Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 216 White Feathers and Vanguard Troops: Liu Bei Conquers Puyang (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)
From the seventh to the tenth day of the tenth month of the second year of Chuping, Shen Pei solemnly recorded these three special days.

Three days!

These three days of hardship felt more bitter to Shen Pei than all the hardships he had endured in the previous decades of his life combined!
The thought of Liu Bei, a renowned general, imperial uncle, and minister, talking to soldiers on the city walls of Puyang for three days straight, day and night, is quite unsettling.

Last night, they even talked about celestial phenomena, discussing the stars with the soldiers on the city wall.

For example, the gods are those few stars;

The Vermilion Bird above, the Black Tortoise below, the White Tiger on the left, and the Azure Dragon on the right—which stars are these?

Where are Nuwa and the six stars of the Southern Dipper, and Fuxi and the seven stars of the Northern Dipper?

As they chatted, they started talking about how to judge whether a natural disaster is coming based on celestial phenomena and how to deal with it. Then, they changed the subject and started talking about farming.

He was truly knowledgeable in astronomy, geography, religion, and all walks of life, and knew everything about them.

This left Shen Pei completely speechless!
If Liu Bei continued talking like this, they could talk for a month straight, let alone three days and three nights.

Fortunately for Shen Pei, although Liu Bei talked to him for three days and three nights, the soldiers in the city were not turned against him.

However, the approval process is nearing its end.

Keeping watch from the city walls every day is even more tiring than Shen Pei studying all night!

What Shen Pei didn't know was that although Liu Bei chatted outside the city every day, his military operations were not delayed in the slightest.

Liu Bei's primary objective was not Puyang City, but Ju Shou and Tian Feng on the other side of the river.

Cao Cao's surprise attack went very smoothly.

The surprise attack on Juancheng happened just as the city's laborers were transporting grain out of the city, giving Qiao Mao no chance to defend the city.

Therefore, as soon as the 5,000 elite troops arrived in Juancheng, Qiao Mao abandoned the city and fled.

The supply lines were cut off, much to the astonishment of Ju Shou and Tian Feng.

They had no idea that Cao Cao would bypass Yangliting to cross the river and then breach the bridge at Juancheng.

Left with no other choice, Ju Shou and Tian Feng had to temporarily divide their forces. Tian Feng led Bao Xin and Yu Jin with 5,000 infantry and cavalry to rescue Juancheng, while Ju Shou remained on the riverbank.

However, despite their wisdom, neither Tian Feng nor Ju Shou expected that Cao Cao would personally come to cut off their supply lines.

What was even more unexpected was that Cao Cao, in order to make a name for himself in Yanzhou, not only personally cut off the supply lines but also personally led his army to ambush Tian Feng.

Although Bao Xin and Yu Jin were both brave and skilled generals, they could not withstand the onslaught of Cao Cao's personal forces, including Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, Li Dian, Li Qian, and Li Jin, as well as the elite Qingzhou soldiers.

Cao Cao went even further, personally taking up a spear and leading his troops into battle.

The two sides fought for two hours. Bao Xin was killed by Cao Ren and Cao Chun in a combined battle, and Tian Feng's five thousand infantry and cavalry suffered more than half casualties. Yu Jin could only desperately protect Tian Feng and help him escape.

Cao Cao did not pursue the fleeing Tian Feng, but after resting, he directly ordered his men to carry Bao Xin's head and launch a surprise attack on Ju Shou's rear.

Upon seeing Bao Xin's head held high, Ju Shou was shocked and immediately ordered Li Zan, Jin Yun, Fan Yi, Xue Ti, and others to hold their positions.

As Ju Shou's camp was attacked, the four camps of Lü Bu, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, and Dian Wei, who had been waiting on the other side of the river for a long time, quickly crossed the river.

If Cao Cao hadn't attacked Ju Shou's rear, he could have easily taken advantage of Lü Bu's four camps being halfway across the river to launch an attack.

Unfortunately, Ju Shou was under attack by Cao Cao and dared not leave his camp. He could only watch helplessly as Lü Bu's four camps crossed the river safely.

The shouts of battle and the rising smoke from the opposite bank of the river also alerted Shen Pei and Chen Gong in Puyang.

