Just after nightfall, Gao Shun's cavalry and infantry troops, consisting of more than a thousand people, came out of the south of Xiaopei City in light equipment. From a distance, they looked like a flaming dragon.
When the brigade passed Ganjiazhuang, they saw a man holding a torch standing by the road at the entrance of the village. The firelight was very eye-catching in the night, as if he was waiting for Gao Shun and the others.
Gao Shun took the lead and walked in front. When he got closer, he heard the man shout loudly: "Is this General Gao?"
Gao Shun thought the voice was familiar. He rode forward but found that the person was Lan Tian.
"What are you doing here, sir?" Gao Shun dismounted and was extremely polite to Lan Tian. The deputy general beside him was very surprised when he saw this.
"Exclusively waiting for General Gao." Lantian said with his fists clasped.
Gao Shunxin said that they met not long ago, so why should they look for me now? So he said: "After summer, there are many mosquitoes in the countryside. Sir, it is better to go home and rest first. Gao is currently involved in military affairs and it is inconvenient to stay for a long time. He will go to the village to bother me after I return."
"I know that the general's military affairs are urgent, so I only have a word to say when I block the road." Lan Tian said sincerely.
"But why?"
"I expect that the general will take Xiapi and leave. My sworn sister and sworn father should be in Xiapi city. Please take care of me, general, out of friendship. Lantian is very grateful." Lantian bowed and said.
Gao Shun was shocked after hearing this. Lord Lu Bu wanted to capture Xiapi tonight. He must have made a very hasty decision. Why did Lan Ziyu know? At this time, he glanced at Lantian again.
I originally thought that Lan Tian only knew how to farm, cook, and tell stories, but now I think about it, could he also be good at calculations?
"Sir, please come back. Shun has his own plans." Gao Shun helped him up and got on his horse, without directly agreeing to Lan Tian.
Gao Shun then urged the army and horses to move quickly, and finally arrived outside Xiapi City in the middle of the night. Xu Dan opened the city gate to welcome the army into the city as agreed in advance.
After entering the city, Gao Shun first sent troops to occupy the city gate tower and key terrain. After Zhang Fei heard the news, he panicked and organized his army to fight.
At this time, Lu Bu's rear team had arrived, and the two sides started a melee at night in Xiapi City. Zhang Fei was killed because he was unprepared and was defeated. Finally, he escaped from the city with his own bravery and dozens of riders. Liu Bei's family members, including Gan Qian, were there. All within fell.
After the victory, Gao Shun restrained his soldiers not to disturb the people. His troops rushed into the government office immediately and captured Gan Qian, Gan Ji and other family members in the back hall.
Gao Shun saw that among the captured family members, there was a woman who was as beautiful as a flower. He thought she must be Liu Bei's wife, so he asked, "Are you Liu Bei's wife, Gan?"
"General, do you want to humiliate me? Then you will only get a corpse." Gan Qian said coldly, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Qian'er, don't be impulsive..." Gan Ji whispered from the side. He and Liu Bei had not enjoyed happiness for long in Xiapi. The sound of fighting in the city at night frightened him.
"Don't be afraid, you two. Your brother Lan Tian and I know each other and will protect you as much as possible." Gao Shun nodded and said.
After that, Gao Shun asked his men to take the two of them to the trap.
Lu Bu and his generals were mostly lustful people. If outsiders discovered Gan Qian's beauty, Lan Tian, the sworn sister, would definitely be harmed.
Just as everyone was retreating, a dashing figure rushed in and shouted impatiently: "Where is Mrs. Gan?"
"Miss?"
"General Gao?"
As soon as Lu Lingqi saw the beautiful woman next to Gao Shun, she knew that she was Lantian's sworn sister Gan Qian, and she thought that a hero like Liu Bei would never marry an ugly peasant woman.
"These two are Mr. Lan's adopted father and adopted sister..." Gao Shun hesitated to speak.
Lu Lingqi understood Gao Shun's thoughts at this time. He turned out to have the same thoughts as herself.
Lu Lingqi said happily: "The general's camp is full of men. It will be inconvenient for you, Mrs. Gan, so you'd better put them in my place."
Lu Lingqi had extraordinary martial arts skills. Although she did not lead the army in battle, she commanded a female escort team of fifty, specifically responsible for protecting the female relatives at home.
"That's very good, otherwise I don't know what to do if my lord comes to me for help." Gao Shun said.
