Three Kingdoms: Madam, I am a decent person

Chapter 739 Zhang Sui ambushed by the Xiongnu: A scheme within a scheme

Wang Yi's words also made the Right Wise King Qu Bei, who was holding a curved sword, perk up.

This plan seems feasible!
He followed the army south to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Before they could even offer any help, a rebellion broke out in their hometown, and the Xiongnu people there cut off their way back.

For the next decade or so, they tried to return, but were blocked by Yuan Shao's army.

After many twists and turns and numerous defeats, they were finally forced to settle in Hedong County.

Over the years, they have thought about returning to their hometown countless times, but for various reasons, they have been unable to do so.

Is there now hope of going back?

Qu Bei hurriedly stepped forward and said to Wang Yi, the governor of Hedong Commandery, "Governor, please explain in detail!"

Seeing that Qu Bei was intrigued, Wang Yi immediately beckoned Hu Chuquan and Qu Bei to the table, then spread out the map, and the three of them began to discuss it.

Ultimately, the three reached an agreement: in order to achieve their goal as soon as possible and prevent the Hebei army from sending more people to Jiguan, the Xiongnu Chanyu Huchuquan sent the Right Wise King Qubei back to Pingyang immediately to mobilize 20,000 Xiongnu cavalry, divided into two routes.

They joined forces with the army of Hedong Commandery to march directly towards Guandu, attacking General Zhang Sui's camp from the rear and drawing the attention of General Zhang Sui's main force.

Meanwhile, another force, led by Right Wise King Qu Bei, numbering approximately ten thousand, marched towards Wuchao, aiming to seize as much grain as possible while General Zhang Sui's main army was being ambushed.

All the grain and fodder that could not be seized were burned to avenge the killing of Liu Bao, the Left Wise King, in Hebei years ago.

The obtained grain and fodder were divided into two parts: 42 and 44.

The Xiongnu and the major clans of Hedong Commandery each occupied four-tenths of the territory.

Wang Yi, the governor of Hedong Commandery, received two points.

After reaching an agreement, Wang Yi immediately sent someone to fetch Wei Gu, the patriarch of the Wei family, and Fan Xian, the patriarch of the Fan family.

The three parties discussed the matter again and agreed on the plan.

Immediately, Right Wise King Qu Bei, Wei Gu, and Fan Xian each went to reorganize their troops.

Five days later, on the morning of the same day, the three armies converged and safely passed through Jiguan Pass.

Some Xiongnu people even fantasized about finding an opportunity to march straight to Ye City.

However, the scouts they sent out encountered Cheng Lian's Flying Tiger Army on the way.

The armies of the Xiongnu and the powerful families of Hedong Commandery finally gave up and focused on reaching the banks of the Yellow River. Under the cover of night, they crossed the river and split into two groups, attacking Zhang Sui's army camp at Wuchao and Guandu respectively.

As the army crossed the river, Zhang Sui stood on the camp's watchtower, gazing towards the Yellow River.

Looking into the distance, the firelight crossed the Yellow River like a dazzling galaxy, and Zhang Sui burst out laughing.

The Xiongnu have truly declined.

Such a blatant "sneak attack"!
However, it seems that the Xiongnu did not have many strategies in their battles throughout history, and most of the time they relied on the superior mobility of their warhorses.

Therefore, when they encountered Huo Qubing, the originator of blitzkrieg, a military genius who was also skilled in super mobility and knowledgeable in tactics, the Xiongnu were utterly defeated.

Now, these Xiongnu people don't even have the abilities of their ancestors.

Historically, the Xiongnu people had completely declined by this time.

This Xiongnu tribe was annexed by Cao Cao.

Another group of Xiongnu people did not reach the territory of the Han Dynasty; they were annexed by the Xianbei people in their homeland.

Zhang Sui shook his head.

From this perspective, the Xiongnu people indeed had no reason to exist.

After the chaos of war within the Han territory ends, we will head north to the Xianbei and see what makes the Xianbei, who defeated another Xiongnu tribe, so formidable.

Tian Feng also climbed up the watchtower at this time.

Looking into the distance, Tian Feng said, "I have a feeling that this plan is somewhat unreliable."

"Xun You, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, and others were all men of exceptional wisdom and strategy."

"They should be able to see through this plan."

"Cao Cao usually relied on them a lot."

"Especially after Xun Yu committed suicide by poison, Cao Cao relied on them even more."

"Will Cao Cao really stick to his own opinion and refuse to listen to advice this time?"

Seeing Tian Feng's worried expression, Zhang Sui couldn't help but think of the history he had read before.

Although Cao Cao is known as the greatest military strategist of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, he actually made a lot of mistakes.

Moreover, they were all the kind who wouldn't listen to advice.

The three things that Zhang Sui remembers most vividly:

Firstly, when Cao Cao took over Xuzhou, Chen Deng advised him to go south to Guangling and take advantage of the situation to attack Sun Ce, so as to unify Jiangdong as soon as possible. Otherwise, Sun Ce would become too powerful and would be difficult to subdue in the future.

He doesn't listen.

He chose to believe Guo Jia's statement that "Sun Ce will die at the hands of villains sooner or later," and that Jiangdong would be within easy reach.

Sun Ce did indeed die from an assassination attempt.

However, Jiangdong was firmly occupied by Sun Quan.

