While Zhang Xun was assembling his troops, Zhang Fei had already begun his usual, lackadaisical taunting of the enemy.
As Zhang Fei flaunted his prowess, Zhang Xun suddenly ordered the gates to be opened and charged out, shouting as he went, "Don't let Zhang Fei escape! Whoever brings me Zhang Fei's head will be rewarded with a thousand gold and a hundred thousand coins!"
Hearing this, Zhang Xun's soldiers roared and charged at Zhang Fei with renewed vigor. To his credit, Zhang Xun managed to maintain the formation of his troops as they advanced, even as he led the charge.
Furious upon hearing Zhang Xun's offer, Zhang Fei instinctively wanted to turn and fight. However, seeing the cloud of energy above Zhang Xun's troops, he suppressed his rage and veered off to the left, retreating towards his own camp.
"Hahaha, Zhang Fei, you truly are nothing! After him! We will crush him today!" Zhang Xun laughed, urging his horse forward to pursue Zhang Fei.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Zhang Fei's voice echoed across the battlefield, filled with feigned panic, as he and his men fled towards the left side of the camp.
"Pursue them!" Zhang Xun shouted in triumph, spurring his horse after Zhang Fei.
"Send word to Li Feng—destroy their camp outside the city! I will personally deal with Zhang Fei!" Zhang Xun ordered his messenger.
In the central command tent, Jia Xu sat calmly, issuing orders to Sun Guan and Zhao Yun, who had just returned from overseeing the summer harvest, to prepare for a surprise attack on Qiao County. As for the ambush, there was no need. Within an hour, Zhang Fei would be safe, and within that same hour, Qiao County, left defenseless, would surely fall.
"Zhongtai, lead three thousand cavalry and charge as soon as the enemy opens the gates again to attack our camp. Don't worry about the horses!" Jia Xu ordered Sun Guan.
"Understood!" Sun Guan replied, bowing.
"Zilong, gather your troops and hide in the rear camp. The front camp will likely be set ablaze, so stay hidden in the back. When Zhang Xun returns to attack the city, ambush him from behind. If everything goes as planned, Zhang Xun won't have time to scout whether our camp is truly deserted. The fire in the front will create the perfect illusion." Jia Xu entrusted Zhao Yun with another task.
Just as Jia Xu predicted, when Li Feng sent half of his infantry out of the city gates, Sun Guan led the charge, crashing into the tightly packed ranks of Yuan Shu's troops. The ensuing battle was fierce.
After the initial clash, Sun Guan's infantry quickly followed, engaging in brutal combat with Li Feng's forces right at the city gates.
Li Feng knew that he had to prevent the enemy from breaching the gates at all costs. Even if it meant sacrificing his men to hold the line, as long as the gates remained secure, Zhang Xun could still turn the tide upon his return. But if the gates fell and the enemy breached the city, morale would collapse, and defeat would be inevitable.
Spotting Sun Guan among the chaos, Li Feng realized that the only way to rally his troops was to slay the enemy general. He fought his way toward Sun Guan, but Sun Guan's seasoned bodyguards, veterans of many battles, quickly alerted their leader to the approaching danger.
Although the clashing energy between the two armies neutralized most of their inner strength, Sun Guan's superior martial prowess allowed him to overpower Li Feng within twenty exchanges, knocking him off his horse. However, Li Feng's bodyguards managed to pull him to safety, preventing Sun Guan from delivering the final blow.
Realizing that killing Li Feng was not the priority, Sun Guan turned his focus back to the main objective—breaching the city.
"Li Feng is dead! Surrender, and you will be spared!" Sun Guan roared. As Yuan Shu's soldiers looked back toward Sun Guan, they saw Li Feng's riderless horse standing alone before him. Their earlier resolve evaporated, and they scattered, allowing Sun Guan's forces to surge through the gates.
"Surrender, and your lives will be spared!" Sun Guan shouted again as he led his men into the city, signaling that Qiao County was about to fall.
"General, we must retreat!" Li Feng's bodyguards helped him onto a horse, urging him to escape and inform Zhang Xun that Qiao County had been breached.
"The situation is already decided!" Jia Xu declared, standing at the camp entrance with his signature folding fan, a faint smile on his lips. As part of the enemy's troops began to dismantle the camp to build siege engines, Jia Xu could clearly foresee the outcome. With his intelligence and his mental prowess, he knew that if he remained cautious, achieving flawless strategies was not impossible.
Jia Xu had never disclosed his mental talent to anyone. Even in his youth, when he suspected that his gift might be precognition, he kept it to himself, never showing any signs of joy, as if the ability didn't exist.
As he grew older, Jia Xu analyzed and understood that his mental talent was not about predicting the future but rather piecing together future events based on information he consciously or subconsciously gathered. This talent allowed him to envision future scenarios with remarkable accuracy. The more information he had, the more precise his predictions became. Thus, Jia Xu was confident that as long as he was careful and activated his talent daily, no one could defeat him on the battlefield.