Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 150 The Wonderful People of the Xiahou Family
Your sword is sharp, but are our swords not sharp too?

This question, within the silent bunker, resonated like a thunderclap!
Once there's a first, there's bound to be a second!
"Young general, you're right!"
When we came, there were 30,000 of us, but now there are only a few of us left. We are all at our wits' end. Does he think he is General Yue, who commands thousands of troops?

We only have five hundred men left under your command, and at most we are just military commanders. We respect you and call you General. We speak to you politely. Why did you kill us for no reason?
"Are the lives we brothers have risked our lives for you, fighting bloody battles until now, really worthless in the eyes of the high and mighty General Yue?"

The fear of death is a universal human sentiment, and these two men almost voiced the sentiments of the soldiers at that moment. Immediately, the voices of the crowd surged forth like a mighty tide, threatening to drown out Yue Jin.

"That's right. Cao Cao treated him with kindness, but he didn't treat us with any. He was willing to die for Cao Cao, so why should we be dragged down with him?"

"That's right. Since I joined the army, I've only received a few full paychecks. I only get a few paychecks a month. What's the point of risking my life?"

“Bold!!!”

Le Jin stared at the scene before him, his eyes colder than ever before. "Arrogant! Traitors! How dare you be so bold! Guards, seize them! Anyone who dares to surrender, seize them all!"

However, he was met only with silence.

silence
The majority remain silent; they dare not stand up directly against Le Jin like these radicals, but their silent stance has already shown their attitude.

Le Jin surrendered, and everyone went to the Golden Terrace to share wealth and honor. But how should they choose between fighting and dying together in this place? The silence of the crowd clearly indicated that they had already made their choice.

Le Jin stared at the scene in bewilderment and fear. He couldn't understand how people's hearts had fallen to such a low level. Did these people not know loyalty and righteousness, or what propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame were?
However, for most low-ranking soldiers, all they wanted to do was to have enough to eat and to survive.

Thus, within this fortress, the surrender faction, led by a young general who had once served under Xiahou Dun, and the die-hard faction, led by Le Jin and his personal guards, faced off with their swords drawn, while the surrounding soldiers watched in silence.

In fact, these people, who were once under Xiahou Dun's command, dared to stand up at this moment for one reason only: to survive.

More importantly, the order of the General Who Guards the North, which Taishi Ci just read out, clearly stated that after surrendering, everyone could choose to continue following Yue Jin or return to the General Who Guards the North's command.

Therefore, they are not afraid of offending Yue Jin at all. On the contrary, they are thinking about making this great contribution and that after surrendering, they will surely be able to win a fortune from the General of the North.

At this moment, the young general leading them looked at Yue Jin's personal guards who were confronting their side and spoke up to persuade them.

"Brothers of the Imperial Guard, we have no intention of harming General Yue. If we send him to the Golden Terrace, we can all share in the wealth and honor. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Is fighting to the death here your loyalty? As your personal guards, you should be thinking about General Yue and your own future."

"You wouldn't want to stand by and watch General Yue die here, powerless to do anything about it, would you?"

Seeing that even his personal guards were wavering, Le Jin could no longer tolerate it and directly ordered them to take action and fight these surrenderers.

However, whenever someone from the surrender faction fell, more and more people from the silent faction around them would stand up, take up swords, and join them.

After all, dealing with Le Jin's few dozen personal guards here is much better than facing the offensive of Yuan's army of thousands and fighting to the death, right?

How can a tyrant's heart contend with the overwhelming power of the people?

Before long, as the personal guards either fell or defected, the internal strife within Cao Cao's army, which was caused by General Xiahou Dun's personal experience in persuading Cao Cao to surrender, was quickly quelled by the capture of Yue Jin.

As his own soldiers turned against him and escorted him away, a deep despair and sorrow welled up in Le Jin's eyes, and he gave a bitter laugh.

"I am ashamed that I cannot repay the kindness of Lord Cao because of my lack of ability."
"Very well, since you all wish to surrender, then take my head and exchange it for riches and honors in Yuan's camp."

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed interested, but just then, someone stepped forward.

It was the young general who had previously shouted, "Your sword is sharp, but are our swords not also ineffective?"—the leader of the surrender faction!
Despite his young age of only fifteen or sixteen, he was the leader of the surrender faction of Xiahou's officers and soldiers. This was because his surname was Xiahou and his given name was Ba.
The General of the North, Xiahou Dun, who was besieging them from the outside, was none other than his own uncle! At that moment, his uncle was trying to persuade him to surrender, but he was also unwilling to die with Yue Jin at such a young age.

It was no wonder that Xiahou Ba had some ideas. He deliberately led everyone to surrender, preparing to offer up Yue Jin and go to Yuan's camp to join his uncle.

In any case, for large families like theirs, it is common for investments to be diversified and for each member to serve their own master.

I believe my father, Xiahou Yuan, would be relieved and gratified to know that I haven't been running around outside, but have been working alongside my uncle, Xiahou Dun, to achieve great things.

At this moment, upon hearing that everyone wanted to take Yue Jin's head out as a reward, and after hearing the previous order from the General of the North to persuade him to surrender, he thought he had understood his uncle's meaning.

Therefore, Xiahou Ba, who was tacitly in cahoots with them and was working from the inside to cooperate, hurriedly came out to stop them. After all, his uncle had said: "Lord Yuan is eager to find talented people," and his intention to persuade Yue Jin to surrender was already obvious.

"Gentlemen, you are mistaken!"

Offering up Yue Jin's head is merely a temporary achievement. We should invite General Yue to be promoted to the Golden Terrace, so that everyone can rise to prominence and share in the wealth and honor. This is the true way to ensure lasting prosperity.

"How can we kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?"

After careful consideration, everyone agreed.

Le Jin glared angrily and rebuked him!

"You brat, kill me if you want, but don't humiliate me!"
I, Le Jin, would rather die than surrender!

Xiahou Ba laughed and said to his generals:

"Shout out to General Zhenbei: Yue Jin has surrendered!"

In an instant, the cry of "Le Jin has surrendered" resounded throughout the army.

After Yuan Jun confirmed the situation, he came in to take over. The general in charge of the Northern Garrison saw his eldest nephew looking smug and giving him a bright smile that seemed to say, "Uncle, come and praise me."

Beside his nephew was Yue Jin, who was being escorted by Cao Cao's army and had "voluntarily" come to surrender.

Xiahou Dun's face immediately turned dark!

He was so angry he wanted to slap his stupid nephew on the spot, but what could he do now that things had come to this?

Yang Hong approached him with a smile, his words carrying a hint of intrigue.

"I never imagined that there would be such a remarkable person in the clan of General Zhenbei. I think the lord would be delighted to hear about this."

Perhaps soon there will be another adopted son, further strengthening the bond between the General of the North and his adopted son.

Xiahou Dun forced a "benevolent" smile and said to him:
“Ba, my beloved nephew, has done something truly worthy of Dun’s praise.”

However, I dare not presume to be associated with Lord Yuan's adopted son; please refrain from such talk, strategist!

Now that he has joined Yuan's camp, I will personally take care of Ba on behalf of Miaocai.

(End of this chapter)