Chapter 16: Lü Bu Kills Yuan Shao; Poor Han Fu

  The next day, Xu Shu entered Lü Rui's military account, and the sun also shone on Lü Rui's buttocks. Xu Shu cupped his hands and tentatively asked: "Lord?" Lü Rui heard Xu Shu's call, rolled over a few times in bed, then wrapped himself in a quilt, opened his left eye, glanced at Xu Shu, felt the strong sunlight swaying on him, and realized it was time to get up!

  Lü Rui jumped up and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Xu Shu and asking: "Little Xu? What's going on? Where is Uncle Zhong?"

  Lü Bu took the handkerchief from his personal soldier, wiped his face and looked at Xu Shu. Xu Shu bowed slightly and said: "Your Excellency, this morning Cao Mengde and the other officials were discussing military strategy in the main tent when they suddenly received news that Dong Zhuo had set fire to Luoyang and retreated to Chang'an. Cao Mengde immediately led his troops to Luoyang, but..."

  Lü Rui rinsed his mouth with tea water and then asked: "What's up?"

  Xu Shu sighed and said, "Your Lordship, only Chenliu Governor Zhang Miao sent Wei Zi of the Wei family with 5,000 troops to follow Lord Cao. The other lords all used 'wait and see' as an excuse and did not move their troops. Alas, our great Han has only one person, Lord Cao, who is willing to be loyal to the imperial court!"

  Lü Rui sneered inwardly, humph, the so-called Guandong warlords in history were all separatist militarists, and Dong Zhuo's war against the Guandong warlords was simply non-existent. The so-called Battle of Luoyang was just Dong Zhuo retreating to Chang'an, while the warlords entered Luoyang for a pleasure trip!

  Lü Rui stood up, picked up his own small wooden sword and said: "Let's go, Little Xu Xu, we're going to the military camp to have some fun."

  Xu Shu cupped his hands and said: "Your Lordship? Are we not going to pursue Cao's forces?"

  Lü Rui listened and said, "Nainai, this time Zhongfu was defeated by Xu Rong, Laozi went away, didn't you also escape with him? Fool!" Lü Rui waved the long sword in his hand and said: "Zhongfu will come back, we don't need to go, let's wait for Zhongfu here." After finishing speaking, Lü Rui ran out of the military account, and Xu Shu had no choice but to follow him.

  Lü Ruì walked around the Allied Army's camp and arrived near Meng Zhuo's main tent. As soon as he got there, he heard cheers "The Alliance Lord is a great chess player! I lost, here comes the gold bar!" "Thank you, thank you, Brother Meng Zhuo yielded."

  Lv Rui ran to the front of the main account, took a peek through the gap, and found that these lords were actually gambling here. According to historical records, the Eastern Lords who attacked Dong Zhuo only stationed their troops in the Suānjiǎo area, eating, drinking, and having fun every day. Only Cao Cao's army attacked Dong Zhuo, and after being defeated, they returned to Yanzhou!

  Lü Rui saw Yuan Shao and others playing Go and gambling, and suddenly felt an itch in his heart. Last time at the Baixiang Building, he had won a round from Yuan Shao. This time, he thought to himself, let's go take a look, can I make some money? Thinking of this, Lü Rui rushed in and shouted: "Uncle Benchu, what are you doing? Rui also wants to play, also wants to play!"

  Everyone in the main account heard Lü Rui's voice and turned their heads, only to see Lü Rui running in with a thud, and suddenly he was by Yuan Shao's side. Yuan Shao looked at Lü Rui again, and it was this kid, why did I, Yuan Benchu, always encounter this kid when I was most happy? Then he would cause me a lot of trouble and make me lose money and face!

  Yuan Shao looked at Lü Rui and suddenly had an idea. He smiled and asked, "Rui'er, do you know how to play Go?"

  Lü Rui looked at the chessboard and pointed to the Go pieces, saying: "Ben Chu Bo Bo, are these black and white pieces? I know them, Father taught me."

  Yuan Shao's heart was delighted, and he thought to himself: "Little Lü Rui, a five-year-old child, could you be a master of Go as well?" He snorted, thinking that he would make Lü Rui lose miserably. Yuan Shao coughed a few times, then said in a serious tone: "Rui'er, do you want to play with us?"

  Lü Bu looked at Yuan Shao with big eyes, then nodded vigorously and said: "Yes, Uncle Benchu, there is no one in the army camp to play with Rui'er, so let's play with me."

