The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial - Chapter 74



＜ The Path of Beasts and Suras (4) ＞

“The vanguard is Zhang Chao, and next is I, Zhang Ma.”

Jin Liu Taishu Zhang Ma was unnecessarily anxious that his army was the second unit of the coalition heading towards Luoyang.

“Is this how it ends up….”

It was his own choice.

“Even if I regret it now, it’s too late.”

Continuing to feel regret after making a choice was unavoidable.

“Is this the right thing….”

He was captivated by Yuan Shao’s eloquence.

It was not Zhang Ma himself, but his younger brother, Zhang Chao, the governor of Guangling.

– Brother! If we scatter like this, who will the Bingzhou army target? If we pull the soldiers out of Luoyang and rush to the plains, they will first aim for Jin Liu!

His brother was worried about him.

He was right.

What Yuan Shao said made sense, but the first person to face the consequences from the court after the coalition scattered would be Zhang Ma, the Jin Liu Taishu himself.

– Why did you not fight against the coalition but instead join them? You are a traitor to the Han. Die.

The distance from Luoyang to Jin Liu was just a tumble away.

If a monster flew over and attacked Jin Liu from that short distance, who among the coalition would be able to protect him in time?

– Brother. The fate of this country is already exhausted. Two emperors have ruined the nation, and that young bloodline has ascended to the throne. Now, we need an emperor from another bloodline, the Yu family.

Though the words were like that, Zhang Ma could vaguely sense the true feelings hidden within.

“Zhang Chao. Is it not that you want to achieve fame through this matter?”

The one who brought down the emperor.

Disgrace is also a form of honor.

Yuan Shao was renowned throughout the world as the first to occupy the palace during the chaos of the Ten Eunuchs.

Zhang Chao wanted to take that position for himself.

Attacking Luoyang, driving out Dong Zhuo and his army, and presenting the national seal to Emperor Yu, a hero.

Zhang Chao’s biography would be filled with iron and blood, but the historians would praise and exalt the achievements of King Guangling.

And to be honest, if one were to ask whether such a thing was impossible, the answer would be no.

No matter how high the walls of Luoyang are, we are the coalition.

Though some lords have departed, if we fight with numbers, we will surely win.

Dong Zhuo’s fierce general, Xie Yong, was defeated by the leader Yuan Shao.

Dong Zhuo himself fled from the pursuit of Sun Jian.

Hua Xiong fell in battle at the Sashu Pass.

And then, Lü Bu was wounded by the three heroes, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.

So, all that remains is Luoyang.

Victory was within reach.

“Zhang Chao. Soon, everyone in the world will know your name.”

Zhang Maok himself was not particularly inclined, but his younger brother’s success would surely bring joy to the elder brother.

Luoyang was burning, and a new capital was opening, where the Zhang Maok brothers would gain high positions and enjoy glory for generations to come.

“Uh?”

“Lord, over there, Dong Zhuo’s army is coming from Luoyang!”

Cavalrymen were rushing in.

“Gray… no, black armor…! It’s the Bingzhou army!”

Zhang Maok was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Bingzhou army, which had broken through the vanguard.

“No, where on earth is Zhang Chao…?!”

Before he could even be surprised, the Bingzhou army was aiming their arrows from a distance away from the allied soldiers.

Some cavalrymen were pulling back the bowstrings of arrows with white cloth as the arrowheads, while another cavalryman held a torch and set the cloth on fire.

Their movements could only be described as ‘swift.’

The problem was that they were the enemy, and they were aiming towards Zhang Maok’s unit.

Pababak!

Flaming arrows were flying in.

Though they did not directly hit Zhang Maok’s unit—

Hwaruruk!

In front of Zhang Maok’s unit, they fell upon the bamboo fence that had been carelessly left in disarray during the dismantling.

“Ah, ah…!!”

Flames erupted in an instant.

Tadak, tadak.

The bamboo fence caught fire.

One flaming arrow flew and fell right in front of Zhang Maok, and he could faintly smell the oil from that flaming arrow.

A burning oil-soaked cloth instead of an arrowhead.

It looked as if it had been woven from a mourning robe into an arrowhead.

“Ugh, such a shallow trick…!”

I thought the fence had simply been set up to block the advance of the allied forces and then abandoned.

