After issuing a proclamation against thieves, Liu Bei led his army across the river bridge to Luoyang. His troops joined Guan Yu's army. After reorganizing the army for several days, he slowly led 50,000 horses out of Xuanmen Pass, and then marched southeast along the Honggou River. Arriving at Juyang in Liang State, he changed the route to Laoshui and marched towards Yicheng at a speed of thirty miles per day. It is estimated that by mid-February, he would meet up with Zhang Xian who was besieging Yicheng.
Yang Feng, who was in Xiapi, received the news and thought that the Bafu had fallen into Chen Gui's plan to divert trouble to the east, so he trusted Chen Gui even more. Some old men in the army were originally opposed to coercing the people and taking Langya's strategy, but they also fell into hesitation at this time. I feel that Chen Gui is really wise and wise, so I might as well not listen to him.
After Chen Gui learned the news about Ba Fudong's arrival, he had another plan in mind. Although Chen Deng met with Liu Bei last year and made an appointment with him, he only needed to try to delay the time. Now that the promise of delaying one month has been completed, Chen Gui was still not satisfied. He privately discussed with his eldest son Chen Deng: " No matter what the reason is, after all, my family once served in the imperial court, and the family reputation is no longer clean. If we just delay as promised, the contribution we will make will only protect the family wealth. In two years, it will inevitably be liquidated afterwards. Still need to think of something If you try to find a way and make more contributions, your family will be rich and stable."
This is exactly what Chen Deng thought. He actually had a plan in mind. At this time, he said: "My father has now moved all the 100,000 people in Guangling to Huaibei, and has also made suggestions for Yang Feng, Han Xian and others. Isn't it that he has already obtained thieves?" Do you trust me? Why don’t we take this opportunity to go one step further and make the traitor become Peng’s favorite again!”
Peng Chong was the governor of Yuyang during the Xinmang period. When Emperor Guangwu was ordered to pacify Hebei, it was Wu Han who persuaded Peng Chong to support Liu Xiu and made great achievements in supporting Liu Xiu. However, because Liu Xiu was unfairly rewarded, he surrendered first and then rebelled. , which is exactly the same as Bai Bo, Yang Feng and Han Xian's previous deeds. After Peng Chong rebelled, he did not dare to trust others, and was eventually killed by his family slaves. Then the imperial master rebelled and wiped out his entire family. Chen Deng's intention was to assassinate Han, Yang, and Dugu, and lead the others to attack anyway.
Chen Gui's heart was pounding, but after thinking about the pros and cons, he shook his head repeatedly and said: "No, no, Yang Feng doesn't use my plan to slow down the movement with the people, which shows that I haven't gained his full trust. If I take action, the chance of winning is less than 30%."
“If you don’t have full faith, then take one step closer and get full faith, wouldn’t it be enough?”
"How to do?"
Chen Deng laughed, stood up, pointed to the west and said: "Since the general has arrived in Pei State, less than a hundred miles away, if we ask him to perform a play, are we still afraid that these northern thieves will not fall into the trap?"
After some deliberation, Chen Deng secretly sent a letter to Yicheng. Two days later, the messenger successfully brought a reply. In order to keep it confidential, the content of the letter was extremely concise. Apart from the seal of the general, there was only one sentence written on it: "I have sent an order to Pengcheng. I hope you will hurry up."
On this day, Yang Feng rarely got up early. The spring breeze was warm, the sun was shining brightly, and there were several clear oriole calls outside the window. Yang Feng thought: "It would be a waste if we didn't go out to have some fun on such a beautiful day." So he rode his horse to Han Xian's residence, hoping to go hunting with his old friends in the suburbs of the city.
Unexpectedly, before he arrived at Han Siam's residence, he smelled a burst of sandalwood in the distance, which made him shed tears. After taking a few steps closer, he could faintly hear the whispers of a group of people, like the sound of mosquito wings vibrating, seemingly nowhere. It's not there, but it's nowhere to be found. There are also crisp sounds of "dong" and "dong". Only then did Yang Feng remember that it was the sound of Monk Hu banging wooden fish and reciting Buddhist scriptures at Han Xian's house.
