My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 206: Dominate the three states and unify the south! What kind of general is this? Let the young emperor abdicate and become the emperor directly!
Liu Ye fell off his horse with a scream, half of his arm had been cut off and blood was gushing out.

Cao Ren, filled with anger, was not satisfied and wanted to finish off Liu Ye by striking.

"General Zhendong, you've fallen into Liu Bei's trap of alienating us!"

"I, Liu Ye, swear on my life that I will never betray the Prime Minister. This must be Xiao He's brilliant plan, who saw through my false surrender!"

Liu Ye, lying on the ground, endured the severe pain and raised his head and shouted to defend himself.

Cao Ren's long sword, which was raised in the air, suddenly stopped.

Zhang Liao also blocked it with his sword and said anxiously:

"General Zhendong, calm down. Liu Ziyang is absolutely right. Xiao He is completely helpless. He must have seen through our plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"If Liu Ziyang really had connections with Liu Bei, why would he risk being killed by you, General Zhendong, and follow us to break out?"

Cao Ren was startled and suddenly awakened by Zhang Liao. He raised his head and shot towards Liu Bei in front of him.

Zhang Liao was poured a bucket of cold water, and the rage that was rushing to his head was finally extinguished. He realized that he had wrongly injured Liu Ye.

But the person has been killed and the matter is irreversible. What's the point of admitting that I have been tricked now?

"I just don't believe that Xiao He could have such a thorough plan. He must have been secretly communicating with Liu Bei!"

Cao Ren was stubborn but didn't kill him again. He just snorted coldly:

"Today, because Wenyuan pleaded for you, I will not kill you for now. I will leave you to fend for yourself."

After saying this, Cao Ren pointed his sword westward and shouted:
"The Big Ear Bandits have a large force in the north. All troops, listen to the order, change course to the west and break out towards Yangquan—"

Cao Ren turned his horse and headed west.

More than 20,000 frightened Cao's soldiers, as if they had grabbed their last straw, turned around and headed west.

Liu Ye, with a broken arm, was abandoned on the ground, and no one cared whether he was alive or dead.

Liu Ye lay on his back on the muddy ground, gazing at the vast night sky, his painful face twisted with endless regret.

"Could it be that I was really wrong?"

"The Han Dynasty is not yet doomed. Is Liu Bei truly the second Emperor Guangwu of our Liu family? He was born to meet the needs of the times and is destined to turn the tide and revive our Han Dynasty?"

"Am I wrong? Did I really make the wrong choice..."

Liu Jun in front.

Seeing that Cao's army had changed course and was heading west, Liu Bei drew his sword and decisively shouted:
"All troops, go out and kill the bandits!"

The order was given and the war drums sounded.

Behind him, 30,000 soldiers of Liu's army broke through the formation and rushed towards Cao's army like a tide.

Liu's army appeared on both wings, like tigers and wolves, and attacked the 20,000 Cao troops from all directions.

A battle of interception begins.

Screams, neighing of horses, and the sound of weapons clashing resounded throughout the world.

In an instant, Cao's army was broken into several sections and was surrounded and killed.

Ghosts howled and wolves howled, corpses were everywhere...

Cao Ren didn't care about the life and death of his 20,000 soldiers. Like a frightened bird, he rushed forward recklessly.

Zhang Liao led 800 Tiger Cavalry and rushed westward, desperately protecting Cao's most powerful general.

Cao Ren was lucky.

Fortunately, although the number of Liu's troops in ambush was large, there were only more than 50,000 people. The advantage of more than twice the number of troops was not enough to surround and kill them.

Fortunately, he still had Zhang Liao, a fierce general from the north, who, relying on the powerful fighting force of his 800 tiger cavalry, carved out a bloody path for him.

Liu's army in front was gradually thinning out and was about to break out of the encirclement.

"You bastard Cao Ren, your Grandpa Zhang is here, where are you going to escape?"

A thunderous roar suddenly rang out, making Cao Ren's scalp numb.

Cao Ren glanced sideways and his face changed drastically with horror.

A fierce and strong general, holding a snake spear in his hand, came towards him diagonally like a black hurricane.

"Zhang...Zhang Fei~~"

Cao Ren exclaimed, his voice trembling.

The person who came was Zhang Fei.

Guan Yu once said, "My brother Zhang Yide is far better than me in martial arts!"
Cao Ren knew very well how powerful Guan Yu's martial arts were.

