Chapter Twenty-Five: Inverted Footsteps Welcome

  Unconsciously, the time has come to November. It's been more than two months since the Mid-Autumn Festival. In these two months, Ao Lie's life has returned to his primary school days in his previous life. Every day, except for going to the military camp to see the Blood Kill Camp training, he would return to the mansion to receive Wang Ao's hellish training. Although life is a bit dull, under Wang Ao's iron fist, Ao Lie lives very fulfilling every day, being tormented to the point of near death and rebirth.

  On this clear morning, Ao Lie had just finished practicing the Wuji Jiuyang Gong and hadn't even had time to put on his outer clothes when Xue Er burst in: "Young Master, there is a gentleman outside who specifically wants to see you." Ao Lie glanced at Wang Ao, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, cultivating his spirit. He quickly made a silencing gesture with his hand and quietly got up, asking softly: "Who wants to see me?" Xue Er stuck out her tongue and looked at Wang Ao before answering in a low voice: "The visitor said his name is Xun Yu."

  "Oh, I see." Ao Lie said casually while picking up his outer garment. Suddenly, the garment in his hand fell to the ground, and Ao Lie opened his eyes wide, asking loudly: "Who? Who did you say it was just now?" Shuang'er hastily stretched out her jade-like hand to cover Ao Lie's mouth, pointing towards Wang Ao's direction, before whispering: "Xun Yu, how do you know him, young master?"

  Unable to explain, Ao Lie shook off Shuang Er's jade hand and didn't even bother to put on his outer garment, rushing out the door in just his undergarments. Shuang Er was taken aback for a moment before picking up the discarded outer garment from the floor, dusting it off as she chased after Ao Lie. Sitting cross-legged nearby, Wang Ao opened his eyes, which were filled with amusement, and muttered to himself: "That young master Xun has arrived? Hehe, Wang Zuo's talent will finally be devoted to a great overlord."

  Ao Lie ran wildly all the way, even losing his shoes without realizing it. Shuang Er chased after him, picking up Ao Lie's lost shoes along the way.

  As they arrived at the gate, two elite Blood Kill Troop members were politely blocking Xun Yu. Ao Lie hastily ran forward and scolded the two elites: "Don't be rude! Quickly retreat!" The two elites lowered their heads in response and retreated. Ao Lie hastily bowed to Xun Yu with his fists: "I've long heard of Mr. Wenruo's great name, I'm sorry for being late to welcome you, which led to my subordinates being rude to you, please forgive me." Those two Blood Kill Troop elites couldn't help but be surprised again after hearing Ao Lie's words and took another look at Xun Yu, who was in his early twenties, with a pale face and no beard, tall and majestic, but nothing special otherwise. They didn't know why their lord was so enthusiastic about this person.

  The visitor was Xun Yu. Seeing Ao Lüe's disheveled clothes and missing shoe on his left foot, Xun Yu felt a little moved and said with courtesy: "Yu has long heard of General's great name, today I am honored to meet the General. Just now, your subordinate treated me with courtesy, not trying to make things difficult for me, please do not worry about it."

  Just as the two were talking, Shuang'er ran over with a shoe in one hand and an outer garment in the other. First, she draped the outer garment over Ao Lie's body, then squatted down beside him to help him put on his shoes. Ao Lie pulled Shuang'er up, bent down to hastily put on his shoes himself, and instructed her: "Shuang'er, quickly go prepare wine, I want to host a welcoming feast for Mr. Wen Ruo!"

  After finishing, Ao Lie pulled Xun Yu's hand and walked towards his own courtyard. When they arrived at Ao Lie's room, Ao Lie smiled and said to Xun Yu: "I'm sorry to trouble Mr. Wen Ruo, although I am the Weiyuan General, but because of my young age, I still live with my parents, so I can only invite Mr. Wen Ruo to my room for a chat."

  Xun Yu also smiled and said, "General, you are too modest. You didn't even put on your clothes or turn your shoes upside down to welcome me, I am already very grateful in my heart, why bother with those trivial formalities?"

  Xiang'er had just arranged the wine table, Ao Lie raised his cup and said: "I am still young and cannot drink, so I will use tea instead of wine to toast Mr. Wen Ruo a cup, cheers!" Xun Yu also raised his cup and said: "Thank you, General."

