Chapter 4 Section 21 Clever tongue

When the news of Liu Bei's rout reached the Tiger Prison, Yuan Shao, the leader of the coalition forces who had just arrived, was terrified. This Xu Rong actually defeated the three most capable generals in the coalition army in a row, how is it good?

"What's going on, seeing that the situation is very good, not a small good, I am ready to unload the mill and kill the donkey, Liu Bei is actually defeated?" Yuan Shao was flustered, and secretly thought: "It's okay if he is defeated, the most terrible thing is that he also broke up with his whole army and retreated to Yangcheng Mountain in the south." In this way, before the Tiger Prison Pass, there was no army to block Xu Rong's attack. ”

Cao Cao was careful and carefully inquired about the battle situation of the herald, but unfortunately, the herald was not very literate, so he couldn't say anything, and he turned over and over in one sentence: "The lord of my family asked me to report, and my army was defeated." ”

How did you lose? - "That miserable, I'm clumsy, I can't speak. ”

What about the army? - "That miserable, I'm clumsy, I can't speak. ”

How much more combat power is there? - "That miserable, I'm clumsy, I can't speak. ”

……？ - "That miserable, I'm clumsy, I can't speak. ”

Yuan Shao was so angry that he trembled, how could Liu Bei send such a stupid person to report the news, could it be that all the smart people in his army died? Now what? Sent Cao Cao to meet Xu Rong, he was also defeated in the hands of Xu Rong! In case of repeated defeats, with the authority of my alliance leader, do you want to retreat to avoid Xu Rong?

"You go, report to Liu Bei, and order him to immediately reorganize his troops and return to the tiger prison as soon as possible. I will send Brother Meng De to join forces with Xuande Gong to fight Xu Rong again...... Forget it, you can't tell...... Someone came, passed the general Gao Lan, ordered him to take 500 light horses to Yangcheng Mountain, and advised Liu Bei to return to the army and tiger prison immediately. ”

Cao Cao snickered, didn't say a word, and after returning the account, he said to the ban: "Benchu (Yuan Shao) is really easy to deceive, Liu Bei came to report the news in neat clothes, where are the people who have gone through hard fighting?" It's ridiculous that he actually sent a general to Yangcheng Mountain at the beginning, hoping to recover Liu Bei, hehe, Liu Bei is famous for kidnapping talents, I don't expect Gao Ran to come back. ”

Yu Ban asked: "In this case, why didn't the lord say it to the general of the chariot cavalry." ”

Cao Cao said disdainfully: "Our army fought in front of us to win this situation, but the chariot and cavalry were a little stronger, so they poisoned Jiao He, appointed his son as the assassin of Qingzhou, and sought to seize Liu Bei's foundation, which made me very cold." Liu Bei is scheming, and since he has escaped from Yuan Benchu's grasp, we have an agreement with him. From now on, it will be a strong reinforcement for our army. Moreover, when he was leaving, he left behind a lot of ordnance to give to our army, how could I be ruthless and unrighteous and not cover up for him? ”

Yu Ban muttered in his heart: Do you also know that Liu Bei is scheming? How can Liu Bei's advantage be so easy to take advantage of? Yuan Shao made a slight interception move, and he sniffed out the conspiracy and decoupled. The "Agreement on the Mutual Trade Market" gave us such a big bargain for nothing, is there no conspiracy in it-I don't believe it. But why can't I see where the conspiracy is?

Yu Ban thought about it again and again, and finally swallowed the words back into his stomach.

