The generals know that Lu Bu's character is very stubborn, and it is difficult to change what he decides.

And what Lu Bu said is right, even if there are many casualties, it will not be impossible to even take out tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

"Since the lord has made up his mind, let's destroy Sun Ce. The minister suggested sending people to negotiate with Liu, Yuan, and Cao for a temporary peace negotiation, so as not to be attacked by them again when our army attacked Sun Ce. Xu Shu said.

"Hahaha..." Lu Bu laughed a few times.

The crowd was puzzled.

Xu Shu asked, "Why is the lord laughing?" ”

Lu Budao: "Yuan Shao has hundreds of thousands of troops, and it is reasonable to threaten Xuzhou and negotiate peace with him." Cao Cao was ambitious and deliberately provoked a war, and even if he wanted to make peace with me, I would not like to make peace with him. Besides, his wife, children, relatives, and ministers are all in my hands, so what qualifications does he have to negotiate peace with me? As for Liu Bei, not to mention, a weaver of straw shoes, wait for me to defeat Sun Ce, and then settle accounts with him. ”

Xu Shu rolled his eyes.

"Pear blossom."

"Yes."

Lu Bu instructed: "I will return to Yangzhou in the near future, and after I leave, you can expand the army to 100,000 without waiting for the recruitment documents of the Ministry of War, so as to prevent Yuan Shao and Cao Cao from attacking Xuzhou." ”

"No."

"The rest of the generals and soldiers from Yangzhou will go to Jiangxia County with me, and they will not destroy Sun Ce, and they will not return the capital!" Lu Bu's expression was resolute.

"No."

The people answered.

In the first month of the fifth year of Jian'an, the war situation in Xu and Yang states has undergone tremendous changes.

First, Yuan Shao conquered Chenliu and Tiger Prison Pass, threatening Cao Cao's Sili and Yanzhou. In a panic, Cao Cao ordered all the troops on the front line to retreat and gather in Chenliu to fight against Yuan Shao.

Among them, Xu Huang's army, Donghai County and Jian'an County, which had just been occupied, were all abandoned.

At this point, there is no Cao army in the two states of Xu and Yang.

Lü Bu left Fan Lihua and Liang Hongyu to garrison Xuzhou to recover lost territory, dispose of prisoners, and stabilize the people. Then with the rest of the troops, through the East China Sea, Jian'an County, back to Huainan.

During this period, Sun Ce and Liu Bei also withdrew their troops one after another.

In fact, they jointly attacked Yangzhou and gained nothing. Liu Bei's 20,000 soldiers and horses have been wandering around Jiangxia County, never fighting with Zhang Liao and Gan Ning's soldiers and horses, at most in the name of a coalition army.

Sun Ce's 30,000 troops, led by Zhou Yu, were very fierce, but after he occupied Huiji County, he was attacked by Zhang Liao, and there were never any extra soldiers and horses to attack Lujiang.

Because after the fall of Huiji County, the Military Aircraft Department increased the number of troops to Lujiang County by 20,000, plus the soldiers and horses in each county, there were more than 30,000 people, and the strength was not weaker than Zhou Yu.

There is also one of the most important reasons, that is, Li Cunxiao, a freak, under the command of Zhang Liao, hit Zhou Yu several times and almost captured Zhou Yu alive. Therefore, the Jiangdong Army was demoralized and had no intention of fighting.

In the end, Zhou Yu received the news of Cao Cao and Liu Bei's retreat, and reluctantly retreated to Jiangdong.

Lujiang County.

On the long official road, tens of thousands of troops marched.

Lu Bu was half-lying in the car and reading the folds.

Next to him sat Mu Guiying, sorting out the paperwork.

"Ovary." Lu Bu shouted.

Zhang Liang rode over and asked, "What did the lord call me?" ”

Lu Budao: "Mr. Gongtai asked me, how to deal with Wei Yan, what is your opinion?" ”

"Since the lord asked this question, it means that he doesn't want to punish Wei Yan, so why should he hesitate?"

