Chapter 32: Borrowing a Tiger to Leave the Mountain! Grain and Fodder Set Ablaze!

  Qiu Shui saw the two men's disbelieving expressions and suddenly understood the reason. He turned to Gao Shun and said with admiration: "I've heard that General Gao has eight hundred brave warriors under his command, known as the 'Trapping Array', who can conquer any city and win every battle. They are truly one of the most elite forces in the world!"

  Gao Shun was greatly surprised to hear the other's words, and his own ambush camp had actually reached the other's ears. However, he was also filled with joy, after all, his personally trained soldiers could enter the eyes of such heroes, which was not in vain for his dedication to the ambush camp.

  The three of them chatted idly on horseback, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao had long admired Autumn Water for being able to fight their general to a draw, no, even surpassing him by a hair. Today's display made the two regard Autumn Water as a heroic figure with an unblemished reputation, and they put aside their guard to chat idly. After all, if Autumn Water really wanted to do something to them, the two wouldn't be able to withstand it; they couldn't win in a fight, nor could they outrun his precious horse, so they might as well be frank.

  After a while, from afar, it seemed like a red flame was running over, and everyone knew that Lü Bu had returned when they saw it, and Gao Shun and Zhang Liao's eyes were filled with excitement.

  "Haha! Good horse, good Chi Tu, haha!" A burst of hearty laughter came from afar.

  Just then Li Su also rushed over in disarray, and when he saw Qiu Shui, he cupped his hands in greeting and said: "General."

  Autumn water waved her hand to indicate that there was no need for words, her eyes fixed tightly on Lü Bu in the distance. She felt that today's Lü Bu was truly the War God of the Three Kingdoms. After all, in today's battle, Lü Bu didn't have his precious horse, and it wasn't a satisfying fight. But now that he had Red Hare, his martial arts would reach new heights. Autumn Water couldn't help but feel impatient to engage in another battle with him.

  At this time, Lü Bu's face was flushed with excitement, and he rode the Red Hare to Autumn Water's front, saying happily: "Thank you, thank you." His words were somewhat incoherent, and Lü Bu himself didn't know how to express his current mood.

  "It's true that a good horse deserves a heroic rider, and Lü Bu is indeed a first-rate hero. Only someone as heroic as him can match this fine steed!" Qiu Shui exclaimed sincerely to Lü Bu.

  "Even the precious horses that Ding Yuan and Lü Bu had, were not given away as rewards, but now Governor Dong has shown such favor to you, giving you these extraordinary fine steeds. Yet, in the army at Pingzhou, you suffered from Ding Yuan's jealousy, and Governor Dong showed you such great affection, how can you not come over to our side?" Li Su urged, seeing Lü Bu's expression of fondness for Red Hare.

  When Lü Bu heard this, the joy on his face suddenly disappeared without a trace. He sighed and said: "Governor Ding is my adoptive father, I really can't abandon him." After saying this, Lü Bu looked at Red Hare reluctantly, then dismounted and handed Red Hare over to Qiu Shui.

  Li Su hastily said: "General Lu, Ding Gong surnamed Ding, what is this talk of father and son? Moreover, Ding Yuan has long been afraid of the general; otherwise, would he not have let the general take control of the army?"

  Gao Shun and Zhang Liao heard the other's words, although somewhat angry, but helpless. After all, what Ding Yuan did was indeed unbecoming of a great general, narrow-minded, and excluding dissenters. These were all things that Ding Yuan had done. If it weren't for the fact that Pingzhou had been fighting against foreign tribes for years and needed Lü Bu's bravery, how could he have taken Lü Bu as his adopted son?

  "Since Dong Gong has already given the Red Hare to you, he won't take it back. However, there's one thing I haven't made clear to you, and I hope you won't blame me!" Although Qiu Shui's words were somewhat embarrassing, his face didn't show a hint of shame.

