Chapter 89: Advance and Retreat Together

  Xinye City was heavily guarded by 5,000 soldiers and more than 10,000 mobilized civilians who were on high alert day and night.

  Bei Cheng, Liu Bei gazed intently at the vast expanse outside the city shrouded in night, but he couldn't see anything. Just a moment ago, Liu Bei had received intelligence from his scouts that a large contingent of Cao's army was rapidly heading south, and the Bird's Nest Valley Road was now devoid of Cao's troops, which made Liu Bei feel somewhat anxious.

  Perhaps it was the Jingzhou army that marched north, and Xiahou Dun wanted to respond to the Jingzhou army with all his might. However, no matter what, his opportunity had arrived. Liu Bei immediately ordered: "Quickly summon Yide to see me!"

  In an instant, Zhang Fei stepped forward with his fists clasped together in respect, "Greetings, elder brother!"

  Liu Bei instructed him: "Third brother, you can lead a thousand cavalrymen to rush to Ye County quickly, and set fire to the grain stored by Cao's army in Ye County. Then go south and pretend to attack Wan City, making a loud noise, hurry up!"

  "Don't worry, big brother, I'm leaving right away!"

  Liu Bei himself had only 300 cavalrymen, and in the past two days, he had successively obtained 700 or 800 war horses from Cao's army, making a total of 1,000 cavalrymen, which became Liu Bei's most elite troops. He handed them over to Zhang Fei to command. Before long, Zhang Fei led the 1,000 cavalrymen out of the north city and rushed towards Ye County in the north.

  Liu Bei gazed at Zhang Fei disappearing into the distance, and let out a faint sigh. Whether or not they could defeat Cao's army would be decided in this one move.

  At this time, a shout came from within the city: "Quickly report to the Emperor's uncle, we want to go out of the city!"

  Liu Bei recognized the voice as Liu Hu's, and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly walked down from the city gate, and under the firelight, he saw Liu Hu pulling Deng Wu, along with over a dozen Shu military officers. Liu Hu's face was filled with anger as he shouted at the soldiers blocking their way: "Ask the Imperial Uncle to come over!"

  Liu Bei stepped forward and asked: "What's going on?"

  Liu Hu went to practice martial arts with Wei Yan in the afternoon, and Liu Xuan left without his knowledge. When he returned, he only knew that Liu Xuan had taken a step ahead, which made Liu Hu very dissatisfied. Although Deng Wu repeatedly explained that the military marquis was doing it for his own good, Liu Hu's temper flared up, and he could have kicked a hole in the sky.

  Yu heard that Cao's army was marching south, Liu Hu became even more frantic, he shouted loudly: "Liu Bei, quickly open the city gate and let us out!"

  The guards beside Liu Bei were enraged when they heard this guy calling out their lord's name, and immediately drew their swords in anger. Liu Bei hastily waved his hand to stop them, and stepped forward to advise sincerely: "General Hu, don't worry, General Jing will be arriving with the cavalry from the south within half an hour, there won't be any danger. On the other hand, going out now would easily lead to running into Cao's army, think thrice!"

  Deng Wu also advised: "The young master has been gone for a whole and a half hours, he must have arrived at the military camp, if there is any danger, he will definitely send someone to ask for help, so nothing will happen!"

  In Xiangyang City, there is a common saying that goes like this: "Rather provoke Liu Bei's displeasure than stir up Liu Bao's anger." This means that it's better to offend Liu Bei than to provoke the wrath of Liu Bao. Liu Bao was usually very good-tempered and honest, but once he got angry, no one in Xiangyang City could rest easy.

  "You idiot!"

  Liu Hu grabbed Deng Wu's collar with one hand and roared: "You dare to say another word, I'll twist your head off!"

  Deng Wu had no choice but to say to Liu Bei: "Imperial Uncle, please open the city gate and let us out."

  Liu Bei was somewhat embarrassed, after all Liu Hu was also the nephew of Liu Biao. If something went wrong, he would not be able to explain himself either. He did not answer for the time being.