A man who is stronger than Guan Yu is now targeting him and rushing towards him. Doesn’t he want his life?

Cao Ren panicked.

A series of disastrous defeats and the repeated loss of cities and territories have completely destroyed the self-confidence of Cao's number one general, and he simply does not have the courage to fight Zhang Fei.

In panic, Cao Ren could only shout:
"Zhang Wenyuan, quickly stop Zhang Fei for me, stop him—"

Zhang Liao's heart trembled.

Don’t you have any idea how strong Zhang Fei’s martial arts skills are?

You asked me to stop it, aren't you just driving me to reincarnate?
Military orders are as heavy as a mountain, how can we disobey them?

Zhang Liao gritted his teeth, turned his horse around, and shouted:
"Hu Ben Cavalry, listen to my orders. Follow me to stop the enemy and cover General Zhendong's retreat—"

The few hundred remaining Tiger Guards were determined to follow Zhang Liao through thick and thin, so they had no choice but to follow him, roaring, as they marched towards Zhang Fei.

In an instant, the two streams of soldiers collided.

Although the Tiger Cavalry were brave, they were exhausted after fighting for so long and their ferocity was no longer as strong as before.

In a blink of an eye, hundreds of remaining cavalry were overwhelmed by Liu's army and were surrounded and killed one after another.

"Zhang Wenyuan——"

In the blood mist, Zhang Fei was like a killing god, chopping up the Huben cavalry blocking his way and rushing straight towards Zhang Liao.

Zhang Liao suddenly saw Zhang Fei coming to kill him, frowned, gritted his teeth, spurred his horse and brandished his sword to meet him.

The two riders walked on the bloody road and collided with each other with a loud bang.

Zhang Fei's snake spear was as fast as lightning, carrying the power of thunder and stabbing forward.

The veins in Zhang Liao's arms bulged, and his long sword swung out like a wheel.

Amidst the sound of metal clashing, the snake spear was knocked away by a single blow.

Just as Zhang Liao's blood was fluctuating and he was about to take a breath, Zhang Fei's snake spear, which had been swung away, turned around and slashed down in the air.

Zhang Liao didn't have time to think and quickly raised his sword to block.

"throat!"

Amidst the deafening roar of the sky collapsing, the spear and the knife faced each other in mid-air.

"Zhang Wenyuan, the Cao family is doomed. Why are you still foolishly working for them?"

"Hurry up and surrender to my eldest brother. Just based on your friendship with my second brother, how could my eldest brother treat you unfairly?"

Zhang Fei reduced the force of his spear slightly, trying to persuade Zhang Liao to surrender.

Zhang Liao treated Guan Yu as an elder brother, and his brother Liu Bei also admired Zhang Liao very much, which he naturally knew.

Before the war, Liu Bei specifically instructed his generals to capture Zhang Liao alive and not to harm his life.

Zhang Fei couldn't bring himself to kill Zhang Liao now, so he had to give him a chance to surrender in a decent manner.

Zhang Liao hesitated for a moment, but gritted his teeth and said:

"Brother Yide, I, Zhang Liao, appreciate your kindness, but the Prime Minister has treated me well. How can I betray him?"

After saying this, he roared with all his might, the veins in his arms crackled, and he forcibly blocked Zhang Fei's snake spear.

Then he used all his martial arts skills, and the long sword in his hand turned into a sword shadow in the sky, attacking Zhang Fei like an overwhelming force.

Zhang Fei was furious and cursed:
"You idiot! Everyone has treated you as a discarded pawn, and you still want to fight to the death for the Cao family?"

"I'm going to wake you up today, you idiot!"

Zhang Fei no longer left any room for maneuver. His moves suddenly increased. The snake spear danced like lightning, and the spear style that changed like gods and ghosts instantly enveloped Zhang Liao.

Zhang Liao's martial arts are powerful.

However strong he was, he was no more than Xu Huang and Zhang He. How could he compete with Zhang Fei, a peerless general at the level of the Five Tigers?

What's more, Zhang Fei was at the peak of his martial arts at that time and was the strongest in his life.

Within ten moves, Zhang Liao was completely suppressed.

After twenty moves, he was already in a panic and full of flaws.

After thirty moves, Zhang Fei suddenly roared, and the power of the snake spear in his hand exploded, and the light and shadow in the sky fell like lightning and thunder.