"We've fallen into Liu Bei's trap! Liu Bei must have divided his forces to flank Ju Shou and Tian Feng from the rear, and take the opportunity to cross the river." Shen Pei was extremely anxious and hurriedly summoned Chen Gong to discuss the matter.

Chen Gong carefully observed Lü Bu's four camps crossing the river, then looked at Liu Bei, who was still chatting with the soldiers on the city wall. He hardened his heart and said, "Puyang and Ju Shou and Tian Feng's camps are in a pincer movement. Ju Shou and Tian Feng are under attack. We two cannot sit idly by."

"Right now, Liu Bei's army has crossed the river to fight Ju Shou and Tian Feng. Liu Bei's camp must be empty. If the two of us go out together and fail to break through Liu Bei's defenses, we will be trapped and die in Puyang after Ju Shou and Tian Feng are defeated!"

Shen Pei hesitated and said, "But what if the two of us fail to defeat Liu Bei? We might as well defend Puyang to the death; perhaps there is still a chance of survival."

Chen Gong pointed at Liu Bei below the city and said, "Liu Bei comes every day to incite our soldiers, which has already caused unrest in the army. If we wait for Ju Shou and Tian Feng to be defeated and flee, the soldiers in the city will surely surrender. It's either a desperate fight or we have to wait for our doom!"

Shen Pei suddenly awoke with a start, and couldn't help but feel indignant: "Liu Bei is truly cunning! He deliberately talked for three days and three nights under the city walls, all for this day. How hateful!"

However much Shen Pei hated, he had no choice at this moment.

As Chen Gong said, if Ju Shou and Tian Feng were to be defeated and flee, the soldiers in the city would surely surrender.

Shen Pei, determined, immediately selected the city's elite troops with Chen Gong, vowing to catch Liu Bei off guard.

"Huh? You actually dared to come out?"

As the drawbridge over Puyang City was lowered, Liu Bei stopped his casual conversation with the soldiers on the city wall and immediately rode away.

"Liu Bei, stop running!"

Seeing that Liu Bei was about to return to his camp, Shen Pei and Chen Gong hurriedly mobilized their troops, determined to take advantage of Liu Bei's main force going to attack Ju Shou and Shen Pei, and defeat Liu Bei first.

Shen Pei and Chen Gong's judgment was correct.

Liu Bei's four battalions, including Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, and Huang Zhong, all crossed the river to the other side. Cao Cao then selected 5,000 elite infantry and cavalry from Qingzhou, leaving the remaining Qingzhou troops with relatively weak fighting strength.

After all, Cao Cao's Qingzhou soldiers were not as well-equipped as the Lingyan Army, and the army had only been formed for a few months. Even though there were still more than 10,000 men in the camp, most of them were assigned to auxiliary military tasks such as logging, building rafts, and digging trenches.

If they were to actually fight, they would be nothing more than a rabble.

However, besides this rabble of over ten thousand men, Liu Bei also had two elite forces on his left and right.

One force was the White Feather Army led by Chen Dao, and the other was the Trapped Camp led by Gao Shun. Neither of these forces was suitable to fight Ju Shou and Tian Feng, so they remained in the camp.

Seeing the Trapped Camp slowly emerge, Chen Gong's expression changed drastically. He recalled being blocked by the Trapped Camp and almost being shot dead by Gao Shun in the past, and hurriedly reminded Shen Pei: "Then it's the Trapped Camp! Don't fight them head-on! We can outflank them!"

The Trapped Battalion's armor was heavy, but their mobility was poor.

Without the advantage of terrain to restrict the enemy's troops, it is indeed easy to be outmaneuvered.

However, just as Shen Pei and Chen Gong were dividing their troops and making a detour, their expressions turned to astonishment.

It's because after the Trapped Camp, the White Feather Soldiers, with their increased mobility due to warhorses, reappeared!

"Damn it! That's Liu Bei's armored cavalry! We've fallen into a trap! Retreat!" Chen Gong's voice was hysterical.

But in his heart, Chen Gong was filled with remorse.

roundabout?

How could I have such a stupid idea!

Should we outflank Liu Bei's armored cavalry?

For the first time, Chen Gong felt fear. When facing the Trapped Camp, Chen Gong dared to launch a strong attack with his numerical advantage. Although he ultimately lost, Chen Gong only believed that he lost because Gao Shun had luckily shot him in the scalp.

