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Early the next morning, Guan Yu took Zhang Fei as the vanguard, Xuu Chu as the deputy general, and he himself commanded the three armies, slowly marching toward the plains thirty miles northwest.
Lyu Bu, with himself as the chief general and Hao Meng as the vanguard, rode on the Red Hare Horse carrying the Sky Piercer, exuding absolute frigidity as he hastened to the agreed battle site from the previous day. After a night’s persuasion by Diao Chan and Chen Gong, he had calmed down considerably, knowing at least what not to do.
[Fengxian, what’s more important to you, your family or the empire?] Chen Gong’s question from that morning surfaced in Lyu Bu’s mind.
"Both the empire and my family are very important to me!" Lyu Bu declared resolutely. "With my martial force that dominates the world, why can’t I seize the empire above and protect my family below? Who can defeat me?"
"What if you could only choose one?" Chen Gong asked calmly.
"How could that be?" Lyu Bu gave Chen Gong a piercing look.
"Dong Zhongying of Xiliang, Yuan Benchu of Jizhou, Liu Xuande of Qingzhou, which one can you face?" Chen Gong said with determination in his eyes. At this stage, he absolutely could not let Lyu Bu take the wrong path. Even if Lyu Bu harbored ambitions to dominate the world on horseback, Chen Gong was determined to douse those thoughts with a pail of water!
"What a joke, Dong Zhongying is dead, Yuan Benchu has been defeated, and tomorrow I will take Zhang Fei’s head!" Lyu Bu boasted arrogantly.
"Dong Zhongying is dead, huh." A trace of reminiscence crossed Chen Gong’s face. Back then, Cao Cao, who assassinated Dong Zhuo, was so valiant, and Cao Cao, who chased Dong Zhuo in Luoyang, was so heroic—what a pity! People inevitably change, and there’s no turning back. Chen Gong quietly extinguished the last bit of appreciation he had for Cao Cao, henceforth leaving no room for mercy.
"Dong Zhongying is dead, but Fengxian, can you defeat Li Jue and the others? Without Dong Zhongying, without Li Wenyou, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry barely exists. Can you defeat them?" Chen Gong asked quietly, as if questioning his own heart.
"..." Lyu Bu opened his mouth but said nothing.
Upon self-examination, Lyu Bu truly was no match for the likes of Li Jue. Although Li Jue and his comrades were average in martial force, only lasting three moves against him, their command of cavalry was among the best in the world; confidently securing victory against them was almost impossible, especially with fewer troops.
To defeat the generals of Xiliang required cunning; it was a consensus among the Feudal Lords that without schemes, unless the generals of Xiliang fell into internal strife, thoroughly commanding Sili and Yongzhou would require an extraordinary effort.
"Has Yuan Benchu been defeated?" Chen Gong could tell by the look on Lyu Bu’s face that he was pondering the question.
"Jizhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou, nearly have ten million people, over five hundred thousand soldiers clad in armor, almost a hundred thousand cavalry, millions stored in grain. Tian Yuanhao, Ju Gongyu, Xun Youruo, Sheni Zhengnan are all capable ministers of this era; Yann Liang and Wen Chou are valiant generals. With the previous situation, even losing ten times wouldn’t cause severe damage! And we need only lose once to be finished!" Chen Gong looked sidelong at Lyu Bu.
"The best of our forces is the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, and you should know well where these soldiers come from, General. The Bingzhou Border Prefecture has been reclaimed by Xun Youruo and the others, and for Yuan Benchu, the Wolf Cavalry is readily accessible." Chen Gong spoke seriously. "Yuan Benchu has everything a cavalry needs. We can outfit our troops in Leather Armor, Yuan Benchu can equip his in Iron Armor! Can we win?"
Chen Gong’s last rhetorical question left Lyu Bu speechless. The gap between him and Yuan Shao couldn’t be bridged by a single victory or defeat. Even if Yuan Shao were to lose nine out of ten battles, just one win would be enough to leave Lyu Bu with nothing, but could Yuan Shao lose nine out of ten? Even Lyu Bu didn’t believe it himself.
"As for Liu Xuande, he’s the one I understand the least, yet he also holds the greatest potential among the Feudal Lords. Intuitively I favor Liu Bei over Yuan Benchu and Liu Xuande. Their war potentials are nearly identical, but Liu Xuande’s population under rule can be slightly larger." Chen Gong didn’t elaborate on Liu Bei’s side, especially since their intelligence network there had been inexplicably completely destroyed not long before.
"Dong Zhongying is dead. Liu Xuande and Yuan Benchu are the true Overlords of this world. We could never be their match. We can only choose to align with one of them." Chen Gong spoke with a hint of regret.
"So once again I ask you, choose between the empire and your family!" This time Chen Gong looked at Lyu Bu calmly, but his expression made Lyu Bu gravely consider what to choose.
"My family..." Lyu Bu’s words seemed to be squeezed through clenched teeth, and as he spoke, a weight lifted from his heart, followed by a sense of humiliation.
"Then, General, I ask that you show restraint this time. Zhang Yide is the brother of Liu Bei, sharing a bond of life and death with him. Should Zhang Fei die or be crippled, we will have no other options." Chen Gong spoke gravely, his voice betraying a trace of apprehension; indeed, upon uttering these words, he felt a shiver of killing intent pass over him, soaking his back with sweat.
"I... understand!" A cold glance from Lyu Bu swept over Chen Gong before dissipating, as the importance of family ultimately restrained him from succumbing to the impulse to kill.
After Lyu Bu left, Zhang Liao appeared beside Chen Gong, "Strategist, you’re truly fearless. Fengxian was already harboring thoughts of murder just now, and I was on the verge of acting. If Fengxian had made a move, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him!"
