Chapter 26 Chapter 26

Now it has reached the point where there is no way to recover, and there is no way to do anything. The instant defeat makes people not even have time to reflect.There are raging fires and calls for help, but Liu Xuande's army has lost its command, no one is listening, and it is in chaos.Under the pursuit of Lu Bujun, Liu Xuande was driven out of the west gate of the city together with the rioters.At the critical moment when the flames were raging and the city was destroyed, the soldiers who fled everywhere seemed to be unable to see the figure of the Lord. Liu Xuande also fled. Unknowingly, all the companions fled.When Liu Xuande ran all the way from Xiaopei City until he stopped far away, he found that he was the only one left.

"Ah, this is shameful!" Liu Xuande was filled with grief and indignation.He wanted to go back to the city to fight again, because there was still an old mother, wife and children in the city. "Why do I only care about escaping safely by myself?" Liu Xuande's face was full of shame, he turned his head frequently, staring at the direction of black smoke behind him. At this time, various thoughts emerged in his mind: "Wait for me,——Maybe I commit suicide here is the greatest filial piety to my mother and the deepest love to my wife.—Maybe Lu Bu will not kill me casually Mother and wife. If I return to Xiaopei now, in addition to fueling Lu Bu's anger needlessly, and giving him a chance to win, maybe the best thing to do now is to pray that there is still a sense of forgiveness in his heart .”

Thinking like this, Liu Xuande walked quietly alone. Later facts proved that Liu Xuande's idea at that time was very brilliant. After Lu Bu occupied Xiaopei, he called Mi Zhu: "Xuande's wife and children are handed over to you. Now move them to Xuzhou and take good care of them. If you encounter those women who dare to bully the captives and run amok everywhere Soldier, you might as well kill with this sword." Lu Bu said and handed his sword to Mi Zhu. After Mi Zhu thanked him, he moved Liu Xuande's wife and children to Xuzhou in a cart. Then, Lu Bu left Gao Shun and Zhang Liao to guard Xiaopei City, while he led his troops to Shandong and Yanzhou to spread the prestige and wipe out the remnants of the enemy.

Lu Bu believes that it is imperative to track down the whereabouts of Liu Xuande's generals such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Sun Qian.But because they were hidden deep in the mountains and forests, they escaped the search of Lu Bu's army, and finally became fish that slipped through the net. Liu Xuande decided to go to Xudu.Just imagine, it is already a miracle that one person and one rider can escape safely in this tragic battle. Along the way, he slept in the mountains, rested in the forest, and started a difficult and dangerous journey. Liu Xuande was passing through a valley, only to hear someone shouting from behind: "My lord! My lord!"

He looked back and saw dozens of horsemen and horses chasing from behind. It turned out to be Sun Qian and others. "Thank God, the lord is finally safe and sound." After seeing Liu Xuande, Sun Qian couldn't help crying. Liu Xuande hastily stopped him: "This is not a place to cry. No matter what, we must try to go to Xudu now, and then worry about the future after seeing Cao Cao." The Lord walked hurriedly on the road with a crowd of people and horses. On the way, they saw a quiet mountain village. At this time, people were tired and horses were exhausted, and everyone finally walked to the village.

The strange thing is that although no one announced it in advance, the people in the village hid in their houses and whispered: "I heard that Xiaopei's Liu Xuande was defeated and is now fleeing here." "Is that Liu Yuzhou?" "That's a pity." As soon as Liu Xuande and others entered the village, all the old, young and even girls in the village came out of the huts, knelt on the side of the road, and greeted Liu Xuande with tears. These peasants, known as field husbands and savages, showed the rare true feelings of rich and noble families when they were in crisis.

People brought food to Liu Xuande, and an old lady wiped the mud from Liu Xuande's shoes with her sleeve.These so-called ignorant peasants can correctly see the true value of people. Through their personal experience of daily benevolence and government, they have long believed that Liu Xuande is a rare "good man". That night, Liu Xuande stayed at the home of a hunter. The landlord is a male hunter.He knelt down in front of Liu Xuande with tears in his eyes: "My lord said he wanted to live in such a simple mountain house like me, but I really dare not be a small man. What a lucky family. I don't know how to respect my lord?"

Seeing his elegant speech and good character, Liu Xuande couldn't help asking curiously: "Have you lived in this village since you were a child?" Orion kowtowed on the broken floor and said, "It's embarrassing to say, but my ancestors are of Han descent, descendants of the Liu family. My name is Liu An." That night, Liu An cooked meat for Liu Xuande. The hungry Liu Xuande and his party happily picked up the chopsticks.Someone asked: "What kind of meat is this?" Liu An replied: "Wolf meat." Before departure the next morning, when Sun Qian was about to lead the horse out, he accidentally saw a female corpse in the kitchen.

