Chapter 280 Xia Pi, the place where dreams begin, I, Liu Bei, am back! Want to be king or emperor? You have to get past me first!
South of Xia Pi City.

One after another, Liu’s army camps have been built.

On the Si River, a steady stream of warships came from the south and landed at the ferry southwest of Xia Pi. Tens of thousands of Liu's soldiers disembarked and entered the camp.

Nearly 70,000 infantry and cavalry of Liu's army have reached the Xia Pi line.

In the Battle of Xiaxiang, Yuan Tan lost nearly 30,000 soldiers. After retreating to Xia Pi, he gathered the defeated troops and barely gathered less than 30,000 soldiers.

Although Liu's army was more than twice as large as Yuan's, it was still not enough to complete the full encirclement of Xia Pi, so Liu Bei only ordered the army to set up camp on the southern line of the city.

The main camp is the central military tent.

Liu Bei stood at the camp gate with his hands behind his back, gazing at the outline of Xia Pi City in the distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

No one has more affection for Xia Pi City than he does.

This city can be said to be the city where his dream began.

Back then, he was a county magistrate, but overnight he became the lord of Xuzhou. It was from Xia Pi City that he officially stepped onto the stage of competing for supremacy as a local lord.

Xia Pi City is where the dream begins, but it is also a sad place.

Lu Bu attacked him from behind and seized Xia Pi from him, reducing him to his original form overnight and forcing him to flee to Jingzhou.

Over the years, although it rose in Nanyang, took Jingzhou and went to Jiangdong, its glory has far surpassed the time when it controlled Xuzhou.

But he longed day and night to recapture Xia Pi and return to the city where his dreams began.

And today, this city that I have been thinking about day and night is finally right before my eyes.

Just one step away!
As long as he defeats Yuan Tan, he will be able to step into the city of his dreams again and make up for the regret of losing Xia Pi that year.

"In Xuchang, Cao Cao has taken the emperor hostage and fled to Luoyang, intending to move west to Chang'an."

"Yuan Shao's slow advance led him to miss the opportunity to intercept Cao Cao and seize the emperor."

"However, Yuan Shao has now occupied Xuchang and sent Zhang He to lead 20,000 troops to advance eastward along the Sui River. He should be heading straight for Xiaxiang."

Chen Dao behind him read out the latest intelligence, pulling Liu Bei's thoughts back from past memories to reality.

"Everything is just as you expected, Jinglue. Cao Cao has indeed kidnapped the emperor and fled to Chang'an. Yuan Shao has indeed sent troops eastward along the Sui River, intending to attack our flank."

Liu Bei expressed admiration, but there was a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"But I just don't understand why Yuan Shao was so slow to advance and watched Cao Cao kidnap the emperor and escape from Xuchang?"

"He has 10,000 cavalrymen under his command, and they are definitely pursuing us day and night and heading straight for Xu Du. Even if they can't stop Cao Cao, they should at least stop the emperor."

Old Liu's doubts are also the doubts of everyone.

"The emperor is a treasure in Cao Cao's hands, but in Yuan Shao's eyes he is just a burden. Otherwise, if he wanted to welcome the emperor when he moved east, would Cao Cao be able to snatch him away?"

"Now that he has defeated Cao Cao, he thinks that the Central Plains are his own possession and he can do whatever he wants. Naturally, he doesn't take the emperor seriously, let alone seize him. This has become a stumbling block for him to become king or emperor!"

Xiao Fang waved his feather fan lightly and exposed Yuan Shao's motives with a sarcastic sneer.

The words "become king" and "become emperor" made Liu Bei's heart tremble.

"Military Advisor, what you mean is that Yuan Shao wants to learn Yuan Shu and usurp the Han Dynasty and establish his own kingdom?"

Old Liu frowned and looked at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang looked calm and said calmly:
"It is well known that Yuan's ambitions to usurp the Han Dynasty and establish his own regime have long been known to everyone."

"Yuan Shu is a living example, but Yuan Shao is much more patient and tolerant than Yuan Shu."

