Chapter 10

Chapter 644: When the World Changes, the Way Must Also Change (世變道異) (2)

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At Lü Bu's words, Yang Xiao was greatly alarmed, as he had not anticipated such a reaction.

With his life hanging by a thread, an inexplicable courage welled up within Yang Xiao.

"General Lü! You are making a grave mistake! Why choose the difficult path when an easy one is available?"

"What are you all doing! Hurry and drag this man out to be beheaded!"

At this moment, Guo Jia stepped forward to dissuade Lü Bu.

"General, please calm down and listen to my words. You must not behead this man now."

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu's anger subsided as if by magic.

"Very well. I do not wish to be a ruler who does not heed the advice of his generals."

As Lü Bu made this gesture, Guo Jia bowed deeply to him.

"First, I beg forgiveness for blocking your command."

"There is no need for such formalities between us. Speak your mind. Why should we not behead this man?"

"First, beheading a messenger is against the code of conduct. Second, beheading someone who wishes to surrender is also against the code. Third, if we accept Yang Chou's surrender and join forces to attack Zhongtian, we can easily plan against the Guanxi forces."

As Guo Jia finished speaking, Yang Xiao chimed in as if he had been waiting for this moment.

"Perhaps it is because you are a general, but your way of thinking is indeed different. This is exactly what I wanted to say. I implore General Lü to accept my lord's surrender and discuss the great cause."

However, Lü Bu's expression was far from pleased. He countered Guo Jia's argument.

"The reason I wanted to behead him is twofold. First, the Guanxi forces are numerous, and his surrender can only make us suspicious. Second, Yang Chou is a general under Huang Bocong, yet he is planning to betray him without any special reason. Once a traitor, always a traitor."

Lü Bu's argument was well-reasoned. In response, Guo Jia targeted Lü Bu's weakness.

"Wei Ang once said in Shang Jun Shu..."

Lü Bu frowned at the mere mention of this, as Guo Jia was clearly about to quote an ancient sage. However, Guo Jia continued undeterred.

"When the world changes, the principles we must follow also change. This is known as '世變道異' (When the world changes, the way must also change)."

"What does this have to do with the current situation?"

"It is a time of chaos. Yesterday's enemy can become today's friend, and tomorrow's enemy again, without any strangeness."

"There must be a code of honor between a lord and his subordinates."

Lü Bu did not expect to be making such an argument. However, it was clear that he did not want his subordinates to betray him.

Even if Yang Chou wanted to betray Huang Bocong and join Lü Bu, there needed to be a justifiable reason. But Yang Chou did not provide any reason for his betrayal, which made it seem as if he was betraying Huang Bocong solely for wealth and glory.

Thus, from Lü Bu's perspective, accepting Yang Chou was impossible.

On the other hand, Guo Jia had a different stance.

Guo Jia and Jia Hou were a good match. Both were pragmatic in their thinking, making it easy for them to collaborate.

Yang Chou's surrender could be accepted on a pragmatic basis, and Guo Jia's argument had a justifiable reason.

"Accepting a surrender is a virtue. Without virtue, how can one rule over this vast land?"

"Of course, if I behead him, others like Yang Chou will not come to me. Ah! But I cannot accept someone who discards honor for fame, can I?"

"Everything in the world is like this. Many values conflict with each other. Good things do not necessarily coexist."

Lü Bu could not fully understand Guo Jia's words, but he knew that as his territory expanded and he faced more battles, he would often have to choose between conflicting values.

"..."

As Lü Bu fell silent, Guo Jia urged him.

"Now, it's time to make a decision. Will you spare this man, or accept Yang Chou's surrender?"

* * *

"What will happen if I spare him?"

Lü Bu decided to weigh the pros and cons of the two options. Since he did not trust his own strategic thinking, he left the calculations to Guo Jia.

"Sparing him will make the General feel good, as you will be doing what you want. Moreover, by punishing an unjust person, you will be seen as righteous."

"Then there are no downsides, right?"

Guo Jia smiled.

"How could there be no downsides?"

"You're right. There must be. Let me hear them."

Lü Bu gestured to Guo Jia, as if he had expected this.

"Yes, General. If you behead him now, you will miss a good opportunity to easily plan against Zhongtian. This means that more of your soldiers will be injured."

"Go on."

"Now is the time for our army to grow. We have never had a numerical advantage in battle. But the front lines have extended, and your territory has expanded."

Lü Bu nodded, and Guo Jia continued, discussing the pros and cons of the other option.

"If you accept Yang Chou's surrender, you will gain more than you expect."

"I doubt Yang Chou will lead the charge against Zhongtian."

"Of course, that's to be expected."

Guo Jia turned to Yang Xiao.

"General Yang, speak. What benefits will there be if General Lü accepts General Yang Chou's surrender? Will he lead the charge?"

Yang Xiao, eager to speak, replied.

"If General Lü accepts my lord's surrender, there will be two benefits."

Yang Xiao held up his thumb and index finger, and Lü Bu showed interest.

"Two benefits...?"

"Yes, General. Two benefits. One is that we can easily breach the fortifications and stockades of the Zhongtian camp."

"How...?"

"First, my lord, General Yang Chou, will engage General Lü's forces. The veteran soldiers provided by Huang Bocong will be the sacrificial lambs."

Guo Jia's lips curved into a smile.

"The plan is to feign a retreat and enter the Zhongtian camp... General, it doesn't seem so bad. There will be no need to waste strength in a prolonged siege."

"I want to hear the other benefit. Speak."

"When General Lü takes Xiliang, it will be a great help. My lord is the governor of Anding. If General Lü accepts my lord's surrender, you can use Anding, one of the 14 commanderies of Xiliang, as a base to pacify Xiliang."

