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

Looking at the surrounding troops, Wei Yan was extremely anxious and kept glancing at Lu Su on the city wall.

However, after they rushed into the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, Lu Su made no further move.

This means they have no choice but to wait here.

At the beginning, they all saw through the entire Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, and everyone knew that there was a loophole in the Life Gate. However, they did not expect that this loophole was actually a trap.

Now Wei Yan and his 30,000 soldiers have fallen into a trap, surrounded by layers of encirclement, leaving Wei Yan feeling powerless even to break through.

On the city wall, Gu Rubing looked at Wei Yan's situation and couldn't help but feel anxious.

But Gu Rubing also knew that now that he had handed over command to Lu Su, it was best for him to remain silent.

However, after waiting for a long time, Lu Su made no further move, which made Gu Rubing extremely anxious.

"Zijing, Wei Yan is about to give up. What should we do next?"

Gu Rubing couldn't help but remind Lu Su.

However, Lu Su completely ignored Gu Rubing's words.

Gu Rubing clenched his fists and stared at the battlefield outside the city.

Now, of Wei Yan's 30,000 men, less than 5,000 remain. At this rate, they probably won't last even half an hour.

In the distance, Cao Ren looked at the current situation with a puzzled expression.

Are you all planning to throw away Wei Yan, who's one of the thirty thousand men?
Cao Ren hesitated for a moment, then waved the command flag in his hand again.

The Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation has changed its formation once again, and now the entire formation is fully mobilized.

Upon seeing this, Lu Su waved his command flag three times in succession.

Zhang He led 30,000 troops and entered directly through Jingmen Gate.

Zhang Liao led 30,000 troops and entered through the Death Gate.

The last group was led by Deng Ai, who entered through the Du Gate with 30,000 troops.

With the entry of the three groups of people, the entire Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation became somewhat chaotic.

These three armies successively joined Wei Yan, and then dispersed again under the command of Lu Su's flag.

The four armies were constantly darting around inside the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation.

Gu Rubing breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

Even Gu Rubing could see that Cao Ren's formation was in disarray, and defeat was only a matter of time.

"My lord, rest assured. Cao Ren has not thoroughly studied what the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation is all about. He can only imitate it, but he will never grasp its essence. The reason I sent Wei Yan over earlier was to attract Cao Ren's attention and make him mobilize the entire Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation. In that case, we can launch a three-pronged attack, and one of our armies will enter through the most dangerous Death Gate."

After Lu Su finished speaking, he looked at the battlefield and waved the command flag in his hand again.

The four armies changed positions once again.

Lu Su turned to look at the last general present, Zhong Hui!

"Zhong Hui, listen to my command!"

"exist!"

"I order you to lead the last 30,000 men in the city into battle! Don't worry about any gates; your only task is to kill!"

"Yes!"

Immediately afterward, the gates opened, and Zhong Hui led the last of the city's troops out.

Looking at the situation outside the city, Lu Su put down the command flag in his hand and looked at Gu Rubing.

"My lord, I have successfully completed my mission. The Gate of Life is Cao Ren's trap, while the Gate of Death is the most dangerous part of the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation. Cao Ren is not yet capable of mastering such a complex formation. When both sides are attacked, Cao Ren will be overwhelmed. In addition, other gates will be attacked at the same time. Given Cao Ren's abilities, he will inevitably be thrown into chaos. All of the previous attacks were just a welcome gift for Cao Ren. The final killing move will be the troops led by Zhong Hui."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing looked towards the outside of the city.

Just as Cao Ren was busy operating the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation to fight against Wei Yan and others inside, Zhong Hui suddenly appeared and dealt Cao Ren a blow.

Since Zhong Hui had not received orders to enter through any gate, he simply forced his way into the formation from the outside.

This caused chaos on the outer perimeter of the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation.

With attacks from both inside and outside, the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation was completely disintegrated.

Upon seeing this, Cao Ren immediately threw the command flag in his hand to the ground.

He had been preparing for this battle for a long time.

In particular, in order to study the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, he locked himself in his room for a whole month.

I finally figured out the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, but it was broken in less than two hours after I showed it off, and I felt powerless.

Seeing the chaotic battlefield, Cao Ren had no choice but to order a retreat.

Upon hearing the order, the Xiahou brothers and others on the battlefield immediately led everyone to evacuate the battlefield.

Wei Yan and his men immediately wanted to give chase.

Gu Rubing then ordered a pursuit.

However, at that moment, a group of cavalry suddenly charged into the battlefield.

