C5 Failed to Hoodwink

Wu Tie led the army and met up with Xu Rong. Xu Rong excitedly asked: "Did the general catch Cao Cao?"

Ai Lang shook his head and said, "He ran away."

Xu Rong had a look of pity on his face. Seeing that the various armies were still pursuing Cao Army, Ai Lang said, "I wonder if there will be more pursuers coming over, let's retreat quickly." Xu Rong nodded in agreement.

Wu Steel Army and Lv Bu Jun stopped their pursuit of the remnant Cao Army, and gathered together as one, retreating towards the west. The Cao Army that had escaped this calamity were no longer in the mood to fight, and all of them retreated towards the east.

Cao Cao didn't walk too far. He gathered up the wounded soldiers and realized that there was less than half of the original twenty thousand soldiers and horses. Thus, the generals were all present. Xiahou Dun scolded in anger, "Why haven't the other dukes seen anyone? Where did they all go? "

Cao Cao's face was cold, his eyes filled with boundless anger as he said: "Go to Luoyang!" And then, he led the handicapped veterans and rushed towards the Luoyang.

The next morning, Lv Bujun and Wu Tiangjun retreated to the edge of the pond. All the soldiers were tired. At this time, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from behind. Everyone couldn't help but turn their heads to look, only to see two riders galloping over.

Xu Rong immediately asked nervously, "Is it the pursuers?"

Seeing that the other party was so aggressive that even though they only rode two horses, they still emitted the aura of several tens of thousands of cavalrymen. He didn't dare to hesitate and immediately ordered his troops to stop in formation. Although the Wu Iron Army and Lv Bu Jun were exhausted, they still quickly formed a battle formation. Sun, Zhou, Liu, and Wu came to the front of the army on horseback. Seeing the two riders rushing forward like crazy and stopping dozens of steps away, the warhorse man stood up and let out a dragon roar. Immediately, the two young generals looked like a war god that had descended to the mortal world. Ai Lang's eyes could not help but light up as he praised, "The two of them look pretty good!"

The young general on the left pointed his spear at Ai Lang and shouted, "Lv Bu, I'm going to take your head!"

Xu Rong was furious and shouted, "You little brat, you are still wet behind the ears! Even you want to fight against Wen Hou! "

Ai Lang smiled and waved his hand. He then asked the young general, "Who are you?"

The young general raised his spear and shouted: "I am Xiliang Ma Chao!"

When Ai Lang heard that, he was suddenly enlightened. He looked at Ma Chao from head to toe and looked like he was drooling. Upon seeing this, Xu Rong, who was standing to the side, could not help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Ai Lang's gaze landed on another young general. Seeing that he had a handsome white horse and silver spear and a heroic spirit, he could not help but ask, "You, could it be Chang Shan Zhao Ziloong?"

Zhao Yun felt a little strange as he cupped his fist and said, "I am Zhao Yun. Yesterday, General Lu ignored his personal safety and went back to rescue his surrounded subordinates. This subordinate deeply admires him! However, why serve the traitor Dong Zhuo when the general valued loyalty and righteousness so much? If the general were to abandon his darkness and come out into the light, he will definitely become the pillar of the burly man! "

Ai Lang chuckled and said: "Ziloong, let me ask you, do you think that since the Han Dynasty Emperor is in power, the citizens will have a good life?"

Zhao Yun was surprised, he asked in confusion, "General, what do you mean by that?"

Ai Lang revealed a mocking expression and said: "Aside from the founding emperor Liu Xiu, is there actually anyone decent within these few generations of Emperor Han Dynasty? He was too focused on enjoying the food and didn't care about the lives of the people. There were too many exorbitant taxes to count. How many people sold women under their rule, how many were displaced, and how many starved to death on the streets? If that wasn't the case, how could there be chaos? How could Zhang Jiao and the other demons incite the commoners to revolt? If life went on, who would be willing to rebel? How did the world become like this? In my opinion, Grand Preceptor Dong is much better than the emperor! "

Zhao Yun frowned and thought for a while.

Ma Chao was getting impatient from waiting and shouted: "Cut the crap, hand over your life!" As he spoke, he charged straight towards Ai Lang.

Ai Lang laughed out loud as he spurred his horse to charge at Ma Chao. The two of them started a huge battle. The Dragon-riding Spear in Ma Chao's hand was like a soaring dragon with an imposing aura. The cold light was like lightning and the murderous intent was soul-stirring! Xu Rong originally didn't think much of the two young generals. However, when he saw Ma Chao's strength, his face paled and cold sweat poured out!

Ai Lang and Ma Chao had been fighting for fifty rounds without a clear victor. Seeing the opponent's momentum become more and more fierce, just like a fierce tiger leaving the mountain, Ai Lang could not help but exclaim in his heart: No wonder the legend is that Ma Chao is not inferior to Lv Bu, he is really amazing!

Ai Lang mustered his strength and went all out to meet it. In the midst of his furious roars, the Sky Halberd danced, and cold light filled the sky as it collided with the other Dragon-riding Spear s. After more than 80 rounds of battle, Ai Lang gradually gained the upper hand.

Zhao Yun, who was watching the fight, was worried that Ma Chao would make a mistake, so he immediately urged him to join the battle. This action of his immediately increased the pressure on Ai Lang. Zhao Yun's silver spear flashed like a bolt of lightning, shooting out in all directions. His speed and ferocity was no less than Ma Chao's! The two generals fiercely attacked Ai Lang, turning around and around as if they were walking on horseback. They killed to the point that even the sun and moon had changed color! What a fierce battle between two evenly matched opponents! There was no clear victor in the hundred or so rounds of battle between the two sides. However, the attacks of Ma Chao and Zhao Yun were getting fiercer and fiercer. Meanwhile, Ai Lang gradually lost his balance. Although the body of Lv Bu that Ai Lang possessed was extremely tough, his opponents Ma Chao and Zhao Yun were all unrivalled generals. It was difficult for him to fight against two enemies on his own.

