Chapter 15: Chen Liu Raises an Army, Tiger Tally Wind Waves

  Cao Cao and Lü Bu returned to Chenliu, just in time for the festival. The relatives of the Cao family and the Xiahou family were all at the Cao family's residence in Qiao Commandery, preparing to celebrate the festival. However, due to the death of Emperor Ling of Han, Dong Zhuo entered the capital and took control of the court, making it a bad time for the Cao family to celebrate. For other families, changes in the imperial court were not a big deal, but for the Cao family, stability in the imperial court was their greatest reliance. If the political situation became unstable, the wealth and nobility of the Cao family would be endangered. In the grand hall of the Cao residence, many people sat in their respective positions, with solemn expressions.

  The children of the Cao family were all around their mothers, playing with toys in their hands, occasionally blinking their eyes and looking at the people around them, still unaware of what had happened. Lü Rui also took a seat, the first seat on the right side below the main seat, after all, as a marquis, he should have the treatment of a marquis!

  Cao Song patted his big belly on the main seat, then looked at everyone and asked: "How come, Yuan Rang hasn't arrived yet?"

  Just as Cao was about to speak, Xiahou Dun rushed in, dusty and winded, wiping the sweat from his brow, saying: "Uncle Cao, elder brother, I'm here!"

  Cao Song saw Xiahou Dun, nodded and said: "Good, Yuan Rang has arrived, everyone is here, take a rest, let the servants go out, we will start." The butler nodded, waved his hand, and began to clear the servants.

  Xiahou Dun took one look and saw that Cao Cao's face had several scars on it. He chuckled to himself, thinking that those must have been left by Lü Bu's whip. If Hua Tuo were here, there wouldn't be any scarring, but now was still the recovery stage after applying medicine! Xiahou Dun burst out laughing and said: "Big Brother, are these scars on your face from Rui'er? Rui'er, you didn't choose a good spot to strike, haha, Big Brother, won't you become disfigured?"

  Cao Cao heard this and felt bitter in his heart, thinking that he should not have praised Rui'er. This little devil has spread the news everywhere, now the whole of Qiao County knows that I, Cao Mengde, was flogged by my adopted son, what a loss of face!

  Cao Song saw Cao's appearance, shook his head and said: "Meng De is still young, how can such things be praised by children? What do children know? Isn't it just spreading everywhere? Young and vigorous, with clever strategies, but always impatient, let him go out and temper himself! Cao Song pressed his hand and said: "Yuan Rang, don't say anymore, your elder brother has already done so, brothers are one, just let him off."

  Xiahou Dun nodded his head and respectfully replied, "Yes, Uncle Cao!" Then he sat down. Cao Song still had a high prestige in the Cao family, and as someone who respected and valued talent, he naturally won over many people's hearts. Lü Bu's evaluation of him was: A round belly, deep and cunning!

  Cao Song saw that everyone had quieted down and the steward had finished cleaning up the servants. He coughed a few times, then began to get to the point. Cao Song said: "Everyone, now that the former emperor has passed away, Dong Zhuo is in control of the government, and my Cao family's future is uncertain. I don't know what you all think?"

  As soon as Cao Song finished speaking, Cao stood up, clasped his hands and said: "Father, uncles, brothers, my family has been favored by the imperial court for three generations. Now that the imperial court is in trouble, I have decided to disperse all our family's wealth, raise an army to rescue the emperor, please support me, Meng De!" After finishing speaking, he bowed to everyone!

  As soon as this remark was made, everyone began to discuss it. After a while, Cao Song also expressed his opinion: "What Meng De said is right. The imperial court is not in power, and the wealth of my Cao family is not in power either. I have decided to use the wealth of my Cao family to raise an army and go to the capital to defend the emperor!"

  As soon as Cao Song finished speaking, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan immediately stood up and said: "My brother and I are also willing to support the eldest brother, rise up in arms to protect the king!"

  Lü Rui saw the two brothers' attitude, and also waved his wooden sword shouting: "Uncle Zhong, rise up in arms! I, Rui, will also rise up in arms in Fan County, lead troops to help Uncle Zhong, kill, kill, kill!"

  Looking at Lv Rui dancing with a wooden sword in his hand, Cao Ca picked up Lv Rui and said: "Rui'er is so clever, so clever!"

  Cao Chun, Cao Ren and Cao Hong also brought their families and expressed their agreement to Cao's decision to raise an army.

