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

Outside Lecheng City, Xiahou Yuan, Xu Huang, and Li Dian also experienced firsthand the arrogance of the flag bearer sent by Xu Shu.

If Li Dian hadn't strongly advised against it, citing the rule that "in war, one should not kill the messenger," Xiahou Yuan, in his rage, would have nearly killed the messenger on the spot.

Li Dian's move was not to return the envoy protecting the enemy, but rather because he was well-versed in the rules of battle: in the face of a major battle, there will inevitably be envoys sent to negotiate, whether it be threats, inducements, prisoner exchanges, or discussions.

If one side breaks the rules first, the other side will have no scruples in the future.

"Xu Shu, that brat, has gone too far! Gongming, quickly muster the troops! I will surely raze Chengping to the ground, capture Xu Shu alive, and vent my anger!" Xiahou Yuan was furious and immediately ordered the troops to march straight to Chengping.

Seeing this, Xu Huang hurriedly advised, "General, please calm down! In my humble opinion, there is something very strange about this matter, and we should be cautious!"

Xiahou Yuan's gaze was like a knife, piercing Xu Huang: "Gongming, why are you hesitating? Are you afraid of Xu Shu? What is there to fear from a mere nobody?"

Xu Huang remained calm and remonstrated in a deep voice: "General, you are brave and your might shakes the world. How could I possibly back down? However, weapons are instruments of violence, and even sages are cautious about them. Although Xu Shu is not a renowned general, he is capable of serving as the Chief Clerk of the Left General and dared to come to our aid with a lone army. He must be no ordinary man. Today, he sent an envoy to provoke us, which is clearly a scheme. General, you must be on guard."

Xiahou Yuan snorted coldly: "Hmph! It's just a bluff! Chengping is a small city with low walls and shallow moats. Even if they have treacherous schemes, what can they do to me? I will lead my army to attack quickly, and we will break through in a day or two!"

Seeing that his general was becoming complacent, Xu Huang earnestly advised him again: "General, please think carefully. We are ordered to attack Hejian, and Lecheng is our biggest threat. Our army has heavily besieged it, intending to force them into a decisive battle or trap them in a disadvantageous situation. If we divide our forces to attack Chengping now, firstly, the strength of the siege will be weakened, which may give Tian Feng and Qian Zhao an opportunity to take advantage; secondly, although the journey is not far, if Xu Shu is truly prepared, he may ambush us along the way or defend the city to wear down our morale. Even if we capture Chengping, what benefit will it bring us to capturing Lecheng? I believe that we should focus on Lecheng, either waiting for their feints to reveal their true intentions, or sending elite cavalry scouts to investigate their strengths and weaknesses. This is the best strategy. Do not let this brat disturb our morale with his wild words and lose sight of our main attack direction."

Li Dian picked up where Xu Huang left off, his tone equally earnest: "General Xiahou, what Gongming says is reasonable! Xu Shu's strategy is by no means reckless; it perfectly embodies the cunning principle of 'making the deceptive appear real, and the real appear deceptive!' He must know that you, General, are as fiery as a flame, hence he sent an envoy to provoke you, intending to lure you to move your troops elsewhere! Consider this: if Xu Shu truly had elite troops and brave generals, why didn't he rush to the aid of Lecheng and instead defend the small town of Chengping? This is the biggest flaw! His claim of 'two thousand' is likely just empty boasting, a mere attempt to bolster his courage. If our army attacks in anger because of this, we will be playing right into their hands! Their scheme is likely to buy time, divide our forces, help Tian Feng and Qian Zhao defend the city, or buy time for Liu Bei's reinforcements to gather and regroup!"

"enough!"

Xiahou Yuan shouted, silencing the two men's advice.

Although Xu Huang and Li Dian's analysis was accurate, their words were too blunt. In particular, Li Dian pointed out that Xu Shu's strategy was aimed at Xiahou Yuan's temperament, which made Xiahou Yuan even more anxious.

Even if Li Dian had no other intentions, Xiahou Yuan perceived it as a veiled sarcasm.

Coupled with the stigma of being called the "White-Haired General," Xiahou Yuan desperately needed a great victory to wash away the stain and establish his reputation as "a tiger striding across Hebei, invincible under heaven."

