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

Chapter 345 Whose subordinate is this?

"Your subject, Yang Xiu, obeys!"

When Yang Xiu received the order and left, the fame and merit of these 100,000 Cao soldiers spread throughout the three armies in just one day.

Although the entire army was defeated, its morale remained high, and it was the perfect time to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions.

Everyone is saying that Prime Minister Cao has bestowed a great favor upon us, so we don't need to envy that traitor Yuan.

As long as you serve the court, why would the emperor begrudge you wealth and honor?
The crowd thanked the emperor for his grace and the prime minister for his kindness, praising Yang Xiu for being young yet the most courageous in speaking out for the people.

He then brought out several boxes of gold and silver and immediately paid the full salary to the three armies.

The next day, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao clashed again, and the situation had reversed. As the saying goes, "Where there is a great reward, there will be brave men."

Today's generous reward makes me careless about my humble life.
Lu Xun commanded the army, and Yang Hong calculated the hearts of the people, but even with their best efforts, they could not withstand the unity of purpose among them.

One hundred thousand Cao soldiers went to their deaths, all for the sake of returning home in glory. Cao Cao himself beat the drum on the battlefield, and the ten thousand soldiers risked their lives to fight for fame and fortune.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the platform, Cao Cao observed the three armies fighting bravely. He struck the drum heavily with his drumsticks, the booming sound and the shouts of battle shaking the earth.

Moved by his feelings, Cao Cao looked up to the sky and sang a sorrowful song:

"The twenty generations of the Han dynasty appointed truly incompetent officials."

A monkey wearing a crown and belt; knowing little yet plotting for power.

The traitorous ministers held the power of the country and killed the master to destroy Yujing.

The false rebels claimed the Han throne; their evil deeds shook the land.

The people suffered terribly, and ancestral temples were destroyed.

I now lead the righteous army to vanquish the bandits and punish the traitors of the nation.

With the three armies united in their efforts, we will restore the nation and open up new frontiers!

The drums thundered, and the generals shouted in unison with Cao Cao. The entire army felt Cao Cao's heart, and for a time the battle cries shook the heavens. Cao Cao's army was so powerful that it was unstoppable.

This put Lu Xun, Yang Hong, and their opponents in a difficult position, as they were outnumbered by 60,000 to 100,000.

It was only because Yuan's army had a much higher morale than Cao's army, and because of Lu Xun's skillful deployment and the obedience and execution of Xiahou Dun and others, as well as the various novel tactics that Yuan's army developed under the new system of the King of Han, that they were able to achieve a victory against a much larger enemy force yesterday, directly confronting and repelling Cao's army, which was nearly twice their size.

But today's Cao army truly left Lu Xun speechless.

What's wrong with Cao Jun? They were perfectly fine yesterday, so why have you suddenly become so excited and inexplicably fired up after just one night?

He was still wondering what had happened overnight that made these Cao soldiers act like they were on drugs, and he looked at Yang Hong.

Yang Hong, who had just captured several Cao soldiers and extracted intelligence from them, gave Lu Xun a bitter smile that was not exactly similar to Xun You's smile yesterday.

"Boyan, this battle is going to be tough from here on out."

Before the battle, Cao Cao began reforming his army, adopting our merit-based system, but requiring half the merit points for promotions while offering double the rewards for corresponding ranks.

If this were reported back to Yuan Shu, he would be able to understand its meaning more clearly upon hearing it:
What the heck? Lao Cao plagiarized and created a pirated game server, and in order to attract new users and increase daily active users, he launched a server launch event.

During the event, the experience required for players to level up is halved, and the rewards for leveling up are doubled.
Shameless!

Although Lu Xun could not grasp the meaning as vividly and clearly as his teacher Yuan Shu, he still felt a sense of frustration after hearing Yang Hong's words.

"Utterly shameless!"
Didn't Cao Cao have any reform ideas of his own? What did he mean by directly adopting his teacher's military merit system?

