Chapter 244 Liu Bei: Lu Bu, it’s time to settle the accounts! Both reinforcements are cut off, and the souls are scattered!
Tai Shi Ci?
Liu Bei's generals?
Fell into a trap!

Xin Ping's shout, like thunder, echoed in the ears of the senior officials.

It woke him up instantly.

This group of people were not Lu Bu's men, nor were they here to escort the imperial seal to them.

This is the Liu army in Xuyi. They were so bold as to disguise themselves as Lu Bu's troops and come to attack Xiaxiang in the name of escorting the imperial seal!

Liu Bei did not wait for him to attack Xuyi, but took the initiative to attack him at Xiaxiang City!

Although Gao Gan was not very smart, he was not stupid. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant and he suddenly woke up.

Without giving it any time to think, he turned his horse around and tried to escape.

"Where are you going!"

Taishi Ci snorted coldly, stretched out his tiger arm, and grabbed Gao Gan's belt.

In a hurry, Gao Gan drew his sword and slashed at Taishi Ci.

Before he could use his sword, Taishi Ci swung his Fang Tian Hua Ji and easily knocked the sword out of his hand.

Then there was a tiger roar, and with a strong force of his arms, he dragged Gao Gan off the horse and lifted him high into the air.

"Save me, save me~~"

Gao Gan, who was in the air, was struggling and flapping his arms like a chick, shouting in panic.

"Save Master Zizhu, save Master Zizhu!"

Xin Ping was the first to react and shouted to everyone around him.

Lu Kuang suddenly woke up, and without saying a word, he rode his horse and rushed forward with his gun in hand.

"How dare you hurt our Master Zizhu, you bastard? You are courting death!"

Lü Kuang shouted loudly, galloped on his horse, and rushed towards Taishi Ci with a spear in his hand.

Unfortunately, in Taishi Ci's eyes, his spear-moving skills were like a child's play.

Before the spear arrived, Taishi Ci shook his wrist and the Fang Tian Hua Ji slashed out like lightning.

The last come first!

"puff!"

Before Lu Kuang could see clearly how Taishi Ci attacked, half of his body was cut off, and the remaining body fell off the horse with a bang.

Capture and kill in the blink of an eye.

The soldiers of Yuan's army gathered in front of the gate were all dumbfounded, and no one dared to take a step forward to rescue Gao Gan.

"What are you waiting for? Take down Xiaxiang City!"

Taishi Ci pointed with his Fang Tian Hua Ji and shouted loudly.

The Liu army soldiers who were disguised as Lu army behind him immediately took off their disguises and rushed towards the wide-open city gate like tigers and wolves.

Xin Ping was shocked when he saw this. He no longer cared about Gao Gan's life or death. He turned his horse around and fled into the city gate first.

"Close the city gates. The enemy is attacking. Close the city gates—"

He jumped and ran away, screaming all the way.

It's too late.

With Lu Kuang killed and Gao Gan captured, Yuan's army instantly lost its backbone and its morale immediately collapsed.

Although they were numerous, they collapsed in an instant and fled when Liu's army charged.

Taishi Ci threw Gao Gan to the ground, spurred his horse and raised his halberd to charge towards the city gate.

When the horse's hooves galloped past, they happened to step on Gao Gan's hand. With a "crack" sound, the palm of his hand was crushed.

The senior official, who was already dizzy from the fall, felt so much pain that he almost fainted.

Several soldiers behind him rushed forward and tied up Gao Gan.

Taishi Ci rushed into the city gate like a killing god, holding a Fang Tian Huaji.

Hand raised and halberd fell, hand raised and halberd fell...

The defeated soldiers of Yuan's army were chopped to the ground in large numbers like grass.

Rivers of blood...

The 10,000 Yuan troops in the city, like a frightened bird, abandoned the city and fled to the north.

As night fell, the sounds of killing finally died down.

Above the four gates of Xiaxiang, flags with the word "Liu" on them had been raised.

Pang Tong, who arrived later, also climbed up the city wall and met Taishi Ci.

"Shi Yuan, Military Advisor Xiao said that you are very resourceful and cunning, and your reputation is well-deserved!"

