Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Chapter 432 Are you worthy enough to compete with Xiao Fang? You are trying to trick me to death! It’s time to run away!
Cao Zhi was a little confused. Being a man of great talent, he understood every word Cao Ren said and could even compose an impromptu poem using each word as the title.

But when these words were put together, he couldn't understand them at all.

"Uncle...Uncle, I don't quite understand."

"What do you mean we fell into the trap set by the big-eared thief?"

"Uncle Zixiao, shouldn't you have used Dezu's clever plan to flood Liu Bei's 100,000-man army?"

Cao Zhi's voice trembled, and he raised his head and looked at Cao Ren in confusion.

Yang Xiu, who was also shocked, had sweat in his palms and his nerves were tense.

Only Xun You frowned deeply, as if he had guessed about 70% of the answer.

"What a brilliant plan! It's obviously just a trivial scheme. How could it be hidden from Xiao Fang?"

Cao Ren glared at Yang Xiu unhappily, his eyes and tone no longer concealing his extreme disappointment.

Yang Xiu's heart skipped a beat and his eyes suddenly widened with an expression of disbelief.

Just a few days ago, his strategy was highly praised by Cao Ren, who described it as imaginative and brilliant, and a strategy of achieving a surprise victory.

In the blink of an eye, Cao Ren's change of attitude was more extreme than turning the pages of a book, and his wild imagination became a trivial scheme?
Yang Xiu didn't understand.

He immediately calmed down, bowed and asked:
"General Huqi, what went wrong? Was there something wrong with Xiu's plan?"

Cao Ren had a gloomy face and snorted coldly:
"Not only is your plan wrong, your plan may cost me 20,000 soldiers and horses, as well as the entire Bingzhou!"

Yang Xiu's body was shocked and his face changed color.

Cao Zhi's body also swayed and he took a breath of cold air.

"Uncle Zixiao, is the situation so serious?"

"Even if Dezu's plan failed, at most it was discovered by Liu Bei, and the Han army withdrew in time and was not flooded. How could it be so serious as to endanger my 20,000 troops and ruin Bingzhou?"

Although Cao Zhi's voice was hoarse, he forced himself to ask in a relaxed tone.

Cao Ren had no choice but to tell him the whole story and his own guesses.

The relaxation on Cao Zhi's face gradually disappeared, and his mouth slowly opened until it shrank into an exaggerated circle.

The forced calmness on Yang Xiu's face also collapsed at this moment, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"I should have thought of it earlier. Liu Bei has many advisers under his command, especially Xiao Fang, who is like a reincarnated sage. Even Gongda and Fengxiao are no match for them, let alone a young man like you."

"Not only did they figure out your plan to break the river, they also used the same trick against you and sent cavalry to pretend to be the main force, in order to play a trick on me."

"That big-eared thief is taking advantage of the situation to attack from the east and take the Zhao Yuze East Road to get behind us and intercept Ping Tao City!"

"I'm afraid Liu Bei's army is not far from Pingtao now. If my 20,000 troops don't leave, they will all be buried here!"

"Yang Xiu, is what I said wrong?"

Cao Ren pointed his whip at Yang Xiu and scolded him harshly.

At this moment, he was also pressured by the situation and lost his proper composure and demeanor. He openly questioned Yang Xiu in front of everyone.

"General Hussar, repair, repair..."

Yang Xiu was embarrassed and panicked. He stammered and didn't know how to respond to Cao Ren's questioning.

Cao Zhi, who suddenly realized his mistake, turned around and looked at Yang Xiu with a look of disappointment.

He was really disappointed with Yang Xiu.

Since recruiting Yang Xiu as his strategist, he has been obedient and did everything according to Yang Xiu's plans.

However, Yang Xiu's strategic misjudgment at the Chang'an military meeting put Bingzhou in danger.

The flooding plan was miscalculated again, causing himself, Cao Ren and the 20,000 soldiers to be in danger of being cut off by Liu Bei.

