Liu Bei's mansion in Wancheng was busy in a panic, and countless people came in and out, completely like a scene of moving. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info Liu Bei was a little panicked. He also just learned about the news of Cao Cao's army's southward movement, Liu Biao's death, and Jingzhou's surrender. Xiangyang did a good job in this regard, if it weren't for Guan Yu, who was patrolling Baihe, who happened to catch Song Zhong who had just returned from the direction of Cao Ying, I was afraid that Liu Bei would only know the news of Cao Cao's southern expedition when Cao Cao's troops were under Wancheng. In terms of intelligence gathering, Liu Bei can be said to not even have a capable assistant at the moment, and his intelligence collection has always stayed on the so-called battlefield reprimand.

"How do you fight Cao Cao like this? They are known as an army of 800,000. Liu Bei was obviously a little flustered, and the words that were so dejected actually came out of his mouth. Although there is nothing wrong with this statement itself, the person who said it is different, and the meaning contained in it is also different. The words that came out of Liu Bei's mouth obviously made everyone's already sluggish momentum, and they suddenly became even lower.

Perhaps because he quickly realized that he had said the wrong thing, Liu Bei couldn't help but gesture with his eyes to the young man sitting on his right hand and the first official: "Young Chang, what do you think we should do next?" ”

This young man is really young and tight. Although he only has a calm bearing in terms of momentum, as far as his face is concerned, his slightly childish white face and jaw without a trace of beard undoubtedly indicate his youth. He didn't wear a crown because he wasn't even twenty and was still a teenager.

Liu Bei stayed in Jingzhou for seven years, and in those seven years, he did not fight again, except for the battle against Wancheng five years earlier. Liu Biao obviously also has the intention of smoothing his edges and corners with a comfortable life, but he is different from others, although he has lived a comfortable life, he has not let go of his vigilant heart. Maybe for him, as long as Cao Cao doesn't die for a day, he won't be at ease for a day.

During this quiet day, he began to read books and learn a lot of knowledge, and at the same time, he looked back and reflected on his situation in the past few years and the journey he had traveled. He found that although he did a good job in handling some specific battles and details, he had no clue about the problems of conceiving and choosing strategies for a little more distant battles. To put it simply, he was a man who was good at tactics and short on strategy.

This is his shortcoming. What to do? That's only to find people in this area to make up for it. As a monarch, Liu Bei naturally knows that as a monarch, he is not afraid that you will not understand things and understand all aspects of the problem, but he is afraid that you will not die, will not employ people, and will not make the best use of people.

Liu Bei has officials such as General Zuo and Yuzhou Mu. Although he was a guest general in Jingzhou, he was regarded by the scholars of Jingzhou as a second force other than Liu Biao. During these years, he also continued to associate with scholars, and new people continued to come to him. Among these newcomers, he had a keen eye for a young man who was different, and that was Ma Youchang, who was sitting on his right hand.

"Although it is a bit exaggerated, after all, I am still young, and there is still a chance to exercise, and if I cultivate it a little, I will become that kind of earth-shattering talent." This is what Liu Bei said to his brother in private. He said half of it, but the other half didn't say it, that is, Ma Jian still has some strategic vision, which is what Liu Beijun lacks the most. In the case that he really can't find a top strategic master, even if Ma Jian only has half a bucket of water, Liu Bei has to use him. Liu Bei made him his mastermind and let him follow him to give advice. Whenever there was something, Liu Bei asked Ma Tan to come up with three or four plans for his own judgment. In Liu Bei's view, Ma Jian is not enough to do practical things, but he is resourceful and decisive, which is enough to make up for his own shortcomings intellectually.

