Chapter 25: All the bigwigs were shocked: Did Liu Bei get a high-ranking person?
Xuzhou, Xiapi.

"what?"

"Our two coalition forces were completely wiped out?"

Inside the government hall, Lu Bu slammed the table and stood up, his face filled with shock and astonishment, as if he had heard something out of the ordinary.

"Reporting to Lord Wen, it is absolutely true."

"According to our soldiers who escaped, Liu Bei used food and supplies as bait to make General Cao mistakenly believe that his army was in a panic and fled in a hurry."

"General Cao and Li Feng then launched a massive pursuit, but unexpectedly fell into an ambush set by Liu Bei..."

Wei Xu had a sad face and tremblingly reported the details of the defeat.

Lu Bu gasped, fell down and sat down, stunned.

The hall suddenly exploded, and all the generals were shocked and amazed.

Even Chen Gong's face changed in shock at this moment, and he lost his calm and composed demeanor.

"Six thousand allied troops, and my three thousand elite Danyang soldiers!"

"Were they completely wiped out by the 3,000 fleeing soldiers of the Big Eared Thief?"

"How is this possible? How is this possible..."

Lu Bu clenched his fists gradually, gritted his teeth and shook his head, unwilling to believe this unbelievable battle report.

Originally, he thought that there would be soldiers from Danyang pursuing them, plus the three thousand soldiers sent by Yuan Shu, a total of six thousand troops, twice as many as Liu Bei's troops.

Even if we cannot completely wipe out Liu Bei's troops, we can at least defeat Liu Bei again and force him to flee in panic, abandoning his weapons and armor.

The ending was the opposite.

Six thousand troops were almost wiped out by Liu Bei!
This completely opposite outcome was completely beyond Lu Bu's expectations, and it made him shocked and unbelievable.

Lu Bu didn't believe it.

Although Chen Gong suppressed his shock, the confusion and suspicion in his eyes only grew.

"According to what you said, Liu Bei chose to land in Chengfu City in order to use the terrain of the nearby valley to set up an ambush."

"That is to say, he had already expected that we would send out pursuers and chase them all the way to Runan."

"Then he deliberately abandoned the baggage and ordered the rear guard to feign defeat, just to make our army mistakenly believe that his army was in disarray, so we underestimated the enemy and pursued him."

"So our army was caught completely off guard and fell into his ambush!"

"How could there be such a far-sighted and cunning person around Liu Bei?"

Chen Gong's eyes flickered, and he pointed out all the suspicious aspects of this battle in one breath.

Obviously, the person who gave Liu Bei advice behind the scenes was the one who really surprised him.

"The advisers under the command of the big-eared thief are nothing more than Mi, Sun, and Qian. Gongtai, you also said that these three people are mediocre in intelligence and strategy."

"How could they possibly come up with such a trick for the Big Eared Thief?"

Lu Bu recovered from his shock and waved his hand disdainfully, denying Chen Gong's guess.

This denial was not a big deal, but it made Chen Gong shudder, as if he suddenly thought of something.

"Liu Bei fled quietly on the sea, passing through the Huai River and entering Runan right under our and Yuan Shu's noses. This is a brilliant escape plan."

"This plan to ambush my pursuers is also a stunning move."

"Since Mi, Sun, and Jian don't have such a wise plan, could it be that Liu Bei got a brilliant strategist before he fled Xuzhou, as I expected?"

Chen Gong expressed his guess.

Lu Bu was startled at first, then waved his hand disapprovingly:

"I can count the famous strategists in Xuzhou on my fingers."

"Gongtai, didn't you also say that the only person here who can be compared with you in terms of wisdom and strategy is Chen Yuanlong?"

"However, Chen Yuanlong did not flee with Liu Bei. He even sent a letter to me the day before yesterday to show his goodwill to me."

"I just don't believe that Liu Bei can find any more resourceful and strategic people."

"Besides, if there really was such a powerful person, why would he see Liu Bei in such a state of desolation and still assist him without knowing the current situation?"

After hearing what Lu Bu said, Chen Gong's speculation, which he originally thought was reasonable, suddenly seemed unreliable.

"If there wasn't such a person, how could Liu Bei have made such brilliant moves to survive despite being in a desperate situation?"

Chen Gong muttered to himself, lost in confusion.

At this time.

Lu Bu suddenly noticed something unusual and asked hurriedly:

"Where is my father-in-law? Since he has returned from a defeat, why doesn't he come to see me?"

Wei Xu was shocked and dared not make a sound.

"What about Cao Bao? What happened to him?"

Lu Bu realized something was wrong and shouted.

Wei Xu was helpless and could only sigh and say:

"General Cao failed to break out and was captured by the enemy. He was...beheaded by Liu Bei!"

Lu Bu's body swayed slightly, and his face froze in shock again.

Chen Gong, who was originally suspicious, couldn't help but look incredulous when he heard the news.

It is not surprising that Cao Bao was captured by Liu Bei, after all, he fell into an ambush.

But it was beyond his expectation that Liu Bei actually killed Cao Bao.

Wasn’t Liu Bei always kind and tolerant?

Cao Bao is not a loyal man. After being captured, he will definitely surrender.

