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

Chapter 243 Luring Yuan Shao into Battle: Liu Bei's Psychological Strategy (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)
Tian Feng knew that if he were to rebuke Guo Tu for having ulterior motives at this time, Yuan Shao would be disgusted with him. However, Tian Feng did not want Yuan Shao to become arrogant and think he could fight Liu Bei to the death because of Guo Tu's theory of ten victories and ten defeats.

He then hurriedly advised, "My lord, Liu Bei is skilled in warfare and his tactics are unpredictable. In the past few years, he has not suffered a single defeat. He should not be underestimated."

"Since Guo Tu's theory of ten victories and ten defeats has already appeased the morale of the army and the people, why not change to a long-term defense? My lord only needs to hold the fortifications, and when Liu Bei's troops are exhausted and his supplies are depleted, he will retreat on his own."

"After Liu Bei retreats, we will unite heroes and valiant men on the outside and focus on farming and preparing for war on the inside. Then we will select elite troops, divide them into surprise forces, and take advantage of the situation to raid and harass the areas of Henan and Yanzhou. If Liu Bei comes to the rescue of the right flank, we will attack the left flank; if Liu Bei comes to the rescue of the left flank, we will attack the right flank, so that Liu Bei will be exhausted and the people will not be able to settle down and do their jobs."

"In this way, we will be exhausted before we are even tired, and Liu Bei will be weary. In less than three years, we can defeat Liu Bei while sitting still. If we abandon our strategic planning and try to decide the outcome in one battle, and if we fail to achieve our goal, then all will be lost!"

However, Tian Feng's tactful words did not deter Yuan Shao from his fighting spirit; instead, they enraged him: "Tian Feng, you have repeatedly advised me to hold my ground. Do you intend for me to sit and wait for my death? Do you think you are the only one who understands strategic planning?"

"Do you think that if I hold my ground and don't fight, Liu Bei will be exhausted and run out of supplies and retreat? Liu Bei only has 20,000 infantry and cavalry! How much food can 20,000 infantry and cavalry consume? Not only can grain be transported from Hanoi, but grain can also be transported from Yanzhou. Liu Bei can also directly plunder grain from Wei Commandery!"

"You want to use the strategy of exhausting your troops to harass and take advantage of the situation to invade, such as Hanoi and Yanzhou. How do you know that Liu Bei will not do the same? If I go to the rescue of the right flank, Liu Bei will attack my left flank; if I go to the rescue of the left flank, Liu Bei will attack my right flank. I will be the one who is exhausted from running around, and the people of Hebei will not be able to settle down."

"Do you really think I'm ignorant of strategic planning? Do you really think I don't understand that warfare is inferior to defense? But will Liu Bei give me that time? Liu Bei has used some kind of evil magic to cause a large number of official proclamations to appear in You and Ji, causing unrest among the army and the people. If Liu Bei continues to distribute large numbers of official proclamations in the counties every month, His Majesty will suspect that I am plotting to usurp the throne. How can I then contend with Liu Bei?"

"If it weren't for Guo Tu's theory of ten victories and ten defeats, I wouldn't even have had the chance to build up the morale of my troops and the people to fight a decisive battle with Liu Bei. How could I have used the strategy of exhausting the army? Han Meng is right. You lose every battle, yet you still teach me how to use troops?"

Yuan Shao was truly enraged this time.

If Tian Feng had directly suspected Guo Tu of having ulterior motives, Yuan Shao might have simply thought that Tian Feng was being paranoid.

If Tian Feng could come up with a better strategy than Guo Tu, Yuan Shao might hesitate.

However, Tian Feng repeatedly advised Yuan Shao to hold firm and wait for his doom, which Yuan Shao could no longer tolerate.

If we're talking about using tactics to wear down the enemy, how can anyone compare to Liu Bei?
Liu Bei only had 20,000 infantry and cavalry. Even if his troops were better fed and consumed more grain than Yuan Shao's troops, it didn't change the fact that Liu Bei only had 20,000 infantry and cavalry.

To defend against Liu Bei, Yuan Shao would need several times the number of Liu Bei's troops, which would not only consume a large amount of money and grain, but also require the recruitment of a large number of laborers.

