At the Guandu battlefield, Zhang He's luck turned sour, as he was trapped firmly by the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation.
Zhang He employed countless methods, yet none could break the formation.
However, the demise of these soldiers was not in vain; Zhang He had now grasped a partial principle of this formation!
Every new deployment and troop assignment he made was, in essence, infinitely closer to breaking the formation.
If he were given another two hours, perhaps… he could have broken this "Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation"!
It was just that…
The time allotted to him was not so generous.
Dawn had broken, and news of the prolonged failure to attack Guandu, along with the complete incineration of Wuchao, simultaneously reached the Yuan army's grand tent, and into Yuan Shao's ears.
Guo Tu was the first to hear this news!
As the "great internal traitor" in Lu Yu's eyes, he realized that the current unfavorable situation was caused by his own doing, he was the main culprit. If this news reached Yuan Shao's ears, Yuan Shao, in his rage, might just take his life.
This was entirely different from the circumstances before…
In the past, when he offered destructive advice, it could at most be attributed to a lack of ability, limited skill, or low intelligence.
The original intention was still good…
But this time, sensing the impending disaster, Guo Tu's head was buzzing. He had to… he absolutely had to find a suitable scapegoat, find someone whose mistakes were even greater than his own to dilute his responsibility.
After much thought, Zhang He and Gao Lan, fighting on the front lines, seemed suitable to be scapegoats, given their… stature and standing.
It was, in a way, quite amusing…
In the past, Guo Tu's foolish strategies were a sign of "stupidity," but this time his strategies were "wicked." This old rogue was truly bad!
"Tap, tap…"
Taking a step, Guo Tu hurried towards the direction of the central army tent.
The decisive battle could be lost, but the "blame" must be cleanly shifted!
Meanwhile, Yuan Shao, upon hearing the news of Wuchao's burning, had completely lost his composure and had no idea how to proceed.
The strategists by his side wore grave expressions, remaining silent, fearful of taking responsibility!
At this moment, Yuan Shao desperately needed someone clear-headed to offer advice, and it was then that Guo Tu rushed in.
Yuan Shao, as if seeing a lifesaver, greeted Guo Tu with a face full of longing, eager to hear his words.
Who would have thought…
Guo Tu was not here to offer advice, but to lodge a complaint.
"My lord, I have received news that Zhang He and Gao Lan at the front heard of Wuchao's incineration and are gloating, even claiming this is the consequence of not listening to them!"
One could say…
If Yuan Shao's thought process were even slightly normal, he would have detected the flaw in these words.
Was this not utter nonsense?
Zhang He and Gao Lan were desperately fighting the Guandu defenders on the front lines, while Guo Tu was leisurely in the army camp, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was sound asleep. Even if Zhang He had some dissatisfaction and uttered some gossip, how could Guo Tu have heard it? This was complete nonsense!
But, inexplicably… Yuan Shao believed it!
His thought process had completely veered off course. He began to think that Zhang He and Gao Lan had done it deliberately. Otherwise… how could fifty thousand men fail to capture the small Guandu city fort in one night!
Damn it…
Enraged… Yuan Shao was now furious.
With a "bang," Yuan Shao slammed his hand heavily on the table, causing the entire table to shake and tremble.
He was a man who valued his reputation too much. He could tolerate a defeat, but if someone dared to mock him, Yuan Shao would surely risk his life against that person!
Of course…
Yuan Shao did not know how impregnable the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation was!
He also did not know that the formation was set up by two defensive masters of the age, Cao Ren, who was "physically immune," and Xu Shu, who was "magically immune"!
With such defensive capabilities… it was clearly not enough for Zhang He to break through in half a day!
"Guards… issue an order, command Zhang He and Gao Lan to come see me immediately!"
"No… escort them here to see me!"
In his rage, Yuan Shao's roar shook the heavens and earth.
Nearly everyone in the entire Yuan army camp could hear it clearly.
And this sound was like the prelude to a collapsing tide and a toppling mansion!
…
…
At the Guandu city fort, within the heavily guarded and strictly controlled衙署 (yáshǔ - government office), the scene was one of solemnity.
A man in scholar's robes, led by Dian Wei, stepped into the area. Pushing open the door, he saw a refined young gentleman whose fingers continuously slid across a military map.
At times, he would glance at the sky, calculating the time.
"Cheng Yu pays his respects to Situ Lu…" Cheng Yu cupped his hands in a salute.
Only then did Lu Yu notice Cheng Yu.
"Sima Cheng, please be seated…"
Lu Yu did not rush to give instructions but motioned for Cheng Yu to sit. Although the battle outside was tense, the atmosphere within this place seemed unhurried.
It was even eerily calm… calmly extraordinary!
"Situ Lu, what business do you have calling me here?"
