Confused

  Dark clouds gather, fierce winds howl.

  On the vast snowy plain, a few large flags in the Han army camp fluttered in the wind, making a rustling sound as they were blown by the strong north wind. The gate of the camp was wide open, but there was not a single person inside.

  Before long, rebel cavalry emerged from the hills in the west, a vast expanse of people, led by Bian Zhang and Bei Gong Bo Yu, rapidly galloping down from the hills. The sound of horses' hooves shook the earth like thunder, causing the snow piled up on the tree trunks to fall off, and the ground trembled with it.

  "What the hell are the Han troops doing?" The further Beigong Boyu rushed forward, the more he felt that something was off. He clearly saw that the gate of the Han army's camp was wide open, and the vast camp was empty, with hardly anyone in sight.

  "Haha, the Han army must have found out that I'm leading the troops personally and thought they couldn't withstand our large numbers of soldiers and horses, so they didn't even get a chance to dismantle their camp before fleeing." Bian Zhang was delighted at this scene and immediately called out in joy.

  Just as the words had fallen, several Han army soldiers emerged from the camp, each holding a broom in their hands, slowly sweeping the accumulated snow on the ground outside the gate of the Han army camp, without any fear of the tens of thousands of rebel cavalry who were about to arrive.

  Bei Gong Bo Yu had suffered at the hands of Gao Fei before, and now that someone had appeared, he became extremely frightened. Just as they were about to charge into the camp a few hundred meters away, he suddenly shouted loudly: "The whole army stops advancing!"

  At a single order, Beigong Boyu and all the cavalry behind him reined in their horses' reins and suddenly stopped, but only Bian Zhang rode out alone.

  Bian Zhang heard Beigong Boyu's shout, turned his head to see that the mountains and fields were all his own cavalry, but they almost stopped advancing at the same time. He hastily pulled the reins, loudly asking: "Beigong Boyu! What are you blindly shouting? The Han army camp is right in front of us, why did you suddenly stop advancing?"

  Bei Gong Bo Yu retorted: "The Han army has a strange formation, it's not easy to advance rashly!"

  Bian Zhang rode his horse up to Beigong Boyu and asked, "What's strange?"

  Bei Gong Bo Yu immediately said: "General Bian, do you still remember that I led a troop to pursue Gao Fei more than a month ago?"

  Bian Zhang thought for a moment and asked: "That time you almost lost all your troops?"

  "That's right, that time. That time I chased from Xiangwu to Jicheng, saw the flags fluttering on top of Jicheng, fake soldiers standing everywhere, thinking that the Han army was still inside the city, who would have thought that the Han army was just a bluff, had already run away without a trace. Later, I pursued for nearly a hundred miles, Gaofei used the strategy of reducing the number of stoves to confuse me, I easily fell into it, almost leading to my entire army being wiped out."

  "You've said that more than once, and thinking back on it still gives me chills. But what does it have to do with our attack on the Han army camp?" Bian Zhang asked in confusion.

  It is said that one misfortune can lead to a gain in wisdom. At this time, Beigong Boyu looked at the Han army camp and saw that they had lowered their flags and drums were silent, and the gate of the camp was wide open. Several soldiers sweeping snow didn't even notice them. He kept an eye on it and pointed to the Han army camp in front, saying loudly: "General Bian, please take a look at the camp ahead!"

  "What's the big deal? An empty fort, a few people shoveling snow, what's so great about that? The Han army is afraid of us and has already retreated. This is just the Han army trying to deceive us. General Beigong, I was chosen by you and the other generals to be in charge of military affairs, so I should be the one making decisions. Please remember your position and don't shout out unnecessary orders without my permission. Now, go ahead and pass down the order for the troops to speed up their advance. Occupying the Han army's camp would be a great achievement!"

  Bei Gong Bo Yu's heart was not at ease, and he immediately called out: "This time the general leading the troops is Gao Fei, the Rebel-Quelling General, who is also the one defending Chen Cang. This man is cunning and treacherous, I cannot just watch you get deceived. Last time, I lost over 9,000 tribesmen because of my rash advance. This time, I absolutely will not allow you to take risks with my tribesmen lightly. Are you not a general appointed by me? Without my recommendation, would those Qiang people have followed you?"

  "You--" Bian Zhang was furious, pointing at Beigong Bo Yu's nose and wanting to scold him severely, but he restrained himself and said loudly, "I think you're intimidated by Gao Fei!"

  Bei Gong Bo Yu let out a cold hum, pointing to the camp in front of him and explaining: "Look at this camp, there are only a few large flags, and from the outside, it seems that there are only those few people sweeping snow inside. But this is exactly the trap set by Gao Fei, he wants to lure us in and then ambush us. From my understanding of Gao Fei, when he retreats, he will definitely make a show of strict defense, just like last time's Ji City retreat. Last time he had 20,000 troops and it was still so, let alone now with 60,000 troops?"

