Spring in Luoyang (2)
Dong Zhuo's forces had taken a devastating blow with the annihilation of the Imperial Guard and Luoyang's Central Army. But Dong Zhuo's army still possessed formidable military strength.
The iron cavalry of Bing Province.
The horse archers and mounted corps of Yong Province and Liang Province.
Only a small portion of the cavalry forces had been mobilized to the Sishui Pass front. Most of the cavalry remained stationed in Sili Province, their strength fully intact.
Lü Bu, Peerless Under Heaven
Dong Zhuo's mightiest warrior, the representative champion of his army, had returned after annihilating the forces of Wang Kuang, Governor of Henei. As soon as the thick dust settled, countless red banners displayed the majesty of the Peerless Under Heaven.
"L-Lü Bu...?! You bitch, how dare you!"
"Protect the young lord!"
Tangled blonde hair like a wild beast's mane.
Red eyes flickering like will-o'-the-wisps.
A monster wearing the guise of a beautiful woman.
Though she was a peerless beauty with a full bosom and a voluptuous figure, no one could feel the slightest desire—the overwhelming pressure she exuded made it impossible. The merciless killing intent and fighting spirit radiating from Lü Bu's entire being were more than enough to prove her reputation as Peerless Under Heaven.
"Vermin preying on an empty house!"
The Sky-Piercing Halberd.
She lifted the enormous weapon with one hand.
"Aaaagh!"
"Stop Lü Bu! We must protect the young lord!!"
Nanyang Prefecture's officers were swept away helplessly by the overwhelming violence. Though they stood in the front line resolved to die, they could not last even a single exchange.
The Sky-Piercing Halberd weighed over one hundred geun.
It was essentially an iron ingot forged into the shape of a weapon.
The tip of the Sky-Piercing Halberd tore through any defense, no matter how sturdy. Proving as much, Nanyang's officers scattered blood and brain matter as their thick armor shattered along with the sharp spears and blades they had raised.
"Officers and soldiers of Nanyang, stop that monster bitch!"
"With Luoyang right before our eyes, a brute like this appears!"
A monster.
The being before them was unmistakably a monster.
The Bing Province cavalry blocking the vanguard did not move. The ferocious, savage monster broke through the battle lines alone and trampled Yuan Shu's forces.
"Damn it! Damn it, damn it!! To think a monster like that was coiled up in Luoyang! What the hell is that southern bumpkin doing instead of keeping a brute like that tied down?!"
He himself was the one who had rashly moved his troops without confirming the situation in Luoyang. And he himself was the one who had driven Wang Kuang, Governor of Henei, to his death.
But now Yuan Shu had no room for cool-headed judgment.
Lü Bu—
that relentless monster was coming after him.
If he delayed even a moment, he would be caught.
With a single shriek, Yuan Shu fled the battle line in utter panic. It was a base and cowardly act—he would sacrifice every officer and soldier of Nanyang if it meant he could escape.
* * *
Yuan Shu's army, which had advanced alone like a maverick, was annihilated. Furthermore, Wang Kuang, Governor of Henei, who had promised to provide troops and supplies once the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition reached Luoyang, had been killed in action.
The Guandong Coalition Army, which had grown arrogant after breaking through Sishui Pass with such ease that it was nearly a bloodless entry into the city, sank into gloom the moment they received word of Yuan Shu's forces and Wang Kuang. And so the local officials blamed Yuan Shu's recklessness and foolishness while waiting for Liu Seong-hwi to join them with the main army.
"Rear General Yuan Shu was nothing but a rash and frivolous man with no substance. That is precisely why I entrusted him with no role whatsoever."
He had violated military discipline and forced an unauthorized attack, losing most of his troops.
Whether Yuan Shu feared the coalition's punishment or not, he fled to Nanyang Prefecture with his close aides. The blow was so devastating that it threatened his faction's very survival—he would not be able to rise again for years.
'Even setting aside the fact that Nanyang's useless third-raters have been swept away... the real problem is the Peerless Under Heaven. The Bing Province cavalry and Xiliang horsemen are defending Luoyang like an iron wall—this won't be easy to break through.'
To enter Luoyang, they would have to cross the vast plain that Lü Bu's army was blockading.
Impossible.
The moment they stepped onto that plain, they would be trampled under cavalry hooves.
But Lü Bu's army was in the same position—they could not attack recklessly either. If they trusted only in their personal martial prowess and attempted a charge, the southern archers and crossbowmen would turn them into pincushions in an instant.
"Alliance Leader!"
How should we deal with Lü Bu's army?
I was deep in thought about our approach when unexpected news arrived.
Dong Zhuo's side had sent an envoy requesting negotiations.
"I am Cavalry Commandant Li Su. It is an honor to be granted an audience with the Southern Heir, whose majestic martial fame resounds across the world, making even the grasses and trees of the mountains tremble in fear."
"Spare me the empty pleasantries. Get to the point, and be quick about it. If you wag that treacherous tongue of yours carelessly, I'll shoot you dead on the spot."
