Chapter 25: The Imperial Giant Star General - Lü
Just as the Allied Forces of the East were celebrating their victory, Dong Zhuo's vanguard general Lü Bu had already set out for Tiger Trap Pass. The passes at Ziwu and Tiger Trap are among the most formidable in the land; with a force of twenty or thirty thousand men, they can hold off an enemy army of hundreds of thousands for several days of fierce fighting, giving some idea of their treacherousness and solidity.
It's no wonder that all the lords were unwilling to attack Xingyang after defeating Hua Xiong's 30,000 troops.
Tiger Trap Pass was guarded by Xu Rong, one of Dong Zhuo's top generals. Although he was not particularly brave personally, he was skilled at commanding troops and battles, a true commander; with 50,000 elite soldiers under his command, he left no room for the allied forces to take advantage of.
Lü Bu's army of 30,000 was mostly composed of former soldiers under the command of Ding Yuan, the original governor of Bingzhou. Under his command were eight brave generals: Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Cheng Lian, Hou Cheng, Cao Xing, Song Xian, Wei Xu and Zang Ba. They were indeed strong in arms and rich in wealth.
Who is Lü Bu? The first warrior of the Three Kingdoms period, isn't there a common saying like this?
Lü Bu, Ma Chao, and Dian Wei; Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Fei.
Huang, Xu, Sun, Tai, two Xiahou (Huang Zhong, Xu Shu, Sun Ce, Taishi Ci, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan)
Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Pang De, Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, Wei Yan
Zhang Fei and Wen Chou (Zhang Fei, Wen Chou, Yan Liang), though brave, alas their fate was too tragic.
Twenty-four Generals of the Three Kingdoms, the last being Deng Ai and Jiang Wei.
Maybe others' rankings are questionable, let's take Xu Chu for example! This kid is the "Duel Emperor" of the Three Kingdoms! He has fought against many famous generals, but no one can defeat him, it's really awesome. And there's Guan Yu, who cut off Hua Xiong with one move, and beheaded Yan Liang and Wen Chou in a few rounds, those two unfortunate brothers. Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Zhang Fei are not ordinary people, but no one would say they are the number one warrior of the Three Kingdoms;
Because of his existence, Fei Zhang, Wen Hou - Lü Bu, Lü Fengxian!
Even if Guan Yu was more powerful, he would still need to join forces with Zhang Fei and Liu Bei to gain a slight advantage over him, but they wouldn't be able to harm him.
Xu Chu was no match for him. The battle between Xu Chu and Lü Bu lasted for twenty rounds without a victor. Cao Cao said at the time, "Lü Bu is not someone who can be defeated by one person!" He then sent Dian Wei to assist in the battle, with both generals attacking from two sides; on the left were Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, while on the right were Li Dian and Yue Jin. The six generals attacked Lü Bu together. Lü Bu was unable to withstand them and retreated back to the city.
Six people attacked him together, and they were all famous generals, but none of them could hurt him! He was able to escape calmly and effortlessly, his strength is evident!
Has anyone in the Three Kingdoms received such treatment?
Lü Bu is a heavenly superstar among the military generals of the Three Kingdoms period, while others can only be described as top-notch and first-rate, but cannot be compared to him.
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In the city of Luoyang, nearly a thousand members of Yuan Huan's family were slaughtered by the Western Liang army, leaving only Yuan Huan and his sons and grandsons. They were taken to the Golden Hall, along with the family of Hua Xiong, who had been defeated and captured. Dong Zhuo was furious at their defeat and capture, so he took out his anger on their families.
"Haha! Our family will go out of the city to fight a decisive battle with those eastern bandits. Before that, we'll first capture the rebels within the city. Firstly, use them as sacrifices for our flag; secondly, it's also for your safety considerations, huh? Haha! Tiger-like gaze at a group of ministers, Dong Zhuo coldly spat out one word: 'Behead!'".
The executioner swung his sword, and dozens of large heads rolled to the ground. The headless corpses were still twitching, and fresh blood splattered all over the outside of the great hall. A group of people who called themselves loyal ministers stood frozen in silence, their faces pale with cold sweat.
On both sides of the road were all high-ranking officials. When they reached the side of Grand Minister Wang Yun, Dong Zhuo suddenly stopped and said: "Your Excellency! Are you afraid?"
"I'm afraid! I'm so scared that my whole body is trembling!" Wang Yun replied, his voice shaking and sweat pouring down. Just a moment ago, he was still happily telling some of the emperor's confidants that the Eastern Coalition Army had defeated Dong Zhuo's vanguard and would soon take Xingyang, after which they could restore peace to the world and bring about a new era...
Dong Zhuo used Yuan Shu's head to tell them: It's too early to be happy!
"Haha! Alright! I'm about to go into battle with the bandits, and you, sir, have a belly full of poetry and exceptional literary talent. How about writing a poem for me to take with me on this campaign? What do you say? Hmm?" Dong Zhuo excitedly patted Wang Yun's shoulder, causing him to almost fall over.
