He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 89 Liu Pi: "We will win!"

Pei Yuanshao immediately glanced at Zhou Cang in alarm, then suddenly remembered that Lu Bu's men were still watching them, so he quickly pretended that nothing had happened and continued walking forward.

"Are you crazy? That's Lü Bu! You dare to go against him?"

Zhou Cang shook his head. He knew that a direct confrontation was futile. The only option now was to slip away quietly while Lu Bu's army was off guard.

"Zhou Cang, calm down. Think about it. We can lure them into a city and let them fight those bandits. Then we can run away. Wouldn't that give us a better chance of winning?" Pei Yuanshao, as the leader of the bandits, chose the safer approach.

"It's alright. Lü Bu doesn't know the terrain of Runan. He can be easily outmaneuvered in no time."

Runan's terrain is mainly plains and hills. Fortunately, Lü Bu and his men were located in the hilly part of Runan. Zhou Cang knew that although Runan's terrain did not have as many rugged places as other areas, it was still much more complex than the vast plains of the Central Plains.

Seeing that Zhou Cang seemed serious, Pei Yuanshao became anxious: "Don't go, you can't outrun Lü Bu."

Hearing this, Zhou Cang turned to look at Pei Yuanshao, and said with a hint of disappointment, "What did you say? I can't outrun him? I'm not afraid to race against a horse, how could I not outrun him? I admit to being second best outside because I consider you a friend, I respect you! You're afraid, but I'm not!"

Zhou Cang was good in every way, except that when he got stubborn, no one could control him. Pei Yuanshao was just as serious about fine horses as Zhou Cang, which is why the two of them eventually came together.

"Think about it again! You managed to run away by yourself, but there are so many brothers here. Do you think they can escape? And yet you always say that General Guan is your idol and that you want to learn from him. When has General Guan ever abandoned his comrades and run away?"

This question stumped Zhou Cang. He realized that while he could escape quickly, what about his men? They didn't have his speed. As a devoted follower of Guan Yu, Zhou Cang naturally couldn't bring himself to sacrifice his brothers for his own escape.

Zhou Cang racked his brains but couldn't come up with a solution that satisfied both sides, so he turned to Pei Yuanshao and asked, "Yuanshao, what do you suggest we do?"

"Just do as I said before. Be patient and avoid confrontation for now."

Under the guidance of the guide, Lü Bu's army quickly found a small city with few defenders: Gucheng.

Runan was a vast region, ranking among the largest prefectures on the entire map of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Even before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it had a population of at least two million. Even after a series of wars, plagues, and famines, more than one million people still remained. These people generally gathered under the rule of the remnants of the Yellow Turbans or powerful clans, serving as their reserve soldiers and means of production.

As a result, the warlords here are powerful on paper, with armies ranging from tens of thousands to several thousand men entrenched in major cities and villages.

The warlords of Runan were quite interesting. Most of them rose up to avoid dying an untimely death in this chaotic world, and to protect themselves. Therefore, none of them intended to become regional hegemons; they were content to live a simple life as long as they could make ends meet. Even if a few ambitious individuals tried to establish themselves, the surrounding warlords would quickly thwart their advances, showing them how the once-great teacher had been driven to his death.

There were few conflicts between these remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the local powerful families; they all lived their own lives. With a significant decrease in population and a large amount of land left idle, and with no war expenditures for those in charge, the local people gradually accumulated large amounts of food and supplies for the various forces that occupied the area.

Historically, after Cao Cao had a great time in the areas of Yuzhou, such as Yingchuan and Liangguo, he quickly transformed from a state of depression into one with sufficient resources and manpower, and even the ability to afford long-term investments like military farming, the results of which were not immediately apparent.

This also shows how much stuff these people had hoarded back then; they were practically hamsters all by themselves.

Now that a powerful dragon has fallen into this rice bin where everyone has a hamster, you can imagine what will happen next.

The ancient city is currently under the control of a group of Yellow Turban rebels. Pei Yuanshao knows the person guarding the city, but their relationship isn't particularly good, so Pei Yuanshao simply uses him as a scapegoat.

