Chapter 69

The winds of war rose across the land.

Yuan Shao's actions were certainly not impulsive.

To him, among the four regions—You, Yan, Qing, and Bing—only Lu Zhi in Qingzhou showed him the most disrespect.

—Cao Cao's gifts of thanks to him had never ceased;

Gong Sunzan may appear indifferent toward him, but Gong Sunzan now has Liu Yu as his rival.

And Ding Yuan in Bingzhou, though his reputation has recently grown, with many saying he has tiger generals under his command.

But Yuan Shao paid little heed.

How tiger-like could these tiger generals be?

He already had no shortage of great generals under his own command—what was there to fear?

Moreover, rebel forces constantly plagued Bingzhou.

Ding Yuan had not even resolved these unruly troops—certainly no threat.

But Lu Zhi was different; his prestige was too high, especially having once served beside Gu Xi, which had made his fame spread far and wide.

No matter what, Yuan Shao could never allow such a man to continue growing.

Refused his recruitment?

Then let him die!

This was Yuan Shao's current confidence!

—In the second year of Han Xing, the fourth month.

Yuan Shao formally, under the court's name, proclaimed Lu Zhi's crimes.

He ordered all regional lords to join him in attacking Qingzhou.

The news spread, and the entire realm trembled!

Yuan Shao's initial move was like flipping a switch—regional lords who had already been stirring in the four directions now ignited warfires everywhere.

Gong Sunzan would certainly not obey Yuan Shao's orders.

Lu Zhi was his master; publicly and privately, he could never aid Yuan Shao at such a time.

But he also could not aid Lu Zhi.

There was no way—his conflict with Liu Yu had reached an irreconcilable point.

Both in character and in their attitudes toward the people,

inside and out, they were at odds.

Moreover, Youzhou was far from Qingzhou, blocked entirely by Jizhou—utterly impossible to move troops.

He planned to seize this opportunity to destroy Liu Yu and seize full control of Youzhou's power.

Cao Cao naturally could not fully support Yuan Shao.

In fact, among all regional lords, Cao Cao was the most clear-headed.

He was now using the court's and Yuan Shao's banners to fully expand his own power.

But unlike Gong Sunzan,

his circumstances and geographic position doomed him to avoid easy evasion.

Yet at this moment,

Cao Cao's true nature as a formidable, ambitious figure emerged.

He sent messengers to Langya Commandery to seek Liu Bei, hoping to stage a grand performance with him to avoid the brunt of this conflict.

After all, Liu Bei was Lu Zhi's disciple.

No matter what, he could not escape participating in this war.

This was indeed a good plan.

It would spare him risk and avoid a complete rupture with Yuan Shao, who was currently at the height of his power.

Others might have accepted Cao Cao's proposal.

But Liu Bei was different.

"Bang!"

Liu Bei slammed his hand hard on the table before him, his face flushed with anger as he scolded Cao Cao's envoy: "The Yuan clan is wrecking the state, colluding with a false emperor to falsely accuse my master of rebellion."

"Your lord Cao Cao, as Governor of Yanzhou, has long received imperial grace—yet he does nothing to purge the state of traitors."

"And now he dares to ask Liu Xuande to join him in such treachery?"

Fuming, Liu Bei paid no heed to what the envoy said and immediately ordered him expelled.

The atmosphere inside the hall grew Serious.

"Yun Chang, Yi De—prepare the three armies. I shall lead troops personally to Qingzhou to aid Master Lu."

Liu Bei gave the order without hesitation.

His strength now was not weak.

In this age, prestige meant gaining support from powerful clans and aristocrats.

With their backing, Liu Bei had the funds to recruit soldiers and buy horses.

Liu Bei's reputation had always been good.

It was a reputation earned through battles suppressing rebellions.

Otherwise, why would Yuan Shao have tried to recruit him?

"My Lord,"

Chen Bo, now showing concern, bowed and said: "The current situation favors Yuan Shao—he holds the moral high ground of the court."

"Judging by the Governor of Yanzhou's actions, he is certain to move against Qingzhou."

"If we go now, aren't we taking a risk?"

He was the representative of the Chen clan of Langya, and naturally did not wish Liu Bei to take such a risk.

"Hmph! Yuan Shao has slandered my master—how could I stand idly by?"

Liu Bei immediately frowned, looking at Chen Bo with clear displeasure: "No more persuasion—I've made up my mind."

At these words, the others could only sigh helplessly.

But Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and other great generals fully approved of Liu Bei's stance.

