Chapter 33: Decoupling

In the early summer of the 19th year of Jian'an, Lu Xun's troops arrived outside Boluo City.

Boluo City is on the north bank of the Dongjiang River, with Boluo Mountain to the northwest and Xiangtou Mountain to the northeast. After passing Boluo City, it is a flat river. Three miles around the city, with more than 3,000 people in the city. Zhao Yun arranged a thousand soldiers here, paying attention to Lu Xun coming along the Dongjiang River at all times.

When Liu Bei learned that Lu Xun had arrived in the east of Boluo City, he was ready to beat his hands for more than a month and was very happy. He lined up more than 50 thunderbolt chariots outside the north gate of Panyu City. Five thousand troops and Zhao Yun's troops disguised as five thousand civilians lined up two large arrays under the city, flags fluttering and drums and horns were striking. With the passionate sound of war drums, the civilians who had trained for more than a month pulled the thunderbolt chariots and sent huge stone bullets to the top of Panyu City.

Although the civilians practiced for more than a month under the leadership of Jian Yong, they could only fire quickly without being frivolous, but they were not sure about the accuracy. Moreover, when preparing the stone bomb, they had no experience or reference, and they didn't know how big the stone bomb should be. They could only try it while doing it. Therefore, the final stone bomb was large and small, which was not consistent. As for the dozens of thunderbolt cars they imitated, they could only fire the stone bombs, which was incomparable to the dozens of original goods sent by Guan Yuhua with great efforts. Some of them fired only a dozen stone bombs and fell down.

Despite this, when big and small rock bullets flew into the sky, Bu Zhi and Sun Ben were so scared that they almost urinated their pants. Bu Zhi was a little better, only knowing that they were roaring with huge stones, and they hit the city and dregs flying. When they hit the city, the house was damaged and the people were killed. What's worse was that the rock bullets that hit the city wall were even more invincible, and they wiped and died, but when the first wave of fear passed, Bu Zhi discovered that although these thunderbolt cars were amazing, they had poor accuracy. Most of the rock bullets did not hit the city at all, but hit the moat and stirred up huge waves that soared into the sky, he felt relieved.

Sun Ben was almost frightened. He participated in the water battle under Wulin Peak and experienced the power of the thunderbolt chariot converted by Cao Chong to the warship. At that time, the warship of the Grand Commander Zhou Yu was almost hit. After a warship beside him was hit by a stone bomb, the stone bomb passed through two decks and directly penetrated the warship. He had been remembering it for many years. More importantly, he spent several months in Cao's camp and saw the accurate heads of the Cao army when fighting the thunderbolt chariot. The highest level had reached three out of ten, almost referring to wherever he hit. Now when he saw the thunderbolt chariot, Sun Ben's first reaction was, was it not Liu Bei but Cao Chong on the opposite side?

"General, don't panic." Bu Zhiqiang suppressed his beating heart, showed a bright smile on his face, and pulled Sun Ben, who subconsciously wanted to hide in the corner: "Look, at least half of the stone bullets they called fell outside the city. Those who entered the city only destroyed some houses. It looked amazing, but the actual results were not great."

Sun Ben struggled for a few times but couldn't break free, and found that there was no stone bullet that could hit him where he stood. Then he calmed down. He let out a long sigh, wiped a handful of sweat beads on his forehead, and smiled miserably: "I'm laughing. You don't know that I was almost killed by this thing in Wulin. At that time, the stone bullet flew over ten steps away from me and smashed a fighting ship into pieces. The splashed wood chips made my face covered in blood. It was so scary."

"Wulin?" Bu Zhi arranged for people to hide in the corner, while talking to Sun Ben, so that he could recover from his panic. As he listened, his brows frowned and asked in a cold voice: "General, are these things Cao Jun's thunder chariot?"

Sun Ben nodded and said, "Yes, what's wrong with this?"

Bu Zhi was stunned. He held the battlements tightly with both hands, but his body trembled involuntarily, even more powerful than Sun Ben had just shaken. His face turned pale, his eyes were full of fear, and he stared at the thunder chariots outside the city and the excited shouting Liu Beijun.

"Zishan, what's wrong with you?" Sun Ben looked at him for a while, but didn't see anything unusual, and he couldn't help but pull his sleeves nervously.

