That night, Wei Yan led two thousand elite soldiers, put on the captured Cao army armor, crossed the river and arrived outside Fancheng.
He waited until the fifth watch, but still did not see Cao Ren's defeated army fleeing back, and he was very confused.
After dawn, Fu Yuyan said, "We can't enter the city without seeing the defeated army. What should we do?"
According to Liu Qi's original plan, they would wait for Cao's army to retreat, follow the defeated army into the city, and then contact Liu Qin to take the city. Now they can't enter the city, and are in a dilemma.
Wei Yan frowned and said, "The two armies must have not yet decided the winner. We are outside the city in broad daylight and are easily discovered by scouts. In order to avoid revealing our whereabouts, we have no choice but to act according to circumstances."
Fu Zhu asked, "General, what countermeasures do you have?"
Wei Yan said: "Liu Qin is a relative of the Han Dynasty. He was promoted by the lord to Fancheng. After it was occupied by Cao's army, he had no choice but to surrender. His heart may not be with Cao. It is better to take the initiative to contact him in the city."
Fu Rongyan said: "I don't know Liu Qin's intentions. If I meet him rashly, wouldn't it be like alerting the enemy?"
Wei Yan said: "We must find someone who is brave and careful to sneak into the city, and send the eldest son's confidant to meet him. If Liu Qin really wants to surrender, we can act according to the plan. If he has already surrendered, it will not be too late to take the city overnight."
Fu Zhu nodded and said, "This is a very good plan. I am willing to go!"
During this period of military training, Wei Yan also knew that Fu Rong was quite powerful, so he gave him a letter and told him to be careful.
Fu Zhun took off his armor and disguised himself as a farmer, carrying a load of dry firewood. He was also a local, so he easily sneaked into the city and entered the back government office under the pretext of delivering firewood to the government office.
After putting down the firewood, he took advantage of the guards' inattention and quietly came to the courtyard from the kitchen. He saw a young man practicing sword. He had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and looked very dignified.
"What a great swordsmanship!" Fu Yu watched for a moment and clapped his hands in admiration.
The young man turned around and saw a strange farmer. He frowned and asked, "Who are you? How dare you break into the government office?"
Fu Zhun clasped his fists and said, "I am a distant relative of Magistrate Liu, and I have come here to meet you. Could you introduce me to him?"
"How did you sneak into the mansion?" The man came over cautiously with his sword upside down and said in a deep voice, "I am the nephew of the county magistrate. I grew up in my uncle's house. How come I have never seen you before?"
It turned out that the young man was Liu Qin's nephew. His surname was Kou and his name was Feng. He was the son of Luo Hou Kou. Because his parents had both passed away, he had always been following Liu Qin.
"I have a letter as proof!" Fu Zhun took out the letter and said with a smile, "Just now I saw that you have excellent swordsmanship and martial arts skills. Why don't you follow Cao Ren to fight and make achievements, but hide in the back court to practice martial arts?"
Kou Feng immediately looked indignant: "My uncle wouldn't let me join the army."
Fu Zhu rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "After all, County Magistrate Liu is a relative of the Han Dynasty. I'm afraid he doesn't want you to join the army of Cao family, right?"
Kou Feng raised his sword-like brows and pointed his sword at him: "Who are you?"
Fu Zhu was unmoved and handed over the letter: "After reading the letter, County Magistrate Liu will know."
Seeing that the letter was sent to Liu Qin and was unsigned, Kou Feng was skeptical and took Fu Zhun to the study.
Liu Qin was slightly surprised when he heard the news. He opened the letter and his face suddenly changed. He exclaimed, "Hurry up and bring the person in."
Kou Feng brought Fu Rong into the study, and Liu Qin ordered him to close the door. He looked panicked and confused.
Fu Zhun clasped his fists and said, "I am here on the orders of the eldest son. Your Excellency knows my purpose. Cao Ren will surely be defeated in battle. Please think twice."
Liu Qin looked at Fu Zhun and sneered, "What is your intention in pretending to be Liu Qi's subordinate?"
Fu Zhuo clasped his fists and said, "I am here on orders, and I have absolutely no pretense. The eldest son was entrusted by the Emperor's uncle to lead Jingzhou, revive the Han Dynasty, and eliminate the treacherous Cao. Since you have no intention of serving the Cao family, you must put the Han Dynasty first, and we should work together."
