347. Prelude To Battle Of Jixan

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Lu Su heard what Lie Fan said and was somewhat touched because in the past, due to his age, many people didn't listen to what he said and only came to him for the resources he had, Lie Fan is different as he valued his talent more and his care for the wellbeing of his grandmother was also a positive point for him, which makes Lu Su think that maybe having Lie Fan as his lord was a good choice.

Of course, there's still something that he wasn't sure yet in his heart, like will Lie Fan uphold his words. While there was much evidence that pointed out Lie Fan was a man of his word, it doesn't mean he would believe hearsays and words that he heard from others.

Also, he would like to see how he handles Li Yan, the general who was taken as a prisoner by Huang Zhong at Jiangxia, if he could persuade Li Yan to swear allegiance to him, maybe he will swear his allegiance to Lie Fan.

Lu Su: "I would like to be given some time to reconsider my decision, Lord Lie Fan. I don't want to make a hasty decision that would lead us into an uncooperative relationship between the two of us."

Lie Fan: "Of course! No problem Sir Lu Su, you could take all the time you need to make your decision while staying here in Xiapi, Wenhe have Sir Lu Su's supplies repayment been prepared?"

Jia Xu: "Yes My Lord, We have prepared 30 wagons which were two times the crops Sir Lu Su has loaned to us, they could be sent anytime to Sir Lu Su's hometown."

Lie Fan: "Sir Lu Su have heard it yourself, when do you want it to be sent to your estate? Or do you want to bring it alongside you when you return back? I will dispatch some men to protect you along the way."

Lu Su: "Thank You Lord Lie Fan for your kindness and sincerity, I will bring it back with me when I have concluded my business here in Xiapi, and don't worry before the date I head back, I will give you my answer."

Lie Fan nodded his head and said to Lu Su that he would await the news and hoped that he would accept his sincere invitation, after the interaction between Lie Fan and Lu Su was concluded, Lie Fan asked for Jia Xu and Sun Qian to escort Lu Su to his quarters.

Lu Su who heard this asked Lie Fan if he could stay, as he wanted to see how he would interact with Li Yan whom he had heard about.

Lie Fan turned to Jia Xu, Xun You, Sun Qian, and Chen Qun, and the four of them thought that it would be a problem so they nodded their head having their agreement with Lie Fan.

Lu Su saw the interaction between Lie Fan and his advisors, at least he could conclude that Lie Fan was a prudent lord, where there were certain things that he would decide himself and other things that needed the input of his advisors.

Seeing that his advisors had given their agreement, Lie Fan turned to Lu Su and told him that he could stay and watch, but he asked Lu Su to only observe and not talk with anyone.

Hearing this Lu Su nods his head telling Lie Fan he understands and promises to only observe and not talk with anyone, and with Lie Fan calls for a servant to inform Huang Zhong that he can enter the main hall.

Not waiting for long, Huang Zhong and Liu Ba bring Li Yan with them entering the main hall. When they entered, the two of them as surprised that Lu Su was still in the main hall but seeing that Lie Fan and the others didn't say anything they stayed silent.

Lie Fan turned his eyes toward Li Yan who was behind Huang Zhong and Liu Ba, where two guards were behind him to guard him in case he did something reckless.

Huang Zhong: "Huang Zhong and Liu Ba have seen My Lord, the two of us brought General Li Yan subordinate of Liu Biao whom we have taken captive in the battle at Jiangxia."

Lie Fan: "General Li Yan welcome, I have long heard of your name from my advisors who told me that there's a talented young general serving Liu Biao, who excels in both martial arts and governance."

Li Yan: "Lord Lie Fan, I must say that it was an honor to finally meet you. Since I was young I have heard about the tales depicting your honors and accomplishments, I didn't expect that you would turn your back to the Han Dynasty now."

Lie Fan: "Haha! In the past, I was very loyal to the Han Dynasty, but after experiencing the Imperial Court struggle, Emperor Ling, the Ten Attendants, and the Imperial Scions myself, those loyalty has long I thrown out as I see that they never cared for the suffering of the people and the betterment of the land only cared for their own greediness."

Li Yan: "There's always hope Lord Lie Fan! Why don't you side with My Lord, he was one of the best choices to become Lord Lie Fan's ally, and then the two of you working together to save the Emperor from Cao Cao's hand!"

