Chapter 146 "Ingenious Strategy to Surrender the City"

When the first ray of morning sunshine shines on the walls of Chengdu, the soldiers guarding the city finally relax their tense nerves and breathe a sigh of relief from the bottom of their hearts.
All night long, the attacks from Wei Gao's army never seemed to cease, coming every half hour or so. Each attack seemed real, making it impossible for anyone to let their guard down even for a moment.
It should be noted that in the previous few nights, Wei Gao also used this kind of virtual and real city attack to deceive the will of the defending army, and then utilized two true attacks to actually fill in five or six sections of the moat in the East City.
Without the obstacle of the moat, the defenders will have to face the direct threat of Wei Gao's army launching a city attack.
Filled with fear, Liu Bi orders the garrison to remain on high alert throughout the night and not to give the enemy any more opportunities.
This decision, although it truly leaves Wei Gao with no way to take advantage of, creates a tremendous burden on the soldiers both physically and psychologically.
After a night of vigilance, physical fatigue is secondary, the enormous psychological burden is what is really deadly.
The city defense force, mainly composed of new soldiers, is gradually approaching the brink of collapse under the dual pressure from both the enemy and their own side.
With the change of shift imminent, countless exhausted soldiers slump against the female wall, their eyes filled with fatigue and bloodshot, unable to close no matter how hard they try.
"Plop, plop" The soldiers exchanged glances with their comrades, seemingly able to feel each other's fast heartbeats.
"All of you, get up... Stand up!" A military officer yelled loudly at the soldiers who were sitting helplessly, but only a few responded.
Liu Bi also stayed up all night.
After adopting Niu Chang's plan, Liu Bi's mood of reversing the passive situation became more and more urgent, to the point that he personally took charge of the recruitment of household soldiers and servants into the army.
Perhaps sensing the suffocating pressure, officials and prominent aristocratic families in Chengdu City exhibited extraordinary cooperation, dispatching their strong men to assist Liu Bei.
Overnight, a gathering of 15,000 people occurred.
With manpower, the biggest problem was easily solved.
After a period of governance, Xichuan was abundant in supplies, including food, forage, and military equipment.
When morning came, a fully armed army appeared before Liu Bei.
Although this army looked somewhat disorganized and mismatched, they were definitely stronger than the hastily recruited civilians.
After solving the issue of personnel, Liu Bi urgently recruited Duan Zizhang, Niu Chang, Li Kang, and others to discuss the specific details of the plan.
Weigao is analyzing the intelligence sent back by scouts from various routes in the tent, when Gao Chongwen suddenly enters the command tent.
"Chongwen, what's wrong?" Gao Chongwen asked hurriedly. Wei Gao looked slightly puzzled and asked, "What's wrong with Chengdu city?"
"Chengwu, you better come out and take a look. Something seems off in Chengdu city."
"Oh?" Wei Gao put down the silk book in his hand, got up and walked out of the tent with Gao Chongwen. He casually asked, "What happened?"
"Early this morning, the flying army scouts reported that several enemy spies slid down the city walls using ropes at daybreak. These spies have been conducting reconnaissance in the direction of the south and west gates since then." Walking and talking, Gao Chongwen replied, "I feel that something is not right. I told the scouts not to startle the snake. When I was patrolling just now, I also noticed that the guards on the city walls seemed unusually chaotic."
Turning his head to look at Wei Gao, Gao Chongwen speculated, "Cheng Wu, do you think Liu Bi will make any big moves?"
"Haha... this is interesting. Let's go over and see first," Wei Gao said with enthusiasm, quickening his pace.
"Look here..."
"Look there..."
In order not to attract the attention of the guards, Gao Chongwen only led Wei Gao to take a quick turn in the east and north cities, and pointed out a few places that he thought were problematic in a simple manner.
When his gaze was withdrawn from the city tower, there was a faint smile on Wei Gao's lips.
Back in the handsome tent, Gao Chongwen asked Wei Gao, "Cheng Wu, what do you think Liu Bi wants to do?"
"Chongwen, what do you think?" Wei Gao asked, avoiding a direct answer.
"Liu Bi wants to escape!" After a brief pause, Gao Chongwen stated confidently.
