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

Just as Gu Rubing was in a dilemma, a soldier suddenly walked over, holding a brocade pouch in his hand.

"My lord, the Prime Minister just sent someone over with a brocade pouch."

"Oh? The Prime Minister's secret plan?"

Gu Rubing immediately opened the brocade pouch, and there were only two words on it: Disturb the troops!

Upon seeing these two words, Gu Rubing's eyes lit up.

"I understand. Pass down the order and summon Wei Yan to see me."

"Yes, my lord!"

Although Lu Su did not know what Zhuge Liang had given Gu Rubing, judging from Gu Rubing's current appearance, he clearly understood what to do.

Not long after, Wei Yan walked over.

"My lord, you summoned me?"

Gu Rubing nodded, then whispered something in Wei Yan's ear.

Wei Yan immediately understood and turned to leave.

After Wei Yan left, Gu Rubing immediately went to the hall.

Everyone was waiting in the hall.

Now that Cao Ren's army is at the city gates, and Mianzhu City is not a suitable city to defend, everyone is planning to retreat.

When everyone saw Gu Rubing arrive, they all stepped forward.

"My lord, Cao Ren's army has arrived, and they outnumber us considerably. Are we still going to defend the city? The city's food supplies are running low, and we don't have many defensive weapons either. We..."

Zhang He wanted to say something, but Gu Rubing stopped him.

Is this what everyone thinks?

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. Although they didn't speak, their attitudes clearly revealed their thoughts.

"Gentlemen, we have a history of winning with fewer troops, so why is your resolve so weak this time?"

"My lord, this time we have neither the advantage of timing nor the terrain, making it extremely difficult to win. If this were Linjiang City, I would be confident that I could keep the enemy out."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately burst into laughter.

"Alright, I want you to remember that everyone makes mistakes. As long as we make mistakes, we have a chance. As long as we're not dead, we have a chance to turn things around. There's no such thing as certain death as long as we haven't given up."

After speaking, Gu Rubing turned his gaze to the map.

"Everyone, come and take a look. The city of Mianzhu we are in now has low walls and weak defenses. Cao Ren's 300,000 troops are already blocking the city gate, leaving us very little room to maneuver. I think you all understand this. So my suggestion is to split our forces!"

"Split the troops?"

When Gu Rubing said this, all the generals present, including Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, were shocked.

Given such a disadvantageous situation, why divide our forces? Wouldn't that just give the enemy an opportunity?

"My lord, if we divide our forces now, then we..."

Gu Rubing waved his hand, stopping the crowd from speaking.

"Zhang Liao, I order you to lead the Iron Pagoda Cavalry, the Azure Dragon Swordsmen, and the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun out of the city under cover of darkness and launch a night attack on Cao Ren!"

"Yes!"

Zhang Liao remained silent throughout, showing absolute trust in Gu Rubing.

Moreover, Zhang Liao was skilled in surprise attacks, and someone like Zhang Liao was best able to understand Gu Rubing's thoughts.

Zhang Liao quickly turned and left.

Then Gu Rubing looked at Zhang He.

"Junyi, I order you to take 50,000 troops, leave through the back gate, and head to Jianwei County. Join forces with Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, and make sure to open up Jianwei County for me as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"

As soon as Zhang He finished speaking, he suddenly looked around.

"My lord, if I were to leave as well, what would become of the generals by your side, the ones I can fight for..."

"Don't worry, Junyi, have you forgotten my second brother and Zilong?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang He turned his gaze to Guan Yu and Zhao Yun.

They had always stood by Gu Rubing's side, and after becoming legendary generals, they almost never went to the battlefield again. Zhang He had even forgotten about the two of them.

"Understood, my lord, I will depart immediately."

After saying this, Zhang He led his 50,000 troops and slowly left Mianzhu City.

When Cao Ren learned that Zhang He had actually left with 50,000 troops, he was overjoyed.

This means that there are only 150,000 troops left in the city.

Cao Ren immediately ordered an attack on the city.

Soon, Cao Ren's army began its siege of the city.

However, Cao Ren also knew that even if there were 300,000 against 150,000, the battle would not be over in a short time, so this siege was just a test.

This time, Cao Ren did not send any of his generals.

Gu Rubing also discovered that there were no enemy generals on the battlefield, only a few lieutenants leading men to attack the city.

