The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

A swift horse galloped from the front, and Zhao Yun, dressed in white robes and covered in dust, dismounted.

"Reporting to the lord and strategist, intelligence reports from the front! General Lu has besieged Zhang Jiao's main force in Guangzong City and is preparing to launch a general offensive soon."

Guo Dian, the governor of Julu, is leading 10,000 troops to attack Zhang Bao's forces in Quyang. The siege has been prolonged and unsuccessful, resulting in heavy casualties.

"Quyang?" Liu Bei frowned and looked at Li Chang. "Fourth brother, should we go directly to Guangzong to seek refuge with our master, or should we first go to Quyang to lend Prefect Guo a hand?"

"Let's go to Guangzong!" Zhang Fei was the first to jump out, shouting loudly. "That old scoundrel Zhang Jiao is the real leader of the Yellow Turbans. Kill him, and the Yellow Turban rebels will naturally scatter! I've long wanted to meet this great and wise teacher!"

Guan Yu nodded, clearly agreeing to go to Guangzong first to join the main force of the imperial court and achieve greater military exploits.

Li Chang shook his head and said in a deep voice, "No, we can't go to Guangzong."

"Why?" Zhang Fei asked anxiously. "Fourth brother, what are you afraid of? With me, second brother, Zilong, and I here, are we afraid we can't defeat that old scoundrel Zhang Jiao?"

"Third Brother, it's not that we're afraid," Li Chang explained patiently. "Although we have eight thousand soldiers on the surface, only four thousand of them are truly capable of fighting. The rest are auxiliary troops and the vanguard battalion."

Guangzong is the stronghold of the Yellow Turbans, with hundreds of thousands of rebel soldiers and the evil magic of Zhang Jiao's Way of Peace. Even the imperial court's 30,000 regular troops couldn't conquer it after a long siege. Our small force would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean, and we would only be cannon fodder.

He paused, then continued:

More importantly, our army was entirely supported by the personal bravery of my second brother, third brother, and Zilong.

They might be able to deal with the insignificant Yellow Turban rabble, but if they were to truly clash with Zhang Jiao's elite forces, the losses would inevitably be heavy.

We've worked so hard to accumulate this little bit of wealth; we can't let it all be wasted at the gates of Guangzong City.

"So Quyang will be easier to beat then?" Zhang Fei asked, unconvinced.

"Quyang is also difficult to conquer, but it's much easier than Guangzong," Li Chang said with a smile.

"Although Zhang Bao had 50,000 troops, he was not as good as Zhang Jiao. The Yellow Turban rebels under his command were far less powerful than Zhang Jiao's main force."

Moreover, Guo Dian's morale is low due to his prolonged siege. Our assistance now would be a timely and crucial boost, allowing us to both gain merit and preserve our strength. We can proceed to Guangzong after we capture Quyang.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Fourth Brother is right. Let's do as Fourth Brother says, the entire army will turn and head towards Quyang!"

Guan Yu suddenly thought of something and asked, "Fourth brother, military strategy says, 'If your forces are ten times larger, surround them; if they are five times larger, attack them; if they are twice as large, divide them.' But the fifty thousand Yellow Turban rebels in Quyang far outnumber our forces and those of Prefect Guo Dian."

"Second brother, you forgot? They said that the Yellow Turban rebels, nominally numbering 50,000, even if they were the main force, would be lucky to have 25,000 if you removed the old, young, women and children. Among them, the elite who could fight would be at most 10,000!"

Otherwise, Lu Zhonglang would not have been able to defeat hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban rebels with only tens of thousands of troops from the imperial court.

"I see." Guan Yu stroked his beard, having learned something new.

With no objections, the army immediately changed direction and headed towards Quyang.

Half a day later, Liu Bei's army arrived outside Guo Dian's camp.

Li Chang took out Lu Zhi's letter and handed it to the guards at the gate: "Please inform Prefect Guo that Liu Bei, the Commandant of the Vanquishing Army, has come to assist in the battle."

The soldiers dared not delay and quickly took the letter inside to report.

Before long, Guo Dian, accompanied by several generals, strolled out.

He glanced at Liu Bei and his group and saw that they were dressed simply, and most of their soldiers were dressed as local militia. However, there were only a little over a thousand armored soldiers, and most of them were cloth armor!

He raised an eyebrow, temporarily concealing his disdain.

"Captain Liu?" Guo Dian said with a forced smile, "I've heard so much about you. But I'm busy with military affairs, ordered by General Lu to attack Quyang. May I ask what brings you here, Captain Liu?"

Liu Bei cupped his hands and said, "Prefect Guo, I have come to assist in the battle on the orders of my esteemed teacher, General Lu."

How many people do you have?

Liu Bei was about to say eight thousand, but then he thought that eight thousand seemed too few, so he dared not report more.