In terms of attrition, Yuan Shao's army of over 100,000 could not possibly have consumed less than Liu Bei's 20,000 infantry and cavalry.

Not to mention that using the strategy of exhausting Liu Bei's troops would only lead to unrest in Yuan Shao's rear over time.

The core reason why the powerful families of Hebei were unwilling to support Liu Bei's new policies was that Liu Bei's new policies were threatening their family property, so they wanted to support Yuan Shao to defeat Liu Bei.

But if Yuan Shao also tries to seize their property in order to prevent Liu Bei from doing so, then what's the point of supporting Yuan Shao?
Since they're going to be robbed anyway, they might as well just surrender to Liu Bei and give up.

Rather than saying that Guo Tu's theory of ten victories and ten defeats aroused Yuan Shao's desire for a decisive battle, it would be more accurate to say that Yuan Shao already had the desire for a decisive battle, and Guo Tu's theory of ten victories and ten defeats simply revealed what Yuan Shao was thinking.

Sitting idly by and waiting to die is a form of slow death.

Only by taking action can we have a chance of winning.

In fact, Tian Feng was well aware that holding onto the fortified positions was tantamount to waiting for death.

However, compared to deciding victory or defeat in one battle, holding the fortified positions at least offers a chance to struggle and win.

If they lose this battle, it will be difficult for them to rise again.

"My lord, please reconsider!"

Although Tian Feng couldn't think of a rebuttal to Yuan Shao's words, he still tried his best to dissuade him.

Seeing Tian Feng's unreasonable behavior, Yuan Shao's anger intensified, and he was too lazy to argue with him any longer: "How can I trust you when you are undermining the morale of the army like this? Guards, imprison Tian Feng and deal with him after my victory. Pass on my military order: anyone who dares to undermine the morale of my army again will be executed without mercy."

No one dared to plead for Tian Feng, and no one dared to take on Yuan Shao's wrath at this time.

Even Feng Ji, who had been encouraging Tian Feng, dared not say a word.

Feng Ji felt both relieved and worried.

Fortunately, it was Tian Feng who was imprisoned, not himself; what worried him was the uncertain future of Yuan Shao's plan to fight Liu Bei.

Feng Ji privately sought out Xun Chen, Xin Ping, and Xin Pi to discuss countermeasures.

"Our lord's desire to fight is even stronger, but Liu Bei is skilled in military tactics and his troops are brave and good at fighting. If we hold our fortifications, we still have a chance of winning. But if our lord is provoked out of the city, our fate is uncertain."

In the past, Feng Ji would not have bothered to discuss matters with Xun Chen, Xin Ping, and Xin Pi.

Feng Ji always considered himself highly talented and accomplished, believing himself to be the number one man under Yuan Shao.

However, today, Feng Ji has no choice but to win over Xun Chen, Xin Ping, and Xin Pi to form a united front.

Guo Tu accurately grasped Yuan Shao's mentality and ambitions, gained Yuan Shao's trust with flattery, and repeatedly solved the problem of low morale in Yuan Shao's army.

In particular, the theory of morale based on ten wins and ten losses elevated Yuan Shao to an unwarranted level, as if he were blessed with divine mandate like Liu Xiu, and could summon a meteorite to destroy Liu Bei with a flick of his wrist.

Once Guo Tu's ten victories and ten defeats boosted the morale of the generals, Feng Ji could predict that Yuan Shao would inevitably go into battle due to his arrogance!
This is the outcome that Feng Ji least wanted to see.

In this world today, who can rival Liu Bei without relying on city walls and fortifications?

“Tian Feng has been imprisoned by our lord. Even if we want to persuade him, he won’t listen. Instead, he will hate us.” Xin Ping sighed softly, his tone implying a sense of resignation.

Xin Pi also said, "Although it is difficult to survive in battle, it is not necessarily possible to win by holding out. Since our lord is unwilling to hold out, we should think about how to help him defeat Liu Bei. It would be of no use to hold out fortifications."

Xun Chen remained silent.

Seeing that Xin Ping and Xin Pi were unwilling to persuade Yuan Shao, and Xun Chen did not express his opinion, Feng Ji felt even more resentful: a bunch of cowardly rats!
Feng Ji couldn't help but miss Tian Feng.

