When Cao Cao made up his mind to launch a major northern expedition, the situation in the south made Cao Cao more and more anxious.

Liu Biao, the king of the new Han Dynasty, failed to withstand the erosion of the years, kicked his legs, and left his heirs to start fighting for power.

The battle for the heir made the originally peaceful Jingzhou very complicated in an instant. Liu Bei and Sun Ce took advantage of such a good opportunity and began to plot against Jingzhou.

It is rumored in the world that Wu Guo is good at water warfare, which is indeed true. Sun Ce led the elite of Wu's naval army to attack Jiangxia County in Jingzhou from Yangzhou and Lujiang County. Liu Bei also took advantage of Liu Qi's invitation to send troops to Nanyang, and now Xiangyang, Nanjun County, where Jingzhou is located.

Jingzhou's movements made the Jingzhou family begin to waver, ostensibly supporting Liu's cousins and competing for control of Jingzhou, but secretly they have formed gangs and colluded with Liu Bei and Sun Ce.

"Now that the lord has entered Nanyang, it coincides with the decisive battle between Xiang Ao and Cao Cao, and the lord will immediately send troops to Hanzhong to attack Lu Bu!" Zhuge Liang was stunned, and said to Liu Bei with an eager expression.

When Liu Bei heard this, he paced back and forth, thinking about it for a long time.

"How can Kong Ming confirm that Xiang Ao and Cao Cao will have a decisive battle?"

"Now that Xiang Ao's power is incomparable, Cao Cao's desire to rely on the Yellow River to hold on to the four counties of the Central Plains is completely delusional." Zhuge Liang gently shook the feather fan in his hand, and said with a determined face: "Now that Xiang Ao has unified the north, the next step must be for the army to go south and unify the world with a sweeping momentum, and Cao Cao will bear the brunt." ”

"Compared to a few days, Cao Cao will inevitably send an envoy to meet the lord and negotiate the alliance with the lord."

"Alliance?" Liu Bei frowned slightly, and then nodded approvingly. Cao Cao wants to go north to Xiang Ao, but it may still be a bit difficult to rely on the strength of one family. Liu Bei raised his head with some uncertainty, and said to Zhuge Liang: "So, does this king agree or refuse?" ”

"Of course the lord must agree!" Zhuge Liang smiled lightly and said: "If Cao Cao is defeated and does not give the lord time to enter Shu, what is the use of the strategy of dividing the world set by Liang before?" ”

"The alliance is inevitable, but the lord can take this opportunity to ask Cao Cao for some armor and baggage, and fill in some bricks and tiles for the lord to attack Lu Bu, right?"

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, and then laughed, full of joy.

Within a few days, Cao Cao really sent an envoy to form an alliance with Liu Bei as Zhuge Liang expected, and in order to show his sincerity, he brought a lot of armor and grain and grass that Liu Bei was lacking now. Liu Bei was not too embarrassed, and agreed directly.

"Lord, everything is ready, attack Lu Bu!"

"My lord, your subordinates have a postscript!" Since Zhuge Liang came to Liu Bei's side, Jian Yong has been a lot more low-key after seeing Zhuge Liang's talent. This time, Zhuge Liang fought against Lu Bu, and Jian Yong was the most supportive.

"Only by taking Hanzhong and entering Yizhou can the lord have a chance to fight Xiang Ao and Cao Cao."

"Lord, please order! The last general will be the first soldier to expand the territory for the Lord! Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and other generals are also eager to try, and they want to compete for the front.

"Generals, don't worry!" Zhuge Liang stood up, waved at everyone, and said lightly: "Since the lord has formed an alliance with Cao Cao, he must send troops to the north to attack Xiang Aocai." First, it can stabilize the confrontation between Cao Cao and Xiang Ao, and second, let Xiang Ao also see the strength of the lord, so that Xiang Ao will not dare to send troops to Hanzhong at will in the future. ”

"The last general is willing to lead the Northern Expedition, and he will meet the Yan Army for a while!" A hearty and confident plea made the strategists and soldiers present slightly stunned.

