201. Lu Bu Retreat To Jibei

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Chen Gong told Lu Bu and all of the generals there, that they had entered Guo Jia's trap, and when Chen Gong finished saying that a soldier ran up to them, reporting that at the West gate, Cao Cao's army was seen on the horizon, making them need to battle at 2 sides.

Chen Gong immediately appealed to Lu Bu to send some of their armies, around 60,000 men to hold off Cao Cao's main army while they collected all of their supplies and necessities, to leave Puyang and head toward Jibei.

Lu Bu was silent at first, he didn't expect that after some months, he would lose Puyang who could be said to be his capital, Lu Lingqi who was standing beside Lu Bu closed Lu Bu seeing as he was in a trance.

Lu Bu woke up from his trance, he patted Lu Lingqi on her shoulder and told everyone to follow Chen Gong's order, as he knew with his intelligence he couldn't think fast like Chen Gong.

Everyone was surprised as they didn't think that Lu Bu would say that, as he usually acts brash or says that he will fight back against Cao Cao and send him to his home with his tails between his legs.

Chen Gong was also surprised, but soon he ordered Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and Cao Xing to head the defenses on the Western Gate, Hao Meng and Zhang Miao organized the family members to evacuate.

Wang Kai and Xu Si will continue to lead the defenses in the Eastern Gate alongside Lu Bu, with Cheng Lian assisting them here, and lastly, he requested Lu Lingqi to go back and protect Lady Yan.

Lu Lingqi who heard this immediately protested Chen Gong, as she felt that if it was not for her Puyang would have fallen before they arrived, especially since she lost 80 of her sisters.

Chen Gong turned to Lu Bu, asking him what should he do and Lu Bu just waved his hand and told Chen Gong to let Lu Lingqi stay then he turned toward Lu Libgqi telling her to stay by his side.

Lu Lingqi was happy and obeyed her father's words, promising to stay beside him. Chen Gong tells the others to hurry and go, then turns to watch Lu Bu as he feels that Lu Bu is changing.

He doesn't know what caused this change, maybe his consecutive defeats or the impact of losing his base and their wandering the land or being defeated yet again, just like his defeat against the three heroes at Hulao Gate.

Lu Bu in this timeline is not like the one in the original timeline, he wasn't influenced by a honeypot or beauty that clouded his judgment, which makes Diao Chan his priority and not his family in the original timeline.

Now his mind and ambition are to only keep his family safe, and world hegemony is the only way he thought his family could live safely and comfortably, without the worries of war threatening them every moment.

While everything was going on in front of him, Lu Bu just looked at the sky thinking how could he arrive at this moment. On the Western Gate, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and Cao Xing led the defense against Cao Cao's main army.

They had 60,000 men to hold off against Cao Cao's main army of around 110,000 to 120,000 men. Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai advised Cao Cao to just do a probe attack, not too aggressive just to pressure Lu Bu.

Their target is to take Puyang without further casualties, as they have lost a lot of men in the previous battle and Cao Re!'s army must also have some casualties so it's better if they minimize it.

Cao Cao: "Haha Gongtai must never expect that this day would come to him, to be forced to retreat consecutively, what a pity that he chooses to leave me and join Lu Bu."

Guo Jia: "My Lord, I think if we have the chance, or maybe you can still save the bridge before completely burns down, we should recruit Master Chen Gong back to our side."

Xi Zhicai: "Fengxiao I think that can't happen, even if Our Lord personally invites him back with open arms, Chen Gong will not agree as it's a matter of principles and values he has which is different from Our Lord."

Cao Cao: "What Zhicai said is true, it's truly a pity that Gongtai has different values than me, and the way we see the world is different. If there's no Zhicai, my most valued advisor would be Gongtai."

Guo Jia: "That's a pity, I would like to have the chance to discuss many things with him since by the time I arrive it looks like My Lord and Master Chen Gong already have a conflict."

Cao Cao, Guo Jia, and Xi Zhicai have a conversation while watching the battle unfold before their eyes, Zhang Liao and the others feel a bit strange about how Cao Cao's army attack wasn't that aggressive.

This feeling was ignored by them, focusing on defending Puyang. The battle at Putang continued for about 3 hours when Hao Meng and Zhang Miao returned that everything is ready for them to evacuate Puyang, Zhang Miao had prepared ships at Puyang Docks some kilometers of their north through messengers.

Lu Bu and Chen Gong nod their head, but seeing as the time is already late afternoon, the battle will end shortly, and using the cover of the light, they could smuggle the family to leave by ship.

Lu Bu will lead the army to punch through Cao Ren and head toward Jibei at the fastest speed, reuniting with Gao Shun and the others alongside bolstering their Army of 30,000 men to Lu Bu's main army.

