Chapter 229 I've had enough of being a stray dog! We need to have a bigger appetite, we need to defeat Lu Bu, and we need to recruit the generals of the Temple of Martial Arts!

Lu Bu was really scared.

From Yanzhou to Xuzhou, and from Xuzhou to Huainan, he rose several times and fell again several times.

Now that he had finally managed to stab Yuan Shu in the back and steal the foothold of Huainan, what he feared most was a repeat of the previous mistakes of Xuzhou and Yanzhou, and losing Huainan again.

Now that Lu'an had fallen and Sun Quan was dead, Liu Bei easily tore to pieces the defense system he had built.

He seemed to see once again the signs that he was about to fail and lose Huainan.

This made him feel unprecedented fear.

"This time, I will never lose Huainan again. I, Lu Bu, will never be a stray dog ​​and rely on others again!"

This thought kept buzzing in Lu Bu's mind, and he almost went crazy and asked Chen Gong for a plan to turn the situation around.

Chen Gong was frightened by Lü Bu's crazy attitude. It took him a long while to come to his senses. He shouted hurriedly, "Wen Hou, calm down and let me think about it."

Only then did Lu Bu stop shaking Chen Gong and looked at this resourceful strategist with expectant eyes.

"Our main forces on the western front are all stationed in Lu'an. Zhang Wenyuan in Yangquan only has less than 3,000 soldiers and horses. He will definitely not be able to hold out for long."

"Once Yangquan falls, Guan Yu will be able to attack Shouchun from the upper reaches of the Huai River. At that time, we will have no choice but to abandon Chengde City and retreat to Shouchun."

"If Liu Bei's two armies meet, we will be trapped in Shouchun City and face the dilemma of defending an isolated city."

"If we want to avoid this situation, we must first lift the siege of Yangquan and defeat Guan Yu's troops!"

After analyzing the situation, Chen Gong regained some composure and continued:

"Gong believes that Marquis Wen should leave 5,000 soldiers and horses behind to bluff and continue to defend Chengde under the banner of Marquis Wen, thus delaying Liu Bei's main force."

"Marquis Wen can lead the main force, leave the city at night and head north, double the speed and attack Yangquan City directly."

"The Xiangyang garrison led by Guan Yu has no more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. With the superior force of Wen Hou and Zhang Wenyuan's cooperation in attacking from both inside and outside, we will surely be able to defeat Guan Yu in one fell swoop."

"When the time comes, Marquis Wen will return to his army as soon as possible, and will be able to return to Chengde and take charge of the situation before Liu Bei can react."

"In this way, the threat on the western front is lifted, Chengde City is still in the hands of Wen Hou, and Liu Bei has nothing to fear!"

Chen Gong was not in a hurry and offered a strategy to Lu Bu.

Lu Bu gradually calmed down, and the domineering arrogance of the world's number one general rekindled on his face, while he weighed Chen Gong's strategy in his mind.

After a moment's silence, Lu Bu clenched his fist:
"At this point, the only option left is to use the public platform."

"Where is Hou Cheng?"

Hou Cheng was stunned for a moment, then hurried forward to receive the order.

Lu Bu's face was as hard as steel, and he said sternly:

"I order you to lead 5,000 soldiers, raise more straw flags, and continue to defend Chengde under my banner."

"Within seven days, I will defeat Guan Yu and return."

"If you lose your virtue within seven days, I will forgive you. If you lose the city within seven days, you will be executed without mercy!"

Hou Cheng couldn't help but feel startled. Naturally, he didn't want to take on this tough job, so he couldn't help but hesitate.

Lu Bu's face darkened and he glared:
"Why, in this time of crisis, you are unwilling to take the lead for me?"

Hou Cheng shuddered, no longer daring to hesitate, and could only bow helplessly:

"How dare I? I will do my best to defend Chengde City for Marquis Wen until he returns!"

