My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 392 Buy one get one free
Two flowers bloom, one on each side.

At the same time, Guo Jia urgently dispatched Zhang He and Zhu Ling to Pengcheng County to try to plug the leak and save the situation.

In Fuyang County, the northernmost part of Pengcheng County, Guan Yu's vanguard had been advancing rapidly and had penetrated between Fuyang County and Pengcheng County, cutting off the contact between Taishan Changxi's troops, who had just arrived in Fuyang, and Zhang He.

This was not done by Guan Yu himself.

After all, Guan Yu was in a high position and had a big target. In order to ensure that he could deceive Cao's scouts, Guan Yu stayed in Xiapi County or Suiling County until the new offensive was launched. He not only had to raise a banner, but also often appeared in public, deliberately letting the spies sent by Guo Jia see him from a distance.

During the war, it was impossible to ensure that not a single enemy spy could get into the entire city. The level of counterintelligence in the late Han Dynasty was not yet at that level. At most, we could ensure that enemy spies could not infiltrate key departments, and we could only find out peripheral information that was similar to the level of our common people.

This preparation did play a role in misleading Guo Jia to some extent.

Since Guan Yu himself was unable to go north in advance, the task of quickly cutting off the communication between Chang Xi and other Cao troops had to be handed over to his subordinates.

So this time Guan Yu chose Zhang Liao and Chen Gong to take charge of this matter. Guan Yu had a total of 4,000 cavalry, and assigned 3,000 cavalry to Zhang Liao, and ordered him to quickly penetrate and cut off the connection between Fuyang and the front and rear, but not to attack the city.

In other words, not only was it necessary to cut off Chang Xi's route to the south to join Zhang He, but it was also necessary to cut off Chang Xi's route coming from the north at the same time to prevent Chang Xi from retreating back to the mountainous area of Taishan County after being frightened.

Now that you are here, don’t leave, stay and be a guest.

Guan Yu himself would lead the main infantry force of Xia Pi and slowly return to his position to be responsible for the final main attack.

If Guo Jia reacted quickly enough and had Zhang He reinforce Chang Xi as soon as he learned that Zhang Liao had sent troops, then Zhang He might still have been able to arrive at the Fuyang battlefield before Guan Yu.

After all, compared to Guan Yu, Zhang He was fighting on the inside and traveling within Pengcheng County, which was a shorter distance.

After all, Guan Yu was marching in enemy territory, and his speed would be slower than marching in his own territory. These factors had to be taken into consideration.

However, this time difference would not be too long, estimated to be at most one day, at least half a day. Therefore, Zhang Liao only needed to hold out for one day to prevent Zhang He and Chang Xi from joining forces.

……

The view switches to the city of Fuyang.

It was August 20th. Chang Xi had been leading seven or eight thousand Taishan bandits and soldiers south to Pengcheng County for seven or eight days. It had only been two days since they arrived in Fuyang, so they could not yet gain a firm foothold.

Fuyang County is located at the junction of Pengcheng, Donghai and Taishan counties, and is the northernmost part of Pengcheng County. Chang Xi's marching route even passed through Changliu County, which theoretically belonged to Donghai County. Most of Donghai County is now under the jurisdiction of Liu Bei's camp, but there are some exceptions.

As mentioned above, before Guan Yu defeated Xiahou Yuan last year, the Cao and Liu families divided the Donghai County into two parts: the east of the Yi River belonged to Liu Bei, and the west of the Yi River belonged to Cao Cao. After Xiahou Yuan was defeated last winter, Guan Yu pursued him across the Yi River and occupied Lanling, an important town in Donghai, and also occupied the area around Lanling.

As for Changliu County and two or three other small counties in the westernmost part of Donghai County, they were far away from Lanling and had no rivers connecting them. At that time, Guan Yu felt that there was no place to defend the isolated army deep in the territory, so he did not attack again and only pushed the front-line defenders to Lanling, the support point.

This time, Zhang Liao raided Fuyang from Lanling in Donghai County, which allowed him to reach the destination in a short time.