"Where would he go?"
"He might head west to Qiongzhou, or south to Zangke County. These places have treacherous terrain and are difficult to attack." After thinking for a moment, Gao Chongwen replied. "Alternatively, he could try to join forces with Baomaolin and Li Changzong's armies."
"It's not that simple!" Wei Gao smiled and waved his hand gently, saying, "Shu County is the most prosperous place in the entire Western Sichuan, and Chengdu is the most prosperous within Shu County. After the careful management of Pei Xiang and Gao Jiedu, the wealth of goods, money, grain, and weapons accumulated in Chengdu city is probably astonishing."
"Given the current situation of the war, if Liu Bi loses Chengdu and the financial support within the city, it would be impossible for him to launch a counterattack, let alone defend himself. Even if he manages to escape to Qiongzhou, Zangke, or meet up with Bai Maolin and Li Changzong, he will definitely not be able to sustain it."
"Does he really expect to take away the money, grain, and supplies from the city when he sneaks away?"
After pondering for a moment and frowning, Gao Chongwen nodded.
"Furthermore, Qiongzhou, Zhangzhou, and other counties may be adjacent to Nanzhao or deep within Nanzhao. Although Nanzhao is not in an alliance with us, the relationship is not bad either. Would Liu Bi really dare to go?" After a pause, Wei Gao continued.
"Chengwu, what do you think?"
"Although I don't know what Liu Bi wants to do, since he wants to play tricks, we can't disappoint him!" Wei Gao said with a playful smile.
As soon as Gao Chongwen saw Wei Gao's expression, he knew that the other party's "playfulness" had come up. He laughed and scolded, "Don't take the teasing too far. Although Liu Bi is nothing, Duan Zizhang is not an ordinary person."
"Roughly speaking, we consider the enemy as light as a feather in our overall view, but as heavy as a mountain in our tactical approach!" Wei Gao suppressed his smile and said in a serious tone, "I have always kept in mind this profound saying taught by the great marshal. Chongwen, rest assured—even if the enemy is as weak as can be, I will not be careless in the slightest!"
Looking at Wei Gao, Gao Chongwen suddenly shook his head and chuckled, "Cheng Wu, now I have to once again admire the General's accurate judgment of people. I remember back then, you and I both only knew how to fight with brute force, and when the General had Li Changshi teach us military strategies and tactics, you were quite unwilling. Who could have imagined back then that you would have such talent for manipulating strategies."
Wei Gao touched his nose and appeared somewhat helpless in the face of Gao Chongwen's words, which were seven parts serious and three parts joking. But soon he laughed and said, "I can only be considered not to have disappointed the General, hehe..."
After nightfall, Wei Gao and Liu Bi seemed to have reached some kind of understanding.
Both the attacking and defending armies did not make any major movements, and there was an unusual tranquility both inside and outside Chengdu City.
Only the bright lights on the city walls and under the city show that two armies are confronting each other here.
Just after midnight, the tightly closed South Gate of Chengdu suddenly opened.
The Chengdu Army, fully prepared inside the city, rushed out, paying no attention to attacking the enemy, only advancing rapidly towards the south.
After withdrawing ten thousand troops, the city gate closed again.
The sudden commotion in Chengdu immediately caught the attention of Wei Gao's army, and soon scouts reported to Wei Gao that the Chengdu garrison had retreated south.
There are numerous experienced generals in Shuai account.
"Could it be true that Liu Bi is really planning to flee south?" even the prepared Gao Chongwen started to doubt after confirming the enemy situation.
Over ten thousand enemy troops have fled south out of the city, and scouts even discovered many civilian officials accompanying them.
As we all know, there are less than 15,000 garrison troops in Chengdu city.
With over 10,000 people withdrawing, the remaining few thousand are definitely not enough to defend the city.
In addition, the accompanying civil officials fleeing, the only possible explanation is - Liu Bi is really prepared to escape!
At this time, there was a debate among the generals in the camp about whether to pursue Liu Bi or immediately attack the city.
Xiao Pei, Zhuo Gui, and other defected generals proposed to attack the city first and take Chengdu safely.
Bai Liangqi and other commanders insisted on pursuing Liu Bi - capturing Chengdu is only a matter of time as the defending forces are limited.
