Chereads / born guo fangxiao / Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: Planning for the Public

Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: Planning for the Public

I saw Cao Cao's eyes kept glancing at Wei Yan while he was asking questions, and I couldn't help but sneer and said, "Lord Cao, you didn't ask me about my background, you didn't know my knowledge, and you didn't know my strengths, but you asked me if I was willing to surrender! You are not a wise leader! Goodbye!"

Cao Cao withdrew his gaze from Wei Yan, and then carefully looked at the student in front of him wearing a loose robe. His thin face was matched with a pair of sparkling eyes, and the gently shaking feather fan and unrestrained steps had a kind of elegant and handsome demeanor. I was very surprised and quickly stopped me and said, "Wait a minute, sir, I am rude, please take a rest in the tent first! How about we talk about leaving or staying later?"

Okay, Cao Cao's words were just what I wanted. So he led Wei Yan to the big tent with Cao Cao. After the host and guest sat down, Cao Cao asked: "May I ask your name, sir? Where are you from?"

I replied: "I am Guo Jia, a student from Yingchuan."

Cao Cao pushed the case and asked: "Ah! Are you the genius Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao?"

Am I famous? It shouldn't be! I have been living an anonymous life in the past few years. How could Cao Cao know my nickname? I asked with a question in my heart: "How did Cao Gong know my courtesy name?"

Cao Cao said: "Your name is well-known among the famous people in Yingchuan, and you are also a good friend of the famous family Xun in Yingchuan. Mr. Cheng Yu of Dongjun has praised you as a wise man of the time many times. It is a great honor to meet you today!"

So that's it. I think the brothers Xun Yu have a deep relationship. It is rare that Cheng Yu spreads my name everywhere even though they only met once.

Cao Cao asked, "What do you think of the meeting of the princes to fight against Dong?"

I said, "I dare not give you advice, but I have some experience."

Cao Cao was very happy and said, "I hope you can give me some advice."

I replied, "It is easy to defeat Dong but difficult to destroy him in this meeting!"

Everyone asked, "Why?"

I stood up from my seat, waved my feather fan and said, "At the beginning of the meeting, the princes must have rushed to fight and bravely killed the enemy to gain military merits and become famous in the world. However, after the merits, there will definitely be those who want to preserve their strength and those who are jealous of others' talents. If they encounter setbacks, There will be those who wait and see, and there will be those who take advantage of the opportunity to seize the weak princes for their own use. On the other hand, Dong Zhuo's subordinates, his son-in-law Li Ru is ruthless, his adopted son Lu Bu is the bravest in the world, and the other minions are also capable. The wealth and power of these rats depend on Dong Zhuo, and they will fight to the death. Therefore, it is easy to defeat Dong but difficult to destroy him! I wonder what you think? "

Cao Cao sat down dejectedly as if cold water was poured on his head and said: "Sir, what you said makes sense! What you said makes sense!"

I also turned around and sat down and looked at Cao Cao coldly, and the big tent was silent for a while.

After a moment of silence, Cao Cao said, "Do you have a good plan to destroy Dong?"

I stroked the feather fan and remained silent. Seeing this, Cao Cao stood up again and came to me, bowed and said, "Please give me some advice for the sake of the Han Dynasty."

I didn't expect Cao Cao to be so respectful to me, a poor scholar in white. If I had many doubts about Cao Cao from the traditional description of respecting Liu and suppressing Cao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, then this bow made me want to help him. It is said that Cao Cao is treacherous and suspicious, and he likes to kill. But at least I haven't heard anyone say that Cao Cao killed meritorious officials in vain. Maybe he didn't wait to unify the world, so he didn't have time to do it. But didn't Liu Bei, who was respected in later generations, kill his adopted son Liu Feng, who had made great military achievements, before he unified the world? What's more, Guo Jia in history died before Cao Cao. I don't believe in ghosts and gods, but the adventure of walking by the Naihe Bridge made me believe it again. As the saying goes: If the King of Hell wants people to die at three o'clock in the morning, who can keep them until five o'clock! Maybe I really won't live past 38 in this world! Let me take a gamble and use my psychology knowledge that is beyond this era to help Cao Cao end this chaotic world in advance. Even if I end up being abandoned, what does it matter? The education I have received tells me that when the nation is in danger, everyone should stand up. Think about the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China in the future. I have the idea of ​​trying to end this chaotic world in advance and give our nation a chance to breathe.

I hate that in my previous life, I passed all kinds of homework by plagiarizing. Geography and history are ambiguous, and physics and chemistry are even more ignorant. If I hadn't used my connections to get into the military academy and study an unpopular psychology, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to get a job. The teacher said it well:

"Learn math, physics, and chemistry well! You won't be afraid to travel around the world!" If I had been more serious at the beginning, I might have made a musket now! With those weapons and equipment that are beyond the times, I wouldn't have to suffer from helplessness and can only choose people to assist!

