In the third year of Jian'an, on the 24th day of the twelfth month, in Xiapi.
The night was deep and dark, the northern wind howled.
The only two candles in the study flickered, their flames wavering as though they could extinguish at any moment.
Lü Bu, sitting across from the middle-aged scholar with a stern expression and a dignified appearance, spoke gravely: "Gongtai, what's the best plan to survive now?"
That's right! I've turned into Lü Bu!
And not just any Lü Bu, but Lü Bu in the year 208, December, in the city of Xiapi!
In my past life, I was an extreme sports athlete, and during one wing-suit flight, I had an accident. When I woke up, I found myself reborn here!
If nothing goes wrong, in just a couple of days, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu will capture me and deliver me to Cao Cao as a New Year's gift!
Although taking down Hou Cheng and his men isn't hard, Cao Cao is currently surrounding the city with his army. How can I break through this siege and escape with my life? I will have to rely on Chen Gong's strategy!
Chen Gong, with a complex expression, sighed and said, "If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place?"
Lü Bu sighed helplessly: "What happened yesterday is of no importance today! Now, Cao Cao is leading his troops outside the city, and we are stuck in this solitary fortress."
"If we die here, Gongtai's advice will be nothing but empty words!"
"But if we survive, we'll have plenty of time to listen to your advice."
In October of the third year of Jian'an, Cao Cao personally led his army to besiege Xiapi.
Now, it's the end of December, and the war has lasted for more than two months!
From October until now, Lü Bu had plenty of opportunities to defeat Cao Cao!
Unfortunately, the original host had his talent completely focused on martial skills and appearances, completely lacking in wisdom!
Watching the situation in Xu Zhou deteriorate to this point, and ultimately being trapped in a lone city!
Chen Gong's complaints were completely understandable to Lü Bu.
But time was of the essence, and survival was paramount!
Seeing the earnestness in Lü Bu's eyes, Chen Gong fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "Given the current situation, survival is nearly impossible. Our best option is to make one final desperate attempt."
"A clever woman can't cook without rice!" — this was exactly what the current situation was!
Cao Cao's forces were strong and numerous, and he had flooded the city with the waters of the Yi and Si Rivers.
At this point, the only remaining escape route outside of Xiapi was through the East Gate.
The other three sides of the city were completely submerged, impassable!
And inside the city, the morale of the remaining 5,000 soldiers was low and the army's strength was dwindling.
In the face of such a situation, even if Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, or Cao Cao's generals were here, they wouldn't be able to do anything!
Lü Bu said: "Making a final attempt will only lead to exhaustion and death! But if we wait here and do nothing, we may not even see the sun rise tomorrow!"
"At this point, any chance is a chance to survive!"
Chen Gong spoke again: "Cao Cao is far from home, and his rear is vulnerable. The land of Yan Zhou and Yu Zhou is a battlefield. As long as we hold the city and drag things out until next spring, Yuan Shao and Zhang Xiu will surely come to attack Cao Cao's rear!"
Lü Bu shook his head: "The army's morale is too low; they're not willing to fight to the death. The civilians and local gentry inside the city will not stand with us. Especially with the floods outside the city, the walls can't hold for long! This plan isn't feasible!"
Using both rewards and punishments to stabilize the troops, that could be done.
Using force to control the gentry, that could also be attempted!
But the city walls of Xiapi were already old and in disrepair. After being submerged by the floods, it would only take about ten days or half a month before they collapsed completely!
Relying on Yuan Shao and Zhang Xiu to attack Cao Cao's rear would take too long, and we won't have enough time!
Chen Gong continued: "With the cold weather and frozen ground, it's difficult for anyone to march to our aid. The only warlord nearby with the strength to come to our rescue is Yuan Shu! If the lord trusts me, I am willing to risk my life to break out of the city and meet with Yuan Shu. I will convince him to bring his army to rescue us!"
Lü Bu shook his head: "A month ago, Yuan Shu might have come to help. But now, the situation has changed. Even if you go and beg him, or I personally go to apologize and beg for his help, Yuan Gonglu will likely just watch us die!"
Chen Gong could be trusted, but it was all useless!
Chen Deng and his son had already secretly surrendered to Cao Cao, yet the original host had still trusted them!
In the end, he had unknowingly fallen into their trap and severed ties with Yuan Shu.
Even if Chen Gong could break through the encirclement and successfully persuade Yuan Shu to send troops, it would take at least ten to fifteen days, and there would be no time!
Chen Gong sighed: "Right now, Xiapi is surrounded by water on three sides, and the only escape route is the East Gate. The lord can arrange some soldiers to fake a breakout through the East Gate under the cover of night. Meanwhile, we can secretly prepare small boats and take only our trusted men out through the West Gate."
We cannot just sit here and wait for death; no one is coming to save us.It seems that breaking out of the city is the only option left!
Lü Bu shook his head again: "Cao Cao is always cautious with his troops, and now his forces are even stronger. The East Gate will definitely be heavily guarded, and I'm sure there will be scouts and patrols at the other three city walls as well."
"Moreover, Xiapi is situated in a flat plain. Once we leave the city, there's no natural cover or obstacles to hide behind. Escaping past Cao Cao's scouts won't be easy!"
"Even if I can break through, what then? Without the army, where will we escape to?"
Lü Bu had already considered this many times!No matter which direction they ran, the chances of survival were slim!
Chen Gong's eyes burned with determination: "How much do you trust Wen Yuan?"
"Wen Yuan?"Lü Bu hesitated for a moment: "Wen Yuan was once a general in Bingzhou, and he's always been righteous. He's never thought highly of the things I've done. With the current situation, can we really trust him?"
Zhang Liao had great command abilities and was one of the best generals in the late Han dynasty, but the problem was that he wasn't close to Lü Bu!
Right now, they were stuck in Xiapi, with Chen Gong, Gao Shun, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and the others in the city. Only Zhang Liao, who was leading troops outside, hadn't surrendered to Cao Cao, nor had he risked his life to come and rescue them.
Although Zhang Liao was nominally Lü Bu's general, Lü Bu was skeptical.
After all, history taught that once Lü Bu was defeated by Cao Cao, Zhang Liao would likely join the enemy's side!
So at this moment, Lü Bu couldn't fully trust Zhang Liao.It wasn't about personal character; it was about who he sided with!
Chen Gong cupped his hands: "If the lord can fully trust Wen Yuan, there might be a way to survive. But if the lord cannot fully trust him, then I'm afraid there's no other way to save ourselves."
"Right now, all we can do is wait for death!"