The Counterattack of the Villains

Early the next morning, Li Mu carried his bow and arrows, took Zhang Liao and his entourage of ten cavalrymen, and left Luoyang City through the north gate.

When Li Mu and his entourage arrived, Zang Ba, Hao Meng, Cao Xing, Cheng Lian, Wei Xu, Song Xian, Hou Cheng, and Gao Shun were already waiting by the road outside the city gate.

Everyone was carrying bows and arrows, and they were all in high spirits, chatting and laughing on the roadside.

The reason why they were in high spirits was naturally not because they were going hunting, but because of what Zhang Liao said when he went to inform them yesterday.

The personal entourage they had brought with them stood aside, paying careful attention to their surroundings.

The people passing by had a look of fear on their faces and did not dare to look too much, so they quickened their pace and moved away from this place.

The Xiliang soldiers brought by Dong Zhuo were tyrannical in Luoyang City, bullying men and women, and they were hated by everyone.

While the people feared them, they also hated them to the core.

Although the entourage of Zang Ba and others all wore the red clothes and silver armor of the Yulin Cavalry, no one in Luoyang knew that the Yulin Cavalry was an army commanded by Lu Bu.

How could Dong Zhuo dare to be so arrogant and domineering without Lu Bu, the most powerful general in the world known as the God of War, as his minion?

Seeing Li Mu and Zhang Liao arriving, the eight people immediately greeted them and called them "general."

Li Mu nodded to everyone and said: "Since everyone is here, let's set off!"

"yes."

Everyone immediately mounted their horses and ran towards Beimang Mountain following Li Mu.

After entering the mountain, everyone was not in a hurry to find a place to discuss matters, but instead went hunting seriously.

With Li Mu's archery skills inherited from Lu Bu, he was able to hit every target with perfect accuracy.

As long as you see prey, no matter whether it is flying in the sky or running on the ground, you will definitely not be able to escape.

In less than two hours, everyone had already harvested a lot, including pheasants, hares, fallow deer, and turtledoves.

As noon approached, Li Mu finally gave the order to find a shaded place to rest.

He ordered his followers to disperse around and be careful not to let anyone get close. Li Mu and his entourage of ten people sat cross-legged on the ground in a circle.

"Brothers, there are some things that you must have heard Wen Yuan mention yesterday. Please feel free to speak out what you think."

"Today we are only discussing the way out for the future. We don't care about right or wrong. We only consider whether it is feasible. No matter what ideas you have, everyone can speak out and discuss them."

Everyone looked at me, and I looked at you, winking at each other, and gesturing to each other to say something, but no one spoke first.

Li Mu was speechless and amused. It seemed that Lu Bu had left such a deep impression on them that they did not dare to speak rashly.

In this case, one person needs to take the lead.

Li Mu then turned his attention to the iron-headed boy Gao Shun and said, "Gao Shun, tell me what you think."

Compared with the eight strong men, Gao Shun is indeed the best.

Because he was the only one under Lu Bu who was able to offend Yan Zhijian and often said some unfavorable words of advice.

Gao Shun was extremely loyal to Lu Bu.

Lu Bu always refused to reuse him and even deprived him of his military power, but he never complained.

When Xiapi was defeated, he did not choose to surrender to Cao Cao, but followed Lu Bu to die.

Therefore, among the nine capable men, apart from Zhang Liao, the one Li Mu trusted the most was Gao Shun.

Gao Shun looked at the crowd and saw that none of them had the intention to speak first, so he said seriously: "As I see it, Luoyang is really a place of right and wrong, and it is not suitable to stay for a long time."

Li Mu nodded slowly and said, "Then where do you think we should go?"

Gao Shundao: "The general thinks that we should find a wise master to join us."

Li Mu shook his head and said: "I don't want to live under someone else's roof. I don't want to look for a wise master now. I just want to become a wise master myself."

He glanced at everyone and said with a serious expression: "I used to be very opinionated at best, and stubborn at worst. I can't really be called a wise master."

