My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 675 Zhang Liao Attacks the City
Cao Ang was not surprised that his attempt to sow discord had failed.

If Sun Quan were to fall into their trap so easily, he would begin to doubt their intentions.

Cao Ang wanted to say something more, but Sun Quan didn't give him another chance.

"General Cao, I have come here on the orders of my lord to deliver a message."

After Sun Quan finished speaking, he took out a silk scroll from his bosom, stood up respectfully, bowed, and presented the letter to his forehead.

Cao Ang was taken aback for a moment. Then, Sima Yi got up and walked over, took the silk scroll from Sun Quan, and handed it to the table in front of Cao Ang.

Cao Ang looked at the letter in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and then opened it.

The letter was written in Liu Feng's voice, but judging from the handwriting, it was definitely not Liu Feng's own handwriting.

The letter was very simple, mainly mentioning four things.

The first thing to do was to review the past relationship and the alliance between the two families.

The second matter was to condemn the Cao family for disregarding the alliance and assisting Zhang Lu, Liu Zhang, Liu Biao, and others, thus creating a rift.

The third thing was to inform the other party of Cao Ren's current condition. When he was ambushed by Sun Ce and Huang Quan, Cao Ren was wounded by an arrow from Sun Ce. He has been rescued, but his injury is not serious and he needs to rest in bed.

The last thing was to persuade Cao Ang to surrender.

Liu Feng offered very generous terms. As long as Cao Ang was willing to open the city gates and surrender, all conditions could be negotiated. He might even be willing to let Cao Ang return to Jingbei directly.

It must be said that Cao Ang was indeed tempted by such conditions, but that was all he felt.

Seeing that Cao Ang remained silent, Sun Quan continued, "My lord misses his old friend and often recalls the friendship he shared with you in Luozhong. Therefore, he invites you to come out of the city for a meeting. I wonder if you would accept?"

Cao Ang was slightly surprised, then began to think about it carefully.

After pondering for a while, Cao Ang made a decision: "Alright, let's set it for the day after tomorrow then?"

Cao Ang made this decision without consulting Sima Yi, Yang Xiu, Cao Chun, and others, which can be described as making a decision unilaterally. Moreover, the time set was the day after tomorrow, which obviously gave the Cao army in the city two or three days to rest. However, for Liu Feng, it could not be considered a delaying tactic. He grasped the balance quite well.

Therefore, Sun Quan had no objection and immediately agreed.

Having achieved his goal, Sun Quan wanted to take his leave.

However, Cao Ang resolutely refused and hosted a banquet for Sun Quan in the city that evening.

During the banquet, Cao Cao's generals took turns toasting Sun Quan, getting him completely drunk.

Unfortunately, after getting drunk, Sun Quan fell into a deep sleep and didn't even utter a single word in his sleep, much to the disappointment of Cao Ang and his men who wanted to extract some information.

The next morning, Sun Quan forced himself to get up and returned to the camp outside the city.

Upon learning that Cao Ang had actually agreed, Liu Feng was naturally very pleased and even praised Sun Quan a few times, which goes without saying.

**
Rewind to a week earlier, to western Runan, Yuzhou.

"Quickly, speed it up!"

Zhang Liao rode his horse. It was late spring, early summer, a time of gentle breezes and pleasant temperatures. Yet, he was drenched in sweat, large beads of perspiration constantly dripping from his cheeks, striking his chest armor and shattering into tiny splashes.

They've been stuck in Yuzhou for over two years now, spending their time either training troops, suppressing bandits, or clearing out the Huaiyi and Shanman tribes. The Cuifeng and Wanlan armies are practically bored to death.

In the past two years, Liu Feng has transferred a lot of people from these two armies, the largest number of whom are cavalry and junior officers.

Therefore, from Taishi Ci and Zhao Yun to Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Pan Zhang, and Xu Sheng, the most important task was to cultivate future military talents.

As per Liu Feng's request, they trained and conducted practical exercises, providing Liu Feng with a large number of veteran soldiers and grassroots backbone personnel. Therefore, although these two armies stationed in Yuzhou did not make any major moves, their actual achievements were enormous, providing strong support for Liu Feng's grand strategy of pacifying Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou.

However, as a warrior, Zhang Liao, while not entirely abhorring such things, certainly loathed them.

Now, the mission to advance into the Central Plains has finally been issued, and both armies are excitedly cheering from top to bottom.

As the commander of the vanguard cavalry brigade of the Vanguard Army, Zhang Liao naturally wanted to be the vanguard. Fortunately, although Xu Huang, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and others were also skilled in cavalry warfare, their seniority and achievements were not as good as his, so they could not compete with him for the position.

