Yuan Shao snorted and said, "We should prioritize the overall situation."
The long-bearded middle-aged man who had lent Li Yuanba the horse also stepped forward to persuade Yuan Shao, saying, "General, Lord Xuande is of Han blood; we must save him!"
Yuan Shao said, "I think it's most likely an imposter..."
When they were locked in a fierce battle, I shoved Lu Bu's halberd back into his hands, gave him a push on the back so he stood in front of Yuan Shao, and chuckled, "Well then, we're not going to interfere anyway. Whoever can capture him is free to do with him as they see fit."
Lu Bu knew this was a critical moment to save his life. In the entire Three Kingdoms, he was only afraid of Li Yuanba (awkward, isn't it?). Hearing that Li Yuanba wouldn't make a move, he stood forward with his halberd in hand, baring his teeth and brandishing his claws, and said, "Who dares to fight me?" Finally, he whispered to Li Yuanba, "You don't count."
Yuan Shao had probably only come out after hearing that Lü Bu had been captured, and knew nothing of what had just happened. He asked the man beside him, "Who captured Lü Bu?" The man whispered the answer to him, and Yuan Shao's expression changed slightly. He looked around and said, "Generals, who will go and capture this man?"
Those generals understood perfectly well; they knew they were being wasted. They all looked around, some staring at the sky, others chatting about the weather. Yuan Shao sighed, "What a pity for my General Yan..."
I interjected, "Your Yan Liang and Wen Chou are only second-tier tiers, stop bringing them up all the time."
Seeing Lü Bu glaring at him, Yuan Shao thought, "If we stay any longer, we might have to close the gates and release Fengxian." He took a few steps back and said, "Then I'll give Mengde some face, hmph!" He then led his men away.
Mengde? Now I finally know who lent the horse to Li Yuanba—Cao Cao, Cao Xiaoxiang's biological father.
Chapter 144 Chaos
Having witnessed our sincerity in this battle, Lü Bu, under the watchful eyes of Qin Qiong and Zhang Fei, shouted a few words to Hua Xiong atop the city wall. Shortly after, a pale-faced man was escorted out of the city by two soldiers. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei couldn't help but cry out, "Brother!"
Although Liu Bei was facing an enemy, his face showed a mixture of frustration and composure, with three parts calm and four parts resignation. This was a glorious tradition of the Liu family; Liu Bang and Liu Xiu both possessed this commoner-rogue-like, unyielding spirit. Once this quality faded, the empire would be lost, as exemplified by Emperor Xian of Han and Liu Shan.
The two sides exchanging hostages walked to the center of the arena. Li Yuanba grabbed Lü Bu's shoulder and said, "Take good care of yourself when you get back. I'll come back for you when you've regained your strength." Only then did he reluctantly release Lü Bu, who shuddered...
Seeing that we were releasing them, they pushed Liu Bei over as well. Lü Bu, as if suddenly remembering something, turned around and said, "Hey, my Red Hare..."
Guan Yu was already riding on Red Hare's back, smiling as he looked at Lü Bu without saying a word. Seeing this, Lü Bu sighed and said, "Fine, I'll give it to you."
It's only because he's still sharp-minded that he's riding a horse that could turn against him at any moment. If he encounters Guan Yu on the battlefield again, his luck might not be so good.
I've always wondered why Red Hare, while loyal to its master, wasn't loyal to its steed. Lu Bu was its master too, after all. While Lu Bu wasn't a great man, as a military general, he couldn't have been unkind to his warhorse. Why wasn't Red Hare loyal to him? Considering the precedent of Xiang Yu and the lame rabbit, did Guan Yu ride Red Hare in a past life? It seems there's a certain affinity between people and horses.
The exchange went smoothly. Lu Bu wouldn't dare cause any trouble; as long as we have the powerful Li Yuanba on our side, any tricks he tries will be futile. Liu Bei is focused on escaping as quickly as possible and has no time for malicious schemes.
Once the hostages were in their respective territories, Lü Bu took off running. With Zhang Fei providing cover behind him, Liu Bei was much more at ease. Upon reaching safety, Zhang Fei suddenly threw down his spear and grabbed Liu Bei from behind. At the same time, Guan Yu jumped off his horse and joined the two in a passionate embrace. The three of them clung to each other, first weeping, then laughing, then weeping and laughing again—a display of intense brotherhood palpable to all.
I wiped my eyes and glanced at Qin Qiong beside me, saying, "Look at these sworn brothers."
Qin Qiong and Luo Cheng both looked ashamed, and Shan Xiongxin was also quite uncomfortable. This incense burner of Wagang had finally witnessed the Oath of the Peach Garden.
Since returning, Luo Cheng hadn't uttered a word, nor had he bothered to tidy his hair. This defeat seemed to have greatly affected him. Shan Xiongxin tugged at him and said, "Luo Cheng, there are always people stronger than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Lü Bu was the fiercest warrior of the Three Kingdoms. What's there to be upset about losing to him? Besides, didn't Yuanba make us look good? Our eighteen heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties share the glory; we stole the limelight from Guan Yu and the others, haha."
Luo Cheng understood that Shan Xiongxin was willing to reconcile. Thinking about his own arrogance, ruthlessness, and the many people he had wronged in his life, while Shan Xiongxin was magnanimous, Luo Cheng was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He softly called out "Second Brother," and everything was understood without words.