Just when I was confused, Cao Cao said again: "Please help the country when it is about to fall!" After that, he bowed to the ground again!

I quickly reached out and grabbed Cao Cao and said, "Cao Gong, you can't do that! I'd like to help you!"

Cao Cao was overjoyed and said, "Sir, please speak!"

I waited for Cao Cao to sit down three times before I walked to the middle of the big tent and said, "Who do you want to nominate as the leader of this meeting of princes?"

Cao Cao said, "Yuan Benchu ​​has three generations of officials, many of whom are former officials, and he is a descendant of a famous prime minister of the Han Dynasty. He can be the leader."

I nodded and said, "It's feasible! But this person has great ambitions but little talent, so first, you must fight for the position of deputy leader, and take over as the leader if necessary. Order! Second, Yuan Benchu ​​will definitely let his brother Yuan Shu be the governor of grain and grass. You must try to stop it. It is best for you to be the governor of grain and grass yourself. Third, if you enter Luoyang, you must not let Sun Jian enter the city under any circumstances! "

Cao Cao asked puzzledly: "I understand a little bit of the first strategy you are planning, but the latter two strategies are incredible to me. Please explain it to me!"

This really makes me embarrassed. Do you want me to tell Cao Cao that Yuan Shu will cut off Sun Jian's grain and grass, and Sun Jian will get the jade seal if he enters Luoyang? After thinking it over again and again, I had to say: "If you want to destroy Dong, you can do these three strategies! I don't need to ask in detail!"

Cao Cao did not agree or disagree, but he also lost his enthusiasm just now. He just said lightly: "Are you willing to join Cao to fight against the traitors?"

I know Cao Cao doesn't believe me, because anyone with a little opinion will not believe me, and if he hadn't heard that I know I am not a swindler, I am afraid that he would be driven out even if he didn't kill me. It seems that the celebrity effect is always there!

But what I want now is his disbelief, so I don't mind just expressing my willingness to go and see. And the two of us also tacitly agreed not to mention the matter of joining and recruiting. On the way to the meeting place, Cao Cao neither arranged a position for me, nor did I say I wanted to leave. In fact, I was helpless to do so. Under the current circumstances, the princes' meeting could not eliminate Dong Zhuo's group in one fell swoop. After conquering Luoyang, they would inevitably follow the history and go their own way to hegemony. I must make Cao Cao listen to me in the future, so I came up with these three strategies. The first strategy is bland, which will make Cao Cao feel contempt first, but once the next two strategies are verified, it will have a strong impact on Cao Cao's psychology, and the greater the impact, the more beneficial it is to me. Besides these three strategies, I have other plans waiting for Cao Cao!

The princes also arrived one after another, and each set up camp and camp, connecting more than 200 miles. Cao slaughtered cattle and horses, and held a meeting of princes to discuss the strategy of advancing. Prefect Wang Kuang said: "Now we are following the great cause, we must establish a leader; everyone must obey the rules, and then we can advance." Cao said: "Yuan Benchu ​​has three generations of three officials, many of his family members are former officials, and he is a descendant of the famous prime minister of the Han Dynasty. He can be the leader of the alliance." Shao refused again and again, and everyone said that it must be Benchu, so Shao agreed. The next day, a three-story platform was built, with five-sided flags, white flags and yellow axes, military seals and generals' seals, and Shao was invited to the platform. Shao dressed and wore a sword, and went up with emotion, burned incense and bowed again. The alliance said: "The Han Dynasty is unfortunate, and the imperial power has lost its control. The traitor Dong Zhuo took advantage of the opportunity to do harm, brought disaster to the emperor, and abused the people. Shao and others are afraid of the loss of the country, so they gathered the righteous army and went to the national crisis. All of us allies will work together to be loyal to the country, and we must have no second intentions. If you violate this alliance, you will lose your life and have no chance to pass on your legacy. The heavens and the earth, the ancestors and the spirits, will all witness it!" After reading it, they swore an oath of blood. Because of the heroic words, everyone burst into tears. After the blood oath, the altar was lowered. Everyone helped Shao to sit in the tent, and they sat in two rows according to their rank and age. Cao drank several rounds of wine and said, "Now that the leader of the alliance has been established, everyone should obey orders and support the country together, and don't care about strength or weakness." Yuan Shao said, "Although Shao is not talented, since I have been elected as the leader of the alliance by you, I will reward those who have made contributions and punish those who have committed crimes. The country has regular punishments and the army has discipline. Everyone should abide by them and not violate them." Everyone said they would obey your orders.