"The Prime Minister's power and prestige are overwhelming, the army's might is unstoppable, nothing can stand in its way...", Wang Yun was both angry and fearful, humiliatingly flattering Dong Zhuo, amidst loud laughter Dong Zhuo set out on his campaign!
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"Oh, the pain is killing me!", When the news of Dong Zhuo's execution of Yuan Shu reached the ears of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, they both burst into loud wailing. Yuan Shu was their uncle and the person they respected the most. The mournful cries echoed throughout the allied army camp;
Hua Xiong's back-point effect is still ongoing, and now there's news that Hua Xiong, the defeated general, disobeyed orders and launched a solo attack, damaging our prestige. Execute him and his entire clan!
Cao Cao, who was still thinking about how to persuade Hua Xiong to surrender, almost effortlessly gained his allegiance. His only condition was that he hoped Cao Cao could avenge him!
The death of his uncle stimulated the Yuan brothers, who also became active and vowed to avenge Yuan Huan. They sharpened their swords and prepared to fight Dong Zhuo to the death. Cao Cao also saw hope, previously because the Yuan brothers had ulterior motives and were unwilling to exert themselves, resulting in the coalition army being formed for more than half a month, only winning a small victory when chasing and killing the remnants of Hua Xiong.
Sun Jian won a battle, but was thwarted by Yuan Shu and suffered a crushing defeat after his victory. As for the others, they did not achieve anything.
The Yuan brothers have many followers, and most of the vassals also consider them as their leaders. At this time, they actively responded, how can these people not support? Cao Cao thought to himself: Perhaps the great Han dynasty still has a chance to be saved!
Yuan Shao sent out scouts to gather information and learned that Dong Zhuo had set out with an army of 150,000 towards Tiger Trap Pass, while the garrison at Ziwu Pass had been increased by 50,000. It seemed that Dong Zhuo had chosen Tiger Trap Pass as the site for a decisive battle. The geographical location of Tiger Trap Pass was extremely unfavorable; it was right in the middle section of the Allied Army's camp at Suanzao, and they could not help but defend it.
Yuan Shao gathered his troops to discuss how to defend against the enemy and how to fight this battle.
Cao Cao, who was prepared, immediately said: "Dong Zhuo's army is stationed at Hu Lao, cutting off our middle road. Now we can lead half of the troops to welcome the enemy and attack Xingyang with the other half. Once Xingyang is broken, we can bypass the back of Hu Lao and annihilate the entire Western Liang army in a pincer movement!"
Yuan Shao thought it was reasonable, so he divided the eight vassals, Wang Kuai, Qiao Rui, Bao Xin, Yuan Yi, Kong Rong, Zhang Yang, Tao Qian and Gongsun Zan to go to Hu Lao Guan to welcome the enemy. Cao Cao also led his army forward, with fewer soldiers, mainly responsible for responding, Li Yu naturally went too, this is the high-level part of the People's Congress, how can it be missed?
Including Cao Cao's nine vassals, each raised troops and made achievements. The governor of Hebei, Wang Kuang, who wanted to show his face in front of the Yuan brothers, led his army to arrive first.
Lü Bu, who had been resting at Tiger Trap Pass for a day, was eager to meet the heroes of the world and, after consulting with Xu Rong, led his 3,000 iron cavalry in a rush to welcome them.
General Wang Kuang's horses formed an array, he reined in his horse under the gate flag and looked around.
Behold Lü Bu emerging from the array: wearing a purple gold crown with three pronged hairpins, draped in a Western Sichuan red brocade hundred-flower robe, donning a beast-faced swallowing-head linked armor, and having a waist wrapped with a Lingyao lion belt; bow and arrow at his side, holding a painted halberd, riding a Red Hare horse that whinnies against the wind: indeed he is "Lü Bu among men, Red Hare among horses"!
"Who dares to come out and fight?" Wang Kuang asked, turning his head. A general behind him rode out on horseback, holding a halberd. Wang Kuang took one look and saw that it was Fang Yue, a famous general from Henan. Fang Yue looked quite impressive, and he too held a halberd in his hand.
However, he was too weak! The two horses clashed and he became entangled with Lü Bu, unable to withstand even five rounds before being stabbed under the horse by Lü Bu's spear. Lü Bu, who had killed Fang Yue, felt unfulfilled, "Kill!" He let out a tiger-like roar and charged forward on his horse, alone and with his spear.
The morale of the Pingzhou Iron Cavalry was high, and they charged forward bravely. After one charge, Wang Kuang's formation of over 20,000 men was pierced through. Wang Kuang's army consisted of temporarily recruited strong men who had never seen such a fierce army before. They were suddenly frightened by the killing and fled in all directions, crying out for their fathers and mothers.
Lü Bu charged east and west, as if entering an uninhabited land.
Luckily, the two armies of Cao Ang and Yuan Shu arrived in time to rescue Wang Kuai with a massive charge of over 50,000 men. Lü Bu also retreated back into Guandu as he knew his forces were too weak. When he retreated back into Guandu, surprisingly no one dared to intercept him!
