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WARNING: MUCH LIKE A SACK OF ORANGES, SOME OF WHICH ARE ROTTEN, WE GOTS SOME SPOILERS ALL UP IN THIS BEEYATCH!
You know, ^^^^ Those are getting a bit trickier to write every time.
Anyways, we've made it to Chapter 14. Cao Cao is King Shit right now. Li Jue and Guo Si got over their beef with each other, got a room, then after they were done, they decided to chase down and...get this...KILL the Emperor. But Cao Cao had this little army that he had obtained from stomping the Yellow Turbans of Qing Province into the mud. (Did I ever mention that he also at the same time obtained a big, bristly mustached man-tiger, name of Xu Zhu [or Xu Chu. I'm not quite sure which.])
Li Jue and Guo Si have a large army. But they're about the only ones of ability around to lead it. Zhang Ji's off in Hong Nong, doing his own thing. Jia Xu has already turned his back and walked away from Li Jue. Yang Feng defected to the Emperor, of all people. Xu Huang went with him. On the other hand, Cao Cao has a huge army, and very capable men, like Xiahou Dun (still with two eyes, even.), Dian Wei, Xu Zhu, Xiahou Yuan, Yu Jin, Yue Jin, Liu Ye, Man Chong, Li Dian, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong.
So yeah. Li Jue and Guo Si pretty much crapped the bed, so to speak. They let their infighting cost them the Emperor. And Cao Cao, ever the opportunist, was right there waiting to receive the Emperor. And, well...I think it's pretty obvious that the Emperor never ever escaped Cao Cao's clutches so long as the Han Empire lasted.
Meanwhile, in the East, Lu Bu and Liu Bei themselves might enjoy a somewhat amicable friendship, but Zhang Fei hates Lu Bu's father-killing ass, and trouble brews ever the thicker between them. This is just my opinion, but it seems to me like the way Lu Bu is portrayed in the novel, he was actually trying to be friends with Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei was entirely responsible for all the strife between Bu and Bei. Then again, Lu Bu was an ambitious man. And he did have Chen Gong whispering in his ear...
The ups and downs of the friendship between Lu Bu and Liu Bei will ultimately determine the course of history in Xuzhou, and also in the Empire in general. Cao Cao will never be strong enough to face Yuan Shao until Xuzhou is settled and Lu Bu is dead. Oooooh, the suspense. Check it out!