"General, please see if these thunderbolt chariots belong to Cao's army, would these people be Cao's army?" Bu Qi's voice was so nervous that it was a little hoarse. Sun Ben looked at him in surprise, and suddenly thought of a question. He quickly held the battlements and put his hand on the awning to look away. After a while, he ran up to the corner tower on the city wall, looked into the distance, and looked at it carefully for a moment before he let out a long sigh and said to Bu Qi who followed closely: "There are only a dozen thunderbolt chariots outside the city, and the others should be imitations."

Bu Zhi didn't believe it. He felt that these thunder chariots looked the same, and there was no difference. How could some of them be from Cao's army, and some were imitations: "General, you have to see clearly."

"It's not wrong." Sun Ben said confidently: "I've been watching it for a long time. Look at the dozens of rockets in the middle, and they have never been able to break down since then. There are a few of the rockets next to them that have been knocked down by themselves. There are also a few stone bullets that are shot out each time, and there are no accurate points at all. Only the dozen rockets in the middle. Although the distance and distance of the rockets emitted are different, the angles are basically the same. This must be Cao's army's things, and the others must be imitations."

Bu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and then asked: "General, do you think these people who operate the thunder chariot are Cao Jun?"

"No." Sun Ben vetoed: "If there were people in Cao Chong camp who had been hitting for so long and had hundreds of stone bullets, our city gate tower and corner tower would have been knocked out long ago. How could it be as safe as it is now? Zishan, do you know why Wen Zhongye of Wancheng surrendered without fighting? It was Cao Chong's subordinates who hit Kou Tower with two of the three stone bullets. In a blink of an eye, Wancheng's corner tower collapsed like a pile of rotten wood. If his people were there, I can guarantee that he would concentrate on attacking the city tower and corner tower, destroying our commanding heights first, and then slamming the city gate. He would never bloom like this now, just to be beautiful."

He turned around and comforted Bu Zhi: "Don't worry, it's just a scary sound. When their stone bullets are used up, the thunderbolt chariots will turn into firewood."

But Bu Zhi smiled bitterly, and he pushed Sun Ben away, patting his shoulder, shook his head and said, "General, I am not worried about now, but about the back. Although this is my first time seeing Cao's thunder chariot, I also know that it is a powerful weapon for Cao's siege and will not be given to others easily. Now these things have actually arrived outside Panyu City. Although there are no Cao's troops participating in the war, it at least means that the Cao and Liu families have reconciled. I don't believe that with the ability of Liu Bei's army, they can capture these dozens of thunder chariots from Cao's army. These can only be given to Liu Bei by Cao Chong. These thunder chariots are not scary. What's scary is that Cao Chong stood on Liu Bei's side and Jiangdong is in danger."

Sun Ben suddenly understood. He took a breath of cold air, looked outside the city in horror, and then looked at Bu Zhi with a frustrated expression: "Zishan, are you saying that these were given to Liu Bei by Cao Chong. Liu Bei has surrendered to Cao Chong?"

"I have to be careful." Bu Zhi sighed: "I guess Liu Bei must have returned Guiyang to Cao Chong in exchange for his support. Once they made peace, Liu Bei could not only get the Pili chariot, but also food and weapons, and there would be people when necessary. Even if Liu Bei did not want Cao Chong to offend Jiaozhou, he would ask Cao Chong to retreat the defense line so that he could free up his men to attack Nanhai County. At the same time, Cao Chong would threaten Yuzhang on the front line of the Yangtze River. If the lord had to guard against him, it would be impossible for him to have troops to support us. Lu Boyan was probably the only reinforcements we could count on."

"Then do you think there will be Cao's army outside the city?" Sun Ben asked nervously, pointing to the square formation outside the city.

"It shouldn't be. If there is, they shouldn't let Liu Bei's people control the thunder chariot." Bu Zhi turned his eyes to the hills far away from the north of the city: "If there is, they should also hide there, waiting for us to leave the city to fight and then annihilate it in one fell swoop."

Sun Ben was a little puzzled and looked at Bu Zhi blankly. Bu Zhi pointed to the square formation outside the city and said, "General, two square formations, one is strict, with loud and neat roars, while the other square formation is loose and chaotic. Although it is hung with Zhao Yun's battle flag, it is obviously not Zhao Yun's troops. Ten people are counting. As for Zhao Yun, where are they waiting for us to leave the city."