Several soldiers, their uniforms haphazardly strapped to their bodies, stood at the city gate, checking the people entering the city. Just then, a soldier on the city wall spotted a group of people approaching from afar.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? You're not allowed here—whoa!" Before he finished speaking, Lü Bu accelerated and charged towards them, knocking away all the guards blocking his way. The Bingzhou cavalry behind him also unleashed their strongest and last strength, rushing into the city.

"Caw! Lü—Lü Bu? It's Lü Bu! Everyone, back off!" The soldiers had been wondering where this guy surnamed Lü had come from, leading about a hundred men and acting all high and mighty, so they hadn't taken him seriously. If they had known it was Lü Bu, they would have closed the city gates tightly.

Regardless of their moral character, the Bingzhou cavalry, as the border defense force of the Han Dynasty, possessed truly outstanding military skills. Whenever the routed troops showed any tendency to regroup, these soldiers skillfully dispersed them without orders from their superiors, preventing them from forming a defensive unit.

The only limitation for Lü Bu was the number of his soldiers. There were only about a hundred of them, which was not enough to form a strong attack. Therefore, Lü Bu was very dissatisfied with the results of this attack. In his opinion, none of these soldiers should have escaped.

This was not only to immediately incorporate them into his army and quickly restore its fighting strength, but also to prevent news of Lü Bu's arrival from spreading. A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. If those around him knew he was nearby, they would definitely close the city gates and defend it to the death. Lü Bu's army's current siege capability was almost zero; if they really closed the gates, where would Lü Bu earn extra money?

It turned out that the warlords in Runan hadn't updated their tactics in a long time. They were no match for Lü Bu's cavalry and collapsed immediately. The small warlords who had been entrenched there quickly fled under the protection of their confidants and sought refuge with the warlords with whom they had good relations.

As time went by, order gradually stabilized in the city. The people huddled in their homes, hoping that the group that came wouldn't be too brutal and would at least leave them a way to survive.

As the new master of the city, Lü Bu's face also showed a glimmer of hope he hadn't seen in months.

In this battle, they not only gained a place to stay, but also precious food and people. Lü Bu's army finally transformed from a band of bandits back into a powerful warlord. Even though their forces were now very small, at least they had something to look forward to.

Just as Lü Bu was brimming with ambition and immersed in the wonderful expectation of expanding his power and creating new glories, his top strategist Chen Gong came directly to him: "Lord Wen, the bandits who gave us directions before have all run away, not a single one is left."

Chen Gong guessed the reason: most likely, these bandits couldn't stand being Wen Hou's subordinates, so they simply took advantage of Lü Bu's insufficient forces and their own business to make a run for it.

After hearing this, Lü Bu snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "Hmph! If they didn't not know how to get around here, these people wouldn't be able to escape even if they had wings! Oh well, they're just small fry anyway, let them go."

"Gongtai, it's just in time that you've arrived. Could you please take some men to inventory the treasury? I'm exhausted and need to find a place to rest."

Chen Gong also knew that since Lu Bu was injured, his physical condition had deteriorated significantly. For one thing, his lung capacity wasn't as good as before, and he was often panting heavily.

Not to mention the decline in physical strength since he became bedridden. Before, after charging through several waves of Cao Cao's army and returning victorious, Lü Bu could still come back and drink, eat, and play with his subordinates for a long time before resting. Now, he can't even chase the fleeing army out of the city before he has to rest.

Now, Lu Bu's army's most relied-upon strength is far less than before. What if they encounter a fierce general in the future? Putting his unease aside, Chen Gong immediately began to sort through the captured supplies.

A few days later, Lü Bu's troops had rested and immediately began a new round of conscription. The most important resource and reliance of a warlord is his army. As long as the army is large enough and of good quality, everything else is within easy reach.

On the other side, Pei Yuanshao and the others also escaped unharmed. Everyone was relieved that Lu Bu's forces were insufficient to keep an eye on them, otherwise it would have been very difficult to escape unscathed.

Just as everyone was marveling at how they had managed to escape from the formidable Lu Bu, a group of Yellow Turban bandits suddenly sprang out of the woods and surrounded them.

The leader, bearing the banner of General Liu of Heaven, and another man beside him bearing the banner of General Gong of Earth, rode idly to the front of the crowd. Looking at Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang's pale faces, they said sternly, "Hmph! Pei Yuanshao! I never thought you'd become Lü Bu's lackey! Today you're both dead!"

