Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 129 Liu Bei defeats ten thousand with eight hundred, even Lü Bu has to kneel (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes)
Seeing Ding Yuan's confidence, Yuan Shao did not dampen his enthusiasm, but instead praised him, saying, "If you can successfully kill Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo, Governor Ding will surely achieve unparalleled merit!"

Ding Yuan was even more pleased with himself.

Yuan Shao acted swiftly.

With the wind, there are waves; against the wind, there are gods.

Yuan Shao, who lost in Luoyang, was far more resourceful and decisive when facing adversity than before.

After instigating Ding Yuan, Yuan Shao then sought out Wang Kuang and Qiao Mao, using similar rhetoric to provoke them into going to Luoyang to attack Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo, who had issued a false imperial edict.

In Chenggao, Yuan Shao encountered Bao Xin, who had been sent by He Jin to Hebei to recruit soldiers. Bao Xin also recruited more than a thousand men.

Upon learning of He Jin's death, Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo forged an imperial edict to depose and install emperors. Bao Xin was furious: "Who are Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo? How dare they depose and install emperors?"

After saying this, Bao Xin prepared to lead his troops to join Ding Yuan and the others.

Yuan Shao stopped Bao Xin, saying, "You only have a little over a thousand men. Even if you join forces with Ding Yuan and the others, it won't add much of an advantage. If Ding Yuan and the others can win, that would be best; if they can't, we'll have to find another way."

Bao Xin was still furious: "What brilliant idea does Lord Yuan have?"

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and said, "If we don't win, we'll have to recruit more soldiers for another battle. The Cavalry Commandant can take these thousand-odd men back to Yanzhou and recruit more soldiers to await orders. I will first contact righteous men in various prefectures and counties, and we will definitely drive Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo, who forged the imperial edict, out of Luoyang."

Bao Xin thought for a moment and said, "In that case, we will do as Lord Yuan wishes. I will lead my troops back to my hometown to recruit volunteers. If Ding Yuan and the others fail, please inform me in time, and I will definitely lead volunteers to help them."

After Bao Xin left, Yuan Shao stayed in Chenggao to observe the situation.

If Ding Yuan and his allies win, Yuan Shao must rush back to Luoyang as quickly as possible to support Liu Bian.

“Although our lord has angered everyone by claiming to have forged an imperial edict, a fake is still a fake. If Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo offer them great benefits, these people will also side with Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo,” the retainer Feng Ji reminded him.

Yuan Shao frowned: "If we follow Yuan Tu's suggestion, what should we do?"

Feng Ji sneered: "If the Prince of Hongnong dies, the fake will become the real."

Yuan Shao was tempted.

Regardless of whether Liu Bian or Liu Xie became emperor, out of filial piety and brotherly love, the other would be allowed to live.

But if Liu Bian dies, the people will suspect: since there was a secret edict from the late emperor, why kill the Prince of Hongnong? It must be a forged edict, so they are afraid that if Liu Bian lives, he might seize the throne from Liu Xie again; as long as Liu Bian dies, even if it really is a forged edict, Liu Xie will still be the emperor!
For Yuan Shao, this provided a reason to raise an army: forging an imperial edict and poisoning the young emperor.

Unless Liu Bian is resurrected, Yuan Shao can raise an army at any time as long as there is a reason.

“Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo also know this principle, so how could they easily let Hongnong die?” Yuan Shao frowned.

Feng Ji smirked: "This is easy! There are still many officials in Luoyang who are on good terms with Yuan Gong. We can have these people infiltrate Dong Zhuo's ranks and tell him about the dangers of the Prince of Hongnong being alive. If Dong Zhuo believes them, he will definitely send someone to kill the Prince of Hongnong; even if Dong Zhuo doesn't believe them, we can still send assassins to kill him."

"As for Liu Bei, he acts unpredictably. If he were in Luoyang, he might see through this plan. Therefore, we can wait until Liu Bei leaves Luoyang before luring Dong Zhuo to kill the Prince of Hongnong. If possible, it would be even more perfect to frame Yuan Ji, the Grand Master of the Palace."

Yuan Shao's tone turned cold: "Yuan Tu, stop talking nonsense! Those are my dearest friends and brothers!"

