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

Chapter 90 Simple Monkey Drawing

Pei Yuanshao and his group first returned to their mountain stronghold, loaded the supplies they could carry onto the carts, and then burned the empty stronghold to ashes, signifying that they would never return this time.

Their destination was Peinan, which Liu Bei had just occupied. It was the closest place to Runan and a place that could avoid the influence of other warlords.

Just as they were marching slowly and had reached the vicinity of the Lao River, the Yellow Turban army they had encountered earlier caught up with them again.

This chance encounter was clearly much more awkward than the last one.

After staring at each other for several seconds, General Gong Du, the Earth God, spoke first: "Weren't you going to join Cao Cao? How did you end up here?"

Pei Yuanshao did not answer the question directly, but instead asked in return, "Weren't you going to attack Lü Bu? How come you're behind us?"

After a long silence, the response was still the same question: "Are you going to find Liu Bei?"

"Yes."

Let's go the same way.

"OK."

Looking at the army before him, Zhou Cang found it hard to believe that this was the same army that had set out with such imposing grandeur as the one he had encountered before. The exhausted expressions, the drastically reduced numbers, the disheveled appearance, and the missing Liu Pi—Zhou Cang roughly understood what had happened.

The two groups then headed towards Liu Bei's territory. Just as they were about to reach the border of Pei State, Gong Du suddenly ordered that all flags and yellow turbans be discarded and that no one be allowed to enter Pei State with any obvious identifying items.

"This is Liu Xuzhou's territory. If they see these things and come charging in, it will be troublesome."

Pei Yuanshao nodded, but in the end he couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked Gong Du, "We all know—what exactly happened back then? At least you managed a stable retreat, right?"

"—Too fast."

"Um?

"Lu Bu moved too fast. Before our army could even form a proper formation, he rushed through the gaps in the crowd. Liu Pi didn't have time to react and was killed by Lu Bu with a single blow."

Gong Du felt as if he were living in a dream. First, he joined the Yellow Turban Rebellion just to have enough to eat, and then they were brutally suppressed by the Han Dynasty. After several years of fighting, he had achieved little more than illustrious military exploits or widespread fame; in fact, he had remained utterly unremarkable. The familiar faces who had fought alongside him over the years were now almost nowhere to be seen. He was the only one still alive, as if Heaven had deliberately spared him to demonstrate its mercy.

Pei Yuanshao was at a loss for words to offer comfort, so he resorted to what he knew best: "Things have come to this, so we can only look forward. How about this, once things settle down, I'll help you find a good horse?"

"Okay, it doesn't need to be too good, as long as it's rideable."

With the arrival of these people, news of Lü Bu's resurgence in Runan spread rapidly, raising the vigilance of the warlords near Runan, except for Liu Bei. They were initially surprised, then marveled at Lü Bu's incredible luck.

Runan was situated in the gap between various forces, existing as a buffer zone. To the east was Liu Bei, to the southeast Liu Xun, to the north Cao Cao, to the west Zhang Xiu, to the southwest Liu Biao, and directly south the Dabie Mountains. It was in such a geographically complex place that Lü Bu established himself.

Cao Cao was originally the most promising warlord to conquer Runan. Faced with his prize slipping through his fingers, he should have reacted proactively. However, the Chen state's actions actually hindered his southward advance. As can be seen on the map, Chen is strategically positioned between Runan and Chenliu, forcing Cao Cao to take a detour if he wanted to move south. Adding to this already inconvenient situation, Cao Cao's agricultural colonies further hampered his ability to utilize his military advantages.

In addition, Cao Cao could not bear the pressure of fighting on multiple fronts. Since Lü Bu's army was now surprisingly weak, he had no choice but to pretend that he did not see it and let Lü Bu recruit soldiers in Runan. He secretly sent envoys to contact other warlords in the Runan region, hoping to make them fight each other and give him more time to develop.

Liu Bei and the others were watching the matter almost like bystanders. After all, Liu Bei didn't have any particular ideas about Runan for the time being, and he was currently focusing his energy on internal development. He didn't have time to care about what Runan was like or what it would become.

