Chapter 26: The Deserting Soldiers Xu Rong and Li Ru

  When the dust settled, Sun Ce held Wu Dalang and Wu Erlang in his arms like a treasure. He gently stroked their soft fur, knowing that small animals and children alike needed plenty of affection to form strong bonds with humans.

  This is also what Sun Ce learned from books at first. So, people should read more books, there is all the knowledge we want in books.

  Sun Ce plopped his butt down in the same spot where that Confucian scholar had sat before. And, as it turned out, there was even a soft cushion - refugees really knew how to live it up, only someone who understood how to enjoy life would do this.

  Sun Ce coldly gazed at Xu Rong, who was bound and lying on the ground. He opened his mouth and said: "General Xu, why aren't you staying in Chang'an to guard the capital and protect the Emperor? What brings you to this poor and remote place where even birds don't lay eggs?"

  Xu Rong's cow eyes turned quickly, and a few strands of smile were squeezed out on his face: "Jia Xiao brother, you must have misunderstood! Xu Yi is not some kind of general, I am just a small school lieutenant."

  "This time, we are just passing through your territory to protect the military strategist. We didn't think of doing anything that would harm Yangzhou. It's really an imperial order, commanding us to do something very important! Otherwise, you can release us first and let's sit down and talk slowly. How about it?"

  Sun Ce thought to himself, "How foolish of me! Letting you go and then fighting you again? On a hot day like today, I don't want to waste my sweat for nothing. That's not something I'd normally consider."

  " Misunderstanding? Hehe! You've already called me a fake brother! What's the point of being real brothers with you? And don't try to use the imperial court to pressure me, do you still have the imperial court in your eyes?"

  "General Xu Rong, who had gloriously died in Xinfeng! The imperial court still wants to honor your loyalty and bravery, but you have come here as a deserter!"

  Xu Rong's originally dark face suddenly turned pale, but his voice was still calm: "Who are you, how do you know me! Alas! Can't escape their clutches after all? Heaven is not helping me! Never mind, little brother, I didn't want to be a deserter either, if it wasn't for... Alas! You won't understand even if I tell you. Spare our military advisor and take Xu Rong's head to claim credit!"

  Sun Ce looked at him with a smile, even more curious. "This guy has a problem! He'd rather die than save this Confucian scholar. The more you talk like that, the more it makes people think there's no silver here, three hundred taels! It seems that this Confucian scholar who always smiles is also a big fish!"

  But! I think I know who he is! As expected, it's a big fish, a super big black fish that can satisfy my heart! But how did these two big fish end up in the same nest? And can this small net of mine catch this big fish?"

  Sun Ce nodded at the Confucian scholar and said: "Please sit down, sir. May I ask your esteemed name?"

  The guard on the side brought a felt mat and spread it out beside Sun Ce, inviting the scholar to sit down.

  The gentleman also didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with his knees bent: "My name is now Li Xiaoru, courtesy name Wenyou. I don't know what instructions the young general has."

  It seems that he has already seen that Sun Ce has guessed his identity, so he is not willing to make a futile concealment, and frankly admits his own name.

  "Good, sir is indeed one of the most intelligent people in the world. As expected, an intelligent person only does intelligent things. Li Ru, Li Xiaoru are actually the same person! I have always admired your exceptional skills with utmost respect!"

  Xu Rong anxiously said, "Military strategist, how could you say that yourself? Didn't we agree that you would call him Jia Wu? This is terrible. You little brat, don't dare harm the military strategist, or Xu will never let you off."

  Sun Ce smiled and looked at him: "You're really a stupid cow, can't even take a good name like 'Jia Wu' or 'Geng Chen'? You say you won't let me go, what are you going to use to deal with me? Your hands and feet? Unfortunately, they're tied up. Your head? Unfortunately, you're not a big turtle that can stretch its neck, you can't even reach me."