  Lü Bu was overjoyed when he heard that he didn't have to return Red Hare, but then he heard the other's words and asked doubtfully: "General, you're giving me such a precious horse, why would I suspect General?"

  Gao Shun and Zhang Liao also looked at Qiu Shui with suspicion on their faces, wanting to hear what was going on.

  Qiu Shui looked at the three of them, tightly clutching the painting halberd in his hand, and slowly said while staring at Lü Bu's eyes: "I let Li Suo invite Feng Xian out first, knowing that Feng Xian was worried about his precious horse, he would definitely rush over hastily. Then I had Li Suo secretly carry gold, silver, and jewels to persuade Hao Meng after Feng Xian left." After saying this, Qiu Shui didn't continue speaking, as the crowd wasn't foolish.

  Li Su heard what Qiu Shui said and hastily explained: "I just followed the general's words to advise Hao Meng to lead his trusted followers to burn the grain in the army and surrender to Dong Gong."

  Lü Bu's face changed greatly, and he broke out in a cold sweat behind his back. Now the soldiers of Pingzhou are already exhausted, and there is no great general to defend against Hao Meng, if he really wants to burn grain and surrender to the enemy, wouldn't it be a disaster for the great army of Pingzhou?!

  Gao Shun and Zhang Liao's faces also changed, their eyes filled with anxiety. Just then, the direction of Pingzhou's army camp suddenly rose up a wave of black smoke, and came a wave of killing sounds.

  Lü Bu saw a distant sky with a piece of crimson, and hastily patted the war horse, shouting at Gao Shun and Zhang Liao: "Hurry! Hurry back!"

  Giddy up! Giddy up!

  The three of them immediately forgot about Qiu Shui and Li Su, and hastily whipped their war horses to rush back to the Pingzhou army camp.

  When Li Su saw Lü Bu hastily retreating, he let out a sigh of relief and thanked Qiu Shui with gratitude: "Thank you, General." Li Su knew that if Qiu Shui hadn't been there, he would have definitely been torn apart by Lü Bu. Fortunately, Qiu Shui was still protecting him; otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  "Why didn't the general take advantage of the chaos in Pingzhou and lead his troops to attack the Pingzhou camp, defeating the Pingzhou army in one fell swoop?" Li Su asked with some doubt later on. After all, this was a military achievement, and it just so happened to be at a critical moment when Dong Zhuo's affairs were at stake. If he achieved meritorious service, his future prospects would be boundless.

  Qiu Shui shook his head and said, "After the grain supplies of Pingzhou's army were burned down, the army was cut off from food, and even if Lü Bu returned, it would be of no use. However, there is still a way for Pingzhou's army to go, and if I take advantage of the fire to attack Pingzhou's army, wouldn't that be like fighting with my own brothers?"

  Li Su suddenly realized that after the grain and grass in the army were burned, the Pingzhou army could only surrender to Dong Gong. At that time, they would be a family. If he sent troops now, wouldn't it increase hatred and waste his forces? Thinking of this, Li Su felt a chill in his heart. This Autumn Water not only had unparalleled martial arts skills but also an unfathomable mind. Such a person absolutely could not be made into an enemy; otherwise, he would unknowingly be sold out by the other party.

  Li Su looked at Qiu Shui riding on the Chi Tu horse, with a cautious heart. This person usually in Dong Gong's camp, only showing his bravery and good fighting skills, but today he finally understood that this person had ambitions in his heart. If there was no ambition, why would he only show his brave and good fighting side under Dong Gong's account, while the other side was hidden so deeply? Now thinking about it is really frightening!

  No, how would the other party let me know these things? Thinking of this, Li Su raised his head and secretly glanced at Qiu Shui, only to find that Qiu Shui was leading Chi Tu slowly towards Luoyang. He suddenly felt relieved, but then thought again, since the other party allowed him to discover their purpose, there was only one possibility - they wanted to recruit him for their own use. It seemed that the other party's plan was not small.