"I'll tell you in a moment…" Lu Yu smiled slightly and ordered someone to bring Cheng Yu a bowl of tea.
Cheng Yu took the teacup and sighed, "To remain unperturbed when Mount Tai collapses before you, Situ Lu's composure is truly admirable."
Hearing this, Lu Yu looked up at Cheng Yu and smiled faintly. "Sima Cheng, do you know why I am so calm?"
"Why?"
"Because just now, I received a report from the scouts that Sikong Cao has completely incinerated Wuchao! Two million piculs of grain have been destroyed in an instant…"
Hmm… this…
Cheng Yu blinked his eyes. Of course, this was a great piece of joyous news, but it seemed… it shouldn't make one this relaxed, should it? Yuan Shao after all commanded six hundred thousand troops. With their grain supply burned, in his fury, a desperate strike… how great was the force of this counterattack? It might even be playing with fire and burning oneself!
"Situ Lu… this…"
Just as Cheng Yu was about to speak…
At that very moment.
"Report…"
A soldier of the Dragon Cavalry Camp entered the grand tent. "In Wuchao, Yuan army deserters and scouts have entered the Yuan camp!"
Upon hearing this…
"Good, good!"
With two consecutive "good" exclamations, Lu Yu had been waiting for this moment.
He had predicted that once Wuchao was burned, with Guo Tu, who "feared no chaos in the world," around, Yuan Shao would inevitably make a foolish decision! And this was the key to the decisive victory of the Battle of Guandu.
After continuous sighs of emotion, Lu Yu turned to look at Cheng Yu.
"Sima Cheng…"
Ah…
Cheng Yu was startled. He had just been wondering why Lu Yu was so happy upon hearing the news of Wuchao's burning reaching the Yuan camp. Was there something strange about this?
But before he could figure it out, Lu Yu's voice rang out.
"I trouble Sima Cheng to go out of the fort and meet with the generals of the fifty thousand Yuan army – Zhang He and Gao Lan!"
Hiss…
Cheng Yu instinctively thought of something.
"What a familiar recipe, what a familiar taste!"
Cheng Yu's eyes darted…
It seemed so similar to his past endeavors of persuading He Yi, Liu Xun, Zhang Yan, Yang Chou, and Xu Huang to surrender…
Then there was the pleasing sight of the "Sky-Severing Yaksha" He Man, the "Little Conqueror" Sun Bofu, "Yuan Shao's good nephew" Gao Gan, the "benevolent and weak" Zhang Yang, and the "arrogant and conceited" Yang Feng, all defecting. It all had this same flavor.
This time…
Before Cheng Yu could even ask.
Lu Yu continued, "Sima Cheng, this time, the glorious task of persuading Zhang He and Gao Lan, along with those fifty thousand Yuan troops, to defect falls upon you! This is the first merit in the decisive battle between Cao and Yuan!"
Upon hearing this…
Cheng Yu was stunned. Hiss, this time, he truly gasped for air?
"Zhang He and Gao Lan!"
"Fifty thousand troops!"
My heavens…
It must be known that all the troops he had persuaded to surrender in the past, combined, did not even reach two hundred thousand. This time, it was fifty thousand all at once. Young Master Lu's appetite was growing larger and larger!
However…
Cheng Yu's astonishment lasted only for a moment; soon, his expression returned to normal.
It must be known that he was a man who dared to eat human flesh, and could stroll leisurely in a pile of dead bodies without even flinching.
His past merits were countless…
Without exaggeration, if he were only asked to persuade tens of thousands, Cheng Yu might not even have the inclination to act.
Fifty thousand men was very stimulating, but it also made his heart yearn.
"Situ Lu? You want me to go immediately?"
Cheng Yu did not ask too many questions…
With such brilliant precedents, although Young Master Lu's persuasion and defection tasks always sounded terrifying, they were often incredibly easy in practice. He had grown accustomed to it.
"Go now…" Lu Yu blinked. "If it's any later, I fear the Yuan army might burn the siege engines. What a pity that would be!"
That's right.
According to ancient records, upon hearing that Yuan Shao intended to escort Zhang He and Gao Lan,
Zhang He and Gao Lan, being shrewd, immediately burned the siege engines, thus demonstrating their resolve to surrender to Cao.
It must be known that the Yuan army possessed an extremely large number of siege engines. The reason why Old Cao took a full seven years to completely eradicate the Yuan clan during his northern expedition was largely due to the lack of siege engines.
Burning these siege engines was indeed a pity.
Of course…
Cheng Yu did not ask many questions, and Lu Yu did not explain in great detail.
Cheng Yu was an obedient and honest man, which was reassuring.
"Sima Cheng… this time, if you truly persuade fifty thousand Yuan troops to surrender, I will go to Sikong Cao… and beg him for an official position ten times greater than that of the Minister of Personnel!"
