NOVPUB"Charge!" Guan Yu roared, leading his School Sabre Bearers in a desperate rush forward. In less than one quarter hour, the city gate was breached. Then, over ten thousand soldiers charged in, heading straight for the residence of the Prefectural Governor.
Watching the moment the city gate was opened, Liu Ye broke into a cold sweat. He finally understood why Chen Xi insisted on political education for the soldiers every day. It wasn’t about ensuring strict compliance with orders, but at the very least, the troops had to maintain order when it mattered most!
Just a few million coins thrown down could cause utter chaos at the gatehouse—especially under such low morale, a few million coins were enough to seize the city...
[I must use this as a negative example when I get back!] Liu Ye wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly took out paper and pen to start taking notes.
Liu Ye estimated that with the previous morale, even Chen Ji would probably not be able to suppress the soldiers’ desire to plunder the money. Chen Ji might be able to deter the group with his sword, but as for any hidden dangers that might arise, who would care at that moment?
Upon hearing that the city had fallen, Chen Ji didn’t think twice before fleeing. The power Guan Yu exhibited amidst the chaos of battle was nothing short of astonishing. Chen Ji felt that if he had engaged, he would likely have been easily dispatched. As for how to face Yuan Shu after escaping, that was no longer Chen Ji’s concern!
On the other side, Jia Xu watched Qiao County carefully, and to be honest, Jia Xu was not very supportive of attacking Qiao County. After all, they had already reaped plenty of benefits, carting back load after load of money, grain, or craftsmen, stretching continuously back to Mount Tai. Jia Xu estimated that those resources should be enough for Qingzhou to squander until it was rebuilt. There was no need to continue wasting manpower on Qiao County.
For this reason, Jia Xu’s strategy was to encircle but not attack and to send people to collect funds, grain, craftsmen, and other materials to be transported to Mount Tai.
After Jia Xu had explained all matters, Liu Bei stated that whether or not to attack was not important. Since Jia Wenhe, as the Strategist of the Eastern Route Army, was in charge, the entire matter was handed over to Jia Xu. With this comment, Jia Xu took Liu Bei to Pei County to visit the old Liu Family home from four hundred years ago.
The over thirty thousand troops of the Eastern Route Army, taking advantage of the foggy night, gradually withdrew to attack the surrounding counties, leaving only Zhang Fei and Jia Xu leading three thousand men to guard the huge empty military camp, issuing challenges every day at the city below.
Zhang Fei was thick-skinned and not at all concerned with such dangerous activities, even finding joy in them. He led a thousand men to challenge the troops at the base of Qiao County every day, knowing full well that Zhang Xun would not be foolish enough to come down and face Zhang Fei in single combat.
So, after more than ten days, one day when Zhang Xun was inspecting the city defenses, he incidentally saw birds land in the enemy’s camp, which felt odd to him, but he couldn’t pinpoint the problem. He asked those around him, but none could answer; helplessly, Zhang Xun had to scratch his head and leave.
That night at midnight, a person carrying the Imperial Seal and a severely wounded letter from Hao County arrived at the city wall. Then, mustering all his strength, he handed over the Imperial Seal and letter to the defending soldiers and was hoisted up into Qiao County, bringing Zhang Xun the latest news. However, since the county commander arrived mortally wounded, Zhang Xun did everything he could to save him until dawn, finally stabilizing his condition, intending to enquire about the intelligence.
"What!" Zhang Xun looked at the county commander of Xiao County and roared.
"Xiao County, Feng County, Pei County, Zan County, Zhuyi, Guyang, Xiao County, Hong County—all these counties have already fallen," the county commander struggled to speak while clutching his wounds, even starting to cough up blood.
"How is that possible? Zhang Yide comes to challenge at the base of my Qiao County city every day, and the entire camp carries out its drills every day... drills..." Zhang Xun couldn’t continue. He suddenly recalled the scene he had witnessed that day of the birds landing in the camp, and with this additional piece of information, he realized—he had never seen anyone come out from the rear camp!
"Zhang Yide, I will kill you!" Zhang Xun roared, "Get the army in order, I want Zhang Fei’s dog head on a platter!"
On the other hand, Zhang Fei looked on curiously as Jia Xu scattered some grain around the rear camp each day, and to his surprise, some dim-witted birds even landed on Jia Xu’s body.
Though Zhang Fei greatly respected civil officials, his regard for lower-ranked soldiers was customary, so he held immense respect for this highly capable civil official.
"Let’s go, Yide, get ready to organize the troops for battle. Qiaoo County is about to fall," Jia Xu said casually as he tossed the handful of grain he was holding and turned towards the front camp, "Remember, when Zhang Xun comes out, you just turn and run."
"Huh?" Zhang Fei scratched his head, looking confused, "What’s all this, what’s going on?"
"That, Strategist Jia, why would Zhang Xun come out? I’ve taunted him for so long, and he never showed up. Why would he come out now?" Zhang Fei asked, utterly baffled.
"Because he’s relatively smart, unfortunately, just a bookworm. It’s all about using his strategy against him. Sometimes knowing only a little is easier to deal with than knowing nothing at all. Understanding one military book or even just one strategy can make it very simple to become an excellent commander-in-chief, as long as there are no major flaws in one’s own capabilities," Jia Xu explained calmly as he led Zhang Fei, clearly holding the winning cards.
Jia Xu was well aware that as one of Yuan Shu’s most capable generals, Zhang Xun had to demonstrate something different from others in this battle, and now an opportunity had presented itself after being suppressed for so long. If he didn’t seize it, what difference would there be between him and the common commanders who had failed before?
Most importantly, the fact that birds were entering the camp, recorded in all military books, indicated an empty camp. After all, birds naturally seek fortune and avoid danger, their perception of danger is very sharp, and they definitely wouldn’t land in an active camp where training is taking place everywhere. This was the simplest corroborating evidence.
Alas, birds are just birds. As long as all soldiers hide inside the military camp and don’t go out while someone scatters grain within, these simple-minded little birds will naturally create the situation described in the military books as an empty camp.
Liu Bei’s men had finished fighting and returned, all huddled in the camp, and by the way, even if there were only three thousand people, would a messenger just waltz in? There is a type of spy called a Death Spy, though not dead yet...
A life bought for a thousand string of coins, just that simple. The information was all true, only two days behind schedule. The seal ribbon, the wound, everything was real, but it seemed the possibility of him not dying was quite high; probably from now on, the Death Spy’s entire family could live comfortably.
Jia Xu walked out with a smile, unhurried, and even a conspiracy would proceed step by step under his capabilities, just as now when Jia Xu led Zhang Fei just stepping out of the rear camp, Zhang Xun appeared on the city wall, drawing his bow and shooting arrows, his whole body’s Inner Qi surging as he shot at Liu Bei’s rear camp with all his might.
Without the power of Inner Qi Manifestation enhancing the Out-of-Body physical force of the arrows, they had traveled only a few hundred meters before starting to fall. However, with a parabolic trajectory, they could just barely reach the rear camp. As soon as the arrows hit the ground, dozens of birds took flight into the sky, and at that moment, Zhang Xun angrily threw down his bow and smashed his fist against the city wall.
"Assemble the troops!" Zhang Xun descended the city wall with an angry face, directing his officers, swearing that this time he would definitely take off Zhang Fei’s dog head. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to our starting point (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com).
