Liu Bei and his entourage were about 2,000 men and horses, including 200 cavalry and 1,800 infantry. Escorting the convoy of officials' families, they left the gate of Zhuoxian County and traveled north.

After walking for more than 50 miles, the team walked to a high hill, and saw water appear on the horizon in the distance.

Looking to the northwest, there is a stretch of Yan Mountain, and the water meanders out of Yan Mountain.

Directly in front of the low-lying land, a classic border town, surrounded by earthen walls, slightly dilapidated, no moat is dug specifically, only the north of the city is just near the water.

This is the Liangxiang County where Liu Bei is going to take office.

"Xuande, why don't you leave? After sitting in the car for a long time, if the army rested, I would get down and walk, just to breathe in a high place. ”

In a carriage behind Liu Bei, an old man in his fifties poked his head out and asked in a hoarse voice.

Liu Bei was originally observing the terrain, and when he heard the voice, he hurriedly turned around: "Uncle be careful, I'll help you." ”

As he spoke, Liu Bei personally stepped forward to help.

Zhao Yun, who was taking care of the family convoy, originally rushed to shoot ahead of Liu Bei, but was gently brushed away by Liu Bei. Zhao Yun was also very eye-catching, and hurriedly withdrew his hand, without hindering the lord from fulfilling his filial piety in person.

On the other side, there was also a man about 25 years old, slightly younger than Liu Bei, who hurriedly jumped out of the carriage, held the old man's other arm, and said, "Father, be careful." ”

It turned out that this old man was Liu Yuanqi's uncle, Liu Yuanqi, who sponsored him to study in Luoyang after Liu Bei lost his father.

The young man next to him who looked similar to Liu Bei, but his arms were not as long as Liu Bei's and his ears were not as big as Liu Bei's, was his cousin Liu Deran.

Liu Yuanqi and Liu Deran, father and son, have been obliterated and unheard of since then, it is estimated that when Liu Bei fled to the rivers and lakes and Youzhou was sacked by Zhang Chun, they suffered from the misfortune of thieves.

But in this life, Li Su helped Liu Bei report Zhang Chun in advance, Liu Bei can not only protect his family, but also do the county order, everything is already different.

This Liu Deran's knowledge is indeed more old-fashioned than Liu Bei. But he is a senior brother with Liu Bei and Gongsun Zhan, and he can be regarded as taught by Lu Zhi, and now he has survived, and he is doing things with his cousin, and his ability is not comparable to Jian Yong.

It is even more rare because of the identity of a classmate and cousin, which is obviously more trusted by Liu Bei.

Uncle Liu Yuanqi stood on crutches for a while, sighed: "Alas, the old man has lived in Zhuo County for most of his life, and he didn't expect to move one day. ”

Liu Bei hurriedly said: "Let my uncle be displaced, and be prepared." Fortunately, Liangxiang is only sixty miles away from Zhuo County, and you can get used to it quickly. Now that the soldiers are in chaos, it is safe to have soldiers and horses around them. ”

Liu Yuanqi smiled softly: "Say something!" If it weren't for Xuande recruiting volunteers to protect his neighbors, I'm afraid that after Captain Shan rescued Gongqi Chou and died in battle last month, those few Wuhuan cavalry who came to Zhuo County to loot would have broken the city!

I heard that even the Son of Heaven has heard of your righteous act of abandoning your official position to protect your neighbors? Along the way just now, Deran and the others told me about your current scenery. ”

"If I didn't have my uncle, I wouldn't have been able to study abroad. Everything is as it should be, and no matter what you do, it is not enough to repay your uncle's great kindness. ”

Liu Bei said a bunch of words of gratitude, although he chattered, but also from the bottom of his heart.

In the end, Liu Yuanqi asked him to stop and be polite, and Liu Bei accepted it.

Liu Yuanqi got back into the car and coughed a few times: "Don't talk about this, it's just that today you and my uncle and nephew can have such a situation, so that you can be loyal and filial, protect your neighbors, and your official position will not be lowered but promoted, but you can't forget the one you said...... A friend who taught you to abandon the official and seek fame. Our Liu family, who have been helped by others, should be grateful. ”

Liu Bei looked upright and promised his uncle: "That's natural, I treat Boya like Deran." If you talk about insight and strategy, you will also see it as a teacher and a friend. My uncle's teachings are deeply impressed. ”

……

Liu Bei told his uncle and cousin about his friendship with Li Su along the way, and soon arrived at the gate of the county seat.

