Liu Biao died so inexplicably. Jingzhou was also split into two halves, Liu Bei supported the eldest son Liu Qi to succeed to the throne of King Jing, and the second son Liu Cong was also supported by Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others. But the power of the two sides at this time was very different, Xiangyang was shocked, most of the family heads became Liu Bei's prisoners, and then had to choose to support Liu Bei, and although the Cai family and the Kuai family were deeply rooted in Jingzhou, how could they lose the first move, and if they were not careful, they lost all the games.

Zhuge Liang acted decisively, and his decapitation almost sealed the victory. Cai Mao and Kuai Yue only rely on the few county towns in their hands to turn over, it is almost impossible, unless they can get foreign aid. And this foreign aid, except for the court of Chang'an, there is no other family.

Cai Mao and Kuai Yue accepted Li Ru's suggestion, and while delaying time with the envoys sent by Liu Bei, they asked for help from the Chang'an court in the name of Liu Cong. Although Liu Biao's fraudulent death cannot be said to the outside world, it is not difficult to find an excuse that can convince the public.

Long before Li Ru left for Xiangyang, Liu Xie had already given Li Ru the power to act cheaply. In order to facilitate Li Ru's smooth action, Liu Xie handed over Ju Yi and Gao Shun to Li Ru for moderation. At present, the people of Jingzhou are panicking, Cai and Kuai have suffered heavy losses, and the men and horses in their hands alone are not enough to ensure the safety of Wancheng, Fancheng and Xinye. For this reason, Kuai Yue and Cai Mao took the initiative to give up Fancheng and Xinye, and used this as an excuse to show their sincerity to Liu Bei. Not to mention, this approach really fooled Liu Bei, and he didn't immediately take advantage of the victory to pursue and completely solve the hidden danger of Liu Cong.

The soldiers and horses originally used to guard the three cities are now concentrated in Wancheng, and Kuai Yue and Cai Mao also know in their hearts at this time that the original plan to use Jingzhou as their own promotion gift has now failed, and the Chang'an court can accept them at this time, they should be snickering in secret, how dare they ask too much.

Li Ru rejected Kuai Yue and Cai Mao's initiative to hand over the military power, and comforted the two of them that they already knew about it today, but they couldn't get away for the time being and couldn't meet with the two. But please rest assured, the imperial court will not treat them badly, as long as they hold Wancheng at this time, it will be considered a great achievement.

"Xeno, do you say that the imperial court is borrowing a knife to kill people?" When there were no outsiders, Cai Mao couldn't help but ask Kuai Yuedao. It was also a fluke that Cai Mao was able to escape from Xiangyang, but his two brothers Cai He and Cai Zhong did not have Cai Mao's luck, and they were separated from Cai Mao in the city and died in the chaos.

"De Jue, if the court doesn't want to accept you and me, you can stand by and watch, why bother to transfer the two generals Hao Zhao and Gao Shun to Wancheng. You still listen to my advice, and urge Zhang Yun to quickly take the initiative to hand over the military power and let General Hao Zhao make unified dispatch. ”

"Well, let me think about it again." Cai Mao said perfunctorily with some reluctance.

Kuai Yue knew what Cai Mao was worried about, and now the two of them were grasshoppers on a rope, and Kuai Yue didn't want to see Cai Mao unlucky in the future. He persuaded earnestly: "De Jue, do you know the importance of Wancheng to today's son at the moment? ”

"Huh? …… I would like to hear about it. ”

"When today's Zixing recruited Cao Cao, he intended to destroy the princes who were a great threat to the imperial court on the way to Cao Cao. And Wancheng directly affected the stability of the rear of the Han army. Once Wancheng is lost, Liu Bei's thief colludes with Cao Cao, and the rear of the Han army is unstable, which will inevitably affect the plan of the Son of Heaven. Handing over Wancheng to Hao Zhao, it is not your responsibility and I if something happens, but if you hold on to the military power, once something happens, your career in the imperial court will be completely over. ”

“…… Xeno, if the court loses, is it a good thing for you and me? ”

"It's a good thing, now besides the imperial court, who else can you and I vote for? Is it Cao Cao or Liu Bei? Or is it Jiangdong Sun Ce? Kuai Yue asked angrily.

"Don't worry about Xenomorphism, I'll just ask casually." Seeing this, Cai Mao hurriedly smiled and said.

"You, you have to recognize the situation, and you still think that the two Cai Kuai families are the Jingzhou clan? Being tossed by Liu Bei like this, our foundation in Jingzhou is basically over, and if we want to restore the glory of the former family, we can only rely on the imperial court. But if you don't have a little self-consciousness, why should the court support you? ”

"But my sister said ......"