He was genuinely angry and speechless. He had clearly won quickly, but the other person couldn't beat him and joined in.

Now things have really turned out differently. What was supposed to be a new era crushing the old has become a military merit system fighting against another military merit system.

Although the reforms in the Han state were a long-term process involving many aspects, they could not be imitated by Cao Cao overnight.

However, on the battlefield, Cao Cao's temporary military merit system could definitely turn Cao Cao's army, who had long suffered under his rule, into his most steadfast supporters.

Although the military merit system of the Han state had taken root in people's hearts, its effect was far greater than that of Cao Cao's temporary implementation.

However, Cao Cao prioritized short-term gains over long-term development, lowering the difficulty of promotion through military merit while significantly increasing rewards, which was enough to temporarily compensate for this shortcoming.

Moreover, Cao Cao's army was far larger than Yuan Shao's army, giving him a numerical advantage. In addition, Cao Cao was well-versed in military strategy and was no less capable than Lu Xun.

In an instant, the offensive and defensive positions shifted. Yuan's army, while not exactly suffering a series of defeats, could only slowly retreat back to their camp under Lu Xun's command, holding their positions and barely maintaining the situation.

Just last night, Cao Cao's army sounded the retreat, but in the short span of one night, the one who sounded the retreat had changed.

After the retreat, at the Han army camp, Yang Hong discussed with Lu Xun:
"The Han state is strong because of the system established by the King of Han. Now Cao Cao is following the same system. Although he has grasped three-tenths of the essence of the King of Han, he is no match for the 60,000 troops under our command."

I have heard that the King of Han has conquered Qi and returned victorious. I imagine he will arrive soon.

We shall hold this position and delay until the King of Han's army arrives, at which point the traitor Cao will be annihilated.

Lu Xun also said, "Good."

If the teacher arrives, Cao Cao's army will be annihilated in an instant.

Now we must use the strategy taught by our teacher: "A stable and secure land, like mountains, will inevitably crumble!" to defend against the enemy.

The two agreed to stay there for another ten days or so.

Although the Han army's camp gate was broken and the soldiers had almost exhausted their hidden weapons, they still put up a difficult resistance under the command of generals such as Lu Xun, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan.

Even with only a spear left, they still displayed amazing resilience in their real battles against Cao Cao's army. With the 100,000 Cao Cao soldiers united as one, they resisted for more than ten days and continued to persevere.

On that day, the two armies continued to fight, and the outer trenches and fortifications had all been breached by Cao Cao's army.

"With spear in hand, I rode my horse for eight thousand miles, and for thirty years I was arrogant and domineering!"

Yang Dezu relayed Cao Cao's order to Yu Yan: "Whoever breaches this fortified position will be promoted one rank!"

"Why don't you all fight to the death and follow me to break through the enemy lines!"

"I am willing to die for Lord Cao!"
kill! ! ! "

Upon hearing Wei Yan's words, the soldiers learned that as long as they could break through this camp, they would be promoted one rank. How could they not fight to the death?

As Wei Yan braved arrows and stones, and the battle cries of Cao Cao's army shook the heavens, the already dilapidated Yuan army camp held out for half a day before finally reaching its end and being breached by Cao Cao's army.

Seeing that they were about to be promoted again, everyone in Cao's army cheered with joy. Only Wei Yan, seeing the familiar scene of the camp behind him, couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it, there's a stronghold within a stronghold, a camp within a camp, this is already the third level, how can there be more inside?"

For the first time in his life, after a series of victories, constantly conquering cities and breaking through enemy camps, Wei Yan felt not joy, but helplessness.

He even had the illusion that Yuan Jun's camp was even more difficult to attack than his own Huanyuan Pass.

Fortunately, although Yuan's army camp is large, it has its limits. It has already broken through three layers, so it should be coming to an end by now.

Wei Yan really didn't believe it. Today he wanted to see just how many layers this piece of junk could have!