  Liu Hu was furious and unstoppable, he threw down Deng Wu, picked up a large iron club and rushed towards the city gate. In an instant, a loud banging sound came from the city gate, and a soldier rushed to report: "General Zuo, Tiger Gongzi is smashing the city gate, the city gate can't hold on!"

  Liu Bei's heart was also slightly moved to anger, too presumptuous, daring to smash his own city gate. He coldly said: "Since you must leave, I won't stop you, go out the south gate!"

  Liu Bei immediately ordered, "Prepare to open the south city gate and let them out!"

  One quarter of an hour later, Deng Wu and Liu Hu led more than a thousand Jingzhou soldiers to leave Xinye County and rush southward.

  At this time, Zhao Yun stepped forward and knelt down on both knees, "Zhao Yun begs the lord for one thing."

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  On the hill, Liu Jue and the cavalrymen all dismounted, sat under several large trees to rest and recover their strength. They had no defensive weapons, over a hundred people, each with only one bow and one quiver of arrows, followed by war knives and long spears. If Cao's army launched a major attack, they would soon be annihilated.

  "General Wen, will General Wen come to our rescue?" a worried lieutenant asked.

  Liu Jue shook his head, "I don't want him to come and rescue us, this is exactly the purpose of Cao's army. As long as the reinforcement troops leave the camp, they will be ambushed by Cao's army halfway."

  "But what can we do?" asked another of the Berus.

  Liu Jing gazed at the dense flames at the foot of the mountain, pondered for a moment and said: "First, let's recover our spirits and wait for an opportunity to break out!"

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  Xiahou Dun hastily walked into a large tent and urgently said, "I just received news that a cavalry of Liu Bei's has gone north. Could they be planning to launch a surprise attack on Wan City?"

  Jia Xu smiled and said: "General, don't worry. Although Yu Jin is injured, with him holding down Wan City, Liu Bei's army will gain no advantage and can only return without success."

  Xiahou Dun's eyebrows were tightly locked, he had dealt with Liu Bei for many years and deeply knew that Liu Bei was a treacherous person. He sent troops to the north, not necessarily to attack Wan City.

  "What if it's going to raid Yexian?"

  Jia Yu sank into thought for a moment, and this was possible. He immediately said: "Quickly order someone to ride a fast horse to rush to Ye County and order the defending army to be on guard."

  It had to be done this way. Xiahou Dun immediately dispatched two of his personal soldiers, one to Wan City and the other to Ye County, ordering them to arrive before Liu Bei's cavalry.

  Xiahou Dun had been puzzled about the siege of Liu Jue for some time, so he asked: "Sir, why don't we directly attack Xinye City and let Liu Bei ask Liu Biao for help? This way, we can besiege the city and intercept reinforcements, eliminating the Jingzhou army while also capturing Xinye. Wouldn't that be a double gain?"

  Jia Xu stroked his beard and smiled, "Looking at Liu Jing's attitude, he is just pretending to support Liu Bei, but in fact, he may be hoping to use our hands to get rid of Liu Bei and eliminate the thorn in his side."

  Xiahou Dun was shocked, "If so, why did he want to welcome Liu Bei into Jingzhou?"

  "General Xiahou, what Liu Jingyuan wants is fame. Liu Bei has the reputation of being a hero of the world, and he's now at the end of his road. By bringing him into Jingzhou, he can make Liu Biao famous throughout the land, which is what he desires most. But Liu Bei is a powerful warlord, and Liu Jingyuan knows this all too well. Since he has already invited a wolf into his home, he must think of a way to get rid of it without harming his reputation. How can he do that? By using our hands to eliminate Liu Bei, isn't that just divine justice?"

  Xiahou Dun nodded slowly, so that's how it is. He sank into thought for a moment before speaking again: "Since Liu Biao has no intention of rescuing Liu Bei, then we don't need to bother with them. Let's attack Xinye directly."

