Lü Bu and his entourage drove the livestock for two more days, not returning to Shuofang until the fourth day after leaving the city. As soon as he arrived in Shuofang, Lü Bu went to see County Governor Wang.

  Lü Bu and his entourage drove the livestock for two more days, not returning to Shuofang until the fourth day after leaving the city. As soon as he arrived in Shuofang, Lü Bu went to see County Governor Wang.

  Wang Biao: "Ah. Lü Junhou has returned with news from scouting ahead. What information does he bring?"

  Lü Bu: "Your Excellency, we have indeed received news. The day before yesterday, our troops encountered a group of Xianbei nomadic cavalry and after a fierce battle, we captured one of them alive. From his mouth, we learned that the Xianbei king, Tanshihuai, has summoned the central, western, and eastern divisions of the Xianbei, numbering tens of thousands of horsemen, to invade You and Bing provinces. They are now preparing boats to cross the Yellow River. The ones who invaded Shaofang were from the Western Division of the Xianbei, led by Sijun of the Geqi tribe, with over a thousand horsemen."

  Wang Biao was stunned, muttering to himself: "This... how can this be good? Over a thousand cavalry? In previous years, the Xianbei came to Shaofang to raid the border with only a few hundred men, and Shaofang was already powerless to resist. How did they manage to bring so many people and horses this year?"

  Lü Bu saw Wang Biao being frightened out of his wits and secretly sneered in his heart. But then he saw that Wang Biao was not as sluggish as usual, and instead gave orders to Lü Bu: "General Lü, quickly inform the people within the city to hurry and escape into the pass."

  Lü Bu's face turned red with rage as he sneered: "What? Does Governor Wang want to abandon Chibi?"

  Wang Biao saw Lü Bu's cold gaze and was startled, hastily saying: "General Lü, the Xianbei are not like they were in previous years. In Shuofang City, men, women, children, and the elderly all count, with a population of only over 2,000 people. If we don't escape now, none of us will survive."

  Lü Bu sneered: "Although the city of Shuofang is desolate, its walls are high and thick. The Xianbei are not good at attacking cities, we only need to defend carefully and there's no need to be afraid. If we abandon the city and leave, now that the Xianbei have gathered across the river, even if the old and young in the city escape to Guanzhong today, how many miles can they travel in a day? The Xianbei are skilled horsemen, they will catch up in no time, and then it will be truly impossible to escape. I think, sir, that gathering the strong and able-bodied in the city, rounding up the villagers outside the city, and defending the city is the best strategy."

  Wang Biao had long been intimidated by the Xianbei, and was unwilling to listen to Lü Bu's words. He hastily said: "Defend the city? If the city is breached, we will all lose our lives here. General Lü, if you are not willing to listen to my words, I will not force you. I will leave on my own, and you can take care of yourself." After finishing speaking, he abandoned Lü Bu and went to find his family to escape from Shuofang.

  Lü Bu saw Wang Biao about to flee and with a "dang" sound, he drew his sword and shouted: "As the head of a county, you encounter an enemy attack and abandon the city's citizens to escape, this is a capital offense."

  Wang Biao saw Lü Bu coming fiercely, and was so frightened that he hurried over to speak kindly: "Ah... my good General, at this time, you still say such things. The northwest is not like other places. When the Xianbei bandits invade the border and enter the pass, it's a common practice to escape into the city. How can the General say that I abandoned the city and its people?"

  Lü Bu was delighted: How come this county magistrate is so afraid of death, he's been scared to the point where his speech is all jumbled up. He himself had just arrived not long ago and sometimes spoke with a bit of a rustic accent, which was normal. But this person was really frightened out of his wits and followed him in speaking nonsense.

  Wang Biao saw Lü Bu's mouth corner revealing his teeth, and it was clear that he was laughing at him. He didn't get angry, but thought to himself: "While this evil god hasn't come to kill me yet, I'll ask him to let me leave, so as not to offend this evil god. If he comes to kill me suddenly, one sword will be enough to finish me off, and that would be unjust. At that time, there would be no place to appeal for justice." So he said: "General Lü, you are a brave warrior, and defending Yanmen is a heroic deed. However, I am a scholar and not good at military affairs. Staying in Yanmen would only add trouble for the general. How about this? The other day, my superior recommended you as a general, but the documents have not yet been sent to the Beidi Prefecture government office. If the general allows me to enter the pass, it would also be good for me to send the recommendation documents to the prefecture government office. In this way, the general's position would be formally appointed by the imperial court, and I would write a letter of appointment, entrusting General Lü with full authority to handle military affairs in Yanmen."

  Lü Bu also thought it was feasible. Keeping this person would only hinder his actions, so he decided to let him go and take full control of the affairs in Shouchun. He didn't believe that he couldn't defend such a city, so he followed Wang Piao's words. Afterwards, he took Wang Piao's seal and letter of appointment and returned to the military camp. Wang Piao then took his family and fled to Guandong overnight.