With Liu Bei's character, there was no reason for him not to spare Cao Bao's life. But Liu Bei killed Cao Bao anyway!
The script is wrong...

"Liu Bei, Liu Bei, in just one month, you have truly impressed me."

"What happened to you during this month?"

Chen Gong frowned, his thoughts racing in his mind, and he once again fell into deep confusion and speculation.

"Big-eared thief!"

"You made fun of me and killed my father-in-law. You are so hateful!"

"One day, I will chop off your head with my own hands!"

Lu Bu's angry roar was heard in the hall.

...

Shouchun City.

The provincial capital was already in mourning.

Yuan Shu ordered all the people in the city to wear mourning clothes and pay tribute to his eldest son Yuan Yao.

"Li Feng, this loser, was actually defeated by the big-eared thief?"

"Not only was he killed by Zhang Fei, but he also lost three thousand of my elite soldiers?"

Inside the mourning hall, Yuan Shu had just learned the news of Li Feng's defeat, and his fat body was so excited that he jumped up.

"Reporting to the lord, Liu Bei set up an ambush west of Chengfu City. Li Feng and Cao Bao underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, which led to them falling into Liu Bei's ambush."

"Not only was Li Feng's army wiped out, but Cao Bao's army was also wiped out and killed by Liu Bei!"

The chief clerk Yan Xiang reported the course of the war in a low voice.

Yuan Shu snatched the information from the silk book and read it carefully in a panic. Gradually, a look of deep confusion and bewilderment emerged on his originally frightened and angry face.

"The big-eared thief was first defeated by Lu Bu, and then by me. He is nothing but a mediocre and incompetent person."

"How come you have become so powerful overnight? You have used such a trick to defeat my 6,000-strong coalition army?"

Yuan Shu's eyes widened, and his fleshy face was twisted in an unbelievable expression.

Yang Hong beside him was also full of doubts and asked puzzledly:

"First he escaped from Haixi, and now he is plotting to defeat the enemy with a smaller force in Chengfu. This doesn't seem like the strength that Liu Bei should have."

"If he had such a wise plan, why did he lose Xuzhou and flee far away?"

Yuan Shu and his ministers were in a state of confusion.

"My lord, no matter what, Liu Bei has defeated my pursuers and is now heading west of Ruzhou, escaping from our control."

"If you send more troops to the west, it will certainly arouse Cao Cao's vigilance. If he sends more troops to Runan, a battle will be inevitable."

"Xiang believes that given the current situation, we should avoid another direct confrontation with Cao Cao before the Lord takes Xuzhou."

Yuan Shu's heart trembled slightly, and a look of fear flashed across his eyes.

It was because of several disastrous defeats in battles with Cao Cao that he had to move all the way to Huainan, and it was inevitable that he had some "Cao phobia" in his heart.

It would be unwise to fight Cao Cao again in Runan in order to pursue Liu Bei.

"Big-eared thief, I'll leave your head for now!"

"After I take Xuzhou, I will kill you and that thief Cao together to vent my hatred!"

Yuan Shu was tough in words but honest in action. After weighing the pros and cons, he listened to Yan Xiang's advice.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

...

Yingchuan, Xudu.

"Lü Bu attacked and captured Xiapi, Liu Bei suffered two disastrous defeats and retreated to Haixi, while Yuan Shu swallowed up Guangling."

"Xuzhou has evolved from Liu Bei's sole power to a three-way balance of power. The water is getting muddier and muddier."

"Wen Ruo, your plan of driving the tiger to devour the wolf is indeed a brilliant move!"

In the government hall, the newly promoted big man Sikong was squinting at the secret report from Xuzhou, with a slight smile on his lips.

"Liu Bei is a man who can bend and stretch himself."

"I expect that he will surrender to Lu Bu. Lu Bu will be afraid of the loss of his teeth and lips, so he will most likely accept Liu Bei's surrender and place him in Xiaopei to form a pincer attack to prevent Yuan Shu from encircling Xuzhou from the west."

"In Xuzhou, Yuan, Lu and Liu will each have their own agenda and will try to contain each other."

"The Minister of Works will have enough time to settle the emperor and his ministers, eliminate the threat to Xudu from the uncle and nephew of the Zhang family in the south, and then march eastward to capture Xuzhou in one fell swoop."

Xun Yu stroked his thin beard and eloquently outlined a blueprint for Cao Cao.

"If what you said makes sense, Wancheng is too close to Xudu. As long as Uncle Zhang Ji is not removed, I will not be at peace."

Cao Cao nodded in agreement and agreed with it deeply.

The two were about to discuss how to use military force against Nanyang in the near future.

A scholar in black, holding a silk book in his hand, walked into the hall in a hurry.

"Sikong, our Siwen Cao just received a secret report."

"Liu Bei had sailed out of Haixi not long ago, and then turned through the Huai River and Wo River to enter Runan."

"A few days ago, Liu Bei defeated the 6,000-strong coalition army of Yuan and Lu with a small force in the Chengfu area, and killed their generals Cao Bao and Li Feng!"

"Liu Bei has now led his army to Ruxi!"

Cao Cao and Xun Yu were startled and their faces changed at the same time.

(End of this chapter)