Sure enough, when Yang Feng walked to the gate of the mansion, he was stopped by Han Xian's personal guards, who said that the master was fasting, chanting Buddha's name, and holding rituals with the monks. If the general did not have military matters, it was better not to disturb him. Yang Feng was greatly disappointed. He stood in front of the door and shouted several times to the inside. The chanting inside was the same as before, but there was no response.
Yang Feng felt that his boss was boring and he had lost most of his interest in hunting. He thought, should he go find that barbarian Qubei? forget it. Although he had been living with Dugu Qubei for nearly five years and usually discussed matters with him, Yang Feng always had a prejudice in his heart and thought that he would not be in this situation if it were not for the rebellion of the Tiefu Xiongnu. So the safari was abandoned. Yang Feng returned home via the original route and summoned a few old friends from the army, apparently intending to drink and have fun.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the banquet table and wine utensils were brought in, the guards outside the door came in and announced that the prefect of Guangling had sent an envoy to see him.
The visitor was none other than Chen Deng. As soon as he entered the hall, he smelled the smell of alcohol, which made him frown slightly, but he forced himself to calm down. He knelt down to Yang Feng as usual and said, "Master Chen Dengfeng." I have met Duke Ming."
The word "Ming Gong" cannot be spoken without the friendship between the monarch and his ministers, so Chen Deng's words are quite flattering. Yang Feng could of course hear it, and he was extremely satisfied, but also a little worried. He asked: "Mr. Chen rarely sends people to communicate with each other in the past, but today he sent Yuan Long here. Could it be that there was trouble in the emigrants?"
Chen Deng shook his head and said, "No, my lord, the relocation of the people is going on as usual. I sent Chen Deng here today because I heard some news, so I want to discuss military matters with Duke Ming."
"military?"
"Although your Excellency has been relocating people these days, you are always paying attention to the movements in the west. It turns out that the attack on the west is not going well, and Zhongli could not be captured until yesterday. Probably due to the lack of troops, there are flaws in the operations of the west. It seems that Even the last defenders of Pengcheng were mobilized south." Speaking of this, Chen Deng paused slightly and said loudly, "Pengcheng is extremely empty now. Isn't it a good opportunity for Ming Gong to regain the border defense?"
Unexpectedly, when Yang Feng heard the words, he showed hesitation. He first asked: "Is this true?" After confirming that it was correct, he shook his head and said, "Even if it is true, I will surrender to Yuan Shao soon. What is the use of this land? It’s better not to provoke him, let Xibian let Yuan Shu go and fight him first.”
Chen Deng quickly stated his interests for Yang Feng. Now that the Han army was attacking Jiujiang, it was in a hurry to relieve the siege. However, Yuan Shu was outnumbered after all and would be defeated in a few days. By that time, Bai Bo was marching north with his people, followed by the Han army, and it was inevitable that there would be no casualties. However, if Pengcheng could be recaptured and Bai Bo stationed a small number of troops, he would have the miraculous effect of using Surabaya as a dangerous location and preventing most of the Han army from attacking. Moreover, Pengcheng, as the foundation of Zhang Xian, must have a lot of money and supplies. Once it is captured, a large amount of supplies can be harvested and the people of Pengcheng can be relocated. It can be said that it can achieve multiple things with one stone.
When Yang Feng heard this, he couldn't help but feel excited, but why did he say: "But there are not many soldiers who can be mobilized in the army, and there are no good generals who are good at attacking cities."
This was what Chen Deng was waiting for. He immediately clasped his fists and asked for orders: "Chen Deng is not talented, but I am willing to share the worries for Ming Gong! As long as Ming Gong and Deng have three thousand soldiers, Deng will definitely be able to capture Pengcheng. If he fails, Deng will take the lead." Come and see me!”
Yang Feng was overjoyed and hurriedly stepped forward to help Chen Deng up and said: "In the five counties of Xuzhou, only your family knows the etiquette! Regardless of success or failure, as long as I get to Hebei, I will rely on your family!" Then he called Cao Bao and Lu You of the Xuzhou tribe, and ordered He led four thousand men and attacked Pengcheng with Chen Deng.
