Chapter 86

The course of history has been altered, but the inertia remains...

In the original historical timeline, Lü Bu, styled Fèngxiān, killed the powerful minister Dong Zhuo in the fourth month of the third year of the Chuping era. However, he was soon driven out of Chang'an by Dong Zhuo's former generals Li Jue, Guo Si, Jia Xu, and Zhang Ji. Lü Bu, leading a few hundred elite cavalry from Bing Province, first sought refuge with Yuan Shu. At that time, Yuan Shu was still enjoying a comfortable life in Nanyang, and Liu Biao had not yet dared to move against him. Feeling secure, Yuan Shu disliked Lü Bu's fickle nature and ignored him. Enraged, Lü Bu decided, "Since you don't get along with your leader, I'll go to him instead!"

So, he went to Hebei to join Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was planning to attack Zhang Yan (Chu Feiyan), who was entrenched in Changshan, to cut off Gongsun Zan's arm. Upon hearing that Lü Bu had arrived, Yuan Shao was overjoyed and immediately assigned a force to Lü Bu's command, ordering him to attack Changshan. Lü Bu was truly formidable, and in one battle, he defeated Zhang Yan's army of over ten thousand. Despite suffering minimal losses, he repeatedly wrote to Yuan Shao, asking for reinforcements.

Yuan Shao was displeased, thinking that he had intended to raise a fierce dog but ended up with a tiger. Instead of sending reinforcements, he gradually reassigned the troops originally given to Lü Bu to others. Realizing he could not stay, Lü Bu negotiated with Yuan Shao, saying, "Since you don't intend to heavily rely on me, I'll leave." He submitted his resignation, but Yuan Shao had a change of heart. On the surface, he pretended to retain Lü Bu, but secretly, he set up an ambush to kill him. Lü Bu detected the plot and fled by night to Zhang Yang in Henei.

It is said that on his way to Henei, Lü Bu passed through Dongjun and bid farewell to his old friend Zhang Miao. Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, was essentially the second-in-command in Cao Cao's camp and had been staying in Dongjun with Chen Gong. After Cao Cao killed Bian Rang, the scholars of Yanzhou were uneasy. Zhang Miao and Chen Gong, taking advantage of Cao Cao's second eastern campaign against Tao Qian, sent messengers to Lü Bu, saying, "Zhang Yang has such a small territory; you won't get anywhere with him. Why not come to us—Yanzhou—welcome you."

In this timeline, where Shi Xun has traveled through time, Cao Cao still killed Bian Rang—this happened when Shi Xun was appointed magistrate of Chengyang. The specific reasons and charges are unclear to Shi Xun. As mentioned earlier, the scholars of Yanzhou were already dissatisfied with Cao Cao, who enforced strict laws and focused on punishing corrupt officials and local strongmen. Even though Shi Xun's land reclamation policy reduced the burden on the people, it still drew widespread disapproval. The killing of Bian Rang became the last straw, and Zhang Miao and Chen Gong began to have second thoughts. Compared to the original history, their desire to change allegiance was even more urgent—Cao Cao was now formidable, with control over Xuzhou and half of Yuzhou. If he defeated Yuan Shu on the front lines and took control of Huainan and Jiangbei, even Yuan Shao might not dare to challenge him. Could they still move against him?

At this time, Lü Bu fled from Yuan Shao and passed through Dongjun. Zhang Miao and Chen Gong immediately offered, "General, don't go to Henei. Stay and take control of Yanzhou"—this was about half a year earlier than in the original history!

Zhang Miao and Chen Gong were influential figures in Yanzhou, and when they raised their voices, the majority of the commanderies, states, and counties quickly changed their allegiance. To show their new loyalty, they replaced the red flags with other colors—such as white, black, green, and blue.

If it were someone else, they might have felt something was amiss with the sudden change in flags but still entered the city, only to be captured as a spy. However, Shi Xun was different. As soon as Taishi Ci mentioned the name "Lü," Shi Xun immediately knew what had happened—how many people surnamed Lü were capable of leading an army? Could it be Lü Kuang, Lü Xiang, Lü Fan, Lü Meng, or **? Cao Cao had a subordinate named Lü Qian, but he was on the front lines and had not been ordered to return to take over Dingtao.

So, he quickly suggested, "Don't enter the city yet. Let's find someone to ask around." The two turned their horses and headed for a nearby village. As they approached the village entrance, they saw a young man peering out, who turned and ran upon seeing them.

Taishi Ci, sensing something was wrong, spurred his horse forward, bent down, and captured the young man by the collar. The young man was still struggling when someone from a corner asked, "Is that the magistrate of Chengyang, Shi Xun?"

Shi Xun quickly rode up and saw a scholar in a long robe, about thirty years old. He recognized him as a clerk from the commandery office. He dismounted and inquired about the situation. The scholar, wiping away tears, said, "Rebellion, the entire city is in rebellion!"

It turned out that last night, a wealthy family in the commandery had incited the soldiers to rebel, attacking the commandery office and killing everyone in sight. The clerk had narrowly escaped and, along with a few colleagues who still supported Cao Cao, had fled to the outskirts. Shi Xun felt a chill in his heart and urgently asked, "Where is the governor?" The clerk stammered, "I don't know."

