34. War of Men (2)
34. War of Men (2)
Sun Jian is coming.
Upon hearing the news, Dong Zhuo hurriedly searched for a unit that could counter the Sun Jian army.
He intends to break through Yangren, not Sishui Pass.
By passing through Yangren and Yangcheng, and breaking through the rugged mountain paths of Mount Song, it becomes possible to advance to the vicinity of Luoyang without going through Sishui Pass.
It is a tactic using a small number of elite troops.
It was close to a suicide mission where one charges into the heart of the enemy, but since the general who planned that suicide mission was Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
"You must send Lu Bu."
Li Ru, the Minister of the Imperial Guard, said.
Not only him, but all the other strategists also advised that the Lu Bu army must be sent.
Hua Xiong and Xu Rong are at Sishui Pass.
The troops stationed at Sishui Pass cannot be moved.
That is because it might have a huge impact on the morale of the soldiers on the front lines.
"Lu Bu, you say..."
Sending his adopted daughter Lu Bu to the front lines.
Dong Zhuo had been thinking that Lu Bu would not betray him, but for some reason, sending her to the front lines felt uncomfortable.
However, Dong Zhuo had no options.
Among the units currently stationed in Luoyang, the Lu Bu army was the only one that could stop the Sun Jian army.
"I appoint Lu Bu as the General of the Martial Guard! I shall grant her the authority to act as a commander and rule a legion. Lead the Bingzhou troops and strike down the traitor Sun Jian!"
Dong Zhuo finally made his decision.
While making Lu Bu the General of the Martial Guard, he urged her to advance valiantly and subjugate Sun Jian.
There are not many troops stationed in Yangren and Yangcheng.
They would not be able to stop Sun Jian for long. They must be stopped before they cross Mount Song.
The Lu Bu army finally sortied from Luoyang.
The Bingzhou Cavalry led by the General of the Martial Guard Lu Bu dashed forward fiercely, and the infantry followed behind, marching eastward.
"Finally, finally!!"
The time to catch Sun Jian has come.
Lu Bu had extremely high expectations, saying that her fame would shake the world through this battle.
"You're very excited."
"That is because you have been waiting until now."
Zhang Liao replied to my words.
Well, she had endured for a long time for Lu Bu.
I had been watching her, worried about when she would explode. If the Sun Jian army had not started their advance, a very difficult situation would have occurred in the Lu Bu army.
"If you pass through Yiyang from Luoyang and go down the mountain path, you will immediately reach Yangren."
Before long, the Lu Bu army arrived at Yiyang.
A messenger who had just come from that direction was heading to Luoyang. We heard detailed news from that messenger.
"We have received requests for reinforcements from both Yangren and Yangcheng simultaneously. It was a report that Yuan Shu is attacking Yangren, and Sun Jian is attacking Yangcheng."
"Yuan Shu?"
I asked back at the messenger's report.
Why would Yuan Shu, who is performing the miracle of being cured of cancer by cancer from his fellow warlords at Sishui Pass, have followed Sun Jian all the way here?
This is an unexpected event.
To think that Yuan Shu would intervene. Although it is said that the Sun Jian army is located under the Yuan Shu army, I did not know they would coordinate this closely.
"What shall we do?"
I asked Lu Bu.
For our side, both Yangren and Yangcheng are important strongholds.
Neither stronghold must be taken. If Sishui Pass is blocked, the Coalition Army will aim for the Mount Song stronghold. There was a concern that it would be used as a forward base for them.
"Yuan Shu is nothing. They are just a bunch of stragglers with only numbers. So, I will leave it to you. I will kill that guy named Sun Jian and return."
Lu Bu said confidently.
There was confidence that she would definitely kill Sun Jian and return.
If they fight with strength against strength, there is no way she will be pushed back.
It could become a headache if Lu Bu falls for the enemy's scheme, but Sun Jian was brave, but not a general with outstanding strategy.
"So, we are splitting into two?"
"That's right. I will take Mun-won."
"Then I am with Gao Shun. If I take the Hanjin Camp, I will be able to hold out even against a large army."
