My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 201 Chen Deng: Lü Bu gained Xia Pi because of my fear of death, and lost Xia Pi because of my fear of death
The final time agreed upon by Zhuge Liang and Chen Deng for the uprising left a full five days for the event, which might seem like a long wait but was actually completely necessary.

If Chen Jiao wanted to get back to Xia Pi from Huaiyin, he would have to travel day and night on horseback for more than a day. After all, he was not a professional 600-mile express knight, and his physical strength and horsemanship could not allow him to travel faster.

Moreover, Chen Deng had to further notify the troops in Tan County to move together, without any time difference. At the last minute, he would definitely have to find another excuse to have his confidant transfer a small team of cavalry to Tancheng, both to notify and to strengthen the confidant troops in Tancheng. This would also take a day or two.

Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, has also been placed in Tancheng to retire. That was a deployment made half a year ago, before Lu Bu was besieged.

The excuse is that the terrain and climate environment of Xia Pi are more humid, and the elderly are more prone to rheumatic bone pain, so they go to Tancheng to retire.

At that time, Lu Bu and Chen Gong did not suspect him. After all, Tancheng was located in the hinterland of Lu Bu's territory and did not border any other princes.

Chen Gong even thought that this might be Chen Deng's move to further show his loyalty to Lu Bu and let Lu Bu feel at ease with him. It seemed that we had placed our own father in the heart of the area controlled by the envoy, so loyalty and righteousness were self-evident.

So after taking all the arrangements into account, Zhuge Liang's plan was to arrive about five days later, which was just right. It was neither too fast nor too slow, allowing everyone to be notified and fully prepared, but also not too early which might cause the news to leak out.

The five days passed peacefully without anyone noticing anything unusual. During these five days, Zhuge Liang himself worked even harder to persuade farmers to plant crops and inspect the wheat harvest and rice planting.

After staying in Huaiyin for a day, he went to Huaipu next door for two days to inspect the work, also to persuade farmers and inspect the rice planting.

Huaipu County is the hometown of Chen Deng and Chen Gui, and also the nest of the Guangling Chen family. This year it is also within the scope of the rice-wheat rotation reform.

Zhuge Liang's actions all seemed so natural and diligent. In the eyes of outsiders, he was a good official who devoted himself to agricultural production and people's livelihood. What tricks could such a person who loved the people like his own children have?
After inspecting Huaipu for two more days, Zhuge Liang set out on his return journey. On the way back, he "had an idea" and told his subordinates:

"It would be a bit of a waste of time to go back along the Huai River to Huaiyin. We have persuaded the farmers in Huaiyin and pointed out their shortcomings. Let's go back by land on horseback to Lingxian.

In this way, we can go to Huainan on the way here and Huaibei on the way back, and we can also inspect more counties. People's livelihood is no small matter. If we see that the people are not used to transplanting rice or rotating crops properly, we can point out as much as we can, so that the people can live and work more peacefully after the autumn harvest. At this time, as agricultural promotion officials, we cannot be afraid of hard work. "

Many subordinates could not help but groan inwardly, but on the surface they still had to praise Zhuge Liang, praising him as a model of diligence and love for the people.

Only one or two truly upright staff members spoke frankly and advised:
"Chief Secretary! Although that is true, you are a man who is doing great things, and your health is important. In the past, Bingji was worried about the cows panting, but he did not ask about the dead people on the road; Chen Ping did not know the amount of money and grain, and said: "It has its own owner." Now the Chief Secretary personally goes to the fields and inspects the counties, sweating all day long, isn't it tiring?"

Zhuge Liang responded sternly, "What I am worried about these days is just like the cow panting that Bingji saw - the people are not working hard, so the production is reduced, which can be compared to the dead people lying across the road.

The people have tried their best, but because the method is wrong and the government has not taught them the technique of rice-wheat rotation, it is as serious as a cow panting, and the government has not done a good job in encouraging farmers. If it is generalized, there will be big problems.

I am only nineteen years old, what's wrong with working hard? Just think of it as strengthening my body. Besides, this kind of thing is the busiest this year, it will be easier next year, and the people of the two counties will have learned it. Everyone, grit your teeth!"

