Chapter 277: The Battle of Tan County, a Battle of the Trapped Beasts Qin Song's defection was like adding insult to injury for Lu Bu. Although Qin Song was captured by him, he did serve him for a period of time. During this period, Qin Song cannot be said to have devoted himself to the work, but at least he did his best. But such a counselor left him when he was in the most difficult time. In this regard, even though Lu Bu was a profit-seeking person, he couldn't help feeling sad. But at the same time he felt sad, he also felt a surge of impotent rage, because if Qin Song's family was in the city, he would definitely kill them to vent his anger. But now these people left and he was helpless. In this anger, Lu Bu felt depressed and had to remain silent and retreat from the city. On the other side, Qin Zhen’s army was becoming much more lively.

Upon hearing that Qin Song was coming, Qin Zhen went out to greet him personally, took Qin Song's hand and said: "I have been waiting for you for a long time, why are you so late?" In fact, he was not surprised by Qin Song's defection. After all, Qin Song could not be considered a subordinate of Lu Bu, at best he was a prisoner. In the past, I was forced to submit to Lu Bu due to the situation, but now there is no need to follow Lu Bu to the end. Faced with his appeasement offensive, these people are often the first to succumb. Qin Song was ashamed to face Qin Zhen's treatment. "You are a respected person, Matsumoto Commoner, why do you need to come and greet me in person?" Qin Zhen saw this, but shook his head and said kindly: "Although we are not old acquaintances, we are considered relatives. We cannot compare ourselves with each other based on our status and rank!" As he spoke, he led Qin Song into the village, and invited Wang Kai, Chen Deng and others to accompany him. Qin Song was fine when he saw Wang Kai, but when he saw Chen Deng, he looked ashamed again: "I didn't know your plan before. If I was disrespectful, I hope you will forgive me!" When Chen Deng heard this, he smiled without saying anything. He stroked his beard and shook his head to indicate that there was no need to say anything more. Seeing the two of them like this, Qin Zhen smiled to ease the atmosphere and said: "Now that all the wise men have arrived, how can Lü Bu not be defeated?" "After I go to the tent tomorrow, we will discuss the strategy of defeating the enemy!" Seeing that he looked as if he had surrendered, Qin Song couldn't help but smile bitterly. In fact, he left the city just to be a prisoner and reunite with his family, and he didn't have much intention to plot against Lu Bu. But Qin Zhen said this now, he must want him to help deal with Lu Bu. If I don't admit it, it would be unacceptable emotionally; but if I admit it, it would be unacceptable morally. After thinking for a moment, he was about to speak when he suddenly heard shouts and screams from outside the camp. He was immediately startled and said: "When I came here, I didn't see your army marching out. Are you planning to attack the city at night?"

But as soon as he said it, everyone burst into laughter, and then Qin Zhen told Xu Shu's plan. Qin Song was shocked when he heard what Qin Zhen said. There were not many arrows in their city, and he did not expect that Qin Zhen would deliberately consume them! If he had not come here and did not know the situation outside the city, how could he have seen through this plan? Now Lu Bu is trapped here and cannot ask for help, but Qin Zhen has so many capable ministers and generals under his command. Once the arrows are used up, how can he be a match for Qin Zhen! Thinking of this, he sighed and said: "Liu Zhengdong has so many talented people under his command. With you, I can conquer the world!" "Now that we have so many talented people to assist us, the world will be in turmoil!" "Song Zhi lacks consideration and can hardly compete with you gentlemen." "I only know the deployment of the troops in the city, maybe I can give it to the King of Qin!" He immediately handed over the military deployment he had prepared in the city to Qin Zhen. Qin Zhen was overjoyed when he saw this, because the defense inside a city was also the key to attacking it. With this map, we can find out the weak points in the city and launch a focused attack on them. Of course, with Chen Gong's ability, he might be able to disrupt the deployment of troops again. However, those hard conditions, such as the location of military camps and the deployment of secret sentries, are affected by terrain factors. Once these things are understood, we can make corresponding arrangements and use them accordingly. So after looking at the deployment of the troops, he ordered someone to bring Qin Song down to reunite with his family. After this incident, Qin Zhen ordered his men to speed up the progress. While digging the canal, he began to order his soldiers to launch a feint attack. There are two benefits of a feint attack. One is to find out whether the deployment of troops in the city has changed. The other is to observe the stock of bows and arrows in the city and the morale of the soldiers on the city. Faced with the feint attack launched by Qin Zhen, Chen Gong personally went up to the city wall to respond. At this point, Chen Gong no longer expected to seek help from outside. His only thought was to defend the city till Qin Zhen ran out of food and retreated. That way, once a gap opens, they can break out. So he simply lived on the city wall and guarded against Qin Zhen strictly. The two are old rivals and are very familiar with each other's routines. They tested each other for several days, but there was no clear winner. While Lu Bu was inside the city, he saw that Chen Gong was guarding the city himself, so he simply did not even go out. He stayed in the mansion all day, drinking with his wives and concubines to relieve his boredom. When the generals saw this, they became depressed and drank to relieve their boredom every day. This continued until Qin Zhen's canal was dug through, and the river water flowed into the moat along the canal. The water level in the moat kept rising, and Chen Gong finally realized Qin Zhen's intention. Seeing the river overflowing, he hurried to the mansion to meet Lü Bu and said: "My lord, digging a canal is not to flood the city, but to fill the river with water!"