  Jia Xu shook his head, "This is the intention of the Prime Minister, not only to get rid of Liu Bei, but also to stab Liu Jing at the same time. Sheng severely, forcing him to transfer the troops from Jiangxia to Xiangyang."

  Xiahou Dun suddenly came to his senses. At this time, a soldier walked into the big tent, knelt down and saluted, "See Military Advisor!"

  This soldier was originally one of Liu Bei's personal guards. After being captured in Runan, he defected to Cao's army and was very familiar with the situation within Liu Bei's military.

  Jia Xu handed him a forged letter from Liu Bei and repeatedly instructed: "Remember, don't mention that Lord Xun is surrounded at first. You are the reinforcement troops sent by Liu Bei, just say that Xin Ye is in urgent need of rescue, please ask the Jingzhou army to come and save it. When Wen Ping asks about Lord Xun, you can say that Lord Xun has already left the city at dusk and is no longer in Xin Ye."

  Xiahou Dun couldn't help but ask, "If we don't tell Wen Ping that Lord Guan is surrounded, will he think he's gone straight back to Xiangyang?"

  Jia Xian smiled slightly: "You're wrong, with Wen Pin's cautiousness, no matter what he will send scouts to investigate the situation, let them discover that Prince Jing is surrounded, and Liu Bei is in a precarious position, he can only dispatch troops to rescue."

  "So that's how it is!"

  Xiahou Dun secretly admired him, this Jia Xu was indeed a brilliant man, who had a deep understanding of human nature.

  Jia Yu ordered a few more words to the soldiers, and the soldiers left the camp.

  At this time, Jia Xu said coldly: "Liu Cong will definitely break through and run away. General, you can't let anyone go, then capture Liu Cong alive and hand him over to the prime minister for disposal."

  Xiahou Dun scratched his head, he didn't react in time, how come they weren't surrounded again.

  "General Xiahou, as long as we make Wen Ping believe that Liu Jue has been surrounded by us, we will have achieved our goal. As for Liu Jue himself, he is actually no longer important. Leaving him on the mountain will give him a lot of time to think, and if he sends someone to break through and report to Wen Ping, won't Wen Ping be prepared?"

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  On the hill, the cavalrymen rested enough, mounted their horses, and prepared to set off. They couldn't delay any longer, as Liu Jiong had already made preparations to break through. He noticed that the torches in the northwest corner were slightly weaker, and there were fewer soldiers on this side. Breaking out from this side should give them a chance.

  "General!"

  A certain Bo Zhang suggested: "Why not have me lead fifty brothers to charge out of the encirclement from the northeast, attract the Cao army, and then General Hou can break out of the encirclement from the southwest, it will be easier that way."

  Liu Xuan shook his head, "That way you will all be annihilated, not a single one of you will survive. If everyone charges out together, at least more than half of the brothers can come out alive."

  Bo Zhang wanted to persuade Liu Xuan again, but Liu Xuan waved his hand and stopped him, "Don't say any more, my mind is made up!"

  Bo Zhang lowered his head and didn't speak again. Liu Xuan said to the crowd, "Everyone remember, no matter who rushes out, immediately tell General Wen that Cao's army is using us as bait, ambushing the Jingzhou army halfway, and let General Wen not be deceived!"

  A loud shout came from a veteran: "We are willing to fight to the death against Cao's army, let the young master break through!"

  Liu Xuan shook his head and said slowly to the crowd, "Brothers, I, Liu Xuan, am not a coward who fears death. This time we break through together, sharing life and death, and going through thick and thin!"

  The numerous cavalrymen were deeply moved, and they all bowed their heads in unison, "We wish to follow Master Jing!"

  Liu Jiong drew out his battle knife and shouted loudly, "Brothers, follow me in a charge!"

  He galloped down the slope towards the foot of the mountain, with a hundred cavalrymen following closely behind him, waving their long spears and charging fiercely at the foot of the mountain where Cao's army was stationed.