  Cao Song looked at the others who had not spoken up, glared and said: "Even a five-year-old child knows the great righteousness of rebelling against the king, are you saying that you are not even as good as a child? The imperial court is gone, my Cao family's wealth and glory are gone!"

  The rest of the people heard Cao Song's "The court is not in, my Cao family's wealth and honor are not in" and all expressed their agreement with Cao's uprising. Thus, the Cao family of Qiao County decided to rise up in rebellion against Dong!

  This year's festival was an unusual one for the Cao family of Qiao Commandery. After deciding to take up arms, Cao brought most of the money and goods sold by the Cao family, along with Lü Bu, to Chenliu to recruit soldiers. Xiahou brothers returned to their hometowns to start recruiting strong men.

  Chen Liu's recruitment office was in charge of recruiting soldiers by Cao Cao's deputy general, while Lü Rui and Cao Cao were gambling inside the camp!

  "Haha, I won again, Uncle, I won again! Ten soldiers!" Lü Rui excitedly clapped his hands, laughing like a flower.

  Cao threw the white stone in his hand, and lost again, losing ten more soldiers. It turned out that Lü Rui and Cao were playing a game of Go, betting on the outcome. Cao's stake was ten soldiers per round, while Lü Rui's stake was to borrow ten days from Wei to give to Cao.

  Cao looked at Lü Rui's delighted expression, then glanced at the sturdy Dian Wei beside him, shook his head and sighed. Alas, he hadn't gained any advantage but instead lost a hundred elite soldiers in ten games, losing all ten games. Wasn't Rui just learning Go? He let him take ten moves first, yet still ended up being thoroughly defeated. Sigh, it seemed that Rui was indeed naturally talented and had a gift for playing chess!

  Cao smiled at Lü Rui, then shifted his body and said: "Rui'er, you've won so many things from Zhongfu, can't this Wei be borrowed for three days?"

  Lü Rui looked at Cao and silently cursed: "Cao, can't you just not be so greedy? In the future, you will have countless generals, yet you still keep thinking about my evil ways. Do you know that it was you who killed me in history?" Looking at Cao's old hen-like appearance, Lü Rui shook his head and said: "No way, no way, Uncle Cao has lost, can't borrow Dian Wei, won't lend!" As he spoke, he almost burst into tears.

  Cao took a look, the situation was not right. If Lü Rui cried, the matter would definitely spread out, and at that time, where would his own face be? He had already gambled with his adopted son in the military camp, which was an unseemly thing to do. And he had lost 100 soldiers, if this got out... No, no, this absolutely cannot happen!

  Cao licked his lips and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, saying: "Rui'er, Zhongfu still has things to deal with, you go out and play."

  Lü Rui looked at Cao and burst into tears. This sudden crying startled Cao, who feared that others might be attracted by the noise. He hastily helped Lü Rui wipe away her tears, saying: "Rui'er, Rui'er, what's wrong? Didn't Zhongfu lose?"

  Lü Rui wiped away her tears and said with a choked voice: "This, this, there's no written evidence, Uncle Zhong. What if you go back on your word? We need to draw up a contract."

  Cao was taken aback, now he himself is still recruiting soldiers, and there are no soldiers to give to Lü Rui. But making a written pledge isn't leaving a handle for others to grasp? Cao's eyes rolled around, then shone brightly as he picked up his pen and paper to write a pledge: "Cao Mengde owes his adopted son Lü Rui one hundred soldier guards." Hmm, this will do. I'm not losing to Rui'er, but rather adding one hundred soldier guards for him. This way, the truth is buried, and my promise to Rui'er is kept. Marquis of Qi, as a foster father, giving one hundred soldiers as guards isn't excessive!

  Lü Rui took over the letter, immediately burst into laughter, holding the wooden sword and Dian Wei went out, hehe, one hundred soldiers, made a big profit!

  After half a month of recruitment, Cao recruited 5,000 soldiers. At the same time, Cao's brothers and Xiahou's brothers also brought their troops to Chenliu, with a total of 20,000 soldiers, marching towards Xiangyi, the main camp of the Guandong Coalition Army.

  Cao Cao issued a proclamation to the whole country when he was recruiting soldiers in Chenliu, calling on all the vassals to jointly attack Dong Zhuo. Those who responded to the call included: General of the Rear Yuan Shu, Governor of Ji Province Han Fu, Governor of Yu Province Kong Rong, Governor of Yan Province Liu Dai, Taishou of Hebei Wang Kuang, Taishou of Bohai Yuan Shao, Taishou of Chenliu Zhang Miao, Taishou of Dongjun Qiao Mao, Taishou of Shanyang Yuan Yi, and Minister of Jibei Bao Xin. A total of eleven vassals gathered in Xiangyi, preparing to attack Dong Zhuo!