Lü Bu, though reluctant, looked at Guo Jia. Guo Jia nodded slightly, conveying his intention.

"Very well! I will accept Yang Chou's surrender. You, go back and tell him to bring the military seal and the banner, and come to bow before me."

"I, Yang Xiao, accept General Lü Bu's command."

Yang Xiao, fearing that Lü Bu might change his mind, hurried away.

As Yang Xiao's figure faded into the distance, Lü Bu asked Guo Jia in a dissatisfied tone.

"Why did you advise me to accept the surrender of a trivial person? We can take Zhongtian without Yang Chou. Besides, Xiliang is already being pacified by Mr. Jia's expeditionary force, so there's no need to worry, right?"

"General, after weighing the pros and cons, I found that sparing this man would be beneficial in many ways."

"Let me hear what you didn't tell me."

"Yes, General. This is a good opportunity to reduce the 20,000 veteran soldiers of the Guanxi forces. Even if they have other intentions, the 20,000 veterans will already be gone, so we won't suffer any loss."

Guo Jia had meticulously planned this. After all, in such a chaotic time, who could be trusted? Moreover, the veteran soldiers were already being used by Lü Bu's forces in Dongguan.

"You had even this planned."

"Is that all?"

Guo Jia covered his mouth with his sleeve, but his eyes betrayed his smile.

* * *

Yang Chou's army, led by 20,000 veteran soldiers, began to form a battle line facing Lü Bu's forces.

Typically, veteran soldiers are experienced warriors, but Yang Chou's veterans were different. Most of them were from Yongzhou.

Last year, Yongzhou, especially Guanxi, suffered a severe locust plague.

Guanxi had less arable land compared to Guandong. The fertile fields of Guanxi were concentrated in the Guanzhong area, where the locusts wreaked havoc, causing unimaginable damage.

When the locusts swept through Zhongyuan, countless people starved to death. Lü Bu had to distribute relief grain to save the people of Henei and parts of Jizhou.

However, there was no one like Lü Bu in Guanxi. Huang Bocong had expanded his army by luring people with food.

Among them, these veteran soldiers were merely cannon fodder for Huang Bocong. They received inadequate supplies, and the rations allocated to them were far from sufficient.

"Commander, General Yang Xiao has returned."

Yang Xiao returned to Lü Bu's camp. Yang Chou warmly welcomed him.

"Good, you did well. So, how did it go?"

"If it weren't for the young general of Lü Bu's army, things might have gone wrong."

It seemed to have gone well. Yang Chou then brought up a different topic.

"What did you think of Lü Bu's camp? Were they all elite soldiers as expected?"

"They were a motley crew. Only about 5,000 infantry and cavalry could be considered elite."

"5,000? That's all the elite soldiers they have?"

Yang Chou began to doubt his decision to surrender to Lü Bu.

"Those 5,000 were truly formidable. Especially the cavalry, each one seemed like a general. They are not an easy opponent."

"So, do you think my decision to surrender was a good one?"

"Lü Bu seemed reluctant, but fortunately, the general supported me, and I avoided disaster. Lü Bu said that you must bring the military seal and the banner and come to bow before him."

"Personally...? Lü Bu has a reputation, but he doesn't have the capacity to embrace the world. To humiliate me in front of his soldiers is a great disappointment."

Many warlords sought to expand their forces. If it were someone else, they would have warmly welcomed Yang Chou's surrender and treated him as a brother. But Lü Bu seemed to want Yang Chou to humble himself.

"Since we have to bow our heads, there's no choice. If you want to surrender, you must humble yourself."

Taking Yang Xiao's advice, Yang Chou changed his mind.

"After all, my lord only needs us to buy time. On one hand, we can negotiate for better treatment after surrendering, and on the other, we can request a safe retreat for my lord."

Yang Chou seemed to be hedging his bets. He was not naive enough to fully trust anyone in such a chaotic time.

"Do you plan to keep negotiating until the end?"

"What's the problem? I've laid the groundwork on both sides with justifiable reasons. In the end, I'll just bow to the more advantageous side."

Yang Chou had no sense of honor. He would simply join the more advantageous side based on the situation.

However, after hearing Yang Xiao's report, he realized that Lü Bu was not in a completely advantageous position.

Even if the main forces were pulled away from Zhongtian, Lü Bu's few thousand elite soldiers were not an easy opponent.

'If I throw the veteran soldiers into battle and feign a retreat, Huang Bocong won't suspect me. The problem is what comes next.'

Yang Chou's plan was as follows:

By engaging the 20,000 veteran soldiers provided by Huang Bocong in battle with Lü Bu, Huang Bocong would not worry about Yang Chou joining Lü Bu. Lü Bu would also have 20,000 Guanxi soldiers to use, giving him a reason to act later.

During the battle, Yang Chou planned to retreat to the Zhongtian camp and observe the fight between Huang Bocong and Lü Bu, joining the more advantageous side.

'If I can buy time for four days, I will have a reason to explain to Huang Bocong. After that, the outcome of this battle will be as I wish.'

Yang Chou believed he had control over all the variables on the battlefield. However, this was a miscalculation.

"Lü Bu's army doesn't seem to be in a hurry. Look over there."

Yang Xiao pointed to where Lü Bu's soldiers were preparing their meals. Despite the ongoing standoff, they were calmly setting up pots and lighting fires.

Yang Chou, who had not anticipated any hidden strategy from Guo Jia, felt relieved.

'After all, the soldiers must be tired from repeated battles. We can hold out for four days without much difficulty.'