"Sister Gan, you and uncle please come with me." Lu Lingqi said with great respect.
After Gan Qian followed Liu Bei, she was considered a woman who had seen the world. She followed Lu Lingqi with Gan Ji, wondering why her brother had made friends with Lu Bu's generals?
After Lu Bu captured Xiapi, he called himself Xuzhou Mu. The official seal that Liu Bei had given to him under false benevolence and righteousness was now truly in his hands.
"I don't want Xuzhou to fall into my hands so easily, Gongtai, what should we do next?" Lu Bu asked in the governor's palace.
"Zhang Fei was killed in the battle last night. Liu Bei will definitely come back and capture Pi after hearing the news. We must defend the city now and ask Yuan Shu for food as soon as possible. Now that the military strength is increasing, there is a serious shortage of food and grass." Chen Gong said.
Lu Bu nodded and said: "The fourth and fifth princes of Yuan Gongdao will never break their promises. I will compile a letter and send it to Huainan."
"I heard that after the battle last night, General Gao and Miss Lu ran to the back hall to rob people at the same time. I wonder who got Liu Bei's family members in the end? My lord can come here to blackmail Liu Bei into withdrawing his troops." Chen Gong offered his advice.
"It's Lingqi who wants to go. She told me that it's not harmful to my wife and children, so let her handle it first. Besides, Liu Xuande and I are from the border area. If I use my wife and daughter to blackmail him, won't I lose my reputation?" " Lu Bu said.
Chen Gong nodded and said: "My lady is kind-hearted, but the general will not be kind to women from now on. Cao Cao can kill Pengcheng in the blink of an eye..."
"A man doesn't judge a hero by how many people he kills. This massacre of a city makes me disdainful of being compared to Cao Cao's thieves." Lu Bu snorted coldly.
Chen Gong smiled bitterly to himself, I was not talking about Cao Cao's massacre of the city, but his unscrupulous ruthlessness to achieve his goals, but then he remembered the reason why he left him.
Isn't it because Thief Cao is too ruthless? Although Lu Bu is an ordinary man, he is much more magnanimous than Cao Cao.
While Lu Bu was sending people to Huainan, Zhang Fei was also fleeing south to meet up with Liu Bei's defeated army.
Liu Bei was originally defeated by Yuan Shu, and now he lost Xia Pi and his family and generals. However, because he had a peach garden alliance with Zhang Fei, he did not scold him too much.
The three brothers gathered their troops and returned to attack Xia Pi. Lu Bu now had the city at his back and it was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Liu Bei couldn't defeat it after a long battle and was defeated and fled.
Liu Bei then led his remaining troops to advance into Guangling County, but was defeated by Yuan Shu's army again. In the end, he had to withdraw his troops and temporarily settle in Haixi County.
At this time, Liu Bei's remaining troops were short of men and horses, and faced the dilemma of running out of food and grass. Everyone felt that their future was bleak.
At the time of crisis, Mi Zhu, a former Xuzhou bieji who was a wealthy businessman, reached out to help. He donated two thousand slaves and gold, silver and silk.
After hearing that Liu Bei's family had fallen to Xiapi, Mi Zhu married his sister Mi Zhen to him to help him get back on his feet.
Although the urgent need was solved, Yuan Shu was still determined to destroy Liu Bei.
When Liu Bei was losing ground, in order to survive in this troubled world, he could only beg for surrender with hatred from Lu Bu, who stabbed him in the back.
Due to Yuan Shu's delay in paying the promised military rations, Lü Bu accepted Liu Bei at Chen Gong's suggestion and ordered him to station in Xiaopei to prevent Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, and generously returned his family members and generals.
Gan Qian and her daughter followed Liu Bei on their way back to their hometown, but now there was a beautiful wife beside their husband.
Gan Qian sat silently in the carriage along the way. Gan Ji thought that his daughter was upset because of Mi Zhen's incident, so he comforted her and said: "Qian'er, it is normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Besides, our Gan family is from a humble background. It is a great blessing for Xuande to be my concubine."
Gan Qian shook her head and said, "My daughter is not worried about this. We were well taken care of after the destruction of Xiapi City. Dad, don't you think Tian Di is a bit capable?"
Ganji took a breath and sighed: "I can't see through Tianer, but after returning to Xiaopei, I plan to go back to Ganjiazhuang to live. I have been digging the land all my life, so I'd better be closer to the land..."
"It's okay, my brother will take care of you anyway," Gan Qian said.
