Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 291 The Hulao Pass Farce
North of Xingyang, there is Aocang.

Bao Tao's remnants of his army appeared outside the city.

Aocang was a warehouse city used for storing grain transport goods. There were not many residents in the city, most of whom were river workers or grain transport workers. The garrison commander was Zhang Chao, the younger brother of Zhang Miao.

Zhang Miao organized the grain transport in Chenliu, while Zhang Chao managed the distribution of grain in Aocang.

Of course, the person who actually managed the affairs of Ao Cang was Zang Hong, Zhang Chao's chief clerk.

Upon seeing that Bao Tao's remaining troops had been defeated, Zhang Chao hurried to the city gate to inquire about what had happened.

Leading the remnants of Bao Tao's forces was none other than Xu Huang...

Moreover, Xu Huang also brought Bao Tao's body: "Commander Bao was attacked by Liu Bei and the White Wave bandits and died in battle. We barely managed to retrieve the commander's body and could only flee here... Lord Zhang, Liu Bei's army has attacked Ao Cang. Please make preparations for defense immediately!"

Xu Huang's skill in deceiving the city was quite good; he didn't lie at all.

After Bao Tao's troops were defeated, most of them would have escaped and reported back. After Bao Xin withdrew, he would definitely have spread the news to various places. Lying cannot deceive people.

But if you tell the whole truth and return the body, you'll have a good chance.

If they could seize the opportunity to enter the city, even if they only captured one city gate and held it for a short while, it would be enough for Liu Bei, who was waiting five miles away, to lead his army to break through the city.

Xu Huang had 500 elite troops dressed in the uniforms of Bao Tao's remnants, and brought another 300 surrendered remnants of Bao Tao's troops, making a total of 800 men. Their military appearance was chaotic, but there seemed to be no flaws.

Zhang Chao did indeed receive a reward, learning that Bao Tao's rearguard action had failed, which matched Xu Huang's account.

The key issue is that Bao Tao's body is here. He was Bao Xin's younger brother, so we must at least bring the body back to the city.

Zhang Chao was somewhat cautious, only allowing the body into the city and having Xu Huang stationed outside the city to organize the defenses.

Xu Huang readily agreed, but then asked, "My lord, Liu Bei's cavalry is fierce. If we want to defend the city, we will need to dig some trenches and pile up earth for defense with bows and crossbows. Could you please provide some digging tools so that the city's militia can come out and help us?"

This is a very reasonable and credible explanation, and Zhang Chao naturally agreed.

The population of Aocang was not large, only about two thousand people, and they were all used to hard labor. Zang Hong also thought that it was a good idea to have them go out of the city to dig trenches, so he took a lot of bows and crossbows out of the city and handed them over to Xu Huang, and also had the militia transport out some grain.

If you make laborers do hard labor, you should at least give them some food.

But civilian laborers carrying grain out of the city were not as efficient as the army...

Just as the laborers were leaving the city, Xu Huang launched a surprise attack on the city gates.

The roads inside the city and the passageways to the city gates were blocked by laborers, and the troops inside the city were unable to provide reinforcements for a time. Xu Huang easily captured the city gates.

Xu Huang then shouted loudly, "Only punish the ringleaders, not the common people," and ordered the laborers in the city to take their food and flee for their lives.

This was, of course, what the laborers wanted most. In just a moment, chaos broke out in Ao Cang, and the laborers all fled out of the city.

Zhang Chao, leading several thousand men, was blocked inside the city.

Xu Huang set fire to the city gate tower above the city gate, led his troops up the city wall, knocked down supplies to block the city wall steps, and used the crossbows provided by Zhang Chao to defend the city gate.

Upon seeing the fire, Liu Bei immediately led his army to the scene at top speed.

Ao Cang has a large amount of military rations, so Zhang Chao certainly cannot evacuate.

However, with the city gate in Xu Huang's hands, Zhang Chao's defensive battle turned into a siege battle. Zhang Chao had to attack the city gate guarded by Xu Huang from inside the city, while Xu Huang defended the two sides of the city wall, using the defensive supplies that had been prepared inside the city wall.

After Liu Bei's troops arrived, Zhang Fei led his cavalry straight through the city gate.

Soon, Xu Rong, who had been taking a detour along the northern route, also arrived near Aocang. Upon seeing that Aocang was on fire, Xu Rong immediately led his troops to reinforce it.

Seeing that Ao Cang was about to fall, Zhang Chao ordered Zang Hong to break out of the city through other gates and go to Xingyang to seek help from Yuan Shao.