They had somewhat dismantled it, but the bamboo fence still standing in the rear of the front line—where Jangcho’s unit was—had not been taken down.

Tap, tap.

Every time the bamboo cracked, sparks burst forth from within.

It wasn’t that the bamboo was holding sparks at every joint, but each time a joint opened, the flames that had been ignited grew larger.

“Go around! We must circle the burning fence and assist the vanguard!”

In the vanguard, there was Jangcho.

Of course, there was also Muncho, the right arm of Wonso.

However, Jangmak could not shake off the inexplicable déjà vu and unease, nor could he feel at ease with the soldiers of Byeongju who were setting fire to the fence with oil-soaked fire arrows and then leaving.

What if, what if—

“Messenger!!”

Piercing through the flames, a soldier from the front unit rode in.

“It’s Yeop! Yeop has appeared leading the cavalry!”

“Yeop?! How could he… with that injury?!”

“Messenger!!”

The messenger, who had arrived after circling the flames, had a face twisted as if he had seen a monster.

“Lord Jangcho has… ah.”

“What, what?!”

“…perished!”

“…….”

Jangmak felt a dizzying sensation as his vision turned red, causing him to lose the reins of his horse.

“Your Grace!!”

The soldiers beside him supported Jangmak from both sides, but he could hardly regain his composure.

“I couldn’t stop him…! Jangcho, Jang… cough…!”

“Your Grace!!”

Jangmak slumped as he called out his brother’s name.

The soldiers beside him hurriedly supported Jangmak and sought a stretcher, but he did not open his eyes.

“Messenger!!”

The third messenger.

Unlike the other messengers, the soldier with yellow epaulettes looked at the fainted curtain and said.

“…Go!”

He mounted his horse and began to gallop past the curtain’s troops towards the interior of the Horoguan.

* * *

[Between Horoguan and Sasuguan. Main camp of the allied forces.]

“By now, they should be fighting the enemy, or perhaps knocking on the city walls.”

“Surely it must be the latter, right?”

In the main camp of the allied forces, He Yu replied to Yuan Shao, who was spreading out a map of Luoyang and moving white Go stones here and there.

“The enemy wouldn’t come out to challenge us unless they were insane.”

“Aren’t they cornered?”

“If that’s the case, then they have willingly set aside the safest shield, the city walls, which is even better.”

He Yu grinned slyly and pointed towards Luoyang with his hand.

“Sending Zhang Chao and the curtain was a wise decision. There’s no need for Yuan to stain his hands with blood again.”

“Mm.”

“Let those blinded by power take care of razing Luoyang. After all….”

“It would be nice if they could perish together.”

Yuan Shao calmly grasped the white Go stones heading towards Luoyang, two stones engraved with the character Zhang.

“Personally, I hope to take care of Jin Liu from this side.”

“Jin Liu… you mean?”

“Yes. Isn’t it a symbolic location? A place where Luoyang and the pass face each other.”

“Surely you don’t mean…?”

“No. There are plenty who wish to achieve military merit. I intend to suggest to Gong Sunzan that he keep an eye on this land.”

“…Could it be.”

He Yu lowered his voice cautiously.

“The reason you’re thinking of Jin Liu instead of the state of the enemy, is it because Zhao Mengde is secretly sending his retainers to establish a base there?”

“…….”

“Lord, that person….”

“As you have known since you were young, he is not someone who wishes to be under anyone.”

Won-soo flipped over a Go stone that was lying at a distance.

“But if such a person were to suppress their ambition and bow their head beneath someone else, what a thrilling moment that would be.”

“…….”

“Even if one occupies an entire royal family, if they do not subdue all internal enemies, they cannot claim to have seized the world. Especially if that world is the one ruled by Joah.”

Puuu.

The horn sounded loudly.

Won-soo tilted his head at the sudden blare of the horn and the sound of drums.

“Retreat signal?”

A signal indicating they were retreating after losing a battle.

That signal was now drawing closer to the allied forces.

“What is happening over there…?”

“Your Grace!!”

A soldier with yellow epaulettes on his left shoulder knelt before Won-soo.

“Jin-rim? I told you to assist Mun-chu, why have you come all the way here?”

“Lord Mun-chu… has fallen!”

“……?”

Won-soo tilted his head at the words of the scorched messenger, Jin-rim.

