My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 233: Don't go to this blood of General Dong and General Lu

In the fifth year of Jian'an, on the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month, it was the eighth day after Dong Cheng visited Lü Bu again at night.

Gao Shun had already led his troops to Runan, from Xudu through Yancheng, Shangcai, Ancheng, and Xincai, and was about to cross the Huai River.

Yingchuan County, where Xudu is located, stands in a tripod shape with Nanyang County, where Wancheng is located, and Runan County in the southeast. These three counties rely on each other and are not far away. If Gao Shun did not bring troops and just traveled lightly, he would not even need to walk so long, and could save half the time.

After crossing the Huai River, the southern half of Runan County gradually went deeper into the Tongbai Mountain area. The most southern part of the rugged area close to the main ridge of Tongbai Mountain is still controlled by the remnants of Runan thief Gong Du. The heavy snow blocked the mountain and the Cao army could not enter.

Most of the troops led by Gao Shun were not his own troops. There were only one or two soldiers from the garrison, and dozens of trusted guards, messengers and scouts, who were considered his own people. After all, he had the position of a lieutenant, so even if he did not have military power, he still had his own command system.

Dong Cheng's two underage children, as well as Lu Bu's wife and daughter, were also dressed in men's clothes and hiding among Gao Shun's personal guards. They had been hiding well over the past few days.

Dong Cheng was very confident and planned to go all out, and he had never thought of keeping a backup plan to prevent unexpected events. Moreover, Dong Cheng had no friendship with the foreign princes, so even if he wanted to keep a backup plan from the beginning, he didn't know how to do it.

After all, Dong Cheng in this life had no connection with Liu Bei at all - the current Liu Bei had not experienced any of the hardships in history after the Shooting the Halberd at the Gate, and had never come to Xudu to seek refuge. How could Dong Cheng make friends with Liu Bei?
However, at the last moment, Dong Cheng was moved by Lu Bu's maturity and prudence. He also heard Lu Bu say that he could make friends with an external aid. If things failed, he could still leave behind a bloodline. So Dong Cheng went with the flow and sent a pair of his children to Gao Shun for protection.

If things go smoothly, there will be no need for external backup. If not, there will definitely be foreign princes who oppose Cao Cao and continue to carry the banner. At that time, they will definitely protect Dong Cheng's children. This is a good way to spread the risk.

"I don't know what chances General Wei and Marquis Wen have of success in their plan. No matter what, let's cross the Huai River tomorrow to at least make sure no one can stop us. We can think of other things later."

At nightfall, Gao Shun took one last look at the marching map, measured the distance from the Huai River, and decided to cross the river first.

His army, ships, and vehicles were not under his control, and his logistics were all dependent on the unified dispatch system of Cao's army, which was hampered everywhere. This was also the treatment that a surrendered general should receive when he led troops for the first time, so he had nothing to complain about.

Only after crossing the Huai River were we completely free from any constraints. Even if we were not given boats later, we could still escape by land if we encountered any accidents.

……

At the same time, Xudu.

Cao Cao stayed in Xudu for a few final days, plugging various loopholes and making arrangements for the rear-end affairs after his future expedition against Yuan Shao.

But the suspicious Cao Cao always felt uneasy. He thought that with the current precarious situation, as soon as he left, someone would definitely collude with Yuan Shao in secret.

This is not difficult to guess, because Yuan Shao was powerful, and Cao Cao had already caught some people who had contacted Yuan Shao privately. But he did not dare to make it public or make a big fuss, for fear that his own morale would be further weakened and more people would know that "it turns out that someone was also in contact with Yuan."

Those surrendered generals who were not his trusted followers were suspicious no matter how you looked at them, such as Lu Bu, Jia Xu, and that person.

Finally, in the evening of that day, Cao Cao summoned Xun Yu and Guo Jia for the last time to discuss again: how to ensure the safety of Xu Du after the war.

At the same time, Cao Cao also summoned Jia Xu, who had surrendered to him for more than a month and had remained silent.

Cao Cao secretly decided in his heart: If Jia Xu continued to pretend to be dead, not offering any ideas and just waiting and watching, then he would take Jia Xu to the front of the Chenliu army! He must not let this sinister guy stay behind!
Jia Xu came to surrender with Zhang Xiu, and they had not been together for long. But Zhang Xiu was easy to see through, and Cao Cao knew how to control him at once. In contrast, Jia Xu was completely unpredictable. After he came, he said nothing, did not seek credit, and did not want to be promoted.

After summoning the three counselors, Cao Cao did not hesitate to be polite with them and once again got straight to the point:
"I called you to discuss today. I want to discuss what to do if we go to war with Yuan Shao and the people in Xudu are unstable and someone is secretly contacting Yuan Shao? Wen Ruo, Feng Xiao, do you have any new strategic suggestions?"

