Mythical Three Kingdoms

With the addition of Cai Yang, Li Dian felt much more at ease, and upon learning that it was Li Jin who had injured Lyu Bu, Cai Yang’s admiration grew immensely. He had seen for himself how ferocious Lyu Bu was, and although Li Jin was now practically crippled, the fact that he had been able to force Lyu Bu to retreat spoke volumes about his formidable strength.

Similarly, Li Jin was extremely surprised when he found out that Cai Yang had also fought a tough battle against Lyu Bu. Even though Lyu Bu had been injured, his strength was not to be underestimated; without the solid martial prowess of someone at the level of Guan and Zhang, it would have been impossible to drive back Lyu Bu. Thus, with mutual admiration, the Li and Qin families quickly joined forces and advanced toward Chenliu.

As for Liu Bei’s side, they were completely oblivious to the relevant information. After all, with Lyu Bu’s pride, he would certainly not deign to speak to anyone about the disgusting events that had transpired that day. Although his defeat was for fairly reasonable causes, this did not mean he could accept such a failure.

Therefore, by the time Lyu Bu mustered his forces in preparation to intercept the troops under Li Jin and Cai Yang, with plans to fairly challenge and eliminate the two of them, the Li and Qin families had already entered Chenliu.

Just as Lyu Bu hesitated over whether to attack Chenliu to vent the resentment in his heart, a letter from Chen Gong arrived, instructing him to prepare for a return to the north, as Yuan Shao had already made his move, starting a large-scale military offensive from Yuan Jizhou’s Wei Commandery and Qinghe State, seizing territories across Eastern Commandery of Yanzhou, the State of Dongping, and even the northern regions of Jiyin.

This was the best opportunity for Lyu Bu to leave Yanzhou behind and head north for his expedition against the Hu People. By fully abandoning Yanzhou and leading his forces on the northern expedition, he could hand over Yanzhou to Yuan Shao and Liu Bei and, with the moral high ground already secured, even manage to extract benefits from Yuan Shao without any resistance.

After this period, once Yuan Shao had fully taken the northern part of Yanzhou with absolute power, they would no longer have any leverage for negotiations with Yuan Shao, and heading north would be entirely at Yuan Shao’s discretion.

Although the likelihood of Yuan Shao disallowing it was practically zero, Chen Gong couldn’t stand by and watch the benefits that were almost within reach slip away. So, while negotiating with Feng Ji, he began to summon Lyu Bu and the generals under him to prepare for the return north, and took the opportunity to issue his final proclamation, calling upon like-minded civil officials and military generals in the Central Plains to join him in the northern expedition against the Hu People.

”Yuantu, brother, what do you think of this plan?” Chen Gong asked with a smile as he made idle chatter with Feng Ji, who had recently come to Yanzhou by carriage. Chen Gong knew right then that Liu Bei’s large-scale assimilation move had finally elicited a reaction from Yuan Shao.

”This is unacceptable, my army provided tens of thousands of your soldiers with a year’s supply of military provisions, yet your army trifles with ours in such a way,” Feng Ji retorted, sweeping his sleeve as if to leave immediately, though it was just a gesture.

”There is room for discussion, dear brother Yuantu, room for discussion,” Chen Gong promptly reached out to grasp Feng Ji’s sleeve, persuading him with a smile on his face, ”Look at the fertile lands of Eastern Commandery, our army will lift restrictions, and your army can take over entirely without effort within three days.”

If it weren’t for the need to rely on Yuan Shao in the north later on, Chen Gong wouldn’t bother with Feng Ji at all—knowing Liu Bei would win and not cozying up, isn’t that just asking for trouble? However, given the current situation, Chen Gong had no choice but to cede the territories of Eastern Commandery and Dongping to Yuan Shao; otherwise, the northern expedition would face unnecessary setbacks.

”Gongtai, my lord Yuan Jizhou is also aware of your difficulties, yet marrying a daughter off to two different families will not end well. After all, once Liu Xuande heads north, he will find it difficult to obtain support, while my lord would be your significant rear base. Please, Gongtai, weigh your options more carefully,” Feng Ji advised earnestly.

