Chapter 112 Active and Passive

Zhen Mi suddenly sat up on the couch, breaking out in a cold sweat.

She had a nightmare.

In her dream, she found herself on a battlefield, with Young Master Yuan Xi not far away, commanding a large army against the enemy.

Overjoyed, she was about to run over when an enemy general charged out of the enemy formation like lightning, slashing down with his blade.

Yuan Xi's head flew high into the air.

The head tumbled in the air, its familiar face staring straight at Zhen Mi, scaring her so much that she screamed and woke up from the dream.

She clutched her chest, panting, and it took her a long while to calm down, but she couldn't fall back asleep.

She sat up, put on a printed silk robe, rolled up her silk trousers, revealing a pair of jade-white feet.

She gently put on her silk socks before stepping out of bed in her satin embroidered shoes.

Her jet-black hair hung down to her hips, which she found inconvenient, so she casually tied it into a bun, leaving the rest of her hair draped lazily over her shoulders.

Zhen Mi took a few steps forward and pushed open the window of the small building.

Outside Zhen Manor, the city of Ye was quiet and dark, with only a few pinpricks of light flickering back and forth on the distant city walls.

The night breeze blew from the far distance, stirring the strands of hair on her forehead.

The silk clothes on her body wrinkled in the wind, clinging to her skin, making Zhen Mi feel a bit cold.

She stared blankly into the distance.

The world outside Zhen Manor might not be so warm and safe, but she really wanted to go out and see different scenery.

She wanted to see what that person was doing.

She hoped that person would be safe on the battlefield.

Zhen Mi felt a faint sense of unease in her heart.

The husband she had chosen would leave her side countless times in the future, leaving her alone to worry and wait for his return.

But that was the way of the world.

If one wanted to achieve great things, they wouldn't stay in Ye City for the rest of their lives.

When would he return, and when would she be able to stand by his side?

The moon rose to the middle of the sky, then fell behind the branches, replaced by the rising sun.

The morning light spilled over the walls of Ye City, all the way east, lighting up the sky of Qing Province.

Yuan Xi walked out of his tent and ordered the entire army to break camp and join forces with Yuan Tan's army to the south.

Last night, scouts found Yuan Tan's camp, but they also brought bad news.

Yuan Tan had suffered a defeat.

After marching for half a day, Yuan Xi saw Yuan Tan's camp, which was dilapidated everywhere, and the soldiers inside looked dispirited.

What shocked Yuan Xi even more was that the scale of this camp was much smaller than before they separated.

So many people had died?

He quickly found Yuan Tan's tent, where Yuan Tan was talking to Ju Shou with a serious expression.

Seeing Yuan Xi enter, Yuan Tan stood up to greet him and said, "Second brother, you've finally arrived."

He then sighed, "I didn't listen to your advice that day, which led to such a disastrous defeat.

Now, with Xu Province soldiers blocking us in front and the Ji River preventing us from crossing, we are in a dilemma."

Ju Shou said, "Why does the eldest son say such things?

As the commander of the army, do not speak lightly, lest it affect morale."

Yuan Tan listened and hurriedly said, "What the gentleman says is true, but the previous defeat was due to my underestimating the enemy.

Now, the enemy is relying on Yu Ling City to launch frequent night attacks, and we are already struggling to cope."

"Fortunately, second brother defeated Kong Rong's army and arrived in time."

Yuan Xi said, "Fortunately, I did not fail my mission.

What exactly happened on your side?"

After Yuan Tan finished speaking, Yuan Xi learned that Yuan Tan had suffered a terrible defeat, losing many soldiers and generals.

Moreover, a great general had been lost.

Yan Liang had actually been killed in battle!

During the battle between the two armies, Yan Liang went into battle and started a duel with Zhang Fei.

The two fought for hundreds of rounds without a winner, but then Guan Yu rushed out from the side like lightning and struck down with his blade.

At this time, Yan Liang had exhausted most of his strength and his movements were slow, so he didn't have time to block at all, and his head was instantly chopped off by Guan Yu!

Yuan Xi was shocked when he heard this news.

This wasn't right!

It was too fast!

Logically speaking, Yan Liang could have lived for a few more years, so why was he killed so quickly?

Had the historical process been accelerated?

Moreover, Guan Yu's attack was obviously a sneak attack, right?

Ah, right, on the battlefield, it could only be considered a blatant attack.

Yuan Xi suddenly remembered that Guan Yu's killing of Yan Liang in later generations might also have been a sneak attack.

Guan Yu, such a fierce general, had actually comprehended the Dao ahead of time.

If he was willing to put aside his face and launch a sneak attack, then probably no one would dare to say they could defend against it.

This was a big problem.

Ju Shou sighed, "I also miscalculated.

I thought that General Yan Liang was the number one fierce general in Hebei, but I didn't expect him to be easily killed by the enemy."

Yuan Tan said hatefully, "After Yan Liang died, Liu Bei took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

Several of my partial generals were also killed by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and the formation collapsed, so we had to retreat."

"After counting, more than 10,000 soldiers suffered casualties of 4,000 to 5,000 people."

"Now, the military strength of the two armies is equal.

Liu Bei's army is also relying on Yu Ling City, and they are constantly launching night raids from the city.

We don't have any generals in the army to compete with them, and we have suffered a lot of losses."

"Fortunately, second brother brought Zhang He and Gao Lan back in time.

Tomorrow, we must have a good fight with them!"

Ju Shou raised his hand and said, "Don't be anxious.

Although our army still has a lot of military rations, if we suffer another defeat, I am afraid that the morale of the army will be unstable and all previous efforts will be wasted."

Yuan Tan's face was serious, "But if we are dragged here by the enemy, Tian Kai and Kong Rong may not make a comeback, and Xu Province may continue to send reinforcements, so we must defeat Liu Bei's army and go south as soon as possible."

