Your Majesty, please spare Diao Chan; your yang energy is too strong.

If there is no way to delay Liu Bei, Xuzhou will inevitably fall.

If Xuzhou falls, Lü Bu's power will truly be over.

This is why the two of them were in Madam Gan's room.

So Chen Gong came up with a plan.

The only option now is for Lady Gan to hold Liu Bei back.

She didn't need Lady Gan to force Liu Bei to withdraw his troops.

As long as we can delay until Lü Bu returns, then everything will no longer be a problem.

And that's why Lü Lingqi pressured the other party before.

As for why they didn't just capture the other party and bring them up to the city wall...

That's because they were afraid that Madam Gan's temperament was too fiery.

If you don't make her do something willingly, she'd rather die than do it.

Especially now, at this crucial juncture when Liu Bei is about to take over Xuzhou.

This is clearly forcing Liu Bei to choose between her and Xuzhou.

Regardless of whether Liu Bei had feelings for her or not.

She didn't want to put Liu Bei in a difficult position.

If you really force her, she will definitely commit suicide.

This is why Diao Chan chose to persuade the other party instead of actively capturing them.

Once Madam Gan dies.

The conflict between them and Liu Bei is bound to intensify.

This is not what Chen Gong wanted to see.

Even now, after Liu Bei launched a surprise attack on Xuzhou, Chen Gong has never considered completely breaking ties with Liu Bei.

He is unaware of Zhou Heng's scheme.

In his long-term vision, the real enemies were Yuan Shu and Cao Cao.

It's practically impossible for Lü Bu to stand against these two powerful warlords on his own.

Therefore, as long as Lady Gan lives, there will still be opportunities to cooperate with Liu Bei in the future.

The current situation is similar to that of the Shu Kingdom and Eastern Wu in the later stages of the Three Kingdoms period.

No one can live without the other.

Eastern Wu produced a complete idiot like Lü Meng, but Chen Gong was no Lü Meng.

Of course, a seasoned strategist cannot place all his hopes on a single woman.

If things are hopeless, then he will leave behind these three thousand cavalrymen.

They escorted Lü Bu's family and the families of other civil and military officials, and fought their way out of the city.

However, this is the worst-case scenario.

If possible, he would never want to give up Xuzhou.

Because once Lü Bu loses Xuzhou...

It's practically impossible for him to make a comeback.

No one will trust a fickle person anymore.

Everyone is afraid that they might become the next Liu Bei.

Diao Chan herself knew this.

So she doesn't want it to really come to that.

Now that Lady Gan has lost her composure, how could Diao Chan possibly let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

"You're afraid that Liu Bei really only sees you as a dispensable piece of clothing."

"You are afraid, but Liu Bei has never cared about you."

"You are afraid that you have entrusted yourself to the wrong person and become a laughing stock in the world."

"You're afraid..."

One voice after another appeared in Madam Gan's ears like a nightmare.

It shook her to her core.

“You’re talking nonsense, you’re talking nonsense, I didn’t. He’s a man who’s going to do great things, he can’t be held back by me.”

"This is all your imagination; it's not true."

Mrs. Gan shook her head frantically.

But her trembling hands betrayed her.

Because she herself knew that her position in Liu Bei's heart was far inferior to that of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Brothers are like hands and feet, women are like clothes. Liu Bei said this not only in front of all the heroes of the world.

He even said it to her face.

How could she not know Liu Bei's character?

She knew all of this, but what could she do?

She was just a woman.

"A woman follows her husband wherever he goes, whether he's a chicken or a dog"—this is her fate, one she can never escape.

Not everyone has the ability to escape their destiny.

She was just an ordinary woman.

Unlike Lady Ding, who had the powerful Ding family behind her and even dared to ask Cao Cao for a divorce.

What could she, a woman from an ordinary family, do but accept it?

She was filled with bitterness.

She was filled with sorrow.

But what can I do?

This world is, after all, a man's world.

"Really? Then why don't you dare to try? You don't need him to retreat; just stand on the city wall and ask him a question to see if he really cares about you?"

"If you're not afraid, why don't you give it a try?"

"What's wrong with giving it a try?"

"If he truly cares about you, how can a mere Xuzhou compare to the person he loves most?"

"If he doesn't care about you, why should you keep worrying about him and thinking about him?"

Why can't you live for yourself?

Diao Chan said calmly.

"Live for yourself?" Madam Gan stopped crying and suddenly turned to look at Diao Chan.

There was a hint of excitement in his eyes.

It's just a question, it shouldn't matter, right?

If he has me in his heart, even if he chooses to give me up for the sake of Xuzhou.

I was also happy.

At worst, I'll jump off the city wall; I'll never let them succeed.

If she doesn't have me in her heart, then I...

As she pondered this, Madam Gan stood frozen in place.

She desperately wanted to know Liu Bei's true thoughts.

Especially after the other person said the phrase "brothers are like hands and feet, women are like clothes" in front of her.

She was constantly in pain.

No woman could remain calm after hearing her husband utter such heartless words.

What's more, this is the third time he has abandoned her.

"That's right, it's just a test. We don't need him to withdraw his troops; we just want to see if he truly cares about you."

"If there is such a person, then even if you die for him, you will be happy."

"If you don't have it, why live such a painful life?"

"If you're afraid we'll force you."

"You can just jump off the city wall; we won't stop you, how about that?"

Diao Chan said.

"Okay." Madam Gan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

..............

inner city.

Although Zhang Fei was brave, he even opened the city gate single-handedly.

But not everyone is as brave as Zhang Fei.

In terms of elite troops, Liu Bei's army was far inferior to Lü Bu's.

Moreover, Lu Bu's eight generals were not ordinary men; they were elite troops brought from Bingzhou.

In addition, Liu Bei only had eight thousand soldiers to begin with, and he lost one or two thousand more when he attacked the outer city.

At this time, Liu Bei only had six thousand men left.

In addition to 3,000 cavalry, Lü Bu also left 5,000 infantrymen in Xuzhou.

Six thousand men fought against five thousand infantrymen under Lü Bu.

Both sides are evenly matched.

Therefore, even with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei present, it would be difficult to completely subdue them in a short period of time.

This was because the cavalry couldn't launch a charge within the city, and Chen Gong, fearing for the safety of Lü Bu's family, had to transfer them away.

Otherwise, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei might not have been able to break through.

At this point, the battle was at a stalemate.

"Stop! Liu Bei, do you want your wife or not?"