Xun Yu and Guo Jia certainly had no new suggestions, because they had been asked several times before, and if they had any strategies, they would have already brought them out. So they all sincerely repeated the same old things.

Cao Cao did not feel disappointed, but thought this was normal. He sighed and finally looked at Jia Xu: "Wenhe persuaded Zhang Xiu to surrender to the court, and his contribution is indispensable. Why has he said nothing in the past month? And has he not offered any strategy?
Now that I am about to go to war, don't you have any good advice for me? Are you not familiar enough with our army's situation? If so, why not join the army and get familiar with it?"

Jia Xu was a man who had always been cautious and self-protective. He knew how serious his historical sins were. He had once instigated Li Jue and Guo Si to commit crimes. If he was caught, he would not be convicted, but his future would definitely be ruined.

So after arriving in Cao's camp for a month and a half, his first priority was not to offend anyone or show off.

But at this moment, he had already realized that Cao Cao would "not give up until he came up with advice". If he didn't say something now, he would be taken to the front of the Chenliu Army and would be asked for his opinion every time there was something. If he didn't say anything, people would hate him and say he was arrogant. If he said something, he would easily offend more people.

It would be better for him to come up with a plan in Xudu as a token of his allegiance.

After thinking this through, Jia Xu sighed and said tactfully:
"How dare Xu not do his best for Sikong Daye? It is true that when I first arrived, I was not familiar with the military situation and dared not speak rashly, for fear of causing trouble for Sikong.

Since the Minister of Works has paid so much attention to my inquiry today, I will certainly devote all my energy to planning. I wonder if the Minister of Works still remembers: Zhang Xiu was defeated when he used elite troops to pursue the retreating troops, and he won when he used the defeated troops to pursue the victorious troops..."

Jia Xu spoke very vaguely. After all, the Battle of Wancheng three years ago was a disgrace to Cao Cao.

But the battle examples in Jia Xu's context were well known to both parties: That time, when Cao Cao retreated, Zhang Xiu wanted to pursue him, but Jia Xu advised him not to, saying that he would definitely lose if he did. Zhang Xiu didn't listen and pursued him, and he really lost in the end. Then Jia Xu told him to continue pursuing him, and he would definitely win this time. Zhang Xiu finally gave in and did what he said, and he really won.

After returning, Zhang Xiu was extremely impressed by Jia Xu and asked him, "I used my elite troops to pursue the retreating army, and you said they would be defeated; I used my defeated troops to attack the victorious army, and you said they would be defeated. How come everything turned out to be true?"

Jia Xu's answer at the time was, "This is easy to understand. Although the general is good at using troops, he is no match for Cao Gong. Although the army has just retreated, Cao Gong will definitely cut off the rear. Although the pursuing troops are elite, the general is no match for them, and the enemy's soldiers are also sharp, so we know that we will be defeated. Cao Gong did not make a mistake in attacking the general. He retreated before his strength was exhausted. There must be something wrong at home. After defeating the general, he must have a light army and advance quickly. Even if he left other generals to cover the rear, although they are brave, they are no match for the general. Therefore, even if he uses defeated troops, he will win."

Jia Xu knew very well that this battle was Cao Cao's sore spot, but he still had to mention it. Apparently it was because the strategy he wanted to come up with today was very similar to the one in the Battle of Wancheng three years ago.

He wanted to give credit to Cao Cao and let Cao Cao come up with it himself.

With Cao Cao's intelligence, as long as someone pointed him out, he would of course react immediately without having to finish speaking.

After his initial instinctive anger, Cao Cao quickly calmed down and said seriously, "I understand! 'Even though the army has just left, we must cut off the rear', isn't this my usual strategy? I originally planned to leave the city in a few days, so let's leave the city tomorrow!"

Let someone spread the news tomorrow, saying that there is an urgent report from Chenliu, and that Yuan Shao's troops have suddenly crossed the river. I will head north immediately! After leaving the city, I will set up camp after only one day, and then wait and see what happens. If Xu Du changes, I will strike back and lure out those unstable people!"

When he was fighting Zhang Xiu that year, he knew to keep a backup plan to lure Zhang Xiu. He didn't dare to relax his vigilance until Zhang Xiu's first wave of pursuit was defeated by him.

Today, I will use the same old trick again! Show weakness first to seduce them! Trick those guys who have ulterior motives!
……

It turned out that both Dong Cheng and Lu Bu were courageous, but they were unwise.

They have good ideas, but they lack top wise men to help them polish specific action plans, nor do they have top wise men to help them avoid pitfalls.

Cao Cao made a feint to test him, and Dong Cheng and Lu Bu immediately used their ultimate moves.

