Chapter 081: Intrigue and Conspiracy

  Yang Xiu spoke loudly and at length, using both carrot and stick, even dragging in Cai Yong from afar in Luoyang.

  Although his attitude was somewhat arrogant, Liu Bian heard something from it. Taoism and Taoist are actually two completely unrelated concepts. Taoism is the immortal Tao, the yin-yang family, the Fangshi, and the mixed body, while Laozi of Taoist was forcibly pulled over to be the ancestor. Laozi only left behind one book "Tao Te Ching", which did not mention a single talisman or spell, nor any immortal Taoist techniques, and has no relation with today's Taoism at all.

  Just as the later Confucian scholars dragged in omens and disasters to Confucian classics, violating Confucius' original intention, Fangshi's reference to yin-yang and fangshu in Daoist scriptures is also nonsense. If Laozi were alive, he would definitely scold them until their faces were covered with blood.

  Yang Xiu was somewhat agitated and pointedly accused Cai Yong of being a common Confucian, not a true great Confucian, in front of Cai Yan.

  Cai Yan's face looked very unsightly, but she didn't make a sound, her eyes were just slightly cold and mocking.

  When Yang Xiu finished speaking, Liu Bian waved his hand in disapproval: "Regardless of whether he is useful or not, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Go to Baima Temple and pass on my imperial edict. See if they have a suitable candidate and whether it's useful. One trial will reveal the answer."

  Yang Xiu had no choice but to accept the imperial decree and leave. After he left, Cai Yan curled her lip, wrinkled her nose, and snorted in disdain.

  Liu Bian smiled and said: "He's wrong?"

  Cai Yan nodded: "It's just a matter of gatehouse vision. The Yang family passed down the 'Ouyang Shangshu', which belongs to the modern script school, my father combined ancient and modern, and had many criticisms of the modern script school, he was just taking this opportunity to vent his anger. If you really have skills, why not go to Luoyang and compete with my father? I won't argue with him, it's not that I'm afraid of him, but I don't want to be rude in front of you."

  Liu Bian didn't say anything else. Having been accompanied by Yang Xiu for so long, he also roughly knew that the struggle between the New Text and Old Text schools seemed to be a dispute over learning, but in the end it was still a dispute over power. He didn't have the learning or the time to judge this right or wrong. What's most important now is how to repel Yuan Shao's attack.

  ……

  At dawn, Zhang Hua was fully armed, holding a shotgun, mounted his horse and rushed out of Xingyang Pass.

  Three miles before the Yangguan Pass, it was Yuan Shao's large camp, with over 100,000 people, stretching for more than ten miles. To the north was the Great River, and to the south was Mount Song, blocking the eastern valley tightly. As Zhu said, if Liu Bei wanted to go east, he had to defeat Yuan Shao head-on - wherever Yuan Shao's army went, you couldn't find space to maneuver, only a frontal confrontation with him.

  It was precisely because of this that Yuan Shao had such confidence and would accept Liu Bei's proposal for a one-on-one duel in front of the army.

  Early in the morning, Yuan Shao sent a general, whose name was unknown. From afar, only the character "Yu" could be seen on his flag. He held a long spear, rode a flower-patterned blue horse, wore bright armor and helmet, and was strutting back and forth in front of the formation, showing off his military prowess and being arrogant. Behind him, thirty paces away, were one hundred strong and spirited soldiers, with two large flags fluttering in the wind.

  Liu Bian stood on the city wall, his eyesight surpassing that of ordinary people, and he could see the large flags two hundred steps away, even making out the patterns on them. Ordinary people didn't have such eyesight; at most they could only make out rough human silhouettes. Liu Bian had once heard someone say that the so-called "hitting a willow leaf at a hundred paces" was nonsense, because beyond a hundred paces, let alone willow leaves, even human faces couldn't be seen clearly - how could one possibly hit the mark? At the time he thought it made sense, but now he didn't think that way. For ordinary people, willow leaves beyond a hundred paces were indeed indistinct, but for those who had enlightened their fate and cultivated the proper methods, eyesight was extraordinary and couldn't be compared to that of common people - they might not necessarily be unable to see clearly. Those legendary divine archers weren't necessarily just legends.

