Chapter 20: The Name of the Counterfeit (Part 2)

  Xuan Hua Fu! Xu Dū Wèi!

  Although Qin Xu couldn't be certain whether the young commander in front of him was the one he had in mind, after experiencing the chaos of Chang'an, Qin Xu understood how wise his previous idea of finding a bodyguard was. As long as he could safely arrive at Boss Cao's territory, everything else didn't matter.

  Qin Xu completely gave up the idea of recruiting Lü Bu after meeting him. Lü Bu's personal charm was too great, and his behavior was completely opposite to that of the brutal Lü Fengxian in history books! Even Qin Xu felt guilty just thinking about defecting to Cao Cao in front of Lü Bu...

  In this chaotic world, who wouldn't want to follow a commander with high martial prowess? Without being prescient, who would abandon a lord who charges forward, retreats backward, governs the army strictly and is also skilled in battle? Whoever leaves him is an idiot!

  Looking at Lao Xu after meeting Lü Bu, the worship in his eyes was heartfelt, and it's not hard to see that Qin Xu's plan to win over Lao Xu was completely off the mark.

  As for speaking of that unclear and inexplicable lifesaving grace?

  Forget it! When Qin Xu found an opportunity to leave Lü Bu's army, Old Xi discovered that not revealing the secret was enough to show a gentlemanly demeanor.

  Lü Linggui seemed to have noticed Qin Xu's gaze, and she glared at him fiercely, but her body quietly leaned in closer to Qin Xu. Lü Linggui's actions made Qin Xu feel a bit guilty, understanding that her actions were meant to protect herself in critical moments. Although this action was quite superfluous under the premise that the opponent had cavalry.

  These days, this little girl's complexion is not very good, but she still follows Lv Bu's "orders" very obediently and is very dedicated to Qin Xu's training.

  Qin Xu's eyes glanced at this delicate and tender face, and it was hard for her to have experienced these things at such a young age. If she were in a later generation, Lü Linggui would be at most a junior high school student, but in this chaotic era of the late Han dynasty, she could already teach Qin Xu the skills to save his life.

  Thinking of Lü Linggui's ending, Qin Xiang suddenly felt very unwell in his heart, but he could only ruthlessly suppress this thought and force his gaze to stare at the two people who had suddenly fallen out.

  "Xu Huang! Don't think you're above others just because you're Yang Feng's favorite general!"

  The person who claimed to be Han's tone rose a lot, as if a heavy hammer had been struck, causing Qin Xu's heart to suddenly feel extremely surprised.

  It's him after all!

  It's really him!

  Xu Huang!

  It should have occurred to me as soon as I saw his oversized and outlandish long-handled battle-axe.

  One of the five good generals under Cao Cao's command, alongside Zhang Liao, and was posthumously honored as Marquis Gang!

  This big brother is not simple. In history, when Cao Cao received Xu Huang, Xu Huang fought a great battle with Xu Chu, the general under Cao's command, for 50 rounds without winning or losing. What's even more valuable is that Xu Huang was not only good at martial arts, but also had exceptional military leadership skills, and Liu Bei's subordinates, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, both suffered greatly at Xu Huang's hands. Moreover, there are also rumors in the wild history that Guan Yu highly admired Xu Huang's military skills, and in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is said that Guan Yu "except for Wen Teng, only Xu Huang was on good terms with him". A proud person like Guan Yu, who can make him admire, can be counted on one hand.

  Even Cao Cao, a renowned military strategist who wrote the book "New Treatise on Military Strategy", was full of praise for Xuhuang's commanding ability, calling him "having the style of Zhou Yafu". As for Xuhuang's combat skills, he was even more praiseworthy, evaluating Xuhuang as "a general whose achievements surpass those of Sun Wu and Jiang Ziya".

  Whether Cao's words were sincere or not, the historical record of this elder brother is enough to make countless Three Kingdoms generals blush with shame.

  Moreover, this person is extremely straightforward. As soon as Qin Xu was certain, Xu Huan knew the identity of these people at first glance, but he turned his horse and left immediately. Apparently, no matter how Xu Huan felt about Lü Bu, he was a pure military man. Even under the constraint of military orders, he did not want to use Lü Bu's family members to gain wealth and honor.

  What a good comrade you are!

  It won't work, no matter what method is used, Xu Huan must be fooled over. Anyway, this big brother will eventually shine under Cao's command, and maybe he can climb higher if he starts earlier. Qin Xu looked around at the familiar faces with a guilty conscience, after a few days of getting along, if it was said that there was no emotional connection, that would be nonsense. But Qin Xu could only comfort himself. Everything related to Lü Bu's army, Qin Xu could only try his best to make history deviate from Lü Bu's body, hoping to save the fate of this god general, and change the ending for Lü Lingqi.

  Just like Cai Yan.

  Originally, if Qin Xu hadn't intervened, Cai Yan might have had another way to prevent Wei Xun from succeeding and then been protected by Lü Linggui.

  Yan did not know, and Wei Xu was not humiliated either. Therefore, after being rejected by Wang Yun, he would not help Jia Xu open the gate of Chang'an.

  Lü Bu would continue to pretend to be on good terms with Wang Yun, until two months later when the city of Chang'an was opened by a veteran soldier who had been bribed by Lü Bu's forces. Li Jue and Guo Si, furious, used the Qiang troops to massacre the people of Chang'an, and Lü Bu fled in defeat. His family was hidden away by Pang Shu, just as the Xiongnu were invading from the north, and Cai Yan was abducted amidst the chaos.

