Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

The stars were hidden in the wind, the moon floated on the river, and the torches reflected on the water, which was cold. Outside the city of Nanjun, the water fort of the Cai brothers was as bright as day, and they were still preparing boats and repairing oars for the night rescue.

Cai Mao attended the banquet, acting like the host. Liu Qi, Zhang Yun, Zhong Ping and others sat in turn. Although the army was equipped with weapons and armor, there was no sign of sending out troops.

Zhong Ping was eating fish soup in silence, and from time to time he lowered his head to smell the tortoise shell fish ornament around his waist. I don't know where the Cai brothers learned this clan manners from. Even a nice banquet would have to be fumigated with incense balls, calling it an elegant thing. It was really incomprehensible.

In the end, it was Liu Qi who first raised the question: "This Zhang Biejia said that the two generals would send troops to attack Lu Bu tonight. Now the envoys are coming with troops to help, why haven't the two generals mobilized yet?"

Cai Mao smiled and said, "Lü Bu is very brave. If we engage him head-on, I'm afraid our army will suffer heavy casualties. Your Excellency has only sent a thousand men. I believe you must be very wise. I was just about to ask the envoy for advice."

Zhong Ping almost choked to death: Not my friend? I beat Lu Bu? Really?

"Earlier, the deputy driver praised the general's advantage in the navy. Ping thought that most of Lu Bu's troops were cavalry and infantry. Since the general was defending the river, it would be better to rely on the terrain and lure them across the river before attacking them. Ping is just an envoy with a thousand soldiers. Even if he helps, it will not be able to add much help. Or should we wait for the envoy's reinforcements to arrive from Jiaozhou before we start the battle?"

"Ah! The envoy is really too modest." Cai Mao clearly wanted to provoke Zhong Ping. He raised his glass to toast and praised him, "Who doesn't know that the envoy has a lot of wisdom and is best at defeating the majority with a small number?"

Zhong Ping was about to say something but stopped himself. It was the first time he had seen such a shameless move. He cursed in his heart: How can this be the same? This is an away game! I have nothing, and you want me to hit you with my head?

"General, what do you mean? Is it possible that Jingzhou is so deserted that we have to rely on the envoys from Jiaozhou to go into battle?" Liu Qi was shocked by Cai Mao's shamelessness and stood up immediately. Zhu Feng, who was following him, also put on the sharp blade at his waist.

The soldiers behind Cai Mao also stepped forward one after another, and in an instant the situation at the table became tense.

"That's not what I meant." Cai Mao pressed his palms, signaling the soldiers to retreat, still smiling, "I just want to borrow the envoy as a surprise force... Lu Bu knows how my soldiers are dressed, and it's inconvenient for me to move. Isn't the envoy coming to help us? He's just pretending to be the vanguard, and the rest will naturally be the main force of our Jingzhou army. Doesn't the envoy refuse?"

Liu Qi frowned repeatedly, hearing that these words were mostly excuses. Just as he was about to refute, he saw Zhong Ping coming to pay his respects: "I am willing to follow the general's wishes and lead a thousand Bai Li soldiers to cross the Xiang River at night to defeat them by surprise. It will be as easy as taking something out of a bag."

When these words were spoken, not only Liu Qi but also Cai Mao showed surprise on their faces. They did not expect that one would dare to say it and the other would actually dare to respond, and even make such a boast.

Liu Qi was so shocked that he pulled Zhong Ping's sleeve and said, "The Bai Li soldiers have no armor or bows, only swords as weapons. How can they defeat Lu Bu?"

Zhong Ping looked calm and composed, "These soldiers are as fast as the wind and are good at navigating dense forests. If we use them to face the enemy head-on, it will be impossible. However, if we use them to launch a surprise attack to break into the camp and catch them off guard, it is not impossible. Moreover, we have the navy to support us at any time."

He raised his head and looked at Cai Mao: "I also ask the general to send a hundred boats, three days of food and grass, and give me the seal of peace... Don't hurt our own people by mistake."

Cai Mao listened to his well-reasoned words and remained silent for a moment. He waved his hand to end the banquet with a lack of interest and ordered his men to arrange the necessary arrangements for the peace.

After a while, he spoke again: "In this case, please ask the envoy to lead the troops first, and our navy will arrive later."

Zhong Ping whispered a few words to Zhu Feng, and then deliberately selected dozens of Bai Li soldiers in front of everyone, all of whom were brave men, to specifically guard Liu Qi, before leading his troops away.

Cai Zhong and Zhang Yun both looked surprised upon seeing this, but said nothing. They just decided to go back and persuade Cai Mao to delay the reinforcements and teach that ignorant envoy a lesson.

At about 3:00 pm, the moon was dark, the stars were dim, and fog was rising on the river. Zhong Ping knew that the weather had turned bad, so he sent an envoy to the south bank, ordering the navy in the camp to beat the war drums, flags and banners, and prepare for a strong attack. He also sent more than a hundred Bai Li soldiers to wear rags and cover their bodies with mud, and lie in the reeds on the southeast bank of the river, pretending to be floating corpses, waiting for the right time to move.

