Above the Wei River

  It was much smoother to return to Han Yang Prefecture again. Gao Fei and Cao Cao first sent out a batch of scouts, who reported that Bei Gong Bo Yu and Bian Zhang had retreated from Shanggui back to Jicheng. So Gao Fei and Cao Cao accelerated their advance and occupied Shanggui that night.

  After a simple rest overnight, on the second day morning, he received another order from Huangfu Song, ordering Gao Fei to lead his 2,000 troops to garrison Shanggui, and Cao Cao led his 5,000 troops as a decoy to attack Jicheng. After receiving the order, Gao Fei and Cao Cao acted according to the order and parted ways at the gate of Shanggui.

  Gao Feng chatted with Cao Cao at the city gate for a few words and then sent off Cao Cao, seeing him off as he left.

  "It seems that Huangfu Song does not trust me, otherwise he would not have left me to guard this place. The city of Shanggui is already empty, what's the point of guarding an empty city?" Gao Fei said to himself as he watched Cao Cao and his 5,000 troops disappear into the distance.

  Zhao Yun, Pang De, Hua Xiong, Lu Xiang and Gai Xun stood behind Gao Fei, hearing his words, they all looked at each other in dismay. Finally, Gai Xun stepped forward and consoled him, saying: "The reason why Huangfu Song doesn't use you is that he doesn't want to let you establish more merits. Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo, Bao Hong, and Zhou Shen are all meritorious officials who have pacified the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan and Nanyang, and they belong to Huangfu Song's old subordinates. Liu Biao is a relative of the Han imperial family, and Yuan Shu's family has produced three chancellors in four generations, these two people are already famous throughout the land, only you have risen up step by step relying on your own military merits, it is reasonable that Huangfu doesn't use you."

  Gao Fei sneered and said: "I thought I would be the first meritorious general to pacify Liangzhou, but unexpectedly I was excluded, it's really suffocating!"

  Gai Xun smiled and said, "General, don't be disheartened. I reckon this attack on Jizhou won't succeed. General, just conserve your strength in Shanggui, and within half a month, Huangfu Song will definitely summon you to defeat the enemy!"

  Gao Fei turned his head and looked at Gai Xun after hearing this, asking: "Why is the Chief Historian so certain?"

  "Dong Zhuo is proud of his achievements, Yuan Shu and Liu Biao have their own grudges, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Zhou Shen, and Bao Hong are all eager to establish their merits. When attacking Ji City, how can they not compete for credit? In this way, the rebel army will take advantage of the situation, and within half a month, there will be news coming. General, you should intensify training in Shanggui now." Gai Xun analyzed one by one.

  Gao Fei listened to Gai Xun's analysis of the various people and asked: "How did Gai Zhongshi know so clearly?"

  Gai Xun smiled and said: "I went to Huairi with Lord Fu before, I've met all of you generals, plus some things I've heard about earlier, it's not hard to figure out. General Huangfu's subordinates are not ordinary people, if they were to advance separately, perhaps each person would be like a tiger or wolf, but now that everyone is gathered together, their positions are almost equal, no one will obey anyone else, and after a long time, there will definitely be chaos."

  Gao Fei smiled and was about to turn back to the city, but then remembered something very important. He turned his head to face Pang De and said: "Lord Ming, I have a very important matter that I'd like to ask you to do, and I hope you won't decline."

  Pang De had never received a solo mission since following Cao Pi, and when he heard Cao Pi speak in this manner, he immediately clasped his fists and said: "Your Excellency has a task but please instruct me, I will certainly not disappoint your orders!"

  Gao Fei said: "Since parting with Mr. Jia in Poqiang County, Liangzhou has been in the hands of the rebels for over two months. Now that the imperial court has dispatched a large army to quell the rebellion, the rebels will certainly put up a fierce fight. I'd like to ask you to go to Wuwei and gather news about Mr. Jia. The journey to Wuwei requires passing through rebel territory, which is fraught with danger. Are you willing to take this risk?"