At that moment, Ma Tan chuckled slightly when he heard Liu Bei ask: "Since you can't beat it, there are only two ways: either down or go." With the relationship between the lord and Cao Cao, it is obviously impossible to descend, so let's go. Although Cao Cao is close to us, he is also more than ten days away, and if he walks in time, he will have no difficulty. ”

"This ......" Liu Bei hesitated: "It's naturally okay to go, but if you leave like this, what about the people of Xinye and Wancheng?" Cao Cao's soldiers came over, and God knows if he would do something like slaughter again. After all, he already has a criminal record. No, I have to be responsible for these people. Liu Bei thought that the look on his face changed from hesitation to a year of resoluteness, and he quickly issued an order: "Inform the soldiers and civilians of Wancheng, Anzhong, Xinye, Bowang and other places, Cao Cao's army is about to go south, and our army needs to retreat to flash its cherry blossom wind, if there are those who are willing to accompany me, I Liu Bei will escort them to Jiangnan to the south." ”

"Lord...... How can this be? Ma Jian couldn't help but be shocked when he heard that Liu Bei had given such an order: "Fleeing with light soldiers is already very dangerous, if you bring the people again, I'm afraid that you will ......" Ma Jian didn't say anything more when he said this, because Liu Bei over there had already waved his hand gently.

"Say no more, and let it go on according to this command. Of course, I understand that this will put my army in a desperate situation, but I am unwilling to give up the people under my rule and leave them in the hands of Cao Cao. They all trust me, so I have to be worthy of that trust. Liu Bei sighed and said to Ma Yan: "Young Chang, there are some things that you have to do even if you know that they are wrong. If that's a kind of willfulness, then let me be willful. You still have to think about it for me, what is the way to drag Cao Cao's team for a few more days. So that the people can have more time to retreat. ”

"Well, that's all there is to it now." Ma Yan sighed and groaned silently. He thought for a while, and then gave Liu Bei an idea: "I heard that Cao Cao's vanguard general is Xu Chu, a fierce general, but he is a little inconvenient in terms of wisdom, so Cao Cao asked Cao Chun, the commander of the tiger and leopard cavalry, to be his deputy." Although Cao Chun is not a martial artist, he is cautious and accustomed to the tactics of killing with one hit. This undoubtedly gives us an opportunity to use our suspicions. The lord can let the two generals Guan Ping and Liu Feng each bring some men and horses to ambush among the mountains and forests on the road outside the city, and place banners all over to confuse the enemy. With this trick, you can drag them for about a few hours, and you can keep them until dark. This is the first step. ”

"First step?" Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "This is the first step, what about the second step?" ”

"The second step is to turn this Wancheng into a battlefield after all the people in this Wancheng have withdrawn. Cao Cao knew how many soldiers we had in Wancheng, so Cao Cao never thought that Xu Chu's 3,000 iron cavalry alone could capture Wancheng. If my guess is correct, Cao Cao's first team, that is, Cao Hong's team, should be very close to Xu Chu's forward, and Cao Cao's intention should be to let Cao Hong fight this first battle. If the suspicious soldiers in the woods ahead of us can succeed, then when Cao Hong and Xu Chu meet up and arrive in Wancheng, it will be dark, and they will definitely spend the night in Wancheng. This is another opportunity for us. If it can be arranged well, if there is a fire to burn Wancheng, then it should make Cao Cao's front suffer a big loss, defeat their rainbow momentum, and make them dare not go south, and wait for the arrival of Cao Cao's follow-up men and horses in the same place. This will give us a few more days to breathe, and the lord and the lord can go to Fancheng for refuge at this time. ”

"Okay, let's do it." Liu Bei nodded in agreement with Ma Yan's suggestion: "I'll let Yun Chang and Yide prepare it right away." Liu Bei said that he was about to give a formal order.

"Wait, my lord." Ma Jian stopped Liu Bei.

"How?" Liu Bei looked at Ma Jian strangely.

"Now that Xiangyang has surrendered to Cao Cao, hasn't the lord thought about the future steps? If we blindly flee south and bring so many people with us, I'm afraid that even with our strong strength, we won't have enough time to get here in Wancheng. With the people, how many miles can be walked in a day, the lord Gongye is not unexpected. Ma Tan woke up Liu Bei worriedly: "If we don't make a plan for the next layout, I'm afraid we will be very passive." ”

"This is also ......" Liu Bei couldn't help but feel a sudden suddenness in his heart when he heard this, and cold sweat suddenly oozed out on his forehead, and he sincerely thanked Ma Yan: "Youchang, this is thanks to you for reminding me." If I had to think about it myself, I would never have thought of that. This...... Thank you very much. Now tell me what we're going to do next. Although he was very faceless, Liu Bei still directly thanked Ma Jian for his suggestion, and his behavior always seemed real and not boring at this point.