On the seventh level of Yuan Jun's camp, Yang Hong, who was directing his soldiers to build fortifications and set up trenches and traps, heard the latest intelligence and said to Lu Xun: "This is bad. Cao Cao has just breached the third level of the camp. If he can breach the fourth level, we may have nowhere to hide."

Lu Xun agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "I need to command the defenses from the outer layer, so the construction of this eighth layer of fortifications will require more of your attention, Lord Yang."

As he spoke, he noticed the worry on Yang Hong's face and chuckled to comfort him.

"It's alright. The Antu Zhongshan Fortress taught by the teacher can be built faster the deeper you go, and the more the enemy attacks into the inner layers, the more tightly our defenses will be strengthened, making it more difficult and protracted for them to break through."

Furthermore, they possess the ability to unite people's hearts by cutting off all escape routes and fighting a desperate battle with their backs to the wall.

Yang Hong smiled bitterly upon hearing this. "To put it nicely, you call it a desperate battle. To put it bluntly, isn't this just creating your own trap?"
Only the Han King, who is known for his unpredictable and whimsical ways of playing, could come up with such a bizarre strategy.

This explains why the letter from the King of Han, who had just completed his conquest of Qi, had already arrived, and why the Han army, united in purpose and with unparalleled confidence in the King of Han, became increasingly resilient as the war progressed.

Otherwise, if anyone else used this method, they would be fighting a desperate battle.

By placing themselves in such a desperate situation and waiting to die, their morale would have long since collapsed, leading to their own destruction.

And just as the two armies were fighting as usual, one side breached a fortress while the other built one, one side attacked a city while the other defended its position, and the battle was fierce and evenly matched.

Today, on the horizon, a large banner flutters, with the character "Li" inscribed on the front and several large characters written in a flowing, elegant style on the back:

[Invincible Vanguard General!]

His subordinate generals stood on both sides, one holding a sword, one holding a knife, one raising a flag, one holding a spear, one holding a halberd, and one bending a bow.

To wield weapons for one person, and to surround the stars to protect the bright moon.

This general wore an embroidered robe and golden armor, with a canopy accompanying him. Under his command were six hundred men in formation, all dressed in black armor, their orders were obeyed without question, their steps were precise, and they appeared as one.

This army also raised a flag that read "Charging into Battle"!
Following him were more than ten thousand people, all with firm eyes and resolute expressions, harboring hatred for their country and family, and eager to avenge them.

Seeing Cao Cao's army attacking the camp not far away, the subordinate general hurriedly stepped forward to report:
"General Li, we've reached Huanyuan Pass. It seems..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Li Jun coldly interrupted him.

What do you call me?

The lieutenant was stunned for a moment, then seemed to suddenly realize what was happening. He bowed to Li Jun and said, "This humble general pays his respects to the invincible vanguard general."

Li Jun nodded in satisfaction. "What is it?"

The lieutenant replied:

"Reporting to the invincible vanguard general, we have reached Huanyuan Pass. It seems that Cao Cao's army is attacking the Han army."

Should we postpone our march, wait for the two tigers, Cao Cao and Han, to fight each other, further weakening the Han army, before we strike and defeat them, thus preserving our strength?

Upon hearing this, Li Jun glared at him and said coldly.

"What Han army, Cao army?"

Those are clearly enemy troops, or friendly troops!
Our allies are engaged in a fierce battle; how can we stand idly by?

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant frowned slightly and was about to offer further advice when Li Jun raised his hand to interrupt him.

Do you think I don't know your intentions?

The Han army has a deep-seated hatred for us, having destroyed our homes and country, while the Cao army has a deep-seated hatred for us, having watched from the sidelines. If we can make them weaken each other and preserve our strength, wouldn't I do it?
However, it is by no means easy for us to endure hardship and humiliation in the Han state and attempt to emulate King Goujian of Yue.

