146. A Sinister Plan, Battle of Hulao Pass

The Coalition Warlords are having a banquet, Dong Zhuo in Luoyang receives the news that Sishui Oass has fallen, and now Li Jue and Guo Si along with the army from Sishui Pass at Hualo Gate reinforcing Lu Bu. The fall of Sishui Pass was a wake-up call for Doing Zhuo and Li Ru, fearing that they would be defeated at Hulao Pass, Li Ru suggested reinforcing Hulao Pass with more soldiers, and for Dong Zhuo to even lead the defense himself for morale.

Dong Zhuo at first refused, and he didn't want to leave the lifestyle he had in Luoyang. But under Li Ru, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji's persuasion, Dong Zhuo finally agreed to lead the defenses at Hulao Pass, So on the same day Dong Zhuo's 120,000 men were mobilized to Hulao Pass.

Li Ru Dong Zhuo's trusted advisor followed Dong Zhuo on this battle alongside Fan Chou and Zhang Ji, 2 of 6 Dong Zhuo's greatest generals. The rest are Hua Xiong, Xu Rong, Li Jue, and Guo Si where Xu Rong has been captured, and Hua Xiong has been slain.

Dong Zhuo actually is the strongest Warlord / Seoaratis force in the Han Dynasty right now, the amount of talent he has under him makes him the strongest, especially since Doing Zhuo himself is a talent in his own right.

Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo has let the power, greed, lust, and alcohol wipe out all traces of his talent. Now he only cares about living a good hedonistic life, while Li Ru is left to handle the mess which sometimes he doesn't have the authority to do anything.

The Officials at Imperial Court heard about the coalition army victory at Sishui Pass, they celebrated this victory in hiding, and when they heard that Doing Zhuo himself would go out to battle they knew that they had a chance to do something.

The next day, Dong Zhuo already adorned with his armor stood on his war chariot, 120,000 men stood behind him ready to march toward Hulao Pass. Li Ru is doing a final checkup for their supplies and equipment, is it enough to defend Hulao Pass.

After checking that everything was ready, Li Ru joined Dong Zhuo at his side. Under Dong Zhuo's command, the entire army of 120,000 men began to march toward Hulao Pass which is not that far from Luoyang.

Dong Zhuo: "Wenyou, tell me do we have the chance to win this battle?"

Li Ru: "Of Course My Lord, we have more soldiers than this Coalition against you, we also have General Lu Bu on your side, we will definitely win this battle!"

Dong Zhuo: "Humph even if we are defeated, I think we can just change the capital from Luoyang to Chang'An! taking all the riches at Luoyajg even the Imperial Tomb and the people along with us, then we burn Luoyang to the ground so these Coalition forces are focused on the burning Luoyang Haha!"

Li Ru: "My Lord, this plan will surely be criticized by those old fools in the Imperial Court, I think we should use the chance to kill them all if they ever opposed your plan, the changing of Han Capital back to Chang'An can be considered to honor Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang)!"

Dong Zhuo: "Haha! Truly only Wenyou understands me the most, then order 20,000 men to stay in Luoyang in case we decide to retreat, they can begin looting the Imperial Tombs while we retreat from Hulao Pass Haha!"

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru hatch a sinister plot, one that will end the Coalition reducing it to a name only. Li Ru appointed Dong Min, Dong Zhuo's brother to lead 20,000 men back to Luoyang and to wait for further command while suppressing the official at Imperial Court.

On the other side, the Coalition under Yuan Shao's leadership after a day of rest began their march to Hulao Pass.

At the banquet the day before, Liu Bei revealed himself as a distant member of the Imperial Family, making some of the Warlords recognize him as an Imperial Scioin like Liu Biao and Liu Yan.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu along with the Warlords that were close to them didn't believe Liu Bei, on the other hand, Cao Cao and Lie Fan believed Liu Bei and acted courteously toward him, Lie Fan and Cao Cao knew the importance of morale having an Imperial Svion whether true or not on their side.

Lie Fan and Sun Jian were given the title The Alliance Vanguard Leaders by Yuan Shao, sending them to attack Hulao Gate in advance.

Like the previous battle for Sishui Pass, The other Coalition leaders and their armies followed them from behind. Sun Jian who has accumulated many contributions, makes Yuan Shu jealous and begins to plot against him.

Lie Fan and Sun Jian led their armies to march toward Hulao Pass, after a day of marching they finally arrived at the outskirts of Hulao Pass. There they saw an Army waiting for them on the front of Hulao Pass.

From the numbers, Xun You and Jia Xu concluded that it's between 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers. Sun Jian who is beside Lie Fan, was envious of Lie Fan having such great advisors beside him.

He has seen the capabilities of Jia Xu and Xun You firsthand, the strategies and tactics they provided helped him and Lie Fan achieve victory in Sishui Pass while reducing the amount of casualties in their army.

Lie Fan: "Jia Xu, Xun You why do you think Doing Zhuo put an army waiting for us outside of Hulao Pass? It is in their favor if they wait on the other side of Huloa Pass or on the top of the wall."

Jia Xu: "There are two possibilities Ny Lord, either Domg Zhuo is stupid which is low or he has something on his sleeve that makes him have such confidence."

Xun You: "I agree with what Master Jia Xu said, considering that the amount both My Lord and Administrator Sun Jian have is bigger than them, I think they definitely have something that makes them this confident to face us head-on."