  Pang De, with a heroic air about him, though young in years, was bold and decided. He replied at once, "I am willing to die for my lord, why not then go to Wuwei? Mr. Jia has been very kind to me; but for him, I would still be in the bandits' lair. My lord may send me when he wishes, and I will bring Mr. Jia before him."

  Gao Fei said: "Then you go back to the city and rest for a while, I'll have someone prepare dry rations and water for you, and we'll set off early tomorrow."

  Hua Xiong heard this and immediately cupped his hands in respect, saying: "My lord, I am willing to go with Lord Ming's younger brother!"

  "No, the more people there are, the more trouble it will cause. Besides, I know about Pond's bravery, and one person won't easily attract attention. In a while, I have other important tasks arranged for you to do," said Gao Fei.

  "My lord, I'll take my leave first." Pang De cupped his hands and said.

  Gao Fei nodded and smiled at Pang De, seeing him turn around and walk into the city. He then turned to Hua Xiong and said: "You now lead your troops back to Chen Cang, tell Lord Fu to transport the catapults we used last time defending the city, also tell Lord Fu to allocate another month's worth of food and fodder."

  "Hua Xiong clasped his fist and said: 'Alright! I will lead the 200 soldiers of this unit back to Chen Cang immediately.'"

  After the instructions were given, Gao Fei took Zhao Yun, Lu Heng and Ge Xun back to Shanggui. On the one hand, he continued to train the Flying Feather Army, on the other hand, he and Ge Xun went to train the two thousand Han army together, and sent out dozens of scouts to explore the movement in the direction of Jizhou.

  Two days later, the battle was like snowflakes flying back and forth between Jizhou and Shanggui. To gain a deeper understanding of the situation, Gao Fei decided to personally go to Jizhou to observe the battle, bringing Zhao Yun, Lu Heng, Zhou Cang, Liao Hua, Guan Yu, Pei Yuan Shao, Li Wen Hou, Xia Hou Lan and Bian Xi with him. He left Ge Xun to guard Shanggui.

  Ji City and Shanggui are not too far apart, the short distance of 100 miles only takes half a day to rush. Half a day later, Gao Fei and others rushed to the outskirts of Ji City, along the way they encountered many Han army scouts hiding by the roadside, because everyone was wearing Han army uniforms, they were able to pass through smoothly.

  They rushed forward for about five or six miles, and Gao Fei and others saw the large and small camps of the Han army. Each camp was mutually supportive, with the larger ones capable of accommodating 5,000 men and horses, and the smaller ones 2,000 men and horses. The large and small camps were also connected by deer horns and horse-drawn carriages, forming a ring shape that spread out in all directions. The army of 100,000 people was actually linked together to form a single piece, surrounding the entire Jizhou city like a watertight seal.

  Gao Fei and the others saw a large banner with the character "Zhou" hanging on the front camp, and as soon as they arrived at the camp on horseback, they immediately encountered hundreds of Han soldiers who were ambushing on both sides of the camp. Those hundreds of people rushed out, blocking Gao Fei's path, and the leading military officer shouted loudly: "Who are you, dare to trespass on our camp?"

  Gao Fei saw the large flag in the camp and was enraged, immediately jumping off his horse. With a copper helmet on his head and iron armor on his body, he walked angrily to the military officer who blocked his way. He raised his whip and lashed it at the officer's body, striking the armor with a clear and crisp sound. "How dare you!" he shouted. "I am General Gao Fei, the rebel-hunting general! You even dare to block my path? Go and call out your commander, let's see if he recognizes me!"

  The military governor's face was filled with a sense of injustice. He had already seen a general-like figure leading a cavalry team rushing over, but his general had previously given orders not to allow anyone to disturb him while he rested. Helpless, he could only force himself to lead the group and block their path. Having been scolded by Gao Fei, although it didn't hurt, he felt uneasy in his heart, and being publicly reprimanded also made him lose some face. He immediately bowed his head and apologized: "General, please calm down! General, please calm down! I am also bound by military orders and had no choice but to do this. My general ordered that no one be allowed to disturb him, so..."