He thought for a while, waved his hand and said decisively: "Immediately report to Lu Boyan, ask him to be careful, and immediately move closer to Panyu City and keep a distance so as not to lure me out of the city, so as to prevent Liu Bei from luring me out of the city and attacking forcefully. In addition, tell him that the Cao and Liu families may have had a peace talk, and ask him to inform the lord to be careful. Nanhai County... whether to fight or not, please make a decision immediately."

Sun Ben nodded and immediately arranged for someone to go out of the city to report the news.

After a while of violence, the thunder chariot outside the city finally stopped. The huge square formation stepped on the drum beats and forced it up step by step. There were a row of huge shields in front, and behind were several rows of sword and shield hands. Two thousand strong archers were arching the strings behind, looking coldly at the city wall that had been smashed with more than a dozen large gaps.

Bu Zhi's eyes passed through the battlefield covered with battle clouds and looked at Liu Bei's central army from afar. He saw Liu Bei surrounded by a group of stars under the flag of the central army. Although he could only see a small dot and could not see who it was, he believed that the person must be Liu Bei, and Liu Bei's face must have a satisfied smile.

"Veteran, it's not so easy to capture Panyu City, and it's not so easy to fool me Buzishan." Buzishan sneered, waved the flag in his hand, and ordered the soldiers to go to the city to defend.

The sound of war drums soared into the sky and exploded at the top of Panyu City.

The strong archer reached within range under the guard of the shield. Two thousand people pulled the strong arch in their hands. With a command, the first wave of arrows came out with a sharp roar, like a gust of wind rushing towards the top of Panyu City.

"Raising the shield—" a loud shout from the top of the city.

"Boat back!" Bu Zhi looked at the flying rain of arrows with contempt and ordered decisively.

A few long arrows flew up suddenly and pierced hard into the rammed earth of the city wall a few steps away from Bingzhi. The powerful remaining force made the arrow feathers buzzing, constantly surround their ears, stirring up a stream of smoke and dust...

Lu Xun glanced at the urgent letter sent by Bu Zhi, thought quietly, and slowly put it in his arms. He looked at the messenger with dusty face and asked casually: "How many days have Liu Bei attacked Panyu City?"

"It started when the little man came out, and it should be four days now."

"Oh, have you ever encountered the interception of Liu Jun along the way?" Lu Xun stood up, circled around the messenger for several times, and asked in a calm tone: "You can see the shadow of Liu Bei Jun along the way?"

The messenger shook his head: "No, only when I arrived between Boluo City and Zengcheng, I saw Liu Bei's army patrol."

"Then, where is Zhao Yun's battle flag?"

"Under Panyu City." The messenger thought for a while and said, "But Lord Bu said that the army outside the city might be pretended by civilians. Maybe Zhao Yun was not under the city, but was in another place, and wanted to lead the adults out to fight in the field."

Lu Xun asked some more questions before sending the messenger out. Pan Zhang asked anxiously: "Boyan, are you nervous about fighting in Panyu City?"

"I was nervous, Bu Zishan said that Liu Bei used the siege weapon Thunderbolt Vehicle. The Panyu city wall was damaged, but it was not too serious." Lu Xun walked to the case, spread out the map, carefully looked at the terrain between Boluo City and Panyu City, and remained silent.

Pan Zhang was surprised: "Pili car? How could Liu Bei have a Pili car?"

Lu Xun didn't answer him, but just raised his head and thought for a while, lowered his head and measured it on the map, shook his head, and sighed. Pan Zhang was about to ask, but seeing that he was thinking, he had to swallow the words he said. After hearing this, Ding Feng, the deputy general next to him, heard it, he was a little surprised: "Cao Cangshu gave it to his father-in-law? I heard that Cao Cangshu just took his two daughters as concubines last year."

When Lu Xun heard this, he glanced at Ding Feng, smiled bitterly and said, "Buzishan and Sun Zhenglu are also worried about this. If this is the case, then it will be difficult for us to fight. After Cao Zhennan and Liu Bei have a peace talks, the pressure on Liu Bei will be greatly reduced on the western front. Guan Yu may move eastward and withdraw his troops to reinforce Liu Bei, so he is worried that outside the city is a trap, not just the 10,000 people put out by Liu Bei."