Sun Jian: "The two masters' words have enlightened me, maybe they are trying to challenge us again like in Sishui Pass?"

True to Jia Xu, Xun You, and Sun Jian's prediction, on their opposite is the Bing Army under Lu Bu's Command. When Dong Zhuo and Ki Ru finally arrived at Hulao Pass, Li Ru proposed for Ku Bu to lead an army of 50,000 men at the front of Hulao Pass.

The purpose is to let Lu Bu challenge the generals of the coalition into a duel, like what Hua Xiong did in Sishui Pass. The difference is, that both Dong Zhuo and Li Ru are confident that there's no man can defeat Lu Bu.

Lu Bu and his commanders are now at the front of their formation, watching the approaching Coalition Army which for Lu Bu are bunch of chickens waiting to be slaughtered by him. He is in his early thirties now and in the best shape of his physique.

Lu Bu: "Humph! These chickens finally arrived, everyone let's show them why we are called butcher by the Xiongnu!"

Zhang Liao: "General, We should follow Lord Dong Zhuo and Master Li Ru's plan. I think that with just General martial might, we the Bing Army don't need to come forward and you can single-handedly defeat all of them!"

Gao Shun: "Haha! What Zhang Liao said is right General, or if you need any help my Formation Breaker will support you!"

Hou Cheng: "General will be undefeated like in the plains fighting the Xiongnu. Me, Wei Xu, and Song Xian have wagered that General will defeat all of them below 10 bout!"

Lu Bu: "Haha all of you are truly confident, don't worry I will slay as many generals as my Foster Father needs!"

Lu Bu galloped his horse the Red Hare toward the center of the battlefield, Lie Fan and Sun Jian who were on the other side were joined by the other Warlords, all adorned in their armor as they wanted to participate in this battle to collect merit and fame.

This hypocritical move makes Sun Jian disdain all of them as in Sishui Pass before he and Lie Fan have the largest Casualties, especially Yuan Shu who is known for being an opportunistic man.

Everyone is on their horse when they see a single man galloping toward the center of the field, holding a halberd and wearing a helmet with 2 long red string-like feathers above it. Then this man said something to them in a loud and intimidating voice.

Lu Bu: "I'm Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian the Flying General Of My Foster Father Dong Zhuo Army! I'm the mightiest man alive, I challenge anyone who dares to have a duel against me!"

Zhang Yang: "Humph so this is Lu Bu that I have heard about, he doesn't look like someone special to me, let my general Mu Shun duel him."

Mu Shun: "Coalition Leader, please allow me to duel Lu Bu and bring us victory!"

Yuan Shao: "Good! By my order, General Mu Shun will duel Lu Bu as the Coalition representative!"

With Yuan Shao's order, the war drum of the coalition army was sounded, and soon Mu Shun rode his horse leaving the Coalition Army formation and heading towards Lu Bu.

Mu Shun without any nonsense, let out a war cry while at the same time saying his name to Lu Bu telling him to remember the name that sent him to the underworld.

Lu Bu who saw this just sneered in disdain, he galloped red hair and his sky-piercing halberd in his hand. Both sides of the force are waiting for the duel, only Lie Fan knows that Mu Shun will be slain by Lu Bu easily.

Lu Bu and Mu Shun finally collide, Mu Shun who receives Lu Bu's attack makes his weapon recoiled so hard that he can't defend himself when Lu Bu slashes his halberd to his neck.

Dong Zhuo and his army immediately cheered when they saw this happen, while The Coalition morale was hit sewing as Mu Shun was defeated so easily. Zhang Yang was embarrassed and hurt at the same time, losing his prestige and general both at the same time.

Wu Anguo, a general under Kong Rong volunteered himself to duel Lu Bu. Seeing the big muscles on both of his hands, Yuan Shao believed him and under Kong Rong's agreement sent Wu Anguo next with renewed hope.

Wu Anguo galloped his horse towards Lu Bu, like Mu Shun he let out a war cry after introducing himself. Soon both of them entered a duel, seeing that Wu Anguo wasn't killed in one bout everyone at the Coalition began to be optimistic.

Lu Bu was ecstatic that there was a man from the coalition who could revive his attack, He began to use his full power to attack Wu Anguo aggressively.

Wu Anguo was overwhelmed by the onslaught and soon after 9 bouts of clashes between them, Wu Anguo was tired. Lu Bu took advantage of Wu Anguo's tiredness seeing his hand that was holding his weapon, making Wu Anguo let out a pained shout.

Everyone in the coalition saw this, and Wu Anguo managed to escape from Lu Bu which Lu Bu just laughed out a lot, saying that the generals of the coalition were either weak chickens like Mu Shun or cowards like Wu Anguo.

Yuan Shao was furious after hearing what Lu Bu said, feeling his face slapped as the Coalition leader was him. Under Yuan Shao's leadership, the Walords held a council and decided that they had to defeat Lu Bu, to increase the morale of the troops and regain their face back.

_________________________________

Name: Lie Fan

Title: Yellow Heaven Subjugator

Age: 22 Years Old (189 AD)

Level: 14

Next Level: 412.000

Renown: 255

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 8)

SP: 656.700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 819 (+20)

VIT: 385 (+20)

AGI: 373 (+10)

INT: 385

CHR: 93

WIS: 319

WILL: 207

ATR Points: 0