Xiaopei Falls Again, Gan Ji Falls Ill

Zhang Xun and Zhang Liao combined their forces of thirty thousand to attack Xiaopei, leaving Liu Bei with no choice but to hold the city with his meager troops.

After Liu Bei absorbed the forces of Yang Feng, the garrison at Xiaopei had expanded to nearly twenty thousand, and the grain stores within the city were sufficient to last for half a year, leaving the allied forces of Yuan Shu and Lu Bu unable to breach the city despite a prolonged siege.

Previously, the forces of Yuan Shu and Lu Bu had clashed at the Huai River, and with their respective lords not present to oversee the campaign, the generals and soldiers of both sides lacked unity. Furthermore, the fierce and invincible prowess of Guan and Zhang meant that the allied forces failed to win a single duel before the lines, which only served to further dampen their morale.

The massive army surrounded the city, beating drums and sounding gongs day and night, accompanied by constant shouting and flag-waving, leaving the surrounding villages without a moment of peace.

Fearing the ravages of war, many families fled north with their elders and children in tow. Gan Family Village, however, possessed a Sanctuary, so the villagers simply abandoned their spring plowing and hid inside, consuming their stored grain.

During this time, Gan Ji spent almost all his days in the Sanctuary. Seeing that no one had come to plunder the village, Lan Tian would return home daily to prepare a simple hot meal.

"Tian'er, when will they ever finish fighting? We still have hot millet buns to eat, but I don't know how your sister is faring in the city," Gan Ji said, holding a millet bun with a worried expression.

"There are many troops in Xiaopei, and they added plenty of grain when they reinforced the city last year. Elder Sister shouldn't go hungry for a while, but I fear..."

"Fear what?"

"I fear that Lu Bu and Yuan Shu will send reinforcements."

Gan Ji said with a mournful face, "Tian'er, you are so skilled at farming; if only we had found a place without war to live, it would be better than living here in constant fear. Your sister hasn't known a single good day since she married Xuande."

"This is a chaotic age; where in the world is there no turmoil? Even if such a place existed, it would be hard for us to reach it," Lan Tian sighed.

Gan Ji knew well that in these troubled times, banditry was a disaster in every province and commandery; how could the common folk dare to travel far alone?

With the allied forces unable to take the city, Yuan Shu was unconcerned, but Lu Bu was anxious.

Grain supplies in Xuzhou had been consistently short, and wartime consumption was even higher than usual. With Zhang Liao unable to take Xiaopei, Lu Bu's grain crisis grew increasingly severe.

Last year, Lu Bu had tacitly allowed Han Xian and Yang Feng to plunder the prefectures and counties. If he were to follow their path now for the sake of military rations, his tenure as Governor of Xuzhou might truly come to an end.

He sent messengers to order Zhang Liao to attack with speed and ferocity several times, but the reports he received all stated that Liu Bei's defense was stubborn, and that reinforcements were required to take Xiaopei quickly.

By the height of summer in the eighth month, Lu Bu finally decided to reinforce Xiaopei.

Whenever Lu Bu needed to divide his forces for a campaign, he would usually have Gao Shun lead a separate army. However, Gao Shun was currently in charge of the defense of Xiapi, which was why he hadn't been sent to Xiaopei. Now that he needed to select a general for reinforcements, he had to either take command himself or choose Gao Shun.

After much deliberation, Lu Bu decided to let Gao Shun lead ten thousand troops to support Zhang Liao, while he remained in Xiapi to prevent a sneak attack from Yuan Shu; he trusted no one as much as himself.

Just as Gao Shun received the order and was about to leave the manor, Lu Lingqi intercepted him once again.

"Young Lady, I must carry out my military duties now. Let us discuss whatever you wish when I return," Gao Shun said anxiously.

"Father is now at daggers drawn with Liu Bei, and I hear the army is short on grain. If you go to Xiaopei, will you..." Lu Lingqi's implication was whether Gao Shun would follow the example of Zhang Liao and Cheng Lian in plundering the villages.

Gao Shun cupped his hands and said, "Young Lady, rest assured. Gao would rather starve than commit such acts of bullying the weak. I will also do my best to look after Master Ziyu."

"And his sister," Lu Lingqi reminded him.

Gao Shun nodded and said, "I have that in mind. Young Lady, please take care of yourself. If the Lord reconciles with Yuan Shu, he might yet marry you off to Shouchun."

With those words, Gao Shun turned and left, leaving Lu Lingqi standing there in a daze.

Lu Lingqi looked up at the scorching sun in the sky; whether it was sweat or tears, they dried the moment they hit the ground.

