Chapter 91

On the second day of defending the city, Taishi Ci dressed neatly early in the morning and planned to go out of the city to challenge the enemy again. Shi Xun tried hard to stop him, saying, "It's right for you to go out and face the enemy, but please don't think about challenging Lü Bu again. We need to know when to stop."

Taishi Ci smiled and said, "Everyone says Lü Bu is the first great general under heaven, unmatched by anyone. I want to test him. Don't worry, even if I lose, I have the confidence to protect my life. Since I promised to defend Juancheng, I won't abandon my useful body outside the city."

He whispered a few words to Shi Xun, then ordered the city gates to be opened and led the army out in a surge. Shi Xun quickly climbed up to the city tower to watch the battle. His heart was pounding, but when he saw Taishi Ci taunt Lü Bu and then turn to leave, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, he didn't expect the enemy formation to suddenly stir, and a general with a spear charged out. When he saw the general's horse was entirely red with almost no other colors, he knew it was over—Lü Bu had been provoked!

Shi Xun was also quite curious about the first great general of this era and wanted to see what Lü Bu looked like. The pretty boy on stage and in TV dramas was obviously not reliable. Lü Bu had already served under Ding Yuan for several years before joining Dong Zhuo, so he must have been around thirty, not just in his early twenties. Even if he were in his early twenties, ancient people usually grew beards, so it was unlikely his chin was smooth. Besides, if his chin were smooth like Liu Bei's, the history books would have mentioned it.

So he focused his gaze and, to his surprise, Lü Bu did look a bit like Zhang Guangbei! Saying he looked like the Lü Bu Zhang Guangbei played in the old Three Kingdoms series was just a general impression. From such a distance, he couldn't see Lü Bu's facial features clearly, but he could see that Lü Bu had a long, narrow face with distinct features. Lü Bu had a beard, but it wasn't very thick, and he might not have been quite thirty yet.

Lü Bu was wearing heavy armor—similar to the fish-scale armor Sun Ce wore, but not as ornate, all black, and with long sleeves on his arms down to his elbows. Shi Xun was puzzled, thinking, "I feel my arms are less flexible with sleeves to my elbows, how can you still wield weapons like that?"

Of course, Lü Bu didn't just wear a small cap with pheasant feathers. He wore proper cavalry armor made of many iron plates, with a pair of goose feathers on each side. His cloak was also black, and Shi Xun couldn't help but frown, thinking, "This doesn't match the color of the red rabbit horse at all. Your aesthetic sense is off. You should wear all red, then you'd be like the 'Red Prepared'..."

Just as he was thinking this, Lü Bu charged closer. He was about to shout to remind Taishi Ci to turn back, but then he saw Taishi Ci suddenly stand up on the stirrups, turn around, and shoot an arrow.

The arrow flew like a meteor and reached Lü Bu in an instant, but Lü Bu didn't even dodge. He just raised his left arm, deflected the arrow, and it fell to the ground. His horse's speed didn't slow down at all, and he continued to approach, reaching forty steps away in a blink.

But after shooting one arrow, Taishi Ci didn't stop. He drew his bow again and shot three more arrows in quick succession. These three arrows were close together, and Lü Bu didn't dare to use his arm to block them again. He raised his spear and spun it above his horse's head, shattering all three arrows.

Seeing that his arrows were ineffective, Taishi Ci put down his bow and picked up his spear. As Lü Bu approached, he didn't turn his horse but instead lightly tapped the stirrup and moved forward to the side. Lü Bu was about to turn, but at that moment, he had already entered the range of the archers behind the sheep and horse wall, and they all shot arrows at him.

Lü Bu, undaunted, swung his spear again, using it like a shield to block all the arrows. After a round of arrows, there was a pause, and Taishi Ci turned his horse and finally faced Lü Bu. Lü Bu was so angry that his eyes turned red. He used all his strength to thrust his spear at Taishi Ci's chest. Taishi Ci blocked it with his spear and felt his arms tingle, thinking, "What a great strength, indeed worthy of his reputation!"

As the two horses passed each other, Lü Bu didn't swing his spear to slash Taishi Ci's chest armor like Sun Ce did. Instead, he turned his body and thrust his spear again. Taishi Ci, with his stirrups, wasn't afraid of him and met the spear with his own. The two weapons clashed with a loud "clang." Taishi Ci was secretly surprised; this person could exert as much force from the side as from the front. He couldn't help but want to see if Lü Bu also had stirrups, but during the intense battle, a moment's distraction could mean death, so he gritted his teeth and endured.

Lü Bu, of course, didn't have stirrups, but he was from the borderlands of Bingzhou, with exceptional talent. He had grown up on horseback with the nearby nomads, so his horsemanship was unparalleled, far surpassing Taishi Ci and Sun Ce. For most people, even most nomads, riding a horse without stirrups and exerting force from the side would reduce their strength by nearly half to maintain balance. However, Lü Bu was almost unaffected.

But because of this, Lü Bu was overly confident. Even after entering Yanzhou and acquiring some Yanzhou soldiers who used stirrups, he never thought to equip himself or his cavalry with them—those were for soft, inexperienced riders, not for the people of Bingzhou!