However, at this time, Zhao Yun suddenly left the battle circle. Ma Chao felt strange and subconsciously withdrew from the battle. He asked Zhao Yun, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Yun looked at the panting Lv Bu and said, "The two of us have fought together for more than a hundred rounds and we still can't defeat him, how can we fight again? Furthermore, Lv Bu has been going all out, but we are just waiting for him to finish. Even if he wins, it would not be a martial arts victory! " Ma Chao couldn't help but nod as he thought of this. And then he shouted at Lv Bu, "Lv Bu, let's call it a day. In the future, we will definitely have a male and female match!"

Xu Rong said coldly, "Do you still want to leave?" And then, with a wave of his hand, the entire army charged forward to surround him.

Ai Lang raised his Sky Halberd and said loudly: "Don't move, let them go." The troops immediately stopped.

Zhao Yun clasped his hands and said, "Thank you." He reined in the horse's head and galloped away. Ma Chao also turned his horse away. Ai Lang raised his voice and shouted, "Hey! I really like you two, think about what I just said, I'll wait for you guys at Chang'an! " The two of them did not respond to Ai Lang, and their figures quickly disappeared over the hill in front of them.

Xu Rong secretly forgot Ai Lang and muttered in his heart, 'Don't tell me this Lv Bu has a Long Yang obsession?' When he thought here, Xu Rong couldn't help but shiver and subconsciously move away from Ai Lang.

Cao Cao rushed to Luoyang, seeing that it was fine, he could not help but heave a sigh of relief. When they heard that all the dukes were having their banquets in the main hall, they couldn't help but rush to the main hall in a fit of rage.

Just as they were happily drinking and drinking, the dukes suddenly saw Cao Cao, who was in a sorry state. They immediately became absolutely silent. Mateng and Gongsun Zan were too shy to see Cao Cao, so they pretended to lower their heads and drink. Yuen Shao's face was full of smiles as he said, "Brother Meng De is chasing after Dong Zhuo. I presume you have obtained a complete victory?"

Cao Cao's eyes widened as he pointed at the crowd and roared, "You scum! I, Cao Cao, am a good man. I am ashamed to be with you!" With that, he flicked his sleeves and left. Everyone looked at each other, the atmosphere was extremely awkward. Yuen Shu sneered and said sarcastically, "He suffered heavy losses after failing to chase after Dong Zou. He's getting angry out of embarrassment." The dukes immediately echoed in agreement.

At this moment, a junior colonel ran in and reported, "Reporting to Master, Cao Cao led the army and left." Yuen Shao replied with an "oh", but he didn't seem to care at all.

Sun Jian drank a mouthful of wine, put down his glass and said, "Don't worry about Cao Cao's matters. Now we should discuss the matter at hand." This Luoyang has finally been reclaimed in its entirety, but who will be the one to manage it? "

Everyone looked at each other and remained silent. "Lord Yuen Shao is the leader of our allied forces. Now that the Luoyang has been reclaimed, we naturally should leave it to him to manage it." Several dukes echoed his sentiments one after the other.

Yuen Shu didn't say anything, while Sun Jian sneered. Sun Ce, who was standing behind Sun Jian, said loudly, "As the saying goes, those who have accomplished great deeds will be entrusted with great responsibilities! Today, we were able to expel Dong Thief to recover our Luoyang, all because of my Jiangdong disciple being bathed in blood, and the fact that he was able to break through our Water Barrier. Luoyang should be left to my father! "

Yuen Shao had an annoyed look on his face, but he couldn't retort. Ye Zichen submitted his gaze to Yuen Shu. Yuen Shu pretended not to notice.

Yuen Shao could not help but curse in his heart. Seeing this scene, he did not feel right insisting on using his Luoyang, and said: "Let's talk about it later. Today's the end. Everyone should go back and rest." Everyone stood up and left.

On the other side, Ai Lang and Xu Rong had retreated into Tong Guan. At this time, the two received Dong Zhuo's order from Chang'an to have the troops under Liu Tie's command join Tong Guan's guard to guard Tong Guan and to summon Lv Bu to report back to the Chang'an. Ai Lang and Xu Rong separated at Tongguan, Ai Lang led his troops all the way to Chang'an. The road was peaceful and the people were happy. There was nothing like the historical book about how Dong Zhuo had moved to the west while the corpses were piled up like mountains and the wails filled the fields. However, it was said that the people of a few counties near Tongguan were forcibly moved here, but basically, there were no rapists or robbers. Everything was still calm.

Thinking about it, Ai Lang finally understood. Those who wrote history books followed the Confucian concept of loyal monarch. Naturally, they would do their best to slander Dong Zhuo, who was, after all, a rebel. In fact, Dong Zhuo didn't have any reason to randomly harm people because in this era, the population was the most important resource. Only people with population could cultivate, produce, and wear swords to work for them. Unless his family's Dong Zhuo was crazy, how could he destroy the most important resource in his possession? This was no different from committing suicide. Later on, Liu Bei also forcefully moved the citizens of the Xinye and other places, also because the population was the most important resource, but as Liu Emperor' Uncle , the history books made it seem like he was extremely merciful when migrating the citizens.