My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 206 If you don't give up, I will submit to you.

After listening to Guo Jia's additional plan, Cao Cao's eyes finally lit up:
"Great idea! Since I have already acknowledged Liu Bei's theft of Xia Pi, why not do this favor to the end and use Liu Bei's cooperation in exchange for our army's quick capture of Pengcheng and Lu Bu to avoid any more trouble!"

Cao Cao knew very well that doing so would definitely bring Liu Bei more benefits, but those were only at the level of false reputation. He would definitely not give up an inch on the distribution of territory and more practical interests.

Of course Cao Cao didn't want to give Liu Bei anything, but now Xiakou was captured first and Pengcheng had not been captured yet, he really didn't want to create any more trouble.

After Cao Cao praised Liu Bei, he soon realized another problem, that is, how to give Liu Bei a false reputation so that Liu Bei would submit and cooperate, and ensure that no real benefits would be given up.

So he asked directly: "Liu Bei is already the General of Chariots and Cavalry and the Marquis of Wuchang. I cannot allow Liu Bei any chance of promotion. But if we admit that his actions were authorized by the court and that he was a friendly army suppressing the rebellion, it would be unreasonable not to give him any reward after the war is over. Feng Xiao, what do you think should be done about this matter?"

Guo Jia thought about it and suggested in a measured tone: "Your Excellency is worried that Liu Bei is already in a high position and difficult to control. This is indeed a far-sighted plan. Why don't we pretend that the attack on Xiapi and Donghai has nothing to do with Liu Bei, but is just a temporary idea by Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun.

After Zhao Yun has tied up Zhang Liao to undermine the morale of the Pengcheng defenders, before the city is captured, Zhao Yun can be promoted to a general or some other general title to increase his rank. You can also give Zhuge Liang a slight increase in rank without adjusting Liu Bei's official position and rank.

In this way, there would be no need to adjust Liu Bei's official position and title. It might even cause internal instability in Liu Bei due to the strong branches and weak trunk and the Zhuge family's inability to get rid of it.

Moreover, when Ming Gong issued an order in the name of the court to request cooperation, he could emphasize that they were only asked to come to help temporarily. As long as Zhao Yun hit Gao Shun's morale and let all the generals in the city know that Xia Pi and Donghai had fallen, it would be enough.

When the time comes to capture the city, Zhao Yun can be transferred back and not allowed to participate in the general attack, in case he enters the city first or captures an important general of Lu Bu's army, which would give Liu Bei more benefits for nothing. "

Cao Cao stroked his beard and hesitated for a while: "Let them come when they want, let them go when they want, and send them away when they are done with. Will Liu Bei's civil and military officials accept my order?"

Guo Jia: "It depends on what kind of official positions and titles you can offer to Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun. And although Liu Bei himself cannot get an official position and title in this cooperation, if he does not accept the imperial decree, then his occupation of the entire Xia Pi and half of Donghai County will not be recognized by the court.

If Liu Bei understood the situation, he would not be so greedy. After all, Liu Bei did not have to pay much to let Zhao Yun take the captives for a tour. This fame and benefit was simply picked up for free, what else did he want?

He should know that if he wants more, the court will not cooperate with him. At worst, he can slowly attack Pengcheng. It's not like he can't take it. It's just that more people will die and the longer the night, the more trouble he will have. "

Cao Cao finally sorted out the details of Guo Jia's plan and felt that this deal was feasible. He believed that Liu Bei now had some wise men under his command, and Liu Bei's advisers would surely be able to help him analyze Guo Jia's analysis.

Sometimes it is easier for smart people to negotiate with each other because both sides know that the other party has a bottom line and that it is impossible to succeed by asking for an exorbitant price. Therefore, they will not make many unnecessary attempts or put forward any fantastic conditions.

Cao Cao immediately ordered Guo Jia to carry out the plan, and just a few days later, an imperial edict in the name of the court was sent to Xia Pi City.