"What should we do?" Pan Zhang asked anxiously.

"It's really hard to deal with." Lu Xun said: "Now we don't know if Liu Bei has really reconciled with Cao Zhennan. If it's really reconciled, then did Cao Zhennan send people to help and how many more? I don't know anything about this, how can we fight? But if we don't go to rescue, if they conquer Panyu City and we want to take it back, it will not be easy."

Lu Xun stood up, paced back and forth for a few steps, and looked at Pan Zhang and Ding Feng who were watching him nervously, saying, "Start up from now on, approach Panyu City every day, and scatter the scouts a hundred miles away. Be especially careful if there are any traces of cavalry. If Cao Zhennan comes south, his iron cavalry will definitely arrive. Two thousand iron cavalry suddenly came out, which is enough to hit our army with a fatal blow. In addition, as long as we are in a group, it is not that easy to attack Liu Bei's existing troops with both attacking the city and want to attack us."

When Pan Zhang and Ding Feng heard that they were going to fight, they immediately stood up excitedly, stood up with fists, and agreed with a loud promise.

"I'm anxious to write to the envoy, tell him that Liu Bei bowed his head to Cao Zhennan." Lu Xun raised his head, sighed with a little melancholy, and said to the document beside him.

Lu Xun's army suddenly accelerated its pace and rushed to the city of Boluo. The thousand soldiers left behind in the city had already received Zhao Yun's order to collect all the military rations in the city, and then fled before Lu Xun came. Lu Xun's soldiers recovered Boluo City without bloodshed, and then successfully recovered Zengcheng westward. He rested in Zengcheng for a day, and then he used Pan Zhang as the vanguard to reinforce Panyu. Although he walked very fast, he was extremely careful. He always felt that Liu Bei's army would rather intercept the city halfway.

The attack of himself has a better chance of winning. Since Zhao Yun was preparing to fight a Buzhi ambush outside Panyu City, he was more likely to come here to fight his ambush. Field battles are better than siege. Therefore, he repeatedly warned Pan Zhang that the speed is of course necessary, but the two armies in the front and back cannot be more than five miles apart, so that they can echo each other and arrive at any time when there is a situation. He estimated that if Cao's army did not participate in the war, Liu Bei would only be able to draw out and ambush him at most 20,000 people. As long as he hugs into a group, Liu Bei would not be able to take advantage.

As Lu Xun expected, Zhao Yun was not under Panyu City, and he had been in front of Lu Xun with a thousand cavalry. His original plan was to lead Bu Zhi out of the city to fight in the field, but Bu Zhi was unmoved at all. Seeing Liu Bei retreating through the Qinshui without any response, Liu Bei had to turn around and attack for a strong attack, and at the same time prepare to ambush Lu Xun. Zhao Yun suggested to Liu Bei that they wanted to divide troops from a long distance with their troops, and they did not have much chance of winning. It would be better to wait until Lu Xun arrived at the city to find an opportunity. Lu Xun marched for more than 400 miles in an emergency. It was the time to be tired, and he would be careful along the way. There were not many opportunities. Instead, he would breathe a sigh of relief when he arrived at the city. At this time, the sneak attack was the best time.

Liu Bei felt that Zhao Yun's method was good, and he was more manpowered when siegeing the city. A total of 10,000 troops attacked the city for a few days, and Bu Zhi complained. It was not until he received news from Zhao Yun that Lu Xun was less than a hundred miles away from the city and that he would withdraw the army when he was about to arrive one day. Then he asked Yin Guan to take 10,000 civilians to pretend in the camp, and personally led the army to Luogang in the northeast of Panyu City to set up an ambush, and to swallow Lu Xun's 10,000 fatigued soldiers from afar with his superior forces.

Luogang is the remnant of Jiulian Mountain. The mountain is not high, but the hills are crisscrossing. There is a two-mile narrow zone between them and the Dongjiang River. The terrain is flat, with a high terrain in the north and low in the south, which is suitable for cavalry to escape from the north. If Lu Xun wanted to reinforce Panyu City, he had to pass by here. Therefore, Liu Bei hid the army in Luogang, waiting for Lu Xun who was rushing to jump into the trap.

