Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1002 True Covenant
Shen Pei immediately suggested: "My lord, for now, we should temporarily withdraw our troops. Our army has never intended to rebel against the imperial court. For many days, we have not taken advantage of the situation when the imperial army was fighting Cao and Sun. Now the situation between my lord and His Majesty has not reached a point where they will fight to the death. If our army withdraws now, the imperial army will not come to pursue us. It will not be too late to make plans after we stabilize the defense of Xuzhou."

"This..." Liu Bei looked unwilling. He looked at everyone and then asked Tian Feng, "Does Yuan Hao have any good ideas?"

Tian Feng lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "In my humble opinion, you should take advantage of our strategy."

"Oh? How can we take advantage of their own strategy?" Liu Bei asked.

"First, temporarily withdraw the troops, but do not return to Xuzhou, but continue to stay in Licheng to intimidate Yanzhou and Jizhou. If you withdraw the troops at this moment because of the situation in Xuzhou, it will inevitably give people a reason to say that you are only concerned about your own foundation. In this way, your reputation of 'clearing the court' will also be gone."

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly: "Yes, that's exactly what I want. What about the second one?"

"Second, send an envoy to meet Cao Cao immediately, but not to hold him accountable for the surprise attack on Donghai County."

Liu Bei was surprised and asked, "If we don't hold them accountable, then why else can we do that?"

Tian Feng shook his head: "Our army has no real evidence for this matter. Now that the two sides have formed an alliance, if our army speculates, it will inevitably destroy the alliance. Therefore, we can only pretend to be confused about this sneak attack. If Cao Cao doesn't mention it, our army won't mention it either. We will just say that Xuzhou is unstable, and there are frequent thieves invading the border and disturbing the city, making our army unstable and affecting the morale of the army. Then use this as an excuse to borrow Pengcheng and Xiapi from Cao Cao temporarily to stabilize Xuzhou, and return them after the great event is accomplished."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up when he heard this: "This is a brilliant plan, brilliant indeed."

But he hesitated again, "But... But how can Cao Mengde give up Pengcheng and Xiapi? You must know that these two counties are the richest places in Xuzhou, accounting for nearly 40% of the population and taxes in the whole province. Cao Cao is now losing ground and is about to lose Yuzhou. How can he be willing to give up these two counties?"

Tian Feng was very confident about this: "Don't worry, my lord, Cao Cao will definitely agree."

Liu Bei thought for a moment, then shouted: "Order the whole army, call back the troops!"

Zhao Jin looked at the army retreating like a tide, feeling both pleasantly surprised and happy. He grabbed Chen Gong's hand, extremely excited.

"Gongtai, Gongtai, this time I, Zhao, am completely convinced. What tricks did you use to make Liu Bei withdraw his troops on his own initiative? Come on, explain it to me, so that I can learn more."

Chen Gong laughed and said, "It's nothing special. I just used three thousand soldiers."

After saying that, he walked down the city wall while smiling, leaving Zhao Jin with a confused look on his face.

"Three thousand soldiers? What does that mean... Could it be... Ah, I understand, Gongtai, wait for me..."

Shenyang City, ten days ago, after Xiahou Dun captured this city, Cao Cao's defeated army fled here the next day. After the troops of both sides joined forces, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren to lead 30,000 troops respectively and station them in three directions outside the city to rely on each other and be capable of both offense and defense.

Liu He personally led his army to attack twice, but seeing that it was difficult to break through, he withdrew his troops to rest, and both sides were able to temporarily cease fighting.

In recent days, many craftsmen have been repairing and reinforcing the city walls and gates on all sides, creating a bustling scene.

At this moment, a group of people had just walked into the city gate and were heading towards Cao Cao's mansion.

Among the two leaders, one was Cao Cao's adviser, Cheng Yu, Cheng Zhongde, and the middle-aged man who looked like a scholar next to him was Liu Bei's adviser who had followed him for more than ten years - Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou.