  "You still want to say that even when you're dead, you won't let me off. Do you believe such childish words yourself? In the Battle of Liangshan, you boiled alive the Governor of Yingchuan, Li Ming, and killed so many of my Jianghuai soldiers. Aren't you afraid that he'll come back to boil you alive, or that they'll gnaw on your flesh and drink your blood? Haha, are you scared? You're really a stubborn fool!"

  "Strange indeed," Sun Ce muttered in a low voice, "how did this Xu Rong, the great fierce cow that boils and cooks people alive, defeat Father?"

  It doesn't seem like he has a very military-minded appearance! But Han and the others all went through that war, they can't be speaking nonsense.

  Moreover, the two battles were indeed lost. Unfortunately, he was only sent to escort the grain and grass to Yangrencheng after the war. At that time, the troops had already retreated into the city, and Xu Rong also retreated back to Luoyang after winning the battle in the wild.

  He didn't bring many soldiers, so it's naturally impossible to launch a strong attack on the Yangren City which still has a relatively solid defense. Otherwise, they could have had some "communication" with him at that time to understand the detailed situation.

  Just like that unlucky devil Hua Xiong who came to raid our grain transport team, we should have a 'heart-to-heart talk' and not be stuck in this awkward situation where we can't figure out what to do.

  It's also funny to think about: "At that time, Hua Xiong might have killed the grain-cutting soldier by chance and rushed to the front of the entire attacking army, completely unaware that there was a young general like me with extraordinary martial arts skills in the rear team."

  At that time, I suddenly killed out of the soldier team, and he still had a slight look in his eyes to accept my first shot. As a result, he was almost knocked off his horse by this one shot. He immediately panicked, so he was knocked off his horse by my three consecutive shots. Became the first stepping stone for me to make a name for myself in the world. It seems that I also heard that he is a general of the Dong Zhuo's team, a member of the Dou Du level.

  So, at any time, one cannot underestimate others. Especially when there are abnormal circumstances. Isn't it said that strange things happen for a reason? Carelessness and negligence ultimately harm oneself!

  But can Xu Rong be a person with schizophrenia? One moment he's a genius, the next he's an idiot. He did defeat Cao Cao after all, this achievement definitely isn't fake.

  "This is what Cao Cao himself told the eighteen princes! I think Cao Cao was also a person who attached great importance to his reputation, being defeated by a general who was not even the main general of Dong Zhuo's army, and losing his helmet and armor, almost dying on the spot. It's not something to be proud of. He must have told the truth. Moreover, he had so many soldiers under him who could vouch for it."

  At this time, Li Xiaoru spoke in a calm voice on the side: "Ping Sheng (Xu Rong's character), you are reckless again. I have told you many times that as long as you can calm down and deal with problems, you will not be inferior to any famous general! How can you remember it on the battlefield, but forget it when you're off duty? It's really stubborn!"

  Xu Rong's face turned red on one side, but he seemed to dare not speak loudly to Li Xiaoru, apparently showing great respect for Li Xiaoru.

  "This time, it was clearly you, Military Advisor, who couldn't hold back your temper and exposed yourself. Otherwise, we might have been able to deceive that little brat. Besides, this scene is too small, it's not even worth getting excited about!"

  Li Xiaoru smiled faintly and said, "You're always like this, whenever you get anxious, you lose the ability to judge things correctly. Today, your embroidery time will be extended by one hour. You can't calm yourself down. Haven't you realized it yet? This Sun Bofu, Sun Daguizi, has already recognized our identities! He's just playing with you, but he doesn't have any malicious intentions towards us!"

  After finishing his lesson with Xu Rong, Li Ru now should be called Li Xiao Ru, turned to me and said: "The young master is right, but his name is now Xu Yi, courtesy name Ping Sheng. He's not the person you knew anymore."

  This time it was Sun Ce's turn to be shocked, and he let out a cold breath: "Wow! Mr. Li is really formidable, with eyes as sharp as electricity! It's not surprising that I recognized you. But how did you know I'm Sun Bofu? And how did you know I don't want to take your heads to Chang'an for the reward?"

