Zhang Xun and Zhang Liao joined forces with thirty thousand troops to attack Xiaopei. Liu Bei had too few soldiers and could only hold the city to the bitter end.
After receiving Yang Feng's troops, Liu Bei had expanded Xiaopei's forces to nearly twenty thousand. The city had enough food and supplies to last half a year, and the Yuan-Lu coalition had been unable to take it despite prolonged attacks.
Yuan and Lu had previously fought a great battle along the Huai River. Now that neither lord was there to take command, the generals and soldiers on both sides lacked unity. On top of that, Guan and Zhang were fierce and invincible. The coalition had been unable to win any of the several duels before the lines, and its morale had only fallen further.
With the great armies surrounding the city, drums pounded and gongs rang all day. Flags waved and people shouted, leaving not a single peaceful day in the surrounding villages.
Afraid of being caught in the ravages of war, many families took their elders and children and fled north together. Gan Family Village had a Sanctuary, so its people had merely abandoned the spring planting and hidden inside, living off the grain they had stored beforehand.
Gan Ji had spent nearly all this time in the Sanctuary. Since nobody came to raid the village, Lan Tian returned home each day to make a little hot food.
"Tian'er, when will they finally be done fighting? At least we still have hot millet buns to eat, but who knows how your sister is doing in the city." Gan Ji held a millet bun, his face full of worry.
"There are plenty of soldiers in Xiaopei City, and they brought in a lot of grain when they reinforced the troops last year. Elder Sister shouldn't go hungry anytime soon. I'm just afraid..."
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid Lu Bu and Yuan Shu will send more troops."
Gan Ji said miserably, "Tian'er, you're so good at farming. If only we'd found some place without all this fighting to live. It would be better than living in fear here. Since your sister married Xuande, she hasn't had a single easy day."
"These are troubled times. Where in the land isn't in turmoil? Even if such a place existed, we couldn't get there," Lan Tian sighed.
Gan Ji knew it too. In these years of chaos and warfare, every province and commandery was overrun with bandits. How could ordinary people dare travel far on their own?
The coalition had been unable to take the city after a long siege. Yuan Shu wasn't in a hurry, but Lu Bu was.
Xu Province was always short of provisions, and wartime consumption was even greater than usual. Zhang Liao's failure to take Xiaopei made Lu Bu's food shortage increasingly severe.
Last year, Lu Bu had turned a blind eye while Han Xian and Yang Feng plundered the counties. If he now followed in their footsteps to obtain provisions for his army, he might truly have reached the end of his term as Governor of Xuzhou.
He sent messengers several times with orders for Zhang Liao to launch a swift, fierce assault, but the reports all said Liu Bei's defenses were tenacious and that more troops would be needed to take Xiaopei quickly.
By the height of summer in August, Lu Bu finally decided to send reinforcements to Xiaopei.
Whenever Lu Bu had to divide his troops for an expedition, he usually let Gao Shun lead one of the armies. But Gao Shun was currently in charge of defending Xiapi, which was why he hadn't been sent to Xiaopei. Now Lu Bu had to choose a commander for the reinforcements: either lead them himself or select Gao Shun.
After thinking it over repeatedly, Lu Bu decided to send Gao Shun with ten thousand troops to reinforce Zhang Liao. He would remain in Xiapi to guard against a surprise attack from Yuan Shu. Better to trust himself than anyone else.
Gao Shun had just received his orders and was about to leave the manor when Lu Lingqi stopped him once again.
"Young Lady, I have military duties to carry out. Whatever it is, we can talk when I return," Gao Shun said hurriedly.
"Father and Liu Bei are now at each other's throats, and I heard the army is short of provisions again. When you go to Xiaopei, will you..." Lu Lingqi meant to ask whether Gao Shun would follow Zhang Liao and Cheng Lian's example and raid the villages.
Gao Shun cupped his hands. "Young Lady, rest assured. I'd rather starve to death than bully the weak. I'll do my best to look after Master Ziyu as well."
"And his sister," Lu Lingqi reminded him.
Gao Shun nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Young Lady, take good care of yourself. If the lord and Yuan Shu make peace, they may yet marry you off to Shouchun."
With that, Gao Shun turned and left, leaving Lu Lingqi standing there in a daze.
Lu Lingqi looked up at the scorching sun. Whether it was sweat or tears, the drops that fell to the ground dried in an instant.
She sighed, knowing she had never been fated to be with him. If she really had to marry into Shouchun, then it was simply her lot in life.