Zhou Cang, of course, hated nothing more than being slandered, especially being called Lü Bu's lackey. He immediately jumped out and confronted the Yellow Turban leader before him: "Bah! Who's Lü Bu's lackey? Liu Pi, don't spout nonsense!"

"You're the ones who lured Lü Bu into the heart of Runan and seized my city! Aren't you traitors?"

It turned out that this city was Liu Pi's territory. After losing it in a daze, he immediately sought refuge with his good brother Gong Du. As for the banner, nobody cared anyway, so they would fight with whatever banner they could get. In the eyes of Liu Pi, Gong Du, and other remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there was no higher position than the Heavenly General and the Earthly General.

Zhou Cang was in a real bind now. It was only fair to pin the blame on them, since they had indeed led the way and lured Lü Bu into the heart of the region.

He hardened his heart, drew his sword, and held it to his own neck: "Liu, this is all my fault! Now you want an explanation? Fine! I'll give you my head, just don't make things difficult for my brothers!"

His bandits, who had always served Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang, had been instilled with a strong sense of brotherhood and loyalty through their surroundings. Seeing Zhou Cang risk his life for them, they all shouted, "It's not the Second Master's fault! It's our fault!"

Pei Yuanshao walked up to Zhou Cang, and taking advantage of Zhou Cang's attention being focused on his brothers behind him, he snatched the sword from him and threw it on the ground without saying a word. He then gestured with his eyes that it was his turn to answer, and that he shouldn't provoke the group in front of him.

"We didn't want to either. Lu Bu forced us. We didn't want to be his henchmen, so we ran away when no one was paying attention."

Liu Pi personally admired people who could treat their subordinates like brothers, so he didn't continue to make things difficult for the two. Instead, he picked up where Pei Yuanshao left off, asking, "So what are you doing here?"

"We can no longer stay in Runan. We plan to take a detour and head north to seek refuge with Cao Cao, the Minister of Works."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cang turned his head, wanting to ask Pei Yuanshao, "Isn't your destination Liu Bei's? Why are you going to Cao Cao's?"

At this moment, Pei Yuanshao lightly touched Zhou Cang with his elbow, and Zhou Cang knew what Pei Yuanshao was up to, so he calmed down and let Pei Yuanshao talk.

"This isn't the situation we wanted. We hope the Heavenly General can spare our brothers. They're young and just want to live; they don't understand these complicated matters."

Liu Pi pondered for a long time, realizing that Pei Yuanshao couldn't really be blamed. If he were in Pei Yuanshao's position, he would probably have done the same. He waved his hand and simply said, "Get lost. I'm in a good mood today. Anyway, I'm going to take this city back soon. Just consider it as Lu Bu keeping it for me for a few days."

"Thank you, thank you General Tiangong for your mercy." Pei Yuanshao hadn't reacted for a moment, and kept kowtowing to Liu Pi to thank him for sparing his life. But then he realized what was happening, and stared at Liu Pi with his mouth wide open, as if he had seen some rare animal.

"Huh? You want to fight Lu Bu?"

Instead, Liu Pi looked at Pei Yuanshao with a puzzled expression: "Of course, if we don't eliminate him now while he's weak, are we going to wait until he's fully recovered and his army is strong before making our move?"

"Well, what the general says makes a lot of sense, but after all, that's the Marquis Wen who almost defeated and killed Cao Sikong. With your small force—aren't you being a bit too arrogant?" Pei Yuanshao still felt a little guilty about tricking him before, and at this moment he also wanted to persuade Liu Pi that the Sick Tiger was not someone that ordinary people like us could defeat.

"What does it matter? How many men does he have under his command? Even if you include all the able-bodied men you can find in the city, it's just a bunch of ragtag soldiers."

Pei Yuanshao was speechless. Good words couldn't persuade a damned devil; let Liu Pi do whatever he wanted. Although Zhou Cang had received Liu Pi's forgiveness, the guilt hadn't disappeared. Wanting to do his last bit of effort, he ignored Pei Yuanshao's frantic gesturing and said to Liu Pi, "General, please be careful on this journey."

"We'll win!" A confident smile spread across Liu Pi's face. He gently squeezed his legs, and his horse carried him toward the ancient city. His men followed suit, galloping off in a thunderous roar.

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