The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial - Chapter 61



＜ The Great General Yue Fei (2) ＞

Two days had passed, and morning had come.

The soldiers of Bingzhou had isolated and annihilated about a thousand troops led by the vassal Zhang Yang who had crossed over the Shasu Pass.

In exchange, the Shasu Pass had fallen to the enemy.

Although the Bingzhou army, including the cavalry commander, had built temporary barricades and set fires to block the road, the wood would ultimately burn down to ashes.

It hadn’t rained, but eventually, once the flames had consumed everything they could, they would naturally die down.

“According to the scouts, the allied forces are stationed at Shasu Pass.”

I received the report from the scouts in the military camp behind Horoguan.

“What about Dong Taiwei?”

“He has deployed a large number of archers at Horoguan, prepared for a desperate defense…”

“Is that all?”

“……Yes.”

The soldier sent by Dong Zhuo reported to me as it was.

“I see. Did he say anything else to me?”

“The injured female general has been sent to the rear…”

“Huh.”

I raised my uninjured hand forward.

“Injured, you say?”

“Th-that’s.”

“Even though the wound has healed, where exactly do I have an injury?”

The wounds have all healed.

There were scratches on my thigh and some bruising, but it wasn’t to the extent that I couldn’t fight.

“Could it be that you’re worried about the rumors floating around the camp?”

“Th-that’s.”

“Well, that might be the case.”

There is a certain rumor circulating in the camp.

That Lu Bu, the archer known as Guan Yu, has had his pride shattered against the common soldiers.

The injury sustained was not to the body, but to the pride, they say.

To be honest—

‘Not really?’

It didn’t matter much.

From noble mtl dot com

It was just a matter of a single sheet of paper, and if I had kept fighting, I would have eventually won against Guan Yu.

But people think a little differently.

“Do you also think that I lost to Guan Yu?”

“L-lost? What nonsense are you talking about!”

“Then why do you look so uneasy? As if I were someone who has experienced defeat.”

“…Well, it seems that my weapon was severed.”

“Ah. It certainly was a good weapon.”

The halberd.

It was a weapon I had never really handled before.

Similar to a spear but somehow different, yet the halberd that Guan Yu wielded was quite heavy.

‘It definitely hurt my hands every time I received a blow.’

I thought my hands would tear apart every time I deflected the halberd with my spear.

In fact, when I finally parried with the spear, I ended up bleeding from the impact.

I bled quite a bit.

It was just that, yet every time I passed by, the rebel suppression troops looked as if the world was collapsing, bowing their heads.

Even Dong Zhuo himself.

‘Should I have killed him for sure?’

He was too valuable a man to kill.

I don’t know where his hometown is, but even if he were tossed into any random place, he was someone no one in that region would dare to trifle with.

‘He’s the stuff of a great general.’

To be honest, if I went on an expedition somewhere, I could leave the Bingzhou or the imperial palace to him and fight with peace of mind.

‘He’d be a headache as an enemy, but there’s no better ally than him if he were on our side.’

Conversely, an enemy whose absence would make me uneasy.

We fought evenly, so it’s natural for the soldiers to worry.

“Understood. Go.”

“Yes, General Bi.”

Dong Zhuo’s subordinate exits.

I lay on the bed, filled with the scent of medicinal herbs, and quietly closed my eyes.

Guan Yu and I’s one-on-one duel.

Only Guan Yu and I know the exact outcome, but judging solely by the moment when our weapons broke, it might have looked like a decisive victory.

‘But that doesn’t mean the entire subjugation army needs to be scared.’

Guan Yu held his own against me.

However, everyone except Guan Yu either died or retreated at my hands.

‘It’s a pity about Guan Yu. Now the feudal lords will definitely try to put Guan Yu at the forefront.’

When weapons clash, you can feel a person’s nature.

He was upright and steadfast, yet simultaneously arrogant.

‘If our positions had been reversed, he would have been incredibly dismissive.’

If Guan Yu were the General and I were just a palace guard?

-How dare you, a mere nobody, try to stand on the same level as this Guan Yu?

It’s a certainty.

Guan Yu, that man would definitely say that.

If I age and rise to a high position, he’d undoubtedly scorn and belittle his inferiors, leading to a great fall.