  Liu Bian saw clearly, Zhang Xiu and the general with the surname Yu had not exchanged two sentences before they started fighting. There was no legendary gongs and drums shaking the sky, nor a great battle of three hundred rounds, but just one round, Zhang Xiu's spear pierced the throat of that General Yu.

  Two horses crossed each other, Zhang Hua sat on the war horse, slowly reining in the horse. Behind him, Yuan, a general with the surname Yu, fell off his horse with a loud thud, and dust flew everywhere.

  Even Lü Bu was somewhat surprised, and he turned to ask Liu Bei: "Is that all?"

  "Zhang Xiu can fight evenly with me, is he an ordinary person?" Lü Bu sneered and curled his lips: "If I were to go into battle, I could win even more beautifully. However, such a second-rate opponent doesn't require me to take action, let Zhang Xiu practice his skills."

  Liu Bian also curled his lips, suddenly looking forward to Guan Erge. Historically, Guan Erge didn't seem to have participated in this great war, but now Liu Bian really hoped that Guan Erge could come and witness the battle between San Ying and Lü Bu with his own eyes, how interesting it would be!

  "Beat the drum to help General Zhang's prestige."

  "Present!" The Langguan beside him responded loudly and passed down the order. The drums sounded loudly, Zhang Hua heard it, turned his head, bowed to the city head, raised the Hegemon Spear in his hand, and shouted loudly: "Come and fight!"

  ……

  Listening to the distant sound of war drums from the head of Yangcheng, Yuan Shao's face sank.

  Without waiting for the messenger to report back, he also knew that his side had lost a game, and lost cleanly, without any doubt.

  He glanced at the various generals in the tent. The generals in the tent still did not know what had happened, and were chatting and laughing, waiting to hear the good news. The main military tent was five or six miles away from the city gate, and ordinary people could not hear the drumbeat on the city gate. Yuan Shao looked at them with some disdain, these people who did not understand their own destiny, were indeed ordinary people, and the gap between them and himself was too great.

  He glanced at Cao Cao, who sat motionless near the entrance of the tent, his eyes drifting aimlessly as if lost in thought. Yuan Shao suddenly felt a sense of unease, and over the past two days, Xun Yu had been acting strangely, often speaking to himself and muttering something about "the fate of the Han dynasty" and "the rise of a new hero".

  Yuan Shao coughed and nodded: "Meng De, in your opinion, what are our chances of winning?"

  His voice was not loud, but everyone heard it clearly, and immediately shut their mouths. The originally bustling big account suddenly became quiet, and all eyes turned to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was taken aback, stood up: "The pre-battle duel is over, winning or losing doesn't matter. Alliance leader, let's seize the time to launch an attack, capture Luoyang, and rescue the people from the brink of disaster, that's the priority."

  "Are you saying that the Alliance Lord's move is child's play?" Guo Tu said with a sarcastic tone.

  Cao Cao secretly sighed and said: "I don't dare, I just think that the outcome of the battle will not be decided by a duel in front of the formation. The alliance leader does not need to mind winning or losing."

  "The outcome of this battle concerns the morale of both sides. How can you not care?" Guo Jia sneered: "General Cao's words are quite inappropriate."

  Yuan Shao secretly sighed, although he had opinions about Cao Cao, but at this moment, he couldn't agree with Guo Tu's views. He lightly coughed and smiled: "Gong Ze, Meng De is right, personal wins and losses indeed can't affect the overall situation. However, in a battle between two armies, morale can be boosted but not leaked. In my opinion, Yu She may be brave, but there's no guarantee of victory. Gentlemen, if anyone has a skilled warrior under their command, feel free to recommend them."

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