SWDnovel Chapter 53 If you don't want to die with Zhao Yun, then listen to me.
Chapter 53 If you don't want to die with Zhao Yun, then listen to me.
"Lu Bu!" A sharp, long roar jolted him out of his reverie.
Lu Bu suddenly looked up and saw a figure on a white horse, wielding a silver spear, charging towards him. "Zhao Yun, it's you!" Lu Bu exclaimed in surprise, realizing everything.
Zhao Yun, a former subordinate of Gongsun Zan, was the only one in the world, besides Gongsun Zan, skilled in the White Horse Cavalry's fighting tactics. It must have been him who defected to Cao Cao and trained an elite cavalry force for him. "Dare to oppose me? I'll kill you!" Lü Bu roared in fury, spurring his Red Hare towards Zhao Yun. He swung his halberd wildly, swirling blood and dust as it slashed down. Zhao Yun, fearless, gathered all his strength and parried with his silver spear. "Boom!" A deafening roar shook the heavens. Rolling blood mist dispersed in all directions, sending soldiers from both sides flying within three steps. Zhao Yun's blood swelled slightly, but he remained standing. Although Lü Bu's martial arts were unparalleled, Zhao Zilong of Changshan could easily withstand a single blow. The two weapons faced off in mid-air.
Lu Bu gritted his teeth and roared, "Zhao Yun, you are Liu Bei's subordinate, why have you surrendered to Cao Cao and become my enemy?" "Lu Bu!" Zhao Yun, righteous and upright, retorted sharply, "I have received guidance from a wise man and have realized my mistake. Why don't you follow my example and submit to Cao Cao, helping him to pacify the world and bring peace to the people!"
Lu Bu's heart skipped a beat, a deep look of surprise and disbelief flashing in his eyes. In his memory, Zhao Yun's loyalty to Liu Bei was no less than that of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, something he greatly admired. He never imagined that such a person would be so completely transformed, betraying Liu Bei and openly surrendering to Cao Cao! "Who, who is it, that could persuade you to surrender to Cao Cao?" Lu Bu roared in shock and anger.
Zhao Yun shouted sternly, "You are not worthy to know his name! Decide whether you surrender or not!" Lü Bu was enraged, his anger and humiliation reaching a fever pitch. His eyes bulged, and he roared, "Zhao Yun, how dare you force me to surrender to Cao Cao? You're courting death!" He abruptly retracted his halberd, unleashing a thunderous force from his arm, and a barrage of halberd shadows rained down upon Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun remained calm, his silver spear flashing through the air, directly meeting Lü Bu's halberd strike head-on. The two clashed in a fierce battle.
In the blink of an eye, more than thirty moves had passed.
Enraged, Lü Bu's halberd techniques had become terrifyingly powerful, each move possessing earth-shattering force. Although Zhao Yun was unparalleled in martial arts, he was ultimately slightly inferior to Lü Bu. Even so, Lü Bu's desire to defeat Zhao Yun would be nothing but wishful thinking, requiring at least a hundred moves. "You thrice-surname traitor, Cao Hong is here, prepare to die!" "Le Jin is here, Lü Bu, you dog, cease your arrogance!" "Lü Bu, Xiahou Yuan will fight you!" A deafening roar resounded as three generals from Cao Cao's camp, sprinting through the blood-soaked path, charged towards Lü Bu. Tens of thousands of Cao Cao's infantry and cavalry, like a surging torrent, surged towards him. The rage on Lü Bu's face crumbled, and a chill ran through his heart.
He understood that even with his unparalleled martial arts skills, he was unlikely to escape the encirclement of Cao Cao's generals. Continuing the fight would surely mean certain death.
"How can I, Lü Bu, die in such a place? How can I—" He gritted his teeth, launched a fierce attack to force Zhao Yun back, turned Red Hare and hastily fled. Red Hare was as fast as the wind, and if he wanted to escape, who could stop him?
"Lu Bu, you may have escaped today, but do you think you can escape forever!" Zhao Yun sneered, spurred his horse, brandished his spear, and charged back into the enemy ranks. Cao Cao's army swept through the enemy lines, and Lu Bu's army collapsed at the mere sight of them.
Cao Cao pressed his advantage, pursuing Lü Bu for over two hundred li, chasing him all the way from Pengcheng to the outskirts of Xiapi. After suffering heavy casualties, Lü Bu escaped into Xiapi with less than four thousand remaining soldiers.
Night fell, and we arrived at Xiapi City.
The atmosphere inside the state government hall was deathly silent.
"Reporting to Marquis Wen, our army suffered more than half its casualties in this battle. Generals Cao Xing and Wei Xu were killed in action, and the Bingzhou cavalry was almost completely wiped out!" Zhang Liao reported silently with a sorrowful expression.
