Chapter 79: Accidental Success

  When the letter of challenge was presented to Yuan Shao, he was drinking water. After reading the letter, he almost spat out a mouthful of water onto it.

  Duel? This foolish king, Feng Yi's training has made his heart fire too vigorous, has he been burned silly? In this era, besides Lu Bu, who else would engage in a duel with someone on the battlefield?

  He relied on Lü Bu and that Zhang Yan, the Northern Territory Gun King.

  Yuan Shao showed disdain, tossing the challenge letter aside and intending to let him off like a fart. However, it's strange to say that when he thought about the two armies facing each other, with tens of thousands of people watching, the two great generals engaging in a fierce battle, his heart began to stir with excitement.

  What a picturesque scene with ancient charm.

  No matter whether it was military strength or food, Liu Bei was not at an advantage. The only things he could rely on were his cavalry and brave warriors like Lü Bu and Zhang Yue. If they could defeat Lü Bu and Zhang Yue, even killing them in battle, wouldn't that greatly boost the morale of our army?

  The news of Sun Jian's defeat by the elite cavalry reached Xiangyang, which had a significant impact on morale, and many people were worried. This led to the suggestion of relying on the advantage of infantry and using a powerful formation. Yuan Shao agreed with this suggestion, although not entirely out of fear of the cavalry, but he couldn't help but be concerned about the fear of the cavalry among his officers.

  If we can kill Lü Bu and Zhang Ying, those fierce generals from the northwest, it should boost our morale and alleviate their fear of cavalry.

  Yuan Shao knew that if the overall strength of the cavalry was considered, the people from Shandong would definitely not be as good as those from Shanxi. However, if individual martial arts skills were considered, it might not necessarily be the case. To cultivate exceptional martial arts skills, one needs not only a strong body but also an excellent training method. The former can be achieved through careful selection, while the latter is precisely where the people of Shandong excel, leaving those from the northwest far behind.

  Although martial arts are not the main goal of the Jianghu, the Daoyin technique has a strong physical effect and has always been one of the research contents of Shandong people. The relevant diagrams and secret books are also the collection goals of the Jianghu. If it can be said that Shanxi produces more powerful generals relying on innate quality, while Shandong produces more powerful generals relying on cultivation, the success rate is not worse than Shanxi.

  Yuan Shao himself had a good martial art, he didn't become like Lü Bu or Zhang Jue's high-handedness, not because he couldn't but because there was no need for him to do so. With the fate of the phoenix and the secret book of Huangdi's twelve shapes, what's difficult about becoming a master? It's just that Yuan's family had been prominent officials for four generations, and at a young age, he was already famous throughout the land, what use is there in practicing good martial arts?

  Yuan Shao couldn't help but smile when he thought of his childhood escapades.

  "It's interesting." Yuan Shao twirled his fingers and pondered for a moment: "Please... summon Guo Tu."

  ……

  "A duel?" Guo Tu's face turned pale with rage, his mouth twisted all the way to his ear.

  "Gong Ze, what do you think?" Yuan Shao looked at Guo Tu with a hint of a smile.

  Guo Tu had wanted to speak nonsense, but when he saw Yuan Shao's eyes, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He had dealt with Yuan Shao for a long time and was quite familiar with his thoughts. Usually when Yuan Shao spoke like this, what he needed was agreement and support, not opposition. Tian Feng was too straightforward and had repeatedly contradicted Yuan Shao's opinions in person, which was why Yuan Shao disliked talking to him.

  A duel before the army is almost absurd, but it doesn't harm the overall situation. Why not go along with Yuan Shao?

  "This suggestion is indeed absurd, but thinking carefully about it, that foolish king simply wants to boost morale through individual bravery." Guo Tu sneered and said with careful consideration: "He has read too few books and has limited knowledge, he wouldn't think that Shandong also has many skilled fighters."

  "It's true that martial arts may not be elegant, but it can also strengthen the body. The place most skilled in martial arts is not Shanxi, but rather Qi State." Yuan Shao smiled lightly and said: "Yan Liang's martial skills shouldn't be inferior to Lü Bu's, unfortunately he didn't come."

  "We don't need Yan Liang, we can still behead Lü Bu and Zhang Chao under the horse. Lord Yuan can choose a strong warrior from the army to fight, and at the same time, see how many talents are hidden by the various generals."

  Yuan Shao burst out laughing. Guo Tu's words had struck exactly the right chord with him. He reached out and patted Guo Tu on the shoulder, saying contentedly: "You are the only one who understands me."

  Kuo Tu also smiled. He knew he had gambled correctly again.

  ……

  Huangfu Song and Zhu Huan were speechless. They never expected that Liu Bian's absurd and ridiculous move would actually get a response from Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao agreed, and the next day he sent someone to duel with Zhang Xiu in front of the army.

  Was it the Son of Heaven's precise grasp of Yuan Shao's psychology or had Yuan Shao's brain gone bad?

  Not only were Huangfu Song and Zhu Huan taken aback, but even Liu Bei himself was somewhat incredulous when he heard the news. He had made this suggestion simply to provoke Yuan Shao and see how he would react. You're not going to use a classical formation and then fight, are you? I'm more classical than you, I want to have a one-on-one duel with you before the battle. He never thought that Yuan Shao would agree, because he himself knew that dueling to decide victory or defeat was something that had long since become a legend, only appearing in storytelling and games, and on real battlefields, only someone like Lü Bu who wanted to show off his bravery would do such a thing.

  He didn't expect Yuan Shao to actually agree, and the legendary Tiger Trap Pass battle was about to become a reality.

  Will Guan Yu come? Will the battle between Zhou Yu and Lü Bu become a reality? Is it that such things really happened in history, but writers thought they were uninteresting, so they didn't write about them?

  Liu Bian's mind was filled with all sorts of fancies.

  "Your Majesty!" Seeing Liu Bei's eyes darting about and a smile playing on his lips, Zhu Yeyue hastily reminded him: "Although Shandong has few horses, it is not lacking in skilled fighters. Many wealthy families have brave warriors. My former subordinate Sun Jian is an example."

  "Ah?!" Liu Bian finally came back to his senses, nodding repeatedly. Speaking of Sun Jian, he sobered up a lot. That's right, Shandong people also have masters, and Sun Jian is an example. He had heard from Lü Bu that Sun Jian was very warlike, and his martial arts might not be inferior to his own. The reputation of the Jiangdong fierce tiger was not in vain. In his impression, apart from Sun Jian, there were also Hu Ben Xu Chu, E Lai Dian Wei, who were all Shandong people, and it was possible that they were currently in Yuan Shao's army. Yan Liang, Wen Chou, were also famous fierce generals, later with Zhang Liao, listed as the five good sons of the general, Zhang, Yu Jin, Yue Jin may also be there, not to mention the later sainted Guan Erge and Changbanpo seven times out of the white horse silver gun Zhao Zilong.

  Can't be careless. If Zhang Liao and Lü Bu are defeated, it would be a joke. Yuan Shao has many soldiers and generals, losing a few people doesn't matter, but he can't afford to suffer such a great loss himself.

  Liu Bian thought for a moment and had Lü Bu and Zhang Liao brought before him: "Think carefully, is there any way to quickly improve your realm in a short period of time?"

  The second update, seeking recommendations, seeking collections, seeking three rivers!

  Scan the QR code at the starting point, everyone rushes to answer cold knowledge, gets a medal, and wins a big prize! Click on the + sign in the upper right corner of WeChat, select "Add Friends", search for the public account "qdread" to participate! Various big prizes, easy to get!