Chapter 287 The Art of Invincibility
On the tenth day of May, in Xianyang Garden, western suburbs of Luoyang.

The black bear wandered around but felt it was boring, so he returned to Pingleguan where his troops were stationed nearby.

He didn't expect that as soon as Gan Ning made a move, the Cao army along the line would flee backwards like frightened rabbits.

Within two or three days, all the defense lines, strongholds, and military settlements west of Luoyang City were abandoned.

Unable to make dumplings near Dagu Pass and Xiaopingjin Pass, he had no choice but to lead his troops by boat.

As a result, Cao's troops in Mengjin and Wushejin downstream all retreated, so that his fleet arrived at the Luoshuikou where the Luoshui River merges into the Yellow River.

This is the estuary where three rivers converge, and it is also the throat of Luoyang’s water transport.

Without any hesitation, the fleet commanded by Black Bear turned into the Luoshuikou and directly entered the throat of the Heluo Canal Transport.

Then they went upstream along the Luo River and headed north... and easily surrounded Cao's army in Luoyang City.

In Pingleguan, there were only Gan Ning's seven battalions with more than 5,000 people. At this moment, Gan Ning's punch missed and he felt very uncomfortable.

Seeing Black Bear coming back, Gan Ning sent over a few military letters: "Your Majesty, the navy has reported that the troops stationed on both sides of the Yi River have all withdrawn to Yique Pass."

"This must be Cao Cao's tactic."

Black Bear looked through the report of the navy Li Yi. In the Yishui River Basin, just like the Luoshui River Basin, Cao's army gave up the summer wheat harvest, did not destroy the paddy fields, and did not burn the strongholds or wheat fields. They withdrew very cleanly.

There are only two options before us: either continue to besiege the city after the wheat harvest, or evacuate after the wheat harvest.

As for the city wall of Luoyang, the black bear really didn’t want to bite it head-on... What if he killed Xiahou Dun?
Black Bear handed Li Yi's report to Gan Ning: "Cao's army has found a tactic to break our army. As long as they don't fight us, we naturally have no chance of defeating them."

Zhang Sheng, who was following Gan Ning, wanted to laugh when he heard this, but Gan Ning looked serious instead: "This is indeed difficult to deal with, and it is not conducive to a quick victory. If the battle drags on for a long time, our army's food and fodder will be consumed, and we will lose the advantage of feeding the enemy."

"Yes, once our advantage over the enemy is gone, the more troops we send out, the more dangerous it will be."

Black Bear took off his helmet, and Gan Ning surrounded him and led him into the inner hall.

He looked around the hall and said, "This time Xiahou Dun didn't burn the food or the houses. He really gave him enough respect. I don't want to hurt his face."

Sitting in the main seat, Black Bear asked Gan Ning who was sitting next to him: "How is the progress of the troops in the rear?"

"The 5,000 soldiers from Hedong have arrived in Chen County and will be able to cross the river from Heyangjin tomorrow. The 5,000 soldiers from Taiyuan are still in Chenguanxi, and I don't know exactly where they are, but they are probably three days behind the Hedong soldiers."

Among these ten thousand people, six thousand were suicide soldiers; their families moved to Guanzhong, but they still stayed in the military settlements in Hedong and Taiyuan.

Strictly speaking, they are special version of the wrongly conscripted soldiers.

The black bear took away too many people from Taiyuan and Hedong, and many fertile fields were left without owners, so these death-defying soldiers were arranged to settle there.

The 4,000 county soldiers who accompanied them actually played a supporting role; after these 6,000 suicide soldiers arrived at the battlefield, the 4,000 county soldiers would wait for an opportunity to return home.

"Who can enter Luoyang and deliver a letter to Xiahou Dun?"

Black Bear asked, and the dozen people present were stunned. It was easy to find a messenger to deliver the letter, but it was not suitable for people like them to do it.

Guan Yu noticed that Black Bear's eyes were on him, so he stood up and said, "Grand Marshal, I am familiar with Xiahou Yuanrang, and I am willing to go to Luoyang to deliver the letter."

It is not necessary to enter the city to deliver a letter.

Guan Yu was still confident that he could escape unscathed.

"Okay, I'll have to trouble General Yunchang."

As Black Bear was speaking, his personal soldiers brought him a pen and ink. Black Bear took the pen and thought for a moment, then wrote: "The wheat harvest will be in three days."