"Thanks to all the brothers who have never given up, I have now realized that good medicine is bitter in the mouth and good for the disease, but good advice is hard on the ears and good for action."

"In the future, if you have anything to say, please feel free to speak out. I will definitely listen to you carefully, and you will never be punished for your words."

After hearing what Li Mu said, everyone was so excited that they stood up one after another, then knelt down on one knee, clasped their fists and said in unison: "We are willing to follow the lord to the death."

Li Mu was secretly happy that General and Lord were more than just a change of title.

Li Mu stretched out his hand to support him and said: "Brothers, please get up quickly."

Everyone then stood up and sat down cross-legged again.

This time everyone began to speak enthusiastically, and Zang Ba was the first to speak: "In today's world, the trend of chaos has become apparent, and the army is the foundation."

"If my lord wants to stand on his own feet, he must try to control more troops. Otherwise, it will be difficult to gain a foothold with only three thousand soldiers and horses."

Li Mu said happily: "What Xuan Gao said coincides with me, so what we need to consider now is how to control more troops."

Cheng Lian said: "Originally, Master Yi's trust in the Lord made it not difficult to control more troops."

"But it's because the grand master trusts the master too much, and the master is the master's greatest support, so he is unwilling to let the master go out to lead an army alone, and will only keep the master by his side to protect himself."

"In this case, if the lord wants to control more troops, it will be unless there is an attack from a foreign enemy."

Cao Xing sighed and said, "But now that the Grand Master is so powerful, he not only has an army of 500,000, but also holds the Emperor under his command to command the princes. No one dares to be his enemy. What can be done?"

When the topic reached this point, it reached a dead end. Everyone fell silent and thought hard about how to open up the situation.

Li Mu secretly marveled, Lu Bu's eight capable generals were indeed not idlers. They could see the situation clearly and clearly.

I didn't say it before, I didn't dare to say it at all.

Now that they have completely returned to their hearts, things are going well.

Li Mu was in a happy mood. Seeing everyone's hard thinking, he laughed, reached into his arms and took out two scrolls, held them in his hands and said, "Brothers, take a look at what these are."

Everyone looked intently and their eyes lit up because they saw that one of the scrolls seemed to be an edict.

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Li Mu first handed the two scrolls to Zang Ba next to him. He opened them one after another and looked at them. His expression quickly changed from worry to joy, and finally he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Hahaha... My lord is wise. I never imagined that my lord has done so many things secretly, but we are still unaware of it."

As he spoke, he handed the two scrolls to Cheng Lian beside him.

Cheng Lian laughed after reading it and said, "My lord, the army is here."

After everyone finished reading, everyone was smiling.

The two scrolls are the imperial edict written by Liu Xie himself and the appeal against thieves drafted by Li Mu.

The edict was given to Yuan Shao, and the content of the edict was: Shao and others would like to declare to the world with great righteousness: Dong Zhuo deceived the heaven and the earth, destroyed the country and killed the king; defiled the palace and destroyed the living beings; the wolf was cruel and unkind, and accumulated many crimes.

Today, we have received a secret edict from the emperor to gather a large number of righteous soldiers, vowing to wipe out the Central Plains and kill all the evil forces. We hope that the righteous army will be raised to vent public anger together, support the royal family, and save the people. When the day comes, we can implement it quickly.

After everyone read the edict and proclamation, they immediately understood what this meant.

With the emperor's secret edict and this message, all the princes in the world will gather in Luoyang to attack Dong Zhuo.

By that time, Dong Zhuo will definitely order his lord to lead the army to fight, won't the army be in hand?

As for whether they want to fight against the princes of the world, or make any other plans, it will depend on the situation at that time.

Anyway, with the army at hand, whatever you do makes sense.

Song Xian said excitedly: "Then now we only need to send someone to secretly send the edict and message to Bohai County, and the big thing will be done."

Li Mu smiled and nodded, and then said seriously: "You must keep this matter in your stomach and never reveal a word to the outside world."