The entire Liu Bei camp immediately sprang into action.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shu freely allowed his so-called elder brother to grow ever stronger.

He was, by nature, an extremely ambitious man.

Faced with the current state of the empire, he had long since entertained forbidden thoughts and could not afford to fall behind others.

He had originally planned to indirectly control all of Jingzhou through Sun Jian.

This was also why he appointed Sun Jian as Governor of Changsha.

But Liu Biao's military strength exceeded his expectations.

He was far from being able to control the Jingzhou clans.

Under these circumstances, Yuan Shu swiftly adjusted his strategy and reached a reconciliation with Liu Biao.

He ceded Changsha, allowing Sun Jian to advance into Yuzhou and further expand his power.

Huangfu Song, in Liangzhou, was also fighting Ma Teng, Han Sui, and Li Jue, Guo Si, and other former subordinates of Dong Zhuo.

Gu Wei had already set him a clear strategic objective.

That was to mobilize the strength of one province and await a change in fortune.

For a time, clouds rose from all corners of the land.

War once again spread across the Han Empire, far more severe than the earlier Yellow Turban Rebellion!

Rebellion was rebellion;

But now, it was regional lords and governors launching active attacks!

Luoyang.

When Liu Dai heard this series of news, he was utterly stunned.

Only now did he fully realize how absurd the throne he had gone to such lengths to seize truly was.

He had believed that, like the former Emperor Guangwu, allying with the great clans would be enough to solve all of Han's current problems.

He had thought he, too, could be like the former Emperor Guangwu—but he had never imagined events would develop to this point.

All four regions had slipped from his control as Emperor.

No, it wasn't even the four regions.

Even within Luoyang itself, beyond maintaining a superficial imperial dignity, he could barely hold onto anything else.

Even within the imperial palace's sacred grounds.

He had eyes watching him.

Aside from Yuan Kui's granddaughter, he dared not favor any other woman.

Any woman he favored would die the next day.

This had made him fully realize how absurd his position as Emperor truly was.

If Liu Bian had still occupied this throne, would he have ended up like this?

He couldn't help but think of this question.

He had once firmly believed that once he ascended the throne, he could solve everything and would surely do better than Liu Bian, this child.

But now, he began to doubt this very question.

But what could he change?

From the moment he chose to completely submit to the great clans, he had already been beneath them.

How could the great clans care about his opinions?

He, this so-called Son of Heaven, was merely an agent—that was all!

This war was destined to be unavoidable.

Yuan Shao was now truly triumphant; although Lu Zhi's prestige remained high, he paid him no mind.

—Han Xing Year 2, sixth month.

Yuan Shao's three armies were fully prepared and officially marched out from Ji, crossing Qinghe Commandery straight toward Pingyuan Commandery in Qingzhou, aiming to strike deep into Qingzhou's heartland.

Lu Zhi would not be unprepared.

He had long known that this battle with Yuan Shao was inevitable.

A man of his stubborn nature could never bow to Yuan Shao.

For this reason, Lu Zhi had long made thorough preparations.

The terrain around Pingyuan Commandery was flat, offering no natural defenses.

The only advantage he could exploit was the moment Yuan Shao crossed the river.

For this, he had already burned every bridge and established an absolute defense at the Yellow River fords.

Lu Zhi's strength was not weak.

When Gu Xi left, he had deliberately left behind many troops and officers.

Coupled with his development over this period, he now commanded tens of thousands.

Especially with Gu Tao's arrival, this greatly alleviated his main problem of lacking capable generals.

This gave him considerable confidence in this great battle.

——Late June.

The two sides clashed in a great battle at Pingyuan Commandery.

In the end, Yuan Shao had somewhat underestimated Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi's ability to command troops was absolutely not lacking.

Wave after wave of arrow rain severely hindered the Yuan army's progress of landing.

But to say that just this one trick alone could stop Yuan Shao was clearly still impossible.

Yuan Shao had always been this kind of person.

The moment he sensed the situation turning, he immediately became shrewd.

He resolved to have men build pontoon bridges and launch a forced assault.

At such a moment, his great general Qu Yi stepped forward.

He personally led over a thousand dare-to-die soldiers, erected pontoon bridges to help the main army cross the river; though casualties were heavy, he finally broke through Lu Zhi's defensive line.

He ultimately helped the main army land.

Yuan Shao's current strength was indeed far too great.

That move of his — sacrificing to the Gu clan ancestors — could be said to have lifted him in one stroke to the position of foremost lord.

The common folk everywhere held high hopes for the Gu clan.

Yuan Shao's move let them see his regard for the Gu clan, and so they naturally came in droves to join him.