  "Don't forget that there's another person named Cao Cao who is also in command, maybe... maybe they disagreed and both retreated?" Bian explained.

  Bei Gong Bo Yu said: "I don't know who Cao Cao is, but I am too familiar with Gao Fei. I once met him in Luodu Valley. This person has a thick skin and a cunning heart, and he is full of tricks. I won't be fooled by him again!"

  Bian Zhang listened to Beigong Boyu's words, which did make some sense. He had never really clashed with Gaofei before, and he was curious about what kind of person this Gaofei was, who had suddenly risen to fame in Liangzhou. However, most of the people under his command were Qiang tribesmen and Hu cavalry from the Western Regions, all of whom were close friends with Beigong Boyu. He didn't have any personal guards of his own, so he couldn't afford to openly challenge Beigong Boyu. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked, "So what do you think we should do now?"

  "Wait! I don't believe the Han army can hide like this forever!" Beigong Boyu replied resolutely.

  Bian Zhang did not make any further rebuttals, but instead quietly waited with Bei Gong Bo Yu and others, gazing at the Han army's large camp that was almost within arm's reach, hoping to see the appearance of the Han army's ambush troops.

  Seventy thousand cavalrymen scattered all over the hills five hundred meters in front of the Han army camp, each person shivering with fear in the icy snow, even the horses under them were frozen and spinning around.

  Half a time passed, the soldiers who swept the snow in the Han army camp closed the gate of the camp. An hour passed, there was not a single movement inside the camp, and the whole camp was as quiet as death. Two hours have passed, and there is still no suspicious sign in the Han army camp.

  At this time, the rebel cavalry had already jumped off their horses and were rubbing their hands and stomping their feet to warm themselves up. Everyone's face was pale and their lips were frozen purple. Some couldn't bear the cold and gathered dry firewood from nearby to start a bonfire. Soon, the 70,000-strong cavalry corps erupted like a boiling pot, with bonfires springing up one after another. Three or five people sat around each bonfire, taking out the cheese they had brought with them and eating it. This situation spread like an infectious disease, the sharp cavalry turning into lazy and idle men, some even starting to complain.

  The clamor of voices made the hillsides resound with human voices, and Beigong Boyu's face looked extremely unpleasant. He heard the murmurs coming from behind him and thought to himself: "Could it be true that the Han army has retreated?"

  Bian Zhang arrived at Beigong Boyu's side with a scornful gaze, his tall figure of over two meters giving Beigong Boyu an intangible sense of pressure. He let out a cold hum and muttered, "Once bitten by a snake, for ten years one fears the hemp rope. At this time, I reckon those few people who cleared the snow have already disappeared without a trace. General Beigong, if things go on like this, I'm afraid the entire army of 70,000 will freeze to death in this icy and snowy land. The Han army can't travel far on this road even after two hours, and if we pursue them, it will be even more urgent!"

  Bei Gong Bo Yu sighed and said: "General Bian, whatever you say is what it is, maybe I was indeed too cautious!"

  Bian Zhang summoned a herald, who blew his horn. The sound of the horn rose, and Bian Zhang, fearless, was certain that it was an empty camp. He charged forward on horseback, followed by his 70,000-strong army, who were slightly fatigued but still managed to shout as they rushed out.

  The sound of galloping horses' hooves rose again, but this time the sound seemed a bit disordered and not as majestic.

  Bian Zhang grasped the horse knife in his hand and was the first to rush to the gate of the Han army camp, finding that the gate was slightly ajar. He used the momentum of the horses to burst into the camp, rushing into the Han army's large camp. After running back for a distance, he unexpectedly discovered a small secret in the camp - there were only a thousand stoves for cooking food.

  When Beigong Boyu followed the main force into the Han army camp, what he saw was an empty camp with no one in it. He was filled with regret and didn't expect to fall for Gao Fei's trick again. Riding his horse to Bian Zhang's side, Beigong Boyu widened his eyes in surprise, looking at the thousand charred stoves left on the ground, as well as the pots and pans that were left behind without being taken away. He said with hatred: "This time we really fell for Gao Fei's deceitful trick! I didn't expect that among the 60,000 troops, there would only be a thousand stoves! General Bian, this Gao Fei is too deceitful! Now he must not have run far, I'll take 20,000 men to chase after him!"

  "No! I'll go myself!"

  Bei Gong Bo Yu hastily said after estimating for a moment: "No, let's go together. With 70,000 against 100,000, we will have an advantage no matter what!"

  The two men consulted and decided to lead the 700,000-strong army in pursuit. However, each of them had their own plans in mind, and while they marched together, they were also wary of each other.

  Cao Cao, Gao Shun and Guan Yu led their troops in a swift retreat. Two hours was not much time, but at least it could slow down the advance of the rebel army. To further delay the rebel army, Cao Cao ordered his soldiers to block the road with giant stones and set up a barricade every ten miles.

