Chapter Fifty-One: The Traitor

  "Five thousand stones of grain and fodder have been delivered along the Yuan Highway!" Chen Gong reported to Lü Bu.

  "Hmm!" Lü Bu nodded his head. Yuan Shu did not dare to shortchange him of military rations, and Lü Bu said that if he borrowed something, he would definitely be able to borrow it.

  "Yuan Highway also brought Chen Lan and Lei's hiding place!" Chen Gong wanted to speak but stopped.

  "What's wrong?!" Lü Bu asked.

  "Alas!" Chen Gong sighed. "It's probably really hard to defeat them! Mount Bagong! These two are hiding with their troops on top of Mount Bagong!"

  "Mount Bagong?!" Lü Bu had been traveling north from Luoyang, and had never really been to the Yangzhou area before. He didn't have any concept of Mount Bagong that Chen Gong was talking about.

  "Bagong Mountain is also known as Shouchun Mountain! Northern Mountain! This mountain is the throat of Zhongzhou, the screen barrier of Jiangnan, and has been a place of contention for military strategists since ancient times. Now that Chen Lan and Lei Bo have occupied this land, they can overlook Shouchun from above and occupy the strategic location below, dominating the region with ease. It's clear why Yuan Shu has been stuck in Shouchun, which is almost uninhabited - it's not that he doesn't want to leave, but he can't. Every move he makes is under the control of those two men! Once he leaves Shouchun, he really can't take a single step! Yuan Shu can be said to have regarded Lü Bu as his savior. Even if Lü Bu hadn't come to borrow grain, Yuan Shu would probably have sent someone to beg for his help."

  Lü Bu calmed down and didn't say anything.

  If he were a normal strategist, the advice to Lü Bu at this time should be to take Shouchun directly. Shouchun is much easier to attack than Buzhi Mountain. Even if not taking Shouchun directly, it's better to retreat immediately. Since Chen Lan and Lei Bo can occupy Buzhi Mountain and defeat Yuan Shu, they must have real strength. It's definitely not a good idea for Lü Bu's army to engage in a fierce battle with them.

  However, Chen Gong was not a normal strategist, and Lv Bu was not a normal lord.

  "They're just two jumping clowns! If we can't even solve this, what's the point of talking about great ambitions?" Lü Bu said calmly, as if Chen Lan's fate on Mount Bagong was already a fish on the chopping board. "Let the army cook their meals at the third watch, and we'll set out at the fifth watch!"

  "Yes!" Chen Gong nodded, he didn't want to suggest that Lü Bu take a detour either, this wasn't Lü Bu's style. Not to mention whether it would be possible to persuade him, the morale of Lü Bu's army was currently low after their recent defeat and they needed a big victory to boost their spirits. Unfortunately, Chen Lan and Lei Bo had bad luck and ran into gunfire.

  One night, at the third watch, Lü Bu's entire army began to move. Yuan Shu sent wine and meat to help Lü Bu gather his strength and also handed over Chen Lan's register of troops.

  When it was delivered to Liu Mao's camp, they also got a whole roasted sheep and a jar of water wine. If only Liu Mao shared it alone, these would be more than enough, but Liu Mao divided them up, one thousand people per sheep, and each person got just a little bit of meat, the jar of water wine was said to be Yuan Shu's treasured fine wine, but Liu Mao mixed countless buckets of clear water into it, and each person got only one bowl, already couldn't taste the flavor of the fine wine!

  But tonight is an unforgettable night for the city management army.

  "Sharing life and death, wealth and honor, as long as I, Liu Mang, have a mouthful to eat, I won't let you all go hungry, brothers! Let's eat!" The lamb bones were ordered by Liu Mang to be boiled in water by the Firehead Army, making a bone soup. Along with dry rations, they ate a small piece of meat and that wine which was now as tasteless as plain water. This meal was delicious.

  At the fifth watch

  The army set out, with Lü Bu leading the 3,000 Pardoned Wolf Cavalry at the forefront, followed by the Vanguard Troops, then the Logistics Unit, and finally Liu Mang's City Guard Army, who was responsible for covering the rear.

  Yuan Shu also sent a guide to inform Chen Lan of the location of the Lei Bu.

  The mighty army of 20,000 men marching forward naturally couldn't escape the eyes of Chen Lan and Lei Bu on Mount Bagong.

  Almost as soon as Lü Bu's army made a move, Chen Lan and Mei Zhuo would know where they were.

  "What's going on here?!" The main peak of Mount Bagong was surrounded by a whirlwind, and the others might not know about Lü Bu's strength. Didn't they know that Xu Zhou wasn't easy to attack, and Lü Bu's combat power was indeed in the eyes of these two people.