"Gao Gan never dreamed that we only had 3,000 soldiers and horses, but instead of retreating to defend Xuyi, we actually dared to take the initiative to cause trouble for him!"

"These three thousand defeated ten thousand. What a joyful kill!"

Taishi Ci sighed with admiration and was full of praise for Pang Tong.

This was Pang Tong’s plan.

The two of them commanded more than 3,000 soldiers and took the lead in occupying Xuyi. Then they heard that Gao Gan led 10,000 Yuan troops to bypass Xia Pi and head south, and reached Xiaxiang City, 50 miles away.

According to Taishi Ci's original idea, Yuan's army was three times larger than his own, so holding on to Xuyi was the best strategy.

Pang Tong didn't think so.

Three thousand versus ten thousand, the advantage is obviously in my hands.

So Pang Tong planned to ask Taishi Ci to lead his army to disguise as Lu's army, take advantage of the enemy's carelessness and unexpectedly deal a fatal blow to Yuan's army, thus turning the passive situation into active one and defeating 10,000 Yuan's troops in one fell swoop.

As it turned out, Pang Tong's adventure was successful.

"Shi Yuan, there is one thing I don't understand. How can you be so sure that this high official will not only not be completely defenseless, but will also personally come out of the city to meet us, giving us the opportunity to capture the leader first?"

After Taishi Ci stopped praising him, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Pang Tong looked towards Shouchun and said with emotion:

"My plan was successful, and we were able to capture the leader first, all thanks to Military Advisor Xiao's reminder."

Taishi Ci was stunned.

Pang Tong then told the whole story.

It turned out that before leaving Shouchun that day, Xiao Fang had mentioned to him that Yuan Shao was not as eager to save Lu Bu as Cao Cao, and would definitely add insult to injury and take advantage of the situation to make demands on Lu Bu and offer harsh conditions before sending troops to rescue him.

One of the conditions must be to force Lü Bu to hand over the Imperial Seal. "It was because of Advisor Xiao's inference that I suddenly had an idea to pretend to be Lü Bu and come to escort the Imperial Seal."

"I think this imperial seal is the most precious treasure in the world. It is a symbol of destiny. It has such a heavy weight."

“Whoever is in charge of the Yuan army, upon hearing that Lü Bu has sent the Imperial Seal, he will surely go out of the city to welcome it personally, so that he can have a glimpse of this treasure.”

"In this case, Ziyi, you have the opportunity to capture the leader first."

"Speaking of which, the success of my plan is also thanks to the reminder from Military Advisor Xiao."

Pang Tong explained the reason.

Taishi Ci suddenly realized and couldn't help but sigh:
"Our military advisor Xiao is truly a god, worthy of the title of strategist."

"My lord, you have a strategist like Xiao Junshi, and you have the assistance of people like Kongming, Shiyuan, and Boyan. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are no match for you!"

"It seems that my lord is truly destined to succeed!"

The two sighed and lamented for a while.

Pang Tong was the first to calm down, raised his hand and pointed westward, smiling:

"After Yuan Tan's defeat, he will not be able to send troops south to seize Xuyi for a while."

"Send Gao Gan and the victory report to Shouchun, so that the lord can know that the eastern front is safe and secure. You can besiege Shouchun and destroy Lü Bu's four servants with peace of mind."

...

Shouchun City.

Ma Dai had just brought back Cao Ang's head, and with mixed feelings of gratitude and fear, he bid farewell to Liu Bei and set out on the road north to Guandu.

Soon after, the messenger returned to Shouchun with the news of Xiaxiang's great victory and the prisoner Gao Gan, and presented them to Liu Bei.

"Three thousand defeated the ten thousand Yuan army?"

"And they captured Yuan Shao's nephew alive?"

Liu Bei was greatly surprised. He took the battle report and couldn't wait to read it carefully.

It describes in detail how General Pang Tong used his strategies, how Taishi Ci unexpectedly captured Gao Gan alive, how he defeated 10,000 Yuan troops, and how he captured Xiaxiang City.