"I knew you listened to your sister's demagoguery. What does a woman know, her hair is long and her knowledge is short, and she advises you to grasp the military power, not for you, but for her son. But with the little soldiers and horses that your Cai family has in their hands now, can they be compared with the soldiers and horses of the imperial court? Do you still think you are the governor of Jingzhou? ”

"Xeno, don't talk about it, I'll just hand over the military power." Cai Mao said with a somewhat embarrassed face.

"Hmph, Dejue, don't think I'm hurting you. Remember, if you are willing to give, you will get if you are giving. Using the little people in his hand who are not enough to change the overall situation in exchange for the reuse of the court in the future, is it a loss or a gain? ”

“…… Thank you for dialing in. ”

"Go back and tell your sister that if you want Liu Cong to live well in the future, then put your mind on how to help the imperial court defend Wancheng, think less about anything else, and don't be bewitched by the people sent by Liu Bei."

“…… Xenodimension, you, you know it all? Cai Mao looked at Kuai Yue with a somewhat panicked expression and asked.

Kuai Yue sighed when he saw this, "Of course I don't know, but someone does." De Jue, don't underestimate the eyes and ears of the imperial court, Li Rutuo asked me to tell you, when today's most hated people are the people at both ends of the first rat, if you have doubts, you can find another way, but if you have bad intentions, then don't blame him for not being emotional. ”

Cai Mao's face was red, he did secretly meet with the envoy sent by Liu Bei in the past two days, he thought that this matter was secret, but he didn't want to be discovered by others, and now he used Kuai Yue to warn himself.

……

Cai Mao is not a person who can do big things, and when Cai Mao was alive in the past, he could still give Cai Mao guidance, so as not to make Cai Mao make mistakes. But as soon as Cai Wei died, Cai Mao lost the person who showed him the path of life. In the past two years, with the power of the Cai family, Cai Mao can still support herself, but now that she has lost the strong support of the family, Cai Mao has become a master of the six gods.

Fortunately, there is still a Kuai Yue who is willing to help him. In fact, Kuai Yue is not without selfishness to help Cai Mao, compared to Cai Mao, Kuai Yue's Kuai family has suffered even more losses this time. Cai Mao still has a little soldiers and horses to rely on, and the Kuai family now only has two brothers, Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang. Pulling Cai Mao can at least make the Kuai family look better, so that it will not look lonely.

Not long after escaping from Xiangyang, Kuai Liang went to Puyang alone to meet Liu Xie, not intending to ask Liu Xie to send troops to uphold justice, but to serve under Liu Xie's account and lay a foundation for the future. It's hard to open your mouth without an inch of work, isn't it?

According to Kuai Yue's suggestion, Cai Mao took Zhang Yun to hand over Wancheng to Hao Zhao the next day, and all the Jingzhou soldiers in Wancheng obeyed Hao Zhao's dispatch. And Hao Zhao has led the army for many years, so he naturally saw the reality of Jingzhou soldiers at a glance. To be honest, Hao Zhao really doesn't think much of the Jingzhou soldiers, compared with the Tiebi Army he brought, the Jingzhou soldiers are not half a star.

The Tiebi Army is the number of the soldiers and horses led by Hao Zhao, in the past, Yuan Shao stormed Tongguan, Hao Zhao led his troops to defend and not retreat, and tried to protect Tongguan without losing. After the war, in order to commend his merits, Liu Xie took the remnants of the Tongguan garrison as the backbone and set up a new army to highlight Hao Zhao's merits.

This battle in Wancheng can be said to be the first battle of the Tiebi Army since it became an army, and Hao Zhao naturally hopes to get off to a good start. Therefore, in order to avoid the bad things of the newly joined Jingzhou soldiers, Hao Zhao did not break up the establishment of the Jingzhou soldiers, but included them in the reserves.

Cai Mao didn't care about this, or Hao Zhao's arrangement was in his hands, although he handed over the military power, Cai Mao still didn't want to give up the little reliance in his hand, and he couldn't ask for it to reduce his losses. But Cai Mao didn't care, but it didn't mean that no one was unhappy.