The sullen look on Lu Bu's face finally improved, and he looked towards Liu Jun's camp outside the city.

"Big-eared thief, I can lose to anyone, but I will never lose to you!"

"You killed my adopted son, and you dared to use his head to show off your power to me. I will kill your adopted brother and use his head as a reward!"

Lu Bu gnashed his teeth, swore a solemn oath, then turned and hurriedly left the city.

Chen Gong looked in the direction of Liu Ying, his brows furrowed, and there was a hint of unconfidence in his eyes.

"I hope that this plan of mine can deceive Xiao Fang. Otherwise, this time, Wen Hou and I will be forced into a desperate situation..."

Chen Gong sighed, shook his head helplessly, and followed Lu Bu out of the city.

South of Chengde City, Liu’s army camp.

Xu Chu had already returned to the camp on horseback and reported to Liu Bei about throwing Sun Quan's head into Chengde City.

"Well, those four servants and their soldiers must be scared out of their wits!"

"Brother, what are we waiting for? Just give the order and we will attack the city and flatten Chengde City."

"This time, I will kill those four servants with my own hands!"

Zhang Fei jumped up and shouted excitedly for a fight.

The fighting spirit of the generals was ignited in an instant.

Whether it was Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, as well as Gan Ning, Ling Cao and other generals, they all volunteered to fight.

"Jinglue, what do you think? Should we attack Chengde now or not?"

There was a fighting spirit in Liu Bei's eyes, but he remained calm and looked at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang did not answer, but looked at Pang Tong and Lu Xun and asked:

"Bo Yan, Shi Yuan, what do you two think?"

Old Liu now has many wise counselors under his command, and all of them are capable of acting independently.

Xiao Fang naturally intended to let them gain more experience and show their faces more often so that they could take on the important responsibility for Lao Liu as soon as possible.

This way, I can have an easy time... "Although our army has already conquered Liu'an and killed Sun Quan, Lü Bu's main force in Chengde City is still there. Even if the army's morale is shaken, it may not be easy for our army to storm the city."

"Xun thinks that whether to attack Chengde City by force is still a matter for everyone to consider."

After analyzing the enemy situation, Lu Xun tactfully expressed his opposition to an immediate attack on Chengde City.

This is also in line with his cautious style of using troops - seeking stability.

The fact is that in history, Lu Xun's several world-famous victories were all won by maintaining stability.

Whether it was the defeat of Liu Bang in the Battle of Yiling or the defeat of Cao Xiu in the Battle of Shiting, both were examples of winning by maintaining stability.

"My lord, I think that Boyan is too conservative."

"In my opinion, Chengde City is made of paper. My lord, just give it a light kick and it will surely fall!"

"I think the lord should quickly give the order and mobilize the entire army to attack the city!"

Pang Tong's views were completely opposite to Lu Xun's.

Liu Bei perked up and turned his gaze towards Pang Tong, saying in surprise:

"Bo Yan's concerns are not without reason. Lu Bu's main force is still there."

"How can Shi Yuan be so sure that Chengde City is as hard as paper and can be easily broken?"

Pang Tong smiled coldly and said slowly:
"Lu'an has fallen, and Zhang Liao in Yangquan City has only 3,000 soldiers and horses. He can't resist General Guan's siege at all. If Lu Bu doesn't come to the rescue, we can be defeated in no time."

"If Yangquan City falls, there will be no barrier upstream of Shouchun. General Guan's troops can move eastward along the Huai River and attack Shouchun directly."

"Even if Lu Bu still has his main force, how dare he continue to defend Chengde?"

"His ultimate fate can only be to abandon Chengde and withdraw all his troops to Shouchun, waiting to be besieged in an isolated city by his lord."

"Lü Bu could not have imagined this situation, but Chen Gong certainly could have anticipated it."

Changing the subject, Pang Tong continued:
"So it is expected that Chen Gong will give advice to Lu Bu, leaving a small number of troops to bluff and continue to defend Chengde, while he will lead the main force to the north overnight to rescue Yangquan."