When Chang Xi first heard that Liu Bei's army was coming, he was also slightly shocked. He did not expect Guan Yu to go far away and not attack Zhang He to attack him. So he immediately followed his generals to the city to check the enemy situation.

As a result, when he saw that the enemy seemed to have only two or three thousand troops, and the size of their forces was only one-third of his own, Chang Xi's initial worries were largely dissipated.

"Who is leading the troops? How arrogant! How dare they surround me with such a small number of people?" Chang Xi casually asked the generals around him.

The general replied, "Just now, arrows were shot from under the city, and the enemy cavalry shouted and tried to shake our army. I heard that they were led by Zhang Liao and Chen Gong, two of Lu Bu's former generals."

"Zhang Liao and Chen Gong? They are old acquaintances. I dealt with them for three or four years when Marquis Wen was alive." Chang Xi pondered subconsciously, as if recalling events from many years ago.

However, the generals beside him were frightened by these unintentional nostalgic words. After Chang Xi had finished reminiscing, they leaned over and whispered in his ear: "General, Lu Bu is a traitor. Even if he is dead, we can no longer call him Marquis Wen. If someone with ulterior motives hears it, it will be a serious matter."

Chang Xi frowned, but he accepted the advice readily. Indeed, when he was the local emperor in Taishan County, he was free to speak and act, calling people whatever he wanted. Now that he has come to the territory of Pengcheng County, he still has to be careful.

While Chang Xi was thinking about it, Zhang Liao sent his scolds to shout at him from under the city.

"Brother Chang, how are you? Zhang Wenyuan is here! I know you have always been dissatisfied with Cao Cao. Although you were forced to go south this time, I think you are just greedy for the high position and noble title given by Cao Cao. Brother Chang is confused! General Guan is a mighty and powerful man, unmatched in ancient and modern times. Why don't you surrender early? Gongtai and I can still speak well of you in front of General Guan for our friendship!

Moreover, the princes have been very clever and have tricked Zhang He's main force to go south to Fuli to reinforce Cao Ren. Now Pengcheng is empty, and you and Zhang He have only 20,000 troops, while General Guan has 30,000 to 50,000 troops attacking Pengcheng! When General Guan's troops were weaker than Xiahou Yuan's, he was still able to defeat him. What's more, now his troops are strong, he has won battle after battle, his morale is high, and he far exceeds Cao's army! "

Chang Xi was somewhat dazed after hearing Zhang Liao's words. He really had no loyalty to Cao Cao, and if Liu Bei was more powerful, he would have surrendered.

Historically, in the fifth year of Jian'an, which was the beginning of the Battle of Guandu, Liu Bei intercepted and killed Yuan Shu and returned to Xuzhou. He killed Che Zhou and took over Xuzhou himself. The counties of Xuzhou rebelled against Cao and joined Liu, and Chang Xi was among them.

All of this, of course, has no chance of happening in this life. However, we cannot judge Chang Xi as loyal just because he surrendered to Liu in history. He just likes to be a local emperor. He is willing to work with whoever gives him more freedom and more arbitrary power.

Right now, Zhang Liao is the only one leading two or three thousand men to attack. If I surrender directly, it would be too worthless and I would not be taken seriously even if I go.

Moreover, he had just received a high position from Cao Cao, and if he surrendered directly, people in the world would think he was unjust. He always wanted Cao Cao to do him a disservice first, giving him an excuse to surrender, so that he could reap both benefits and fame.

Chang Xi thought over and over again, and decided that he should wait for Guan Yu to arrive with his army, so he spoke to Zhang Liao in an official tone on the top of the city wall:

"Wenyuan! I won't shoot you today for the sake of our old friendship, but I am defending the city for the country, and the law does not allow partiality! This will not happen again! I heard that the righteous man Yu Rang in the Spring and Autumn Period once said: If someone treats me as an ordinary person, I will treat him as an ordinary person. If someone treats me as a national hero, I will treat him as a national hero. Cao Gong just promoted me to a higher position, how could I be a traitor?"

Zhang Liao was also quite unhappy after hearing this. He had already heard that Chang Xi was putting on airs and asking for a price. Unfortunately, his authority was limited, and it was impossible for him to discuss any substantive content with the other party.

