The battle of Xiapi had been ongoing for over two months now.
Cao Cao's army had only grown larger, from an initial force of twenty thousand men to nearly thirty thousand now!
Why?
Because Lü Bu was trapped in a lone city, with essentially no way out!
As a result, the powerful families of Xu Zhou had easily shifted their allegiance to Cao Cao's army.
As for the remnants of soldiers within Xu Zhou, they too had joined the tide, surrendering to the victor.
On the other hand, Lü Bu's side had once had over ten thousand soldiers before the battle began.
But after repeated fierce clashes, only about seven to eight thousand soldiers remained!
Zhang Liao, with his two thousand soldiers, was still outside, and inside the city, only about five thousand soldiers remained.
Cao Cao's generals, Guo Jia and Xun You, were with him now.Both of them were skilled strategists, not much weaker than Chen Gong!
Not to mention the scheming of Cao Cao's side, with Chen Deng, a man both scholarly and martial, lending further support to the cause.
Even if Lü Bu fully trusted Zhang Liao, he still couldn't figure out Chen Gong's so-called plan for survival!
Chen Gong spoke: "If you were in Cao Cao's position, how would you attack Xiapi?"
Lü Bu thought for a moment and replied: "Although my army is small, most of my men are veterans from Bingzhou. Their combat abilities are still strong."
"Even though Xiapi has been flooded, the city walls are still standing, and a direct assault would be foolish."
"If I were Cao Cao, I would wait for the city to fall into chaos, and then I would strike when the time is right!"
Hearing Lü Bu's response, Chen Gong was slightly surprised, then nodded in approval: "Correct! Cao Cao is indeed waiting for us to make a mistake and fall into disorder, so he can attack the city."
"Given this, if we help him along, and make some of the soldiers inside the city appear to be preparing for a rebellion, what do you think Cao Cao would do?"
Lü Bu suddenly understood: "You want us to make it seem like some of the soldiers are rebelling, to lure Cao Cao to attack. Then, we secretly send a message to Wen Yuan, telling him to lead his troops to strike at the rear of Cao Cao's army."
"As long as we destroy their grain supply, the enemy will retreat without a fight, right?"
After hearing Lü Bu's reply, Chen Gong couldn't help but sigh inwardly.He had been wondering how Lü Bu's mind had sharpened so quickly.But with this answer, Lü Bu's true nature had clearly shown itself again!
Seeing Chen Gong's face filled with a look of helplessness, Lü Bu thought for a moment and said:"Enough with the mystery, Gongtai! Just tell me your plan directly!"
It's one thing to cross time and space, but handling such tricky matters… not everyone can handle this!
Chen Gong straightened and said seriously: "This plan has three steps."
"First, we intentionally create chaos inside the city, making Cao Cao believe that our soldiers are exhausted and that we are desperate to surrender and open the gates."
"Once Cao Cao approaches with his army, we prepare the second phase: Wen Yuan and his men will strike at the rear of Cao Cao's army."
"Cao Cao's troops are coming to break the city. When the rear is attacked suddenly, it will cause confusion. We can take this opportunity to break out and join Wen Yuan's army. After that, we will either confront Cao Cao outside the city or break through during the chaos!"
Lü Bu thought for a moment: "This plan seems feasible. But as I said earlier, we currently have no way of contacting Wen Yuan."
"Given the situation, how can we get Wen Yuan to act at the right time?"
Cao Cao's army still has about 25,000 soldiers.However, at least 4 or 5 thousand of them are defectors from Xu Zhou. Cao Cao is cautious by nature and doesn't trust them completely.
Since he doesn't trust them, it's unlikely he would let the Xu Zhou defectors guard the rear.
So once things change inside the city, Cao Cao would most likely send a trusted general to guard the rear while he leads the main army to attack the East Gate.
Before the situation in the city becomes clear, Cao Cao will probably use the Xu Zhou defectors as expendable pawns to test the waters!
So, Zhang Liao's two thousand soldiers won't be able to launch a successful surprise attack on the grain supply. But it's still possible to have him strike at Cao Cao's flank or rear!
The problem is… Zhang Liao is outside the city, and Lü Bu has no way of contacting him right now. He can't be sure of Zhang Liao's true intentions, and that's the core issue!
Chen Gong spoke gravely: "To contact Wen Yuan, we will have to send some death warriors outside the city. And it won't work with just one. At least ten death warriors must go together!"
"To prevent them from being caught and exposing our plan, they must only carry a message, and no letters!"
"What's more important is that these warriors must be absolutely loyal to you. Even if Cao Cao uses extreme measures, they must not reveal anything!"
At this point, Chen Gong rubbed his brow and looked fatigued.
Then, he said, "Whether these death warriors can successfully deliver the message to Wen Yuan, or if Wen Yuan will follow the orders — this depends on fate."
Lü Bu suddenly stood up, walking back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back.In the flickering candlelight, his shadow stretched long.
After a long while, Lü Bu stopped in front of Chen Gong.
"I have one final question. If this plan succeeds and we manage to break out of the city, where should we go?"
Cao Cao's main army is not to be underestimated. Chen Gong's plan will at most allow Lü Bu to move from inside the city to outside.
But with the snow falling heavily and the cold weather, once they leave the city, with no secure camp or enough supplies, how could they withstand Cao Cao's pursuit?
Once they leave the city, they'll have to run immediately.
But where should they run?
At this critical moment, Lü Bu was at a loss!
Chen Gong stood up and bowed deeply: "My lord, as long as we survive this ordeal, the world will be ours to roam. But if the plan fails, then no matter how much we discuss now, it won't matter!"
Lü Bu nodded: "Have Gao Shun come to see me immediately and tell him I have something urgent to discuss!"