Chapter 274: Another attempt to sow discord, immediate results If we were to say what Lu Bu saw that made him so angry, it was actually none other than Lu Bu's wife and children. At this time, in front of the army behind Qin Zhen, Lu Bu's wife and children were standing helplessly. The story begins when Qin Zhen led his army north. In mid-December, after losing track of Lu Bu, Qin Zhen turned his goal to seizing control of Xuzhou. So he ordered Zhao Yun and others to go north to capture the city, while he led his troops north along the road. After arriving at Xia Pi City, I finally met Chen Gui, Xu Xuan, Chen Jiao and others. Facing the crowd's greeting, he personally dismounted and went to greet them. After hearing the details of the capture of Xia Pi, he praised Chen Gui: "Xuzhou has suffered from chaos and loss for a long time. I thought its wisdom and talents were gone. Now I can see Mr. Chen's plan!" Speaking of it, this was not the first time he and Chen Gui met. The last time they met, he was still hiding his identity beside Liu Bei. When they met again this time, he had already led his troops to take over Xuzhou on behalf of Old Liu, and his status was completely different.

Therefore, when Chen Gui heard this, he recalled the scene of their past meeting and was filled with emotion, and even said "I dare not". After the two of them had been humble to each other, Qin Zhen entered the city and met Lu Bu's family. In fact, Qin Zhen wanted to see if Diao Chan was among them, but after looking carefully, he was greatly disappointed. In fact, Lu Bu's family was not large, consisting of only his wife Yan and his only daughter. Although he had several concubines, they were far inferior to the beauties in his family. After looking at it for a while, Qin Zhen lost interest and just called everyone together to discuss the matter. The main topic, naturally, is how to completely defeat Lu Bu and preferably capture Xuzhou in one fell swoop. Even though the situation in Xuzhou had already turned to their side, Lu Bu was still a fierce tiger, and he did not dare to relax until he captured him personally. So he discussed with everyone else and decided that given the current situation, Lu Bu was powerless to turn the tide. But one thing to worry about is that Lu Bu fled north with his troops to join Yuan Shao. After all, Cao Cao had long intended to get rid of Lu Bu, and Chen Gong was still under Lu Bu's command, so the possibility of Lu Bu fleeing to the north was very high! Yuan Shao is now undoubtedly the most powerful warlord in the world, with a strong army and horses. If Lu Bu were to join Yuan Shao's army, it would not be a good thing for either them or the imperial court. It should be noted that although Lu Bu was brave but not wise, he was the best in the world in using cavalry. In the past, Yuan Shao and Zhang Yan confronted each other in Changshan. At that time, Zhang Yan had more than 10,000 elite soldiers and thousands of cavalry under his command. He defended the dangerous place and Yuan Shao found it difficult to break him. It happened that at this time Lu Bu went north to seek refuge with Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao defeated him with Lu Bu. So Lu Bu led his fierce generals Cheng Lian, Wei Yue and dozens of others on horseback to attack Zhang Yan's army. He attacked three or four times a day, and each time he beheaded the enemy from the midst of thousands of troops. After more than ten days of this, Zhang Yan's line was broken and Yuan Shao won the victory. At that time, Yuan Shao had just taken Jizhou and was not strong enough to tolerate Lu Bu.