  Cao Cao arrived at Guandu before Yuan Shao brought his troops, so Cao Cao acted as the General Who Displays Martial Prowess and received the various lords in Guandu.

  On this day, Cao was discussing matters with the various lords when Yuan Shao arrived at Anze with his troops. Cao hastily led the various lords to go out and welcome him.

  Cao Cao burst out laughing when he saw Yuan Shao and said: "Benchu, you've finally arrived. Let Mengde wait for a good while!"

  Yuan Shao looked at Cao and also cupped his hands, saying: "Meng De, it's been a long time since we last met, you're even more spirited than before. Meng De has invited us to eliminate the national thieves, how could I, Ben Chu, not attend?" After finishing speaking, Yuan Shao and the other lords exchanged greetings before entering the main tent.

  Yuan Shao entered the main tent and saw Cao Cao's helmet still placed on the seat, while Lü Bu was playing nearby. Yuan Shao's face changed color, but he quickly recovered. He grasped Cao Cao's hand and said: "Meng De, today the loyal and righteous heroes of the world have gathered here. As the leader of the alliance, I, Yuan Shao, will definitely assist you with all my might to restore the Han dynasty and overthrow the national traitors! Welcome back to the court, Your Majesty!"

  Cao Cao listened and thought Yuan Shao considered himself the leader of the alliance? Ben Chou, I still know a bit about your character. Cao Cao cupped his hands and said: "Ben Chou is being serious, although Cao has initiated the call to arms, but the one who leads the various troops is the Emperor, a man of both virtue and talent. Cao Mengde is only a military advisor, hoping that Ben Chou will take on the role of leader of the alliance, leading the loyal and righteous men of the world to punish the national thief!"

  Yuan Shao was taken aback, "Cao Cao wants me to be the leader of the alliance?" Yuan Shao looked at Cao Cao with embarrassment and said: "Meng De, this, this isn't quite right, is it?"

  Cao Cao grasped Yuan Shao's hand and said: "Ben Chu is a heroic talent, also from the Yuan family, naturally he should be the leader of the alliance. What do you gentlemen think?"

  All the vassals were either protégés or good friends of the Yuan family, and upon hearing Cao speak in this manner, they naturally all raised their hands in approval.

  Yuan Shao looked at the various lords and then said with a righteous tone: "Since that's the case, Yuan Benchu will take over as the leader of the alliance, with Meng De as the military advisor. Together we'll punish the national traitors!" The various lords all nodded in agreement with Yuan Shao's decision. Seeing that everyone was flattering him, Yuan Shao was extremely pleased and, with a flick of his sleeve, took his seat as the leader. The other lords paid their respects and also sat down.

  Cao Cao handed over the commander's seal to Yuan Shao after everyone was seated, and Yuan Shao took it, sitting in the main seat with a majestic air. He opened the main tent and summoned the vassals and generals outside to gather together, then said: "All generals listen to my orders!"

  The vassals below the platform and the multitude of generals outside the tent all bowed their hands in unison: "Agreed! Alliance leader!"

  Yuan Shao nodded and was about to give the order to review the three armies, but where had the Tiger Tally gone? Where had the alliance leader's Tiger Tally gone? Why wasn't it there?

  The vassals under the platform were waiting for Yuan Shao to give orders, but Yuan Shao was motionless. Yuan Shao anxiously fiddled with the desk, where had the tiger tally gone? Just then, Yuan Shao heard a clinking sound and looked in its direction - the tiger tally! It turned out that the tiger tally was in Lü Bu's hand, being played with as a toy!

  Yuan Shao looked at Lü Rui and then smiled, saying: "Rui'er, quickly give the copper tiger in your hand to Uncle Benchu. That is Uncle Benchu's."

  Lü Bu looked at Yuan Shao and blinked his eyes, saying: "Uncle Benchu, this was taken by Rui'er first, why should it be given to you?"

  Yuan Shao was stunned, a five-year-old child didn't even know what a tiger tally was! Yuan Shao showed a smile and said: "Rui'er, this is the alliance lord's tiger tally, it's for the alliance lord. Ben Chubaba is now the alliance lord of the allied forces."

  Lü Bu looked at Yuan Shao and started to tease him, saying: "Really? Uncle Benchu, there is no tiger tally on top that says 'Alliance Leader', it only has a big Chinese character for Han, where are the two characters for Alliance Leader? You're cheating me, I won't give it to you, I like playing with it."

