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

Chapter 201, Liu Bei's Concerns
Wherever Lü Bu went, men and horses fell to the ground. One after another, Yuan soldiers screamed and fell to the ground. Some were pierced through the heart, some had their throats ripped open, and some were hit hard by the halberd, falling off their horses with countless broken bones.

Wherever Lü Bu went, screams filled the air, turning the place into a blood-soaked hell.

"It's Lü Bu! Lü Bu is coming!" Yuan's soldiers shouted in terror, scattering and fleeing.

The atmosphere of fear spread rapidly. The Yuan soldiers in front died one after another, and the Yuan soldiers behind were also filled with fear and anxiety, their faces pale with fright.

Lu Xiang kept shouting, "Don't panic! Block him! He's all alone!"

That's right, Lü Bu was indeed alone, but he was like a god descended to earth, and no one could stop him.

Fear, like a plague, was spreading among the people at an alarming rate, causing Yuan's troops to become increasingly chaotic and scattered.

Many people were so frightened that they ran away before Lü Bu even got close.

If everyone is fearless and rushes in to fight Lu Bu to the death, even two Lu Bus wouldn't be enough.

However, this was merely a hypothesis. Seeing their companions fleeing, the number of people running away grew even larger.

Those who tried to resist Lü Bu were often the ones who died the fastest.

Lu Bu wielded his halberd wildly, tearing the air apart with its powerful whistling sounds.

Although Yuan Bing had a large and powerful army, no one could stop this top general of the Three Kingdoms. They could only watch helplessly as their comrades were killed one by one by Lü Bu, like a weak flock of sheep facing a fierce tiger, with no suspense whatsoever.

Lu Bu and Zhao Yun displayed completely different styles. Lu Bu's style was bold and unrestrained, showcasing absolute martial prowess and power.

Lu Bu smashed and thrust, accompanied by the fierce clash of weapons, as Red Hare charged forward at high speed, getting closer and closer to Lu Xiang.

Red Hare charged forward at an undiminished speed. With horseshoes nailed to its hooves, its momentum was even stronger, allowing Lü Bu to display his full strength.

Lu Bu's fighting power was unleashed in full force, and he was unstoppable. Wherever he charged, a bloodbath followed.

Yuan's soldiers scattered like waves being rapidly parted, only to be pierced through by Lü Bu's single-handed charge!
At first, Lü Xiang was somewhat disdainful, thinking that he had more people and could trap Lü Bu. However, before long, as he watched Lü Bu rapidly advance towards him, Lü Xiang broke out in a cold sweat and could no longer remain calm.

Fifty steps, thirty steps... By the time Lü Xiang realized something was wrong and tried to avoid Lü Bu, it was already too late.

Red Hare let out a long neigh and brought Lü Bu to Lü Xiang's side.

Lu Xiang's face immediately changed, turning deathly pale. Without saying a word, Lu Bu roared and thrust his halberd into Lu Xiang's chest.

Lu Xiang blocked with his sword, but there was a loud bang and the sword was almost knocked away. Lu Xiang looked at Lu Bu in shock. This guy has incredible strength.

Lu Bu was not only strong, but also fast and accurate. He attacked without stopping, so fast that Lu Xiang saw afterimages. If he was too slow to dodge, Lu Bu would stab him in the heart.

Lu Xiang screamed and tumbled off his horse.

Lu Bu swiftly drew his sword with his left hand, spurred his horse forward, and with a single stroke, beheaded Lu Xiang. He then picked up Lu Xiang's head and held it above his head with one hand, looking at the surrounding Yuan soldiers with utter disdain.

Yuan Bing terrified everyone, their eyes wide as they retreated.

Lu Bu snorted coldly, turned his horse around, and headed back towards Liu Xie.

With their commander killed, Yuan's soldiers immediately lost their backbone. Some turned and ran, and many others followed suit, fleeing back the way they came.

More and more people ran away, as if they were afraid of being chased and killed.

Standing on the earthen slope, Liu Xie praised with satisfaction, "Lu Bu truly lives up to his reputation as my Marquis of Wen!"

…………

When Yuan Shao returned to Guandu, things were already in chaos, and Guo Tu simply lacked the ability to command.

When Cao Ren attacked, Guo Tu panicked even before he could fight. Many generals and soldiers were already disrespectful to him, and the more chaotic the situation became, the less effective Guo Tu's command became, with many people ignoring him completely.

This created an even more chaotic scene. Cao Ren, with only 20,000 men, turned Yuan Shao's camp upside down overnight, leaving it in complete disarray.

Cao Ren had fewer troops, but he concentrated his forces together, like a sharp sword, tearing open a gap and advancing freely.

Cao Ren only retreated after Yuan Shao returned and reorganized his forces to launch a counterattack.