Taishi Ci strictly ordered Zhang Liao to be the vanguard, bypassing obstacles along the way, with only one target: Yecheng County and Duyang County, which are the transportation hubs connecting the Nanyang Basin to the Central Plains.

The Nanyang Basin is a small basin surrounded by mountains on all sides with a central plain. To its northeast is a main plain passage, which is the road between Yecheng and Duyang.

The two cities of Yecheng and Duyang, located to the east and west, and south and north respectively, blocked both ends of this passage. And thirty miles northeast of Yecheng lies Kunyang, the site of an epic battle during the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Therefore, this route has always been of paramount importance, with the most crucial point being Duyang, which is the location of Fangcheng County in later generations.

While Yecheng is geographically important, it can be bypassed. Duyang, however, is different. Its location is easily accessible from all directions, and to bypass it would require at least four times the number of troops as the defenders to barely hold it off, making it extremely inefficient. Once captured, it can become an advance base for the attacking side.

Currently, the garrison in Yecheng and Duyang is quite large, with two to three thousand soldiers each. The main force consists of three thousand garrison troops from the western part of Nanyang and Yingchuan counties, plus the local strongmen and their retainers in Yecheng and Duyang, and finally a small number of Cao Cao's elite troops.

Taishi Ci had privately given Zhang Liao his bottom line—that was Duyang City. Even Ye City could be bypassed, as long as Duyang was captured, Zhang Liao would be credited with the greatest achievement.

Therefore, Zhang Liao did not set off from major cities such as Shangcai and Dingying, but secretly gathered troops in Zhuoyang. He then traveled by day and night, heading north, bypassing the area around Yancheng, Dingling, and Yingyin where Cao Cao's spies and scouts were concentrated. He detoured to Xiping, passed through Baiting, took the northwest route, passed Wuyang without entering, and then turned west along the Feng River for thirty li, reaching the outskirts of Yecheng.

Faced with the unsuspecting city of Yecheng, Zhang Liao was not tempted in the slightest. He rested his troops in the forest five miles outside Yecheng and only quietly passed through the city when night fell.

After passing Yecheng, Zhang Liao hid in the mountains and forests near Juancheng to the south for another day. By evening, after the army had eaten its fill, they began their long march.

The moonlight was still bright, and there was an official road available. Furthermore, Zhang Liao's army was equipped with the three essential tools for warhorses, so despite marching at night, the number of horses and livestock lost was extremely small, totaling only about twenty, nearly half of which were pack animals. Upon approaching Duyang City, Zhang Liao left the main force at a distance and carefully selected over a hundred men to disguise themselves as woodcutters and farmers, carrying vegetables, fruits, and firewood. Zhang Liao personally led these men ahead to Duyang.

Zhang Liao's move was naturally somewhat risky, and his generals tried to persuade him to go in his place, but he refused.

"General Taishi entrusted me with this important task, which is a great favor. If this matter fails, how can I face General Zuo and General Taishi? Gentlemen, please do not persuade me any further. If we succeed, we will celebrate with you all in Duyang City. If we fail, please offer me a bowl of Qingzhou wine at my grave in the future."

All the generals were captivated by Zhang Liao's heroic spirit and said no more.

Afterwards, Zhang Liao led these hundred or so people disguised as woodcutters, farmers, and merchants, each carrying firewood, fruits, and vegetables, and they split into twos and threes and headed towards Duyang City.

The soldiers at the front were mainly disguised as woodcutters and farmers, walking in twos and threes, while Zhang Liao's forty-odd men disguised themselves as a medium-sized caravan, walking in the middle and rear of the group.

The defenses of Duyang City were not strong. The city was commanded by a Cao army commander with a force of about two thousand men, of whom one thousand were garrison soldiers. The force was significantly smaller than that of Ye City.

This is not surprising, since Yecheng is outside and Duyang is inside, so it is natural to concentrate the main forces in the areas with greater threats.

Zhang Liao did not enter the city immediately, but stood in the middle and rear of the group, mainly to observe the situation at the city gate and make minor adjustments to the action plan in his mind.

The guards at the city gate of Duyang City numbered about twenty men, which was divided into two squads, led by a captain who also served as the city's garrison for the day.

These soldiers were not strict in managing the civilians entering the city. They would usually let people in after a routine check. However, the civilians were not clean and would take away anything they liked.

The most common items were food, with fresh fruits and vegetables being the most popular, while firewood was also subject to exploitation.

As for currency, that's practically impossible.

Nanyang was frequently ravaged by war and suffered greatly. It was first burned and killed by Dong Zhuo's Liangzhou army, and later ravaged by Yuan Shu for several years, leaving only one-tenth of its population alive. Moreover, the area was very close to Chang'an, making it one of the hardest-hit areas by Dong Zhuo's forces.