‘If he becomes a man of Bingzhou or a general in the imperial army, I can correct him then, but otherwise, I don’t need to go out of my way to tell him what to do.’

I think it over again and again, he’s a talent too precious to kill.

‘By saying I’d unleash my full power, I, without realizing it, ended up revealing my true martial prowess.’

It might be possible to correct it.

From the moment I thought it was a pity to kill Guan Yu, perhaps I wasn’t on a battlefield, but a training ground.

(Note: All characters are fictional and are considered to be over 21 years of age.)

It’s not that I’m a villain who deserves to die; rather, if he can be corrected and reused, I found myself unwilling to kill him, trying to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed as much as possible.

“Tsk.”

I’m worried.

‘Will I be able to wield the sword of fire with determination next time?’

The difference in mindset.

If, in the next battlefield, Guan Yu is pushed out by the lords or cannot accept defeat, returning as if he has won, intoxicated by the gaze of those around him.

‘Then there’s no choice but to behead him.’

I convey this to my future self.

If he comes out not as a martial artist of the righteous faction, but as a puppet of the lords.

Then I will decide to kill Guan Yu.

“Excuse me, General.”

“Come in, Zhang Liao.”

While I was thinking for a moment, Zhang Liao entered the military tent.

“How is your health?”

“I could fight with full strength right now. What’s the matter?”

“It’s information regarding the ‘Liu Bei army’ that you asked us to investigate.”

“Didn’t we finish that report yesterday?”

After the battle.

I, along with the Yangzhou army, immediately began to gather information about Guan Yu and the Liu Bei army.

Surprisingly, Dong Zhuo knew about it.

Thanks to that, I learned about the Liu Bei brothers, those who had been active as volunteer soldiers since the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

They had achieved military merit, but without the backing of the government or any connections, they were given minor posts.

And even that was due to assaulting an inspector and then wandering from one local area to another.

“I have come because I have some guesses regarding Guan Yu.”

“Hmm?”

You know about Guan Yu?

“How?”

“If the person I know is correct, he is someone named ‘Gou Yu’.”

“Gou Yu?”

How can a person’s name be Gou Yu?

“…Ugh.”

“Are you alright, General?”

“No, it’s just that my head hurt for a moment. I was thinking unnecessary thoughts.”

Is it that heaven has punished me for having strange thoughts about someone else’s name and title?

“So, you know someone named Go Woo? How?”

“We’re from the same region. To be precise, from the Sayé Hadong County… with Seo Hwang.”

Ah.

“…….”

I had predicted Sayé Choi Gang would be with Seo Hwang, but is it now a situation where I have to change it to Guan Yu?

No.

If Guan Yu dies, Seo Hwang must take on Sayé.

It’s not absolutely necessary for Guan Yu to be in charge of Sayé.

There’s also Sun Jian who has risen in Jingzhou, and there’s Seojoo in the east of the continent.

“Were you perhaps close?”

“You would know if I mention the name Seobryo. We fought a few times before leaving our hometown.”

“Leaving your hometown?”

“Yes. Originally, I opened a school in my hometown and taught children, but then I became an official after… killing a wealthy man.”

“…….”

Was he a person who needed to be killed?

“Why did you kill the wealthy man?”

“I was an official managing salt, but the local landlord attempted to assault my fiancée, so I killed him and fled.”

“Well done.”

There is some mitigating circumstance.

“In terms of Byungju, it would have been a sentence of about a year in prison, but it seems that it’s not the case recently.”

“It happened over ten years ago. It was before the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out.”

“Um.”

Indeed.

At that time, I was also grappling with officials in Byungju, so if I had killed a high-ranking person, fleeing would be the basic instinct.

‘Does he have no family?’

Such a warrior abandoned his hometown and fled?

The meaning is that there are no family members to be taken hostage in my hometown.

Or perhaps all of the family members have been murdered by the landowners’ associates.

‘This is maddening.’

The more I talk about it, the more it feels a shame to kill.

Especially for someone who understands righteousness and cooperation.

“I don’t really know why you ended up with a man named Liu Bei after that?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I only know Liu Bei by name; I don’t know much else.”

Liu Bei.

Liu Xuan-de.

I’m not entirely sure, but if I don’t know anything else, I do know these two things.

One. He is someone who has merit in eradicating the Yellow Turbans.

