Chapter 361: Recycling, shattering Yuan Shao's fantasy! The most crucial battle to destroy Wei, killing two thieves, offering my battle flag!

Yuan Tan was confused.

Guo Tu actually betrayed us?
Betrayed him, betrayed Yuan Shao, and leaked their father and son's conspiracy to Liu Bei?

But why?

Just half an hour ago, Guo Tu was still giving instructions on how to advance the country, outlining a beautiful blueprint for him to defeat Liu Bei and take the throne of the crown prince of the Wei Dynasty.

He also made a big promise that once the plan was accomplished, as long as he ascended the throne, he would appoint Guo Tu as the prime minister of the Wei Kingdom.

But why did Guo Tu betray him and his son in just half an hour?
What kind of magic potion did Liu Bei give Guo Tu, or what kind of benefits did he promise to make Guo Tu betray him in just half an hour?

"Guo Tu, you——"

In shock and anger, Yuan Tan's eyes suddenly widened and he was about to yell at Guo Tu.

Guo Tu sighed first and advised with a bitter face:

"My Lord, the King is a man of great power and strategy, and Prime Minister Xiao is a man of great foresight. How could Ju Su's petty schemes be hidden from their eyes?"

"Now that things have come to this, you should stop making excuses and confess your crime honestly to the king and ask for his forgiveness."

Yuan Tan's angry words were blocked by Guo Tu.

He froze in place again, his face distorted and replaced by shock, anger and extreme confusion, and he was at a loss as to what to do.

Liu Bei frowned and shouted:

"Yuan Tan, I have promised you the title of Marquis of Pingyuan and allowed you to keep your troops. This is really a good thing for you!"

"I have kept the promise I made to you when you surrendered."

"Now you want to betray your loyalty and cooperate with Yuan Shao to put me to death. You want to repay kindness with hatred!"

"What else do you have to say now!"

Faced with Liu Bei's questioning, Yuan Tan was both flustered and ashamed, and he could not utter a word in defense.

Zhang Fei could no longer bear it and shouted angrily:
"My lord, why would you still want to talk to this fellow? Just let me chop him into pieces!"

Zhang Fei drew his sword and prepared to kill Yuan Tan.

Life and death are just a matter of seconds.

All of Yuan Tan's doubts, anger, and shame were shattered by the long sword in Zhang Fei's hand.

All that was left was fear and the instinct to survive.

"Your Majesty, calm down. I was wrong!"

Yuan Tan fell to his knees with a thud, and bowed his forehead deeply.

"I am grateful to the king for not killing me, and I am grateful for the king's trust and loyalty. I dare not have any other thoughts."

"It was this fellow Guo Tu who instigated and instigated me all day long. I was bewildered and made a mistake in a moment of confusion."

"I have now come to my senses, I have come to my senses..."

Yuan Tan knelt on the ground and apologized bitterly, but he put all the blame on Guo Tu.

Guo Tu's expression changed drastically, and he glared back at Yuan Tan anxiously.

What do you mean by incitement?
When you first received Yuan Shao's letter and learned that you had the opportunity to become the crown prince, you were so excited that you almost jumped up, and you agreed to Yuan Shao's return without hesitation.

From the beginning to the end, you were willing, so how could I instigate you?
"My Lord, you can't say that. I was also coerced by you and your father, and I had no choice but to follow you in conspiring to cause chaos. When did I ever incite or deceive you?"

"Your Majesty, I have never instigated Yuan Tan to rebel. It was he who forced me to betray Your Majesty."

Guo Tu naturally refused to admit it, and immediately fought back, putting the blame back on Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan was furious and picked up Guo Tu:

"Guo Tu, you are so shameless. It was you who bewitched me in the beginning..."

When disaster struck, these two former master and minister, in order to save their lives, accused each other and threw dirty water on each other in front of Liu Bei.

Liu Bei looked at them coldly and could not help but sigh:
"How could Yuan Shao not be defeated when he has ministers and sons like this?"