With a sharp sound, Zhang Liao's long sword flew out of his hand, and his body was shocked backward, almost falling off his horse.

When he clamped his grip on the horse's belly and struggled to sit up straight, Zhang Fei's snake spear was already at his neck.

He lost after all.

After a long sigh, Zhang Liao said sadly:

"Brother Yunchang is right. Zhang Yide's martial arts are unparalleled. Unless Marquis Wen is resurrected, no one in the world can defeat him."

"I, Zhang Liao, have lost. Kill me or chop me up, and do it to me."

With Zhang Fei's violent temper, he really wanted to stab him to death with a spear.

After struggling for a long time, he finally suppressed his killing intent and snorted coldly:
"If Military Advisor Bo Wen hadn't told me that you were a talent in the Martial Temple and that I must ask my elder brother to spare your life, I would have stabbed you to death, you fool!"

"Well, you're lucky!"

Zhang Fei retracted his snake spear and knocked Zhang Liao on the shoulder with his backhand, causing him to fall off his horse.

"Tie him up and hand him over to Big Brother for disposal."

The Liu army soldiers who were raiding the battlefield from all sides rushed forward and tied up Zhang Liao.

Zhang Fei, still intent on killing, raised his spear and charged into the few remaining Cao troops...

At noon, the siege outside the city ended.

Above the four gates of Shouchun, flags with the word "Liu" on them were slowly rising.

Liu Bei was in high spirits and calmly stepped into Shouchun City surrounded by Xiao He and Pang Tong.

The moment he passed the city gate, Liu Bei was filled with emotion.

The heart of Huainan was finally in our hands.

If we take this city, the rest of the cities in Huainan can be conquered by issuing an order.

The entire Huainan thus returned to the territory of the Han Dynasty.

Yangzhou was divided into two parts, Huainan and Jiangdong. The recovery of Huainan also meant the unification of Yangzhou.

Before this battle, Lu Xun had already sent a victory report, saying that he had wiped out the Shi and Lai families and other indigenous powerful states in Jiaozhou, and all the counties in Jiaozhou had surrendered and offered their land.

This is the end.

He already controlled the three states of Jing, Yang and Jiao, and completely completed the integration of the south. He truly had the confidence to confront Cao Cao from north to south and compete with him.

We are one step closer to reviving the Han Dynasty!

"Without Bo Wen, how could I have set foot in this city!"

Liu Bei pointed his whip at Shouchun City in front of him, sighed, and looked at Xiao He with gratitude.

"General, your words are too kind. I cannot accept them."

"Today, we are able to enter Shouchun and unify Yangzhou. This is due to the great general's leadership, the loyalty of the officers and men, and the concerted efforts of the counselors. I have only fulfilled my duty."

Xiao He naturally understood the ways of the world and attributed the credit to Liu Bei and his advisers and generals.

Liu Bei laughed heartily, whipped his horse, and said cheerfully:
"Let's go into the city!"

Everybody laughed, and the horses galloped in triumph, heading straight into Shouchun City.

Liu Bei settled in the current provincial capital, the palace once built by Yuan Shu. The next thing he did was to comfort the people and listen to the generals' reports on the results of the battle.

"Reporting to the General, General Huang has completely wiped out 3,000 of Sun Quan's former troops. Zhang Zhao, Zhou Tai, and other remnants of the Sun family have all died in the chaos."

"Reporting to the General, twenty thousand Cao troops fled through the north gate. Except for Cao Ren and twenty or so cavalrymen who escaped, the rest were completely wiped out."

"Li Dian, Wen Ji, Guanqiu Xing and eleven other Cao generals were captured alive by our army..."

After hearing the battle reports, Liu Bei felt much calmer than when he first entered the city.

Although Cao Ren escaped death, the entire Huainan Legion under his command was wiped out, which was expected.

The only thing that concerned him was Zhang Liao's life or death.

Just then.

Zhang Fei strode in and shouted excitedly:

"Brother... General, I have followed your and Military Advisor Bo Wen's instructions and captured Zhang Wenyuan alive. I am just waiting for your decision."

Liu Bei was overjoyed, and his worries were finally at ease.

At that moment, Liu Bei was about to stand up and personally untie Zhang Liao, treat him with courtesy, and try to persuade him to surrender.

"Zhang Liao is a talent worthy of the Temple of Martial Arts. The General will naturally recruit him into his fold, but there's no need to rush."

