Li Dian POV
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“Un… I don’t really know how to put it myself.” Cao Ren frowned as she bit her lips, “In summary, the enemy must have had someone who was brilliant in order to be able to negate my formation.”
Yes. Our preparations were rushed but it was still a grand formation that was intricately formed. To be able to make it collapse like that was no mean feat at all.
“It must be… That Xu Shu fellow huh?” I said the first name that came to mind. She did not seem to be how she usually was but only she could have come up with a countermeasure. In fact, everything from the first battle up till now has probably been her handiwork.
“Not only is she devious, her swordsmanship is also amazing.” Cao Ren said.
I am loathe to admit it but I have to agree with Cao Ren. As someone who has crossed swords with her, I have to say that her martial prowess is definitely superior to mine despite being an administrative official.
“So the main reason why we lost, is because they had a brilliant strategist.” I said, “If Liu Bei is still alive, it would be terrifying to imagine what they might achieve from here on out.”
Cao Ren shook her head at my words, “I have to say that I still doubt your hypothesis.”
“I doubt it myself but I feel that under these circumstances, we should still let our lord know. Along with the report of our defeat of course.”
“Un… Yes.”
Now that I think about it, it is indeed as I said. Without Xu Shu, and under such overwhelmingly disadvantageous circumstances, some at least would have defected like that Chen Gong for example. My gut feeling tells me that she would. Moreover, given how straightforward Zhang Liao and Guan Yu are like, it would have been impossible for them to come up with the idea of all the ambushes in the city.
…
“Ah.”
Wait. All of a sudden, something clicked in my head. It was something that had been troubling me since the battle in the city. My heart stopped fro an instant and despair once again filled me as I came to a realisation.
“Lord Li Dian?” Cao Ren called out to me when she saw that I had turned pale but I ignored her and hurriedly rode to the troops.
“Everyone, I have a question, who amongst you were ambushed in the alleys?!” I yelled out and the surrounding soldiers all looked at me, as did a puzzled Cao Ren.
“Ah… Me.”
“Me too.”
I hurriedly turned to the soldiers who replied me and asked further, “Think very carefully, who were the leading generals amongst the ambush in the alleys?!”
“Eh? Lord Li Dian this is…?”
“Please don’t speak for now, Lord Cao Ren.”
I know full well that this is very rude but I am very concerned with this question. If my guess is right, then this loss has just become even worse. I stared at the soldiers who were thinking hard. What I was doing was tantamount to putting them back in the nightmare they had just escaped and I felt bad for doing so but I had to do it.
“The enemy generals…” A soldier finally spoke up softly as he raised his head, “There was one woman who seemed rather just, I think… I think she was called Zhang Liao.”
When he finished, everyone else nodded in agreement.
Yes, but I already knew that.
“Anyone else?” I asked again as they frowned and sank into thought. I cannot blame them for being this vague. Ordinary troops might not ever meet the enemy generals in battle and even if they did, they would have likely been mowed down.
But no matter what, there would still be eyewitnesses and survivors.
“Let me describe a certain someone and let me know if you ever saw her.” I was getting impatient and decided to cut to the chase, “Have you seen a woman wearing a green robe and wielding a glaive with a green dragon engraved into it? To be more precise, her hair is reddish and rather eye-catching.”
“Ah…” When I finished, all the troops frowned and seemed to be puzzled at what I was saying. Just looking at them was enough to tell me what I needed.
“Let me ask again, have you seen any ‘关’ flags flying around?”
Even so, I decided to ask again. Under such intense pressure, they would not admit to seeing it if they only caught a fleeting glance. But if it really was there, someone must have seen it.
“No, we have no impression of that as well…” The leading soldier said and frowned. Looks like he’s worried about what I will do next.
“But there is one other person.” Just as I was gathering my thoughts, he continued, “If my memory serves me well, there was a swordswoman who tore through our troops. She was really strong, to the point where we did not even dare to approach her.”
Swordswoman… Ah! Is he talking about Xu Shu?! Then that means that it was not Zhang Liao and Guan Yu as I initially thought but Zhang Liao and Xu Shu…
“Continue marching.” I said as I left the troops. They seemed troubled and puzzled but did not ask me anything as they hurriedly returned back in line.
As I looked at the troops, I continued to ponder about this and the more I did so, the more fearful I got and the surer I felt that my guess was right. This really is a catastrophic defeat.
“Lord Li Dian, what’s the matter?” Cao Ren asked with a troubled look as she came close, “Are you… Sweating?”
Un? I touched my face and found that I was sweating buckets. I never expected that I would be this nervous even now.
