The great war of the Three Kingdoms lasted forty-nine years, and Lü Bu killed three heroes in a row.

  After a moment, the gate of Shannu City slowly opened, and the young soldier led more than a dozen gatekeepers to welcome them. Lü Bu rode his horse over, slightly bowing his body, and asked the young man: "What is your name? What position do you hold now?"

  The young man was not afraid. He bowed and said, "I am Zhang Liao, a humble officer of the city gate. Previously, due to unclear military circumstances, I was slow in responding to your lordship's orders. Please forgive me." After finishing speaking, he returned the letter with the seal to Lü Bu.

  Lü Bu took back the letter and seal, feeling surprised and delighted in his heart. This young soldier was neither arrogant nor humble, his actions were polite and courteous, and he handled matters with stability. It turned out to be Zhang Liao of Mayi. He immediately had the intention of recruiting him, so he said: "En, although you are young, you are steady and mature. Take me to see the governor of Yanmen Commandery, I have military affairs to discuss."

  Zhang Liao hastily replied "Yes". He then instructed others: After all the soldiers have entered the city, close and lock the city gate.

  Lü Bu, led by Zhang Liao, arrived at the Yanzhou Governor's mansion and met with Yanmen Governor Xianyu Huang. Lü Bu then took out Emperor Liu Hong's decree from his bosom and showed it to Xianyu Huang. After reading Emperor Liu Hong's decree, Lü Bu said: "Now that the Xianbei are invading the border, military affairs are urgent. In order for the soldiers to resist the Xianbei's evil deeds, I must take over the command of the Yanzhou army. I hope Governor Xianyu will cooperate with me."

  Xian Yu Huang did not dare to disobey, and immediately handed over the military power of Yanmen to Lü Bu. Lü Bu's first order was to transfer Zhang Liao to his own imperial guard. Then he understood the affairs of Yanmen Army and sent scouts to investigate the Xianbei situation.

  The Xianbei who originally disturbed the Yanmen were the sons of Tan Shi Huai and Lian Bu. The day before Lü Bu arrived at Yanmen, the Xianbei were still disturbing the Yanmen Pass and plundering the surrounding villages. However, for some unknown reason, the Xianbei suddenly withdrew thirty miles outside the Yanmen Pass and set up camp.

  Lü Bu calculated that it had been three days since he kicked Tan Chou under the horse. He didn't know whether Tan Chou was dead or not, but one thing was certain: the Xianbei's retreat was related to Tan Chou's injury. Lü Bu was eager to know what kind of harm his kick would cause Tan Chou. So he asked Xian Yu: "Governor Xian, do you have any Xianbei prisoners?"

  Xian Yu Huan did not know what Lü Bu wanted to do with the Xianbei captives, but there were none. He replied: "The Xianbei are numerous and fierce, I have been defending Yanmen all along, never leaving the city walls to welcome the enemy, so I have never captured any Xianbei prisoners."

  Lü Bu ordered his generals: "Where is Xu Huang?"

  Xu Huang stepped forward and said: "I am here."

  Lü Bu ordered: "You take a group of soldiers out of the pass to capture one or two Xianbei prisoners and bring them back to see me."

  Xu Huang was about to lead the troops out of the gate when Zhang Liao, still a young man, spoke up: "General Lv, your soldiers have just arrived at Yanmen and may not be familiar with the terrain. I volunteer to serve as a guide officer and take General Xu to capture the Xianbei prisoners."

  Lü Bu was even more delighted with Zhang Liao, thinking that Zhang Liao was so considerate at such a young age. So he smiled and said: "Yes, what Zhang Liao said is very reasonable. In this case, you will be the guide officer for Xu Huang, if you really capture the Xianbei prisoners, I will reuse him."

  Zhang Liao was delighted to hear that Lü Bu had accepted his advice, and he led Xu Huang out of the pass to capture some Xianbei prisoners. Meanwhile, Lü Bu led his troops out of Shanwu City and stationed them at Yanguan Pass.

  Yanmen Pass is located in the Yanmen mountain range, with peaks rising on all sides, stretching for hundreds of miles, and numerous large and small passes. After Qin Shi Huang unified China, he connected the old Zhao Great Wall to block the northern barbarians outside Yanmen. The main stronghold of Yanmen Pass is called Juzhuan塞, also known as Beimen (North Gate). Beimen is 100 zhang wide, with the narrowest part of the city wall being at least 2 zhang and the lowest part being at least 3.6 zhang high, with a watchtower attached to it. The mountains on both sides are steep, with the Great Wall built along the mountain ridge, stretching east and west as far as the eye can see. Outside Beimen, there is a flat area about 100 zhang wide, shaped like an inverted "eight" character, opening up towards the north. To the north, there are several hills, and further north lies the Xianbei Dala grassland.

  Lü Bu was at the north gate of Yanmen, seeing that this pass was majestic and dangerous, he secretly thought: Although this Yanmen Pass is not the later Yanmen Pass, it is still majestic and dangerous. One man guards the pass, and ten thousand men cannot cross. It is truly a natural barrier.

