Sword Pavilion Pass.

For a month and a half, the Wei army still stood still.

If the Wei army did not come to attack the city, Liu Bei naturally couldn't ask for it, so he only ordered the whole army to strictly defend the city and stick to it without fighting.

For a time, the two armies of Wei and Han seemed to have reached a tacit confrontation on the front line of the Sword Pavilion.

With the passage of time, all signs seemed to indicate that Su Zhe was helpless against the Sword Pavilion Pass, and continued to confront each other, and finally had to withdraw his troops.

According to the news from the south, Su Zhe has requisitioned the people of Shu and is rebuilding and strengthening Fucheng, which makes Liu Bei even more convinced that Su Zhe is planning to retreat.

You must know that Fucheng is south of the Sword Pavilion and the gateway to Chengdu, which is of great strategic significance.

Su Zhe's good reinforcement of the city's defense capability was undoubtedly to prepare for the future retreat, in case after he left Yizhou, Liu Bei took the opportunity to send troops south to the Sword Pavilion and launched an attack on Chengdu.

All kinds of good news made Liu Bei gradually come out of the shadow of Chengdu's fall and regain his confidence and fighting spirit.

It's day and night, Sword Pavilion Pass.

In the lobby of the Guancheng Military Mansion, the aroma of wine is overflowing, and the atmosphere is pleasant.

Liu Bei was rarely in a good mood, so he set up a banquet in the hall, drank with everyone, and talked about the next step.

"Prime Minister, if the Su thief withdraws his troops back to the Central Plains, will I immediately wave my army out of the customs and recover Chengdu in one fell swoop?" Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang with a smile.

Zhuge Liang shook his head: "The minister thinks that in a short period of time, I am afraid that His Majesty Chengdu will not be able to take it back." ”

Liu Bei's face changed slightly.

Zhuge Liang said slowly: "Even if the Su thief returns to the Central Plains, he will definitely leave a heavy army to garrison Yizhou, and he will never let us easily regain the lost territory." ”

"Besides, even if the Pingchuan River south of the Sword Pavilion can allow us to recover Chengdu, but to the east, there is a steep mountain city in Jiangzhou in the hands of the Su thieves, and it will be doubly difficult to recover."

"And if Jiangzhou can't be recovered and the Wei army can't be driven out of the east of Baidi Pass, then the hinterland of Chengdu will always face the threat of the Wei army, and we can only set aside heavy troops to garrison."

"I only have three states in the Han Dynasty, and the source of troops is far less than that of Su thieves, and I have experienced a series of losses this time, if I leave heavy troops in Chengdu, there will definitely not be enough soldiers and horses to take care of Guanzhong."

"At that time, if the Su thieves launched an attack on Guanzhong with a large army, I am afraid that we will not be able to stop it."

Zhuge Liang's words made Liu Bei break out in a cold sweat when he heard it, and the hope of recovering the lost land that had just been ignited was extinguished.

"What does the prime minister mean?" Liu Bei asked sullenly.

Zhuge Liang said: "What the minister means, instead of being obsessed with harvesting Chengdu, it is better to use only a small number of troops to garrison the Sword Pavilion, which can not only ensure that Hanzhong is in our hands, but also allow the Su thieves to leave heavy troops in Yizhou." ”

"In this way, we will be able to concentrate most of the main forces and have a real decisive battle with the Su thieves on the front line of Tongguan."

Liu Bei got up and paced, silent.

After a while, Liu Bei nodded and said, "What the prime minister said is very true, Guanzhong is our foundation." ”

He obviously agreed with Zhuge Liang's proposal, and did not plan to forcibly go south again to recover the lost territory in Chengdu.

At this time, Fa Zheng said: "However, after a series of defeats in Shuzhong, our army has sharply reduced its troops and horses, and even if the main force is gathered in the Guanzhong area, it will have a great disadvantage to the Wei army." ”

Liu Bei sighed and discussed for a long time, but in the final analysis, the national strength was still not strong and the army was not enough.

