Battle Royale of the Sinners

February 15th, 183 A.D.

Jia Xu, Lu Zhi, Xu Huang, Zhou Cang, and all soldiers in Julu had reached Anping County today.

The old wooden fortress was still around, but Jia Xu decided to expand it in this battle as the battle scale was different. The small fort could not house all 60,000 elites of Julu, and all of this fort's weaknesses had been analyzed by every scholar already.

"We'll expand the fort into three separate fortresses, but we will separately construct barricades and trenches for our camp."

Jia Xu picked two places as their camp location. Each camp was on the fort north and south wing.

.

February 17th.

In two days, both camps formed wooden fences, spike barricades, and three-meter deep moats.

All soldiers contributed into digging the deep moat, which was 20 kilometers in length and 10 meters in width, creating a defensive line which could not be crossed.

The gigantic long moat was not a simple hole without a path. Jia Xu decided to have the soldiers make a dozen small passages, which led to the entrance of both camps. However, the passages were so small that only one person could enter at a time, preventing the flood of soldiers in the case of invasion.

In addition, at the exit of the small passages, check-point pill-boxes, watchtowers, and spike traps were waiting for anyone who could cross them.

The construction project of Jia Xu had not finished yet. He gazed at the picture in the scroll, which was drafted by Tong.

"Cross-fire, Japanese Castle Trap Moat, Island Fortress, Maze Castle …"

Jia Xu recited each picture as he was choosing which layout was the best for their future battle.

"That damn brat is too creative at defensive tactics. Time sure has changed."

The conclusion report from Nanpi spies had reached Jia Xu's hands. Yuan Shao gathered 200,000 soldiers from all noble forces and his Yuan family forces, which they were gathering in Guangchuan County, east of Anping and southwest of Nanpi.

It was impossible for Jia Xu and the others to intercept such a massive army with fewer troops. They had to wait for the reinforcement from Jinyang, and they had to create a favorable battleground for themselves.

By having the advantageous battleground and a proper fortification, they should be able to outlast the Yuan forces until Xiao Wu or Tong finished their battles and return to help them.

…

…

At the same day, Jinyang Army, led by Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and Li Feihong had arrived at Julu.

Zhang Jiao and Sima Fang went out to receive them. Although they should be in a higher position, they still bowed their head to Lu Bu as the situation required his aid.

Lu Bu was still as aloof as ever. He ignored the polite greetings from Zhang Jiao and others and left everything to Zhang Liao and co.

"I'm sorry. Lu Bu is always like that," Li Feihong apologized to Zhang Jiao.

"Ha-ha, I've expected that. It's alright. Come, let's enter the city and rest first."

All of them exchanged pleasantries and entered the city. Since Zhang Liao and Li Feihong knew about the news of Hua Shi's baby, they did not want to spoil Zhang Jiao's mood.

"By the way, I'll send you the congratulatory gift later when Lu Bu isn't looking," Li Feihong whispered to Zhang Jiao.

Li Feihong had secretly bred several Red Hare horses, dairy cows, bulls, and freshwater fishes in his private world. He planned to deliver all of these to Julu to pay Tong as a price of his lifespans.

"Well, we are carrying another batch of iron ores with us, too. It will arrive a few days later though."

Zhang Jiao laughed, "Don't worry, don't worry. Having all of you here is already reassuring."

While Li Feihong and Zhang Jiao chatted, Sima Fang glanced at the two in wonder.

'Since when has Lord Zhang gotten so close to this young man? Should I check his background?'

.

While Zhang Jiao and Li Feihong were taking care of the Jinyang soldiers and a place to settle their camp, Lu Bu had already entered the city with his giant Red Hare horse, strolling on the main street.

Lu Bu had heard about the development of Julu City from his wife, and she always complained that she wanted to visit the city for sightseeing, which also made Lu Bu curious.

As Lu Bu looked around, buildings of shops, stalls, taverns, and inns were all over the place on the main street. Many merchant caravans stopped at restaurants and inns to rest. Local people were walking around the shops with their families, smiling and laughing.

The cheering mood of the civilians baffled Lu Bu. In his point of view, these people should have been in a panic because their city was about to be attacked by a massive army. Yet, they acted as if nothing had happened.

Also, the mixed aroma of various kinds of food piqued Lu Bu's nose. His stomach growled, and his saliva flooded his mouth.

"The city of food …"

Lu Bu muttered the nickname of Julu City that all merchants and scholars entitled it.

He parked the Red Hare King at one of the restaurants stable and walked inside.

.

Two hours later, Lu Bu walked out with a bloated stomach. He enjoyed the food of this city too much that he forgot that he was full. The price of the food was on the high side, but the quality made up for it. Thus, Lu Bu did not mind.

'That brat developed this city to this extent. I've underestimated him! But I have to admit, this is a good city to live in. I should bring Lingqi and Yan'er to live here once the war is over.'

