"If it is not an army of 300,000, otherwise it will not be enough to resist Hebei!"

The possibility of war is there, when a group of young students in Yecheng were shaken by the officially revealed war signals, in the sixth year of Jian'an, in Nanyang Xinye City, where spring ploughing had just ended, a group of newly promoted officials and upstarts had naturally officially discussed the strategy of "begging thieves" in front of the Son of Heaven's 'steps'.

The people present were King Lu Gong, who was respected by the Son of Heaven as the emperor's uncle, Jingzhou Mu, General Annan, and Liu Biao, Marquis of Xiangyang; After King Jing of Zhongshan, Yuzhou Mu, who was respected by the Son of Heaven as the emperor's uncle, General Zuo and Liu Bei, Marquis of Xiapi; the new Sikong, General Fenwu, Chen Hou Cao Cao; Taiwei Lu Shangshu Yang Biao; Nanyang Taishou, Wenhou and Huwei General Lu Bu; Wu Jun Taishou, Wucheng Hou Jia Po General Sun Ce; and Zhang Hong, Jing Ze, Deng Zhi, Xun Yu and others who accompanied here.

At this time, the beginning of the chapter is the person with an army of 300,000, which is naturally Cao Sikong.

"Do you need 300,000 troops to defeat Hebei?" Not only were the rest of the princes and ministers silent, but the young son of heaven was also shaken for a while.

"Returning to the Supreme, this is not the intention." Cao Cao turned his head and said to the Son of Heaven at the top. "What the minister said, the royal also, not the war. This battle, whether it is to attack instead of defending, or to defend the stronghold, is essentially to block the offensive in Hebei on the line of Mount Tai, the Yellow River, and Nanyang...... And if you want to thwart Hebei's offensive, you have to have an army of 300,000! As for the future to be a little more vigorous and enterprising, that is another matter, I am afraid that it is not 600,000 to the north. ”

The rest of the princes and ministers were still silent, and the Son of Heaven was so smart that he immediately thought of the allusion in history: "What Sikong said is very true, when Wang Jian attacked Chu, Qin was close to sweeping, and it was still 600,000, and today's grandeur of Hebei, nearly 21 in the world, no matter whether the imperial attack or defense, it must be hundreds of thousands." However, why did I hear that the guards ...... Hebei Yanwei once said that if there are 100,000 people in a battle, it is useless, what does this mean? ”

Cao Cao's face was serious, and he bowed slightly: "Returning to the Supreme, Wang Jian and ...... Yan Wei is actually right, Wang Jianzhi's argument is like a minister, talking about the overall situation of the war that stretches for thousands of miles; What Yan Wei said meant that in the local battlefield, if there were 100,000 people at a time, the logistics would be supplied and supplemented, and the soldiers and horses would not be able to be used. For example, if the minister said that 300,000 troops would defend it, it actually meant that there should be 100,000 core elites to prepare for field battles; It is also necessary for 100,000 diligent people to be able to base cities in various places in front of them and connect them into a thousand-mile deep defense line, so as to prevent the Hebei Assault Cavalry from inserting a detour; There must also be 100,000 people, in addition to mobilizing grain and grass for the people, they also serve as general reserve soldiers and horses, and they can be added to the army at any time! ”

The rest of the princes and ministers continued to be silent, and the Son of Heaven continued to ask each other with a straight face: "Then how many soldiers and horses can Cao Sikong raise in the north?" ”

"Yanyu has a large population, Chen State, Yingchuan, Liang State, Chen Liu, Jiyin, Shanyang, Rencheng, Dongping, plus half of Lu State, half of Dongjun, half of Nanyang, half of Pei State, and it is a local war, if you can't raise 100,000 people, I'm afraid you princes won't believe it." Cao Cao bowed his hand to the Son of Heaven seriously. "But, as the minister just said, among the hundreds of thousands, if you say that there are only 30,000 who can fight; There are only twenty or thirty thousand people who can defend the city; The rest are the likes of the people...... Moreover, the land under the jurisdiction of the minister is long and narrow, and it has always confronted Hebei, and the production is slightly slack, and the armor, war horses, grain and grass cannot support the war! ”

The Son of Heaven immediately woke up, and immediately looked at his imperial uncle, imperial uncle, as well as Nashou Chunhou, Wenhou and others: "This is my original intention to summon you here...... How many soldiers, horses, grain and grass can you send to help Cao Sikong? ”

The first two were still silent, but the last two were extremely single.

