Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 174 Feint to the East, Attack in the West: Liu Bei Defeates the Yanzhou Army (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)
"Your Imperial Uncle is a brilliant strategist. He predicted that the rebels would be unprepared in the rear. This time, by first capturing Xiang County and then taking Pengcheng, the rebel army in Xuzhou will have their supply lines cut off and will surely be in a panic."

Zhang Liao praised him sincerely, his excitement barely concealed in his voice.

Zhang Liao was originally thinking about how to defeat the more than 100,000 rebel troops from Yan and Xu in Xiaopei after he had defeated Yuan Shu, but he did not expect that Liu Bei would directly attack Xiang County and Pengcheng.

Especially Pengcheng.

The Xuzhou rebels' supplies all had to pass through Pengcheng, so occupying Pengcheng was tantamount to seizing the lifeline of the Xuzhou rebels.

In addition, Yuan Zhong, Ji Lian, and their families, along with their trusted officers and generals, were captured by Liu Bei.

Even though Tao Qian wanted to launch a strong attack on Xiaopei, Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian did not dare to go all out.

"There's nothing I can do," Liu Bei scoffed. "They're the ones who wanted to cooperate with Yuan Shu and even plotted to kill me. If I hadn't cooperated with Yuan Shu and hadn't plotted to kill me, I wouldn't have had time to reinforce Xiaopei."

"They still don't understand Yuan Shu!"

Who is Yuan Shu?

The Yuan family, a noble clan with four generations of high-ranking officials.

In Yuan Shu's eyes, Yuan Shao was merely a servant girl who was not worthy of competing with him for the resources accumulated by the Yuan family over a century, while all the Yuan family's disciples and former officials throughout the land were just Yuan family slaves.

Since they are household slaves, they can be discarded.

When Yuan Shu saw an opportunity to profit, he would rush forward regardless of his life.

When Yuan felt his life was in danger, he would cherish his life and turn around and run away.

It is said that Yuan Shao was cautious about his life when undertaking great tasks, but risked his life for small gains, and Yuan Shu was no different.

Noble families are generally similar.

Whether it was Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, or Yuan Yi, Zhang Miao, Kong Zhou, Ying Shao, and others, they almost all shared this characteristic.

After all, in the eyes of the nobility, only by living can one enjoy resources that will last a lifetime.

News of Liu Bei's capture of Xiang County and Pengcheng quickly reached Xiaopei.

Upon hearing the news, Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian were greatly alarmed and immediately withdrew their troops from the attack on Xiaopei.

They were afraid that if they attacked too many times, they would anger Liu Bei and have all their families killed.

They followed Tao Qian to attack Xiaopei for wealth and status; if their families were all lost, no amount of wealth would be of any use.

Why did you withdraw your troops?

Seeing that he had gained some advantage in the siege, Tao Qian was so angry that he wanted to kill someone when he discovered that Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian had stopped attacking.

Before Tao Qian could even summon them, Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian rushed to find him, tearfully reporting that Xiang County and Pengcheng had already been captured by Liu Bei.

Tao Qian's expression changed drastically, and he shouted to his men, "Men, tie up Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian! How dare they disrupt the morale of my army!"

Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian were shocked and about to speak when Tao Qian stared at them with murderous eyes: "If you continue to disrupt the morale of my army, I will kill you both!"

However, although Tao Qian reacted quickly, he did not expect that Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian had already told their close generals about the matter when they came to find him.

Within moments, news spread that the soldiers in Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian's camps were all spreading rumors that Liu Bei had launched a surprise attack on Xiang County and Pengcheng.

"Idiots! A bunch of idiots!"

Tao Qian was so angry that his blood pressure soared.

Can't carry it!
I can’t carry it at all!
The plan was perfect; a strong attack over a few days would have been enough to surround and kill Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, Cao Cao, and others in Xiaopei.

Unexpectedly, Kong Zhou and his two companions, thinking they had victory in their grasp, insisted on stealing credit and chasing after Xu Huang. Later, Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian, upon learning that Xiang County and Pengcheng had been captured by Liu Bei, directly disrupted the morale of the army.

So what if family members are arrested?
Didn't they know to first conceal the military intelligence and then capture Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and others to exchange with Liu Bei?
Tao Qian's willingness to exchange Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and others for prisoners was tantamount to releasing a tiger back into the mountains; as long as Xiaopei was captured, Liu Bei's prestige would plummet.

