Chapter 11: Musical Saviors
We start this chapter out with heroic backstories for two characters who aren't actually big deals, so you'd better believe I'm skipping them.
Anyway, Tao Qian is still surrounded by an angry Cao Cao, and he petitions nearby governor Kong Rong for military aid. Kong Rong says, "Yes! Absolutely! I'll get my forces ready." ...But at that moment, Yellow Turbans attack and surround his city. So now HE needs to write to Liu Bei for help, so he can get free and thus send his own army to help Tao Qian.
We also briefly meet Taishi Ci, who otherwise won't show up for a little bit yet—and when he does, will appear in another part of the country and interact with entirely different people, so it's kind of weird that he's here. But he breaks through the Turban lines into the city just to help out Kong Rong, who basically turns around and goes, okay, I actually need you to break back out of their lines again to go and get Liu Bei's help.
Long story short, Liu Bei & Co. team up with Taishi Ci to chase off the Turbans, freeing Kong Rong; then Taishi Ci runs off to go be elsewhere. Like I said, it's like a cameo appearance, except for someone who hasn't even been introduced yet.
As an aside, the book makes a deal about Liu Bei petitioning Gongsun Zan for troops—and also his new loverboy Zhao Yun—so they can go help Tao Qian. But Zhao Yun doesn't end up doing a lot and gets sent back right away, so like, why.
Liu Bei and Kong Rong work together to break through Cao Cao's line and make it into Xuzhou where Tao Qian is stuck. After he arrives, Liu Bei suggests, "I don't actually have any beef with Cao Cao, maybe he'll go away if I ask nicely."
It doesn't work. Except he thinks it works, because Cao Cao does actually go home, but it's only because Lu Bu attacked his province. Which is kind of more important.
Also the translator here insults Cao Cao's devotion toward filial piety because he doesn't actually get vengeance for his father's death. But like... Tao Qian wasn't at fault. And even if he was, are we saying that destroying the city and decimating the populace is the moral response? I'm really having a hard time making the math work out over here.
One more thing really quick, before we totally cut over to Cao Cao: Tao Qian tells Liu Bei, "Hey, so uh, I'm old and both my sons are crap, you should take over my province instead. Please, I'm begging you." And everybody tells Liu Bei, "Okay, for once in your life, just do the smart thing and take what you're being given, what the actual hell is wrong with you."
Anyway he doesn't take it, because he'd rather be a goodie-two-shoes. Sadly, this is not the only time this exact scenario will happen.
Meanwhile, we'll check in with Lu Bu, who's been a free agent ever since that killing-Dong-Zhuo thing didn't pan out so well for him. Yuan Shu didn't want him, he didn't get on with Yuan Shao, and he's been bouncing around between a couple of other nobodies for a bit. Also he's working with Chen Gong now? Who was the guy who abandoned Cao Cao after the two of them accidentally slaughtered that one guy's innocent family while on the lam together? It's a weird pairing. I guess the one thing they have in common is that neither likes Cao Cao.
Of course I say they're working together, but Lu Bu is basically ignoring all of Chen Gong's advice. To the point where Cao Cao's advisor at one point says, whoa, hold up: if Lu Bu was smart he would have put an ambush up ahead. Now, Chen Gong actually did instruct Lu Bu to put the ambush there, but he decided not to do it. So Cao Cao takes an educated guess and tells his advisor, nah, Lu Bu isn't smart, we don't have to worry about an ambush. And then he just walks right through.
On top of that, when Cao Cao arrives at the city Lu Bu is occupying, Chen Gong's suggests, you know, we should really fight them now while they're exhausted from marching. But Lu Bu just shrugs, responding, "I guess, but I could still take them when they're rested tomorrow, so what's the point of doing it now?" ...Like, that's the best argument you have? Really? Maybe he just didn't want to admit he was already drunk.
Of course he still wins the battle the next morning anyway because he's Lu Bu, seriously nobody else could get away with this shit.
After this initial loss, Cao Cao attacks another nearby city, but Lu Bu actually listens to Chen Gong for once and gets reinforcements over there in good time to nearly run down Cao Cao in the process. The only reason Cao Cao is able to get away from this conflict at all is because he recently brought on a huge bodyguard named Dian Wei, who's so big that he wields a halberd in each hand, and uses full-size battle axes like little throwing axes. Naturally, nobody wants to fight this guy, so he's able to buy enough time for Cao Cao to escape. Still, it just ain't Cao Cao's night.