After Sun Qian entered the city, he kept looking at the city wall and the streets and houses on both sides. Seeing this, Cheng Yu smiled and asked, "Sir, you are new here. Our army has been strengthening the city defense day and night, and we dare not slack off in the slightest. We are waiting for good news from Envoy Liu, so that we can attack Liu He together. Now that you are here, what can you teach me?"

Sun Qian glanced at him and stroked his long beard: "Under Cao Gong's command, the military power is indeed strong, and this city is also very solid, but..."

"Oh? But how?"

Sun Qian sighed softly, "However, compared to the imperial army and the city, it is always far inferior. I am afraid it will be difficult to match. I wonder how Cao Gong will resist when the imperial army arrives?"

"This..." Cheng Yu's face changed slightly. Although what Sun Qian said was unpleasant to hear, it was the truth.

Although Cao Cao had repelled Liu He's offensive several times in the city under his personal command over the past few days, those were merely tests for Liu He. Each attack was brief and he would retreat immediately if there was any trouble. Cheng Yu asked himself, considering the current gap in military strength between the two sides in Yuzhou, if Liu He was determined to fight with all his strength, this small city of Shenyang would definitely not be able to be defended.

However, the only cities in Yuzhou occupied by Cao's army are Shenyang, Langling and Anyang. Langling and Anyang are both near the border of Jingzhou. The cities are small and flat, making it impossible to station troops and there are no strategic locations to defend. They have always been used only as a transit point for food and fodder between Jing and Yu.

Therefore, once Shenyang City was lost, the entire Yuzhou would no longer belong to Cao's army. That's why Cao Cao, knowing that it was impossible, did it anyway and held on to the small county town of Shenyang.

"This Sun Qian is indeed quite gifted at debate. He knows that it is difficult for our army to deal with Liu He alone, so he has to rely on the forces of Liu Bei and Sun Jian to contain him. He even deliberately replied in this way. It is clear that he has bad intentions. It seems that Liu Bei is not someone who can be easily dealt with."

Cheng Yu was grumbling in his heart, but his face was still full of smiles: "Haha, as long as the envoy and my master work together, Liu He will be no problem."

"Really?" Sun Qian smiled and said, "If that's the case, it would be great."

Escorted by a team of soldiers, the two soon arrived at the gate of the county government.

"My master has been waiting for a long time. Please come in, sir."

Cheng Yu led Sun Qian and walked in.

After a long time, in the lobby.

Cao Cao smiled and said, "Mr. Sun, you have come a long way and worked hard. Please go to the inn and rest first. I will discuss this matter with everyone and inform you tomorrow."

Sun Qian immediately stood up and bowed, "In that case, I will take my leave first. My master is so kind, I hope Lord Cao will consider it carefully. Farewell."

After that, he turned and left.

As soon as he left, Xiahou Dun slammed the table and stood up: "Son of a bitch, who the hell is Liu Bei? He is just a weaver and shoe seller. Meng De formed an alliance with him because he valued him. How dare he go too far and ask for Pengcheng and Xiapi. He deserves to die."

"My lord, don't say too much to him. We still have 50,000 soldiers in Pengcheng and Xiapi. Even if we don't give them up, he can attack them if he has the ability."

Xiahou Yuan was also filled with righteous indignation.

"That's right, let him fight on his own."

"See how capable Liu Bei is. He dares to challenge the Lord like this."

Many generals were furious, but Cao Cao himself remained gloomy and silent.

Guo Jia looked at his expression and then stood up: "My lord, do you have this intention?"

Cao Cao looked at him and asked, "What do you think of Fengxiao?"

Guo Jia replied: "I think it is feasible."

"What? Guo Jia, please stop talking nonsense. We have conquered these two counties with great difficulty. How can we, the generals, be convinced by Liu Bei's words?"

Many generals spoke out against it, but Cao Cao ignored them and just kept asking, "Tell me your reasons."