These words were not only heard by people around Zhuge Liang, but were also spread by word of mouth. Even Cao's spies heard them and passed them back.

This made Xiahou Dun and others feel a little touched and felt that they didn't quite understand.

……

However, the time when Xiahou Dun least understood was also the time when they were most likely to suffer losses.

On the morning of May 11, Zhuge Liang had just arrived in Ling County. He had persuaded farmers to work during the day, but he finished work early in the afternoon. He said that he was tired from the journey from Huaipu and had insisted on working around the clock, so he finally fell ill due to overwork.

Everyone thought this was normal. For someone as hard-working as Zhuge Changshi, it was only a matter of time before he fell ill from overwork.

As a result, in the middle of the night of that day, the two thousand elite cavalrymen who were sent by Zhao Yun to Ling County to help the people harvest wheat and plant rice were no longer like farmers in the previous two days.

They took a nap during the day to get enough rest, then got up at 5pm and had a good meal of wine and meat, including rice, sea bass and mandarin fish. Then they mounted their horses, with each person having two horses, for a total of four thousand horses for two thousand people, ready to march in the dark.

After three years of development, Liu Bei's army still has a total cavalry force of 6,000 to 7,000 people. As a southern vassal, the total number of cavalry is not large.

Among them, two thousand were the old subordinates who were brought with him, as well as the old members of the Xuzhou army. Later, when fighting against Yuan Shu, more than three thousand people were armed with captured weapons, and more than one thousand more were added through other channels.

In the second half of this year, after Taishi Ci was freed up, Liu Bei agreed with Yuan Tan to go to the Donglai Islands to open up a sea trade route to the Liaodong Peninsula and ask Gongsun Du in Liaodong to buy war horses so that the scale of the cavalry could be further expanded in the future.

Therefore, when Liu Bei had only 7,000 cavalry, allocating 4,000 horses to Zhao Yun was already the limit. It was also thanks to the fact that Jiangxia County did not need cavalry for attacking, Guan Yu, Gan Ning and Taishi Ci did not bring many.

Zhao Yun also knew that relying on only two thousand elite soldiers might not be enough to control the situation in the entire Xia Pi County, so this was only the vanguard of the first wave, and he had to make sure that Chen Deng was protected first.

The subsequent infantry can take the warships upstream along the Sishui River and slowly take over, while the cavalry only seizes the key points first.

After the reorganization, Zhao Yun personally inspected the troops and gave a final pre-battle encouragement: "Soldiers, tonight is the night to achieve success! As long as we rush to the Baimen Tower in Xia Pi, Chen Yuanlong, the Lord of Chen Mansion, will help us enter the city!
The only general defending the city was Zhang Liao. Chen Fujun said that Zhang Liao was shot by two arrows from Cao's powerful crossbows in February, and his arms and legs were severely injured. Although he has been recuperating for three months, his bravery has definitely not recovered to its peak, so there is no need to be afraid of him!
I know that at least half of you followed the Lord out of Xia Pi! There are also hundreds of riders who even followed the Lord all the way from his hometown in Youzhou!

Three years ago, Lü Bu stole Xiapi and forced you to leave your homeland, and even your family had to be taken to Huaiyin and Lingxian for resettlement. Today we are just going to take back what originally belonged to us!"

Among the two thousand cavalrymen, the one thousand veterans who followed Liu Bei out of Xia Pi felt their blood boiling upon hearing this, and began to roar wildly, wanting to take back what belonged to them.

Lu Bu sneaked into Xia Pi in mid-June of the first year of Jian'an.

It is now mid-May of the fourth year of Jian'an, and there is still one month away from the third anniversary, but it can barely be considered that "the three-year period has arrived."

After boosting the morale, Zhao Yun waved his hand and two thousand elite cavalrymen, each with two horses, began a night-long raid.

Compared with three years ago, the only difference is that Lu Bu went downstream along the Si River, while today Zhao Yun went upstream along the Si River.

……

Zhao Yun's troops got up at the beginning of the evening at the hour of You, washed, packed up, ate, fed the horses, and put on their armor. After they were done, they started on their journey. It was almost the hour of Xu.