Uh…
Ten times greater than the Minister of Personnel? What kind of position would that be? It seemed… there wasn't such a rank among the current official titles!
Cheng Yu did not take Lu Yu's promise seriously.
Even more so, compared to a high office, he valued his identity as the Sima of the Dragon Cavalry Camp.
"Young Master Lu, rest assured, Cheng Yu will not fail in his mission!"
With these words, Cheng Yu bowed to Lu Yu again and strode away!
Lu Yu gazed at his retreating back… This man, who dared to eat human flesh, inexplicably gave him a sense of immense security! An overwhelming sense of security!
…
…
Wuchao, a scene of ruins.
The acrid smell still lingered in the air, and scorching air currents spread throughout the area.
At this moment, Cao Cao and Xiahou Yuan, leading the Cao army, had begun to tally the battlefield and rescue their own soldiers.
And within the Yuan camp at Wuchao.
A man was weeping, sobbing… His surroundings were pointed at by countless battle spears.
Yet he roared to the heavens…
"I have failed Lord Yuan, failed Lord Yuan…"
This man was none other than Chunyu Qiong. As one of the eight colonels of the Western Garden, who once stood alongside Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, his reputation in the northern territories and his status in Yuan Shao's heart were far beyond that of Zhang He and Gao Lan.
It was precisely for this reason that Yuan Shao entrusted Wuchao and the two million piculs of grain to him…
Yet, in a single night, all of this…
All of it turned to nothing.
At this moment, he held only a flask of wine and a sword…
The wine was distilled liquor, his lifelong love;
The sword was his last dignity…
"Come, come at me…" Chunyu Qiong took a large gulp of wine and then brandished his long sword… He was disheveled, and he didn't even know how Wuchao had fallen!
The thirty thousand men under his command seemed like… mere decorations, left to be slaughtered!
"Kill him…"
Xiahou Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he coldly ordered. Wuchao had already been burned, and Chunyu Qiong was no longer of any significance. Moreover, Xiahou Yuan held such a drunk and incompetent general in contempt from the bottom of his heart.
"You don't need to…" Chunyu Qiong held his sword horizontally, placing the blade at his neck. "Victory and defeat are determined by heaven, determined by heaven, it's just… it's just that I, Chunyu Qiong, have failed… failed Lord Yuan!"
As he spoke, Chunyu Qiong was about to draw his sword and commit suicide.
Just then.
Amidst countless Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, a voice rang out, exceptionally clear… "Wait!"
With the sound of "tap, tap" footsteps…
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry soldiers tacitly parted to create a path. And emerging from it was none other than Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao!
Guo Jia wanted to run towards Chunyu Qiong, but he was stopped by a few Tiger and Leopard Cavalry soldiers.
Xiahou Yuan glanced at him and ordered, "Let him go…"
After all, Guo Jia was considered one of the contributors to this battle…
Both Cao Cao and Xiahou Yuan were filled with gratitude towards him. Moreover, as Guo Jia ran towards Chunyu Qiong, Xiahou Yuan was the first to follow, fearing that Chunyu Qiong might harm him.
"Brother Chunyu!"
(I specifically checked, Chunyu is a double-barreled surname, originating from Jiang surname, named after the state, and is a descendant of Emperor Yan. The previous "Brother Chun" was too hasty.)
"It's me, it's Guo Jia…"
Guo Jia grabbed his hand…
Seeing Guo Jia treated with such courtesy in the Cao camp, Chunyu Qiong instantly understood everything.
"You… you… so all of this was… was designed by you!"
Chunyu Qiong's eyes were filled with bewilderment and helplessness. "Those five thousand jars of fine wine, our drinking together, it was all fake, fake…"
He shouted this hysterically.
Betrayal, betrayal was what people found most unbearable. He raised his long sword high, but ultimately did not lower it. With a "clatter," the sword fell to the ground… making a "crackling" sound.
In fact, he was confident he could have taken Guo Jia's life before Xiahou Yuan could intervene.
But… but he couldn't.
After so many years, he had finally… finally found a "kindred spirit," found a close friend with the same hobby. He… he couldn't bear to strike.
"Brother Chun, why must you perish here?"
Guo Jia spoke.
"This Wuchao, these million piculs of grain belong to Yuan Shao, but your life, Brother Chun, belongs to yourself. Have you fulfilled your aspirations, Brother Chun? Did you not want to join me, did we not want to go together to the Nine Wells, Eight Towns, Ten Maotais, and brew a 'Maotai' wine that would amaze the world? Are these… are these not your aspirations?"
Hoo…
Guo Jia's words moved Chunyu Qiong.
Just as Chunyu Qiong regarded Guo Jia as a "kindred spirit" and a "confidant," Guo Jia had also never failed to regard Chunyu Qiong as a "kindred spirit" and a "confidant."
