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

Chapter 247 Acting as the Master on a Tour to Govern All Lands! [6000 words, please continue reading QAQ]

On the desolate plains, the stars shone brightly and the moonlight flowed.

Li Dian, his armor shattered and his cavalry broken, stood alone on a blue stone, loudly addressing his remaining thousand or so soldiers.

He wanted to expose Yuan Jun's conspiracy to the public, and he wanted everyone to understand that at this time, they must not become the sword or knife in Yuan Jun's hand, only then would they have a way to survive.

"Gentlemen, we can't go on like this any longer!"

Yuan Jun is pressing us relentlessly. The reason he spared our lives is that he wants to use us to conquer counties and take over all of Lu!
I know that some of you may think this is not a bad idea, and that if you can find a way to survive, it is not a bad thing to surrender to Yuan's army.

But I, Li Dian, want to tell you that my Han court only has Han soldiers who die fighting the enemy, and absolutely no Han traitors who betray their righteousness and surrender to the enemy!

General Yue Jin, take heed of the example before you. Think of your wives, children, and elderly parents. If you help Yuan Shao to commit evil now, not only will you suffer the same fate in the future, but I myself will also be executed along with my entire family.

The Han and the traitors are irreconcilable, and the law of the land shows no mercy. Even if we die in battle, we will never surrender to Yuan.

If we do not wish to, then consider this: even if we cooperate and allow Yuan's army to take over all of Lu, will they then let us go and return home?

I'm telling you, it's impossible!

Upon hearing Li Dian's words, the group of soldiers, who were covered in dust and looked pale and emaciated, revealed despair in their eyes.

Surrender to Yuan and your entire family will die; refuse to surrender and you will die. The world is vast; are you really going to leave them no way out?

"Why? General, you promised to take me back to Luoyang to receive a reward."

"I made a promise to my family that I would get married when I returned home. I'm going home! Dad, Mom! I miss you."

"We escaped the encirclement in Liang, fought our way out of the forest, and survived several near-death experiences in Xue County and Fan County. General, is there really no way for us to find a way out?"

Some soldiers covered their faces and wept, some wailed and cried, some looked up at Li Dian with hope, and some dragged their wounded bodies and leaned against trees, closing their eyes and never opening them again.

Li Dian watched this scene silently, his eyes filled with sorrow and his heart aching, but on the surface he appeared confident and composed.

"Don't panic, everyone!"
Those who can live, I, Li Dian, have granted you a way to live, and I will surely lead you home alive.

The current situation is difficult. Although we are trapped by Yuan's army, as long as we still have some use, at least our lives are not in danger for the time being. Yuan's army will only drive us to the county town, but will not kill us all.

Since that's the case, this might not be a bad opportunity for us. Listen to me, we can slow down our journey to the next county for now.

Yuan Jun's plan emphasizes speed; if it is delayed and intelligence is received from various parts of Lu State in advance, the plan will be completely useless.

Perhaps we can turn the tables on them and wait for us to arrive before the garrison pretends to open the city gates, but in reality, they set up an ambush and kill Yuan's army.

The Yuan army here numbers only 20,000, but for the State of Lu, it is a home-field battle. If they are prepared in advance and coordinate with our sudden counterattack, we may be able to give the Yuan army a crushing defeat and drive them back.”

"Alright! We'll do as the general says and give those damned Yuan traitors a good beating."

"Brothers, let's save our energy for the journey ahead. Anyway, these Yuan dogs are moving at our pace, and they'll only attack when we reach the city."

"That's exactly the point. The longer we stay here, the more time our brothers in Lu can prepare."

"Come on, here's some food we just found. Brothers, eat more! Eat their grain, fuck their mothers, get your strength back, and then follow the general to kill those Yuan dogs to your heart's content."

Looking at the soldiers who, after hearing his plan, seemed to regain their confidence, were willing to risk their lives and fight with all their might just to keep them alive, all for the promise he made to them.

Li Dian remained silent, only fiercely biting into the spoiled bread handed to him by his deputy.

But can they really survive?
In fact, Li Dian himself didn't know, he only knew that he absolutely couldn't let Yuan Jun continue to have such a smooth run.

It's good to try to buy time and thwart the villain who's secretly plotting against you.

The following day, as Li Dian's plan was put into action, he soon noticed that the Cao army ahead was fleeing slower and slower, and was gradually not moving much in their pursuit of Yuan's army. Slightly surprised, he quickly reported this to Lu Xun.