Do not imagine that the unwritten rule of all ages—that envoys are not to be harmed—will hold here.
I gave the warning with a bow already in my hand.
"Might you dismiss your attendants so that we may speak privately?"
"Shut up."
The local officials of Guandong were seated to either side, observing the scene. The atmosphere was so menacing that they looked ready to draw their swords at any moment, and Li Su showed clear signs of discomfort.
Li Su.
The traveling persuader who had coaxed Lü Bu into betrayal.
He had offered the famous steed of the age, Red Hare, and talked her into murdering her adoptive father and liege, Ding Yuan, Inspector of Bing Province, and defecting to Dong Zhuo's side.
How far could he overcome this crisis with his glib tongue alone?
He must know better than anyone that if he tried any pathetic sophistry, he would meet a miserable end like Li Yiji, thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. That was precisely why I deliberately drove Li Su into a corner.
"His Excellency the Grand Preceptor is sincerely troubled that the cruel flames that began on the Sishui Pass front may burn Luoyang as well. He has said that if the Southern Heir will lead the Guandong lords back to their posts, he will cede all territory south of the Huai River."
"Territory south of the Huai River..."
"And he has promised that once the war ends and peace arrives, he will bestow high offices and noble titles upon the local officials of Guandong. Rare gold, silver, treasures, and beautiful women will be granted as well, of course."
"So he means to buy goodwill with riches. Is that not so?"
Offices and titles.
Rewards sufficient to tempt and beguile.
While there were lords who sought to usurp the absolute position and power Dong Zhuo had seized, most lords—timid and small-minded—simply wanted offices and titles.
Was he planning to end the war through negotiation?
Or was he stalling for time under the pretense of talks?
If the coalition army, formed to punish the arch-traitor of the ages, turned back seduced by offices and titles, they would earn the condemnation of the entire realm. Countless renowned scholars out of office would be deeply disillusioned, saying the coalition had colluded with a traitor to rival Wang Mang.
"General Who Defeats the Barbarians."
"Command me."
The Tiger of Jiangdong.
When I called for Sun Jian, Li Su's face was overtaken by alarm.
"Fry him alive in oil."
"As you command!"
Sun Jian's soldiers entered the command tent.
Li Su threw himself flat on the ground and crawled forward, begging for his life.
"P-please, spare my life! I am an envoy representing the Imperial House and the Imperial Court! In all of history, there is no precedent for killing an envoy sent on a diplomatic mission! How can the heir of a Vassal King commit such injustice?!"
"Injustice? That's rich, coming from the people who murdered the Han Emperor and Empress Dowager in broad daylight."
Cavalry Commandant Li Su and his party of twenty-odd men were thrown alive into an iron cauldron of boiling oil.
Soon, wretched screams rang out, and they met the same end as Li Yiji.
* * *
When Dong Zhuo received word that Cavalry Commandant Li Su and the entire envoy had suffered the gruesome boiling execution, he erupted in fury. His pride had been wounded—the paltry rebels of Guandong had murdered his envoy, his as the protector of the Imperial House and the Imperial Court.
No more negotiations with rebels.
Anyone who speaks of negotiation again, regardless of rank, will be beheaded.
Dong Zhuo's stern order was delivered to Lü Bu's army, which was camped on the wide plain defending Luoyang. Hearing it, Lü Bu hummed a tune with a savage expression.
"Their camp formation looks fairly decent. It won't be settled quickly, I'd say."
"Be careful. If you so much as enter their effective range, the enemy archers and crossbowmen will turn you into a pincushion."
The Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition had camped at Yanshi County, building wooden palisades and defensive walls and pitching their tents. Fully fortified, Yanshi County now possessed the imposing appearance of a stockade fortress.
It was preparation against cavalry charges.
And it was to secure the safety of their archers and crossbowmen.
Even a slight approach would turn anyone into a pincushion.
Lü Bu nodded at Army Protector Wei Xu's reply and observed the coalition army's encampment, spread wide across the horizon.
"Commander, the rebel ringleader has sent you a letter."
"A letter? I can't read."
"Yes...! I shall read it for you."
"Hurry up and read it."
When she returned from reconnaissance,
Lü Bu learned that Liu Seong-hwi had sent her a letter.
The letter had been sent sealed in a red silk pouch, as if treating her with the courtesy due to a regional lord. But that effort was wasted—Lü Bu was completely illiterate and reacted with indifference.
Just read it first.
At Lü Bu's command, Wei Xu nodded.
-This Greatest Archer Under Heaven geezer proposes an archery match to the slut who's had herself three different daddies. If you're the Flying General of Dong Zhuo's army who claims to be the strongest, you won't refuse, of course. If you're scared of losing, though, I don't mind if you turn it down.
-Didn't know if you're Lü Bu, Zheng Bu, or Dong Bu, so I put all three names as the addressee.
"You son of a bitch!"
Crack—
She gripped the Sky-Piercing Halberd tightly.
A slut with three daddies.
The moment she heard that insulting slur, she spat out a curse.