Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

"Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had set up an ambush within Cao Cao's garrison to encircle and attack me, and then ambushes sprung out from all sides, forcing me to retreat first."

These words were practically squeezed out of Lü Bu's teeth.

Dong Zhuo sneered and said with a pointed remark.

"So that's how it is. I didn't expect the situation to be so perilous. Last time, Fengxian barely escaped the encirclement of Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. This time, to be able to retreat unscathed must be due to divine protection."

Clearly, in Dong Zhuo's eyes, there was almost no excuse that could clearly explain the situation other than Lü Bu colluding with the enemy.

Especially since the excuse Lü Bu had come up with this time was so clumsy.

If the Guandong lords wanted to kill Lü Bu, how could Lü Bu, already injured, have escaped under the circumstances of Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei laying an ambush in advance?

This time, even Li Ru, standing beside Dong Zhuo, couldn't help but reveal suspicion in his gaze towards Lü Bu.

Dong Zhuo then said in a low voice.

"Wenyou, would it be feasible to directly shoot this rebellious son back with a barrage of arrows and not allow him to enter the pass?"

Li Ru pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said.

"Chancellor, you must not! Now that Marquis Wen is still feigning compliance, wouldn't directly expelling Marquis Wen be like releasing a ferocious tiger back to the Guandong lords? Furthermore, the thirty thousand Bing Province wolf cavalry within the pass will surely cause chaos."

Dong Zhuo's expression changed again and again, and he said, "But if we let this rebellious son enter the pass, and there are more than forty thousand Bing Province wolf cavalry within the pass who listen to his orders, how can you and I sleep soundly?"

Li Ru gritted his teeth and said in a low voice. "Chancellor, whether Marquis Wen has rebellious intentions is still doubtful. Everything seems to have happened too coincidentally, or perhaps the allied forces are using a scheme to sow discord…"

But before Li Ru could finish speaking, Dong Zhuo raised his hand to stop him and said angrily, "Wenyou, no need to say more, it must be that rebellious son!"

Li Ru looked at Dong Zhuo's peremptory manner and could only take a step back and said.

"Since that's the case, Chancellor, why not deceive Marquis Wen into entering the pass, first seize Marquis Wen's military power, then imprison Marquis Wen in the mansion, and then slowly investigate, how about that?"

"This way, not only can Marquis Wen be prevented from causing chaos, but the Bing Province wolf cavalry can also be temporarily stabilized in Marquis Wen's name."

Dong Zhuo pondered for a moment and asked, "How can we deceive this rebellious son into entering the pass and handing over military power?"

"This matter is easy."

Li Ru whispered something into Dong Zhuo's ear, and Dong Zhuo was immediately overjoyed and said, "With Wenyou here, what worries do I have?"

Immediately, Dong Zhuo, who had already deployed heavy troops at the pass in advance, first comforted Lü Bu, who was already on the verge of going berserk, in a kind tone, and then opened the city gate to allow Lü Bu to lead his army inside.

Immediately afterward, Dong Zhuo ordered people to send food and water to reward the already exhausted Bing Province wolf cavalry.

This series of actions also caused Lü Bu's vigilance to decrease slightly, thinking that Dong Zhuo was not yet planning to completely break ties with him.

However, Lü Bu still did not relax his vigilance and remained within the formation of the Bing Province wolf cavalry.

In addition to this, Dong Zhuo also sent a large number of medical officers to treat Lü Bu and the wounded of the Bing Province wolf cavalry.

Previously, during the battle with Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, a wound on Lü Bu's left shoulder had burst open. Even with Lü Bu's almost inhuman physique, he had been holding on until now and was already somewhat unable to bear it.

Therefore, Zhang Liao and others quickly pulled the medical officers over to bandage and treat Lü Bu's injuries.

Lü Bu, who was accustomed to injuries, did not pay too much attention to the anxiety of his generals such as Zhang Liao. After confirming that there were no problems with the food and water sent by Dong Zhuo, he began to gobble them down.

However, as the medical officers continued to fiddle with the wound, Lü Bu gradually felt a numbness all over his body, and the strength in his body rapidly receded like the tide.

"I've fallen for a trap!"

Lü Bu was shocked, but his whole body directly collapsed to the ground.

This sudden change caused Zhang Liao and other generals to worry incessantly, thinking that Lü Bu had fainted due to his injuries being too severe.

This also allowed the medical officers to smoothly take Lü Bu away under the pretext of treating his injuries. After several twists and turns, they sent Lü Bu to Dong Zhuo's presence.

Looking at the unconscious Lü Bu in front of him, Dong Zhuo's face was full of brutality. The hand holding his sword loosened and tightened again, repeatedly giving rise to the thought of immediately beheading Lü Bu.

In the end, under Li Ru's constant eye signals, Dong Zhuo waved his hand and said.

"Enough, enough, send this rebellious son back to his mansion, and then seal off that mansion under the name of 'Marquis Wen recuperating', and do not allow him to contact anyone."

… …

When Lü Bu woke up, it was already a day and a night later.

Moreover, all the weapons in the entire mansion had been searched and confiscated, leaving Lü Bu without any usable weapons.

Outside the mansion, there were even five hundred fully armed soldiers completely sealing off the mansion, placing Lü Bu under house arrest within it.

Lü Bu, realizing that he had been fooled, was extremely angry and repeatedly tried to forcibly leave the mansion, but was forced back by the strong crossbows.

Even if Lü Bu possessed unparalleled bravery in the world, it was impossible to withstand strong crossbows barehanded without armor and with his hands far away from the halberd handle of the Fang Tian Halberd.

After venting his anger and feeling helpless, Lü Bu told Chen Gong all that had happened.

