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

Chapter 98 It’s all here
After hearing Guan Yu's words, Liu Bei pondered for a long time before slowly speaking.

"What my second brother said may be reasonable, but to confine oneself to the city and entrust one's fate to others is not the mark of a hero."

People like Cao Cao and Lü Bu might come to our aid for their own benefit or for the sake of the general trend of the world.

But we ourselves should also strive forward, and never give up easily in order to find a way to survive.

How can we, now, because of the strength of Yuan's army, cower in the face of deep trenches and high walls, and sit idly by in the city awaiting our doom, hoping for any possible rescue from the other warlords?

Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu with unwavering determination, just as he had when they first met.

"My mind is made up. Now I will follow Mr. Sun’s advice and take advantage of the fact that Yuan’s army’s deep trenches and high walls are newly built and not yet completed, and lead the whole army to break out of the encirclement at all costs!"
"Second brother, would you be willing to help me?"

"My body is my elder brother's body, and my life is my elder brother's life."

But if there is an order, how dare I disobey!

Although Guan Yu valued his elder brother's military strength and hoped to hold the city and wait for an opportunity, he believed that if reinforcements came, they could break through the siege and escape safely.

But as Liu Bei said, the thoughts of the other lords were merely his own private speculations.

If anything goes wrong and reinforcements haven't arrived after more than three months, then all 40,000 of them will surely perish in the city, and the entire army will be wiped out.

However, if we want to break through the encirclement of Yuan Shu's 100,000 troops on our own, then we absolutely cannot delay.

Now, with Yuan's army newly arrived and the trenches and walls still under construction and not yet fully completed, this is the only chance to break through.

Therefore, it cannot be said that Liu Bei's decision was wrong; it was simply a different choice.

Now that his elder brother had given his orders, Guan Yu knew that among those present, only he seemed capable of devising a plan for him, so he offered his advice again.

"If the eldest brother wants to take advantage of this opportunity to break through the encirclement, and he concentrates the strength of the entire army to attack one point, it will seem like he is going all out, but in reality, Yuan's army will also concentrate its entire army to defend it."

With only 40,000 troops attacking 100,000, Yuan's army still has the advantage of deep trenches and high walls, so our army will not be able to break through.

If we are to break out now, we must divide our forces into four routes and launch a feint attack from the four gates: east, west, south, and north. Each route will have 5,000 troops.

The eldest brother led the remaining 20,000 men into the city as a precaution.

At that time, Yuan's army will divide its forces to defend the city. Although they number 100,000, they will surround Changping and reduce their strength, giving our army a chance to break out.

With the four forces attacking simultaneously, the eldest brother surveyed the situation from within the city and deployed his troops.

Find an opportunity to break through, then launch a full-scale attack. Once a breach is created, immediately order the other three routes to follow. This might offer a glimmer of hope.

Liu Bei understood his meaning: launch a feigned attack from four directions, and once Yuan's army had deployed its troops, he would lead 20,000 troops in a sudden breakout from the weakest point in the defense.

In this way, he would most likely be able to escape, but the possibility of summoning the other three groups to accompany him was uncertain.

The generals and cavalry among the three armies, relying on their fast horses, might be able to catch up with the gap and break out together, but how could the remaining infantry possibly escape?
It was a complete abandonment; whether or not they could break through was left to fate.

In a breakout battle, how can we escape if we don't leave someone behind to cover our retreat?

He knew in his heart that Guan Yu's suggestion was the safest way to break through the encirclement at present.

Liu Bei then agreed and immediately ordered Guan Yu to lead his troops through the east gate, Zhang Fei to lead his troops through the south gate, Guan Ping to lead his troops through the west gate, and Sun Qian to lead his troops through the north gate.

The three armies are preparing. Tonight, I will speak with all the generals and soldiers about the dangers of being trapped in the city and waiting to die. Tomorrow morning, we will make a desperate breakout.

The next day, at daybreak, Liu Bei's army suddenly emerged from the four gates of Changping and launched a rapid attack to break through the encirclement.

However, despite the rapid offensive, they ran headlong into the newly dug earthen walls and trenches of Yuan's army.

The walls should be built like a city wall, eight feet high and three feet thick. The ditches should be built like canals, eight feet wide and six feet deep.

There is an inner moat inside the wall, and two outer moats outside the wall. The moats are all reinforced with sharpened wood and bamboo.