Zhang Fei, however, was filled with disgust, and waved his hands, shouting:

"Your Majesty, these two shameless fellows really disgust me."

"Since we already know that they are plotting rebellion, why keep them around? Just kill them!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yuan Tan and Guo Tu, who were throwing dirty water at each other, suddenly woke up and shuddered.

The two men no longer cared about putting the blame on each other. They knelt down in a hurry and begged Liu Bei for mercy.

"Jinglue, how do you think we should deal with these two thieves?"

Liu Bei also showed disgust on his face and looked at Xiao Fang.

A strange look flashed across Xiao Fang's eyes, and he sneered:
"It is easy to kill these two thieves. I think it would be better to make use of them. Let's take advantage of their tricks..."

Xiao Fang came closer, covered his mouth with a feather fan, and whispered a plan to Liu Bei.

The disgust on Liu Bei's face gradually turned into a sneer.

"According to Jinglue's plan, I will use these two thieves to defeat Yuan Shao and shatter his wishful thinking of changing the world!"

...

Yecheng.

The city gates were closed, the drawbridge hung high, and the atmosphere inside and outside the city was solemn.

The news that the Chu army had advanced to Wucheng, only twenty miles away from Yecheng, had spread throughout the city.

All the pseudo-Wei soldiers in the city were shocked and fell into panic.

The palace hall.

The dim candlelight illuminated Yuan Shao's ecstatic face.

What he held in his hand was the latest secret letter sent by Yuan Tan.

In the letter, Yuan Tan claimed that Liu Bei, relying on his 170,000-strong army, had already looked down on Yuan Shao and was sure that Yuan Shao would retreat and sit in Yecheng.

Therefore, Liu Bei and his ministers were all in a mood of underestimating the enemy and being lax.

Liu Bei also believed in his surrender and ordered him to lead his troops to station in Wucheng and set up camp at a strategic location near the north gate.

Yuan Tan then agreed with this letter that at midnight tomorrow, Yuan Shao would gather 50,000 troops and launch a frontal assault on the Chu army camp outside the north gate of Wucheng. At that time, Liu Bei would surely dispatch troops to reinforce the north camp, and the defense in Wucheng would certainly be relaxed, and the troops would be greatly reduced.

Yuan Tan took advantage of the situation and led his troops to revolt, setting fires everywhere to disrupt the morale of the Chu army. He also took advantage of the situation to seize the north gate and raided the northern camp of the Chu army from behind.

The father and son attacked from both inside and outside and defeated the Chu army in one fell swoop.

The army then took advantage of the situation to charge into Wucheng, attacked Liu Bei's palace, destroyed the central command center of the Chu army, and defeated the 170,000 Chu army in one fell swoop.

"Xiansi's battle strategy is detailed and thorough, and it is a sure win!"

Yuan Shao praised the letter highly, held it up, and sneered proudly:

"I have said it before, destiny lies with my Yuan family, not with his Liu family!"

"Tomorrow, if Xiansi becomes the accomplice, I will lead 50,000 soldiers to defeat the 170,000-strong army of the big-eared thief and put him back to his original form in one fell swoop!"

Inside the hall, all the trusted ministers were in an uproar.

Ju Su also breathed a sigh of relief and said with emotion:

"Young Master has come to his senses this time and if he helps the king defeat Liu Bei and turn the tide, then he has made up for his mistake and the king should reward him generously."

Ju Su's original intention was naturally to speak impartially and frankly and to say a fair word for Yuan Tan.

Yuan Shao snorted coldly and said with disdain:

"If it weren't for this greedy, stupid and incompetent rebellious son, I would have defeated the big-eared thief in Henan long ago, and I might have already been drinking from the Yangtze River now!"

"If he wins this battle, the most he can do is to gain immortality. How can he still expect Gu En to reward him?"

"At most I will reward them with fine clothes and delicious food, and let them live the rest of their lives in peace. I will never give them military power, so that they can stir up trouble and prevent Xianyi from sitting peacefully on the throne of the Crown Prince!"