  Hearing this, he burst out laughing and said: "Young Master of the State of Qi, we are playing a game of Go, do you know how to play Go? I'm afraid there's a suspicion that we're taking advantage of our youth?"

  Lü Rui's eyes lit up, and he shouted at Han Fu: "You think you're so great with your big ears and fat head? You look just like a pig! Just wait and see how I'll slaughter you! I'll make you lose everything except the underwear on your body!" Lü Rui waved his fists wildly and yelled loudly: "How can I not win? How can I not win? Hei Bazi, I'm going to play!"

  The other princes saw Lv Rui's appearance and burst out laughing. Yuan Su, who had seen Lv Rui cheat people at the Baixiang Building, stood up and said: "Wen Jie, how can you say that? Can't a child compete with us? If this gets out, it will be thought that our chess skills are inferior to those of a five-year-old child!"

  Han Fu smiled and said, "General He, you're right. Wen Jie was impolite." Although Han Fu was the governor of Ji Province and a high-ranking official of the Eastern Han dynasty, he was actually a humble servant born into the Yuan family as a dependent, and he still showed great respect to Yuan Shao and his brother Yuan Shu.

  Yuan Shao listened to Yuan Shu's words, stunned for a moment. "You still want to save my face? Not dare to play against a five-year-old child?" He snorted, "A small trick!" Yuan Shao looked at Han Fu and said: "Wen Jie, I'm tired. Since Rui'er wants to play, you play a few rounds with him." This time, Yuan Shao was not so foolish, still wanting to test Lü Rui's chess skills through Han Fu before taking the stage himself!

  Han Fu listened to Yuan Shao's words, cupped his hands and said to Lü Rui: "Young Master Hou, let Wen Jie and you play a few games of Go? Wen Jie is willing to give Master Hou ten points, so as not to be ridiculed for bullying Master Hou."

  Lü Rui nodded and looked at Han Fu, saying: "Okay, but I'll only have a big surge in strength after three games. You can play ten games with me." After finishing speaking, he tilted his head and stared at Han Fu.

  Yuan Shao was delighted to hear this. Was Lü Rui still fascinated by Bo Yi? It was the same when he learned Bo Yi himself, and he was equally fascinated. Yuan Shao smiled and said: "Alright, Rui'er, let's play ten games with you. But do you have any stakes?"

  Lü Bu listened and immediately took out the ten night pearls that Yuan Shao had given him yesterday, saying: "Uncle Benchu, I have my stake!"

  Yuan Shao nodded and said: "Wen Jie?"

  Han Fu nodded and went to verify the authenticity of the Night Pearl. It was genuine, and this time Lü Rui had not cheated him. Han Fu had been deceived by Lü Rui at the Baixiang Building last time and had suffered a great loss. He must be careful for the next few days, or he would be miserable if he won some inferior goods again! Han Fu returned the Night Pearl to Lü Rui and ordered his personal soldier to bring out gold bars of equal value, then began to gamble with Lü Rui.

  Han Fu said: "Please, Lord Hou, take a seat first!" Han Fu made a polite gesture with his hands to Lü Rui.

  Lü Rui picked up his white pieces and randomly placed ten of them, then stopped. Everyone looked and saw that Lü Rui really didn't know how to play Go. This deployment was a waste of ten good opportunities. Yuan Shao took one look and his eyes lit up. Hehe, this kid doesn't know how to strategize. Hmph, I, Yuan Benchu, will take revenge today! That young whippersnapper, the grudge from Luoyang's Baixiang Tower, I must avenge it!

  After a fierce battle that lasted for an hour, Lü Rui lost three rounds in a row. Not only did he lose the Night Pearl on his hand, but he also lost ten gold bricks and ten pieces of jade. Lü Rui frantically scratched his head in front of everyone, shouting: "Xu Guan Jia, Xu Guan Jia, hurry up! Give Young Master more chips for betting, there are still seven rounds left!"

  Xu Shu looked at his own brocade bag and then said in a low voice, "Lord Hou, we don't have any capital for gambling. We came out in a hurry this time and didn't bring much money."

  Lü Rui shouted: "What, no more money? Xiao Xuxu, hurry up and find some, Ben Houye still has seven rounds to play!"

  Xu Shou heard this and looked embarrassed, saying: "Lord Hou, really, we really don't have any more capital to gamble with."

