The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

The two sides parted on bad terms. Lü Bu, raising his halberd, shouted towards Puyang, "All troops, attack! Kill!"

At his command, dozens of catapults, which were already prepared, began to hurl large amounts of boulders and oil at Puyang.

Countless boulders crashed into the city, creating a tremendous commotion, and at the same time, a deluge of arrows followed.

"Defense Shield!"

"Hold on, you guys hold on!"

Faced with Lü Bu's massive attack, Cao Cao's generals kept pacing the city walls, supervising the soldiers to fight desperately.

A fierce siege ensued.

Under the cover of long-range firepower, a large number of soldiers carrying various siege equipment slowly moved toward the city gate!

Undeterred by death, wave after wave of soldiers charged toward the moat. As time passed, the moat quickly filled with corpses, and blood flowed along the river, turning it crimson. Severed limbs floated on the surface, a horrifying sight.

The battle raged until sunset, and Lü Bu still hadn't managed to breach the city gates, instead suffering heavy losses of his elite infantry.

"Fengxian, let's retreat! Blindly attacking the city will result in too many losses. Cao Cao's army is determined to fight to the death; they are all fearless. Our losses are too great. Let's adopt a siege strategy instead. Only then can we look for an opportunity!"

Seeing the tragic scene before him, Chen Gong felt a pang of pity and went to Lü Bu's side to persuade him to retreat and instead besiege him.

Lu Bu thought it made sense. His most elite troops were cavalry, which were useless in siege warfare. The only way to maximize his advantage was to let Cao Cao's army come out of the city and fight him. He immediately agreed with Chen Gong's idea and ordered his troops to stop attacking and begin to besiege Cao Cao's army.

After a day of fierce fighting, the two sides reached a stalemate in Puyang City.

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On the other side, after marching for dozens of days, Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui led their army to Xiapi.

The commotion startled Liu Bei. He had only been in Xiapi for less than a month, and Yuan Shu was already causing him trouble. This was giving him no chance to bide his time.

"Now Yuan Shu has dispatched 20,000 troops. What should we do? What methods do you all have to overcome this crisis?"

Faced with imminent disaster, Liu Bei had no other options but to gather Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and his only strategist, Jian Yong, together, hoping they could come up with a solution.

"My lord, in my opinion, we should take our troops and leave Xiapi. Yuan Shu has sent 20,000 men this time, while we only have 3,000. Moreover, they are scattered and have no ability to resist. Preserving our strength is the priority!"

The first to speak was Jian Yong. As a civil official, he was somewhat afraid at the thought of facing an army of 20,000, and immediately expressed his thoughts.

Before Liu Bei could even voice his opinion, Zhang Fei, being a military general, immediately started yelling, glaring at Jian Yong and pointing his finger at his nose, shouting:

"Jian Xianhe, what did you say? You're telling us to run away without a fight? Coward! This is territory we brothers worked so hard to get! We haven't even had a chance to warm it up yet, and I'll chop you up first!"

As he spoke, he drew his long sword, which he always carried with him, and was about to kill Jian Yong.

"Third brother, stop!" Seeing that a bloody conflict was about to break out, Guan Yu quickly stopped Zhang Fei, snatched the long sword from his hand, and held him down.

"Second Brother, let me go! I'm going to kill this coward! This is territory we worked so hard to get, and this kid tells us to give it up right off the bat! I can't stand it!"

"Second brother, don't stop me!"

Zhang Fei was held tightly by Guan Yu and could not move. He could not break free at all and could only roar loudly to express his protest.

Seeing Zhang Fei about to kill his strategist, Liu Bei finally lost his temper, slamming his fist on the table and shouting like a booming bell, "Enough!"

"This is a critical juncture with a formidable enemy at hand. Everyone can offer their opinions. Xianhe, continue with your thoughts: why abandon Xiapi, and where can we go?"

With Liu Bei's permission, Jian Yong calmed his startled heart and then expressed his thoughts:

"My lord, I am not cowardly, but rather I came up with this idea after weighing the pros and cons."

"Yuan Shu has 20,000 troops, and we only have a few thousand men. How can we resist? If we fight him head-on here, we will only be wiped out. Besides, Qin Xuan of Xuzhou may not even come to our aid."

"Because of the Mi family, the two sides have become bitter enemies. He would love for us to be eliminated by Yuan Shu. Therefore, we can only preserve our strength and leave as soon as possible before Yuan Shu's army can surround us."

Jian Yong's thinking was quite comprehensive. He guessed correctly: Qin Xuan would never come to Liu Bei's rescue. If it weren't for the need to protect his reputation and influence, Yuan Shu wouldn't even be in the picture.

He couldn't escape just by riding the Great Snow Dragon.

After Jian Yong finished speaking, the hall fell into a brief silence. Even the usually boisterous Zhang Fei calmed down and stopped clamoring to kill the other party.

These words struck a chord with Liu Bei, who also preferred to preserve his strength and avoid a direct confrontation with Yuan Shu's army. Moreover, he currently had less than two thousand men at his disposal, with another thousand deployed to various counties, leaving him with even fewer troops.

Then he turned his gaze to Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, wanting to see what they were thinking. As for Zhang Fei, he was just a rough man who only knew how to fight and kill, so asking him would be pointless.

Guan Yu frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Brother, Jian Yong is right. Yuan Shu is powerful, and if we fight him head-on here, our chances of winning are slim. But we are also unwilling to give up now. In my opinion, it is better to avoid his sharp edge for the time being, preserve our strength, and look for an opportunity to counterattack later."

Zhao Yun nodded and said, "Lord Xuande, I am willing to lead elite troops to cover the rear and buy you time to retreat. As long as we can preserve the main force, we will surely have a chance for revenge in the future."

"Zilong, you~~~~~!" Liu Bei was taken aback when he heard Zhao Yun ask to cover the rear.

"Lord Xuande, this is something Yun is doing willingly; I hope you will agree!"

Liu Bei remained silent for a moment, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination.

He took a deep breath and slowly said, "Alright, let's do it this way! Zilong, you lead five hundred men to block Yuan Shu's army and make sure to buy time for our army to retreat."

Zhao Yun knelt on one knee, cupped his hands, and said, "This humble general obeys! Lord Xuande, rest assured, I will definitely return safely!"

The reason Liu Bei struggled so much was because it was a difficult mission with no chance of survival, and it would be unsuitable to send anyone. Zhao Yun took the initiative to offer his services, and thus he put on this show of suffering.

With Zhao Yun volunteering to halt Yuan Shu's army's advance, Liu Bei wasted no time and led the remaining troops through Guangling to Yangzhou, preparing to join Liu Yao.

Liu Yao was a descendant of Liu Fei, the King of Qi Daohui, and the nephew of Liu Chong, the Grand Commandant. In 194, he was appointed by the court as the governor of Yangzhou.

Liu Bei had his own reasons for seeking refuge with him; he wanted to gain opportunities to develop in Jiangdong through him.