Upon receiving the news, Lu Xun woke up to find himself eating a delicious millet porridge at the Fan County government office.

Upon hearing this news, his little face turned bright red, and he angrily drank all the porridge in his bowl in one gulp before slamming the bowl down on the table.

"That Li Dian is truly outrageous!"

I fed you, sometimes starving, sometimes full, and painstakingly planned routes to drive you away, fearing you would get lost.

Now look what's happened! I swallowed my pride and went to great lengths to save you all from General Yue's blade, and you, Li Dian, don't even know how to repay my kindness.

You say this blatant plan is right there, it would be better if we just kept it a secret and everyone could save face.

If you truly help me gain control of the entire State of Lu, then perhaps you will also have a seat on the Golden Platform before your teacher.

"Very well, now that things have come to this, I must show you what ruthless methods truly mean when you're in my grasp."

Having said that, the young man flicked his sleeves and left the mansion, mounted his horse, and commanded the three armies with his imposing presence.

"To act as the teacher and tour the land to govern all regions!"

"All troops, heed my command! Follow me as I drive the flock of sheep!"

"Here!"

And so Yuan's army came to attack!

Lu Xun rode behind him, sword at his side, as thousands of Yuan's soldiers swarmed forward like tigers and wolves, pouncing on a flock of sheep.

This shattered Li Dianjun's illusion that Yuan Jun would spare their lives, and also destroyed all the hard work he had put into winning people's hearts with his words last night.

Yes, Yuan Jun would spare lives, but apart from Li Dian, who lives and who dies is of little importance.

Spare your lives is a reward; you should be grateful.

Taking your lives is punishment; you should seek revenge.

Lu Xun, riding his horse, squinted as he watched Li Dian's troops flee in disarray, heading straight for Zoucheng at several times their previous speed. He couldn't help but crack his whip and laugh.

"The entire land of China is my teacher's pasture. Why don't you, my lords, serve my teacher to the death?"

Not long after, Li Dianjun fled to Zoucheng. The Zoucheng garrison commander was terrified and hurriedly opened the city gates to rescue him. As a result, Yue Jin led his troops to attack, and Zoucheng fell.

When Li Dian once again escaped death and was surrounded by soldiers scrambling to escape Zoucheng, his face was ashen and his eyes were bloodshot.

To be honest, he really wanted to fight to the death in the city, but the Cao army around him was already very skilled. As long as he took him with him and they fled outside the city, they would almost certainly escape.

How could he be allowed to fight to the death with such a life-saving artifact? So he was disarmed once again and directly taken away.

Li Dian: "."

Gazing at Zoucheng behind him, now engulfed in flames of war, he bit his pale lips hard, feeling an overwhelming sense of pent-up frustration.

You brat! You brat!

If you've got the guts, then kill me!

A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated! I, Li Dian'an, can not bear such a great disgrace!
But with his subordinates around him, who saw him as their lifeline, he couldn't even bring himself to commit suicide.

The last time Yuan Jun attacked unexpectedly, it was both a warning and a threat.

Those who obeyed were spared their lives, while those who disobeyed were met with the swift arrival of Yuan's imperial army.

This moment of helplessness made Li Dian realize a profound truth: he and they, and his only remaining subordinates, were no longer of one mind.

They've said all the grand principles, all the good and bad things, no matter how nice or generous their words sound.

But when faced with a true life-or-death dilemma, very few people would fight alongside him to the death against the Yuan traitor, or be loyal to the court to the death.

Or perhaps those truly brave and loyal men who dared to fight had already charged ahead and died in the previous bloody battles, so why would they wait until now?

Yuan Jun's repeated attacks served both as a push and a selection process, targeting the Cao army that had managed to escape death and reach this round.

It can be said that they are not just cowards, but masters of cowardice.

Li Dian took a deep breath and held back for the time being. He knew that giving speeches like the one before to boost morale was no longer meaningful.

He not only had to deal with the enemies chasing him from behind, but also the "enemies" close at hand.

To thwart that brat's plan, he had no choice but to remain patient and wait for the right opportunity.

To get these cowardly people to risk their lives in a fight, their illusion of just getting by, of living day by day, must be shattered.

Only in the face of utter despair can one truly understand the cycle of life and death!

On the way to Bian County, Li Dian fell into complete silence. He silently ate the spoiled food he picked up every day and silently fled with the others. He was numb and indifferent like everyone else, as if he had already accepted his fate.