Changing his tone, Yuan Shao's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Even if we're going to frame someone, we should also include my good uncle, Grand Tutor Yuan Kui, and my good younger brother, Prefect of Nanyang Yuan Shu!"

Feng Ji also sneered: "Rest assured, my lord, I will plan carefully for you and will never allow you to be bound by Yuan Ji and the others again. This world will surely be in your hands!"

As Yuan Shao's close advisor, Feng Ji knew who Yuan Shao hated most and what Yuan Shao wanted most. He would also do things for Yuan Shao that were inconvenient for him to do.

"I'm waiting for your good news!" Yuan Shao's face suddenly turned cold.

What does family matter?
I, Yuan Shao, am my entire family!
the other side.

Encouraged by Yuan Shao, Ding Yuan, Wang Kuang, and Qiao Mao led three armies of over ten thousand men, under the banner of "serving the emperor" and with a proclamation stating that "Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo forged an imperial edict to depose and install emperors, and everyone has the right to kill them," and marched menacingly toward Luoyang.

Before he could even settle into his new position, he encountered opposition from outsiders.

Dong Zhuo was also furious and immediately ordered Dong Yue, Niu Fu, and others to fight.

Before the order was even issued, Liu Bei volunteered, saying, "Why should Dong Zhuo take action against this rabble? My troops from Yongzhou are more than capable of defeating them! I hate it when people say I forged an imperial edict!"

When Dong Zhuo saw that Liu Bei had volunteered, he did not hesitate and immediately ordered Liu Bei to lead the Yongzhou troops into battle.

Firstly, Dong Zhuo did not want to deplete his own troops, and secondly, Dong Zhuo also wanted to see how strong Liu Bei's Yongzhou troops were.

Yuan Wei and others also wanted to watch the battle, so they went up to the high tower in the north of Luoyang with Dong Zhuo and others to watch the battle.

When the officials watching from the city walls saw that Liu Bei had only brought eight hundred cavalrymen into battle, they were all astonished.

"Although the Imperial Uncle is brave and skilled in battle, it is really too presumptuous of him to lead only eight hundred cavalry to confront Ding Yuan and his more than ten thousand men." Yuan Wei's tone was full of disbelief.

Dong Zhuo stared intently at the cavalry below the city, but his eyes, unlike Yuan Kui's, were filled with astonishment; instead, they were serious: "This is not right."

"What's wrong?" Yuan Wei, who was unfamiliar with battle formations, asked in confusion.

Dong Zhuo stared intently at the Yongzhou cavalry below the city and said, "The armor and weapons are wrong! Where did Liu Bei get so many double-strength armor and horse spears? I remember that half of his cavalry wore leather armor, and most of them carried spears. And these warhorses, when did they get so many horse armors? There must be three hundred sets. But that doesn't make sense either, ordinary horses can't carry horse armor."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei both changed their expressions and realized what was going on.

Shortly after the ceremony to depose and install Dong Zhuo yesterday, Liu Bei suddenly came to find Dong Zhuo, saying that he wanted to select some armored warhorses from the armory and horse farm, but he would have to pay for them.

Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei were discussing the distribution of spoils at the time and didn't pay any attention.

Yuan Wei even generously said, "Uncle, you're being too polite. You don't need to pay the full price; half price will suffice."

In Yuan Wei's understanding, Liu Bei simply wanted to exchange some weapons, armor, and warhorses; Dong Zhuo, on the other hand, was unaware of the situation in the armory and horse farms and didn't pay much attention to it.

However, what the two did not know was that this document, which allowed them to choose freely and pay half price, almost emptied Liu Bei's coffers of Liu Hong's finest weapons, armor, and warhorses accumulated over the years.

How much money did Liu Bei have?

They looted three hundred cartloads of gold and silver jewelry from the palace!
It's worth at least a hundred million!
Even with only 100 million coins, you can still buy weapons, armor, and warhorses worth 200 million coins at half price.

Furthermore, Liu Bei played the victim when making the purchase, saying that the soldiers risked their lives in Yongzhou and would easily die at the hands of the rebels if they did not have good weapons, armor, and warhorses.

