Chapter Fifteen: Forgetting One's Ancestors at the Sight of Gain

  Due to his annoyance and depression, Li Chong had Shun Niang prepare a few small dishes that noon, and he drank alone in the house.

  Just then, a sound of footsteps was heard outside the door. Li Chong was wondering who it was when the wooden door opened and a cold air rushed in. The visitor turned out to be Taishi Ci, with Guan Yu and Liao Hua following behind him.

  Li Chong greeted Taishi Ci with a loud shout and asked: "Brother Taishi, what brings you to the mountain stronghold?"

  Taishi Ci sat cross-legged opposite Lü Bu, with Guan Yu and Liao Hua sitting on either side. Taishi Ci then replied in a low voice: "Dong Zhuo has deposed Liu Bian and established Liu Xie as Emperor, it has already been announced to the world."

  Li Zhong heard this and his whole body shook, slowly putting down his wine cup, sighing endlessly in his heart. The stormy Three Kingdoms era had finally begun.

  Guan Hai and Liao Hua exchanged a glance, both of them were also shocked by the news brought by Taishi Ci.

  "Dong Zhuo has finally made his move!" Li Zhong said with a gloomy expression.

  Tai Shi Zi looked at Li Chong carefully, with a puzzled expression, and asked: "Didn't you, Zihui, anticipate that Dong Zhuo would control the Han court long ago? Why are you frowning, unless something unexpected has happened?"

  Li Chong rubbed his brow and said, "Dong Zhuo's affairs are indeed not unexpected, but the difficulty of training troops is really beyond imagination. Now they even get the formation wrong frequently, how can they go to the battlefield? To achieve something in this chaotic world, without a strong army, it's difficult!"

  Tai Shi Zi was taken aback by the words, and after a while, he pointed at Li Chong and burst out laughing: "You're too impatient for success! Think about it, didn't great military strategists like Sun Wu and Wu Qi all spend years training their troops before achieving greatness? You've only been drilling your soldiers for a few days, how can you expect to produce an elite army?"

  "For several years?" This time Li Chong was stunned.

  It turns out that Li Chong was indeed a bit too naive, in fact, just like what Ta Shi Ci said, that famous general's training of soldiers didn't take place overnight, but Li Chong's knowledge wasn't high and he really didn't know this point. He had only seen the scenes of training on TV, which were simplified to the extreme, almost as if the moment a famous general appeared, the soldiers under him would immediately transform and their combat strength would soar.

  Tai Shi Ci chuckled and said, "Of course, but Zi Huan has already done a great job. Just now I saw the training of these soldiers, and in terms of morale, they are indeed incomparable. Their spirit is high, and their advance and retreat are strict and orderly. They just lack some time."

  "Really?" Li Chongyou asked incredulously.

  Seeing Taishi Ci and Guan Yu nodding in agreement, Li Ju immediately felt confident again, and said with a flourish: "Dong Zhuo has deposed the young emperor, our chance will come too."

  As soon as this was said, Guan Hai and Liao Hua's eyes turned green instantly. They had long been unwilling to live in hiding.

  "What chance is there? What are you going to do?" Taishi Ci asked.

  Li Chongyu tapped his fingers on the table and slowly spoke out his plan.

  In the Three Kingdoms era, reputation was extremely important, especially for some celebrities. For example, Cao Cao received a comment from Xu Shao: "A treacherous villain in peaceful times, a hero in chaotic times" (Book of Later Han, Biography of Xu Shao). From then on, his reputation soared, and countless people flocked to him.

  Li Chong naturally had no chance to get a review, but the battle of Hu Lao Pass was Li Chong's opportunity. As long as he didn't lose the battle, in the final pursuit of Dong Zhuo, just pretending to be brave would immediately earn him an evaluation as a loyal minister of the Han dynasty, greatly increasing his reputation. If luck was on his side, he might even get a piece of land, just like Liu Bei, the great bandit.

  Liu Bei was in the Battle of Tiger Trap Pass against Lü Bu, which earned him recognition from Gongsun Zan and he became the Magistrate of Pingyuan.

  Li Zhong vaguely expressed his intentions, and the three of them all fell silent, with a glimmer in their eyes, each secretly calculating the feasibility of implementation.

  "I have a question?" Taishi Ci asked after a moment of contemplation.

  "Please go on."

  "How can you be certain that all the provincial governors will rise up and attack Dong Zhuo?" Taishi Ci asked.

