friends. Zhang Tong probably went to Jinyang and had a friendly spar with Lu Bu, but the Emperor exaggerated the spar into a war between cities!'

'Damnit! The Emperor is insane! He's a tyrant!'

'But, wow. The stratagem of these forces is totally sick. Since their force took Shangdang, then the other detached armies have been probably defeated already. Julu and Jinyang Army are pretty good.'

Han Hao respected the well-crafted strategy and the strategists who came up with this plan.

'If I want to work for someone, I want my superiors to be at least this competent. I don't want to fight for someone like Zhang Yang again.'

'I wonder if Shangdang City accepts ex-soldiers like me …'

…

9 AM.

Lu Bu and his men also left the city. Li Feihong tagged along like usual with dark circles around his eyes. He did not sleep last night as he had to solve the domestic issues for the locals before their departure.

Several white hair officials stood on top of the wall to send off Li Feihong. They were gratified for his help and sincerity. A dozen of them even promised to give their granddaughters to Li Feihong as his concubines to repay for his kindness.

Gao Shun and Zhang Liao looked at Li Feihong, baffled at the official crowd. They did not wave at Lu Bu or them, but Li Feihong alone.

Lu Bu, on the other hand, did not notice this as he was leading the march.

"What did you do to them, Feihong?" Asked Zhang Liao.

Li Feihong answered while he was dozing on the back of his horse, "I gave them a bit of food, cows, and rice seeds. I also wrote a couple of textbooks for them."

"Textbooks?"

"Mathematics, accounting, financing, and a few products they can make with their local specialties."

Both Gao Shun and Zhang Liao still puzzled by Li Feihong's sleep talking. They were going to continue questioning him, but they stopped after they saw a hickey and red marks on his neck and his face.

Before Li Feihong could regroup with the army, a few granddaughters of the officials came to see their potential prospect. They fell in love with this young strategist at first sight as he was also a handsome young scholar. A bold teenage girl managed to get close and stole several kisses on him, leaving a few bite marks on rouge lips on his face.

Li Feihong declined their approach and the officials' offering, but he gentlemanly patted their head and promised them that he would visit them in the future. He was not aware that he had planted several flags on these innocent maidens.

After this day, he had become the number one prospect in Nie County that all young girls wanted to get as their husband.

"Our Feihong is now an adult." Zhang Liao laughed.

"Damn! I thought you were working hard. You went for the hoes before the bros?" Mocked Gao Shun.

"He DID work hard. I bet his girl is satisfied. Look at his face. I'm sure he didn't sleep last night."

"Well, damn! I've never lasted the entire night. Respect Feihong. Truly respect!"

The two generals misunderstood Li Feihong, and a new rumor was born after this day in Jinyang Army.

…

…

Thirty kilometers north of Nie County, the Imperial troops were marching while they were enduring the zero degrees temperature. The weather was dry and cold, hampering their march speed.

The soldiers still managed to randomly find forest and mountain food in the wilderness as they marched. Although they could not find a wild animal anymore, they still had plenty of food in stock.

At the back of the marching army, Zhou Cang and his horse trotted beside the cage where Lu Zhi was inside. With a flick of fingers, a bundle of papyrus paper flew and hit Lu Zhi hand.

The imprisoned veteran scholar hid the paper and read it in secret.

[Ambush party is in front. Escape when it starts.]

Lu Zhi's eyes brightened. He glanced at Zhou Cang who was still riding near the cage.

"I've managed to buy a few units to our cause. We've also secured a unit of a thousand horsemen with us, but they are quite expensive. We're pretty much broke when we return home."

Lu Zhi chuckled at Zhou Cang's complain, "I have a bit of saving in Julu. I'll pay you back with interest."

"Haha, that's not necessary. Just teach us how to write and read."

"Hahaha! Of course."