In the end, Liu Bei was still left with dozens of cartloads of gold and silver jewelry!
This was Xun You's plan for Liu Bei: to exchange inanimate objects like gold and silver for living things like weapons, armor, and warhorses.

If Liu Bei hadn't fully armed these eight hundred cavalrymen, he wouldn't have dared to risk leading them into battle against Ding Yuan and his more than ten thousand men.

"Grand Tutor, why didn't you tell me about the many weapons, armor, and warhorses in the armory and horse farm?" Dong Zhuo's eyes were red with envy.

The day before yesterday, there was a meeting at the West Garden; yesterday, at the Chongde Hall; and today, Ding Yuan and others attacked. Dong Zhuo has had no time to attend to matters concerning the armory and horse farm.

If Dong Zhuo had known there were so many excellent weapons, armor, and warhorses, he would have seized them immediately.

purchase?
Dong Zhuo would never spend money to buy it!

Yuan Wei was on the verge of tears: "I never imagined Liu Bei was so rich!"

Before he knew it, Liu Bei had taken advantage of his weakness, and Yuan Wei wanted nothing more than to slap himself.

Compared to Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei, Ding Yuan, Wang Kuang, Qiao Mao, and others outside the city had even more complex feelings. Although Ding Yuan's group numbered over ten thousand, most of them only wore leather armor, and some were even unarmored!
Looking at Liu Bei, his generals and officers all wore fish-scale armor, his soldiers wore double-layered armor, and they carried cavalry-specific lances.

Ding Yuan also vaguely saw that Liu Bei and Zhao Yun's warhorses were wearing horse armor, and he didn't know how many other warhorses were also wearing horse armor.

Although these horse armors were not the full armor of the Song and Yuan heavy cavalry, and only protected the vulnerable parts of the warhorse, they were still armor, just like the armor of the Liangdang cavalry that protected the vulnerable parts of soldiers!
Armor and leather armor are not even in the same league when it comes to defense!

On the battlefield, if you fail to kill your opponent in one move, they can often turn the tables and kill you.

"Should we fight?" Qiao Mao swallowed hard and said, "Nobody told me that Liu Bei's cavalry armor was so well-made?"

Wang Kuang gasped: "How can we fight? I have less than a hundred cavalrymen wearing two-tier armor."

Ding Yuan also hesitated to move forward.

Seeing that no one dared to approach, Lü Bu could no longer contain himself: "Why are you all so afraid? Watch me go and challenge you to battle!"

Ignoring Ding Yuan's consent, Lü Bu immediately spurred his horse to the front of the formation and shouted, "I am Lü Bu of Jiuyuan, Lü Fengxian! Who dares to fight me to the death!"

Seeing Lü Bu swaggering around below the city, Dong Zhuo on the city wall suddenly exclaimed, "What a fierce warrior!"

Dong Zhuo was a powerful warrior who could fight with both hands, so by looking at Lü Bu's physique, arm length, and the weapons, armor, and warhorse he used, one could roughly tell Lü Bu's skill level.

"So it's Lü Bu! No wonder he dared to challenge my five hundred armored cavalry." Liu Bei couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhao Yun's eyes were filled with fighting spirit: "Brother, I'll go capture him!"

"No! You hold Lü Bu back for me, and it would be best to lure him out of the battlefield to fight him." Liu Bei shook his head and said, "This man is extremely skilled in archery, capable of shooting an arrow through a halberd at the gate. We cannot allow him to have the opportunity to kill one of my elite soldiers. Today we are here to defeat the enemy, not to fight Lü Bu one-on-one!"

Zhao Yun answered the order and stepped into the fray: "I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan! Lü Bu, do you dare to fight me?"

They were all valiant and fierce warriors. Upon seeing Zhao Yun's imposing presence, Lü Bu dared not be careless and shouted, "Come and fight!"

The two men clashed on horseback and soon engaged in fierce combat.

The more Dong Zhuo looked at Lü Bu from the city wall, the more enamored he became, and he murmured to himself, "Such a fierce warrior, yet he has been given away to Ding Yuan and the others."

As he watched, Dong Zhuo realized something was amiss.

The more the two fought, the further they strayed from the battlefield. Finally, Zhao Yun shouted to Lü Bu, "Lü Bu, I've heard you're an excellent archer. Since you can't find a place to practice your skills, would you dare to challenge me to another spot?"