  After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, Ao Lie asked straightforwardly: "Please forgive me for speaking bluntly, I don't know if Mr. Wen has received Seasoned Brother's letter?" Xun Yu put down his wine cup and said seriously: "Yu has already received Seasoned Brother's letter, that's why he came to meet you. Not hiding from the general, before coming to the mansion, Yu specially went to Jiuyuan for a trip, and then stayed in the Youzhou border for over a month, only then did he come to see the general."

  "Yet I don't know what the gentleman is doing in Jiuyuan?" Xun Yu said with a serious expression: "A good bird chooses a tree to perch on, a good minister chooses a lord to serve. Since Seasonal brother has let me come to serve as general, I should understand the character of my superior." Ao Lie laughed and asked: "So, what does the gentleman think of Ao Lie?" Xun Yu didn't answer, got up and walked in front of Ao Lie, bowed his waist and saluted with a bow, saying: "Xun Yu pays respects to his lord."

  Ao Lie hastily stood up, took two big steps forward to Xun Yu's side, and helped him straighten up. He laughed and said: "I have obtained Wen Ruo's assistance, just like Emperor Gaozu had Zhang Liang, and King Zhao had Yue Yi! How fortunate!"

  Xun Yu saw Ao Lie comparing himself to Zhang Liang and Yue Yi, his face flushed with a hint of redness, and he hastily said: "Yu dare not be mentioned in the same breath as Zhang Liang and Yue Yi, Your Excellency's praise is excessive."

  Ao Lie laughed loudly and said: "Whether it's excessive or not will be known later. Gold will shine sooner or later." Xun Yu was amused by Ao Lie's words, which although rough, held deep meaning.

  As he traveled, Xun Yu collected a lot of information about Ao Lie from the people. He was very familiar with Ao Lie's deeds and somewhat understood his temperament, which is why he so easily joined Ao Lie's camp. Moreover, there was Cui Yan's recommendation. Xun Yu knew that Cui Yan would not easily submit to others, so when he said that Ao Lie was a wise lord, it must have been based on some evidence. Now looking at him, indeed, not only did he welcome himself with open arms, but also in his words and deeds, there was no trace of the arrogance of a noble son, and he was very affable. More importantly, through Ao Lie's battles against the Xiongnu, killing the Left Virtuous King, and later treating Wang Ao with courtesy in Jiuyuan Village, making Wang Ao his teacher, etc., Xun Yu saw Ao Lie's sincere heart, a heart that was dedicated to saving the Han Dynasty from turmoil.

  After the banquet, Ao Lie brought Xun Yu to the main camp of Youzhou, where Zhang Liao and Tian Chou were stationed. In front of them, Ao Lie introduced Xun Yu: "Wen Yuan, Zi Tai, this is Xun Yu from Yingchuan, also known as Xun Wenruo. From now on, he will be our comrade-in-arms. I hope you two can work together and help me restore the glory of the Han Dynasty." Zhang Liao and Tian Chou naturally knew their lord's ability to recognize talent, and anyone who was favored by him was a hero in his own right. The two men did not hesitate and bowed to Xun Yu, saying: "Welcome, sir! We hope you can give us more guidance in the future." Xun Yu returned the courtesy, saying: "I'm new here and don't have the qualifications to offer guidance. Instead, I hope you two can give me more guidance. General Wen Yuan and Mr. Zi Tai's great names, I've heard of them for a long time."

  After the three men yielded to each other for a while, Zhang Liao suddenly turned his head and said to Ao Lie: "My lord, in these two months, our military formation exercises have been refined, and the elite in the camp are all full of fighting spirit. The other day, Zi Tai personally went to investigate the terrain near Red Stone Valley and found that there were about 500 mountain bandits inside Red Stone Valley. I and Zi Tai are discussing and planning to attack Red Stone Valley soon."