Yuan Shao once again emphasized his determination to make Yuan Xi the crown prince.

His second son, who used to be mediocre and incompetent and was not treated well by him, has now become the apple of his eye and he deserves no punishment for his care.

This statement was naturally meant to reassure Ju Shou, Zhang He and others.

Sure enough, after hearing his words, Zhang He and others all breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved.

"Gong Yu, if this plan of yours succeeds, you will be the first hero of the revival of the Wei Dynasty!"

"I appoint you as Prime Minister, and you will lead all civil and military officials!"

When this pie in the sky came out, even Ju Shou himself was surprised.

In order to prevent the prime minister from having too much power and threatening his royal power, Yuan Shao did not appoint a prime minister after he became king.

Now, in order to commend and highlight Ju Su's contribution, Yuan Shao actually promised him the position of prime minister, which was unprecedentedly generous.

After being surprised, Ju Su was moved and bowed:

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost to repay your kindness."

Yuan Shao laughed loudly, raised his cane, and pointed to the south:
"Pass on my decree. Mobilize all troops tomorrow and take Wucheng!"

"I want to kill the big-eared thief by surprise, I want to defeat the Chu army in one fell swoop and drive the big-eared thief out of Hebei!"

...

Wucheng, late at night.

On the top of the city wall, lights were bright and patrols of the Chu army were constantly coming and going.

Inside the camp in the north of the city, there were also flickering lights and complete silence.

Except for the guards at the camp gate and the patrolmen who passed by from time to time, all the Chu soldiers inside and outside the city were already asleep.

From a distance, everything inside and outside Wucheng seemed peaceful as usual.

Inside the north gate, tens of thousands of Chu soldiers stood in a black mass at the gate, all ready for battle.

On the city floor.

Liu Bei was standing with his sword in hand, looking down at the North Camp from afar with a stern gaze, his eyes revealing a sense of excitement and anticipation.

Xiao Fang, who was standing side by side, felt sleepy and yawned from time to time.

"Jinglue, it's getting late, why don't you go back and rest first."

"Ok?"

Xiao Fang was stunned and turned back to look at Liu Bei blankly.

Liu Bei stroked his thin beard and said with a smile:
"Jinglue, didn't you say that, among all the world, sleeping is the most important thing?"

Xiao Fang couldn't help but laugh.

I didn’t expect that Lao Liu had such a good memory that he could still remember what he said in the early years.

His sleepiness was temporarily dispelled by Lao Liu's joke.

So he pulled himself together and said seriously:
"Today's battle is related to the overall situation of destroying Wei. I have to persevere even if I am exhausted!"

Looking at Xiao Fang, who spoke generously but whose eyelids were fighting, Liu Bei couldn't help but laugh.

Amidst the loud laughter, Chen Dao came forward excitedly.

"My lord, the scouts have reported that a large number of enemy troops have been spotted ten miles north of Wucheng, and they are heading towards Wucheng!"

The generals on both sides were immediately cheered up by the news.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Bei, and at the same time, they all gathered around where Xiao Fang was.

Liu Bei was excited and said happily:
"Jinglue, it seems that Yuan Shao believed Yuan Tan's letter and really took the bait!"

Xiao Fang smiled but said nothing.

It would be easy for Guo Tu to kill Yuan Tan, but he wanted to use Yuan Tan as bait to lure Yuan Shao to lead an army of 50,000 to launch a surprise attack.

The letter written by Yuan Tan was just written under his instruction, which was a strategy to lure the snake out of its hole.

In this way, Lao Liu could set up a tight net and wait for Yuan Shao to fall into it!
Now it seems that Yuan Shao has really taken the bait.

Glancing to the north from afar, Xiao Fang's eyes flashed with coldness:

"Yuan Shao has taken the bait. The two thieves Yuan Tan and Guo Tu are no longer useful."

"Please, Your Majesty, issue an edict to execute these two thieves, offer sacrifice to our battle flag, and boost the morale of our army!"

(End of this chapter)