"I hereby assure you brothers that no matter where we go in the future, all of you here are the people whom Bu trusts most. If Bu has a mouthful of food to eat, you will never just drink soup."

The last simple words from later generations made everyone present feel warm in their hearts, and their loyalty to Li Mu rose to a higher level.

…

At the end of the afternoon, everyone returned to Luoyang with loads of prey. Li Mu carried several of the most valuable colorful pheasants and personally delivered them to the palace.

The colorful pheasant is named for its colorful coat. It is a rare game bird that is used for meat, ornamental and medicinal purposes. It is known as the king of game and animal ginseng.

Naturally, Li Mu's move was not only to gain favor, but also to dispel Dong Zhuo's doubts.

Dong Zhuo's eyes and ears were all over the city of Luoyang. He and his eight generals left the city together, and they could not hide it from Dong Zhuo.

He brought the prey to offer, which also showed an attitude of clear conscience.

Sure enough, Dong Zhuo was very happy when he saw the colorful pheasant presented by Li Mujin.

It wasn't because of the prey itself. With his status, what kind of delicacies had he not eaten? The key was that Li Mu's intention made him happy.

In the days that followed, Li Muan An taught Zhang Liao and Lu Lingqi how to practice martial arts at home.

Most of the eight capable generals used spears and spears, so Li Mu passed on the Wentian Spear Technique to them, which improved the combat effectiveness of his generals.

Two months later, a major event occurred that shocked the world. Yuan Shao received a secret edict from the emperor, calling on heroes from all walks of life to join forces to defeat Dong Zhuo, who had usurped power and disrupted government.

All the princes in the world responded. Because Cao Cao was killed, there was one less prince this time, and there were only seventeen.

Yuan Shao was very energetic, gathered his civil and military forces, and led 30,000 troops. He rushed from the Bohai Sea to a mountain ten miles outside Hulao Pass, set up a hero's platform, and made an alliance with various princes.

The number of troops and horses on each route varied, ranging from more than 10,000 to as many as 25,000. The largest was Yuan Shao's 30,000 army, followed by Sun Jian's 28,000 Jiangdong Army.

The seventeen princes combined together finally gathered an army of more than 400,000, which was said to be 500,000, which was enough to challenge Dong Zhuo.

Because the emperor specified that the edict be sent to Yuan Shao, he himself was quite famous, had the most troops, and the most abundant food and grass, so he was regarded as the leader of the alliance, just like in the original plot.

Liu Guan and Zhang Sanying were still underestimated by the princes, but with the help of Gongsun Zan, they successfully entered the Hero Stage.

Then Sun Jian was the vanguard and attacked the defense line in front of Hulao Pass.

Jiangdong's army was as powerful as a tiger, breaking three lines of defense in a row, and the morale of the princes and allies was greatly boosted.

When Dong Zhuo received the news, he became furious and immediately summoned his generals.

After listening to what Dong Zhuo said, Li Mu said solemnly without hesitation: "I'll go."

As soon as he finished speaking, a general beside him immediately said: "How can you kill a chicken with an ox's knife? The last general, Hua Xiong, is willing to get Sun Jian's head for the Grand Master."

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed when he heard this and said happily: "Okay, let them see that I am the most invincible warrior in Xiliang."

Li Mu didn't say much, a hint of ridicule flashed in his eyes.

The greatest warrior in Xiliang, his greatest achievement in life is to make famous for Second Master Guan.

Hua Xiong was ordered to fight. He took advantage of Sun Jian's fierce attack on the front line of defense at Hulao Pass and suddenly led his troops to attack from behind.

In this sneak attack, Sun Jian's entire army was defeated and his generals were lost. Even his general Zu Mao was beheaded by Hua Xiong.

Sun Jian retreated to the Hero Stand in embarrassment. Hua Xiong took advantage of the great victory and intended to further damage the morale of the princes and allies.

He led his army to the Hero's Platform to fight, and killed Yu She, the general under Yuan Shu, Pan Feng, the general under Han Fu, and several other generals from the princes. Finally, he was beheaded by the unknown Guan Yu.