Yuan Shao also said, "My brother Yuan Shu is the governor of food and grass, and he should deal with all the camps without any shortage. We need another person to be the vanguard and challenge directly at Sishui Pass. The rest of us will take the dangerous positions to provide support."

When Cao Cao heard that Yuan Shu was the governor of food and grass, he was stunned at first, then turned around and looked at me standing silently behind him. He was depressed again and again but did not stop this. I could only sigh inwardly: Cao Cao is indeed suspicious by nature. (The following is all the content of the novel until the three heroes fight against Lu Bu. You don't need to read it, but it will be incomplete if you don't bring it out.)

Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, came out and said, "Jian is willing to be the front." Shao said, "Wen Tai is brave and can take on this task." Jian then led his troops to rush to Sishui Pass. The soldiers guarding the pass sent meteor horses to the prime minister's mansion in Luoyang to ask for help. After Dong Zhuo seized power, he feasted every day. Li Ru received the emergency letter and went straight to report to Zhuo. Zhuo was shocked and quickly gathered all the generals to discuss. Marquis Wen Lu Bu stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, father. I regard the princes outside the pass as grass. I am willing to lead a group of tigers and wolves to cut off their heads and hang them at the gate of the capital." Zhuo was overjoyed and said, "I have Fengxian, so I can rest assured!" Before he finished speaking, a man behind Lu Bu said loudly, "Why use a butcher knife to cut a chicken? You don't need Marquis Wen to go there yourself. I can cut off the heads of all the princes as easily as taking something out of a bag!" Zhuo looked at him and saw that he was nine feet tall, with a tiger's body, a wolf's waist, a leopard's head and ape's arms. He was from Guanxi, his surname was Hua and his name was Xiong. Zhuo was overjoyed to hear this and promoted him to the cavalry captain. He sent 50,000 cavalry and infantry to go to the pass to meet the enemy at night with Li Su, Hu Zhen and Zhao Cen.

Among the princes, there was Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei. Thinking that Sun Jian was in the front, he was afraid that he would take the first credit, so he secretly sent his brother Bao Zhong to lead 3,000 cavalry and infantry to take a shortcut to the pass to challenge. Hua Xiong led 500 cavalrymen and rushed down the pass, shouting: "Don't run!" Bao Zhong was eager to retreat, but Hua Xiong cut him off with a sword, and captured many officers alive. Hua Xiong sent someone to bring Bao Zhong's head to the prime minister's residence to report the victory, and Zhuo appointed Hua Xiong as the commander-in-chief.

After Sun Jian killed Hu Zhen, Hua Xiong's deputy general, in the first battle, he led his troops back to Liangdong to stay. He sent someone to report the victory to Yuan Shao and asked Yuan Shu for food. A villain said to Shu: "Sun Jian is a fierce tiger in Jiangdong; if he breaks through Luoyang and kills Dong Zhuo, it is like getting rid of the wolf and getting the tiger. If we don't give him food now, his army will surely disperse." Shu listened to him and did not send food and grass. Sun Jian's army was short of food, and there was chaos in the army. The spies reported to the pass. Li Su planned for Hua Xiong and said: "Tonight I will lead an army to go down the pass from a small road, attack Sun Jian's camp from behind, and the general will attack his front camp, and Jian can be captured." Hua Xiong followed his advice and ordered the soldiers to have a full meal and go down the pass at night. That night was bright and windy. When they arrived at Jian's camp, it was already midnight, and they marched forward with drums beating. Jian hurriedly put on his armor and mounted his horse, and he met Hua Xiong. The two horses met and fought for a few rounds, and then Li Su's army arrived from behind and set fire to the camp. Jian's army fled in panic. The generals fought in a chaotic manner, and only Zu Mao followed Sun Jian and broke through the encirclement. Hua Xiong was chasing behind him. Jian took out his arrows and shot two arrows in a row, but Hua Xiong dodged them both. When he shot the third arrow, he used too much force and broke the magpie-painted bow, so he had to abandon the bow and run away. Zu Mao said, "The red cap on your lord's head is eye-catching, and the thieves can recognize you. You can take it off and let me wear it." Jian took off his cap and put on Mao's helmet, and they split into two groups and ran away. Xiong's army only chased the one with the red cap, and Jian escaped through a small road. Zu Mao was chased by Hua Xiong, so he hung his red cap on the pillar of the courtyard of a house that could not be burned, and hid in the woods. Hua Xiong's army saw the red cap from a distance under the moonlight, and surrounded it from all sides, not daring to approach. They shot him with arrows, and then realized it was a trick, so they went forward to take the red cap. Zu Mao rushed out from behind the forest, wielding two swords to chop Hua Xiong; Hua Xiong shouted and chopped Zu Mao off his horse with one sword. The fighting lasted until dawn, and then Hua Xiong led his troops to the pass.

Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang all came to find Sun Jian, and then gathered the troops and horses to camp. Jian was very sad about the death of Zu Mao, and sent someone to inform Yuan Shao at night. Shao was shocked and said, "I didn't expect Sun Wentai to be defeated by Hua Xiong!" He gathered all the princes to discuss. Everyone arrived, only Gongsun Zan arrived later, and Shao invited him to sit in the tent. Shao said, "The day before yesterday, General Bao's brother disobeyed the order and advanced without authorization, killing himself and losing many soldiers; now Sun Wentai is defeated by Hua Xiong again: the spirit is dampened, what can we do?" The princes were all silent. Shao looked around and saw three people standing behind Gongsun Zan. They looked strange and sneered. Shao asked, "Who is behind the prefect Gongsun?" Zan called Xuande out and said, "This is my roommate since childhood, Pingyuan County Governor Liu Bei." Cao Cao asked, "Is it Liu Xuande who defeated the Yellow Turbans?" Zan said, "Yes." He immediately ordered Liu Xuande to meet him. Zan told Xuande about his achievements and his origins in detail. Shao said, "Since you are a descendant of the Han Dynasty, please take a seat." He ordered him to sit. Bei declined. Shao said, "I don't respect your title, I respect you as a descendant of the imperial family." Xuande sat at the last seat, and Guan and Zhang stood behind him with their hands crossed. Suddenly, a spy came to report, "Hua Xiong led the cavalry down the pass, holding the red cap of Prefect Sun on a long pole, and came to the front of the camp to curse and challenge." Shao said, "Who dares to fight?" Behind Yuan Shu, the brave general Yu She came out and said, "I am willing to go." Shao was happy and ordered Yu She to go out. Immediately, the report came: "Yu She fought with Hua Xiong for less than three rounds, and was killed by Hua Xiong." Everyone was shocked. The governor Han Fu said: "I have a general Pan Feng, who can kill Hua Xiong." Shao hurriedly ordered him to fight. Pan Feng took a big axe and mounted his horse. Not long after he left, he came back on a horse and reported: "Pan Feng was killed by Hua Xiong again." Shao said: "It's a pity that my generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou haven't arrived yet! With this person here, why should we be afraid of Hua Xiong!" Before he finished speaking, a man at the steps shouted: "I am willing to cut off Hua Xiong's head and present it to you!" Everyone looked at him and saw that he was nine feet tall, with a beard two feet long, phoenix eyes, long eyebrows, a face like a red date, and a voice like a huge bell. He stood in front of the tent. Shao asked who he was. Gongsun Zan said: "This is Guan Yu, the younger brother of Liu Xuande." Shao asked what his current position was. Zan said, "I will follow Liu Xuande as a horse archer." Yuan Shu shouted in the tent, "Do you think that all of us princes have no generals? How dare you talk nonsense with just an archer! Fight with me!" Cao Cao hurriedly stopped him and said, "Calm down, Gonglu. Since this man has made big claims, he must be brave and strategic. Let's try him out on horseback. If he fails, it's not too late to blame him." Yuan Shao said, "If we send an archer to fight, Hua Xiong will definitely laugh at us." Cao said, "This man has a good appearance. How can Hua Xiong know that he is an archer?" Guan Gong said, "If you fail, please cut off my head." Cao ordered a cup of hot wine, drank it with Guan Gong, and then mounted his horse. Guan Gong said, "Pour the wine, I'll be back soon." He came out of the tent, took up his sword, and jumped on his horse. The princes heard the drums outside the pass and the shouts were loud, like the sky collapsing and the mountains shaking, and they were all shocked. Just as they were about to investigate, the sound of the phoenix bells rang, and horses arrived at the center of the army. Yunchang picked up Hua Xiong's head and threw it on the ground. The wine was still warm. Later generations praised him in a poem: "The first merit of the world, the drums at the gate sounded. Yunchang stopped drinking and showed his bravery, and killed Hua Xiong while the wine was still warm." Cao Cao was overjoyed. Zhang Fei came out from behind Xuande and shouted loudly: "My brother killed Hua Xiong, why don't we go into the pass and capture Dong Zhuo alive?" Yuan Shu was furious and shouted: "I am a minister and I am humble, how dare you show off your power here as a soldier under the county magistrate! Get out of the tent!" Cao Cao said: "Reward those who have made contributions, why bother about the noble and the humble?" Yuan Shu said: "Since you only care about a county magistrate, I will leave." Cao said: "How can I miss the big thing because of one word?" He ordered Gongsun Zan to take Xuande, Guan and Zhang back to the camp. All the officials dispersed. Cao Cao secretly sent people to bring cattle and wine to comfort the three. But Hua Xiong's defeated army reported to the pass. Li Su hurriedly wrote an emergency document and informed Dong Zhuo. Zhuo hurriedly gathered Li Ru, Lu Bu and others to discuss. Ru said: "Now that we have lost General Hua Xiong, the enemy is very powerful. Yuan Shao is the leader of the alliance, and Shao's uncle Yuan Wei is now the Grand Tutor. If they cooperate with each other from inside and outside, it will be very inconvenient. We should get rid of them first. Please ask the Prime Minister to lead the army and divide them into groups to suppress and capture them." Zhuo agreed with his suggestion and called Li Cui and Guo Si to lead 500 soldiers to surround the house of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei. Regardless of age, all of them were killed. Yuan Wei's head was first taken to the front of the pass to issue orders. .But what I want now is his disbelief, so I don't mind just expressing my willingness to go and see. And both of us tacitly agreed not to mention the matter of surrender and recruitment. On the way to the meeting place, Cao Cao did not arrange a position for me, and I did not say I wanted to leave. In fact, I had no choice but to do so. Under the current circumstances, the meeting of the princes could not eliminate Dong Zhuo's group in one fell swoop. After conquering Luoyang, they would inevitably follow the path of history to fight for hegemony. I must make Cao Cao listen to me in the future, so I came up with these three strategies. The first strategy is bland, which will make Cao Cao feel contempt first, but once the two strategies are verified, it will have a strong impact on Cao Cao's psychology, and the greater the impact, the better it is for me. Besides these three strategies, I have a back-up waiting for Cao Cao!

