Chapter 493 Xu Chu, who learned a lot from Guan Yu (four thousand)
Plain County

Pingyuan County

Yuan Shao, who was sitting in the main seat, had a worried look on his face at the moment. He always felt that what had happened in recent days was too magical.

In a trance, the advantage slipped through his fingers, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch a single strand.

As a result, he had to evacuate from Yecheng and ended up in the situation he is in today.

He restrained his expression, raised his head and looked around at the wise ministers and generals present.

The meeting hall in Pingyuan County is not small, but compared with Yecheng, it is too cramped.

Sitting in the main seat, you can have a panoramic view of the conference room without even turning your head.

Even in such a cramped meeting room, there are now many empty seats. It is far less lively than before and seems so quiet and cold.

However, Yuan Shao was not discouraged, nor did he become devastated by the unfavorable situation.

He adjusted his breathing, grabbed a battle report, and asked the wise ministers and generals present: "Gentlemen, Yecheng is under siege. But according to the battle report, Guan Yu and Huang Zhong have been unable to capture the city for a long time. I think it is because Huang Zhong and Guan Yu are exhausted. I want to select a general to rush to Yecheng. I wonder who do you think can take on this important task?"

The wise ministers and generals began to discuss, and the cold conference room finally had a lively atmosphere.

Ju Su wanted to say, "Could it be that Guan Yu and Huang Zhong deliberately released this battle report in order to lure us to rush to Yecheng to help?"

But Ju Su opened his mouth, but ultimately he couldn't squeeze the words out.

The importance of Yecheng is self-evident. Yecheng is located on the hilly land at the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain. To the west is Taihang Mountain, whose towering peaks meander into the distance like a natural barrier.

It is bordered by the Yellow River to the south, and the Zhangshui, Baigou, Qishui, Dangshui, Huanshui and Fushui rivers run around the city, forming a natural moat.

It is backed by the vast and prosperous Hebei Plain to the north and by the river and the sea to the east, forming a river transportation network crisscrossing from north to south. It is said that "it is the throat of Hebei and the waist of the world."

Once Yecheng was lost, Yuan Shao's ambition to achieve hegemony would truly become empty talk.

They didn't have much choice.

No matter how clever the plan or the various means, in the face of absolute strength, the effect they can play is very limited.

Thinking of this, Ju Su couldn't help but look bitter, and changed his words and said, "Sir, I think Zhu Ling and Zhu Wenbo can take on this important task."

"Zhu Wenbo" still has a deep impression of Zhu Ling and Yuan Shao. In the mainstream value of the Han Dynasty that filial piety is the key to governing the world, Zhu Ling ignored his mother in order to suppress the rebellion, which can be regarded as a first-class ruthless person.

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and looked at the wise ministers and generals present.

"What do you think?"

"I have no objection."

"good!"

Yuan Shao immediately made the decision, "Appoint Zhu Wenbo as a school lieutenant and lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry to rush to Yecheng to support it!"

All the generals clasped their fists and agreed.

When all the wise ministers and generals left, leaving Yuan Shao alone, his worried expression reappeared. He sighed deeply and murmured to himself, "My son, my son, I hope you can bring some reinforcements."

Yuan Shao originally wanted to dispel his depression by reading the government decrees. However, no matter how hard he studied, his depression did not go away. Instead, he felt uncomfortable all over.

He simply stood up and threw the decree aside.

Later he paced back and forth, brows furrowed, and as he thought about it, his thoughts involuntarily drifted to Zhu Ling.

Is Zhu Ling really reliable?
The thought that popped up in his mind almost scared Yuan Shao himself. Reason told him: If it weren't for Zhu Ling, Gongsun Zan would have attacked! But his instinct was a completely different voice: Can someone who disregards his mother's safety be trusted?
Yuan Shao was torn between a desire and a desire. He told himself that he should trust the people he employed.
But he happened to think of Lu Bu again, whom he valued so much, but what was the result?

In the battle of Liyang, Lu Bu left without saying goodbye. If Lu Bu resisted, could he delay the progress of Huang Zhong and Guan Yu?
In the end, the former gained the upper hand. Yuan Shao put on his coat and rushed out of the conference room in a hurry.

The guards guarding the gate were full of confusion and had no idea why Yuan Shao was so anxious.

Before they could ask, Yuan Shao spoke up first, "Prepare my horse. I want to see Captain Zhu off!"

"promise."

The guard turned around and went to bring a good horse for Yuan Shao as quickly as possible.

The two men wanted to help Yuan Shao mount his horse, but Yuan Shao sternly refused.

After watching Yuan Shao disappear in the cold wind, a guard suddenly remembered something. He looked at his colleague standing beside him and asked, "Did you see that?"

"What did you see?"

"The thing in the envoy's hand."

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be wine?"

"Wine? Why are you carrying wine?"

"It should be to see Captain Zhu off. Well, let's not talk about these things. You and I will guard the gate and don't let strangers get close."

Just as the two guards had guessed, Yuan Shao came to Zhu Ling carrying a wine bag.