"According to common sense, even if Yuan Shao wanted to usurp the Han Dynasty and become emperor, he would have to lay the groundwork step by step and would not have rushed into it."

"But Yuan Shao is old now, and he may not have the patience. I think even if he doesn't become emperor, he will be king soon."

Liu Bei seemed to understand something, clenched his fists, and said in a deep voice:

"Jing Lue's words make sense. The thief Yuan is indeed about to usurp the Han Dynasty. It seems that we must also take Xuzhou as soon as possible and fight the thief Yuan!"

Old Liu's words brought everyone's attention back to the Xia Pi City in front of them.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the sand table in the tent.

According to the intelligence sent by undercover agent Chen Deng, Yuan Tan's defense in Xia Pi City has been fully reflected on the sand table.

"Xia Pi is bordered by the Si River to the west and the Yi River to the north, which are natural barriers and not conducive to setting up camp or deploying troops."

"So if our army wants to capture Xiapi, we can only attack from the south and east."

"After Yuan Tan gathered the defeated troops, he sent Lü Xiang to lead 15,000 troops to set up camp east of Xia Pi City, and he led 20,000 troops to stay in Xia Pi, forming a pincer attack."

"I have to say that Yuan Tan is quite capable of commanding troops. This city defense layout is very ingenious in terms of military tactics."

"With our current military strength, even though we have twice as many troops as the enemy, it will still be difficult to capture Xia Pi by force."

Taishi Ci pointed at the sand table and pointed out the defense situation of Yuan’s army one by one.

Liu Bei stared at the sand table for a long time with deep eyes, then looked back at Xiao Fang:

"Since it is not easy to attack Xia Pi by force, we can only find a way to outsmart it."

"Now that Yuan Long is acting as an insider, I want Yuan Long to secretly gather the anti-Yuan righteous army, and then open the city gates to let my army enter the city."

"What do you think, Military Advisor?"

The fact that Old Liu could think of using Chen Deng as a chess piece shows how intelligent he is, and Xiao Fang couldn't help but secretly admire him.

"My lord, this strategy is indeed a brilliant plan to capture Xia Pi, and it is also the only good strategy to quickly capture Xia Pi."

Xiao Fang nodded in praise at first, then changed the subject:
"However, the Xuzhou scholar families, like most of the scholar families in the Central Plains, have already determined that Yuan Shao will definitely conquer the world. There are not many scholar families like Chen Yuanlong who are betting on their lord."

"I estimate that in Xia Pi City, apart from the Chen family, there are very few noble families willing to ally with the lord."

"In this case, the private soldiers that Chen Yuanlong can gather will not exceed a thousand at most, while Yuan Tan has nearly 20,000 soldiers in Xia Pi City." "Chen Yuanlong wants to open the gates of the city and let our army in with only a thousand private soldiers. I'm afraid he is not sure of victory."

"If this plan fails, I'm afraid that Chen Yuanlong and his Chen family will all be held responsible by Yuan Tan and suffer a devastating disaster!"

Liu Bei suddenly understood, the light in his eyes gradually faded, and he couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

When he first took control of Xuzhou, his foundation was not very solid, and apart from the Mi family, he did not have many loyal supporters.

Even the Chen family only expressed support verbally, but did not show much actual support.

Today, the support rate for him among the gentry and nobles in Xia Pi City is no less than that in the past.

"The military advisor has made careful considerations. It seems that this plan has little chance of success and will put Yuanlong in danger. It is indeed not feasible."

Liu Bei nodded slightly and gave up the idea.

"That may not be the case. Chen Yuanlong does not have enough soldiers, but we can use some tricks to transfer the soldiers from Xia Pi City."

"As one rises and the other falls, Chen Yuanlong's troops are enough, aren't they?"

Xiao Fang's tone suddenly changed, and a hint of weirdness flashed in his eyes.

Liu Bei's eyes lit up, and he asked happily, "Does Jinglue have a good idea to mobilize Yuan's troops out of Xiapi City?"

Xiao Fang did not answer, but smiled and asked:
"My lord, do you still remember that Xu You suggested to Yuan Tan that Zang Ba go south from Haixi to launch a surprise attack on Xuyi?"