  "It's also reasonable to escape! Let's just escape then, anyway it doesn't matter."

  At the same time, Sun Ce's mind conjured up a scene of Dongfang Bubai embroidering flowers with 'Frozen People'. A tall and sturdy man, wearing red and green, under the dim light of an oil lamp, pinched a small embroidery needle.

  The embroidered beautiful flower cloth was 'frozen' in a fierce manner. Sun Ce couldn't help but shiver. However, this was also a good way to temper his impatient temperament. It's unknown how Li Ru's extraordinary brain came up with such a torturous and 'toxic' method.

  Li Xiaoru's mouth always had a faint smile, making him look exceptionally elegant. It made people imagine that he was a man of great quality. Confident and proud, everything seemed so simple in his eyes, nothing could stir up his emotions. Because everything had been seen through and grasped by him.

  "You are young, you are a Jiangdong native, you have a group of elite soldiers under your command, you still remember the defeat at Liangshan, you can recognize Xu Ping'an and dislike him, but you don't dislike me."

  "But you just dislike the ordinary, there is no killing intent in your eyes, it can be seen that you just want to vent the discontent in your heart. And yet you can guess who I am, and you can pretend to explain that you are very cunning, with a psychological quality beyond others, do I need to say more? Wanting to avenge his father's two defeats, but also being magnanimous, the eldest son of the Sun family."

  "Ha ha! Listening to Mr. Li, I'm indeed full of loopholes everywhere? My performance was a bit too obvious. I thought I could deceive the master and play a guessing game with you? Please forgive me for my rudeness, I've made a fool of myself!"

  Li Xiaoru continued in his unique calm tone, "Young Master Sun, you're being so polite to Wenyu, are you hoping to win him over and have him serve you? Unfortunately, Wenyu's heart has already cooled down, he doesn't want to be disturbed by the complicated relationships of this chaotic world anymore. He just wants to live a peaceful life with Ping Sheng in a place where no one recognizes us."

  "Fortunately, you're just cold-hearted, not dead-hearted. As long as you're not heartless, I'll make your blood boil. Otherwise, it would be a waste of my effort. If I can't handle someone as important as you, how can I attract talented people in the future?"

  Sun Ce calmly picked up the water bottle beside him and took a big gulp of water, the water in the water bottle had also been scalding hot under the sun for an entire morning. The hot water flowed into his parched throat, very refreshing.

  Sun Ce smacked his lips contentedly, as if savoring the sweet aftertaste of the water.

  Then Sun Ce looked at Li Xiu: "Sir, have you and General Xu already abandoned your wishes for this life? Needless to say, accompanying your father-in-law Dong Zhuo in death in Chang'an must be one of your heroic arrangements. It seems that this Xu Rong, oh! Wrong, it was Xu Yuxu Ping Sheng's general who successfully broke out of the encirclement at New Feng battlefield, also a clever plan arranged by you."

  "I'd like to ask, Mr. Li and General Xu! Are you truly willing to bury your literary and martial talents in the wilderness for the rest of your lives, and bear the name of traitors for eternity, only to be spat upon by future generations of loyal subjects and the common people? You have cultivated exceptional abilities that can shake heaven and earth; is it really just to be recorded in history as two infamous traitors?"

  "A person's death can be heavier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather. Can your teachers, parents, and family members accept you as their relatives? Will they still be proud of you?"

  Do you think that by doing so, you can escape and live a life without regret? And in the end, you can die peacefully at home with a clear conscience? If you think so, then I, Sun Bo, have misjudged. You can leave as you please, I won't lower my status to bother two cowards!

  He finished speaking in one breath. Sun Ce remained silent, quietly looking at Li Xiu.

  His heart, however, was racing violently, hoping that the words he had just spoken would have an impact and that their dignity would give them hope. At this moment, Xu Rong also stared at Li Xiaoru's face with wide open bloodshot eyes. It seemed that this man was also unwilling to accept defeat so easily!

  After thinking for a while, Li Xiaoru's face finally lost its smile.