Shi Xun thought, "I finally saved Cao De from his fate, but he still couldn't escape death? Damn, this heaven is truly heartless!"

At that moment, the clerk called out, and several people, including commandery officials and soldiers, emerged from various directions. Taishi Ci released the young man, who was also a minor official in the commandery. They gathered and discussed their options. Taishi Ci glared and said, "What's to think about? We must return to Chengyang!" His mother was still in Chengyang!

The two ignored the commandery officials, who had no horses and would only be a burden, and quickly rode off, bypassing Dingtao and heading straight for Chengyang. As they entered the county, a man rushed out, nearly being kicked off his feet by Taishi Ci. Shi Xun recognized him as one of his servants who had accompanied him to Chengyang.

The servant knelt before him, repeatedly kowtowing, saying, "Master, you're back, we've been so worried." Shi Xun inquired about the situation, and the servant explained that Li Quan had incited the guards to rebel, taking control of the county and declaring himself the magistrate. Wu Zhi and others had escorted Taishi Ci's mother to Ning Ke's estate for safety. Ning Ke had sent people to scout the southern roads, hoping Shi Xun would return to take charge.

Taishi Ci, relieved to hear that his mother was safe, entered Ning Ke's estate. Ning Ke and Wu Zhi hurried to greet him. Taishi Ci, bowing deeply, said, "Jizhong, thank you for saving my mother. I will repay your great kindness with my life!" Wu Zhi quickly helped him up, saying, "As a friend of my lord, you are like a half-master to me. Protecting the old lady is my duty; I dare not expect repayment."

Ning Ke added that not only Chengyang but also Juyang to the west had changed allegiance. Shi Xun thought, "You haven't heard the worst of it. According to the original history, only Juancheng, Fan County, and Dong'e still flew Cao Cao's flag in the entire Yanzhou."

Taishi Ci visited his mother and then discussed the next steps. This time, it was Shi Xun who made the decision: "What else can we do? We must go to Juancheng. If Juancheng is still safe, we can eventually retake Yanzhou. If Juancheng falls, we'll have to flee south to join Cao Cao!" He was anxious; his estate was just outside Juancheng, and Guan Si and Guan Hai's fates were unknown.

Moreover, Juancheng was not far away, only about a hundred miles. They could reach it quickly. However, Taishi Ci was unwilling to leave his mother. Shi Xun, using a strategic retreat, said, "It was I who asked Ziyi to come to Yanzhou, putting your mother in danger. I and Jizhong will go to Juancheng, but Ziyi should stay here to protect your mother." He knew Taishi Ci was a man of honor and would not let him go alone—was this not enough? Then he added Wu Zhi, who had saved his mother. Was this enough?

Sure enough, Taishi Ci hesitated for a moment, then went in to ask his mother. He came out, gritted his teeth, and stomped his foot, "How can I abandon Hongfu and Jizhong? I will follow you, and see who can stop me with this..." He was about to say "this spear" but suddenly remembered that his spear had been broken by Sun Ce.

Shi Xun feared that even if Juancheng was still under Cao Cao's control, Lü Bu's forces might have surrounded it. Lü Bu's elite Bing Province cavalry was the best in the world, not like the tired Yellow Turbans led by Guan Hai at Douchang. Even if Taishi Ci were a demigod, he might not break through the encirclement.

However, he was overthinking it. Lü Bu's Bing Province forces were not numerous. When he fled to Ji Province, he had only a hundred or so cavalry. After joining Yuan Shao and attacking Zhang Yan, his forces grew to a thousand or so, but the rest were reassigned by Yuan Shao. If he had thousands of elite cavalry, he wouldn't fear Yuan Shao. Even if he fled, he would have fought a battle first to vent his anger.

Of course, Shi Xun was unaware of this and felt a chill at the mention of "Lü Bu." So, he and Taishi Ci's mother, Wu Zhi, and two of his servants, along with five brave men provided by Ning Ke, rested for a few hours, ate some food, and set out at dusk, planning to travel through the night to reach Juancheng by dawn.

The group was small. Taishi Ci's mother and a servant rode in a carriage, while Shi Xun, Taishi Ci, Wu Zhi, and the two servants, along with the five brave men, rode horses. Taishi Ci switched to his own horse for better combat readiness, Shi Xun rode Wu Zhi's stirruped horse, and Wu Zhi rode a stirrupless one. Sun Ce's fine horse, which only Taishi Ci could ride, was left at Ning Ke's estate. They protected the carriage on all sides. They traveled through the night, and as dawn broke, they reached the outskirts of Juancheng. Shi Xun did not rush into the city but first circled around to his own estate.

Unexpectedly, before they reached the estate, they encountered a group of about ten cavalrymen, all armored and armed with sharp weapons. Some carried large bundles, some had women on their horses, and one even had two ducks and a chicken. Shi Xun was enraged: "This is like the Japanese invading a village!" He was also shocked: "Damn, Lü Bu's forces have indeed arrived!"

Both sides were surprised. The leading general was about to shout a challenge, but Taishi Ci, in full armor and unafraid (he had even dared to face Sun Ce without armor, his courage was immense), charged forward. The general raised his spear to meet him, seeing that the attacker was not carrying a long weapon but only a ring-handled saber, he sneered, "What a foolish bandit, so big and yet doesn't know how to fight on horseback. Let me take his head!"