  They were originally bullying Yuan Shu's defeated soldiers, now they're in trouble, Old Yuan somehow found Lv Bu's army.

  Watching Leifeng waving in front of him, Chen Lan was also annoyed. "Calm down, calm down, Second Brother! Sit down for me! You're waving around in front of me, what kind of behavior is this?! Are you afraid of just one Lü Bu?!"

  "Big brother, that's Lü Bu! Even at the height of his power, Yuan Shu wasn't a match for him. And now, he's actually coming to annihilate us! What are we going to do?!" Lei Bo sat down, still fuming, but listening to Chen Lan's words.

  It's not just Lü Bu who is feared, Chen Lan is also afraid! The might of the Pingzhou army was seen by everyone, and no warlord dared to underestimate them, let alone these mountain kings.

  "Calm down, calm down!" Chen Lan took a deep breath and said "Second brother, Lü Bu may be strong, but you and I are not inferior. This Eight Gates Mountain is not a place that Lü Bu can come and go as he pleases. With the natural danger of Eight Gates Mountain, even if Lü Bu is powerful, what can he do to us? As long as we hold on, we will definitely be able to repel Lü Bu's army. At that time, you and I brothers will also make a name for ourselves!" Chen Lan seemed to be encouraging Lei Yu, but also comforting himself.

  "Is Mount Bagong a natural barrier?!" Leibu also began to calm down. The Bagong Mountain area is 200 square kilometers, located in the middle of the state, serving as a shield for Jiangnan, connecting Huainan and Shouchun. It can be said that occupying this place would be advantageous for an unbeatable position, advancing to plot against Jiangnan and Huainan, retreating to defend Mount Bagong.

  Since ancient times, it has been a place of contention for military strategists. In the past when Old Yuan was in his prime, there were also tens of thousands of elite soldiers on Mount Bagong, but unfortunately, Old Yuan is now afraid of being beaten by Old Cao and can't even save his own life, let alone care about this strategic location. That's why Chen Lanbin and others have taken the initiative to occupy it first.

  "Yes, we have the strategic advantage of Mount Bagong! And with 10,000 elite soldiers, even if Lü Bu is a god of war, he won't be able to break through our defenses at Mount Bagong. By the time his food and supplies run out, he'll have no choice but to retreat!" Lei Bo seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

  "Pass down the order to prepare for battle, this time I'll defeat Lü Bu and then I'll go to raid Shouchun. Yuan Shu is still too arrogant!" Chen Lan was not a kind person either, being schemed by Yuan Shu like that, he definitely wanted revenge.

  He didn't think that if he hadn't betrayed Yuan Shu, and if he hadn't snatched away Yuan Shu's grain, how could Yuan Shu have possibly sought refuge with Lü Bu?

  "Is this really Mount Bagong?!?" Lü Bu rode his horse forward, and the entire Mount Bagong was revealed before him. The mountain was surrounded by lush green trees that were densely packed together, with weeds growing wildly all over. At a glance, Lü Bu couldn't even see the whole outline of the mountain range.

  Among the mountains, it is possible to hide a large army of 100,000! This is the intuition of a military general. Moreover, this mountain range lies in front of Shouchun, connecting Huainan and Shouchun, but also blocking their existence, with its height and only one mountain road.

  This is indeed easy to defend and hard to attack.

  Figures appeared on the mountain top, Chen Lan and Lei Bu had begun to set up their defenses.

  "Hard to hit!" It was Gao Shun's voice, this pot of oil, rarely opened.

  "If we launch a fierce attack, we'll kill 3,000 of the enemy and sacrifice 800 of our own!" Zhang Liao also gave his own insight. Now is the time for a siege, not a field battle, so the Pingzhou wolf cavalry can't be used at all, but this doesn't hinder Zhang Liao's understanding of the situation.

  "We must fight even if it's hard!" Lü Bu gazed coldly at the entire mountain range "Has the Lü Bu army ever retreated?!"

  From his debut until now, Lü Bu seems to have never had a smooth and easy victory. He has always been facing strong headwinds, either outnumbered by the enemy or being ambushed, unable to exert his strength!

  Lü Bu's army can be defeated but cannot admit defeat. Mount Bagong! The terrain is treacherous, easy to defend and hard to attack, but it depends on who is defending and who is attacking.

  "Is it really worth it?!" Chen Gong asked.

  "It's nothing! A mere Heaven's Gate can stop me, Lü Bu? What a joke!" Lü Bu's intention to kill Chen Lan and Lei Bo didn't just come from Yuan Shu's orders, but also because these two shared a common trait - they were both traitors!