  The Han army had three thousand cavalry this time, but the remaining six thousand were infantry, and their journey was slower. Adding to that, the roads were difficult to walk on after being covered with snow, causing a lot of trouble for the Han army. In this situation, Gao Fei called Zhao Yun, Pang De, and Hua Xiong, ordering them to each bring two hundred men to build a stove platform, only making one thousand five hundred, and burning them black with fire. They also got pots, bowls, and ladles from Ge Xuan and threw them near the stove platforms.

  Gai Xun learned about this matter and found Gao Fei, opening his mouth to ask: "Master Hou, you previously reduced the number of stoves, now you're increasing them, what do you intend to do?"

  Before Gao Xian could respond, Cao Cao laughed and said: "General Gao is indeed clever. Reducing the number of cooking stoves is like Sunzi's deception of Pang Juan, but increasing the number... if I'm not mistaken, General Gao should be imitating Yu Fan of our dynasty, shouldn't he?"

  Gai Xun suddenly enlightened, thinking of the situation, using the increase in stoves to confuse the rebels, slowly said: "Lord Hou's previous reduction in stoves was a show of weakness to the rebels, now increasing stoves is a show of strength to the rebels. Along the way, constantly using this method can confuse the rebels, making them think that our army's numbers are constantly increasing, and they dare not press on tightly. This is indeed a wonderful plan, Lord Hou's move is truly brilliant."

  Gao Fei chuckled and said: "I'm just imitating the ancients, it's nothing remarkable."

  Cao Cao said: "General Gao has studied and applied, although it is a copy of the ancient military law, but also used vividly, indeed can not help but admire."

  After hearing Cao Cao and Gai Xun's praise, Gao Fei was no longer humble. In his mind, there were not only tactics to confuse the enemy, such as reducing or increasing troops, but also many books he had read. He had even applied Sun Tzu's Art of War to business battles, and when it came to practical application, he had a set of skills that surpassed anyone else. There were countless famous generals and ministers in Chinese history, and if you picked one from the chaotic times, he could use it here, which was also worth reading so many books back then.

  The Han army retreated hastily, while the rebel army pursued fiercely. However, there was a difference: the Han army's retreat was smooth and unobstructed, whereas the rebel army's pursuit was hindered by many obstacles. Despite this, Bian Zhang and Bei Gong Bo Yu were unwilling to let go of the opportunity to eliminate Gao Fei. Both of them knew that if they could eliminate Gao Fei, their reputation would greatly increase, and they could also deal a severe blow to the Han army.

  This time, among the eight strong generals led by Huangfu Song, there were three strong generals from Liangzhou: Dong Zhuo, Zhou Shen, and Gao Fei. Even Huangfu Song himself was from Anding County, Pingliang City, Liangzhou. Except for Zhou Shen's reputation in Liangzhou not being loud enough, compared to the others, Dong Zhuo, a veteran general, and Gao Fei, a new star, posed a greater threat to the Qiang Hu rebels of Liangzhou. As the commander-in-chief of the army, Huangfu Song's threat was even more obvious. If this time Beigong Boyu and Bian Zhang could kill or capture Gao Fei alive, it would necessarily reduce one part of the threat to the rebels, which is also why Bian Zhang and Beigong Boyu pursued him relentlessly.

  Also don't know how long the pursuit lasted, Bian Zhang and Bei Gong Bo Yu only felt that the sky had darkened, looking at Qiang Hu Jian Er who was still moving obstacles in front. The hearts of both men were burning with anxiety, worried that if they continued like this, Gao Fei would escape. Both men shared the same idea, exchanged a glance, and immediately decided to leave first with 20,000 cavalrymen to pursue Gao Fei and Cao Cao's Han army, leaving behind another 50,000-strong army to return to the Han military camp that had already been occupied by the rebels.

  Twenty thousand light cavalry rushed in a hurry, and in less than half an hour, they saw a place where the Han army was buried to cook food on the ground. Roughly counting, there were about 1,500 stoves.

  Bei Gong Bo Yu and Bian Zhang looked at each other in dismay, asking in unison: "The Han army has arrived with reinforcements, what should we do now?"

  "We've run so far just to defeat the Han army. The Han army has fled all the way here, they're already exhausted in body and mind. Even if reinforcements arrive, what can they do? We'll still be able to defeat them!" Bian Zhang shouted at Beigong Boyu, "I'll continue the pursuit, if you don't want to come with me, then quickly retreat!"

  Bei Gong Bo Yu also didn't dare show weakness, and immediately said: "I have sworn an oath to kill Gao Fei, I cannot retreat now."

  The plan was set, and the two of them led the cavalry forward in pursuit. Less than half a column of time had passed when they saw Han army infantry hastily running east along the official road.