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

Chapter 426 Repeated Defeats and Unyielding Spirit
"Given the current situation... if we cannot quickly free the various units from being trapped, the longer it goes on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

Liu Bei discussed with Guo Jia, Zhang Liao, and others: "Right now, we must immediately send reinforcements to Zhuo County and Fanyang. We need to send someone into Fanyang City to make contact with Xianyu Yin, otherwise he may find it difficult to continue holding out. If Fanyang City falls, it will be even more difficult to advance."

The situation was indeed difficult; with no communication and unclear information, Liu Bei could only focus on the most urgent matters first.

"We may launch a night raid on the enemy camp. Although the enemy is numerous, they are not elite troops. Our troops are all battle-hardened veterans and we are not afraid of being surrounded by the enemy."

Zhang Liao was clearly confident in the fighting capabilities of his troops: "The area outside the city is flat, and the cavalry will not be hindered. I can lead the army in a night raid. Even if we cannot defeat the enemy, we can still enter the city to provide reinforcements."

"Tens of thousands of troops are besieging Fanyang City. The enemy's information network is certainly better than ours. They must already know that our lord has come here and that his troops are strong. But the enemy has not taken the initiative to attack our army, nor has he left Fanyang City to redeploy his forces."

Guo Jia said, "If I were Gao Gan, I would definitely besiege the city and attack the reinforcements, forcing all the families in Zhuojun to act as the vanguard to resist the lord. If the lord launches an attack directly, whether it is a strong attack or a night raid, the enemy can force all the families in Youzhou who have been coerced to become enemies of the lord."

“The families of Zhuojun should have been General Wei’s helpers. If we ignore their lives, even if we can lift the siege of Fanyang, we will push the entire Youzhou into the hands of the enemy.”

Having a strategist like Guo Jia is like facing the enemy directly.

Guo Jia was not good at devising ingenious strategies, but he was very good at simulating the mentality of others, including his enemies.

What Guo Jia said was exactly what Liu Bei was most worried about.

“The families in Youzhou are not truly willing to help Gao Gan, but they have no choice because their families are being coerced. If we can first make contact with each family, find out where their families have been taken, rescue their families, and agree with each family to attack from both inside and outside, then we can truly defeat the enemy.”

Xu Miao said, "My father would certainly be willing to lead the clansmen to help from within, but my family has few soldiers, only three hundred able-bodied men available, and it is currently difficult to communicate with them..."

Liu Bei turned to Xu Miao and asked, "Jingshan, do you know where your clansmen are? Who else is like your family?"

“Zhang Nan of Fangcheng was forced to surrender to the enemy, and Liu Ziqi of Guangyang is my fellow disciple… In addition, Liu Zijing, an elder in General Wei’s clan, will surely help me.”

Xu Miao replied, “My family is in Ji County, as is Liu Ziqi’s clan. But I don’t know where the other families’ elderly and weak are. Gao Gan did not gather the parents, wives and children of each family together, but instead used the Wuhuan people to control the elderly and weak in each family in each county.”

"Miao was previously sent by Gao Gan to Liu Hui, asking Liu Hui to do his best to stop General Wei from going north... If Miao returns to Gao Gan's army, he may be able to contact Mr. Zijing and Zhang Nan, but his family members are probably not in Gao Gan's army."

Xu Miao was indeed courageous, but the situation remained unresolved. The hostages were not among the high-ranking officers, but scattered in various places, making it impossible to rescue them all at once.

“If Jingshan returns to the high-ranking military officers… it would be better to bring Yuan Qi’s paternal uncle and Liu Deran back with him.”

Liu Bei suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Inform Gao Gan about the intelligence in our army, saying that our army will definitely launch a night attack tonight, and tell Gao Gan to be prepared... All of our army's food supplies are in Beixin City, also inform Gao Gan."

"yes……"

Guo Jia clapped his hands in agreement: "Liu Hui wants to kill our lord... If Gao Gan has the chance to achieve complete success, he will certainly not let it go!"

"Please give the order, General Wei!"

Seeing that Liu Bei had made a decision, Zhang Liao and Xu Miao bowed and accepted his command.

"Tonight, Wen Yuan will launch a night raid. The enemy camp will surely be prepared. After running around a few times and dropping off the flag, we will retreat. This will allow Jing Shan to gain the trust of Gao Gan and also provide an opportunity to contact the various families in Youzhou who have been coerced by Gao Gan."