On the other hand, Zang Ba, who had just surrendered to Cao, was also forced to come to Pengcheng in person so that he could show up and undermine the morale of Lu Bu's army.

Zang Ba was originally afraid of being detained by Cao Cao and wanted to find an excuse not to come.

But Cao Cao solemnly swore that as long as Zang Ba was willing to come and complete this mission, he could guarantee that Zang Ba would continue to be the local emperor in the counties west of Yi in Langya County. And as long as Cao Cao was there, this promise would be valid. In the future, when the court needed to use troops, Zang Ba only needed to send a group of people to help in the battle, and he would not be deprived of his right to govern the local area.

Considering that Cao Cao's oath was still quite credible, Zang Ba thought about it again and again and finally did as he was told.

……

On the other hand, Cao Cao followed Guo Jia's advice and sent the imperial edict from Pengcheng to Liu Bei in Xia Pi, and it was delivered in just two or three days.

When Liu Bei received this order, he had just returned to Xia Pi City not long ago. In the past few days, he was chatting with Kong Ming about the outlook and strategy of the world situation, and there was no urgent matter.

Zhuge Jin has not yet arrived in Xia Pi and is now probably in the Hefei area.

When Liu Bei saw Cao Cao's conditions, he immediately thought that this was a good idea and that he could get some benefits for free, so he discussed it with Zhuge Liang as soon as possible.

"Look, Kong Ming! Cao Cao is hinting that he wants to promote you and Zilong. As long as Zilong is willing to bring the captive Zhang Liao to the outside of Pengcheng and show his face, he doesn't have to hand him over to Cao's army. He can just let Lu Bu's army on the city wall recognize his identity and make them believe that everything except Pengcheng has been lost. Then the deal will be done."

Zhuge Liang was a man who could guess Cao Cao and Guo Jia's plan as soon as he heard it, and reminded Liu Bei seriously:

"My lord, please don't expect too much from Cao Cao's proposal. Cao Cao just wants us to make a wasted trip and give us some empty reputation. As for the territory of Pengcheng counties, he will not give us any of it. The civil and military talents of Lu Bu's army in Pengcheng and the captives who will be forced to land in the future will not give us any chance to intervene."

Liu Bei: "So what? At least Cao Cao has recognized our occupation of the entire Xiapi and half of Donghai County, and acknowledged that our actions were authorized by the court and that we are friendly forces. In the future, our occupation of Xiapi is set in stone. I am satisfied with this benefit, it was free."

Zhuge Liang: "Cao Cao only promoted me and Zilong, but did not mention the lord at all. He also deliberately believed that it was Zilong and I who came up with the idea of rescuing Yuanlong and it had nothing to do with the lord. He just wanted to alienate him..."

Liu Bei: "Let him sow discord. I would love for you and Zilong to be promoted. I am already General of Chariots and Cavalry and Governor of Yangzhou. What else can I get promoted for? Even Cao Cao wants to promote me, but I feel guilty and dare not accept it."

Zhuge Liang also knew that Liu Bei would not care, but he still had to remind him.

If you don't say something right away, it will be seen as "for the sake of promotion, you don't fully warn of other risks." If Liu Bei doesn't care after you say it, that's another matter.

After Liu Bei made the decision, he quickly called Zhao Yun and told him what to do.

As expected, Zhao Yun was a little embarrassed and expressed his unwillingness to do such empty talk to seek an official position.

But Liu Bei told him seriously that all this was also to ensure that their occupation of Xia Pi would be recognized by the court, not just for his personal official title, so Zhao Yun agreed.

Zhao Yun only made a final suggestion: "My lord, Zhang Liao was injured by me that day, and he has not fully recovered yet. With me watching him, there is no need to tie him up and take him to Pengcheng. Just don't give him weapons and let him ride a low-quality packhorse, and I can keep an eye on him."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "You can make your own judgment on these details without asking for instructions. Not tying up Zhang Liao is also beneficial, as it will make it easier to persuade him to surrender after Lu Bu is defeated in the future.