  Yuan Shao listened, feeling depressed in his heart. What could be explained to a five-year-old child? Why was it the alliance leader's tiger tally? It was originally the alliance leader's tiger tally, what else could it be? Yuan Shao looked around at everyone, and all the others were looking at him, waiting to see how he would resolve this issue. Yuan Shu, on the other hand, was watching Yuan Shao with a playful expression, thinking to himself: Ha ha, big brother, you're going to lose face.

  Yuan Shao looked at Yuan Shu's expression, stunned for a moment, then glanced at the other lords. Suddenly, Yuan Shao understood that Lv Rui's disturbance had become a test, a test of his ability as the alliance leader. The Tiger Tally was in the hands of a five-year-old child; it was up to him to retrieve it. What a tricky problem this was for Yuan Shao!

  Looking at Lü Bu's true appearance, Yuan Shao was worried in his heart. Could he forcefully take it away? No, that would make Yuan Shao appear as a reckless and violent man, bullying a child. If he took it away, wouldn't the news of his own embarrassing situation spread quickly throughout the Han Dynasty? He had to use clever strategy to get Lü Bu to hand it over, only then could he intimidate everyone!

  Yuan Shao thought for a moment, then took out the tiger tally from his bosom and said: "Rui'er, look, your uncle also has a bronze tiger here, which means that your uncle came with the bronze tiger. So, Rui'er, hurry up and return it to your uncle."

  Lü Rui looked at the copper tiger in his hand, then shook his head and said: "No, this is Rui's. Uncle Benchu, don't cheat Rui. The copper tiger you have has a Yuan character on it, of course it belongs to Uncle Yuan Shao. My father also has a copper tiger with a Cao character on it, that's my father's copper tiger. The one in Rui's hand is written with the character Han, naturally it doesn't belong to Uncle Benchu. Since Rui picked it up, it's Rui's!" After finishing speaking, he put it into his own bosom, refusing to give it to Yuan Shao.

  Yuan Shao clenched his fists tightly, staring viciously at Lü Bu. This kid is so troublesome! He even knows that the character on the Copper Tiger symbolizes a military officer. The Han Dynasty's Tiger Tally usually had markings indicating the official position or surname of the general. Cao Cao was the leader of the allied forces against Dong Zhuo to restore the Great Han, and naturally, he engraved the character "Han" on the allied army's Tiger Tally to signify the restoration of the Great Han!

  Just as Yuan Shao and Lü Bu were entangled, the generals outside the account had become somewhat impatient. After Yuan Shao shouted loudly, there was no command anymore. Which act is this? Let everyone kneel like this? Yuan Shao, are you giving orders or not?! The generals outside the account began to whisper among themselves, especially those who were far away and didn't know the details, had already begun to show anger, and some even got up!

  Yuan Shao took a look and thought it was bad, chaotic, his first command to the allied army was about to fall apart. Yuan Shao glared at Cao Cao, his eyes telling Cao: "Cao Mengde? Your adopted son?"

  Cao Cao is also helpless under the case table, this really isn't something he did himself, and he doesn't even know how Lü Bu learned to play the tiger tally, causing this mess! Cao Cao definitely can't go out now and ask Lü Bu to return it to Yuan Shao, wouldn't that be slapping Yuan Shao in the face? If he can't even resolve a small matter like this, how can he lead the various armies to conquer Dong Zhuo? Cao Cao has no choice but to turn his head away, this is none of my business, Cao Mengde's affair, you want to resolve it, you resolve it yourself!

  Yuan Shao saw Cao ignoring him, and in his indignation, he wanted to grab the inkstone on the table and throw it at him. However, with tens of thousands of troops and generals watching, he couldn't do it!

  Looking at Yuan Shao's sweating appearance, Yuan Shao's military advisor Tian Feng immediately stood up and walked to Lü Bu's side, cupped his hands and said: "Young Master, this is a petty person's thing, the petty person's name is Han Feng, this bronze tiger is a petty person's thing, please return it to me."

  Yuan Shao was overjoyed, thinking to himself: "Tian Feng is indeed my trusted advisor! He has come up with a solution so quickly. Why didn't I think of this myself? Since it's not Han, we can just find someone with the surname Han and get him back!"

