In the four years of Jian'an, the general trend of the world is surging. From March to June, the princes of all walks of life moved one after another.

Liu Bei, who followed Cao Cao to Xuchang, was recognized as "Uncle Liu" by Emperor Xian in his genealogy, and the name of "Uncle Liu" has spread all over the world. In order to win over Liu Bei, Cao Cao was awarded the position of Yuzhou Mu and General Zuo, and for a while, Liu Bei, who was nearly forty years old, became a man of the hour.

The adult Emperor Xian was unwilling to be Cao Cao's "puppet", so he ordered Empress Dong to make a "cloth and belt edict" and give it to his uncle and general Dong Cheng, and ordered him to gather Zhongliang and plot to punish the traitor Cao Cao.

Dong Cheng planned day and night, and gathered the Ministry of Works' Shilang Wang Zifu, Changshui Lieutenant Chongji, Yilang Wu Shuo, Zhaoxin General Wu Zilan, Taiyi Jiping, Xiliang Taishou Ma Teng and others to plot to kill Cao Cao.

Ma Teng recommended the "Left General" Liu Bei, Dong Cheng sent someone to summon to the mansion, and asked Liu Bei to cooperate in killing Cao thief, Liu Bei indignantly promised, and the "Zhu Cao Group" was secretly established.

The people of Western Liangqiang were in turmoil, and the counties of Liangzhou were in an emergency, and Ma Teng took the opportunity to say goodbye to the emperor and left Xuchang, the land of right and wrong.

After Ma Teng left, Liu Bei, who had a keen sense of smell, also sensed the crisis, knowing that only Dong Cheng, Wu Zilan and other civilian officials who had no military power wanted to kill Cao Cao, which was no different from a fool's dream, and secretly looked for an opportunity to leave Xuchang.

Yuan Shu, who was called emperor in Shouchun two years ago, was embattled, and was plundered by the surrounding princes from time to time, the territory was lost, and the soldiers fled. Offering the jade seal.

Liu Bei, who had been plotting to leave Xuchang, was overjoyed when he got the news. He immediately went to Cao's mansion to meet Cao Cao and asked to send his troops to intercept Yuan Shu and attack Shouchun. Cao Cao happily complied with it, allocated 15,000 men to Liu Bei, and ordered him and Zhu Ling to go to the middle of the road to intercept and kill Yuan Shu.

Liu Bei immediately ordered his men and horses to go out of the city, and Guo Jia, Xun Yu and others rushed to the Prime Minister's Mansion after learning about it, and urged Cao Cao not to let Liu Bei lead the troops out. Cao Cao then sent Xu Chu, Cao Hong and others to recover Liu Bei. was rejected by Liu Bei with "the general is outside, and the king's order is not accepted", and led his troops to continue to march eastward, Cao Cao was helpless. can only wait and see Liu Bei's actions.

Liu Bei led the two generals Guan and Zhang. In the area of Fuli, he defeated Yuan Shu, who was preparing to go north to Jizhou. With more than 5,000 heads, the fierce general Zhang Fei assassinated Yuan Shu's general Ji Ling in front of the battle, and Yuan Shu's army scattered and broke away. Can't pass.

Yuan Shu, who fled back to Shouchun, was panicked like a lost dog, with only a few hundred followers around him, thirsting for honey but couldn't, in this hot summer, he died of grief and anger, and since then the Yuan Shu group has withdrawn from the historical stage of the princes' struggle for hegemony.

Liu Bei, who had broken through Yuan Shu, did not return to the army, and ordered Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao to go back to Cao Gong to return to his life, and he led his troops to continue to pursue and kill the remnants of Yuan Shu, completely eliminating hidden dangers. Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao were helpless, so they had to bring their cronies, bid farewell to Liu Bei, and return to Xuchang.

It was June, and the scorching sun was scorching the earth, as if it was about to roast people out of oil.

Liu Bei's 15,000 men and horses set up camp in the woods twenty miles south of the county town to discuss countermeasures.

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Liu Bei sat in the middle, next to him sat Chen Gong, who had just been annexed, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stood below.

"Mr. Gongtai, I want to go east to Xuzhou, attack and kill Che Xuan, and reoccupy Xuzhou, as a foothold, what does Mr. think?" Sitting in the middle, Liu Bei, who was sitting in the middle, with huge ears and knees above his knees, stroked his beard and asked the military advisor Chen Gong for advice.