Cao Cao was still unwilling, and added: "Well, I will sell Liu Bei another favor, you go, secretly send someone to Yangcheng Mountain, tell him about the Qingzhou incident, and ask him to return to Qingzhou as soon as possible." ”

That night, on Yangcheng Mountain, Liu Bei left the rest of the people, leaving only the two brothers Guan Zhang, looking at Gao Lan's 500 cavalry with drooling, and said happily: "General Gao, these cavalry must be the elite of Yuan Che's riders?" ”

Gao Ran nodded absentmindedly and replied: "Yes, my lord has 3,000 fine horsemen under his command, and when I was leaving, I thought that I might meet Xu Rong's Liangzhou soldiers, so I specially asked General Yan Liang to borrow these 500 people...... Xuande Gong, please hurry up and give the order, and the whole army will go to the Tiger Prison. ”

Liu Bei smiled embarrassedly: "The general of the Che Cavalry is really polite, knowing that I killed and injured 10,000 soldiers in order to avenge his family, he actually allocated me 500 elite cavalry to supplement my military strength." You go and tell the general that although 500 fine cavalry is a little less, I am also disrespectful. ”

Gao Ran was anxious, and hurriedly defended: "Xuande Gong, I was ordered to ask you to go to the Tiger Prison, these 500 elite cavalry divisions are just sergeants escorting me along the way, and the general of the chariot cavalry didn't say that he wanted to send it to you." ”

Liu Bei sank his face and said gloomily: "You didn't say you wanted to give it to me, and you didn't say you wouldn't give it to me, right?" I worked the front line for the general of the cavalry, and I fought for 3 regiments, and the general of the cavalry asked me to go back and fight Xu Rong again, is there no gift at all? ”

Gao Ran said perfunctorily: "Xuande Gong, if you want to ask the general of the Che Cavalry for these 500 soldiers, why don't you go back to the Tiger Prison first, and then discuss with the General Che Cai, how about it?" ”

Liu Bei approached Gao Ran with a smile on his face, kindly grabbed his shoulders from the side, and asked with a smile: "General Gao, what does Yuan Cheqi plan to do with me?" ”

Gao Ran's heart jumped, and he hurriedly covered up and said, "Xuande Gong, how can you say this?" You fought for the coalition forces on the front line, there were many casualties among the soldiers, and the chariots and riders often felt in their hearts, how could they deal with you because of a small defeat? ”

Liu Bei's face sank, and then he said with a smile on his face: "Hebei famous general Gao Lan? High on the top, with a view of the mountains - you also know that I fought the front line, and worked hard. But don't you know that there are still treacherous people in this world, who will take revenge and hide knives in their laughter? ”

Gao Ran was flustered in his heart, only feeling that Liu Bei's face changed so quickly, and his arms wrapped his shoulders so tightly. Suddenly, Gao Ran's stomach seemed to be hit by a giant hammer, and he only felt that the world was spinning and he was dizzy.

Liu Bei smiled and withdrew his fist, let go of Gao Ran's shoulder, and let him collapse to the ground and vomit. Shaking his fist, Liu Bei said with a smile: "Well, this is called hiding a knife in a smile." You are Yuan Cheqi's confidant general, don't say you don't know his conspiracy. ”

This night, Liu Bei was soft and hard, Gao Ran was tossed and wanted to cry without tears, 500 fine horses were confiscated by Liu Bei, and finally, in the case of Liu Bei's coaxing and deception, Gao Ran confessed everything he knew.

At dawn, Liu Bei summoned the generals to announce the news brought by Gao Lan, and at the same time, the personnel sent by Cao Cao also sent detailed information.

"Yuan Shao wants to compete with me for Qingzhou?" Liu Bei smiled coldly: "Nanpi City and Pingyuan City are separated by 30 kilometers, if Yuan Tan unexpectedly sends troops to the plain and occupies it under the banner of the order of the alliance leader, the plain will be easily lost."

Fortunately, a few years ago, we began to migrate people into Le'an, and the plain has always been the battlefield of our Qingzhou. When we forced the yellow scarves into the plains, the reason was that the plains were difficult to defend. Yuan Tan entered the plain, and I still have a card in the plain: Yu Poison.

Yuan Zhi immediately sent a light cavalry back to Qingzhou through Yingchuan, told Zizheng (frustrated) that he would use General Yu Poison to harass Yuan Tan, and ordered Junyi (Zhang He) not to entangle with Yuan Tan on the surface, mobilize the Southern Bull tribe of Jieshi, and prepare for battle, and wait until I return to Qingzhou.