But now Yuan Shao controls the four states of Hebei and has a large number of cavalry, but he lacks a cavalry general. If Lu Bu joined Yuan Shao's army, it would be a powerful alliance with extremely terrifying strength. Therefore, how to keep Lu Bu in Xuzhou became a problem that everyone urgently needed to solve. For the first time, Qin Zhen and Chen Deng had a disagreement on how to deal with this matter. According to Chen Deng's opinion, Lu Bu is now trapped in Tan County, and Qin Zhen should not push him too far. Because Lu Bu’s problem now is that he has no food and no way to get help from any direction. But in fact, thanks to Lu Bu's bravery, their encirclement was extremely weak, and Qin Zhen pressed him too hard, which might cause Lu Bu to make desperate moves. If Lu Bu really insisted on breaking through, they would probably not be able to stop him. Therefore, he suggested that Qin Zhen's troops stop here and let Lu Bu spend the winter first. When spring came and flowers bloomed, Lu Bu ran out of food and grass, so he went north to besiege and conquer the enemy in one fell swoop. But Qin Zhen held a different opinion on this. He advocated going north to encircle the enemy! As the commander-in-chief of this battle, Qin Zhen knew very well what Lu Bu's mentality was. Simply put, by now the battle had begun, Lu Bu's mentality must have collapsed. Just like the Battle of Xuzhou in history, if they head north, Lu Bu may not necessarily run away. But if they let Lu Bu rest for a winter to catch his breath, they might not be able to stop Lu Bu's troops! What's more crucial is that the war in Jiangdong is now stabilizing. As soon as spring comes, they will launch a full-scale attack on Sun Ce! If we don't deal with Lu Bu now, the war in Jiangdong will still be delayed. If the Battle of Guandu started in June of Jian'an as it did in history, they would have at most half a year. Dragging the war on now is extremely disadvantageous to the overall situation! Because of this disagreement, Qin Zhen and Chen Deng were slow to decide on a plan of advance. But at this moment, Chen Gui gave Qin Zhen a plan: "If you only want to imprison Lu Bu, this is actually not difficult." "Now that Xia Pi has fallen, Bu's wife and children are all here." "Bu Su loves his wife and children, and does not care about state affairs. Now that he has lost his wife and children and cannot get them back, he must go north." "But if you give his wife and children to him, it would be like tying up a tiger!" "Lü Bu has his wife and children at his disposal, so he won't dare to risk them. He will definitely not dare to go out!" "If he leaves to protect his wife and children, he will surely lose the hearts of the officers and can be defeated!" As soon as this plan was put forward, Chen Deng and Qin Zhen's problems were instantly solved.

Just like Zheng Xuan, this old man Chen Gui is really not a simple person. This strategy seems simple, but it is actually extremely insidious! On the surface, the intention was to use Lu Bu's family to tie Lu Bu down, but secretly it was a plot to alienate him. You must know that all the family members under Lu Bu's command are in their hands now. Since everyone has a family, it’s natural that everyone will be united. But if only Lu Bu got his family, there would be big problems. Because these ministers all worked for Lu Bu. From a human perspective, the prerequisite for being loyal to Lu Bu is that Lu Bu can lead them to a good life. Fearing Lu Bu's power, everyone can share the joys and sorrows. But if only Lu Bu has his family taken care of, and everyone else is left alone, who would be willing to follow him? People have seven emotions and six desires, but only a few dare to abandon their families and children. This strategy hits the weak spot of human nature. After hearing this plan, Qin Zhen gladly accepted it. He then took Lu Bu's wife and children all the way north and completed the encirclement of Lu Bu. Seeing that Lu Bu did not take any action, he followed the plan and brought Lu Bu's wife and children to the city. Then the scene just now appeared. Qin Zhen came to the city to meet Lu Bu in person. When Lu Bu saw his wife and children, he thought Qin Zhen wanted to threaten him with his wife and children, so he became furious and said: "Qin Zhen, how dare you act so recklessly? Why don't you let my little one go immediately?" "You must know that when I got Liu Xuande's family, I treated them with courtesy!" "Now you have captured my little one with evil tricks, are you trying to use my little one to threaten me?" "If you dare to do this, I will fight to the death and I will rush out of the city to perish together with you!" Having said that, he didn't dare shoot the bow and arrow in his hand. When Qin Zhen saw this, he looked at the city with a smile on his face and said loudly: "I told you earlier that you are an old friend of Marquis Wen. Why does Marquis Wen look down on Yu Zhen so much?" "Although Zhen is not a gentleman, he knows that the disaster should not affect his wife and children." "I came here today to learn that Marquis Wen's wife and children were trapped in the hands of our army, so I specially sent them here with Marquis Wen!" "It is really rude of Marquis Wen not to appreciate the kindness of Chen!" Having said this, he turned around and looked at Zhao Yun, who then raised his hand to signal to the rear. Then two carriages came out from the army, and Lü Bu's wife and concubines were invited to get on the carriages, which then headed towards the city. Seeing this, Lu Bu was stunned, wondering how could Qin Zhen be so kind? While he was thinking, Chen Gong said in a deep voice:

"My lord, Qin Zhen's behavior is strange, beware of fraud!" When Lu Bu heard this, he did not believe Qin Zhen's kindness, and hurriedly shouted: "Qin Zhen, stop trying to deceive people outside the city!" "If you really want to send my little one back, why did you bring troops here?" "You must want to take advantage of me opening the door and attack me in one fell swoop, right?" Seeing that he was so defensive and had no courage like before, Qin Zhen laughed and said: "I thought that Wenhou was such a hero in the world that he didn't even dare to open the door to welcome him!" "Well, since Marquis Wen is afraid of my army, I will just withdraw my troops!" "Pass on my military order, sound the horns, and return to camp!" After saying these words, he rode his horse back to the army with Zhao Yun and others. As a leisurely sound of a gong rang out, the army slowly retreated into the camp like a tide. In fact, the reason why Qin Zhen brought his troops here was to lure Lu Bu's men to the city. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lu Bu's wife and children must be returned to Lu Bu. Only in this way can the generals feel the difference in treatment and begin to miss their families. But he didn't expect Lu Bu to be so cowardly, so he simply hit the morale of Lu Bu's army before retreating back to the camp. However, as he retreated, everyone was stunned on the city wall, confused about the situation. It seemed that Chen Gong, Qin Song and others had not figured out Qin Zhen's intentions yet, and Lu Bu did not dare to open the door easily. When Qin Zhen was far away, a young girl stuck her head out of the carriage and called out to the city: "Daddy, why don't you open the city gate? My child and I are scared staying in the car!" The cry of "Daddy" melted Lu Bu's heart. Looking at the girl under the city, he said happily: "Qin Zhen did not lie to me. If my daughter is indeed outside the city, open the door quickly, open the door quickly!" After saying this, without waiting for everyone's reaction, he quickly went down the city and came to the foot of the city to greet his wife and children. As for the city, he saw his wife Yan and several concubines were there. As soon as the girls saw Lu Bu, they burst into tears. Lu Bu felt so distressed that he hurried to comfort them. Seeing this, all the generals frowned and kept silent. Chen Gong hurried forward and asked: "My ladies in the south, have you heard what Qin Zhen wants to do this time?" But as soon as he stepped forward to ask questions, Lu Bu's wife Yan rolled her eyes and said: "We women are dependent on others, so how can we know about military and national affairs?" "On the contrary, Qin Zixuan treated us very politely. He knew that we were his husband's family members, so he did not allow his subordinates to offend us." "We have never been short of food or water during the journey. My husband misunderstood my good intentions just now!" At this time, Lu Bu deeply hated Qin Zhen for plotting against his foundation. After hearing what Yan said, he said in a deep voice: "Madam, please don't think that this man is a good person. If it weren't for this man, I wouldn't be trapped here!"

"Since he is polite when he treats his wife, he also has some moral principles." "Madam must be tired too, you can go into the city and rest first!" Seeing his cold words, Yan was naturally displeased. She got into the car and left in a rage. After the women left, Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong and Qin Song and said: "We are now surrounded by Qin Zhen, but Qin Zhen sent my child here." "I wonder what you two gentlemen think of Qin Zhen's intention in doing this?" Chen Gong has always been slow in thinking and has not yet realized the problem, but Qin Song said: "I'm afraid this person is trying to persuade us to surrender, so I sent the Wenhou family to persuade us to surrender!" "If Madam brings up this matter, I hope Marquis Wen will not respond to it!" When Lu Bu heard this, he naturally said with disdain: "I am not a henpecked person. I did not surrender before, and now that my family is here, I should not surrender even more." "If this is the only plan Qin Zhen has, I am not afraid of him!" When Chen Gong heard his reply, he frowned and was quite pessimistic about Lu Bu's behavior. In fact, among this group of people, Lu Bu is the most easily influenced. If Yan and her wives and concubines really whisper in your ear every day, can you, Lu Bu, really bear it? After thinking about it, he hesitated for a moment and then asked: "Then what do you think of what we just discussed in the palace?" What he was talking about was naturally the matter of asking Yuan Shao for help. But when Lu Bu heard this, he became more energetic and waved his hand, saying: "Now that everyone is here, we can go anywhere." "Just arrange for the messenger to ask for help, and don't argue." "Just ask Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to let whichever one wants to come!" "I will leave all matters here to you. I will return home to see my wife and children first." Having said this, without waiting for anyone to reply, he chased after his wife and children into the mansion. Everyone felt uncomfortable when they saw this. Even Qin Song felt uncomfortable when he looked at the direction where Lu Bu left. I thought that your wife and children, Lu Bu, have been sent here, but what about our own family? In just a moment, a shadow was cast over their hearts. Before, they just wanted to follow Lu Bu to break out, but now they don’t want to leave anymore! (End of this chapter)