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

Chapter 39 Lei Bu Chen Lan: We, the "loyal and righteous men," will surely rid our lord of the traitors.
Snowflakes fluttered down, turning the world into a vast expanse of white. A small group of armored soldiers, numbering less than a thousand, moved stealthily through the snow, leaving behind footprints of varying depths.

The lead knight wrapped his heavy cloak tighter, exhaling white breath nervously. He looked at the city walls that were faintly visible in the distance, and asked his two lieutenants with trepidation.

"Yan County, under the jurisdiction of Yingchuan Commandery, is just ahead. What should we do now?"

Lei Bu and Chen Lan looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

"Brother Liu, what else can we do? I suspect that our lord isn't here to fight Cao Cao, but to fight us."

Without any prior warning, the order arrived simultaneously with the 100,000-strong army, directly pinning our main force to the center. What else can we do but obey?

"How can you send only a thousand men to attack Cao Cao? And you even call them the vanguard for slaying traitors!"
These thousand men are all trusted officers and guards of our own army. They said that this battle will surely bring great merit to the country, and that we should lead our old brothers out to make contributions. They said they would definitely ask the emperor to appoint us as generals.

"To achieve merit? I fear he would rather you and my trusted men perish at the hands of Cao Cao, so he can posthumously confer titles to win over the hearts of the people and subdue our troops."

"But right now, our lord has 100,000 troops behind us, less than five miles away, to deal with any emergencies and provide 'rescue' at any time."

"The best course of action now is to defect to Cao Cao's army on the battlefield. A mere thousand men, even including the garrison of Yan County, how can they possibly resist? To betray them would be an unjust act, and perhaps even forfeit any posthumous honors."

Liu Xun sighed deeply, “We are all old subordinates who have followed our lord for many years. Although we have not made great contributions, we have worked hard and have always been diligent and loyal.”

I wonder what I've done to offend our lord recently, to warrant such targeting?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Lei Bu and Chen Lan, his eyes holding a profound meaning.

"This must be the work of a villain who spreads slander!"

Liu Xun suspected that he was implicated entirely by Lei Bu and Chen Lan. These two were only interested in personal gain in Runan, smuggling military equipment and provisions that the lord had stockpiled. This time, they were bound to be caught up in the scandal, and he was sorry that he had been implicated due to his carelessness.

"Brother Liu, how did things suddenly come to this? We two have followed our lord since the uprising in Runan. Back then, when the eighteen warlords attacked Dong Zhuo, we were also among them."

"For seven years, we have risked our lives, devoted ourselves wholeheartedly, and never uttered a single complaint. We have been utterly loyal to our lord. How has this come to this?"

Lei Bu and Chen Lan outwardly agreed, appearing dignified and loyal, but inwardly they sneered as they met Liu Xun's gaze.

Loyal and devoted? You, Liu Xun, don't even deserve that title!
Over the years, he has secretly purchased countless arms and provisions from us, and he has probably long harbored the ambition of building his own army and establishing his own independent state. This time, it is certain that his misdeeds have been exposed.

My brother and I are so pitiful. We only made a little money, but we were implicated.

The three of them looked at each other in silence, while Yan County was already within reach.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the group's pace slowed down more and more.

"I wonder if the two generals would be willing to lead three hundred men to be the first to breach the city and achieve this unparalleled feat?"

Liu Xun stared at Lei Bu and Chen Lan with a cunning look, thinking that if he could help his lord get rid of these two major threats, he could then bow his head and admit his mistake, saying that he had been confused and misled by the two of them.

Based on my long-standing friendship with my lord, I might still have a chance to survive.

Lei Bu and Chen Lan's faces immediately darkened. "Fine, fine, the lord gives a thousand, and you give three hundred?"
The two men gritted their teeth, about to lash out, when they met Liu Xun's chilling killing intent in his eyes.

Oh no! This old scoundrel Liu is trying to force us into rebellion and then use our heads as a pretext to plead guilty. Even if our lord still harbors prejudice, it won't be right to kill him in public.

For the crime of failing to supervise the rebellion of one of my subordinates, and for the meritorious service of swiftly suppressing the rebellion, we will atone for our crimes with our heads.