Bao Xin had returned to Mount Tai, Tian Chou could withdraw, and ordered him to quickly rush to Langxi County to receive our army back to Qingzhou. ”

Xu Shu said worriedly: "Lord, our army has 5,000 cavalry, 10,000 foot soldiers, and countless grains and grass are spent every day. When we came out of the tiger prison, our army did not have much grain and grass, and the lord must immediately decide where to go and find a supply of grain and grass, otherwise, the army's morale will be chaotic. ”

Liu Bei nodded in agreement and ordered: "Call Han Dang, Sun Jian once accepted my armor and weapons, and now it should be his chance to repay." When our army received the supply of grain and grass from Sun Jian, it immediately crossed Yingchuan and marched towards Chenliu. ”

After the Battle of Rushui, Sun Jian was full of praise for the 500 soldiers sent by Qingzhou to transport baggage, and was reluctant to let them go back. Therefore, Han Dang was sent to formally request Liu Bei to allocate these 500 soldiers to himself - without Qingzhou's order, although these 500 soldiers could not go home, they were also unwilling to fight.

"No", Liu Bei shook his head and refused: "Qingzhou soldiers have a limited number of years of service, and no one has the right to change their service period. Although I am in charge of Qingzhou, I cannot force my subordinates to change who they serve and how long they have served. Unless ......"

Han Dang was already desperate, and when he heard that things had taken a turn for the better, he asked, "Unless what?" ”

"Unless you also allow them to be discharged from service and return to their homeland, as is required, after the end of their service. Also, you and I must form allies and sign an agreement, the "Mutual Aid Agreement", so that I can explain to the Senate that their service with their allies is equivalent to serving in Qingzhou. The Senate can thus retain their land and titles, and the merits they receive from you are also equivalent to the merits of Qingzhou.

However, Qingzhou can give them the same ranks, but they cannot be given a monthly medal allowance. Please give them some compensation after they retire.

If Sun Wentai is willing to meet these conditions, I can order them to be transferred to Brother Wentai and listen to Wentai's dispatch, otherwise, I dare not agree to this matter to you. ”

Han Dang pondered for a long time and asked: "If the "Mutual Aid Agreement" is signed, can we recruit as many Qingzhou soldiers as we want?" ”

Liu Bei replied: "No, your recruitment plan must be reported to the Qingzhou Senate, and then reviewed by the Senate, and you will be given specific quotas to be recruited in each county, and then you can recruit troops in each county according to the quota, basically, how many quotas you approve, how many soldiers you can recruit." ”

Han Dang hesitated and said: "This matter is big, I can't call the shots, can you let me repay my lord and let the lord decide?" ”

Liu Bei said calmly: "I really won't hide it from you, Qingzhou Thorn Shi Jiaohe suddenly died of illness in Yuan Shao's camp, the new Qingzhou Thorn Shi is Yuan Tan, it is said that Yuan Tan has led the army to occupy the plain, I need to rush back to Qingzhou immediately, but unfortunately, our army is short of food and grass, and this place is not a place to stay for a long time." If Brother Wentai is willing to provide me with food and grass, I will lead the army closer to Brother Wentai. Otherwise, our army will cross Yangcheng Mountain and go to Yingchuan Kong Ling to eat. ”

Han Dang said angrily: "Our army's grain and grass are all supplied by the rear general Yuan Shu, although it is not much, it is no problem for Xuande Gong to eat enough, Huainan itself is a big granary, and there are more than 10,000 Xuande Gong, how can it not be enough." ”

"Okay, give the order to go down, and the whole army will pull out the camp and go to Yuyuan Pass."

Han Dang was taken aback, didn't he say that he was moving closer to Sun Jian, why did he want to go to the pass. Isn't that where Xu Rong used to be stationed? Where to go?

