Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 214 Prefect of Pengcheng, Chen Yuanlong
The Flying Dragon Cavalry abandoned their usual tactics of roaming and kiting, and instead launched a frontal assault on Ji Ling's weak points.

Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan took the lead and broke through the enemy lines in one fell swoop.

The subsequent Wyvern Riders pressed forward, continuously tearing and widening the breach.

In an instant, Ji Ling's army, attacked from both sides, was thrown into chaos and had no time to deal with Cao Cao's attack from both front and rear. They could only become lambs to the slaughter.

Only an hour into the battle, before Chen Ji and Lei Bo's reinforcements had even arrived, Ji Ling's army was already struggling to hold on.

Cao Yan's departure and his initiative in leading the Qingzhou army to launch a counterattack became the final straw that broke Ji Ling's back.

Standing on the command platform, Lao Cao had a clear view of the situation on the battlefield.

When he saw Cao Yan seize the opportunity precisely and launch a decisive attack, successfully crushing Ji Lingjun's last will to resist, he couldn't help but clap his hands and shout, "That was a brilliant move!

The army was defeated like a mountain!
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Ji Ling had no choice but to lead the remaining hundreds of cavalrymen to break through the encirclement at all costs.

As for the fate of the ordinary soldiers, they could only leave it to fate.

The rapid defeat of Ji Ling's army left Chen Ji and Lei Bo, who had come to reinforce them, dumbfounded.

Chen Ji was filled with surprise and couldn't help but say, "How long has it been? Fifty thousand troops are gone just like that?"

"Is it that the general is no longer capable, or is Cao Cao's army too powerful? If they had held their camp to the death, they wouldn't have been defeated so quickly, would they?" Lei Bo was more confused, as he didn't know about Cao Cao's catapults.

"What should we do next? If we turn back to Xiaopei, it may be too late." Chen Ji calculated the distance between Cao Cao's army and their own.

"It seems we have no choice but to form ranks and meet the enemy!" Lei Bo said through gritted teeth after a moment's thought.

……

Just as Ji Ling was fleeing in a sorry state towards Shouchun,
Another large army dispatched by Yuan Shu, consisting of more than 20,000 men led by Li Feng and Yue Jiu, also launched an attack on Pengcheng.

Li Feng and Yue Jiu originally thought that taking Pengcheng, which had only 5,000 defenders and no general in charge, would be an easy task.

However, to their surprise, the Pengcheng garrison commander managed to withstand their siege with only five thousand soldiers and tens of thousands of laborers in the city.

The current garrison commander of Pengcheng is Chen Deng, the son of Chen Gui, who is also the prefect of Pengcheng.

Chen Deng was born into the Chen family of Xiapi, a truly prominent and prestigious family.

His great-grandfather served as the governor of Guanghan, and his grandfather, Chen Qiu, was a famous Confucian scholar in the late Han Dynasty who held the official position of Grand Commandant.

Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, was formerly the Chancellor of Pei and is now Lü Bu's second strategist after Chen Gong.

He was a typical scion of a prominent and wealthy family. At the age of twenty-five, he was recommended as a candidate for the civil service examination and appointed as the magistrate of Dongyang County.

Although Chen Deng was young and came from a prominent family, what was rare was that he was able to understand the people's sentiments, care for the weak and orphans, and was deeply respected and loved by the people of Xuzhou.

Speaking of which, Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, had some connection with the Yuan family, which had produced four generations of high-ranking officials.

When Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, he wrote a letter to Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng, hoping they would come to his aid, and promised them high-ranking positions, wealth, and honor.

However, in the eyes of Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng, Yuan Shu was nothing more than a grasshopper in autumn, who wouldn't be able to jump around for much longer, so they naturally wouldn't assist Yuan Shu.

Although Yuan Shu detained Chen Gui's second son as a hostage, Chen Gui still righteously rebuked Yuan Shu, thus creating enmity between the two.

Chen Deng harbored lofty ambitions to help the world and its people from a young age. More importantly, he was a pragmatist, not a "celebrity" like Kong Rong who only knew how to talk.

Before the Battle of Pengcheng

What the world saw was Chen Deng's ability to govern local areas and his diplomatic skills.

After being appointed by Liu Bei as the Prefect of Pengcheng and experiencing the crisis of the siege of Pengcheng, his military abilities finally became known to the world.

