Chapter 183 Liu Bei is no longer the Liu Bei of the past! Revenge begins today! I want you to take his head from among the thousands of soldiers!
On the north bank, at Ruxukou, was the main camp of Yuan’s army.

Inside the imperial tent of the central army, the air was filled with the smell of wine and the sound of lascivious music.

Yuan Shu's fat body was lying on the couch, drinking fine wine, his eyes narrowed into a line, admiring the dancers in front of the tent.

After he proclaimed himself emperor, he became even more arrogant and extravagant. When he was in Shouchun, he had fun every night. Even though he was now leading the army outside, he still did not forget to enjoy himself. He spent the whole day having wine and parties, listening to music and watching dances.

The ministers in the tent had long been accustomed to allowing Yuan Shu to indulge in pleasure, and no one dared to advise him.

Footsteps were heard and the guards hurried into the tent.

"Your Majesty, my messenger has returned from the south bank and brought back Liu Bei's reply."

The guard half-knelt on the ground, holding up a letter high.

Yuan Shu was quite displeased that his drinking mood was interrupted. He waved his hand impatiently and sent the dancers away.

"Read it. I want to see if the big-eared thief dares to fight me."

Yuan Shu waved his hands nonchalantly, but still did not sit up straight and still held the wine glass in his hand.

The guard opened the letter and said loudly:

"Tomorrow I will cross the river and fight to take your head!"

Liu Bei's reply consisted of just this one sentence.

Simple and domineering, as if he regarded Yuan Shu as a worthless person.

"Bang!"

Yuan Shu smashed his wine glass to the ground, and suddenly sat up, angrily saying:

"How dare you be so arrogant, you big-eared thief, and look down on me like this!"

Yuan Shu jumped up, snatched the handwritten letter from Liu Bei, and read it personally in shock and anger.

This method of provoking the enemy was proposed by Yang Hong. The purpose was naturally to anger Liu Bei and lure him across the river for a battle so as to achieve a quick victory.

Although Yuan Shu adopted Yang Hong's advice, he was confident in his judgment that Liu Bei was afraid of his military power and would probably not dare to fight.

However, he did not expect that Liu Bei, who was beaten like a stray dog ​​by him in Xuzhou back then, would now become so arrogant and conceited.

It would be fine if he dared to cross the river to fight, but you still treat him as an ant!

Yuan Shu was naturally both surprised and furious.

"Your Majesty, although Liu Bei was arrogant and conceited, it is a fact that he fell into our provocation."

"Let's retreat ten miles, let him cross the river, and then defeat him in one fell swoop, and end the battle quickly!"

There was a hint of sarcasm in Yang Hong's brows.

Yuan Shu's eyes lit up and the anger on his face turned into joy.

Only then did he remember that the original intention of Yang Hong's declaration of war was to lure Liu Bei across the river and fight out of anger.

"Yang Qing, what you said makes sense. It seems that you have accurately grasped the mind of that big-eared thief."

"After this thief seized Jingzhou and defeated my son Bofu, he is truly arrogant and conceited. How dare he not take me seriously?"

"In that case, I will let him cross the river and help him sober up!"

The anger on Yuan Shu's face disappeared and turned into a sarcastic sneer in the blink of an eye.

Yuan Shu immediately ordered the entire army to withdraw camp to the north, setting up camp ten miles away and leaving the north bank open for Liu Bei to cross the river and land.

"Ahem, Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Chen Gong couldn't help but speak, with a hint of worry between his brows.

Yuan Shu waved his hand and told him to speak frankly.

"I think Liu Bei is no longer the same as he was before!"

"Since he got Xiao Fang, he has never been defeated. He is no longer the mediocre and gullible person he was in Xuzhou."

"With Xiao Fang's wisdom, he should be able to see that this is your Majesty's way of provoking us. He should also know how risky it is to fight a desperate battle."

"But Liu Bei still dared to cross the river to fight Your Majesty, which shows that he is fearless."

"I am worried that we may not be sure of winning this battle. I think it is better to be cautious."

Chen Gong expressed his concerns and also sounded a wake-up call to Yuan Shu who was determined to win.

Yuan Shu frowned slightly, and the wine glass hung in the air.

It's true that he is arrogant, but he is not stupid. How could he not hear the logic in Chen Gong's words?

Liu Biao knew very well what he was capable of. It was he who killed Sun Jian, forcing Liu Biao to abandon Nanyang and move east to Huainan.

Liu Bei was able to force Liu Biao to death and seize Jingzhou with the soldiers of just one county. How could he still be the weakling he was in Xuzhou?
As a father, he knew only too well how powerful his adopted son Sun Ce was.

Such a strong son was defeated by Liu Bei and had to humiliate himself by asking for help from him. This shows how strong Liu Bei was.

"What Gongtai said is not without reason."

"The big-eared thief was able to destroy Liu Biao and defeat my son Sun Ce. He is indeed much stronger than he was back then."

"As for Xiao Fang, that poor countryman, he was able to force Zhou Yu to death. He was indeed quite resourceful..."

Yuan Shu calmed down a little.

Chen Gong's eyes turned secretly, and he took the opportunity to say:
"So Gong thinks that, for the sake of safety, Your Majesty does not need to rush into a decisive battle with Liu Bei." "Your Majesty can first return to Shouchun to take charge of the overall situation, and order Marquis Wen to continue to station troops at Ruxukou, continue to respond to Sun Ce from the north and south, and continue to confront Liu Bei."