Finally, Yuan's army arrived at the walls of Bian County.

The lieutenant ordered the city gates opened, shouting loudly:
"Open the city gates immediately!"

General Li Dian, who is in charge of the war between Liang and Lu, is here!
Why not open the city gates? Do you intend to frame General Li Dian in an unjust manner?

"Don't hesitate, hurry!"

The lieutenant's words came to an abrupt halt, for at that moment, he could utter another word.

Li Dian, who had been biding his time, launched a sudden attack when everyone was in a panic about Yuan's army's approach and busy ordering the city gates to be opened, thus failing to pay attention to him.

He lunged forward and grabbed the lieutenant from behind, completely subduing him with his superior martial arts skills.

Unfortunately, his weapon was taken from him, so he had no choice but to bite through the deputy general's throat bit by bit.

When the lieutenant's unseeing corpse lay on the ground, blood trickling from his throat.

When Li Dianzhan, his mouth full of blood, stood up, drew his deputy general's sword, and stared at his thousand-strong Cao army, his expression ferocious like a demon.

Everyone trembled and dared not step forward.

Li Dian looked up to the sky and shouted, "Do not open the city gates! This is Yuan's army's plan!"

If I die beneath the city walls, it is the will of Heaven. You need not worry or panic. Hold the city, send a message for reinforcements, and Lord Cao will not punish you!

The people on the city wall, seeing this scene, were filled with rage and cried out, "General Li's loyalty and righteousness shall be remembered for all time."

Li Dian laughed loudly, glanced at the bewildered Cao army around him, and said coldly.

"Now that Bian County will not open its gates, you are of no use to Yuan's army, and your death is imminent."

"If you wish to surrender to Yuan, then leave on your own. I, Li, will not spare you. Tomorrow, your entire clan will be exterminated. Do not say I did not warn you."

As soon as Li Dian finished speaking, the crowd looked at each other. Dozens of them left immediately, either alone, without relatives, or selfish and only concerned with survival.

There were still seven or eight hundred people left, staring blankly at Li Dian.

"General, what should we do now?"

Li Dian smiled, sword in hand, finally able to utter the famous line he had long wanted to say but never had the chance to.

"To die now is death, to launch a great plan is also death!"
Why don't you fight to the death, gentlemen?

The crowd sighed deeply. Yuan's plan had been ruined, so why would they spare their lives? But if they surrendered to Yuan, they would think of their families and relatives and couldn't bear to do so.

A desperate situation! This is a desperate situation that Li Dian prepared specifically for them!
"As the general said, we are doomed to die today."

"We are willing to fight to the death with the general." "Good!"

At this moment, having thwarted that brat's plan and gained the opportunity for this final battle, Li Dian seemed to finally exhale all the pent-up anger he had been holding in for the past few days. He let out a long roar to the sky, a sound of unbridled joy and exhilaration.

"Now that all the generals are dying together, and all of Yuan's dogs are killed, I am greatly gratified."

After speaking, he immediately ordered his generals to stand guard at the city gate, with their backs to the gate.

He also ordered many shields, armor and other military equipment to be thrown down from the city walls, and simultaneously commanded the battle from both the city walls and the area below.

Arrows and stones were fired from the city walls to support those on the ground, while those on the ground destroyed the siege ladders to protect the city gates.

From afar, Yue Jin watched this scene from Yuan Jun's camp and couldn't help but sigh.

"Li Mancheng's army is well-organized and his personality is steady. He can break through the situation even in desperate situations, and he is definitely a talented general."

"It's a pity. If I hadn't cut off Cao Cao's path to surrender, and if the Li family hadn't been such a powerful and wealthy clan, my lord would have gained another excellent general, and I could have served alongside him as a minister in the future."

After sighing, Yue Jin asked Lu Xun for advice, "Your plan has been thwarted by him? What should we do now?"

"If we launch a direct assault on the city, we may win, but we will also suffer losses. Our troops must return to defend Liang and ensure its safety."

"You've ruined my plan?"

Lu Xun laughed, "This was already in my plan. It was Li Mancheng who only gave up his illusions now and took this desperate gamble, which almost ruined my grand plan."

"This military campaign into Shandong, is it not merely to seize a few counties?"

Lu Xun chuckled and reminded him, "General Yue, recall the man I just sent to intercept the messengers seeking help in the city. I need him to relay the message here."

