Chapter 542: The Imperial Uncle Was Defeated

Bai Lang's troops numbered no more than fifty; because he led the spearhead, they were regarded as the world's finest cavalry, called the White Tiger Cavalry, for after Bai Lang's fury they turned into a white tiger that struck the enemy formation. When he joined Liu Xuande, Lu Bu's march was extremely swift, already dividing his forces into four routes: west to take Ru and Ying, east to attack the Shandong Yan provinces, while Gao Shun and Zhang Liao led an army to assault Xiao Pei LiuBei, and Lu Bu himself led the central army ready to support the three routes.

Before Bai Lang arrived, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao had already failed to capture Xiao Pei; seeing CaoCao's troops, they withdrew to fight CaoCao, and Lu Bu's main army also moved quickly, preparing to unite forces to attack CaoCao. "Indeed fast—one is a flying general, the other keeps saying 'CaoCao, CaoCao is coming'; together these two truly are lightning heroes."

Bai Lang muttered a meme that no one in this world could understand and was not in a hurry to quicken his pace. By Lu Bu's standards, his loss was inevitable; he had bravery but lacked strategy, and on top of that a greed that clouded his mind. Who could he possibly lose to? CaoCao and Liu Xuande are the heroes of the age; they would never give Lu Bu a chance.

Under Lu Bu, Gao Shun indeed proved a strong general; in one battle he shattered CaoCao's vanguard, the Xiahou brothers, then turned and, together with Lu Bu and Zhang Liao's forces, attacked Xuande's camp. Bai Lang's march was not swift, which was due to his careless reading. This resulted in Xuande's great defeat; Liu, Guan, and Zhang could not stand up to Lu, Zhang, and Gao. Zhang Liao and Gao Shun jointly struck GuanYu's army, while Lu Bu personally broke ZhangFei's army. Although Xuande led his troops to rescue from both sides, Lu Bu split his forces to attack from the rear, leading to a massive collapse.

GuanYu was forced to retreat, ZhangFei fled, leaving Liu the Imperial Uncle, who at that time was not yet an Imperial Uncle. Liu Xuande led a few dozen riders to escape into Xiao Pei, but Lu Bu seized the momentum and broke in, so LiuBei could not gather his family and had to flee on horseback from Xiao Pei. On the way they gathered Sun Qian, who had escaped, and after a brief discussion the two could only turn to surrender to CaoCao.

Bai Lang was traveling when he suddenly heard that LiuBei had suffered defeat and defected to CaoCao. "This Xuande, how can he suffer so many defeats?" Bai Lang turned back and caught up with CaoCao's main army. CaoCao, hearing that Bai Lang was joining, came out together with Xuande to meet him. "I have come here to see off that Lord Wen," Bai Lang said, "Those who forget righteousness for profit, are fickle and cunning, none have escaped destruction. Only Lu Bu is brave and skilled in combat; for people like them the best way to die is for me to send them to heaven on the battlefield."

CaoCao and LiuBei both looked at Bai Lang, and after a moment of contemplation each said, "It should be so." At the banquet Liu Xuande also recounted the loss of Pei City, the scattering of his two younger brothers, and the plight of his wife and children. CaoCao even shed tears, also mentioning Liu An's killing his wife for food; Bai Lang was incensed, "Such a person has no humanity! Xuande! Why didn't you cut down these scum with a single sword at the time?"

At that moment Bai Lang left his tent, mounted his horse, and lifted Sun Qian, "Lead the way!" After just one night, Bai Lang returned holding a human head in his hand, "I've killed that heartless scoundrel!" He tossed the head onto his horse, then trampled it to pieces. Xuande was shocked, "What about his mother?" Bai Lang sneered, "Killed her."

Thus the army marched on; the Xiahou brothers were all wounded, Xiahou Dun lost an eye, and CaoCao ordered him to return to Xudu to recuperate. A scout was sent to probe Lu Bu's army movements; the scout reported, "Lu Bu has allied with Chen Gong and Zang Ba, joining the Mount Tai bandits, to jointly attack the Yan provinces." CaoCao then ordered CaoRen to lead three thousand troops to assault Pei City, while he, together with Liu Xuande and Bai Lang and other generals, went to fight Lu Bu.

Arriving in Shandong, near Xiao Guan, they encountered the Mount Tai bandits led by Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li, and Chang Xi, with over thirty thousand troops blocking the road. CaoCao originally intended to send Xu Chu into battle, but Bai Lang blew a whistle and charged first, "Mengde's hand itches, let me make a quick profit." Bai Lang alone fought the four generals; the battlefield's fighting spirit surged as the White Tiger roared.

