Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Entire Fantasy Faction

The coalition forces and Dong Zhuo’s army engaged in a daily, routine war of attrition. The coalition could not break through, and Dong Zhuo’s army had no desire to push back; thus, the stalemate dragged on, listless and stagnant. It seemed Yuan Shao had completely forgotten his earlier proclamations of standing at irreconcilable odds with Dong Zhuo. Having already garnered sufficient fame, he was content—though, of course, if he could take Hulao Pass and march upon Luoyang, his name would truly echo throughout the world.

Chen Xi looked at the blood-stained walls of Hulao Pass. Siege warfare was inherently cruel; every day, men fell.

"Zichuan, tell me, how long until we can reach Luoyang at this rate?" Zhang Fei asked, his expression melancholy. The severe injuries he sustained last time had healed by ninety percent, and according to his own account—as well as the observations of Guan Yu and Zhao Yun—his strength had actually increased by a notch.

"Soon. Dong Zhuo hasn't been seen on the ramparts for several days. It’s likely his forces are preparing to abandon the pass and flee," Chen Xi said calmly. "By the way, Third Brother, what do you think of Lu Bu?"

"Lu Bu?" Zhang Fei’s face clouded with disgust, but he scratched his head. "In all fairness, he is a peerless expert, but I find his character utterly repugnant. Why do you ask, Zichuan?"

"I am planning to assemble a dream team of legendary warriors, and your level is the basic requirement," Chen Xi said, deadpan.

"Ha? That sounds difficult. Your Third Brother here is a top-tier master, one of the very few you can count on your fingers!" Zhang Fei held his head high, striking a pose of lonely mastery.

"The one who was nearly beaten to death by Lu Bu..." Chen Xi rolled his eyes.

"Zichuan, setting aside Lu Bu’s character, his own power base alone would make it difficult for us to recruit him," Zhao Yun appeared silently behind Chen Xi and remarked.

"So, you don't mind if we attempt to recruit him?" Chen Xi turned his head to find that not only Zhao Yun, but also Guan Yu and Liu Bei were present.

"Lu Bu is indeed a hero of unrivaled stature. If you wish to attempt his recruitment, Zichuan, you may try," Liu Bei said, giving his approval. In his view, since it was a speculative endeavor, he didn't mind wasting a little time if Chen Xi was willing to pursue it.

Meanwhile, Li Ru was busy reviewing documents as per Dong Zhuo’s orders. Once these were processed, he estimated that the tung oil would be fully distributed. All that remained was to strip the city of its treasures and wealth, leak some information to lure the "rats" of the Guandong coalition inside, and then set a fire that would leave them half-dead.

Li Ru paused over a memorial. After a moment’s thought, he pulled a blank imperial decree from the side, filled it with some casual text, and stamped it with the Imperial Seal. He tossed the memorial aside and continued to the next; Li Ru truly held absolute power in his hands now.

In the lamplight, the memorial clearly stated that Kong Rong, Governor of Beihai, and Tao Qian, Governor of Xuzhou, had jointly recommended Liu Xuande, the Magistrate of Pingyuan and a scion of the Han imperial family, for the position of Governor of Taishan Commandery, followed by a long string of sycophantic praise.

Li Ru, thanks to his intelligence network, knew that Guan, Zhang, and Zhao were all Liu Bei’s subordinates. Naturally, he was interested in recruiting such formidable warriors. Since the Prime Minister had delegated authority to him, he would diligently act in the Prime Minister's best interests. Perhaps this connection wouldn't be useful now, but years later, when they gathered the momentum of the world to march out of Hangu Pass, many of these idle chess pieces would come into play. Liu Bei was a piece he favored.

"Who are you?" Lu Bu asked, looking curiously at the old man sitting in his home, sipping wine.

"I am merely a messenger. Someone asked me to deliver this to you, saying it was in gratitude for General Lu’s actions in Bingzhou," the old man said, standing up and handing over a letter.

Lu Bu remained expressionless, but the struggle in his eyes was difficult to mask. He took a deep breath, took the letter, and told his servant, "Give him some money and escort him out of Luoyang."

"Many thanks," the old man bowed and hurried away.

Lu Bu opened the envelope and scanned the contents. He shut the letter in shock, his inner turmoil etched onto his face as he gripped the parchment, crushing it into powder. He called out to another servant, "Summon Wen Yuan here for a meeting!"

The next day, Li Ru ordered Lu Bu to excavate the imperial tombs in Luoyang and seize their treasures. Lu Bu claimed his wounds had not yet healed and refused.

Li Ru frowned upon hearing this, but did not press him further, instead ordering Li Jue to handle the excavation. For Li Jue, this was an incredibly lucrative assignment.

"Li Wenyou, you actually dare to treat me like this!" Lu Bu roared in his inner chambers, furious. He recalled the letter’s warning: once he excavated the imperial tombs, he would be permanently branded a traitor, impossible to redeem, and the entire Han court would never truly accept him.

Thinking further of the letter's claim that Li Ru intended to burn all of Luoyang to the ground, even Lu Bu felt a chill. He could not imagine how many people would be displaced. Had he not fought the northern nomads in Bingzhou to ensure the peace of the land? With this one fire, the million souls of Luoyang would be finished.

"General!" Zhang Liao called out from the doorway.

"Wen Yuan, how did the investigation go?" Lu Bu asked, his face gloomy.

"The entire city of Luoyang has been rigged with tung oil. Had I not specifically investigated, I would still be in the dark," Zhang Liao said with resentment. "What does Li Ru intend to do?"

"He intends to burn Luoyang and move the capital to Chang'an," Lu Bu said calmly.

"What?" Zhang Liao shouted, as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. "Fengxian, what do we do?"

"There is no easy way. I suspect that if we show even the slightest resistance, our Bingzhou brothers in Luoyang will be wiped out. Even Xu Rong has been recalled," Lu Bu said, his face dark. "We can only take it one step at a time. I just turned down the tomb excavation; Li Ru is already suspicious of us."

"Fengxian, let’s return to Bingzhou after this. Our men are waiting for us. Once back there, we won't care about these messy, wretched affairs. We will fight our nomads, and they can fight for their emperor," Zhang Liao said, looking at Lu Bu with hope.

Lu Bu was silent. Bingzhou... he wanted to return, but he dared not.

Ever since Ding Yuan brought him—a man who never wanted to come to Luoyang—to save the throne; ever since Ding Yuan led most of the Bingzhou troops away from their homeland; and ever since the lack of soldiers to guard the border resulted in the northern nomads galloping south to graze their horses—at that time, he was not there to face the nomads. He no longer had the courage to go back.

"Fengxian!" Zhang Liao interrupted his thoughts.

"We cannot go back," Lu Bu said coldly. "Prepare for the coming battle. We will have a brutal fight ahead. Protecting our Bingzhou brothers is far more important than dwelling on things that can never be!"