Lu Bu, now in his seat, gulped down his wine in silence, his face burning with hatred and rage. "Chen Gongtai!" Lu Bu suddenly glared at Chen Gong, resentfully demanding, "Didn't you keep guaranteeing that Cao Cao couldn't do anything to my Bingzhou cavalry? What do you have to say for yourself now?"
Chen Gong's forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was filled with shame.
"Lord Wen, no one expected that Zhao Yun would surrender to Cao Cao and train the White Horse Cavalry for him. I believe that this defeat cannot be entirely blamed on Prefect Chen's miscalculation."
Gao Shun couldn't help but speak up for Chen Gong. "Shut up!"
Lu Bu roared, "What are you all good for? Zhao Yun surrendered to Cao Cao, why didn't you do any spying? Otherwise, how could I have been so unprepared?"
After rebuking Chen Gong, he turned his pent-up resentment to the other generals. Gao Shun was speechless. Zhang Liao, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and the others all lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.
"Father, the defeat is a fact. There's no use blaming anyone now. Our priority is to figure out how to defend against the enemy," Lü Lingqi stepped forward to advise.
Lu Bu's resentment and anger subsided slightly.
He pointed at his generals and demanded, "Then tell me, how can we turn defeat into victory in the next battle?" The generals all lowered their heads, not because they were at a loss, but because they dared not utter a word.
Having learned from Chen Gong's mistake, no one dared to offer any advice without authorization, fearing that failure would result in Lu Bu's resentment. "Lord Wen, our army has suffered heavy casualties and morale is completely broken. There is no way to defend Xiapi. I think it would be better to abandon the city and move on."
In the ensuing silence, Gao Shun stepped forward again and offered his advice. Zhang Liao also bowed and said, "Boping is absolutely right. Xiapi cannot be defended. We should abandon the city immediately, either heading north to join forces with Zang Ba, or heading east to Guangling to join forces with Chen Deng, so that we can fight Cao Cao again."
"What kind of terrible idea is this!" Lu Bu was enraged again, and said in a deep voice, "Zang Ba and Chen Deng are two-faced and disobedient to me. If I abandon Xiapi and go to them, I will become a stray dog, having to be subservient to them. How can I endure such humiliation!"
Gao Shun and Zhang Liao were startled, wanting to persuade him further, but dared not speak. "I'm not going anywhere; I'll stay in Xiapi!"
"Send the order: immediately recruit able-bodied men as soldiers and forcibly conscript civilians to reinforce the city walls. I, the Marquis, will defend Xiapi to the death!" "This time, I will never run away again!" Lü Bu slammed his fist on the table and angrily issued the order.
No one dared to question it. Even Lü Lingqi, faced with her enraged father, could only shake her head and sigh inwardly. The military meeting adjourned, and the generals could only go about their preparations. Half an hour later, in a secret room of the Chen residence.
Chen Gong, however, secretly met with Generals Hou Cheng and Song Xian.
"Generals, it's common knowledge that Xiapi cannot be defended. Marquis Wen has gone mad and insists on dragging us down with him. Are you two truly willing to do this?"
Chen Gong asked meaningfully. Hou and Song exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly.
Song Xian then said, "Prefect Chen, from what you're saying, do you perhaps intend to lead us to surrender to Cao Cao?" "Surrender to Cao Cao?"
Chen Gong sneered: "Back then, you followed Lord Wen in seizing Yan Province and nearly drove Cao Cao to his death. Now you're forced to surrender to Cao Cao. Do you really think Cao Cao will treat you kindly?"
The two generals shivered and their faces fell with worry.
"Since we can't surrender to Cao Cao, and we don't want to die with Marquis Wen, in Chen Biejia's opinion, is there any other way for us to survive?" Hou Cheng said with a bitter face.
Chen Gong's lips curled into a sly smile as he stroked his beard and said, "Of course! As long as you two are willing to listen to me, not only will you have a way to survive, but Xuzhou will also belong to you in the future."
Upon hearing this, Hou Cheng and Song Xian were greatly encouraged and asked in unison, "We wonder what brilliant plan the Prefect has in store for us. We would like to hear the details."
Chen Gong then calmly and deliberately revealed his plan.
Xiaopei City, Gu Mansion.
Gu Cheng was in the main hall, reviewing the Mi family's shops and properties, planning how to take over and expand their operations. Mi Huan sat beside him, explaining things to Gu Cheng. "Young Master, General Wei has arrived," Xu Chu announced as he entered.
"Looks like there's good news. Please let him in." Gu Cheng nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the book. A short while later, excited footsteps sounded.