"It is the responsibility of the ministers to share their worries for the lord, so why should the lord be thankful?" Ma Jian said humbly. In front of Liu Bei, he always felt some pressure, and this pressure did not come from Liu Bei's attitude towards himself, but from Liu Bei himself, from Liu Bei's kindness to himself. It is precisely because Liu Bei is too good to himself that he feels a little bad about being so good. He felt that he was still a little inadequate, especially when it came to the decision to conquer, he was always a little vain. "Am I still too young?" He touched his smooth chin, stunned, but quickly shook his head and threw aside the doubts in his heart. Soon after joining Liu Beijun, he encountered such a situation, which is a difficulty for himself, but also a challenge, whether he can grow up because of this, the key depends on whether he has the wit to deal with the current situation. In the face of such difficulties, we should work hard to find a way to solve them, instead of blindly thinking nonsense.

"Stop." Ma Tan whispered to himself, sorted out the thoughts in his head a little, and then said to Liu Bei: "The best way for the lord at the moment is to lead troops south, directly attack Xiangyang, Jiangling and other places, take Jingzhou as the foundation, and rely on the wealth and ordnance left by Lord Liu Biao to compete with Cao Cao. The relationship between the lord and Liu Qi's son is very good, and he can join forces with him to take Xiangyang together. Gangneung was laid. Cao Cao went on an expedition with a large army, and it was impossible for him to deliver all the grain and grass to his own territory, so the grain, grass and ordnance in Xiangyang and Jiangling were very important to him. If we can get these first, we can rely on the fortified city to contend with Cao Cao until Cao Cao withdraws his troops. ”

"But ......" Ma Tan's suggestion was undoubtedly correct, but Liu Bei blinked, but he didn't say anything more. He couldn't object to the right decision to speak directly, but the unbearable heart that flowed from his eyes saw a real thing.

"Isn't the lord ruthless?" Ma Jian probably knows what kind of person Liu Bei is: although he has the three advantages of knowing people, employing people, and doing his best as a monarch, he attaches great importance to feelings in his heart, and sometimes he can even do things that he knows he can't do for the sake of feelings. "Having such strong emotions will certainly make his subordinates retract and stop betraying him, but at the same time, he will lose a lot of opportunities because of this." Ma Jian sighed, but he didn't regret following Liu Bei in his heart. Originally, he came here to take refuge in Liu Bei in order to say goodbye to the brothers who had taken refuge in Li Sheng in the family, and he was not very loyal to Liu Bei, but after getting along with Liu Bei for a while, he was deeply attracted by Liu Bei, and he was desperate for Liu Bei. At this moment, he didn't say anything, just looked at Liu Bei quietly, he knew that Liu Bei would say his reasons for this.

"I can't bear it." Liu Bei shook his head, with a painful look on his face: "When I came from Runan, I didn't have anything in my hands except those soldiers and horses. If it weren't for Lord Liu Biao taking me in, I'm afraid that I would be scattered and die soon. Although Lord Liu Biao was a little wary of me later, it was understandable. I always remember what Master Liu Biao said when he was seriously ill, holding my hand, and saying, 'Xuande, I will get rid of you in the future!' The meaning of earnest entrustment is still in my ears. How can I forget such a genuine sense of kindness? I can't attack Liu Biao's son Liu Cong when he just died. Otherwise, the people of the world will regard me Liu Bei as an unrighteous person. ”