With a ruthless heart:

"Ten thousand!"

"Ten thousand?" Guo Dian scoffed, clearly disbelieving. "Lieutenant Liu, are you joking? I see your troops number only a few thousand, and most of them are local militia, laborers, the old, the weak, and the disabled. What use are they?"

The more he spoke, the more undisguised his sarcasm became.

"I know that Commandant Liu is a disciple of General Lu and wants to gain some merit at the front. However, the battle at Quyang is dangerous and not something that local militia like you can get involved in."

"Alright then, you just set up camp in the rear, help transport supplies and take care of the wounded. Leave the fighting to us regular troops."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei's temple throbbed, and he was about to step forward when Liu Bei reached out and stopped him.

Li Chang stepped forward and said with a faint smile:

"Prefect Guo, you are mistaken. Although our army is mostly composed of local militia, we are seasoned warriors who have quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion in several counties of Youzhou without ever suffering a defeat. Now that you have been besieging Quyang for so long without success, we have a plan that can help you take the city within ten days."

"Oh?" Guo Dian raised an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving. "What's your plan? Tell me."

"A strategy to wear down the enemy!" Li Chang said in a deep voice.

"Quyang is a fortified city, and a direct assault would result in too many casualties. We can divide our two thousand troops into four groups and attack the east, south, and west gates day and night to create a show of force."

During the day, they beat drums and shouted slogans, feigning an attack on the city; at night, they lit torches and banged gongs, preventing the Yellow Turban rebels from resting. After repeating this for several days, the Yellow Turban rebels would inevitably become exhausted and their morale would collapse.

When they become complacent, we will concentrate our forces and launch a fierce attack on the north gate, capturing the city in one fell swoop!

After listening, Guo Dian tapped his fingers lightly on the sword at his waist.

This strategy may seem ordinary, but it really works!

He had been besieging Quyang for a long time without success and was at his wit's end. Li Chang's words hit the nail on the head.

But then he thought, if he used Liu Bei's strategy, wouldn't Liu Bei get half the credit after the city was captured?

He fought so hard for so long, and many people died or were injured. How could he let others take away his credit?

Guo Dian's eyes darted around, and a kind smile appeared on his lips:

"Hmm, this plan makes some sense. In that case, I will proceed accordingly. Lieutenant Liu must be tired from your journey, so please rest in the rear. We won't trouble you all at the front."

After saying this, Guo Dian turned and left without waiting for Liu Bei and the others to respond, leaving everyone behind.

"That old bastard!" Zhang Fei clenched his fists so hard they cracked, pointing at Guo Dian's retreating figure and cursing, "He dared to steal our plan! And then he left us behind! I'm going to settle the score with him right now!"

Even Zhang Fei noticed that!

Truly rough around the edges yet meticulous!

"Third Brother, don't go." Li Chang pulled Zhang Fei back and shook his head. "It's no use. This is the officialdom of the Han Dynasty. We are a local ragtag army, while they are the regular army of the imperial court. No matter how great our achievements are, they can easily swallow them up."

Liu Bei stood there, watching Guo Dian's retreating figure, his lips pressed into a straight line.

He remembered Li Chang slipping gold to the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict, and Liu Yan forcibly keeping him to guard Youzhou. Now he finally understood what Li Chang had said back then.

The officialdom of this great man was already rotten to the core. Without a background or connections, no matter how great your achievements, you would hardly have a chance to rise in the ranks.

Guan Yu stroked his long beard, his phoenix eyes narrowed into slits, and his red face began to turn pale.

He hated such treacherous and greedy people more than anything in his life. If Liu Bei hadn't stopped him, he would have rushed up and killed Guo Dian with a single blow.

Zhao Yun also gripped the bright silver spear tightly, the shaft spinning in his palm.

I thought the government officials and soldiers were all heroes who served the country and its people, but I never expected them to be like this.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Li Chang said softly, "Brothers, there's no need to be angry. If Guo Dian wants to use our strategy, let him use it."

He can steal our strategies now, but he can't steal our strength. Once his strategy of exhausting the enemy takes effect, we'll naturally have our chance to prove ourselves at the walls of Quyang.

He looked up toward Quyang City, his eyes slightly brightening.

Guo Dian, you think you've only stolen the strategy on paper, but you can't steal the killing move behind it. I have Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, do you have them too?

Zhang Fei grew anxious and roared, "So our plan has just been stolen by them for nothing?"

"How could that be! I wouldn't be so kind!" Li Chang turned to Liu Bei, "Brother, has the letter to Lu Zhonglang been written?"

"Hmm?" Liu Bei immediately pulled out the letter. "Fourth brother, you already guessed it?"

Li Chang shook his head, "It's just to prepare in advance."

He then took out a prepared silk scroll with a detailed plan written on it, saying, "Give this to Lu Zhonglang as well."