Among all the princes, Liu Bei's strength was the weakest, so weak that there were less than 50,000 soldiers!

This is less than 50,000 troops, or the Qiang soldiers he recruited after he arrived in Xiliang to unite the Qiang people. Although he is good at riding and shooting, he lacks training and does not know how to fight.

But!

Although he had no strength, and although he was unable to protect himself, Liu Bei was still willing to help Cao Cao and resist Lu Bu. If nothing else, just to maintain the balance of power. If Lu Bu destroyed Cao Cao, then he would also die.

Xiliang.

Jincheng-gun.

Golden City.

After sending away Cao Cao's envoy, Liu Bei recruited Ma Chao, Zhang Fei, Pang De, Pang Tong and others.

"Sit down."

Liu Bei pressed his hand and said slowly to everyone: "Although Cao Cao has no way, he still gave the Son of Heaven a place and let the Son of Heaven live in Chang'an." But Lu Bu is a traitor, if he destroys Cao Cao and captures the Son of Heaven, my Han will die! Therefore, no matter whether we can defeat Lu Bu or not, and no matter how many troops we have, we must try our best to help Cao Cao and block Lu Bu's army. ”

"Mr. Shiyuan, what do you think?"

Pang Tong (Zi Shiyuan) nodded and said, "The lord has always wanted to revive the Han Dynasty. If you want to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty, you must have land and cities. The minister suggested that the lord put forward two conditions to Cao Cao. One is to let him cede Chang'an. The second is to let him hand over the Son of Heaven to the lord. In this way, the lord can gain a firm foothold in this troubled world. A loyal minister of the Han family like the lord will try his best to help the lord and support the Han family. ”

(Note: Since arriving in Xiliang, Liu Bei no longer regards himself as the king of Xiangyang.) and his subordinates were not allowed to call him king. ）

"You're right."

Liu Bei also thought so in his heart.

Only by getting the Son of Heaven can we stand at the top of morality.

can be more prestigious than Cao Cao.

Liu Bei said: "The envoy just now just came to pass on Cao Cao's words, he didn't know that we were going to make a request for war, and he didn't have the right to agree." So I didn't say that just now. I will send another person to Xudu to negotiate with Cao Cao. Strive to negotiate the matter as soon as possible. ”

"Hmm...."

Everyone thought it was possible.

If they can occupy Chang'an, then their strength will more than double. Xiliang will also become the rear, and the people of Xiliang will be able to recuperate in peace.

"The most important thing now is how many troops can we send to the Central Plains? Is Qianghu willing to help? When he said this, Liu Bei looked at Ma Chao.

Ma Chao hugged his fists and said: "Don't worry, the last general is willing to go to Qianghu's station and persuade them to help in the war." ”

"Okay."

Pang Tong said: "Our army plus Qianghu's army should be around 100,000. But for the safety of Xiliang, he still has to leave 20,000 in case of emergency. ”

"It's nature...." Liu Bei looked at Ma Chao and said: "General Ma Chao guards Xiliang, and the alien races outside Xiliang will never dare to attack." We led 70,000 soldiers and horses to the Central Plains... ”

At the beginning of July of the 11th year of Jian'an.

Liu Bei's envoy arrived in Xudu and discussed with Cao Cao about the transfer of Chang'an and the return of the Son of Heaven.

Cao Cao had just received an urgent report from the front, saying that Lü Bu's troops and horses had assembled on the border. Cao Cao was also preparing to dispatch troops to meet Lü Bu. At this time, Liu Bei's 70,000 soldiers and horses were a strong boost.

In order to entrap Liu Bei, Cao Cao adopted Sima Yi's suggestion, ceded Chang'an to Liu Bei, and left the Son of Heaven in Chang'an to be arranged by Liu Bei. At the same time, Liu Bei was appointed as the vanguard to face Lu Bu.

The envoy to Xu Du for negotiation was Sun Gan, he knew Liu Bei's thoughts, so he agreed for Liu Bei...

Subsequently.

Sun Qian returned to Chang'an.