I have made many suggestions, but have failed many times...

How could Cao Zhi still believe in Yang Xiu's wisdom and not feel resentment towards Yang Xiu?

"I've said it before, with Xiao Fang here, no matter how perfect and unpredictable the plan is, it can't be called a perfect plan!"

Xun You sighed helplessly and immediately bowed:

"General of the Cavalry, Prince of Chenliu, there is no point in talking any more now. The best strategy is to abandon the city and retreat north to Jinyang!"

Cao Ren suddenly came to his senses and, without blaming Yang Xiu any more, he shouted:
"All troops, listen up! Abandon the north of the city immediately—"

"Report——"

A rider came galloping out of the city and dismounted from his horse.

"General Hussar, there is a report from the East Gate that a large group of Han troops appeared in the southeast and are heading towards our Pingtao City!"

Cao Ren shuddered and the whip in his hand fell out of his hand.

Both Cao Zhi and Yang Xiu were terrified and confused.

The Han army appeared in the east of the city. Is there any need to guess? It must be Liu Bei leading a main force of 100,000 and rushing here.

What Cao Ren was most worried about finally happened.

"The big-eared thief came so fast, damn it!"

Cao Ren gritted his teeth and cursed, then whipped his horse whip and rushed into the city.

The 20,000 Qin soldiers were in panic and rushed into Pingtao City, entering through the south gate and fleeing through the north gate.

"God does not bless the Great Qin, alas~~"

Xun You shook his head and sighed, then turned his horse around and followed Cao Ren sadly.

Cao Zhi was also extremely frightened. He followed the soldiers fleeing northward and headed towards the north gate.

When he rushed out of the north gate, he saw tens of thousands of Qin soldiers fleeing to the north.

Without a second thought, Cao Zhi whipped his horse and wanted to follow the crowd to flee north.

"Prince Chenliu, wait a minute!" Yang Xiu, who was catching up with him, shouted in a deep voice and grabbed Cao Zhi.

Cao Zhi was anxious and shouted:

"The Han army is about to arrive at any time. If we are half a step slower, we will be buried here. Dezu, please stop holding me back!"

Yang Xiu, however, held on to Cao Zhi's reins tightly and shouted in a deep voice:
"Your Highness, if you follow the army and flee north, that will be a dead end."

Cao Zhi was shocked and turned around to look at Yang Xiu in surprise.

Yang Xiuhuan glanced around and moved closer to Cao Zhi.

"My plan failed. No matter whether these 20,000 soldiers can successfully escape the Han army's interception, Jinyang cannot be defended."

"The same goes for Bingzhou. It's only a matter of time before it falls."

"Heaven does not bless our Great Qin, Bingzhou is doomed!"

"The wisest choice now is to abandon Bingzhou and lead the army to cross the Yellow River to the west and retreat to Guanzhong via Xihai Shangjun."

"But your highness knows the attitude of the Cavalry General. Without the emperor's decree, he will never abandon Bingzhou and will defend it to the end."

"If Your Highness follows the General of the Cavalry to flee to Jinyang, once you are besieged by the Han army in an isolated city, you will surely die!"

Hearing this, Cao Zhi shuddered and trembled all over with fear, and almost couldn't sit still on his horse.

"Yes, I reminded Uncle Zixiao a long time ago that he should abandon Bingzhou and lead the army to retreat to Guanzhong."

"It was you who stopped me at that time, and you also offered Uncle Zixiao a plan to flood the Han army!"

"I have said before that abandoning Bingzhou and retreating westward as soon as possible is the best strategy. If you had listened to me earlier, how could you have ended up in this situation now?"

Cao Zhi complained to Yang Xiu angrily.

Yang Xiu looked ashamed and sighed helplessly:

"Your Highness was also afraid that if you abandoned Bingzhou, Your Highness would blame Your Majesty and lose the confidence to compete for the throne."

