The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 191 Cheng Ji in a Dilemma

Lucheng (a type of braised food restaurant).

Zhuge Liang waited outside the city for three days, until the roads dried up, but no Wei reinforcements arrived. He then knew that the Wei army would not come to the rescue for the time being, and ordered Wu Ban, who was hiding in the mountains, to be recalled.

Come back, it's terribly cold in the mountains.

After waiting patiently outside the city for two more days, Cheng Ji finally arrived with the follow-up army and supplies. He walked up to Zhuge Liang and said, "You've finally come out, strategist. Did you manage to avoid any problems?"

Zhuge Liang laughed and said, "No, Tanzhi just sent back news last night that he has defeated Cao and captured Shanggui City. We can now advance north with peace of mind. You are exhausted from just leaving Qishan, so take a good rest for a couple of days. Once you are well-rested, we will head north to Ji County and wait for an opportunity to fight Zhang He."

Cheng Ji has already left Qishan, and Zhang He has probably left Jieting as well. Now that both sides are in position, continuing to play dirty tricks is not only pointless, but will also easily backfire.

Therefore, we must abandon all opportunistic shortcuts, conserve our energy, and go all out to strive to defeat Zhang He in one battle.

Two more days passed, and after all the soldiers had recovered and all the supplies were in place, Zhuge Liang finally launched his operation. He ordered Chen Shi to lead 3,000 troops to guard Lucheng, and ordered Chen Ji to lead Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, Ma Dai, Ma Cheng, and 10,000 troops to the west to seize Longxi County. The plan was to first establish a base for the army in Longxi, and then head north to Tianshui to encircle the flank of the Wei army.

Zhuge Liang personally led the rest of the army straight to Ji County to fight Zhang He. Even if they did not fight a decisive battle for the time being, they would hold back Zhang He's main force to buy time for Cheng Ji to attack Longxi.

Once preparations were complete, the army set off. This time, Zhuge Liang moved very slowly, covering only forty li each day, but he expanded the scouts' patrol range to fifty li, allowing them to keep abreast of the battlefield situation and giving the Wei army no chance to launch a sneak attack.

Cheng Ji, however, was completely different from Zhuge Liang. He ran at a speed of seventy li per day and arrived at Suoxi City in just two days. The soldiers and civilians in the city were shocked and surrendered without any resistance.

After making some arrangements, Cheng Ji continued westward, heading straight for Didao, the capital of Longxi Commandery.

The counties along the route were terrified as the Han army passed through, and all the counties surrendered without resistance. Soon, the county seat of Didao was left standing aside.

After all, Longxi had only recently submitted to Cao Wei, and its loyalty to Cao Wei was limited. Few local residents were willing to risk their lives for Cao Wei.

All the counties under his jurisdiction surrendered, leaving You Chu, the governor of Longxi, dumbfounded. "What am I supposed to do if you all surrender? This is outrageous!"

But the worst was yet to come. Although Didao had not surrendered yet, the calls for surrender within the city grew louder and louder as the Han army approached. Everyone wanted to surrender, except for You Chu.

You Chu was recommended by Zhang Ji, and being from Guanzhong, he had met Cao Cao and was highly loyal to him. Unlike the Qiang and Hu people from Liangzhou, he was naturally unwilling to surrender.

But You Chu also knew that not surrendering would be going against the will of the people, and the result of going against the will of the people would probably be that before the Han army arrived, his group of sluts and bastards would cut off his head and hand it over to the Han army commander.

How to do how to do?

You Chu paced anxiously in his mansion, and after much deliberation, he finally came up with a desperate plan. He summoned all the officials and powerful figures in the city to his mansion and said with heartfelt sincerity, "I have just arrived in Longxi and have done no favors for you. Now that the Shu army has entered Liangzhou, officials and people from all counties are vying to join them. This is your time to become rich and powerful. Take my head and join the Shu army."

Everyone was stunned. We had this idea, but you didn't have to say it out loud. You've brought something that was supposed to be done in secret into the open. How are we supposed to make a move?

Someone said, feigning concern, "Prefect, this won't do. Why don't you surrender with us?"

You Chu shook his head and said, "The prefect has the responsibility to protect the land and the people. I am not talented, and although I have no ability to fight against the Shu army, I am determined to live and die with the city. I am ready to die, so you should exchange my head for your future."

Everyone fell silent. Although You Chu had not been in Longxi for long, he was generous and charitable, and he governed Longxi mainly with kindness and virtue. He disliked punishment and killing, so he was very popular among the people of Longxi.