  Lü Bu looked at Tian Feng, this was Yuan Shao's military advisor, Tian Feng from Hebei? Hmph, little Tian, let's see how you deal with me? Lü Bu took out a jade pendant from his bosom and said: "You're called Han Feng? What proof do you have that your surname is Han? My surname is Lü, my name is Lü Bu, this jade pendant here is my surname!" After speaking, Lü Bu took out a round white jade pendant and flashed it around, this white jade was owned by the sons of aristocratic families, on which were engraved their surnames and places of origin, indicating their identities.

  Yuan Shao was taken aback, thinking to himself, "This kid is really troublesome, and he still wants to verify my identity?" Yuan Shu looked at Lü Bu with a pleased expression, hoping that Yuan Shao would lose face. Meanwhile, Yuan Yi stared intently at Tian Feng, observing the level of his advisors as he watched Yuan Shao, who was supposed to be his successor. The rest of the crowd looked at Tian Feng, waiting to see how he would retrieve the Tiger Tally.

  At this moment, a messenger came to report: "Report! The alliance leader, the rear army has started fighting!" After finishing speaking, he pointed with his hand and saw that some soldiers were wrestling in the distance. Yuan Shao listened and immediately shouted loudly: "Pass on the order?" However, his right hand was empty, without the tiger tally!

  Tian Feng was not disturbed by the situation, but instead took out a piece of white jade from his bosom that resembled Lü Rui's, with a single Chinese character on it. He bowed slightly and said: "Your Excellency, this is my surname, please take a look!"

  Everyone looked at each other and showed expressions of praise, Tian Feng was indeed a capable person! Lü Rui took the jade pendant and was stunned for a moment. Tian Feng was indeed formidable. This jade pendant was called Linglong Hanbaiyu, it was a gift given by the Great Han to friendly countries, produced by a special department of the Great Han court, responsible for giving or selling to the rulers of neighboring countries. This object was the blueprint for the surname jade pendants of the Great Han aristocratic families, all of which were imitations of this one, only with different patterns and characters in the middle. The character on the Linglong Hanbaiyu was Luoyang-Han!

  Lü Bu thought for a moment, this jade pendant Lü Bu was definitely not visible to a five-year-old child. If he saw it, it was Cao Cao's instructions. He didn't think so, Tian Feng was indeed formidable. In order not to let the crowd suspect Cao Cao, Lü Bu nodded and said: "Okay, Uncle Han Feng, I'll return it to you. But this is something I found, shouldn't you give me some reward?" Kids, picking up things, others want to return, must ask for some benefits.

  Yuan Shao immediately said: "Good, if Rui'er is returned to Han Feng, this general will give him ten night pearls on behalf of Rui'er!"

  Tian Feng listened and said, "Ah, Lord, you're too impatient!" Tian Feng cupped his hands towards Yuan Shao and said, "Thank you, Lord, for redeeming the family heirloom of Han Feng!" Yuan Shao had already spoken out, and as a strategist, Tian Feng could only help Yuan Shao save face. Originally, it shouldn't have been Yuan Shao who responded, but rather Tian Feng and Lü Bu should have negotiated. However, Yuan Shao was eager to retrieve the Tiger Tally, so Tian Feng could only pretend that Lord Yuan was showing concern for his subordinate by redeeming something that belonged to him, thus not losing face for Yuan Shao!

  Yuan Shao listened and knew he was impatient, but there was no way out. The soldiers were about to rebel, how could he not be anxious? Lü Rui nodded at Tian Feng: "Alright, I'll give it to you. What Uncle Ben said will definitely count." After finishing speaking, he returned the tiger tally to Tian Feng.

  Tian Feng handed over the Tiger Tally to Yuan Shao, who took it and shouted loudly: "Pass on my order to the army! Those who disrupt military discipline will be pardoned if they ride around the camp ten times. The rest of you return to your camps and we'll discuss the big plan again tomorrow!"

  Everyone heard and said in unison: "Yes!"

  Yuan Shao let out a breath and finally settled the matter.

  At night, Lü Bu played with the ten Night Pearls that Yuan Shao had sent over, thinking to himself: "Haha, I've made a profit again! Originally, he wanted to make Yuan Shao lose face and let Cao Cao benefit from it, but now it's basically a draw. Cao Cao got a good reputation as the leader of the alliance, but Yuan Shao also gained fame for having a wise military strategist. Yuan Shao only lost some face, but in order to achieve great things, one can't be bothered with trivial matters, and it can still be glossed over. After all, not every hero is good at coaxing children! This didn't damage Yuan Shao's prestige, it just highlighted his indecisive personality, and he was still hesitating like a child!"