Liu Bei instructed, "Gao Gan can be informed of Jingshan that Yun Chang and Xu Gongming will arrive within ten days, and our elite troops will increase in number. However, only Qu Yi is guarding Beixin City, and the Tian family and the Liu family of Zhongshan are serving as laborers transporting grain. This is the truth. If Gao Gan wants to defeat me, he can only attack my grain supplies in Beixin City."

In reality, Guan Yu and Xu Huang wouldn't have needed that long...

Guan Yu will arrive in two or three days, and Xu Huang will only need five days to travel.

"My lord can have Gao Gan seize Beixin City, and then my lord's army will retreat dozens of miles in defeat..."

Guo Jia added, "Let Gao Gan win the first victory, so that he sees the hope of killing the lord in one fell swoop and gaining complete victory. Those who will chase after the lord with Gao Gan will definitely not be families that are friendly with the lord... Jing Shan can also secretly advise each family not to follow Gao Gan. If anyone does not listen to advice, then they deserve to die."

……

That day, Xu Miao 'escaped' all the way back to the high-ranking officers' military camp.

Then Xu Miao made up a story that seemed quite plausible.

Xu Miao said that Liu Hui went mad upon seeing Liu Bei and refused to listen to advice, insisting on sending troops to attack and kill Liu Bei. As a result, he was defeated in one battle and failed to delay Liu Bei's advance.

Xu Miao was "captured" by Liu Bei, and it was even said that Liu Bei planned to "kill Xu Miao as a sacrifice to his banner"...

Fortunately, Xu Miao was rescued by Liu Yuanqi and his son. Liu Bei had no suspicion of Liu Yuanqi, so the group escaped from Liu Bei's army together.

Gao Gan was actually somewhat suspicious and asked Xu Miao, "Liu Bei's trusted confidant Tian Yu and you were from the same school, so why would he kill you as a sacrifice to the flag?"

"It's true that Tian Guorang and I were classmates when we were young, but Liu Bei has a feud with my clan..."

Xu Miao said, “My father once helped Liu Bei distribute porridge and grain to relieve refugees, but he became greedy and embezzled Liu Bei’s money and grain. As a result, Zhao Yun broke into my house to arrest my father… Afterwards, Zhao Yun was sentenced to exile, and Liu Bei became estranged from my family because of this. When he learned that my Xu family was his enemy, Liu Bei naturally wanted to kill me!”

"Liu Bei is gathering brave men, intending to launch a night attack on the Grand Marshal's central army. To boost morale, Liu Bei not only wants to kill me as a sacrifice to his banner, but also orders his soldiers to kill anyone they see without hesitation, saying that all families that have submitted to the rebels will be forced into labor like the Tian family of Julu and the Liu family of Zhongshan..."

If we follow the general situation... then that would indeed be the case; Xu Miao's explanation is logical and well-founded.

So the high-ranking official asked Liu Yuanqi and Liu Deran, and they both received the same answer.

Liu Yuanqi also said that it was because Liu Bei did not spare the members of the Zhongshan Liu clan that he felt Liu Bei was unfilial and righteous, which is why he rescued Xu Miao and went to join Gao Gan again...

Liu Bei and Liu Yuanqi and his son were relatives. Liu Yuanqi had done Liu Bei a favor. No matter how Liu Yuanqi and his son ended up in Liu Bei's hands, Liu Bei would definitely not kill them and would certainly treat them with courtesy.

Liu Yuanqi was probably the only person who could "rescue Xu Miao from Liu Bei's army".

Previously, Gao Gan and Liu Hui sent Liu Deran and Xu Miao as envoys to find Liu Bei, with the intention of delaying Liu Bei's progress.

Both Liu Deran and Xu Miao's families were under Gao Gan's control. As far as Gao Gan was concerned, Xu Miao and Liu Deran could only work for him, and they would definitely be able to meet Liu Bei, making them the most suitable envoys.

However, Tian Feng and Qu Yi were not high-ranking officials; they deliberately let Liu Deran and his son go.

Although he was Liu Bei's enemy, Tian Feng's choice was more driven by self-interest. He believed that victory or defeat depended solely on ability, and he had his bottom line.

In fact, if he hadn't angered Zhang Liao, and hadn't been unlucky enough to encounter Qu Yi who wanted to pledge his loyalty, Tian Feng might not have died.

Of course, Gao Gan couldn't trust Liu Deran and his son either, since they were too close to Liu Bei.

But Xu Miao was different...

All the military intelligence that Xu Miao brought was true, and the relationship between the Xu family and Liu Bei was indeed not good, so Gao Gan was able to trust Xu Miao.