  Han Fu smiled slyly after winning the bet, then said to Lü Rui: "Your Lordship, Wen Jie still wants to play against you, but Your Lordship has no more stake, so we can only play again next time." After that, he happily put away the things he won from Lü Rui.

  Lü Rui waved the wooden sword in his hand and shouted: "No, no, there are still seven games, seven games, you can't cheat, Ben Chun Bo Bo, you said to play ten games with Rui Er!"

  Yuan Shao looked at Lü Rui and smiled: "Rui'er, yes, we will play ten rounds, but you don't have any more chips."

  Lv Rui blinked and said: "Stakes? Uncle Benbo, can I write an IOU instead? Let's play seven more rounds?"

  Yuan Shao's eyes rolled, and then he shook his head and said: "No way, Rui'er. Now it's not in Luoyang. If you lose, I'll have to go to Fan County to ask for money from you. However, if you want to continue playing, there is still a way."

  Lv Rui heard this and hastily grabbed Yuan Shao saying: "Uncle Benchu, what can be done?"

  Yuan Shao smiled slyly and said, "Rui'er, we don't have any more money to bet with. How about we bet on people? I think the guard beside you is quite good. What do you say? Use him as a stake and play a round with Ben Chun?"

  Lü Bu's eyes lit up with excitement, and he chuckled to himself. "Haha, Yuan Benchu, you're really going all out? A gambler? Haha, aren't you afraid I'll win your four courtyards, one pillar, and one main beam from you?" (Although they haven't even gathered enough for Yuan Shao yet) Thinking of this, Lü Bu shook his head and said: "No way, I don't want to gamble with Uncle Benchu. I still want to gamble with this uncle, I want to win something back." He pointed at Han Fu.

  Han Fu smiled as soon as he heard it, and looked at Dian Wei. His aura was indeed that of a tiger general. Hehe, Little Lü Rui, are you going to make me win today? Thinking of this, Han Fu asked: "Marquis? Are you really going to bet your personal guard against Wen Jie's? If you lose, Marquis, your guard will belong to Wen Jie."

  Lü Rui glanced at Han Fei, then raised his head and said: "What if you lose? My evil is a good hand at hunting, what's your bet? Evil, give them one."

  As soon as Lü Rui finished speaking, Dian Wei took out his pair of halberds and struck them with force, making a loud noise that made everyone cover their ears and feel a pang in their chest. After Dian Wei finished demonstrating, Lü Rui pulled out the plug from his ear and said: "How's that? What are you going to put up as stakes?"

  Xu Shou hastily stepped forward and said, "Master Hou, this... if you lose, then he won't be your guard anymore?" His face showed a look of anxiety, which wasn't surprising. Xu Shou had been following Lü Rui for a short time and hadn't seen him play weiqi before, so he thought Lü Rui was just being impulsive, wanting to play against Han Fu. From the situation earlier, it seemed like Lü Rui didn't have any skills at all!

  Lü Rui waved his hand and said: "Go away, go away. Evil is my guard. Evil, how about it? Dare to make a bet?"

  Dian Wei followed Lv Rui for a long time and naturally knew about Lv Rui's ability to "play the pig to eat the tiger". He nodded and said, "I'm willing, Lord Hou."

  Han Fu heard this and immediately became excited, saying: "Good, Lord Hou, if you use that guard as a bet, Wen Jie is willing to put up 1,000 taels of gold, 100 tanks of fine wine, and 50 war horses as a bet. What do you think, Lord Hou?"

  Lü Rui smiled slyly, "Haha, you've fallen into my trap, Han Fu! All these things are now mine!" Lü Rui waved his fist and said, "Alright, come on, let's have another round of killing!"

  Han Wei shook her head and said: "Lord Hou, empty words are useless, we need to make a written agreement. Someone, bring the writing tools!"

  Han Fu's book was quickly set up with two written evidences, and Han Fu soon signed and drew on them. Lü Rui took the written evidence and threw it to Xu Xiu, saying: "Xu Xiu, is what's written above correct?"

  Xu Shou looked and nodded his hands: "Lord Hou, the letter is correct, there is no mistake."

  Lü Rui nodded and signed his name, then started playing cards with Han Fubai again, and lost another ten thousand.

  Han Fu glanced at Lü Rui, and couldn't help but look down on him, starting to play chess carelessly. After a fierce battle of half an hour, the chessboard was filled with black and white pieces. This time, Lü Rui did not lose easily, but instead fought Han Fu to a stalemate. After Lü Rui made his final move, the game ended, with no more moves left to make!