Gu Rubing immediately understood Cao Ren's meaning and ordered Guan Yu and Zhao Yun to just watch from the sidelines.

Three hours later.

The Wei army only touched the city wall and did not make any other moves.

Seeing that all the soldiers were exhausted, Cao Ren simply ordered a retreat so they could rest properly and continue the siege the next day.

late at night.

Gu Rubing walked into the hall.

Zhang Liao was already standing in the hall at this moment.

Upon seeing Gu Rubing appear, Zhang Liao immediately stepped forward.

"My lord, everything is ready."

"set off!"

As soon as Gu Rubing gave the order, Zhang Liao immediately turned and left.

On the city wall, Gu Rubing watched Zhang Liao leave, and then Lu Su walked over.

"My lord, are you really sending Zhang Liao to launch a surprise attack on Cao Ren? Cao Ren is not like the Wu army; he won't be so easily ambushed."

"Zijing, don't worry. Zhang Liao is just one part of my plan. Haven't you noticed that there's someone who hasn't appeared yet?"

"people?"

Lu Su looked around and suddenly thought of someone.

That was Wei Yan.

"My lord, you mean..."

Gu Rubing immediately waved his hand, stopping Lu Su from speaking.

"Alright, we'll just wait!"

Zhang Liao led three special forces units and slowly approached Cao Ren's camp.

However, due to the large number of people, Zhang Liao could not find Cao Ren's location at all.

Zhang Liao hid in the shadows and observed the situation in Cao Ren's camp.

They discovered that Cao Ren, despite holding an absolute advantage, showed no sign of letting up. The entire camp was impenetrable, with even a deputy general patrolling late at night to wake up all the soldiers who were dozing off on guard duty.

"General, when do we start?"

Zhou Cang and his men have been staying in the bushes for an hour.

Needless to say, even he felt his body starting to stiffen. If he didn't take action soon, he probably wouldn't be able to hold on.

"No rush, let's wait a bit longer."

Zhang Liao wasn't in a hurry; he simply lay down on the grass and quietly gazed at the night sky. Hearing Zhang Liao's reply, Zhou Cang could only follow suit and lie down on the grass as well.

Another hour passed.

Just as Zhou Cang and the others were about to fall asleep, Zhang Liao's voice suddenly rang out.

"Notify everyone to prepare to take action."

Zhou Cang perked up instantly when he heard that a fight was about to begin.

Soon everyone was woken up by Zhou Cang.

"General, everyone is ready."

"Do it."

As soon as Zhang Liao finished speaking, he rushed out.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Cang immediately led his men to follow.

When the soldiers guarding the camp saw a figure appear in front of them, they thought they were seeing things and couldn't help but rub their eyes.

Upon recognizing Zhang Liao, he immediately shouted, "Someone is attacking!"

Immediately afterwards, alarm bells rang throughout the camp.

However, just as these soldiers came out of their tents, they ran right into Zhang Liao's army.

Before he could even react, he collapsed in a pool of blood.

Soon, Zhang Liao had already broken through Cao Ren's vanguard and was leading his men to charge towards the central camp.

However, at this moment, Cao Zhen rushed out, and behind Cao Zhen was Cao Cao's special troops, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

With the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry present, the panicked Cao army quickly regained its footing.

And they began to launch a counterattack against Zhang Liao.

At the same time, the Xiahou brothers also attacked from afar, accompanied by a large number of troops.

Seeing this, Zhang Liao knew that it was about time. If they continued to linger, it wouldn't be difficult for him to leave, but it would be impossible for him to lead everyone away from the enemy camp.

"Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, I'm just here to say hello. Next time I see you, I'll kill you!"

After uttering a harsh remark, Zhang Liao turned and left.

Seeing Zhang Liao's retreating figure, the Xiahou brothers were furious and prepared to give chase with an army of 50,000.

"Alright, all of you, come back here."

Cao Ren's voice echoed through the camp.

When the Xiahou brothers saw Cao Ren come out, they immediately stopped in their tracks.

"What are you doing? Zhang Liao only said a few words, and you want to leave? Have you forgotten how we lost to Liu Bei before? Do you want to continue to suffer such losses?"

Upon hearing this, the two fell silent instantly.

"Alright, all of you go back and tidy up the camp. Zhang Liao only has a few thousand men. What harm can they do to us? Let's prepare. The siege tomorrow is the important thing."

