Free Web NovelChapter 199: Destruction and Madness
Long Chen nodded; Guo Jia was right. Wang Yun indeed looked down upon Lü Bu and other military generals, as well as their soldiers.
This was one of the reasons Long Chen was able to quickly recruit these soldiers under his command.
After a pause, Guo Jia continued:
"Secondly, Wang Yun is stubborn and self-righteous!"
"From the incident where he harshly wanted to execute the renowned scholar Cai Yong, we can see this clearly."
"Cai Yong merely wept over Dong Zhuo’s death, and for this, he was thrown into prison and almost executed. If not for the lord’s benevolence in rescuing him, Cai Yong would have..."
"Sigh, Wang Yun, despite being a Confucian scholar and famous intellectual, insisted on persecuting Cai Yong with untenable reasons."
"This act is a denial of the intellectual class, almost akin to cultural destruction, similar to the eunuchs’ previous purges."
"As a result, Wang Yun’s actions undoubtedly lost him the support of scholars and noble families. How could he hope to achieve anything significant without their support?"
"Thirdly, Wang Yun misjudged the situation!"
"After killing Dong Zhuo, it was a time when the Western Liang army was leaderless, like a scattered band."
"They feared retribution from the Eastern lords and were trembling in fear."
"If Wang Yun had listened to our advice at that time."
"To eliminate potential threats and balance the ambitious Eastern lords, we should have pacified the Western Liang army and used them to deter Yuan Shao and others."
"Then the Western Liang army could have been used by us!"
"Unfortunately, Wang Yun is truly foolish. He believed that the ’righteous army’ of the Eastern lords were all his students and would not have any ill intentions."
"He also did not believe that Yuan Shao and the other lords would betray the court."
"So he directly advocated for a forceful disarmament of Dong Zhuo’s generals."
"Isn’t that forcing them to rebel?!"
After Guo Jia finished speaking, Long Chen felt as if a cloud had been lifted from his eyes.
The explanations from this top strategist made Long Chen think more deeply about problems he only partially understood before.
"So... what should we do next?"
Guo Jia smiled, cupped his hands, and said, "The lord already has a good plan in mind, why ask Jia for advice?"
"Hahaha! Who knows me better than you, Fengxiao!"
Long Chen exclaimed, putting his arm around Guo Jia’s shoulder, and they drank wine together.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
After returning to Liang Province, Li Jue and his group sent spies throughout Liang Province to spread rumors.
The rumor said:
"Wang Yun intends to cleanse the counties of Liang Province!"
Upon hearing this, the people of Liang Province were all terrified, fearing that one day Wang Yun might indeed send an army to cleanse their counties.
Seeing everyone in a state of panic, Jia Xu, with an innocuous smile, cupped his hands towards Li Jue and said:
"General, the time is ripe!"
Li Jue then declared in the counties of Liang Province:
"Rather than dying under Wang Yun’s knife, why not follow me and fight to the death?"
Everyone agreed to follow him.
Thus, Li Jue and the other three generals gathered tens of thousands of troops, divided into four columns, and marched on Chang’an.
On the way, they encountered Dong Zhuo’s son-in-law, Zhonglang General Niu Fu, leading five thousand troops to avenge his father-in-law. Li Jue joined forces with him, making him the vanguard.
The four generals set out one after another.
The storm was coming; upon learning that the Western Liang army was returning, the people of Chang’an dared not leave their homes...
The fierceness of the soldiers from Xiliang had deeply penetrated into the hearts of the common people.
Upon hearing that the Xiliang troops were coming, Wang Yun, on the high platform, discussed with Long Chen and Lü Bu.
Lü Bu, pounding his chest with pride, replied, "Minister, rest assured. These rats are not worth worrying about!"
"Only a charge from me and my troops will be enough to crush them!"
Long Chen remained silent beside Lü Bu.
He knew how proud Lü Bu was. If he wanted to tame this wild beast, he had to let him taste defeat.
And at the moment of his defeat, he would bring forth his elite troops, suddenly defeating Lü Bu’s enemies.
Only then would Lü Bu willingly submit to him.
Therefore, Long Chen didn’t say much. Wang Yun also remained silent. In matters of military affairs, Wang Yun’s attitude was the same as Lü Bu’s.
A single decisive victory was all that was needed!
Lü Bu then led Li Su and the generals out of the city to meet the enemy.
Long Chen followed behind them.
Lü Bu grinned at Long Chen and said, "Brother Jueming, let me take the credit for this first battle!"
Although Long Chen chuckled inwardly, he still replied with a cupped hand, "Then I shall trouble the Marquis."
Eager to prove himself, Li Su took the lead in the battle and encountered Dong Zhuo’s son-in-law, Niu Fu, killing many.
Unable to withstand the onslaught, Niu Fu fled.
Feeling even more arrogant, Li Su looked down even more on the rebels from Xiliang.
That night, while camping in the wilderness, due to his contempt for Niu Fu, Li Su did not arrange for many guards.
Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night,
Niu Fu took advantage of Li Su’s lack of defense and attacked the camp.
In the chaos, Li Su’s army scattered, retreating over thirty miles, losing half of their troops, and came to see Lü Bu.
Enraged, Lü Bu pointed at Li Su and angrily reprimanded, "How dare you dampen our morale!"
He then executed Li Su, hanging his head on the gates of the camp.
Seeing this from behind Lü Bu’s army, Long Chen felt slightly relieved. It seemed that the plot was unfolding similarly to his previous life.
Li Su was Lü Bu’s fellow townsman who had once led him to Dong Zhuo’s camp.
Unexpectedly, he was executed because of his defeat in the first battle!
On the one hand, it showed Lü Bu’s strict military discipline.
On the other hand, it also showed Lü Bu’s cold-hearted nature.
But in Long Chen’s view, military discipline should be like this, strictly enforcing the law!
The next morning,
Lü Bu led his troops to confront Niu Fu.
Armed with two whirlwind black axes, how could Niu Fu stand up against Lü Bu, who was like a fire god?
"You’re just a bunch of rats! How dare you stand against me! Die!"
Riding his Red Hare divine steed, Lü Bu swept towards Niu Fu like a whirlwind, his heavy halberd striking down.
Boom—
A huge blade, filled with demonic flames, flew out, accompanied by a rolling wave of heat.
After just a few rounds,
Niu Fu was defeated and fled.
Lü Bu took advantage of the situation and charged forward, causing Niu Fu’s army to lose their helmets and armor, becoming completely routed.
Loud and arrogant laughter echoed across the plains as Lü Bu revelled in his victory.
"Hahaha!!! You rats, who dares to fight me!?"
Meanwhile, Long Chen rode atop the majestic and powerful Five-Star Beast - the Ice Dragon King, silently observing everything from the rear.
His eyes remained calm, unaffected by Lü Bu’s victory or defeat.
At this moment,
A phrase suddenly popped into his mind.
"When God wishes to destroy someone, He first drives them mad..."
That night,
Niu Fu summoned his trusted confidant, Hu Chier, to discuss:
"Lü Bu is brave and skilled in battle. We cannot possibly compete with him."
"We should deceive Li Jue and the other four, secretly hoard gold, silver, and jewels, and abandon the army with only a few loyal followers." frёewebnoѵēl.com
Having had previous interactions with Lü Bu, Niu Fu knew just how fierce he could be!
With his mediocre martial skills, he would only end up losing his head to Lü Bu.
So why not escape sooner rather than later?
The reason Niu Fu had previously shouted the slogan of reclaiming Chang’an to avenge his father-in-law Dong Zhuo was simple - to rally the remaining Xiliang army.