  Li Su stretched out his arm, quietly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and suddenly thought that Dong Gong had no children under his knees. Could it be that the other party wanted to...? After thinking of this, Li Su dared not think about it anymore and hurriedly urged his horse to follow up.

  Under the slanting sunset, Li Su's back was unexpectedly soaked with a large patch of wetness.

  It turned out that just after Lü Bu had left, Li Su saw him walking away in the distance and then returned to the Pingzhou army camp, looking for Hao Meng.

  Hao Meng, a native of Hebei Province, was a general under Lü Bu in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. In the first year of Jian'an (196 AD), he was deceived by Yuan Shu and launched a rebellion against Lü Bu, but was stopped by Cao Xing and Gao Shun, two of Lü Bu's generals. He was eventually beheaded by Gao Shun.

  But Qiu Shui knew that this space might not follow history, after all, Qiu Shui knew that this was a high martial world. So Qiu Shui prepared both hands and summoned Lü Bu out. If Lü Bu agreed to surrender, then it would be fine. If not, making an extra move in preparation would also be better safe than sorry.

  Besides, if Lü Bu had done it himself, wouldn't such a heroic figure have to bear the infamy for life? Perhaps Qiū Shuǐ herself didn't even realize her own thoughts, she just didn't want such a hero to bear the infamy for life.

  Lü Bu led Gao Shun and Zhang Liao to the outer camp of the Bianzhou army, only to see that a large fire had broken out in the grain depot, with thick smoke billowing into the air, and the entire camp was thrown into chaos.

  After seeing this situation, Lü Bu knew that the most important thing now was to stabilize the army. Lü Bu rode his Red Hare horse and stood in front of the gate, shouting: "All of you, stop!" The panicked Pingzhou army calmed down after seeing Lü Bu. If someone had to be said to have the highest official position in the entire Pingzhou army, it would definitely be Ding Yuan, but if someone had to be said to be the most admired by the soldiers, it would undoubtedly be Lü Bu, known as the Flying General.

  If Lü Bu didn't have such charm, how could it be that after killing Ding Yuan, the entire Bianzhou army didn't rebel, and instead followed Lü Bu to surrender to Dong Zhuo, and then followed Lü Bu again to contend with Cao Cao in Yan Province and Xuzhou.

  "Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, you two quickly go and lead your troops to stabilize the army, in case Dong Zhuo leads his soldiers to attack. If there are any disorderly soldiers, behead them without hesitation!" Lü Bu calmly instructed the two men.

  No!

  The two men knew the current situation and did not dare to be careless. After hearing Lü Bu's order, they hurried to the military camp to gather their troops in preparation for Dong Zhuo's attack.

  At this time, Lü Bu's mind was already in a mess, but as a general, no matter how much panic he had in his heart, he couldn't show it on his face. This is the way of being a general.

  Lü Bu hastily rushed to the location of the army's grain storage, only to find that it had become a sea of flames. Cao Xing was leading some soldiers in putting out the fire.

  "Hurry up, hurry up!" Cao Xing's face was pitch black as he anxiously shouted at the soldiers who were putting out the fire, but no matter how loudly he shouted, the big fire didn't seem to get any smaller.

  Just as Cao Xing was getting anxious, he suddenly saw Lü Bu leading his soldiers over. The weight in his heart immediately lifted, and he shouted to Lü Bu, who was still far away, with a hint of tears: "General! General! Hao Meng has defected, assassinated our lord, and set fire to the grain supplies. He has now surrendered to the enemy."

  Lü Bu saw Cao Xing as a fine young man, yet at this moment he was like a daughter's family being bullied, and suddenly his heart rose with fierce flames. He jumped off his horse and kicked Cao Xing in the stomach as he ran over.

  Cao Xing was instantly kicked by Lü Bu's foot and flew five meters, lying on the ground and vomiting, it can be seen that Lü Bu's kick was so powerful that he directly kicked a nearly first-rate general to the ground and couldn't get up.