"My daughter, what are you doing standing in the sun? Come with me to cool off in the back courtyard. And while we're at it, tell me some more of The Legend of the Condor Heroes you had copied down for me," Lu Bu said as he came up behind her.
Lu Lingqi wiped the sweat from her face and turned to answer, "I know."
Father and daughter walked into the back garden. Lu Lingqi brought out a stack of bamboo slips from her room and laid them on the stone table.
Over the past two years, when Lu Lingqi had nothing to do, she would sometimes call Gao Shun over to help recall the story. She had people slowly transcribe it, but there were many parts they had forgotten, so the copying had been slow. It was only recently that they had finally completed the book.
Bamboo slips could hold only a limited number of characters, and the scribes had already pared the text down again and again. Even so, it still filled over a hundred volumes.
Since the writing in the book was so concise, Lu Bu preferred to hear Lu Lingqi narrate it. He had recently become quite engrossed in the story and often urged his daughter to read it to him.
Today's section covered the final few volumes. Lu Lingqi was in low spirits, so her narration held little emotion.
Lu Bu assumed his daughter had been moved by the story. When she finished, he sighed. "Genghis Khan once swept across the land, but in the end, all that remained of him was a pile of yellow earth. Truly, imperial ambitions and great conquests are but a laughing matter, no match for one drunken night in a lifetime. This story is very well written."
"Father, shall I take the books back to my room?" Lu Lingqi asked, picking up the bamboo slips.
"Wait a moment. There are Five Greats in The Legend of the Condor Heroes. If I were one of them, which would I be?" Lu Bu asked with interest.
Lu Lingqi shook her head. "Your daughter doesn't know. Can you really compare them?"
"Why not? My martial arts are unmatched beneath heaven. I must be Central Divine! Hahaha!"
Lu Lingqi said nothing. Seeing Lu Bu laughing heartily, she didn't contradict him. Central Divine had only a small part in the story, though, so she had no idea what kind of person he was.
Gao Shun, the other person who had narrated The Legend of the Condor Heroes, arrived at the camp outside Xiaopei City in late August. After exchanging greetings, Zhang Liao handed over command to him at once.
Gao Shun's command was formidable. The soldiers he trained always obeyed orders to the letter, and on the battlefield they fought without fear of death.
Unlike Lu Bu, he couldn't promise his soldiers money and women after the war, but his arrival immediately changed the situation at Xiaopei.
When spring waters warmed, the ducks knew first. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei saw that the attacking soldiers had grown much fiercer. The pressure on Xiaopei's defenses suddenly increased, and the defenders' confidence quickly ebbed.
In early September of Jian'an Year 3, ten days after Gao Shun's reinforcements arrived, Xiaopei fell. Liu Bei fled to Xudu with the remnants of his forces, while his wives, concubines, and family members once again fell into enemy hands.
During this time, Cao Cao had sent Xiahou Dun to rescue the city, but Gao Shun defeated him as well.
The smoke of battle over Xiaopei cleared. The villagers of Gan Family Village, who had spent half a year hiding in the Sanctuary, had nearly exhausted their stored grain, so most of them had no choice but to come out and resume their lives.
Lan Tian had just helped Gan Ji to the courtyard gate when he saw the villager Li Yang hurrying over.
"Young Manor Master! Young Manor Master! Lu Bu's army has captured Xiaopei," Li Yang said, panting.
"What about Xuande? What about my daughter?" Gan Ji broke free of Lan Tian's support and asked.
After staying in the Sanctuary for so long, Gan Ji's legs were no longer as nimble. He had thought Liu Bei had driven off the enemy, only to learn that he had been defeated once again.
"I heard General Liu escaped, but your daughter was trapped in the city..." Li Yang said softly, his head lowered.
"Ah, my Qian'er!" Grief and rage surged through Gan Ji, and he fainted on the spot.
"Adoptive father!"
"Master!"
The two of them helped Gan Ji onto the bed in his room. He didn't open his eyes until dusk, and his forehead was burning hot. He looked utterly haggard.
Gan Ji was clearly ill. Lan Tian had never faced anything like this before, and asked in frantic worry, "Little Li, is there a physician in our village?"
Li Yang shook his head. "These are troubled times. Many people from the nearby villages have fled. Our village would've fled too if we didn't have the Sanctuary. Where could we find a physician? There should be one in Xiaopei City, but we don't know what things are like there now."
"Tian'er... Qian'er..." Gan Ji called weakly.
Before you continue