Chapter 191: Small Official Liang Xi, Liu Ye vs. Guo Jia The news of Cao Cao's arrival soon reached Chen County Government, but Liu Ye was not at all panicked. Because after defeating Yuan Shu, they took over Yuan Shu's troops, and at this time there were nearly 20,000 troops in the city. Liu Chong, who was supposed to go south, also entered Xinping City northeast of Chen County at this time. Originally according to Liu Ye's idea, their troops were now separated, so they should concentrate their forces before Cao Cao arrived. Unexpectedly, just after Yuan Shu was defeated, news came from the west that Cao Cao had sent troops. Therefore, before Cao Cao arrived, he suggested to Luo Jun: "Now Cao Cao is sending troops out from Xuchang, and he must first take Changping and other places." "Yangxia is far away from Chen County, and we may be attacked by Cao Cao!" "But the king is unconscious now, and Cao Cao is good at rapid marches. If the king moves to Chen County, he may be attacked by Cao Cao on the way." "At this moment, if we want to protect the king, we can let him move to Xinping and form a horn with Chen County!" "I am worried that there is no capable person to garrison Xinping. I wonder if the Prime Minister has any recommendations?"

Luo Jun originally had some complaints about Liu Ye, an outsider, being in charge. But seeing that Liu Ye was wholeheartedly considering Liu Chong, he naturally dispelled his previous doubts. Hearing this question, he couldn't help but said in surprise: "Now our Chen general Lu Kai is still by the king's side. With Lu Kai leading the army, how can you say there is no one stationed there?" When Liu Ye heard this, he shook his head and said: "Although Lu Kai is brave and strong, he is not a general and is no match for Cao Cao!" "If the king moves to Xinping, this place will be our army's flank, and we need someone who is good at fighting to guard it!" Although Liu Ye is young, he actually has his own way of judging people. Just from the time he spent with Lu Kai, he could tell that Lu Kai was actually mediocre in talent and it was difficult for him to lead a large army! If he simply goes out to fight the enemy, he can still win with his bravery. But the enemy this time is Cao Cao. If Lu Kai is used, it might lead to disaster. Listening to Liu Ye's words, Luo Jun naturally thought for a while, and then hesitated and said: "There are three candidates, but none of them have the qualifications, so I don't know if they are suitable." "One is called Yuan Ba, a descendant of the Yuan family of the State of Chen. He is honest and talented, but why does he live in seclusion and support music, and has never entered the government?" "One is called Yuan Min, the younger brother of Yuan Ba. He likes martial arts and is an expert in swordsmanship." "There is a man called Liang Xi, a minor official in our county. He has both civil and military talents, but it's a pity that he was born in a poor family and has never been put to great use!" As the Prime Minister of Chen, although he was not in charge of military affairs, he was still able to recommend many talents. It’s just that because the State of Chen had never been at war before, he had never promoted these people. Since it was a critical moment now, he no longer hid these people and revealed them one by one. When Liu Ye heard this, he thought for a while and said: "I have also heard of the name of the Yuan family of the State of Chen, but they are only good at supporting music and are not of great use."

"However, Liang Xi is a minor official, so he might be worth watching." "I don't know where this person is, but you can call him over so I can see him first!" When Luo Jun saw that he wanted to see Liu Ye, he asked Liang Xi to go into the hall to meet him. I saw that the man was quite tall, not very burly, but with a resolute look on his face. When Liu Ye saw the man like this, he couldn't help but be surprised, thinking that this minor official from the State of Chen had an extraordinary appearance. He then asked a few more questions, and Liang Xi answered them one by one. After asking these questions, Liu Ye nodded repeatedly and asked: "If I ask you to station outside the city to defend it, how will you resist Cao's army if it arrives?" Liang Xi heard this, thought for a while and said: "If you send me to station troops outside the city, we will surely form a horn of support for each other." "If the main force of Cao's army arrives, I will hold my ground!" "As long as you have enough food and are careful, you won't have to worry." "If the main force of Cao's army does not arrive, we must send out spies to investigate the enemy's movements." "If he attacks Chen County, I will attack him from behind. If he deploys his troops to ask for help, my army will not move unless ordered to do so!" "This way we can ensure that Cao's army will have difficulty in capturing our camp." In fact, Liang Xi was not a simple character. He was originally from Tuo County, Chen County. According to the original history, after Liu Chong's death, Cao Cao captured the State of Chen, and Liang Xi was appointed by Cao Cao as the magistrate of Zhang County. Later, he served as magistrate of Chengshi, Haixi and Xiapi counties, and became famous for his outstanding political achievements. It was not until Cao Cao pacified Bingzhou that, due to the chaos in Bingzhou, he appointed Liang Xi as the temporary governor of Bingzhou as the Sima of the Separate Department. As a result, Liang Xi officially became one of the high-ranking officials of Cao Wei and was in charge of Bingzhou for several years. During his tenure, he recommended talented people and intimidated the Xianbei people. He was listed as a pillar of the Wei State along with Liu Fu, Zhang Ji, Wen Hui, and Jia Kui. He is a man of both civil and military talents and very brave, so it is natural for him to deal with Liu Ye's questions with ease. Liu Ye was very surprised when he heard what he said. He nodded and smiled: "If you are talented in both civil and military affairs, we will have nothing to worry about if you are stationed in Xinping!" Naturally, he didn't know that the young man in front of him would be a high-ranking official of the Wei State in the future. He only thought that Liang Xizhi was a talented person who could be used. After meeting like this, he said to Luo Jun: "Things should be done in a hurry. Liang Ziyu may be a minor official, but he has courage and strategy." "You can make him the chief of Xinping. He will surely help us resist Cao's army!"

