Don’t Tell Me This Is the True History of the Three Kingdoms! Vol 9 Chapter 67

Li Dian POV

Un? When I turned back, I found that the one who spoke was the frivolous and carefree Lu Xiang.

“You don’t need to take the field first, little sister. I’ll do it this time.” Her kind elder brother responded before I did.

I have my own reservations on this naturally. It’s too early to decide who to send at this time, especially when we do not know who is on the other side. If it’s Guan Yu, then you both need to take the field.

At the same time, I recalled what Cao Ren instructed me, that if I could not achieve victory, I ought to try to deplete their troops.

Yes, deplete their troops.

Of the close to 10,000 strong force we brought with us, about 2/3 are from Yuan Shao. If we really cannot achieve victory, then we are to expend as many of Yuan Shao’s troops as we can. Our reinforcements are plenty after all and our ultimate victory over Liu Biao is almost all but a.s.sured just based on our outsized numerical advantage. Expending some of Yuan Shao’s troops is for my lord’s long term strategic goals.

At the same time, I have to do my best to preserve my own troops. My 3,000 strong contingent and my 300 strong personal cavalry battalion.

— Of course, if possible, letting both of these generals die here is also a good thing.

Un… Cao Ren did not explicitly say this but this could be inferred. At least from my point of view, Cao Ren does not seem to have thought this far. I agree with this though, as it is not a wise choice to expend quality generals. Just like with Liu Bei’s retainers, my lord wishes to recruit Yuan Shao’s generals to her side if she is able to.

I looked ahead again and saw that the dust had completely settled. As Lu Xiang said before, there does appear to be about 5-6,000 troops. A few paces ahead of them were 2 generals on horseback, 1 ahead of the other, which implied that 1 was the commanding officer and the other was the lieutenant; and they were looking towards me.

“Those 2 are…”

“Un… The commanding officer should be Zhao Yun Zhao Zi Long.”

Zhao Yun? I believe I have heard of her before.

“Back when Liu Bei sought refuge with our lord, he came with Zhao Yun. And during the Battle of Guandu, Zhao Yun also partic.i.p.ated in it.”

“Where does Zhao Yun hail from?”

“She used to be a subordinate of Gongsun Zan. Back then, Gongsun Zan chose to accept death and released Zhao Yun to serve another feudal lord. It was during then that she met Liu Bei.” Lu Kuang explained.

This made me think back to the time when I crossed swords with Liu Bei outside Xu state city back then. He must have somehow miraculously met with Zhao Yun after that.

Perhaps it might not be a stretch to say that he would not have been able to make it all the way to Ji state where Yuan Shao was without her. Even though his will to live was clearly that strong, why did he not prevail this time? Was it because it was not meant to be?

“What of Zhao Yun’s martial prowess?” I decided to shelve my stray thoughts and inquire about her.

“She’s very good. She fought with Wen Chou a long time ago and it seemed to be about equal even after several dozen bouts.”

“Ah~ Lord Wen Chou was really scary back when Lord Wen Chou was still alive~” Lu Xiang added unnecessarily.

As a warrior, being able to die on the battlefield is a nice way to end after all. But leaving that aside, this means that Zhao Yun’s martial prowess should be exceedingly good. I wonder if she will step up first or if she will send her lieutenant first
.

“Lu Kuang, are you ready to partake in a duel later?” I decided to make a decision first and asked as I turned around.

“Yes!”

“Eh~ Big brother! Are you really going to go?”

“Don’t be afraid, little sister. Big brother will be fine.”

These 2 really are… They are still acting like this even at a time like this.

“It’ll be fine. If it’s the lieutenant who steps up, then he should be fine. But if it’s Zhao Yun who steps up, then I’ll support you from far.” I said as I took out a bow from the cloth bag hanging by the side of my horse, “If Zhao Yun steps up, I’ll a.s.sist you at an opportune moment.”

“Is it alright? Attacking from behind like that.”

“Not at all. Based on my own standards, that is worth close to 0 points.” I very honestly replied, “But sometimes, I have to do things that go against my principles so don’t worry about that.”