Sun Gan was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly asked Liu An, "What's going on?" Liu An had to cry and confessed: "The deceased is my beloved wife. You have seen the situation at home, and I really can't bring out anything to entertain adults, so I had to kill my wife, cook it and dedicate it to adults and adults." Gentlemen." Liu Xuande was very sad when he heard about this from Sun Gan.He advised Liu An: "How about it? Come with me to the capital to become an official." After hearing this, Liu An shook his head and declined politely: "My lord thinks highly of me, I really appreciate it. It's just that I went to the capital with my lord, and my old mother has no one to take care of her. She is already a serious patient who can't move, and can't leave me. So I can only thank you again for your kindness.”

To the readers: As a writer, I ask your pardon for inserting this anomaly here.The fact that Liu An killed his wife and cooked meat for Liu Xuande's food is incomprehensible according to the Japanese view of love and morality since ancient times. In terms of the beauty and cleanliness we believe in, such a thing will only arouse disgust. So I have seriously thought about this, thinking that such a thing should be removed even if it is in the original work.However, the original book treats Liu An's behavior as a kind of good talk, from which we can see the moral values ​​and people's sentiments of ancient China.Through this matter, readers can also know the differences between each other and me. This is also one of the meanings of "Three Kingdoms" ①, so I wrote this matter according to the original work.