Upon seeing this, Luo Jun said no more and immediately issued an order, appointing Liang Xi to go north and assist Lu Kai in the defense. After this arrangement, as Liu Chong went south to Xinping, the two cities protected each other and Liu Ye no longer had any worries. When he heard that Cao Cao had arrived at the city and wanted to see the city's chief, he said to Luo Jun: "Cao is a treacherous villain. He must be trying to persuade me to surrender now. I will go with Prime Minister Luo to see what he has to say." After hearing this, Luo Jun followed Liu Ye to the city wall. After asking some questions, Cao Cao smiled and said: "Now that I heard that Prince Chen was assassinated and Yuan Shu was invading, I led my troops here!" "Prime Minister Luo is also an official appointed by the imperial court. Even though he is helping Prince Chen, he should still respect the orders of the emperor." "Why do you stay indoors now that you see the king's army coming?" "Why don't you open the city gates and welcome us into the city to fight the enemy together? After we defeat Yuan Shu tomorrow, I will submit a report to the court and reward you for your merits." "You will not lose the reward of being a marquis if you do this. Isn't that a good idea?" He came to take advantage of the situation, but he kept saying that he was here to help. Although Luo Jun was the prime minister of Chen, he was also a loyal man. After hearing this, he didn't know how to respond. Seeing this, Liu Ye took the opportunity to step forward and laughed loudly: "I know that Sikong has good intentions, but Prime Minister Luo is not in a good position to say this, so I will answer Sikong's words myself." "Now my lord has received the order of the emperor, and has been appointed General Zhengdong, supervising the military affairs of three states. Although Chen is a feudal state, it is located in Yuzhou and should be under the jurisdiction of our army!" "Now my lord has brought his troops here and is currently in Song State to suppress Yuan Shu's rebellion. He does not need the help of the royal army!" "I've often heard that the prime minister likes to massacre people in cities. When he attacked Xuzhou, he massacred hundreds of thousands of people." "Although there are not many people in my city, there are nearly 100,000 of them. Now that Cao Gong is coming, how dare I open the gate to welcome him?" "I hope Lord Cao will retreat and not cause trouble for our army!" Although he said this with a smile, his words were full of sarcasm. When Cao Cao heard this, the smile on his face froze, but a dark-skinned man beside him heard this and said angrily: "How dare you insult my master, you bastard? Come down to the city and fight me!" This black man is called Xu Chu. He is strong and muscular, and looks very majestic. He was originally from Qiao County. Two years ago, he joined Cao Cao's army and was appointed as a captain. After Dian Wei's death, he was promoted by Cao Cao to be the personal guard, leading Cao Cao's elite soldiers and the Tiger Guards. The sound of this shout was like thunder, and in a trance, Liu Ye thought it was Zhang Fei who came to the city. However, when he saw his face clearly, Liu Ye sneered: "Although I am good at swordsmanship, I don't want to fight with a reckless man!" "If you have the ability, you can come from the upper city to take my head. If you don't have the ability, just withdraw your troops and return to the camp. Why are you barking here?" After saying this, he ordered the crossbowmen in the city to set up their crossbows and aim directly at the city. When Xu Chu heard this, he became furious and shouted as he wanted to attack the city.