Wei Yan has always regarded himself very highly, whether it is martial arts or strategy, Wei Yan is confident that he will not lose to others, but it is a pity that he has never met the master, and he is quite depressed. Hao Zhao's arrangement, in Wei Yan's opinion, was to look down on their Jingzhou soldiers. Wei Yan admitted that the Han army he had seen was indeed stronger than the Jingzhou soldiers in terms of spirit and spirit. But if you fight a war, whoever is strong will definitely be able to win.

was not convinced, but Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, who were the commanders of the Jingzhou Army, were silent, and Wei Yan could only hold his sullen breath. His own Shangguan Wang Wei did not escape from Xiangyang City together, and it is estimated that he has been more than lucky. If it weren't for Kuai Yue's meritorious service in seeing Wei Yan's "escort", Wei Yan wouldn't know who to ask for food and salary now.

However, because of the food and salary, Wei Yan's resistance to the Han army weakened a lot. The biggest purpose of Jingzhou people to be a soldier is the latter one, and the same is true of Wei Yan's purpose in joining the army. But after receiving the monthly salary issued by the Han army, Wei Yan felt that the previous days of serving as a soldier in Jingzhou were in vain. In the past, in Jingzhou, Wei Yan, as a lieutenant in the army, received even less food and salary in January than the salary of an ordinary soldier in the Han army in January, which made Wei Yan feel a little embarrassed.

"Is the imperial court so rich now?" After Wei Yan received his salary, he couldn't help but ask the captain of the Han Military Academy who issued the salary.

"Huh...... The imperial court is not actually wealthy now. But the saint said that soldiers should not be treated lightly with their lives, so the salary of the Han army has always been very high. Generally, as long as one person in a family of five is a soldier, there is no need to worry about the possibility of starvation. To tell the truth, you are now receiving the salaries of the regular army of the imperial court, and if you are a local county soldier, you will not get so much. ”

Wei Yan couldn't help frowning when he heard this and asked, "Then in your opinion, how do the Jingzhou soldiers compare with the county soldiers of the imperial court?" ”

“…… I'll be honest, don't be surprised, even if it's a county soldier, I'm afraid it's not comparable to most Jingzhou soldiers. The officers and men of the regular army of the imperial court were selected from the county soldiers. Every soldier of the regular army of the imperial court has received formal training for at least half a year, and he has a human life in his hands. And your Jingzhou soldiers ......," the lieutenant who spoke to Wei Yan shook his head when he said this.

Wei Yan knew what the other party meant, but he also had to be convinced, as the annoying captain in front of him said, the Jingzhou soldiers were content with the status quo, and they were indeed not as belligerent as the soldiers and horses of the imperial court. In the case of the same number, the Jingzhou soldiers will be defeated, and if it is more than twice the opponent's number, the victory or defeat will be in the number of five or five.

There is no need for Wei Yan to verify the difference in combat power between the two armies, because Wei Yan has already verified it. was incorporated into the second-tier team by Hao Zhao, how could the arrogant Wei Yan be convinced, and raised objections to Hao Zhao at that time regardless of his identity. Fortunately, Hao Zhao didn't care about Wei Yan's rudeness, but agreed to send someone to compete with Wei Yan.

There were all 100 people, and Wei Yan tasted the bitter fruit of defeat. The individual martial arts of the soldiers of the Iron Wall Army are not outstanding, but they are quite proficient in battle formations and the art of combined attacks. As soon as the war drums sounded, a hundred Han soldiers were immediately divided into twenty combat teams in a team of five, and although Wei Yan was brave, he still "died" tragically.

Wei Yan will never forget the feeling of being carried off the school grounds. However, he was also a blessing in disguise, and was valued by Hao Zhao, and begged for it from Cai Mao's men, although he has not officially joined the Tiebi Army, but the treatment is already the same as that of the Tiebi Army. The reason why Hu Che'er, who served as the captain of the Tiebi Military Academy, was willing to tell Wei Yan these things was because he regarded Wei Yan as his colleague.

……

The situation in Wancheng could not deceive Liu Bei for too long, and after stabilizing the hearts of the insiders, Liu Bei decided not to be polite to Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, and ordered Guan Yu to be the vanguard, and he personally led an army of 100,000 to Wancheng to fight against rebellion. Knowing that Liu Bei's army was coming, Cai Mao couldn't help but panic for a while, this Wancheng was already his last place to live, if he lost it, he would really become a rootless wanderer.

Unlike Cai Mao, who was panicked, Wei Yan felt that he had encountered an opportunity to make a name for himself. Defending Wancheng is the next strategy in Wei Yan's opinion, and only by taking the initiative can Liu Bei's ambitions for Wancheng be dispelled. For this reason, he found Hao Zhao and asked for troops.

"General, you just believe me, if this plan fails, the last general is willing to come to see me." In order to fight, Wei Yan pestered Hao Zhao and pleaded.