  This time, everyone gathered around to count the pieces and see who won. Under Wang Kuang's command, two bookkeepers began to clear the chess pieces. Everyone stared at the chessboard, except for Lü Rui, who looked relaxed. Before long, the counting ended, and it was half a piece - Lü Rui had won against Han Fu by half a piece!

  Han Fu was stunned when he saw the result, "My gold, fine wine, and war horses are all lost! Heaven, these were things I had painstakingly accumulated in Ji Province! If only I had known earlier, if only I had not been so careless!" Thinking of this, Han Fu became like a statue, while Lü Yi looked at Xu Shu and said: "Has the Marquis won?"

  Xu Shou cupped his hands and said: "Congratulations, Lord Hou, congratulations on winning the Jizhou Mu!"

  Lü Rui patted his hand and said: "Xiao Xuxu, hurry up, hurry up, move all the things back to my barracks. I've said it before, after three rounds, I will win."

  Everyone couldn't help but laugh after watching, alas, Han Wenjie was indeed a miscalculation, actually underestimating the enemy and losing to a five-year-old child. However, Lu Rui's chess skills were not great either, Han Fu was a Go game idiot, and Lu Rui winning half of his games was also half-hearted.

  Lü Rui looked around at everyone and waved his fist, saying: "Who else wants to gamble with me? I'll bet on evil too!"

  Han Fu immediately said: "Lord Hou, I'll continue to play a game with you, and next time I'll use all my strength! Lord Hou!" After finishing speaking, he looked angry and lost the chess game to Lü Rui. This was really embarrassing, how could he govern Ji Zhou in the future? At least, at least he had to win back one game!

  Yuan Shao grasped Han Fu and thought to himself, "This Han Wenjie is indeed a sore loser. He can't even handle losing one game. It's time for me, Yuan Benchu, to take the stage!" Yuan Shao said to Han Fu, "Brother Wenjie, take a break. Let Benchu and Rui'er play a game first. After this game, Brother Wenjie can play against Rui'er again."

  Han Fu heard Yuan Shao's words, like a dog, nodding and bowing his head, saying: "Well, since that's the case, Ben Chu will first play against the Marquis of Qi." After finishing speaking, he gave up his position.

  Yuan Shao looked at Lü Rui and said, "Rui'er, what do you think of using this name as a wager for the protection of Benchu?" After finishing speaking, he pointed to a young man beside him. The young man had clear eyebrows and eyes, wore tiger skin, and did not appear to be a Han person.

  Lü Bu looked at Yuan Shao and said, "Ben Chubaba? Is he more powerful than me? Let him fight with Ben Chuba, if they are evenly matched, then we can make a bet."

  Yuan Shao had not yet responded when Yuan Shu said, "Elder brother, don't think that just because Rui'er is young you can bully him. This is merely a wager on the outcome of a game, how could it be worth such a large stake? If elder brother doesn't have a stake, younger brother is willing to provide one!"

  Yuan Shao heard this and thought, "This dead little kid, Highway, is always thinking about the position of the master, and he's going to compete with me? Humph, does he think I'll increase my stake a bit? I don't believe it, Yuan Benchu can't even win against a five-year-old child, Rui'er! My chess skills are the best among the aristocrats of the Han Dynasty!" Yuan Shao looked at Lü Rui and said, "Since that's the case, Rui'er, Uncle will add more stakes. In addition to this famous guard, I'll also bet ten jars of fine wine, a hundred taels of gold, and five warhorses!"

  "Impossible, impossible! Uncle Benchu, my luck is really bad. You should at least send two people to gamble with me. What you're offering isn't even more than what Uncle Wenjie offered!"

  Yuan Shao heard this and thought, "This kid is actually negotiating the price?" Yuan Shao glared at Han Fu and said, "Who told you to put up so many stakes?"

  Han Fu looked at Yuan Shao and said, "Oh no, I've offended Yuan Shao! Han Fu immediately said: "Young Master, Wen Jie will make a bet on behalf of Ben Chu. If you win, take this famous book too. This person is called Xin Pi, but he's a famous scholar from my Ji Zhou!"

  Xin Pi was stunned on the side, secretly scolding in his heart, Han Wenjie, you actually used me as a bet? I am a famous scholar from Hebei! However, Xin Pi did not get angry. As a guest of Han Fu's household, he knew that being dependent on others left him with no choice.

