Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

In Zhang Liao's view, Zhou Cang was already on the same level as him.

"Oh, it's Yuanfu. Don't worry, everything I'm doing now is at the Lord's request. I've been following the Lord's orders all along. As for not telling us, it's because we can't say for the time being. Our operation this time is absolutely confidential."

Zhou Cang was surprised that Zhang Liao was able to say his name.

Moreover, Zhang Liao had said that these were all orders from their lord, so naturally he couldn't say anything more.

"I'm sorry, General, I just..."

Zhou Cang wanted to explain something, but Zhang Liao waved him off.

Just as the two were talking, a piece of intelligence was delivered to Zhang Liao.

Looking at the intelligence report, Zhang Liao smiled slightly.

"Yuanfu, the opportunity we've been waiting for has arrived. Let's go and set off together."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Liao immediately led everyone away from the mountains and forests.

On a pipe.

A troop of soldiers was walking slowly, with a stockpile of provisions behind them.

The one in the lead was a deputy general.

The lieutenant showed no vigilance whatsoever along the way, and even traveled at an extremely slow pace.

Several centurions walked somewhat disgruntled to the lieutenant's side.

"General Song, shouldn't we speed things up? This batch of supplies is destined for the front lines. If something goes wrong with the supplies, we'll have a hard time explaining it to the higher-ups."

"Stop talking nonsense. We've been traveling this road for ages, how could anything happen? Aren't you all getting restless being cooped up in the city every day? Isn't it a good opportunity to go out and wander around? You guys are such a killjoy. All we need to do is deliver the supplies on time, isn't that enough? Don't worry, nothing will happen. If anything does, I'll take responsibility, okay?"

General Song glared at the group and continued walking ahead on his own.

Regardless, General Song was their escort officer this time, so they could only listen to what he said.

However, at that moment, an arrow pierced through General Song's throat.

Immediately afterwards, countless feathered arrows fell from the sky.

Seeing the rain of arrows around them and hearing the screams of their own men, the centurions immediately realized that they had been ambushed.

"Everyone be careful, protect the supplies, let the supplies go first."

These centurions were all seasoned veterans of battle, and upon encountering this situation, they immediately made the most composed command.

Unfortunately, they encountered Zhang Liao, along with his Azure Dragon Swordsmen and Ironclad Cavalry.

Let alone a sneak attack, even in a fair fight, these people are no match for Zhang Liao.

"Kill me!"

With Zhang Liao's command.

The Azure Dragon Swordsmen and the Ironclad Warriors attacked simultaneously.

The soldiers escorting the supplies didn't even last a quarter of an hour before they were scattered.

Zhang Liao collected all the grain he needed, and burned the rest.

After waiting for a while and seeing that the flames had completely engulfed the grain, Zhang Liao triumphantly led everyone away quickly.

The soldiers who ran back quickly relayed the news to Jiang Wei and Guo Huai, who were in charge of managing the grain supplies.

When they first heard that Zhang Liao had appeared at the rear of the battlefield, neither of them believed it.

After all, there had been no intelligence to prove that anyone had entered the rear, and they had not even received any news that any generals in the Lie Army camp had gone missing.

Guo Huai looked at the two centurions in front of him.

Only these two centurions have returned.

"Are you sure you saw Zhang Liao?"

"General, we can be certain that we have seen Zhang Liao's face many times on the battlefield, and we are absolutely not mistaken."

Guo Huai frowned and turned to look at Jiang Wei beside him.

"Boyue, could it really be Zhang Liao?"

“I haven’t received any news, so I can’t be sure, but it’s a fact that these people lost their supplies. In any case, these people must be eliminated.”

After saying this, Jiang Wei immediately ordered the two men to be executed to uphold the military's authority.

Subsequently, Jiang Wei dispatched a second grain transport team.

For safety, Jiang Wei dispatched four deputy generals and three thousand soldiers to escort the grain shipment.

After ambushing the supply convoy, Zhang Liao did not stay where he was. Instead, he led everyone to a place only thirty miles away from Zhicheng.

"General, we are not far from Zhicheng. If we make any noise here, the people in Zhicheng will probably arrive soon, and we may be in danger."

Looking at the map in his hand, Zhou Cang was a little confused about Zhang Liao's thinking.