Because of Guan Yu's achievements, the Allied forces added an 18th line of princes, and Yuan Shao personally donated 3,000 troops to him.

After Hua Xiong's death, the morale of Dong Zhuo's army was low, and the forward defense line was quickly broken by the Allies. Sun Jian began to directly attack Hulao Pass.

…

"Damn it, you killed my general Hua Xiong, broke through our five lines of defense, attacked Hulao Pass, and you dared to send Hua Xiong's head here, it's damnable..."

Dong Zhuo was furious in the court. Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent. Only Li Mu dared to speak. He tilted his head slightly and asked in a cold voice: "Who killed Hua Xiong?"

At this time, his whole body was exuding a violent and violent aura, and the civil and military officials standing in the hall were trembling with fear, fearing that this guy who was called the God of War but was actually a ferocious beast would suddenly go crazy and slaughter them all.

Therefore, they hang their heads lower and try to reduce their sense of presence.

Only Li Ru answered Li Mu's question: "He is an unknown rat named Guan Yu."

Li Mu looked at Dong Zhuo again, cupped his fists and said, "My child, please fight."

Dong Zhuo said: "Okay, Li Jue and Guo Si."

The two military generals came out of their duties, clasped their fists and said in unison: "The last general is here."

Dong Zhuo said: "You two will lead 50,000 troops to strengthen the defenses on both sides of Hulao Pass to prevent sneak attacks by the allied forces of the princes."

"yes."

Dong Zhuo continued: "I personally led 150,000 troops to guard Hulao Pass, accompanied by Li Ru, Zhang Ji, Fan Chou and others."

Finally, he looked at Li Mu and said: "Fengxian, you lead 30,000 troops to camp in front of the pass, re-establish the defense line, and be ready to attack as a vanguard at any time."

Li Mu's heart was moved, and a ferocious smile like Lu Bu's appeared on his face, and he said: "Father, give me fifty thousand soldiers and horses, and I will wipe out all the pigs and dogs for you. Why do you need to defend Hulao Pass anymore?"

Dong Zhuo's eyes flashed and he shouted: "What a pig and dog of the 18th grade, in front of my son, what is the difference between the so-called princes and pigs and dogs?"

"My father will give you 50,000 soldiers and horses, and you will bring back to me the heads of the eighteenth-century pigs and dogs."

Li Mu's grim smile did not change and he said: "I can't guarantee this, unless my adoptive father can ensure that after my son goes out, no pigs or dogs will escape."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

These words made Dong Zhuo laugh wildly and his self-confidence exploded.

Li Mu was also secretly happy at this moment. He didn't expect that with just a few words, he would get 20,000 more troops. This was really an unexpected surprise.

It's not that he doesn't want more soldiers and horses, but he knows where Dong Zhuo's bottom line is. If he asks for too much, it will only be counterproductive.

Li Mu took the tiger talisman, called Qi Ba Jianjiang, took three thousand soldiers under his command, and left the city for the camp.

The 50,000 soldiers and horses Dong Zhuo allocated to Li Mu were all Han troops. The Xiliang army was Dong Zhuo's lifeblood, and he would never hand it over easily.

This is exactly what Li Mu wants. If he leads the Xiliang army, it will be difficult to truly control it. If he lets them betray Dong Zhuo, they might turn against him.

But the Han army was completely different. They only recognized the tiger talisman and not the people. They would obey whoever the tiger talisman was in the hands of.

Secondly, since the Han army wanted to be loyal to the imperial court after all, it was easier to deceive them. Li Mu was confident that he would let them follow him wholeheartedly in just a few words.

Li Mu ordered 50,000 soldiers and horses and headed straight for Hulao Pass.

On the way, Li Mu asked Zhang Liao beside him: "Have everything been arranged?"

Zhang Liao said softly: "Don't worry, my lord, my wife and Lingqi have secretly left the city, as well as General Xuan Gao's and their family records."

Li Mu'an made up his mind, and then he could go all out and start a big fight.