Le Jin was puzzled, so Lu Xun explained it to him.

"As the saying goes, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. The imperial army is far away, and even if we ask for help, by the time they arrive, the city will have already been captured."

Of the six counties within the territory of Lu, three have already been lost. Bian County is now besieged by us, and Wenyang County has few soldiers, barely enough to defend itself, let alone receive reinforcements.

"So, General Yue, where do you think this letter should seek help from?"

"The capital of the State of Lu, Lu City!"

Le Jin was horrified. Only now did he understand the true meaning behind Lu Xun's previous actions.

What he wanted was not just the surrounding counties of Biancheng and Xuecheng; from beginning to end, the place in his sights was always the residence of King Nalu.

Lu Xun nodded, the young man on his white horse, his sleeves fluttering.

"The game is decided; checkmate."

"Le Pingdong, do you dare to follow me to assassinate the king and seize the capital?"

"Hahaha"

No wonder he is Master Yuan's outstanding disciple!
Le Jin also looked up at the sky and laughed.

"Why don't you dare?"

The two then left 5,000 soldiers, set up many flags and cooking stoves, pretending to have 20,000, and besieged Bian County. They then led 15,000 men and quietly left to ambush outside Lu City.

So, Li Dian, who had just shouted "To die or to fight, we will die, so why not fight to the death?" and led the troops on and around the city of Bian County, ready to fight Yuan's army to the death, felt as if he had punched empty air.

It can't be held.

Li Dian knew he couldn't hold the city; not only could he not defend it outside the city, but he couldn't even defend Biancheng.

Even if a small county town doesn't open its gates, it's difficult to stop Yuan's army. The only difference is how long it can hold out, how many Yuan soldiers it can kill and how much casualties it can inflict on them, given its advantageous location.

The best outcome would be either the arrival of reinforcements or the breaking of a few teeth in Yuan's army, making it impossible for them to continue attacking the next city.

Just as Li Dian and his eight hundred men, along with the defenders of Biancheng on the city walls, were all inspired by Li Dian's loyalty and prepared to fight to the death, intending to live and die with Biancheng.

What did they see?
Yuan's army is actually digging deep trenches and building fortifications?!

It seems they intend to completely surround Biancheng?
No, building strongholds and fighting protracted battles are indeed Yuan Shao's famous tactics, but there's no way to apply them so rigidly!

You have a full 20,000 Yuan troops attacking our county town with only 2,000 or 3,000 people. What the hell are you doing, setting up a fortified camp here and fighting a stalemate, planning to surround us and let us starve to death?
That's overly cautious!
Is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of nothing?

"You brat! You brat!"

Li Dian was so angry he was speechless!
He had finally managed to rally his troops once again, and planned to fight one last battle, to give that scoundrel who had tricked him a taste of his own medicine before he died.

As a result, this brat actually dug a trench, intending to starve himself to death.

Li Dian: "."

No one fights like this!

But what if we were to take the initiative to charge forward and prevent Yuan's camp from setting up camp?

Our side of eight hundred men, having fled for many days, are pale, emaciated, and exhausted.

Should we launch a frontal assault on the enemy's well-rested 20,000-strong camp?

Although Li Dian was prepared to die in battle, he was not prepared to give the enemy credit for their victory!
As for calling upon the garrison of Biancheng to charge out of the city together and prevent Yuan's army from setting up camp?

Maybe that brat deliberately set a trap to lure people out of the city?

With the two or three thousand garrison troops in the city, plus our eight hundred men, going out into the open to fight would mean losing the advantage of defending the city, and we would be wiped out in an instant by Yuan's twenty thousand troops.

That's great, even Bian Cheng has been given away.

At this moment, Li Dian realized with despair that he was completely helpless.
The gap between the two sides is too large, and the other side is being overly cautious.

He could only watch helplessly as the enemy dug deep trenches and built high walls right in front of him, waiting to starve to death.

humiliation!

Naked humiliation!

What a shame!

The only thing that could comfort Li Dian was that, fortunately, Biancheng still had a sufficient amount of food and supplies, enough for half a year.

They could also bring some food down from the city walls using buckets, so at least they wouldn't have to eat spoiled food anymore.

Upon hearing this good news, Li Dian remained silent, coldly watching the army digging trenches and building fortifications to surround Biancheng in the distance, and secretly laughed.

He refused to believe that this brat could abandon the Liang Kingdom and waste half a year here with him.

