Chapter 273: The troops surrounded Tan County, and the tiger was doomed In late October of the third year of Jian'an, when General Liu Bei was heading south to attack Sun Ce, Lu Bu took the opportunity to raid Jiujiang. In the history of the late Han Dynasty, sneak attacks were common. For example, Lu Bu's surprise attack on Yanzhou and Sun Quan's surprise attack on Jingzhou seemed to change the situation in the world each time. But this time, when he launched a sneak attack on Liu Bei, Lu Bu hit a wall. Because he met Qin Zhen, a military advisor who knew that his allies were the most untrustworthy. Long before the surprise attack, Qin Zhen had already noticed the arrangements to move north and joined forces with Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling at the time. Under the calculations of both sides, Lu Bu led his troops deep into the enemy's territory alone, leaving Xuzhou empty. With the joint efforts of Zang Ba, Lei Xu and Chen Gui, Lu Bu's troops were transferred out of his old nest Xia Pi, thus losing his foundation in Xuzhou. By late November, Xia Pi was declared fallen, and Lu Bu was defeated in Dongcheng and fell off his horse in anger.

His subordinates had no choice but to follow Chen Gong's message and head north, intending to join up with Chen Gong and his troops. However, at this time Qin Zhen led his troops to the foot of Dongcheng and successfully joined forces with Chen Deng. At this point, Liu Bei's army completely reversed the situation in Xuzhou and began a strategic counterattack. Following Chen Deng's suggestion, Qin Zhen divided his troops into two routes. One route went north by water to Xia Pi, and then moved eastward to occupy Houqiu and Quxian to cut off Chen Gong's route to the southeast. They continued to pursue along the way, chasing the defeated Lu Bu army retreating northward, intending to keep Lu Bu in Peng State. After this happened, Lu Bu regained consciousness and fled north with his troops. In early December, Lu Bu's troops were intercepted by the Zhongli garrison and were caught up by Qin Zhen on the south side of the Huai River and were defeated again. After many defeats, Lu Bu's 30,000-man army was reduced to a few, with only 500 cavalry left. But as the number of soldiers and horses decreased, Lu Bu's army became more and more mobile. Under the leadership of Lu Bu, hundreds of cavalrymen marched northward and directly passed through Peng State. At this point, Qin Zhen's strategic intention to keep Lu Bu in the south failed. Originally, Lu Bu was about to join forces with Chen Gong, but he was ambushed by Xu Shu at the border of Peng State. It turned out that when Qin Zhen was arranging affairs in the south, Xu Shu was also fighting in the north. He defeated Cheng Lian, a general under Lu Bu, and captured Hou Xie, the prime minister of Peng State under his command. After capturing Pengcheng, seeing Chen Gong defending Tan County, he judged that Chen Gong probably intended to hold on here and wait for Lu Bu to go north. So he aimed at Wuyuan County, the border of Peng State, in the northwest direction of Xia Pi, and set up an ambush there. Lu Bu was determined to escape from Qin Zhen's pursuit, but unexpectedly he fell into Xu Shu's ambush. In this battle, all 500 of Lu Bu's cavalry were killed, and his general Song Xian was also killed in battle. Lu Bu led a dozen riders to fight bravely, and managed to protect Qin Song and break out of the encirclement. After going through numerous hardships and dangers, thanks to the support of Cheng Lian, they finally arrived at Donghai County and entered Tan County to join forces with Chen Gong.