  Ao Lie hesitated for a moment, then said: "Zi Tai, bring me the map to take a look." Tian Chou hastily turned around and brought over a map, spreading it out on the table. Ao Lie turned his head towards Xun Yu: "Wen Ruo, you also come and take a look." Xun Yu hadn't expected that he had just defected to Ao Lie's side, yet was entrusted with the heavy responsibility of participating in military discussions, and couldn't help but secretly praise him: indeed an extraordinary person does extraordinary things, truly a wise ruler. He then stepped forward, together with Ao Lie, to examine the map.

  Tian Chu said, "This map was drawn according to the method taught by our lord. Mr. Wen Ruo, please take a look. Every inch on this map represents five miles in reality. The red circles represent our army's main camp and strongholds. The solid arrows of the same color represent the route our army will take. The dotted arrows represent the routes our army may take to encircle or retreat. Similarly, the blue circles represent the lair of the Red Stone Valley bandits. The solid arrows of the same color represent the possible routes the bandits may take to launch a surprise attack. The dotted arrows represent the direction they may retreat in case of defeat."

  Tian Chou and Zhang Liao were already familiar with this modernized map, let alone Ao Lie who was the one who created it. Tian Chou's explanation was of course for Xun Yu to understand. Xun Yu listened to Tian Chou's annotation in amazement and couldn't help but praise: "The lord is truly a genius, even thinking so meticulously about something as trivial as drawing maps, I am impressed." Ao Lie waved his hand and said: "Details determine victory or defeat, our army is already outnumbered, of course we must utilize everything that can be used to let our army achieve the greatest results with the smallest cost." Xun Yu sighed: "The lord is truly a benevolent and wise leader."

  After looking at the map, the four of them fell silent. Ao Lie broke the silence first: "The route to the military campaign set by Wen Yuan and Zi Tai is quite reasonable, but the battle plan needs to be modified." Zhang Liao and Tian Chou looked at each other, unsure what was wrong with their battle plan. Ao Lie understood their confusion from their expressions and said: "It's not that this battle plan is bad, it's just that our army is all elite, losing one means losing one, as I said earlier, we need to use the smallest cost to get the greatest results, so we can't launch a strong charge against Red Stone Valley."

  In the original plan of Zhang Liao and Tian Chou, they would utilize the speed of their warhorses to shoot and kill the mountain bandits guarding the valley entrance, then swiftly enter the valley with lightning speed, taking advantage of the depth of the valley to clear out the remaining bandits.

  "Your Excellency, although the mountain bandits are a disorganized mob, they outnumber us five times. A forced charge will inevitably result in casualties. It would be better to divide them into batches and lure them to the valley entrance, where we can take advantage of our cavalry's superiority to shoot and kill them batch by batch. Once their numbers have been depleted, we can launch a charge and annihilate them."

  Cao Cao lightly tapped the table and then clapped his hands: "It's settled. In this battle, I'll lead the vanguard, Wen Teng will take the army to circle around to the back of the valley, and as soon as they hear the sound of fighting in the valley, we'll emerge from behind the mountain bandits and attack. Zi Tai and Wen Ruo will hold down the rear army and provide support at any time." Zhang Liao and the other two responded in unison: "Yes!"

  After a few people discussed and agreed, they gathered more than 100 elite blood killing camps, ready to go. There was no redundant speech by the general to boost morale, Ao Lie simply said: "The target is Red Stone Valley, let's go!" More than 100 elites immediately mounted their horses, automatically divided into three teams, following Ao Lie, Zhang Liao and Tian Chou respectively.

  Not to mention the combat effectiveness of these hundred elite soldiers, just this calm and composed attitude towards battle made Xun Yu secretly admire them. Furthermore, each soldier had a warhorse, wore exquisite willow-leaf iron armor, and grasped finely crafted steel swords, all of which demonstrated that this army of just over a hundred men was truly elite. Only then did Xun Yu understand why Zhang Liao and Tian Chou would devise an aggressive battle plan - it wasn't arrogance on their part, but rather the confidence inspired by these elite soldiers, who gave them the courage to face an enemy five times their number! At the same time, Xun Yu also sensed how much importance Ao Lie placed on these elites, being willing to change his battle plans and use himself as bait for the enemy rather than recklessly launching a strong attack, which would result in losses among his troops. Not just Ao Lie, but probably no lord would be willing to send these elite soldiers into a strong attack against an enemy five times their number.