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

Chapter 44 Everything is ready, but we still have to ask Bowen about the last step!

On the south bank of the Han River, Liu Jun’s water camp.

"Brother, the Jiangxia soldiers have been hiding in the cabin for two days, and they are beginning to complain."

"Continuing to hide like this is not a solution. We must make a decision within the next two days on whether to launch a surprise attack on Chaoyang."

Inside the big tent, Guan Yu frowned and reported to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei turned his gaze to Yi Ji and asked:
"Have the spies on the north bank yielded any results? Will Cao's army be mobilized to Chaoyang?"

Yi Ji shook his head and said:
"So far, we have not received any reports from our spies about a large-scale transfer of Cao's troops to the north."

"However, the spies have some information that Ji finds a little suspicious. They say that the number of grain convoys traveling between Chaoyang and Cao's camp in Fancheng has doubled in recent days, and most of them are traveling at night."

Liu Bei became alert.

Chaoyang is only about sixty miles away from Cao's camp, and if the food and grass are transported slowly, it will only take about two days.

What's more, the Deng County grain camp is nearby. Even if the food and grass from Chaoyang cannot be delivered in time, they can be supplemented by transferring food from Deng County nearby.

Considering this aspect, there seems to be no need to double the number of grain convoys from Chaoyang to Fancheng.

And the additional food teams are all traveling at night?

"Cao Cao is imitating the methods we used to smuggle Jiangxia troops on grain ships, and is secretly transferring his troops to Chaoyang."

Xu Shu standing by smiled coldly and revealed the secret.

Liu Bei suddenly realized and his face immediately showed excitement.

"Brother, as Xu Shu said, Cao Cao must have fallen into Bo Wen's trap and has withdrawn a large number of troops from Fancheng to Chaoyang."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's take advantage of the situation and launch a surprise attack on Deng County and burn down his grain storage!"

Guan Yu slammed the table and stood up, his fighting spirit instantly ignited.

Inside the big tent, the generals were in a state of excitement, their fighting spirit and blood boiling in an instant.

"it is good!"

Liu Bei jumped up and waved his hand proudly:

"Since Cao Cao has already been tricked into leaving the mountain, why should we hesitate? To avoid further delays, we should secretly cross the Han River upstream tonight and launch a surprise attack on Deng County!"

All the generals stood up and accepted the order gladly.

After planning for so long and holding back for so long, they finally had the chance to turn from defense to offense and give Cao Cao a chance to show his power.

How could the generals not be eager to fight!
"My Lord, Liang has another concern."

Amidst the high morale of the battle, Ma Liang reminded:
"Whether Cao Cao has withdrawn his troops north again is merely speculation at this point. We have no definitive intelligence from our spies."

"Especially, whether Cao's troops in Deng County's granary were also withdrawn and reduced to around 10,000 men is also unconfirmed."

"Liang is worried. If there are still heavy troops in the Dengxian granary, our army will be hitting a wall if we rush in like this."

"It wouldn't matter if the surprise attack failed, but our army is limited in strength and I'm afraid we can't afford the losses."

Ma Liang's words immediately made the atmosphere in the tent quiet.

Liu Bei sat down again and calmed down.

Although Ma Liang's reminder was too cautious, it was not without reason.

Cao Cao's family was large and powerful, and with an army of over one hundred thousand, the loss of a few thousand or tens of thousands was no big deal.

But he can't.

The 30,000 soldiers under his command were all the available mobile forces gathered together from various sources.

Half of them were Liu Qi's Jiangxia soldiers.

If, as Ma Liang worried, Cao Cao, out of caution, did not withdraw troops from the Deng County granary, his 30,000 troops would surely be defeated if they rushed forward.

If the siege continues for a long time and Cao's reinforcements from the Fancheng camp arrive in time, he might be surrounded and the 30,000 troops would never return.

If these 30,000 troops were destroyed, the entire situation in Xiangfan, and even Liu Qi's Jiangxia situation, would deteriorate sharply.

"Yuanzhi, what do you think?"

After pondering for a moment, Liu Bei turned his gaze to Xu Shu.

