Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

defeat!
Big defeat!!!

Upon seeing this, Chen Gong, Chen Qun, Wei Xu and other civil and military officials who stayed behind in Xingyang went to the city gate to welcome Lu Bu like puppets.

Looking at the people who came to greet him, Lu Bu, with a look of dejection, numbly handed over all the soldiers he brought back to Wei Xu for placement, and returned home without even the intention of holding a military meeting.

Even the course of this war was learned by the two Chens through Zhang Xiu.

But the more he understood, the more Er Chen understood why Lu Bu looked so depressed.

In the camp set up by Li Ji with a hidden formation, Lu Bu almost exhausted all his available infantry and cavalry, but still ended up in a miserable defeat. This also indicated that the fall of Luoyang was a foregone conclusion.

Even Lu Bu had few troops left.

At this moment, Chen Gong couldn't help but complain to Chen Qun who was fully supporting Lu Bu to rush to Luoyang for assistance.

"I told you that you can't bet everything on one throw. If you save the people but lose the land, both the people and the land will be saved; if you save the land but lose the people, both the people and the land will be lost. Now Luoyang cannot be saved, and the troops have suffered heavy losses. What should we do?"

However, Chen Qun, who had always fought with Chen Gong openly or secretly, did not answer now, but instead uttered sad words full of sorrow.

"The century-old Chen family has now perished in my hands, at the hands of an incompetent and reckless man. It is gone..."

After hearing this, Chen Gong's expression could not hide his anger and helplessness.

Unlike Chen Gong, most of the remaining members of Chen Qun's family are in Luoyang. Once Luoyang falls, the family members will be liquidated.

This was also the fundamental reason why Chen Qun desperately persuaded Lu Bu to try to break back to Hulao Pass to rescue Luoyang, which made Chen Gong unable to help but scold the boy, causing the situation to further collapse.

But when Chen Gong's words were on the tip of his tongue, what else could he do except sigh as he watched Chen Qun's body, which was so sluggish that it seemed like only a shell was left, moving away?

"When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?"

Chen Gong sighed leisurely, also feeling confused.

Moreover, with this defeat, the end of Zhao State was already determined. Even if Lu Bu had unparalleled courage, it would be difficult to change this unstoppable trend.

Chen Gong couldn't help but sigh that the natural barrier of Hulao Pass once again changed Lu Bu's fate.

After Chen Gong assisted Wei Xu in settling the army and barely stabilized the morale of the troops, he hurried back to his mansion and closed the door in a quiet room to think and ponder bit by bit in an attempt to find a glimmer of hope.

The movements of the Han army, Cao Cao, and the rest of the Han prefectures and counties...

Chen Gong calculated bit by bit and pondered over it all night long without a sleep.

Without relying on Cao Cao, there would be very few places for Lu Bu to gain a foothold, especially when Lu Bu now has very few troops.

Finally, Chen Gong's sights fell on Youzhou, a horse-breeding area that Cao Cao was unable to take over and also an enclave controlled by Liu Bei.

This brought hope back to Chen Gong's eyes.

Now it is meaningless for Cao Cao to hold Guandu, so he will definitely retreat as soon as possible. However, this is by no means an easy task, as Cao Cao also needs reinforcements.

Lu Bu's military strength and remaining troops are bargaining chips.

Using the opportunity of covering Cao Cao's retreat as a bargaining chip, he made Cao Cao agree to allow Lu Bu to pass through Jizhou and provide him with money and food, so as to assist Lu Bu in attacking Youzhou and gaining a foothold.

Based on Chen Gong's understanding of Cao Cao, Cao Cao had no reason to refuse.

Especially after the fall of Zhao State, even if Cao Cao could retreat safely to Jizhou and still have the natural barrier of the Yellow River to rely on to resist the Han army, he was still unable to annex Youzhou, not to mention that Youzhou was a threat to Cao Cao.

Therefore, Cao Cao would definitely agree to this condition. As long as Cao Cao could resist the Han army's northern expedition for a few years, Lu Bu could occupy Youzhou to recuperate for a while, and he might be able to rely on this piece of horse breeding land to restore some of his combat power.

As for whether Lu Bu can take Youzhou, Chen Gong has full confidence.

It is true that Lu Bu has no way to deal with Li Ji, but Chen Gong believes that Gongsun Zan will definitely not be Lu Bu's opponent.

At this moment, Chen Gong did not care that it was just dawn, and excitedly ran straight to Xi Zhicai's residence, intending to discuss everything with Xi Zhicai first, and then go to persuade Lu Bu.

However, when Chen Gong arrived at Xi Zhicai's mansion, which he had not paid attention to for several days, he saw white silk and white banners hanging at the gate of the mansion, which gave Chen Gong a bad feeling.

It was not until Chen Gong learned from Xi Zhicai's accompanying guards that Xi Zhicai had died of illness a few days ago that these guards were sending people to ask Cao Cao whether to bring Xi Zhicai back to Jizhou or bury him on the spot.

However, before Chen Gong learned of this, he planned to turn around and go directly to meet Lu Bu.

As the sky was about to brighten, rapid warning drums sounded one after another on the four walls of Xingyang City, waking up a large number of soldiers who were still asleep in the city.

Chen Gong's expression changed drastically and he hurried to the nearest northern city wall.

When Chen Gong arrived at the city tower, he saw that the Han army had blocked the north gate and had already begun building a camp on the spot.

This made Chen Gong feel nervous, and he quickly sent people to investigate the other three city gates, but the situation was almost the same as that of the north gate.

After the Han army arrived in Xingyang under the cover of night, they chose to block the four gates. They intended to trap Lu Bu in the city and leave him no chance to escape.

"Not good!"

Chen Gong, who was extremely anxious, understood that the Han army’s camp must not be allowed to be established, otherwise after blocking the city of Xingyang, Lu Bu would be unable to escape.

"Where is the king? Which city gate is the king at now?"

Chen Gong asked his attendants anxiously.

"The Great...The King seems to be still in the palace?"

Someone whispered a reply, which surprised Chen Gong so much that he blurted out, "The enemy is at the gates of the city, and there are warnings at all four gates. Didn't anyone notify the king?"

At that moment, Chen Gong did not care about any accountability. While asking the guards of the four city gates to prepare for defending the city, he hurried to the temporary residence where Lu Bu lived.

Faced with the critical military situation, Chen Gong did not bother to ask for instructions according to the usual etiquette and rushed in.

But what he saw was Lu Bu lying on the couch drunk. Not only was he reeking of alcohol, he was even sleeping soundly with a jar of wine in his arms.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Chen Gong hurried forward and called out urgently.

As if he was disturbed from a drunken dream, Lu Bu ignored it at first, then waved his hand impatiently and signaled to leave.

"Your Majesty, please don't sleep any more. The Han army is besieging the city. You should lead your troops to attack them while they are still unstable. Otherwise... Your Majesty... please wake up and don't sleep any more..."

Until Lu Bu heard the sound that was still ringing in his ears, he suddenly threw the wine jar at Chen Gong's feet and shouted angrily.

"Get out!"

Chen Gong's face changed slightly. He felt a chill in his heart. Then he saw Lu Bu open his eyes and continued to give orders.

"Why don't you bring the hangover soup to the king so that he can put on his armor and go into battle quickly..." (End of this chapter)