The princes also arrived one after another, and each set up camp and camp, connecting more than 200 miles. Cao slaughtered cattle and horses, and held a meeting of the princes to discuss the strategy of advancing. Prefect Wang Kuang said: "Now we are following the great cause, we must establish a leader; everyone must obey the rules, and then we can advance." Cao said: "Yuan Benchu ​​has three generations of three officials, many of his family members are former officials, and he is a descendant of the famous prime minister of the Han Dynasty. He can be the leader of the alliance." Shao refused again and again, and everyone said that it must be Benchu, so Shao agreed. The next day, a three-story platform was built, with five-sided flags, white flags and yellow axes, military seals and generals' seals, and Shao was invited to the platform. Shao dressed and wore a sword, and went up with emotion, burned incense and bowed again. The alliance said: "The Han Dynasty is unfortunate, and the imperial power has lost its control. The traitor Dong Zhuo took advantage of the opportunity to do harm, brought disaster to the emperor, and abused the people. Shao and others are afraid of the loss of the country, so they gathered the righteous army and went to the national crisis. All of us allies will work together to be loyal to the country, and we must have no second intentions. If you violate this alliance, you will lose your life and have no chance to pass on your legacy. The heavens and the earth, the ancestors and the spirits, will all witness it!" After reading it, they swore an oath of blood. Because of the heroic words, everyone burst into tears. After the blood oath, the altar was lowered. Everyone helped Shao to sit in the tent, and they sat in two rows according to their rank and age. Cao drank several rounds of wine and said, "Now that the leader of the alliance has been established, everyone should obey orders and support the country together, and don't care about strength or weakness." Yuan Shao said, "Although Shao is not talented, since I have been elected as the leader of the alliance by you, I will reward those who have made contributions and punish those who have committed crimes. The country has regular punishments and the army has discipline. Everyone should abide by them and not violate them." Everyone said they would obey your orders.

Yuan Shao also said, "My brother Yuan Shu is the governor of food and grass, and he should deal with all the camps without any shortage. We need another person to be the vanguard and challenge directly at Sishui Pass. The rest of us will take the dangerous positions to provide support."

When Cao Cao heard that Yuan Shu was the governor of food and grass, he was stunned at first, then turned around and looked at me standing silently behind him. He was depressed again and again but did not stop this. I could only sigh inwardly: Cao Cao is indeed suspicious by nature. (The following is all the content of the novel until the three heroes fight against Lu Bu. You don't need to read it, but it will be incomplete if you don't bring it out.)

Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, came out and said, "Jian is willing to be the front." Shao said, "Wen Tai is brave and can take on this task." Jian then led his troops to rush to Sishui Pass. The soldiers guarding the pass sent meteor horses to the prime minister's mansion in Luoyang to ask for help. After Dong Zhuo seized power, he feasted every day. Li Ru received the emergency letter and went straight to report to Zhuo. Zhuo was shocked and quickly gathered all the generals to discuss. Marquis Wen Lu Bu stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, father. I regard the princes outside the pass as grass. I am willing to lead a group of tigers and wolves to cut off their heads and hang them at the gate of the capital." Zhuo was overjoyed and said, "I have Fengxian, so I can rest assured!" Before he finished speaking, a man behind Lu Bu said loudly, "Why use a butcher knife to cut a chicken? You don't need Marquis Wen to go there yourself. I can cut off the heads of all the princes as easily as taking something out of a bag!" Zhuo looked at him and saw that he was nine feet tall, with a tiger's body, a wolf's waist, a leopard's head and ape's arms. He was from Guanxi, his surname was Hua and his name was Xiong. Zhuo was overjoyed to hear this and promoted him to the cavalry captain. He sent 50,000 cavalry and infantry to go to the pass to meet the enemy at night with Li Su, Hu Zhen and Zhao Cen.

Among the princes, there was Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei. Thinking that Sun Jian was in the front, he was afraid that he would take the first credit, so he secretly sent his brother Bao Zhong to lead 3,000 cavalry and infantry to take a shortcut to the pass to challenge. Hua Xiong led 500 cavalrymen and rushed down the pass, shouting: "Don't run!" Bao Zhong was eager to retreat, but Hua Xiong cut him off with a sword, and captured many officers alive. Hua Xiong sent someone to bring Bao Zhong's head to the prime minister's residence to report the victory, and Zhuo appointed Hua Xiong as the commander-in-chief.

After Sun Jian killed Hu Zhen, Hua Xiong's deputy general, in the first battle, he led his troops back to Liangdong to stay. He sent someone to report the victory to Yuan Shao and asked Yuan Shu for food. A villain said to Shu: "Sun Jian is a fierce tiger in Jiangdong; if he breaks through Luoyang and kills Dong Zhuo, it is like getting rid of the wolf and getting the tiger. If we don't give him food now, his army will surely disperse." Shu listened to him and did not send food and grass. Sun Jian's army was short of food, and there was chaos in the army. The spies reported to the pass. Li Su planned for Hua Xiong and said: "Tonight I will lead an army to go down the pass from a small road, attack Sun Jian's camp from behind, and the general will attack his front camp, and Jian can be captured." Hua Xiong followed his advice and ordered the soldiers to have a full meal and go down the pass at night. That night was bright and windy. When they arrived at Jian's camp, it was already midnight, and they marched forward with drums beating. Jian hurriedly put on his armor and mounted his horse, and he met Hua Xiong. The two horses met and fought for a few rounds, and then Li Su's army arrived from behind and set fire to the camp. Jian's army fled in panic. The generals fought in a chaotic manner, and only Zu Mao followed Sun Jian and broke through the encirclement. Hua Xiong was chasing behind him. Jian took out his arrows and shot two arrows in a row, but Hua Xiong dodged them both. When he shot the third arrow, he used too much force and broke the magpie-painted bow, so he had to abandon the bow and run away. Zu Mao said, "The red cap on your lord's head is eye-catching, and the thieves can recognize you. You can take it off and let me wear it." Jian took off his cap and put on Mao's helmet, and they split into two groups and ran away. Xiong's army only chased the one with the red cap, and Jian escaped through a small road. Zu Mao was chased by Hua Xiong, so he hung his red cap on the pillar of the courtyard of a house that could not be burned, and hid in the woods. Hua Xiong's army saw the red cap from a distance under the moonlight, and surrounded it from all sides, not daring to approach. They shot him with arrows, and then realized it was a trick, so they went forward to take the red cap. Zu Mao rushed out from behind the forest, wielding two swords to chop Hua Xiong; Hua Xiong shouted and chopped Zu Mao off his horse with one sword. The fighting lasted until dawn, and then Hua Xiong led his troops to the pass.

Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang all came to find Sun Jian, and then gathered the troops and horses to camp. Jian was very sad about the death of Zu Mao, and sent someone to inform Yuan Shao at night. Shao was shocked and said, "I didn't expect Sun Wentai to be defeated by Hua Xiong!" He gathered all the princes to discuss. Everyone arrived, only Gongsun Zan arrived later, and Shao invited him to sit in the tent. Shao said, "The day before yesterday, General Bao's brother disobeyed the order and advanced without authorization, killing himself and losing many soldiers; now Sun Wentai is defeated by Hua Xiong again: the spirit is dampened, what can we do?" The princes were all silent. Shao looked around and saw three people standing behind Gongsun Zan. They looked strange and sneered. Shao asked, "Who is behind the prefect Gongsun?" Zan called Xuande out and said, "This is my roommate since childhood, Pingyuan County Governor Liu Bei." Cao Cao asked, "Is it Liu Xuande who defeated the Yellow Turbans?" Zan said, "Yes." He immediately ordered Liu Xuande to meet him. Zan told Xuande about his achievements and his origins in detail. Shao said, "Since you are a descendant of the Han Dynasty, please take a seat." He ordered him to sit. Bei declined. Shao said, "I don't respect you for your title, I respect you for being a descendant of the imperial family." Xuande sat at the last seat, and Guan and Zhang stood behind him with their hands crossed. Suddenly, a spy came to report, "Hua Xiong led the cavalry down the pass, holding the red cap of Prefect Sun on a long pole, and came to the front of the camp to curse and challenge." Shao said, "Who dares to fight?" Behind Yuan Shu, the brave general Yu She came out and said, "I am willing to go." Shao was happy and ordered Yu She to go out. Immediately, the news came: "Yu She fought with Hua Xiong for less than three rounds, and was killed by Hua Xiong." Everyone was shocked. The governor Han Fu said: "I have a general Pan Feng, who can kill Hua Xiong." Shao hurriedly ordered him to fight. Pan Feng took a big axe and mounted his horse. Not long after he left, he came back on a horse and reported: "Pan Feng was killed by Hua Xiong again." Shao said: "It's a pity that my generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou haven't arrived yet! With this person here, why should we be afraid of Hua Xiong!" Before he finished speaking, a man at the steps shouted: "I am willing to cut off Hua Xiong's head and present it to you!" Everyone looked at him and saw that he was nine feet tall, with a beard two feet long, phoenix eyes, long eyebrows, a face like a red date, and a voice like a huge bell. He stood in front of the tent. Shao asked who he was. Gongsun Zan said: "This is Guan Yu, the younger brother of Liu Xuande." Shao asked what his current position was. Zan said, "Follow Liu Xuande as a horse archer." Yuan Shu shouted in the tent, "Do you deceive us princes that we don't have great generals? How dare you talk nonsense with just an archer! Fight with me!" Cao Cao hurriedly stopped him and said, "Calm down, Gonglu. Since this man has made big claims, he must be brave and strategic. Let's try him out on horseback. If he fails, it's not too late to blame him." Yuan Shao said, "If we send an archer to fight, Hua Xiong will definitely laugh at us." Cao said, "This man has a good appearance. How can Hua Xiong know that he is an archer?" Guan Gong said, "If you fail, please cut off my head." Cao ordered a cup of hot wine, drank it with Guan Gong, and then mounted his horse. Guan Gong said, "Pour the wine, I'll be back soon." He came out of the tent, took up his sword, and jumped on his horse. The princes heard the drums outside the pass and the shouts were loud, like the sky collapsing and the mountains shaking, and they were all shocked. Just as they were about to investigate, the sound of the phoenix bells rang, and horses arrived at the center of the army. Yunchang picked up Hua Xiong's head and threw it on the ground. The wine was still warm. Later generations praised him in a poem: "The first merit of the world, the drums at the gate sounded. Yunchang stopped drinking and showed his bravery, and killed Hua Xiong while the wine was still warm." Cao Cao was overjoyed. Zhang Fei came out from behind Xuande and shouted loudly: "My brother killed Hua Xiong, why don't we go into the pass and capture Dong Zhuo alive?" Yuan Shu was furious and shouted: "I am a minister and I am humble, how dare you show off your power here as a soldier under the county magistrate! Get out of the tent!" Cao Cao said: "Reward those who have made contributions, why bother about their status?" Yuan Shu said: "Since you only care about a county magistrate, I will leave." Cao said: "How can I miss the big thing because of one word?" He ordered Gongsun Zan to take Xuande, Guan and Zhang back to the camp. All the officials dispersed. Cao Cao secretly sent people to bring cattle and wine to comfort the three. But Hua Xiong's defeated army reported to the pass. Li Su hurriedly wrote an emergency document and informed Dong Zhuo. Zhuo hurriedly gathered Li Ru, Lu Bu and others to discuss. Ru said: "Now that we have lost General Hua Xiong, the enemy is very powerful. Yuan Shao is the leader of the alliance, and Shao's uncle Yuan Wei is now the Grand Tutor. If there is an internal and external attack, it will be very inconvenient, so we can get rid of them first. Please ask the Prime Minister to lead the army and divide the troops to suppress and capture them." Zhuo agreed with his words and called Li Cui and Guo Si to lead 500 soldiers to surround the house of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei. Regardless of age, they were all killed. First, Yuan Wei's head was taken to the front of the pass to issue orders.

Zhuo then raised 200,000 troops and divided them into two groups: one group first ordered Li □ and Guo Si to lead 50,000 troops to hold Sishui Pass and not to fight; Zhuo himself led 150,000 troops to guard Hulao Pass with Li Ru, Lu Bu, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others. This pass is 50 miles away from Luoyang. When the army arrived at the pass, Zhuo ordered Lu Bu to lead 30,000 troops to set up a large camp in front of the pass. Zhuo stayed at the pass himself.

