Chapter 71: Independence!

  All that was seen was the flustered messenger, who in an instant had been pierced through the chest by a black feather arrow shot out by Qiu Shui. He turned his head, his eyes filled with incredulity as he stared at Qiu Shui, his hand pointing at Qiu Shui, wanting to say something but unable to speak. His eyes turned dark and he fell backwards from the city wall.

  General!

  Everyone looked on in shock and stared at Qiū Shuǐ, while Huá Xióng and Xú Róng were moved to kneel down on one knee and shout towards Qiū Shuǐ.

  "Hum! Autumn water cold hum a sound, will hand in the giant bow to give one side of the soldier, swing swing hand order surrounding soldiers retreat, for a time various generals surrounding soldiers retreated."

  "How can I be afraid of death and abandon all of you comrades? If any of you are afraid, then lead your own troops back."

  After hearing Autumn Water's words, all the generals were deeply moved and admired. Xu Ronghua and Xiong Er choked with sobs and said: "General, your great kindness has touched our hearts, but if you stay here at Tiger Trap Pass with us, it will be difficult to hold on for long." After finishing speaking, they stood up and bowed deeply to the generals, saying: "Everyone, let's leave. Today, shooting and killing the Taishi's messenger was done by us two, and has nothing to do with everyone else."

  Bang! Autumn water fiercely stabbed the halberd in her hand into the rocky ground, making a dull sound. Her face cold, she said: "Everyone, Taishi is no longer the ambitious Dong Zhuo of Xiliang from those years ago. Now, Dong Zhuo has changed, becoming a timid and weak Grand Preceptor of Han who fears trouble! That Taishi would do such a thing is truly chilling!"

  After hearing Qiu Shui's words, all the generals looked at Qiu Shui in shock and amazement, their hearts churning like a stormy sea. Only Lü Bu and Gao Shun looked at Qiu Shui with thoughtful expressions. This fierce tiger of Xiliang had been suspicious of Qiu Shui when they were in Luoyang, but the other party hadn't brought up the matter again after that, and he himself had been too grateful for Diaochan's sake to ask further questions. Now...

  Gao Shun was one of Lü Bu's trusted advisors, and this matter had only been discussed between Lü Bu and Gao Shun, so Gao Shun knew about it, his eyes filled with thought.

  Dong Zhuo returned to Luoyang and carried out a large-scale military crackdown on the major families in the city, resulting in rivers of blood. However, after receiving urgent reports from Tiger Trap Pass every day, Dong Zhuo suffered heavy losses and feared that the Eastern Coalition would capture Tiger Trap Pass and march directly to Luoyang. He then discussed with Li Ru and prepared to move the capital to Chang'an.

  He ordered Xu Rong and Hua Xiong to lead 50,000 troops to guard the Tong Pass to the death, in order to buy time for his relocation. The other generals all followed Qiu Shui back to Luoyang, then relocated together to Chang'an.

  While hundreds of thousands of troops defended the Guandong coalition, they suffered heavy losses. However, Hua Xiong and Xu Rong led 50,000 soldiers to die defending the Tiger Trap Pass, holding back the Guandong army's advance. This was simply abandoning these 50,000 soldiers and the two men; how could they not feel a chill in their hearts?

  The generals and soldiers looked at each other in shock, their faces filled with astonishment. Immediately, the crowd's palms sweated as they tightly grasped their weapons. Autumn Water's eyes were filled with majesty as he faced the crowd: "Everyone, Xu Ronghua and two other generals are born from the Taishi, have made great contributions, and can be abandoned. In the future, when the Taishi is in danger, will he abandon us again?"

  Yes! Hua Xiong and Xu Rong, the two men who had fought to the death for Taishi all their lives, were actually abandoned before they reached the end of their oil and lamp. Today, the capital is moved to Chang'an, tomorrow the allied army will attack Chang'an, who will be abandoned next?

  At this time, all the generals found it difficult to make up their minds. At this moment, Hua Xiong and Xu Rong struggled for a while, then looked at each other with determination in their eyes. They knelt down on one knee, clasped their fists and said firmly to Qiu Shui: "We are willing to die for the general."