"Although the minister is the Taishou of Nanyang, he only has three counties, and there are no more than a thousand soldiers, and he is the guard of His Majesty!" Lu Bu said.

In this regard, the Son of Heaven can only sneer.

"Although the minister is only two counties." Sun Ce also saluted to the Son of Heaven proudly. "I also have the heart of inheriting my father's ambition to serve the country, and I am also my father-in-law and father-in-law, whether I am a minister or a son, how can I be a little at this time? The soldiers and horses of the two counties, abandoning the basic security duties, the duty of defending the mountains, and the plan to try their best to send out 20,000 people, all of them are prepared with armor, and they are personally mentioned to the north, obey the orders, and seek thieves for the country! Only the land on the left side of the river is too remote, and the Son of Heaven is asked to issue an edict to supply grain and grass along the way. ”

"Qing Zhen is a loyal minister!" The Son of Heaven was overjoyed, but he looked forward to it again, looking at the two princes of the Han family.

However, after watching it for a long time, there was still silence in the hall of the Xinye County Temple, and the two princes surnamed Liu had been silent, but the rest of them were not easy to speak...... Think about it, one of these two Han clan relatives holds the entire Huai River Valley, and the other holds the entire Jingxiang land, although the strength and strength are there, but they also affect the whole body, and it is ridiculous for you to let them pour out like Sun Ce.

However, in today's situation, from a political and military point of view, where can we continue to sit idly by?

"Minister...... The minister is young, and he is willing to listen to the emperor's words. Unexpectedly, as Cao Cao's brother-in-law, one of the Central Plains Shuangbi, and the actual promoter of the alliance, Liu Bei actually gave the bow to Liu Biao.

Liu Biao hesitated for a long time, but he was facing such a situation at this time, but he couldn't help but speak, and he hesitated for a while, and then finally stood up: "The minister thinks that General Wei's argument of being public is not very violated, and there is a reason for it, if you can mediate a little......"

"Liu Jingzhou!" Without waiting for the Son of Heaven to look embarrassed, Cao Cao couldn't help but hold on to his belt and interrupt the other party sharply. "We gathered in Nanyang and stood at the foot of the Son of Heaven, not to discuss whether we should make peace with him, nor to discuss whether to raise troops to conquer Hebei, but to say that after his people were called the public system, they were still not satisfied, and they actually asked us to return the Son of Heaven, otherwise they would personally lead troops and horses to Nanyang to welcome them! What does that mean? Do you really treat the Son of Heaven as a sinner, and you can't return it to Chang'an? ”

Liu Biao was speechless for a moment under the cautious gaze of the Son of Heaven and the rest of the princes.

"Uncle Liu, what we're talking about now is just how to defend!" Sun Ce, who inherited his father's name and had a lot of resentment against Liu Biao, couldn't help but ridicule his father-in-law. "One thing must be made clear at the moment, now it's people who are going to fight, not us! If you really lose, who will be able to hold on? ”

Liu Jingsheng naturally didn't care about Sun Ce, but he still seemed a little embarrassed, after a long time, he spoke again in the full house of anticipation, but it was directly to the Son of Heaven: "Actually, why don't you go to Xiangyang to avoid the edge?" ”

At this moment, not to mention that Cao Sun's son-in-law lost their laughter for a while, even Liu Xie couldn't bear it at all, and immediately got up from the 'throne' and raised his voice: "What does the emperor say?" Wancheng is the southern capital of the Han Dynasty, where the emperor of the ancestors is located, and the descendants of Wancheng are already unfilial piety, and they can't stand on the old capital, so how can they abandon Nanyang again? ! I respect the emperor's uncle, but don't I recognize myself as a descendant of the Han family?! ”

