The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

In Lecheng, more than a hundred miles away, Tian Feng also successfully led his troops into the city and joined forces with Qian Zhao.

Compared to Lü Qian, who was confident in his martial prowess, Anping Chancellor Li Dian was much more cautious. After discovering that the commander of the troops was Tian Feng, who had served as Yuan Shao's chief strategist, Li Dian decisively sent a message to Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang, who were advancing on the western counties of Hejian State.

When Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang learned that Liu Bei had sent Tian Feng to provide reinforcements, they dared not delay and immediately urged their troops to advance on Lecheng.

Although Lecheng and Nanpi are strategically positioned to support each other, they are now unable to coordinate with each other in the face of the powerful advance of seven generals—Xiahou Yuan, Xu Huang, Li Dian, Cao Chun, Zang Ba, Zhang Liao, and Lü Qian—who command a combined force of 20,000 troops.

Currently, the only reinforcements outside the two cities are the two thousand infantry and cavalry under Xu Shu who arrived later. They are currently stationed in Chengping City, which is located slightly north of Lecheng and Nanpi.

"Chief Secretary Xu, Cao Cao's army is powerful. You and I only have two thousand men. We should be cautious and defend Chengping. We must not make any rash moves." The speaker's voice trembled slightly. It was Mi Fang, Liu Bei's brother-in-law.

After Tao Qian's death, the brothers Mi Zhu and Mi Fang followed Liu Bei.

Over the course of nearly a decade, Liu Bei experienced numerous hardships and displacements, but the two brothers remained inseparable.

Cao Cao once tried to win over Mi Fang with the position of Chancellor of Pengcheng, but Mi Fang ultimately chose to follow Liu Bei and travel to various places.

Lady Mi was one of Liu Bei's only two wives, which made Mi Zhu and Mi Fang highly trusted under Liu Bei's command.

Mi Zhu has now gone to Shangdang to assist Zhao Yun in governing the county, while Mi Fang has stayed in Zhuo County to manage the Mi family business and handle some military and political affairs.

Given Mi Fang's temperament, he was not suited to command troops.

Unfortunately, Liu Bei had a shortage of generals skilled in military affairs. Even though he arranged for all the hundred or so brave men who had followed him loyally to serve as mid- to low-ranking officers in the army, very few of them were capable of serving as commanders of a thousand men.

Not everyone is like Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, possessing both unparalleled bravery and the ability to command an army.

Although Mi Fang was of average martial prowess, he came from a powerful family and had extensive experience in managing affairs involving more than a thousand people, so he could be considered a capable general.

In terms of courage, Mi Fang was lacking; however, in terms of talent alone, he was certainly capable of commanding a thousand soldiers.

However, when it comes to commanding troops, courage is paramount. If a general lacks courage, even if he possesses the talent to lead thousands of men, he may ultimately abandon his army and flee like Ma Su.

The biggest problem with this type of person is neither talent nor insight, but cowardice and fear of death. The higher their position and the more power they wield, the more likely they are to prioritize their own life over the greater good.

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu remained noncommittal, as it was not appropriate for Xu Shu to comment further on the Mi family's special status.

The Mi brothers had given their entire fortune to help Liu Bei when he was in dire straits, and even married their sister to Liu Bei. In recent years, they had also been diligent and hardworking. Xu Shu knew that he could not criticize Mi Fang for his momentary words of cowardice, and besides, this was not in line with Xu Shu's temperament.

Seeing the fear on the faces of his soldiers, Xu Shu turned serious and said, "If we simply close the city and defend it to the death, Cao Cao will surely realize that our army is weak and outnumbered. Moreover, Chengping is a low city, and skilled climbers can easily enter with ropes. If Cao Cao's army gathers its forces and launches a strong attack, this city can be breached in a single day!"

Xu Shu's gaze swept over the crowd, and his tone became even more resolute: "The essence of military strategy lies in the interplay of reality and illusion, with deception as the foremost priority. Even with only these two thousand soldiers, we must project the image of a twenty-thousand-strong army. Only in this way can we, our lord, mobilize reinforcements and buy ourselves a chance to regroup!"

Seeing Xu Shu's unwavering confidence, both Mi Fang and the soldiers on his left and right relaxed their expressions.