"Yuanfu, don't worry, I did everything according to the lord's instructions. Moreover, with our elite troops, it will definitely not take an hour to resolve the battle. Do you really think that the enemy can only travel thirty miles in an hour?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cang said nothing more and could only give an awkward smile.

Zhang Liao had been famous for a long time and had rich battlefield experience. The decisions he made were certainly well thought out and did not require him to think for himself.

Thinking of this, Zhou Cang lowered his head awkwardly.

Zhang Liao smiled and patted Zhou Cang on the shoulder.

“Yuanfu, remember this: as a commander, you can’t be rigid. You have to be flexible and adaptable. Fighting according to strategy is a good thing, but if you are too inflexible, you won’t achieve anything great.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cang hurriedly nodded.

Just as they were talking.

A Green Dragon Swordsman approached Zhang Liao.

"General, a grain transport team has arrived. There are about three thousand men, including four deputy generals."

With accurate intelligence on the enemy, Zhang Liao also developed a countermeasure.

"Let's just wait here. This time we won't launch a sneak attack; we'll fight fair and square."

Zhou Cang looked at Zhang Liao with a blank expression.

At this moment, he felt that Zhang Liao's goal was not simply to cut off Cao Ren's supplies, nor was it as simple as that.

Zhang Liao must have had other motives, and everything he did before was a prelude to this event.

As for what the purpose was, Zhou Cang had no idea.

The four lieutenants were extremely careful throughout their journey.

After all, they already knew that the people ahead of them had been killed because they lost their supplies, and they didn't want to lose their lives because of that.

However, they hadn't walked far when they saw Zhang Liao looking at them with a smile on his face.

Behind Zhang Liao were the Azure Dragon Swordsmen and the Ironclad Cavalry.

The moment the four lieutenants saw Zhang Liao, they had only one thought in their minds: to run.

"Everyone retreat immediately."

As soon as the deputy general gave the order, everyone grabbed the provisions and ran away.

However, how could the speed of the escort team carrying provisions possibly match that of Zhang Liao, the Green Dragon Cavalry, and the Ironclad Cavalry?

Zhang Liao quickly caught up with them. Several centurions, sensing Zhang Liao was behind them, immediately rushed forward, trying to stop him.

However, these people only managed to stop Zhang Liao for a short while.

Seeing this, the four lieutenants simply threw out the grain and fodder.

Without supplies, their speed naturally increased significantly, and they eventually managed to escape Zhang Liao's pursuit.

Zhang Liao still carried only the provisions he needed, and burned the rest.

Jiang Wei looked at the four deputy generals who had run back, his face grim and somewhat frightening.

These four men were all his lieutenants who had fought their way up with him.

Upon seeing Zhang Liao, they turned and ran, ordering the centurion to rush out and stop Zhang Liao, giving them time to escape.

"Look at the mess you've made! Do you even deserve to be a lieutenant general?"

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances and all lowered their heads.

Guo Huai knew that Jiang Wei said this because he didn't want to punish them and wanted to find a way to let them off the hook.

"General, our opponent this time is Zhang Liao. Even if they all go, they are no match for Zhang Liao, and their supplies will inevitably be lost. My point is, we should just teach them a lesson. The most urgent task is to find Zhang Liao. As long as Zhang Liao is still nearby, it will be difficult for our supplies to reach General Cao at the front."

Jiang Wei looked at Guo Huai with some gratitude.

"Hmph, this time General Guo pleaded for you, but if there's a next time, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Upon hearing this, the four immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to Guo Huai and Jiang Wei.

"Alright, take them away. Twenty strokes each. If they die, it's considered payment for this mistake. If they live, they'll be sent back."

Soon, several soldiers took the four men away, and their screams could be heard from outside.

Jiang Wei ignored these voices and instead looked at Guo Huai beside him.

“Zhang Liao is definitely in the rear now. The centurion might have been mistaken, but these four men have followed me through many life-and-death situations and fought Zhang Liao several times. There’s no way they wouldn’t recognize Zhang Liao.”

"Well, what do you mean, Boyo?"

"We should send troops directly to besiege Zhang Liao and at least force him to retreat."

"send troops?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Huai frowned immediately.

There were indeed some troops in Zhicheng, about 30,000 men, but they were all used to transport grain and fodder.

According to their intelligence, Zhang Liao had 2,500 men.