The entire Nanyang region has regressed to the stage of bartering, with very little currency circulation.

Therefore, the exploitation of the soldiers in Duyang can be considered a different kind of entry tax.

Zhang Liao and his men watched as the soldiers in front of them entered the city relatively easily. This was partly because the Duyang soldiers' inspection was simple and lax, and partly because these soldiers were not carrying weapons, thus reducing the risk of exposure.

The weapons of these more than one hundred elite soldiers of the Left Guard were all concentrated on Zhang Liao's group and hidden in boxes disguised as merchant goods.

These boxes have compartments underneath, concealing swords and armor, while the tops are covered with silk and hemp cloth. Unless one carefully measures the height of the inside and outside of the boxes, it is not easy to see through them.

After confirming the entry procedures, Zhang Liao and his men quickened their pace and followed the group to the outskirts of Duyang City.

Duyang is located at a vital passage connecting Jingzhou and the Central Plains, and its trade was extremely prosperous in the past.

Now, thanks to Liu Biao's persistent efforts to restore the capital and the relief from the devastation caused by the Xiliang army, the capital was peacefully handed over to Cao Cao. As a result, the capital is now far more prosperous than it was in the original timeline.

Moreover, Liu Feng's appearance accelerated the progress of the war in the Central Plains, greatly improved the recovery of people's livelihoods, and Duyang gradually regained its popularity, with more merchant caravans coming and going.

Although Zhang Liao's caravan of several dozen people was somewhat conspicuous, it did not arouse much vigilance from the garrison.

Zhang Liao originally planned to wait for an opportunity at the city gate and launch an attack to seize control of the gate.

However, the garrison only collected twenty bolts of silk before letting them into the city.

The surrounding soldiers all looked at Zhang Liao quite obviously. After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Liao shook his head slightly and led his troops inside.

Soon, Zhang Liao and his group stopped at a ruin. At this time, there were many ruins in Duyang City, all left behind by previous wars. There was no extra manpower or resources to clear these ruins.

The soldiers who had entered the city earlier, disguised as woodcutters and farmers, slowly gathered together, awaiting Zhang Liao's orders.

Zhang Liao immediately ordered the soldiers to put on their armor. The soldiers quickly opened the boxes, poured out the valuable silk cloth on the ground, opened the hidden boxes, took out the long swords and armor inside, and then put them on.

Once the troops were fully armed, Zhang Liao divided his forces into two groups. He assigned the main force of eighty men to his deputy to seize the city gates and receive the rest of the army as they entered the city. He himself led the remaining twenty-odd men to the county government to capture the king.

The deputy who entered the city this time was a veteran soldier from Bingzhou who had followed Zhang Liao for many years. Knowing his commander's character well, he did not try to dissuade him and immediately accepted the order.

The group then split into two teams. The deputy led eighty men toward the city gate, while Zhang Liao's twenty men untied the reins of the horses pulling the carriages, fitted them with high-bridged saddles and double-sided stirrups, and then mounted them.

Zhang Liao returned to his horse, spear in hand, feeling invincible. He drew a perfect arc in the air with his spear, the red tassel fluttering.

"Men, follow me into the county government to capture the thief."

"Here!"

The twenty men immediately agreed, their imposing presence resounding through the sky and shaking the surrounding ruins, sending dust flying.

Zhang Liao laughed heartily, spurred his horse, and it galloped off like a runaway horse towards the county government. He had already inquired about the situation from a farmer traveling alongside him when they entered the city.

Zhang Liao led the charge, followed closely by twenty elite cavalrymen, like a sharp dagger piercing straight into the heart of Duyang City—the county government.

The thunderous roar of horses' hooves on the cobblestone streets shattered the morning hustle and bustle of the city. Pedestrians and merchants on the streets were terrified by the sudden appearance of the cavalry, screaming and scrambling to get out of the way, creating chaos and confusion.

The guards at the county government gate were unaware of what was happening. Several of them, hearing the commotion outside, even came out of the gate and looked towards Zhang Liao.

They could only see billowing dust and hear thunderous hoofbeats from afar. Until then, the guards hadn't realized the danger approaching. They were still whispering and laughing, wondering which young master in the city was riding his horse through the streets again.

When Zhang Liao and his men turned the corner, their cold armor reflecting the brilliance of the rising sun, the guards finally reacted, shouting in panic and frantically trying to push open the two heavy wooden doors.

However, it was too late!
Zhang Liao's eyes were like lightning, already locked onto his target. He crouched low, tucked his spear under his arm, and spurred his warhorse to its maximum speed, like an arrow released from a bow. Just before the county government gates were about to close, he suddenly charged inside.

(End of this chapter)