Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1034: Burning Peach Forest
In Liu Bei's camp thirty or forty miles away, people were stunned after hearing the news that had just been reported.

"Your Majesty, have you fallen into a trap?"

Liu Bei seemed a little unbelievable.

Zhang Fei pursed his lips, his face not without worry: "Oh my, this is a headache. I have always felt that the emperor is a good man. In the whole world, only you are worthy of being his opponent. What is Cao Cao? He is the descendant of a filthy eunuch. If he really allowed him to enter Luoyang and conquer the world, wouldn't it be laughable? Big brother, I will fight to save the emperor."

Tian Feng also twisted his beard and said, "We are marching here in the name of clearing the emperor's side. If Cao Cao takes all the credit, after he seizes Hulao Pass and Luoyang City, he will definitely cut off the foundation of our lord. This is definitely not what we want. It would be better to let the three generals pretend to be bandits and lead the troops to intercept Cao's army from the flank."

Liu Bei did not say anything, but looked at Shen Pei. Seeing this, Shen Pei also spoke immediately.

"My lord, our army is far inferior to the imperial court. If we want to win, we can only wait until the imperial court and Cao Cao are both defeated, and then we can reap the benefits. Now Cao's army has only suffered a minor setback, and its vitality is intact. Therefore, we must not sit back and watch them achieve great success, otherwise the day of my lord's demise is not far away. My opinion is the same as Yuan Hao's. We can neither help Cao Cao destroy the imperial court, nor help the imperial court destroy Cao Cao. When Cao Cao was defeated in the battle during the day, our army would naturally help him to prevent him from being killed by Your Majesty. Now that the imperial court has shown its defeat, the same applies."

"I agree with what you two gentlemen said. Now that the war has just begun, it is not yet time to decide the outcome."

Chen Deng also echoed the comment.

However, even though the three military advisors spoke in unison, Liu Bei remained calm and had no intention of giving the order to attack.

"Brother, are you still worried about something?"

Liu Bei looked forward, as if he was trying to see into the distance through the darkness.

"Do you think Cao Cao's strategy and trap tonight are smart?"

Everyone looked at each other, and finally said in unison: "Of course not."

Liu Bei asked again: "Then can your Majesty be considered a stupid person?"

Several people shook their heads: "Of course not. Your Majesty is intelligent, wise and brave, and you have Xun Yu, Xun You, Cui Jun and many other top wise men to assist you."

"If that's the case, why did Your Majesty fall into such an ordinary trap?"

Liu Bei's question stunned everyone present.

"Perhaps...Perhaps he was anxious for the moment and wanted to win as quickly as possible in front of the Western Regions envoys, so as to show off his power to the foreign nations?"

Jiang Huan himself spoke with some uncertainty.

However, Liu Bei immediately denied this statement in a very affirmative tone.

"Absolutely not. There are still six or seven days before the Western Region envoys return with their letters of credence. Given your majesty's character, you will never be in a hurry to win a complete victory overnight. Moreover, in today's battle at Hulao Pass, your majesty has the upper hand, which is enough to open the eyes of these envoys from foreign countries and make them sincerely convinced. Since the goal has been achieved, why take such a risk?"

After he said this, Jiang Huan and others seemed to understand.

"Brother means..."

Liu Bei sneered: "I dare to assert that Cao Cao will be defeated tonight. Our army should prepare for a bloody battle tomorrow."

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up immediately and he slapped his thigh: "Haha, big brother is right, it will definitely be good. I will go prepare it right away."

After saying this, he ran out of the general's tent with all his strength.

Cao Cao personally led his army to hunt down Liu He, and they chased him all the way until a faint glow of light appeared in the east.

With the help of moonlight, Cao Cao managed to get a good look at the terrain ahead.

"There seems to be a forest ahead?"

Xiahou Yuan replied: "Yes, this place is about ten miles southeast of Hulao Pass. The forest in front is called Taolin. There are many peach trees in the forest. It is also a beautiful scenery in spring."