However, the middle of May in the lunar calendar is the longest day of the year, close to the summer solstice, so after the army galloped for more than half an hour, it was completely dark. At this time, Zhao Yun's army had already run more than 30 miles and was almost close to the border between Ling County and Xiaxiang. Zhao Yun looked at the sky. Since it was completely dark, it would not be easy for Lu Bu's army to detect them if they entered Xiaxiang. He just sent out scouts farther away, paying attention to locating Lu Bu's sporadic night patrols in advance, and then bypassing them.

Two thousand cavalrymen were not a big target and had good mobility. In addition, Liu Bei's army had strong marine fishing technology. As an elite unit, the cavalrymen had better food than ordinary soldiers. They had fish with fewer bones almost every day, so they did not have night blindness at all. Their night vision was at least an order of magnitude farther than the enemy.

Before Lü Bu's scouts spotted Zhao Yun, Zhao Yun's scouts spotted the enemy first. By midnight, Zhao Yun's troops had completely bypassed Xiaxiang County without making any noise and were approaching the border between Xiaxiang and Xiapi.

At four o'clock in the morning, Zhao Yun led his troops to the Shushui River, which was the last geographical obstacle before attacking Xia Pi.

The Shushui River was not a big river, and Zhao Yun was well prepared for this expedition. He asked each soldier to bring a few empty sacks and bamboo baskets, and some soldiers also brought shovels.

When crossing a river, they first followed the geographical information, shoveled soil from shallow places with slow currents, filled sacks and bamboo baskets, and threw them into the river to block the water, so that they could wade smoothly. A small half of the cavalry in Zhao Yun's army had been in Xiapi for several years and were very familiar with the geographical conditions. They could find shallow water in the dark.

At this point, there was no obstacle that could stop Zhao Yun from rushing to Xia Pi.

……

One hour before Zhao Yun crossed the Shushui River, Chen Deng in Xia Pi City also began to act as planned.

There were still about 6,000 to 7,000 troops under Zhang Liao's command in Xiapi City, but a considerable proportion of them were temporarily recruited men. Chen Gong, on the other hand, had no direct military power, so he had to rely on Zhang Liao to command the troops.

The soldiers who obeyed Chen Deng's orders numbered more than 2,000, all of whom belonged to the local county soldier system.

Two and a half years ago, when Lu Bu first asked for an official position in the court, Cao Cao gave Chen Deng the post of Guangling governor and Lu Bu the post of Xiapi governor in order to contain him. Zhang Liao and Chen Gong were the prime ministers of Pengcheng and Peiguo. So when Chen Deng was under Lu Bu, he theoretically had no direct territory.

But later, as Lü Bu was promoted from Xiapi governor to Xuzhou governor, Chen Deng helped Lü Bu get the official post and gained more and more trust. Lü Bu then handed over the daily government affairs of Xiapi to Chen Deng.

Therefore, the county soldiers under the county commandery system, who were responsible for defending the territory and maintaining public security, obeyed Chen Deng, while the field troops all obeyed Zhang Liao.

In addition to combat soldiers, Chen Deng, as a local wealthy family, can also mobilize more than a thousand armed servants at any time and anywhere, including those directly under the Chen family and other small wealthy families who have defected to the Chen family.

In terms of numbers, the force Chen Deng had was even greater than Zhao Yun's first-tier reinforcements, but not as elite as Zhao Yun's troops.

At three o'clock in the morning, Chen Deng personally came to the White Gate Tower to inspect the defense. Before that, he had found an excuse to send away the gatekeepers Chen Gong and Zhang Liao's confidants, or asked his confidants to treat them to a lot of wine, get them drunk and then tie them up.

After a final inspection and confirmation that they were all his own people, Chen Deng ordered the roads leading to the Baimen Tower from the left and right city wall defense zones to be blocked, and had the soldiers carry piles of sacks filled with sand up the wall to build temporary fortifications to defend against the friendly forces on both sides.

While doing all this, Chen Deng sent out a trusted and trusted soldier and told him one thing: "Go, ride fast out of the south gate, pretend to go around the west of the city and head north, and head straight to Pengcheng. If you are intercepted, lie that you are going to Pengcheng to deliver a letter for help to General Lu. If the other party insists on checking, drop your things and run away immediately."