In an instant, many soldiers were knocked down by the cavalry charge.

When Wei Yan and his men arrived, they saw that these cavalrymen were none other than the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry led by Cao Zhen.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were extremely powerful; four thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry managed to hold off an army of over ten thousand for a short time.

After seeing that the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had lost more than half of their strength, Cao Zhen immediately ordered a retreat.

At this point, Wei Yan and his men wanted to give chase, but it was too late.

Ultimately, Gu Rubing ordered a troop withdrawal.

After all the troops entered the city, Lu Su immediately began to calculate the losses and the casualty ratio between the two sides.

The results came out soon.

"My lord, our army suffered 40,000 casualties this time. The main casualties were Wei Yan's troops, while Cao Ren's troops should have lost around 90,000."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing burst out laughing.

With 40,000 to 90,000, it's a resounding victory no matter how you look at it.

"My lord, I suggest we press our advantage and pursue them. Cao Ren should only have a maximum of 60,000 troops, while we still have 110,000. If we attack Linjiang City now, Cao Ren will surely not be able to hold it."

"Hmm, not bad. Wei Yan, Zhang He, Zhang Liao, listen to my command."

"My subordinate is here!"

"The three of you will lead 100,000 troops and follow me in pursuit. Zijing, you will stay with me. Deng Ai and Zhong Hui will lead the remaining troops to defend Jiangzhou City."

"Yes!"

Cao Ren led his remaining troops back to Linjiang City, where he happened to see Jiang Wei walking towards him.

"Boycophant, what are you doing here?"

Cao Ren's expression was not good when he saw Jiang Wei appear.

He had just suffered a defeat when Jiang Wei appeared before him. Wasn't he just there to make a fool of himself?

Before Jiang Wei could answer, Cao Ren noticed that many more soldiers had appeared in the city, and he immediately became alert.

Jiang Wei sensed Cao Ren's change and immediately stopped him.

“General, these are all troops from Zhicheng. After I learned that you had led all your troops out of the city to fight Liu Bei, I took it upon myself to issue an order for the troops from Zhicheng to come and reinforce Linjiang City. I am worried that Liu Bei will take action against Linjiang City.”

"You've given orders without authorization? Boyo, do you know what you're doing?"

Jiang Wei naturally knew what awaited him.

But given the current situation, this is the only thing I can do.

Just as they were talking, Cao Zhen arrived.

"Liu Bei's army is coming, numbering around 100,000. Prepare for defense immediately."

"So fast?"

Cao Ren frowned immediately. He currently had only 60,000 troops at his disposal, plus 30,000 under Jiang Wei, for a total of 90,000. With the advantage of defending the city, they should be able to stop Liu Bei's advance.

Gu Rubing led his army to the outskirts of Linjiang City, and upon seeing the city's tight defenses, he burst out laughing.

"Cao Ren, you're going back on your word! Didn't you promise that you'd give me Linjiang City as long as I broke the formation? Now that I've broken the formation, why don't you want to give me Linjiang City anymore?"

"Liu Bei, Linjiang City is not something I can decide on my own. When my lord arrives, I will naturally report this matter to him, and he will make his own decision. I only said that I would give Linjiang City to you, but I didn't say when. You don't need to be in such a hurry."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing gave a cold laugh.

It's clear that Cao Ren is planning to act like a rogue.

Gu Rubing hesitated for a moment, then immediately ordered the army to retreat twenty miles and set up camp.

Late at night, a piece of intelligence was delivered to Gu Rubing.

When Gu Rubing saw that there were still 90,000 troops in Linjiang City, he immediately frowned.

"I never expected Jiang Wei to be so bold as to mobilize troops without authorization."

Upon realizing this, Gu Rubing immediately summoned Zhang Liao.

And he whispered it in Zhang Liao's ear.

Zhang Liao nodded and left the camp that very night with the Azure Dragon Swordsmen and the Ironclad Cavalry.

No one knew what Zhang Liao was up to.

Just then, Zhao Yun walked in.

"My lord, the Prime Minister has sent a piece of intelligence."

After saying this, Zhao Yun handed the envelope in his hand to Gu Rubing.

Gu Rubing opened it and looked at it for a while, then burned the intelligence in his hand.

"The Prime Minister said that Liu Zhang is in contact with Sun Jian, and Sun Jian has even met with Liu Zhang's envoy. It seems that the alliance between the two sides is about to be fully established."

"My lord, what should we do?"

