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Yuan Shu who hears this becomes angry, and Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang become the target of his admonishing, he is already angry with the call for a crusade against him and this becomes the spark to his fuse. Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang slowly resent Yuan Shu, which was seen by Hou Zui who reported this to Jia Xu.
Jia Xu in Xiapi received the news, he reported this news to Lie Fan. Jia Xu suggested to Lie Fan, that maybe they could make Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang join their side.
Yang Hong and Ya Dajiang's talent is on par with Yan Jun, in which Yang Hong is much better than Yan Jun. Lie Fan thinks that this is a good plan, as having a mole inside Yuan Shu's army could influence the flow of the battle.
Hou Zui alone is not enough, he is only trusted by Yuan Shu which makes Yuan Shu's subjects doesn't like him. So Hou Zui couldn't influence the subjects under Yuan Shu, maybe by having Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang he could influence Yuan Shu's army.
Jia Xu gives a cunning smile, he cupped his hand and promised to bring Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang to their side. Having more advisors is never the wrong thing, as that means Lie Fan could have them fill the lower and middle positions, while high-level talents such as Jia Xu and Xun You could serve him personally.
Lie Fan then asks Jia Xu, since he has agreed with Cao Cao that they should attack Yuan Shu while answering the 'call' for Crusade which was actually Cao Cao's order, not Emperor Xian what suggestion he has.
Jia Xu: "My Lord, since it was Cao Cao's order we should just follow it. We don't need to care what other words think, the common people don't know that it was Cao Cao's order so we could increase your prestige and take Yuan Shu's land as planned."
Lie Fan: "Hmm that's true, I actually think that this is the best condition we have created. I just didn't expect that Cao Cao move very fast in grasping his power having Emperor Xian in his palm."
Jia Xu: "While that's true, we already expected that Cao Cao would do that, especially with having talent such as Xun Yu and Guo Jie serving him."
Lie Fan: "Yes, now that I think about it I'm thankful that I have you, Jia Xu alongside Xun You and Chen Qun as the three of you could match with Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Xi Zhicai who was Cao Cao's top advisors."
Jia Xu: "Not just us My Lord, you have a large middle and low class of advisors talents serving you. If you think about it, Master Chen Gui can be considered another top talent serving you."
Lie Fan nodded his head, he didn't expect that so many years had passed since receiving Sun Qian as his first advisor. He told Jia Xu to coordinate with Sun Qian, for Lu Kang to prepare to join their attack.
Jia Xu cupped his hand, at this time Ling Cao, Xu Rong, and Ze Rong entered Lie Fan's office. Since Huang Zhong, Dian Wei, and Taishi Ci which could be considered his main generals are guarding Xu Province borders, they replaced them as Lie Fan's main generals in the main army for now.
Ling Cao: "My Lord sorry for interrupting your meeting with Master Jia Xu, we are here to report that our army is ready to march to attack Yuan Shu!"
Xu Rong: "Like what Ling Cao said My Lord, I have coordinated with General Huang Zhong, General Dian Wei, and Governor Zhang Chao to meet us north of Shouchun, while General Taishi Ci has been reinforced with 15,000 men."
Lie Fan: "Good! Then receive its orders, in 2 days we would begin our march to attack Yuan Shu! Jia Xu, please coordinate with Chen Gui, Mi Zhu, and Ren Jun to prepare our supplies! Also informed Zhuge Jin and Yan Jun that they would join me and Jia Xu!"
Everyone: "Yes My Lord!"
The war engine of Xu Province began to start, and under Lie Fan's order, the sleeping mechanism began to work at its highest capability. The people of Xiapi hear the news that Lie Fan will answer the Emperor's call which causes them to cheer for Lie Fan.
All the nobles and merchants on the other hand knew that this would be the biggest battle that Lie Fan would join in, as the number of enemies Lie Fan faced was much larger than in the previous battle against Dong Zhuo.
The one battle that tops this was the Yellow Turban's last stand, where Lie Fan managed to slay Zhang Jiao the leader of the Yellow Turbans. Lie Fan's family receives the news that Lie Fan will once again go out to battle.
Lie Fan's wives understand this as their husbands can be said to be the strongest generals after Huang Zhong and Dian Wei, who played a very vital role on the battlefield especially when facing another general.
Two days passed by very fast, at this time in front of Lie Clan estate, They hugged Lie Fan and told him to be careful, no matter how many times they did this, they would still be nervous about Lie Fan's safety.
Wannian was crying, telling Lie Fan to not go as she was afraid that she would not se him again anymore. Lie Fan crouched down, pat Wannian's head, and told her that her big brother was the strongest man alive, so he could not be defeated and would always return.
He turned his head to Sima Yi who was beside Wannian. He asked Sima Yi to take care of Wannian for him even though Wannian was older than him, as she sometimes listened to Jia Xu when Lie Fan was not in place.