"Yes." Guo Jia turned around and looked at generals including Xiahou Dun.

"I have four reasons. First, since Lujiang and Huainan were occupied by Sun Jian, the two counties of Xuzhou have no borders with our army, making them difficult to control. Although there are more than a million people and abundant resources, they can support tens of thousands of troops, but they are sandwiched between Sun and Liu. It is difficult to mobilize troops to participate in the battle in Yuzhou, and it is even more inconvenient to requisition food and grass to support them. They are like chicken ribs, tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Hong shouted, "So what? After we capture Luoyang, Liu Bei and Sun Jian will also be in our hands. At that time, the troops from Xuzhou will be there to support us from the rear. Then, the three states of Xu, Qing and Yang will be within our grasp. How can we say they are useless?"

"My second reason is exactly related to what General Cao Hong said. Please be patient."

After Guo Jia said this, Cao Hong and many generals temporarily suppressed their resentment and continued to listen to him.

"Secondly, we have formed an alliance among the three parties, but we have no choice but to do so temporarily because of Liu He's great power. In fact, the three parties have their own thoughts. General Cao Hong just said that after conquering Luoyang, our army will eliminate the other two families. This is indeed true, but how could Sun and Liu not have such plans? Leaving Pengcheng and Xiapi behind, once the allied forces turn against each other, these 50,000 soldiers and horses will not only be unable to help our army defeat the bandits, but will also become food in the mouths of Sun and Liu in an instant, and they will have no power to resist at all. Rather than letting them take away the army, food, and weapons for nothing, it is better to withdraw now and give up the city, so as to show the sincerity of our army in the alliance. Moreover, if used properly, these 50,000 soldiers and horses may have the effect of a surprise attack. If we can take the opportunity to recapture Yuzhou, wouldn't it be ten times more valuable than the two counties of Xuzhou?"

After hearing his reason, the generals looked at each other, unable to refute for a while.

Guo Jia smiled slightly and continued, "Third, this time Liu Bei used the excuse of unknown troops to repeatedly invade Donghai County. Although Sun Qian did not say it explicitly, he clearly suspected that our army had sent people to harass them, and there were many hidden meanings that accused our army of destroying the alliance. But they did not point it out, and we can't refute it. Whether this matter was Liu Bei's deliberate provocation or someone else was obstructing it, in short, if it is not resolved, the alliance between Liu Bei and us will be gone. A few days ago, he suddenly withdrew his troops from Taishan County for this reason."

"By giving the two counties to Liu Bei, we can not only completely clear this suspicion, but also free Liu Bei from all worries, so that he can focus on attacking Yanzhou. With his more than 100,000 troops in Yanzhou, I dare not say that Liu He cannot take care of both ends, but he will definitely be able to tie down a lot of his troops. In this way, when our army counterattacks, the chances of victory will naturally increase greatly."

"Fourth, my lord, you are serving the emperor to punish the disloyal ministers, and you regard Liu He as a usurper and traitor. Our army claims to be a righteous army. Giving up the city this time is an act of respecting the greater righteousness and giving up the small benefits. It is in line with the will of heaven and the people's hearts. It should win the hearts of scholars all over the world and the admiration of the people. Although Liu Bei has gained benefits for a while, he has lost the hearts of the people. When the alliance breaks down in the future, my lord can just use this as an excuse to say that when the alliance was formed, he secretly hindered and framed the allies with treacherous schemes to plot against the city. It was our army that took the overall situation into consideration and did not care about him. At that time, our army will march eastward to attack Liu Bei, and we will be a righteous army, and we will be invincible."

"Not only that, these two counties are located at the border of Sun and Liu. When needed in the future, you can grant the two counties to Sun Jian, thereby provoking a fight between the two families. Our army can just watch the fire from the other side of the river and profit from it."

"My humble opinion, please understand my lord."

After saying this, Guo Jia bowed and returned to his seat.

"Well, well said." Cao Cao slammed the table and said, "Feng Xiao's words are exactly what I want to say."