Soldiers who accidentally fell in were all screaming in agony; those who survived were seriously injured.

Behind the wall, archers fired their crossbows in rapid succession, which dampened the morale of Liu Bei's army. Before they even reached the earthen wall, the soldiers who had tried to break through were either killed or wounded.

This is why they broke out early, while Yuan Ying's trenches and walls were still incomplete, with many oversights and unbuilt areas.

Otherwise, how would such a breakout be any different from a siege?
In that case, Zhang Fei, who was breaking out at the south gate, would have no hope of success whatsoever. But the situation is different now.

Zhang Fei saw that Yuan Jun had indeed divided his troops to defend Changping City, just as his second brother had predicted, thus weakening his forces.

At this moment, the defending troops in front of him numbered only two or three thousand, relying on nothing more than deep trenches and high walls.

If only the eldest brother were to send his entire army, he would surely be able to fill the moat, break through the gap, and escape.

So Zhang Fei shouted, "Zhang Yide of Yan is here! Who dares to fight me to the death!" to boost the morale of his troops.

He personally led 5,000 men in a fierce attack on the camp and trenches, preparing for the breakout after Liu Bei's main force arrived.

However, while he was fighting desperately, Liu Bei's main force of 20,000 troops was slow to arrive, seemingly still hesitating in the city.

Zhang Fei was so anxious that he sent someone to urge them on!
Here in my old Zhang's territory, the enemy only numbers two or three thousand, which is really nothing to worry about.

Brother, come quick!

In Changping City, Liu Bei saw Zhang Fei sending someone to urge him on once again, and fell silent once more.

There was no other reason than that there were three other messengers like him present!

Whether it's two or three thousand, or four or five thousand, it all means we have a significant advantage, urging them to come quickly.

You should know that he discussed with his second brother last night and deduced various scenarios. All of them showed that Yuan's army had a large number of soldiers and deep trenches and high walls to take advantage of the terrain, making a breakout extremely difficult.

They even considered that all attempts to break through from all sides were blocked, leaving no opportunity to create a breach.

But no one expected that today's battle would result in a decisive victory on all sides, and everyone was calling for him to come quickly.

This put him in a very difficult position, leaving him unsure of what to do.

Could it be that Yuan's 100,000 troops were actually surrounding the city to defend it, thus diverting their forces?
But in the midst of a great battle, opportunities are fleeting, and there is no time for him to hesitate.
With things having come to this point, seeing Zhang Fei finally coming to urge him on, Liu Bei gritted his teeth and made the ruthless order.

"The three armies will break out from the south gate, and all soldiers will follow me in breaking through the encirclement!"

With Liu Bei's 20,000 fresh troops continuously pouring out of the city, Zhang Fei's army at the south gate of Changping was in high spirits for a time.

"Zhang Yide of Yan is here! Who dares to stop me?"

With Zhang Fei's valiant efforts, Liu Bei led 20,000 fresh troops in a desperate fight, and finally, despite the heavy casualties from the trenches and walls, they broke through Yuan's camp defenses and escaped at a great cost, covered in blood.

However, before the joy on everyone's faces could fade, their smiles froze on their faces.

Because outside the trench camp was another trench camp, the defending troops still numbered two or three thousand.

Seeing this, Zhang Fei couldn't help but curse. Liu Bei sighed deeply and had no choice but to send his troops to press forward.

There's nothing we can do now, we're already here.

We finally broke through the previous camp. If we retreat now, wouldn't all the huge losses we just suffered be for nothing?

These are all sunk costs.

With things having come to this point, there was no time to worry about anything else. Liu Bei ordered Guan Yu, Guan Ping, and Sun Qian to leave behind a rearguard force to continue holding back the various Yuan armies, while he led the main forces of each unit to come and provide support.

Fortunately, the Danyang soldiers were indeed elite, and they knew that they could not break out today and would only be waiting to die if they were trapped in the city.

Thus, like a cornered beast fighting desperately, and with the help of Guan Yu and others who came to its aid, it suffered heavy casualties once again, but finally managed to break through the camp and escape.

However, what lay before Liu Bei and his men was yet another new fortress.

There were two or three thousand soldiers on it.

It seemed that with just one more effort, they could break through the encirclement.

Liu Bei: "."

Tears welled up in his eyes!
There's nothing we can do now, we're already here.

(End of this chapter)