C328

Yuan Shu returned to the tent and jumped up to scold Liu Bei. He had smashed everything that was inside the tent. Just as he was going berserk, someone outside the tent tremblingly reported, saying that he had lost another three to four hundred people in the previous attack. He was even more furious, and lost all the strength to curse, and shouted harshly, "Scram!"

During the day when they were attacking, Yuan Shu had always been at the back supervising the battle. He was already very tired, he scolded Liu Bei as he fought with his eyelids, and then he unknowingly fell asleep.

"Liu Bei is back?" Yuan Shu was shocked, she suddenly stood up and kicked forward, and shouted angrily: "Why did you not report such an important matter to me earlier? Hurry up and invite him over! "

The guard leader scolded endlessly, and quickly left the tent.

Yuan Shu paced back and forth, feeling extremely anxious — Liu Bei had brought an army to intercept Gongsun Zan, why did he suddenly return to the Eagle's Castle? Could it be that the thirty thousand strong army was defeated by Gongsun Zan? That's not right! If they lost, Liu Bei would definitely escape back to the Xuzhou quietly, and not return back to the Eagle's Castle! If that was the case, then something important must have happened. Was it as Liu Bei said, that Gongsun Xu fled from the back mountain? Or could it be that Gongsun Zan's successor army had also gone south?

Just as Yuan Shu was feeling uneasy, he heard a guard's report from outside.

"Reporting to my lord, the Envoy Liu has arrived!"

Even though he hated Liu Bei to the point of making his teeth itch, Yuan Shu did not dare to flare up. He walked to the side of the tent, pulled open the flap and as expected, he saw Liu Bei dressed in armor. "Please come in!"

Liu Bei forced out a smile, and upon quickly entering, his face darkened as he said in a low voice: "Gong Luxiong, Gongsun Xu has escaped!"

"What!?" Yuan Shu turned pale with fright, and blurted out: "How is that possible! When I was supervising the battle myself, he was still on the mountain! Furthermore, the back of the mountain is so straight and steep, how did he get down there? "

Yuan Shu did not want to shirk his responsibilities, because he suffered from the attacks from a large number of crossbow bolts, he truly believed that Gongsun Xu was still in command.

"Look at this," Liu Bei frowned, taking out a thin piece of rope from his sleeve and passing it to Yuan Shu, "My subordinate found this at the bottom of the cliff at the back of Eagle's Castle. Although it looks very thin, it can easily withstand the weight of two or three strong men!"

Yuan Shu took the rope and forcefully pulled at both sides of the rope. The rope didn't change at all, but his palm was strangled painfully. He casually threw the rope on the table, and shook his head dejectedly: "I underestimated that Gongsun kid, I never thought that he would have such a sharp weapon! When I received Xuan Dexiong's letter, I immediately ordered a fierce attack. Unexpectedly, the enemy's arrows were like rain, with Gongsun Xu personally commanding them, they actually repelled our attack! I had no choice but to give the order to stop the attack, if I had known that Gongsun Xu would immediately flee to the back of the mountain, I would have ordered the attack to continue no matter what! Sigh, I am truly regretful beyond compare! "

Yuan Shu had already understood in his heart, maybe when he gave the order to attack, or maybe before that, Gongsun Xu had already left! It was just that for his sake, and at the same time, to push back his responsibilities, he could only promise that Gongsun Xu would still be in command on the mountain when he attacked. Otherwise, he would inevitably reveal himself to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei did not believe Yuan Shu's words, it was just that Gongsun Xu had already escaped and this matter was meaningless. Although he hated Yuan Shu to death in his heart, his face was filled with smiles, and he advised: "Gong Luxiong does not need to blame himself, it's just that Gongsun Xu is too cunning! Since things have already come to this, why not think of a way to turn this bad thing into a good thing! "

"Oh?" Yuan Shu said in surprise: "Could it be that Xuan Dexiong has a plan in mind?"

Liu Bei laughed coldly: "What Gongsun Zan has brought are all cavalry, and does not have any offensive capabilities. That is why all he has in mind is how to break out of the camp and enter the Eagle's Castle, not to mention that I have also sent out many cavalrymen, and cut off all routes that Gongsun Xu had to escape to Gongsun Zan's side. It would be fine if Gongsun Xu did not come, but if he does come, then it would be suicide! Gong Luxiong, if you were Gongsun Xu, what would you do? "

Yuan Shu pondered for a moment, then said: "If I were Gongsun Xu, I would immediately return to Qinghe County, and bring a large group of people to meet Gongsun Zan!"

"That's right!" Liu Bei clapped his hands and said, "Gong Luxiong is really quick-witted, Gongsun Xu would most likely choose to do this! But, Gongsun Zan did not know that his son had already escaped from Eagle's Castle, if we were to make good use of this matter, we might be able to defeat Gongsun Zan and cause him to die! "

Yuan Shu's eyes lit up, and asked in a low voice: "Xuan Dexiong means to find a way to ambush Gongsun Zan?"

"That's right!" Liu Bei nodded his head and laughed: "Does Gong Luxiong still remember that Zhao An?"