Zang Hong rode swiftly, avoiding Liu Bei and Xu Rong's troops from the east, and arrived in Xingyang at top speed.

"...The Prefect has been deceived by thieves...General Yuan, Liu Bei's army is attacking Ao Cang. Prefect Zhang may not be able to withstand it. Please send reinforcements immediately to prevent the army from running out of food!"

When Zang Hong met Yuan Shao, he quickly told him about being tricked into giving up the city and asked for help.

Inside the main tent, several 'wise men' were thrown into disarray upon hearing this: "What?! Liu Bei actually crossed the Bian River to attack Ao Cang?"

"Lord Zhang has many soldiers and generals, yet he couldn't even hold out for a single day?"

How could I have fallen for such a terrible scam?

Kong Zhou shook his head and sighed, "Lord Zhang is unwise..."

Once someone falls for a trick, they become a fool in the eyes of those who are good at talking. Many people think they are the most clever... If Kong Zhou had been the one guarding Ao Cang, Zhang Chao would be the one talking now.

Cao Cao had just returned to Xingyang from Gushi. Ignoring the chaotic scholars in the hall, he asked Zang Hong in a low voice, "When you left Aocang, had Liu Bei's cavalry already entered the city?"

"Yes... General, please send troops to rescue him immediately, otherwise Lord Zhang might..."

Zang Hong said anxiously.

"Then it's probably too late..."

Cao Cao exhaled and looked at Yuan Shao: "Benchu, we must quickly attack Hulao Pass and take Chenggao..."

When Tao Qiu Hong's rebel army occupied Xingyang last year, there were hardly any residents left. Moreover, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu fought against Tao Qiu Hong's rebel army in the city, and very few people survived. It took half a month to transport the corpses.

Xingyang is currently unable to provide any food or supplies.

"Liu Bei's grain supplies must be stored in Chenggao, with only Hulao Pass as a barrier. Since Liu Bei's entire army has been deployed, the defenses of Hulao Pass are naturally weak. Now that our army has lost its grain supplies, we can only take advantage of the fact that our troops have not yet run out of food, quickly break through Chenggao, and seize Liu Bei's grain for our own use."

Cao Cao was referring to the only viable method at the moment.

Yuan Shao nodded, then subconsciously looked to his right, but there was no one there—Xu You was dead, killed on the way to Xingyang.

Only Feng Ji nodded in agreement: "This is indeed the only chance of victory at present. Our allied forces have a large number of soldiers... If we can take advantage of the food shortage to drive our soldiers to fight to the death, we may be able to break through Chenggao in one fell swoop."

The renowned scholars in the tent all nodded in approval, praising, "Cao Cao is a shrewd strategist!"

“Yuan Tu is right, that’s how it should be…”

Well, basically, anyone who comes up with a relatively sound plan is considered a wise person...

But if the plan fails, then of course he's a fool.

Only Zang Hong was furious: "Why didn't you save our lord?! Didn't we all swear an oath? To see our ally encountering the enemy and not come to his aid, is this what you gentlemen call the great righteousness of the world?!" But no one paid any attention to Zang Hong.

After all, Zang Hong is now considered a fool who has been deceived, and "wise people" certainly cannot listen to the opinions of a fool.

Although they had just sworn an oath under Zang Hong's leadership not long ago, what is Zang Hong's identity?
He's just a lowly county official...

If Zhang Miao were here, he might go to rescue Zhang Chao.

But what could he do when Zhang Miao was in Chenliu...?

"Order... Gentlemen! The entire army shall attack Hulao Pass immediately!"

Yuan Shao also believed that this was the only viable solution at present. The only option was to take each other's granaries; otherwise, the only way out would be to retreat when the supplies ran out.

Others can retreat, but Yuan Shao cannot allow them to...

Yuan Shao knew very well that Liu Bei would definitely pursue him to the end, and if the others scattered, his own troops alone would not be able to stop Liu Bei.

"Mengde, Liu Bei's main force is at Ao Cang. Someone needs to block his way back to Hulao Pass..."

Yuan Shao looked at Cao Cao: "Mengde, are you willing to take on this important task?"

Cao Cao hesitated for a moment, then looked at Zang Hong: "I will go to rescue Lord Zhang and do my best to stop Liu Bei's return army, but I may not be able to stop him..."

Zang Hong bowed deeply to Cao Cao.

"Thank you, Mengde."

Yuan Shao also unusually expressed his gratitude to Cao Cao.

"General Yuan, take care."

Cao Cao also gave a rare, distant reply.

……

Hulao Pass, the frontier fortress.

