Chapter 496

"The lord handed over the heavy responsibility of attacking Hanzhong to me, but I failed repeatedly; I really failed to live up to the high expectations!"

Pang De cupped his hands,

"Main general, Zhang Lu built cities across the mountains for more than ten miles; our army is difficult to conquer. Why not withdraw the army?"

Ma Chao slapped the table in anger,

"Withdraw the army? The lord is currently fighting a great war in Yizhou and urgently needs our help; how can we withdraw the army!"

Pang De continued,

"Main general, Zhuge Liang has already mentioned in the letter that if we can't conquer it, we can withdraw the army to lure Zhang Lu's army to pursue, and our army will turn around and charge, which will surely break Zhang Lu's army."

Ma Chao had a proud personality and only obeyed Liu Bei; he didn't value a weak military advisor like Zhuge Liang.

Now that there was no other way, he could only treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor.

"Good, just follow that Zhuge Liang's plan. Pang De, you lead troops to hide, let Zhang Lu's pursuing troops pass, and take the opportunity to attack the opponent's camp."

"Yes!"

That day,

Zhang Lu's army discovered that Ma Chao had withdrawn his army.

Yang Ang was overjoyed,

"Main general, Ma Chao has retreated in defeat; we only need to lead troops to follow him and attack, and Ma Chao will surely be defeated!"

Yang Ren, who was on the side, cupped his hands,

"Main general, I'm afraid Ma Chao has a trap!"

Zhang Wei was the main general, but he had no ability, mainly because he was Zhang Lu's younger brother.

He had no decision,

Yang Ang said again,

"Main general, Ma Chao is just a reckless man; I have never seen him use a plan. Our army only needs to follow and attack, and we will surely win a great victory!"

Zhang Wei finally agreed to Yang Ang's sending troops; no one could refuse the honor of defeating Ma Chao.

The result can be imagined,

Ma Chao returned his army and easily defeated Yang Ang, almost killing him; fortunately, he was saved by Yang Ren leading troops out.

Unfortunately, what the two didn't expect was that Pang De took the opportunity to raid Yangping Pass!

The two fled back to Nanzheng in a panic!

Ma Chao sighed with emotion,

"I didn't expect this village man's plan to be so easy to use!"

Zhang Lu personally guarded Baoxie Road,

But he didn't expect,

This time Zhuge Liang's great army's offensive was extremely fierce, especially Ju Yi's vanguard camp, with bows and crossbows firing in unison, beating Zhang Lu's soldiers so they didn't dare to raise their heads.

Hearing the news of Yangping Pass falling, he didn't dare to stay long, left people to cover the retreat, and led his great army to flee back to Nanzheng City!

Zhuge Liang and Ma Chao met under Nanzheng City,

Zhuge Liang didn't rush to attack the city, but sent troops to occupy all the counties except Nanzheng City.

He used a long-term siege strategy on Nanzheng City, waiting for the opportunity to persuade Zhang Lu to surrender.

Chengdu Prefecture,

Liu Zhang looked at the battle report on the table, his face full of worry,

"I didn't expect Liu Bei's actions to be so rapid; he has already occupied Zhuti Commandery and divided his troops into two routes to surround Chengdu."

Zhang Ren cupped his hands,

"My lord, do not worry. Liu Bei was absolutely careless this time, actually sending the reckless Zhang Fei to attack Jiangzhou City. Yan Yan is an old general in the army, and Jiangzhou City is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if you give Zhang Fei a year, it is impossible to break the city. When he is exhausted, it will be the day to break the enemy."

"My lord, you don't need to worry about Chengdu Prefecture even more; the city walls are high and thick, and there is enough grain to eat for four years. Liu Bei cannot stay in Yizhou for so long; his focus is in Guanzhong, and Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will not let him stay for so long."

Liu Zhang felt much more relaxed after Zhang Ren's analysis, and finally could sleep well.

"Report~!"

"My lord, Leng Bao was raided by Liu Bei on his way back, and almost the entire army was captured!"

"What?!"

Liu Zhang's mood, which had just relaxed a little, instantly became extremely bad.

"(agfh) What about Leng Bao?"

"General Leng returned to the foot of Guangdu City with four thousand soldiers."

Zhang Song frowned,

"Didn't you say his entire army was captured? How did he bring troops back again?"

Liu Zhang was also very suspicious, and later heard that it was Liu Bei who released Leng Bao and also equipped his soldiers with weapons and armor, looking unbelievable.

Zhang Song cupped his hands,

"My lord, I'm afraid there is a trap in this! Whether Leng Bao surrendered truly or falsely, only he himself knows. If he works from the inside and outside, I'm afraid Chengdu is in danger..."

Liu Zhang was also scared; Gong Chen opened the city gate to welcome Liu Bei, and Leng Bao surrendered to Liu Bei. Working from the inside and outside was not impossible.

"Let him come to the Governor's Mansion alone to report, and the soldiers will stay outside the city for the time being."

"Yes!"

Leng Bao felt a bit cold when he came to the Governor's Mansion; he had returned with difficulty, but his soldiers could not enter the city.

It was conceivable that Liu Zhang did not trust him. Recalling Liu Bei's warm behavior before, Leng Bao felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

Liu Zhang pretended to be gentle and said,

"Leng Bao, how did you escape?"

Leng Bao cupped his hands,

"My lord, I pretended to defect to Liu Bei, saying I wanted to come back to recruit more soldiers to surrender."

Liu Zhang nodded,

"General Leng is indeed loyal and righteous!"

Leng Bao felt this sounded very harsh...

Zhang Song said from the side,

"General Leng, it makes sense for you to come back, but how did four thousand soldiers also come back fully armed?"

Everyone looked at Leng Bao, full of suspicion.

Leng Bao felt very uncomfortable; no one trusted him,

"My lord, Lord Xuande is benevolent and righteous, afraid that we would encounter danger on the road, and afraid that we would be punished, so he returned the weapons and armor to us..."

Liu Zhang also felt uncomfortable; Liu Bei is his enemy now, and this Leng Bao praises Liu Bei extremely highly; I'm afraid it is...

He comforted him a few words,

"Alright, you have worked hard too. Go back to see your family first and take a rest."

Leng Bao felt cold in his heart,

"This is putting me on the shelf; well, I don't want to be an enemy of Lord Xuande either."

He cupped his hands and turned to leave.

Zhang Ren stepped out,

"My lord, General Leng has always been loyal and righteous and will not surrender to Liu Bei."

Liu Zhang waved his hand,

"I also believe in him, so I let him go back to rest first."

Zhang Ren... he didn't feel good in his heart either.

Zhang Song praised inwardly; Lord Xuande released Leng Bao back, instantly alienating everyone's hearts.

Jiangzhou City,

Yan Yan laughed loudly,

"Isn't Zhang Fei known as a fierce general who fought Lu Bu hard? Yet he has no way to deal with my Jiangzhou City!"

He couldn't help but be proud; Liu Bei's occupation of the Nanzhong area all the way through also shocked him.