Anyway, as long as Cao Cao doesn't want to annex your troops, you should cooperate as Cao Cao says. He probably won't let you really attack the city. If he doesn't need your help, just come back immediately."

Zhao Yun took note of the instructions, went back immediately to make preparations, assembled two thousand cavalrymen, and headed for Pengcheng.

……

A few days later, at the gates of Pengcheng.

Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao appeared outside the city wall as scheduled.

Zhao Yun asked his scolds to shout and curse loudly, informing the defenders on the city wall of Chen Deng's rebellion. He and Zhuge Liang had already rescued Chen Deng and captured the territory behind Lu Bu.

Then he pointed his spear at Zhang Liao, who was being controlled by his trusted cavalrymen, and announced loudly: "I have captured Zhang Liao, the defender of Xia Pi. I am sure you all recognize him! Do not be stubborn! Submit to the court as soon as possible, and there may be a way out. The general of the chariot and cavalry will naturally write a letter to plead for you!"

Zhang Liao did not utter a word during the whole process. After all, Lu Bu was not dead yet, and he felt that it was somewhat despicable to actively persuade his comrades to surrender. But his face, armor, and mount were recognized by many Lu Bu soldiers on the city wall even if they were a hundred steps away in broad daylight.

In addition, Zang Ba had already been here a day ago, and he had personally cursed and persuaded the enemy to surrender. With that preparation, most of Lu Bu's troops believed it was true, and their morale immediately plummeted.

That afternoon, even Gao Shun was helpless and went straight into Lu Bu's mansion to tell him the bad news.

The attendant at Lu Bu's mansion tried to stop Gao Shun when he saw him, saying that he needed to make a report and asked Gao Shun to wait.

If it were usual, Gao Shun would have been able to wait with his caution. But now the situation was urgent, and seeing that Lu Bu was still half dead and waiting to die, Gao Shun was also angry, and after waiting for a while, he became impatient and rushed in.

Lu Bu's attendant wanted to stop them, but Gao Shun pushed him to the ground and rushed into the inner courtyard. Then he saw Lu Bu, Yan Shi and Diao Chan drinking and having fun, with their left and right hands not being able to keep still and groping around randomly.

Gao Shun was furious: "General, your death is imminent. Do you intend to live a life of drunkenness and debauchery until you are killed by Cao? The army is already demoralized. Even I am powerless to save the situation! Please make the decision, General!"

Lu Bu was shocked, but still a little dazed: "My death is approaching? Why today?" Gao Shun looked at his cowardly appearance, grabbed a bronze mirror from the table next to him and threw it in front of Lu Bu.

Lu Bu subconsciously picked it up and took a look, then he sobered up a little: "I have been harmed by alcohol and sex! From today on, I will give up alcohol and sex!"

Gao Shun then told Lu Bu that he had seen Zhang Liao being captured by Zhao Yun with his own eyes, and he was sure that except for Pengcheng, all other territories had fallen, and there was no value in defending them.

Either break out or surrender.

"Break out? Where can I break out to? Liu Bei has already joined forces with Chen Deng! The thief Cao wants to kill me, can I still go to Qingzhou to join Yuan Shao? Yuan Shao also sent assassins to kill me in the past!" After thinking about it, Lu Bu felt furious.

Gao Shun: "If we don't break out, we will die!"

Lu Bu scratched his head frantically. "Forget it, forget it. I will try to break out of the north gate and go to Yuan Shao in Qingzhou! But I will wait another three to five days to recuperate and reorganize the cavalry. I have neglected my martial arts in the past few days!"

Lu Bu also knew that with his current energy level, it would be impossible for him to suddenly decide to break out. He had to restrain himself for a few days to recover from the damage caused by alcohol and sex.

Gao Shun had no choice but to let him go.

