Han1977 wrote:((Wooohooo!! A reply! There is a reply!))
Yu Jun didn't dare to lift his head before Xiahou Yuan, he respectfully bow his head as he answered his question. Perhaps it was a good thing, because Xiahou Yuan couldn't saw his face. He grimaced over the thought of the family he left behind. There was a pause as Yu Jun think about his father, his step brothers and step mother. Do they wait for his return? Yu Jun shook his head, they won't, he is not part of that family. He was nothing but a nuisance, an unwanted bastard who is good at nothing but being a scapegoat when something wrong happened.
"No there is no family who wait for my return... My... mother and my grandfather, they died during Yellow Turban Rebellion. I came from Bei Hai my lord but I don't think I could call Bei Hai my home. I have no home..."
"The battlefield..., yes battlefield is my home. I'm good with my sword and I don't run away from any danger. Not even Lu Bu's sword."
Suddenly Yu Jun think, 'Would Xiahou Yuan think that he is reckless?'
Did he just ruined his chance at joining Cao Cao's army? From what he sees and hears, Lord Cao Cao's army is comparable even to those of Lord Yuan Shao's, the leader of the grand alliance, if not better. They achieve more than other lords in this battle so far. Some people said that a clever bird choose the right branch and he was so sure that he was right when he decided to choose Cao Cao. The thought that he might ruin it, scare him more than a swinging sword.
In his fear, he forget to keep his head low and hastily said, "I'm not saying that I don't recognize danger when I see one. Its just that... you know... I won't running away from fear."
"Sir... I won't disappoint you in battle. I'm stronger than most soldier and... and people say about clever bird choose the right branch. I've seen Lord Cao Cao's army in war and I know he is the right lord to serve. Please. allow me to join your army, you will never regret it."
Where normally Xiahou Yuan might have made a wisecrack in response, the loss of Cao Ren had killed some of his good mood. Not all of it, of course. Could Xiahou Yuan's spirits ever truly be crushed? He looked over the youth quietly for some time before responding.
Xiahou Yuan: Look, kid, I'm not looking for people to go charging at Lu Bu. If anyone in this unit is going to do that it'll be me, and I'll be honest, I don't want to do it. Lu Bu is superhuman. If he's going to be beaten, he's going to be beaten by this whole army, and not the heroism of one man. So I don't want you talking about standing against him. I just..
He trailed off a moment, unable but to feel sympathy for this youngster. He had no family left, apparently, and he'd come from Bei Hai. Having to live under the governance of a self-inflated descendant of Confucius could scar anyone for life.
Xiahou Yuan: You can join my unit as a private. Normally you'd need to have your own horse to be one of my men, but after the last few days, we've got some horses that don't have riders anymore.
He paused a moment to let that sink in, to see if knowledge of the danger that awaited would shaken his resolve.
---
Cao Cao: So it has come to this.
The man who had orchestrated this alliance looked on at the grand jewel of the Han Dynasty, the capital of Luo Yang, as flames could be seen over the city walls. Of course, he should have guessed that Dong Zhuo would do something like this. Had he killed the Emperor in his rage, or stolen him away to the west, to Chang'an and beyond, perhaps to the frontier he'd originally hailed from?
Those questions would be answered in time, but it did nothing to cure Cao Cao's inner turmoil at the moment. He'd lost many men in this battle, men who had volunteered to fight for his cause. Chief among them was his cousin, Cao Ren, who had been cleaved in half by the brute Lu Bu. And was it all for naught in the end? The warlord closed his eyes and lowered his chin, his shoulders slumped. For a moment, anyone looking at him couldn't see the resolve that normally radiated from him. For a moment, the man who had overcome every obstacle placed in front of him in his life seemed defeated.
The moment passed. Steeling himself, Mengde turned and waved down a messenger.
Cao Cao: Get Gongsun Yue to the front, we need to get into that city! The fires must be put out, and any of Dong Zhuo's men remaining must be wiped out for this affront. If they actually think they can flee, then we shall pursue them and show them the folly of their ways.
The messenger nodded and went to relay the orders to the rest of the alliance.
Unheralded, a little ways away, the brief moment of weakness Cao Cao had shown had not gone unnoticed by Xiahou Yuan. He wanted very much to go and support his cousin, to give him a chance to vent his feelings, but this was neither the time nor the place. Indeed, would there ever be a time and place for that? Even he had never seen any sign of Cao Cao wavering before. It was frightening to know it was possible, but he knew what it meant for himself. He couldn't afford to falter. Whatever challenges lay ahead of them, and there seemed to be many yet, both he and Yuanrang would need to be there for Mengde. They would be his pillars of strength.
Yeah. A pillar of strength. He liked the sound of that. Grinning, he turned and started back towards his own men, patting his stomach as he went. If he was going to be a pillar, he'd need to eat better than these blasted rations the army had. Hopefully there'd be a tavern in Luo Yang that would survive this inferno..