With the battle going on like this, he can no longer serve as the vanguard. In this way, although he will be punished, he can avoid certain death.

What a scoundrel! How could he be so cunning?
What a scoundrel!

We are both loyal and righteous men, and we should eliminate him for our lord!

Unfortunately, Liu Xun is the commander-in-chief now, and if the two of them disobey orders, it would be considered a rebellion, which would only please Liu Xun. For now, they have no choice but to lead their troops to attack Yan County and plan for the future.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

However, to Lei Bu and Chen Lan's surprise, when they led three hundred men to cautiously attack the city, before they even reached the city walls, the gates of Yan County suddenly burst open!

Oh no! An ambush! Lei Bu and Chen Lan thought the enemy was about to come out of the city to attack, and were so frightened that they almost fled. Unexpectedly, only a trembling minor official came out of the city, who seemed even more frightened than the two of them.

He held the imperial seal in his hands and bowed down in awe.

"Respond to the General's order!"

The official Zhang An, leading the entire county of Yan, opened the city gates and surrendered!

Lei Bu and Chen Lan were shocked!
What's going on?

They led three hundred men and conquered a city?
The General's Order?

Good heavens! So the lord didn't actually intend to trick them?

When the general's order was issued, Yan County surrendered. My lord really did let us pick up the credit for nothing.

Lei Bu and Chen Lan were deeply moved!
Our lord treats us as brothers and confidants, and when such a good thing happens, he thinks of us first.

We were actually misled by Liu Xun and dared to speculate about our lord with the utmost malice; this was truly inappropriate.

Liu Xun, that old scoundrel, is truly a villain. We were almost led astray by him. We must eliminate this old scoundrel for our lord!
By the time Lei Bu and Chen Lan sent word that Yan County had been captured, Liu Xun had already fled far away.

He was just about to return to Yuan Shu to report the unfavorable situation in the battle, having lost Generals Lei and Chen, and was therefore seeking help from his lord.

So you two are telling me the battle is over? The city has been captured?
Liu Xun was also shocked!
Who would have thought that Generals Lei and Chen would be so capable? Leading three hundred men to break through the city in one fell swoop, they are truly unparalleled generals!
He almost suspected that these two traitors might have betrayed their country and defected to the enemy, and that he wanted to win them back as a pledge of loyalty.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case, and Yan County was indeed captured.

However, by this time the population had already dwindled, leaving only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled who were crying for food, as if they had just been robbed clean.

The elderly and children, pale and emaciated, saw Yuan Jun as if he were their second parents, and knelt down and cried out.

"The royal army! The royal army has arrived too late!"

Cao Cao's army is ruthless; they left us not a single day's rations. If it weren't for the approaching imperial army, we would all have starved to death in the city.

Liu Xun: "."

Including Lei Bu and Chen Lan, he only had about a thousand men. Where would he get any food and supplies to distribute to the people?
He hurriedly sent a letter to Yuan Shu, reporting the great achievement of capturing the first city and requesting that his lord come to settle Yan County.

Immediately following, the vanguard general Liu Xun, led by the unparalleled generals Lei Bu and Chen Lan, led a thousand men from Yan County to Xiang County, Linying County, Yingyang County, Yingyin County, and other places.

In a short period of time, Yingchuan captured 14 out of 17 counties. No general in ancient times could have done this!
Until, the seat of Yingchuan Commandery was Yangdi.

At this moment, Liu Xun was experienced. At first, he was worried about falling into a trap, so he sent Lei Bu and Chen Lan to take the lead.

After seeing that they were invincible in every attack and battle, they finally believed that Cao Cao's army was truly intimidated by the name of their lord, the Grand General, and surrendered the entire prefecture.

Therefore, he no longer gave up this easy credit to Lei and Chen, and went outside the city to accept the surrender himself.

Sure enough, this time was no exception.

The gates of Yangdi City were wide open, and a one-eyed armored soldier helped a frail scholar, who was walking unsteadily and coughing incessantly, slowly walk out.

Indeed, the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled!

Just as Liu Xun was habitually spurring his horse forward to accept their surrender and the seal of office,

Seeing the scholar coughing and hunching over, he forced himself to look up at him and managed to utter only a few words.

"Yuan Rang, kill him."

(End of this chapter)