That trusted assassin was also sent by Liu Bei to Chen Deng. He was absolutely reliable. Moreover, Chen Deng knew that this statement would definitely not be hidden from the patrolling scouts.

Because at this moment, Pengcheng was surrounded by Xiahou Yuan, how could anyone break through to deliver a letter? Could an ordinary messenger be as brave as Lu Bu? If he said he was delivering a letter to Lu Bu, the other party would definitely suspect that it was for Xiahou Yuan.

Everything went according to the plan. After half a watch, the city of Xia Pi was in chaos. One could hear the army camp in the city in commotion and people were urgently gathering troops to search.

But Chen Deng had already moved all his family members out of the mansion in advance and settled them in the Baimen Tower, so the search operations at Chen Deng's mansion were doomed to be futile.

"Oh no! General Zhang, Chen Deng is collaborating with the enemy and has fled for fear of being punished!" The officer who went to search Chen Deng's mansion found that the house was empty, so he hurriedly reported the situation to Zhang Liao.

Chen Gong, who was standing by, was holding the letter that Chen Deng had just intercepted, which showed that he was collaborating with the enemy Xiahou Yuan. He waved his fist in anger, "This thief is indeed unreliable! Seeing that Wen Hou was on the decline, he decided to join the thief to protect himself! Wen Yuan, please don't hesitate to send someone to track him down! Has anyone seen where Chen Deng went?"

Chen Deng had no intention of hiding his whereabouts, so just a minute or two later, Chen Gong learned from multiple sources that many people from Chen Deng's residence went out in the dark after nightfall.

Chen Gong's heart sank: "Hurry up and check at the White Gate Tower! Could it be that Chen Deng wants to guard one gate and wait for Xiahou Yuan to send troops over?"

Zhang Liao looked a little pale, but he was in good spirits. Upon hearing this, he immediately bowed to Chen Gong and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will go to the White Gate Tower to inspect it myself!"

After saying this, Zhang Liao put on a five-foot-long horse-slaying sword made of fine steel, and with the help of his subordinates, he mounted his horse.

It had been three months since he was shot by two crossbow arrows. His muscle and bone injuries had healed, but his left arm and left leg had not yet fully recovered their strength. So he temporarily gave up using long weapons on horseback and instead switched to a horse-slaying sword that could be used with his right hand.

This thing is more than five feet long. Although it is shorter than a two-handed weapon, it is much longer than other one-handed weapons, so it is not too disadvantageous in fighting on horseback.

Moreover, the handle of the horse-slaying sword is more than one foot long, so it can be held and swung with both hands in an emergency. Just don't use your left arm with full strength for a long time.

Zhang Liao, with hundreds of cavalry, rushed to the Baimen Tower, but what was waiting for him was the stairs to the wall that had been blocked by sandbags.

The horizontal roads on the top of the city wall were all blocked by sandbags, and some people set up spear formations, ready for battle.

Seeing this scene, even if Zhang Liao reacted slowly, he knew that Chen Deng had captured a city gate and wanted to guard it until reinforcements arrived.

Zhang Liao had suffered from the defeat of a powerful crossbow before, so he did not dare to be arrogant. He retreated a hundred steps away from the city wall, then shouted loudly and asked the soldiers around him to shout and relay:
"Chen Deng! Marquis Wen treated you well! Why did you rebel? Get out of the way of the city stairs immediately, or I will spare your life! Your messenger has been killed by our army! Xiahou Yuan can't make it in time!

Surrender quickly, and there is still a chance to live! Gongtai and I will plead for you in front of Wenhou! I know you are just timid and afraid of death! It is not a true betrayal! "

Soon, Chen Deng's voice came back from the White Gate Tower: "Wenyuan is right. I am indeed a coward, so I will not follow Lu Bu to die.

If I wasn't afraid of death, would I have waited for General Lu to enter the city when Xu Dan and Zhang Kuang seized this gate three years ago? If I wasn't afraid of death, would I have fought to the death with Xu Dan together with Zhang Fei? Would Lu Bu have been able to enter this gate?

"Lü Bu won Xia Pi because of my fear of death, and lost Xia Pi because of my fear of death. Isn't it wonderful! If you are not afraid of the crossbows, just come and attack the gate!"

(End of this chapter)