Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 81: Can't Beat and Still Look Down on

Lu Bu galloped on his horse and headed straight for Cao Cao.

All the generals of Cao's army have already rushed forward, but even with their combined strength they are still unable to stop Lu Bu.

Seeing this, Dian Wei hurriedly snatched the reins from Cao Cao's hands and pulled the horse back.

Cao Cao saw that Lu Bu was still chasing him, so he jumped off the horse and hid behind Dian Wei to escape.

No one in Cao's army had expected that Lu Bu would not only dare to come out of the city to fight, but also charge directly at them, and they were immediately thrown into disarray.

Wei Xiaobao originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape by taking advantage of the situation, but Jueying was unable to move freely in the chaotic army, and was soon caught up by Cao Cao and others.

Seeing Cao Cao running towards him, Wei Xiaobao laughed inwardly, "You were just boasting, old man, how come you're in such a mess now? But it's okay this time. The next time you run into Ma Chao, you'll run so hard that your beard will be gone."

Wei Xiaobao remembered the story he had heard in the teahouse about Cao Cao being chased by Ma Chao and having to abandon his robe and cut off his beard. He happened to see Cao Cao's beard being blown by the wind and could not help laughing on horseback.

Cao Cao was only thinking about escaping, so he didn't care about Wei Xiaobao mocking him.

Guo Jia supported Cao Cao and said, "Lü Bu is no longer pursuing us. My lord, please mount your horse quickly."

Wei Xiaobao looked towards Puyang City and saw that Lü Bu had indeed pulled the reins and led his men in shouting, "Cao Cao has fallen off his horse! Cao Cao has fallen off his horse!"

Wei Xiaobao found it funny and thought to himself, "Lü Bu couldn't think of such a way to insult Cao Cao. It must have been that bad idea of ​​that fellow named Chen Gong."

Wei Xiaobao wanted to see what Chen Gong looked like, but saw a familiar figure next to Lu Bu.

The man was carrying Lu Bu's Fang Tian Hua Ji and shouting loudly along with Lu Bu.

Wei Xiaobao tightened his stirrups, straightened up, and saw clearly that the man was Tang Zhou. He cursed in his heart, "This little turtle bastard actually defected to Lu Bu and became Lu Bu's sword-carrying soldier. Zhou Cang, who carried the sword for my second brother, can be considered a hero. The one who carried the sword for you, Lu Bu, can only be a dead eunuch without balls."

Cao Cao, already mounted, heard the shouts from Lü Bu's army behind him and said through gritted teeth, "I would be a fool if I didn't kill Lü Bu!"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "You old fellow are so stingy. I will never dare to laugh at you again."

Guo Jia said, "My lord, the morale of our army and Lü Bu's army is declining. We should not attack again at this time. Should we return to Juancheng to rest and regroup before making any plans?"

Although Cao Cao was filled with anger and had nowhere to vent, he could only follow Guo Jia's advice, nodded and said, "Return to Juancheng."

When Cao Cao returned to Juancheng, he received bad news that Cheng Yu, whom he had arranged to collect grain, had not purchased enough food.

Wei Xiaobao also heard something that made his scalp tingle. Cheng Yu was worried that there would not be enough food and grass, so he allowed his soldiers to rob the people of their food, and even dried the people who had starved to death into jerky to replace the military rations.

Wei Xiaobao remembered that when he was in Situ Mansion, Wang Yun invited him to drink, but he had dried meat to go with the wine. His stomach churned for a moment, and he vomited continuously outside Cao Cao's military tent.

Cao Cao also knew that Yanzhou was hit by a locust plague, so he scolded Cheng Yu a few words and did not pursue the matter of his failure to collect grain.

Dian Wei stood behind Wei Xiaobao, patting his back and asking, "Sir, you are vomiting non-stop. Did you eat something bad?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself: "There must be nothing wrong with the dried meat that Wang Yun gave me to eat, but you can't eat the dried meat in your military camp anymore." Wei Xiaobao vomited again when he thought of the dried meat.

Dian Wei waited until he finished vomiting before saying, "Sir, the lord invites you into the tent."

Seeing Wei Xiaobao coming in, Cao Cao said, "Sir, the army is short of food and fodder. Fengxiao suggests we retreat to Chenliu first. What do you think?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "When my godfather attacked Guangzong, he was framed by two bastards, Zuo Feng and Tang Zhou, because of the issue of military rations. Without food, people were starving to death, and you still want to grab a big watermelon! You can't let me follow you here and eat that shit, right? I can see my wife when I get to Chenliu."