Lu Xun marches carefully for four days. At noon on the fifth day, he finally arrived twenty miles east of Luogang, and sent a command to set up a camp on a small slope. At the same time, he ordered people to call the vanguard Pan Zhang to discuss. Pan Zhang was sweating profusely and came over with his personal guards. As soon as he entered the tent, he shouted: "Boyan, it's about to arrive in Panyu City, why did he stop again? It's still early, we can catch another journey."

Lu Xun frowned and shook his head: "General, the matter is a bit confusing, so let's discuss it." Lu Xun said, and told Pan Zhang the news that the scout had found: "The latest news we received was the day before yesterday. The battle under Panyu City was very lively. Although Liu Bei had the help of the thunder chariot, he still could not capture Panyu City. It seemed that Cao's army did not participate in the battle, only Liu Bei's men were sieging the city. This was originally good news, but since yesterday, no scouts sent out could get close to Panyu City, which seemed a bit abnormal."

"Abnormal?" Pan Zhang disagreed: "He wants to attack the city, of course he has to surround him tightly. The scouts cannot enter, which means that the siege has reached a tense moment. We should speed up to avoid the collapse of the merits and the city is destroyed by them, so we will be in vain."

"Don't worry." Lu Xun waved his hand to stop Pan Zhang's words: "Liu Bei has less than 20,000 people in total. How could he surround the city? His efforts to kill the scouts mean that he doesn't want us to know the situation in Panyu City. What do he want to hide? Our army comes to aid openly. He either fights or withdraws. Why do he block the news and prevent me from communicating with Panyu City?"

"What do you mean?" Pan Zhang stood up unhappily when he heard his words.

"I suspect that Liu Bei was fighting Panyu because he was weak. The fun a few days ago was for Buzishan. The purpose was to let us travel here day and night." Lu Xun looked at Pan Zhang and said solemnly: "General Pan, you and I have horses and riders, but the soldiers are all walking. These days, they are running a hundred miles a day, which is already the limit of physical strength. In addition, they have to beware of sneak attacks along the way. I feel very nervous. If you arrive at Panyu City and see that Panyu City is safe and sound, do you feel relieved?"

Pan Zhang felt a little nervous, and thought for a while and said, "That's true. If I see Panyu City is safe, I might just want to lie down and have a good sleep. Although I am tired these days, I can still hold on. But my heart is too tired. I am guarding against cavalry every day and never dare to relax for a moment."

"This is the opportunity. If I were Liu Bei, I would definitely attack you at this time, because you came from afar, physically exhausted and mentally relaxed. It was a good time to hit a blow." Lu Xun smiled and said, "Twenty miles ahead, Luogang is the last place to set up an ambush under Panyu City. When our army arrived here, it was sunset and was about to rest, and the soldiers would definitely stop and rest. If Liu Bei stopped attacking the city from yesterday and rushed here to set an ambush, he would have been resting for a day and a night, full of energy, and with a heart to fight against the unprepared, waiting for work, our army would be defeated."

"Are you saying that Liu Bei will be in Luogang, not under Panyu City?" Pan Zhang still felt a little unbelievable.

"I mean it's possible." Lu Xun nodded and smiled.

"What should I do?" Pan Zhang also felt that Lu Xun was right. He was at the worst time of physical strength. If he was ambushed by Liu Bei, even if the troops were not different, he would suffer a great loss.

"This place is backed by Jiulian Mountain, which is a good place to camp. We rest here for a night, and we send people to Luogang to inquire and march again tomorrow to avoid being ambushed by Liu Bei and coming to die from thousands of miles away." He turned around and looked at Pan Zhang and smiled, "I think General Pan would also hope to fight Liu Bei with energy after resting for a night."

"That's it." Pan Zhang laughed happily.

Liu Bei, who was waiting for Lu Xun to die happily, was stunned when he heard that Lu Xun had set up a camp twenty miles away. He looked at the sky and cursed: "This child is too brave. He has set up camp at noon. He will die after walking forward for another two hours."

Zhao Yun looked at the angry Liu Bei and was amused and cried. He thought that he wanted to walk forward for another two hours to Luogang. It would be strange if he didn't die. Are you going to fight? You count me and I count you, this is normal. Whoever follows your idea? That's not a victory in every battle? He stepped forward to Liu Bei and said, "Lord, Lu Boyan is probably on the ground for caution. The terrain here in Luogang is suitable for ambushing troops, and he probably has heard of it. Now, I'd better think about how to fight next."