Many tents in Yuan Shao's camp were also burned down by Cao Ren. In addition, the fire at Wuchao could not be extinguished. Yuan Shao was extremely worried, and his mood plummeted to rock bottom. He was in a terrible state.

Liu Bei kept comforting Yuan Shao, which improved Yuan Shao's mood somewhat. Meanwhile, Guan Yu kept giving Liu Bei meaningful glances, reminding him to act decisively and kill Yuan Shao as soon as possible.

But Liu Bei did not act immediately. When he returned to his tent, Guan Yu asked in confusion, "Brother, what's wrong? Didn't you promise His Majesty to kill Yuan Shao at Wuchao?"

Liu Bei sighed, somewhat hesitantly, "Yun Chang, although I have promised His Majesty, I still need to plan it carefully. In addition, His Majesty has entrusted me with other matters."

"Is there anything else?" Upon hearing that His Majesty had other plans, Guan Yu's dissatisfaction immediately subsided considerably.

Liu Bei said, "At the very least, we must retrieve the Imperial Seal of the State, and also the letter..."

Guan Yu said, “Brother, the imperial seal and the letter must be in Yuan Shao’s tent. Let’s go all out, kill Yuan Shao, take back the letter and the imperial seal, and then charge out together. I believe that as long as we kill Yuan Shao, Cao Cao will definitely take advantage of the situation to advance again. They will not let this opportunity pass.”

Guan Yu disliked procrastination; he was concerned about the emperor and wished he could kill Yuan Shao immediately.

However, Liu Bei had his own plans. After all, Yuan Shao was from a family that had held high office for four generations, and his status was noble. The Yuan family had disciples all over the world, so Liu Bei really had some concerns.

He worried that killing Yuan Shao would damage his reputation.

Furthermore, even if he were to be killed, Liu Bei did not want to leave empty-handed; he still wanted to gain some benefits from Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei hesitated before speaking, "Yun Chang, what do you say..."

Liu Bei had nothing to hide from Guan Yu, and he told him his thoughts: "Yuan Shao is famous throughout the land. If I kill him, what do you think the scholars of the Central Plains will think of me in the future?"

Guan Yu looked at Liu Bei with a surprised expression. "Brother, why are you so worried? There's absolutely no need. Killing Yuan Shao is His Majesty's order, and we just need to do as he says. Besides, both Lü Bu and Gan Ning had the opportunity to kill Yuan Shao, but His Majesty gave the opportunity to you, brother."

Guan Yu only said half of what he meant. In fact, if it weren't for Liu Bei's obstruction, Yuan Shao would have died long ago.

But it was precisely because of Liu Bei's obstruction that Liu Xie calmed down and entrusted the task of killing Yuan Shao to Liu Bei.

But now, having calmed down, Liu Bei was also somewhat worried, because Yuan Shao's reputation was too great. Liu Bei worried that if he killed Yuan Shao, he would be branded with infamy, which would be detrimental to recruiting talent in the future.

Liu Bei never gave up the idea of ​​owning a territory that truly belonged to him.

Therefore, he values ​​his reputation highly.

Guan Yu said righteously, "His Majesty is the one who is truly righteous. Your brother's concerns are unnecessary. If you go against His Majesty's wishes, it will affect your reputation. Yuan Shao is His Majesty's enemy. If you kill Yuan Shao, His Majesty will surely praise your achievements. Perhaps, His Majesty will even put your portrait and eulogy in the Lingyan Pavilion."

Guan Yu hoped that he could wholeheartedly obey the emperor's orders and sincerely assist Liu Xie.

"If it's inconvenient for you to take action, brother, leave it to me. I'll go and kill Yuan Shao!" Guan Yu said, turning to leave with his sword.

Liu Bei hurriedly shouted, "Yun Chang, wait! Don't be rash!"

Guan Yu stopped and turned to look at Liu Bei. To be honest, Guan Yu was quite dissatisfied with Liu Bei's hesitation.

At that time in Wuchao, Lü Bu and Gan Ning were about to kill Yuan Shao when Liu Bei stopped them.

Okay, if Liu Xie didn't want others to kill him, he let Liu Bei kill him himself. However, there were still various concerns, which Guan Yu found very difficult to understand.

Liu Bei softened his tone and said, "We must plan carefully and not act impulsively."

Guan Yu reluctantly let out a breath and sat down with difficulty.

Liu Bei cautiously went outside, looked around, and seeing that no one was approaching, returned and said, "The Yuan family's base is in Runan. As far as I know, there is a group of Yellow Turban rebels in Runan who are very active. We can suggest that Yuan Shao send some troops to Runan to join forces with the Runan Yellow Turbans and launch a surprise attack on Xuchang, thus disrupting Cao Cao's rear. Of course, this is just a plan; we don't really intend to do it. As long as Yuan Shao hands over his troops to us, we will add strength to Your Majesty's forces."

