The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

Xiaopei is less than 100 kilometers from Liang. Lü Bu's troops are all veterans who have been through many battles. They set off in the morning and arrived at Xiayi in Dangshan County the next day.

As the border town closest to Xiaopei, Yuan Shu deployed two thousand troops in Xiayi, while most important small towns only had a little over a thousand men.

With two thousand men against an army of ten thousand, the outcome was obvious. Xiayi fell in less than an hour, and Yuan Shu's remaining troops hurriedly retreated to Tongting and Luncheng.

Once the city of Xiayi was captured, Lü Bu ordered his army to plunder the city's food supplies, leaving only about a hundred men to guard it.

Then he ordered his subordinates Hou Cheng, Wei Xu and others to each lead a thousand soldiers, and the troops marched towards Suiyang in multiple routes.

The purpose of this was to occupy more territory in the shortest amount of time, so that they would have more space after Yuan Shu launched a counterattack.

Inside the Xiayi County government office, Lü Bu was giving his generals instructions before their departure.

"Listen up, you lot! We'll meet in Suiyang in three days. Anyone who dares to mess things up will be severely punished by this general!"

"If you want to vent your frustrations, wait until the war is over and I'll let you have your fill. Remember what the strategist told you, go now."

Upon hearing this, Hou Cheng and the others seemed to remember something, shivered, and dared not slacken their guard. They all knelt down and said, "Yes."

They dared not falter at this crucial juncture; they had witnessed Lu Bu's ruthless methods firsthand.

When Song Xian was serving Dong Zhuo in Chang'an, he was beaten half to death by Lü Bu for violating military regulations by drinking alcohol and causing trouble. He had to stay in bed for more than a month to recover.

This clearly shows how ruthless Lü Bu was.

After the generals left, Lü Bu looked at Chen Gong, who had remained silent, and said with a smile:

"Gongtai, our army is making good progress now. It won't be long before we occupy Liang. At that time, we should be able to gain the upper hand in negotiations with Yuan Shu, right?"

Before anything was even started, Lü Bu was already thinking about the future.

Seeing Lü Bu's confidence, Chen Gong remained silent and left the county office. After all, now was not the time to make sarcastic remarks, and even if he did, Lü Bu might not listen.

Seeing Chen Gong's indifferent expression, Lü Bu simply sighed heavily. He understood perfectly well what Chen Gong was worried about.

With the fall of Xiayi, the three parties quickly learned of the news.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shu both dispatched their troops to the designated location, awaiting further news.

Upon receiving news that Lü Bu's army had split into multiple routes and was advancing towards Suiyang, Qin Xuan of Xiaopei smirked coldly.

Lu Bu was heading towards their pre-arranged encirclement. Now it was up to Liu Bowen to keep Lu Bu occupied outside Suiyang City, waiting for the three sides to tighten the encirclement without Lu Bu noticing.

At the very least, we'll have to wait until Lü Bu realizes what's happening before it's too late.

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Everything went very smoothly. Lü Bu's army, through multiple attacks, captured most of the Liang Kingdom. However, the fierce resistance of Yuan's army was beyond everyone's expectations.

When Lü Bu's army converged in Suiyang, seven days had passed since the division of forces in Xiayi, four days later than planned.

In Lü Bu's camp outside Suiyang City, the atmosphere was heavy. Everyone was trembling with fear, not daring to even breathe loudly, for fear of being troubled by Lü Bu.

"Useless trash, good-for-nothings! You can't even handle such a small matter. What use are you to me?"

"I planned to complete the encirclement of Suiyang four days ago, how much time has passed now?"

"Huh? Do you think I'm afraid to administer military law to you?"

Looking at Hou Cheng and the others in front of him, Lü Bu could no longer hold back and unleashed a torrent of abuse at them.

The original battle plan is now on the verge of being scrapped because of these guys' delays. They originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that Yuan's army had no time to react and launch a strong attack on Suiyang.

However, Yuan Jun has already deployed a large force in Suiyang, waiting for them to tire themselves out, which has put Lü Bu in a very passive position.

"My lord, we had no choice. Yuan's army seemed to have been prepared all along. They relied on the city's fortifications to put up a stubborn resistance. It's really not our fault for being slow!"

"Yes, in the past, when we encountered a small county town, our Bingzhou army could take it down in just over an hour. But now it's like a ghost, it takes several times longer than before."

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Hou Cheng and the others cried out their grievances. This time they didn't hesitate at all, because the resistance from Yuan's army was much stronger than they had imagined.

Seeing Hou Cheng and the others' heart-wrenching explanations, Lü Bu felt a pang of sympathy. These were his brothers who had risked their lives with him, and with a major battle imminent, enforcing military law against them could affect the morale of the army.

Just as Lü Bu hesitated, his strategist Chen Gong spoke up:

"Fengxian, with a major battle imminent, you can't punish them! Even if you must punish them, you should wait until after the war is over!"

Chen Gong pleaded for Hou Cheng and the others not because he valued them highly, but because Lü Bu had few capable generals under his command.

Zhang Liao and Gao Shun are still being held hostage by Qin Xuan. If they are punished according to military law, who will lead the troops to attack the city?

Hearing Chen Gong plead for them, Hou Cheng and the others reacted even more intensely, weeping and snot streaming down their faces, almost banging their heads against the wall.

"This..." Lu Bu, after thinking it over carefully, said when he saw Chen Gong speak:

"Get up. I'll spare you this time, but if there's a next time, I will surely behead you!"

"Hurry back and prepare for the siege; we will capture Suiyang in one fell swoop tomorrow!"

Upon hearing that Lü Bu would not pursue the matter, Hou Cheng and the others clasped their hands in agreement and then withdrew from the military tent.

Watching his retreating subordinates, Lü Bu's face was full of sorrow, and the arrogance and high spirits he had shown before setting off were gone.

"Fengxian, you should get some rest. I'm leaving now!"

Chen Gong also noticed Lü Bu's change in mood. He patted Lü Bu on the shoulder, gave him some instructions, and then left the military tent.

No one can help him with this change in mindset; he can only overcome it himself. If he recovers, there's nothing to say; if he doesn't, he can only leave it to fate.

The following morning, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the thin mist and enveloped the earth, Lü Bu's army had already formed ranks outside Suiyang City, poised and ready to attack.

Lu Bu, clad in heavy armor and wielding his halberd, rode on Red Hare, his eyes blazing as he stared intently at the fortified city ahead.

"Brave and invincible soldiers of Bingzhou, the final goal of our expedition is ahead. Charge into the city, and everything inside will belong to you!" Lü Bu's voice greatly inspired the soldiers behind him.

Everyone's eyes shone with a burning intensity, like those of ravenous wolves.

"Prepare to launch the slings, fire!"

As soon as Lü Bu gave the order to attack, dozens of catapults lined up in the army formation began to clang loudly, and huge stones streaked across the sky, crashing down on the city walls with a whistling sound.

The towering, continuous city walls trembled violently under the impact of the stones, dust flew up, and gravel flew everywhere.

The infantry phalanxes, ready for battle, began their charge under the cover of catapults. Wave after wave of soldiers carried ladders and pushed battering rams, attempting to scale the city walls and breach the city gates.