Lu Bu laughed loudly: "No one dares to mention archery to me, because all those who tried to compete with me are dead. Today, I will make you admit defeat!"

Dong Zhuo's eyes lit up even more: "This Lü Bu is quite interesting."

He then summoned Dong Yue and instructed him: "You must immediately leave the city and catch up with Zhao Yun and Lü Bu. Do not let the two fight to the death. If you can recruit them, recruit Lü Bu for me. Do not let Liu Bei get there first."

Dong Yue obeyed the order and left.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei saw through Lü Bu's intentions: Lü Bu wasn't here for a decisive battle; he was clearly just showing off his martial arts skills and then looking for an opportunity to escape.

"To rise from a lowly soldier in Bingzhou to a powerful warlord, Lü Bu's ambitions are indeed extraordinary." Liu Bei chuckled, drew his astonishingly long double-edged sword, and shouted, "All troops, listen to my command! Charge into the rebel army!"

How many people are on the opposing team?

More than 10,000 people.

How many people do we have?

Eight hundred people.

Eight hundred it is.

The key to good troops is their quality and deployment; even 800 men can defeat 10,000!

Seeing the Yongzhou cavalry charge into battle with their entire force, Ding Yuan and the others turned a deep shade of liver.

You agreed to a duel, and you just charged straight in?
"Run!"

Wang Kuang fled without looking back, leading over a hundred of his personal guards.

If they had the advantage of terrain, they could hold off 800 cavalry with 10,000 men; but this place is flat, so they either have to fight the cavalry head-on or run away. There is no third way.

But Liu Bei's eight hundred cavalrymen were not the type to win by simply charging into battle.

Even with only a 10% chance, Wang Kuang would dare to charge in, but the reality is: whoever charges in will die!

"More than 10,000 infantry and cavalry were chased down by 800 riders. With this level of skill, you dare to question the forged imperial edict?" Dong Zhuo sneered, showing even more contempt for Yuan Shao.

He then turned to Yuan Wei and asked, "Grand Tutor, are these people related to Yuan Shao?"

"Absolutely impossible!" Yuan Wei said without hesitation, his voice firm and resolute.

Yuan Wei now wishes he could strangle Yuan Shao. Why did you have to go looking for trouble?
Can't you see how prosperous the Yuan family is now?

Dong Zhuo was just a military man; no matter how many confidants he recruited, how many could he possibly recruit?

The Minister Zhou Bi whom he appointed was a former official of my Yuan family!

If you can really find some capable people to defeat Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei's troops, then I might think more highly of you.

As a result, he gathered a motley crew and was chased and killed by eight hundred cavalrymen like ducks.

If Yuan Shao knew that the document Liu Bei used to purchase weapons, armor, and warhorses from the armory and horse farm was signed by Yuan Kui, he would also want to strangle Yuan Kui: Not only does he not help his nephew, but he also provides financial assistance to Liu Bei? Whose side are you on?

While Liu Bei was pursuing Ding Yuan and others, Lü Bu also returned to the city with Dong Yue.

As expected, after realizing that defeat was inevitable, Lü Bu abandoned Ding Yuan directly.

Foster father?

The godfather is nothing in the face of power!

Only power can make Lü Bu kneel!

"So you are Lü Bu? Are you willing to abandon the darkness and join my ranks? If you are willing, I will treat you like a son or nephew." Dong Zhuo did not stand on ceremony and directly recruited him.

Lü Bu was overjoyed.

Outside the city, he was competing with Zhao Yun in horsemanship and archery, and he even helped Zhao Yun stay away from the battlefield. Wasn't this a way of currying favor with Dong Zhuo?
If Dong Yue still doesn't arrive, Lü Bu is even planning to ask Zhao Yun if Liu Bei is still recruiting.

For Lü Bu, as long as he can improve, it doesn't matter who he's with!
Although Dong Zhuo's words, "I am willing to treat you as my son or nephew," were merely an expression of his affection for his general, Lü Bu pretended not to understand and promptly knelt down.

"If you do not abandon me, I am willing to become your godfather!"

(End of this chapter)