Zhong Ping led the remaining Bai Li soldiers and crossed the river in six boats, with 100 people in each boat, covered with straw curtains, hiding their swords, and sailing in the fog. When the boats reached the middle of the river, they went their separate ways. It was a little cold at night, and the river was calm and the reeds were messy. Several small boats passed through it, like a dragon hidden in the water, moving silently and crossing without a shadow. If you don't look for it deliberately, it's almost impossible to detect. However, Lu Bu's main camp was stationed in Jiangjin, built by the river, with high and thick camps, and 40,000 soldiers. Since entering Jingzhou, he has listened to Chen Gong's advice, drank less wine, distributed property widely, and patrolled the camp day and night. Tonight, he saw the commotion on the south bank, thinking that the Jingzhou army was coming, and Lu Bu hurriedly ordered Hao Meng to lead 3,000 soldiers to defend the river bank.

Hao Meng sent troops to investigate, but only heard the sound of drums from the south bank, but no warships were seen. Just as he was suspecting it was a feint attack, he suddenly heard a number of corpses drifting towards the beach on the north bank of the river. The soldiers in the camp were shocked, and Hao Meng became even more confused, thinking that Liu Qi seemed to have entered Jingzhou. Could it be that there was a strife in the water stronghold on the south bank?
He was full of guesses in his mind, and sent patrolmen with torches to check the identity of the floating corpse.

As the patrolmen approached, they suddenly saw floating corpses with all their clothes stripped off. More than a hundred Bai Li soldiers stood up with their swords drawn, and white light flashed everywhere. They shouted and hacked non-stop, "General Cai has broken into the South Camp!"

Hao Meng heard the chaos and before he could send anyone to investigate, he heard the continuous shouting of "defeat the enemy". His first reaction was to lead his troops to flee. When the soldiers saw their commander leaving without fighting, many of them believed the shouting of the Bai Li soldiers and the camp was immediately in chaos.

At this moment, the other six boats also arrived. Zhong Ping took the lead and saw his old acquaintance Hao Meng at a glance. He immediately shouted, "Wang San, go!"

Before Hao Meng could see who was coming, he felt a sharp pain in the middle of his legs. He didn't know who kicked him to the ground, and his mouth was full of mud and sand. When he opened his eyes again, he had been dragged in front of Zhong Ping.

"Hey, General Hao, long time no see."

Zhong Ping squatted down and greeted Hao Meng with a smile.

"It's you!" Hao Meng's pupils shrank, "Could it be that Cao Cao is here too?! It's all over!" He immediately prostrated himself, "My dear, my dear, I know where the food and supplies are! Don't kill me!"

Zhong Ping was stunned. He didn't expect this guy to shoot so quickly. He couldn't remember the psychological trauma he had left on the opponent.

After finding out the defenses in the camp, he ordered Wang San to tie him up while he led four boats of Bai Li soldiers to land first. One group went to the east camp and attacked the grain camp and supplies, while the other group went straight to the camp gate.

The defending soldiers fought in panic, and saw that the enemy seemed to have divine help, and they all rushed to the weak points of defense. Three teams were defeated in a short time. A fire broke out in the camp, and all the food carts were burned. The wind helped the fire, and thick smoke covered the sky.

Lu Bu was alarmed in the main camp and when he heard that someone was attacking the camp, he stood up in anger: "How dare the Cai boy bully me?" He put on armor and rode his horse, led more than a hundred personal soldiers, and suddenly arrived at the central camp. He happened to run into Chen Gong, who immediately grabbed the reins and persuaded him: "My lord, don't do this! The night is foggy and the enemy's whereabouts are difficult to discern. You should hold on until dawn." Lu Bu was furious and did not listen to Chen Gong's words, but acted on his own.

Zhong Ping was only going to attack the camp and didn't want to face Lu Bu head-on. When he heard from his subordinates that Lu Bu was leaving the camp, he immediately decided to withdraw his troops. Before leaving, he rolled his eyes and untied the rope for Hao Meng in a gentle voice. He took the opportunity to pull something off from his waist, and taught him to roll on the ground a few times to dirty his clothes, smear mud on his face, and let him sneak into the camp.

Hao Meng was eager to survive, so he did everything he was told and soon disappeared among the soldiers.

Zhong Pinglong gathered the remaining soldiers and hurriedly boarded the ship. Lu Bu's camp had been in chaos for nearly half an hour and no navy came to support him on the river. He knew how to take advantage of the opportunity to launch an attack when he returned.

When Lü Bu rode to the riverside, he saw Zhong Ping standing at the bow of the boat, smiling at him with a kind face, and said in a loud voice: "It's been a long time since we last saw each other in Chang'an. The hospitality of Wenhou is still there. Ping is really flattered."

"Zhong Boheng?!" Lu Bu subconsciously wanted to throw the small halberd at his waist, but he hesitated for a moment and finally stopped.

The only sound on the river was the laughter of those who had survived the disaster. One of them was secretly glad that he had not really started to mock him, while the other one thought for a long time but could not figure out why those two Cai guys were more worthy of assistance than himself.

(End of this chapter)