Lie Fan: "Since I have thrown out my loyalty to the Han Dynasty why would I ally myself with Liu Biao who also only cared about himself? Furthermore, now I have different aspirations to achieve, one can't need the help of many talented people who care for the plight of the common people and the betterment of the land, maybe General Li Yan is interested in joining my cause?"

Lie Fan's words reverberated across the main hall, and only Lu Su and Li Yan were surprised by his brazenness, daring to say those words when other Warlords could have sent their spies to spy on him.

They thought like that because they didn't know that there was an Oriole presence in Xiapi and the entirety of Lie Fan's domain, which eliminated other Warlord's spies that were sent to keep an eye on Lie Fan.

Maybe if Li Yan had been trusted more by Liu Biao and held a high position in Liu Biao's Court he would have known that it was very hard to find information in Lie Fan's domain.

Li Yan immediately refused on the ground that he still upholds his loyalty to Liu Biao, and that it was thanks to Liu Biao that he had the platform to showcase his talent.

Lie Fan nodded his head in agreement with what Li Yan had just said, but then he asked Li Yan while Liu Biao gave him the platform to showcase his talent, did it help him improve his talent and climb the ranks of Liu Biao's government, hearing this Li Yan was silent as he knew that what Lie Fan has just said is true.

Seeing that Li Yan was quiet, Lie Fan told Huang Zhong to bring Li Yan to the quarter that was specially prepared for him, and with that Lie Fan ended the session in the hall.

While Lie Fan was done meeting with Li Yan and Lu Su at the main hall, Southwest to his location at Jixan, Kuai Yue alongside Ju Shou was preparing the Eight Gate Formation, when suddenly they removed report that Liu Biao's Army was one day from arriving to Jixan.

This sudden news caught them off guard, as there were still four days before Liu Biao's Army would arrive according to their previous information.

This caused them to fasten their last preparation for the Eight Gate Formation, fortunately, they were focused on the Eight Gate Formation preparation first and not the other preparations such as traps for Liu Biao's Army.

Kuai Yue and Ju Shou ordered Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Pan to prepare their men and put them in the position that had been decided and rest there until tomorrow, to face off against Liu Biao Army.

So with that, a day passed by in the blink of an eye, and Liu Biao's Army led by Cai Mao arrived at Jixan. He alongside his retainers was supposed by the presence of Liu Bei's Army that was waiting for them.

Cai Mao scolded his general for not sending their scout to so scout their route, and now they were caught off guard while his men were tired after being forced to march a 2 day worth of march into one day.

The generals that were scolded by Cai Mao could only stay silent, they already suggested to Cai Mao to do this but were denied and they also advised Cai Mao to let the army rest but were also denied.

Inside their heart, they cursed Cai Mao but didn't dare to go against him because now he holds absolute power in Liu Biao's Court after the Kuai Clan betrayed Liu Biao and sided with Liu Bei at Xiangyang.

An advisor beside Cai Mao tried to calm down Cai Mao and then suggested to Cai Mao for them to build their encampment first and take a day forest while flying a white flag to Liu Bei's Army for parley.

Cai Mao agreed with the advisor's suggestion and ordered his army according to the advice he was given, Liu Bei's Army saw the white flag being flayed by Liu Biao's army was surprised.

Kuai Yue and Ju Shou were discussing with each other if they should accept the parley that was requested by Liu Biao's Army when they decided to accept Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn't agree with their decision and asked them that they should just ignore it.

In their mind, Guan Yi especially Liu Biao's army was trying to buy some time for them to prepare their offense and since they were on the defensive anyway why should they accept the parley, they should rather just lay wait for them to attack.

Kuai Ye and Ju Shou actually also have the same thoughts as Guan Yu, but in the rules of war, they should accept the request for parley, especially since Liu Bei had the reputation of being virtuous and kind, so his army should also possess somewhat similar manner with Liu Bei because they also represent Liu Bei in the eyes of other Warlords.

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Three Heroes Who Defeat Lu Bu

Age: 30 (197 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 825

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 936 (+20)

VIT: 598 (+20)

AGI: 583 (+10)

INT: 587

CHR: 96

WIS: 509

WILL: 397

ATR Points: 0