Fortunately, Zhang Liao brought Chen Gong with him to the battle today. Chen Gong had already understood Zhuge Jin's strategy before the battle and knew how to deal with it. He immediately stepped out of the crowd and shouted loudly to the top of the city wall:

"Brother Chang has such a lofty character, how dare the palace snatch him away? But I am afraid that Brother Chang does not know the character of Cao thief, and that he has loyalty and righteousness, but he uses them in the wrong place. How did Cao thief use Zang Ba and Sun Guan last year? Is his official position and title so easy to obtain?

Even though you are more talented than Zang Ba and Sun Guan, they are no more than ghosts in one round under General Guan's sword. I expect that Zhang He will not send troops to rescue you when you are surrounded here. Zhang He is always jealous of talented people and is quite dissatisfied with your success.

If you don't believe me, just stand by and watch how our army will defeat Zhang He in the future. If Zhang He really abandons you and doesn't save you, then Cao Cao has broken his promise first. What's wrong with you then submitting to the General of Chariots and Cavalry?"

Chang Xi was stunned. He didn't expect Chen Gong to be so nice and give him a way out.

He was just thinking about how to better save face and ask for a high price, but someone sent him a pillow just as he was falling asleep!

He immediately agreed: "Okay, Gongtai is also a man of integrity. For the sake of our friendship, as long as you don't attack the city, I will not leave the city to fight with you, so as to avoid the casualties of both armies. I don't believe the court will give up on me!"

He still didn't dare to say it too clearly. After all, he had to leave a way out. What if Liu Bei couldn't defeat Cao Cao? If he surrendered too early, wouldn't he be on the wrong side?
Chang Xi's mentality at this moment is somewhat similar to that of Yuan Tan in Qingzhou. Yuan Tan also knew that he could no longer stand on his own, but he just wanted to see whether Cao and Liu would win or lose, and then decide whether to join Liu. And this way, his position would be more stable in the future.

After Chen Gong squeezed Chang Xi, he turned his horse back and told Zhang Liao to stop shooting arrows and filling the trenches. He just needed to build a simple camp fence and let the cavalry stay there and wait for orders.

Zhang Liao was a little anxious. He pointed his weapon at the top of the city wall and said to Chen Gong, "How could Gongtai make such a bet with him? The princes have already planned to squeeze Zhang He, and they have to send troops to rescue Chang Xi.

If Zhang He really comes, it will be Cao Cao who is wronged by Chang Xi, not Chang Xi. Wouldn't he be even more embarrassed by then, and how could he surrender to our army? Gongtai, you must not ruin the layout of the princes!"

Chen Gong remained calm: "Do you think that if Zhang He comes, will Chang Xi come out of the city to attack us and join forces with Zhang He in a field battle? Or will he temporarily defend the city and continue to wait and see?"

Zhang Liao thought for a moment and said, "Then I will probably wait and see. After all, for a man like Chang Xi, protecting his own troops is the most important thing. Only with troops can he have the strength to establish his own regime. Even if Zhang He comes, he can pretend that the situation is temporarily unclear and that it may be a trick of our army. So we should wait and see. No one in the world can find fault with him."

Chen Gong: "That's all. As long as Chang Xi continues to wait and see, and we join forces with General Guan to defeat Zhang He, then even if Chang Xi is treacherous and has done wrong to Cao Cao, he will have no other choice. Can he still dare to fight against our victorious army alone?
He will eventually have to surrender to us, and when he does, his reputation will be even worse, and his soldiers may not obey him as much as they do now. And with General Guan's loyalty, perhaps Chang Xi's soldiers will rush to surrender to him - Chang Xi has ruined his reputation for "faithfulness" this time, and he may not even be able to become the local emperor of Mount Tai."

Zhang Liao followed Chen Gong's thoughts and pondered for a while, and found that it seemed to be true:
"That's good. Gongtai's words have made me see the light. In this case, we don't have to worry too much about Chang Xi. As long as we repel Zhang He who comes to help, we can take this place and kill two birds with one stone."

(End of this chapter)