Although he didn't get the military power, he could follow Xu Huang to fight Zhuge Liang and prove his ability.

Sima Yi thanked Cao Cao and went back to prepare for the journey.

..................

Time flies.

Before I knew it, it was mid-August.

Liu Bei's army fought bloodily in Yizhou, fighting all the way from Los Angeles to Jiange Pass, blocking the west gate of Yizhou. Since then, Liu Zhang has completely become a turtle in the urn.

Originally, Liu Zhang also planned to ask Ma Chao in Xiliang for help, but now he can't save it if he wants to.

After occupying the Sword Pavilion Pass, he went to the capital non-stop.

The Yizhou army has been defeated and retreated, and it is already at an absolute disadvantage.

It is also ridiculous to say that the dignified 200,000 Yizhou troops have taken advantage of the geographical advantage, but they are no match for Liu Bei's 40,000 troops. Moreover, half of Liu Bei's 40,000 troops were newly recruited, and their combat effectiveness was limited.

The real elite is less than 10,000 people.

Of course, the fierce generals under Liu Bei are notoriously fierce. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, these are all generals who accompanied Liu Bei to fight in Yizhou, and any one of them can beat Liu Zhang's generals.

It is precisely because of these fierce generals that the generals of the Yizhou Army are afraid from the bottom of their hearts.

Every time I fight, before I can decide the winner, I think about retreating.

Defeat after defeat, morale is extremely low.

this day.

Liu Bei's army approached Mianzhu Pass.

Mianzhu is a checkpoint in the middle of Yizhou, which is not too dangerous, but it is very tall and prosperous. There are also more troops stationed here than elsewhere.

This is the only way to the capital of Liu Zhang, and it is also the last important town to go to the capital of Cheng.

The army took up positions outside the city.

Knock knock...

The drums thundered.

Zhang Fei rode out: "Bah! Zhang Ren Xiaoer, come out and die quickly! ”

Zhang Ren stood on the city tower, looking at Zhang Fei intently, walking back and forth. He seemed to be hesitating, should he go down and accept Zhang Fei's challenge and fight Zhang Fei for hundreds of rounds?

Thinking of Zhang Fei's courage and abnormality, Zhang Ren didn't dare to respond.

"Zhang Ren, you are as timid as a mouse, shrunk like a turtle, don't you have the courage to fight?" An unfamiliar general walked from behind Zhang Fei. This strange general, dressed in the clothes of an ordinary lieutenant.

Even the lieutenant in Liu Bei's army dared to insult like this, and Zhang Renzi was extremely angry.

But he still endured it and did not leave the city.

"The general doesn't have to pay attention to the enemy troops, they are deliberately trying to lure us into battle. Mianzhu City has thick walls, and there are 30,000 troops garrisoned, Liu Bei will never be able to attack it, we will stay here, delay time, presumably Liu Bei came from afar, food and grass are insufficient, he can't hold out for long. It was Zhang Ren's military advisor Li Yan who said this.

Li Yan is a Confucian general, he can also lead troops to fight, and he is thoughtful and good at figuring out people's hearts. It's just that his status in Shu has always been a Wenchen, and he rarely involves military affairs. This time Liu Bei came to attack, hit Mianzhu Pass, if Mianzhu can't resist, Cheng is in danger, he was ordered by Liu Zhang, as a military advisor, to assist Zhang Ren to defend the city.

Zhang Ren said: "Zhang Fei lured me to fight, how can I not know, but... What he said was too ugly to hear. ”

Li Yan said: "As long as the general can't hold back and don't fight, Liu Bei has no possibility of breaking the city." Mianzhuguan is also impregnable. General, the lord treats you like a mountain, you can't lose the level because of recklessness, do you know that behind Mianzhu Pass is Chengdu, this is our last barrier. ”

"I understand..."

Zhang Ren nodded, turned around and said, "The matter here is handed over to you, no matter how the enemy calls the battle, you can't avoid the battle." I'll go back to the school and pick up a batch of dead soldiers, maybe I'll be able to use them later. ”

"Yes."

