Inside Changzhou City, Lü Bu frowned as he looked at the battle report about Fengyun Valley. "How is this possible?"
A junior officer asked, "General, are you referring to the Changning Army being repeatedly defeated by the two sons of the Prince?"
Lu Fengxian nodded and said in a deep voice, "Although the Princess Consort of Yan, Yu Fengyang, and Murong Xuan haven't shown their faces recently, Cui Hao, as the former commander of the Flying Cloud Cavalry, is no weakling in terms of either his own strength or his ability to lead troops..."
Another young general slowly spoke up, "General, the Princess Consort of Yan is known for her cunning. Could it be that she deliberately lured those two young masters into a trap?"
Lu Bu frowned and said, "You're right. These days, the Prince of Yingchuan hasn't been involved in much affairs, which suits their purposes perfectly."
Although Zhang Yu wasn't a skilled warrior, he was quite cunning and not easily fooled. But now, with his two hot-blooded sons in charge, things were less certain.
Thinking of this, Lü Bu immediately ordered, "Let's go, pack up, we're going to Fengyun Valley. If things continue like this, we might really fall into the trap set by the Princess Consort of Yan."
The young general hesitated and said, "General, but the Prince has explicitly ordered us not to interfere in the battle at Fengyun Valley."
The army currently fighting in Fengyun Valley is basically the imperial army brought by Zhang Yu; they have no trust in their original Changzhou Guard.
Lu Fengxian frowned and said, "We can't worry about that now. The defense plan I sent to the Prince earlier was completely ignored. We absolutely cannot let those two young masters continue their reckless behavior. If this continues, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"yes"
Without further hesitation, Lü Bu rode his steed, accompanied by two junior officers, towards the main camp outside Fengyun Valley.
The three were stopped as soon as they approached the camp.
The soldier guarding the camp said in a deep voice, "General Lü, the Prince has forbidden you from coming here. Are you disobeying orders?"
Lu Bu dismounted and said, "Please inform Your Highness that I have important military intelligence to report."
The soldiers guarding the camp remained unmoved.
Lu Bu shouted angrily, "How dare you! As the deputy commander, how dare you stop me? If you delay military intelligence and His Majesty blames you, can you bear the consequences?"
The soldier guarding the camp turned ashen-faced, hesitated for a moment, then turned and went inside to report.
Before long, Lü Bu was ushered into the main tent. Inside, Zhang Yu sat at the head of the table, while Zhang Shaoqi and Zhang Shaowei sat at the foot, their faces beaming with pride.
As Lü Bu and his two young generals entered, they caught a glimpse of the expressions on the two men's faces, and Lü Bu couldn't help but frown.
"This humble general pays his respects to Your Highness."
Zhang Yu said coldly, "Lu Fengxian, what do you mean by this? I did not summon you, yet you have come here on your own. Are you dissatisfied with me, your commander-in-chief?"
Lu Bu bowed and said, "This humble general dares not presume, but Your Highness, the situation at Fengyun Valley is far from optimistic. This humble general believes that the two young masters have likely fallen into the trap set by the enemy..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Shaoqi and Zhang Shaowei couldn't sit still any longer. "General Lü, our army has repelled the rebels several times recently and has made great contributions. Father, General Lü's motives for coming here are clearly impure..."
Lu Fengxian frowned and said, "What do you two gentlemen mean by this? If the rebels pass through Fengyun Valley, none of us will have a good life. I'm only doing this for the court..."
Zhang Shaoqi snorted coldly and respectfully addressed the person above him, "Father, General Lü previously guarded Fengyun Valley, only daring to cower and not come out. Now that he sees that we have repelled the bandits, he immediately ran over. His intentions are despicable..."
Lu Bu's face turned green with rage. Why were they cowering and refusing to come out? When he was around, those bandits never dared to test him like this. Now, those battle merits were clearly given to these two fools by the enemy, trying to make them underestimate them.
"you……"
Zhang Yu slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "Enough, Lü Fengxian, your tactics are too conservative. We now have far superior forces and occupy such a natural stronghold. We shouldn't just be thinking about holding our ground, but should be thinking about how to annihilate the enemy army..."
Lü Fengxian hurriedly said, "Your Highness, no, we must not launch a preemptive attack so easily..."
If they were to launch an attack from this terrain, their initiative would turn into a defensive one, playing right into the enemy's hands. As long as they hold this position and prevent the enemy from passing through, they can not only hold back the Princess Consort of Yan, but also slow down the other group of Princes of Yan. It would be a win-win situation...
Zhang Shaowei said in a deep voice, "General Lü, you have repeatedly obstructed our attack on the rebels. Are you doing this for the court or for the rebels? Could it be that you have been bribed by the Princess Consort of Yan and the others?"
Zhang Shaoqi quickly added, "Father, my second brother is right. In my opinion, General Lü has clearly harbored treacherous intentions. Now he has dared to come to Fengyun Valley to disrupt the morale of the army. I beg you, Father, to punish him severely."
They finally gained military power, and they can't let Lü Bu ruin it. If they win this time, their father might reconsider the choice of heir apparent...
Zhang Yu nodded. "That's right. Men, drag Lü Fengxian out and give him fifty lashes for disobeying orders. Also, since you're unwilling to obediently guard Changcheng, then you shouldn't guard it anymore. Go and garrison Jieyang."
Lu Bu had been deeply rooted in Changzhou Garrison for many years and enjoyed the trust of his subordinates. Having such a person in his ranks was not a good thing for him in winning over the Changzhou army.
Now that he has brought troops out this time, the Changzhou army will inevitably be under his control. Lü Bu clearly has no intention of submitting to him, so this is a perfect opportunity to depose him and install a new leader.
Lü Bu immediately said, "Your Highness, you mustn't. There is really no need to defend Jieyang..."
Zhang Yu roared, "Drag him out and beat him..."
The two young officers behind Lü Bu immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, you mustn't! Fifty lashes..."
Zhang Yu said coldly, "Are you two going to defy the imperial decree too?"
The two young generals looked solemn and were about to say something when Lü Bu stopped them. They could only keep their heads down, secretly clenching their fists...
Zhang Yu said dismissively, "Get out of my sight, all of you."
The farce ended just like that. After Zhang Shaoqi and Zhang Shaowei left the tent, their previous brotherly and respectful demeanor vanished immediately.
Zhang Shaowei sneered, "Big brother, you're putting on quite a show."
Zhang Shaoqi also said coldly, "Second brother, you might as well give way a little more, but I must remind you, now is not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves. Third brother's position is secure, so there's no point in us arguing about this now."
Zhang Shaowei scoffed, "I don't need you to remind me."
I don't know what Father was thinking, making his youngest brother the heir apparent. Where do the two of them, who are ranked higher, stand in all this way? Heaven knows how much they wished that their younger brother would never return when Zhang Tuo was captured in the Northwest.
Who would have thought that the Prince of Yan would abandon such a good hostage and exchange it for an insignificant member of the Kong family...
The two exchanged a glance before returning to their respective tents. This battle presented a golden opportunity; His Majesty clearly valued the Princess Consort of Yan. Defeating her would undoubtedly bring them rewards. To let the other side claim the credit? That would be foolish.
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