"Wait and see. We can't make a move against Liu Zhang now, and we can't make a move against Sun Jian either."

"Yes!"

Zhang Liao, along with Zhou Cang and others, quickly bypassed Linjiang City and arrived directly outside Zhicheng.

Gu Rubing's calculations were correct; the troops in Zhicheng numbered only a few thousand, and the city's defenses were extremely weak.

Zhang Liao did not directly attack the city, but instead had everyone put on Cao Cao's army armor.

They swaggered out of Zhicheng.

Upon seeing Zhang Liao and his men, the centurion guarding the city immediately shouted, "Who are you?"

"I am a deputy general under General Cao. Open the city gate quickly. General Cao knows that Zhicheng is poorly defended and has sent us to assist in the defense."

The speaker was Zhou Cang, who even took out a token, which he had picked up on the battlefield.

Upon seeing the token in Zhou Cang's hand, the centurion immediately believed Zhou Cang's words and prepared to open the city gate.

However, at that moment, a voice suddenly appeared.

"The city gates must not be opened."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and, upon discovering that it was Guo Huai who had spoken, immediately stopped what they were doing.

"General, they are men sent by General Cao!"

"How do you know they are really General Cao's men?"

Guo Huai glared at the centurion who had spoken, then walked to the edge of the city wall and looked at Zhou Cang outside the city.

"You look familiar. Who are you?"

"Replying to the general, I am a deputy general under General Cao."

"Oh? I know all the lieutenants under General Cao. Who exactly are you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cang fell silent and looked at Zhang Liao beside him.

Zhang Liao recognized Guo Huai on the city wall at a glance; Guo Huai's talent was not much less than Jiang Wei's.

Knowing that his plan could not be implemented, Zhang Liao no longer hid it.

"Guo Huai, I am Zhang Liao, Zhang Wenyuan! Open the city gates immediately, or I will spare your life!"

"Haha, Zhang Liao, I knew General Cao wouldn't send reinforcements at this time. It turns out it was you who did it again. Zhang Liao, if you want Zhicheng, then come and attack the city. I'll be waiting for you here!"

"it is good!"

Zhang Liao immediately waved his hand and retreated.

After everyone retreated some distance, Zhou Cang immediately came to Zhang Liao's side.

"General, are we just going to give up like this? If we attack the city head-on, our chances of winning are slim. Besides, the commotion from this siege will soon be discovered at the front lines. What will we do when Cao Ren's reinforcements arrive?"

Zhang Liao naturally knew what Zhou Cang was saying, but he also knew that if they didn't attack the city now, they wouldn't have another chance.

"Never mind, we must take Zhicheng."

After saying this, Zhang Liao immediately directed everyone to begin building siege ladders.

Half a day later, Zhang Liao, taking advantage of the moonlight, began to quietly approach the city wall.

Since Zhang Liao left, Guo Huai has never dared to relax, and he would come to the city wall from time to time to check the surrounding situation.

late at night.

Guo Huai walked up to the city wall.

A centurion immediately came forward.

"General, everything is normal. You can go and rest now."

"Let me see first."

Guo Huai walked to the city wall and looked out by the firelight.

As a result, all you could see was a dark expanse, and you couldn't see anything at all.

Just as Guo Huai was about to turn and leave, he suddenly heard a crisp sound of a branch breaking.

The sound was very soft and quite far away.

Guo Huai immediately looked around.

"Did you hear anything?"

"sound?"

The centurion looked around curiously, and then everyone shook their heads.

Guo Huai even thought for a moment that he had misheard and that he was being a little too nervous.

Just as Guo Huai was about to leave the city wall, he suddenly remembered what Jiang Wei had told him: in times of danger, any small abnormality could trigger a huge disaster, so any abnormality must be thoroughly investigated.

Guo Huai then walked to the city wall again and threw a torch from a soldier's hand directly outside the wall.

The centurion realized what was happening and immediately ordered someone to bring a new torch.

Guo Huai's eyes were fixed on the ground.

The torches were quickly brought to the ground, and around the flames, the figures of the Azure Dragon School Swordsmen could still be seen.

"Damn it, it's an enemy attack! Everyone, get to your positions!"

Guo Huai's voice rang out from the city wall.

However, as soon as the sound faded, several siege ladders appeared on the city wall, and Guo Huai and his men had already lost their best angle of attack.

Once the siege ladder was successfully placed against the city wall, it meant that hand-to-hand combat had begun.

Guo Huai lit a signal fire to call for help, but in the darkness, who could see it? (End of Chapter)