Deception Surrender (1)

  Gao Feng told Zhou Cang and Guan Yu the detailed plan, and after listening to it, both of them nodded silently, admiring Gao Feng from the bottom of their hearts. They exclaimed in unison: "Great wisdom, sir!"

  Gao Fei said: "Don't delay, you two take action now!"

  "Take care, sir! I'll take my leave!" Zhou Cang and Guan Yu bowed to Gao Feng together, then slowly backed out of the tent.

  "Sir, can these two men be trusted?" Lu Xun asked in a low voice as he approached Gao Fei after Zhou Cang and Guan Yu had left.

  Gao Feng said, "If you suspect someone, don't use him; if you don't suspect someone, then use him. Zhou Cang and Guan Yu are not fools either. The Yellow Turbans' great momentum has already gone, this is an indisputable fact. Lu Xiang, from today on, I will promote you to be a military marquis, your position as the commander of the garrison will be replaced by Fei An."

  Lu Heng happily bowed and said: "Thank you, sir, for promoting me."

  Gao Fei waved his hand and said, "Actually, you should have been promoted long ago. It's just that there were too few soldiers at the time. Alright, get up now and go with Fei An to summon Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei."

  "Promise!"

  Lu Heng and Fei An slowly retreated, leaving only Gao Fei alone in the camp. Gao Fei opened the map that Lu Zhi had given him before he left, which he had carefully studied for three days during the march to understand east, west, south, and north, and was finally able to fully comprehend the meaning of the symbols on the map.

  "This map is really simple!" Gaofei couldn't help but scold the map again, thinking that the difference between ancient and modern times was really huge, not just in terms of maps, but many other aspects as well.

  Soon after, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Lu Xiang and Fa An all arrived together, shouting in unison: "Greetings, sir!"

  Gao Fei raised his head and saw five people standing in a row, then said: "Hmm, all of you come over here."

  Five people walked up to Gao Fei's side, seeing that he was studying a map, no one made a sound.

  Gao Fei immediately pointed to a small point on the map with his finger, carefully explaining his plan, and then instructed each person what to do. After all this was said, Gao Fei loudly asked: "Is everyone clear?"

  Liu Bei and the other four people replied in unison: "Understood!"

  "Gao Fei said: 'Since that's the case, let's not delay any further. Please hurry up and follow my orders, we'll defeat the enemy tonight!'"

  "Promise!"

  Zhou Cang and Guan Yu returned to their camp, took off their armor, changed into casual clothes, each rode a fast horse, and rushed out of the camp towards Xiakou in the north.

  After galloping for over twenty miles, Guan Hai shouted "Stop" and reined in his horse, dismounted, and walked up a sandy ridge.

  Zhou Cang also stopped and turned around to see Guan Hai crouching on the sandy ridge, scooping up sand with both hands, then tossing it into the air. He stood there motionless, allowing the falling sand to cover his head and body, making him look like a gray figure.

  "Zhang He brothers, what are you doing?" Zhou Cang asked, looking puzzled.

  Hehe smiled and patted the dust off his hands, beckoning to Zhou Cang and shouting loudly: "Zhou Cang, come over here!"

  Zhou Cang dismounted and walked to the side of Guan Hai, without asking any questions, he scooped up a handful of sand and threw it at him. He was caught off guard, with his mouth full of sand, his face and body were all the same, he spat out several times, pointing at Guan Hai and shouting loudly: "What kind of madness are you suffering from?"

  "It's not madness, it's camouflage!"

  "Disguise?" Zhou Cang asked in confusion.

  Guan Hai didn't explain either, patted Zhou Cang's shoulder and said softly: "Let's go, get on the horse, after we arrive at Xiakou Yang, you will understand why I did this!"

  Zhou Cang didn't ask any questions and immediately followed Guan Yu onto the horseback. The two of them let out a loud "Hya" and galloped away quickly.

  They arrived at the outer wall of Yangcheng, and the two quickly rushed to the foot of the city, far from the range of the archers on the city head, shouting loudly: "Open the gate quickly, we want to see General Digu!"

  The Yellow Turbans on the city wall saw two dusty and dirty men shouting outside the city, so they shouted loudly: "Who are you?"

  Zhou Cang and Guan Yu answered in unison, one shouting "I am Zhou Cang", the other yelling "I'm Guan Yu".

  Zhou Cang and Guan Yu were somewhat famous in the Yellow Turban Army, so when the defenders heard their names, they relaxed their vigilance. However, instead of opening the gate for them, they sent someone to summon General Zhang Bao, also known as Tiangong.

  As Zhang Bao arrived at the city gate, he saw Zhou Cang and Guan Yu's two horses wandering around below. He coldly said: "Hmph! You two traitors, you actually have the nerve to come back? Shoot them dead for me!"

  Guan Yu immediately called out: "General, calm your anger! My friend and I were besieged by the Han army in Guangzong for over a month. The city was on the verge of cannibalism. After the Han army broke through the gates, we had no choice but to surrender. It wasn't voluntary. Now that we've obtained important military information from the Han army, we've come to apologize and ask to make amends by contributing to your cause!"

  Zhang Bao saw that Zhou Cang and Guan Yu looked disheveled, as if they had been hiding. At this time, he saw a small group of Han army cavalry coming out from the southeast direction, seemingly to capture Zhou Cang and Guan Yu. Thinking that they were originally Yellow Turban generals and now only two people, he shouted: "Open the gate!"