"The weather is cold now, and the water level has overflowed. It only takes a few days of freezing for the enemy to attack the city!" "Our army has been defending for days, and all the battering rams, rolling stones, bows and arrows are about to be exhausted." "If the enemy attacks with all their might, I'm afraid our army will have trouble holding on!" After a conversation, he finally saw Lu Bu again. But the moment he saw Lu Bu, he said in horror: "How could the general indulge in such lust and become so dejected?" Lu Bu, who used to be a tall and strong man, now had swollen eyes, disheveled hair, and pale lips and teeth. He no longer looked like the fierce general he once was. However, Lu Bu did not react much to this. He just shook his hangover-stricken head and said: "I will not discuss this matter. What did Gongtai just say?" "Qin Zhen is bringing water here, is he planning to attack by force?" "He hasn't launched a fierce attack in days. Why is our army short of equipment?" Seeing his drowsy appearance, Chen Gong quickly said in a deep voice: "Our army has no weapons stored in the city, and we don't have many arrows!" "Qin Zhen has been launching feint attacks for several days. Our soldiers dare not let him approach the city, so they can only shoot arrows to stop him." "As of today, there are less than 8,000 bows and arrows in the palace!" Eight thousand bows and arrows sound like a lot, but if Qin Zhen launches an all-out attack, they will only be enough for them for three days at most! Even if Qin Zhen attacked more urgently, it would only take one or two days. After hearing the detailed data, Lu Bu realized the seriousness of the situation and asked quickly: "Qin Zhen's army is outside, and it is difficult for us to hold on. Now that things have come to this, what can we do?" Chen Gong thought about it for a while, then looked up and said to Lu Bu: "Qin Zhen has deployed his troops here, so their food supplies must be insufficient." "The land of Xuzhou can only be supplied by Xiapi." "He has been besieging here for more than ten days. His army's food is probably going to run out. He must get food from Xia Pi." "If we can send a group of elite soldiers to break through and cut off their food supply, we can solve the problem!" When Lu Bu heard this, he nodded and stepped out. "In that case, I will order Wei Yue to lead 5,000 soldiers to cut off their food supply." But as soon as he moved, Chen Gong hurriedly stopped him and said: "Qin Zhen is a great commander of the army. How can an ordinary general defeat him?" "Except the general himself, who else can break through the siege?" "Why don't you take 5,000 soldiers out of the city, and let Gong Zi hold the fort here." "No matter how many soldiers Qin Zhen has, it's hard to take care of both sides!" After listening to this, Lu Bu made a rare decisive move. He immediately ordered his subordinates to mobilize the troops and pack up with him. But when his wife, Yan, heard this, she brought all her concubines to him and cried: "In the past, Cao Gong treated Chen Gong very well, but Chen Gong still abandoned him and joined my husband."