"What? Are you a spy?" Kou Feng was shocked and put his sword on Fu Rong's neck.
Fu Zhun looked indifferent and said with a smile: "I am a Han official, and I was ordered to come to see the lord's relatives. How can I be called a spy? Could it be that you two are willing to serve Cao?"
"Uncle?!" Kou Feng's face changed slightly and he looked out the window carefully.
Liu Qin asked, "How do you determine that this county is not loyal to Cao?"
Fu Zhuo smiled and said, "Just now I passed by the backyard and saw this young man with great martial arts skills, but he was not discovered by Cao Ren. It must be that the governor deliberately hid him and did not want him to serve the Cao family."
Kou Feng's face changed slightly when he heard this: "Uncle, is this true?"
"Don't stop!" Liu Qin shouted in a low voice, and said with emotion: "I am a relative of the Han Dynasty, and I was entrusted by my brother to guard Fancheng. Unexpectedly, it was occupied by Cao. I have no choice. I have long hoped that you will recover the lost land, but I am just a county magistrate and have no military power. What can I do?"
Fu Rongyan said: "Since the eldest son has a letter, he must have a countermeasure. This time, we must take Fancheng. The governor will no longer be bullied by the Cao family."
Liu Qin was overjoyed, and pulled Fu Zhuo to sit down, saying, "I heard that the eldest son angrily killed Cai Mao in Xiangyang to avenge Uncle Liu, and also led troops to fight against Cao, wanting to revive the Han Dynasty. It seems that the rumors are true."
Fu Zhu nodded and said, "To be honest, I have only been enlisting in the army since Xinye for half a month. The eldest son is not sick and cowardly as the rumors say. He is not only capable and well-organized, but also has strategies in mind. Cai Mao must have deliberately spread rumors in order to seize power."
Liu Qin stroked his beard and said, "When we passed Xiangyang earlier, the eldest son was indeed seriously ill. It was indeed Cai who murdered him. Fortunately, God will not let down those who work hard, and they will eventually achieve great things!"
Kou Feng was already impatient, and hurriedly said: "Uncle, since the eldest master has a plan, why not act sooner?"
Liu Qin let out a long sigh: "We have been waiting for a long time, and finally waited until today."
…
At this time, outside Xinye City, drums were beating and murderous atmosphere was everywhere. Cao Ren set up a battlefield in front of the two armies, and 8,000 people set up a huge formation.
Liu Qi sent Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to break through the formation and almost captured the two men. Unfortunately, the soldiers guarding the formation were weaker and were forced out by the two men with brute force, so the plan was in vain.
Cao Ren was like a fisherman who watched a huge fish break through the net and escape, and he was so anxious that he beat his chest and stamped his feet at the center of the formation.
Liu Qi called Cao Ren to come forward and answer, saying: "This battle is nothing more than this. The general has been defeated. Should we fulfill our promise?"
Cao Ren was so angry that his face turned red. He roared, "You just escaped, but did not break the formation. How dare you speak so arrogantly here?"
Liu Qi raised his eyebrows and asked, "How do we break the formation?"
Cao Ren said sternly, "Do you dare to come into the battle line to capture me?"
Liu Qi laughed and said, "I'm afraid that General Cao will ignore the formation and flee in panic."
"How dare you!" Cao Ren was furious, "I will live and die with this formation, so come on, just let your horses come."
Liu Qi curled his lips and smiled, nodded and said: "Then it's a deal, I will break this formation in one hour, General Cao, don't run away!"
Cao Ren felt a little guilty about this strange smile, so he said loudly, "A gentleman's word is as good as gold."
We have just seen that Liu Qi has no idea how to break the formation, and he just relied on Guan and Zhang's bravery to break out. Next time, as long as we make the right arrangements, we can capture the two of them.
Cao Ren went back to reorganize his troops. Liu Qi also came to the camp and discussed with Xu Shu: "We have been playing with Cao Ren for most of the day. I believe Zilong and his men have already set up an ambush. It is time to break the formation."
Xu Shu chuckled and said, "It's just the 'Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation'. Breaking it is as easy as pie."
He immediately called Guan and Zhang to his side and taught them again how to break through the formation.