I nodded at Lu Bu's opinion.
That method would be the best for now. Because we were in a position where we had to defend both strongholds, we had to split our forces and intercept the enemy.
"General Gao Shun, I am counting on you."
"Please leave it to me."
Gao Shun said with a short nod.
The Hanjin Camp all came under my command. My shoulders shrugged on their own at their reliable appearance.
"Since the distance is close, we should have enough leeway to send reinforcements."
"Got it."
I ended up parting ways with Lu Bu.
It was decided that Lu Bu and Zhang Liao would head to Yangren where Sun Jian would be, and I and Gao Shun would head to Yangcheng where the Yuan Shu army was.
The Eight Jian Generals were also split into two.
It amounts to about 10,000 by replenishing troops in Luoyang. Those 10,000 troops were divided in half, becoming units of 5,000 and 5,000.
"The Yuan Shu army is just a bunch of small fries with many troops! But since we cannot ignore the difference in troop numbers, we must fight carefully!"
"Yes!"
I headed to Yangcheng with 5,000 troops.
As expected, Yangcheng was being subjected to an all-out attack from the enemy's unit.
Black smoke billowed up.
I could see Yangcheng gradually collapsing as flames surged.
"Sun Jian...?"
The unit attacking Yangcheng was, contrary to the messenger's report, the troops led by Sun Jian.
Did the messenger report falsely?
No, that cannot be. That messenger was clearly a military officer belonging to the Dong Zhuo army.
That means, it was a trick to intentionally send Lu Bu to Yangren, having anticipated in advance that the Lu Bu army stationed in Luoyang would come to support.
"The enemy is attacking our allies! Everyone, take an attack formation!"
However, nothing changes.
Although I met the Sun Jian army contrary to expectations, the mission to drive out the enemy before the stronghold falls has not changed.
Let's drive the Sun Jian army out of Yangcheng.
I told myself that and drew my sword.
Sun Jian is a fierce general recognized by everyone.
His swordsmanship is superior to any other general, and his horse-spear technique of stabbing from on top of a horse has also been evaluated as a top-class skill.
He is truly a superhuman martial artist.
The war record of roaming the entire Jing Province under Yuan Shu's orders and killing the Administrator of Nanyang Zhang Zi and the Inspector of Jing Province Wang Rui was proof of his bravery.
"Attack!"
The Lu Bu army stabbed at the rear of the Sun Jian army attacking the stronghold.
But the Sun Jian army was already prepared to counterattack.
They had anticipated in advance that the enemy's reinforcements would come from Luoyang, and they had even prepared a response for it, so there was no confusion from the sudden surprise attack.
Rather, they carried out a fierce counterattack.
The subordinates led by Sun Jian, who was wearing a red bandana, rushed at the Lu Bu army.
"You lackeys of the traitor Dong Zhuo!"
"You soldiers of the bitch who has three fathers, take my sword!"
The Lu Bu army is a corps composed of the elites of Bingzhou.
And the Sun Jian army is a group of battle-hardened veterans who have subjugated numerous warlords under Yuan Shu.
Each other's combat power is close to being evenly matched.
Moreover, the Sun Jian army, which receives support from Yuan Shu, even had more troops than the 5,000-strong Lu Bu army.
"Are you the head here?"
A man wearing a red bandana.
Sun Jian swung a sharply shining sword, smashed the military officers who were blocking his path, and reached Lee Seong-hwi.
His bravery is like a tiger.
After clearing the obstacles blocking his path by swinging his claws, he threw his body agilely to bite his prey.
'I'm the prey? Don't make me laugh. I'm a person who shouldn't die here!'
Lee Seong-hwi gritted his teeth.
And then, he swung his sword and clashed with Sun Jian, who is called the Tiger of Jiangdong.
"Nice to meet you, Sun Jian!"
"You knew my name. Your name is... No, I'm not particularly curious."
Jjeoeong! Jjeojeojeong!!
The sword and sword collided, and a metallic sound rang out.
Lee Seong-hwi was pushed into a defensive position by the sword strikes falling like lightning, but he soon began to launch a counterattack and pushed the fight equally.