After Zhang Ren left.

Li Yan assumed the heavy responsibility of defending the city.

He immediately sent people to hang up the war-free faction, and the soldiers on the city tower were all ready to roll wood and stones, fire oil, bows and arrows, and were ready to go. As long as Liu Bei attacks the city, these can come in handy.

Zhang Fei called for a while outside the city, but returned in vain.

"Big brother, Zhang Ren, this kid won't fight."

"Retire. Fight again in the coming day. Liu Bei led the army to evacuate.

At a position five miles away from Mianzhu Pass, set up camp.

Guan Yu took someone to investigate, and came back and said: "Now the general who guards the city is called Li Yan, and it is said that he is a civil servant. But... Zhang Ren trusted him very much and entrusted him with the responsibility of defending the city. ”

Liu Bei knew something about Li Yan.

He said: "Li Yan, the word is square, once served in Jingzhou, and then defected to Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang was very important to him, appointed him as the county commander of Chengdu, and assisted in the internal affairs of Yizhou. This time he came to Mianzhu Pass, it must be Liu Zhang's intention. He was worried that Zhang Ren would be reckless and lose Mianzhu, so he asked Li Yan, who was calm-hearted, to make up for Zhang Ren's shortcomings. ”

Guan Yu said: "In this way, it will be even more difficult for us to attack Mianzhu." ”

"Not necessarily, there are many possibilities for everything." Liu Bei squinted slightly, not knowing what he was thinking, and suddenly smiled: "If you can persuade Li Yan to lead your troops to surrender, Liu Zhang will be defeated!" ”

"Can you persuade me to surrender?" Huang Zhong said: "Li Yan is deeply valued by Liu Zhang, he shouldn't rebel easily, right?" ”

"General Huang is right, I have also heard of Li Yan, he is not like the kind of person who tends to be inflammatory. If the lord wants to persuade him to surrender, I am afraid it will be more difficult than capturing Mianzhu Pass. Chen Zhi said.

"There's no harm in trying..."

Liu Bei turned around and sat down, picked up his pen and wrote a letter.

"Send someone out immediately, hand it over to Li Yan in private, and don't let Zhang Ren find out." Liu Bei handed the letter to Huang Zhong.

"Yes."

Whether it works or not, you will know if you try it, and it won't be a big deal anyway.

...........

A few days later.

Li Yan was persuaded by Liu Bei to surrender.

Perhaps it was Liu Bei's name of benevolence and righteousness that played a role. Or Liu Bei's conditions are very tempting, of course, the main reason is that Liu Zhang is mediocre, and the people in Shu cannot get the protection they deserve, so Li Yan turns to Liu Bei.

Nearly half of the Yizhou army stationed at Mianzhu Pass surrendered.

Liu Bei took advantage of the situation to occupy this place, raised armaments, and prepared to attack Chengdu.

According to the detailed map of the twelve counties of Yizhou given by Zhang Song, as well as these days, he has been fighting with Liu Zhang's army. and those who were killed, those who were scattered, and those who surrendered. The Yizhou army stationed in Chengdu had less than 30,000 people. If this place can be defeated and Liu Zhang can be forced to surrender, then the entire twelve counties of Yizhou will belong to Liu Bei.

"My lord..."

Wei Yan hurriedly ran into the camp tent.

He held a letter in his hand and handed it to Liu Bei: "Lord, this is sent by Mr. Kong Ming. ”

"Bring it quickly. It must be Cao Cao or Sun Quan to commit it. "Since Liu Bei entered Yizhou, he has been thinking about Jingnan, and he can even dream that Cao Cao is coming, or Sun Quan is coming. In the past month or two, he has been thinking about capturing Chengdu and returning to Jingnan.

"As I expected, Cao Cao sent Xu Huang to lead 50,000 Jingzhou troops, and they had crossed Jiangjin five days ago. Now in Wuling County, at war with Kong Ming. After Liu Bei read the letter, his eyebrows tightened.