People have no foresight, but they must have near-term worries. Liu Biao is now worried about the near and far. This is not more difficult to distinguish between good and bad, through this period of observation, Liu Biao finally clearly realized the practical problem of Jingzhou's martial arts. If it was left in peacetime, Liu Biao would not have taken this problem very seriously, but now, seeing that none of the generals of the two armies were under his command, Liu Biao couldn't help but ponder, if someone raised troops to attack, what would he use to resist.

Zhang Fei under Liu Bei is a fierce general, but the problem is that Zhang Fei is not his subordinate Liu Biao, and he can only be regarded as a guest general in Jingzhou, and he can't put all his hopes on him alone. Moreover, compared with Jiangdong, Jingzhou's hinterland now borders the imperial court, and in the past, Jingzhou only needed to prevent the Yangtze River from natural danger to block the threat in Jiangbei. But now it's different, the imperial court took Bashu, and it was completely possible to kill Jiangling directly through Fuling.

Jingzhou is prosperous in the north, and the south is still in the development stage, and once the imperial army captures Jiangling and fights from south to north, Jingzhou's good foundation can only be handed over.

At this time, Liu Biao no longer fantasized that the imperial court would care about what was born from the same root, if Liu Biao chose to stand on the side of the imperial court before, the imperial court might not be able to attack Jingzhou, but now, Liu Biao is standing on the opposite side of the imperial court, so when will the imperial court not take the opportunity to clean you up when the military is strong?

Wen Ping, who is known as the first good general in Jingzhou, has now become a prisoner of the imperial court, and the only Jingzhou general Liu Biao can count on is Cai Mao. Of course, there is also a Liu Bei, but Liu Biao really can't rest assured about Liu Bei. After all, it was Liu Jingsheng who was in Jingzhou back then, and he still had the eye to see people, although Liu Bei behaved very deferentially in front of Liu Biao, but Liu Biao still saw the ambition hidden in his heart under that seemingly obedient skin.

Liu Beifei is a person who is willing to live under others!

With this understanding, Liu Biao was naturally a little more wary of Liu Bei, but he was really unavailable now, in order to avoid turning against Liu Bei, Liu Biao could only pretend to be confused for the time being.

Playing with the balance of power is like walking a tightrope in the air, and if you are not careful, you will fall to your death. Liu Biao is fifty-eight this year, and he has long passed the age of knowing the destiny of heaven, but for the sake of his two unsuccessful sons, Liu Biao still needs to continue to work hard. The eldest son, Liu Qi, is cowardly and unassertive by nature, and he was introduced to Liu Bei by being introduced by Iraq, and now he is fighting with Liu Bei, and he usually treats Liu Bei as an uncle. The second son, Liu Cong, is still young, but he has Cai Mao's support behind him, and he is a strong contender for the position of the son.

If he hadn't realized Liu Bei's potential threat to Jingzhou, Liu Biao might have given Liu Qi a chance, but after discovering Liu Bei's ambitions, Liu Qi had already been removed from Liu Biao's list of sons. Because Liu Qi will never be able to play Liu Bei, if Liu Qi is really set as his heir, Cai Mao and Kuai Liang, who support their second son Liu Cong, will definitely not agree.

At that time, in order to deal with Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, Liu Qi will inevitably reuse Liu Bei, and Liu Bei is the master who is unwilling to be subordinate to others, and he will definitely take the opportunity to expand his power at that time. If Liu Qi can't fight Liu Cong, then Jingzhou will still be inherited by his own heirs, even if the Cai and Kuai families will do adverse things in the future, the second son's life will be preserved. But if Liu Qi wins, the lord is weak and the minister is strong, Liu Qi may not be able to escape the end of dying in the end.

When no one was around, Liu Biao had already anticipated the end of the two children. Either way, Liu Biao couldn't accept it. But the reality is like this, and it does not change according to people's likes and dislikes.

"Lord, there are people outside the camp who claim to be the lord's deceased and come to visit."

"The deceased? Can someone come by name? Liu Biao asked curiously.

"Yes, someone who came called himself Liu Hong."

"Please, be careful to avoid someone." Liu Biao hurriedly commanded when he heard this.

Not long after, Liu Hong came to Liu Biao's tent. are all relatives of the Han family, and Liu Biao naturally knows Liu Hong. When he was an official under He Jin, although the relationship between Liu Biao and Liu Hong was not close, he was still passable in face.

When the old people met, there were naturally endless words, but Liu Biao knew that Liu Hong was visiting at this time, so he must have nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace, and after gossiping for a while, recalling his past experience in the capital, Liu Biao went straight to the topic and asked Liu Hong about his intention.