These words are too heavy, and they are not supported by Liu Biao at all, and his people immediately leaned over and said: "Please calm your anger, the minister is not unwilling to serve loyally, it is really the current situation in Jingzhou, which is difficult to compare with other places...... In that year, Nanyang was defeated, Jiangxia was lost and regained, and the subordinates in Nanyang lost their prestige, so that the Jingbei clan gradually became reluctant to fight, and the counties of Jingnan had many different hearts...... Let's put it this way, if Yan Wei really led troops to Nanyang, the minister is the clan, there is no soldier, and he will also take three dogs, and he will come to Wancheng with soldiers to think that the supreme will die, but now in this situation, the minister is really willing and powerless! At most, 20,000 people will be sent to help defend Nanyang! ”

"The six counties of Jingxiang are all big counties, how can they only send 20,000 soldiers? Are you only willing to help defend Nanyang in front of the goal?! is the emperor's uncle, is he not even as good as Sun Poyu? "Yang Biao can't listen to it anymore." At least 50,000 soldiers, and 100,000 logistics food and grass, right? Doesn't it mean that Jingzhou has been the only one in the valley over the years? ”

Liu Biao sighed, but finally said no more.

Everyone was really helpless, although they were not angry, they were even more afraid that he would simply turn around, so they didn't dare to persecute too much. After all, if this Han 'Nanbo' is really forced to turn around, then the big man is really a 'pill'! Even with a few princes, it will be finished!

In this way, the pre-imperial meeting broke up unhappily, and after the meeting, Cao Cao returned to the capital pavilion to rest for a while, but suddenly heard that Liu Bei sent someone to invite him to go out of the city for a while and go to the water to watch the sunset. Cao Mengde, who had been prepared for this for a long time, did not hesitate, and immediately took only Cao Ren and a few guards and hurriedly rode out of the city to see Liu Bei.

The two brothers met outside the city, and there were not many superfluous words, but they galloped on horseback, galloping all the way south along the river, and stopped at the east bank of the river more than ten miles south of Chaoyang City, and then they were stationed on the bank of the water again, watching the sunset.

"300,000 troops, can you really Yu Yan Gong?" I don't know how long it took, seeing that the sunset was already approaching the horizon on the other side of the river, Liu Bei spoke slowly on the embankment.

"What if you don't?" Cao Mengde was right. "I know Xuande's thoughts, 300,000 people are really pouring the power of the Central Plains, once defeated, the north of the Huai River, and even the north of the Yangtze River can not be protected, and then the entire Central Plains is nothing more than to let the north eat the whale and swallow it, and it is just a mermaid!"

Liu Bei's face was expressionless.

"I can also understand Liu Jingsheng's thoughts, in fact, with the wealth of Jingzhou, if he really wants to do his best, he can also send 30,000 soldiers, 30,000 auxiliary soldiers, and then add 150,000 people to use grain and grass for two years, and 100,000 people to armor and ordnance, but in this way, Jingxiang is almost hollowed out......" At this point, Cao Cao couldn't help laughing. However, if he wins this battle, it has nothing to do with him, and the most powerful person is my Cao Cao; If he loses, it has nothing to do with him for a while, because if the north wins, it is impossible to say that he will first annex the Central Plains, which has no danger to defend, and the Jingxiang of the water system will still be behind, and then he may be as old as Tao Qian...... Let's ask in such a situation, why do people want to smash all their wealth on the battlefield of the Central Plains? ”

"It's not all." Liu Bei didn't look back, and continued to look at the water. "As far as I know, over the years, Duke Yan has treated all the princes differently...... For example, in Brother Meng De, when he tried his best to suppress his reputation, and there were repeated frictions, others were either Zhou Mu or General Dingnan, General Dingdong, and even the General Zuo on me now was given by him, but Brother Meng De was still just a general of Fenwu expressed by Yuan Shao......"

"I knew that." Cao Cao laughed. "If you are like Xuande, you are like a family member asking for warmth, and through the one who has now become the queen mother, rewards and private messages are constantly exchanged; There is also Liu Yan and Liu Junlang, who has always been a threat, and whenever a messenger comes to Yizhou, he is often like a three-year-old child; As for Liu Jingsheng, he is the same as Jiaozhou Shiweiyan, he must treat each other with courtesy, and then he must persuade him to surrender, and promise future results...... But Xuande, if you say that this can convince Liu Jingsheng, it is ridiculous, you must know that last year, this great Han Nanbo was still outside Xiangyang City to worship heaven and earth with the Son of Heaven ceremony! ”

"I don't mean that, it's just that he can't help but be shaken." Liu Bei shook his head. "It's like me, my parents are mourned, and I have no brothers and sisters, almost alone, so I am always grateful when I am asked by my aunt, and I think that as time goes by, Hebei's concern for me is not a hypocritical ......"