  Qin Xu thought of this, and his intention to help Cao boss recruit Xu Huang in advance was strengthened. At least Wei Xun, the main culprit who led to Lü Bu's death at White Gate Tower, would no longer have the opportunity to steal Lü Bu's weapons and horses. If a decisive battle between Cao and Lü still occurs, I hope it can be resolved peacefully, just like Lü Bu said in history, Qin Xu thought with a guilty conscience.

  "Xu Huan! Xu Gongming? Could it be that you are the Xu Huan, Xu Gongming of Hedong?" Qin Xu suddenly spoke up in front of the two armies.

  As for Qin Xu's words, it was not only Xu Huan's side of the Western Liang army that was puzzled, but also Gao Shun and others' faces showed incomprehension.

  How did Qin Xu get to know Xu Huan?

  After Qin Xu called out Xu Hu's name, Gao Shun also had some impression. Previously, when Dong Zhuo was in power in Luoyang, Li Jue had indeed surrendered a group of White Wave Bandits, and it seemed that he vaguely remembered that among the White Wave Bandits, there was a fierce warrior named Xu Hu, who was good at wielding a large axe. However, the White Wave Bandits were after all a surrendered bandit army, and they often exaggerated their own military strength. Moreover, under Li Jue's command, they were just a miscellaneous army without even a number, and did not enter the military sequence of Dong Zhuo's army at that time. Gao Shun did not continue to pay attention to them, but unexpectedly, today, he was called out by Qin Xu.

  Gao Shun didn't think about how Qin Xu knew, but to Qin Xu, Gao Shun seemed to treat him like an ordinary person without any distinction. However, Qin Xu always felt that Gao Shun was particularly indulgent towards him, just like Lü Bu.

  Apart from the Yan family and Lü Lingqi, Cai Yong's reputation was not seen to be given special guards or freedom of action by Gao Shun. After all, no matter how good it sounds, everyone is on the run, and their actions are often related to the lives of many people. Why did Gao Shun take care of Qin Xu in this way? Thinking back to Lü Bu's strange behavior after his night raid failed, it made Qin Xu even more curious.

  "Little doll, how do you know my family?" Xu Huan was also puzzled, looking at Qin Xu's appearance, he was just a fifteen or sixteen year old youth, and for the current Xu Huan, apart from having some reputation in the White Wave Bandits, even the little soldier who claimed to be Han Mou dared to bully him relying on his relative's power, let alone being known throughout the land. Moreover, in Xu Huan's impression, searching through his memories, he couldn't find any connection between himself and this youth from Lü Bu's army.

  "Xu Huan! So you were secretly in contact with Lü Bu, now that it's been exposed, what can you say for yourself?" The man who called himself Han Mou saw that Qin Xu had immediately seen through Xu Huan's hometown and name, and suddenly seemed to have gotten a huge handle on Xu Huan. This provoked the cavalrymen who came with Xu Huan into a fit of angry stares.

  "Hmph!" Xu Huan's face turned iron-blue, and he didn't respond. Although Xu Huan hadn't yet reached the realm of being a military saint as evaluated by Cao Cao, he vaguely felt that Qin Xu seemed to be intentionally provoking a dispute between him and Han Mou. This era didn't have the precise saying "the more you wipe, the blacker it gets", but Xu Huan wasn't a fool, and his gaze at Qin Xu's childish face also contained some malice.

  "What? Nothing to say?" Han certain had a complacent look, ignoring the angry glances of his "companions" around him. He said: "Xu Huan! If you listen to my advice today and take down these remnants of the Lü family, I can let bygones be bygones and not report this matter to my uncle again. How about it?" This self-proclaimed Han certain was not stupid either, knowing that provoking Xu Huan would not bring him any benefits, so he put on a pretentious look of good advice and hypocritically spoke to Xu Huan.

  Xu said, "I never kill the elderly, weak, women and children. This yellow-mouthed child seems to be someone I met at a certain family's house when I was a minor official in my hometown of Hebei. What's so special about calling out that family's name?" Xu Huan reluctantly said, unable to avoid telling a lie despite being a famous general known for his integrity and straightforwardness like Zhou Yafu.

  Success!

  Qin Xu was secretly delighted.

  In fact, Qin Xu had been secretly sweating after he opened his mouth.

  That's right! Qin Xu is gambling again!

  The bet is Xu Huan's reputation in history and Xu Huan's bottom line in his heart.

  A clumsy trick of sowing discord!

  Qin Xu's tender face and his understanding of the historical Xuhuang, as well as Xuhuang's self-imposed constraint of not killing innocent people, are Qin Xu's bets.

  Qin Xu's gamble was Han Mou's degree of trust in Xuhuang.

  The man who claimed to be Han, when he first discovered that Qin Xu and others were the Lu Bu family members they were pursuing, had already become suspicious of Xu Huan. A selfish person would not understand Xu Huan's persistence in adhering to his own creed, so at the moment Qin Xu spoke up, this clumsy trick that couldn't even deceive a three-year-old child succeeded halfway.

  What is needed is Xu Huan's self-defense.

  If Xu Huan retreated at this time, Qin Xiang's rotten plan would naturally lose its purpose. Perhaps in a few moments, Han would return and send a large team to capture Qin Xiang and others. Xu Huan's soft heart would be punished with just a few military sticks.

  However, Xu Huan made up a reason and replied, immediately confirming Han's conjecture.

  Xu Huan's hundred mouths cannot argue!

  Just like Cao Cao's wiping away of Book of Han, he clearly knew it was fake, but couldn't quite put his finger on the feeling, that's how Xu Huang feels right now.