When the ink was slightly dry, Yang Fu, who was accompanying him, took out the 'Han Da Sima Seal' and stamped it. After the silk book was folded, Black Bear handed it to Guan Yu: "Whether you can invite Xiahou Dun to fight depends on this silk book."

Then he said to the accompanying cavalry battalion commanders: "In the next few days, strictly investigate the surrounding areas. Whoever finds Cao's ambush will be credited with a merit."

The four accompanying camp commanders bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Guan Yu also bowed to Black Bear and said goodbye, then rode on his Red Hare and led a dozen riders to Luoyang City. After the brief military meeting, Black Bear and Gan Ning played chess by a pond.

Gan Ning looked depressed, watching Black Bear's unhurried manner and asked, "Did Your Majesty predict Xiahou Dun's move?"

"No."

Black Bear was thinking about Gan Ning's chess moves, and answered casually: "In a field battle, he is no match for you; if he refuses to defend the cities, we will defeat them one by one. Retreating to avoid fighting is the last resort for Cao's army. Otherwise, if the two armies are in a stalemate, Cao Cao will have to send reinforcements, which will create an opportunity for Liu Bei."

Holding a handful of black pieces, Black Bear couldn't help but smile as he said, "Xiahou Dun's meaning is very clear. It's thanks to him that he dares to avoid the battle so boldly."

If it were people like Man Chong, Xu Huang, and Zhang Xiu, they would definitely not give up an inch of territory and would never dare to do such a thing.

Gan Ning felt a little frustrated when he heard this: "Are we just going to surrender them like this?"

"No, if we eat another bite, we'll be stuffed to death."

Black Bear raised his hand and made a move: "During this period, too many people came to Guanzhong to seek official positions. With fellow villagers bringing fellow villagers, it has only been half a year and there are already so many talented people, just like the court in Xudu. If things continue to develop, the frontline officials will shed blood and tears, while they will sit back and wait for their seniority to rise step by step. Before I started the rebellion, I didn't dare to have such a beautiful dream, so what right do they have?"

Gan Ning said nothing and just played chess.

After a while, Black Bear made a move with a smile. Gan Ning sighed, "I was upset and lost a move."

Feeling that Gan Ning did not lose the game on purpose, Black Bear said: "Don't let fame and fortune burden you. Falling behind by a dozen moves on the chessboard is just a game. Falling behind by one move on the battlefield means at least a hundred lives."

"Yes, the general has learned a lesson."

Gan Ning calmed down and began to take deep breaths. After repeating this three times, he followed Black Bear in collecting the chess pieces on the board.

Until now, few people dare to play chess with black pieces first.

After Gan Ning calmed down, the two started playing chess again. This time, Black Bear took the initiative to push the black chess box in front of Gan Ning.

Gan Ning played black first, and after more than 30 moves, he said, "Will Your Majesty allow Xiahou Dun to manage Guanzhong from now on?"

"He grows wheat and we harvest it. What's wrong with that?"

The black bear blinked and looked at the blue sky. "We have to be patient and not take any action, so we can avoid being stuffed to death. These goblins can't get into our stomachs, but they don't want to die, so they will think of other ways."

"Fairy?"

Gan Ning hushed his voice, his expression becoming more serious than ever before.

"Xingba, don't get me wrong. The goblins I'm talking about are just vampires that suck the blood of people and the blood of the country. They are human beings who look just like you and me, and they can't be easily screened out. The so-called party imprisonment is to imprison the mouthpieces of these people."

"The country is already sick, and the government and the people are filled with such blood-sucking thieves. The country cannot be governed well, and the people cannot live a peaceful and happy life."

Black Bear was just sighing casually, he also felt a little powerless.

Since Guanlong was a small area, he was able to personally supervise and carry out deep-level changes in customs.

For now, we need to be patient and wait until enlightenment knowledge is spread, then we can clean up the internal cancer.

As for the external tumors and face huggers, there is a high possibility that a grand alliance will occur.

In the face of this great trend of unification, Cao Cao could easily die suddenly.

But as Gan Ning listened, he felt as if a ray of light shone in his heart.

Under this ray of light, the frustration and desire to win caused by not being able to defeat Xiahou Dun and achieve success gradually faded away.

After a few breaths, Gan Ning's temperament changed, tending towards the sublimated state of a Qingzhou soldier, giving Black Bear a strange feeling.

That is Gan Ning in front of us. If he unfortunately dies in battle, he can be promoted to level eight.

(End of this chapter)