If Liu Bi is let go, the Pingchuan Battle is likely to drag on; on the other hand, if we can pursue immediately, it's best to capture and kill Liu Bi, Duan Zizhang, and others, it is possible to completely end the Western Sichuan war in a short period of time.
At the moment of the debate, Wei Gao suddenly issued an order.
"Generals Xiao Pei and Zhuo Gui, each lead two thousand soldiers to ambush on the left and right wings of our army's east camp. Upon receiving the signal, simultaneously launch an attack."
"Chongwen, you lead two thousand troops to ambush at the main position..."
After listening to Wei Gao's series of orders, the generals were filled with confusion. Wei Gao seemed to be setting up a trap to lure the enemy, but he showed no concern for Liu Pi, who was escaping.
就不知道他到底准备伏击谁了？
难道他是认为外逃的刘辟军会回头一击？
“韦将军，若是被刘辟外逃成功，该当如何？”萧沛谨慎地询问道。虽然改换门庭不久，但萧沛已能将立场分得清清楚楚了。
"To run or not to run, it doesn't make a difference!" Wei Gao said calmly. "Just follow orders!"
"Yes!" the generals could only reluctantly obey and leave.
Only Gao Chongwen remained, looking around to ensure no one else was present, and asked Wei Gao curiously, "Cheng Wu, do you still think this is Liu Bi's scheme?"
"Hmm!" Although frowning, Wei Gao still nodded.
Seeing Wei Gao's persistence, Gao Chongwen stopped saying anything more, nodded, and turned away.
However, a sudden change occurred, which even Wei Gao had not anticipated, just half an hour after more than ten thousand soldiers of the Chuan army left the city.
The city of Chengdu is ablaze, with flames soaring into the sky and the sound of killing echoing all around.
Then, facing the eastern gate of General Wei Gao's camp, unbelievably... it opened by itself!
Several fast horses rode out of the city and charged straight towards General Wei Gao's camp.
The city of Chengdu is already in chaos.
Liu Bi, who should have already left the city, is now fleeing through the city under the protection of hundreds of personal soldiers, rushing past a group of Sichuan soldiers, like a headless fly.
In every direction, soldiers from the Sichuan Army were seen fighting and struggling against each other, not knowing whether the other party were friends or foes. Liu Bi himself had no idea what was happening.
They were clearly preparing to sandwich Wei Gao with their more than ten thousand troops, but unexpectedly, chaos broke out in the city first.
Suddenly, Liu Pi's group collided head-on with Duan Zizhang, who was also rushing forward.
"General Duan, what's going on? Weren't you commanding those 20,000 troops? How could this happen?" Liu Pi shouted in astonishment at Duan Zizhang.
"Yang Sheng, Zhang Lu... Yang Sheng, Zhang Lu, they have all rebelled. Their soldiers have all rebelled! We fell into their trap. That scoundrel Niu Chang is in collusion with Yang Sheng and Zhang Lu. They used this trick to deceive our soldiers, and then gathered their own troops to rebel!" Duan Zizhang's face turned pale, and he angrily shouted.
"What? Yang Sheng and Zhang Lu turned against us... What? Niuchang..." Liu Bi couldn't react for a moment and asked in confusion.
Duan Zizhang repeated the words, anxiously trying to make Liu Bi understand.
"These damn bastards, I must kill them!" Liu Pi vented his anger and roared uncontrollably.
If Yang Sheng, Zhang Lu, Niu Chang, and others were in front of him, he would probably swallow them alive.
"We must quickly recall Li Kang's troops, otherwise Chengdu will definitely not be able to hold on!" Duan Zizhang urgently advised, paying no attention to Liu Bi's anger.
"Yes, yes, yes..." Liu Bi suddenly realized, and issued a command, "Send someone out of the city to recall Li Kang!"
"Ooh... ooh...!" The resounding sound of bull horns pierced the night sky, like a lightning bolt tearing through the darkness. Following closely behind, was a deafening cry of battle.
Through the open hole of the eastern city gate, the troops led by Wei Gao flooded into Chengdu City like a tidal wave.
From this moment on, the overall situation in Chengdu is irreversible.