Liangxiang County now has no county order, so Liu Bei does not need to hand over to his predecessor - the former county order was martyred in Zhang Chun's rebellion.

Among the subordinate officials left in the county, there was only one county official with the highest position, named Qi Jing, so he introduced the situation in the county to Liu Bei.

"Humble in this county, see the county order. Xuande Gong is famous in Beijing, and it is a blessing for the people to be able to come to Liangxiang to serve. Qi Jing had been waiting outside the city gate for a long time, and as soon as he saw Liu Bei, he brought the officials and officials to greet him and salute.

Liu Bei was slightly unaccustomed.

Two months ago, he was a county lieutenant, and he has been a county lieutenant for more than two years. So he knew what kind of posture the subordinate officials such as the county lieutenant and the county official were in front of the county order.

This Qi County Cheng is too groveling and cautious, right?

"Hurry up and excuse me, prepare for the first time, and I hope you will work together and be diligent in the king's affairs, and you don't need to be polite." Liu Bei is also an old buyer, of course he knows how to get along with his subordinates and the masses.

"Xuande Gong is too modest, and yesterday I heard that Gong Nai is the first good minister who has been edicted by the Son of Heaven and is exempt from paying money for repairing the palace. Such a great virtue who is loyal and righteous to the four seas, can come to my good hometown, isn't it the honor of the people of the city? Qi Jing insisted on giving his hand and handed over a bowl of sake.

Liu Bei was a little embarrassed, but looking at this posture, he wouldn't stop if he didn't drink the other party, so he hurriedly drank it.

While drinking, Liu Bei was actually quite proud in his heart, but his expression was not written on his face: I didn't expect our deeds to spread so quickly!

Liu Bei came to Liangxiang with an army, so he walked relatively slowly, and it took a whole day on the road. It is estimated that some passing merchants, the kind of merchants who ride fast horses alone, arrived before him and spread the big news.

According to this trend, within ten days, several surrounding counties will definitely know that he has a reputation for not paying money for repairing the palace, and it is not impossible to spread all over Youzhou within a month.

For the future, it is a lot more convenient!

On the other side, Qi Jing took the county officials and continued to pour wine for Zhang Fei, Jian Yong, and Zhao Yun one by one.

Zhao Yun actually doesn't have any official position, and his Qu Junhou is self-appointed by Liu Bei. It's just that Zhao Yun has a meritorious role in protecting Liu Bei's family, and Liu Bei attaches importance to him and rewards him with a set of polished and bright fish scale iron armor, as well as a bright heart guard (at that time, the Mingguang armor was not yet mature).

The subordinate officials of the county saw that he had bright armor, so they thought that he was a military attache with good rank like Zhang Fei, and secretly sighed that Liu County's soldiers and horses were really well-equipped.

They didn't know that a considerable part of these equipment and horses were the goods that Zhang Chun had ordered when he asked the Zhen family, but because the case happened too quickly, he didn't have time to pick up the goods, which cheapened Liu Bei.

After the handover between the two sides, Liu Bei also earned enough face, so he walked together and led him to the county office.

Along the way, Liu Bei also asked Qi Jing about the recent battle situation in the county and what the Shangguan had for deployment, and Qi Jing answered them one by one:

"Good teacher Liu Gong learned that the county's defense area is currently under the jurisdiction of Zou Jing, the commander of the state. Zou Xiaowei controlled the county, Guangyang County, Changping County, Yuyang County, Yuyang County, and deployed defenses along Yanshan.

The garrisons of the three counties were required to intercept and defend the Yanshan Pass and prevent Zhang Chun's rebels from entering the hinterland of the three counties. In the event of a strong attack by the rebels, the garrisons of the three counties must also watch and help. The friendly forces of the other two counties were under the command of Jiao Touch, the commander of Guangyang, and Zhang Nan, the commander of Yuyang, respectively, and they were all subordinate to Captain Zou. ”

After all, Liu Bei is a local and is familiar with the geographical situation, so after roughly combing through it, he completely understands the current situation.

The Han Dynasty also built the Great Wall, but because the strategic position of Jixian County was not very important in the Han Dynasty, the Great Wall in Youzhou was single-layered, and it was not as good as the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty in the later Ming Dynasty, which had two Great Walls near Beijing.

The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty was built on the border between Shanggu, Daijun and Wuhuan, which is equivalent to the Zhangjiakou generation in later generations and the Outer Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty.