The number of troops under his command had long since reached no less than a hundred thousand.

Though this time he could not bring his entire force, in terms of military strength he could still form an overwhelming advantage.

The most crucial point was—

Yuan Shao's command also had no shortage of generals.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou could each be called tiger generals capable of taking on ten thousand, let alone there being a desperate fighter like Qu Yi.

The two sides fought a great battle on the banks of the Ta River.

Gu Tao, as a great general, naturally had to be on the very front line.

Seeing that Qu Yi could actually land under the arrow rain, he naturally charged straight at him.

"You dog thief! Give me your life!"

Gu Tao rode in the vanguard, showing no fear, and his long blade swept down in a slash.

"Where did some junior like you come from, so brazen!"

Qu Yi's face showed no fear either, and he too swung his great blade and charged over.

Clang!!

A sharp sound of weapons clashing exploded, sparks flying.

Gu Tao almost instantly felt a tremendous force transmitted through, and his expression shifted slightly.

This man was actually this fierce?

The more one understood martial arts, the more one could actually feel the pressure between oneself and the opponent.

Gu Tao's martial prowess was indeed not low.

Placed in any era, he would be a capable general.

But compared to a fierce general like Qu Yi, who was enough to leave his name in history, there was still some gap after all.

Yet he still did not retreat.

If he could not match in strength, there was still speed!

Qu Yi looked extremely burly.

Such a man's speed was bound to be a notch worse than an ordinary person's.

In an instant, the thought flashed through, and Gu Tao immediately pulled back his blade, sidestepping Qu Yi's heavy, forceful strike.

"Haha!"

Seeing this, Qu Yi burst out laughing and said disdainfully, "Junior, you're nothing much!"

"Why don't you dismount and surrender?"

"Less nonsense!" Gu Tao was not affected. His blade edge slanted upward from below, intending to use the chance to fling Qu Yi straight off his horse.

But how could a fierce general like Qu Yi be so easily dealt with?

Though he appeared clumsy.

In truth, his reactions were extremely swift.

With one hand he suddenly yanked the reins, and taking advantage of the momentum, his warhorse let out a bright, clear neigh, rearing up on its hind legs and directly dodging the blade.

In that instant, Qu Yi also swung his long blade, hacking straight down at Gu Tao!

Gu Tao's expression changed drastically.

It all happened far too fast; he could not dodge the strike at all and could only block it head-on.

Clang!!!

The terrifying force instantly numbed both of Gu Tao's hands.

Lu Zhi also noticed something was wrong. Seeing that Yuan Shao's army had already landed one after another, he knew well they absolutely could not drag this out.

He immediately sounded the gong to recall the troops.

Gu Tao's importance went without saying.

In this battle, his main strategy was to focus on defense; if his great general were slain in this very first engagement, then this fight truly need not be continued.

Gu Tao naturally also knew what weighed most.

He first strained to lift and shove aside Qu Yi's blade, then immediately wheeled his horse and withdrew.

Though he was battle-hungry, he was not a mindless man.

Although they had only exchanged a handful of blows.

He could still feel the gap between himself and Qu Yi, and no matter how unwilling he was, this was an indisputable fact.

Reckless bravado was not the temperament of the Gu clan sons.

Yet he could not help but ponder a question.

He was the mightiest warrior of the present-day Gu clan, yet he had never expected to be unable to defeat even a single general under Yuan Shao.

Could the Gu clan truly remain unscathed through the coming chaos?

Gu Tao had originally been quite confident.

The Gu clan was the foremost clan under heaven, and he was its strongest warrior — it was only natural that a feeling of being the best under heaven had taken root in him.

All along, Gu Tao had longed to compare himself to the Gu ancestors of old, such as Gu Xiao and Gu Cheng.

But now it seemed his performance had ultimately fallen short by far, far too much.

The defending troops retreated like a tide.

Yuan's army pressed the attack in force.

The two sides clashed ceaselessly, both within the city and upon the open field.

Though each side had its share of victories and defeats, on the overall front Yuan Shao continued to push forward.

Before August had even arrived, he had taken all of Pingyuan.

【187】 With no choice, Lu Zhi could only keep retreating his forces.

With no other choice, Lu Zhi could only keep retreating his forces.

At the Kingdom of Jinan, he engaged Yuan Shao once more in a war of attrition.

He was waiting for reinforcements.

That's right — Liu Bei had already sent word, saying he would surely come to aid.

But things clearly would not be so simple.

Cao Cao was not the sort of man who would stop acting just because Liu Bei refused to play along.