“No, I’m fine.” I shook my head and feigned calmness as I decided to ask Cao Ren directly, “Lord Cao Ren, did you see Guan Yu at all in the entire battle?”
“Eh?” Cao Ren seemed stunned at my question but then began to think about it and frowned, “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I have… But could it be a coincidence?”
I shook my head, “As we entered the city, we engaged with Zhao Yun and saw Chen Gong at the tower. After we entered the city, we engaged with Lu Bu, Zhang Fei and that Nanman at the front. Later on, Zhang Liao and Xu Shu ambushed us in the middle. I don’t think her absence is a coincidence.”
“Then…” Cao Ren’s eyes bulged while mine narrowed.
I know that Cao Ren knows what I have guessed at but I still have to say it, “It’s a little late to be saying this now, but the reason why Guan Yu did not fight with us is because she was fighting elsewhere.”
Elsewhere. When she heard these words, Cao Ren trembled.
“All troops!” She yelled out as she raised her hand, “Fast march now!”
Yes, if my guess is right, Guan Yu should be in Fan city now.”
“Lord Cao Ren, we really must make haste…”
“Jia!” She yelled as she swung down her reins and charged to the head of the troops with me following close behind.
At the same time, I made sure to check that Lu Xiang would not fall off. As I looked at her, I felt troubled and bit my lips. If it really is as I guessed, then how am I supposed to fulfill our promise?
“Lord Li Dian, do you really think that the enemy would divert away a significant amount of strength to attack Fan city while they are engaging in a decisive battle?” Cao Ren asked in an attempt to overturn my guess, “After failing once before, they couldn’t possibly try again, could they?”
“No, they did so precisely because they know we will think like that. Think about our meeting with Guan Yu and the rest. We did indeed tell them that we would move out with all of our forces. They can thus be sure that Fan city’s defences will be sparse.”
“Be that as it may, Fan city still has a garrison.” Cao Ren continued, “In total, Shen Pei has 2,000 troops in the Fan city garrison under her command. If Guan Yu wants to take the city, she will need at least twice that number of troops. Moreover, Fan city’s walls are hard and tall. The surrounding geography also makes it easier to defend than to attack. It would not be a stretch to say that one would need at least 3 times the size of the garrison to take Fan city. That would mean that Guan Yu requires at least 6-7,000 troops.”
Li Dian POV
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“Un… I don’t really know how to put it myself.” Cao Ren frowned as she bit her lips, “In summary, the enemy must have had someone who was brilliant in order to be able to negate my formation.”
Yes. Our preparations were rushed but it was still a grand formation that was intricately formed. To be able to make it collapse like that was no mean feat at all.
“It must be… That Xu Shu fellow huh?” I said the first name that came to mind. She did not seem to be how she usually was but only she could have come up with a countermeasure. In fact, everything from the first battle up till now has probably been her handiwork.
“Not only is she devious, her swordsmanship is also amazing.” Cao Ren said.
I am loathe to admit it but I have to agree with Cao Ren. As someone who has crossed swords with her, I have to say that her martial prowess is definitely superior to mine despite being an administrative official.
“So the main reason why we lost, is because they had a brilliant strategist.” I said, “If Liu Bei is still alive, it would be terrifying to imagine what they might achieve from here on out.”
Cao Ren shook her head at my words, “I have to say that I still doubt your hypothesis.”
“I doubt it myself but I feel that under these circumstances, we should still let our lord know. Along with the report of our defeat of course.”
“Un… Yes.”
Now that I think about it, it is indeed as I said. Without Xu Shu, and under such overwhelmingly disadvantageous circumstances, some at least would have defected like that Chen Gong for example. My gut feeling tells me that she would. Moreover, given how straightforward Zhang Liao and Guan Yu are like, it would have been impossible for them to come up with the idea of all the ambushes in the city.
…
“Ah.”
Wait. All of a sudden, something clicked in my head. It was something that had been troubling me since the battle in the city. My heart stopped fro an instant and despair once again filled me as I came to a realisation.
“Lord Li Dian?” Cao Ren called out to me when she saw that I had turned pale but I ignored her and hurriedly rode to the troops.
“Everyone, I have a question, who amongst you were ambushed in the alleys?!” I yelled out and the surrounding soldiers all looked at me, as did a puzzled Cao Ren.
“Ah… Me.”
“Me too.”
I hurriedly turned to the soldiers who replied me and asked further, “Think very carefully, who were the leading generals amongst the ambush in the alleys?!”
“Eh? Lord Li Dian this is…?”
“Please don’t speak for now, Lord Cao Ren.”
