Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 115 The situation suddenly changes, Zhang Miao, Lu Bu and Guo Gong jointly attack Cao!

In mid-August of the fourth year of Chuping (193 AD), the land of Yanzhou, which had been peaceful for less than a year, suddenly changed again.

Chenliu Prefect Zhang Miao joined forces with General Fenwu and Marquis Wen Lu Bu, and sent troops from Chenliu. The troops were divided into two groups and attacked Jiyin County and Dong County in Yanzhou respectively.

Lu Bu personally led an army of 5,000 troops northward and headed straight for Puyang.

Wherever the army passed, the people panicked and fled with their families.

The county officials surrendered without any resistance.

Lu Bu's army was like entering an empty land, and wherever they went, they were easily captured.

Zhang Miao was not to be outdone. He sent 30,000 troops eastward to attack Jiyin and Dingtao. His troops were powerful and unstoppable.

The two armies were like two black dragons, winding and converging on the land of Yanzhou, and wherever they passed, there was a bloody storm.

At the same time, Yanzhou celebrities Chen Gong and Zhang Miao spread the news that Cao Cao was treacherous, forced the celebrity Bian Rang to leave, suppressed Yanzhou scholars, and caused chaos in Yanzhou and the people to suffer.

They called on everyone to rise up against Cao Cao and restore peace to Yanzhou.

Inside Yanzhou, those nobles and gentry who were dissatisfied with Cao Cao had already harbored rebellious ambitions and were ready to make a move.

At this moment, Lu Bu and Zhang Miao jointly attacked Yanzhou and rose up in rebellion.

They opened the city gates to welcome Lu Bu's army, provided them with soldiers, armor, food and supplies, and cheered for them.

With the support of these people, Lu Bu's power grew rapidly like a snowball.

The army, which originally had only 5,000 people, arrived at the city of Puyang with almost no effort, and its strength expanded to 20,000.

Even Li Zheng of the Dongjun Cheng clan, who had been the first to defect to Cao Cao, announced that he would lead the officials and people of Dongwuyang to join Lu Bu!
At one time, nearly half of the counties in Yanzhou fell into the hands of Lu Bu and Zhang Miao. Their sphere of influence expanded rapidly, and they seemed to be ready to take the entire Yanzhou into their pockets.

The situation in Yanzhou, which Cao Cao had painstakingly managed, was turned upside down in this short period of time.

Of course, Li Zheng’s surrender was fake.

He was instructed by Cao Yan and others to pretend to surrender to Lu Bu in order to preserve the people's livelihood and economy in Dongwuyang.

At the same time, it can also paralyze Lu Bu and Zhang Miao, making them develop an arrogant mentality of "winning is certain".

At the same time, facing Zhang Miao's 30,000-strong army, Dingtao Prefect Yuan Xu was panicked.

You have to know that Zhang Miao and Yuan Shao were practically sworn enemies, and Yuan Xu, a member of the Yuan family, had long been at odds with Zhang Miao. Therefore, at the outset of the battle, Zhang Miao took the brunt of the attack, targeting Yuan Xu.

Yuan Xu knew that his life would be in danger if he fell into Zhang Miao's hands, so he abandoned the city and fled. Zhang Miao occupied the entire Jiyin County with almost no effort.

To make matters worse for the Cao family of Yanzhou, Yuzhou Governor Guo Gong also led an army of 50,000 and joined forces with Lu Bu and Zhang Miao to march north from Liang State to attack Shanyang County!
The three forces joined forces to attack Cao together. For a time, the whole world was shaken.

The princes from all over the country were paying close attention to the situation in Yanzhou.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Yanzhou were worried.

I don’t know what kind of disaster this war will bring to them.

……

Juancheng, in the Prefectural Mufu.

Cao Yan, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, Xiahou Lan, Wei Zhen and others were all present, and Dian Wei was still responsible for guarding the gate.

In the lobby, Cao Yan sat in the middle with a stern expression.

Xun Yu said slowly, "Everyone in the world believes that when you went to Xuzhou this time, you took almost all of your troops with you. Yanzhou was left empty, and Lü Bu and Zhang Miao took advantage of the opportunity to launch an attack, thus successfully taking Dongjun and Jiyin counties.

However, although we had anticipated this, we did not expect them to come with such ferocity, and that the number of nobles and gentry responding to them was even greater than what was recorded..."

Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia said with shame on their faces: "It's because we didn't gather enough intelligence..."

Cao Yan shook his head and said, "The Secret Service Three Guards have only been established for three months. It's not easy for them to achieve this level."

