Chapter 10

After this battle, Pan Feng was thoroughly convinced by Li Yuanba! He couldn't help but secretly mutter to himself, wondering where his lord had been finding such skilled warriors lately! First, there was Guan Sheng with his outstanding saber skills, and now Li Yuanba with his immense strength! Each one's martial arts far surpassed his own; however, Pan Feng had a straightforward personality and never worried about his own status declining. He was simply delighted by the significant improvement in his lord's strength!

Moreover, the merit of leading the troops to attack Fanshui Pass was his! It seemed that he was still deeply trusted by his lord. With this thought, Pan Feng worked even harder over the next few days! He led his troops all the way to follow Yuan Shao and others to the foot of Hulao Pass!

At this time, there were 30,000 troops led by Lü Bu in front of Hulao Pass, while Dong Zhuo, along with Li Jue, Guo Si, Li Ru, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji, were stationed on the pass, tightly guarding this strategic gateway to Luoyang.

"Cavalry of Bingzhou truly lives up to its reputation as elite troops! Dong Zhuo, having gained Lü Bu and the Cavalry of Bingzhou, is like a tiger with added wings!" Cao Cao and Li You stood side by side on a small hill, looking far at Lü Bu's camp in front of the pass. Liu Bei and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were slightly behind them.

Over these few days, the three of them often interacted, and their relationship had improved considerably. Liu Bei said, "Lü Bu is fickle and unpredictable. Ding Jianyang died unjustly."

"Lord Xian's words are off the mark! I think Ding Yuan's death was well-deserved!" Li You pointed to the neatly arranged camp opposite and said, "There are three reasons. I observe that this camp is well-defended, with no place that does not conform to military strategy! From this, it can be seen that Lü Bu is a capable general, but Ding Jianyang made him a secretary, failing to use his talents. Lü Bu inevitably felt discontent, which is the first reason!"

"Dong Zhuo sent people to give Lü Bu jewels and the Red Hare, and he was easily swayed. This shows that although Ding Jianyang adopted Lü Bu as a foster son, he rarely educated him, making it easy for him to be lured away. Raising without educating is not the way of a parent, which is the second reason!"

"As a regional lord, failing to win the hearts of his subordinates is one thing, but not being on guard against them, allowing Lü Bu to enter his tent alone and kill him, is truly unwise, which is the third reason! If Lü Bu were to join Cao Cao's camp, he would not dare to rebel easily! This is a chaotic era, where rulers choose their ministers and ministers choose their rulers. Unfortunately, Lü Bu lacks both the wisdom to choose a wise lord and the spirit to serve a lord! His future will surely be bleak!"

Liu Bei opened his mouth, feeling that Li You's words were somewhat off, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong! Cao Cao, however, was quite in agreement. He laughed heartily and said, "If Lü Bu were to come and join me, I would certainly make use of him!"

"Let's see if you still say that when the time comes, like at the White Gate Tower!" Li You smiled but said nothing. Soon, Yuan Shao gathered the eighteen warlords to face Lü Bu at Hulao Pass. The three of them led their trusted subordinates to Yuan Shao and watched the battle together.

Wang Kuang of Henei led the charge, leading his troops to rush towards Lü Bu's camp. Lü Bu led 3,000 iron cavalry to meet them. Lü Bu wore a three-pronged purple gold crown, a red brocade robe from Shu, a beast-faced chainmail armor, and a finely crafted lion belt. He carried a bow and arrows, held a halberd, and rode the Red Hare. He was truly awe-inspiring and dashing.

Fang Yue, a famous general under Wang Kuang, rode out to challenge Lü Bu. In less than five rounds, Lü Bu pierced him with his halberd, killing him. Lü Bu then led his troops directly towards Wang Kuang, charging through the ranks as if they were no one. Fortunately, Qiao Mao and Yuan Yi's armies came to the rescue, driving back Lü Bu and saving Wang Kuang.

"Hey, this guy has some skills!" Li Yuanba, seeing Lü Bu charge through the ranks like walking on flat ground, couldn't help but be impressed. He spurred his horse to Li You's side and asked to join the battle.

"You have quite the big mouth!" Ma Teng, the governor of Liangzhou, who was standing next to Li You, couldn't help but retort, "Lü Bu is a hero of the world, with unparalleled martial arts! Although Guan Sheng under Wen Jie is brave, he is probably no match for Lü Bu! What about you, an unknown soldier?"

As he spoke, Ma Teng turned to look at Li Yuanba. When he saw his sharp face, monkey-like features, sickly appearance, and emaciated body, he sneered, intending to give him a lecture. However, his eyes were immediately drawn to the two large hammers in Li Yuanba's hands! "Ah! What are those...?" He pointed at the hammers, too surprised to speak!

"Governor Ma, what is it?" Li You, seeing Ma Teng's surprised expression, couldn't help but ask.

"Where did you get these two hammers?" As he spoke, Ma Teng dismounted and quickly walked to Li Yuanba, staring intently at the hammers in his hands, as if he hadn't heard Li You's question.

Li Yuanba frowned and scratched his head, seemingly trying to recall the origin of the hammers. After a while, he said, "I think I got them from a village with the surname Ma a long time ago?"

"That's it!" Ma Teng slapped his thigh, "These two hammers are called the Drum Beating Gold Hammers, used by my ancestor, General Ma Yuan. Unfortunately, after him, no one in our clan could lift them. Later, during Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han dynasty, our clan scattered, and the hammers were lost! I never thought they would end up in your hands!"

"Your family's things?" Li Yuanba immediately became wary, "They said I could keep them if I could lift them! You can't take them back!"

"No, no!" Ma Teng waved his hands, "I just felt a surge of emotion seeing my ancestor's weapons. These hammers are in good hands with you! I have no intention of taking them back!"

While they were talking, Lü Bu had already killed Mu Shun, a general under Zhang Yang, the governor of Shangdang, and was now in a fierce battle with Wu Anguo, a general under Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai. After ten rounds, Wu Anguo's wrist was cut off by Lü Bu, and he dropped his hammer and fled.

"Truly a disgrace to those who use hammers!" Perhaps because Wu Anguo also used a hammer, Li Yuanba felt indignant and wanted to join the battle.

However, he was preempted by Gongsun Zan, the governor of Liaodong, who wielded a spear and engaged Lü Bu in battle. After a few rounds, Gongsun Zan was drenched in sweat and about to give in!

Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei had once studied under Lu Zhi. If Gongsun Zan were to fall, it would be Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei's turn to face Lü Bu! No, he couldn't wait any longer! Li You quickly called over Li Yuanba, "Yuanba, go and capture that red-robed general with the halberd! Remember, don't kill him, just capture him alive!"

"Such a fight is no fun!" Li Yuanba grumbled but nodded, "Alright, I'll do it!" He then spurred his horse, Wanli Feng, to charge forward.

"Hold on!" Li You, suddenly playful, held back Li Yuanba and instructed, "When you charge, shout, 'Three-name traitor, don't run! Dare to fight me?'"

"Ramble on, I got it!" Li Yuanba impatiently pushed his hand away and spurred his horse forward. Soon, he was in front of Lü Bu, and amidst the attention of the troops, he suddenly shouted, "Three-name traitor, don't run! Dare to fight me?"

Damn, what a disgrace! Li You covered his face in shame!

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