"Young Master Gu, great news! Lord Cao has decisively defeated Lü Bu at Pengcheng and is now besieging Xiapi!" Cao Ang exclaimed excitedly.
"It seems the White Horse Cavalry is indeed superior to the Bingzhou Iron Cavalry," Gu Cheng murmured, without a trace of surprise on his face.
Cao Ang was taken aback and asked in surprise, "How did Young Master Gu know that Lord Cao won with the White Horse Cavalry?" Before Gu Cheng could speak, Mi Huan interrupted with a smile, "Of course you know, Young Master. General Zhao Zilong, who commanded the White Horse Cavalry, was recommended by you to join Lord Cao. How could he not know?"
"What?" Cao Ang's expression changed involuntarily.
Cao Cao's visit was brief, and he never mentioned to Cao Ang that he had visited Gu Cheng. Therefore, Cao Ang only knew that Zhao Yun had surrendered to his father and defeated Lü Bu's Bingzhou cavalry with the White Horse Cavalry, but he did not know that Zhao Yun was actually recommended by Gu Cheng.
"Young Master Gu, was Zhao Zilong truly recommended by you?" Cao Ang looked at Gu Cheng with surprise.
Gu Cheng said calmly, "It's not really a recommendation. I just pointed out a way out for Zhao Zilong." Cao Ang gasped.
"I never imagined that it was my brother-in-law who helped my father defeat Lü Bu's cavalry. My Cao family owes my brother-in-law so much..." Cao Ang thought to himself with gratitude.
Suddenly, he asked in confusion, "I heard that Zhao Yun disappeared after the Battle of Xiaopei. How did he get in touch with Young Master Gu?" Gu Cheng had nothing to hide, so he recounted his encounter with Zhao Yun and how he took him in. "Zhao Yun is Liu Bei's confidant. How could he be persuaded by Young Master Gu to surrender to Cao Cao?" Cao Ang's face showed further surprise and doubt. Gu Cheng said casually, "Zhao Zilong is a reasonable man who cares about the common people. With a few words of guidance, he naturally realized that Cao Mengde is the true ruler who can pacify the world. Why shouldn't he surrender?"
Cao Ang suddenly understood, his eyes filled with even greater admiration. While the two were talking, Gu Cheng had already finished checking the Mi family's account books.
"The fall of Xiapi should be within the next few days. It's time to set off for Xiapi, otherwise the Chen family will beat us to it and take over the business there."
Gu Cheng immediately gave the order to Xu Chu and the others to prepare carriages, horses, boats, and ships for their departure.
"What a coincidence! We're also heading to Xiapi for questioning in 017, and we're going the same way. What do you think, Young Master Gu?" Cao Ang reacted quickly and naturally offered to accompany Gu Cheng for protection. Gu Cheng didn't think much of it and readily agreed.
Several days later, the group boarded a boat and traveled south along the Si River, heading downstream to Xiapi City.
The siege of Xiapi had lasted for seven days. After Cao Cao established camps on all sides, he gave Lü Bu no respite, launching a relentless attack day and night. Lü Bu had only a few thousand remaining soldiers, their morale low, and they were no match for Cao Cao's fierce assault. After several rounds of attacks, Xiapi was on the verge of collapse, its fall imminent. (The scene shifts to the main hall of the prefectural government.)
Lu Bu, chugging wine, wore a worried expression; the domineering arrogance of the greatest warrior in the land had long since vanished. "Lord Wen, Cao Cao's offensive is too fierce. We can't hold out much longer. Let's abandon the city and break out!" Gao Shun pleaded.
Zhang Liao also pleaded, "Lord Wen, if we continue to hold out like this, Xiapi will fall sooner or later, and then everything will be over." Faced with his generals' earnest advice to abandon the city, this time, Lü Bu did not fly into a rage. After seven days of holding out, he had come to the clear realization that he simply could not hold Xiapi. *Bang!*
The wine cup slammed onto the table. Lü Bu, his face contorted with resentment, gritted his teeth and said, "Xiapi is the heart of Xuzhou. Losing Xiapi means the fall of Xuzhou. I am unwilling, I am unwilling!"
He was reluctant to leave Picheng.
Chen Gong and Hou Cheng exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly. Chen Gong then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said solemnly, "Lord Wen, I am willing to defend Xiapi to the death for you. After you break through the siege, we will obtain reinforcements from Chen Deng or Zang Ba, and together we will defeat Cao Cao from within and without!"
Lu Bu's body stiffened, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes. "Lord Wen, this humble general is also willing to stay and defend Xiapi to the death for you!" Hou Cheng stepped forward and volunteered.
Their willingness to break through the encirclement without abandoning Xiapi was exactly what Lü Bu wanted. "Good! With your courage, what more could I ask for!" Lü Bu leaped to his feet, declaring boldly, "Rest assured, within ten days I will bring back reinforcements and fight my way out. I will not abandon you!"