Liu Bei explained: "I see that when Xu Rong fought with me, it was all cavalry, and he had just moved his troops from Yuyuan Pass, and it was impossible to carry all the forage. Li Meng, the general of Liangzhou, is also a useless person. Our army walked around Yangcheng Mountain and Taimur Mountain, and suddenly came out of Shaomu Mountain, and it was not a problem to seize Yuyuan Pass. The fall of Yuyuan Pass, the defenders of Taigu will inevitably be shaken, Brother Wentai can urgently attack and take Taigu, and I will meet Wentai in Taigu. ”

Han Dang understood, and immediately Pegasus reported to Sun Jian.

After Xu Shu issued the order for the whole army to be marched, he rushed to ask Liu Bei: "Lord, how to deal with Gao Ran?" ”

"Gao Guan? Call him up."

Liu Bei smiled and greeted the devastated Gao Ran, whose face was full of laughter, so that Gao Ran couldn't stop shivering.

"General Gao, these five hundred elite horsemen are the treasures of the Che Cavalry General, you gave them to me on your own initiative, how can you go back to see Yuan Benchu? Besides, you are indignant and leaked to me the conspiracy of the Che Rider to deal with me, how will you get along with Yuan Shao when you go back? It's better to-" Liu Bei dragged out his voice, waiting for Gao Lan's reply.

Gao Lan was extremely angry, and said anxiously: "Xuande Gong, where did I take it upon myself to give you five hundred elite horses, and where did I leak the plan of the general of the chariot cavalry to you out of righteous indignation, it is clearly ......"

Liu Bei interrupted Gao Lan's words and said, "It seems that General Gao still thinks that he can go back to Yuan Benchu, and Yuan Benchu is a human being, and he will repay him." After you leave, if I promote you like this, I wonder if Yuan Shao has the patience to investigate clearly? ”

Gao Ran was speechless.

Liu Bei continued to persuade: "Now, the car is at its peak, and the world is so big, you can only go with me." If you work here with me, you'd better promote yourself as I say, otherwise, you have no merit, how can you get along with my generals, how can I hand over those 500 elite horsemen to you again? ”

Gao Ran said stupidly: "It turns out that whether I'm working here or not, I need to talk about myself according to what you said?" ”

Liu Bei patted Gao Ran's shoulder and said tolerantly: "If you want to call the lord, you must call me the lord in the future." Come, call me to hear it once. Anyway, I treat my subordinates better than Yuan Shao, and I won't treat you badly if I do it with me. ”

Gao Ran blew his beard and stared for a long time, and reluctantly called in a low voice: "Lord."

Liu Bei's heart was overjoyed, and he didn't mind Gao Ran's attitude, and ordered: "Go, immediately rectify the team, our army will act immediately, and the troops will leave Yangcheng Mountain." ”

Xu Shu looked at Gao Lan's back and asked, "Let him command 500 elite cavalry, aren't you afraid that he will lead the troops to escape?" ”

Liu Bei smiled lightly and replied: "Those 500 cavalry, if they break up and join our team, maybe they will take the opportunity to slip away, however, with their original commander Gao Ran continuing to govern, they don't know the specific situation, and they must not dare to move." Is there a better place in the world than for us to be soldiers? When they enjoy the treatment of meritorious people, they will not leave.

Gao Ran, now hesitating, he is afraid of riding, and he is afraid that we will not be able to return to Qingzhou, but now there is no better master to take refuge, and when he sees hope, the soldiers also begin to return to us, at that time, I am not afraid that he will run away. ”

"A little gain", Liu Bei sighed.

Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Ran are the most famous four fierce generals in Hebei, known as the "Four Court Pillars". During the battle of Guandu, Gao Ran fought with Xu Chu for several rounds, regardless of victory or defeat, and he was also a quasi-first-class general. 500 elite cavalry, although it is not as good as the Guards Legion, the thunder cavalry and the wolf cavalry, but it can weaken Yuan Shao's strength, and it can be regarded as a bad breath.

Everything in the world is people-oriented, although he was persecuted by Yuan Shao and lost some ordnance, but being able to kidnap Gao Ran can be regarded as a slight compensation.