The officials in Xuzhou, both high and low, seemed to realize that the leisurely days of previous years were over, and some of their enthusiasm began to wane. However, Liu Bei, who frequently spoke with officials of all ranks, was quite sensitive to this change. He quickly spoke individually with the more ambitious officials whose enthusiasm had waned, while the lower-ranking officials were handed over to their superiors. With a few promises and promises, he nipped this trend in the bud.

But governing a country is never that simple. A leader fills many holes, but also digs many more.

The same is true in Xuzhou now. Take the most important army as an example, the power of money is also quietly transforming the soldiers under Liu Bei's command.

Li Xiuji had already made a fortune in the previous two major operations, becoming a well-known tycoon in their village.

His attire was so striking that it was impossible for him to go unnoticed. He wore lamellar armor, and his helmet, to distinguish him from ordinary soldiers, was adorned with feathers. Underneath, he wore a red linen garment, with a badge on the back indicating friend or foe. His weaponry was comprehensive; while serving under Liu Bei meant receiving special equipment, it wasn't everything. Other necessities had to be acquired independently. Li Xiuji, thinking that money could be earned again, but losing his life meant losing everything, bought a set of every weapon available on the market.

I got a ring-pommel sword, a spear, a halberd, and a dagger, and I also got a bow and arrows and a crossbow. Anyway, I'm not short of money now, so I can spend it however I want.

He even bought a carriage, and when he had free time and no acquaintances nearby, he would deliberately dress up in servants' clothes, sit in front of the carriage, and drive it around the city in circles, so that others would think that the man named Li Xiuji was really rich and could afford a coachman.

His rise through the ranks became a role model for many local youths. They thought that going to the battlefield and earning something they could never get from farming for a lifetime was enough. The young people had no idea of ​​the cruelty of the battlefield; they just thought that if even a scoundrel like Li Xiuji could make a fortune, wouldn't they have an even brighter future if they went?

In the rural areas of Xuzhou, more and more people are influenced by this role model and choose to join Liu Bei's army, hoping to make a living.

Many more did not join Liu Bei's army directly, but instead first became the retainers of a wealthy soldier and then acted alongside that soldier. They were both registered soldiers of Liu Bei's army and had a personal dependency relationship with the person who hired them.

This is not only because the soldiers want to satisfy their sense of security and hope to gather a group of trustworthy people around them in this way, but more importantly, the current social atmosphere also has a great influence on their behavior.

Even before the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was common for powerful families to keep retainers and form private armies. In this social atmosphere, ordinary people considered forming private armies to be a normal and necessary behavior, so they followed suit and formed their own small teams.

Such a phenomenon is relatively rare, occurring only among a few truly wealthy soldiers—those rich enough to equip their own retinues, like Lee Soo-gi. Therefore, it hasn't attracted enough attention yet, and when the army headquarters discovers this, they certainly won't stand idly by and let the situation continue.

Li Xiuji recruited several of his childhood friends directly from his hometown village. His biggest achievement this time was to abduct the village's beloved grandson.

"I must have been out of my mind to come here with you, Hideyoshi! Are you treating me like a Hun?" Tianli just wanted to slap himself. Why did he believe Li Xiuji's nonsense? Now that he was in the army, not only were the conditions harsh, but the training instructors were also fierce and menacing, making it impossible for him to be lively at all.

In addition, you have to report to go to the toilet and you have to go to a designated place; you have to tidy up your personal belongings every day, and if you don't do it well, your quilt will be thrown on the ground by your superiors; you eat and sleep in the camp and are not allowed to enter or leave without a valid reason.

Not to mention the hardships of their living conditions, the training was even more daunting for these young men. Because Liu Bei's army was much wealthier than other warlords, they had the best food. They had three meals a day, and as long as they wanted to eat, they could have as much as they wanted, as long as they didn't waste any.

At first, these rural boys thought it was just a welfare benefit, but during training they learned that there's no such thing as a free lunch. The training intensity of Liu Bei's army had reached a terrifying level, with drills every day, meaning there were training exercises every single day.

This included various subjects such as formation drills, weapon handling, and troop formation practice. Even after training, there were scholars who taught everyone to read. Although everyone knew that being literate was a good thing, most people felt a headache looking at the abstract symbols in front of them.