"Cao's troops are now surrounding Ye County. If Ye County is destroyed, Nanyang will be in danger. Liu Bei will have no choice but to withdraw his troops and go back to rescue Nanyang."

"In this way, Your Majesty can resolve the crisis in Jiangdong without spending a single soldier?"

Chen Gong offered a plan without stopping, then turned around and winked at Lu Bu.

Lu Bu's eyes moved, and he immediately understood.

Chen Gong wanted to send Yuan Shu back to Shouchun, so that he could keep quiet and take control of the 30,000 troops on the front line.

With 30,000 troops at hand, wings fully grown, and sword in hand, is there any need for him to endure humiliation and become Yuan Shu's lackey?

"Don't worry, father. With my son in command of our army at Ruxukou, that big-eared thief won't be able to advance even a single step eastward. He will retreat without a fight sooner or later!"

Lu Bu immediately stood up, patted his chest and asked Yuan Shu for the opportunity.

Yuan Shu tapped the table with his fingertips and narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had been persuaded.

After all, sleeping in the open air on the front line is not as comfortable as enjoying life in Shouchun.

"Gongtai, what you said is wrong!"

Yang Hong immediately stood up and objected:
"We experienced a drought in Huainan last year. Harvests were poor everywhere. The grain in the treasury is almost gone. We can't sustain a long-term standoff with Liu Bei."

"That is why I want to offer this provocation to Your Majesty, to lure Liu Bei across the river for a battle, so that we can quickly defeat him."

Speaking of food and grass, Yuan Shu's heart couldn't help but tremble.

"As for Xiao Fang, he is indeed full of strange schemes and cunning, I admit this."

"But in this battle, we are going to face Liu Bei head-on. The competition is about whose soldiers are more elite. No matter how cunning he is, what's the use?"

"What's more, Your Majesty has the best general in the world, Wen Hou, and his Bingzhou Wolf Riders. Are you afraid that you can't defeat the big-eared thief in an upright manner and resolve the crisis in Jiangdong quickly?"

Yang Hong gave an eloquent analysis and easily refuted Chen Gong's suggestion.

The hesitation in Yuan Shu's eyes turned firm again.

"Besides, these 30,000 soldiers are the elite troops of our country. If something unexpected happens, our Zhongguo will be in danger."

"Only if Your Majesty takes command in person can the soldiers feel at ease."

Yang Hong winked at Yuan Shu with a meaningful tone.

The implication of these words was naturally to hint to Yuan Shu that he should not easily hand over the military power to Lu Bu.

Yuan Shu immediately understood what he meant, and without further hesitation, he slammed the table and shouted:
"I have made up my mind. Tomorrow I will personally lead the army to fight the big-eared thief."

"I want to show those mat weavers and shoe sellers what it means to be an upright teacher!"

"I will also kill that big-eared thief with my own hands to avenge my son Yuan Yao!"

Yang Hong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Lu Bu and Chen Gong with a smug look.

Lu Bu and Chen Gong looked at each other, swallowed their saliva secretly, and gave up.

That night, Yuan Shu gave an order and 30,000 Yuan troops moved their camp north and retreated ten miles.

The next morning, Liu Bei learned that Yuan Shu had retreated, so he sent 5,000 naval forces ashore, set up camp at Ruxukou, and built fortifications to ensure that Yuan Shu would not attack them halfway across the river.

After the establishment of both the land and sea camps, Liu Bei left Gan Ning, Wen Pin, and Zhuge Liang with 20,000 troops to guard the camp on the south bank to monitor the 10,000 Jiangdong troops crossing the Zheqi Ferry.

Liu Bei personally led an army of 30,000, accompanied by Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci and other generals, and crossed to the north bank accompanied by Xiao Fang.

The 30,000-strong army crossed the river smoothly and rested for half a day.

At dusk, scouts came to report that Yuan Shu had led an army of 30,000 troops southward along the west bank of the Rushu River and was approaching the camp.

Liu Bei then gave an order and the camp gate opened wide. Thirty thousand Liu army soldiers lined up with their backs to the camp and slowly advanced northward along the Rushu River.

As the sun was setting, the two armies met.

Liu Bei ordered the entire army to stop advancing and form a battle array on the spot to prepare to fight against Yuan's army.

Looking into the distance, I saw a cloud of dust rolling in from the north, getting closer and closer.

After a while.

Countless flags with the word "Yuan" on them, leading countless soldiers, slowly emerged from the dust and fog and came into view.

The 30,000-strong Yuan army came in a mighty force.

The two armies were more than 200 steps apart, forming a standoff.

The central headquarters of Yuan’s army.

Yuan Shu's bloodshot eyes were fixed on the flag with the word "Liu" on it.

He knew that the enemy who killed his son was under that banner.

The rage for revenge, like an erupting volcano, instantly burned his entire body to ashes.

"Follow orders first!"

Yuan Shu suddenly shouted, pointed his whip at the Liu character flag, and said sternly:
"The murderer who killed your brother is right there!"

"Your martial arts are unrivaled in the world. I order you to charge into the battle alone. Among the thousands of soldiers, cut off the head of the big-eared thief for me!"

(End of this chapter)