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

The next day, Zhang Fei led his troops to the city walls again to hurl insults.

After hurling insults for half a day, the soldiers on the city walls continued to only fire arrows and did not engage in battle.

Zhang Fei turned his horse back to his formation, pointed at the few soldiers behind him who were slow in transporting supplies, and flew into a rage:

"Useless! You can't even transport supplies properly, what use are you!"

As he spoke, he swung his whip and lashed out, leaving bloody welts on the soldiers' backs with several sharp cracks.

The soldiers dared not dodge and gritted their teeth to endure it.

The soldiers guarding the city wall felt as if they themselves were in pain!

For three days straight, Zhang Fei had been putting countless soldiers to sleep at the foot of Ye City!

Every day they attacked the city without success, and every day they whipped their soldiers. Both armies knew that Zhang Fei was furious about attacking Ye City and that his temper was getting more and more violent!

Within Yecheng.

Shen Pei looked at the daily battle reports and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems the time has come!"

Xu You subconsciously replied, "What if it's Li Chang's scheme?"

"Um?"

Shen Pei frowned!

They were so focused on the defense of Ye City, the rise of the Third Prince, and the suppression of the First Prince's faction that they forgot to deal with you, this treacherous villain!

"snort!"

He snorted and looked at Xu You domineeringly:

"Don't you know that Liu Bei is pacifying the people in various parts of Ji Province, and that Li Chang is on the banks of the Da River!"

They've divided their forces in all directions, attempting to wear us down, which is a cardinal sin in military strategy!

"As long as we defeat the Jin army at Ye City, Ji Province will return to the Yuan family!"

Xu You nodded: "But how do you know that wasn't Zhang Fei's plan?"

But as soon as he said it, he regretted it!

"Hahaha!" Shen Pei laughed!

"Zhang Fei, Zhang Yide, could he still have a plan? Lü Bu, Fengxian, could he still have a plan?"

If Lü Bu had been able to devise a plan, he wouldn't have become a slave to three masters!

In my opinion, Lü Bu's current reputation in private might be a result of him being manipulated by Li Chang long ago!

"Ahem..." At this moment, Xu You also coughed awkwardly twice!

He was the one who talked too much!

"I misunderstood. I'll go first."

"etc!"

Shen Pei suddenly called out to someone:

"I've heard that your clansmen, Xu Ziyuan, once sold grain to Liu Bei! They also cunningly seized grain from the people and embezzled military provisions!"

Now, the King of Wei will no longer protect you!

Do you know your crime?

"Um?"

Xu You's eyes widened. How could he have exhausted himself like this!

"Guards, take this traitor and his family to jail!"

"No, no!"

Xu You was immediately dragged away, but his hand still reached out towards Shen Pei!

"No, you can't do this to me!"

"Without me, our lord wouldn't have been able to escape back to Ji Province!"

"Guards, gag him!"

After Xu You was taken away, Shen Pei sent spies disguised as laborers to infiltrate Zhang Fei and Lü Bu's camp.

……

A few more days passed.

As he was smoking, several Bingzhou soldiers under Lü Bu's command drove by in a few grain carts and glanced at them a couple of times.

Zhang Fei glared and immediately spurred his horse forward, pointing his whip at the soldiers:

"What are you looking at! You soldiers, all you do is watch the show, huh!"

"You lagged behind during the siege the day before yesterday, and now you dare to laugh at me!"

Before he finished speaking, the whip lashed out, causing the leading soldier to stumble.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

The remaining Xiliang soldiers under Lü Bu were not to be trifled with, and they immediately wanted to fight back.

"stop!"

With a loud shout, Lü Bu led his personal guards on horseback, his silver armor gleaming. He slammed his halberd to the ground, sending dust flying.

"Zhang Fei! What do you mean by taking my soldiers?"

"What do you mean?" Zhang Fei glared, "Your soldiers delayed the siege and dared to defy me! What's wrong with me whipping them?"

"The attack on the city is your vanguard's job, what business is it of my soldiers?" Lu Bu's face darkened. "Zhang Yide, don't go too far!"

Don't think that just because your boss put you in the forward position you can run wild here!

"Me, acting wildly?" Zhang Fei brandished his spear. "I think you've conspired with Shen Pei to deliberately dawdle!"

"If you're so capable, fight me for three hundred rounds!"

"Fight then! Who's afraid of you!"

Lu Bu raised his halberd, and the two spurred their horses forward, engaging in battle right there on the battlefield.

The spear clashed with the halberd, clanging and sparks flying.