"You don't want to say that you regret not wanting to fight, do you?" Cao Cao didn't care, but laughed right away. "No wonder there is no word in front of the emperor today."

"No, it's the opposite." Liu Bei looked up at the sunset. "That's why I've come to understand what I mean...... Because at this moment, I can't avoid it, and I can't deceive myself anymore! At first, I lied to myself that I would be a backup for my brother; Then, I said that I had a responsibility for the people of Huainan; After that, I said that if I want to achieve great things, I have no choice but to take responsibility; But it wasn't until I heard that my brother was called a public establishment that I woke up to the fact that I was an excuse for myself and others! I just have the ambition to replace it, I just can't let go of the ambition that I have been under the mulberry tree in front of my house since I was a child! I, Liu Xuande, am a jealous villain! Isn't it that if you break your oath, you will die with all your blood? Then the blood is all over and he is dead! Am I afraid of death? ”

Cao Cao raised his head slightly sideways and stared at Liu Bei's side face for a long time, but he suddenly laughed in the saddle on the horse, laughing so much that tears came out!

And Liu Bei still sat upright on his horse and looked west.

After a long time, Cao Mengde stopped laughing: "They were all led astray by Gongsun Wenqi, ten years ago, the eldest husband's ambition was nourishing, and he had nothing to say to people, but what he wanted to say was for the people's livelihood, and the bad people's livelihood was a crime or something, which made everyone in the world hypocritical......"

"Isn't that right?" Liu Bei interrupted the other party, still not squinting. "Can't you consider yourself an ambitious person? Why argue? Seeing Brother Meng De today, isn't he also aware of the fact that he is so full of fighting spirit? ”

"Xuande." Cao Cao sighed. "We're different...... Your relationship with Beimian is further in the end, you are his brother, so there is no way to hide, you can only admit that your ambition is nourishing, but I am different, I am just his friend, and friends don't need to force themselves to that step...... Did you know that when he issued a proclamation saying, 'Don't be unpredictable,' he asked the messenger to bring me a letter at the same time? ”

"Oh?"

"When I opened the letter, there was only one sentence," Cao Cao's tone suddenly became a little strange. "What is your way?"

“……”

"He said that he is now the Duke of the Kingdom and can use some extraordinary gifts, so please ask me to sacrifice the Duke of Qiao with the gift of the ether prison for him!" Cao Cao's tone was still weird.

And Liu Bei looked at the sunset, but he was slightly stunned, as if he thought of something: "I once heard about the past of Qiao Gong, and knew that he valued Yan Gong and Meng De at the same time, but he still valued Meng De Brother. ”

"It's a radical strategy, but it's exciting to my heart!" Cao Cao finally changed color. "Gongsun Wenqi has long known that Gong Qiao and I have great expectations! I can't say that I already knew that Qiao Gong had an appointment with me before, and when I became famous, I would be imprisoned...... But he insulted me so much, how could I not fight?! Or else? Do you want me to turn my armor and surrender to him, and then become an attendant, standing on my side in front of the Bridge Cemetery, and watching him take away my sacrificial covenant?! ”

"In the final analysis, it's just that Brother Meng De hasn't been subdued by Yan Gong!" Liu Bei finally smiled slightly. "Since ancient times, people's hearts have been uneven, and if they are uneven, this radical strategy is really a blow and deadly! It seems that my brother also wants to finish the battle......"

"He's always been like that!" Cao Cao sneered. "Seize the opportunity to seize the momentum, make a clear plan, force the opponent to fight a battle, and then kill him with his blade, which is the crown of the world...... But I don't know that this is also his flaw! The two blades intersect, he is the treasure knife, I am the remnant blade, but the treasure knife can kill, and the remnant blade can also kill people forward! It is precisely in this kind of battle that you will find a three-point chance to win, and then duel it out! ”

Liu Bei smiled slightly.