A case where the fame of heroes like Gong Sunzan, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Dong Zhuo, who fought and defeated the Yellow Turbans, has been carried to me through the mouths of travelers coming into Bingzhou.

Liu Bei was one of those who made a name for himself as a volunteer soldier.

Two. This is information that I can never speak out loud.

The protagonist of the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

…Perhaps?

‘It’s ambiguous whether he’s the protagonist or not.’

It’s a very fragmented and vague memory, but I recall that early in the book, a filial young man selling mats hides tea leaves to give to his mother while fleeing from the Yellow Turbans.

‘Is that right?’

I feel like I might have read that far, and that I might have read something more afterward, but I can’t remember.

In the first place, how could I remember the content of a novel I didn’t even read properly?

Unless we’re talking about all sorts of affairs regarding Yi Cheon and Do Ryong.

Anyway, it seems like Liu Bei was the protagonist of the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” and if that’s the prologue of the story.

‘If Liu Bei is indeed the protagonist, he must surely become the emperor and achieve unification of the realm.’

A picture forms in my mind.

‘Since he’s from the Liu family, he must be of royal blood, right? They say the Liu family is at least somewhat related to the imperial lineage.’

Fighting for one royal family, somehow rising to the rank of General of the Left or higher, and eventually becoming the emperor, opening up the world to peace and prosperity.

It would be a story where Liu Bei suppresses all the rebels and the young emperor bestows the throne upon him.

‘…Considering that my head isn’t hurting, this might not be particularly important?’

When I try to bring back memories, sometimes my head hurts depending on the type, but this memory doesn’t hurt at all.

So, thanks to that, I can judge more coldly.

Yubi.

Whether he is the protagonist of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms or someone who will become an emperor in the future, it doesn’t matter.

‘Whatever the reason may be.’

Whether he came to expel the court’s treacherous officials because he is of royal blood, was deceived by Yuan Shao, or came to become the emperor himself, they are all beneath Yuan Shao.

‘In other words, they are traitors right now.’

No one knows how things will turn out later, but they are traitors who are marching into the capital alongside the rebel Yuan Shao.

Even if someone who will become an emperor is committing treason with traitors, at this moment, they are traitors.

I am the general tasked with suppressing the traitors.

“Zhang Liao.”

“Yes, General.”

“What do you think of the defenses at Holo Pass?”

“They are still insufficient.”

Zhang Liao asserted.

“The morale has been greatly diminished just by the fact that the General has withdrawn from Guan Yu.”

“What is the state of the defenses?”

“We have enough supplies.”

“Good. Then…”

After glancing outside the military tent, I lower my voice.

“What is the status of ‘our engineering unit’ at the fortress?”

“According to the information that arrived this morning, they can move ‘according to the plan’ at any time.”

“That’s a relief.”

The soldiers of the Bingzhou army at the fortress are a kind of insurance.

Even if Holo Pass is captured, they will buy time to block the allied forces from pushing into Luoyang.

‘The best scenario would be to hold everything at Holo Pass.’

Even if Shasuguan has fallen, there is still Holo Pass.

“They must have started moving from Bingzhou, so we need to buy time somehow.”

The reason why the outcome against Guan Yu is not important.

Personally, it can be said to be important, but I am the ‘general’.

“Unbeatable in Battle.”

While Lü Bu may someday fall, the army of the General will not be defeated.

Forever.

“Zhang Liao.”

“Yes, General.”

“Let’s go out for a bit.”

“Are we going to wash up at the citadel, or are we going to practice archery?”

To wash up, one would go west.

“To ride and shoot.”

I head east.

“Let’s go. To the archery range.”

* * *

[At that moment, in front of the archery range, the headquarters of the allied forces.]

A camp was established outside the archery range, not within the burned ruins.

It was somewhat awkward to set up a camp on the ground where the bodies of Lord Zhang Yang and his subordinates lay.

In the end, the allied forces made the walls of the archery range their frontline and established their encampment at the entrance leading into it.

The allied camp slightly detached from there.

“What a fine day, truly!”

The lords raised their cups and laughed heartily from the morning.

“For our Lord of the Nineteenth, Yu Huande, and his generals!”

The Nineteenth Lord.

Originally a subordinate of Gong Sunzan, but Yu Huande had become the lord.