The White Tiger lunged, snapped, and swiped; Bai Lang had already fought the four generals for more than twenty exchanges, he knocked Sun Guan off his horse, cut down Yin Li with his hand, swept his long spear horizontally to slash Wu Dun, his men and horses down, and when Chang Xi tried to flee, Bai Lang caught up from behind and thrust his spear, killing him. Afterwards CaoCao's forces swept in to finish them off; the enemy army was routed, with over twenty thousand surrendering.

CaoCao arrived at Xiao Guan; the defender was Chen Gong. "Do not come with schemes to find me; I will only take the lead first." Bai Lang saw that CaoCao was again full of deceit, and immediately held daily high feasts, refusing to bother with Cao's scheming. Sure enough, Lu Bu was trapped by the father‑and‑son duo Chen Gui and Chen Deng, and lost Xiao Guan in a night battle.

At dawn, when they returned to Xuzhou, they had already lost Xuzhou City. At that time, the soft‑hearted Mi Zhu, with Chen Gui's help, had shut the city gates to prevent Lu Bu from entering, while in Xiao Pei, because Chen Deng's strategy moved Gao Shun and Zhang Liao away, it was defeated by CaoRen. Lu Bu, enraged, wanted to assault the city, but saw ZhangFei leading a force to charge. Gao Shun's battle went poorly, so Lu Bu personally engaged ZhangFei; after dozens of exchanges he could not slay ZhangFei. Then smoke rose as CaoCao's army arrived; Lu Bu, realizing he could not win, led his troops eastward.

Ahead, a fierce cavalry blocked the road—GuanYu; behind, ZhangFei was ahead of GuanYu. Lu Bu's men were exhausted and horses fatigued, but he had to rally his spirit to face GuanYu, forcibly driving GuanYu back and carving a path, after which Lu Bu's army headed straight for Pi.

Now, CaoCao having taken Xuzhou, was overjoyed and discussed raising troops to attack Xiaopi. ChengYu said, "Lu Bu now only holds the city of Xiaopi; if we press him too hard, he will be forced into a death battle and turn to Yuan Shu. If Lu Bu aligns with Yuan Shu, his strength will be hard to attack. We can now have capable men guard the Huainan Path against Lu Bu, while also dealing with Yuan Shu."

Thus Xuande left Mi Zhu and Jian Yong in Xuzhou, and took Sun Qian, Guan, and Zhang to command troops to guard the Huainan Path. CaoCao, together with Bai Lang, led forces to attack Xiaopi. CaoCao formed battle lines while Bai Lang guarded his side; CaoCao said, "I heard that Lord Feng now wishes to marry Yuan Shu; that's why I led troops here. Yuan Shu has committed treason, while you have the merit of defeating Dong Zhuo; why now abandon your past achievements and side with a rebel? If the city falls, it will be too late for regret! If you surrender early and help support the royal house, you will not lose the title of marquis."

Bai Lang watched as Lu Bu above seemed to be wavering again; he said nothing, merely sat on his horse, holding his long spear sideways, watching the guy on the city wall become more and more like a clown.

"What a waste of his martial skill," Bai Lang whispered. Indeed, Lu Bu on the wall said, "Prime Minister, retreat for now; we can still discuss." Meanwhile, Chen Gong on the side cursed CaoCao as a treacherous villain; an arrow he shot was intercepted by Bai Lang's spear, missing CaoCao's banner by a hair. CaoCao, enraged, shouted, "I will definitely kill you!"

The Cao army prepared to besiege the city; the weather was bitterly cold, making digging difficult, so the assault relied mainly on battering rams and siege ladders, while wells and palisades could be set aside for now. Lu Bu's troops were few, the city walls could not be fully blocked, especially with Bai Lang leading the charge, repeatedly attempting to scale the walls.

A brave general like Bai Lang could only be stopped if Lu Bu himself intervened, and Lu Bu indeed did not hold back, using his own bow and arrows against Bai Lang. Each arrow's force and accuracy were enough to pierce Bai Lang's body; Bai Lang was pinned within arrow range, unable to advance an inch, yet Lu Bu was also nailed to the spot, and could not attend to the rest.

If Lu Bu wants to win, he must break out of the city and adopt a flanking position; CaoCao's agricultural colonies are not yet widespread, and his army truly lacks provisions. If Lu Bu truly holds a flanking stance, he could sustain for at least a few months, and perhaps CaoCao would be forced to retreat due to lack of food, allowing Lu Bu to push back. However, "Lu Bu trusts the words of women; having Chen Gong but being unable to use him, he is thus carefree." This was what CaoCao said in front of Bai Lang.