"Lord Liu Biao is kind to the lord, this is naturally to be repaid, but he can't ignore the current environment. As far as I know, those people in Jingzhou wanted to surrender to Cao Cao, but they were thinking about removing the lord. For such a situation, the lord is retreating, but he is afraid that he will ......" Ma Jian tried to continue to persuade Liu Bei, but Liu Bei still kept shaking his head. "It seems that this reason will not work with Liu Bei." Seeing this, Ma Jian had to change his reason: "We want to compete with Cao Cao, it is obviously not enough to rely on our own strength, if we can receive Jingzhou's troops, ordnance, grain and grass, then we may be able to fight with Cao Cao." In order to win the battle, there are some things that the lord should make up his mind. ”

"Alas......" Liu Bei sighed: "If I were from Jingzhou and thought that it was more important for Jingzhou to close the world, I might have made the same decision." After all, this decision can guarantee peace in Jingzhou. From this point of view, their behavior is not incomprehensible, and I do not hate them. It's just that...... For now, let's ignore Xiangyang and leave as soon as possible. ”

"Since the lord doesn't want to attack the city, let's find a way to stay outside Xiangyang City for a few days." Ma Tan said.

"Why do you have to do that?" Liu Bei was puzzled.

"It's easy!" Ma Tan smiled and said: "The officials in Xiangyang are not dedicated to Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, and many of them still have a good impression of the lord. Regarding Cai Mao, Zhang Yun's surrender, these people are probably not very clear. Since we are going south, we must go south with them. This is also a moral consideration. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun have abandoned us, but we can't abandon those people. ”

"That's true." Liu Bei nodded, and then asked Ma Yan: "If you don't fight Xiangyang, do you have a plan?" ”

"Yes!" Ma Tan nodded heavily, and suggested to Liu Bei: "Among the generals under the lord's account, only General Guan Yu still knows the nature of water, so the lord can order General Guan Yu to send his troops and horses to go first, as the vanguard of the southward retreat, first prepare the boat to cross the Baihe River in the south, and open up the road for our army to go south, and then quickly attack the military ports of Fancheng and Xiangyang to use his Han water army for his own use, and contact the son of Liu Qi in Jiangxia to help our army get a foothold in Jiangxia." This is the most critical step on the way to the south, General Guan Yu should prepare as soon as possible, the lord naturally can't let him join tonight's battle. ”

"Reasonable." Liu Bei nodded heavily: "Then let Yun Chang go south." By the way, let him take those people in Xiangyang away first. Such as Huo Jun, Liu Yi, etc., will be our strength for development in the future. Liu Bei looked at Ma Jian as he spoke, and asked him: "The plan has been decided, so what will be the route of the march?" ”

"There are two roads from Xiangyang to the south." Ma Tan said and drew up the map: "One is to the south, warp county, Dangyang county, and arrive at Jiangling; The other is along the Hanshui, slightly southeast, through Ruoxian, Hanjin and then to Xiakou. ”

"One to Gangneung? One to Xiakou? Liu Bei raised his right hand to support his chin and thought for a while and asked, "Why are the exits of the two roads wrong?" ”

"Because it's very likely that the situation will change." Ma Jian explained with a smile: "For our army, taking Gangneung is naturally the most ideal. However, due to the fact that Jiangling is the distribution place of Jingzhou's strategic materials, and Cao Cao also aimed here, it is difficult for our army to reach Jiangling smoothly under Cao Cao's pursuit. Therefore, when we have to find another way to exist as our own back road. ”

The task was quickly arranged by Liu Bei: Guan Ping and Liu Feng carried out the plan of the suspicious soldiers; Chen Zhen, Chen Dao, and Zhang Fei were responsible for arranging the battlefield in Wancheng; Jian Yong and Sun Qian organized the transfer of the people; Mi Fang and Mi Zhu are responsible for the sorting and escorting of military supplies. Under Liu Bei's unified order, the entire Liu Beijun quickly cooperated like a precision-operated organ, and was crazy and busy.