“For Guan Yu, who defeated and repelled Lü Bu!”

“I can only feel shame.”

Even after two days had passed, the lords continued to praise Guan Yu, who merely stroked his long beard without offering much of a response.

“Haha, indeed. Such humility in a person.”

“…….”

“Lord Huande, say something!”

“I can only feel proud. Hahaha.”

Guan Yu felt discomfort from the green epaulets draped over his shoulders, but soon closed his eyes upon seeing the armor and epaulets worn by Liu Bei.

“…For my elder brother, Yi Deok, and the three hundred soldiers who follow us.”

Guan Yu spoke so softly that no one could hear him, then pressed down on his shoulder and cleared his throat.

“Yupo is not yet defeated. Rather, he will be stronger than before.”

At Guan Yu’s words, the feudal lords exchanged glances, their expressions saying, ‘What a downer in such a good mood?’

“Yupo was not at full strength. His words were Hua Xiong’s, and he came out with Hua Xiong’s weapons, not his own.”

They only exchanged glances.

No one could retort to someone who had not only survived a fight against Yupo but had also broken his weapon.

“Therefore…”

“Then, when Yupo appears again, wouldn’t Guan Gong step forward again?”

One of the feudal lords said, as if it were obvious. The other feudal lords nodded in agreement.

“Only Guan Yu can face Yupo!”

“If Yupo appears again, Guan Gong will step forward immediately. Hahaha!”

“…….”

For some reason, the shoulder wounded by Yupo’s halberd felt sore.

“If Yupo comes out again, I won’t need to step forward.”

“What?”

“My younger brother, Yi Deok, who is stronger than I am, will go and face him.”

“Yi Deok…?”

“Ah, that… bandit-looking fellow?”

The feudal lords exchanged glances, looking unconvinced.

“I know he definitely showed off his strength while drunk, to the soldiers…”

“If General Liu hadn’t intervened, he probably would have beaten someone to death with his fists while drunk.”

“That maniac-like, humph, is that the great warrior you say is stronger than you?”

“That is correct.”

Guan Yu answered honestly.

“No matter how many Dong Zhuo army generals there are, my brother can take their heads as easily as taking objects out of a pouch.”

“Heh, Heh heh…”

“If Guan Gong says so…”

Guan Yu couldn’t help but feel bitter at the feudal lords’ hesitant nods.

Just a few days ago, they treated him like a mere soldier, a mere archer, but now they treated him as their general.

(Note: All characters are fictional and above the age of 21.)

More than anything, it was unpleasant.

“Guan Gong. Where does your family reside?”

“And your birthplace? Your speech reveals a level of education and refinement. From whom did you learn?”

The blatant attempts of the feudal lords to find common ground with him.

Even with Liu Bei present.

“Brother.”

“Haha, Guan Gong.”

“…Brother.”

“My apologies, Yunzhang.”

Liu Bei chuckled, lightly tapping Guan Yu’s battle robe.

“With so many feudal lords showing such interest in my brother, this unworthy elder brother is filled with pride and gratitude.”

The feudal lords showed displeasure at Liu Bei’s intervention, but quickly changed their expressions and paid their respects to him.

“How humble of you. So, I hear you are a member of the imperial clan…?”

“How did you become the magistrate of Pingyuan…? What is your connection to General Gongsun Zan?”

“Haha, that’s a story for another time—”

*Pwooow.*

A horn sounds.

A signal that the enemy is approaching the Sashu Pass fortifications. The feudal lords immediately placed their hands on the swords at their waists.

“The rebel forces are finally making a move to retake Sashu Pass!”

“This will be the time for this cannon to shine!”

“Stand aside! I shall fight! Now, who is it?! Is it Xu Huang, or perhaps the deceased Hua Xiong!!”

“Report!!”

A soldier on a hastily constructed watchtower shouts towards the fortifications.

“The flag of the Luoyang army is fluttering! It is Lü Bu!!”

……

Everyone’s gaze turned to Guan Yu, but Guan Yu quickly shifted his gaze to Liu Bei.

“Brother.”

“Yunzhang. Do you wish to fight?”

……

Guan Yu unknowingly nodded, but Liu Bei smiled softly at Guan Yu and shook his head.

(Note: All characters are fictional and above the age of 21.)