  Xu Huan was led by Zhang Liao, and as soon as he left the north gate, he rushed towards Zhang Liao's hometown of Maiyi. After traveling for a few miles, they encountered a group of Xianbei nomadic cavalry. Xu Huan had more than 20 men, and the Xianbei nomadic cavalry also had more than 20 men. When the two armies met, their eyes turned red with anger. Xu Huan had followed Lü Bu in killing the Xiongnu Left Virtuous King Che Niu, and later entered Lü Bu's inner guard, often training Lü Bu's fish-scale net-formation. Seeing that they encountered the Xianbei nomadic cavalry, he gave a loud order to deploy the formation. Then, he charged towards the Xianbei nomadic cavalry with his men.

  Xu Huang led only the elite guards of Lü Bu, and in one round of shooting, they shot down more than a dozen enemy soldiers. The remaining five or six Xianbei cavalrymen saw that Xu Huang's soldiers were fierce and wanted to turn their horses around and escape without fighting. Xu Huang couldn't let them go, so he charged forward on horseback and chased after them. His men soon surrounded the Xianbei cavalrymen, and Lü Bu's army had the advantage with their long spears. Moreover, they all knew that Lü Bu wanted to take prisoners alive, so two or three of them worked together to capture one Xianbei cavalryman. Some stabbed at the horses, while others used the handles of their spears to strike, and in a short moment, they knocked the Xianbei cavalrymen off their horses. The Xianbei cavalrymen were also fierce and brave, refusing to surrender even in death. Unfortunately, they were outnumbered, and soon three of them were captured, while the other three were accidentally killed by Xu Huang and his men in the chaos of battle. Xu Huang then bound up the three Xianbei cavalrymen and took them back to see Lü Bu.

  At this time, Lü Bu had stationed his troops in the northern gate of Yanmen Pass. Xu Huang brought the three captives to see Lü Bu. When he saw that the three Xianbei horsemen were tightly bound, he called for someone to bring one of them forward. Two soldiers then dragged a Xianbei captive and forced him to kneel on the ground. Everyone did not know what Lü Bu was going to do. Lü Bu walked up, raised his foot and kicked it into the captive's chest. The captive was held by two men on either side, but Lü Bu's kick sent the man flying out for several feet. He immediately spat out blood and fell to the ground dead.

  Everyone was shocked and didn't know why Lü Bu wanted to capture the man alive, but now he had kicked him to death. Lü Bu didn't say much, walked forward to check the man's breath, and found that he was already dead. He furrowed his brow, thinking: Tan Shi Huai seemed a bit more robust than this man, and also wore a leather armor. He should put another prisoner in leather armor to try again. So he ordered his subordinates: "Bring a piece of leather armor here, and put it on this man." After finishing speaking, he pointed to a somewhat more robust captive.

  His subordinates did not know what Lü Bu meant, they just followed suit. Before long, a guard brought over a piece of cowhide armor and had the captive put it on. Lü Bu walked up to the captive again. The captive saw Lü Bu kick his companion to death earlier, and now he was coming for him, thinking that Lü Bu would definitely kick him too, so he shouted loudly in fear and struggled backward. However, the soldiers beside him held him down firmly. Lü Bu stepped forward, gauging the force of the kick that had killed the first man, and then kicked this one as well. The captive thought he was prepared, but he was still sent flying by Lü Bu's kick, landing two paces away. He spat out blood, his body convulsed, and fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

  Lü Bu took a step forward and saw that the man was not dead yet. He asked, "If this person receives medical treatment from a doctor, can he survive?"

  Everyone is a soldier, who knows whether they will live or die. Some say that death is not possible, while others say that it is certain to die. The debate was inconclusive, and Lü Bu asked Zhang Liao: "Zhang Liao, are there any good doctors in Yanmen?"

  Zhang Liao replied: "There is one, a good doctor in the city who is quite skilled in medicine."

  Lü Bu said: "Very well, you may go back and invite the doctor to come. Remember, this is a military secret, not a single word can be leaked out, go quickly and return quickly."

  Zhang Liao ordered it, then rode his horse back to Xuchang to find a doctor for him.

  The distance from the city of Shouchun to Yanguan Pass is only thirty miles, but it would take a few hours to make a round trip. By the time the doctor arrived, the captive had already died. Lü Bu then ordered someone to put the cowhide armor on the last captive and kicked him again, then asked the doctor to examine him. After the examination, Lü Bu asked the doctor: "What is his condition? Can he be saved with medicine?"

  The doctor returned: "This man's breastbone has been kicked to pieces by the big man, and his heart and lungs are injured. Even if there is a good doctor to treat him, he may not live for three days."

  Lü Bu was overjoyed when he heard this, and asked again: "Do you know that this is a military secret, and boasting is not allowed. If the diagnosis is inaccurate and the military situation is mistaken, it will be a capital offense."

  The doctor, upon hearing that it was an important matter, hastily said: "Let me make a more detailed examination."

  He then made a more detailed examination of the prisoner, and only stood up to say: "It is not false, unless there is another Bian Que, if not, this person will definitely die within three days."

  Lü Bu was delighted to hear this: "Good. I will trust you once, if what you say is true, when I return, I will keep you as the army's doctor. But if it is not accurate, I will severely punish you."

  Lü Bu kicked the captive again, ending his life. He then ordered his men to take care of the physician and gathered his officers to discuss the matter: "If the physician's diagnosis is not false, Tan Stone will be close to death tonight, so we'll launch a surprise attack on the enemy camp."