Everyone nodded immediately.

Cao Ren then went straight back to his own tent.

Seeing that the Xiahou brothers hadn't chased after them, Zhang Liao couldn't help but laugh and say, "These two guys have actually gotten their brains. It's a real shame."

"General, what do we do now? Should we return to the city?"

"No, the boss has given us a mission. We're going to be in a dangerous and troublesome situation. Be prepared."

"I will obey the general's orders."

Seeing this, Zhang Liao smiled and nodded, then led everyone into the darkness.

After a night, Cao Ren led his army to the outskirts of Mianzhu City once again.

"Liu Bei, you dare not confront us head-on, so you resort to such despicable means as sneak attacks. This is not in line with your reputation."

"It doesn't quite fit, but Cao Ren, what can you do? Why don't you do what I did and ambush us, and see if we fall for it?"

"Hmph, enough with the words. Do you dare to come out of the city and fight me?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright, you said it yourself. I'll send someone out, so don't you dare run away."

After saying this, Gu Rubing nodded to Guan Yu, who was standing to the side.

Guan Yu jumped directly off the city wall.

He stood there in front of Cao Ren, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand still radiating a blue light.

"Cao Ren, do you dare to come and face your death?"

Upon seeing Guan Yu appear, Cao Ren froze on the spot, even forgetting to run.

I meant to fight Liu Bei one-on-one, who said I wanted to fight Guan Yu one-on-one? Besides, how dare you, a legendary general, say you want to fight me one-on-one?
However, while Cao Ren was stunned, Guan Yu was not. He gently swung his Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

A blade of energy shot towards Cao Ren.

Just then, a halberd suddenly appeared, blocking the inverted blade aura and saving Cao Ren.

Cao Zhang slowly walked out.

"Guan Yu, how dare you lay a hand on an ordinary person? Have you forgotten our agreement?"

"Rules? Those are just rules set by you weaklings to protect yourselves. The strong are the ones who set the rules. Cao Ren spoke disrespectfully to my lord and provoked my elder brother. I must teach him a lesson."

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhang glanced at Cao Ren, who was standing to the side.

Cao Zhang completely ignored Guan Yu's taunts.

Guan Yu's strength is known to everyone. He was the only legendary general present. He hadn't shown himself if Guan Yu hadn't been trying to kill Cao Ren, fearing that Guan Yu would kill him directly.

"This matter was the fault of my elders, and I apologize to you on their behalf. But I ask Guan Yu to abide by our agreement and not to act rashly."

Guan Yu paid no attention to these words and turned to look at Gu Rubing on the city wall.

Seeing Gu Rubing nod, Guan Yu then climbed onto the city wall.

Seeing Guan Yu leave, Cao Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After this fright, Cao Ren lost his will to attack the city and could only lead his army back to the camp.

"I must thank the young general for blocking that fatal blow for me."

"You don't need to be so polite with me. But since you know that Guan Yu and Zhao Yun are in the city, why did you go to provoke Liu Bei? Are you trying to test something?"

Cao Zhang was also a brilliant strategist, so his ideas were naturally not as ordinary as others.

Upon hearing this, Cao Ren looked at Cao Zhang with satisfaction.

"That's right. After yesterday's great battle, I feel that Liu Bei may no longer have any great generals left."

"No generals? What do you mean?"

"I can't say for sure, it's just a feeling, which is why I had to test the waters. During yesterday's siege, although both sides were testing each other, Liu Bei's generals never showed up. After Zhang Liao's night raid last night, I didn't receive any notification that Zhang Liao had returned to the city. So I suspect that Liu Bei might have other plans."

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhang immediately understood.

But clearly, Guan Yu's intervention this time prevented Cao Ren from probing anything.

Cao Ren thought for a moment and finally focused his attention on the map.

The two walked up to the map.

Cao Ren looked around for a long time before finally focusing his gaze on Jianwei County.

It's inevitable that Mianzhu City won't be able to hold out for much longer.

In this situation, Liu Bei's failure to retreat or take any other action is clearly problematic.

Now, Liu Bei has only one way to break the deadlock.

That is to open up the Jianwei Commandery and send troops from Jianwei Commandery directly to Chengdu.

Cao Cao is currently in Chengdu. If Chengdu falls, the entire Yi Province will be shaken. (End of Chapter)