It is thanks to the sparring with Lu Bu.
Although it was a sparring session that took place over a short period, perhaps the potential ability coming from a martial power of 100 could not be ignored, so he immediately demonstrated his ability in actual combat.
Actual combat where one's life is at stake.
The only way to draw out potential ability is through actual fighting.
'The strongest fierce general of Eastern Wu! If you look at the martial power stat simply, his daughter Sun Ce would be superior... but Sun Jian has seasoned actual combat experience.'
He has been serving as a subordinate under Yuan Shu until now.
Whenever he was ordered to kill someone, he continued to take on the mission of immediately taking their head.
He has never failed an order once.
Sun Jian, who cut down and killed numerous influential figures in Jing Province as Yuan Shu ordered, could be called a fierce general created by the chaotic times.
'This guy, he's quite something. Was there a guy like this besides Lu Bu and Hua Xiong? Even if his skill is still immature... what is this, this monstrous strength!'
Sun Jian was quite flustered.
Could it be that there was a general under Lu Bu who could fight on equal terms with him?
He had never heard of it until now.
If only Lu Bu weren't there, he would be able to deal with them in an instant. Wasn't that why he lured Lu Bu to the Yangren area?
Jjeoeoeoeong!!!
Sun Jian was pushed back by the attack Lee Seong-hwi swung heavily.
"Th, that, good heavens..."
"The Lord is being pushed back? Such an absurd thing!"
He encountered an unexpected stumbling block.
He faced an enemy who shattered his arrogance, which he thought would be easy to win, as thoroughly as breaking a bowl.
Sun Jian bared his teeth and laughed.
Yes, if it's a fight for the world, there should be this much hardship. It is strange that things have gone too easily until now.
'But I must continue to win. I will win and win, and someday I will definitely make the name Sun Jian shake the world!'
His martial arts skill was clearly superior to Sun Jian's.
The martial arts that come from seasoned skill and experience shone even in a fight that was being fought equally.
"You can't pass here, Sun Jian."
Lee Seong-hwi swung his sword with all his might.
What he is aiming for is not Sun Jian.
It was the horse Sun Jian was riding. As its neck was cut deeply, it wailed in pain and dropped Sun Jian, who was riding on its back.
'If you go any further from here, Dong Zhuo will feel the danger, burn Luoyang, and move the capital to Chang'an. Even if I can't stop the move to Chang'an, I will definitely stop that pig bastard from turning Luoyang into ashes!'
He must stop Sun Jian here.
Lee Seong-hwi was burning with a sense of duty to protect Luoyang.
And, the Lu Bu army never loses in a fight.
For the honor of the Lord who represents the unit, even if the opponent is the Tiger of Jiangdong, one cannot just step back.
"Sun Mundai!"
"Why are you calling my name? It's making me attached!"
Sun Jian swung his sword and attacked the legs of the horse Lee Seong-hwi was riding.
Then the horse lost its strength and collapsed.
Just like Sun Jian, who lost his horse to Lee Seong-hwi, Lee Seong-hwi also lost the horse he was riding.
The two generals set foot on the ground.
And at that moment, Lee Seong-hwi and Sun Jian began to engage in a rough fight that could not be compared to when they swung swords on horseback.
"Kuaaa!"
Sun Jian shouted and rushed in.
While in a state of close proximity, he swung his sword and aimed for Lee Seong-hwi's neck with that blade.
While the struggle for strength continued, Lee Seong-hwi moved his head greatly and delivered a headbutt to Sun Jian's head.
"Ptoo! You fight pretty well for someone who looks like a scholar."
Sun Jian spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth.
Blood also began to flow from his nose, but Sun Jian did not care.
It is natural to get injured in a fight.
Sun Jian is not the type to back down as if he had been caught off guard just because he was headbutted once.
"A father with three daughters is stronger than anyone else. Unlike your Lord who has three fathers, I have a lot to take responsibility for."
As if to provoke Lee Seong-hwi, Sun Jian threw words mocking Lu Bu.