Chapter 29: The Unlucky Xiahou Dun

  At the same time, Lü Bu on the official road also saw Xiahou Dun chasing after him, and he burst out laughing excitedly. This was indeed a case of "enemies meeting on a narrow road".

  As soon as he thought that both he and Zhang Liao were wounded by arrows, Lü Bu was so angry that his teeth itched. Seeing Xiahou Dun's figure, Lü Bu immediately drew his bow to avenge the arrow wound.

  Lü Bu and Xiahou Dun were a hundred paces apart, which was a bit far for bows and arrows, especially at night when visibility was somewhat blurry. But for Lü Bu, whose archery skills were not inferior to Taishi Ci's, this was no problem.

  "Not good!" Seeing Lü Bu draw his bow, Xiahou Dun suddenly felt a fierce killing intent rushing towards him.

  Xiahou Dun did not think that Lü Bu's archery skills would be under Taishi Ci, and he hastily raised his shield to his chest. At this time, Xiahou Dun was secretly relieved, fortunately, he had been careful and feared ambushes, so each of them had prepared a shield. Otherwise, relying solely on the long spear in their hands, whether they could deflect Lü Bu's powerful arrows, Xiahou Dun really didn't have any confidence.

  Due to the distance being too far, Xiahou Dun couldn't see clearly that Lü Bu's bow in his hand was much thicker and larger than ordinary people's. The bow in Lü Bu's hand was called Li Guang Bow. As for whether it was actually the strong bow used by Flying General Li Guang, it can't be confirmed yet. However, one thing is certain: the arrows shot from this nine-stone-strong bow could easily pierce through metal and split stones.

  Lü Bu's eyes were fixed intently on Xiahou Dun, the bow in his hand making a "zip zip" sound as it was drawn taut, gradually taking on the shape of a full moon.

  "Xiahou Dun... receive the arrow!" Lu Bu shouted loudly and suddenly loosened his fingers.

  The strong arrow left the string and shot at Xiahou Dun, the huge elasticity made the arrow shaft bend, a hundred steps away, the speed of the strong arrow not only did not slow down, but also showed signs of acceleration.

  The bowstring vibrated, producing a shockwave that ripped through the air, causing the torches around Lü Bu to flicker and dim momentarily.

  Without Lu Bu's reminder, Xiahou Dun had already made preparations. Hearing the bowstring vibrate, he raised his shield and shouted: "Go..."

  Xiahou Dun had forgotten that his shield was not a specially made iron shield, but rather a two-inch thick wooden one wrapped in a layer of iron skin. Such a shield could withstand ordinary arrows, but to withstand Lü Bu's powerful crossbow bolts would require a bit of luck.

  Xiahou Dun's luck wasn't great, he raised his shield and indeed blocked Lv Bu's powerful arrow, but due to the arrow's immense power, the arrowhead pierced through Xiahou Dun's shield.

  It doesn't matter, because the distance is very far, the power of the strong arrow is not enough, after passing through Xiahou Dun's shield, it has already been the end of the strong crossbow, and the remaining power is not enough to penetrate Xiahou Dun's armor.

  But Xiahou Dun was afraid of accidentally injuring his own soldiers, so he made a slight upward motion with his head, trying to deflect Lü Bu's powerful arrow into the sky.

  Xiahou Dun was hit by the arrow, which pierced his right eye. In a state of panic, he hastily pulled out the arrow, but in doing so, he also tore out his eyeball. Xiahou Dun let out a tragic cry: "The essence of my parents' blood cannot be discarded!" He then swallowed his eyeball and rode away on horseback.

  Xiahou Dun fled, and the remaining fifty or so cavalrymen also hastily escorted Xiahou Dun back to the main army. Cao Cao heard that Xiahou Dun had been wounded in one eye, his heart was burning with anxiety, and he hurried over to take a look.

  When Xiahou Dun was seen with a face full of blood, having lost one eye, Cao Cao became enraged and wanted to lead his troops to pursue Lü Bu. Xiahou Yuan saw that his brother had been wounded, cursed repeatedly, mounted his warhorse, and wanted to fight Lü Bu to the death.

  Xiahou Dun grasped Cao Cao's sleeve and said urgently, "It won't do, Mengde! Now the night is dark and it's hard to see ahead. Lü Bu will surely be lying in ambush on the road ahead. You can't risk your life for Xiahou Dun's sake."

  Cao Cao's face turned pale upon hearing this, and he let out a long sigh to the heavens. In a stern voice, he said: "This child, Lü Bu, I will surely kill him!"