A simple deduction would have prompted Tian Feng to advise Yuan Shao, unlike Xun Yu, Chen He, and the other two, who had no desire to invite trouble.

Unable to persuade Xun Chen and the other two, Feng Ji could only suppress his worries.

noon.

Liu Bei led his troops to the city of Dangyin.

Banners fluttered, and morale soared.

The Yuan soldiers on the city wall all looked terrified.

Last night, Han Meng and his men returned defeated. Although Guo Tu's theory of ten victories and ten defeats boosted morale, the Yuan soldiers on the city wall were still trembling at the sight of Liu Bei's well-organized army and mountain-like aura.

Liu Bei glanced at the walls of Dangyin City and waved his hand. The more than two thousand surrendered soldiers captured last night were driven to the city walls, and Liu Bei shouted and laughed, "Yuan Shao, I have come today to deliver the prisoners."

Sending prisoners?

The Yuan soldiers on the city wall were all stunned when they saw the two thousand armored and armed "prisoners" below.

Are these prisoners of war?

Which prisoner could still be wearing armor and carrying weapons?
We'd believe you if you just said you were pretending to be prisoners of war to attack the city!

However, when Han Meng climbed to the top of the city wall to identify the enemy, he was astonished to find that the armored and armed men below the city were indeed the soldiers who had been defeated and scattered the previous night.

There were former subordinates of Han Meng, former subordinates of Han Xun, and former subordinates of Gongsun Du and Zhao Rui.

Hearing the prisoners below the city shouting "General Han" with great vigor, Han Meng couldn't help but frown.

The soldiers on the city wall were even more astonished.

Can you please stop being so fake?
Which prisoner can sleep and eat well and be full of energy?
This must be a scam!
After a while.

Guo Tu, Feng Ji, Xun Chen, and others accompanied Yuan Shao to the city wall.

Looking at the more than two thousand armored and armed former subordinates of Han Meng and his men, who were full of vigor, below the city, everyone frowned just like Han Meng.

If this is a prisoner, then there are no prisoners in the world.

What Yuan Shao and others did not understand was that Liu Bei not only provided the prisoners with good food, drink, and sleep, but also allowed them to return to Dangyin in armor and weapons. He even refused their surrender requests and taught them to be loyal and righteous, saying, "Yuan Shao has treated you well, how can you abandon him? I dare not employ those who betray loyalty and forget kindness."

Among these two thousand-plus prisoners, some even came up with the idea that "betraying Yuan Shao is shameful."

And so, these two thousand prisoners were driven to the city of Dangyin by Liu Bei in a confused and bewildered manner.

"There must be Liu Bei's spies among them, my lord, we must not be fooled. We should drive out the people below the city and not let them into the city!" Feng Ji warned in a deep voice. If these two thousand people were allowed into the city, even if Dangyin City had tens of thousands of troops, it would not be able to withstand Liu Bei's attack from both inside and outside.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Guo Tu retorted, "Supervisor Feng is mistaken. This is Liu Bei's psychological warfare tactic. If we don't let everyone into the city, it will surely demoralize the soldiers inside. Even with my theory of ten victories and ten defeats, it will be difficult to restore morale. Without morale, how can we stop Liu Bei?"

If the theory of ten wins and ten losses is not mentioned, Feng Ji can still suppress his resentment; but if the theory of ten wins and ten losses is mentioned, Feng Ji feels that his resentment is unbearable.

Seeing Guo Tu's repulsive serious expression, Feng Ji rebuked, "Absurd! If we let the people below the city enter, they will surely attack from within and without. How can we stop them? As long as we hold the city walls, it's better to have low morale than to lose the city. Even if we want to let them in, we should first let the people below the city counterattack Liu Bei to prove their sincerity."

Listening to the argument between Guo Tu and Feng Ji, Yuan Shao suddenly became suspicious.

After all, there are more than two thousand armed men below the city. If they are allowed to enter the city, chaos will break out, and Dangyin City will certainly not be able to be defended.

However, if these two thousand-odd men are not allowed into the city, it will damage morale, just as Guo Tu said. Although they can still defend the city with low morale, they will be back to a situation of sitting and waiting for death.
This is not what Yuan Shao wanted to see!