Seeing the two men reconcile, Qin Qiong glanced at Shan Xiongxin, only to find Shan Xiongxin had already turned away. Thinking he ultimately wouldn't forgive him, Qin Qiong's expression darkened. But then he heard Shan Xiongxin sigh deeply: "Ah, Uncle Bao..."
Qin Qiong turned around abruptly, his expression complicated, and said, "Second Brother, before..."
Shan Xiongxin waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I was also wrong about what happened before, let's not talk about it anymore."
After Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had been crying for a long time, Guan Yu finally brought them to see us. This reunion was of great significance to Guan Yu, not only because his lord Liu Bei had escaped danger, but also because it fulfilled his wish to see his two brothers again. Therefore, Guan Yu was extremely emotional. He solemnly introduced them: "Eldest brother and third brother, this is Xiao Qiang. He has a special identity. I will tell you in detail later. These brothers are all heroes from the Sui and Tang dynasties. They came to help you when they heard that eldest brother was in trouble."
Liu Bei hurriedly greeted Qin Qiong and the others. He had already heard that Lü Bu had been captured alive by a minor general. Looking around, he asked, "Who is this Li Yuanba?"
I also said, "Yes, where is Yuanba?"
We looked around and saw Li Yuanba being held back by someone, his face full of impatience. The man holding him had a long, flowing beard, and his face was refined yet capable—it was Cao Cao. Old Cao held Li Yuanba's hand, calling him "Little General" on both sides, asking him all sorts of questions with great enthusiasm. I knew Cao Cao had taken a liking to Li Yuanba; not only was he pestering Li Yuanba, but he was also constantly glancing at us out of the corner of his eye. Li Yuanba was thoroughly annoyed by his questions and shook his head, saying, "Didn't I return the horse to you?"
Cao Cao laughed awkwardly, "What's so special about a mere inferior horse? How about I give it to the young general?"
Li Yuanba said, "No, I have nowhere to ride anyway, and I have to go back." After defeating Lü Bu, he had no interest in the Three Kingdoms period, so he had no interest in staying.
Cao Cao said dejectedly, "Young general, you are exceptionally skilled. Why don't you stay and make something of yourself? Where are you going back to?"
Li Yuanba pointed at me and said, "Go back to their home."
Cao Cao followed his hand and immediately saw me. His eyes flickered. He stepped forward and first said to Liu Bei, "Lord Xuande, you've been frightened." Then, he moved closer to me almost imperceptibly and whispered, "Brother Xiaoqiang, huh?"
I understood his intention and said with a straight face, "Brother Cao, don't say any more. We don't belong to your era. We're leaving right now and we won't help anyone." I wanted to tell him about Cao Xiaoxiang several times, but I felt that it would be a bit shocking to bring him greetings from an unborn child, so I held back.
When Cao Cao heard what I said, he was initially disappointed, but then quite pleased. He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, "A gentleman's word is his bond." This meant I must keep my promise. This is the philosophy of a ruthless leader: you may not help me, but don't help others either.
At this moment, all the warlords gradually retreated back to their camps. Originally, Lü Bu had just suffered a defeat, and if he had pressed his advantage, Hulao Pass could have been taken in no time. However, since no one was organizing him and the warlords were disunited, the effort ultimately came to nothing.
Seeing that things were almost over, I took Guan Yu's hand and said, "Second Brother, if there's nothing else, we'll be leaving. It's not right to keep bringing people from the Sui and Tang dynasties with us in the Three Kingdoms."
My second brother held me tightly, saying, "That won't do. You should at least stay for a while, right?"
I said, "I'm not staying here. You have a lot to do too, and you have a long way to go."
The second brother thought for a moment and said, "That's true. We brothers have nothing right now, nothing to offer you. Come back later, after I've taken Jingzhou or my eldest brother has taken Shu."
Sichuan...hehe, Sichuan girls are known for their romance, seems pretty good.
I instructed Guan Yu, "Second Brother, after we leave, you'll still have to accompany the old man on his three visits to the thatched cottage, the slaying of Yan Liang and Zhuge Liang, and the passing of five passes and the killing of six generals. You do your assigned tasks, but let strategist Zhuge Liang handle things like burning Bowang Slope and borrowing arrows with straw boats..."
Guan Yu understood my concern that he might overstep his bounds—he was perfectly capable of it. Zhuge Liang only knew five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future (an exaggeration), and before even leaving his thatched hut, he had already divided the world into three kingdoms. Guan Yu was no less capable. My second brother enjoyed reading the Spring and Autumn Annals, indicating he knew the events of the previous five hundred years; he had even visited my place, meaning he knew the events of the next fifteen hundred years as well. If he wanted, he could be both a fierce general and a brilliant strategist, unifying the Three Kingdoms wouldn't be difficult, and he could even bully Sun Quan and Cao Cao while writing a bestselling novel titled "I Am Guan Yu in Another World"...
The second brother laughed and said, "Being able to reunite with my eldest and third brothers is enough for me. As for the rest, let nature take its course. You can trust your second brother's words, right?"
I nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right." Then I smacked my lips and said, "It's a pity I didn't get to see Zhao Yun this time."
After listening to us for a long time, Liu Bei was still confused. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Who is Zhao Yun?"