Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 204 Xing Daorong: Rebellion will lead to victory, and Yuan's army will surely be defeated!
"If you do not take what Heaven has given you, you will suffer the consequences!"

My mind is made up!

When passing through Nanyang, speed is better than slowness, and quality is more important than quantity.

I will personally lead the army, with Xiahou Yuan, Dian Wei, Xun You, Sima Yi, Cao Hong, Cao Ang, Cao Anmin and others accompanying me. I will select 30,000 elite troops from among the three armies to follow me to take Lujiang. I swear I will not turn back until I have captured Shouchun!

He also ordered Yu Jin and Li Dian to each lead 10,000 troops, and to conscript more auxiliary soldiers and laborers to create the illusion of a large army of tens of thousands, and to launch a feigned attack on the states of Liang and Chen.

I also sent Mi Heng with my letter to Liu Bei and Lü Bu to request aid for their lord in attacking Ji Ling.

After this arrangement was agreed upon, Cao Cao nodded slightly, "The rest, such as Cao Ren and Duan Wei, shall each lead their own troops to guard their respective areas carefully in case of unforeseen circumstances."

After I depart for war, all matters, large and small, in the court will be under Wenruo's command. You gentlemen must not make any mistakes.

Upon receiving this important responsibility, Xun Yu quickly bowed and said, "I will certainly live up to my lord's expectations."

The others obeyed orders, but Sima Yi, frowning in thought, still felt it was better to play it safe.

The current ingenious plan to bypass Nanyang and launch a surprise attack on Shouchun was devised by Xun You. If he goes along, he will not only be taking unnecessary risks, but he will also suffer the consequences if the battle is lost, and there will be little benefit even if the battle is won.

This is precisely the essential difference between Sima Yi and the strategists in Cao Cao's camp. Even if Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and others had their own selfish motives, their primary motivation was to improve and develop Cao Cao's camp before devising strategies.

But Sima Yi was different. When dealing with any matter, his first consideration was what the advantages and disadvantages would be for him, and how it would affect his long-term development.

At present, he has never done anything like risking being killed by his own troops by going deep behind enemy lines alone, which actually does not bring him much benefit.

Therefore, while everyone else obeyed orders, only Sima Yi stepped forward.

"Since Your Excellency does not follow my plan and prioritizes the affairs of Hanzhong, while using Xun You's ingenious schemes as a supplement, we might as well reverse the situation."

"As you have said, we should lead 30,000 elite troops in a surprise attack on Shouchun. However, we can also send a small force, led by Yi, to Hanzhong to plan for the future."

After speaking, seeing Cao Cao's unfathomable gaze and thoughtful expression, Sima Yi seized the opportunity to speak.

"In the second year of the Chuping era, Zhang Lu was appointed by Liu Yan, the governor of the state, and together with Zhang Xiu, a commander of another division, killed Su Gu, the governor of Hanzhong, and thus occupied Hanzhong."

In the first year of Xingping, Liu Yan died, and his son Liu Zhang was weak and incompetent. Zhang Lu then broke away from Liu Zhang, established the Five Pecks of Rice sect in Hanzhong, and called himself "Master Jun" to rule over a region.

Previously, Yi had contacted Ming Gong in order to carry out his grand plan to enter Shu, and that is why he sent him a letter.

This was because the imperial court had not yet officially appointed him as the governor of Hanzhong. Although Zhang Lu had taken control of Hanzhong, he was in power but not in name.

He is only feigning allegiance now in order to gain the title of Prefect of Hanzhong. In reality, he has long harbored rebellious intentions and is establishing his own independent regime. He betrayed Liu Zhang before, so how could he not betray us now?

He frequently confronted and fought against Liu Zhang's forces on the border, regarding Yizhou as something he could easily seize. He harbored ambitions of swallowing an elephant whole and of a subject devouring his master, making him a formidable and ruthless figure of his time.

Now that Your Excellency is leading a large army to fight Yuan Shu in the south, you can relax his guard.

Using a counter-strategy, Yi led a detachment, carrying the imperial edict appointing him as the General Who Pacifies the People and Governor of Hanzhong, and accepted tribute to appease him.