……

However, although Lu Bu planned well, time was not on his side.

Gao Shun notified his subordinates to break out in three days.

When Hou Cheng, Wei Xu and Song Xian learned about it, they immediately gathered together to discuss it in secret.

Hou Cheng was the first to complain: "Lü Bu is at the end of his rope. He listens to his wives and concubines instead of his generals. Now he is still indulging in wine and women instead of caring about defense. Since we have decided to break out, it is a life-or-death struggle. We have to wait a few days for him to recover his strength. I don't know if he can hold out until that day when the morale of the army is so low!"

Song Xian also echoed bitterly: "That's right! Even if we break out immediately, we will most likely die. We have been besieged for more than four months, and our horses are very tired. Lu Bu may be a skilled warrior, and he has the Red Hare, but what should we do? Who would still work for such a reckless person!"

Seeing that everyone had spoken out, Wei Xu also encouraged them: "Since this is the case...Does Brother Hou have any good ideas?"

Hou Cheng glanced around and said, "Why don't we find a way out for ourselves? We don't want to tie up Lü Bu and offer him to the emperor, or to perform any great deeds. We just need to find a good opportunity to offer a city gate and let Cao's army enter the city."

The three generals had made their plan, and that night Hou Cheng was sent as a representative to secretly leave the city to contact Cao's army.

……

Cao Cao, upon hearing that a traitor from Lü Bu's army had surrendered, initially thought it was a fraud. But when he heard that it was Hou Cheng who had surrendered by falling from the city wall himself, he realized that his psychological strategy had worked.

Cao Cao immediately found a few generals who knew Hou Cheng and met him together. After confirming his identity, he asked:

"Pengcheng is also a strategic location. There are embankments at each gate of the city. I don't know how you can guarantee that you won't trick our troops into entering the city and then use the sluice gates to block our way back!"

Hou Cheng said sincerely: "Why do you doubt me, my lord? I came here to serve as a hostage for Song Xian and Wei Xu. If there is a trick, how dare I stay here? Besides, since my lord is worried about the gate of the city wall, you can enter the city with light cavalry first, and after confirming that you have captured the inner and outer gates of the city wall, the main force can enter the city again!"

In fact, Cao Cao also knew that if Hou Ben himself was willing to stay, it would not be a false surrender.

Unfortunately, he was suspicious by nature, and instinctively wanted to trick the other party. Seeing that his trick failed, Cao Cao pretended to smile and said, "Since you are so loyal and willing to serve as a hostage and facilitate this surrender, when the city is captured in the future, your reward will naturally be higher than that of Song Xian and Wei Xu."

Hou Cheng was overjoyed and knelt down to thank him for the reward: "Your Excellency is clear about rewards and punishments. I only regret that I came too late!"

Cao Cao finally made the decision: "In this case, I will send troops into the city at midnight tomorrow. Can you find a way to contact Wei Xu and Song Xian and arrange a time tomorrow?"

Hou Cheng was stunned. "Why not go tonight? I am afraid that the night will be long and there will be many troubles. If Lu Bu finds out that I have escaped during the day, he will be more alert. What should I do? Song Xian and I have agreed to use the lantern as a signal."

Cao Cao: "You said we would start the battle tonight? That's not impossible. Let's postpone it to the fifth watch. We can start the battle before daybreak. Lü Bu should still be asleep by then."

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he waved his hand firmly to stop Hou Cheng from saying anything more, and Hou Cheng had no choice but to obey.

It turned out that Cao Cao insisted on delaying for a few hours, so he naturally had to ask Zhao Yun in the east of the city to withdraw his troops first, and then let Xiahou Yuan divide his troops to block the east gate of Pengcheng.

Now Pengcheng can be captured by forced landing without violent attack. How can Zhao Yun possibly gain any advantage?
However, if they were so anxious to let Zhao Yun go, they would have to make more concessions in terms of official position and title.