“Just bear with me this time. There must be another strongman like Lü Bu somewhere in the world.”

“……Yes.”

“And isn’t there a turn to take? Warlord, you know that.”

Hee hee hee hee!

“…Since that fellow has been so eager, if it comes to this, I can’t stop it either.”

“Uha ha ha ha!!”

A man who looked like a bandit unfurled a long cloth and, mounted on his horse, charged toward the entrance of the archery tower.

* * *

Thwap.

An arrow is shot.

I fire an arrow borrowed from the archers of Yangju County toward the archery tower.

“General. Those guys have brought shields.”

The officer pointed to a soldier climbing the battlements with a shield raised.

“There shouldn’t be any stairs on the battlements, yet it seems they’ve managed to climb up the ladder with that heavy thing. What should we do?”

“Are you asking me now after I’ve already shot them dead?”

The soldier who had just ascended the ladder with a shield staggered as he tried to block the arrow with it, then fell down from the battlements.

“I thought you were just aiming at the sky, wondering if you had something planned.”

“I was just calculating the wind for a moment.”

“Isn’t it just a feeling rather than a calculation?”

“That’s the same thing.”

Whoosh.

“Now.”

The moment the wind blows toward the archery tower, I raise the launch angle as high as possible and shoot.

Whooosh.

The arrow, flicking its tail like a fish, soars skyward, tracing a long parabola as it crosses over the battlements of the archery tower.

Thud.

“Did you hear that? At least a captain, a high-ranking officer. His helmet was shattered.”

“If you can hear it, then he’s not human.”

“Are you saying I’m not human right now?”

“From here, with hundreds of cavalry firing simultaneously, how could the general accurately distinguish the sound of arrows aimed beyond the battlements?”

“Mm.”

By sensation?

“It’s done. You’re starting to resemble the cavalry commander more and more—”

Beyond the archer’s station.

“Orders. Prepare for concentrated fire towards the archer’s entrance.”

“All troops!! Prepare for concentrated fire towards the gate!!”

The general hears my command and issues orders, and the cavalry of Byungju all draw their bows aimed at the archer’s gate.

From noble mtl dot com

“From the prepared archers…!”

They raise their bows.

Only I hold mine up towards the sky, while the cavalry waits with their bows tightly drawn.

Ta-anng.

“Commence concentrated fire!!”

With the general’s shout, the cavalry releases their arrows towards the gate.

Arrows pierce the gate of the archer’s station, but soon, with a ‘kkiik’ sound, the gate swings open left and right.

“……!!”

Unfazed by the rain of arrows, a man steps out through the opened gate.

“Ha ha ha ha—!!”

His laughter is so fierce that the flying arrows seem poised to drop at the sound of it.

“This is my grand entrance—!!”

Boo-woong!

As he swings a long weapon down to the ground, a fissure erupts beneath, splitting the earth apart.

Heehee-hing!

The horses, startled, pull back.

At the appearance of a single human, the horses are frightened under his overwhelming presence.

The rain of arrows crashes uselessly against the gate and walls, falling to the ground.

A defense utilizing a shockwave.

It’s an irrational act, but I can manage it too.

“General, that’s…”

“It seems to be the second blade of Yoo Hyun-deok.”

Yubi.

Guan Yu.

“Zhang Fei.”

“Hwahahahaha!!”

Zhang Fei stepped out alone, the weapon, a crescent blade, resting on his shoulder.

“Your beloved Zhang Fei has arrived!”

Whoosh.

An arrow fell from the sky, aimed downward.

“Go!!”

Zhang Fei let out a roar, and the arrow fell helplessly to the side, embedding itself in the ground.

“There, grasshopper antenna!”

“Hmm.”

I exchanged glances with Zhang Liao.

“It seems like he’s calling me—”

“You brat who changes weapons like changing your father! Your beloved Zhang Fei will take you on!”

“……?”

Did I hear that wrong?

“What did you just say? Changing my father, what?”

“What is your surname! Are you Lü Bu, or Zheng Po? Or perhaps Dong Po Ruo!”

According to the information I gathered.

That ‘Zhang Fei’ is at least 5 years younger than me.

“You young brat, are you looking to die?”

I can forgive being called a grasshopper antenna.

“But what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

I cannot forgive being made a parricide.