I know full well that this is very rude but I am very concerned with this question. If my guess is right, then this loss has just become even worse. I stared at the soldiers who were thinking hard. What I was doing was tantamount to putting them back in the nightmare they had just escaped and I felt bad for doing so but I had to do it.
“The enemy generals…” A soldier finally spoke up softly as he raised his head, “There was one woman who seemed rather just, I think… I think she was called Zhang Liao.”
When he finished, everyone else nodded in agreement.
Yes, but I already knew that.
“Anyone else?” I asked again as they frowned and sank into thought. I cannot blame them for being this vague. Ordinary troops might not ever meet the enemy generals in battle and even if they did, they would have likely been mowed down.
But no matter what, there would still be eyewitnesses and survivors.
“Let me describe a certain someone and let me know if you ever saw her.” I was getting impatient and decided to cut to the chase, “Have you seen a woman wearing a green robe and wielding a glaive with a green dragon engraved into it? To be more precise, her hair is reddish and rather eye-catching.”
“Ah…” When I finished, all the troops frowned and seemed to be puzzled at what I was saying. Just looking at them was enough to tell me what I needed.
“Let me ask again, have you seen any ‘关’ flags flying around?”
Even so, I decided to ask again. Under such intense pressure, they would not admit to seeing it if they only caught a fleeting glance. But if it really was there, someone must have seen it.
“No, we have no impression of that as well…” The leading soldier said and frowned. Looks like he’s worried about what I will do next.
“But there is one other person.” Just as I was gathering my thoughts, he continued, “If my memory serves me well, there was a swordswoman who tore through our troops. She was really strong, to the point where we did not even dare to approach her.”
Swordswoman… Ah! Is he talking about Xu Shu?! Then that means that it was not Zhang Liao and Guan Yu as I initially thought but Zhang Liao and Xu Shu…
“Continue marching.” I said as I left the troops. They seemed troubled and puzzled but did not ask me anything as they hurriedly returned back in line.
As I looked at the troops, I continued to ponder about this and the more I did so, the more fearful I got and the surer I felt that my guess was right. This really is a catastrophic defeat.
“Lord Li Dian, what’s the matter?” Cao Ren asked with a troubled look as she came close, “Are you… Sweating?”
Un? I touched my face and found that I was sweating buckets. I never expected that I would be this nervous even now.
“No, I’m fine.” I shook my head and feigned calmness as I decided to ask Cao Ren directly, “Lord Cao Ren, did you see Guan Yu at all in the entire battle?”
“Eh?” Cao Ren seemed stunned at my question but then began to think about it and frowned, “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I have… But could it be a coincidence?”
I shook my head, “As we entered the city, we engaged with Zhao Yun and saw Chen Gong at the tower. After we entered the city, we engaged with Lu Bu, Zhang Fei and that Nanman at the front. Later on, Zhang Liao and Xu Shu ambushed us in the middle. I don’t think her absence is a coincidence.”
“Then…” Cao Ren’s eyes bulged while mine narrowed.
I know that Cao Ren knows what I have guessed at but I still have to say it, “It’s a little late to be saying this now, but the reason why Guan Yu did not fight with us is because she was fighting elsewhere.”
Elsewhere. When she heard these words, Cao Ren trembled.
“All troops!” She yelled out as she raised her hand, “Fast march now!”
Yes, if my guess is right, Guan Yu should be in Fan city now.”
“Lord Cao Ren, we really must make haste…”
“Jia!” She yelled as she swung down her reins and charged to the head of the troops with me following close behind.
At the same time, I made sure to check that Lu Xiang would not fall off. As I looked at her, I felt troubled and bit my lips. If it really is as I guessed, then how am I supposed to fulfill our promise?
“Lord Li Dian, do you really think that the enemy would divert away a significant amount of strength to attack Fan city while they are engaging in a decisive battle?” Cao Ren asked in an attempt to overturn my guess, “After failing once before, they couldn’t possibly try again, could they?”
“No, they did so precisely because they know we will think like that. Think about our meeting with Guan Yu and the rest. We did indeed tell them that we would move out with all of our forces. They can thus be sure that Fan city’s defences will be sparse.”
“Be that as it may, Fan city still has a garrison.” Cao Ren continued, “In total, Shen Pei has 2,000 troops in the Fan city garrison under her command. If Guan Yu wants to take the city, she will need at least twice that number of troops. Moreover, Fan city’s walls are hard and tall. The surrounding geography also makes it easier to defend than to attack. It would not be a stretch to say that one would need at least 3 times the size of the garrison to take Fan city. That would mean that Guan Yu requires at least 6-7,000 troops.”