If our actions cannot even deceive ourselves, if we cannot wholeheartedly join the Han state and consider ourselves Han people.

How could they possibly deceive the King of Han, the greatest schemer of the time?
If we cannot deceive the King of Han and cannot seize a high position in the Han state, then it would be empty talk to help the King of Qi restore his country in the future after the chaos is over.
If one seeks momentary gratification and revenge, why go through all this trouble? Simply lead your troops to fight the Han army and die for your country.

You must understand that revenge by dying is the easiest, while revenge by enduring humiliation and hardship is the most difficult.

What we are doing is this most difficult task.

Only by enduring what ordinary people cannot endure, and deceiving even ourselves into believing we are loyal to the Han state, can we, when the King of Qi restores his kingdom, seize power and wholeheartedly assist him.

Upon hearing this, the general was enlightened, and he was astonished that Li Jun was a genius.

"I am far from reaching the level of a general!"

Li Jun looked at him with satisfaction, "Alright, now that you understand the true meaning of enduring hardship and biding your time, you can go and make contributions to the Han Kingdom."

You should know that the greater the achievements we make, the higher our status in the Han state will be, and the more help we will provide to the King of Qi in the future.

Only in this way can we prove our unwavering loyalty, as clear as the sun and moon.

After Li Jun finished speaking, he immediately gave the order.

"I hereby order you to lead six hundred elite troops as the vanguard to break through the enemy lines and rescue our friendly forces in the camp. I will lead the main army to follow behind you."

This subordinate general had no further doubts and bowed with his hands clasped.

"Your subordinate obeys the order!"

Watching the general lead the elite troops charging towards Cao Cao's army, Li Jun breathed a long sigh of relief.

He bewitched these loyal followers of the false Qi regime, which indeed allowed him to rise from a lowly centurion to a high position, enabling him to command the elite troops and over ten thousand soldiers.

This earned him the favor of the King of Han, who personally bestowed upon him a unique and exclusive general title: [Invincible Vanguard General]!
His command is majestic and his divine might is invincible!
The only troublesome thing is the side effect of commanding these loyalists of the pseudo-Qi state. Every time a decision is questioned, a seemingly reasonable theory of enduring hardship and biding one's time must be put forward to deceive everyone.

When Li Jun first started doing these things, he was quite happy and found them very interesting.

But later it was discovered that in the vast land of Xuzhou, there were very few people loyal to the puppet Qi regime and willing to help Lü Bu restore his rule.

When Li Jun could no longer fool more people with this approach and could not recruit new staff, he started to have a headache.

However, these long-term plans are not the immediate priority. The most urgent task is to defeat Cao Cao's army, rescue the Han soldiers in the camp, and achieve a meritorious deed first.

With this in mind, Li Jun no longer hesitated. Using the excuse of having just fooled the lieutenant, he ordered his army to charge towards Cao Cao's army, intending to make contributions to the Han state and take the opportunity to endure hardship and humiliation!
Meanwhile, Cao Cao's army was attacking the fifth layer of Yuan's camp. Cao Cao, on the command platform, heard the deafening shouts of battle not far away.

"The ambition to be trapped in a battle will lead to death but not life!"

Knowing that the newcomers were not friendly, but seeing that the first group consisted of only six hundred men, Cao Cao did not pay them any attention.

He hurriedly mobilized his army to deal with the more than 10,000 troops that followed closely behind the 600 men.

After all, there were only six hundred men at the front, but over ten thousand behind, and a large banner that read: "Invincible Vanguard General!"

Even a fool knows which one to focus on guarding against!

"Hiss~ Divine Might Invincible Vanguard General?"
"What a boastful tone!"

I was astonished to see such a title, especially to see the group of lieutenants standing on both sides, each holding a weapon for one person, like stars surrounding the bright moon.

Such imposing presence even startled Cao Cao!
Who is this person?

Whose general is he?

(End of this chapter)