In the Yanshan Mountains in the northwest of Jixian County, the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty has Juyongguan and Badaling, while the Han Dynasty is just a primitive mountain forest. However, the terrain of this mountainous area itself is also relatively steep, which can play a certain role in blocking the army.

In addition, this generation is the junction of the four counties of Shanggu, Zhuo, Guangyang and Yuyang, so the management is complicated. If the army wants to cross the Yan Mountain, it can only choose to march along the Yushui River Valley. In addition, the other mountain roads had to be lightly armed and horses abandoned, and they could not carry grain and grass and baggage.

Therefore, the key to defense is to block the water valley!

It just so happens that there are three tributaries of the water, which flow through Liangxiang County in Zhuo County - this tributary is the Yongding River in Fangshan, a suburb of Beijing in later generations.

The other two tributaries flow through Changping County in Guangyang County and Yuyang County (Miyun) in Yuyang County, and the three tributaries finally merge in Yongnu County (Jinmen Wuqing) and flow into the Bohai Sea.

Blocking the exit of the three valleys of the Yongding River out of Yanshan blocked the way for Zhang Chun's army to spread. For the time being, Zhang Chun was trapped in Shanggu County, as well as the eastern part of Dai County and the northwest of Yuyang County, which bordered Shanggu County. Let Zhang Chun only control the territory equivalent to two counties, and cannot plunder and absorb more materials. (It is equivalent to the later generations outside Yongguan and within Zhangjiakou, all of which are Zhang Chun's territory, and this generation of the Han Dynasty was still dominated by nomadic grasslands, and it was a pastoral area with Wuhuan people)

Before the imperial court gathers enough troops to counterattack, this is the safest tactic in the stalemate stage.

The Wuhuan soldiers who were tempted by Zhang Chun didn't really support Zhang Chun in the final analysis, they just followed Zhang Chun after they had no money to send them, and they met Zhang Chun who promised them that they could rob casually. Therefore, as long as they are blocked and do not give them "grabbable resources", the Wuhuan people will gradually deviate from Zhang Chun and give birth to internal contradictions.

Among the three Yongding River valleys to be defended, the one that Liu Bei wants to defend is relatively difficult to walk, and the threat should be lighter.

The road condition is the best and the easiest to become Zhang Chun's main direction of attack, which should still be the Changping Road in front of Jixian County - history has also proved that Juyong Pass and Badaling were later built on this road, which shows that this is the most important point of defense.

It's just that more than a month ago, when Zhang Chun killed Gong Qichou, the captain of Wuhuan, it was in that generation that he suddenly attacked, so that the imperial army currently does not fully control Changping Dao-

The Juyongguan area at the south entrance of Changping Province is now under the control of Zou Jing and Jiao Touch, but Badaling at the north entrance is currently occupied by Zhang Chun's generals, and a camp has also been set up in Badaling.

……

After Liu Bei found out all the situation in the county, he decided to immediately start arming.

He first asked Qi Jing: "Captain Zou wants us to guard the water valley, can there be camps, passes and other facilities left by the imperial court military horses here?" ”

Qi Jing: "15 miles north of the county seat, at the Yanshan Pass, there is a camp left by Shan Duwei before he died in battle, but it has been burned down again, it is very dilapidated, and it needs to rest. There are no passes. ”

Liu Bei nodded and instructed Zhang Fei: "Yide, you first pick up a thousand men and horses, and follow me to the old village ruins left by Shan Duwei to have a look, and the remaining half of the men and horses will stay in the county seat." I will send you the military rations you need from the county seat. ”

Zhang Fei didn't say a word, and set off with his troops.

When Liu Bei arrived at the place, he saw a dilapidated camp all over the ground, and it seemed that it would cost a lot of money and food to repair it.

He climbed high again, observed the mountain, and after thinking for a long time, he frowned, and asked Qi Jing, who followed:

"Here along Yanshan, there has always been no beacon tower? So how to help defend the Sanxian estuary? When Zhang Chun's army concentrated on one of the river valleys, could it be that the reinforcements at the other two valley mouths would have to wait for the fast horse to pass on the military information? That would be a few more hours of delay. ”

Liu Bei could see at a glance that although there was no Great Wall here, it would be good to build a few beacon towers.

Qi Jing said with a bitter face: "Before Captain Shan died in battle, the money and grain in the county's official treasury had been exhausted, and all of them were supplied to the military, and the situation in neighboring counties was similar, so I really couldn't afford to repair it, so let's make do with the defense." ”