Zhu Ling was a little dazed as he looked at Yuan Shao, whose forehead was covered with beads of sweat. He asked tentatively, "Envoy?"

"Captain Zhu, this rescue of Yecheng is extremely important, so I came here to see you off. Unfortunately, I have nothing else on me except the two wine bags I have on hand."

As he spoke, Yuan Shao threw the wine bag to Zhu Ling, who caught it steadily.

Yuan Shao raised his wine bag and said with a smile: "Today, I am here to use this wine to wish Captain Zhu a victory and to lift the siege of Yecheng! When the time comes, I will write to the emperor and ask him to make me a marquis! But I hope you will put your life first in everything."

Feeling the warmth of the wine bag and looking at the sincerity on Yuan Shao's face, Zhu Ling was a little dazed. This was not just warming the wine, this was clearly a sign of respect!
He originally thought that Yuan Shao was not a wise ruler, but he never expected that he was wrong.

Zhu Ling was deeply moved. He raised his wine bag and said with tears of gratitude: "I am willing to die for you, my Lord!"

The two men drank from each other, and gulped down the wine in the wine bag.

Zhu Ling wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth and solemnly said goodbye to Yuan Shao.

Although the wind was as cold as a knife, Zhu Ling did not feel cold. Instead, his whole body was filled with warmth.

He gripped the reins tightly and thought secretly: Gao Lan underestimates his enemy, I will definitely not be careless!
Outside Yecheng.

Guan Yu, Huang Zhong, Xu Chu, Mi Zhu, Xu Shu, Xiahou Yuan and others gathered together.

Xu Chu tugged at Mi Zhu's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Mi, why are we not attacking yet?"

Mi Zhu's mouth corners slightly raised. Compared with Xu Chu's previous performance, the Xu Chu in front of him always made people want to laugh.

After all, the difference between the carefree and reckless man and now being so cautious is so huge that it makes people laugh.

Seeing Xu Chu's annoyed expression, Mi Zhu stopped smiling and explained, "Yecheng is the throat of Hebei Province, and is much more difficult to capture than Liyang. Moreover, there are tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in the city. These people are grateful to Shen Zhengnan, so it may not be a wise choice to attack by force."

"I see." Xu Chu breathed a sigh of relief, secretly glad that he didn't say what was in his mind.

But then again, he always felt that his strategic thinking had improved a lot in recent days.

As expected, by getting along with brave and resourceful people, one's talents are gradually improving.

Xu Chu was very happy.

But his happiness was soon interrupted.

"Zhongkang, the second general and General Huang are looking at you." Mi Zhu's voice rang in Xu Chu's ears. Xu Chu was startled and his thoughts raced. He had just thought of a strategy. Could it be that the second general and General Huang wanted to ask me for advice? Oh, how could this be embarrassing.

Xu Chu touched his head, a little embarrassed to meet Guan Yu and Huang Zhong's eyes. He subconsciously said, "Since a strong attack doesn't work, it's better to use wits. I can trick the city gates open."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell into silence.

It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone stared at Xu Chu in shock. Xu Chu's heart sank, thinking to himself, "Oh no! This is bad! Did I say something wrong again?"

"Ahem." Xu Shu coughed a few times, "What Zhongkang said is that if a violent attack fails, then we should use our wits to defeat it. But let's not talk about this for now. After many days of waiting, we finally got Yuan Shao's reinforcements. General Huang, in my opinion, the only one who repelled Yuan Shao's reinforcements was Zhongkang."

Xu Chu's eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth opened uncontrollably, wide enough to fit an egg.

After a moment, he excitedly grabbed Mi Zhu's arm, and his voice suddenly rose several tones, "Mr. Mi, Mr. Mi. Military Advisor Xu, not only approved of my strategy, but also asked me to go and repel Yuan Shao's reinforcements!"

"Zhongkang, I heard it. If you hear it, please stop shaking me. You are almost shaking me apart."

".I am really sorry for the offense."

Xu Chu then came to his senses and quickly let go of Mi Zhu, looking apologetic.

Guan Yu, Huang Zhong, Xu Shu and others smiled at each other. Xu Chu lowered his head, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"In that case, then we will follow the advice of Military Advisor Xu." Huang Zhong looked at Xu Chu and said in a loud voice, "Captain Xu, I order you to lead 10,000 soldiers. Do you have the confidence to repel the reinforcements?!"

"Yes!" Xu Chu raised his head.

Huang Zhong stroked his beard and said, "Good."

But what made Huang Zhong feel strange was why Xu Chu was still standing there, looking at him meaningfully?

Xu Shu whispered something in Guan Yu's ear. Guan Yu came forward with a wine pot. Xu Shu smiled and said, "Zhong Kang, why don't you wait until you return victorious to drink this wine. I think with Zhong Kang's bravery, the wine will probably still be warm when you return victorious."

If it were someone else, Xu Chu would just feel that the other person was playing a trick on him.

If it were Guan Yu, it would be completely different.

After spending these days together, he was completely impressed by Guan Yu.