  Xiahou Dun turned to Xiahou Yuan and said, "Miao Cai doesn't need to get angry, the technique is not as good as others, there's nothing to say. Today, you and I, three people fought against Lü Bu, Lü Bu didn't even utter a single bad word, don't lose the face of the Xiahou family."

  Xiahou Yuan stopped shouting upon hearing this, but his face still showed discontent.

  Li Chong also followed Cao Cao to pursue and kill Lü Bu. When he heard the news that Xiahou Dun was injured in his right eye, he felt that it was truly a wonder of the world, and that there must be a divine will at work in the darkness.

  Li Chong remembered very clearly that Xiahou Dun was shot in the left eye by Cao Xing, a subordinate of Lü Bu, not the right eye. This little butterfly, although it shook its wings, still couldn't change Xiahou Dun's tragic fate, and even surpassed it. It is worth noting that without his own history, Xiahou Dun pulled out the arrow and killed Cao Xing with one shot, which also counted as avenging himself.

  But now, Xiahou Dun doesn't even have the chance to avenge himself. Lü Bu is not Cao Cao, and if Xiahou Dun really were to seek revenge against Lü Bu in a fit of rage, he would be more likely to be killed by Fang Tian's halberd.

  Due to Xiahou Dun's severe injury, Cao Cao could only temporarily put aside his desire for revenge and led his troops back to Hu Lao.

  The Allied forces captured Huilao but also suffered heavy casualties and naturally needed to rest for a period of time.

  Lü Bu led his defeated troops back to Luoyang and went to Dong Zhuo's mansion to report. Lü Bu's recent defeat made Dong Zhuo even more determined to move the capital, so he summoned Li Ru and others to discuss the matter.

  Dong Zhuo was not afraid of the Guandong coalition, but rather he could not yet fully control the Han court. The Grand Commandant Yang Biao and the Minister of Works Huang Wan were among the loyal officials who remained hostile to Dong Zhuo. These men had great prestige, and Dong Zhuo did not dare to kill them rashly. Under these circumstances, it would be unwise for him to wage war against the Guandong lords again.

  Besides, Guanzhong is unstable, and the white waves are gradually becoming more turbulent. Dong Zhuo worries that Chang'an will be lost, and his heart is even more anxious to return.

  Li Ru, the first advisor under Dong Zhuo and also his son-in-law, who had gained Dong Zhuo's trust, spoke up first: "Your Excellency, now that the Marquis of Wen has just been defeated, the morale of the rebels in the east is high. It is best to avoid their sharp blades for now, so I think moving the capital is the best option."

  Li Ru's words were in line with Dong Zhuo's intentions. Dong Zhuo nodded and asked, "What if the Eastern Coalition Army attacks Hangu Pass?"

  As soon as these words came out, Lü Bu's eyes suddenly turned cold.

  Li Ru sank into deep thought for a moment, then slowly said: "The Grand Tutor should now prioritize calming down the various Eastern lords. However, since the Grand Tutor has already slaughtered the entire Yuan family and had long-standing grievances with Yuan Shao, he can only replace him with someone else."

  Lü Bu heard this and was extremely anxious in his heart. He had just managed to kill dozens of Guandong generals with great difficulty, and he wanted Dong Zhuo and the Guandong lords to take revenge on him, so he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

  Lü Bu suddenly had an idea and said, "Wenyu's words are extremely right. It would be better for the Grand Tutor to appease Cao Cao. This man issued a proclamation to urge the rebels in Guandong to surrender. Cao Cao has great prestige in the allied army. As long as we can appease Cao Cao, the allied forces of Guandong will surely collapse."

  Li Ru nodded in agreement when he heard the words. He didn't know that Lü Bu had already shot and injured Xiahou Dun's eye, which could be said to have thoroughly created a deep feud with Cao Cao.

  Seeing that all the civil and military officials agreed to appease the allied forces, Dong Zhuo nodded and said: "Then let's add the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry to Yuan Shao, and appoint Cao Cao as Governor of Yangzhou. As for the rest, you can discuss and decide among yourselves."

  Li Ru smiled slightly, he could see that Dong Zhuo's promotion was not a casual remark. Promoting Yuan Shao to General of Chariots and Cavalry would allow Yuan Shao to openly expand his forces. In this case, the governor of Ji Province, Han Fu, and the Taishou of Beiping, Gongsun Zan, would have some performance that is worth considering.

  Additionally, Cao Cao was appointed as the Governor of Yang Province, which was also a clever move. It was well-known that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had an extremely bad relationship. Moreover, Yuan Shu had always been eyeing Yang Province covetously, viewing it as his forbidden territory. As such, it would be unusual if both sides did not clash with each other.