Chapter 490: Being a Governor

Guan Yu stood at the bow, extremely anxious. Although he would soon be able to enter the dock east of Xia Pi along the Han River, what he was most worried about was that by the time he arrived, everything would be over.

Fortunately, the worst did not happen. When he got off the boat from the dock and led his soldiers to march quickly towards Xia Pi, he found that although Xia Pi City was being attacked by enemy troops, fortunately the city had not been broken.

However, there was an army that was leaving the city to challenge a battle, but was surrounded by Yuan Shu's army in the center. Its general led the troops to charge left and right with extraordinary bravery. Although he was not at a disadvantage, there were too many generals besieging him, and he gradually began to show signs of decline. Guan Yu looked closely and found that this was Zhang Fei.

Without any hesitation, he gave a loud shout, led his troops out on horseback, and headed straight for the generals of Yuan Shu's army.

Although the generals of Yuan Shu's army surrounded Zhang Fei, they were unable to defeat him and had to take turns to wear down Zhang Fei's strength until he was exhausted.

But they were not prepared for an army to appear behind them. Before they could react, Guan Yu rode forward on his horse, raised his sword and killed a general of Yuan Shu's army off his horse.

The rest of the people were shocked and hurriedly retreated. Zhang Fei saw this and laughed, "Second brother, you came at the right time!"

"Work with my brother to kill all these thieves!"

When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei joined forces, they were invincible. Yuan Shu's army immediately fell into a state of defeat. The two men took advantage of the situation and killed a lot of Yuan Shu's soldiers, forcing them to abandon their armor and flee in panic and retreat into the camp in a panic.

Zhang Fei wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to attack the village, but Guan Yu stopped him and said, "Third brother, beware of the enemy's ambush. Return to the city first."

When the two men returned to the city victoriously, Liu Bei came out to greet them and asked in surprise, "Second brother, why are you back?"

Guan Yu said: "I have urgent news that Xia Pi is under siege and in danger, so I led my men back by water at night to rescue Xia Pi."

After hearing this, Liu Bei stomped his feet and said, "I have been deceived!"

"The siege was intense that day, and rumors were spreading inside the city. I felt like I couldn't stand it any longer, so I sent an urgent letter to my second brother!"

"In the past two days, I have found that Yuan Shu's army's offensive has eased a lot, so I feel that there is no need to transfer my second brother back!"

"I then wrote a letter to my second brother, but I'm afraid he had already left the city by then, so he missed it!"

Guan Yu frowned and said, "Even if I'm not here, Mi Fang in Qucheng should have received the letter. Wouldn't he send a fast ship to chase me?"

"Could it be that he is holding back on the fact that I have transferred all the soldiers from the city, and is deliberately delaying the letter?"

Liu Bei was shocked when he heard this: "Brother, have you transferred all the soldiers in the city?"

"Then how do we defend Qucheng?"

Guan Yu asked curiously, "Who does Qucheng need to guard against?"

"To the south is Haixi, the home of the fierce tiger. This can't possibly be his plan, right?"

Liu Bei stamped his feet and said, "It's not him, it's Cao Cao!"

"Do you know why I'm so panicked?"

"Because a few days ago, spies reported that Cao's army had suddenly appeared from the border of Yanzhou Taishan County and appeared near Ju County and Houqiu!"

"If they take Houqiu, Tancheng will be to the south. Once it is occupied, our retreat in Xiapi will be cut off, and we won't be able to escape even if we want to!"

"What's even more terrifying is that there has been no news from Pengcheng Kingdom so far!"

Previously, the seat of Xuzhou was located in Tancheng, which is on the border of Donghai and Xia Pi County. After Zhang Fei lost Tancheng and Liu Bei's wife and daughter were captured, Liu Bei asked the Yuan brothers for help and recaptured Tancheng.

However, Liu Bei already had a grudge against Tancheng, so he simply moved the seat of government to Xiapi City in Xiapi County, and used the original Tancheng as a place to station troops and cultivate land.

Guan Yu was shocked when he heard this, "How dare Cao the thief take action at this time?"

"If that's the case, it's really a betrayal!"

Liu Bei sighed, "He never made a truce with us in the first place."

"But he chose the right time. He attacked right when Yuan Shu's army was attacking the city, making it difficult for us to deal with both ends!"

Zhang Fei asked angrily, "Did this fellow team up with Yuan Shu?"

Liu Bei listened and shook his head, saying, "It's unlikely. They are probably just taking this opportunity to weaken us and expand their territory."

"After all, Xia Pi is blocking the road from Yanzhou to Yuzhou in the south. It is understandable that he regards us as a thorn in his side."

"But his timing was perfect, and he cleverly took advantage of Yuan Shu's timing to send out his troops. He was really good at calculation."

"Cao Mengde is indeed a formidable enemy."

Guan Yu said: "What should we do now?"

Liu Bei sighed and said, "I'm afraid Qucheng is in danger. Let's wait for news first."

In less than half a day, the news came.

Qucheng was captured by Taishan bandits and Mi Fang fled. However, the road to the south was cut off by Taishan bandits, so Mi Fang had to flee to Houqiu.

As a result, they were surrounded by Cao's army as soon as they entered the city. Mi Fang was shocked and sent someone to send a letter for help before they were surrounded.

Liu Bei and the other two looked at the letter for help in silence. This meant that the entire Donghai County was almost lost!

If Cao's army captured Tancheng again, Liu Bei would be trapped and die in Xia Pi, and would not be able to escape from Yuan Shu's army!

Moreover, it was strange that Mi Fang was able to send the letter out while under siege. Was it possible that Cao's army was luring this side to rescue and then besieged and attacked the reinforcements?