Tao Qian could also gain favor with Yuan Zhonghe, Ji Lian, and their subordinates.

No matter how you look at it, Tao Qian didn't lose out!
However, the reality was more difficult than imagined. Tao Qian felt as if he had been hit in the chest with a hammer. If he were not afraid of Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian's troops rioting, Tao Qian would have wanted to kill the two of them directly!
Seeing Tao Qian's barely concealed anger, Cao Bao approached him and urgently advised, "Things have come to this point. Your Excellency must not attack Xiaopei again. If Liu Bei launches a surprise attack on Tancheng, your retreat will be cut off! You should appease the two men and then make further plans later."

Tao Qian took a deep breath.

Although he was furious, Tao Qian knew that the situation was hopeless.

"Order to halt the siege."

The troops were quickly withdrawn. Zang Ba, Zhou Gan, Yin De, and Liu Kui, who were unaware of the truth, were puzzled and hurriedly asked for the reason.

Upon learning that Xiang County and Pengcheng had been attacked by Liu Bei, and that Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian had spread the news, they discovered that Xiang County and Pengcheng had been attacked by Liu Bei.

Sun Guan, who was behind Zang Ba, immediately drew his sword and slashed at Ji Lian, who was so frightened that he rolled away.

Sun Guan's curses followed: "I lost over three hundred brothers in the attack on Xiaopei! Because of you two, those three hundred brothers died in vain! I'm going to kill you!"

Ji Lian knew he was in the wrong, and even though Sun Guan was only a subordinate of Zang Ba, he dared not refute him.

Yuan Zhong also lowered his head and dared not speak.

"Lord Tao, what should we do now?" Although Zang Ba did not draw his sword to kill people like Sun Guan, the veins on his hand holding the hilt of the sword were bulging.

In a different context, Zang Ba would definitely have made the first move before Sun Guan.

Tao Qian sighed: "While the blame for today's events lies with Yuan Zhong and Ji Lian, I also bear responsibility for mishandling personnel. I will compensate you when we return to Xuzhou."

After promising Zang Ba, Tao Qian's eyes turned fierce again: "Liu Bei has few soldiers, and even if he occupies Pengcheng, he will not dare to confront us head-on. We will stop fighting in Xiaopei and quickly return to Pengcheng. As long as we defeat Liu Bei, Xiaopei can be pacified with a single proclamation."

Subsequently.

Tao Qian then instructed Cao Bao: "Send a message to Yuan Yi. Make sure he holds off Lü Bu and his men in Xiaopei until I defeat Liu Bei. I can cede all the money, supplies, and cities to him."

With each military order issued, Tao Qian quickly devised a countermeasure.

As the commander-in-chief, Tao Qian was undoubtedly qualified, but unfortunately his teammates were too incompetent to carry the army, and his opponent was Liu Bei, the King of Jue.

Liu Bei not only recruited identities, but also fierce generals, elite soldiers, weapons, armor, and warhorses—anything that could increase his side's strength.

Liu Bei's motto was: "Only by defeating others can you avoid being defeated by them."

Upon receiving Tao Qian's message, Yuan Yi was stunned for a long time before he reacted. He then cursed, "Idiots! All idiots! I lost hundreds of brave warriors, and Tao Qian doesn't fight anymore?"

Yuan Yi felt that life was really too turbulent.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have listened to Guo Tu's nonsense and insisted on joining forces with Tao Qian and Yuan Shu to besiege Liu Bei.

Why not just defeat Xiaopei directly, and then proceed step by step to occupy Xuzhou?

Now, things have turned out badly; what was once a promising situation has become a complete mess.

They gained nothing but lost money, supplies, and troops.

“Since the attempt to kill Liu Bei has failed, let’s proceed with the original plan.” Yuan Xu hesitated for a moment, “Liu Bei won’t easily let Tao Qian return to Xuzhou. We can use Liu Bei to weaken Tao Qian.”

"Liu Bei will eventually return to Luoyang. Once he leaves, we can attack Xuzhou, control Xuzhou first, then take Yangzhou, and let Zhang Miao and the others cause trouble in Yanzhou."

Yuan Yi, also a ruthless man, didn't hesitate upon hearing Yuan Xu's plan: "Let's wait until Tao Qian withdraws his troops, then we'll withdraw as well. Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and the others are besieged in Xiaopei, they must be seething with anger, and they'll definitely go after Tao Qian!"