So the high-ranking officials organized the defense, ordered all units to be on high alert against night attacks, and withdrew the troops sent to attack the city.

That night, at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Liu Bei indeed sent troops to launch a night attack.

Zhang Liao led his cavalry in a fire-wielding charge, but upon reaching Gao Gan's camp, he found it surrounded by barricades. So Zhang Liao turned around and charged into the Wuhuan army.

But it didn't rush in; it just hovered around the edge for a few rounds before retreating when it realized it wasn't gaining any advantage...

The Wuhuan chieftain Nanlou sent troops to pursue Zhang Liao, chasing him for more than ten miles before finally giving up because he could no longer see.

Zhang Liao's troops abandoned several military flags and a considerable amount of weapons during the night, clearly having gained no advantage and retreating in defeat.

Gao Gan trusted Xu Miao and learned from him that Liu Bei's army's grain supplies were in Beixin City, guarded by Qu Yi. Moreover, the laborers transporting the grain were all able-bodied servants brought by Qu Yi after he purged the Tian clan of Julu and the Liu clan of Zhongshan. Qu Yi did not have many truly usable troops.

Therefore, Gao Gan ordered Nanlou to lead the Shanggu Wuhuan to quickly attack Beixin City.

The following night, Nanlou led tens of thousands of Wuhuan people to bypass Liu Bei's defenses and easily breached Beixin City.

Qu Yi fled to Liu Bei's army, where he was forced to stay behind as a servant and laborer, and barely managed to escape.

On the morning of the third day, Gao Gan saw that Liu Bei had retreated, and in a very hurried manner.

The camp was not destroyed, and the supplies were not taken away; this meant they were on the run.

Gao Gan stopped attacking Fanyang and left more than 10,000 miscellaneous troops to continue the siege, while 40,000 troops attacked Liu Bei's forces together.

Liu Bei's troops fought and retreated, suffering three consecutive defeats and abandoning countless weapons and banners, retreating fifty miles in total.

The whole route looked like a complete rout, but Liu Bei's troops' counterattacks were still sharp, which was in line with Gao Gan's expectations.

However, the number of high-ranking officers' troops dwindled as they pursued them.

The various factions in Youzhou were not very enthusiastic in pursuing Liu Bei, and most of them stopped halfway. Even the Wuhuan of Shanggu only had half of them still in pursuit.

Of course, most of the Wuhuan people were exhausted.

During the pursuit, it was difficult for high-ranking officials to control their respective departments, since the road was only so wide and some people would always fall behind.

By the time they reached Puyin Mountain Road in northern Zhongshan, the main force of the high-ranking officials had dwindled to less than 20,000 men.

Puyin Mountain Road is the main road into the Taihang Mountains. Damao Mountain is accessed through this mountain road, which was also the main exit route for the Northern Taihang Alliance in those days.

The high-ranking official saw Liu Bei's General of the Guards banner and Liu Bei himself here.

Liu Bei's troops also appeared exhausted, though the soldiers were of higher quality and had greater endurance, but they still looked rather disorganized.

After all, the Wuhuan cavalry had a large number of men, and they didn't have time to form a battle formation while fighting and retreating.

With Liu Bei right in front of them and their troops few in number, one more charge might be enough to take him down...

But at that moment, the war drums of Liu Bei's army rose loudly.

Guan Yu's banner appeared on the Puyin Mountain Road.

"kill!"

The sudden shouts of battle and the sound of horses' hooves drowned out the noisy pursuers.

Liu Bei and Zhang Liao led their troops to retreat several dozen miles. The troops were somewhat exhausted, but their counterattack did not seem too fierce.

But Guan Yu's troops were a fresh force; they had just arrived last night, and all of them had horses and were full of energy.

Moreover, Guan Yu's aura is intimidating. His long sword is powerful and heavy, and with the momentum of his horse, a single strike could truly cut someone in two.

"Damn it... Get out of here!"

The high-ranking official was still somewhat sensible; seeing that the situation was not good, he immediately led his troops to retreat.

It's normal to be ambushed during a pursuit, so Gao Gan wasn't too panicked, since he did have a considerable number of troops at his disposal.

However, after chasing for a whole day, it's not like we can just retreat as soon as we say we're done.

Fatigue is the biggest enemy.

Guan Yu was always efficient in his work. In his first charge, he cut off Gao Gan's troops in half and, together with Liu Bei, trapped Gao Gan in the middle.

The high-ranking officials' troops couldn't run, and in fact, Liu Bei couldn't run either.