In his opinion, Guan Yu's words were recognition of himself, so how could he let Guan Yu down?
"Yes! I will definitely not let General Huang down!"

"Go and go!"

"Captain, Yecheng is ahead!"

Listening to the scout's report, Zhu Ling nodded repeatedly. He led his soldiers to Yecheng overnight. It seemed that the timing was just right.

But how to attack specifically still needs to be considered carefully.

Zhu Ling wanted to send out scouts to find out the situation of Huang Zhong and Guan Yu's army and find their weak points.

When they attack from the weak points, the morale of the guards in the city will surely be boosted when they see their flags.

He believed that Shen Pei could seize the opportunity and cooperate with him, and perhaps be able to repel Guan Yu and Huang Zhong.

However, at this moment, a sudden loud voice disrupted Zhu Ling's composure.

"I am Commander Xu Chu, Xu Zhongkang! Who are you? Tell me your name. I will not kill nameless people!"

The army of Huang Zhong and Guan Yu in the front began to become restless, and a warrior in armor led tens of thousands of elite soldiers to charge out from them, with such momentum as the rushing Yellow River.

"?!"

Xu Zhongkang?
Zhu Ling was shocked. Who was Xu Zhongkang? Why had he never heard of him?

The guard reminded him, "Captain, this man was defeated by Lü Fengxian in the battle of Liyang."

"Lü Fengxian"

Zhu Ling murmured to himself. He had a general understanding of Lu Bu's strength.

Whether in bravery or charging into battle, he is extremely strong and can be called a first-class general.

If he were to face Lu Bu, he would probably be scared.

As for Xu Chu, he was defeated by Lu Bu, which means that Xu Chu was not as brave as Guan Yu, Huang Zhong and Lu Bu.

Out of caution, Zhu Ling did not underestimate Xu Chu, but he was unwilling to give in in terms of momentum.

"Hmph. So that you can die knowing full well, I am Zhu Wenbo from Zhu Ling of Du County!" Zhu Ling's aura was no weaker than Xu Chu's.

Xu Chu's mouth curled up into a disdainful smile, and he imitated Guan Yu's tone and said, "Zhu Wenbo? I think it's like putting a bid to sell Seoul!"

"A sharp-tongued lunatic!" Zhu Ling was a little angry, he sneered: "If Guan Yu and Huang Hansheng came, I would be a little afraid. How dare a mere captain act rashly? All soldiers, listen to my order and kill them!"

Zhu Ling waved his hand and ten thousand elite soldiers rushed out.

Xu Chu was not afraid at all. He shouted loudly: "Comrades, we cannot let the Second General down. Follow me to fight! Defeat the rebels, kill the general and seize the flag!"

Unlike Zhu Ling who was in charge of the central army, Xu Chu led the way, cracking his whip loudly.

The court troops behind him were infected and shouted angrily: "Repel the rebels! Kill the generals and seize the flags!"

Zhu Ling's eyelids twitched wildly. What was going on? A mere captain's soldiers were so fierce? They came up and killed the general and seized the flag? Did you think killing the general and seizing the flag was a common thing?

Faced with this situation, even ordinary people cannot endure it, let alone Zhu Ling?
He shouted angrily, "My friends, let these rebels know how powerful we are! I will reward anyone who beheads them!"

"Kill!" the Jizhou soldiers roared.

The two sides fought in a huge battle, with such a might that even the sky was eclipsed and even the earth was shaking slightly.

Such a commotion naturally attracted the attention of the guards in Yecheng. The generals were all delighted. The appearance of Zhu Ling meant that Yuan Shao had not given up on them.

They had heard of Zhu Ling's name, and they knew that this man was a very ruthless person.

If Guan Yu and Huang Zhong don't come out, how can a single commander defeat Zhu Ling?
The general named Su You burst into laughter: "Hahaha, how ridiculous!"

"Why are you laughing, Brother Su?"

"I laugh at Guan Yu's lack of wisdom and Huang Zhong's lack of strategy! They actually let a captain resist Zhu Wenbo. Do you think Zhu Wenbo is Zhang Junyi? Zhu Wenbo will definitely be able to defeat a mere captain! Why don't we go and persuade Lord Shen to order us to lead the troops and defeat the rebels together with Zhu Wenbo! Then the danger of Yecheng will naturally be resolved!"

"So good, so good."

It has to be said that Su You's voice was very contagious, and the generals also thought that Su You spoke well.

When they found Shen Pei and were about to tell him their idea, they discovered that Shen Pei's face was frighteningly gloomy, as if a haze was gathering.

This is how the same thing?

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment, and suddenly someone said in panic, "Everyone, look outside the city!"

Outside the city?

Could it be
Could it be that Zhu Ling was defeated? !
Everyone was startled and looked in the direction the man had pointed. They felt their scalps tingling and their faces were filled with fear.

The two groups were evenly matched just now, but in just a moment, the winner was decided. Zhu Ling was actually defeated by a captain.
How is this possible? !
(End of this chapter)