Of course, training wasn't every day in the military camp. After about twenty days, one could ask for leave to go out and have some fun. So, Li Xiuji took this opportunity to invite a few of his friends out for a meal.

"How can you blame me? If you weren't greedy, how could I have swayed you with just a few words? In the end, it's your own problem." Of course, Lee Soo-gil wouldn't admit that he deliberately tricked his good friend. Anyway, he had been through the same thing before, so he should share this blessing with his good friends.

Liu Bei's army's training model remained largely unchanged. New recruits were initially trained in a separate battalion. Once they had acquired certain military skills, they were then integrated into the veteran ranks. This approach prevented a significant decline in the combat effectiveness of existing units while allowing the new recruits to grow rapidly under the guidance of experienced soldiers.

"Alright, alright, I know you know a few words now, no need to show off in front of me."

Under such arduous training, time quietly passed to May of the second year of Jian'an.

Various departments in Xuzhou have cooperated to mark all the bandits they could find on a map for the decision-makers' reference.

Corresponding anti-bandit missions were also issued to combat units at all levels, who were tasked with identifying their own targets and eliminating them one by one.

Upon receiving their mission, the villagers huddled together and began to chat. The first to speak was their leader, Li Xiuji, who adopted an unprecedentedly serious expression, saying, "Since even you greenhorns are being sent on this mission, it doesn't seem too dangerous. However, we must still be careful; casualties are inevitable in combat, so caution is paramount."

Tian Li rolled her eyes and asked in a very unpleasant tone, "What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on us?"

One of the people next to him immediately started teasing, "They just look down on you. The instructor only yelled at you a couple of times and kicked you a few times, and you actually cried secretly while you were sleeping. How shameful!"

"Nonsense! Which eye of yours saw that?"

"Alright, alright, what you were thinking before is none of our business, and we don't intend to. We're at war now! Focus on the mission first. Guys, hurry up and pack your bags, we're about to march."

Li Xiuji was too lazy to argue with him at this time. He usually laughed and joked around, but when the bugle sounded on the battlefield, everyone had to be on high alert. This was a saying that General Guan, who had led them, had taught him, and he had always regarded it as a classic.

Because their troops were stationed north of Xuzhou, their assigned task was to suppress bandits in the mountains near Taishan County. Sun Guan, who was familiar with the terrain of Taishan, led the team, while Guan Yu served as the overall commander to control the overall situation.

This mission is not a one-off deal, but a very long series of plans.

Many of the bandits in Taishan County were scattered remnants of the army that had been defeated during the previous battles between Tao Qian and Cao Cao. These men not only possessed military skills but also had armor and weapons, which significantly increased the difficulty of the battle. Even more troublesome was the fact that these bandits had a pact of mutual support, like burning yellow paper and cutting chicken heads to symbolize their alliance; attacking one meant that the other was highly likely to come to the rescue.

Therefore, some strongholds should be captured quickly, while others, which are more difficult to attack, should be kept under control to prevent them from escaping or going to support other bandits.

Lee Soo-gil's team was chosen to be part of the team tasked with blocking the main road up and down the mountain, and the officer leading their team clearly had his own understanding of the word "keep an eye on".

He directly ordered his soldiers to frequently fire a couple of arrows into the bandits' stronghold, keeping them constantly on edge and preventing them from providing support or breaking out. So every day, Li Xiuji would fire two crossbow bolts, sending duel challenges to the bandits—a gesture akin to shining a flashlight in someone's eyes in a game like Dead by Daylight. The bandits in the stronghold were thoroughly annoyed by him. If you ignored them, they would harass you even more; if you left them alone, his arrows would actually hit someone.

Because Li Xiuji was short, the bandits gave him the nickname "Monkey." And because he often rode around in front of them on a small horse, showing off, the bandits simply called this comical sight "Monkey Riding a Dog."

As Li Xiuji relentlessly harassed them day after day, the bandits' tactics gradually became distorted, their consciousness gradually blurred, and their goals gradually became clearer.

"That simple monkey is back again!"

"Everyone get ready! As soon as this bastard comes near, shoot him dead with arrows!"