Liu Hong smiled slightly when he heard this, "Jingsheng, it's not difficult to guess my intention, now that Yuan Cao and others are united against the imperial court, you are originally a member of the Han family and named King Jing, why do you want to join forces with all the rebels this time?" The saint is benevolent, and I have been specially ordered to come to persuade you, hoping that you will turn back to the shore and stop being obsessed. The imperial court can take back Liu Zhang's King of Shu, which means that this King Jing is not impossible to take back. ”

"Yuan Zhuo, if I don't want to be an enemy of the imperial court, I really can't help myself, so I have to follow it. The traitor is powerful, but there is no one available in my Jingzhou, once I don't ...... from it," Liu Biao said with a wry smile, "I don't need the imperial court to make a move, I'm afraid that Jingzhou will be poisoned by the traitor first." ”

"Hmm...... I will explain your difficulties to the saints, but Jingsheng, what are you going to do next? It's not a secret, the Holy One has already intended to counterattack, if you continue to mix with the traitors, then even if the Holy One intends to spare you, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces may not agree. ”

"The imperial court intends to counterattack?" Liu Biao was shocked and hurriedly asked.

Liu Hong seemed to realize that he had lost his words, but the words had already been spoken, and he couldn't take them back, so he had to nod and said: "Jingsheng, don't spread it, otherwise you will harm me." ”

"Yuan Zhuo rest assured, only God knows about this matter, you know and I know. Does the imperial court really intend to counterattack? ”

"Not intentionally, but prepared. Jingsheng, you have to make a decision early, otherwise it will be too late to regret it. ”

“…… What does the Holy God want me to choose? Liu Biao was silent for a moment and asked Liu Hongdao.

"Every man sweeps the snow in front of his own door."

……

At the same time, Sun Ce's Jiangdong camp also received a reply from Zhang Hong, who had previously been sent to negotiate with the imperial court. The battle in the day made Sun Ce addicted to playing with masters. Zhao Yun really didn't waste his reputation, although the battle with Sun Ce ended in a draw, Sun Ce knew in his heart that if he fought to the end, he would inevitably lose, because he really couldn't consume Zhao Yun.

"Gong Jin, what did Zigang's letter say?" Sun Ce, who was in a good mood, asked Zhou Yudao.

"Brother, Zigang said that the imperial court agreed to the condition that Brother Feng be the Marquis of Wu, and in order to show sincerity, Zhongmou will be released first, and when our army returns to Jiangdong, it will issue an edict to the world."

"Hey~ It seems that the court is not stupid." Sun Ce laughed when he heard this, and asked Zhou Yu, "When does Gong Jin think it is appropriate for us to withdraw from the army?" ”

“…… Brother, do you think it's appropriate to let Zhongmou come back at this time? ”

"Huh...... Gongjin, I know your worries, but I can't stop my second brother from going home because of this. If my mother had known, she wouldn't have settled accounts with me. Rest assured, I have taken your worries to heart and will not forget them. ”

“…… Alas, it seems that we can only admit this hidden danger that the imperial court has stuffed for us. ”

"There has never been a thing in this world that just takes advantage of the advantage and does not suffer a loss, no matter what, our goal has been achieved. With the title of Marquis Wu, it should be of great help to stabilize Jiangdong. ”

"Well, that's true, it's the little brother who is greedy."

"Hehe......" Sun Ce smiled when he heard this, but he seemed to suddenly remember something, "Gong Jin, you said that we will withdraw from the army this time, can we do something else halfway?" ”

"What do you mean by brother?"

"We can't do it with the court, but that doesn't mean we can't do it with others. That Liu Biao and I have a grudge against my father, and it's hard to do it in Xiangyang on weekdays, but now that others are here, don't we have a lot of opportunities? ”

"Hmm...... It's doable. Liu Biao's two sons are unworthy people, if Liu Biao dies, Jingzhou will be chaotic, and it will indeed be beneficial to my Jiangdong at that time. It's just that this matter is very important, and it needs to be planned well, so don't worry, brother. Zhou Yu thought about it, nodded and said to Sun Ce.

Sun Ce was very happy when he saw that Zhou Yu agreed with his opinion, and he also knew that he was good at hands-on things, and Zhou Yu was still doing the things that used his brain, so he handed over the matter to Zhou Yu to plan, and he only needed to be responsible for doing it.

……

Sun Cao and Liu allied with 200,000 troops, of which Cao Cao 100,000, Sun Ce 30,000, and the remaining 70,000 were Liu Biao and Liu Bei's men. Now Liu Bei asked Zhang Fei to take away 10,000 people under the pretext of sending people back to urge food, and Liu Xie sent people to persuade Sun Ce and Liu Biao respectively, which means that Cao Cao can only rely on 100,000 people and horses from his own family.