Taking a deep breath, Xiahou Yuan said in a deep voice, "Gongming's prudence is the norm for a general; Mancheng's keen insight is a sign of his ability to recognize talent. However, the Grand Commandant has always warned that on the battlefield, speed is of the essence; any doubt must be investigated, and any weakness must be exploited! How can we let suspicion cause us to miss a golden opportunity to defeat the enemy? My mind is made up! Mancheng, you stay outside Lecheng City and keep a close watch on Qian Zhao and Tian Feng's movements! Gongming, you come with me and quickly muster three thousand infantry and cavalry! We'll march at double speed and head straight for Chengping! I want to see what extraordinary abilities Xu Shu has that can stop my advance! Tonight, we will surely break through Chengping and capture this scoundrel alive to avenge this humiliation!"

Xu Huang and Li Dian exchanged a glance, both feeling helpless. Xiahou Yuan had already used Cao Cao's admonitions to persuade them, which were now useless. They couldn't very well say that Xu Huang and Li Dian were better at military strategy than Cao Cao, could they?

“General Xiahou is eager to make a name for himself and is going there in a hurry. I am worried that something might go wrong. Gongming, you must be careful,” Li Dian whispered to Xu Huang.

Xu Huang understood and nodded, saying, "Mancheng must also guard the camp carefully and not give Tian Feng and Qian Zhao any opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

The two generals whispered among themselves for a moment, but ultimately refrained from arguing further.

Xiahou Yuan immediately mustered Xu Huang's strength, gathered three thousand infantry and cavalry, and left the camp to head straight for Chengping. The military officer on duty on the city wall saw this clearly and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to report to Tian Feng and Qian Zhao.

Upon receiving the military report, Tian Feng frowned and pondered: "Instead of attacking Lecheng, they have diverted their troops elsewhere, which must mean that our lord has reinforcements on the way."

Upon hearing this, Qian Zhao's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "What you say is absolutely right, sir! The enemy has divided their forces, and their camp may be weakened. If we launch a surprise attack on their camp tonight with elite cavalry, blunting their advance, wouldn't that be an excellent opportunity?"

Tian Feng stroked his beard and pondered, then said, "Raiding the camp is certainly a good strategy, but Xiahou Yuan and the others are no ordinary men, so we must also be wary of their entrapment. So, tonight I will be stationed on the city tower. When you see me light torches on the crenellations, you can lead your troops to attack; if you see the torches suddenly go out, no matter what the battle situation is, you must withdraw your troops back to the city and must not linger in the fight!"

Qian Zhao's expression hardened, and he clasped his hands in acceptance of the order: "Rest assured, sir! I will only lead eight hundred light cavalry from my own troops. We will catch them off guard and finish them off quickly! If anything goes wrong, we can retreat immediately!"

Night fell quickly, and dawn was approaching.

Led by a trusted general, the elite troops, with gags in their mouths and horses' hooves bound, quietly infiltrated outside Cao Cao's camp.

From atop the city wall, Tian Feng gazed intently into the distance. Seeing the Cao camp silent, he waved to signal.

At the top of the battlements, torches suddenly lit up.

Upon receiving this order, Qian Zhao spurred his horse, brandished his spear, and charged straight into Cao Cao's camp, shouting fiercely, "Anping Qian Zhao is here! Who dares to fight?!"

However, the response to Qian Zhao was a strong counterattack from Cao Bing.

It turned out that Li Dian had already anticipated the raid on the camp that night, and had ordered his soldiers to rest early, so that the entire army would be fully armored and waiting quietly in their tents in the latter half of the night.

As soon as Qian Zhao's troops arrived, countless Cao soldiers rushed out of the tent like ghosts, clad in armor and armed with weapons, forming a forest of ranks. Their speed and the order of their formation astonished Qian Zhao.

"Fell into a trap, retreat!"

Even though Qian Zhao reacted quickly, more than a hundred cavalrymen were trapped in the formation and could not escape; Li Dian did not seek credit, and strictly ordered his soldiers to hold the camp, allowing Qian Zhao to flee in a sorry state.

In this battle, Li Dian employed a strategy of stillness to control movement. His attempts to draw Cao Cao's forces not only failed to shake the entire camp, but also resulted in the loss of over a hundred elite cavalrymen. He was forced to retreat in disgrace.

"Alas! Cao's composure is such a mistake on my part!" Inside the city, Qian Zhao sighed deeply, his face full of shame.

Tian Feng slowly shook his head, his face ashen: "I also miscalculated this plan. I did not expect Cao Cao's camp to be so well-prepared. From now on, we must defend the city and never leave it again!"

In Chengping, Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang, though having traveled a longer distance, arrived before Cao Chun and Zhang Liao. However, the city gates of Chengping were wide open, and the city was eerily silent, immediately arousing suspicion in Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang. (End of Chapter)