Chen Gong also realized that something was amiss, understanding that this was definitely Li Ru's doing, not only taking away the military power of the Bing Province wolf cavalry from Lü Bu without bloodshed, but also smoothly placing Lü Bu under house arrest in the mansion.

The fact that Lü Bu was injured and fainted in public was witnessed by a large number of generals and the Bing Province wolf cavalry.

Now that Dong Zhuo, as Lü Bu's "adoptive father", had placed Lü Bu under house arrest under the pretext of recuperation, no one was qualified to question Dong Zhuo.

At this moment, Lü Bu could only place his hopes on Chen Gong and asked for advice.

"Gongtai, what should we do now?"

"Difficult."

Chen Gong pondered for a while and could only sigh.

"Gongtai, if you can help me escape, I will definitely not let you down," Lü Bu cupped his fist and said.

Chen Gong helplessly said, "Even if Marquis Wen has the courage to face ten thousand enemies, he is now trapped here and cannot use his bravery. He can only wait for an opportunity."

"Wait for an opportunity?!"

Lü Bu said angrily, "That old thing has already begun to secretly kill me and wants to seize the military power of the Bing Province wolf cavalry. If I am trapped here for too long, how many of the Bing Province wolf cavalry will be left?"

"If Marquis Wen wants to escape early, instead of being angry for no reason, it is better to do more to deceive Dong Zhuo," Chen Gong said unhurriedly.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Lü Bu asked.

"Now that Marquis Wen's military power has been seized, it may not be a bad thing. In Dong Zhuo's eyes, Marquis Wen's threat will be greatly reduced."

Chen Gong said calmly.

"Has Marquis Wen ever heard of King Goujian of Yue enduring humiliation to deceive King Fucha of Wu, eventually achieving hegemony? How does Marquis Wen's current situation compare to that of King Goujian of Yue?"

Lü Bu's expression changed slightly, and then he said, "I would like to hear the details."

Chen Gong slowly said.

"There are many fierce generals among the Guandong lords, and among Dong Zhuo's subordinates, only Marquis Wen can match them!"

"Therefore, as long as Lü Bu shows more of a submissive and obedient attitude, over time, Dong Zhuo will not only become complacent, but will also have to reuse Marquis Wen."

Lü Bu nodded and said, "Then how should I deceive that old thing?"

Chen Gong said in a low voice, "Marquis Wen only needs to scold Dong Zhuo loudly in the mansion every morning, noon, and evening. Remember to call him adoptive father when scolding, and say that Dong Zhuo has betrayed you."

"This…"

Lü Bu was stunned when he heard this and said, "If I publicly scold Dong Zhuo, wouldn't that make that old thing even more wary?"

"On the contrary, if Marquis Wen hides his emotions and does not express them, it will make Dong Zhuo feel alert. But if Marquis Wen scolds him angrily every day, it will make Dong Zhuo think that Marquis Wen really has no other intentions."

After a pause, Chen Gong thought of something else and added, "In addition, Marquis Wen can also drink alcohol every day and pretend to be decadent and dispirited, using alcohol to relieve his sorrows."

Lü Bu hesitated for a moment and immediately accepted Chen Gong's suggestion.

Especially for Lü Bu, "angrily scolding Dong Zhuo" and "using alcohol to relieve his sorrows" only required him to act naturally and did not require him to put in any extra effort.

Dong Zhuo naturally saw Lü Bu's reaction clearly.

And it was indeed as Chen Gong had predicted. After the anger subsided, Dong Zhuo slightly reflected and couldn't help but suspect that he had misunderstood Lü Bu.

After all, anyone who knew a little about Lü Bu was well aware that Lü Bu was a person without any city or scheming.

To put it bluntly, Lü Bu's martial prowess and intelligence were inversely proportional.

Previously, it was precisely because of this that Dong Zhuo was quite at ease with Lü Bu, believing that if Lü Bu had any ulterior motives, he would definitely not know how to hide them.

In addition to this, Li Ru was also constantly investigating the specific details of Lü Bu's failed attack on the camp…

However, before Li Ru could investigate clearly.

Under Li Ji's vigorous promotion, the allied forces began to forcibly attack Hulao Pass.

For five consecutive days…

The offensive was more fierce than the last.

Although Hulao Pass was still firmly in Dong Zhuo's hands under the defense of sufficient troops, the endless stream of fierce generals among the allied forces made Dong Zhuo feel a headache.

In addition to Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Ji Ling, Wu Anguo, and others were also all brave men.

In contrast, although the Xiliang iron cavalry was also famous for its ferocity, with Hua Xiong dead, the generals of the Bing Province wolf cavalry were also feared and unused by Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo only had Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, Hu Zhen, and Xu Rong who could barely be considered fierce generals.

The quality of the generals on both sides was simply not on the same level.

This also led to the fact that in order to resist the fierce generals of the allied forces, Dong Zhuo had to mobilize a large number of personal guards each time, disregarding life and death to block those fierce generals, preventing them from completely gaining a foothold on the city walls.

And in the five consecutive days of the offensive and defensive battle, the defense line was repeatedly broken by the fierce generals of the allied forces, but Lü Bu was never seen.

This couldn't help but spark speculation among the Allied forces, and various rumors began to circulate even within Hulao Pass.

The most prevalent rumor was: "Lu Bu has already been severely wounded and died."

However, even though the speculation about Lu Bu's death greatly boosted the morale of the Allied forces, the losses from five consecutive days of siege warfare were also significant, necessitating a temporary halt to the siege for rest and recuperation.

Sensing the change in the intangible atmosphere, Li Ji spoke to Liu Bei.

"My lord, the time has come. It would be wise to send Yide to Hulao Pass to provoke a battle. Within three days, my plan will surely succeed."

(End of Chapter)