But after all, he disobeyed the military order and took away all the soldiers and horses that were supposed to reinforce Gao Shun, causing Gao Shun's troops to be hit hard and lose Yuzhang County. Merit is merit, demerit is transgression, can't be confused, right? ”

Lu Bu felt a headache, whether to punish Wei Yan or not, it was unfair. Because Wei Yan captured Xudu and made a miraculous achievement. If punishment is imposed, generals at all levels will not accept it.

And if he is not punished, he will not be able to, because he disobeyed the military order and caused certain losses to Gao Shun's troops.

"Since you're in a hurry, why not think of a compromise?" Zhang Liang smiled.

"You mean, both punishment and reward?"

Zhang Liang smiled and said, "The lord is wise." Dare to ask the lord, what does Wei Yan want most? ”

"He... He wants military power above all! ”

Zhang Liang said: "Then give him military power." Let him go to Jiangxia County, be a six-grade county lieutenant, and lead 10,000 troops alone, which can be regarded as a reward for him. Then he was dismissed from his position in the military department, and he was punished with a hundred rods. ”

"Okay, that's it." Lu Bu picked up the red pen and replied to Chen Gong.

In the middle of the first month.

The team arrived at Wuchang, the seat of Jiangxia County.

Zhang Liao, Gan Ning, and Li Cunxiao went out of the city to greet each other.

"Meet my lord."

"Don't be polite, go into the city and talk." Lu Bu poked his head out of the car and waved his hand.

"No."

When they came to the county guard's mansion, Lu Bu and Mu Guiying walked out of the car and saw a notice posted on the wall outside the county guard's mansion. The notice said that those who provided clues about Ma Chao would be rewarded with 200,000 yuan.

"Is Ma Chao in the city?" Lu Bu asked.

Zhang Liao walked over and said, "Please forgive your sins." Some time ago, Zhao Yun lured our army to attack, and the soldiers and horses of the last general and the soldiers and horses of General Gan Ning all went to meet Zhao Yun. I didn't want Ma Chao to come, and the sneak attack on Wuchang succeeded. Fortunately, General Li Cunxiao appeared in time to turn the tide and repel Ma Chao. After blocking the city gate and arresting him, he never saw Ma Chao. ”

"It's a pity..."

Lu Bu didn't say much, only said a pity, and entered the county guard's mansion.

In the lobby, generals at all levels took their seats.

Zhang Liao asked: "The lord just said that it was a pity, did he mean that Ma Chao was not caught?" ”

Lu Budao: "Ma Chao is the son of Xiliang Thorn Shi Ma Teng, after General Fubo, there is the courage of ten thousand people, the talent of the general, but he took refuge in Liu Bei, isn't it a pity?" ”

"Don't worry, the lord has ordered him to be arrested, and he will definitely be caught."

"No need."

Lu Bu sighed: "Zhuge Liang is the best at scheming, and if he sends Ma Chao to attack Wuchang, he must have arranged a way out." Besides, with Ma Chao's skills, he has already fled from Wuchang, where are you going to catch it? ”

At this time, the soldiers of the Dragon Guard Army reported outside the hall: "My lord, Commander Nie asks to see you." ”

"Let him in."

Nie Zheng entered the lobby of the county guard's mansion, saluted Lu Bu, handed a copy of the fold to Lu Bu, and said: "My lord, I have found out the situation of Liu Bei and Sun Ce, please take a look." ”

"Stand down."

"No."

As early as a month ago, Lu Bu instructed the Shadow to closely monitor Liu Bei and Sun Ce, and make a detailed understanding and assessment of their strength. Especially in the case of Sun Ce's army, we must not let go of any details.

"Sun Ce's Jiaozhou, a total of seven counties and fifty-four counties, about 1.2 million people, 20,000 naval troops, 26,000 horse infantry troops, stationed in the South China Sea and Jiaozhi, commanded the army governor Zhou Yu, generals Lu Meng, Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Ding Feng, Jiang Qin, Ling Tong, Zhou Tai, Tai Shici..."

After reading Sun Cejun's situation, Lu Bu asked Gan Ning: "Are you sure to defeat the Jiangdong Naval Army?" ”