With mental calculation or unintentional, in the face of absolute strength, any strategy will seem pale and powerless. Liu Xie made a desperate bet this time, in addition to mobilizing the defenders of Tongguan and Wuguan to come to support, the Mulan Sai people also poured out. He was not worried that Liu Biao and Sun Ce would do their bidding, because there were already two teams of men and horses responsible for monitoring the two camps, and if there was really any problem, Liu Xie could also retreat.

If you don't move, you will do your best. In the face of the onslaught of Liu Xie's generals, Cao Cao's camp did not last long before it was breached, and a melee ensued. Although Cao Cao tried his best to resist, he still couldn't stop the offensive of the official army, especially after holding on for a long time and not seeing Liu Biao and Sun Ce send troops to help, Cao Cao also realized that he might have been betrayed this time.

"Ming Gong, things can't be violated, please make a decision early."

"Fengxiao, I'm not reconciled."

"Ming Gong, Jia is not reconciled, but the current situation is not up to others." Guo Jia said and glanced at Xu Chu, and Xu Chu immediately came over and hugged Cao Cao and prepared to retreat.

"Hugh is going to let Cao Cao go!" Cao Jun had been divided by the official army at this time, and Cao Cao only had Guo Jia, Xu Chu and hundreds of guards around him, like Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan and others were not around at this time.

"Zhongkang, you protect Feng Xiao and go first." Cao Cao hurriedly ordered Xu Chu to say.

"Lord!" Xu Chu shouted.

"Don't delay, Feng Xiaowen is weak, you need to be protected by a fierce general, go quickly." Cao Cao scolded, drew his sword and led people to break through outside the camp first.

"Zhongkang, what are you doing here? What about Ming Gong? ”

"My lord asked me to protect you."

"Confused!" Before Guo Jia finished speaking, he saw Ma Chao rushing over with a team of people and horses, and shouted: "Xu Zhongkang, take your life." ”

"Protect the military division first." Xu Chu commanded left and right, and rushed forward to intercept Ma Chao.

Guo Jia was protected and rushed out of the camp, at this time the Cao army camp was already in chaos, even if Guo Jia was a ghost, he was helpless in the face of the situation at this time, and he could only pray in his heart that Cao Cao could break through safely.

In order to break out of the encirclement, Cao Cao's guards around Cao Cao have all been lost, Cao Cao doesn't distinguish things and just blindly pats the horse and gallops, and waits until the shouting and killing behind him gradually can't be heard, which is a little relaxed.

He had the intention of waiting in place, but he was worried that he would wait for the pursuers of the imperial court, so Cao Cao had to go in the direction of Wuguan. But he didn't go far, he encountered a team of soldiers blocking the road, and Cao Cao, the person at the head, recognized it, and when he saw the comer, Cao Cao couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart.

"Cao Cao! You have it too! Zhang Fei glared at Cao Cao excitedly and shouted.

As soon as he heard Zhang Fei's words, Cao Cao's heart couldn't help but rise, this guy's tone of speech was obviously not for friendly soldiers, and now in the wilderness, if he was poisoned, the corpse would be thrown into the field......

"Zhang Fei, what do you want?" Cao Cao clenched the sword in his hand and asked in a cold voice.

"Huh...... It's not good, I just want to ask you to go to Wancheng with me, and when you let my second brother come back, I will naturally let you go. ”

“…… What if I refuse to go with you? ”

"Then I'm afraid you're going to have to suffer a bit." After Zhang Fei finished speaking, he was ready to come forward to get Cao Cao.

"Yide, don't be impatient, and let me persuade Cao Yuanjun." One person stepped forward to stop Zhang Feidao. To Cao Cao's surprise, the short-tempered Zhang Fei actually held back.

"Cao Yuanjun, in Xia Liao Li, this is polite."

"Mr. Liao is polite. I don't know what to advise? ”

"Cao Yuanjun, the one who knows the times is Junjie, in the past, Cao Yuanjun forced my General Guan to work for you, and today my General Zhang is just returning the other body in the other way. Cao Yuanjun can rest assured, as long as my general Guan comes back safely, my lord will not embarrass Cao Yuanjun. What's more, now that Cao Yuanjun is alone, it is difficult to escape his life, so why bother to humiliate himself? Could it be that Cao Yuanjun thinks that he can walk in front of my General Zhang's horse for a few rounds? ”

"......" Cao Cao was angry in his heart, but what Liao Li said was true, he was ambushed by others, and he could take his life with a random arrow. Right now, I'm really a fish and a knife, so I can't do it if I don't bow my head. It's a pity that he was soft-hearted for a while, and let Liu Bei and his gang go, and he knew that he should have been hated by Guan Yu and secretly looking for someone except Liu Bei, so that he would not have this difficulty today.