Xiao He stopped Liu Bei with a smile and said:

"Zhang Liao was not Cao Cao's original vassal. He surrendered to Cao Cao only after the fall of Xuzhou and his capture. He was forced to do so."

"Furthermore, Cao Cao persuaded Zhang Liao to surrender, still relying on the emperor's righteous reputation."

"Now that the righteous cause is in the hands of the general, and Zhang Liao has no intention of dying for Cao Cao, it is reasonable for him to surrender to the general."

"But Zhang Liao's wife and children are in Xuchang. He is concerned about the lives of his family. Even if he wanted to, he probably wouldn't have the courage to surrender to the general."

Liu Bei's joy suddenly faded a little, and he nodded slightly:

"Bo Wen's words make sense. Wenyuan is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty. He will definitely not surrender to me without caring about the life and death of his wife and children."

"I can't force them to surrender without caring about their life or death."

“This is a bit difficult…”

Xiao He smiled, with a special meaning:
"Don't worry, General. It's actually not difficult to persuade Wenyuan to surrender."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked Xiao He if he had any good ideas.

"General, have you forgotten that we still have this rare treasure, Cao Zhi, in our hands?"

"And the general also promised Yang Xiu that if he helped us capture Shouchun, he would take Cao Zhi back to the north. He will naturally keep his word."

"Then we should take advantage of the situation and send envoys to negotiate with Cao Cao. We should ask him to take Zhang Wenyuan and the family of Zhang Yan, who we captured earlier, in exchange for Cao Zhi, Li Dian, and the other Huainan generals."

"In this way, the general has both kept his promise and allowed Yang Xiu to bring Cao Zhi back without suspicion, while also gaining the two powerful cavalry generals, Zhang Liao and Zhang Yan."

Xiao He calmly presented the solution.

Liu Bei seemed to understand something, but then said:
"Bo Wen's plan is similar to the one where Yu Jin was exchanged for Yuan Zhi. But will Cao Cao agree this time?"

Before Xiao He could speak, Pang Tong spoke first:
"If the general simply wanted to exchange Cao Zhi for the two Zhang families, Cao Cao would most likely not agree. Otherwise, it would discourage the generals under his command who were not from the same clan."

"The genius of Military Advisor Xiao's plan lies in the fact that, in addition to Cao Zhi, he also brought in Li Dian and other generals as exchange conditions."

"If Cao Cao refused, it would also chill people's hearts and be seen as not caring about the lives of Li Dian and other generals."

"Whether he agrees or not, it will chill people's hearts. If he agrees, he can get his son back. How could Cao Cao not weigh the pros and cons?"

Fengchu is Fengchu after all, and he was the first to understand the profound meaning of Xiao He.

Liu Bei suddenly understood and his face was filled with joy.

Xiao He once mentioned that after capturing Huainan, the next step would be to compete with Cao Cao for the Central Plains.

The Central Plains is flat, so the importance of naval battles will give way to cavalry battles.

If they wanted to fight Cao Cao to the death in the Central Plains, they would have to find ways to expand their cavalry.

Having cavalry without good cavalry generals is obviously not enough.

Among Liu Bei's subordinates, only Zhao Yun is proficient in cavalry tactics, which is far from enough to compete with Cao's cavalry.

Therefore, Liu Bei needed more good cavalry generals to improve the strength of his cavalry.

Zhang Liao and Zhang Yan are both good generals who are good at cavalry warfare. If they can surrender to me with peace of mind, it will undoubtedly be a timely help.

With this in mind, Liu Bei readily accepted Xiao He's plan and immediately sent Sun Qian as an envoy to Xuchang in the north to negotiate terms with Cao Cao.

After everything was settled, Liu Bei was in a good mood, so he ordered all the wine and meat in the treasury to be taken out to reward the soldiers of the three armies.

He also ordered a celebration banquet to be held in the provincial capital to congratulate the generals on the victory of capturing Shouchun and recovering Huainan.

The 80,000 soldiers were excited and sang and danced in revelry.

Inside the provincial capital, Liu Bei was also in high spirits, drinking happily with his generals.

The wine is served and the lights are on.

Zhang Fei, who was already half drunk, raised his wine glass and shouted:

"Brother, you've already conquered half of the world. Why are you still calling yourself a general?"

"I think we should just let the young Emperor of Yingtian abdicate the throne to you, and you can become the emperor!"

(End of this chapter)