  Whoa! After seeing the two kneel down to show their loyalty, the rest of the people looked at each other for a moment, gritted their teeth and knelt down on one knee, shouting in unison: "We are willing to die for the general!"

  At this time, Zhang Liao and other generals of the Hebei province looked at Lv Bu, Lv Bu deeply looked at Qiushui who was standing above without speaking, then firmly shouted to Qiushui: "I, Lv Bu, am willing to lead the Bingzhou army to fight to the death for General!" After seeing Lv Bu finish speaking, he surprisingly knelt on one knee. The various generals of Bingzhou, Zhang Liao and others also knelt on one knee and chorused.

  At this moment, all the generals of Tiger Trap Pass knelt down on one knee and pledged allegiance to Qiu Shui.

  Autumn water gazed deeply at the kneeling generals, then muttered to himself: "It's not that I want to stand alone, it's just that the Grand Master's actions have chilled the hearts of all the generals!" After speaking, he quickly went forward and helped each of the generals up one by one.

  Lü Bu was truly devoted at this time. When he rescued Diao Chan in Luoyang, Lü Bu had explicitly stated that he would be a general under his command. Now that Autumn Water's martial arts skills have won over Lü Bu, he is even more deeply impressed and can be said to be truly devoted.

  At this time, Lü Bu quickly entered his own role, with a difficult expression on his face, facing Qiū Shuǐ: "Master, now the allied forces of Guān Xià are numerous, and behind us is the great army of Tài Shī. What if our actions are exposed? And what should we do if our army is sandwiched between the two sides?"

  The rest of the generals heard Lü Bu's words and all showed a difficult expression, yes, Lü Bu's words can be said to have hit the heart of the matter for the generals.

  Qiu Shui's mouth curved into a faint smile after hearing the news, and he spoke in a cold tone to his generals: "Everyone, now that the message has been leaked, we will inevitably face being attacked from both front and back. However, I have already thought of a plan!"

  Everyone was shocked after hearing this, and such a situation had already thought of a plan in an instant. The anxious generals opened their mouths one after another to ask questions.

  "Generals, first take control of all the troops and horses in the Tiger Trap Pass. If anyone leaves the camp without permission, behead them! If anyone spreads rumors, behead them! If anyone disrupts the morale of our army, behead them!"

  "Zhang Liao of Qiuwu, take order!"

  "We'll be there!" The two exclaimed in unison, clenching their fists.

  "Let the two generals go ahead and secretly prepare the ships for the army to cross the river at Mengjin Port!"

  "Hiss! The crowd heard Autumn Water's words and took a deep breath of cool air, staring at Autumn Water in shock. Lv Bu's eyes, which had been shocked awake, looked at Autumn Water and said: "Master, are you thinking of going to Pingzhou?"

  "After hearing this, Qiu Shui nodded solemnly and said to the crowd: 'Everyone, once the news of our army's independence spreads, who will tolerate us? The eighteen vassals in front of us are eyeing us covetously, and the Taishi army is ready to be dispatched behind us. If the news leaks out, both armies will attack us from both sides, and we will be like a floating water lily without roots, with no place to stand, and we will be annihilated in an instant.'"

  The autumn water stopped and looked up at the sky with lonely eyes: "And now, Taishi is still in Luoyang, preparing to move the capital. With Taishi's temperament, he will definitely take all the population of Luoyang with him. Take advantage of this time, our army secretly moves to Mengjin Port, then crosses the river to Pingzhou. Once our army occupies Pingzhou, we have a foothold, and we can dominate Jizhou and Youzhou!"

  For a moment after hearing Qiū Shuǐ's grand plan, everyone's eyes were filled with excitement. Everyone had achieved their current status through their own abilities, so how could they not understand Qiū Shuǐ's meaning?

  Since we must have our own territory to stand on, now that Pingzhou Dingyuan is dead, the entire Pingzhou is like a plate of loose sand. Once we occupy Pingzhou, with the strength and combat power of our great army, who in the entire Hebei can be an opponent!

  The main task of Autumn Water is to defeat the eighteen vassals, and if they really lead their troops back, they will not even have the opportunity to defeat the eighteen vassals.