When wine meets a kindred spirit…
This was an affection that transcended war, transcended the mundane world, and transcended everything.
"Younger brother Fengxiao… Younger brother Fengxiao!"
Chunyu Qiong embraced Guo Jia…
At this moment, he saw through everything, saw through the general situation of the world, and even saw through life and death. He only wished to be a pure winemaker with Guo Jia.
"Younger brother, from now on, I want no more fame or fortune. Let's go to the Nine Wells, Eight Towns, Ten Maotais, and brew that Maotai wine that will make the world take notice!"
Pat, pat…
Large teardrops rolled down like rain.
Perhaps, this was the best belonging for "Drunken Immortal General" Chunyu Qiong.
"Good… good…"
Guo Jia continuously patted Chunyu Qiong's back.
In his memory, the last time he patted someone's back like this was the wife of the neighbor, Old Wang!
"Good!"
Cao Cao, who caught sight of this scene inadvertently, repeatedly nodded…
He beckoned to Xu Chu beside him, "After this battle, send someone to tattoo the name of this Guo Fengxiao on my sleeve. I want to constantly remember that this is a talent no less than Yu'er!"
"Yes!"
Xu Chu bowed respectfully. Let alone Cao Cao, even Xu Chu himself now deeply remembered this man of extraordinary intellect and somewhat chivalrous affection!
…
…
Outside the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, at the Guandu city fort.
"Still not working…"
Gao Lan was somewhat anxious. Throughout the entire night, Zhang He had dispatched no less than thirty teams to break the formation, but in the end… in the end, they still failed!
They still could not break through this formidable barrier before their eyes!
Coincidentally, the fire at Wuchao raged more intensely, even burning for an entire night, which raised their anxiety levels even further.
The grain was lost…
This army of fifty thousand men was going all out!
Zhang He, however, was still carefully contemplating, searching for the weaknesses of each formation disk of the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation. He had even accurately drawn out the many variations of this formation on bamboo slips.
"Eight entrances, nine formation walls, eight formation eyes… no matter what, it will lead to the death gate, and be devoured by that 'Soaring Serpent'? No… no…"
Suddenly, Zhang He seemed to have figured something out.
"Four Palaces Heavenly Mansion, Eight Palaces Heavenly Command, Three Palaces Heavenly Impact… Yes, entering through all eight gates simultaneously, facing death to live… Only this way, the chance, the chance will be greater!"
Immediately, Zhang He decided to issue an order. This time, he planned to select eight hundred armored soldiers, forming one hundred men per team, entering through all eight gates simultaneously, supporting each other. In this way… no matter how the enemy's formation rotated!
There would always be a chance to break the formation.
"Haha… yes, just like this… just like this."
Zhang He shouted with excitement. This was the closest he had ever been to breaking the formation; he had this feeling.
Precisely at this moment.
"Report… General Zhang, General Gao, a middle-aged man has emerged from the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, specifically requesting to see the two generals!"
A great戟士 (jǐshì - halberdier) announced.
Hmm…
Gao Lan subconsciously looked up, and Zhang He's brows also furrowed slightly.
"Did he state his name?" Zhang He asked…
"Yes, he said he is the Sima of the Dragon Cavalry Camp, Cheng Yu!"
As the great halberdier spoke these words, Zhang He and Gao Lan's hearts skipped a beat…
Sima of the Dragon Cavalry Camp – Cheng Yu!
A person's reputation precedes them. Without exaggeration, the only military group that could be called "Shaking the Thirteen Provinces of Great Han" in current times was the Dragon Cavalry Camp!
And within the Dragon Cavalry Camp, there were three people whose fame resonated the most…
The first rank was naturally the commander of the Dragon Cavalry Camp, the then Hidden Dragon – Lu Yu!
The third rank was the "Ancient Fierce General," Dian Wei, who could defeat the peerless warrior Lu Bu!
And the second rank… who didn't know, who didn't realize, it was Cheng Yu, Sima Cheng, who earned twenty thousand elite soldiers for the Cao camp with just his words!
If there was one among them who was the most miraculous, who could always accomplish the most impossible tasks, it truly had to be this Sima Cheng Yu!
He… he has arrived?
Zhang He's body trembled subconsciously.
He subconsciously felt that Cheng Yu was definitely here to persuade them to surrender!
After all, in the entire Han Dynasty, Cheng Yu could almost be equated with the word "defection"!
"General Gao? If this Cheng Yu has come, it must be to persuade you and me to surrender…" Zhang He reminded him… "They all say Cheng Yu has never failed in persuasion. Hmph, I'd like to hear what he has to say, how he speaks? Could it be that we, with our fifty thousand elite soldiers, can actually defect?"
…
…