She sighed, lamenting that they were destined to be apart, and if she were truly to be married off to Shouchun, it would be her fate.

"Why is my child standing in the sun? Come with me to the back courtyard to cool off, and tell me more of the Legend of the Condor Heroes you had someone transcribe," Lu Bu said, walking up behind her.

Lu Lingqi wiped the sweat from her face, turned, and replied, "Understood."

The father and daughter walked into the back garden, where Lu Lingqi brought out many bamboo slips from her room and placed them on a stone table.

For the past two years, Lu Lingqi had been idle, occasionally calling Gao Shun to help recall the plot and having someone slowly transcribe it. Because much had been forgotten, the transcription was slow, and it was only recently that the work was completed.

Bamboo slips could not hold many characters, and even after the scribes had condensed the text as much as possible, there were still over a hundred scrolls.

Because the text was so concise, Lu Bu preferred to hear Lu Lingqi recite it. He had recently become quite addicted to the story, so he often urged his daughter to read it to him.

Today's content covered the final few scrolls, and because Lu Lingqi was in low spirits, her recitation lacked emotional fluctuation.

Lu Bu assumed his daughter was simply moved by the story. After hearing the end, he sighed, "Even the world-conquering Genghis Khan is reduced to a mound of yellow earth in the end. Truly, imperial ambitions and hegemony are but a jest; nothing beats a good drunken stupor in life. This story is very well crafted."

"Father, may I go back to my room now?" Lu Lingqi asked, gathering the bamboo slips.

"Wait a moment. In the Legend of the Condor Heroes, there are the Five Greats. If I were one of them, who would I be?" Lu Bu asked with great interest.

Lu Lingqi shook her head and said, "Daughter does not know. Can such things be compared?"

"Why not? My martial arts are unrivaled under heaven; I should be the Central Divine, ha ha ha!"

Lu Lingqi did not answer. Seeing Lu Bu laughing heartily, she did not refute him, though she knew little of the Central Divine and nothing of his character.

The other narrator of the Legend of the Condor Heroes, Gao Shun, arrived at the camp outside Xiaopei at the end of the eighth month. After exchanging courtesies, Zhang Liao handed over command.

Gao Shun's command ability was formidable; the soldiers he trained always obeyed orders without question and feared no death on the battlefield.

He was not like Lu Bu, who could promise his soldiers money and women after the war, but his arrival immediately changed the situation at Xiaopei.

As the saying goes, the duck is the first to know when the spring river warms; Liu, Guan, and Zhang found the attacking soldiers to be far more ferocious. The pressure on Xiaopei's defense increased suddenly, and the confidence of the defenders plummeted.

In the ninth month of the third year of Jian'an, ten days after Gao Shun's reinforcements arrived, Xiaopei fell. Liu Bei led his remaining troops to flee toward Xudu, and his wives and family once again fell into enemy hands.

During this period, Cao Cao had sent Xiahou Dun to rescue them, but he too was defeated by Gao Shun.

As the smoke cleared over Xiaopei, the villagers of Gan Family Village, who had been hiding in the Sanctuary, had exhausted their reserves after half a year and were forced to emerge.

Lan Tian had just helped Gan Ji to the courtyard gate when he saw the villager Li Yang running toward them in a great hurry.

"Young Master, Young Master! Xiaopei City has been captured by Lu Bu's army!" Li Yang said, gasping for breath.

"What about Xuande? And my daughter?" Gan Ji broke free from Lan Tian's grip and demanded.

Having stayed in the Sanctuary for too long, Gan Ji's legs were no longer as agile as they once were. He had assumed that Liu Bei had repelled the enemy, but it turned out he had been defeated once again.

"It is said that General Liu fled, and your daughter is trapped within the city," Li Yang said, lowering his head and speaking in a hushed tone.

"Ah, my Qian'er!" Overcome by sudden anxiety and rage, Gan Ji fainted on the spot.

"Foster Father!"

"Master!"

The two of them helped Gan Ji onto the bed in his room. It was not until evening that Gan Ji finally opened his eyes, but his forehead was burning hot and he looked extremely haggard.

Gan Ji was clearly ill. Having never dealt with such a situation before, Lan Tian asked anxiously, "Little Li, do we have a physician on the estate?"

Li Yang shook his head and said, "With the chaos of war, many people from the nearby estates have already fled. If not for our Sanctuary, our own estate would have been abandoned too. Where would we find a physician now? There should be some in Xiaopei City, but the situation there is currently unknown."

"Tian... Qian'er..." Gan Ji called out weakly.

Thanks to Wo Lai Shi Han Mei Jin Kai and Yan Shisan for the tips, and thanks to all the readers who voted.