The soldiers on both sides were dumbfounded. How could the two generals start fighting so suddenly?

After fighting for more than fifty rounds, Zhang Fei feinted with his spear, then turned his horse and rode away, his face filled with anger. He turned back and roared:

"Lu Bu! I'll remember you! This isn't over!"

After saying that, he led his troops away in a huff.

Lu Bu, standing in the middle of the formation, was also "fuming". He snorted coldly and led his troops back to camp.

The soldiers on both sides looked at each other, somewhat bewildered. Had they fallen out?

……

On the city wall, Shen Pei leaned against the battlements and saw everything clearly.

The adjutant beside him chuckled, "Sir, Zhang Fei and Lü Bu are actually fighting amongst themselves? That's great news!"

Shen Pei frowned.

But for the next three days, there was movement every day.

Zhang Fei's camp cursed Lü Bu every day, saying he stole credit and held them back; Lü Bu's camp also cursed Zhang Fei, saying he was reckless and lacked strategy.

The two sides fought hundreds of rounds every day on the battlefield, and soldiers from both sides could start fighting just because they glanced at each other.

If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a three-way battle!

Several spies were sent out, and they all returned reporting: "General, things have really come to a head! Neither of them is speaking to the other, and they're each fighting their own battles."

Shen Pei stroked his beard and slowly nodded.

Zhang Fei was impulsive, and Lü Bu was arrogant and conceited; it was perfectly normal for the two to have a conflict.

"Let's explore further."

He still kept his guard up.

But in my heart, I already believed it to some extent.

Trapped in a besieged city, their greatest hope is for internal strife within the enemy ranks.

If that's true, then it's a chance to break the deadlock!

……

A few nights later, dark clouds obscured the moon.

At the second watch of the night, flames suddenly shot into the sky from Zhang Fei's camp!

Immediately following, war drums pounded wildly, and the air was filled with shouts of battle, screams, and the clash of weapons.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

The soldiers guarding the city walls immediately became alert and looked down.

Flames were seen leaping and figures moving about in Zhang Fei's camp, as if his own men were fighting.

Immediately afterwards, Lü Bu's camp also erupted in noise and commotion, with torches burning brightly, as if they were preparing their troops for battle and confronting Zhang Fei's camp.

Ye City.

"Sir! Something terrible has happened! Zhang Fei's camp has rebelled! They're fighting with Lü Bu's troops!" the deputy general hurriedly called to Shen Pei.

Shen Pei quickly climbed the city wall and looked out into the distance.

Opposite were two large camps. One camp was ablaze with fire and filled with the cacophony of voices, as if it had been thrown into chaos; the other camp was ablaze with torches, ready for battle, and the faint sounds of shouting and cursing could be heard drifting over.

"Is there really internal strife?"

He muttered something to himself, his mind racing with calculations.

The intelligence reports from the past few days flashed by: Zhang Fei, enraged by his failed siege, whipped his soldiers, clashed with Lü Bu, and the two became enemies...

The commotion in the camp tonight suggests that the conflict has finally erupted.

"Sir, this is a golden opportunity!" the lieutenant exclaimed urgently. "Taking advantage of their internal strife, we can launch a raid on their camp and surely defeat Zhang Fei and Lü Bu!"

"With these two armies defeated, Liu Bei will be without a vanguard, and the siege of Ye City will be lifted!"

Shen Pei's rationality told him that this was very likely a trap!

But when I think of Zhang Fei and Lü Bu!

What other tricks can they come up with?

In the end, reality triumphed over reason!

"This is a golden opportunity! Let's launch a night attack!"

After waiting for half an hour, the shouts of battle from the other side not only did not stop, but became louder, and the flames grew bigger and bigger, as if Zhang Fei's camp had been burned down to the ground.

The war drums in Lü Bu's camp were beating loudly, as if they were about to attack Zhang Fei's camp.

Everything is ready in Ye City!

Shen Pei clenched his fist suddenly.

"All generals, heed my command!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"You shall lead 10,000 elite troops out of the city to raid the camp! First, charge into Zhang Fei's camp, then sweep through Lü Bu's camp!"

I'll meet you on the city wall. If it succeeds, you'll be credited with the greatest achievement!

"Here you go!"

Upon receiving the order, the generals immediately mustered 10,000 elite troops, quietly opened the city gates, and, with their mouths gagged and their horses' hooves wrapped in cloth, marched in the dark towards Zhang Fei's camp.

Shen Pei stood on the city wall, his palms sweating.

Success or failure hinges on this one move.

But why is he always so uneasy?