Although Wancheng was taken from Cao Cao, under Liu Bei's rule for several years, it had become Liu Bei's most solid base, just like Xinye. Most of the people in the city remembered Uncle Liu's benevolence, but forgot that they were once ruled by Cao Cao. They all loyally supported Liu Bei. At this moment, as soon as they saw the announcement issued by Liu Bei, they all gathered in front of Liu Bei's Taishou Mansion and replied loudly to Liu Bei's call: "We are all willing to go south with Uncle Liuhuang." They were not willing to live under Cao Cao's rule, because compared with the severity of Cao Cao's rule before, Liu Bei's policy was undoubtedly much more relaxed.

Soon, with the cooperation of the people and the orderly command of Liu Beijun's soldiers, the retreat of Wancheng was completed very quickly, and it was just after the afternoon, and Wancheng had fallen into complete silence. Only the soldiers of Liu Beijun, who were silently arranging the battlefield, were still busy.

The woods in the north of Wancheng, due to the continuous topography of Bowang Slope, make it a little undulating here. Because the last time Xiahoudun was attacked in this Bowangpo, this time Xu Chu and Cao Chunbu, who were the vanguards, were very cautious and mobilized a thousand men and horses to conduct a detailed search up and down Bowangpo. Although it is unlikely that Liu Beijun stupidly set up an ambush in the same place twice, based on the warning that nothing is impossible on the battlefield, Cao Chun and the others still dare not be careless. They are the vanguard, they are to clear the way for the whole army to advance, and they are also the place where the morale of the whole army gathers, if they have any problems with three longs and two shortcomings, it will undoubtedly affect this southern expedition to a certain extent, and they can only be cautious and cautious, and be cautious and cautious.

As Ma Tan guessed, the general of this pioneer was Xu Chu, but the decision on actual things in the army came from the adjutant general Cao Chun. Xu Chu has no opinion on this situation where the name and the reality are reversed, he knows how much ability he has, and he understands what kind of relationship Cao Chun and Cao Cao have.

When the team cautiously passed through the narrow mountain road of Bowangpo, the vision gradually became wider, which made Cao Bing, who was always worried, breathe a sigh of relief. Although the green woods still stand in the eye, and the road paved with loess is slightly wider than in previous times, after the oppression of the cliff on one side is reduced, the whole compact atmosphere suddenly dissipates a lot, and people feel relaxed at once.

There is no longer any obstruction, as long as you follow the road a short distance, you can definitely see the walls of Wancheng. Although there are very few people in Cao Cao's army about this territory that was lost a few years ago, almost everyone is holding back the fire in their hearts. Back then, Cao Cao spent a lot of effort and paid a lot of price to capture Wancheng, but he was seized all of a sudden. Even though it can't be taken back in one go for one reason or another, it's always unbearable. This is definitely a shame for Cao Cao's army, and such a shame must definitely be washed away with the blood of the enemy.

Thinking about these things in his head, Xu Chu's eyes almost erupted with fire. At this moment, he couldn't wait to fly to the city of Wancheng with his wings in one go, and wipe out all the Liu Beijun there.

Walking along the main road, I originally thought that I could go straight to Wancheng, but the sudden problem in front of me made Xu Chu a little dizzy.

"What's that?" Xu Chu looked at the two groups of soldiers walking not far in front of him in a panic, and his heart was full of puzzlement: "What are they going to do?" Is it acting? Or ......" He stared suspiciously ahead: there, two teams of Liu Beijun dressed soldiers were steadily marching forward with red flags. There were not many of them, only about forty people in the two teams, but they didn't take themselves to heart at all. As if they hadn't seen the GIs on their side, they were still walking smoothly, unusually slowly.

"Is it a trick?" Xu Chu thought about it, but he honestly restrained his soldiers and horses, and while monitoring the movements of the group in front, he asked Cao Chun to report to the rear army and asked him to come quickly. For such a strange thing, he Xu Chu couldn't tell what was going on, so he could only leave everything to smart people to solve.