Secondly, after Cao Cao captured Hanzhong, Liu Ye advised Cao Cao to take advantage of the situation and move south to sweep through Yizhou while Liu Bei was attacking it. The people of Yizhou would surely surrender at the first sign of trouble.

If they didn't do this, Yizhou would likely have fallen into Liu Bei's hands, and Cao Cao refused to listen.

Then Liu Bei pacified Yizhou, and Cao Cao regretted it deeply.

Thirdly, during the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao consulted Jia Xu and Xun You about his plan to march south. Both Jia Xu and Xun You advised Cao Cao to proceed cautiously and steadily, as there was ample time to crush Jiangdong and there was no need for rash advances.

Cao Cao wouldn't listen and insisted on taking this opportunity to march south.

As a result, he suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs, indirectly contributing to the tripartite division of the empire. Thinking of this, Zhang Sui looked at Tian Feng and said, "Sir, perhaps we should give the others more confidence."

"Although Xi Zhicai was young, he had been by Cao Cao's side for a very long time."

"There was also Chen Gong, who once considered Cao Cao a close friend."

"Know yourself and your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger."

"Xi Zhicai and Chen Gong both know Cao Cao far better than we do."

"If they can't even handle Cao Cao's strategy, then it's very likely that we are even less capable."

"Besides, we're not being reckless."

"Cao Cao really didn't fall for the trap. Let's continue to advance steadily."

"At worst, we can just postpone unification for a few years."

"I refuse to believe that we won't see unification in our lifetime!"

Tian Feng sighed, "I'm old, I don't have many years left."

Just as Zhang Sui was about to comfort Tian Feng, he saw Chen Dao riding up from below the watchtower, looking up and saying, "My lord, the Xiongnu are approaching. The strategists say that you should prepare for a humiliating retreat."

"The Enemy's Camp, the Flying Bear Army, and the White Feather Army are ready."

Hearing Chen Dao say this, Zhang Sui smiled and said to Tian Feng, "Don't worry, sir. If you really can't see it, I'll burn it for you when I offer sacrifices to you."

Tian Feng, enraged, laughed coldly and was about to slap Zhang Sui on the head, saying, "You brat—"

The slap was about to brush past Zhang Sui's hair, but it was forcibly pulled back.

Tian Feng nodded and said, "That works too!"

"We can't force things to happen just for my own sake."

"As long as there is this hope, it would be worth it even if I died immediately."

Zhang Sui nodded vigorously before quickly climbing down the watchtower.

Tian Feng followed closely behind.

Tian Feng followed the Tiger Guard and evacuated the camp ahead of schedule.

Zhang Sui then followed Chen Dao straight to the commander's tent.

Gao Shun's Trapped Camp, Xu Rong's Flying Bear Army, and Chen Dao's White Feather Army have all changed into ordinary soldiers' clothes and surrounded all sides.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, the sounds of fierce fighting came from behind.

Zhang Sui immediately ordered his army to set fire to the surrounding tents.

The entire camp was instantly engulfed in flames.

Surrounded by Gao Shun's captured Chen camp, Xu Rong's Flying Bear Army, and Chen Dao's White Feather Army, Zhang Sui "fled in a sorry state" from the camp.

A shout rang out behind him: "Enemy attack!"

"The Huns are attacking!"

"Protect our lord and help him escape!"

"That one in the white robe is the Great General, kill him!"

The allied forces of the Xiongnu and the powerful clans of Hedong had just stormed into the camp when they found it engulfed in flames and filled with the deafening sounds of battle.

The allied forces were somewhat bewildered.

Did Cao Cao also send someone to launch a sneak attack?
The allied forces charged nearly half a mile into the burning camp, but did not see a single enemy!
Before they could react, countless torches lit up from all directions.

It consisted of Yan Liang's cavalry corps and 20,000 central troops.

The allied forces looked at the enemy troops on all sides, their eyes narrowing sharply.

Before they could react, a rain of arrows surged toward the allied forces!

Meanwhile, in the direction of Wuchao, the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu, Qubei, led 10,000 cavalrymen to the city walls.

Seeing that the city walls were completely dark, Qu Bei hurriedly reined in his troops and ordered them to stop.

Why does it feel like something is wrong?
It's too quiet!
As a grain storage area for 400,000 troops in Hebei, how could the transportation of grain and fodder stop at night and not a single person be seen?

Sweat dripped from Qu Bei's forehead.

Looking up at the city wall, Qu Bei swallowed hard.

The next moment, he made up his mind and said to the commanding officer beside him, "Something's wrong! The rear guard has become the front guard, let's retreat and see what happens!"

The commander immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "By order of the Right Wise King, the rear guard shall become the front guard and prepare to retreat!"

The sounds came and went.

Just as the 10,000 Xiongnu cavalry were preparing to change direction, fire suddenly spread throughout Wuchao City.

On the once dimly lit city walls, countless archers now drew their bows and aimed their arrows at the Xiongnu cavalry.

A general stood up.

It was none other than Zhang He, the former commander of the army.

Zhang He looked down at the Xiongnu cavalry outside the city and said with a smile, "Xiongnu people, I, Zhang He, have been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Thank you for cooperating with us in this play."

"But now that the music has ended and the party is over, you are doomed!"

After saying this, Zhang He personally struck the war drum.

Behind the 10,000 Xiongnu cavalry, countless flames surged up like a tidal wave!

(End of this chapter)