“Who did Mun-chu kill?”

“Quite the opposite! Lord Mun-chu… was murdered!”

“……No way.”

Won-soo let out a hollow laugh.

“……Mun-chu is dead?”

The color drained from Won-soo’s face.

“Mun-chu, dead? That Mun-chu? By whom?”

“By Yeopo…!”

“……Yeopo was injured.”

Won-soo’s teeth began to chatter.

“How could one who is injured kill Mun-chu?”

“That is…!”

“Ah, I see. Did they sever Yeopo’s arm? As expected of Mun-chu. Even in death, with that final breath, he took down Yeopo as a warrior….”

“With one strike, the neck was severed!!”

“…….”

Wonso was about to rise from his seat without a word, but—

Stagger.

“Your Excellency!!”

He nearly collapsed, unable to steady himself.

Heoyu supported him from the side, but Wonso seemed to have lost strength in his legs and could not stand properly on his own.

“No, why?”

“Th-that is….”

“Didn’t Lu Bu stab Liu Bei in the shoulder with a sword? Are you saying that Wen Chou couldn’t withstand that?”

Dong, dong, dong.

“Did he die in one strike? Do you really think that makes sense!”

“But… that….”

Jin Lim lowered his head deeply.

“Like Ban Bong or Mok Sun… his neck was severed by Lu Bu’s strike…!”

“…….”

Wonso turned pale.

“No, this, this can’t be. Are you saying that someone who was injured can muster such strength after just a few days? Especially against someone like Wen Chou. Wen Chou is….”

Wonso quickly scanned the surroundings.

“Isn’t he the strongest among the armed forces that can fight in our army, or rather, the current coalition?”

No one could respond to Wonso’s words.

“Lu Bu, Lu Bu…!”

From noble mtl dot com

Wonso’s fists trembled.

“Uaaah!!”

He shouted towards the sky.

“Heaven!!”

With veins bulging in his neck, he threw down his helmet.

“How could you send Lu Bu to obstruct my great undertaking! How could you place Lu Bu in my path to block me!”

“Y-your Excellency…!”

“Even during the time of Zheng Yuan! Even during the Black Mountain bandits! Even when Dong Zhuo came! And even now, after forming a coalition to break through Holo Pass! Why does that mad monster appear again, even after suffering fatal wounds, to cut off his own arm?!”

The sky does not answer.

If it were to respond, it could only say that it appeared because it had not died.

“This era of the element has but one step left, yet how could it give birth to a warrior like Le Fa in the same era, kuhak!”

Blood gushed from the mouth of the element.

“Your, Your Highness!!”

Heo Yu and Jin Rim hurriedly supported the element, but it could not rise, foaming blood from its mouth.

“Bring the prince! Quickly!”

“Leader! The enemy is… heuk!!”

The vassal, the musician Yu Dae, rushed into the main camp of the allied forces and turned pale at the sight of the fallen element.

“W-what is happening…!”

“What is the matter, Lord Yu Dae!”

“The vanguard of Zhang Chao has suffered near annihilation, and the curtain has fallen! The curtain’s troops are holding back the enemy cavalry, but it seems they will soon break through!”

“No, how many enemies are there! The numbers of Zhang Chao and the curtain must exceed ten thousand!”

“T-that is…!”

Yu Dae clutched his throat as he replied.

“The enemy cavalry is breaking through among the soldiers, thoroughly killing only the generals and officers…!”

“……!”

The collapse of the command structure.

Even if the general were to die, if each soldier fought with the resolve to die—

“Surely the soldiers are not surrendering…?”

“They have begun to throw down their weapons and surrender!”

“No, why! Even if Le Fa has appeared, even if they are frightened by him, our numbers…!”

“That is…!”

With a face full of fear, Yu Dae pointed towards Luoyang.

“…has revealed itself directly.”

“Directly? Who?”

“……The Son of Heaven.”

To the sky.

* * *

What is the fastest way to end a battle?

Breaking the command structure.

If there is someone giving orders to the common soldiers to fight until death, then removing that officer or commander turns the soldiers into mere ‘people.’

In an instant, they are forcibly dragged from being soldiers to becoming reluctant farmers wielding spears.

From that moment on, it is not the orders of a captain or a hundred-man leader that take precedence, but the judgment of an individual.