"Of course I remember," Yuan Shu casually replied, then suddenly realized something: "Xuan Dexiong wanted to use him to lure Gongsun Zan in?"

Liu Bei coldly said: "Zhao An that fellow is Gongsun Xu's personal guard, so whatever he says, Gongsun Zan should believe twenty to thirty percent of it. Furthermore, Gongsun Zan has's safety in his heart, so if Zhao An has dealt appropriately, he should have around seventy percent of the confidence to lure Gongsun Zan in!!"

"This plan is indeed excellent!" Just that, Yuan Shu hesitated: "It's just that Gongsun Zan has always been cautious, I'm afraid he won't easily believe what Zhao An has said! Xuan Dexiong wouldn't have not thought of this, right? "

"Hehe." Liu Bei stroked his beard, leaned a little closer, and said with a low voice with a confident expression: "Gong Luxiong, if we were to go like this, would Gongsun Zan fall for it?"

"How wonderful!" Yuan Shu clapped his hands and praised. "Xuan Dexiong's strategy is indeed extraordinary, to think that he could think of such a method! It's just that I'm still a bit worried, would Zhao An suddenly change sides before the battle? "

Liu Bei sneered: "Gong Luxiong doesn't need to worry, I have already sent someone to his home in front of Zhao An. Zhao An's mother and sister must already be under tight control by now, if Zhao An dares to go back on his words, hehe."

"Xuan Dexiong is truly meticulous, I am truly impressed!" Yuan Shu's face was filled with admiration, but in his heart, he warned himself once again that he must be on guard against Liu Bei at all times.

Liu Bei continued to laugh: Furthermore, that Zhao An is not a vile character, he is extremely ashamed of betraying Gongsun Xu, if not for the fact that he is worried about me and his sister, he would have already committed suicide to apologize! I let him do this, it can be considered as him begging for mercy! "

"If that's the case," Yuan Shu muttered to himself for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, "When Xuan Dexiong quietly returned to the Eagle's Castle, did he want me to dispatch troops to ambush Gongsun Zan?"

"Gong Luxiong is really quick-witted!" Liu Bei laughed as he praised, nodding: "That's right, that's what I meant! After all, Gongsun Zan has brought ten thousand elite cavalry s. If he brings two to three thousand people with him, even if we successfully ambush him, I am not absolutely confident that I can keep him here! If Gong Luxiong's army were to go, then this matter will be 90% sure! "

Yuan Shu hesitated for a moment, then said with a frown: "Xuan Dexiong has already brought over ten thousand of our men. If I bring the army to ambush Gongsun Zan again, what would happen to the enemy on the mountain when they take the opportunity to escape?"

'This fellow is really short-sighted and has no idea about the big picture! Even if Lv Bu was still on the mountain, he was completely insignificant in comparison to Gongsun Zan! As long as we kill Gongsun Zan, we will be able to solve most of the problems in the Jizhou, and who is like a stray dog will not even have a chance! '

Liu Bei despised Yuan Shu in his heart and said in a low voice: "This Gong Luxiong only needs to be at ease. The enemy forces on the mountain are weak, and under unknown circumstances, they definitely won't dare to take the initiative and attack from the mountain! When we leave, we will leave five to six thousand troops and horses behind, and then leave all the flags behind. At the same time, we will cause people to constantly move, and create the pretense that a large group of people are still present, and even if Lv Bu is still on the mountain, he will definitely not dare to rashly leave the mountain! Furthermore, if my expectations are not wrong, I am afraid Lv Bu and Gongsun Xu have already escaped! "

Yuan Shu sneered: "Lv Bu is already a stray dog, it doesn't matter even if you run away! Xuan Dexiong, I have decided to keep four thousand people here, while the rest will follow me to ambush Gongsun Zan! "

"Very good!" Liu Bei nodded, he walked to the side of the tent and lifted the curtain to look out, after he placed down the curtain he turned his head and said: "It's already the wee hours of the morning, I need to hurry back and continue fighting with Gongsun Zan, so as to not arouse his suspicions! There's no need for Gong Luxiong to rush and send troops over, we might as well continue with a few grand feints after daybreak, and wait until after dusk to secretly lead our troops away from this place. By then, we should have already made all our preparations! "

"We'll do it that way!" Yuan Shu clenched his fists, walked in front of Liu Bei, and said in a deep voice: "Be careful on the road, Xuan Dexiong.

"Gong Luxiong, don't worry, I know Gongsun Zan. "Farewell!"

"Please!"

Liu Bei walked out of the tent in large strides, and quietly left with a small group of cavalry.

Yuan Shu stared at Liu Bei's back until the latter completely disappeared into the distance. Only then did he turn around and return to the tent, lie on his bed and carefully think about the conversation he had with Liu Bei. The more he thought about it, the more crestfallen he became. Even though he was very conceited, in the past few days, he had experienced Liu Bei's profound scheme many times, and had even unknowingly developed fear in his heart. He was once again filled with regret, and if he could choose again, he would definitely not choose to betray Gongsun Zan and their cooperation! But it was too late to say anything now, the only choice was to kill Gongsun Zan, then find a chance to kill Liu Bei, and swallow the Xuzhou!