"It seems that saving His Highness' life is the most important thing now. We can only take it one step at a time in the fight for the throne."

Changing the subject, Yang Xiu looked determined and bowed resolutely:

"So I ask Your Highness to leave the city and head west immediately, heading straight to Xihe County, crossing the Yellow River westward through Lin County, and then heading south from Shang County to Puban Pass to see Your Majesty."

"The Xiongnu suffered heavy losses last time and have lost control of the two counties. They are definitely unable to stop Your Highness!"

Cao Zhi understood.

Yang Xiu was advising him to pack up and run away immediately when he saw the situation was not good, and not to be foolish enough to follow the crowd and flee to Jinyang to wait for death.

"You're right. Bingzhou can't be defended anymore. I have to leave!"

Cao Zhi nodded heavily and wanted to turn his horse west without thinking.

Just after taking a step, he stopped again, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"As a prince of the Qin Dynasty, I was ordered by my father to come here to assist Uncle Zixiao in defending Bingzhou. Uncle Zixiao did not abandon Bingzhou and retreat westward, but I fled alone without telling Uncle Zixiao. This is really unreasonable."

"Then wouldn't it be like I'm a cowardly deserter in the eyes of the world?"

"What will the world say about me, and what will the emperor think of me?"

Cao Zhi expressed his difficulties with a bitter face.

Yang Xiu was so anxious that his eyes almost popped out.

The situation is critical now. Saving your life is the most important thing. Why are you still concerned about your reputation?
What’s the point of keeping a reputation if you’ve lost your life?
Yang Xiu rolled his eyes a few times and said hurriedly:

"Your Highness, you are worrying too much. You are going to Guanzhong this time not to abandon the General of the Cavalry and escape alone, but to ask the emperor for help, asking the emperor to send troops through Xihe Shangjun to rescue Bingzhou."

"Your Highness was trying to save the General of the Cavalry. How can you say that you abandoned him and fled?"

Yang Xiu paved the way for a grand and high-sounding project with just a few words.

Cao Zhi's spirits were lifted, and the hesitation and shame on his face disappeared in an instant.

"You are right. I am not deserting the battlefield. I am going to ask my father for help. I am doing this to save my uncle Zixiao!"

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Cao Zhi no longer hesitated, he whipped his mount hard and galloped westward.

Yang Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly called upon his personal guards to escort Cao Zhi as they fled westward.

Southeast of Pingtao City.

One hundred thousand Han troops, like a black tide covering the sky and the sun, were sweeping towards Pingtao City.

In front, the north gate had already been opened, and tens of thousands of Qin soldiers, like dogs that had lost their homes, fled to the north.

This is a great opportunity to intercept!

Liu Bei galloped on his horse, murderous intent burning in his eyes, and pointed his whip forward:
"Order all the generals to lead their troops and kill the Qin army for me!"

"Kill as many as you can, and make sure to annihilate the enemy completely!"

The imperial decree was passed down and the horn sounded.

The Han soldiers behind him were like beasts out of a cage, rushing forward one after another, like countless sharp swords, pouncing on the Qin army that had just escaped from the city.

"Your Majesty, I remember the Prime Minister reminded us that while intercepting the enemy in Pingtao, we should also send troops westward to seize Lishi and completely block the Qin army's retreat route to the west to prevent Cao Ren from abandoning Bingzhou and escaping!"

Zhao Yun beside him reminded loudly.

Liu Bei suddenly remembered what Xiao Fang said, and immediately shouted:
"Zilong, listen to my orders. I order you to lead the White Horse Volunteers to bypass Pingtao and head west immediately to capture Lishi and cut off the Qin army's escape route to the west!"

"I obey!"

Zhao Yun accepted the order generously, jumped on his horse and rode away with his spear in hand.

A thousand white-horse volunteers roared westward like a white wave.

(End of this chapter)