As for letting the people under the city counterattack Liu Bei, that is even more undesirable. How could a group of defeated soldiers dare to counterattack Liu Bei?

It seems that as soon as this military order is issued, everyone below the city, even without any inside agents arranged by Liu Bei, will become Liu Bei's inside agents.

Liu Bei did this on purpose; he was trying to win people's hearts and minds.

For a moment, Yuan Shao was in a dilemma. He dared not let the people below the city enter, nor did he dare to let them leave directly, nor did he dare to let them counterattack Liu Bei.

See this.

Liu Bei laughed and mocked, "I never expected that you would risk your lives for Yuan Shao, yet Yuan Shao would suspect you. What good is it to help such a suspicious ruler? Last night I advised you that Yuan Shao had treated you well, so how could you abandon him? But after seeing this today, I realize that I overestimated Yuan Shao."

Enraged that Liu Bei had sown discord in his face, Yuan Shao shouted, "You big-eared scoundrel, stop trying to sow discord here! If you leave, I will let the people below the city in. How could I possibly neglect loyal and brave warriors?"

Yuan Shao spoke in anger, but Liu Bei took it seriously and actually bowed and said, "In that case, I will return first. You may enter the city to repay Yuan Shao's kindness, and we will fight again another day!"

Subsequently.

Under Yuan Shao's astonished gaze, Liu Bei led his troops away.

Yuan Shao was both surprised and suspicious, and faced with a dilemma: he wanted to prevent the people below the city from entering, but he had already spoken; if he allowed them to enter, he worried that they would fall into Liu Bei's trap.

Feng Ji was also extremely frustrated. He had just given a hurried reminder, but Yuan Shao promised to let the people below the city into the city as soon as he opened his mouth. It was too late to take back what had happened. How could he deal with it?

While Yuan Shao was struggling with his decision, Guo Tu offered another suggestion: "Since you have decided to fight Liu Bei, why not set up another camp outside the city? This will not only accommodate the people below the city, but also form a pincer movement with the city."

"Once the troops from the rear arrive in full force, we can advance step by step, and surely drive Liu Bei back to Chaoge. In this way, our lord can continuously build up morale on the way to drive Liu Bei, and when we reach Chaoge, our morale will be soaring!"

Feng Ji became even more anxious when he saw Guo Tu urging Yuan Shao to leave the city.

However, considering Tian Feng's experience, Feng Ji dared not offer too harsh advice.

They could only watch helplessly as Yuan Shao ordered six generals—Han Meng, Han Juzi, Lü Weihuang, Sui Yuanjin, Zhang He, and Gao Lan—to lead their respective troops out of the city and set up camp.

Seeing Guo Tu's smug look, Feng Ji felt even more resentful and suggested, "When the six generals leave the city, they cannot be without a military supervisor. Let Supervisor Guo go out of the city to supervise the troops."

Feng Ji became ruthless.

Only by keeping Guo Tu away from Yuan Shao can Yuan Shao be gradually persuaded.

Feng Ji had served Yuan Shao the longest and knew that Yuan Shao was indecisive and suspicious. If he could just whisper in his ear a few more times and give Guo Tu no chance to defend himself, he could confirm Guo Tu's crime of treason.

However, although Feng Ji had high hopes, Yuan Shao did not intend to send Guo Tu outside the city.

This was because among the three military supervisors and four military advisors in Dangyin City, only Guo Tu was the one who most supported Yuan Shao's advocacy of war and had been working hard to boost the morale of Yuan Shao's army.

The others, Chunyu Qiong, Xin Ping, and Xin Pi, silently obeyed orders without offering any practical suggestions, while Tian Feng and Feng Ji strongly advocated defense and passively resisted fighting.

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Shao rejected Feng Ji's suggestion and summoned Chunyu Qiong, instructing him to lead Han Meng and his six generals out of the city to set up camp.

Guo Tu gave Feng Ji a provocative look and sneered inwardly: You actually think you can get rid of my lord? Do you really think he will still listen to you?

Frustrated by his thwarted goal and further provoked and mocked by Guo Tu, Feng Ji was even more resentful.

However, given Tian Feng's imprisonment, Feng Ji dared not act too hastily lest he incur Yuan Shao's displeasure.

(End of this chapter)