He feigned an alliance with him to jointly conquer Xichuan, but in reality, Yi secretly investigated the geography of Hanzhong and Yizhou, and persuaded loyal and insightful people in Hanzhong to quietly open up a passage for Ming Gong to enter Hanzhong.

At that time, with the momentum of your victory in conquering Shouchun and shaking the world, I will return, and with your support from within and without, we will lure you into Hanzhong, subdue Zhang Lu in one fell swoop, and then plan our advance into Yizhou.”

After Sima Yi finished presenting his plan, Cao Cao pondered for a long time, seemingly considering the advantages and disadvantages, before finally nodding in approval.

“Zhongda was a man of deep thought and foresight; what he was concerned about was the future.”

I will follow your plan. You will lead 5,000 troops into Hanzhong, receive an appointment from the imperial court, and form an alliance with him to enter Shu.

You might as well pretend to tell him that as long as he respects the emperor, pays tribute, and acknowledges his vassalage, he can be appointed as the governor of Yizhou once Xichuan is pacified.

In Cao Cao's mind, Sima Yi's detachment was not going to fight Zhang Lu, and too many people would easily arouse Zhang Lu's suspicion.

With 5,000 men in Hanzhong, they were easily underestimated by Zhang Lu, yet they possessed considerable fighting strength, which should have been enough for Sima Yi to plan for his future invasion of Shu.

However, to Cao Cao's surprise, at this moment, Sima Yi bowed and said to him:
"I need one more thing on my way to Hanzhong. Please grant me that, my lord."

"Tell me about it?"

The young man spoke clearly, and though he only uttered a few words, they were as chilling as Xun You's earlier phrase, "borrowing a path to Nanyang," which silenced the entire audience and sent shivers down their spines.

Just listen to him:

"To be on the safe side, please grant Liu Zhang the imperial edict to be promoted to King of Shu, in case of unforeseen circumstances!"

Everyone present was terrified and shocked!

Sima Yi, what are you trying to do? You just received the imperial edict appointing Zhang Lu as the governor of Hanzhong, and now you want the imperial edict appointing Liu Zhang as the king of Shu?

Are you crazy? Are you really going to join forces with Zhang Lu to attack Liu Zhang?
"Just in case"? What kind of "unforeseen event" are you talking about?

Were you afraid that Zhang Lu was an arrogant and rude man who would dare to kill the imperial envoy? Or were you afraid that Zhang Lu would discover your secret plans in Hanzhong, and that you could simply switch sides and run to Yizhou to save your life?

"Considering defeat before victory"—is that how you use this phrase? Are you afraid that Liu Zhang won't protect you, so you'll just throw the imperial edict appointing you King of Shu at him and knock him unconscious?
Isn't this a bit too cautious?!
Even Cao Cao stared at him with a meaningful look in his eyes, "Promote yourself to the title of King of Shu? Zhongda, do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know."

Sima Yi smiled faintly, seemingly confident of success.

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu sacrificed a white horse to establish an alliance with the world, swearing: 'Anyone who is not of the Liu surname and becomes king shall be attacked by all under heaven.'"

Liu Zhang of Yizhou is a member of the Han imperial family. He is the son of Liu Yan and a cousin of His Majesty.

He was granted the title of King of Shu for two reasons: firstly, it did not violate the White Horse Covenant of Emperor Taizu; secondly, in this chaotic world where the world is in disarray, although he does not have the title of king, he already has the substance of a king and has developed the desire to be a king.

Rather than waiting for them to claim the title of king themselves, where the title of king no longer carries any honor or high position, it would be better to first enfeoff Liu Zhang, this weak and incompetent man, so that you may use him to plot your ambitions for the territory of Yizhou.

Furthermore, Yi requested this edict only as a precaution; he would not have used it unless there was a truly unavoidable situation.

Upon hearing Sima Yi's words, I recalled our first meeting, when he wrote the essay about taking Yizhou and connecting Guanzhong, thus establishing the Qin and Gaozu dynasties!

Cao Cao rubbed his temples, pondered for a long time, and nodded, saying:

“I will request this edict from His Majesty. Zhongda should use it with caution.”

"I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's kindness and will certainly not fail you."

Lingling, the seat of the prefecture is Quanling.