Guan Yu did not object; the plan was indeed very attractive.

“We have saved Yuan Shao several times, I believe he will not refuse,” Zhang Fei excitedly interjected.

Guan Yu finally spoke up, saying, "How about this? As long as Yuan Shao agrees to my suggestion, you and Yide can take your men and leave first. I'll handle the rest."

Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu, feeling both moved and worried. "Yun Chang, are you going to stay behind alone to kill Yuan Shao?"

Guan Yu nodded, and said with pride and determination, "I alone am enough to deal with Yuan Shao!"

"Second Brother, if you stay, you can definitely have a good time killing. I want to stay too." Zhang Fei was also a little itchy and couldn't help but mutter.

Guan Yu hurriedly shook his head and gave Zhang Fei a stern look. "Third brother, you must stay by your brother's side and protect his safety."

Guan Yu held Liu Bei in the highest esteem.

Guan Yu was worried if Zhang Fei didn't go with him.

After the matter was decided, Liu Bei took the initiative to go to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao was somewhat depressed. A fire broke out at Wuchao, and although he sent people to help, no news came back. On the Guandu side, Cao Ren took the opportunity to advance and inflicted heavy losses on Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei explained his plan: "If the Yellow Turbans of Runan can be used by you, my lord, we can launch a surprise attack on Xuchang and cut off Cao Cao's retreat."

Yuan Shao was indeed tempted, but also reluctant. "Xuande, Yan Liang and Wen Chou have been killed, and Ju Shou has been captured by the enemy. Right now, I need capable people around me. Why don't you send someone else? You can stay by my side."

Yuan Shao trusted Liu Bei and was reluctant to let him leave.

Liu Bei advised, “My lord, I am the governor of Yu Province and have spent some time in Xuchang. I am very familiar with Yu Province, and I am confident that I can persuade the Yellow Turbans in Runan to submit to you. This matter is related to whether you can defeat Cao Cao. If I rashly hand it over to someone else, I am afraid that it will ruin your great cause.”

"In addition, I would like to keep my second brother Yunchang by your side, so that you may have Yunchang do whatever you need."

Yuan Shao's eyes lit up with joy, and he nodded. "Xuande is indeed very thoughtful. How about this, I'll give you 30,000 men?"

Liu Bei suppressed his joy. He was naturally very happy; these 30,000 men were like freebies.

"Since you value me so highly, I will certainly help you achieve great things." Liu Bei quickly thanked him and expressed his gratitude.

Just then, someone delivered a letter from outside. Yuan Shao took it, glanced at it casually, and handed it to Liu Bei.

"Do you see? Even today, people in Xudu are still sending letters expressing their desire to submit to me in the future."

Yuan Shao had received many such letters, all of them identical, filled with flattering and sycophantic words.

They praised Yuan Shao for his wisdom and martial prowess, and Cao Cao for his lack of pragmatism... In short, many people still believed that Yuan Shao would win and ultimately defeat Cao Cao.

Therefore, they had to express their loyalty and show goodwill to their new master before Cao Cao's defeat and death.

"My lord, let me put it away for you," Liu Bei said, feigning concern.

Yuan Shao didn't suspect anything and casually pointed to the side, "It's with those documents, at the very bottom, there's a black wooden box."

Liu Bei strode over, found the box, opened it, and quickly glanced at it. Good heavens, there were quite a few letters inside; it was almost full.

Liu Bei put the letter inside, placed the wooden box away, chatted with Yuan Shao for a while to comfort him, and then took his leave.

When Liu Bei was about to depart, Yuan Shao personally saw him off for a part of the journey. At the moment of parting, Yuan Shao held Liu Bei's hand and was reluctant to let go for a long time.

Over the course of their time together, Yuan Shao grew increasingly satisfied with Liu Bei, but little did he know that Liu Bei didn't want to stay a moment longer.

We finally managed to swindle 30,000 troops from Yuan Shao. If we don't leave now, when will we?
As for Guan Yu, Liu Bei was also somewhat worried, but he believed in Guan Yu's abilities.

Before his departure, Liu Bei also told Guan Yu the location of the imperial seal and the letter.

…………

After Lü Xiang's death, Liu Xie ordered his men to pursue and kill him for a while, and took the opportunity to recruit more than a thousand people. After the battle, Liu Xie praised Lü Bu in public.

Lü Bu's military rank also changed from General Who Conquers the East to General of the Flying Cavalry.

Next, Lu Bu was full of energy and personally led people to inspect the area, set up deer antlers, and set up traps... He did everything diligently, big or small.

Seeing how diligently and actively he was performing, Chen Gong couldn't help but smile at Liu Xie and say, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid only you in this world can completely control Lü Bu. He wasn't like this before!"

(End of this chapter)