Taishi Ci originally wanted to use the stirrups to find an opportunity to attack Lü Bu from the side, but after this exchange, he realized he had no chance. Even if they were side by side, he might have an advantage in strength, but he couldn't push Lü Bu off his horse like he did with Sun Ce.

The two horses passed each other, and they circled around, exchanging four rounds in a blink. Both sides were stunned. Lü Bu thought, "This is indeed a great general. No wonder he could kill Cheng Lian in two rounds." He began to have a fondness for Taishi Ci's talent. He thrust his spear repeatedly, but mostly used it to strike, not to kill. He wanted to exhaust Taishi Ci's strength and then capture him alive to make him his subordinate.

But this made it even harder for Taishi Ci. In terms of martial arts, Taishi Ci was not inferior to Lü Bu; in horsemanship, although slightly inferior, he could still hold his own with the help of stirrups. However, in strength, Taishi Ci was no match. After another ten rounds, Taishi Ci's arms were getting sore, and even his waist was starting to feel weak.

As the two horses passed each other again, each moving twenty steps away, Taishi Ci, holding his spear with one hand, secretly signaled to the city. Shi Xun, seeing this clearly from the city, quickly ordered, "Sound the retreat!"

As the gong sounded, Taishi Ci's three thousand soldiers lined up and ran forward, and a few arrows were shot from behind the sheep and horse wall—few to avoid hitting their own, but each one aimed at the neck of the red rabbit horse. Lü Bu was forced to let go of one hand and pull the reins to help the red rabbit horse dodge.

Seeing the situation, Chen Gong quickly ordered a retreat. He thought, "General, come back quickly. You're too close to the enemy city. If you're surrounded, we won't be able to rescue you in time." Lü Bu was still hesitating when he heard Taishi Ci laugh, "Bingzhou's Lü Bu, nothing more!" and leisurely rode over the drawbridge back into the city.

After Taishi Ci left, Lü Bu, though full of anger, had to retreat. The enemy had three thousand soldiers, and if they surrounded him, he would be in trouble. He could break through, but he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be injured—taking a general's head in a million soldiers was possible, but you needed a few guards to help and protect your back.

Seeing Lü Bu retreat, the three thousand soldiers didn't chase. They stopped, turned around, and returned to the city.

As soon as Taishi Ci returned to the city, he threw his spear and said, "Help me take off my armor." He then rubbed his forearms vigorously. Shi Xun ran down from the city and asked, "How was it?" Taishi Ci smiled and said, "Lü Bu is indeed formidable. If you hadn't sounded the retreat in time, I would have lost after three or five more rounds." Shi Xun also smiled, "This is perfect. A draw with Lü Bu neither dampens our morale nor harms your reputation."

Taishi Ci said, "I don't seek fame through single combat. War is not fought by one person. If I can hold Juancheng and even defeat Lü Bu, that would be the achievement a general should pursue."

He still wanted to fight Lü Bu, but Lü Bu didn't want to stay under Juancheng any longer. On Chen Gong's advice, he didn't attack that day and retreated under the cover of night.

The next noon, Cheng Li sent a message saying he had arrived in Fan County, convinced Jin Yun to kill the commandant Fan Yi sent to take over Fan City, and planned to send troops to Qin Ting Jin to prevent Zhang Miao's forces from crossing the river.

Everyone in the hall was delighted, except for Guo Jia, who frowned and stared at the map on the table, silent for a long time. Xun Yu noticed something was wrong with Guo Jia but didn't ask him, instead signaling everyone to not disturb his thinking. After a while, Guo Jia finally looked up.

Xun Yu asked, "What are you thinking, Fengxiao?" Guo Jia, still frowning, slowly replied, "If Lü Bu had stayed under Juancheng, waiting for Cao Gong to return and cross the Ji River, he would have had to retreat to Dongjun, and the area west of Jiyin would be safe. But now, he retreated without a fight. If he holds Dingtuo and sets up an array south of the Ji River, Cao Gong will find it difficult to advance, and the situation will be precarious."

Xun Yu asked, "What is your plan?"

Guo Jia said, "There are two strategies. One is to send a force south, through Shanyang Commandery, cross the Si River, and harass Lü Bu's army from the side, preventing them from building fortifications and waiting for Cao Gong to return. The second is to send a force north, join forces with Cheng Zhongde, cross the river at Qin Ting or Cang Ting, defeat Zhang Miao, take Dongwuyang, and eliminate the threat from behind. Then Juancheng can join Cao Gong to attack Lü Bu."

Ren Jun asked, "Which strategy is better?"

Guo Jia said, "There is no clear better strategy; the key is in the person leading the troops." He turned to Taishi Ci and said, "If we send troops from Juancheng, Taishi Jun must be the general. Which strategy do you prefer, Taishi Jun?" His meaning was that both strategies were good, so it depended on which one the commander understood best and had the most confidence in. If the commander lacked confidence and had no ideas for adapting, even a good strategy would fail.

Taishi Ci pondered for a while and then asked Xun Yu, "I have just met Cheng Zhongde and don't know his abilities. Do you think he can match Zhang Miao?"

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