The Chen family initially supported Liu Bei; otherwise, Liu Bei would never have been able to become the governor of Xuzhou.

However, because Chen Deng prioritized the interests of his family, Liu Bei had reservations and dared not confide in him.

So Liu Bei appointed Chen Deng as the Prefect of Pengcheng, effectively removing him from the core decision-making circle. Chen Deng wasn't angry about this; he simply diligently performed his duties.

Guo Jia's scheme to sow discord between Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shu had long been seen through by Chen Gui and Chen Deng, but they did not intervene because they believed it did not harm the fundamental interests of their own families.

In retrospect, their choice was correct, because Cao Cao's power was now unstoppable!
Although Cao Cao suppressed the aristocratic families, he promoted many new things, which also provided various opportunities for these families to expand and grow stronger.

Chen Deng and his son had exceptional insight and were naturally able to see the opportunities involved.

Therefore, compared to Liu Bei, Lü Bu, and Yuan Shu, Chen Deng felt that it might be a better outcome for Cao Cao to control Xu Province.

Yuan Shu launched a two-pronged attack on Pengcheng. Chen Deng, with his military talent and the full support of the people, barely managed to hold off wave after wave of Yuan's army's assaults.

However, if this continues, Pengcheng will surely fall and its inhabitants perish within two months due to food shortages.

Just as Chen Deng was worrying about this, a messenger rushed in to report: "Report! Your Excellency! There is a cavalry force outside the city, fighting against Yuan's army!"

Chen Deng suddenly stood up and asked, "Can you tell which army it is?"

In fact, Chen Deng had already vaguely guessed it in his heart.

Given the current situation, Lü Bu is too busy protecting himself to even come to Pengcheng. So, besides Cao Cao's army, who else would be fighting against Yuan Shu's army?
Sure enough, the messenger replied, "They are flying the banners of Zhao and Xiahou!"

"Zhao? Xiahou? Cavalry!" Chen Deng pondered for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "It's Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan's cavalry, the most elite Flying Dragon Cavalry under General Cao Zi'an!!"

He then blurted out, "Cao Yan is here! We're doomed!!"

"?"

“That’s right! It must be Cao Yan!” Chen Deng’s mind suddenly cleared. “Xuzhou is Cao Cao’s heart’s desire. He is determined to take Xuzhou in this eastern expedition and will definitely lead his army in person.”

As his most capable assistant and the first commander of the Cao clan, Cao Yan will certainly accompany him on the expedition.

The appearance of the Flying Dragon Cavalry outside Pengcheng means that Cao Cao and Cao Yan have defeated Ji Ling and captured Xiaopei!

With the Cao brothers personally leading the expedition, how many men in the world could rival them?

"My lord, what should we do?" the messenger asked anxiously.

Before Chen Deng could reply, another messenger rushed in and reported, "Report! Your Excellency, that cavalry charged and then retreated."

Chen Deng frowned, somewhat puzzled. "What does Cao Yan mean by this?"

He then asked, "How many soldiers did Cao Cao's army bring?"

"They are all cavalry, numbering less than ten thousand."

"What exactly is Cao Zi'an trying to do? Is he planning to work with me from the inside?" With so little information, Chen Deng was completely baffled.

However, a third messenger soon arrived with the report: "Report! My lord, Cao Cao's general has shot up a letter!"

"So it's a messenger!" Chen Deng quickly took the letter, and after reading it, he couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Just as I thought! Cao Cao's army wants me to coordinate an attack from within!"

"But are you so sure that I, Chen Yuanlong, will cooperate with you?" Chen Deng was a little curious. He didn't understand why the Cao brothers were so sure that he would stand on their side.

However, no matter how Chen Deng weighed the pros and cons, he ultimately realized that only by cooperating with Cao Cao's army could he maximize the interests of his family.

Chen Deng smiled bitterly and helplessly: "For the sake of my family, I have no choice but to help Cao... I'm completely controlled by the Cao brothers!"
"Well, surrendering to Cao Cao is the same as surrendering to the imperial court, so it's not a bad deal."

Chen Deng only had a few junior officers under his command and no capable generals, but this gave him the opportunity to carry out his ingenious schemes.

He paced back and forth in the hall, pondering for a long time, and a plan gradually took shape in his mind.

"Someone, summon all the generals for a meeting!" Chen Deng whispered to the messenger.

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)