The Most Fearsome Man After Recovery
After completing my recovery, I became the most fearsome man once again. Our great victory at Baima had been decisive. Yet even so, the Cao army quickly prepared to abandon Baima and withdraw to the rear. News that Yan Liang had been slain and the first army completely annihilated must have already spread throughout Yuan Shao’s camp. While they busied themselves with their own preparations, I began to move little by little as well.
“Hurry up! Gather every last grain of military rations there, and make sure to wash all the weapons and armor in hot water before packing them!”
“Husband, the physician told you to rest,” Lu Ming said, sticking close to my side and supporting me. Still, my wounds had healed considerably. Several weeks had already passed since our first defeat at Baima, so it was finally time to start moving again.
“We’ll be emptying Baima soon, and Brother Wenyuan will head down to Xudu to resupply. I’ll go with him then.”
“Are you tired of me?”
I stroked Lu Ming’s silver hair and pulled her into my arms.
“I’m truly grateful you stayed by my side and nursed me. But a much larger battle is coming. You know we’re evacuating the civilians in the surrounding area too, right? We have no idea what might happen.”
Lu Ming overflowed with affection for me, but she had zero interest in understanding anything beyond that. I had to soothe this wild girl as much as possible and send her safely back to Xudu. So even while we were abandoning Baima Castle, I continued persuading her until she finally agreed to leave with Zhang Liao.
“We depart tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Lu Ming lay in bed, carefully examining my body. The stab wounds had been cleaned, stitched, and were healing well. The sprained ankle had lost its swelling and I could walk without issue. Even the cracked ribs were slowly mending.
“Hmm, you really have recovered incredibly fast. Your firm body is just like before.”
Her pale white hands roamed from my face down my neck, kneading every part of me as they gradually moved lower.
“And this part is still so hard!”
“Wait—!”
After massaging my abs, her hand slid even lower and finally slipped inside my pants. The moment she stroked it, it stood rigidly at attention. Lu Ming licked her lips and slowly climbed on top of me. As if she had prepared in advance, she untied the knot of her underwear at her hips, slipped off the thin string panties, and placed them over my face.
Then, just as she always did, she mounted me.
“I’ll take some energy from you before I go to Xudu.”
Right before a major battle… she really was something else.
“What did you just say? Yan Liang has been killed and the entire Baima garrison annihilated?”
“This servant begs your pardon, Grand General!”
“Ah, aigoo! My neck—!”
“Grand General!”
“Please calm yourself, Grand General!”
After their first victory, Yuan Shao staggered and clutched the back of his neck upon hearing that Yan Liang, who had led the first army, had been slain in a crushing defeat. As his advisors on both sides rushed to support him, he snapped irritably.
“Is that bastard Cao Zirel some kind of immortal? Or was there an even more monstrous fellow there?”
“Grand General, after Cao Xiu withdrew, the general who arrived from Xudu was a towering warrior over nine chi tall with a long, flowing beard…”
“W-what? A giant of nine chi with a long beard? That can only be—!”
A single name flashed through Yuan Shao’s mind. The man who had been unable to send troops to Hebei last time due to a supposed plague, the guest general who had retreated from Xuzhou and come here—Liu Bei’s sworn brother, Guan Yu. He had seen that face before, back when Guan Yu fought alongside Liu Bei against Gongsun Zan.
“The one who ambushed Yan Liang could only have been Guan Yu! Liu Bei, that despicable scoundrel!”
“Grand General, please calm down. Imperial Uncle Liu has already pledged himself to you.”
“That’s right, my lord. You must think this through carefully.”
“Silence! Where is Liu Bei?! Bring that bastard here at once! I will execute him for colluding with the enemy!”
“My lord!”
At that moment, one advisor desperately held Yuan Shao back. It was Guo Tu.
“My lord, Imperial Uncle Liu left the camp two days ago.”
“What?”
“Did you not order him to go to Qingzhou with the wise scholar Mr. Gong and recruit additional troops?”
Although Liu Bei had indeed submitted to Yuan Shao, before the matter of Guan Yu came up, he had been conveniently sent away by Yuan Shao’s own command—along with Yuan Tan—to gather forces from Qingzhou.
“Ugh! Then send word to Tan immediately and have him kill Liu Bei!”
“My lord, that is absolutely out of the question! Have you forgotten? It was Imperial Uncle Liu who recommended the wise scholar Mr. Gong so that he could leave his post and take office.”
The recommendation system. A man of reputation would discover talented individuals in the region and recommend them to the court. The person Liu Bei had recommended while in Hebei was none other than Yuan Shao’s eldest son, Yuan Tan. The one who recommended another became their guarantor, essentially their benefactor who enabled them to enter service—treated almost like a teacher or lord.
And yet here was Yuan Shao, nearly ordering his own son to kill the very man who had given his son such a great opportunity.