The day after Cao Cao pretended to leave, Dong Cheng was impatient and decided to take action. "This is God's help! The general actually crossed the Yellow River without waiting for the righteous cause! Immediately gather the servants of the six families, and the guards of the General's Mansion and the Right General's Mansion, rush into the palace, kill Wang Bi, the palace guard of Cao Cao, and obey the emperor's decree to fight against the thief!"

That night, Dong Cheng assembled hundreds of guards from his own mansion, hundreds of guards controlled by Lu Bu, and more than a thousand armed servants from six families, totaling two thousand three or four hundred people, and launched an attack on the Xu Du Palace.

He also tried his best to get his connections to delay Wang Bi, and thought of ways to entertain and send women to him. In short, he used all the delaying tricks he could.

Wang Bi didn't know Cao Cao's overall plan, Cao Cao just told him to be careful these days. But since ancient times, there is only a thief who can steal for a thousand days, and there is no such thing as a thief who can guard against thieves for a thousand days, so Wang Bi couldn't be on edge all the time.

Finally, after nightfall on the 29th day of the first lunar month, Dong Cheng and Lu Bu launched a frantic attack on Wang Bi. They temporarily took the initiative, seized two palace gates through a surprise attack, and even broke into the imperial palace, where they engaged in a fierce battle with Wang Bi's guards.

Upon learning that something had happened in the palace, the other troops that Cao Cao had left in the city also hurried back to defend, and the two sides fought in the dark.

Cao Cao, who had left the city to march north the previous morning, should have been quite far away from Xu Du by this time.

Cao Cao, however, learned from Zhao Kuangyin and mistook Yuan Shao for a Khitan soldier. His troops marched to Linwei Pavilion, 60 miles northeast of Xudu, the day before, but actually stopped moving forward quietly, and even turned back at night the next day.

This is exactly like using Linwei Pavilion as Chenqiao Posthouse.

Dong Cheng and Lu Bu fought in the middle of the night and although they controlled the palace for a time, before dawn, Cao Cao's main force came back to kill them!
The army went straight into the palace to quell the rebellion. Dong Cheng and Lu Bu had few men and were soon overwhelmed and unable to resist.

In the critical moment, their only reliance was Emperor Liu Xie himself.

"Your Majesty, we, the subjects, will fight to the death to protect you and break out of the encirclement!" Dong Cheng and Lu Bu asked anxiously.

Unfortunately, at the critical moment, Liu Xie was a little afraid to run around, fearing that he would be killed by the rebel army.

At this time, Cao's army that was besieging the palace began to shout and sent people to pass on the message: "The traitors Dong Cheng and Lu Bu, please release your majesty immediately! Anyone who dares to hijack your majesty will be killed with their entire family! All generals, listen to my order. If you see the traitor Lu Bu taking your majesty as a hostage and trying to escape, do not shoot! Do not hurt your majesty! Your majesty is being held hostage by the traitors! What you said was not your original intention!"

These words of persuasion made Liu Xie completely timid. After all, in history, he watched Cao Cao kill Dong Cheng and Dong Guiren silently. When Cao Cao asked him whether these were forged by Dong Cheng, he dared not say a word, which was regarded as tacit agreement.

Now there is just one more Lu Bu. Liu Xie and Lu Bu don't have much of a friendship. Nothing can be done at the moment. Dong Cheng and Lu Bu are doomed to die anyway. Why should he get involved?
When Dong Cheng and Lu Bu saw that Liu Xie was cowardly and did not dare to break out, they became disheartened and realized that the emperor had decided that this plan was doomed to fail, so they wanted to cut off their arms to save their lives.

"Well, well, as a subject, how can I put the emperor in life and death danger? All of you stay away from your majesty. Cao thieves dare not shoot arrows at your majesty, we will charge and kill them on our own!"

Dong Cheng also knew that he and Lu Bu had to die, and there was no point in sacrificing Liu Xie. He was too lazy to drag someone down with him, so why bother?

After Dong Cheng and Lu Bu gave up trying to take the emperor away, the increasingly large Cao army had no scruples at all and arrows rained down on them. Both Dong Cheng and Lu Bu were shot down in the hail of arrows.

Lu Bu had fought for half the night and killed more than a dozen enemies. He also shot and killed dozens of people on the Wei Que palace wall, but in the end he could not avoid being shot into a hedgehog.

"Is this fellow Lu Bu finally dead?" Cao Cao watched cautiously from a few hundred steps away. He was a little afraid of Lu Bu's archery ability, so he was very careful.

"They must be dead. They were shot like hedgehogs. Moreover, Lu Bu sneaked into the palace tonight and attacked without wearing armor." Cao Chun, who was beside Cao Cao, said firmly that he had returned with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry tonight to quell the rebellion.