"In this way, he can defeat General Guan unexpectedly, eliminate the danger in Yangquan, and then quickly return to Chengde to continue confronting the lord on the Feishui line."

"This is his only chance to avoid being besieged by his lord in Shouchun."

"That's why I'm asking you, my lord, to launch an attack on Chengde immediately. At the same time, I'm going to send a cavalry of 800 miles to warn General Guan and ask him to temporarily suspend the siege of Yangquan City to avoid being attacked from both inside and outside by Lu Bu and the Yangquan defenders."

“After the lord conquers Chengde, Lu Bu will naturally not dare to defend Yangquan anymore. He can only order Zhang Liao to abandon the city and retreat eastward. In the end, he will inevitably be besieged by our army in the isolated city of Shouchun!”

Pang Tong was much more radical. He saw through Lu Bu's intention at a glance and urged Liu Bei to attack Chengde City with all his strength.

After hearing this, Liu Bei stood up suddenly, lifted the curtain, and looked towards the south gate tower of Chengde.

At this time, with the help of the lights on the city wall, one can vaguely see that the city wall is densely populated with soldiers, with flags still waving, as if they are ready for battle.

"Jinglue, according to what Shiyuan said, most of the Lu army soldiers on the top of the city were made of straw men. Has Lu Bu led his army to the north at night?"

Liu Bei turned his joyful gaze to Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang nodded slightly, waved his feather fan and praised:
"Bo Yan was indeed cautious this time, and Shi Yuan's calculation was correct."

"Lü Bu and Chen Gong are like-minded. Both of them like to take risks and excitement when deploying troops. At this time, they must lead the main force to attack Yangquan. I estimate that there are no more than 5,000 soldiers and horses left in Chengde City..."

Liu Bei was greatly encouraged.

If he only has 5,000 soldiers, then what is there to be afraid of? He has an army ten times larger than his own and is attacking with all his might. Is he really afraid that he won't be able to take down a mere Chengde City?

"However, I think that the Lord's appetite could be a little bigger."

"We shouldn't be satisfied with just taking Chengde. We should seize this opportunity and use our own tactics to severely damage Lu Bu's main force!"

Xiao Fang suddenly changed the subject, stood up, bowed and said:

"Fang thought that Shi Yuan's suggestion of a fierce attack on Chengde was a natural thing to do."

"As for the direction of Yangquan, don't order General Yunchang to retreat."

"You can go to Yangquan in person to help General Guan defeat Lu Bu's reinforcements first, and then take over Yangquan City."

"The most important thing is that I want to add another great general for my lord, a cavalry general who is proficient in cavalry warfare."

"If there is a Martial Temple in the future, this man might be a famous general who can be inducted into the Martial Temple!"

In fact, he could have let Pang Tong go in the battle to defeat Lu Bu, as Feng Chu's wisdom was enough for the task.

But because he mentioned this general in the Temple of Martial Arts, I decided to go there in person.

Liu Bei was inspired by what he heard.

Xiao Fang wanted to get to Yangquan before Lu Bu, use his clever strategies and Guan Yu's 10,000 troops to severely damage Lu Bu's main force.

Not only did he defeat Chengde, but he also defeated Lu Bu. Such a double blessing must have made Old Liu very happy.

But when he heard the second sentence, Lao Liu was confused.

A great general of the time, a cavalry general proficient in cavalry warfare, a famous general who can be included in the Temple of Martial Arts...

Hearing these tempting words, he was filled with joy and excitement.

But he had no idea who the brave warrior Xiao Fang was referring to.

"I wonder who the warrior Jinglue is referring to is?"

Liu Bei had no choice but to ask with a look of surprise.

Everyone's eyes widened, all filled with curiosity, and they couldn't wait to know who this powerful man who was praised so highly by their own military advisor Xiao was.

(End of this chapter)