But although they successfully gathered their troops, they also cut off Lu Bu's last chance of survival. In mid-December, after losing the target of pursuit, Qin Zhen sent his generals Gan Ning and Zhao Yun to advance and successively captured Xia Qiu, Tongguo, Xiaxiang, Siwu and Liangcheng. At the same time, a military order was issued, announcing that Lu Bu had joined forces with the rebel Sun Ce and was no longer the governor of Xuzhou. The land of Xuzhou will be taken over by Liu Bei, the governor of Yuzhou, the marquis of Lucheng County, and the general who conquers the east. Liu Bei was already popular in Xuzhou, and this order immediately caused an uproar when it was issued. For a time, all the major counties and prefectures that had long suffered from Lu Bu's destruction welcomed the royal army. At this point, Guangling, Langya, Xia Pi, Pengcheng and Donghai were successively declared to have fallen into Liu Bei's hands. Lu Bu's troops were completely trapped in Tan County, which became a completely isolated city. At Chen Gong's suggestion, Lu Bu tried to break out several times and head north from Langya, but each time he was blocked by Xu Shu and Zang Ba. Helplessly, Lu Bu had to stay in Tan County and wait for a turning point. By late December, Qin Zhen personally led his troops north and joined forces with Xu Shu, Zang Ba and others to complete the last piece of the puzzle to encircle Lu Bu! In this battle, the encirclement numbered over 50,000 soldiers, but Lu Bu was left with only 14,000 soldiers. As the coldest weather of the year arrived, Lu Bu's heart also became like a cold winter. The history of Donghai County and Tan County not being the capital of Xuzhou began with Liu Bei. Because the situation was extremely complicated when he took control of Xuzhou, in order to deal with Yuan Shu, Liu Bei moved the government seat to Xia Pi City. But Tan County is the capital of Xuzhou after all, so the streets in the city are very prosperous. In spring and summer, the streets and the loess roads are always crowded with people. At this time, the snow in the sky was piling up like catkins, and there were no pedestrians on the streets. Only the soldiers with red hands and feet from the cold were left, rubbing their hands to keep warm beside the firewood pile. Going north from the street, the county government is located facing south. Entering the inner hall, all the people under Lu Bu are gathered here to discuss how to break the impasse. Inside the government office, the charcoal was burning with a crackling sound. The huge Lu Bu sat in the middle, roasting his hands over the fire without saying a word. On both sides of his attack, there were civil and military officials. On one side were the silent Hou Cheng, Wei Yue, Cheng Lian and others. On the other side, Chen Gong and Qin Song were arguing fiercely, while Xu Si and Wang Kai looked worried. As for why the two were arguing, the reason was very straightforward: they needed help. However, the two had a disagreement on whether to seek better assistance from Cao Cao or Yuan Shao. Qin Song’s opinion was that they were now trapped in Tan County, which was the closest place to Cao Cao’s territory, and they should ask Cao Cao for help. But when Chen Gong heard that he had to ask Cao Cao for help, he immediately became anxious and directly stated that Cao Cao was not as good as Liu Bei. Given the current situation, instead of asking Cao Cao for help, it would be better to ask Yuan Shao for help and let Yuan Tan lead his army south in exchange for Xuzhou. At this time, the two counselors faced each other, and neither could convince the other. Qin Song blushed and said:

"I know that you, Brother Gongtai, have defected to Cao Cao's army, but now public affairs are at stake. How can you abandon the public for personal gain?" "You must know that Yuan Tan is not a very talented person. Although he is stationed in Qingzhou, he is definitely no match for Qin Zhen and others!" "We are trapped here now, and we are already short of food and fodder. If he fails in his march south, won't we be trapped here?" "In the current situation, we can only ask Cao Gong to send troops to force Xu Shu to return from Pei State!" "Once the passage is opened, I can advance westward to Yanzhou, and Qin Zhen will have no chance of pursuing me." "The truth is so straightforward. Brother Gongtai, don't you understand my intention? Why are you still so stubborn and reckless?" When Chen Gong heard this, he was of course furious, pointing at Qin Song and cursing: "I don't know who puts personal interests above public interests. We were in a good situation in Xuzhou. If you hadn't asked for mercy and sent troops on behalf of our former master, how could we have reached the current situation?" "Who is Cao Mengde? He is a man who holds the emperor hostage and controls the princes. He has evil intentions!" "If such people gain power one day, they will be a threat to our Han Dynasty. How can we not be worried?" "Now Lord Yuan is in the north. He has three officials in four generations and is respected by scholars all over the world. How can he be compared with Cao Cao?" "Even if Yuan Tan is not as capable as Qin Zhen, we still have soldiers and horses!" "As long as this person is willing to lead his army south to support us, we can go north to Qingzhou." "If you do this, not only can you escape, but you will also have the opportunity to lead troops south in the future. How could you not know this?" After such a quarrel, the two of them had their eyes wide open and neither of them gave in. Lu Bu sat in the middle, staring at the flames in the cauldron, his expression becoming increasingly cold. Seeing that the two were about to engage in a fight in front of him, he stood up suddenly. Such an action frightened the two people who were confronting each other. After reacting for a moment, Qin Song hurriedly said: "We are sorry for being rude. I hope you will forgive me. What advice do you have for me?" As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Gong stepped forward with a determined look on his face and bowed: "My lord, our army is now at the end of its rope. Don't listen to what this man says." "It is best to send an envoy to the north as soon as possible and ask Lord Yuan to send troops to the south to help them!" But as the two of them spoke, Lu Bu waved his hands feebly and said: "You two can continue to discuss. I have no intention. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are both fine." "Go get some wine and bring it to the house. I'll drink it and then go to sleep." "If you two come to a conclusion, please come and report to me!" After saying this, he walked towards the back hall in a daze. When everyone saw this, they all felt a chill in their hearts. Lu Bu has been like this since the day he learned that Xia Pi had fallen. If there is a war, Lu Bu will lead his troops to fight hard, but if there is no war, Lu Bu will become depressed. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Lu Bu is no longer the fierce tiger he once was. As Zhang Liao, Chen Deng and others betrayed him one after another, and his wife and children fell into the hands of Qin Zhen, Lu Bu seemed to have lost his soul. When everyone saw this, they were naturally unsettled and didn't know what to do.