Soon, Cao Chun rushed over, and when he heard what Xu Chu said, the first thing that came to mind was that Liu Beijun's people were playing tricks. He originally wanted to give a quick order to wipe out all the people in front of him. But his mind turned slightly, but he felt that something was wrong. He asked Xu Chu directly: "What was the first thought you had when you saw these people?" ”

"Enemies all the way, naturally rush up to destroy them." Xu Chu didn't want to think about it, and said naturally.

"Why would you want to rush up?" Cao Chun asked again.

"Because it's just a suspicious soldier of the enemy. They understand that they are tempting us, and they understand that no one believes in the temptation. Xu Chu said his own judgment, which was based on his insight.

"Even you can think of that, and almost no one would have thought of it. Do you think such a clumsy plan can be made by Liu Bei, who attacked Wancheng and defeated General Xiahou Dun? The suspicion is obvious, but what happens after the suspicion is uncertain. At the moment, the woods on both sides of the road are still dense, and I don't know if there are ambushes in it, but from a cautious point of view, I think we should respond to all changes with the same. Cao Chun thought for a while, and suggested Xu Chu and said, "I think we should wait here, and wait for General Cao Ren's subordinates to come up." General Cao Ren is less than three hours away from us, and we are here to do nothing, and we will not waste much time. And with the three or five thousand cavalry in our hands, there is no way to do it in Wancheng at all, you must know that Liu Beijun in Wancheng has tens of thousands of people, not to mention tens of thousands. ”

"Well, that's right." Xu Chu didn't feel anything bad when he heard a slight groan, and suddenly laughed heartily: "Haha, just do what you say." Anyway, the lord has instructed me to listen to you for everything. Xu Chu smiled, and slapped his thick slap on Cao Ren's body, swaying his armored body from side to side, and from time to time he issued a "right...... Let's do it! Voice.

Time passed in Cao Chun's wry laughter, and Cao Chun and Xu Chu, who had sat and watched the enemy leave without making any move, finally waited for Cao Ren's subordinates who followed from behind. At that moment, the two met with Cao Ren and pushed the matter directly to Cao Ren: "...... That's the way it is, what do you do? ”

"Of course you are not wrong to be cautious. But what is the situation in Wancheng, have you sent troops to reconnoiter again? If the enemy did have an ambush in the woods, it would be inconceivable that they could stay so stupidly for another three hours while we were already suspicious. As soon as Cao Ren heard Xu Chu and Cao Chun's introduction, he immediately pointed out the inappropriateness in this situation: "I think this is using the way of fiction and reality, but when you all think that this is very likely to be true, they have given you a void here." There is nothing wrong with the enemy you have encountered in front of you as a suspicious soldier. ”

"This ...... How can it be......? As soon as Cao Chun heard Cao Ren's judgment, he remembered that these situations were really as Cao Ren said, and he was suddenly a little embarrassed, and the whole person was deflated all of a sudden, but he still couldn't believe it.

"Why can't it be? The news of our dispatch this time, the prime minister is very secretive, and in addition to the fact that Xiangyang has surrendered, Liu Bei probably just learned that we were going to deal with them, and he had already driven the army to his city. Faced with this situation, Liu Bei probably did not have enough time to arrange an ambush at all. At most, they rely on the city to directly force our attacks. Of course, this hard bar also takes time to prepare, so they have targeted our caution and used suspicions to confuse us and make our march slow, so as to give them more time to prepare. Tomorrow, it looks like it's going to be a big battle. Regarding Cao Chun's disbelief, Cao Ren gave him an explanation in great detail. Although many of this explanation are Cao Ren's own conjectures, this conjecture is very reasonable after synthesizing so much information - as soon as he said this, Xu Chu and Cao Chun couldn't stop nodding.

"What do we do now?" Xu Chu asked.

"March, swift march. We must push the troops directly under Wancheng and surround the entire Wancheng before we can set up camp. Cao Ren quickly said: "It's not far from Wancheng right now. The terrain is not very suitable for our army's stationing, and for the sake of the quick battle tomorrow, we must go under Wancheng. ”

"Understood." Xu Chu nodded heavily: "Then I'll help you open the way in front of you." As he spoke, Pegasus galloped forward, and then gave the order to march.