Lu Bu left Wei Xu, Wei Yue, and Chen Gong behind to hold Xiapi. In truth, he intended for them to keep one another in check.
It was because Chen Gong had a habit of disliking anyone capable, so Wei Xu and Wei Yue held all military authority.
Yet Wei Xu was truly incompetent. Without Chen Gong and Wei Yue, he had no opinions of his own.
Now, he was stumped by the situation Chen Gui had engineered. Seeing that Chen Gui had a plan, he hurriedly asked:
"May I ask what scheme you have to break this deadlock, sir? I am willing to hear it in detail!"
Seeing this, Chen Gui promptly offered Wei Xu a plan:
"If you ask how to break this deadlock, it is actually quite simple. Though Marquis Wen is currently away, Xuzhou remains under control."
"With Chen Gongtai stationed outside, Zang Ba will find it difficult to enter. The concern is only that Xiapi may be lost, causing Marquis Wen's family to fall into enemy hands."
"Now that Cao Cao has intervened, there must be many collaborators within the city."
"Rebel generals of Xu Dan's faction cannot be trusted. They must be eliminated first!"
"Once they are removed, I shall pretend to summon Xu Dan back. General, lead your men into an ambush outside, and you can settle it in a single battle."
"Once you have put down the internal unrest, you may calmly dispatch troops as reinforcements."
"When Marquis Wen returns with his army, he will surely thank you for the merit of protecting his household!"
Hearing this, Wei Xu considered that Xu Dan and his faction were all old Xuzhou generals and indeed might be colluding with Cao Cao.
Thus, he followed Chen Gui's words and ordered Zhang Kuang and the others