Chapter 25: A Record of an Eastern Journey

  Xiahou Yuan was enraged!

  From childhood to adulthood, or from Cao Cao's uprising to his achievement of hegemony, the Cao and Xiahou families who had always assisted Cao Cao in his conquests, when did they ever receive such humiliation? Even when Cao Cao was called a eunuch in Luoyang back then, the humiliation he received was not even one ten-thousandth of what it is today.

  The Yuan army is really brazen, daring not to put us in their eyes, doing such a dirty and lowly thing, can it be tolerated or not?

  Damn it!

  Thinking of this, Xiahou Yuan fiercely pulled out the war gun from the ground and shouted to the soldiers behind him: "When we came with Mr. Guo, he said that this time the Yu army raided Xudu, they wanted to withdraw and must go to Xuzhou! The three armies listen to the order, the whole army follows me to advance in the direction of Xuzhou, catch out this despicable person who scribbled on the stone tablet, I will peel his skin, dismantle his bones, eat his flesh and sleep with his skin, chop him into ten thousand pieces!"

  "Hold on! General Xiahou, you mustn't!"

  After hearing Xiahou Yuan issue a military order, Xiahou Yuan's deputy general Lü Xian hastily rode out to speak and block him.

  Xiahou Yuan turned his head, with a furious gaze at Lü Xian, gritting his teeth and saying: "What do you have to say?"

  Lü Bu disregarded everything and rushed to Xiahou Yuan on horseback, hastily advising: "General Xiahou only remembers that when Mr. Guo came, he said that the Yu army would retreat to Xuzhou, but has he forgotten what Mr. Guo also said? He allowed General You to lift the siege of Xu Du, but it was absolutely impossible to pursue the Yu army. In Xuzhou, there are already large troops setting up a net to wait for the Yu army to surrender. This is something that Lord Cao has agreed to, and General Xiahou must not be rash. If he goes after them like this, he will not only disobey military orders but also ruin the plan of the Minister of Works..."

  "Shut up!" Lü Xian's words were not finished, Xiahou Yuan could no longer bear it and interrupted Lü Xian's speech: "A general in the army has his own orders, our lord and Mr. Guo would also be the same if they saw this stone tablet, who are you? How dare you speak nonsense here!"

  Lü Xian heard this and bitterly smiled: "General, you are acting on a moment's anger, absolutely must not be brave and do something that will lead to great mistakes!"

  "Bastard!"

  As soon as the words fell, Xiahou Yuan raised his spear and pointed it at Lü Xian's throat from a distance, gritting his teeth and saying: "Lü Xian, do you want to commit treason and rebel?"

  Lü Xian saw Xiahou Yuan ignite the true fire, and was suddenly frightened to a pale face. He hastily shook his head: "General, what are you talking about? I am loyal to the Minister of Works, and have always treated you with sincerity. How could there be any talk of rebellion?"

  "The enemy has already reached our doorstep, are you not thinking of rebelling against the emperor? Or could it be that you are a spy for Yuan's army?" Xiahou Yuan's anger was burning fiercely in his heart, his teeth clenched tightly as he spoke without choosing his words, no longer reasoning.

  "How can you say such a thing?" Lü Xian heard this and couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time: "General, you're being unjust to me!"

  Xiahou Yuan was a fierce general, but unfortunately, he had a very stubborn temperament and an explosive temper. Once he made up his mind, except for Cao Cao, no one could change it, not even nine-headed cows. How could Lv Xun, a low-ranking officer in the army, stop him?

  Moreover, Yuan was scribbling and smearing on the stone tablet today, to put it bluntly, it's as if he had slapped Cao's face with a loud slap, others would have seen some anger, and even if they had grumbled, it would have been passed off, but now the problem is that Xiahou Yuan has been stared at.

  This one glance, the consequence is that the sky collapses and the earth sinks. I'm afraid even if Yuan Shang runs to the ends of the earth, Xiahou Xuan will still have to drag him back and chop him up into little pieces.

  Lü Xian San's eyes widened as he stared at his mouth, and the scene fell silent. Only then did Xiahou Yuan slowly lower his spear and let out a loud roar to the sky, shouting to the Cao army officers: "All military personnel listen to orders!"

  "Agreed!"

  But then his troops behind him shook their flags and shouted in unison, their momentum shaking the heavens.

  "We will march towards Xuzhou and kill all of Yuan's soldiers, not a single one will be left! We will annihilate them all!"

  "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

  "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

  Xiahou Yuan was furious and led his troops in pursuit of Yuan Shang's rear.

  At this moment, Yuan San Gongzi was leading a group of soldiers and horses, leisurely swaying back and forth on the small country road, marching towards Xuzhou with ease.

  Looking at the countryside, farmers and villagers work hard to cultivate the land, with a happy and contented smile on their faces, it's truly refreshing.

  The warm breeze blows gently on my face, comfortable and pleasant, it's really very cozy.

  Because when leaving Xudu, Yuan Shang had already ordered the collection of all the flags of the Yuan army, so in the eyes of the people of Yanzhou, Yuan Shang's soldiers and horses were just some armored military men.

  But they didn't know which army it was, and many civilians and farmers mistakenly thought that Yuan Shang was Cao Cao's horse, and came to visit the strong people privately, laughing and following them with a bow.

  Yuan Shang is also shameless, smiling and waving back at him.

  After days of marching, the Yuan army arrived at a few mu of land on the border of Yanzhou and Xuzhou. The three armies were exhausted, so Yuan Shang immediately ordered the whole army to temporarily rest and cook food. He himself ran into the fields, chatting with the old farmers in the fields.