”The issue is that our army had previously been defeated by the Mount Tai Army, our only choice was to cooperate with Mount Tai. You must understand, Yuantu, we had no say in the matter and had to let things take their course. Otherwise, why would my friend Lyu Fengxian abandon such a favorable position in the Central Plains for the bitter cold of the north?” Chen Gong sighed heavily, wiping away a tear with a bitter smile.

Feng Ji sneaked a glance at Chen Gong, confirming that Chen Gong was speaking sincerely. He had also investigated when he arrived and found that Mount Tai indeed heavily supported Lyu Bu’s northern campaign.

One could even say that Lyu Bu’s entire return to the north was orchestrated by Mount Tai, but after analysis by Ju Shou and Xu You, they ultimately concluded that even if Lyu Bu’s return had been strategized by Liu Bei, it would still be more advantageous than disadvantageous for Yuan Shao.

After all, the great righteousness that bound all the Feudal Lords also constrained Lyu Bu. Once Lyu Bu turned his back on this great righteousness, he would only have a dead end. Even if Liu Bei had the audacity, he could not take in a military general who subverted such national righteousness. Thus, this also eliminated the possibility of Lyu Bu aiding Liu Bei.

What’s more, in Xu You’s analysis, with Lyu Bu’s strength, there was no doubt about reclaiming one or two commanderies of the Hetao Plain, if not the entire area.

Importantly, Lyu Bu himself lacked Civil Officials capable of managing a commandery or county. Despite having Chen Gong, Bingzhou lacked the kind of aristocratic families found in the Central Plains and naturally did not have mid-to-lower level civil officials capable of governing a commandery or county.

Because of this, the management of the commanderies and counties would ultimately fall into Yuan Shao’s hands. With increased interactions with Lyu Bu, once Yuan Shao defeated Liu Bei and then marched north to thoroughly defeat the Hu People, fulfilling this great righteousness on behalf of Lyu Bu, bringing Lyu Bu into the fold would fundamentally be a matter of one word.

After all, given Lyu Bu’s Combat Power, all the Feudal Lords coveted him, as both his command of troops and Martial Force were unparalleled in the world.

Chen Gong accompanied Feng Ji, persuading him earnestly, and finally convinced Feng Ji. Except for Linyi, Yuan Shao’s Army, relying on the comprehensive border with Ji Province, directly took over the entire territory within one day. Subsequently, they clashed with Taishi Ci in Dongping and divided Dongping equally, and even forcefully seized the northern part of Jiyin from the north to the south.

Although Liu Bei’s Army was prepared, it couldn’t withstand the fact that Yuan Shao’s territories in Ji Province and Yan Province were fully contiguous. In the end, they only managed to secure Jibei, Rencheng, the entirety of Shanyang Commandery, several counties in the southern part of Jiyin, and half of Dongping.

After acquiring the land, both Yuan and Liu sides restrained their military forces from provoking the other side and instead quickly tilled the lands of Yan Province to prepare for spring plowing. Both sides had already sensed the looming clouds of war over their heads, and after the summer grain harvest, a major battle in autumn was inevitable.

Meanwhile, Lyu Bu’s Army had already packed up and officially began their journey back to the north, with the northern campaign unfolding beneath their feet.

”Finally returning to Bingzhou,” Lyu Bu’s hand holding the Sky Piercer trembled slightly, and the Red Hare Horse beneath him seemed to sense Lyu Bu’s excitement and galloped frantically.

”Yanmen...” Zhang Liao’s expression turned inexplicably resolute, and the Inner Qi in his body slowly rose, shifting visibly to the naked eye. Perhaps Zhang Liao’s attachment was very faint, so faint that even he himself didn’t notice, but standing on the border of Bingzhou, his heart was still immensely excited.

”Jiuyuan...” Gao Shun’s body emanated a pale radiance mixed with a bittersweet smile at the corners of his mouth. They were finally going back. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets at Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)