"How to fight?" Liu Bei glared and said angrily: "When he rests overnight and his physical strength recovers, our advantage will be much smaller. He has 10,000 people. Even if he leaves a few people in Boluo and Zengcheng, it is probably only a thousand people. We only have 13,000 people. If we are entangled, it will definitely be a miserable victory. Even if we win, Panyu City will still not be able to win."

"If he doesn't come, we can go." Zhao Yun said with a smile: "At this time, Lu Boyan must be preparing for the camp, thinking of resting for a night, and rushing to Panyu City tomorrow, and sending scouts to inquire about Panyu City. Although our army sent people to intercept and kill the scouts, it is difficult to guarantee that one or two people would miss the net. Therefore, if we want to succeed, we can only be before he learns the news. Our army has been resting for a day and has recovered well. Lu Xun comes far away and goes to the camp at this time, and there may not be no chance."

Liu Bei pulled his beard and thought for a while, and decided to make a decisive decision: "Just listen to you, and go to his camp now. He wants to sleep with peace of mind, but I just don't let him sleep."

Zhao Yun smiled helplessly and took the men and women to take the lead. He no longer concealed his whereabouts, and rushed along the main road to the place where Lu Xun camped. It took less than an hour to arrive. Lu Xun was camping. When he heard that Zhao Yun was coming with his men, he was shocked and immediately ordered Pan Zhang to come forward to fight. He urged the soldiers to hurry up on the slope to complete the half-bucket, ready to take over it and deal with the bloody battle that followed.

Zhao Yun knew that he had to fight quickly and decided quickly, and time could not be delayed. Once Bu Zhi in the city knew that Liu Bei's main force ambush Lu Xun in Luogang, he would definitely break out of the city, and Yin Guan and the Five Thousand Civilians would be in danger. Therefore, he did not wait for Liu Bei's main force to arrive, and as soon as he reached the bottom of the earth slope, he rushed up with people, running and transformed into an attack formation.

Pan Zhang was amazed at Lu Xun's martial arts, and set up a blocking formation. Fortunately, they had been resting for more than an hour and had recovered a little bit of energy. If they ran all the way to Luogang and were attacked by someone, they would be dead. Pan Zhang ordered Ding Feng to fight in front, and stood in the central army, paying close attention to the situation ahead.

Without saying a word, Zhao Yun shot three-wheeled arrows while advancing and completed the charge formation. He personally took the lead and rushed forward with his personal guards, roaring into Pan Zhang's formation like a lion. His soldiers were full of energy and murderous spirit. When Zhao Yun charged in person, they screamed in excitement, rushed closely behind Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun's left-handed spear, right-handed sword, and the spear rose and fell, killing the two Jiangdong soldiers in front of him, and then showed their power. In a moment, they killed several people in a row, easily tearing open Pan Zhang's defensive formation.

Pan Zhang looked at Zhao Yun who was as powerful as a mad tiger and was frightened. He quickly ordered Ding Feng to step forward and intercept him. Ding Feng was young and strong, with outstanding martial arts skills. It was just when he was not afraid of heaven or earth. When he saw the brave Zhao Yun, a burst of excitement flashed in his heart. He led his personal guard to kill him towards Zhao Yun. The long sword in his hand roared and chopped him on the head.

Zhao Yun saw Ding Feng rushing towards him, and he sneered. The spear in his hand seemed to have eyes, and suddenly bounced and thrust hard on Ding Feng's long sword. Ding Feng felt his hands numb and could hardly hold the long sword in his hand. Then he saw Zhao Yun's spear wandering around half a circle in the air, like a poisonous snake, and stabbed straight to his chest.

Ding Feng was shocked and did not care about the long sword in his right hand. He raised the shield in his left hand and blocked Zhao Yun's spear incessantly. With a loud "defying", Ding Feng seemed to be hit by a mad cow. He was suffocated in his chest and couldn't stand. He took two steps back and then he spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, he saw Zhao Yun's spear flew over and overturned his two personal guards. The long sword in his right hand was suffocated and he came straight to his head with a cold light.
Chapter completed!