The sun is setting, and night is approaching.

A herald rode past the avenue and shouted, "It's getting late, the lord has an order, rest on the spot." ”

Wherever the heralds passed, the tired soldiers and civilians along the way were all relieved, and they were scattered in the fields on both sides of the road, gathered in twos and threes, some gathered firewood for cooking, and some only used dry food to satisfy their hunger.

Not long after, the sun set and the earth was plunged into darkness. Looking down from the sky, a little bit of spark light stretches for more than ten miles, like a long snake, constituting a rather peculiar scene.

Fang Shao rode by, followed by seven or eight grain carts, and his task was to distribute food to the people who did not bring enough rations in a hurry.

Looking south from the rearmost heavy troops, dozens of grain trucks were already half empty, but at a glance, there was still no end in sight.

Fang Shao couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

From Xiangyang to the present, it has been more than ten days, and at this time it is only more than 100 miles away from Xiangyang, and the speed of such a march is not much faster than that of a turtle.

The reason is very simple, when they went south, the people of Jingzhou who heard the news came from all directions to follow Liu Bei from all directions. In just a few days, the ranks increased dramatically to nearly 60,000, and these people often carried large bags and many luggage, and could not go fast at all, so that the ranks became more and more bloated, and the marching speed became slower and slower.

Fang Shao can be regarded as appreciating Liu Bei's prestige among the people of Jingzhou, but at such a speed, sooner or later he will be chased by Cao Jun, although the development of things was in his expectation, but when he personally experienced the urgency of this chasing army, he still couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Half an hour later, the distribution was finally completed, Fang Shao left a bag and went to the front of the team, where Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and other high-level officials were also hungry and growling, Fang Shao brought the food, and the soldiers were busy making fires.

Because he did not expect that so many people would follow along the way, most of the grain and grass were transported south by Guan Yu's navy earlier, and the infantry army did not carry much grain and grass, and now it has to be distributed to those people who have no food, so the food supply is gradually tightening, and the amount of rations distributed per person per day has to be limited, even Liu Bei himself is no exception.

After a short time, the rice was cooked, and the officials present, including Liu Bei, could not each get half a bowl.

Fang Shao, a young man in his twenties, was at an age when he was eating like a cow, and this small half bowl of rice was obviously not enough for him to stuff between his teeth, so he ate it clean in a few bites of pickles, and finally licked the only remaining pieces in the bowl.

"Look at your look!"

Zhuge Liang's eating appearance has improved a lot, taking a small bite, chewing slowly like tasting tea, seeing that Fang Shao looked unfull, he said: "Take the bowl." ”

Fang Shao was puzzled, and subconsciously handed the bowl up, and Zhuge Liang poured his own rice to him.

Fang Shao was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Mr. has only eaten a few bites, what should you do if you give it to me, you are not iron-clad." ”

"Don't be verbose, you'll eat it if you give it to you." Zhuge Liang also gave him a small piece of pickles in his hand, "Sir, I am in good health, and I won't die if I eat a few bowls of rice, so give me a few slices of your biscuits." ”

Biscuits are okay to eat as snacks in your spare time, but you really can't use them as dry food, but it's not appropriate to eat them as meals.

Fang Shao gave in for another long time, but he couldn't resist Zhuge Liang, so he had to take out a few biscuits from the leather bag he carried with him and give them to him.

Zhuge Liang took a bite of biscuits and a sip of cold water, and he ate it with relish.

After eating, everyone became sleepy and dozed off, Fang Shao couldn't help but say at this time: "Sir, it's not a way to go on like this, the people are gathering more and more, and the speed of travel is getting slower and slower, it was supposed to be ten days to get to Jiangling, but I don't know how long I have to go if I am dragged down." In case Cao Ying rode lightly to chase after him, how could he respond in a hurry. ”

Zhuge Liang sighed: "I don't know this truth, it's just that the lord is benevolent, and he always can't bear to abandon these people who follow him, and I have nothing to do." ”

Fang Shao thought for a while and said, "Since this is the case, we should also be mentally prepared in this regard, in case Cao Jun chases after him, we can't sit still and wait for death." ”

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "The lord of this section seems to have foresight, when he was leaving, he ordered the Yun Changshui army to march in hand with the infantry army and keep in touch at any time." Our march route is not far from the Han River, and if there is a change, we can also run to the waterway to avoid it. ”

Fang Shao came to his senses and said: "I was still strange before, with the speed of General Guan's army, it will be possible to arrive in Jiangling in less than five days, why bother to go hand in hand with the dry road, it turns out that the lord is not blindly benevolent and righteous, but he still leaves a way back." ”

Zhuge Liang said with a low smile: "Do you think that the experience of the lord in the early years of running around was given in vain, he may not be the strongest in leading the army to fight, if you want to talk about this escape strategy, it can be regarded as unmatched in the world." ”

Fang Shao couldn't help but laugh secretly when he heard Zhuge Liang's words, but coughed a few more times, and pretended to say: "That, sir, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for us to talk about the lord like this." ”

Zhuge Liang was stunned at first, and then said with an ignorant face: "I'm sleepy, I'm asleep, and nothing counts." He closed his eyes and fell asleep on the wheels, and after a few seconds, he was snoring.

The corners of Fang Shao's mouth raised slightly, he looked up at the sky, the clouds were dense, the stars and the moon were not visible, and he secretly prayed in his heart: "Cao Ying, please don't come too fast......"

—————

When the night is about to be late, the head of Xiangyang City is brightly lit.

Outside the north gate, Liu Cong trembled in the autumn wind, and his face showed panic and uneasiness. Behind him, Kuai Yue Cai Mao and the others were calm and natural, with a kind of expectation in their eyebrows.

After a while, a horse from the north galloped over, and someone rolled the saddle and dismounted, and said to the ground: "Qiqi Zhou Mu, Prime Minister Cao Cheng has led a large army to cross the Han River and is coming to Xiangyang City." ”

When Liu Cong heard this, he was anxious to hold the official seal in his hand, and led the civil and military officials of Jingzhou to meet him on foot.

After a few moments, a group of cavalry galloped like lightning, about five hundred people, all dressed in black armor and holding long swords. Five hundred cavalry approached, spread out on all sides, and in a moment they surrounded Liu Cong and his people on all sides.

Liu Cong knew that it was Cao Cheng who had arrived, so he knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "Surrender to Liu Cong, welcome Prime Minister Cao Cheng." ”

Soon after, on the road, the soldiers and horses of the brigade came slowly, and the man in the red robe stepped forward, turned over and dismounted, and quickly stepped forward to help Liu Cong up, and said with a smile: "Virtuous nephew, please get up quickly." ”

Liu Cong trembled and got up, looked up slightly, but saw the person in front of him, with a short appearance and a mediocre appearance, but he was majestic, and his eyebrows revealed a kind of uncertain city.

The one who came was Cao Ying, who dominated the world.

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