In fact, upon learning that Liu Bei would go to offer aid.

He made an even more astonishing decision.

— Raid Langya!

Yanzhou was a land of thoroughfares leading in all directions; one only had to pass through Taishan Commandery to reach Langya directly.

This move fully revealed his true colors as a bold and ambitious warlord.

Not only could it avoid falling out with Yuan Shao at this moment, it also allowed him to set foot upon the lands of Xuzhou — from there, he could scheme for Qingzhou above and Yuzhou below.

Liu Bei had in fact already set out his troops long ago.

It was only Cao Cao's move that forced him to halt his steps and deal with Cao Cao first.

The place where the two sides contended was, naturally, Meng Mountain.

To move troops from Taishan Commandery and cross Meng Mountain was to thrust straight into the heart of Langya at Kaiyang — this was a problem Liu Bei had no choice but to resolve.

Unlike with Yuan Shao.

Although Cao Cao's current strength far surpassed Liu Bei's, he had never looked down on Liu Bei.

Though he did not understand Liu Bei.

He knew Gu Xi.

Anyone who could earn Gu Xi's assessment of "extraordinary" could not possibly be an ordinary person.

He personally led a detachment of five thousand, crossing Meng Mountain with great fanfare, intending to draw Liu Bei's main force.

While in secret he dispatched Xiahou Dun to lead troops around by way of Fei County, to launch a surprise attack on the heart of Langya.

But unlike with Lu Zhi.

What made Liu Bei strong now was that he had an abundance of fierce generals under his command.

He ordered Guan Yu to hold the mountain pass at Meng Mountain.

At the mountain pass of Meng Mountain, he dealt a crushing defeat to Cao Cao's vanguard Yu Jin at the gorge.

And Xiahou Dun's army was checked by Zhao Yun; at the same time Liu Bei even dispatched Zhang Fei directly to launch a surprise attack on Fei County, burning Cao Cao's supply train and forcing Xiahou Dun to retreat.

Although Cao Cao had not broken through Langya's defenses.

These maneuvers alone had severely bogged down Liu Bei's advance.

The most crucial point was —

Even if Cao Cao withdrew, Liu Bei could no longer commit all his troops to aid Qingzhou, and had no choice but to split his forces.

— The second year of Hanxing, the eleventh month.

Liu Bei finally arrived at Qingzhou.

By this time, Yuan Shao had already taken all of Jinan, his spearhead pointing directly at the Kingdom of Qi and Le'an.

The troops Liu Bei brought on this march were not all that many.

But it was enough to lift the army's morale.

Yuan Shao paid this no heed whatsoever — he had long anticipated that Liu Bei would come to help Lu Zhi.

The two sides clashed again at Linzi.

This time, the tide of battle shifted suddenly.

Liu Bei's second brother Guan Yu, in a single bout before the lines, sent Qu Yi tumbling from his horse, gravely wounding him — had no one come to his rescue, he would surely have perished beneath Guan Yu's blade.

This sudden turn utterly cowed Yuan's army.

Across many days of attack, Qu Yi had always been the commander charging at the very front, and his prestige within Yuan's army was exceedingly high.

Such a great general, and he could not even withstand a single bout from Guan Yu.

This was bound to be a matter that severely affected morale.

And under these circumstances, both sides actually became deadlocked.

Yuan Shao was also quite surprised by this.

Originally, he had expected that with the momentum of this campaign against Qingzhou, all forces would surrender, just as they had in the days of Gu Xi.

The current situation was utterly beyond his expectations.

But how could he possibly give up?

Military momentum demands unwavering advance.

This campaign against Qingzhou, he had deliberately made a grand show of, aiming to intimidate the entire realm.

If he withdrew now, what would the world think of Yuan Shao?

No matter what, he must take Qingzhou!

But this time, he was destined to face far greater difficulties—Lu Zhi's command ability, combined with Liu Bei's array of great generals.

This could be called a perfect match!

For an entire month, Yuan Shao made not an inch of progress.

At the same time, major battles erupted across the land.

In the third year of Han Xing, third month;

——In Yuzhou, Sun Jian finally captured Peiguo and pressed onward toward Liangguo.

End of third month;

Liu Yu could no longer tolerate Gong Sun Zan and launched the first strike against him.

But he was ultimately defeated by Gong Sun Zan, who then fully seized control of Youzhou.

Soon after, he received news from Liu Bei.

He ordered his army to launch a direct assault on Jizhou.

In desperation, Yuan Shao summoned Cao Cao, intending to swiftly break through Qingzhou.

