Liu Bei sighed and didn't blame Zhang Fei again. He also knew why Zhang Fei was working so hard, just to be rewarded for his meritorious service and help him get promoted. He is now the Marquis of Qu Jun, and he will be the commander one level higher. The lieutenant could not only lead five hundred men, but also ride horses, and also equipped fifty personal guards. With the close protection of his personal guards, his chances of surviving on the battlefield are greatly increased.

But he also really hurts.

Before that, he didn't have the concept of elite soldiers, because he didn't have much opportunity to be selective, so naturally the more the merrier. This time he was attacked by Sun Ce and the whole army was annihilated, Sun Ce only gave him a staff of two hundred people, and he had to choose carefully. These two hundred people were selected from his personal guard battalion, and they fought with him for a long time, not only were they good at martial arts, but they also got along well in peacetime, and their loyalty was guaranteed. When he played with Zhang Fei just now, he maintained quite well in terms of speed and formation, which was completely different from the previous swarm of attacks.

Compared with Sun Ce's subordinates, no matter how dull Liu Bei is, he can clearly feel the advantages of the elite. Under Sun Ce's command, if Zhang Fei could order a ban and withdraw in time like Bai Yushi, he could completely reduce the casualties to single digits, and maybe not even die.

The elite combat effectiveness is very strong, but it is also difficult to replenish, it takes time and investment, and these are what he lacks the most at the moment. There is no money and no one, and if one dies, there will be one less, how can he not feel distressed.

"Learn by heart." Liu Bei patted Zhang Fei on the shoulder. "If we can have a real elite like him, why don't we have a good career?"

Zhang Fei turned his anger into joy, nodded again and again, and went back to his position.

Liu Bei returned to Sun Ce's side and saluted with his fists. "People on the border, I don't know how to advance or retreat, and I ask the general for forgiving me for the rudeness."

Sun Ce waved his hand, signaling that Liu Bei didn't have to mind. "Although Zhang Yide is rude, his qualifications are good, and he is also a famous general after training, but he can be a party. I heard that he is good at calligraphy and can draw things? ”

Liu Bei was accustomed to Sun Ce's elusive way of chatting, and nodded, but he didn't take it to heart.

Silence returned to the hillside, and the torches were quickly extinguished, leaving only the bonfire in front of Sun Ce, in stark contrast to the hundreds of bonfires below.

——

Jiang Qi looked at the little fire on the hillside, his face was pale, his heart was beating faster, and a strong uneasiness invaded his whole body, just like the foot rider sent by Sun Ce to find a gap and could not resist.

The time of the raid was very short, and it was at most a few glasses of wine before and after. The casualties were not too great, the two battalions of Zhang Nan and Jiao Touch lost less than 300 men in total, but their morale was seriously damaged, and everyone was full of awe of the dark hillside, for fear that the attack would come unexpectedly again, and the tense atmosphere permeated the battalions, and there was a tendency to intensify.

I couldn't sleep that night.

Jiang Qi gave up his plan to attack, and ordered all his troops to hold their positions, not to be attacked by Sun Ce again, and not to let Sun Ce escape. Everything will wait for dawn to talk about it, and now I can't even see the formation on the hillside clearly, how can I attack? It would be nice to be able to hold the ground.

Wait for Yuan Tan to come.

Just when Jiang Qi was in frustration, Xin Bi came, with the first batch of people requisitioned from the nearby Xiangting, with grain and stalks, thousands of people, torches dotted with stars, and a vast ocean. Seeing that the two armies were facing each other, and there was no fierce battle as he planned, he hurriedly found Jiang Qi.

"Why didn't the general attack?"

Jiang Qi told what had happened and explained his hardships. The morale was frustrated, the soldiers were under too much pressure, and they could not figure out the situation on the hillside, so it was not suitable to attack.

Simbi couldn't laugh or cry. "General, why did Sun Ce stop? Isn't it just to hold you back and buy time for other troops to attack Xiao Huang? What's the point of you confronting him here? After dawn, he will break through when he receives the news of conquering Xiao Huang, and you can stop him when the time comes? ”

Jiang Qi was annoyed and angry, pointing to the dark hillside. "It's dark above, I can't see the situation clearly, how can I fight?"

"Sun Ce doesn't light the fire, just to make you can't figure out his reality and make you dare not attack. How can you follow his plan by using the way of the army, to cause people but not to others? "Simbi is really anxious, and his tone has become difficult to sound." If he doesn't light a fire, you can light it, order someone to tie a fire to the arrow, shoot it with a bow and crossbow, and send someone to throw a torch at it, light up his position, and force him to fight a decisive battle. ”

Jiang Qi was furious. "How many people will die like this? In order to make meritorious service, does George want to bury all these 10,000 people here? ”

Xin Bi did not show weakness, and said sharply: "Ci is not in charge of the troops!" Now all battalions are afraid of Sun Ce's attack, and they are nervous, if they are not forced to fight, they are likely to collapse without a fight, and when Sun Ce covers up and kills from behind, how many of your 10,000 people can survive? ”

Jiang Qi gasped. He was the one who commanded the army and knew how dangerous nervousness could be for the army. It's like a dry pyre, just one spark can start a fire, no matter how many people there are, and the more people there are, the more dangerous it is.

Compared to the confrontation, Simbi's advice, while cruel and seemingly selfish, is a relatively safe one. Letting emotionally stressed soldiers go into battle and dissipate tension in the heat of battle is not a way to relieve tension.

Seeing that Jiang Qi's expression was a little relaxed, Xin Bi said again, Sun Ce's subordinates are elite, but there are only so many of him, one less to die, and he will not fight with you until the last resort. The more aggressive you become, the less he will dare to act rashly. The more scared you are, the more calm he will be, and he can attack you as much as he wants. When the brave wins in a narrow way, you have to force up, squeeze his space, and force him to fight with you. To win this battle, so that the monarch can give you 20,000 or 30,000 people, what about Sun Ce? Where did he go to replenish so many elites?

Jiang Qi was moved and ordered all battalions to prepare for an attack.

Xin Bi persuaded Jiang Qi and ordered the people who had been requisitioned to cook for the soldiers who had worked hard for most of the night and prepare fireworks. Soon, a fire broke out in the rear of the position, a kettle was erected, pieces of meat were thrown in, and the food was fragrant, which greatly relieved the tension of the soldiers. Xin Bi also appointed the officials of each village pavilion and asked them to direct the people in their respective districts to transport carts of hay to the front of the battle, so that the soldiers could be tied to arrows and prepare for the attack.

Jiang Qi looked at it one by one, although he had opinions about Xinbi, he had to admit that Xinbi had the ability to organize so many people in a short period of time, and it was in order, it was really not an easy task, and it helped him a lot. Now that we are well fed and fed, and we have enough supplies, we are ready to attack. Although the casualties may be large, it is worth it if Sun Ce can be severely injured.

The only regret is that the final glory only belongs to Yuan Tan. Jiang Qi knew in his heart that Xin Bi was working so hard not for him, but for Yuan Tan. He fought with Sun Ce at any cost, dragging Sun Ce to exhaustion, and Yuan Tan could only come tomorrow to pick the fruits of victory.

This is everyone's life, who made Yuan Tan the son of Yuan Shao.