After Sun Quan led his troops to escort Kuai Yue out of Changsha, whenever Yuan's army tried to block their escape, Sun Quan and his troops repelled them.

Along the way, Kuai Yue often tested Sun Quan to see if he was truly capable or just all show and no substance.

Unexpectedly, Sun Quan inherited the talents of his father and brother, was well-read, and was proficient in all military strategies and tactics.

Whenever Kuai Yue asked about profound matters, Sun Quan answered fluently, often offering unique insights that ordinary people would not have thought of.

Although these "unique" insights had never been put into practice, Kuai Yue was greatly surprised by Sun Quan's confident and eloquent explanations. Moreover, seeing that Sun Quan had blue eyes and a purple beard, he was no ordinary person. Kuai Yue secretly considered taking him as a student and began to take him by his side and teach him carefully every day. Unexpectedly, Sun Quan was able to apply what he learned to other situations and his learning progress far exceeded that of ordinary people, which greatly pleased Kuai Yue.

Not long after, Kuai Yue and Sun Quan heard that Liu Pan, a young master, had led an army of 50,000 and joined forces with General Xing Daorong's 10,000 men in Quanling, the capital of Lingling County. They were recruiting soldiers in Quanling County and were determined to strangle Yuan Shu's army at the Lingling line.

Upon hearing this, the two hurriedly led their troops to join forces. By the time they arrived in the city, Quanling had already gathered a total of 70,000 troops, confronting Yuan Shu's more than 60,000 troops who were about to arrive.

Upon hearing that Kuai Liang, an important figure in the Battle of Changsha, had arrived, everyone hurriedly led him and Sun Quan's group of high-ranking officers into the council hall to discuss important matters.

In the main hall of Quanling County, a burly, robust man sat at the head of the table, his chin held high, looking down on everyone present with disdain.

On either side of him, Liu Pan sat to the left and Cai Mao to the right, and the others sat in order, scrutinizing Kuai Yue and the others who slowly walked in.

Cai Mao, who had always fought with Kuai Yue in front of Liu Biao, looked at him with a mocking expression and asked the question knowing the answer.

"Mr. Kuai, the lord orders you to go to Changsha, persuade Huang Zhong to defect, and subdue the counties of Changsha."

Instead of staying put in Changsha, why did you run away? Did you disregard the lord's orders, and upon hearing of the Yuan army's massive attack, flee in fear of the enemy?

Before Kuai Yue could answer, the generals and officers who had fought alongside Sun Quan in the bloody battles eagerly rushed to reply.

"Fear of the enemy and cowardice in battle? General Sun led us and treated tens of thousands of Yuan troops as nothing, moving freely without encountering a single enemy. How can you say he was cowardly in battle?"

"That's right, Yuan's offensive is fierce, and his troops are far more powerful than the weak county soldiers you bullied in Lingling."

"If Huang Zhong hadn't been incompetent, enjoying great fame in vain and exhausting his army, General Sun would have been appointed as general long ago. How could Changsha have been captured by Yuan's army in just one day?"

Listening to the enemy intelligence reports brought back by the officers and soldiers at the front, everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.

"Breaking the city in a single day? Impossible!"

"Huang Zhong is no ordinary man either. He commands 20,000 troops and defends a fortified city. Why is he in such a predicament?"

"Is Yuan's army truly so ruthless? Invincible in every attack and victory in every battle, how can we possibly resist them?"

On the other side, Liu Pan heard another meaning in these words about the ferocity of Yuan's army's offensive, which Huang Zhong could not match.

His gaze fell on the unfamiliar young man in the room who seemed out of place among the crowd. Seeing his unusual appearance with blue eyes and purple beard, he became more cautious and carefully asked the question.

"Are you the General Sun they're talking about? Is it you who led their remaining troops through the encirclement of tens of thousands of Yuan soldiers and escaped to this place?"

Upon seeing this, Kuai Yue quickly introduced him, "Young Master Pan, this is the son of Sun Wentai, the fierce tiger of Jiangdong. He is the second son of the Sun family, named Quan, courtesy name Zhongmou."

His military tactics were quite unique, deeply inheriting his father's style.