  The old farmers were very hospitable, seeing Yuan Shang wearing silver and white armor, with an extraordinary air, they knew he was a general, so they didn't dare to be slow, and hurriedly presented him with clean white water.

  Yuan Shang smiled and accepted the water, thanking the old farmers. He chatted with them: "Old gentlemen, how's the harvest? Is life in Yanzhou comfortable?"

  The old farmers all smiled and nodded busily, saying: "The harvest is good, Cao Cao is very wise, he has made many policies that benefit the people. We commoners live in peace within the borders of Yan Province, we have food to eat, clothes to wear, and our lives are not bad."

  Yuan Shang sighed inwardly, it seems that Cao Cao is not only good at fighting wars, but also has a good hand in governing the people.

  Yuan Shang couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. Cao Cao was a formidable opponent, skilled in both military and political affairs. How would he deal with him in the future?

  "How is your tax burden every year? Is it unbearable?"

  The old farmers shook their heads together: "No, since the Lord Shi implemented the tuntian system, we have all been able to pay our taxes on time. The Lord wants to go to war, and although he has collected a bit more grain, we can barely afford it."

  Yuan Shang furrowed his brow: "Cao Cao is so warlike, he must recruit many male conscripts every year?"

  "No, no! Although Cao Cao's army has been on many campaigns, the ones he wants are all elite troops. Each household can only send one able-bodied man at most; having more people would just mean having useless extras."

  "What about Cao Cao's character? Is he not very violent and inhumane towards his people?"

  The old farmers laughed and said, "How can that be? Cao Cao was very fair to both the humble and the common people. When he conquered Wan City and captured Zhang Yi, his war horse trampled the wheat in the fields. According to the law, Lord Cao should have punished himself publicly, but fortunately, his subordinates persuaded him, and he only cut off a lock of hair as a punishment. Cao Cao is a good man!"

  Yuan Shang was unhappy upon hearing this. This is good, that is good, Cao Cao is your father, and you are giving him a hard time!

  "I dare ask the elderly, under Cao's governance, isn't there anything that is not good?"

  Old farmers looked at me and I looked at them, then shook their heads in unison and said: "Under Cao Cao's rule, the Qingming Festival is clean and there's nothing wrong with it..."

  "It's impossible, there must be, you think carefully!" Yuan Shang was somewhat unwilling to give up.

  Those old men were suddenly stunned and puzzled, wondering who this young general was. He spoke so rashly, deliberately picking on Cao's shortcomings, what was he trying to do?

  It is estimated that it was a courtier who disagreed with Cao's policy of leniency.

  So it's really not easy to offend him.

  The old men looked at me, I looked at him, and finally a slightly older one cleared his throat and said in a low voice: "If there's anything that's really lacking, it's that in the border areas of Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Miannan, there are many evil bandits who disturb the people, cause trouble, and harm the region. Cao Cao's soldiers have been fighting against the outer vassals for years, so they don't have time to take care of this, which makes these bandits even more powerful, to the point where local officials can't cope."

  "Bandits?" Yuan Shang's eyes lit up instantly, and his heart seemed to have lit another lamp.

  "Then trouble the old man to tell me, in Henan, Xu and Yu provinces, what are some of the more powerful bandits that the local officials can't handle?"

  The old farmer put down his hoe, scratched his head and thought for a moment before saying slowly: "As for what General Xiao said, as far as I know, there are currently several large groups of bandits in the Central Plains. The first is the Yellow Turban Army led by Xu He and Sima Kui in Jinan and Le'an, who have been causing trouble for the people. The second is Chen Lan, Mei Cheng, and Lei Xu from Lujiang, who have repeatedly rebelled against the government and harmed the common people. The third is that since Liu Bei settled in Runan, many counties have defected to him, with a total of several hundred thousand people, and there are also remnants of the original Taishan bandits led by Chang Bin, who have repeatedly betrayed the imperial court and gathered in Chaohu to cause chaos. The fourth is that last year, a strong group of bandits emerged in Jiuli Mountain and other places, mainly composed of cavalry, causing trouble and attacking local counties. The leader's surname and name are unknown, but it is known that every time they attack the various states and counties, they like to wear red clothes and ride a red horse, and everyone calls them the Red Robe Bandit..."

  "Red Robber?" Yuan Shang was taken aback: "What kind of strange nickname is this?"

  The old farmer chuckled and stroked his beard, saying: "General, don't underestimate this Red Robe Bandit. Although they are newly risen, their abilities are quite extraordinary. It's said that their skill in commanding their bandits is unmatched, even surpassing regular army troops. The leader himself is also exceptionally skilled in martial arts. Recently, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao have been facing off at Guandu, and this Red Robe Bandit took advantage of the court's distraction to lead his followers in causing chaos throughout Yuzhou, capturing many county cities and even beheading several colonels and generals. His abilities are truly remarkable."

  "This is somewhat interesting..."

  Yuan Shang heard this and his heart suddenly came alive. It seemed that most of Cao's army was focused on the north, while the foundation in the south was extremely unstable. The bandits were swarming out like bees... Perhaps he could lead his troops to take a look, make use of the situation, and who knows, might gain some unexpected benefits.

  Just then, Zhang Jue hastily arrived from the official road to the field, saluted Yuan Shang and whispered in his ear: "Young master, scouts have come to report that our rear is not good."

  Yuan Shang heard this and turned his head around, saying in a low voice: "Is it the Cao army that's chasing us? How can they be so fast?"

  Zhang's jaw clenched heavily and he nodded, saying: "Not bad."

  "Who is leading the troops?"

  "General Cao Jun, Xiahou Yuan."