  "I'm not sure! But I believe that there are still loyal officials in the Han court, people like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Kong Rong and Ding Yuan may be able to take on this role. If none of them can do it, then it's a sign that the Han dynasty is coming to an end, and we've run out of people willing to die for the Han court. In that case, we can act without any scruples." Li He let out a sigh, he really had no way to speak the truth, how could he say that he had known all along that Cao Cao would rise up in rebellion?

  "Not bad!" Taishi Ci nodded and said: "I reckon the Han dynasty still has some loyal ministers."

  "That's all we need to do, just wait here." Guan Hai said with a big laugh.

  Li Zhong's mood was great, and his mind became more agile. Suddenly, he thought of something and poured a cup of wine for Ta Shi Ci, then asked: "I wonder if anyone else can learn Ta Shi brother's marksmanship?"

  Tai Shi Zi frowned upon hearing the words, shook his head and said: "This is our family's traditional martial art, if you want to learn it, Zihuan, we can discuss it, but for others, that's out of the question."

  "Ah!" Li Chong was very disappointed.

  Tai Shi Zi laughed and said, "I'm not the one saying it, but you, Zihan, don't even need to personally take to the battlefield to kill enemies. Strategizing behind the scenes and winning victories from a thousand miles away is what you should be doing. Martial arts are dispensable for someone like you."

  Li Chong smiled bitterly and said, "It's not that I want to learn your martial arts. What I mean is, can you simply teach me two moves? Not asking for much complexity, just the simplest moves used by soldiers on the battlefield. Also, this time we captured some bows and arrows, and are preparing to find people to practice with, training a batch of archers."

  Tai Shi Zi heard the words and fell silent for a moment, then slowly said: "If that's the case, then there's no problem. However, I need to study it carefully before teaching martial arts, after all, this is a matter of life and death."

  Li Daqi is very happy to say that Taishi Ci's martial arts in the Three Kingdoms are not the best, but they are very comprehensive. He can be called a master of both bow and horse riding, and only Lü Bu and Zhao Yun can surpass him in these two aspects.

  Li Chong was not greedy and was already satisfied with finding this instructor, Ta Shi Cai.

  In the following days, Li Zhong was busy to the point where he didn't even have time to eat. He not only had to train his soldiers but also inspect grain reserves, house repairs and so on, exhausting him to the point of almost wanting to give up.

  With this busy time, the time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was mid-November. Li Chong finally had some free time, waiting for Cao Cao to issue a proclamation to punish Dong Zhuo.

  It's gratifying to see that after months of training, the mountain bandits' soldiers have developed some discipline in their advances and retreats, and it's become much easier to give orders. Moreover, under Taishi Ci's guidance, these soldiers' combat strength has increased dramatically, with a single thrust of their long spears almost tripling in power.

  Li Zhong was delighted, and Guan Hai and Liao Hua were also very pleased. As a result, Guan Hai and Liao Hua often brought wine to drink with Li Zhong.

  Li Chong drank a few cups of wine and said to Guan Hai: "Guan big brother, you should take a style name now, this is more suitable for your status, isn't it."

  "Actually, I have a style name, it's just that I haven't used it."

  "Oh, why not?" Li Chong asked in surprise.

  Guan Hai smiled wryly and said: "Have you ever seen a mountain bandit with a courtesy name? It's better not to mention it."

  Liao Huaji said in a urgent tone: "General Guan, you'd better speak up quickly. Brother Li has already spoken, and after a while, we'll all be able to get some official positions. How can it work without a style name?"

  Guan Hai replied: "I said it's not okay, I'm Bai Wen."

  At this time, Tai Shi Ci suddenly frowned and said helplessly: "No, there's a flaw in this plan."

  "What leak?" Li Chong's heart tightened, and he hastily asked.

  Tai Shi said slowly: "You want to make a name for yourself, this is possible, but Zi Hui, your background is not good, I heard that your family is also in business, as the saying goes 'scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants', merchants are of low status, it's hard to attract talented people to follow you, this is not conducive to your plan, unless..."

  "What if not?" Li Chong hastily asked, he also realized this problem, just like Dae Ears, isn't it all day shouting that he is the descendant of Zhongshan Jingwang? In the end, he even mixed up the title of Emperor Uncle, otherwise who would confirm that Liu Bei is the orthodox Han room?

  "Unless you acknowledge it yourself, a renowned ancestor like Lao Dan!" Taishi Ci said solemnly, word by word.

  "Not bad! This method is good." The three of them nodded together. Unbeknownst to them, Tai Shi Cai's heart was already blooming with joy. Li Zi Hui, ah Li Zi Hui, didn't you even give my son a good name? Today I'll find an ancestor for you.