The two men had reached an agreement, and then sent a message to Bao Xin and others. Yuan Xu's plan was one that the generals of Yanzhou were happy to see succeed.

The reason for initially cooperating with Tao Qian was that they found they couldn't do anything to Liu Bei. Now, they can make Liu Bei and Tao Qian fight each other in Xuzhou, which is in the interest of the generals of Yanzhou.

Plastic friendships can break down in an instant.

Regardless of whether Yuan Yi and others were ruthless, Tao Qian's plan was to make the generals of Yanzhou bear the brunt of Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and others' anger at being surrounded, killed, and flooded.

On the city wall.

Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and the others were also surprised to see the generals of Xuzhou hastily retreating.

"It seems something has happened in Xuzhou. If I'm not mistaken, it's probably because the Imperial Uncle defeated Yuan Shu and went straight to attack Pengcheng." Cao Cao's eyes were sharp as he guessed the reason.

Lü Bu said angrily, "Coming and going as you please? It's not that easy! And you dared to flood Xiaopei? I've never been flooded in my entire life!"

Being submerged in water is a very unpleasant experience.

This is equivalent to directly binding Lu Bu's hands and feet, and then fighting Lu Bu one-on-one.

"Colonel Lü, don't be hasty." Cao Cao stopped Lü Bu, who wanted to leave the city, and pointed in the direction of the generals of Yan Province: "Let's see how the generals of Yan Province react. If they want to hold us back for Tao Qian, then we cannot leave the city; if they want to remain neutral, then we'll decide what to do next."

"We can take this opportunity to restore morale and allow the soldiers to conserve their energy for the opportune moment."

Zhao Yun also said, "If the Imperial Uncle launches a surprise attack on Pengcheng, he will surely send someone to Xiaopei to inform us. Let's listen to the Imperial Uncle's arrangements."

He then approached Cao Cao and asked in a low voice, "Cao Yanzhou has been in Xiaopei for a long time. Does he know any famous doctors? Fa Zheng is the first disciple of the Imperial Uncle. We must not allow any accidents to happen to him."

The biggest impact of flooding the city was the pollution of the water source. Although Zhao Yun promptly ordered the soldiers to filter the water and boil it before drinking, the young and weak Fa Zheng still fell ill.

Cao Cao thought for a moment and said, "There is a legendary physician named Hua Tuo in Qiao County, whose medical skills are quite superb. After the rebel army in Yanzhou retreats, we can send Fa Zheng to Qiao County first."

Zhao Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Governor Cao of Yanzhou."

Half a day after Tao Qian withdrew his troops, the rebel generals of Yanzhou also withdrew their troops one after another, clearly not wanting to hold Tao Qian back.

Seeing this, Lü Bu could no longer restrain himself and immediately gathered his troops to prepare to leave the city and pursue Tao Qian.

The city gates had just opened when Guan Yu appeared before them.

"Where are you going, Commandant Lü?" Guan Yu shouted.

Upon seeing that it was Guan Yu, Lü Bu cupped his hands in greeting and said angrily, "Tao Qian has retreated, and Cao Yanzhou suspects that it was the Imperial Uncle who launched a surprise attack on Pengcheng. I'm going to pursue and kill Tao Qian!"

"No!" Guan Yu stopped him, "The Imperial Uncle has ordered us to attack the rebel army in Yanzhou immediately. I have already sent someone to deliver a message to Xu Huang in Feng County."

Lu Bu exclaimed in surprise, "Why not attack the rebels in Yanzhou instead of Tao Qian, who hastily retreated after suffering losses in his rear? They haven't suffered any losses in their rear."

Guan Yu's tone showed respect for Liu Bei: "Tao Qian is nothing to worry about; the Imperial Uncle can handle him."

"If we fail to severely damage the rebel army in Yanzhou, they will surely take advantage of Tao Qian's weakness to attack Xuzhou when we return to Luoyang. At that time, we will be too far away to help them and will end up doing all the work for the rebel army in Yanzhou."

"If I'm not mistaken, the reason Lieutenant Lü left the city at this moment is that the Yanzhou rebels have also withdrawn. They must be deliberately trying to lure Lieutenant Lü into pursuing Tao Qian, but how could Lieutenant Lü allow the Yanzhou rebels to succeed?"