This tactic was a common one used by Cao's army. They had used it several times before when they were fighting with Lu Bu for Yanzhou, leaving Lu Bu's army in a state of great pain. Now, it seemed that they were going to use the same trick again.

Liu Bei was caught in a dilemma.

If Mi Fang was not rescued, once Houqiu was lost, Tancheng would become an isolated city and would immediately fall into Cao Cao's hands.

But if they rushed to rescue, not only would they be ambushed by Cao's army, but it would also be difficult to defend the Xia Pi City in front of them.

If they really lost Xia Pi and failed in their counterattack on Donghai, Liu Bei's army would be homeless!

But even in the current predicament, it is difficult for Liu Bei to break out. He is afraid that all the wealth he has worked hard to save over the past year will be lost!

The same thought came to everyone's mind: Xuzhou is such a rip-off!

Yuan Xi stood on the top of Haixi City. The cries of the people who were driven out by thieves could be heard faintly from a distance.

Qucheng had probably been attacked. From afar, dozens of thick black smoke columns rose into the sky.

Everyone looked unhappy. Over the past day, the other party's actions seemed deliberate, but they were very difficult to bear.

Seeing that Yuan Xi seemed to have made up his mind, Ju Su hurriedly said, "Young Master, please think twice. Now it seems that the enemy is very likely trying to lure you forward!"

Yuan Xi sighed, "How could I not know that?"

"But sir, don't forget my current identity."

"I am the governor of Xuzhou!"

"The people of Xuzhou are being slaughtered right now. If I just sit back and do nothing, what use is this title to me?"

Lu Xun also said: "But now the enemy's situation is unclear. We don't know how many people there are, nor do we know what their intentions are."

"The worst case scenario is that Yuan Qingzhou is behind the Taishan bandits, and Cao Mengde from Yanzhou might also be involved. With just a few thousand of us, it would be difficult to change the situation in the East China Sea."

"Besides, General Taishi sent a letter saying that Guangling County had been attacked by more than 10,000 Yuan Shu troops, which made Guangling's defense quite difficult."

"In this case, we cannot transfer General Taishi here for the time being."

"If we want to recruit generals from Youzhou, only General Zhao and General Tian are suitable. It will probably take more than ten days to go back and forth."

Yuan Xi was silent, then he said, "If it is delayed for half a month, how many people in Donghai will die?"

Ju Shou and Lu Xun looked at each other. They understood that Yuan Xi was not unaware of the other party's intentions, but the other party had set a trap that Yuan Xi had to fall into!

Ju Su sighed and said, "What are you going to do, sir?"

Xiahou Yuan finally got the news he wanted to hear.

Several large ships went out to sea from Haixi Port and sailed towards Qucheng Wharf, apparently intending to enter the city.

He said to the spy, "Go to Qucheng immediately and tell all the soldiers in the city to withdraw."

A general from Cao's camp nearby asked in confusion, "In this case, wouldn't it be like taking Qucheng for nothing?"

Xiahou Yuan wanted to shake his head and said, "Qucheng is not important, what is important is the people."

"Besides, the Youzhou soldiers are very strong and it will be difficult for us to defeat them."

"Its only weakness is that it has no general to lead the army. Of course, if Youzhou or Guangling reacts quickly, a general will come to support Haixi in about five days."

"What we have to do now is to lure him out step by step before his generals arrive!"

He then asked, "Has Mi Fang been surrounded in Houqiu?"

The general replied, "Li Dian, Xiahou En and others sent news saying that he has escaped into the city and two generals have surrounded the city."

Xiahou Yuan nodded and said, "The bait is ready. Let's see if the other party will take it."

He thought that the key was still in Houqiu, and the whole journey would depend on Cao Hong's performance.

If you are lucky, you may catch not just one big fish, but two!

Several warships approached the dock, and the vanguard soldiers of the Youzhou army jumped off the boats one after another, holding shields.

Lu Xun's voice came, "Deploy defenses around the dock, and others search the dock houses and ships to prevent the enemy from setting fire!"

After hearing this, the soldiers began searching everywhere, but they were also shocked by the scene before them.

There were dead bodies everywhere, some of them even had wounds that were still bleeding, which meant that they were still alive at least not long ago.

Yuan Xi looked at the mutilated bodies on the dock, including half-naked women and children, and clenched his fists involuntarily.

If it was really Yuan Tan who ordered the Taishan bandits to do this, he will demand an explanation sooner or later!

Soon, all the soldiers came back and said that the rudders of the large ships at the dock were all destroyed. Yuan Xi and others then understood why Mi Fang did not take the water route but instead abandoned the city and fled.

His heart tightened. Could Mi Zhen be dead?

Thinking of this, he suppressed his irritation, left the soldiers to guard the dock, and took Lu Lingqi and Sun Li with him, leading the troops straight into the city.

When he greeted Lu Lingqi, he couldn't help but be speechless. He didn't know how it happened that Lu Lingqi became the most powerful general around him!

The crowd marched through the city in a line, and the people who were still alive in the houses nearby were trembling with fear and did not dare to come out.

Yuan Xi ordered his men to open the doors of several civilians and inquired about what had happened that day. He and Lu Xun remained silent.

Mi Fang's behavior was too outrageous. He actually used the people in his own city as bait to escape!

He said aloud: "Why don't you run away?"

The people said in hatred, "So many people were trampled to death before they left the city. If we leave the city, we will die anyway. Since we will die anyway, we might as well stay in the city."

Yuan Xi sighed and said to Lu Xun: "Arrange ships to send them to Haixi for refuge."

He rode his horse through the city, looking at the devastation, and thought that in this chaotic world, there were very few paths for ordinary people to choose.