Only Chen Gong saw this and stepped forward to block Lu Bu and said: "We are still discussing the life of Marquis Wen. Although there are arguments, we are all for the public good!" "Wen Hou is so depressed. If the soldiers see him, what will they do?" "I hope Lord Wen can cheer up and stop acting like this, otherwise we will die here!" When Lu Bu saw him coming, he was naturally dissatisfied and sneered: "What do you mean by this, Gongtai? When have you ever had any idea about what is going on while you are arguing here?" "Now I don't know why I am trapped in this place, but you all ask Lord Yuan and Lord Cao for help, arguing endlessly about this!" "If you knew that I, Lü Fengxian, was here, why would you mention Cao and Yuan?" "I think you are planning to join the two families, so why not discuss it clearly?" "Wait for you to come up with a conclusion, and I will just follow your orders!" "Go and buy me some wine. When I'm drunk, I can fulfill your wish. Why are you stopping me?" Upon hearing this, Chen Gong fell silent, not knowing how to respond. Indeed, at this point, the issue he and Qin Song were arguing about was not actually about asking for help. In essence, it was a debate about which of the two factions, Cao and Yuan, to join. Because now that Zang Ba and Chen have defected to Liu Bei, they can no longer stay in Xuzhou. As a warlord, no matter which faction Lu Bu joins, he will never become independent again. So now whichever family can save them will be the one they will serve next. This is also the fundamental reason why he and Qin Song argue endlessly! He was unwilling to surrender to Cao Cao, while Qin Song wanted to surrender to Cao Cao, who was on good terms with Sun Ce. These issues were originally hidden beneath the topic of debate, but when Lu Bu mentioned them, they were brought to the surface. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he couldn't find any words to respond to Lu Bu. Similarly, Qin Song and others were ashamed and silent when they saw this. Lu Bu swept his eyes around everyone, then smiled self-deprecatingly and said: "Since you have nothing to say, why bother to stop me? Get out of the way!" "Let me go back to the mansion and get drunk!" Seeing this, Chen Gong did not retreat, but lowered his head and said: "I am really doing this for Marquis Wen!" "Marquis Wen is so depressed that he will surely suffer a disaster sooner or later!" Seeing this, Lu Bu glared in anger. Just as he was about to scold, he heard a loud shout from outside the mansion: "My lord, my lord, something terrible has happened. Soldiers outside the city are closing in and seem to be trying to attack the city!"

After hearing this letter, everyone was stunned, and then their faces changed. In such a snowy and icy weather, Qin Zhen was actually preparing to storm the city? Upon hearing this, Lu Bu glared at Chen Gong and said in a deep voice: "Order the whole army to be on alert, bring my painted halberd over here!" "I want to see what Qin Zhen is going to do next!" After saying that, he led everyone towards the city. When they reached the top of the city, they saw soldiers and horses outside the city slowly advancing, surrounding Tan County in a huge crowd. Before Lu Bu could say anything, he saw several riders coming out, and the one leading them was Qin Zhen. Seeing this, Lu Bu was so angry that he trembled all over and stepped forward and cursed: "Qin Zhen, you have troubled me several times, and you still dare to come here? Do you think my arrows will be effective? But Qin Zhen saw this and smiled leisurely while sitting on his horse: "It's been a while since I last saw you. How are you, Lord Wen?" "We are old friends, why is Lord Wen so angry?" "I am not an old friend of yours, but look at my arrow!" Seeing him so leisurely, Lu Bu became furious and immediately drew his bow and arrow, ready to shoot Qin Zhen. But seeing him like this, Qin Zhen did not try to hide, but pointed behind him and said: "If Lord Wen wants to shoot me, please think twice and see who they are!" Hearing this, Lu Bu took advantage of the situation and looked into the distance. It would have been better if he hadn't looked. As soon as he looked, his eyes blazed with anger and he gritted his teeth and said: "Qin Zhen, how dare you do this!!!" (End of this chapter)