"My lord, this..." Xiahou Dun and others seemed a little unwilling.

"Yuan Rang, there is no need to say anything more." Cao Cao's face darkened, as if he remembered something: "The revenge for Cao Ang and the hatred for Yuzhou must be avenged. It is absolutely difficult for our army to defeat Liu He alone. For this great cause, why should we care about giving up just two counties? Where is Cheng Yu?"

"My subordinate is here."

"Go and inform Sun Qian that I will hold an afternoon banquet in my mansion tomorrow to welcome him, and we will discuss the cession of the city at that time."

"I obey my orders."

In the backyard of Ancheng County Government, Liu He sat in a pavilion, while Liu Zheng, Guan Ping, Cheng Yang and Zhuge Liang stood respectfully in front of him.

"Although the four of you sneaked out of Luoyang and came to Yuzhou without permission, you should have been punished, but considering your loyalty and bravery and your extraordinary achievements, I will not pursue you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhuge Liang and the other two bowed and kowtowed to express their gratitude, but Liu Zheng pursed his lips, looking reluctant.

"Why don't you just let us do this? The four of us brothers have made great contributions this time. Father has always been clear about rewards and punishments in his military management, so we should also be rewarded."

Liu He looked at his expression and scolded him with a smile: "You have been spoiled by your mother and grandmother since you were young, and you dare to talk back to your father. Okay, okay, even if what you said makes sense, what reward do you want?"

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up and he blurted out: "My child wants..."

He had barely said half of his words when Zhang Yong, Gao Shun and Xun You hurried over.

When Liu He saw their expressions, all of them looked somewhat solemn, he waved his hand to signal Liu Zheng to stop first, and then called the three men forward.

"I will bow to your Majesty."

"Stand up, what do you want to report?"

Xun You stepped forward and said, "We just received a report that Cao Cao gave the two counties of Xuzhou to Liu Bei. The 50,000 troops stationed in Xuzhou withdrew yesterday. However, this large army was divided into many small groups and sneaked into the mountains and fields, so it is difficult to find out where they went for the time being."

Liu He was slightly surprised, but then he laughed: "I didn't expect that Chen Gong's strategy, although it saved Yanzhou, also made the alliance between Cao Cao and Liu Bei more solid. They are indeed two heroes of the time, adapting to the situation. Humph, they are really hard to deal with."

Zhang Yong said, "I think we should take advantage of the fact that both of them are not yet firmly established, attack Cao Cao first, then Liu Bei, and finally attack from both north and south to annihilate Sun Jian. Although Cao Cao has built fortifications in Shenyang and set up camps outside the city to support each other, he is still outnumbered and the city is in ruins. With the strength of our army, we can break the city in three days with a full-scale attack."

After saying that, he looked at Liu Zheng again, and then added: "I am willing to take the head of Cao Cao for your majesty. But my army lacks brave generals who can charge into battle. In addition to my fifth brother, I also ask your majesty to transfer the eldest prince, Ping'er, and Yang'er to my army to serve."

Liu Zheng and the other three were delighted: "My son/nephew is willing to serve."

Liu He looked at them with a half-smile, shook his head and said, "No need for that. Fourth brother, your opinion is very reasonable, but it is precisely because this battle is so crucial that I will lead the army in person to be on the safe side."

Zhang Yong was a little disappointed when he heard this, but he didn't say much: "Your Majesty is wise, I will obey your order."

Xun You stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Liu Bei attacked Taishan County a few days ago, but withdrew his troops because of changes in Xuzhou. Now that he has captured Pengcheng and Xiapi counties, he will definitely attack Yanzhou again. We must be on guard. I think we should quickly send a general to reinforce Taishan County to prevent any unexpected events."

Liu He smiled mysteriously: "Don't worry, someone will naturally go to fight Liu Bei."

Alas, the number of chapters I owe is increasing. I am so upset. I don't know when I can finish them.
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(End of this chapter)