With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 117, Lü Bu's Daughter

"Ok?"

Yuan Shu blinked his triangular eyes and looked at the group of civil and military officials below.

Chief Secretary Yang Hong nodded to him, stepped forward, and said, “Your Majesty, we naturally understand the principle of interdependence, but Lü Bu has always been fickle and is really hard to trust. It would be better to let him send his daughter to Shouchun first, and then we can send troops.”

Yuan Shu stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "That makes sense. Let's do it that way."

No matter how much Xu Si and Wang Kai pleaded, Yuan Shu refused to budge, clearly indicating that he wouldn't send troops until he saw Lü Bu's daughter.

The two finally managed to fight their way back to Xiapi, where they met Lü Bu and reported back truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu was also troubled.

Sitting behind the command desk, Lü Bu stared, both angry and helpless. After an unknown amount of time, Lü Bu suddenly slammed his fist on the command desk, which shook violently and made a loud noise, almost shattering with Lü Bu's punch.

Faced with the pressing situation, Lü Bu stood up, sighed heavily, and then turned and went to the inner palace.

Lü Bu has only one daughter, who is sixteen years old this year, born to his principal wife, Lady Yan.

After meeting Lady Yan, Lü Bu held back for a long time before finally telling her the story.

Yan remained silent for a long time. After a while, she covered her face with her sleeve and began to sob.

Lu Bu panicked. He was a powerful and fearless figure outside, but when facing his wife and daughters, he became weak and intimidated.

After crying for a long time, Madam Yan looked at him with teary eyes and scolded, "You are a hero who roams the world, riding horses and wielding halberds, yet you have to use your daughter to save your life. We only have this one daughter. How can you bear it?"

Yan's words struck a chord with Lü Bu, who was filled with shame, gritted his teeth, and glared at her, unable to refute her.

The mighty Lü Bu, who looked down upon the world, had to rely on his daughter to save his life.

After a while, their daughter, Lü Lingqi, came in from outside. Hearing their conversation, Lü Lingqi kept shaking her head.

“My daughter does not wish to marry, much less marry the son of a usurper. Father saved the emperor in the past and was granted the title of Marquis of Wen by the court, but Yuan Shu has already usurped the throne and declared himself emperor. Even if my daughter marries him, my daughter and I will be condemned by thousands and cursed by the world.”

Lü Lingqi inherited Lü Bu's excellent genes; she was tall and had a stunningly beautiful appearance.

She possessed a unique temperament, combining the gentle tenderness of a woman with the heroic spirit of a man. From a young age, she didn't particularly like women's clothing, preferring instead horseback riding, archery, and martial arts.

Lu Bu already felt guilty, and he couldn't even refute Lady Yan. Now, facing his most beloved daughter, he blushed and was speechless for a moment.

Lu Bu found it difficult to make up his mind, so he continued to drink and get drunk, using alcohol to numb himself.

Lu Bu was bitter, feeling guilty towards his wife and daughters, and deeply despairing about being trapped in Xiapi.

Lü Lingqi was not naive; she understood the dire situation in Xiapi. Seeing her father growing increasingly depressed, she hesitated for two days before finally agreeing.

It is said that men do not easily shed tears, but in front of Madam Yan and her daughter, Lü Bu finally could not help but shed tears.

She used her daughter to save herself, and married her off to the son of Yuan Shu, who had declared himself emperor.

What does this mean? Lü Bu wasn't stupid at all. Even if he could hold Xiapi and become related to Yuan Shu by marriage, Lü Bu's reputation would be ruined.

However, this was also Lu Bu's only lifeline; he only wanted to survive and did not want to be destroyed by Cao Cao.

Having grown up on the grasslands, Lü Bu learned the only useful thing: the law of the jungle.

Being alive is the most important thing!
However, Lü Bu did not learn the wickedness and treachery of human nature.

On the grasslands, he rose from an unknown soldier to a respected general, becoming the fearsome Lü Bu among the nomadic tribes beyond the Great Wall!

On the grasslands, if someone disagrees, just fight them; all you need is force!

Lü Bu was the most skilled fighter, his soldiers revered him, and his enemies feared him.

He accepted all of this with a clear conscience and felt that his life would be even more brilliant in the future.

Because his martial prowess is unparalleled!

Lü Bu believed that since he possessed the greatest martial prowess in the world, he should enjoy the glory and status commensurate with his strength!
However, once he stepped into the vortex of the chaotic struggle for supremacy, Lü Bu's understanding was completely overturned.

On the grasslands, he was a mighty tiger, invincible; but in the Central Plains, Lü Bu had doubted himself more than once.

Now he's so desperate that he has to rely on his daughter to save his life.

He tied his daughter to his back, and the two rode together on one horse. Although Red Hare was a rare and fine steed in the world, and Lü Bu was confident that no one could rival it, he was immediately surrounded by Cao Cao's army as soon as he left the city at night.

"Our lord has ordered that Lü Bu not be let go! Kill him!"

Cao Ren brandished his battle sword and raised his arms in a shout.

The archers fired arrows recklessly, raining down arrows like hailstones upon Lu Bu.

Lu Bu charged forward on horseback, brandishing his halberd, and fought valiantly, breaking through three consecutive lines of camps. Countless Cao soldiers died under his halberd, yet the Cao soldiers continued to advance wave after wave, seemingly without end.

Lu Bu was constantly battling the arrows and being surrounded by spearmen. He was surrounded by a dense barrage of spears from all sides. It was only because of Lu Bu that he could barely break through three lines of enemy camps. Anyone else would have been killed long ago.

