So he invited Liu Bei to meet inside, and the two talked very speculatively. After all, Liu Bei is also a hero, and he studied under Lu Zhi, so his knowledge, knowledge, and personal charm are all excellent.

had a long talk with Pang Tong, and the conversation was very appropriate, Liu Bei always lowered his posture and asked shamelessly.

After all, Pang Tong is a scholar, not deeply involved in the world, and was coaxed by Liu Bei's few rhetoric and just the right sycophancy.

In addition, Zhuge Liang, the biggest target of pursuit, has joined Lu Bu's Chang'an court, and Pang Tong has always had the idea of competing with Zhuge Liang in his heart.

If he helped Liu Bei, who was more vulnerable, to achieve a great cause, wouldn't he seem even more powerful?

In the end, Pang Tong accepted Liu Bei's invitation and went down the mountain to contribute to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was very happy, he finally got the help of another military division, he worshiped Chen Gong and Pang Tong as the left and right army divisions, and jointly counseled military affairs.

Pang Tong soon stepped into the role, and he personally stepped forward, relying on the fame of him and his uncle Pang Degong, to help Liu Bei recruit Jingzhou celebrities, officials, and generals.

Then he suggested that Liu Beiduoduo be friendly with the eldest son Liu Qi and deepen their relationship.

Because Liu Qi's power is weak and cowardly and incompetent, and he occupies the righteous position of the eldest son, Liu Bei is relatively easy to control when he interacts with him, and he can use Liu Qi's signboard to justifiably intervene in the power struggle in Jingzhou.

Chen Gong also admired Pang Tong very much, his views were consistent with Pang Tong, Liu Bei listened to the ideas of the two military advisors, and with the help of his clan relationship, he had close contacts with Liu Qi, and it was really easy to gain Liu Qi's trust and trust.

In fact, it's not just Liu Bei who is about to move, the Central Army, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and the major forces around Jingzhou all intend to take this opportunity to get their hands on Jingzhou?

Secret envoys, messengers, and spies from all walks of life continued to come and go, and the powerful figures in Jingzhou vied with each other to be wooed by various forces.

Liu Qi is friendly to Liu Bei, and he is the eldest son, he has a moral advantage, and has the support of many Jingzhou ministers, and some are close to Liu Bei, and they have become a party.

The second son Liu Cong colluded with his relatives Cai Mao, Zhang Yun and others and colluded with each other. They had close contacts with Cao Cao's envoys, hoping to use Cao Cao's power to ascend to the throne of Jingzhou.

However, some celebrities in Jingzhou, such as Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Li Yan and others, are interested in Chang'an, and they are infected by the deeds of Lu Bu recruiting Zhuge Liang and others, and feel that this is the master.

Moreover, they believe that the unification of the world is the trend of the times, Chang'an represents the central court, if Liu Biao dies, no one in Jingzhou has such prestige and ability to unite everyone, and it will be torn apart and its strength will be greatly reduced.

It is better to return to the central court as soon as possible to ensure the stable life of the people in Jingzhou.

December, Shouchun.

Cao Cao and Sun Quan secretly met in Shouchun, Cao Cao saw Sun Quan himself for the first time, and when he saw Sun Quan so young and promising, he sighed very much, and left a famous saying through the ages, "Giving birth to a son should be like Sun Zhongmou!" ”

Sun Quan's military advisor Zhou Yu also sympathized with Guo Jia and others, and hated to see each other late.

Cao Cao thought that Liu Biao was seriously ill and that it was a good time to plot against Jingzhou, but because he was afraid that Lu Bu would intervene, he wanted to invite Sun Quan to send troops with him, and the two families cooperated to conquer Jingzhou.

After the laydown, it is naturally divide and conquer. Cao Cao wanted Nanyang County, Nanjun and Wuling County, and ceded Jiangxia County, Changsha County, Guiyang County, and Lingling County to Sun Quan to show his sincerity.

After Sun Quan discussed with Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao and others, they all felt that they could send troops, and the counties of Jingzhou they occupied did not border Lü Bu, and Cao Cao was still in the way, which would not harm the interests of their own side.

The next step is to discuss how to send troops, how to march and other details.

Because Cao Cao also had to prevent Lu Bu from taking the opportunity to deal with himself, it was agreed that this attack on Jingzhou would be dominated by the Jiangdong naval army, supplemented by Cao's land warfare.