But now, facing Liu Bei's White Feather Army, Chen Gong couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance!
The intelligence that Tao Qian's tens of thousands of troops were slaughtered by the White Feather Army at Jiuli Mountain is still on Chen Gong's desk.

Although the terrain of Jiuli Mountain prevented Tao Qian's tens of thousands of troops from maneuvering, Chen Gong didn't have tens of thousands of troops today either!

With such a small force, facing the heavily armored Trapped Camp and the White Feather Soldiers with iron armor and horse armor, it was like a child trying to twist an adult's thigh!

Chen Gong wanted to retreat, but the White Feather soldiers didn't want him to.

Chen Dao led his White Feather Army to outflank the enemy, directly breaking Chen Gong and Shen Pei's several thousand infantry and cavalry into two groups.

"After today's battle, I'm afraid no one will dare to leave the city to fight against the Imperial Uncle again." Beside Liu Bei, Guo Jia looked at the White Feather Army flanking and the advancing Trapped Camp with excitement in his eyes.

The overwhelming offensive left the enemy with no chance to retaliate.

"People don't learn from their mistakes." Liu Bei chuckled. "After all, Yuan Shao also has iron armor and horse armor under his command. It wouldn't be difficult for him to emulate the White Feather Soldiers and the Trapped Camp and form two strong armies."

This time, Yuan Shao has dealt such a heavy blow to Shen Pei, Ju Shou, and Tian Feng, three powerful families from Hebei. If he still doesn't dare to take drastic measures against the powerful families of Hebei, he will only be waiting to die.

If Yuan Shao were to intervene, Liu Bei would be very happy.

After all, with Yuan Shao's assistance in weakening the powerful clans in Hebei, Liu Bei would encounter less resistance after defeating Yuan Shao in the future.

As for whether Yuan Shao would be turned against by the powerful clans of Hebei, that was not a problem for Liu Bei to consider.

If Yuan Shao had the ability, he could gather the resources of the powerful clans in Hebei and then compete with Liu Bei; if Yuan Shao lacked the ability, and was completely exploited by the powerful clans in Hebei, that would be Yuan Shao's fate.

The Qingzhou soldiers watching the battle from their camp were also stunned by the offensive of the White Feather Army and the Trapped Camp.

They were all elites selected by Cao Cao from the Yellow Turban rebels in Qingzhou, and they were confident in their martial prowess.

But when I saw this scene that was beyond my comprehension, I felt not excitement, but rather awe.

Liu Bei was also very satisfied with the reaction of the Qingzhou soldiers.

Even with Cao Cao's strict military discipline, the Qingzhou soldiers, who originated from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, were no match for Liu Bei's Lingyan Army, which was mainly composed of the Western Garden Army.

After all, the Western Garden Army were originally fierce warriors from various counties. In the past three years, they had been undergoing ideological baptism by Liu Bei, and their ideological awareness was far beyond that of ordinary soldiers.

As the White Feather Soldiers and the Trapped Camp charged forward, cries of agony rose and fell across the battlefield.

With the combined assault of heavy infantry and heavy cavalry, Chen Gong and Shen Pei's few thousand men had absolutely no chance of winning.

The two abandoned most of their troops and, relying on their fast horses, hurriedly returned to Puyang City.

Fearing that the White Feather Army and the Trapped Camp would pursue them into the city, they abandoned their troops and hastily raised the drawbridge.

Liu Bei scoffed at the two men's act of abandoning their comrade.

Soldiers who have been betrayed are the easiest to persuade to surrender, and also the easiest to provoke anger.

In a short time, Liu Bei persuaded the Puyang soldiers to surrender and ordered them to take their weapons to the city walls to persuade the soldiers to surrender.

In Liu Bei's words: "I am not afraid of you having weapons, because even if you have weapons, you cannot defeat me; but those who betray you, you must personally go and kill the traitors."

Watching the thousand-plus Puyang soldiers below the city wall, raging with anger, hurling insults and urging surrender, Shen Pei and Chen Gong, who had narrowly escaped with their lives, felt their scalps tingle even more.

Nothing could better demonstrate Liu Bei's benevolence and righteousness than these thousand-plus armed soldiers from Puyang.