The reason Yue was able to escape the encirclement and reunite with Young Master Pan was entirely due to his divine military prowess. His predictions of Yuan's army's moves were always accurate; his foresight was like that of a military genius reborn.

As Kuai Yue spoke, he recounted in detail how Sun Quan was captured and surrendered, how he displayed great righteousness, how he won consecutive battles, and how he led his troops to rescue him, among other things, big and small.

"Oh?"

Liu Pan was very surprised to hear this and sighed, "As the saying goes, a tiger father begets no dog son. I also know that Sun Wentai is known as the Tiger of Jiangdong. He is indeed a hero of his time."

Unexpectedly, he had two sons, one of whom was adopted by Yuan Shu and was known as the Little Conqueror.

"A man who understands righteousness and the greater good, who abandoned darkness for light, and who submitted to my father, and who even deserves Mr. Kuai's title of 'Little Soldier Immortal,' is truly no ordinary person."

Having said that, he lowered his eyes to look at Sun Quan and said to him:
"Now you may come under my command, and I will appoint you as a subordinate general. What do you say?"

Upon seeing this, Sun Quan did not hesitate and bowed with his hands clasped.

"I recently heard that my elder brother has recognized a traitor as his father and adopted Yuan Shu as his son."

"I am willing to serve under you, General, with only the desire to destroy Yuan Shu and capture and kill that ungrateful and fatherless man. I will not return until the victory is achieved!"

"What ambition! The Yuan army's reputation is too great in this battle, and we need someone like you, Zhongmou, who is not afraid of the Yuan camp."

Liu Pan patted him heavily on the shoulder, gesturing for him to stand behind him. Sun Quan saw this and turned to look at Kuai Yue.

Kuai Yue nodded. “Go. I have lost Changsha and am now guilty. I will have something to say to my lord when I return to Xiangyang.”

"You don't need to worry about me. Young Master Tongpan guarding Lingling is already a great achievement."

Upon hearing Liu Pan's words, Cai Mao couldn't help but sneer.

"Although Yuan Jun's reputation is great, our army is no longer what it used to be!"

He pointed to the fat, strong man above him and said, "Our General Xing is a brave general who can fight against ten thousand men!"

"We have assembled an army of 70,000 here. As long as General Xing is willing to fight to the death, Yuan Shu will undoubtedly be defeated. What is there to fear?"

Upon hearing this, Xing Daorong laughed loudly, “General Cai, you flatter me. To defeat Yuan’s army, I alone cannot do it. We need everyone to work together with me.”

As he spoke, he glanced disdainfully at the soldiers who had fled from Changsha, who kept praising how powerful Yuan's army was and how they had broken through Huang Zhong's defenses in a single day.

"You have just withdrawn, and you will stay here with General Liu Pan to guard this city."

I recently heard that Yuan Shu's vanguard of three thousand men is in hot pursuit and has reached within twenty miles of the city.

I figured they were exhausted from their long march, while our army was well-rested and in high spirits.

Today, while they are still establishing their foothold, I will lead ten thousand men out of the city to break through their vanguard and crush their morale.

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Quan, who had just stood behind Liu Pan, raised an eyebrow and offered some words of advice.

"General Xing, Yuan Shu is no fool."

Having served in Yuan's camp for a long time, I know that his favorite tactic is to send three thousand vanguard soldiers as bait in front of the main army, so that they can hold out for only a short while before the main army arrives in no time.

However, he has already used this tactic several times, and so far no one has fallen for it. General, please think carefully and lest you become the first to fall for it.

To everyone's surprise, Xing Daorong was delighted instead of surprised when he heard this!

"If that is the case, then I can take them by surprise."

He has used this tactic for a long time, but it has not succeeded yet, which clearly shows that he has become careless.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I suddenly attacked. By the time he recovered and led his army to catch up, I had already wiped out his vanguard and left without a trace.

This is what is meant by "turning adversity into advantage," or "using a plan against a plan!"

With that, he ordered his soldiers to fetch a large axe and stepped out of the city.

"Don't panic, everyone. With this pear blossom axe in my hand, my mere three thousand vanguard will suffer a crushing defeat before his main force arrives to reinforce us!"

(End of this chapter)