"Huh...... Wen Chang, don't be in a hurry to go to war, since you have a plan available, you might as well say it for everyone's reference, if it is really reasonable, even if Bodao refuses to send troops, I will support you. Seeing this, Li Ru smiled and said to Wei Yan.

Wei Yan didn't hesitate when he heard this, and immediately replied: "What does the military advisor say?" ”

"Tell me your plan."

"Good. This matter has to start from three days ago, when the last general was ordered to lead people out of the city to investigate the movement outside the city, and when passing by Bowangpo, the last general found that there was lush vegetation, which was extremely conducive to fire attacks. At that time, the last general thought that if Liu Beijun was killed and passed by Bowangpo, then we could use a fire to burn him first. ”

"Are you going to set fire to Bowangpo?" Li Ru asked with some surprise.

"yes."

"You came up with it yourself?"

"Of course."

"Huh...... Wen Chang, you are a piece of jade, but now you have not carved it yet, I believe that you will become a great tool in the future. Bo Dao, why don't you leave the matter of burning Bowang to Wen Chang? Li Ru turned his head and suggested to Hao Zhao.

Wei Yan was a little puzzled when he heard this, and looked at Li Ru in confusion, and Kuai Yue on the side smiled when he saw this: "Wen Chang, don't wonder, what do you think, the Japanese military division mentioned it to us earlier, but I didn't expect you to think of it." ”

“…… Dare me wasn't the first to think of it. Wei Yan said with some loss.

"Wen Chang, it doesn't matter who came up with it. I can think that it is a duty, and if you think about it, it means that you have the qualifications to become a general. According to the news reported by the scouts, Liu Bei's army is only two days away from Bowangpo, and there is not much time left for you to prepare. Li Ru comforted Wei Yan, and then urged.

Wei Yan clasped his fists when he heard this, and went down to prepare. Kuai Yue peeked at Cai Mao and found that Cai Mao showed a look of loss. Kuai Yue knew that Cai Mao regretted giving Wei Yan to Hao Zhao, but now he sent people under the fence, and the Han army's method of buying people's hearts was indeed clever, Cai Mao was able to get Wei Yan back, and I am afraid that he could only get his own people, not his heart.

"General Cai, why do you look depressed?" Li Ru suddenly asked.

"Oh, that, seeing that the military advisor treats Liu Bei's army so easily and casually, Cai Mao can't help but secretly wonder what use he has for the imperial court." Cai Mao hurriedly found a reason to prevaricate.

"Huh...... Why did General Cai take it lightly? To tell the truth, if General Cai is on land, he is indeed inferior to most of the generals of our Han Dynasty, but General Cai, the inch is short, the ruler is long, and General Cai can't do it on land, doesn't it mean that he can't do it on the water, right? My big man is now an elite cavalry, but this navy is a little lacking in heat. In the future, when the imperial court recovers Jiangdong, it will inevitably compete with the Jiangdong Navy on the water, and the role of General Cai may be here. ”

Li Ru's words made Cai Mao suddenly have a feeling of seeing the bright moon through the clouds, he had been thinking about how to gain a foothold in the Han army before, just comparing his land skills, but ignoring his greatest ability. The governor of the Jingzhou Navy Army, even if Cai Mao's ability to fight in the water is insufficient, there is still no problem at all in training the water army. As Li Ru said, the Han army is unparalleled in foot, but if you want to recover Jiangdong, you must face the elite navy in Jiangdong, and the difference between this water battle and foot combat is not small.

Cai Mao seemed to have found the goal of struggle all of a sudden, and asked Li Ru a little nervously: "Military advisor, could it be that the imperial court will establish a naval army in the future?" ”

"General Cai, your question seems to be a bit redundant, right? That's right, the saint intended to establish a navy in the early years, but there was no one who was proficient in training the navy, and now General Cai came to vote, which just solved the urgent need of the saint. However, General Cai, the ugly words are said in the past, if you don't have the confidence to train an elite naval army for the saint, it is best to take the initiative to resign when you see the saint in the future, don't be reckless, if you delay the big event, the saint will cut off people's heads is not ambiguous at all. ”

"Thank you for the reminder. However, when it comes to training the water army, Cai Mao still has some experience, as long as the saint trusts, Cai Mao is confident that he will train a water army for the saint that will not lose to Jiangdong. Cai Mao replied confidently.

"Huh...... That being the case, I assume that General Cai agreed, and I believe that the Holy Lord will be very happy when he learns about this. Li Ru nodded with a smile.