  Lü Rui heard this and said with a smile, "Ha ha, Han Bai, do you know who Xin Pi is? He's a high-ranking official of the Wei state, a capable person! You actually use him as a betting stake, you're really stupid!" Lü Rui then said, "Alright, alright, let's make it this way. These two people plus the wealth that Ben Chubobo spoke of will be the stakes. Quickly, quickly draw up the wagering contract!"

  Afterwards, Yuan Shao and Lü Rui both made their moves after setting up the board. Just a few steps in, Lü Rui began to retreat step by step. Seeing this, Yuan Shao laughed to himself, thinking: "Hmph! I've already figured out your weaknesses, Lü Rui! This game is as good as won!"

  Lv Rui looked at the chessboard, it seems that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's level is not much different. Moreover, he actually carefully observed his game with Han Fu in front of him, finding out his own way of playing chess, which is not simple! Although Yuan Shao is arrogant and self-important, the overlord of Hebei still has some skills!

  Lü Rui glanced at the chessboard, since it's come to this, I'll have to use my trump card, the Zhenlong Chess Formation! A ancient chess formation I studied before my rebirth, today the Overlord of Hebei will witness it! Before my rebirth, Lü Rui was an orphan, during his free time he would read history books and play Go with himself, today he'll show off his skills.

  After half a time, the chessboard was full of pieces, but the situation was very unfavorable to Lü Rui. After a few more moves, Lü Rui would basically have no pieces left. Yuan Shao saw it and smiled happily: "Rui'er, be careful!" After that, he dropped another black piece.

  Lü Rui glanced at the crowd, sneered, thinking that he had lost, and wanted to show them what it means to be reborn from death! Lü Rui dropped a piece, killing one of his own white pieces.

  Everyone was stunned, and Yuan Shao burst out laughing: "Rui'er, how did you manage to kill your own son?" The crowd also erupted into laughter, except for Xu Shu and Tian Feng. A new situation had emerged, and Lü Rui had opened up a new path. Although the current situation was unfavorable, within fifty moves, it would definitely be a winning game!

  Yuan Shao glanced at the chessboard and casually made a move. This move sealed his defeat. The two sides played for another half an hour, during which Yuan Shao began to sweat profusely. It's over, it's over, what a great situation has been ruined! What's going on?

  Lü Bu looked at Yuan Shao in surprise and said: "Uncle Benchu, there's no move left, I've won!"

  Everyone was shocked, and there was such a chess move? Never seen before! This is simply the Art of War by Sun Tzu. Wang Kuang shouted loudly: "This game, Qi State Marquis Lü Rui wins!"

  Lv Rui clapped his hands and said, "We've won again! Is Ben Chu Bo coming? Do you want to play another round, Han Bo?" After finishing speaking, he blinked at the two of them.

  Yuan Shao and Han Fu both shouted in unison: "Down!"

  Then Yuan Shao and Han Fu each lost three games, losing every game. By the end of the tenth game, Yuan Shao and Han Fu had not only lost money but also a lot of soldiers' equipment! Lü Bu looked at them and said: "Alright, ten games are enough, I'm tired, Uncle Boren, I'll go back to sleep." After that, he happily ran out of the main tent with his spoils.

  Yuan Shao and Han Fu gazed at each other in dismay, this is absolute, not even leaving a chance to turn the tables? We still want to gamble!

  At this time, Yuan Shao's military advisor Tian Feng looked at Lü Bu with a complex gaze, thinking in his heart that there must be someone behind the scenes directing Lü Bu. Ah, I, Tian Feng, will definitely find out who that person is and make a contribution to Lord Yuan. I am no longer an idle person under Han Wenjie!

  Xu You originally went to Fan County to buy Lü Rui's divine elixir for having children, and did not come with Yuan Shao to Xianyang. When Yuan Shao passed through Jizhou, he heard that there were many famous scholars in Jizhou, so he asked Han Fu to borrow a military advisor. Although Han Fu was an idiot, he couldn't give Yuan Shao such a butcher, so he recommended Tian Feng to Yuan Shao. After meeting with Tian Feng, they regretted not meeting earlier, and Tian Feng quickly became Yuan Shao's military advisor!

  Lü Rui did not think that because of this game, Lü Rui and Tian Feng began a long struggle of more than ten years!