Cao Cao asked Guo Jia to help draft an edict overnight, and then used the relevant seals carried by the army to send it to Zhao Yun's camp.

The gist of it is simply this: confirming that Liu Bei's capture of Xia Pi and Donghai was authorized by the imperial court, and formally recognizing the legitimacy of the territory he occupied.

At the same time, Zhao Yun was granted the post of governor of Xia Pi, and his military rank was promoted from Lieutenant General of the Guard to Lieutenant General, and he was granted the title of Marquis of Zhending Ting.

Zhuge Liang, the governor of Jiangxia, retained his official position but was granted the title of Marquis of Duting - this was also the first time that Zhuge Liang was mentioned in an imperial decree and granted a title.

As for the civil and military officials who had made outstanding contributions in pacifying Huang Zu a few months ago under Liu Bei's army, they did not receive any additional rewards, because the attack on Huang Zu was considered an "advance" of merit. Cao Cao had already been promoted before Liu Bei attacked, so he was rewarded for his merits.

Zhao Yun remembered his lord's care and knew that the most important thing about this decree was to recognize Liu Bei's army's occupation of the two counties of Xuzhou, so he accepted it directly and withdrew his troops that night.

Cao Cao is a smart man. It is impossible to take advantage of him as the conditions are not yet ripe.

Xiahou Yuan's army immediately took over the camp vacated by Zhao Yun and surrounded the east gate of Pengcheng again.

At five o'clock in the morning, Hou Cheng quietly led Cao's army to the west gate of Pengcheng and raised the lantern signal agreed with Wei Xu and Song Xian.

Upon seeing this, Wei Xu and Song Xian confirmed that it was correct and opened the city gates as agreed, opening both the inner and outer gates of the city wall, allowing the main force of Cao's army to enter the city.

By the time Gao Shun realized something was wrong, it was too late. Gao Shun could only rush to the governor's office and report to Lu Bu: "Where is the general? It's urgent! Wei Xu and Song Xian have surrendered the city gates, and Cao's army has entered from the west! Should we take our personal guards and break out from the east gate immediately?"

Lü Bu was also a little confused when he heard the bad news. Fortunately, he had restrained himself for two days and his mental reaction speed had recovered a little. He quickly ordered: "Those of the personal guards who can still gather, go with me to the east gate! Go up to the tower to defend it!"

Gao Shun was stunned, wondering what was the point of guarding the tower at this time. Did he have to wait and see and choose a route to break out? But he had no choice but to go to the east gate first.

It took only a cup of tea for Lu Bu and Gao Shun to reach the east gate, while Cao's army had already rushed into the city and controlled half of the city.

Lü Bu climbed up the tower and looked around. He saw that there were only a few dozen cavalrymen around him, and the rest were infantrymen. There was no way for him to break out. The camp outside the east gate was brightly lit and stretched out in a strict order. It was unknown how many soldiers there were.

Lu Bu was already timid, and Gao Shun urged him again and again, but he still couldn't make up his mind. Seeing that Cao's army was getting closer and closer, Lu Bu gritted his teeth and told Gao Shun: "We will hold this tower! Negotiate with Cao Cao and express our willingness to surrender!"

"We were unable to surrender at first because Gongtai's crime was so serious that we knew Cao Cao would not pardon us, so we insisted. Now that we are sure that Wenyuan has been captured and Gongtai has been killed, Cao Cao may have calmed down and may be willing to let me live!"

Gao Shun was stunned, but didn't know how to refute.

While delaying, Cao's army had already reached the foot of the East City Tower. Lu Bu Ming's men fired a intensive stream of arrows, temporarily forcing Cao's charge back. Then, taking advantage of the dawn, he raised the flag of surrender and asked to negotiate terms with Cao Cao:
"Why did Lord Cao force me to this point? The one you are worried about is Bu. Bu has surrendered and I am willing to submit to you, Lord!"

(End of this chapter)