At this time, Zhuge Liang said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the minister thinks that we still have a soldier and horse that may be used by me." ”

Liu Bei's eyes lit up, and he looked at Zhuge Liang curiously.

Zhuge Liang feather fan pointed to the west: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten, in the area of Longxi, there are still tens of thousands of Xiqiang iron cavalry available, if we can subdue these Qiang soldiers and transfer them to deal with the Su thieves, we can have 60,000 or 70,000 more soldiers and horses out of thin air." ”

Qiang people!

Liu Bei's spirits perked up, and his eyes couldn't help but look at Ma Chao: "Meng Qi, can those Qiang people be used by me?" ”

The Ma family lives in Xiliang, and Ma Chao is very prestigious among the Qiang people, and is respected as the "Shenweitian General", Liu Bei wants the Qiang people to use it, and naturally the key person is Ma Chao.

Ma Chao arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the Qiang people are wealthy, as long as Your Majesty gives them grace and power, plus the influence of the ministers on them, they should be able to serve my Han." ”

"Well, in that case, I don't have to worry about running out of troops......" Liu Bei nodded to himself, a happy smile blooming between his eyebrows.

In the hall at this time, the monarchs and ministers of the Han State were already thinking about the future war in Guanzhong, as if they were no longer in the eyes of the Wei army outside the pass.

At this moment, the scout rushed in and shouted in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the Wei army has successfully attacked Yinping, Yinping City has fallen, my 3,000 soldiers and horses have been wiped out, and General Guan Shao has also been captured by Wei thieves!" ”

Boom Boom –

A thunderbolt from a clear sky thundered into the hall and blasted above everyone's heads.

The joy on Liu Bei's face was shattered in an instant, his figure staggered and sat down, and his gray face was stunned.

Guan Yu's bare face was also distorted and deformed in an instant, replaced by unprecedented anger.

Zhuge Liang's expression also changed in shock, and he almost failed to hold the feather fan in his hand.

In the lobby, there was an uproar, and everyone's eyes were filled with deep horror.

"How is that possible!"

Guan Yu was the first to come to his senses and roared, "Your Majesty has sent Ping'er to guard the Yinping Road in advance, how could Wei Gou sneak attack Yinping successfully?" Ping'er was still captured by Wei Gou? ”

"That's it!" Liu Bei also relieved his voice and said hurriedly: "Even if Wei Gou really smuggled through Yinping, he should be blocked in Yinping Dao, how could he sneak attack Yinping City and succeed, could it be that they have wings?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, according to the urgent report from the north, General Guan Shao did block 7,000 enemy troops in Yinping Road, but the Su thief sent Wei Yan to lead 500 soldiers and horses to descend from the sky and attack Yinping City successfully.

Out of thin air?

Liu Bei and the others looked at each other in astonishment, and they were all stunned.

Out of thin air?

What is this operation?

Could it be that the people of Wei really grew wings, flew over from the sky, and attacked Yinping City?

"Bring the battle report!"

Zhuge Liang snatched the silk book battle report from the scout's hand, and hurriedly unfolded it to examine it carefully.

Then, he suddenly realized, and a complicated look surged up on his face, both surprised and shocked, but more but deeply helpless.

"I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect that the Su thief would be able to come up with such a whimsical method, I didn't expect it......"

Zhuge Liang muttered to himself, sighing, and his expression and tone revealed a helpless sadness.

"Prime Minister, what's going on?" Liu Bei asked excitedly.

Zhuge Liang took a deep breath, calmed down slightly, and sighed: "Your Majesty, that Su thief used Ma Jun to improve the minister's Kong Ming lantern, so that he carried five hundred Wei troops, floated over our Sword Pavilion Pass, and flew from the sky to Yinping City, so that he could fall from the sky and succeed in a sneak attack." ”

"What?"

Liu Bei's face changed again, his mouth opened wide in shock, and his jaw almost fell.