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

It was like a bolt of thunder striking right above my head.

Yu Jin suddenly felt dizzy and unsteady on his feet, and he staggered back several steps.

"General Yu!"

Zhao Ang jumped up and rushed to support Yu Jin.

Yu Jin pushed Zhao Ang away, held the city gate with his hands, and breathed heavily.

After a long time, Yu Jin's breathing finally calmed down, his tightly closed eyes opened again, and he gradually regained some composure.

"Tell me, how did you fail so miserably?"

"Tell me, how did my 15,000-man army get wiped out?"

Yu Jin grabbed Zhao Ang and asked with gritted teeth.

Zhao Ang had no choice but to say with a bitter face:
"General Cheng Gong and I had successfully left the city without encountering any obstruction from the Han army along the way. We unexpectedly crossed the river on ice and attacked the Han camp on the north bank."

"Just when we were about to break through the enemy camp, the Han army used tens of thousands of bushels of grain and grass to burn a wall of fire, temporarily blocking our attack."

"While we were stalling, 10,000 Han cavalrymen suddenly arrived and killed us in the middle, catching us off guard!"

Zhao Ang's eyes lit up with lingering fear, and he continued:

"That's more than 10,000 cavalrymen. How could we resist them in such a hurry? In a blink of an eye, we were beaten to pieces by the enemy."

"General Cheng Gongying and I led the cavalry to fight our way out, but when we were about to withdraw, we were intercepted by Ma Chao."

"My two thousand cavalrymen were killed in pieces, leaving only the hundred or so of me. General Cheng Gong is nowhere to be found, and he probably died in the chaos."

"I was lucky enough to break out and come back alive to report to you, General Yu—"

The more Zhao Ang spoke, the sadder he became, and a look of despair and helplessness gradually filled his eyes.

The truth came out.

Yu Jin understood what Zhao Ang said.

There are capable people in the Han army’s granary.

The most crucial thing is that Liu Bei must have seen through Cheng Gongying's plan to break out of the siege but actually launch a surprise attack on the grain camp.

That is why Liu Bei dispatched the cavalry so quickly, crossing the river on ice to rescue the grain camp on the north bank in time.

"why?"

"How could Liu Bei see through Cheng Gongying's brilliant plan?"

"Why? Why?"

An incredible confusion surged on Yu Jin's sad face.

Obviously, he was unwilling to accept this cruel fact.

"General Yu, before I separated from General Cheng Gong, he said that it must be Xiao Fang who saw through his plan."

"He also said that he was overestimating his own abilities and trying to compete with the sage in intelligence, which was a humiliation for himself—"

Zhao Ang said with a bitter face.

Yu Jin's body started, and he suddenly woke up with a start. He shivered violently as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

All the terrors that had been controlled by Xiao Fang's wisdom over the years suddenly flooded into his mind.

Since he followed Cao Cao in the Central Plains, he had been repeatedly defeated by Xiao Fang's ingenious schemes and calculations...

Until today, Cao Cao was defeated and fled to Yizhou.

In the war with Liu Bei, and in the battle of wits with Xiao Fang, Cao Cao never won once!
If Cao Cao was like this, what about myself?

Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xun You... so many royal advisers and counselors were no match for Xiao Fang, let alone a mere Cheng Gongying?

Isn’t the defeat in the Battle of Chencang the best proof?
"I should have known that Cheng Gongying could not be Xiao Fang's opponent!"

"That country bumpkin is actually the reincarnation of a sage. No one in this world can be his match!"

"I don't believe that Cheng Gongying, that smartass, has any hope. I shouldn't have used his strategy, and I lost 15,000 of my troops in vain!"

Yu Jin beat his chest and stamped his feet, crying out in regret and self-blame. This old minister of the Cao family, who had made great contributions, was now in a state of panic.

Yu Jin was like this, and the Qin soldiers on and off the city were like frightened birds and fell into chaos.

"General Yu, now is not the time to feel regretful and blame yourself."

"Half of my troops have been destroyed. This is a foregone conclusion. This is something that cannot be changed."

"What should we do now? General Yu, you have to make a decision!"

Zhao Ang looked panicked and helpless, and asked him in a crying voice.

"What should I do? It has come to this. How can I know what to do?"

Yu Jin let out a bitter sigh.

Half of the troops were killed, and the Han army was gradually setting up a siege outside the city, with ambushes waiting for him to fall into the trap.

The current situation is that if you hold your ground and refuse to leave, you are waiting for death; if you lead the army to break out, you are seeking death. In short, it's the same death no matter what.

Cheng Gongying had been destroyed along with his plan, and now there was no one who could give advice to Yu Jin anymore.

He was really helpless and didn't know what to do.

"I, Yu Jin, have followed the emperor since I was in Yanzhou. I have been able to overcome all dangers."

"Could it be that my good luck is really going to run out this time, and I am really going to die in this lonely city?"

Yu Jin looked up at the sky and asked in a sad and desperate voice.

...

Han camp.

The camp gate was wide open, and ten thousand victorious Han cavalry were marching into the camp in high spirits.

There was at least one human head tied to the saddle of each knight, so the soldiers returned with a full load.

Inside the royal tent.

Ma Chao had already presented Cheng Gongying's head and was talking incessantly about the process of annihilating 15,000 Qin troops.

"Good, good, good, you have wiped out half of the Qin army in one battle, you have done a great job!"

"Especially you, Mengqi, who killed the thief Cheng Gongying. This battle is your first achievement!"

"I'm going to throw you a celebration banquet!"

Liu Bei was very pleased and laughed loudly while praising Ma Chao, Zhao Yun and other generals.

Ma Chao could not hide his pride, but he did not dare to show off. He quickly bowed to Xiao Fang:

"We are only following orders. If Prime Minister Xiao had not seen through Cheng Gongying's trick, my food camp would have been destroyed by now, let alone we would have wiped out the enemy army."

"If we talk about the merits, the first one should go to Prime Minister Xiao."

Liu Bei agreed with this and looked back at Xiao Fang, praising him with a smile:

"That Cheng Gongying overestimates his own abilities. He knows that I have a wise counselor like the Prime Minister, but he still wants to show off his skills in front of me!"

"He is overestimating his own capabilities and is courting death!"

Xiao Fang was already accustomed to such praise from the emperor and his ministers, so he just smiled.

Yu Shan pointed at Ji Cheng and sneered:
"Half of the defenders of Jicheng were wiped out, and Yu Jin only had 15,000 panicked soldiers left. How could he defend the city?"

"Your Majesty, there is no need for us to wait for him to break out. Let's close the siege immediately and raze Jicheng to the ground!"

Liu Bei's eyes were filled with fighting spirit, and he waved his hand happily:

"Just as the Prime Minister said, pass on my order and immediately close the siege camps to the west and south of the city and surround Jicheng so that no one can get in or out!"

"Tomorrow, all the troops will be sent out. First, we will bombard the city with Hanwei artillery, and then the whole army will attack the city!"

"I will make a concerted effort to raze Jicheng to the ground!"

"I will kill all the remnants of the pseudo-Qin, including Yu Jin, without sparing a single one!" (End of this chapter)