Wei Xiaobao wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "Then don't wait any longer, let's go!"

As Cao's army rushed back to Chenliu, everyone was dejected, except Wei Xiaobao, who was in high spirits because he had received news from Guo Jia that Shuang'er and others had settled down in Chenliu and were waiting for him.

At the Chenliu prefectural governor's mansion, Cao Cao gathered with his advisers and generals, and Wei Xiaobao was also arranged to sit above Guo Jia.

Cao Cao spoke first: "I didn't expect Lu Bu's cavalry to be so powerful. Even the Qingzhou soldiers couldn't stop him."

Wei Xiaobao hurried to see Shuang'er and Diao Chan, cursing in his heart, "If you hadn't underestimated the enemy, you wouldn't have been chased by Lu Bu like a dog, yes, a dog without a home."

Guo Jia said, "Cavalry is tall and powerful, and their speed far surpasses that of infantry, making them a natural counterforce. When we besieged Puyang, we were only focused on breaking the city, and didn't prepare for Lü Bu's attack. That's why he was able to succeed by surprise."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I'm the Manchu commander of the Plain Yellow Banner of the Cavalry Battalion, so I know everything about cavalry. If you had a red-coated cannon like Xiao Xuanzi, you could just bombard Puyang City with it, and Lü Bu and Lü Chouzi would all be turned into rotten ghosts like those followers of the Shenlong Cult. You couldn't defeat Lü Bu, and when you were trying to escape, you surrounded my horse, preventing me from escaping. I can't see my good wife Shuang'er and my beautiful wife Diao Chan, and I can only sit here and listen to your nonsense."

Cao Cao looked at Wei Xiaobao and asked, "Sir, do you have any ideas for defeating the cavalry?"

Wei Xiaobao was lost in thought when he heard Cao Cao's question. He casually said, "If the horse can't run any more, then it won't be as powerful anymore, right?"

Wei Xiaobao's original intention was to blame and mock Cao Cao, but this sentence reminded Guo Jia.

Guo Jia said, "Sir, this is a brilliant plan. If the infantry can form a battle formation and use items like chevaux de frise, tripwires, and caltrops, we can limit the cavalry's mobility to the greatest extent possible. Then, if we use archers to attack from a distance, we can defeat the cavalry."

Cao Cao was overjoyed and quickly issued an order, ordering the army to prepare items such as chevaux de frise, tripwires, and caltrops from that day on. He also ordered Xiahou Dun's cousin Xiahou Yuan to train archers day and night.

After everything was arranged, Cao Cao clasped his fists towards Wei Xiaobao and said, "Sir, you are indeed my savior. Even if Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan and others come to attack us in the future, we will no longer be afraid of their cavalry."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I've unintentionally helped you out a lot again. Just don't get angry and deny it later, old man."

Guo Jia said, "I am willing to share the burden of the infantry's battle formation training with you, my lord."

Cao Cao laughed heartily and said, "Thinking back then, I, Cao Cao, had nowhere to go when I fled Luoyang alone. Now, I have you, my lord, and Feng Xiao to guide my military strategy. Cheng Yu and Cheng Zhongde are in charge of transporting grain and grass. Xun Yu and Xun Wenruo are in charge of governing the prefectures and counties. I also have generals like Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Yu Jin. Heaven has truly been kind to me!"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Wouldn't you still be chased by Lu Bu and have to flee? You have such a huge family business now, but Brother Liu Bei is no match for us brothers. Now Brother Zhao Yun has returned to Youzhou, and I'm stuck with you. In the end, wouldn't we still share the world with you in three ways? I wonder how Sun Quan is doing now. Maybe he's as wealthy as Cao Cao. But I remember that Sun Ce was still alive when Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, so Sun Quan can't be the head of the family yet."

Cao Cao sighed and said, "It's a pity that despite my vast army and numerous generals, I can't even capture a tiny city like Puyang. It's a shame that no one in my army is skilled in siege engines. Otherwise, how could a frontier brat like Lu Bu capture the important city of Puyang in our Central Plains?"

Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Damn it! Just because you, the Cao family, are rich and powerful, you look down on us poor outsiders? I'm just a small-time hoodlum from Yangzhou, and you still call me sir and flatter me."

(End of this chapter)