When Cao Cao set up this plan, he specifically used the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry so that they could be quickly mobilized to return for defense.

After hearing what Cao Chun said, Cao Cao still didn't believe it, so he ordered: "Send someone up and stab with spears, add more spears!"

Cao Chun, however, did not take it seriously. He personally took up his lance and led a team of personal guards to attack with their spears and stab the enemy to grab the head.

However, just when Cao Chun was about to stab Lu Bu, Lu Bu, who had already fallen to the ground, suddenly jumped up, picked up the painted halberd that fell on the ground, and fought a desperate battle with Cao Chun.

"Puchi! Puchi!" As the sharp blade stabbed into the flesh with great force, Cao Chun couldn't help but howl in pain. He was pierced diagonally by Lu Bu's painted halberd in the chest and shoulder, and went out through the back.

"I only killed such an unknown general, uh..." Lu Bu was also pierced through by Cao Chun's weapon and the lances of several Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. This time he was really dead and could not die any more. Before his death, he seemed very dissatisfied with the result of the battle he had achieved.

"What happened? He was shot like this and he's not even wearing armor, how could he still be alive? Check him carefully for me!" Cao Cao was shocked and angry when he saw this sudden change. He actually replaced his cousin before Lu Bu died!
Fearing that Lü Bu was still alive, they used their spears to poke dozens of transparent holes through the chest and back of the corpse. Only then did they dare to examine the body to confirm the situation. After a while, someone finally explained to Cao Cao:
"Report to the Minister of Works! We found soft armor with iron wire rings inside the robes of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu's bodies. They have never been seen before! When this armor is shot by arrows, the arrows can penetrate the iron rings a few inches, and it is also possible that the iron wire rings will expand, but they will not penetrate deep into the flesh! Lu Bu was pierced by dozens of arrow wounds, all of which were minor injuries that penetrated a few inches into the flesh. That's why he could fake his death and set an ambush!

So far, only Dong Cheng and Lu Bu have been found wearing this kind of armor. No other rebel has such a precious armor! It should be extremely rare. I wonder where Dong Cheng found it! "

After hearing this, Cao Cao was still furious, but he knew that now was not the time to be angry or sad. These doubts could only be investigated later.

Cao Cao immediately took a piece of cloth and wiped the blood off his sword. Then, holding the unsheathed sword, he walked to Liu Xie step by step, looked him up and down, and then asked in a cold tone:

"Your Majesty, Dong Cheng and Lu Bu forged an imperial edict to rebel and have already been executed. I am late in coming to quell the rebellion. Please forgive me! Please issue an imperial edict to exterminate the families of the rebels!"

"This... Yes, Dong Cheng and Lu Bu did forge an imperial edict to plot a rebellion... I am frightened for a moment and don't know what to do. Please let Cao Gong make the decision..." Liu Xie was sweating profusely and had no choice but to follow Cao Cao's words.

……

After a night of fierce fighting, nearly a thousand personal soldiers of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu and fifteen or six hundred servants, totaling two thousand four, were all killed or wounded. Even those who were captured were all beheaded in the end.

Cao's army suffered more than a thousand casualties, but only four or five hundred were killed in battle, and the rest were injured to varying degrees.

The combined casualties on both sides exceeded 4,000. In addition, due to the chaotic fighting in the palace and nearby streets, the number of casualties, displacement, and accidental injuries among the people of Xudu totaled nearly 10,000.

Cao's army lost two more famous civil and military officials than in the original history, including Wang Bi who was in charge of guarding the palace, and Cao Chun who led the cavalry to charge.

Dong Cheng's side lost one more person, Lu Bu, than the same period in history, but there was no other difference. Of course, their deaths were more valuable, after all, they caused more than a thousand casualties to Cao's elite troops.

However, the party that used the Yidaizhao to fight against the rebels did not completely gain the upper hand - after all, Liu Bei in this life was not qualified to sign his name on the Yidaizhao. He could only retroactively acknowledge that he was obeying the Yidaizhao from afar.

Moreover, no one who had seen the actual secret decree survived to serve as a witness. If Cao Cao's side wanted to cover up the truth about the secret decree, they would have more room to maneuver than in the same period in history.

Cao Cao lost money militarily compared to the same period in history, but made a small profit politically. Moreover, Lu Bu's original reputation was too bad, and it could be said that he was far inferior to Liu Bei. The appeal of the pledge he signed was definitely not as strong as that signed by Liu Bei.

Anyway, Cao Cao made a conclusion that night, saying that Dong Cheng and Lu Bu had forged an imperial edict to plot a rebellion. It all depended on which side the princes of the world were willing to believe.

(End of this chapter)