Sima Yi nods his head, promising to look after Wannian. Lie Fan gives a warm smile at this and also pats Sima Yi's head. At this time Lie Fan stands up, he gives each of his wives a kiss on the forehead.
After that when he wants to leave, he hears the sound of Chenchen and Yaoyao being brought out by the maids. Seeing them, Lie Fan walked toward them and gave a kiss to each of them.
This time Lie Fan was urged by his bodyguards who all followed him to battle this time, for his family's protection he doubled the Lie Clan guards and the Oriole members who watch over them.
Lie Fan nodded at them, and after saying goodbye again he rode his horse Pangu. Together with his bodyguards, he rides towards Xiapi Southern gate where his army is waiting for him.
30,000 men are waiting for Lie Fan under the lead of Ling Cao, Xu Rong, Ze Rong, and Ren Jun. Ling Cao led the infantry battalion, Xu Rong led the Tianmao battalion, Ze Rong led the cavalries battalion, and lastly, Ren Jun led the Archers and logistics battalion.
Lie Fan arrives at the location, where Jia Xu, Yan Jun, and Zhuge Jin are standing outside of their carriage, waiting for Lie Fan. Lie Fan told them to board their carriages, as they would begin their march right now.
So began the march toward Shouchun, which was Yuan Shu's bastion of defense against Lie Fan's attack. The move of Lie Fan's army, answering the call soon spread across the land.
Cao Cao who was the first to receive this news, ordered all his army to march to attack Yuan Shu. He left Xun Yu, who was a top talent in governance at Xuchang to take care of Yan Province alongside Cheng Yu.
Cao Cao then led his army to attack Wan, which was an important city that connected Yu Province with Jing Province alongside Xinye. Yuan Shu who received the news, began to order his army to defend the new dynasty from attackers.
Yuan Shu's 400,000 men soon were split into two fronts, where Yuan Shu personally led 200,000 men to face off against Cao Cao and his army bringing Hou Zui alongside him.
The other 200,000 men were given to Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang to handle, as they are the highest-ranking advisors besides Hou Zui. Yuan Shu also let Ji Ling, his strongest general lead the army alongside them.
Yuan Shu trusted Ji King more than Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang, so he rather have his strongest general lead the other army than bring Ji Ling alongside him. To compensate for this, 70% of Yuan Shu's generals followed him while the rest followed Ji Ling.
Lastly, Liu Bei who heard the news of Lie Fan and Cao Cao's advancement, led 50,000 of his men to answer the Emperor's call. He brought Ju Shou, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei alongside him.
The whole land's eye was focused on the central plains this time, where the biggest battle since the one against Dong Zhuo would ensue. The loser and winner of this battle will influence the future power dynamics.
Lie Fan lead his 30,000 men towards the outskirts of Yu Province, where he encountered the first batch of Yuan Shu's army numbering 20,000 men. After discussing some strategies with these advisors, Lie Fan ordered Xu Rong and Ze Rong to attack.
Xu Rong and Ze Rong lead their battalion, hitting the enemy with perfect sync on the left and right flank. The power of Lie Fan's cavalries can't be underestimated, especially now that they have received training from Xu Rong.
Lie Fan stayed back, guarded by his bodyguards who also protected Jia Xu, Yan Jun, and Zhuge Jin. Seeing that Yuan Shu's army can't even handle his cavalries, Lie Fan one that they have encountered the paper soldiers and not Yuan Shu's main soldiers.
So under Jia Xu's and the rest of his advisors' permission, Lie Fan sent the rest of his army to attack Yuan Shu's army. The combined attack caused Yuan Shu's army to panic and soon after routed.
Lie Fan ordered his men to capture Yuan Shu's soldiers, where they would be used as the prisoner's army. Ren Jun told Lie Fan that they could support the prisoner's army, but they also should hurry to attack Shouchun and take control of its supplies.
Lie Fan nods his head in understanding, and after regrouping for some time they continue their march. The easy battle was also encountered by the armies under Huang Zhong, Dian Wei, and Zhang Chao with the numbers of men they encountered varied.
While it was an easy battle, it doesn't mean that Lie Fan and the rest don't receive some casualties. Lie Fan's army is advancing and soon arrives at Ji Ling's desk at Shouchun, where he consulted this with Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang.
Ji Ling panicked as he didn't expect that the level of experience the new soldiers had was this low, he scolded Hou Zui saying that if Hou Zui ever trained all of these new recruits. What he didn't know was, that both Yang Hong and Yang Dajiang gave him an evil smile.
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Three Heroes Who Defeat Lu Bu
Age: 25 (192 AD)
Level: 15
Next Level: 1.588.000
Renown: 605
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 371.700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 906 (+20)
VIT: 578 (+20)
AGI: 563 (+10)
INT: 567
CHR: 93
WIS: 489
WILL: 377
ATR Points: 0