  The city gate opened wide, and Zhou Cang and Guan Yu rode their horses into the city. They dismounted quickly and saw Zhang Bao holding a long sword coming down from the city tower. The two men hastily knelt on the ground and shouted in unison: "We pay our respects to General Di Gong!"

  With a "whoosh" sound, Zhang Bao drew out the long sword he was holding and placed the shining white blade on Zhou Cang's neck, shouting loudly: "Do you still have the face to come back? You've already killed Da Xianliang, isn't that enough, do you want to harm me too?"

  "General, in the final battle of Guangzong, I led the army to break through the siege several times, but each time we were blocked by the Han army. We were besieged by that old man Lü Zhi for over a month in Guangzong, and all our food was consumed. Where did we have the strength to fight against the government army? The government army broke through the city gate with one breath, and we barely managed to escape with General Huang Zu's troops. However, we were surrounded again and had no choice but to temporarily surrender to the government army. If you think we didn't fulfill our duties, then kill us if you want! I, Zhou Cang, won't have any complaints!"

  Zhang Bao sheathed his long sword and said coldly: "Alright, I'll believe you this once. You just mentioned that there's important military information. What is it?"

  Guan Hai hastily said: "General, the troops that came to attack Xiayang are Lu Zhi's army, with only 20,000 soldiers, led by Gao Fei, the front army Sima. Moreover, Gao Fei also boasted in front of Lu Zhi, saying that he would definitely conquer Xiayang within a month..."

  "Hah! What a big tone! In the city of Xiāngyáng, there are over a million people, and he thinks that with just 200,000 soldiers, he can take down Xiāngyáng in just one short month? He's simply daydreaming! I've already had someone investigate what you said, pick out the important parts!" Zhang Bao couldn't help but interrupt Guān Hài's words when he heard Gāo Fēi's arrogant tone.

  Guan Yu said, "General, Lu Zhu gave Gao Fei only one month's worth of grain and fodder. Now some have been used up, and the remaining amount is only enough for about twenty days. If the general can burn down the Han army's grain and fodder, then the 20,000 government troops will collapse without a fight and retreat in disarray. I and Zhou Cang came from the Han army and know where their grain and fodder are stored!"

  Zhang Bao's face lit up with great joy, and he immediately laughed: "Gao Fei, you killed two of my brothers, tonight I'll let you die! You two go down and rest, after nightfall follow me to raid the Han army camp!"

  Zhou Cang and Guan Yu answered in unison: "Yes!"

  The two men were overjoyed to see Zhang Bao being deceived, and they exchanged a glance before standing up and following the two ordinary soldiers of the Yellow Turbans into the city.

  The two were arranged in a room, and soon someone brought in a basin of water. A young man of medium build walked in, saying to the person holding the basin: "Alright, put it on the floor, you all go out, and guard at the door. Without my order, no one is allowed to come in!"

  "Promise!"

  Zhou Cang and Guan Yu glanced at the man, seeing that he was only fifteen or sixteen years old, with a yellow scarf wrapped around his head, wearing a thin armor, with a long knife hanging from his waist. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and on the left side of his cheek, there was a particularly striking black mole. The two men did not recognize this young man, seeing that his entourage had all retreated, while he himself used a pair of piercing and spirited eyes to carefully examine them, making their hearts feel hairy.

  "What's wrong with you? I am the master of one side, a general, and you are just a small flag owner. Don't you understand any rules at all?" In the Yellow Turban Army, there were also levels of distinction. Zhang Jue's Heavenly General was the highest, followed by Zhang Bao's Earthly General, then Zhang Liang's Earthly General, and after that came the generals under each regional master, and finally the flag owners under the regional masters. Guan Yu saw the young Han man's attire and understood his position, and couldn't help but burst out laughing, loudly questioning him."

  Although Zhou Cang was not the leader of one side, he was a powerful general under Zhang Bao, the Earl of the Land. He had some reputation in the Yellow Turban Army as well. After Guangzong was besieged, Zhang Bao sent Zhou Cang with 20,000 troops to rescue Zhang Jiao, but unexpectedly failed to rescue him and ended up being surrounded himself. He glanced at the young man with a blank expression, although they were under the same command of Zhang Bao, there were many who didn't know each other, he didn't recognize the young man either. Seeing that the young man showed no intention of leaving, he asked: "Didn't you hear General Guan's words clearly? Are you deaf or mute?"

  The young man sneered and said, "Listen clearly, it's just that I don't want to leave, I have something to ask you."

  "How dare you! You're just a small flag owner, how can you be so presumptuous? Don't you have any respect for me, the master of this region?" Guan Hai, as the leader of the region and commander of the canal, shouted loudly at the young man's disrespect.

  That young man didn't seem to be intimidated, he just let out a cold "hmmph", crossed his arms, leaned against the door frame, and revealed a sly smile on his face. He said in a low voice: "I'm afraid it's you who are being bold... trying to use a trick to lure General Di into leaving the city..."

  "Get out of my sight! You dare to spout nonsense again, I'll skin you alive!" Gan Hai's heart skipped a beat after hearing this, and he loudly interrupted the young man's words, "I am deeply loyal to Great Virtuous Teacher..."

  "Damn your mother's eggs! Don't think I can't see through you, you may fool the Earth God General, but not my eyes!" The young man also cursed loudly.