Then, Xu Shu summoned several brave soldiers and solemnly instructed them: "You men, immediately take my army flag and go to Cao Cao's camps at Lecheng and Nanpi to meet their commanders and declare war on my behalf! Tell them directly: 'Xu Shu, the Chief Clerk of the Left General of the Great Han, has already deployed his troops at Chengping and is waiting for Cao Cao's generals and horses to enter Chengping for a decisive battle! If you are cowardly and lack the courage to fight, immediately withdraw your troops and you may avoid defeat and humiliation; if you have the courage to compete, then quickly come to Chengping and fight me to the death.'"

A sly glint flashed in Xu Shu's eyes: "You can tell me more frankly: 'I have two thousand infantry and cavalry, each capable of taking on ten men!'"

Several soldiers solemnly accepted the order and rushed out, each holding a flag.

Seeing Xu Shu's intense words, Mi Fang's heart tightened again, and he said urgently, "Wouldn't deliberately provoking the enemy make it even harder to buy time and instead prompt them to attack immediately?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu smiled confidently: "There is no need to worry. Even if they see through my bluff, I have my own clever ways to deal with them."

Several riders on fast horses galloped away, raising dust in the procession.

The flag bearer sped along and arrived first at Cao Cao's camp outside Nanpi City. Even when facing four fierce generals of Cao Cao's camp—Lu Qian, Cao Chun, Zang Ba, and Zhang Liao—he was fearless and even declared war with an extremely arrogant attitude.

Hearing that Xu Shu dared to challenge them with only two thousand men, and even boasted that he would fight to the death, Lü Qian, Cao Chun, and Zhang Liao were all astonished!

"Xu Shu? Who is he?"

"Two thousand soldiers dare to challenge my main force to a decisive battle? How laughable!"

"This is a deceptive tactic; there must be a trick involved."

Unlike Lü Qian, Cao Chun, and Zhang Liao, who did not recognize Xu Shu, Zang Ba had met Xu Shu once.

After a moment of contemplation, Zang Ba recalled the past and said in a deep voice, "Several years ago, Liu Bei sent Xu Shu to persuade me. This man is eloquent and persuasive, especially good at bluffing and deceiving others. At that time, I felt that I would be unable to resist him. Today, he dares to send an envoy to deliver this challenge, and there are many suspicious points in his words. We must not believe everything he says!"

Cao Chun's lips curled into a cold smile: "Hmph, Xu Shu's tricks are nothing more than a bluff to divert troops and ease the siege of Nanpi! Chengping is only a hundred li from here, and elite cavalry can reach it in a night. Moreover, the city is low and the walls are thin, making it the perfect place to take it quickly! Tonight, I will personally lead elite cavalry in a surprise attack on Chengping and see how Xu Shu 'fights ten against one'!"

Zhang Liao urgently advised, "General, you mustn't! Xu Shu dares to speak so arrogantly, how could he be unprepared? Moreover, if he truly has soldiers who can fight ten men each, why retreat to Chengping? It would be better to launch a fierce attack on Nanpi, lure him to the rescue, and then I will lead my elite troops to set up an ambush. We can capture him alive. Why bother with a long expedition?"

Zang Ba echoed, "Wen Yuan is absolutely right! Xu Shu is cunning; the number two thousand might be a trick. Moreover, a nighttime advance makes them highly vulnerable to ambushes!"

Cao Chun shook his head and said, "What you two say makes sense, but Nanpi is a strong city that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. On the contrary, Chengping is easy to take. Why should we abandon the easy and seek the difficult? If we attack Nanpi by force and fail, we will only lose our army's morale."

Seeing that the two generals were about to persuade him again, Cao Chun waved his hand to stop them and said, "There is no need to discuss this matter further. Prime Minister Lü and Prime Minister Zang will stay in Nanpi to continue to intimidate the Nanpi garrison. General Zhang can select elite soldiers to launch a surprise attack on Chengping tonight with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. We must capture Xu Shu alive and slap his foul mouth."

Cao Chun followed Cao Cao for a long time, and his military strategy and style of warfare were influenced by Cao Cao. Cao Cao also highly admired Sun Tzu's Art of War.

As the art of war says: "Therefore, the skillful strategist brings the enemy to his own ends, rather than being brought to his own ends."

Therefore, those who are good at commanding battles always try to maneuver the enemy, and never be maneuvered by the enemy. Only by taking the initiative and striking first can they seize the initiative in the war.

This was also the principle of warfare that Cao Chun insisted on. Moreover, with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry at his disposal, how could he let such a good opportunity slip by? (End of this chapter)