After all, to lure the enemy, the performance must be convincing enough. Most of the intelligence that Liu Bei had Xu Miao give to Gao Gan was true, except for a few days when Guan Yu's itinerary was off.

The main character in the live performance became Guan Yu.

Liu Bei did not personally win any battles along the way...

They're either luring the enemy, raiding their nest, or acting as human shields in close combat.

I guess you could say I've been repeatedly defeated... or you could say I've been repeatedly defeated but kept fighting.

But a ruler must have the self-awareness of a ruler.

The outcome of a battle is only important to the general, not to the lord. The lord only needs to achieve his goal, and all the battle achievements belong to the lord.

The strategy doesn't have to be new or old, as long as it works. Using yourself as bait is always one of the most effective methods.

As long as you're willing to invest in baiting the area and the bait is sweet enough, the fish will always take the bait.

Even if they don't take the bait, they'll just be air force casualties at worst; they won't die.

As long as you can make sure you don't get dragged into the water by the fish, it's fine.

……

In fact, many people underestimate the power of high-ranking officials.

He was a scion raised by both the Gao and Yuan families, truly a man of both literary and martial talents. Moreover, he had seen much of the world under Yuan Shao's tutelage and was quite calm in the face of adversity.

The fact that such a large-scale operation could be carried out in Youzhou fully demonstrates the capabilities of the high-ranking officials.

However, facing Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Guo Jia, and Zhang Liao... would indeed be a bit difficult for him.

No one in this great Han dynasty could withstand the combined attack from Guan Yu and Liu Bei, and Gao Gan was certainly no exception.

But perhaps it was good luck that the high-ranking official was so lucky, or perhaps it was because he was young and quick-witted, or perhaps it was because he knew how to adapt, he actually escaped a disaster.

Guan Yu fought his way out from the Puyin Mountain Pass in the west, and Gao Gan, after discovering that his troops had been cut off by Guan Yu, immediately led his personal guards into the Puyin Mountain Pass.

This really is the only way out.

Guan Yu hadn't expected the enemy to dare to run into the mountain path... After all, Zhang Yan was also Liu Bei's ally, and once he entered the Taihang Mountains, it wouldn't be so easy for him to get out.

But in any case, it is indeed difficult to find once you get into the mountains; there are too many places in the Taihang Mountains where people can hide.

Xu Miao also took the opportunity to leave Gao Gan's army again, retreat to the rear, and contact the various troops who had not pursued Liu Bei.

The Wuhuan people, however, were clearly not as clever.

Although Nanlou, the chieftain of the Wuhuan tribe, was not intercepted by Guan Yu, he attempted to turn back to rescue the troops that were being attacked from both sides.

If the rescue had been decisive, it might have even been able to launch a pincer attack on Guan Yu.

But Nanlou's returning troops chickened out again when they saw Guan Yu...

Many of the Wuhuan people in Shanggu knew Guan Yu. Ever since he carried mountain goods out of Feihu Road, Guan Yu had been killing Wuhuan people almost every day. Most of the wooden stakes with corpses hanging on them north of Xiheting were the result of Guan Yu's military training.

As a result, Nanlou's cowardice gave Guan Yu an opportunity.

If the enemy retreats upon seeing Guan Yu, then they should definitely pursue and attack.

As a result, Nanlou and his men were exhausted and their horses were worn out. Guan Yu chased them into the central army and beheaded them with a single blow.

After Nanlou's death, the Wuhuan army scattered in all directions, which also caused Gao Gan's troops to fall into chaos.

As night fell, the battle drew to a close. The high-ranking officers who had been cut off either fled or surrendered, while the remaining troops fled towards Fanyang. The whereabouts of the high-ranking officers were unknown.

The following day, Liu Bei led his army north again.

This time, various factions came to join them along the way.

Zhang Nan, Jiao Chu, Ma Yan, Zhang Yi, and others each led their troops to surrender, all claiming that their families were trapped and they had no other choice.

When Liu Bei led his army back to the outskirts of Fanyang, he had 20,000 troops behind him, and the enemy forces under the city had completely retreated.

There was no major battle at Fanyang, but the siege of Fanyang was still lifted.

At this time, the troops in Fanyang City had only two thousand exhausted and emaciated men left, all of them covered in wounds.

Xianyu Yin's troops were almost entirely wiped out, Lu Zhi's four sons were three dead, and only a few dozen able-bodied men remained in his household.

Ten-year-old Lu Yu became Lu Zhi's only surviving child.

But when asked where Lu Zhi was, none of the Lu family members knew.

After leaving Luoyang, Lu Zhi never returned to his hometown.

(End of this chapter)