It was only after Cao Cao gave a gloomy face and a cold shout that he retreated. After the meeting, Cao Cao went straight into the camp outside the city and said angrily: "Liu Ziyang is truly not a human being. I swear to kill him!" Xun You and Guo Jia also looked unmoved upon seeing this. I have to say that Liu Ye is a talented person, but he is too young and frivolous. Now, relying on the city's defense, they point at Cao Cao's nose and curse him. This is intolerable! The two of them looked at each other and came up with a plan. Xun You said to Cao Cao: "Chen County is like this now, most likely because of Liu Ye's instigation, and will not want to surrender. The reason why Liu Ye is not afraid is that there are many bows and crossbows in the city." "In my opinion, this city is difficult to capture, so we might as well attack it until the enemy can rescue it." "I heard that King Chen has arrived in Xinping, and his troops are no more than 10,000. It will be difficult to defend against him!" "We might as well pretend to be here and bypass this city to attack Xinping. If we can capture Xinping, we can force Liu Ye to surrender." "If we can't take Xinping, we can force Liu Ye to send troops to help!" When Cao Cao heard the plan, he agreed immediately. He ordered his men to cut down trees everywhere to prepare for a strong attack, while he himself circled the city and watched, trying to make preparations for a siege. Luo Jun on the city wall was naturally worried when he saw Cao Jun's army doing this, and hurriedly said to Liu Ye: "I saw Cao Cao circling the city today and ordering his soldiers to cut down trees. He must be planning to storm the city!" "Although our army has powerful crossbows waiting for them inside the city, if they are allowed to climb up the city walls, it will be difficult to defend." "Why not strike first and raid the enemy's camp at night while they are still not firmly established? Is that possible?" Facing this suggestion, Liu Ye shook his head and smiled: "Cao Cao has always sought to be cautious when leading his troops. Even though he has just arrived here, the defense of his camp must be tight." "There is no brave general in our army in the city. If we send out the troops in a hurry, it will be difficult to win!" "Besides, he knows the strength of the crossbows in the city. Seeing that our army is defending the city with crossbows, how could he attack by force? This must be the enemy's plan!" "They must be trying to feint here, split their forces and attack Xinping, and draw our reinforcements!" Luo Jun listened to his judgment and said in a deep voice: "If so, what should our army do?" Seeing this, Liu Ye smiled and said: "If our army in Xinping is unprepared, we will fall into the enemy's trap. However, Liang Ziyu is stationed in Xinping, so I have nothing to worry about!" "Send an order to prevent the enemy from attacking. Once Cao's army leaves, we can make plans later!" Seeing that he was so cautious, Luo Jun said no more and let Liu Ye do what he wanted. After two days of this, Cao Cao saw that no troops were mobilized in the city, and only the guards were changed every day. He couldn't help but think: "Although Liu Ziyang is young, he has the style of a great general in commanding troops!" Seeing Liu Ye's determination to defend the city, he followed Xun You's plan that night and personally led an army of 20,000, heading towards Xinping under the cover of darkness.

But Liu Ye had already sent spies out of the city, and when they saw Cao's army leaving the camp, they immediately reported. When Luo Jun heard that Cao Cao really wanted to attack Xinping, he was overjoyed and hurriedly said to Liu Ye: "Now that Cao's army has set out, our army may be able to attack the camp!" But Liu Ye saw this and shook his head again: "Although Cao's army has left, it may be to lure our army out of the city. We should be on guard first and wait until Cao's army is far away before attacking!" Luo Jun was amazed at how steady he was, and stopped talking. It was not until one day later, at night, that the spies reported that Cao Cao had gone far away and was heading towards Xinping. After hearing this, Luo Jun urged Xiying again, and Liu Ye finally gave in. He immediately made some arrangements and, together with Zang Ne, led 8,000 troops towards Cao Cao's camp. When he arrived outside the camp, he first ambushed 3,000 soldiers and horses outside, and then ordered Zang Ne to lead his troops to attack the Cao army camp. It is also said that in the Cao army camp, although Cao Cao fled in disguise, he left Guo Jia in the camp to defend it. Seeing that Liu Ye had not moved for a long time, he was afraid that he had noticed something was wrong, so he ordered Xiahou Dun to say: "I see that the enemy has not been out for several days, maybe they have figured out our plan." "Tonight, relax the defense of the front camp and send out spies to investigate. If there is an enemy attack at night, let them enter the camp and have Le Jin ambush them on both sides. Perhaps we can defeat them!" When Xiahou Dun asked him about it, he withdrew the front camp for defense and only left Le Jin with 3,000 men to ambush. As it turned out, the spies discovered that Liu Ye had left the city, so Guo Jia ordered everyone to prepare to ambush the enemy. From this, Zang Ne killed his way to the camp, and then led his troops forward, setting up fires on all sides. However, he did not see a single person along the way. He thought something was wrong and hurriedly ordered a retreat, but he heard drums beating from the rear camp and saw a group of soldiers charging towards him. The two armies fought in one place and the killing was fierce. Zang Ne retreated in defeat. Xiahou Dun was eager to fight, so he hurriedly ordered a pursuit. But before they could get out of the camp and go a mile, they saw a large number of archers on both sides shooting arrows. Zang Ne also returned at the same time. The two armies fought a fierce battle, and each side lost two to three thousand soldiers. They then withdrew their troops. After this battle, Guo Jia secretly thought that Liu Ye was very rigorous and it would be difficult to defeat him. When Liu Ye saw that his attack on Cao Cao's camp had failed, and also knew that there were experts defending inside Cao Cao's camp, he immediately gave up the idea of ​​leaving the city. (End of this chapter)