Dear readers, please compare this incident with the classic Japanese novel "Potted Tree".One snowy day, monk Tokirai from Saimyoji Temple rushed to the ferry in Sano.At sunset, in order to entertain monk Shilai who was suffering from hunger and cold, a samurai cut down his favorite plum tree and put it in the stove as firewood.The sentiment of this Kamakura samurai is similar to the essence of Liu An's story. Seeing such heartfelt feelings, will you still feel the difference between the taste of wolf meat and the fragrance of plum blossoms? Don't mention gossip, let's get back to business. The next day, Liu Xuande and his group left the small mountain village and came near Liangcheng. I saw the smoke and dust rising suddenly on the opposite side, and a mighty army appeared. This army is the main force of the Xudu elite led by Cao Cao, who are coming day and night. Liu Xuande met Cao Cao unexpectedly here, and his mood was like seeing the life-saving Bodhisattva in hell. Cao Cao comforted him after hearing what Liu Xuande had said, "I'm here, please don't worry." Then he heard about the chivalrous deeds of Liu An, the landlord where Liu Xuande was staying the night before, so he took out some silver taels, sent an envoy to send them, and told Liu An to "take good care of his mother". As soon as Cao Cao's army arrived in Jibei, the pioneer Xia Houyuan came to see Cao Cao with his one-eyed brother. "Welcome to the prime minister in person." Xiahou Dun spoke first. "What's with that eye of yours?" Xiahou Dun smiled with his one-eyed face tilted: "I ate it on the battlefield earlier." Then he reported the details of that battle to Cao Cao. "Haha, it's really interesting. I think you may be the first man to eat his own eyes since there are human beings in the world. The ancients said that 'the body, hair and skin, receive the parents', I can't see that you are still a practice of filial piety Home—how about it, I’ll give you time, and I’ll go back to Xudu to heal the eye injury.” Cao Cao laughed.Then, he received the generals who came in one by one to pay their respects. "Now I would like to ask, how is the situation in Lu Bu?" Cao Cao began to ask the generals for their opinions. A general said: "Lv Bu is eager to expand his power now. As long as he can become his accomplice, whether it is a bandit or a bandit, he will support them indiscriminately, thus expanding his army and boasting to the outside world. The number of troops is useless. In addition, he led the army to invade Yanzhou and other counties. All in all, as far as his army is concerned, it has recently expanded rapidly and is very powerful." "What's the current situation in Xiaopei City?" "At the moment, Lu Bu's subordinates, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, will stick to it." After Cao Cao heard this, he resolutely ordered: "Now first of all, in order to help Xuande get revenge, attack Xiaopei immediately and take it back!" Cao Cao gave an order, and the generals immediately returned to their own formations to prepare for battle, waiting for specific instructions from the Chinese army. Cao Cao and Liu Xuande led an army into Shandong and reached the remote Xiaoguan. Against them were Taishan bandits Sun Guan, Yin Li, Chang Xi and other thieves and their gangsters. They gathered a total of more than 30,000 people. "If we fight in the mountains, that's our strength. How could we lose to the weak soldiers from Xudu?" They were bluffing and actively preparing for war. Although they were thieves, they had the momentum to insult Cao Jun. "Xu Chu, rush over to me!" Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to lead the charge. "Yes. I have been waiting a long time." Xu Chu only replied, and led his soldiers to rush towards the enemy line bravely. The bandits headed by the Taishan bandits Sun Guan and Wu Dun rode on horseback and yelled at Xu Chu, but none of them dared to stand in front of him for a long time. So, it didn't take long for those bandits to flee to Xiaoguan in a panic like the tide. "Hurry up! I'm going to kill them all today!" Xu Chu chased after the victory. Under the fierce pursuit of Cao Jun, the corpses of the bandits filled the valley, and their blood stained the mountain peak. During this period, Cao Cao handed over three thousand cavalry to Cao Ren under his command, asking him to lead his army to take a shortcut and point directly at the target Xiaopei City, and attack from the back gate of the city. After Xiaopei's defenders heard the news, they immediately sent flying cavalry to report the emergency military situation to Xuzhou. Lu Bu just returned to Xuzhou from Yanzhou. There was no time to warm up the table, and urgent military reports came in one after another. "Xiao Pei is the throat of Xuzhou, and I will defend it myself in case of accidents." Lu Bu called Dr. Chen, Chen Deng and his son to discuss offensive and defensive strategies together, and finally ordered Chen Deng to follow him to Xiaopei, and Dr. Chen stayed in Xuzhou to take on the defensive mission. "Understood!" The father and son bowed their heads respectfully in front of Lu Bu and took orders. While the city was busy preparing for the war, the father and son hid in a dark room where they usually talked in secret, and began to whisper quietly. "Father, I think Lu Bu is about to perish." "Well, the day we father and son have been waiting for has finally come." "Fortunately, I went to Xiaopei with Lu Bu this time. I can play by ear at any time and use clever tricks. Maybe Lu Bu will eventually be chased by Cao Cao and flee back to Xuzhou. At that time, please close the gates of the city tightly and never let Lu Bu enter Xuzhou City .is this okay?" Chen Deng insisted on his idea, but Dr. Chen did not agree immediately. "Father, why don't you answer my question?" "However... Although Lu Bu asked me to stay in Xuzhou, there are still many relatives and wives and concubines of Lu Bu in the city? ——If they see Lu Bu fleeing back to the gate of the city, even if I order the gate to be closed, his relatives will not Will listen to me." "Then I'll think about this plan more carefully." The father and son conspired in the dark secret room, and the voices of other generals came from the arsenal next door. "How is Dr. Chen?" "Chen Deng is nowhere to be seen." The father and son heard voices from next door, and couldn't help but look at each other nervously.They found no one outside through the gap, and immediately slipped away separately. "What did you do?" Seeing Chen Deng coming in, Lu Bu shouted loudly. At this time, the preparations before going out into battle were all in place, and the troops were gathering outside the pavilion. No wonder Lu Bu was furious. Chen Deng calmly bowed down before Lu Bu's case and explained: "My father was too worried about my lord letting him take on the important task of staying in Xuzhou, so I went to encourage him just now." Lu Bu frowned: "Is it because of staying in Xuzhou? Why is he so worried? Is that what Doctor Chen said?" "My father is a little worried. He feels that this time is different from the previous one-sided battles. A large number of Cao troops will surround Xuzhou from a distance. If the situation is urgent, the lord's relatives, gold and silver, and military supplies left in the city will not be able to Move elsewhere at once - it's all old man asking for trouble, but he's really worried about it." "Oh, so that's the case. It seems that your father's worry is somewhat reasonable." Lv Bu nodded, called Mi Zhu forward urgently, and said to him, "You and Dr. Chen stay in Xuzhou, and move all my family members, gold, silver and rations to Xiapi City." He thought that doing so would make the rear safe, so he set off from Xuzhou with his army on a fast horse.In fact, he doesn't know anything.That Mi Zhu also quickly communicated with Dr. Chen and his son, and became one of the people who dug Lu Bu's trap together. ——Unfortunately, Lu Bu didn't notice this. Lu Bu originally planned to rescue Xiaopei in an emergency, but he did not expect to receive an emergency report of "Xiaoguan is in danger" halfway. After receiving the report, Lu Bu's expression changed drastically, and he immediately diverted his troops to Xiaoguan.He said: "Let's go to Xiaoguan first to stop Cao Jun." Chen Deng remonstrated: "My lord, please drive slowly from behind, try not to hurry." "Why don't you hurry?" "Xiaoguan's defense has always been in charge of Chen Gong and Zang Ba, but most of the defenders are soldiers from Taishan Sun Guan, Wu Dun and others. They used to be wolves in the mountains and forests. As long as there is profit, they may turn to the enemy. So let me lead dozens of riders to Xiaoguan to test the reality, and come back to meet the Lord after fully understanding the situation in the formation." After hearing this, Lu Bu praised: "It's very good that you can think of this. You can obey my orders, and you are bold and careful. People like you are really loyal people. Well, you go and come back!" "Then my lord, walk slowly behind." Chen Deng headed straight to Xiao Guan. He came to Xiaoguan's stronghold to meet Chen Gong and Zang Ba.After asking about the situation of the battle, he whispered to them: "The lord blames you for why you are still shrinking. Do you think the lord doesn't trust you?" "Strange, we don't feel that way." Chen Gong and Zang Ba could not help but look at each other after hearing this.Although I didn't feel this way, but I was on the front line confronting the enemy, and I heard that I was suspected by the camp behind me, so I couldn't help feeling uneasy. That night, Chen Deng secretly boarded the watchtower of the Walled City alone.At this time, it was pitch black all around, and there was a flash of fire in the distance, like Cao Jun's position.Chen Deng shot a letter arrow towards the place where the fire was shining, but pretended to be nonchalant and quietly went down from the watchtower.