……

At the same time as Cao's army was attacked, Liu Biao and Sun Ce invariably ordered to hold the camp tightly and not to move lightly. It was not until the end of the war that Liu Biao ordered the whole army to retreat and return to Jingzhou. Hearing Liu Biao's order to retreat, the generals of Jingzhou thought that they had heard it wrong. Before, it could be interpreted as a plan to prevent the court from attacking the west, but now that the troops are withdrawn, could it be that the lord has reached a reconciliation with the court?

Since Liu Biao wants to withdraw his troops, even if the generals of Jingzhou have doubts, they will not object. Only Liu Bei felt that it was a little inappropriate to retreat at this time. found Liu Biao to remind him that this withdrawal of troops needs to be cautious to prevent the imperial court from going back on its word. Liu Biao superficially agreed with Liu Bei's suggestion, and took advantage of the situation to let Liu Bei lead his troops to retreat first.

Liu Bei couldn't help but secretly complain and regret that he was troubled. Retreating first means that he has to go to the thunder first, and if there is really any ambush in the imperial court, he will definitely be the one who suffers. Just reminded to be careful that the words of the imperial court were said by himself, and it was not easy to regret it at this time, so he could only lead the troops to withdraw first.

In order to guard against a sudden ambush, Liu Bei sent the scouts far away, but the problem was that he still fell into the ambush. It was not the officials and soldiers of the imperial court who ambushed the Jingzhou army, but the men and horses of Jiangdong.

Fortunately, it was Liu Beijun who was ambushed, not the Jingzhou army, after the ambush, Liu Beijun did not collapse at the touch of a button and fled, but stubbornly waited for reinforcements, waiting for the Jingzhou army behind him to come to support.

Since it was a surprise attack, it couldn't be too many. The people led by Sun Ce are all Jiangdong elites, but Liu Bei's men and horses are not muddy, after the initial chaos, stabilize the position, defend and counterattack, and the sneak attack of the Jiangdong army began to be a little unable to hold on.

"Damn, what's going on? The reaction of this Jingzhou army was swift. Seeing that the battle did not achieve the expected results, Sun Ce couldn't help but wonder.

"Brother, I miscalculated, it was not Liu Biao's Jingzhou army that was ambushed, but Liu Bei's men."

Hearing Zhou Yu's words, Sun Ce felt that the elite soldiers were all beaten, and the Jingzhou army had been comfortable for too long, so the combat power was low, and the tens of thousands of people under Liu Bei had experienced the battle array, and the combat power was naturally not comparable to the Jingzhou army. It's a pity that there are still fewer people I brought this time, otherwise I would have to split the victory with Liu Bei.

"Brother, you can't go against it, let's make plans early." Zhou Yu saw that Liu Beijun could not attack for a long time, so he persuaded Sun Cedao.

Sun Ce has always been obedient to Zhou Yu, and nodded subconsciously when he heard the words, but at this time, he saw Liu Bei's figure on the opposite side, and immediately said to Zhou Yu: "Gong Jin, capture the thief and capture the king first, and take Liu Bei's life for his brother." ”

"Brother and slow." Hearing this, Zhou Yu hurriedly reached out and grabbed Sun Ce's reins, "Brother, this Liu Bei can't be killed at this time." ”

"Why?"

"Brother, if you want to seek Jingzhou, this Liu Bei is indispensable, and I ask my brother to bear with me for a while, so as not to spoil a big thing."

Just when Zhou Yu persuaded Sun Ce, Liu Bei had also been escorted back to the Chinese army, Sun Ce saw that the fighter plane had been lost, so he could only shake his head regretfully, and said to Zhou Yu: "Gongjin, let's go." ”

"Okay, the elder brother will go first, and the younger brother will arrive later."

By the time Liu Biao heard the news and led his troops to arrive, the battle had already ended, and Liu Bei was asking people to clean up the battlefield. When Liu Biao saw Liu Bei, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked with concern: "Xuande, are you okay?" Who is coming? ”

"Brother, it's a Jiangdong man. The younger brother saw Sun Ce himself in the melee. Liu Bei hurriedly replied.

"Sun Ce's Pediatric ......"

"Brother, please return to Xiangyang as soon as possible to arrange defense, Sun Ce did not succeed today, and he will attack Jingzhou in the coming day." Liu Bei reminded urgently.

"Xuande rest assured, when the foolish brother goes back, he will let De Jue pay attention to precautions, and you must be careful after you return to Wancheng, and remember not to clash with the people of the court." Liu Biao also told Liu Bei.