The soldiers on the city wall gradually began to waver.

Although they ran back to the city, it wasn't because Shen Pei and Chen Gong were benevolent, but because they ran fast.

Those who ran slowly, like the thousand or so people below the city, were ruthlessly abandoned by Shen Pei and Chen Gong.

If they can abandon the thousand or so people below the city today, they can abandon the thousands inside the city tomorrow.

"The morale of the troops is wavering!"

"Am I really inferior to Qiao Mao?"

Shen Pei found it hard to understand why the war had turned out this way.

In terms of both martial prowess and wisdom, Liu Bei ruthlessly crushed them all.

Seeing the soldiers' morale wavering, Chen Gong was also disheartened.

“Gongtai, Puyang is definitely not going to hold. Ju Shou and Tian Feng will inevitably be defeated and flee. In the current situation, the best course of action is to leave. You can come back to Yecheng with me. With your talent, I can recommend you as the governor of a prefecture. Once you have trained your troops, it will not be too late to come back and take revenge.” Shen Pei dared not stay in Puyang, where morale was in turmoil, and whispered to Chen Gong to leave together.

Chen Gong shook his head: "My wife, children and relatives are all in Puyang, how can I leave? Prefect Shen can go first, I will buy you some time."

Shen Pei was moved and said, "Liu Bei only kills the leaders of bandits; he will not harm your wife, children, or relatives. Come with me, and we will take it back later."

Chen Gong shook his head again, his eyes resolute: "If my wife, children, and elderly mother fall into Liu Bei's hands, it would be unfilial of me to attack Liu Bei, and unjust of me not to attack him. Lord Shen, please convey to His Majesty that I, Chen Gong, swear to live and die with Puyang, and will never live a life of dishonor!"

Seeing that Chen Gong was unwilling to leave, Shen Pei sighed and led his confidants to escape directly through the North Gate by waterway.

The Shen clan of Wei Commandery was powerful and its army was strong. Shen Pei was unwilling to die in Puyang because of a temporary defeat. Given the Shen clan's influence in Wei Commandery, even if he returned, Yuan Shao could only say, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Do not be discouraged."

With Shen Pei's departure, the morale of the troops in the city became even more shaken.

Taking advantage of Chen Gong's inattention, several subordinate generals tied him up and lowered the drawbridge to welcome Liu Bei into the city.

As the suspension bridge slowly descended, a smile appeared on Liu Bei's lips.

Once Puyang is captured, all the counties in Dongjun can be pacified with a single proclamation. After Lü Bu and Cao Cao defeat Ju Shou and Tian Feng, Dongping and Jibei can also be easily seized.

The counties south of the Yellow River in Qingzhou could not possibly be a match for Cao Cao.

The land south of the Yellow River will no longer belong to Yuan Shao!
Looking at Chen Gong being brought closer, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

Originally, Liu Bei wanted Chen Gong and Cheng Yu to assist Cao Cao in conquering Yan Province, but they ended up becoming enemies.

"After you die, I will treat your wife, children, and elderly mother well." Liu Bei did not try to persuade a man who was determined to die, but only revealed his plans for Chen Gong's wife, children, and elderly mother.

Chen Gong's expression was complicated. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "I have heard that those who govern the world with filial piety do not harm other people's relatives; those who implement benevolent policies in the world do not cut off other people's ancestral sacrifices. I request to be executed to uphold military law."

Liu Bei ordered his men to untie Chen Gong's ropes and said, "I'll give you half an hour to settle your affairs. You have such integrity, and I hope your wife, children, and elderly mother can understand the greater good and not hold grudges. Otherwise, if you violate the law in the future, I will have no choice but to act according to the law."

Chen Gong was deeply moved and bowed respectfully, saying, "I am grateful for your kindness, Imperial Uncle."

Watching Chen Gong leave, Guo Jia admired Liu Bei's benevolence even more and asked, "Isn't Uncle Liu afraid that Chen Gong will secretly leave with his wife, children, and elderly mother?"

Liu Bei chuckled: "Why does Fengxiao pretend not to know? If Chen Gong wanted to escape, he would have fled with Shen Pei long ago. Why wait until now? He's a smart man. He knows that I only punish the ringleaders, without harming their relatives or cutting off their lineage. What a pity."

(End of this chapter)