After taking over Chang'an, Liu Bei personally led an army of 50,000 to Guguan, passed through Luoyang, and went to the Central Plains to fight.

Cao Cao also mobilized 740,000 troops in the Central Plains to deploy defenses on the front line of Yuzhou and Yanzhou.

Shou Chun.

Military Aircraft Division.

Lu Bu summoned all the senior generals and strategists who participated in the military aircraft and began to make pre-battle arrangements.

The participants in the meeting included strategists Chen Gong, Jia Xu, Zhang Liang, Xu Shu and so on. The generals include Xiang Yu, Huang Zhong, Li Jing, Song Xian, Cao Xing, Liang Hongyu, Li Cunxiao, Li Yuanba, Xue Rengui, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yanjin, Shan Xiongxin, etc.

In general, there is a lot of talent.

Lu Bu stood in front of a huge map, holding a command pole in his hand, pointing to the map and said, "From the perspective of the overall situation, we should attack Yanzhou and Yuzhou first. After taking these two states, Cao Cao was basically abolished. We also got all the land in the Central Plains. The west can take the two capitals, and the north can be Dinghebei. Regardless of water or land, there are absolute advantages. But Mr. Wenhe said that Hebei should be attacked first. ”

"Wenhe, you talk about your opinion."

"Yes."

Jia Xu walked out and said, "Everyone. In the Yuzhou and Yanzhou regions, there were nearly 800,000 troops of Cao Cao. Of these, 300,000 are considered elite. There is also Liu Bei of Xiliang, who will definitely help Cao Cao. If we drive all four group armies into Yuyan, it will undoubtedly be a decisive battle. The result of the decisive battle, of course, was our victory, but we killed a thousand enemies and lost eight hundred. After we capture Yuyan, do we still have the ability to capture Liangdu and Guanwai? Is there still the ability to fight the Yellow River and unify Hebei? You must know that Cao Cao's elite are all in the Central Plains. His Tiger Battalion, Longxiang Battalion, Qingzhou Army, Shenji Battalion, etc., all have super combat effectiveness.... ”

"I mean... Cao Cao was determined that we would attack his Yanzhou and Yuzhou with all our might. He is ready to fight us to the death in the Central Plains. If we don't go to Yuzhou and Yanzhou, we will first transfer heavy troops to Hebei. Hebei had just been conquered by him, the foundation was unstable, the people's hearts were fluctuating, and the generals of Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were also dissatisfied with Cao Cao. In this situation of internal and external troubles, can we more easily pacify Hebei? ”

"Then there is the link between Puyang, the eastern county of Yanzhou and Hanoi County of Hebei, and Cao Cao's newly formed 80,000 water army. Although the combat effectiveness is not strong, it can still be done by transporting supplies. We fought in the Central Plains, and he could directly obtain the resources of the three major states of Hebei. Such as soldiers, food, weapons, armor, and so on. We first occupied Hebei, and then turned back to attack the Central Plains, which not only achieved the effect of striking the east and attacking the west, but also caught Cao Cao off guard. ”

"I think that's the best strategy right now. So...... I suggest that 50,000 soldiers and horses be transferred from Xuzhou and Qingzhou, plus the 300,000 Xuzhou recruits that have just been recruited, all be included in the sequence of the 3rd Group Army, with a total of 500,000 horses, under the command of Zhang Liao and Wei Yan, and attack Hebei first. Then the 2nd Group Army (100,000 people) in Jingzhou, Lu Xun's 50,000 Jingzhou Army and Liu Bowen's 50,000 Banner Army were sent to Hebei by water to support. These two heavy army groups have a full 700,000 people, which is enough to annex the three states of Hebei, Merge, and Youzhou. And the rest of our troops were deployed in Nanyang, Yuzhang, and Pengcheng to contain Cao Cao. After the end of the war in Hebei, the Central Plains and Liangdu and the outside of the border will be attacked. ”

After Jia Xu finished speaking, he stepped aside.

The civil and military people in the hall all began to discuss.