Talking about war on paper and blindly applying strategies will only lead to a shortage of supplies when the time comes, and you, you fool, will surely bring shame upon yourself.

Meanwhile, in Lu City, the capital of the State of Lu.

King Lu paced anxiously in the main hall, seeking advice from his wise ministers, but they remained silent and dared not speak.

"What's going on? Someone tell me, what exactly is going on?"

Xue County, Fan County, and Zou County fell one after another. The speed of the fall was so fast that they could not be held for even a day and a night. It was as if the city had been breached as soon as Yuan's army arrived.

Who among you can tell me that the commanders of these cities are all rebels who want to surrender to the enemy?

Or were Yuan's troops all heavenly soldiers descended to earth, and mortal cities crumbled at the mere touch of them, unable to withstand them at all?
"Speak! Who among you will tell me!"

The officials knelt on the ground, barely daring to speak.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were secretly glancing at him, Prime Minister Zhang Hua sighed and stroked his long beard as he answered.

"Your Majesty, this matter is strange, but there must be a reason for it."

However, this matter is not urgent and can be discussed later. Right now, Yuan's army is launching a large-scale attack; the most important thing is to send a letter to the court immediately requesting aid.

"Request reinforcements? Do you think I don't know how to request reinforcements?"

Seeing that even now, this old codger is still trying to smooth things over, King Lu was furious.

"At the current rate at which Yuan's army is taking down one city a day, they will reach the city walls in just two or three days."

If we don't understand how they so easily breached the city, how could Lu City have been defended?
Imperial reinforcements? Forget Luoyang, even if the nearest Yanzhou came to my aid, I would already be a slave to the Yuan family.

"This"

For a moment, Zhang Hua was speechless, feeling humiliated. Fortunately, he suddenly thought of someone, his eyes lit up, and he advised:
"The imperial court once dispatched General Li Dian to lead the war between Liang and Lu. He still had 10,000 elite troops under his command."

He is a renowned general who is well-versed in military strategy and skilled in military formations. If we can ask him for help, he will lead the 10,000 troops defending our capital.

The two armies, totaling 20,000 men, are roughly equal in number to Yuan's army. Furthermore, with Li Pingxi in command, they should be no less formidable than Le Jin's forces. They might be able to repel the enemy and defend the State of Lu.

Upon hearing this, the King of Lu frowned even more deeply.

"What the prime minister said makes sense, but where is the General Who Pacifies the West?"
I had long heard that he had led his army into Liang, and now that the Yuan army of Liang had broken out, there was still no news of General Pingxi, and his fate was unknown.

"Our entire army might be wiped out by the Liang Kingdom; how can we ask them for help now?"

Prime Minister Zhang Hua shook his head and analyzed, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, that's not necessarily true."

The General of Pingxi gathered his troops in one place and used the tactics of bandits to harass the Liang Kingdom. On the other hand, although the Yuan army had 30,000 troops, they had to guard various places and were restrained everywhere.

It is absolutely impossible for Yuan's army to annihilate General Pingxi's forces silently and without warning.

General Pingxi may be currently being held back in Liang, or he may have suffered some minor defeats and losses, which is why Yuan's army can be distracted and send troops out.

But most likely, this is Yuan's strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao!

In my humble opinion, he must have been driven to desperation by the bandit tactics of General Pingxi in Liang, which led him to resort to this desperate measure of attacking my state of Lu, forcing General Pingxi to withdraw his troops to reinforce our state.

The king only needs to send people to Luoyang, Yanzhou and other places to seek help, and send people to search for clues about General Pingxi near Liang State.

If we could make contact with them, we would surely know why this Yuan army suddenly attacked, and the strange way they captured several cities with such overwhelming force.

King Lu glanced at his ministers, and seeing that they had no other ideas or solutions, he could only sigh.

"The Prime Minister's words are wise and prudent; we will act in accordance with your plan."

As he spoke, he looked at the leader of the military officers present and gave orders.

"General Chen, I entrust the city's defense to you these days. Be extra careful and do not disappoint me."

Chen Zhang accepted the order and was about to leave when an urgent report arrived, sent to the imperial palace.

"Biancheng is in grave danger!"
News of General Pingxi!
General Pingxi was standing under the walls of Bian County, single-handedly holding off Yuan's army, and was in imminent danger.

Biancheng needs help!

"Your Majesty, please send troops to rescue us immediately!!!"

(End of this chapter)