Xu Shu weighed the pros and cons for a long time and sighed softly:

"Ji Chang's reminder is reasonable. If we can't confirm the strength of the Dengxian granary, this battle will always be risky."

"But we can only infer from the intelligence we have that Cao Cao has withdrawn troops from Deng County and marched north, and the spies are unable to uncover the truth."

Liu Bei stood up and paced around the tent. Before the battle, a new choice was placed before him.

He had to make a decision whether to lead these 30,000 people to launch a surprise attack on Deng County in the absence of intelligence.

"Brother, should we urgently call Bo Wen back to ask about this matter?"

Guan Yu beside him suddenly reminded him.

Liu Bei's eyes suddenly lit up.

"No need to call Bo Wen back, let's go back to Xiangyang to see Bo Wen!"

After saying this, Liu Bei strode out of the tent.

Guan Yu and Xu Shu looked at each other and hurriedly followed him out.

...

Xiangyang City, Xiao Mansion.

Inside the hall, a copper pot and several plates of mutton were already placed on the table.

"Well, this mutton has to be hot pot to taste its best~~"

Xiao He stuffed a piece of mutton roll into his mouth, shaking his head and praising it endlessly.

Zhao Yun and Guan Yinping, who were sitting next to them, looked at the furnishings in front of them and couldn't help but look at each other secretly.

"With the surprise attack on Deng County imminent, he's still so confident in returning to Xiangyang City to recuperate, and even has the leisure to drag us out for some hot... hot pot?"

"With such leisure and ease, such determination, could it be that he is confident about this battle?"

The same speculation arose in the minds of Zhao Yun and Guan Yinping.

Perhaps because Liu Bei's planning for several days was too brain-intensive, Xiao He seemed quite tired recently. Liu Bei couldn't bear it and asked Xiao He to return to Xiangyang to recuperate first.

Xiao He thought that the surprise attack plan had been decided, and Xu Shu was enough for the rest. There was no need for him to waste time in the water camp, so he could just go back to Xiangyang and lie down for a few days.

I slept until noon for several days in a row, and when I woke up I would practice Tai Chi, eat and drink. It was so comfortable...

"General Zilong, don't just watch me eat, start eating too."

"Also, this hot pot must be eaten with sauce."

Seeing that the two of them were not moving their chopsticks, Xiao He urged them on.

Zhao Yun collected his thoughts and imitated Xiao He. He first picked up a piece of mutton roll and dipped it in the copper pot, then dipped it in the sauce soup in the dish, and finally put it carefully into his mouth.

"I didn't expect there was such a way to eat mutton. It tastes so good!"

Zhao Yun praised it highly and ate several slices in a row without Xiao He urging him.

"It's a pity that the ingredients are limited, so this dipping sauce is just average, but as long as there is chili, it's barely flavorful enough."

Xiao He explained while sipping the hot water.

When Guan Yinping heard the word "chili", she immediately put down her chopsticks and said with a lingering fear:

"That chili pepper of yours was so spicy last time that it killed me. I won't dare eat it again."

Xiao He smiled and said comfortingly:
"Don't worry, I just added a little bit of flavor, I promise it won't be too spicy."

Guan Yinping, however, was afraid of ropes for ten years after being bitten by a snake once, so she was afraid to pick up chopsticks.

"You are the daughter of the Guan family, a heroine. Don't be so timid!"

Xiao He picked up a piece of fish and dipped it in the sauce soup. Before Guan Yinping could react, he personally put it into her mouth.

Zhao Yun, who was standing next to him, was so stunned that he couldn't hold the meat tightly and it fell down.

Guan Yinping opened her almond-shaped eyes wide and looked at Xiao He in astonishment, her cheeks instantly flushed.

At this time, outside the hall, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and his party had just arrived at the door.

The two brothers turned around and happened to see this scene.

Seeing Xiao He feeding his own daughter with his own hands, Guan Yu's eyes suddenly widened and he froze in place.

Liu Bei was stunned at first, then he smiled knowingly.

Then he patted Guan Yu's shoulder lightly and said meaningfully:

"Yunchang, a girl should not be kept when she grows up. It seems that Yinping has really fallen in love with Bowen..."

Guan Yu's heart trembled, as if he was suddenly enlightened.

(End of this chapter)