Now they are being asked to exchange their lives for their future, which not only makes those who wanted to kill You Chu lose their killing intent, but also makes them feel a little guilty.

Prefect You treated us so well, and I actually thought of killing him and defecting to the Shu army. I'm such a beast.

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads in shame and wept bitterly, saying, "We are willing to defend the city with the governor and we swear to live and die with Didao. Please believe us, governor. We will share life and death with you and have no other intentions."

Trust you? I don't believe a damn thing.

You Chu naturally didn't believe their nonsense and continued, "If you guys are unwilling to kill me, then I'll give you an idea. General Zhang He has already arrived and may engage in a decisive battle with the Shu army at any time. We can hold our ground and wait for the two armies to clash."

"If the Shu army is defeated, we will be considered loyal ministers who defend the city and uphold the country's integrity, and we will all be rewarded. If the Wei army is defeated, it will not be too late for you to tie me up and surrender to the Shu army."

Everyone thought about it and agreed. It was indeed too early to take sides now. What if they surrendered to the Shu army but were defeated? Wouldn't that be like an old man hanging himself?

The crowd bowed and said, "The governor is wise; we will follow your lead."

You Chu finally smiled with satisfaction and ordered the city gates to be closed and the city to be guarded at all costs.

Two days later, Cheng Ji arrived with his army. Seeing the tightly closed city gates and the heavily guarded soldiers on the city walls, he felt uneasy.

Before they could decide whether to launch a full-scale attack, they saw a middle-aged man being lowered down from the city wall in a hanging basket.

The middle-aged man stepped out of the hanging basket and went straight to the Shu army formation. After explaining his purpose, he was brought before Cheng Ji and bowed, saying, "Ma Yong, the Chief Clerk of Longxi Commandery, pays his respects to the General. I am here on the orders of Prefect You Chu to deliver a message to the General. Prefect You said that if you can defeat Zhang He and prevent the main force of the Wei army from reaching here, the commanderies of Longxi will surrender without your attack. If you cannot defeat Zhang He, even if you take Longxi, Zhang He will take it back afterward, right?"

He then presented You Chu's handwritten letter.

Cheng Ji was caught in a dilemma after reading the report. You Chu had already given the conditions for surrender: defeat Zhang He and then surrender.

If we were to launch another direct attack, it would be rather inhumane. The consequence of such an attack would be that the soldiers and civilians in the city would feel that we were humiliating them, and would fight to the death.

Didao was, after all, a prefectural city and a frontline defense against the Qiang and Hu tribes. Its high walls and thick fortifications made it difficult to attack.

But if we don't attack, and just wait for Zhang He and Zhuge Liang to fight each other as You Chu said, wouldn't we have come for nothing?

He's here to attack the city, not for sightseeing.

That damned You Chu, he's given himself such a huge problem.

Cheng Ji was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to advance or retreat. After some thought, he decided to retreat ten miles to rest temporarily and then send a messenger to report to Zhuge Liang for a decision.

at the same time……

After a five-day trek, Zhuge Liang finally arrived thirty miles outside Ji County, where he encountered Zhang He's main force.

Neither side was prepared and therefore neither was confident. They faced each other twenty miles apart, like masters dueling, each waiting for the other to reveal a weakness.

Instead of finding a weakness in the Wei army, Zhuge Liang received a messenger from Cheng Ji. After reading the letter, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "I didn't realize that Prefect You was such a talented person. Inform Cheng Ji to ask You Chu for some grain and fodder, so that You Chu can show his sincerity. The specific amount to ask for can be decided by Cheng Ji himself."

"After obtaining the grain, we will immediately retreat to Zhang County, then head north to Xiangwu to capture Yuandao, and from Yuandao we will move towards Ji County, first eliminating Zhang He and then taking Longxi."

Before the messenger could even settle in, Guan Ping returned.

When leaving Lucheng, Zhuge Liang ordered Xi Zhen and Xi Hong to lead two thousand soldiers to Shanggui to exchange Guan Ping and Zhang Bao.

With the decisive battle about to begin, he needs the two great generals Guan Ping and Zhang Bao, as well as the elite White Feather Army.

Guan Ping and Zhang Bao returned to the main camp and approached Zhuge Liang, asking, "Strategist, what do you need us to do next?"

Zhuge Liang calmly waved his feather fan and said, "Wait..."