Xun Yu also consoled him, saying, "The situation in Yanzhou is complex, and people's hearts are hard to predict. The nobles and gentry have always been vacillating, and many have switched sides at the last minute, making it difficult to fully grasp their situation."

Cao Yan then asked, "Have you started implementing your plan to sow discord?"

Speaking of the strategy of sowing discord, Guo Jia finally smiled and said, "It's already begun. I estimate that the letter has reached Lu Bu by now!" Xi Zhicai also said, "Spies in various places are ready. Lu Bu's every move is now under our control!"

Cao Yan glanced at everyone in the hall, then stood up and bowed, saying, "I've already written to my eldest brother. He will return to support us as soon as he has dealt with all the affairs in Xuzhou. But during the next two months, we will need to work together to protect our homeland!"

Everyone stood up, including Zhuge Liang, who held no official position, and bowed in return, saying, "I wish to live and die with Yanzhou!"

……

At the same time, in Puyang City, inside the government office.

Lu Bu pulled a letter from his bosom and handed it to Chen Gong, saying, "Sir, please take a look. This is the letter I brought back from Chenliu. It is a secret letter between Zhang Miao and Cao Cao!"

The secret letter was written on Cao's new paper. At present, only people within Yanzhou could be so "luxurious" as to use Cao's new paper to convey messages.

Chen Gong took the letter in surprise, and the moment he opened it, his face instantly became gloomy.

The text in this letter has been altered so many times that it is no longer clear what the original text said.

I could only vaguely see a few words, such as "lure", "wait for an opportunity", "catch a turtle in a jar", etc...

This letter was forged by Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai and others. The letter implied that Zhang Miao used a self-torture trick and colluded with Cao Cao in an attempt to lure Lu Bu's lone army deep into Yanzhou and catch him in a trap.

When Lu Bu received this letter from Wei Xu, he had many doubts in his mind.

However, a great war was about to begin, and it was not appropriate to create conflict at this time, so Lu Bu kept the letter for the time being.

Now, Lu Bu has taken over most of Dongjun, and even the Dongjun Li family who were the first to support Cao Cao have joined him. Lu Bu, who feels confident enough, took out the letter to show Chen Gong.

After reading the letter, Chen Gong said with a hint of urgency in his tone, "My lord, this is Cao Cao's plan to sow discord. Don't trust it.

Zhang Miao and Cao Cao's brother Cao Yan had long been at odds with each other, and Cao Cao had been eyeing Chenliu for a long time. The conflict between them had long been irreconcilable.

This time Zhang Miao and you, my lord, have joined forces to fight a desperate battle. How could he be secretly communicating with Cao Cao?

"I'm sure Cao Cao, seeing the strength of our army, is afraid and has resorted to such a despicable strategy of sowing discord!"

Lü Bu frowned and said, "Gongtai, I know this letter might be a fraud, but Zhang Miao is a person who is difficult to trust completely.

He had been friends with Cao Cao for many years and they were as close as brothers, yet he still managed to rebel again and again.

How can you guarantee, sir, that Zhang Miao won't rebel against you and me?"

"This..." Chen Gong was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to defend himself.

When Yuan Shu attacked Yanzhou, Zhang Miao was persuaded by Chen Gong to let Yuan Shu enter Yanzhou.

After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shu, he showed mercy and spared Zhang Miao.

However, Zhang Miao was not only ungrateful, but also joined forces with him to intensify his actions and directly launched an attack on Cao Cao's counties.

To be honest, no one would look down on Zhang Miao's despicable behavior. If he were not still useful, Chen Gong would not even look at him.

But at this critical moment, the coalition forces cannot fight among themselves, otherwise once Cao's army recovers, all preparations and ambitions will be in vain.

Chen Gong hurriedly advised, "My lord, please calm down.

Our army is now unstoppable and is about to capture Yanzhou. We must not break up with Zhang Miao because of a letter of unknown origin.

Besides, even if Zhang Miao really has second thoughts, he is far away in Dingtao and does not pose much threat to us for the time being.

As long as we capture Juancheng and take control of the families of Cao's soldiers, Cao's army will collapse without a fight, and we can then settle accounts with Zhang Miao."

After hearing what Chen Gong said, Lu Bu's doubts were slightly alleviated, but they were still not completely dispelled.

He said to Chen Gong, "What Gongtai said is not without reason. Let's not pursue this matter for now. However, we must pay more attention to Zhang Miao from now on."

"My lord, you are wise." Chen Gong breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)