The Cao army attacked Nanyang, and the Wu army attacked Jiangxia, and the two sides agreed to jointly raise troops on the fifth day of the second month.

The intelligence department of the Central Army soon received the news that the two sides would join Yu Shouchun, but due to the highly confidential relationship between the two sides, they could not know the details of the alliance.

However, according to the transfer of troops between the two sides after the alliance, as well as the flow of personnel and materials in various places, the General Staff of the Central Army quickly judged that the two sides should jointly send troops to Jingzhou.

Although they were still studying at the Army University, Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu were still invited by Lu Bu to plan together how to deal with the actions of the two forces.

Zhuge Liang suggested that through secret channels, the news that the Cao and Wu armies were going to take action against Jingzhou should be spread to Jingzhou first, so that Liu Biao and others could take precautions.

At the same time, he sent a report to Xu Huang and Zhao Yun, paying attention to Cao Jun's movements, and preparing to wait for an opportunity to move, so that Cao Jun could have some scruples considering that he was going to fight on two fronts.

However, the officers of the four newly formed divisions of the Central Army have not yet been in place, and the division commanders and brigade commanders are still studying at the Army University!

The existing number of troops is barely enough for defense, and it is difficult to have spare strength to attack Cao Cao.

In the past few years, Cao Cao has painstakingly managed the three prefectures of Yan, Henan, and Xu, but he has also trained a considerable number of troops, and Cao's army has also worked hard to promote Tuntian, which has greatly reduced the pressure on the people.

Therefore, Cao Cao's reputation in these three states is still good, and the people live and work in peace and contentment.

Lu Bu finally decided that Zhang Liao would be responsible for the intervention in Jingzhou, after all, Zhang Liao had gone deep into Jingzhou, fought with all the departments in Jingzhou, and was stationed in the division all the year round, so he had a better understanding of the situation in Jingzhou.

Lu Bu instructed Zhang Liao to find ways to win over the various forces in Jingzhou, and at worst, he planned to get a piece of Jingzhou, and not let Cao Cao and Sun Quan take all the benefits.

On February 5, 201, Cao Cao sacrificed to the sky, and then drove the expedition in person, with Guo Jia as the military advisor, Le Jin, Cao Hong, Cao Zhang, and Xiahou Yuan accompanied him on the expedition, and Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu and others stayed behind.

Cao's army dispatched 60,000 people, 40,000 infantry, and 20,000 cavalry in advance, and attacked Jingzhou from Yexian.

On the same day, the Eastern Wu army, with Zhou Yu as the governor, Huang Gai as the vanguard, and Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Ding Feng, Lü Meng and other departments, dispatched 30,000 sailors and 30,000 infantry to attack Jiangxia County from Qichun.

The Jingzhou army, which had been prepared for a long time, had already transferred the troops of several southern counties north to Xiangyang, and Liu Qi and Wei Yan led 20,000 troops to garrison Xiling, and they could not defend it.

Li Yan led 30,000 Jingzhou troops to garrison Bowang and block the way of Cao's army, while Kuai Yue led 20,000 troops to garrison Wanxian, and Li Yan was a horn in each other's corners.

Cai Mao and Zhang Yun led Jingzhou's main force of 30,000 naval troops, 30,000 infantry, and 10,000 cavalry to defend Xiangyang.

Liu Bei was also ordered to lead his troops and horses to defend Xinye and defend Xiangyang.

Liu Qi heard that Liu Biao was seriously ill, handed over the army to Wei Yan, and returned to Xiangyang to visit his father, but was rejected by Cai Mao and others.

They were afraid that after Liu Qi, who was benevolent and filial, saw Liu Biao, Liu Biao would change his mind and pass on the position of lord to Liu Qi.

They are all determined to support Liu Cong's ascension, and they will not hesitate to abolish Chang Liyou, and they have drafted Liu Biao's suicide note privately.

On February 10, Cao's army won the first battle, and Lejin's vanguard defeated Li Yan in a field battle, and then took advantage of the victory to pursue and seize the county seat of Bowang.

Li Yan led the remnants to retreat to Wanxian, while Cao Cao's army marched overnight and surrounded Wanxian.

沆瀣一气(hangxieyiqi)蕲春(qichun)

(End of chapter)