"But my husband treats me far worse than Cao, yet he has given me the whole city, abandoned his wife, and marched far away alone." "If anything changes, I'm afraid I'll never see my husband again!" When Lu Bu saw the women crying, he hesitated for a moment. He had been betrayed many times and there was already a shadow in his heart. In addition, Chen Gong has a criminal record. What if he really surrenders to the enemy? So this preparation took several days. As the river below the city froze, Chen Gong hurried to the mansion and said: "I have long been told that Qin Zhen is about to launch a strong attack. Now he is surrounding us from all sides. If we do not leave soon, we will be trapped." Seeing him speak so anxiously, Lu Bu suddenly felt dizzy and said: "Since it's a strong attack, we just need to hold on. There's no need to take risks!" "Let the craftsmen make tools and search for coarse salt to sprinkle over the city to thaw the river first!" Seeing him like this, Chen Gong was so anxious that he said: "If we do this, the enemy will surely attack the city at night." "General, why don't you deploy your troops on the east side and attack the enemy from behind tonight?" After hearing what he said, Lu Bu told his wife Yan. Before he knew it, Yan became the only person he trusted. Yan Shi was just a woman, and when she heard Chen Gong wanted Lü Bu to take a risk, she said: "You are the ruler, how can you defeat the enemy yourself? If the general is ill, who can I rely on?" "When I was in Chang'an, I was abandoned by the general." "It was thanks to Pangshu's secret hiding that I was able to escape danger. Now that the general wants to leave, I am afraid that I will be displaced." After hearing this, Lu Bu could only hesitate again, and finally decided to let Generals Hou Cheng and Cheng Lian lead 3,000 troops to ambush at the east gate. At the second watch of the night, he heard shouting and killing outside the city, and Lu Bu hurried up to the city. All I saw were soldiers and horses everywhere below the city, like dark clouds covering the moon, stretching all over the mountains and plains. Amid roars, tens of thousands of troops rushed towards the city. Lu Bu was on the city wall and ordered his men to shoot. Arrows were shot down the city wall in a sparse stream. This defensive posture naturally failed to stop Liu Bei's army. There was a deafening sound of drums. The morale of Liu Bei's army was high. A large number of ladders and grappling ropes advanced at the same time. With just one drum beat, the soldiers and horses rushed into the city. Seeing this, Lu Bu was so frightened that his hands and feet and face changed drastically. He hurriedly picked up his weapon and rushed forward to fight. After fighting for an hour, they finally repelled Qin Zhen's attack. Because Lu Bu had been indulging in alcohol and sex for days, his physical fitness had gradually declined, and after killing for an hour, he was already exhausted and out of breath. But at this time, Chen Gong climbed up the city wall and asked with a questioning look on his face: "I advised Lord Wen to go around the enemy's rear, why is Lord Wen here?" "We are here to defend this place. If Marquis Wen had gone out to fight, the enemy army would have been thrown into chaos and routed!"

Lü Bu was leaning against the city wall at this time, feeling exhausted. When he heard his question, he said angrily: "The enemy's attack is so fierce. If I were not here, how could I defend it?" "Besides, I have ordered Cheng Lian and Hou Cheng to lead the troops out of the city. Why haven't they left yet?" As he said this, he ordered Cheng Lian and Hou Cheng to be summoned for questioning. The two immediately answered: "Because the enemy's attack is so fierce, we dare not go out lightly, we can only help defend the city!" When Lu Bu saw this, he scolded the two men for disobeying military orders and punished each of them with twenty lashes of the cane. Only Chen Gong saw it and said that it was the time to use people and should not be punished, so he reduced the punishment. The two men thanked him immediately and left the city. Seeing this, Lu Bu said to Chen Gong: "Now that the enemy is surrounding us from all sides, we are united as one. Even though we have fewer weapons, it will be difficult for the enemy to capture the city!" "Starting tomorrow, each of us will guard one gate. Is that feasible?" Chen Gong listened and sighed in his heart. If they still had any advantage now, it was Lu Bu's personal bravery. Although Qin Zhen has many brave generals under his command, if Lu Bu really wants to launch a surprise attack, who can stop him! Now that Lu Bu is making excuses and refusing to attack, how can they defend themselves? He really wanted to tell Lu Bu that this was just a way to prolong his life. But now he also knew Lu Bu's temper, so he could only nod and say nothing, as a sign of agreement. On the other hand, after Cheng Lian and Hou Cheng left the city, they were both frightened. In fact, they were not helping to defend the city just now, but they were afraid to fight their way out of the city! What a joke! There are 50,000 troops outside the city. Even if only half of them attack the city, there are more than 20,000! How many people did Lu Bu give them? Only three thousand, less than one eighth of the enemy's army! Who except Lu Bu would dare to use three thousand troops to attack the enemy's rear? But they didn't expect Lu Bu to be so angry. If Chen Gong hadn't persuaded them, they would have also been beaten! Thinking of the contrast between the situation inside and outside the city, Hou Cheng finally couldn't help but said to Cheng Lian again: "What do you worry about, brother?" I told you earlier. When Cheng Lian heard this again, he was silent for a moment before he said: "This is not the place to talk, let's talk when we get back home!" (End of this chapter)