“My lord, when Imperial Uncle Liu returns, we should at least hear his explanation first. We must determine whether this is Cao Cao’s scheme or if he truly is serving as a guest general over there.”
“And if it really was Guan Yu?”
“Then we can immediately place all blame for the defeat on Imperial Uncle Liu. It would be the perfect opportunity to rally the army, would it not?”
“O-oh! Indeed!”
Yuan Shao’s mind began spinning in a completely different direction.
“Alright, with this the reorganization is complete. Everyone, we head for Yanjin!”
After completely emptying Baima, we shifted the battlefield to Yanjin. Lu Ming left early that morning, and I received a new horse. After several weeks, I was finally able to ride again.
“Zirel, is your body truly alright?”
“In another day or two, I’ll be able to charge straight at the enemy commander.”
“Tsk tsk, your face looks terrible. Those dark circles under your eyes… just how much have you been worrying?”
Well, that was because a certain someone had thoroughly drained me yesterday while I was trying to replenish my energy…
“If the enemy comes down from Yanjin, I will handle them this time. I rested too much in the beginning.”
“Hahaha, very well. But don’t overdo it.”
After arriving at Yanjin, the Cao army gathered thirty thousand troops and prepared to face Yuan Shao’s second invasion coming down the Yellow River.
“My lord, abandoning Baima Castle and concentrating our forces at Yanjin was an excellent strategy. Had I been there, I would have suggested the same.”
Liu Ye, who was already at Yanjin, nodded in approval at the decision to gather the troops here after the Baima forces withdrew.
“It was a plan devised by Gongda and Zirel. A massive battle is about to break out here, so we must prepare thoroughly.”
Liu Ye glanced slyly at both me and Xun You before nodding again.
“Indeed. What is the current situation here?”
“According to intelligence, the Yuan Shao army is advancing in two columns. After the first wave under Yan Liang was annihilated, the second wave under Wen Chou is heading for Yanjin, while the third wave—composed of troops from Qingzhou—will descend on Baima.”
“Who are the commanders of these three armies?”
“Yuan Shao’s eldest son, Yuan Tan, also serves as Inspector of Qingzhou. Since he is leading troops, it seems his sons will be taking the field.”
“Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi? Those brats are just like their father Benchu—arrogant snobs who think their noses reach the heavens.”
They were heading for the now-empty Baima while Wen Chou advanced on Yanjin. If we were not careful, the two armies could trap us in a pincer. We had to prepare.
“My lord, the most important thing right now is dealing with Wen Chou’s army coming down to Yanjin. Yuan Shao’s sons will waste a great deal of time rebuilding the destroyed ferry at Baima and setting up camp in the abandoned castle.”
“So we must capture Wen Chou before then. But I hear that Wen Chou is no easy opponent either.”
It would have been good if Guan Yu were here, but after beheading Yan Liang at Baima, he had gone to Fuyang for a while to handle the rear prisoners. He said he would return if the situation called for it. Of course, I had every intention of taking Wen Chou’s head before then.
“Uncle, my body has fully recovered. I will strike the enemy together with Uncle Xiahou at Yanjin.”
At Baima we had Guan Yu, Dian Wei, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, and Zhang Liao. Here we had Xiahou Dun, Liu Ye, myself, along with Xu Chu, Dian Wei, and Xu Huang serving under the Cao army as well.
“Good. Then I shall entrust the task of capturing Wen Chou to you and Yuanyang.”
“My lord, unlike Baima, Yanjin has narrow, treacherous paths after the fleet docks. There are many excellent spots for an ambush.”
“Then Gongda and Ziyang, come up with a plan to catch that Wen Chou fellow.”
“Yes, my lord.”
While we were at Yanjin devising our strategy, I stood within the camp and gazed at the Yellow River stretching into the distance.
“Zirel.”
“Ah, Uncle Xiahou.”
Xiahou Dun handed me a bamboo container filled with wine. As I sat beside him enjoying the night breeze and the sight of the river, he chuckled and patted my shoulder.
“Are you really alright?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“I heard Aman cried because she thought you were going to die. That girl never cries, so it was quite a shock.”
“Thanks to that, I spent several weeks lying down watching the war situation. I was so restless I thought I’d go insane.”
Having been effectively out of action for over six weeks and only able to serve in a staff role with my head instead of my body, I intended to take the field properly starting from Yanjin.
“The order was Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Chunyu Qiong, and Yuan Xi. Someone else took care of Yan Liang for us, so I plan to take Wen Chou myself.”
“If the situation allows, I’ll hand him over to you right away. As for me these days… I can’t exactly lead the charge myself.”
In truth, even at Yanjin, I would be the one leading the vanguard against Wen Chou’s army. Since Xun You and Liu Ye were preparing the strategy to capture him, I would spend the time sharpening my blade and getting used to my new horse. The next battle would mark my return to the front lines as a warrior!