"You and I have both made up our minds, is Xuande only these words?" Cao Cao continued to ask.

"Where is the battlefield?" Liu Bei proudly reined in the sunset and asked.

"I intend to go north to Chenliu and Linguandu to Hebei." Cao Cao simply agreed.

"In that case, I will be able to send out a hundred and twenty thousand!" Liu Bei said without changing his face. "The Grain and Grass Armor will do their best...... More than 10,000 Xuzhou sailors went north to deal with the Qingzhou navy, in addition, I will also let Zhou Gongjin bring 10,000 auxiliary soldiers to help defend the north of Xuzhou, and then worship Lu Zijing as the governor of the capital, Liu Ziyang as the deputy governor, with the weight of 20,000 Huai, 30,000 soldiers, 30,000 auxiliary soldiers, and 40,000 people to go north, obey Brother Mengde! ”

"You're not coming?"

"Don't go...... First, I still don't want to break my oath; Second, if I go north, who will be the main priority when the soldiers join forces? Lu Zijing is shrewd in big things, graceful and generous in small things, which is just right for your scheduling. ”

"Good!" Cao Cao finally let out a long breath. "I knew that Xuande lived up to me...... But what did you say there? Can he come? ”

"How is that possible?" Liu Bei finally sighed. "Zhu Fu surrendered to me last month, and when I came, I had already appointed Yide as Yuzhang Taishou and Zibu as Danyang Taishou...... I will sit in Runan to arrange logistics for you, if things fail, I will naturally go to Jiangnan with them! ”

"If you lose, what if you keep the two counties in Jiangnan?" Cao Cao was dismissive.

"Let's see!" Liu Bei paused slightly, but still didn't explain. "In addition, this battle is very important, I have a strategy, maybe I can make Liu Biao send troops with all his strength!"

"What's the solution?" Cao Cao was not only displeased when he heard this, but was vigilant.

"Give him Nanyang!" Liu Bei was frank and right. "Nanyang originally belonged to Jingzhou, and in front of Liu Jingsheng, if he got the benefits of Nanyang and held the Son of Heaven and the shelter in front of him, his people would definitely be willing to send troops...... At that time, the crowd of 300,000 will not be vain! ”

Cao Cao sneered.

"I haven't finished talking yet, Nanyang is rich and has a heavy population, so I can't let Brother Meng De give it up so for nothing, so I'm willing to give Pei Nan to you!" Liu Beifu said again, but he couldn't help but be gloomy. "Once it's settled, it's settled. In addition, you can also let the Son of Heaven let me be the pastor of Yangzhou, and the pastor of Yuzhou will give up his footsteps, so that if this battle can be won, Runan can also be justified and handed over to Brother Mengde...... How? ”

Cao Cao wanted to speak and stopped.

"Is that so?" Liu Bei asked again.

"Jia is certainly Jia......" Cao Cao laughed for a while. If it weren't for Xuande, I would almost want to jump on the horse and shout long live! But Xuande is so arrogant and easily sends such a big county, just to bridge the differences in the alliance and let me rest assured that I will fight hard, but it makes me like when I met the alliance, and I am afraid of the year in my heart! ”

"Let's be afraid of Hebei Yangong!" Liu Bei said quietly, but finally turned around for the first time. "You have said that if this battle is lost, at least the Huai River will not be guaranteed. It is impossible to say that Jiangbei is not guaranteed...... With only one and a half counties in Yuzhou, what is there to be reluctant to? ”

After that, his people led the crowd to fight horses and walked, and the sun was setting, gradually dimming, Cao Mengde stood alone on the water embankment, after a little calculation in his heart, but he finally couldn't help jumping on the horse, and in the stunned eyes of Cao Ren and others, he drew his sword and pointed north, and shouted Long live!

————I'm the dividing line that likes to cheer for myself————

"Today, I am fortunate to have General Zuo, General Annan, General Poku, and General Huwei, and I have been ordered by the Son of Heaven to govern the 700,000 people of the horse and the water army, and we should hunt in the hometown of the white horse with the king...... As for the sacrifice of Qiaogong, we will do it, if you want to do it, please come to Sui water. —— "Hui Yan Gongsuo Tianzi Letter". Cao Cao. April of the sixth year of Jian'an