They waited until night when Cao Cao and Cao Ren's army both took a rest, Hao Meng, Zhang Miao, Xu Si, and Wang Kai was tasked to escort the families to leave by boat, where Lu Bu told Lu Lingqi to accompany her mother.

Lu Lingqi knew that she didn't have a choice, so she obeyed Lu Bu's order and brought her unit alongside her, leaving Puyang to head north guarding the family of the retainers and her mother.

Seeing them leaving, Lu Bu then gathered up all of his army alongside the City Guards who wanted to join them, having around 98,000 men Lu Bu ordered for the Eastern Gate to be opened.

Cao Ren has been informed of the true plan that Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai have concocted, so when Lu Bu leads his army to pass through them, Cao Ren leads his army to give a 'formal' resistance.

Lu Bu and Chen Gong thought that they had taken Cao Ren and his army by surprise, so they didn't think much about how easily they managed to break through and immediately headed toward Jibei.

So through this Cao Cao retook Puyang without many casualties, being out in the history of the three kingdoms as one of the easiest Town conquests, which historians credit to Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai wit.

Lie Fan received this news the next day and didn't expect Lu Bu to have been pushed back to Jibei, truly Cao Cao having the combination of Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai was a scary existence.

Lie Fan feels fortunate that he takes Jia Xu and Xun You early because if Cao Cao had them he would truly have a headache as he would not have an existence that could rival them, the generations of Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong are still too young.

Jia Xu, Xun You, Chen Qun, and Liu Ye are standing in front of Lie Fan, waiting for his next order as Lu Bu's defeat was too fast from the calculation they have, and Jia Xu increases the threat level of Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai.

Lie Fan: "Lu Bu's defeat is too fast, we predict that at least at the end of this year he will be pushed back to Jibei, looks like we need to change some things."

Jia Xu: "Don't worry about that My Lord, we will prepare the countermeasure for you, I have already sent the oriole to infiltrate Jibei deeper to know Lu Bu's next move."

Chen Qun: "Looks like extending our alliance with Cao Cao backfired on us, my Lord, I suggest that we slowly stop supporting Cao Cao's move."

Xun You: "I agree with Chen Qun's suggestion My Lord, Right now Cao Cao holds the advantage and Lu Bu sooner or later will be defeated by Cao Cao, as in terms of military power and strategy Lu Bu lost completely to Cao Cao."

Liu Ye: "I may know here My Lord, but what all the master saying is true since Cao Cao is too cunning, we should end our relationship right now on 'friendly' terms."

Lie Fan: "All right then we follow all of your suggestions, and prepare for the next phase of our plan which is to align ourselves with Lu Bu to oust Liu Bei."

Jia Xu and the rest cupped their hand toward Lie Fan, accepting Lie Fan's order. At this time, a black raven enters Lie Fan's office and birch on Jia Xu's shoulder, with a letter attached to its feet.

Jia Xu takes the letter, and the raven flies away. He opens it and reads the content, Jia Xu's eyes are wide as he is surprised by the content, he then hands this letter to Lie Fan to read.

Lie Fan read the letter, and was as surprised as Jia Xu, as the content of the letter was from Oriole who was based in Yang Province, Sun Jian led the Sun Clan to take Yuzhang from Liu Yao and now sends an envoy to Xiapi to build an alliance with him.

Lie Fan didn't expect that the Sun Clan would come to the door first, he felt that since it was the Sun Clan who came by themselves, he had the upper hand in this matter and all of his advisors thought the same.

Jia Xu informed Xun You, Chen Qun, and Liu Ye of the content of the letter, so they also thought the same as Lie Fan. Lie Fan out down the letter, and asked Chen Qun to coordinate with Sun Qian to prepare accommodation for the Sun Clan envoy.

Chen Qun cupped his hand, took a step back, and then turned around to leave Lie Fan's office, Lie Fan then turned his attention toward the other three, asking them since Sun Clan decided to come to the door, how should he position his attitude toward them.

Jia Xu feels that Lie Fan should accept them as Sun Jian himself, as Sun Jian's envoy should be a high-level advisor or general or even part of the Sun Clan, and also because Lie Fan has a very good relationship with Sun Jian with only below Cao Cao in term of closeness.

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Three Heroes Who Defeat Lu Bu

Age: 25 (192 AD)

Level: 15

Next Level: 1.588.000

Renown:  605

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 371.700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 906 (+20)

VIT: 578 (+20)

AGI: 563 (+10)

INT: 567

CHR: 93

WIS: 489

WILL: 377

ATR Points: 0