But Cao Cao clearly had no intention of boarding Yuan Shao's wagon again at this moment.

Cao Cao claimed he was attacking Langya, offering only hollow aid to Yuan Shao.

But this move also forced Liu Bei to turn back.

Fourth month;

——In Bingzhou, Ding Yuan, with Lü Bu's aid, finally seized Shangdang and Taiyuan commanderies.

He firmly established himself in Bingzhou.

Fifth month;

——In Liangzhou, upon Gu Wei's advice, Huangfu Song finally captured the entire Anding Commandery.

In truth, with Huangfu Song's strength,

this pace was clearly too slow.

Even Gu Wei had not anticipated that the strife in Liangzhou would be so intense.

The various tribal rebel forces were manageable.

The main trouble came from Dong Zhuo's former subordinates.

No, it shouldn't even be called "former subordinates."

Li Jue and Guo Si were brave, but in command, how could they possibly match Huangfu Song and Gu Wei?

The problem lay with one man.

——Jia Xu!

Ever since Li Jue and Guo Si began obeying Jia Xu's every word, Huangfu Song and Gu Wei's progress in Liangzhou grew increasingly difficult.

Though they had never met him,

yet remember—Gu Wei possessed a certain talent for judging men.

Through Jia Xu's repeated maneuvers, he recognized this man's exceptional nature.

Most crucially,

he always felt Jia Xu's ambition for dominance was not strong—he seemed merely to seek a stable place to settle.

This suspicion made Gu Wei doubt himself, yet he still sent emissaries to approach Jia Xu.

Hanzhong.

Since Gu Chen led his army into Hanzhong, he had rapidly expanded his influence.

The Gu family's prestige remained highly useful.

In a short time, he had firmly secured his hold on Hanzhong and soon received updates on the situation across the realm.

"Wenruo, you were right as always."

"As soon as we withdrew from Luoyang, the realm's situation plunged into chaos."

He wore a faint smile, his eyes deeply piercing.

"Young Master," Xun Yu also smiled faintly, looking at Gu Chen: "Those who gather for profit will scatter for profit."

"Is this not what the late Lord Gu once said? How could it be wrong?"

Gu Chen's eyes immediately revealed a trace of reminiscence.

Yet he swiftly suppressed the emotion and turned to Xun Yu: "Wenruo, what if we revealed the matter of the Imperial Seal now—what would happen?"

"Young Master, brilliant!"

Xun Yu's eyes flashed brightly—he clearly had already considered this, and said without hesitation: "The current state of the realm—"

"The regional lords all seek to divide the realm under the banner of the Han dynasty."

"The noble clans of humble origin throughout the land must have all seen the situation clearly — how could they be willing to accept it in their hearts?"

"Think of men like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Jian — they all rose from humble origins."

"If Young Master were to release this news."

"Then the false Emperor Liu Dai would become a rootless duckweed, and heroes from all four directions would surely rise up in defiance."

"Only, Young Master must remember never to let word spread that the Imperial Jade Seal is in Young Master's hands."

The Imperial Jade Seal is the symbol of the Mandate of Heaven.

In years past, Liu Xuan, relying on a picked-up Imperial Jade Seal, ultimately succeeded in establishing Xuan Han.

An Emperor without the Mandate of Heaven could never command the loyalty of the people in this age!

Let alone that Liu Dai never had any real authority in his hands to begin with.

"Set your mind at ease, Wenruo."

Gu Chen smiled faintly and said: "How could I possibly be so foolish?"

Having said this, Gu Chen immediately summoned someone and directly handed the matter over.

Gu Yi had been watching the development of the situation all along, and his heart was likewise deeply shaken.

The current state of affairs was already entirely different from the original history.

Although it looked far more chaotic on the surface.

Upon closer observation, he also discerned the core of it.

This upheaval of the age seemed to have transformed into a struggle between the "humble-born" and the "great clans."

The reforms proposed by Gu Xi had thoroughly altered the course of history.

Once this age of chaos came to an end.

What on earth would the realm become?

If the systems of later ages could truly be brought forward and developed throughout the entire course of history, what enormous changes would the future history undergo?

At this moment, Gu Yi finally understood just how extraordinary Gu Xi's achievement of "Pioneer" truly was.

Why it was a rare achievement, surpassing all those he had obtained before.

If all of this could truly be accomplished.

The impact on the entire course of history would probably completely exceed that of anyone before!

PS: At the start of the month, I kneel and beg for monthly tickets — we'll do a burst for every two thousand monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)