The distance between Pengcheng and Xiapi was less than a hundred miles. After Chen Deng led the troops, he arrived in the eastern suburbs of Pengcheng in just one day and night. Pengcheng is also a big city in Xuzhou. It was originally the place where Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, established his capital. It is four feet high and covers dozens of miles. Cao Bao and others were frightened and asked Chen Deng how to break the city.
Chen Deng smiled and replied that he already had news. There were less than a thousand guards in the city, so why attack by force? So the soldiers were ordered to stay in the dense forest on the outskirts of the city until late at night. When it was estimated that most of the guards in the city had fallen asleep, he ordered the soldiers to light torches suddenly, and in addition to the two held in each person's hand, he also inserted many more torches on the ground, which looked like stars from a distance. Then thirty large drums were erected two miles outside the city. While beating the drums with great power, they ordered the soldiers to shout loudly. This tidal wave of noise persisted until dawn, and then Chen Deng ordered the sergeants to march forward and attack the gate of Pengcheng. There was no one defending the city at all. When I asked the people in the city, sure enough, after hearing the momentum, the defenders in the city thought it was Bai Bo's main force coming to attack. In panic, they abandoned the city and fled.
Overnight, Chen Deng was able to recapture Pengcheng without any blood, and by the way, he harvested 100,000 dendrobium of wheat flour, 6 million new coins, and countless arrows, knives and bows. Even though Yang Feng had been prepared, he still couldn't believe the news. He murmured for a long time: "The younger generation is to be feared, the younger generation is to be feared." After that, he immediately sent an envoy to Pengcheng and made Chen Deng the prefect of Pengcheng. Chen Deng declined and said: "This place will soon be abandoned. Why does it need such a false name? Ming Gong must not forget the promise made on that day." Then he began to relocate the people of Pengcheng.
At the same time, Ji Ling received the news of Yuan Shu's surrender and decided to surrender in Kaicheng. Liu Bei accepted it and transferred it to the rule of Huangfu Li in Yuzhou. This also declares that the power of Yuan Shu, who once dominated Heyu, Jing, and Yangzhou, has completely sunk into the long river of history.
It was February 14th, Liu Bei's army had just taken a small test, and his morale was at its peak. After learning the news of the fall of Pengcheng, he did not intend to retreat. Instead, he divided his troops into two groups. One group of more than 30,000 people, led by Guan Yu, attacked Guangling, and the other group, led by himself, will attack Pengcheng with 40,000 people.
At this time, Guangling had almost been evacuated, and the people of Xiapi and Donghai were heading north via Donghai. Nearly 600,000 Xuzhou people were driven by the soldiers and had to leave their homes and drive farther away. Now most of them have arrived in Houqiu. North and within the narrow area east of Jushui. If they move at this pace, they will be able to enter Qingzhou within twenty days, and the Han army will be helpless.
However, Yang Feng and others still did not dare to relax. They were deeply afraid of the Bafu cavalry. Seeing the Han army approaching, they immediately led their troops to evacuate.
However, its speed was far less than that of the Han army. Bai Bo left Xiapi on the 16th and traveled to Tan County, where he heard that the knights from Henan had arrived. It turned out that Wei Yan ignored Pengcheng and led the Henan knights to swim across the Surabaya River on horseback, running wildly in Xuzhou at a speed of two hundred miles a day. He didn't know where he got the news, but Bai Bo's rear army collided here!
During the hurried encounter between the two armies, the Henan knights were as powerful as rainbows and their horses' hooves were like lightning. Their first charge pierced the enemy's rear formation. Wei Yan was in front in his red armor, flying like thunder and fire, invincible on the battlefield, and then broke through the white wave behind. The army was cut down by more than a thousand people and chased Bai Bo for fifty miles. After he crossed the Shu River and escaped into the emigrants, Wei Yancai led his troops to retreat slowly.
Yang Feng was extremely frightened after this battle, but he was puzzled by the retreat of the Han army. It was not until a few days later, when Chen Deng and tens of thousands of Pengcheng people broke through the siege of the Bafu and joined him that he suddenly realized: It turned out that Chen Gui's strategy of taking the people as hostage was really effective.
From then on, the Han army faced Baibo for ten miles and was within reach, but it was still unable to advance.