  Lü Bu returned to the military camp, only to see that it was in a state of chaos. Gao Shun had drawn his sword and was shouting loudly, but he couldn't control the situation for the time being. Lü Bu rode his horse to the gate of the camp and saw this scene, which made him so angry that he let out a loud roar: "Ah!!!"

  All the soldiers heard the sound and stood still in shock. Lü Bu angrily looked around at the army, came to Gao Shun's face and shouted: "I just left for a moment, how did it become like this?"

  Gao Shun said with shame: "The soldiers knew that the Xianbei general was going to raid the border, and they all wanted to lead the hunting share. I sent it a bit late, and it became like this."

  Lü Bu heard this and shouted angrily: "What's your hurry?"

  The soldiers did not dare to speak, after a while, one soldier held a sheepskin in his arms and said timidly: "The Xianbei general is raiding the border, if he walks slowly, he will lose his life..."

  Lü Bu heard this and with a loud whoosh, his halberd sliced the soldier in two. He shouted sternly: "When did I ever say to retreat?"

  The soldiers were shocked and frightened, and they hastily dropped the wealth in their hands. Lü Bu rode his horse around the army, shouting: "Form ranks!"

  At the sound of a stern shout, the soldiers hastily formed their ranks. Gao Shun and Wei Xu also took their positions at the front of the formation. In an instant, over a hundred soldiers had taken their places. Lü Bu shouted: "Those who spread rumors, cause trouble, or startle the army will be beheaded! Have you all forgotten this law?"

  In the army, hundreds of people were silent like a flock of birds. Lü Bu said again: "The Xianbei bandits invaded the border, I don't care about last year. This year, with me, Lü Bu, around, not even a grain of rice will be left for the Xianbei to collect. Where is Gao Shun?"

  Gao Shun is here.

  Lü Bu shouted: "Pass on my military order, the whole army is on high alert, and defend Shuofang to the death. Whoever speaks of fleeing will be beheaded."

  Gao Shun: "Yes."

  Lü Bu said: "Where is Zang Ba?"

  Zang Ba is here.

  Lü Bu shouted: "You lead a team of cavalry, from tomorrow on leave the city to search for villages, inform every village and household in Shuofang to bring all food and supplies into Shuofang City, defend Shuofang to the death. If anyone disobeys orders and escapes to Guannei, execute them immediately without pardon."

  "Ah."

  Lü Bu said: "Where is Cao's nature?"

  Ts'ao Hsing steps forward and says: "I am Ts'ao Hsing."

  Lü Bu shouted: "You lead a team of soldiers to guard the south gate, without my military order, only allow entry and not exit. Those who disobey orders and leave the city will be beheaded."

  "Yes."

  Lü Bu said: "Where is Wei Xu?"

  Wei Xu came out and said: "Wei Xu is here."

  Lü Bu ordered: "You lead a team of cavalry to guard the north gate, without my military order, only allow entry and not exit. Those who disobey orders and leave the city will be beheaded."

  "Wei Xudao: 'Yes.'"

  Lü Bu said to Zang Ba, "After the villagers outside the city have all entered the city, gather the strong men and dig horse pits three zhang away from the south and north gates. Fill the excavated soil into hemp sacks and pile them up inside the city gate. When the Xianbei come to attack, use the earth bags to block the city gate and prevent entry and exit."

  Zang Ba De Ling should respond with "Yes."

  Lü Bu again ordered Gao Shun: "You will today distribute the entire amount of money to those who went out hunting, and the shares of the families of the dead shall not be missed. Tomorrow, go and announce to the whole city that the Xianbei will raid the northwest, the whole city is on guard, and strengthen the defense of the city. Gather craftsmen to sharpen weapons and make more bows and arrows to prepare for emergencies."

  Gao Shunying: "Yes."

  Then Lü Bu said to Cheng Yi, "You lead three to five hundred soldiers and patrol the city day and night. If you encounter anyone who disobeys orders, punish them with flogging, ten lashes each time. Make sure everyone in the city follows military rules."

  Cheng Lian led the order: "Yes."

  Today was indeed busy, Lü Bu arranged some things and returned to the Military Marquis Mansion. First, he ate something, then thought carefully about what else to do. After all, the Xianbei bandits on the border were not a small matter. More than 1,000 cavalrymen, all of whom were good at killing and shooting. The current number of soldiers in Shuofang was only around 120 people, mostly new recruits. Although they had plundered many horses this time, each soldier had only one horse, so there were only about 120 horses. Even if the strong men in the city were counted, it would be no more than a few hundred people. In terms of numbers, the Xianbei were not good at attacking cities, and defending the city should not be a problem. But the question was that the people of Shuofang had been accustomed to fleeing from the Xianbei bandits, so what would happen when they saw the Xianbei coming to kill them?

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