Liuxing Ma learned about it and reported it to Yuan Shao's camp. Shao gathered people to discuss. Cao said, "Dong Zhuo has stationed his troops at Hulao Pass, blocking the middle of our lords. Now you can mobilize half of your troops to meet the enemy." Shao then divided the lords into eight groups, namely Wang Kuang, Qiao Mao, Bao Xin, Yuan Yi, Sun Rong, Zhang Yang, Tao Qian, and Gongsun Zan, and sent them to Hulao Pass to meet the enemy. Cao led his troops to come and go to support them. The eight lords each raised their own troops. Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei, led his troops to arrive first. Lü Bu led 3,000 cavalrymen and rushed to meet them. Wang Kuang arranged his generals and horses into battle formations. When he pulled his horses under the gate flag and looked, he saw Lü Bu coming out: he wore a three-pronged purple gold crown, a red brocade and flowery robe from Xichuan, a beast-faced and head-swallowing chain armor, and a belt of exquisite lions and barbarians around his waist; he carried a bow and arrow, held a painted halberd, and rode on his neighing Red Hare: he was indeed "Lü Bu among men, Red Hare among horses"! Wang Kuang turned around and asked, "Who dares to fight?" A general behind him rode out with his spear. Wang Kuang looked at him and saw that it was Fang Yue, a famous general from Henei. The two horses met, and within five rounds, Lü Bu stabbed Wang Kuang under his horse with his halberd, and rushed forward with his halberd. The army of Wang Kuang was defeated and scattered. Wang Kuang rushed east and west, as if he was in an empty space. Fortunately, the armies of Qiao Mao and Yuan Yi arrived to rescue Wang Kuang, and Lü Bu retreated. The three princes each lost some men and horses, retreated thirty miles and set up camp. Later, the five armies arrived and discussed together, saying that Lü Bu was a hero and no one could defeat him.

While he was thinking, the junior officer reported: "Lü Bu challenged me." The eight princes mounted their horses together. The army was divided into eight teams and deployed on a high hill. From a distance, Lü Bu's army and horses were seen with embroidered flags and flags, and they rushed forward first. Mu Shun, a general under Zhang Yang, the governor of Shangdang, rode out with his lance to fight, but was stabbed under his horse by Lü Bu's halberd. Everyone was shocked. Wu Anguo, a general under Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai, rode out with his iron hammer. Lü Bu waved his halberd and beat his horse to meet him. After more than ten rounds of fighting, he cut off Anguo's wrist with a halberd, threw his hammer on the ground and ran away. The eight armies came out together to rescue Wu Anguo. Lu Bu retreated. The princes returned to the camp to discuss. Cao Cao said: "Lu Bu is brave and invincible. You can gather the eighteen princes to discuss a good strategy. If you capture Lu Bu, it will be easy to kill Dong Zhuo."

While they were discussing, Lu Bu led his troops to fight again. The eight princes came out together. Gongsun Zan waved his spear and fought Lu Bu in person. After a few rounds, Zan was defeated and fled.

Lu Bu rode his red rabbit horse to catch up. The horse traveled a thousand miles a day and flew like the wind. When he caught up, Lu Bu raised his painted halberd and stabbed Zan in the back. A general next to him, with his eyes wide open, tiger whiskers standing upside down, and a snake spear in hand, rode on his horse and shouted: "Don't run, slave of three surnames! Zhang Fei from Yan is here!" Lu Bu saw it and abandoned Gongsun Zan and fought Zhang Fei. Fei cheered up and fought Lu Bu fiercely. They fought for more than fifty rounds, but neither won. Seeing this, Yunchang slapped his horse and brandished his 82-jin Qinglong Yanyue Sword to attack Lü Bu. The three horses fought in a line. After thirty rounds, they still couldn't defeat Lü Bu. Liu Xuande drew his double-edged sword, rode his yellow-maned horse, and came to help from the side. The three surrounded Lü Bu. They fought like a spinning lantern. The eight-way army was stunned. Lü Bu was unsure about how to block him. He looked at Xuande and stabbed him with his halberd, but Xuande dodged. Lü Bu opened the corner of the formation, dragged his halberd backwards, and rode back. The three were unwilling to give up, so they rode their horses to come. The eight-way army shouted loudly and attacked together. Lü Bu's army rushed to the pass; Xuande, Guan, and Zhang followed.

Zhang Fei rode his horse to the pass, but the pass was raining arrows and stones, so he could not go forward and had to return. The eight-way princes asked Xuande, Guan, and Zhang to congratulate them on their success and sent people to Yuan Shao's camp to report the victory. Shao then sent a letter to Sun Jian, ordering him to advance.