"On the contrary, if we pursue the rebel army in Yanzhou now, we will surely achieve a great victory by taking them by surprise! Only by inflicting heavy losses on the rebel army in Yanzhou will they dare not covet Xuzhou! This is the Imperial Uncle's plan of feinting to the east while attacking in the west."

Lu Bu suddenly realized what was happening, and then returned to the city with Guan Yu.

Cao Cao was surprised to learn that Liu Bei had lured Tao Qian away with the intention of attacking and killing the rebels in Yanzhou.

"Your Imperial Uncle's plan is truly brilliant."

“With Gai Xun in Xuzhou, if he sees Tao Qian weak, Gai Xun can attack him.”

"On the contrary, the rebels in Yanzhou are the most threatening. If they cannot be severely damaged, Xuzhou will not be at peace."

"Since we are going to attack Yanzhou, I am willing to be the vanguard!"

Cao Cao was extremely excited.

Since parting ways with Liu Bei in Luoyang, he, as the governor of Yanzhou, had never entered Yanzhou again.

Now that he finally had the opportunity to enter Yan Province, how could Cao Cao not be excited?
"Speed ​​is of the essence in war! Quickly assemble the capable warriors within the city!" Guan Yu did not hesitate.

After discussing tactics with everyone, Guan Yu learned that Fa Zheng had fallen ill after drinking polluted water, and his phoenix eyes widened in shock.

A moment later, Guan Yu, Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Cao Cao led their troops out in five separate groups.

Before setting off, Cao Cao ordered Cao Xiu to personally escort the ailing Fa Zheng back to Qiao County to find Hua Tuo, and instructed Cao Xiu: "If it weren't for my uncle, my wife and children would have all perished at the hands of Yuan Shu."

"Now that my son has become a disciple of the Imperial Uncle, he and Fa Zheng are fellow disciples. We must never allow Fa Zheng to suffer any harm. Remember this!"

Cao Xiu dared not be negligent and vowed, "My lord, rest assured, even if I lose my life, I will protect Fa Zheng's life."

Northwest of Xiaopei.

Yuan Yi and the others were still gloating over their own schemes, never expecting that Liu Bei would use a feint attack to target the rebels in Yanzhou.

By the time they realized what was happening, Guan Yu and his men had already arrived.

With Guan Yu in front, Lü Bu on the left, and Zhao Yun on the right, the three strongest battalions of the Lingyan Army charged straight at the Yanzhou rebels like a raging flood.

"Why is this happening? Why is this happening?" Yuan Yi looked at Guan Yu and the others, who were cutting him down like vegetables, incomprehensible. He couldn't understand why the Lingyan Army didn't pursue Tao Qian.

Not long after the battle began, another burly man wielding a mountain-splitting axe charged in; it was Xu Huang and his men who had come from Feng County.

Although the rebel army in Yanzhou numbered seventy to eighty thousand, they were caught off guard and unprepared at the moment, and were no match for the ten thousand-plus Lingyan Army soldiers.

On the battlefield, all that could be heard were the cries of the rebels from Yanzhou, who, even if they wanted to escape, could not find a way to flee.

People were everywhere, and the desperate rebels in Yanzhou trampled and killed each other in order to escape.

The governor of Mount Tai, Kong Zhou, rode off on horseback, but was recognized by Lü Bu and shot dead with an arrow.

Cao Cao's fierce generals, such as Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong, also bravely took the lead.

Having followed Cao Cao for so long, he had been constantly abused and beaten, and now he finally had a chance to vent his anger.

Although they were all appointed as generals and officials in Yanzhou by Cao Cao, they never actually set foot in Yanzhou, just like Cao Cao himself; they were all just empty shells with nominal titles.

And now, they have finally set foot on the land of Yanzhou!

This further terrified the rebel army in Yanzhou, causing them to flee in panic!
And on the other side.

Seeing that there were no pursuers behind them, Tao Qian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and encouraged everyone, saying, "Yuan Yi and the others are quite sensible and did not stand idly by at this time."

"Don't panic, everyone. Liu Bei's surprise attack on Pengcheng will not be large. As long as we work together, we can make him flee in disarray."

On a hillside ahead.

Liu Bei, however, sat leisurely on the stool, handing over his command flag to Zhang Liao for temporary use, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Wen Yuan, you are in command today. Let the rebels of Xuzhou tremble at the mere mention of your name!"

Zhang Liao smiled and replied, "This humble general Zhang Liao obeys!"

(End of this chapter)