Although the number of people was small, it was all composed of Azure Dragon Swordsmen and Ironclad Warriors.

Both of them were among Gu Rubing's trump cards. Coupled with Zhang Liao's elusive tactics and strength, even Jiang Wei was not confident that he could defeat Zhang Liao with only a few thousand or even ten thousand men.

Therefore, once the attack begins, it will inevitably involve a full-scale offensive of 30,000 troops.

The mobilization of 30,000 troops is no ordinary campaign; it requires a military order from the commander-in-chief or Cao Cao.

Now, Jiang Wei and Guo Huai are just escort officers. How could they possibly have the ability to mobilize 30,000 troops to leave the city?

"Should we consult with our lord or General Cao?"

"I'm afraid it's too late. Whether we go to Chengdu to find our lord or to Linjiang City to find General Cao, it will take at least ten days. Zhang Liao is still outside the city, so we can't send our supplies out. If General Cao runs out of supplies, our 150,000 troops at the front will probably be in trouble. We'll have to take the blame then."

Jiang Wei's analysis of everything made perfect sense, but Guo Huai was still somewhat worried.

With their abilities, how could they only be escort officers? This was Cao Cao's deliberate suppression of them, wanting them to keep their talents hidden.

If they were to mobilize troops without authorization now, Cao Cao would probably not let them off easily.

However, seeing Jiang Wei's eager eyes, Guo Huai finally nodded helplessly.

Soon, Jiang Wei and Guo Huai led 30,000 troops and left Zhicheng, heading directly to the place where the grain supplies had been lost.

However, after Zhang Liao burned the grain and fodder, he led everyone back into the forest.

However, this time Zhang Liao did not stay in the same place, nor did he retreat. Instead, he went to hide outside Zhicheng.

Zhou Cang didn't know Zhang Liao's purpose in doing this, but he had some guesses.

This guess startled him.

That was Zhang Liao's true objective; it wasn't grain supplies at all, but rather Zhicheng, located behind Linjiang City.

Zhang Liao wanted to lead two thousand men to attack the city.

Zhang Liao's actions soon confirmed Zhou Cang's conjecture.

Because they saw that the city gates of Zhicheng were open.

Jiang Wei and Guo Huai led an army of 30,000 and actually left Zhicheng, heading towards the place where they had ambushed the grain supplies.

Zhang Liao waited until the 30,000 troops had completely left before immediately ordering the construction of cloud ladders.

Zhicheng has always been a city focused on defense; it's just a small county town of moderate size.

For Zhang Liao and his men, building a siege ladder that matched the height of Zhicheng was not a difficult task.

In just half a day, all the ladders were ready.

At this time, intelligence from Zhicheng was also sent over.

Jiang Wei and Guo Huai have already led all their troops away from Zhicheng, leaving only about 500 garrison soldiers in the city.

Zhang Liao immediately ordered an attack on the city.

A centurion stood on the city wall, strolling back and forth leisurely.

After all, this is the rear area, and Zhicheng has no strategic significance. The only possible threat is Zhang Liao.

Jiang Wei had already led 30,000 troops to besiege Zhang Liao, so he, as a centurion, was naturally very free.

However, just as he was idly gazing into the distance...

Suddenly, thousands of figures appeared in his field of vision.

At first, he thought it was someone sent back by Jiang Wei.

However, as these people approached, he immediately realized something was wrong.

He was a centurion in the city's garrison and had never met Zhang Liao, but he did recognize the cloud ladders.

These two thousand-plus people, carrying several siege ladders, are not just going to enter the city, they're going to attack it.

The centurion immediately notified everyone to prepare for defense and lit a signal fire to notify Jiang Wei, who was far away, to return immediately.

However, by the time he had finished making these preparations, it was already too late.

The five hundred garrison soldiers were not exactly elite troops.

They simply couldn't hold off Zhang Liao's troops.

The two sides fought for less than half an hour, and all five hundred men were killed.

Of course, many people surrendered directly, but Zhang Liao did not ask for these surrendered soldiers and ordered them all to be killed.

After confirming that there were no enemy troops in the city, Zhang Liao, accompanied by Zhou Cang, triumphantly arrived in front of a warehouse.

"Yuanfu, aren't you curious about my true purpose?" (End of Chapter)