The power of life and death from that moment is not in the hands of the armed forces of the allied troops, but in our royal army that has removed those armed forces.

“General.”

The officer approaches.

His entire body is drenched in blood.

On one side of his dual-edged weapon is the insignia obtained by killing an officer of the enemy unit, and an unnamed military flag is wrapped around it.

“I have defeated all the hundred-man leaders of the enemy unit. The one who appears to be an officer is….”

“It seems there are hardly any left.”

He takes a moment to catch his breath.

Surrounding him are either the dead who had picked up weapons to fight or those who have thrown down their arms and are lying down.

Most of them are soldiers who are not even properly equipped, and some captains are also lying down with their weapons abandoned.

Three thousand cavalry have ravaged the enemy’s vanguard.

The moment the lord died, and the commander Muncho fell, the enemy’s vanguard disintegrated.

After that, they charged towards those who shouted for the soldiers to advance and fight to the death, focusing on ‘hunting’ them down.

They killed the beasts that wielded invisible chains around the necks of men, liberating the people.

The rest is now about making them surrender on their own.

And that is insufficient with just three thousand cavalry.

Among the more than ten thousand vanguard troops led by Muncho and that lord, the remaining ones are roughly between six thousand and seven thousand.

The rest are dead.

In the process of repeated charges, they were trampled by horses or died after thrusting their spears at the orders of their commanders.

Now, the fate of the soldiers is reduced to two options, and it is we who can decide that fate.

Either let them surrender as they are.

Or, if they are going to die anyway, let them fight to the end.

The ground is blue.

The enemy’s soil is being trampled.

The officer urges the horse he is riding on to muster strength, but the horse is panting and lowering its head.

“Is it tough, officer?”

“I can keep fighting, but the cavalry is exhausted.”

Having pushed my concentration to its limits, I can only feel mentally cornered after several breakthroughs.

Are the remaining soldiers, with their stamina, going to kill me and Zhang Liao, who are still alive?

“Now, General.”

One of the allied soldiers looks at me with pleading eyes.

“Please… spare us.”

“It is not I who decides your life or death.”

If it were in the territory of the commandery, I would have made that decision, but this is Luoyang.

“Look, it’s coming.”

From the direction of Luoyang.

With the sound of drums, a massive palanquin, as big as a house, approaches this way.

It resembles the palanquins used in festivals, yet it appears to be as tall as a four-story building.

The color of the palanquin, which most soldiers on the battlefield can look up to, shines like gold, indicating that it is not something that was originally there but a special palanquin made for this operation.

Accompanied by a few hundred elite soldiers and just under five thousand infantry, there is only one person atop that palanquin.

The one above all.

“Your Majesty…?”

The Emperor’s palanquin has stopped at a distance from the soldiers.

The Imperial Guard, distinctly different from regular soldiers, surrounds the palanquin, and at the very top sits a young boy.

“I declare to the people of this nation—!!”

In front of the Emperor’s palanquin, Minister Wang Yun spreads golden silk wide and shouts.

“If you are rebels, keep your weapons raised; if you are the people of this nation, I command you to lower your weapons!”

At Wang Yun’s shout, the soldiers of the commandery, including myself and Zhang Liao, step back from the prisoners.

“If you truly are the people of this nation, I, as your father, will generously forgive your wrongs!”

Though Wang Yun is shouting, it is the will of the Emperor.

Our gazes meet.

The Emperor nods heavily in my direction and rises from his seat.

Flutter.

With the sleeves embroidered with golden dragons fluttering, he holds a familiar bow in my eyes.

The practice bow that the Emperor had used previously in Mengjin.

It might be a similar spare bow.

Thud.

Instead of drawing the bowstring, the emperor extended the unstrung bow forward and let it fall to the ground with a thud.

“Drop your weapons and surrender!!”

Imperial decree.

In this era, those who do not obey the emperor’s command are destined to die as traitors.

Now, with no one left to shout to the lords or soldiers of the allied forces to “kill the false emperor.”

“The emperor forgives you.”

I spoke softly to the soldiers hesitating before me.

“If you wish to return to your families alive, follow His Majesty’s command.”

Thud, plop.

One by one, the soldiers began to lower their weapons.

There are no longer any traitors against the emperor here.

Such beasts have all already been killed.