That is because I am not strong enough. I said to myself. At the very least, I have to make sure that these 2 remain alive for now. If need be, we can even go against them in a 3-on-2 scenario.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll do my best.” Lu Kuang said seriously as he nodded and then saluted and bowed to me. It has only been a few days but I feel that Lu Kuang is rather reliable, more so at least than Lu Xiang. It is also clear that this little sister needs such an elder brother.

As I thought so, I did my best to relax as we were already treading on sand. And before me was that so-called Zhao Yun and her several thousand strong force.

*Tata*

Zhao Yun had a cold and stern look as she held a s.h.i.+ny, silver spear. On her was a set of s.h.i.+ny, silver armour as well that went along with her strong, white steed.

When I looked at her lieutenant behind her, I found that though she did not have flashy armour, her white feather ornaments at her ears were rather eye-catching and she gave off a rather refined aura that was rare amongst warriors. She rode atop a chestnut red horse and held a long spear as well. Looks like there is not much difference between our weapons and everything will depend on our respective techniques.

“Lord Li Dian, I–”

“Un,” I shook my head and stopped him. The battle was important but before that…

“May I ask if the commanding officer on the other side is Zhao Yun Zhao Zi Long?!” I yelled out loudly.

Yelling to each other was a necessity before every battle. It’s also an art. Yelling to each other before the battle can influence the outcome of the duels that will happen shortly afterwards. The right words can change how a person is feeling after all and a loud enough voice can boost troop morale.

It can be beneficial or it can be detrimental. To be honest, I am not too good at this compared to Cao Ren for example. But in this battle, the other side should be weaker mentally in comparison so yelling first should be beneficial to our side.

“That is I!” She saluted, “I am Zhao Yun Zhao Zi Long of Changshan. Dare I ask who you are?”

She was rather polite and her words were refined. She’s not a ruffian at all.

“Li Dian Li Man Cheng.” I replied as I saluted along with the Lu siblings and continued, “We are here by the decree of the Son of Heaven to make a southern expedition to punish all the feudal lords who have established their own fiefdoms. Now that we are here, won’t you all surrender?”

“And why should we? My lord is the Imperial Uncle of the Great Han, a royal relative of the bloodline of the dynasty. Could it be that you all see him as a traitor as well?”

She’s not just refined, she also has a glib tongue. Looks like she will be difficult to deal with.

“The Xinye which you lot are occupying belongs to Liu Biao of Jing state. Liu Biao has not come to personally seek an audience with the Son of Heaven and has begun a war in the south of his own accord, seeking to divvy up lands belonging to the Great Han. The Son of Heaven and the commoners do not approve of this behaviour and we are here to reclaim his lands, beginning with Xinye.” I took a deep breath before I went into the main topic, “And now that Imperial Uncle Liu Bei has gone missing after falling into the waters, you lot are left without a lord. Based on Han laws, you all have to either return to Imperial Court and await his return or accept another feudal lord from Imperial Court who will command you and your troops in place of your lord.”

“Our lord may be missing but it is not yet certain that he will not return. Even if he has died, we are still united and will live for our lord’s cause and fight for the Great Han. Now that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao have joined forces to control the Imperial Court, what legitimacy do you have to fight against the Imperial Court?” She immediately yelled back when I finished and smirked, “If we go with you, then if Xuan De returns, how will we return to his side?”

“How could you not?”

“Yet Lord Guan Yu had to slay many Pa.s.s generals to return, why is that?”

“Ah… That is…”

So that was what she was after. I have to say that it’s pretty effective.

“T, that’s because of an administrative error.” I was getting nervous and pulled down my hat slightly to calm myself down as I said calmly, “On the other hand, are you sure your side is fine? Do you really have the time and leisure to be discussing terms with me?”

“… What do you mean?” Zhao Yun seemed to waver at this, which made me feel like there was a chance.

“Based on my intel, you lot should have several tens of thousands of troops under your command. Yet why have you deployed so few this time?”

“The rest are out doing military exercises. The 6,000 we have are more than enough to deal with you.”

“It’s more likely that you lot have splintered.”

“You!”

“Chen Dao…”

Before Zhao Yun could respond, her lieutenant yelled out. Looks like she was a little too naive and fiery. Judging from their reactions, this means that they do have some internal rifts. I do not know what they might be yet but that is not important anymore. Just seeing that they are shaken is enough.

“Lu Kuang.”

“I am here.”

“Go and duel her.”