This is the military fortress in front of the pass, about ten miles away from the pass.

Lü Bu has already returned his troops and stationed them here.

There were two fortified positions, and Guo Si was stationed at the other one. When Liu Bei launched a four-pronged attack, Guo Si did not send troops, which can be considered as taking a break.

Lu Bu was extremely unhappy because his previous military campaign had failed to yield any benefits, especially after learning that Zhang Liao had not returned.

Lu Bu did not know whether Zhang Liao had left or died in battle.

Given the circumstances at the time, it would have been normal for Zhang Liao to be killed by Cao Cao.

Lu Bu didn't really care much about Zhang Liao's life or death, but he was heartbroken that none of Zhang Liao's five hundred elite soldiers had returned.

But the pain only lasted a few hours before the troops had to be mustered and prepared for war again.

Yuan Shao led the Guandong Allied Army to Hulao Pass.

Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, and Yuan Yi, the governor of Shanyang, attacked the passes where Lü Bu and Guo Si were located, respectively.

Qiao Mao sent three of his military commanders to besiege Lü Bu from three sides, but Lü Bu, who was in a bad mood, personally led his troops to break through the three formations in succession. The three military commanders, Liao She, Wei An, and Xue Shuang, were all killed by Lü Bu in battle.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Mao quickly fled for his life. Fortunately, there were many soldiers from the Kwantung Army, otherwise Qiao Mao might not have been able to escape.

Yuan Yi managed to hold out a little longer against Guo Si, but he was still thoroughly outmatched by Guo Si.

The fighting strength of the Liangzhou border troops was not something that new recruits could easily defeat. It was just that Guo Si did not have the same mentality as Lü Bu, who had suffered a loss before, so he did not fight as fiercely, which allowed Yuan Yi to hold out for a while longer.

Although Qiao Mao and Yuan Yi were not very effective, they were at least besieging the two passes. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the main force of the Kwantung Army quickly advanced to the front of Hulao Pass.

Zhao Yun wasn't as impulsive as Lü Bu. He stayed on the pass and didn't move an inch, only defending and not attacking.

Liu Bei's task for Zhao Yun was simply to defend the city. Zhao Yun had no intention of killing anyone or achieving any great merit. Although he only had 600 soldiers, Zhao Yun ignored everything and focused solely on defending the city.

If large-scale siege equipment is not well-constructed, the only way to break through Hulao Pass is through deception.

However, Zhao Yun ignored everything inside the pass, and the Guandong army couldn't find anyone suitable to deceive—either a famous scholar or a powerful family. The leaders of the army were all quite famous, so it was hard to guarantee that no one would recognize him. What if he was killed after failing to deceive them?
As a result, the Kwantung Army dragged their feet and tried to trick the city by disguising themselves as Liu Bei's messengers at the gate... and then Zhao Yun and his crossbowmen shot and killed dozens of them.

Zhao Yun was the military judge in Liu Bei's army; he recognized all the messengers...

The attempt to deceive the city failed.

Afterwards, Guo Si defeated Yuan Yi's troops, but did not pursue them. He collected the spoils of war and continued to defend the pass.

Lü Bu, however, was different. After defeating Qiao Mao, Lü Bu quickly gathered his remaining troops and then immediately launched another attack, flanking the main force of the Guandong army and directly taking Yuan Shao's central banner.

However... after charging into Yuan Shao's central army, Lü Bu discovered that there was no Yuan Shao there, only an imposter wearing a mask.

Yuan Shao was not in his own army camp, nor was Chunyu Qiong.

After Lü Bu charged into Yuan Shao's central army, the allied forces scattered and retreated thirty miles to re-establish their camp.

The so-called "joint attack on Hulao Pass" turned out to be a farce, ending in just one day.

Lü Bu's reputation was amplified and made legendary by this farce.

—It wasn't spread by themselves; it was spread by the Kwantung Army, which had retreated thirty miles.

Some say that Lü Bu was twelve feet tall with a waist ten spans in circumference, and could eat eight children in one meal. His men all rode tigers and wolves, and he killed people as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Some say that Liao She, Wei An, Xue Shuang, and other "rare generals in the world" challenged Lü Bu to a duel at the pass, but none of them were a match for Lü Bu. Therefore, this defeat was not due to human error, but mainly because Lü Bu was too strong.

In fact, these men were all from powerful and influential families in Dongjun. They became military commanders because they were very diligent in recruiting men in Dongjun...

But since we were defeated, it must mean the enemy was very strong...

The enemy is far too strong for humans, so retreating quickly is a wise move.

(End of this chapter)