Yuan Xi said, "Why do we have to go south?"

Yuan Tan was stunned, "If we don't open the way back, we will run out of food and supplies sooner or later and be unable to return to Ji Province."

"So, the most important thing now is to capture Yu Ling City, which is guarded by the enemy."

Yuan Xi said, "Attacking a heavily guarded city by force will result in too many losses.

Why not change direction?"

As soon as he said this, a light flashed in Ju Shou's eyes, "What does the second son mean?"

Yuan Xi said, "What was the purpose of our dispatching troops this time?"

Yuan Tan thought carefully, and then suddenly realized, "I understand!"

Inside Yu Ling City, Liu Bei was talking to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Outside, soldiers were everywhere on the streets.

After Liu Bei obtained the position of Governor of Xu Province from Tao Qian, although the situation in Xu Province was still unstable, he finally decided to lead troops to aid Qing Province.

He left Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, and others in Xu Province to stabilize the overall situation, while he led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and only 5,000 soldiers, traveling day and night, heading north, wanting to encircle Yuan Tan's army with the other two armies.

As a result, news came that Tian Kai's 10,000-strong army had been defeated ahead of schedule!

Liu Bei had no choice but to retreat to Yu Ling City first.

The magistrate in the city was familiar with him and opened the city gate early to let him in.

Now, Liu Bei was in a dilemma.

The main force, Tian Kai, had already collapsed, and his 5,000 soldiers were at a disadvantage in front of the enemy.

But if he retreated like this, Qing Province would fall into the hands of the Yuan family, and it would be difficult for him to turn the tables.

Later, news came that the enemy had divided their troops, and Yuan Tan's 10,000-strong army was rushing towards this side.

Liu Bei discussed with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and decided to try a battle first.

As a result, Liu Bei was extremely satisfied.

Yuan Jun's general Yan Liang was arrogant and came to charge the central army.

After being entangled by Zhang Fei, Guan Yu took the opportunity to kill him.

The general was killed, and everyone in Yuan Tan's army was terrified.

Liu Bei's army took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, and Yuan was defeated.

Now, Liu Bei relied on Yu Ling City and launched several night raids on Yuan Tan, making the enemy exhausted.

It seemed that he was about to completely reverse the situation, but news came that Yuan Xi had brought his troops back!

News came that Yuan Xi had defeated Kong Rong's army and taken over its remnants, reaching nearly 4,000 people.

Together with Yuan Tan's 6,000-plus people, Liu Bei was once again in a disadvantageous situation.

Zhang Fei disapproved and said, "What are you afraid of?

We can still attack their main general and generals as before.

Even if we don't succeed, we can retreat back to the city to defend."

Guan Yu said, "That's true, but if the enemy takes every step carefully, it will be difficult for us to defeat them.

Besides, Yu Ling City is too small, and a few thousand soldiers consume a lot in the city.

What if the food supply is cut off?"

Liu Bei also pondered.

Now, the difference in strength between the two sides was too great.

Although he had temporarily won a battle, as long as he lost one battle, he would be forced to retreat to Xu Province.

So now he couldn't afford to lose.

But waiting in the city would not change the situation.

Suddenly, a scout rushed in to report, "Reporting to the general, the Ji Province soldiers have broken camp!"

Liu Bei was surprised and said, "Are they going to attack the city?"

The scout hurriedly said, "No, their army is heading northeast and not towards Yu Ling City!"

The three were puzzled and hurriedly climbed to the top of Yu Ling City.

They saw the army in the distance raising billowing smoke and dust, really heading all the way northeast.

Zhang Fei was happy and said, "They must think that attacking the city is hopeless and have run away!"

Guan Yu pondered, "But why are they going northeast?"

Zhang Fei disapproved and said, "That's easy to say.

They want to retreat to Ji Province, either passing through Yu Ling City to the south or crossing the Ji River to the west, but we are blocking here, and neither road is passable."

"So they can only go east in a big circle, bypassing Yu Ling City, before they can go back!"

Liu Bei listened and felt that it made some sense, but he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

It wasn't until two days later, when news of the fall of Donglai County came, that Liu Bei and others realized they had miscalculated.

Guan Yu suddenly realized, "They want to directly attack Donglai and Beihai!"

The three of them couldn't have imagined that the Yuan army would ignore them and directly attack the city!

In this way, Liu Bei was even more embarrassed!

If they waited without moving, the food and supplies would be consumed day by day, and they could only watch the Ji Province army conquer all of Qing Province.

If they pursued closely, not to mention that the cities along the way would be broken by the enemy, they could also rely on the cities to defend at any time!

The three brothers looked at each other.

Zhang Fei slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "So cunning!"

Guan Yu said, "Our original intention was at least to force the enemy to retreat, but now they are not being led by the nose by us."

"Now we can only make a decision early.

Our food can only last for half a month."

Zhang Fei disapproved and said, "Aren't they the same?"

Guan Yu said, "They can grab food from the city and support the war with war.

Can we?"

Zhang Fei listened and muttered, "Big brother insists on acting in the name of benevolence and righteousness.

It's really a disadvantage when fighting a war..."

Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "Don't say any more.

You and I brothers have both been down and out, and we know the difficulties of the poor.

I will never do such a thing."

"I have already decided to lead the entire army out of the city to pursue and fight the enemy!"

Hearing this, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei responded, "We will obey big brother's orders!"

This was also a helpless plan.

A flame was burning in the hearts of the three brothers.

Although the Yuan army had more people, the three brothers had already grown up on the battlefield.

Even Yan Liang had been killed, so what else couldn't they do?

As long as they found the right opportunity on the battlefield and killed the enemy's generals, they might be able to win more with less!