Liu Bei was stunned and his eyes became dazed.

How come the capture of Xia Pi, which we are discussing now, is related to the battle of Xuyi?

"Yuan Tan is trying to launch a surprise attack on us at sea, so we will use our own tactics to retaliate and pretend to launch a surprise attack on him at sea. Then we will take advantage of his eagerness to restore his prestige and use Chen Yuanlong, an insider, to fan the flames. We..."

Xiao Fang lowered his voice and slowly told him the entire plan.

The doubts in Liu Bei's eyes gradually dissipated, and joy gradually appeared on his face.

"This plan of the military advisor can not only inflict heavy damage on Yuan Tan, but also quickly capture Xia Pi. It is truly a brilliant plan that kills two birds with one stone!"

"Okay, let's follow the military advisor's plan!"

"Someone, hurry up and tell Xingba to come here!"

...

In Xia Pi City, the provincial capital.

"The Lord has occupied Xudu seven days ago. Cao Cao has taken the Emperor and his remaining troops and has now fled to Chang'an."

"My lord has ordered Zhang He and Xin Pi to lead 20,000 troops to advance eastward along the Sui River. They have now captured Liang State and are heading straight for Xiangcheng, which is occupied by Liu Bei."

"As long as Zhang He can capture Xiangcheng, he can attack directly and cut off Liu Bei's retreat."

"My lord has ordered you to hold on to Xiapi. Once Zhang He's troops arrive in Xuzhou, we can attack from both sides to defeat Liu Bei and recover the lost territory."

General Sui Yuanjin read out the military order sent by Yuan Shao.

Jiang Qi and other generals were all excited when they heard that Yuan Shao had captured Xuchang and sent reinforcements to Xuzhou.

Yuan Tan said nothing, just drank a cup of wine, not looking happy at all.

From Yuan Shao's tone, although he did not explicitly accuse him of using troops poorly, it was obvious that he was dissatisfied.

The loss of many soldiers and generals in the Battle of Sishui really caused his reputation to plummet, and his status in the eyes of his father Yuan Shao dropped sharply.

Even if Zhang He's reinforcements arrived, even if he finally defended Xuzhou and forced Liu Bei to retreat, what would that matter?

In the eyes of the world, it was Yuan Shao who stepped in to help him out, but it did not make up for his damaged prestige in the slightest.

Only by relying on one's own strength, turning defeat into victory and defeating Liu Bei, can one regain prestige...

Unfortunately, considering the current comparison of the two armies' strength, it is obviously unrealistic for him to defeat Liu Bei on his own.

This is why Yuan Tan was unhappy.

Chen Deng secretly observed Yuan Tan's changing expression, and when he saw that the time had come, he stood up and bowed:

"My Lord, according to the secret report from our Chen family's spies in Guangling, the enemy general Gan Ning appeared in Xuyi and is gathering warships along the Huai River. What is his intention?"

Yuan Tan's wine glass was suspended in the air, and a hint of suspicion flashed across his eyes.

Chen Deng coughed a few times and then continued:

"Moreover, the scouts reported the other day that Liu Bei had dispatched 10,000 soldiers and horses and marched south along the Si River. They should also be heading to Xuyi."

"Logically speaking, Liu Bei should be concentrating all his efforts on attacking Xiapi City. Why did he suddenly withdraw troops to Xuyi?"

"And there is Gan Ning, who is said to be proficient in naval warfare and is Liu Bei's best naval commander."

"Liu Bei transferred him to Xuyi and assembled warships along the Huai River. What was he up to?"

"Could this be another trick of Xiao Fang?"

Chen Deng's eyes were full of suspicion, and he seemed to be muttering to himself, or to Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan immediately became alert, put down his wine glass, walked to the map and stared at it.

Xu You also followed, his eyes scanning the map, his eyes moving quickly.

"I understand, I understand!"

"Master, we don't need to wait for Zhang He to come to our aid. Our chance to defeat the big-eared thief on our own has come!"

"This is God's help to the eldest son, hahahaha——"

Xu You suddenly laughed excitedly.

(End of this chapter)