Though Lu Bu was still conflicted if he had to work under Tong or not, he enjoyed the food and wanted his wife and daughter to be in a luxurious environment such as this city.

As his stomach was full, no food aroma could make him hungry anymore. Lu Bu continued to tour the city at a leisure pace.

An hour passed, Lu Bu's eyes stopped at the announcement boards in the city square. On dozens of wooden boards, various news and announcement from the government were placed there.

Curious, Lu Bu rode over to read the nearest board.

[Latest news, Lady Hua Shi has given birth to a healthy daughter. Our hardworking governor finally has a granddaughter!]

"Ha! This is interesting!" Lu Bu laughed as the announcement got his interest. He continued to read.

Although Lu Bu's subordinates thought that he was somewhat of a muscle brain, he was a smart man in reality. Not only was he literate, but Lu Bu had also learned about the Art of Wars, Analects, and other famous records. However, he did not know how to apply this knowledge in a real situation most of the times.

In the eyes of everyone, Lu Bu was often misunderstood as a reckless brute. Little did they know that Lu Bu had solved most of the problems in the simplest way as he could use this tactic best, his martial arts.

As long as he stood strong and undefeated on the frontline, all subordinates behind him would be safe. This was the doctrine that made Lu Bu successful in his career.

Alas, constant battles and killing degraded his temper control, which turned him into a person who got angered easily sometimes.

[Warning, food price in other cities soars as drought hit all neighbor districts. Be careful about merchant scams. Don't worry about our city pricing, it's still the same! YAY!]

[Hiring military blacksmiths, please contact the city hall. Wage depends on blacksmith mastery. Minimum salary – one tael of gold a month.]

[Be careful of Yellow Turban imposters outside of the city! Several thieves and bandits are wearing yellow clothes and pretending to be a part of our city soldiers. Our soldier uniform is now blue, not yellow!]

[Merchant Network News: City Hall is buying coals, iron ores, and woods without limit. All merchant groups are in a frantic!]

[Julu Merchant Alliance won another year of spice trading concession bidding at the whopping price of 500,000 gold! They are getting richer again!]

[Note to all noble families with beautiful daughters. Our young master, Zhang Tong, do not accept any concubine. Please do not bring your daughters to the city hall or to the governor. We won't take them as a tribute either!]

[Bounty: Te Langpu. Dead or Alive. Reward: 1,000 Taels of gold. Last known location: Nanpi]

[Warning, slavery is illegal in this city. If you find a slave trader, contact the city hall immediately. We will also give every informer 10 gold if we catch the slave trader. Don't worry, we keep your identity anonymous.]

The more Lu Bu read, the more intrigued he had in this city. Most of the domestic development events in Julu could be learned here by reading the news and announcement.

But Lu Bu had noticed one thing that was missing in the announcement. There was no news about the current battle or war with Yuan Shao or any other warlords.

"There is no news about the war?" Lu Bu muttered about what in his mind.

Coincidentally, the remark was heard by a merchant nearby.

"Sir brave warrior, are you new in this city?"

"Hah? Ah, yes."

"Then you probably don't know about this. All military activities in Julu are classified. They will only announce it when the war is over, just like when they finished repelling the Imperial armies in Liyang or Jinyang."

"I don't see anything about those. Have the government removed the announcement?"

"I think so. It's old news. Most announcements here last for only a week before it is taken off, so all news here is fresh!"

Lu Bu nodded and pondered, thinking if he should really work for Tong.

As he was thinking, his eyes caught the recruitment notice on one of the boards.

[Hiring government workers, 150 positions. Qualification – You can write and you read this shit. Also, you must have two arms and two legs. Minimum wage, 1 Tael of Gold a month.]

Lu Bu cringed, but he noticed the anomaly. The wage was too high for a minor official position.

He turned to the merchant and asked, "Why the wage of the workers here is are so high?"

"I know right? Well, you'll be shocked if you know what the wage of the higher-ups is. I heard that a 1000-man commander makes 50 gold a month, and the minster like Sima Fang makes 2,000 gold a month! Sir Warrior, are you interest in joining the army?"

Lu Bu's eyes widened in shock. He knew that Tong was rich, but he did not expect Tong to be rich to the extent that he could squander his gold for his subordinates.

'Wait, did Tong extort taxes from the people for his men?'

"The people are not suffering from high taxes, right?" Lu Bu asked.

"Hahaha! If they are suffering from taxes here, no one in our country can live a happy life! Heck, this city is a paradise for peasants like us! The tax is so low that I sometimes think that we don't have to pay taxes at all!"

Lu Bu touched his chin, thinking.

'I should extort that brat into giving me a high wage for my service! I say 10,000 gold a month for my service as the grand marshal should be enough. Hahaha! That's it! I'll take my wife and my daughter to live here, and leech on that brat's gold! I'm a genius! HAHAHAHA!'