"So that's how it is. This Pang Shiyuan is really like what you said, Jinglue. He likes to use risky tactics when deploying troops!"

Liu Bei sighed with emotion, and there was a hint of fear in his tone of admiration.

Xiao Fang smiled faintly, but said:

"The greater the risk, the greater the return. Some people prefer to play it safe, while others prefer to take risks. Each has his or her own strengths."

"However, Shi Yuan's risky move was indeed successful this time. Yuan Shao's reinforcements were cut off, my lord."

"As Shi Yuan said, my lord, you can now rest assured and focus on killing Lu Bu."

A gleam of light flashed in Liu Bei's eyes, and he stood up with the battle report in his hand, walked out of the tent, and looked towards the towering Shouchun City.

"Lü Bu, Xuzhou, you are ungrateful and have almost driven me to despair. It is time for us to settle accounts for both new and old grudges..."

A murderous intent flashed in Liu Bei's eyes.

...

Shouchun City, inside the main hall of the provincial government.

Lu Bu was pacing with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, muttering to himself, with annoyance in his eyes.

"Yuan Shao, this old man, is really too much. He actually wants to force me to send my family as hostages and even wants to take my imperial seal!"

"He has such a big appetite. Does he really think that I am easy to bully~~"

Lu Bu gritted his teeth and complained incessantly.

Gao Shun took a step forward and said angrily:
"If Marquis Wen gives his family to Yuan Shao, wouldn't that mean he is holding on to his weakness? Even if we defeat Liu Bei and defend Shouchun in the future, we will still be at Yuan Shao's mercy."

"As for the imperial seal, it is the most precious treasure in the world. How could we give it to Yuan Shao?"

Gao Shun's words touched Lu Bu's heart, and he started complaining again.

"Gongtai, why don't you speak? What do you say?"

"You suggested to me that we go to ask Yuan Shao for help. Now he has put forward such harsh conditions. What do you think I should do?"

After Lu Bu muttered to himself for a while, he finally remembered to ask Chen Gong for his opinion.

Chen Gong coughed a few times, but sighed softly:
"The conditions Yuan Benchu ​​offered do seem to be taking advantage of someone's misfortune and adding insult to injury. This is really unworthy of the world's number one overlord."

Changing the subject, Chen Gong said:
"But then again, if the Yuan family didn't come to rescue us, Shouchun would have been in danger."

"If Shouchun falls, I'm afraid all of us will die under Liu Bei's blade, and my wife and the others may not be able to escape either."

"As for the imperial seal, it will naturally fall into Liu Bei's hands along with the fall of Shouchun."

"Could it be that Lord Wen really wants to see... ahem~~"

Chen Gong did not say anything else, but the implication of his words was obvious.

If you give away your family and the imperial seal, you can still live.

If you don't send it, you will all die.

Your family and the imperial seal will all fall into Liu Bei's hands.

Lu Bu shuddered, as if a bucket of cold water was poured over his head. He stopped pacing and froze in place.

"Even if Yuan Shao doesn't come to rescue us, there's still Cao Cao!"

"How could he not understand the principle of the lips and teeth being cold? Even if he has to piece together an army here and there, he will definitely be able to put together an army to save us!"

"Cao Cao won't put forward any conditions!"

Gao Shun stood up again and gave Lu Bu a wave of warmth, which ignited a flame of hope in Lu Bu's eyes again.

Footsteps sounded, and the guards stumbled in, shouting:

"Your Excellency Lord Wen, my spy has just risked his life to deliver an urgent report."

"Cao Cao sent 7,000 troops to attack Yangquan but failed. They were defeated by Liu Bei and his son Cao Ang was also killed by Liu Bei!"

Lu Bu's body shook and his expression changed drastically.

More hurried footsteps were heard again, and another guard came in with a look of panic on his face.

"Reporting to Lord Wen, a secret report was made. Liu Bei's general Taishi Ci raided Xiaxiang, captured Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan alive, and defeated 10,000 Yuan troops!"

The second piece of bad news arrived.

There was a buzzing sound in Lu Bu's head, and he felt as if his soul had been torn apart. He froze in place in a daze, dazed and stunned.

(End of this chapter)