  "Bastard! Go and call him over, just say that Gaofei has arrived, come to pay a personal visit. We are old friends who haven't seen each other for many years, you only need to mention my name and he will naturally come to greet me himself!" Gaofei was furious with Zhou Shen, now that he had arrived at his camp, how could he let him off so easily? He must find Zhou Shen to ask him clearly. Seeing the hesitant servant, he shouted loudly, "Still not going?"

  The military governor saw Gao Fei raise his whip and prepare to strike him, so he immediately retreated several steps and said: "General, please wait a moment, I will go and report!"

  Before long, Zhou Shen came out of the camp with a dozen or so attendants and saw Gao Fei and others riding on horseback outside the back door of the camp. He hurried over to them, cupped his hands together in greeting and said: "Ah, isn't this Duke Du's, General Gao Fei, Gao Zi Yu? You're not stationed at Shanggui, what brings you here? Has General Huangfu given you a transfer order? I, Zhou, have failed to welcome you from afar, please forgive me."

  Gao Fei saw Zhou Shen's sly smile, and coldly snorted. He leaned back on his horse and said: "I'm no match for Brother Bo Tong, after all, he's now the General of Bandits! I heard he's also been enfeoffed as a marquis, with a fief of 3,000 households. If he gets another 2,000 households, he can become a king! Brother Bo Tong is truly impressive!"

  Zhou Shen hastily said, "It's all because of my subordinates, they don't recognize the great name of Douding County Marquis, please don't blame you, sir! You've come from afar and must be tired from the journey. I've prepared a little wine in the camp, please do me the honor of accepting it. After all, it's been a long time since we brothers have seen each other. Please, enter the camp!"

  Gao Feng had been gnashing his teeth with hatred towards Zhou Zhen ever since he found out that it was Zhou Zhen who had ruined his trip to the Northeast. Recently, when Cao Cao told him that Zhou Zhen had driven away Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, his hatred intensified even more. However, he also understood that in order to deal with a despicable person like Zhou Zhen, one must use the same tactics against him. At this moment, he had already made up his mind to make Zhou Zhen suffer a downfall. So, he dismounted his horse and hypocritically bowed his hands, saying: "Brother Botong is too polite, since Brother Botong has invited me with such great enthusiasm, I will humbly accept your invitation."

  After following Zhou Shen into the big camp, Gao Fei felt that the atmosphere in the camp was not right. The soldiers guarding the big tent were all very strong and seemed to be carefully selected. Each of their eyes had a hint of murderous intent. Gao Fei looked at them and coldly smiled, saying: "Brother Bo Tong, aren't you setting up a Hongmen banquet?"

  "Brother Zi Yu, don't misunderstand. These are all my personal attendants who protect me day and night. Since you can't stand them, I'll have them keep a distance."

  "It's okay, I'm not afraid of becoming like this, even if it's the Hongmen Banquet, who knows who is Xiang Yu and who is Liu... Emperor Gaozu!" High Fly said halfway, suddenly realizing that in the Han Dynasty, directly calling Liu Bang's name was a serious crime of disrespect, punishable by beheading, so he hastily changed his tone.

  Zhou Shen listened and first furrowed his brow, then slowly relaxed it, continuing to smile and say: "Brother Zi Yu joked, Brother Zi Yu's bravery is known to me. Let alone these people, even if a hundred more came, they might not be Brother Zi Yu's match. To be honest, I took this measure to guard against others. Last night, the rebel army suddenly launched a surprise attack on our camp, catching us off guard. If I hadn't commanded well and repelled the rebels, they would have broken through from here. So I strengthened the camp's defenses, even setting up hidden sentries at the back of the camp."

  Gao Fei was uninterested in listening to Zhou Shen's nonsense, and he asked straightforwardly: "Zhou Botong, you and I have no grudges or grievances, why do you want to frame me?"