"Peach Forest..." Cao Cao looked thoughtful. While he was thinking about something, Liu He had already led the defeated soldiers into the forest.

Cao Cao ordered from the beginning that Liu He must be captured alive or killed. Naturally, these tens of thousands of soldiers would not stop there and all rushed in without hesitation.

"My lord, something is wrong..." Jia Xu was the first to become alert.

Cao Cao seemed to have noticed something, and after hearing what he said, he immediately said, "I also have a vague feeling that something is not right, but I don't know where it comes from."

Jia Xu pointed to the Han army that was fleeing in panic in front of him and said, "My lord, think carefully, how do the enemy soldiers compare to ours in terms of physical fitness and war horses?"

Cao Cao seemed reluctant to face this problem, but he did not escape it in the end.

"The armies under Liu He are extremely strict in recruiting and training soldiers, and they are the best of the best. Especially the food supply in the army is unprecedented. They have to run thirty miles with heavy loads every day, and they are supplied with meat every day. The physical fitness of the soldiers is far better than our army, and the war horses are more than one level better than ours."

"That's it. If that's the case, after they abandoned their baggage, with Cheng Liang, Zhang He, Zhu Ye, and Zhao Yun guarding the rear and holding back our army, it shouldn't be difficult for Liu He to get away from our army. Why couldn't he get away even after being chased by our army for nearly two hours?"

"hiss……"

Cao Cao seemed to have thought of something terrible.

He looked around at the peach forest that stretched for more than ten miles. In this autumn day, all the trees had withered branches.

After seeing the dead branches and leaves all over the ground, Cao Cao suddenly showed a look of horror.

"Could it be... Could it be... Oh no, I've fallen into a trap!"

He hurriedly shouted loudly: "Quick, order the troops to withdraw... withdraw quickly..."

However, at this moment, flashes of fire suddenly appeared in all directions of the peach forest.

"Hahahaha... Cao thief, do you like this gift from me?"

Liu He rode out from the "defeated army" and looked at Cao Cao from afar.

Cao Cao looked around and saw teams of soldiers led by Zhang Yong himself, holding torches. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded them.

"This peach forest is a rare beauty outside Hulao Pass. Giving it to Meng De as a burial place won't be considered an insult to you, right?"

When Cao Cao heard this and looked at Liu He's expression, he almost gritted his teeth.

At this moment, he understood everything.

"Good, good, good trick. On the surface, you used Zhao Yun as bait, but in fact, you used yourself as bait to lure me out of the camp. Who in the world would believe that the emperor would take risks in person? If Cao is right, then the generals Guan Yu, Gao Shun and others who have not yet appeared must be attacking our camp fiercely, right?"

Liu He smiled and said, "Lord Cao is very smart and has never failed. However, you are wrong about one thing. Why do you need my second brother and Bo Ping to fight against a mere Cao Ren? The one who is attacking your camp is only Gao Shun. What doubts do you have? I have always been lenient to those who are about to die."

Cao Cao sneered a few times, then suddenly thought of something, his face darkened: "I guess you also deliberately asked Zhao Yun to take care of the death of my nephew Anmin?"

Liu He seemed a little surprised. "I didn't expect that Lord Cao could guess this? That's right. With your great talent and strategy, Mengde, I may not be able to trick you with just this bait. However, with the lives of Cao Ang and Cao Shu at stake, I think your anger must be enough to scatter your remaining rationality, right? Cao Shu is such an idiot, he doesn't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. Seeing that Zhao Yun was the only one who invaded the camp, how could he not want to share the credit? As long as I kill him, humph, I won't be afraid that you, Cao Mengde, will not fall into the trap."

When Cao Cao heard this, his face became extremely dejected.

"Well, today, Cao is finally convinced by you, Liu He."

"Haha, thank you Meng De for your praise. In that case, I will personally send Meng De off here."

After saying this, he waved his hand, and the many soldiers around him who were holding torches and various baggage threw out heavy objects in their hands, such as chevaux de frise, carts, etc., to block the road. Then, one torch after another shot up into the sky and fell into the peach forest.

(End of this chapter)