Mythical Three Kingdoms

Meanwhile, Zhang He also turned around to prepare for a charge but saw that the majority of Zhao Yun’s forces were not in disarray. They halted their momentum and quickly formed a formation to retreat from the ambush circle.

Zhao Yun sized up the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry opposite him and then glanced at the ambushing archers. After estimating his own troop strength, he was unwilling to exert pointless effort and immediately began to withdraw slowly. After creating some distance, the White Horse Righteous Followers swiftly evacuated the area like the wind, and Zhang He did not pursue them.

Zhang He weighed the forces on both sides and eventually gave up on chasing. The mission was already complete.

Chen Xi sat in the carriage waiting for Zhao Yun to return, feeling somewhat puzzled by this inexplicable ambush. As for whether his current location would come under attack, Chen Xi was not worried.

”There are some issues here!” Chen Xi thought with a frown, but he didn’t consider the situation from Yuan Shao’s perspective, as habitual thinking clouded his judgment.

”If Lyu Bu has defected to Yuan Shao, then what kind of offer could Yuan Shao possibly make? It’s simply impossible for Yuan Shao to outbid us; I had Liu Yan discuss concrete terms with Chen Gong and Zhang Liao, but when it came to Lyu Bu, any terms were negotiable. How could Yuan Shao possibly exceed what we’re willing to offer Lyu Bu?”

Chen Xi couldn’t help but furrow his brow. Since Liu Yan personally went to see Chen Gong and had substantively discussed the terms of surrender with him, it was unlikely anyone would think that Liu Bei’s side had never considered subduing Lyu Bu; thus, it was naturally impossible for Yuan Shao to offer better conditions than Liu Yan.

”Rolling it back, Yuan Shao could not offer better conditions, but Lyu Bu still dispatched troops to block us, which means he has sided with Yuan Shao. This also signifies Liu Yan’s failure, and compared to our terms, the only possibility for Liu Yan’s failure would be a lack of insight.” Chen Xi’s brow furrowed tightly—if that was indeed the case, it would be a true tragedy.

”Something is still not right. Flipping it over, what benefit does Lyu Bu gain from this move?” Chen Xi realized he had hit a dead end and then switched to another line of thinking.

”To demonstrate loyalty to Yuan Shao? Hmm, at the cost of angering me—after all, I’m in charge this time, and I have the decision-making power. Angering me in such a situation could only provoke a counterattack from Liu Bei’s Army. Hmm…” A hint of unusual light flickered in Chen Xi’s eyes, as he seemed to realize he didn’t need to think this way.

”Strategist, General Zhao has returned,” Hua Yun reported from outside the carriage.

Chen Xi silently opened the carriage door, jumped down from the carriage and saw Zhao Yun leading the White Horse Righteous Followers as well as several hundred unclaimed horses back.

”Zilong, it appears you’ve won a minor victory,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

”Not really, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry is truly an elite force. They fought my White Horse soldiers to a standstill,” Zhao Yun shook his head, while the encamped soldiers quickly fortified defenses on all sides and sent out a large number of scouts once again; meanwhile, medical soldiers hurried to provide treatment to the wounded.

”You’re sure it’s the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry?” Chen Xi asked calmly.

”Yes, it is indeed the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry; the combat style was consistent, and they were able to fight the White Horse Righteous Followers to a draw,” Zhao Yun nodded. ”It seems Lyu Bu has indeed defected to Yuan Benchu. This time we’ll return the favor.”

”There’s no need for that,” Chen Xi shook his head, ”Regardless of whether Lyu Bu has defected to Yuan Benchu or not, it doesn’t matter. We’ll just go and fight Yuan Benchu.”

”Hmm, why is that?” Zhao Yun looked at Chen Xi, perplexed, ”Clearly it’s Lyu Bu’s Zhang Liao attacking us, so why are we hitting Yuan Shao?”

”It’s turned out, Lyu Bu and Yuan Shao are as good as one. Whichever we hit, it’s all the same. If it’s not turned out, the reason we hit Yuan Shao is even simpler—the Zhang Liao who attacked us must be an imposter. Since we can’t dodge it either way, then there’s no need to think further, just hit them directly,” Chen Xi replied with a shrug.

Chen Xi had also been pondering why Lyu Bu would attack them, but he later realized a problem. Who cares why Lyu Bu attacks? Whether it’s Lyu Bu or not, turning around and attacking Yuan Shao will certainly get revenge, a simple logic problem that doesn’t require strategy or thought!

Zhao Yun was taken aback, clearly not catching on, but as Chen Xi explained, Zhao Yun instantly understood. No matter what the purpose of this baffling battle was, essentially it didn’t matter. If it’s a disguise, it’s only right to blame it on Yuan Shao. If it really is Zhang Liao, beating up Yuan Shao is also not wrong.

”Then what’s the point of this ploy that attacked us?” After Chen Xi’s explanation, Zhao Yun suddenly felt he had an intellectual advantage over the enemy. This ploy was completely unnecessary!

”How am I supposed to know what the designer of this ploy was thinking?” Chen Xi rolled his eyes and said, ”Maybe they just wanted to lower our intelligence to match theirs, and then beat us with experience.”

”So we’re hitting Yuan Shao?” Zhao Yun replied, tugging at the corner of his mouth.

This ploy, uninterpreted by Chen Xi, was quite clever—after all, with Lyu Bu’s character, he definitely wouldn’t explain anything. Once the fight starts, Lyu Bu would surely not show any weakness to the enemy, making the likelihood of him leaning towards Yuan Shao greatly increase!

Moreover, Guan Yu, Yann Liang, and Lyu Bu’s battlefield was still a day’s journey away. Normal scouts would hardly be able to detect such a distance, and it was basically impossible for Lyu Bu to know about the battle. To tell the truth, even if he found out later, by then he could only grit his teeth and stick to his guns.

The result, viewed by Chen Xi from outside the situation, made the design look like a joke. The scheme’s maker, in Chen Xi’s view, clearly showed a weakness in intelligence.

”Of course we’ll hit them.” Chen Xi nodded, ”We don’t need to think about it, just hit them. It would be a pity not to take advantage of such low intelligence.”

Zhao Yun secretly wiped his sweat. Although he too thought the enemy’s intelligence was questionable, he found Chen Xi’s direct mockery somewhat hard to accept.

Zhang He, leading his cavalry and infantry troops back, had no idea that Chen Xi had not been fooled in the slightest. To Zhao Yun’s cry of ”Zhang Liao,” he felt very satisfied and even gained a clear assessment of the abilities of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. As expected of one of the three great cavalries, they were evenly matched with the White Horse Righteous Followers.

After bandaging his wounds, Zhang He quickly led his troops northward. He could assure that only Zhao Yun’s Army and he knew about this battle—the Lyu Bu side would definitely be in the dark. The infantry he led, apart from a small number used to set up ambushes and cover the rear, were mostly hidden troops anticipating the sudden appearance of Lyu Bu’s scouts.

[Thus, Assistant Officer Tian’s scheming became even more difficult to expose, and with Lyu Bu’s pride, after being attacked, he would absolutely not explain. A battle between the two sides is inevitable!]

Assured that his plot was flawless, Zhang He was secretly pleased. He admired Lyu Bu’s bravery greatly, and if he could be brought under Yuan Shao’s command, it would be greatly beneficial to Yuan Shao’s ambitions.

That was also the reason why Zhang He was willing to conceal his true power and risk fighting a fierce battle with Zhao Yun—now his loyalty lay with Yuan Shao, and he was ready to fight for Yuan Shao’s hegemonic ambitions! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)