Lu Bu had to fight the enemy while also protecting his daughter, which made him increasingly desperate. In the end, he had no choice but to turn his horse around and retreat.

Upon returning to the city, Lü Bu still asked his daughter with concern, "Are you alright?" Lü Lingqi shook her head blankly, "Father, we can't break through to Shouchun now. My life is a small matter, but what about Xiapi?"

Lu Lingqi had already gone all out. She no longer cared about her own life, death, honor, or disgrace. Let alone marrying Yuan Shu's son, she wouldn't refuse to marry a dying man as long as it could help her father.

Because her body and hair are given to her by her parents, everything she has is given to her by her parents.

But even though she didn't care about anything anymore, fate still played a cruel joke on her, and she couldn't break through Cao Cao's blockade at all.

Lu Bu once again drowned his sorrows in wine, and another half month passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Bu was always frowning and spent his days drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

Cao Cao was also facing considerable difficulties, attempting to lead his troops to attack the city, but suffered heavy casualties.

Xiapi City was three zhang high and two zhang thick, making it a formidable fortress. Relying on a direct assault would result in incalculable casualties, so Cao Cao could only continue the siege and temporarily abandon his plan to attack the city.

The war made no progress at all, and several months had passed since the troops were dispatched. Even Xiahou Dun was getting impatient.

Unlike Liu Xie, who was always playing chess, practicing swordsmanship, or wandering around Xuzhou City, he was not so carefree.

Xiahou Dun took the initiative to see Liu Xie. Upon meeting him, he lowered his head and sighed, "Your Majesty, the siege of Xiapi has lasted for two months, and our army has been on the expedition for almost half a year. Aren't you worried? If this continues, I'm afraid our food supplies won't last much longer."

Liu Xie smiled and advised, "Yuan Rang, whether we can take Xiapi depends on the will of Heaven. There's no use in being anxious now."

"The will of Heaven?" Xiahou Dun was completely bewildered.

A moment later, Zhao Yun walked in from outside and said, "Your Majesty, the weather is changing; it looks like it's going to rain."

The rain came as expected. Now that the rainy season has begun, sure enough, the rain started pouring down very soon.

Liu Xie got up and went to the eaves, pointed to the rain outside, and said to Xiahou Dun, "Yuan Rang, look, it's the will of Heaven!"

Xiahou Dun was still somewhat stunned, and Liu Xie did not explain, "You only need to send someone to convey my words to Cao Cao, and he will be at ease."

Ignoring the heavy rain, Xiahou Dun immediately dispatched men to Xiapi.

Cao Cao was discussing matters with several strategists in his tent. It was raining, the roads were muddy and dirty, and many camps located in low-lying areas had to be moved to higher ground.

Cao Cao was already worried about not being able to break through the city, and this terrible weather made his mood plummet even further.

Xiahou Dun sent Xiahou Lan, who, upon meeting Cao Cao, truthfully recounted the events.

Cao Cao stood up and walked out, and Guo Jia followed him out.

"Your Majesty says that the will of Heaven has arrived. Could it be that this rain will help me breach the city?"

Cao Cao was soon soaked. His guards rushed to fetch him a raincoat, but Cao Cao pushed them away.

"Can rain help me break through the city?" Cao Cao repeated to himself. When his gaze fell on the moat outside Xiapi, Cao Cao's eyes suddenly lit up, and Guo Jia also had the same idea.

Guo Jia smiled and said, "Your Majesty means that the rainy season has arrived, and we can borrow strength from the heavens. Once the rain continues, the Yi River and the Si River will rise continuously, and Xiapi is located downstream of the Si River."

The two looked into each other's eyes and both smiled!
In fact, Liu Xie was merely playing the timing game, because sooner or later, Guo Jia, Xun You, and others would have figured it out too.

The ideas others had, and those Liu Xie had, yielded completely different results.

While others offered strategies to conquer the city, Liu Xie's trip turned into a mere sightseeing tour, offering no real help whatsoever.

But now the opposite is true; no one can ignore his contributions, unless Cao Cao does not use the flooding strategy.

As expected, the rain continued for several days, and the river continued to rise. Cao Cao was in a great mood and no longer disliked rainy days.

Chen Gong also did not realize that the rain would become Cao Cao's trump card in conquering the city.

He also advised Lü Bu, "After a while, Cao Cao's food supplies will be almost exhausted, and he will be unable to hold out for long. He will inevitably have to retreat."

Lü Bu was always easily swayed, and he believed it as soon as he heard it.

But before the rain could stop, Cao Cao ordered his men to breach the Yi and Si rivers. The water poured down like a torrent, filling the moat outside Xiapi in less than a day.

"Report! The water has already flooded the south gate."

"Report! Ximen is also flooded!"

"Report, my lord, we can't get out of the north gate either, it's all flooded."

The water continued to flow backward, overflowing the moat and rising higher and higher. Xiapi was surrounded by water on all sides, and in the end, only the east gate was barely a way out.

Lu Bu climbed the city wall and looked around. All he saw was a vast expanse of white, a boundless ocean.

Cao Cao's army had already retreated a considerable distance and was stationed entirely on high ground, remaining on high alert.

Even without Cao Cao's army, the boundless waters were more powerful than a thousand troops, trapping Lü Bu completely.

Although the East Gate was still passable, it was heavily blocked by Cao Cao's army. Previously, Cao Cao had to send troops to surround it from all sides, but now, with the help of the water, Cao Cao's forces were all concentrated outside the East Gate, and the pressure on Lü Bu increased several times over.

(End of this chapter)