This person is the former Nanyang Taishou, Wei Yan. After Liu Biao's death, neither Liu Biao's eldest son Liu Qi nor his second son Liu Cong paid much attention to Nanyang controlled by Liu Bei, and Wei Yan naturally became a soldier under Liu Bei. Not long after joining Liu Bei's forces, the young and vigorous Wei Yan naturally wanted to make contributions and show his worth.

Raiding Hanzhong and entering Yizhou, but Liu Bei's top priority at this time, Wei Yanke, who was in his heart, never thought that he could compare to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who had been following Liu Bei for many years. In this case, why not retreat and participate in the Northern Expedition, not to mention the small risk, the important thing can have a brilliant performance in the Northern Expedition, and the world is just around the corner.

Zhuge Liang looked at Wei Yan with a straight face in some surprise, and after thinking about it for a while, Zhuge Liang understood Wei Yan's thoughts. This person is clever, and it seems that the lord's luck is not bad, and he inadvertently found such a good general.

Seeing that someone volunteered, Liu Bei stepped forward and patted Wei Yan's shoulder, and said with relief: "Wen Chang thinks about the overall situation so much, and when he enters the Shu Land, this king will definitely live up to Wen Chang." ”

"The last general has thanked the lord!" Wei Yan's face looked extremely excited, he knelt on one knee and hugged his fist at Liu Bei excitedly.

Liu Bei nodded, looked around at everyone, and said: "This time to send troops to Hanzhong, it is related to the luck of the Southern Han Dynasty, and I ask you to do your best." ”

"The minister (the last general) will do his best to die!"

After the impassionedness, Liu Bei began to dispatch troops to prepare for the Northern Expedition and the westward advance.

Although Lu Bu's Hanzhong was easy to defend and difficult to attack, the attitude of the Hanzhong family towards Lu Bu was not very good, and Liu Bei had already sent someone to contact the Hanzhong family in secret. In this dispatch, Liu Bei sent Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and some of Yuan Shu's subordinates in the past and the generals collected from Liu Biao's subordinates, raised 50,000 troops and went to Hanzhong in batches. As for Wei Yan, Liu Bei was not stingy, and assigned 10,000 of the few elites under his command to Wei Yan, and sent troops north to cross Wuguan and directly attack Sili Hongnong County.

Just when Liu Bei was plotting against Hanzhong, Lu Bu in Hanzhong was not idle.

"Lord, Jingzhou is too chaotic, we have to guard against it!"

Chen Gong's face was dark, and he solemnly admonished Lu Bu. Although Lu Bu seemed to be upright, the disdain in his eyes still worried Chen Gong.

"What Gongtai said is very true, but Hanzhong is easy to defend and difficult to attack, this king has laid down heavy troops in Shangyong and Fangling, who can enter Hanzhong?" Lu Bu said confidently: "Besides, now that Jingzhou is in civil strife, and there is Sun Ce, who is like a tiger, and Liu Bei, who is ambitious, it is too late for a group of jackals, tigers and leopards to carve up Jingzhou, who will waste troops to attack Hanzhong?" ”

"My lord, it's better to be careful!" Zhang Liao also frowned and said: "The area around Xiangyang has been a little abnormal in recent days, and the information sent back by the scouts shows that Liu Bei is preparing for the Northern Expedition after taking Xiangyang!" ”

"Northern Expedition?" Lu Bu frowned, and asked suspiciously: "What benefits did Cao Cao give Liu Bei, such a thankless thing actually made Liu Bei rush to it?" ”

"Definitely!" Chen Gong shook his head with a calm face and said: "Now that Xiang Ao is powerful, isn't it the biggest threat to the princes over there, whether it is Cao Cao or Liu Bei, or even the lord?" Don't think that you can rest easy by guarding Hanzhong. ”

Chen Gong's blunt words made Lu Bu frown, and he seemed to be very dissatisfied with Chen Gong.

