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

Is Yan Yan a stupid person?

Although the handwriting was from Wu Yi, Yan Yan had already seen through the many flaws in the letter at a glance.

There are many experts in Xiao Fang's camp. No matter how capable Wu Yi is, he is just a captured general. How could he be valued so much by Xiao Fang?
The layers of insults in the letter were clearly intended to anger Yan Yan and make him fall into Xiao Fang's trap.

Yan Yan already knew that this letter appeared to come from Wu Yi, but in reality it was a mockery and contempt from Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang laughed at Yan Yan's stupidity, saying that he was tricked by Sima Lang into opening the gate of Fuling and suffered a defeat.

Xiao Fang despised Yan Yan for being ruthless and abandoning Wu Yi to escape by himself, which really brought shame to the old general of the Qin Dynasty.

Faced with such obvious ridicule and contempt, Yan Yan had to accept the challenge even if it really provoked him to fight.

Because he was defending the face of a veteran general of the Qin Dynasty and his own reputation.

Not only Yan Yan, but the remaining generals present could also understand the insult behind this letter.

They knew it well, but dared not say much. They just looked at Yan Yan's back and speculated secretly in their hearts.

Yan Yan stood there with a livid face, as if he could feel the gazes of the generals, like needles piercing his back.

now.

He felt that not only had he lost face, but his dignity had also been trampled upon and shattered by Xiao Fang.

How could he save face if he didn't win quickly?

Forced by the situation, he had to fight.

So he clenched his fists, thinking hard, trying to find a reasonable reason to fight.

Just when he was in trouble, a general stepped forward and volunteered to fight.

"Old General, this battle must be fought!"

Yan Yan was both surprised and delighted, and immediately his eyes flashed as he looked at the man.

The one who asked for a fight was Gao Pei.

Everyone also focused their attention on Gao Pei, and Yan Pu recognized the general at a glance.

In Yan Pu's opinion, Gao Pei had neither outstanding talents nor impressive moral character, and he relied entirely on flattery to gain a place among the Qin generals.

His words must have been because he saw Yan Yan's dilemma and was deliberately trying to please her.

Yan Pu's face suddenly changed, and he asked:
"Gao Pei, don't try to deceive the old general. Don't you know that this is Xiao Fang's trick?"

"If the old general goes to battle, wouldn't he be falling into Xiao Fang's trap?"

Yan Pu shouted at Gao Pei with a stern face.

Gao Pei disagreed. He took a step forward with confidence and bowed to Yan Yan:

"Even if Xiao Fang is using provocation, he and his Han army are now like a tired army, so there is no need to worry about them."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar, and no one knew why Gao Pei said this.

Gao Pei continued:
"After Xiao Fang captured Fuling, he marched day and night. The Han army was already exhausted. The soldiers complained and were physically exhausted."

"Just tell me, is this the tired army?"

Yan Yan nodded slightly, and the generals also nodded.

Gao Pei continued:

"Besides, Xiao Fang only brought 30,000 vanguard troops, which is almost the same as our army. Now they have no combat effectiveness, how can they fight against us?"

Having said that, after such an analysis, everyone felt that it made sense.

Seeing that everyone was leaning towards him, Gao Pei raised his voice even higher:

"The situation is favorable to us now. If the old general goes to the battle, we still have a chance to defeat the Han army and turn the situation in Jiangzhou around."

"If we don't send troops now, do we have to wait for Xiao Fang's reinforcements to arrive before attacking?"

"There will be a hundred thousand troops by then. Do you think this city can be defended?"

Gao Pei looked at Yan Pu complacently and questioned him with an arrogant look on his face.

Yan Pu was left speechless after the rebuttal.

now.

The generals have already approved Gao Pei's strategy and are willing to join the battle.

The army was defeated in the battles of Yufu and Fuling, and many soldiers died.

All the generals present were filled with hatred towards Xiao Fang and were looking forward to avenging their colleagues.

Therefore, once Gao Pei took the lead, they all jumped up and asked for battle.

Yan Pu sighed and said:

"But our army has been damaged in the battle of Fuling, and His Majesty has ordered us to defend Jiangzhou to the death."

"If the old general goes to war now, wouldn't that be a betrayal to His Majesty?"

Yan Pu knew very well that everyone was leaning towards Gao Pei and he was unable to compete, so he could only cite Cao Cao's order.

When Yan Yan heard this, his brows furrowed and his face became hesitant again.

Yan Pu's words were meant to put pressure on himself by bringing up Cao Cao.

He was naturally well aware of the consequences of resisting military orders.

Gao Pei seemed to have foreseen this, and he said disapprovingly:
"Your Majesty did issue an order, but it only said to defend Jiangzhou, not how to defend it."

"If you can hold the city and not leave, it is called defense. If you can drive away the enemy, it is also called defense."

"In that case, why don't you use offense as defense? If you can repel the Han army, wouldn't you be able to completely defend Jiangzhou?"

"By then, Jiangzhou will no longer be a threat. I'm sure that His Majesty will not punish the old general, but will reward him handsomely!"

Gao Pei was full of confidence and kept on finding reasonable excuses for Yan Yan.

Yan Yan's eyes lit up, and he nodded, secretly praising Gao Pei for paving a good foundation for him.
Seeing this, Yan Pu could only shake his head helplessly.

He had seen that the reason for going to war was unimportant.

The important thing is that Yan Yan’s face was damaged in the battle of Fuling, and he was eager to prove it with a victory.

However, Gao Pei did not care about the overall situation and only knew how to flatter and cater to others, so he instigated Yan Yan to go to war without considering the consequences.

After listening to all of Gao Pei's speeches, all the generals had already put away their fear of fighting and were instead inclined to follow Yan Yan into battle.

"The old general is a loyal minister of the Qin Dynasty. Even if he lost Fuling, His Majesty did not blame him."

"No one can shake the old general's position."

While everyone was praising Yan Yan, Yan Pu gritted his teeth and decided to expose Yan Yan's thoughts.

So he took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"I think the old general doesn't need to fight for face!"

This statement came out.

Yan Yan's sore spot was hit and his face immediately turned red.

So he glared and said angrily:

"Yan Pu, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Yan Yan shouted at Yan Pu in a voice as loud as thunder.

His eyes were glaring as he stared at Yan Pu, as if to hint and warn Yan Fu that if he exposed his thoughts again, he would no longer be polite.

When Yan Pu saw Yan Yan cursing, he knew that he had exposed his reputation and there was no way back.

then.

He ignored Yan Yan's warning, straightened his back and asked:

"General Yan, if you don't go to war to save your reputation, then what is the purpose?"

Yan Yan frowned and said proudly:
"Everything I, Yan Yan, do is for the Great Qin, and for Your Majesty!"

Yan Pu snorted and continued to ask:
"If that is the case, His Majesty has ordered you to defend Jiangzhou. If you go out to fight without permission, how can you be considered His Majesty?"

This question left Yan Yan speechless.

After gritting his teeth, he simply made up his mind:

"You...you are simply judging me by your own standards!"

Yan Pu sneered.

A veteran general of the Qin State actually started to act like a child.

Yan Pu shook his head, his eyes full of disappointment.

Seeing Yan Pu's sarcastic and disappointed sneer, Yan Yan felt that Yan Pu was insulting him and became even more angry.

So he stepped forward and shouted angrily:
"Yan Pu, what do you mean?" (End of this chapter)