Chen Gong and Hou Cheng exchanged a glance, a cold smile flashing in their eyes. Chen Gong then asked, "I wonder, Marquis Wen, where do you plan to break out?"
"Chen Deng doesn't have many troops, while Zang Ba commands tens of thousands of bandits from Mount Tai. If we can get our hands on him, we can even challenge Cao Cao." "Zang Ba is in the north, so I will naturally break out from the north."
Lu Bu replied without hesitation.
Chen Gong's expression changed, and he said urgently, "Lord Wen, you mustn't!" "Why?" Lü Bu asked, puzzled.
"Cao Cao is surely wary of Wen Hou joining forces with Zang Ba, and he must have stationed a large force at the north gate. If Wen Hou breaks out from the north gate, wouldn't that be exactly what Cao Cao wants?"
Chen Gong said in a solemn tone.
Lu Bu shivered and frowned, saying, "Gongtai is right. Then how should I break through?" "West!"
Chen Gong raised his hand and pointed west towards Xiapi City.
"west?"
Lu Bu looked doubtful and asked, "Isn't that far from Zang Ba's location, and with the Si River blocking the way, how can we break through?" "That's precisely why Cao Cao didn't expect that the camp outside the west gate would have few troops, making it easier for Lord Wen to break through."
"Moreover, in preparation for today's breakout, I had Song Xian go to the west bank of the Si River to collect boats and rafts. When the time comes, we will light fires as a signal to help Marquis Wen board the boat."
"Going north from Sishui, within thirty li, you can turn into Yishui and bypass Cao Cao's defenses by water, heading straight for Donghai County to join Zang Ba."
With a smug look on his face, Chen Gong revealed his plan.
Lu Bu's eyes lit up with surprise and he asked, "Gongtai, you actually sent Song Xian to collect boats and rafts in advance. Why didn't you say so earlier?" Chen Gong sighed, "At that time, Marquis Wen insisted on defending Xiapi. I dared not persuade him too much, for fear of angering Marquis Wen. So I could only silently arrange this backup plan in case of emergency."
Lü Bu suddenly realized.
"Gongtai, at crucial moments, we still need your strategies." Lü Bu patted Chen Gong and said apologetically, "I shouldn't have been angry with you after the previous defeat. In fact, the strategist I trust and rely on the most has always been you."
Chen Gong cupped his hands and said, "How could I not know the intentions of Marquis Wen? That is why I, Chen Gong, am willing to risk my life to defend Xiapi for Marquis Wen."
Lü Bu breathed a sigh of relief and burst into wild laughter: "Cao Mengde, with Gongtai here, you think you can trap me in Xiapi? You're truly delusional!"
Sarcastic, maniacal laughter echoed through the hall.
Two days later, at dusk, the west gate of Xiapi quietly opened. Lü Bu rode out, followed closely by Lü Lingqi, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and other generals. More than four thousand remnants of Lü Bu's army, along with his men, crept westward towards Cao Cao's encirclement camp. On the city wall...
Chen Gong and Hou Cheng stood side by side, watching Lü Bu depart into the distance.
"Prefect Chen, we've done as you instructed, and now Lü Bu has broken out through the west gate as you wished." "We only have a thousand remaining soldiers, trapped in Xiapi. You should tell me what your plan is."
Hou Cheng asked impatiently. Chen Gong stroked his short beard, a cold smile of complete control on his face, and slowly spoke. "When Lü Bu breaks through the west gate, Cao Cao will surely mobilize a large force to block him." "At that time, I will light a fire as a signal and order Song Xian to lead his men to breach the Sishui River embankment in one go."
"It's the rainy season now, and the Si River is swollen. If we breach this riverbank, the floodwaters will rush down, and we'll surely wash away Lü Bu and Cao Cao's army completely!"
Chen Gong explained his plan in detail. Hou Cheng suddenly understood.
"Prefect Chen's plan is truly a stroke of genius! With both Lü Bu and Cao Cao destroyed, wouldn't Xu Province then be ours?"
He excitedly shouted at Chen Gong. Chen Gong, with a smug look on his face, said, "Since General Hou has understood, what are we waiting for? Quickly light the beacon fires and send a signal to Song Xian."
Once Cheng came to his senses, he excitedly gave the order.
Before long, three pillars of smoke rose into the sky from the top of the west gate.
"Cao Cao, you drove me from Yanzhou to Xuzhou, subjecting me to endless humiliation. Today, it's time for us to settle this." "Even if Gu Cheng is truly a reincarnation of the strategist, he can't save you today!" Chen Gong muttered to himself, a chilling killing intent surging in his eyes.