"Don't be a brainer!" Seeing Lu Bu's displeasure, Zhang Liao hurriedly persuaded him: "After Xiang Ao pacifies the north, the next step must be to go south. At this time, there were four princes bordering Xiang Ao. Liu Zhang in the west, Cao Cao in the east, and Liu Bei and the lord in the middle. Xiang Ao's first and foremost must be first

Destroy Cao Cao and occupy the Central Plains to dominate the world. ”

"Yes, the lips are dead and the teeth are cold!" Zhang Liao's expression was solemn: "If Cao Cao, the most powerful in the south, is destroyed, how long does the lord think Liu Bei can support it?" After Liu Bei's demise, what should the lord do? ”

When Lu Bu heard this, his expression changed greatly.

"Gongtai and Wenyuan think this king should be?"

Chen Gong and Zhang Liao looked at each other and nodded.

"Lord, now Xiang Ao seems to be the common enemy of the lord, Liu Bei and others, but Liu Bei has a lot of ambitions, so he still has to guard against it." Chen Gong continued: "The lord can send an envoy to the state of Chen to see if he can contact Cao Cao. ”

"Contact Cao Cao?"

"Xiang Ao's new surrender to Xiliang, the situation in Xiliang is unstable, if you can contact Cao Cao and form an alliance with Cao Cao, not only can you fight against Xiang Ao, but also make Liu Bei jealous, whether Liu Bei has other thoughts about Hanzhong or not."

When Lu Bu heard this, his face turned dark.

It is predestined, or it may be beyond fate. Originally, Lu Bu was going to be captured by Cao Cao, and then Cao Cao would behead Lu Bu at the instigation of Liu Bei. But after Xiang Ao appeared, Lu Bu did not go to Xuzhou, let alone fight with Liu Bei in Xiapi. But the two who didn't want to have grievances in their previous lives are now together again in Hanzhong.

What will happen to the two heroes in Hanzhong, maybe it depends on the time, or maybe it still needs to look at fate.

One deliberately plotted, the other did not know the subconscious precautions, and the seemingly quiet Fangling and Shangyong area were like the tranquility before the storm, which made people feel a little noisy.

Lu Bu was indeed frightened by Zhang Liao and Chen Gong, leaving Cheng Lian and Hou Cheng to garrison the Hanzhong Governance Office, and he took Zhang Liao, Chen Gong, Wei Xu and Song Xian to Shangyong to investigate the enemy situation around Shangyong.

"Lord, something is wrong!" Zhang Liao hurriedly returned to the official office where Shangyong Lu Bu was: "The last general just went to Fangling to investigate, and found that there are many more faces in Fafangling. And"

"And what?"

"And I heard from the surrounding people that in the past two days, there are often groups of birds and beasts fluttering around Fangling, as if they were surprised by something."

"Ambush?"

"Hide from the world!"

Lu Bu was puzzled, but Chen Gong was shocked.

"Not good, lord!" Chen Gong said to Lu Buzuo: "Liu Bei's Northern Expedition is just a pretense, and the real purpose is Hanzhong. If General Zhang had found out the information, Liu Bei's army would have been hidden from the world and lurked in the area of Fangling at this time. ”

"Impossible!" Lu Bu's face changed slightly, and he said in disbelief: "Fangling is defended by the king's 20,000 army, how can Liu Bei be able to lurk over the army quietly?" ”

Although Lu Bu didn't believe the information he had just gotten in his words, Lu Bu's consciousness on the battlefield for many years told him that Liu Bei's army had lurked in the Fangling realm.

"Despicable!" Lu Bu scolded fiercely, then raised his head and said in a deep voice to Zhang Liao: "Wenyuan, go to Fangling quickly and rearrange your troops." ”

"My lord!" Chen Gong stepped forward to stop Lu Bu and said: "If Liu Bei's army has really entered Hanzhong, it should respond to all changes with no change at this time. ”

"Master Chen is right." Zhang Liao also stepped forward and said solemnly: "The most important thing now is to try to surprise Liu Bei out and find out Liu Bei's reality." ”

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