Before Liu Bei's words fell, Chen Gong immediately retorted: "Absolutely not, if the lord goes to Xuzhou, he will throw himself into the net and set himself on fire!" ”

Liu Bei was stunned and asked: "Xuzhou is a vast land, the city wall of Xiapi is high and thick, I still have the support of the people in Xuzhou, what does it mean to set myself on fire?" ”

"Xuzhou is located in the east of Yan and Henan, extending in all directions, the land is fertile, and it is a place where soldiers must fight. There is a saying that 'the side of the couch will not allow the tiger to sleep soundly', how can Cao Cao allow you to occupy Xuzhou? It is easy for the lord to attack and kill the chariot, but Cao Cao will inevitably raise a large army to attack after learning about it, does the lord think that with the 15,000 men and horses under his command, he can resist Cao Cao's tiger and wolf army? Chen Gong picked up the teacup, moistened his lower lips, and talked eloquently.

After listening to Chen Gong's analysis, Liu Bei couldn't help but sweat on his forehead. Yes, Xuzhou is such an important territory, Cao Cao will never sit back and watch it be lost, if it is occupied by his own sneak attack, he will inevitably mobilize the army and attack in a big way, how can he resist it when the time comes?

Lu Bu was a fierce tiger in the world, and there were Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and other generals who could fight, and Hou Cheng, Wei Xu, Cao Xing, Song Xian and other partial generals to assist, Chen Gong planned for it, entrenched in Xuzhou, and the most troops under his command reached more than 40,000 people, and they were still lost and captured. There are only 15,000 people under his command, and they are still abducted from Cao Cao, how can they hold Xuzhou with only Guan and Zhang Erjiang?

Chen Gong also analyzed: "The lord may still have the support of the people in Xuzhou in the past, but today it is not the same as in the past. Since Cao Cao took control of Xuzhou, he has given more favors and won the hearts of the people, but I am afraid that today's Xuzhou is not yesterday's Xuzhou! Cao Jun came to attack on a large scale, how many people are willing to fight to the death for the lord, I am afraid it is not optimistic! ”

After listening to Chen Gong's words, Liu Bei was silent again.

Chen Gong was right, after Xuzhou was controlled by Cao Cao for nearly a year, under the management of Che Zhou, not only the people of Xuzhou had forgotten themselves, but even the scholars of Xuzhou had fallen to Cao Cao. What touched Liu Bei the most was the Chen clan headed by Chen Qi and Chen Deng's father and son.

When Tao Qian was alive, he had been operating in Xuzhou for many years, and the Chen family was fiercely loyal to Tao Qian. After Tao Qian's death, he entrusted Xuzhou to himself, and the Chen family also obeyed Tao Qian's wishes, and Chen Qi and Chen Deng's father and son did their best to assist themselves. However, since being expelled from Xiapi by Lü Bu, Liu Bei's relationship with the Chen family has gradually become estranged.

The Chen family is a big family in Xiapi, and there are seven or eight thousand children in the family plus doormen and servants, and there are thousands of fertile fields and houses.

When Lu Bu forcibly occupied Xiapi, due to Lu Bu's poor reputation and lack of strength, the people of Xuzhou still missed Liu Bei's kindness, and although the relationship between Chen Qi, Chen Deng's father and son and Liu Bei was not as good as before, they could still secretly exchange letters. Privately, he pinned his hopes on Liu Bei's comeback and regaining control of Xuzhou, which could be regarded as living up to Tao Qian's trust.

Later, Cao Cao, a super predator, defeated Lu Bu and occupied Xuzhou, leaving Che Zhou, Dong Zhao, Zang Ba and others to run Xuzhou, relax policies, and buy the hearts of the people. The hostility and fear of Cao Cao among the people of Xuzhou gradually dissipated, and in their hearts, they had surrendered to the powerful Cao group. Subconsciously, I don't want to get involved in the flames of war anymore. So they were content to be ruled by Cao Cao.

Chen Qi and Chen Deng's father and son knew that they had no skills to return to heaven, and the strength of the Chen family was not enough to support Liu Bei's rule in Xiapi, and if they angered Cao Cao, they were afraid that it would bring disaster to the Chen family. Anyway, his father and son have done their best to assist Liu Bei. It's hard for him to make a big deal. Can't hold Xuzhou. Tao Gong is under Jiuquan, and it's no wonder that the Chen family is gone!

As a result, Chen's father and son took refuge in Cao Cao and cut off correspondence with Liu Bei. A few days ago. Liu Bei wrote letters to Chen Qi and Chen Deng father and son again and again, hoping that they could help him regain control of Xuzhou, but he did not get a response from Chen's father and son, like a mud cow entering the sea. Liu Bei knew better than anyone about the change in the attitude of the Chen father and son.

"If you can't go to Xuzhou, where can you go to settle down? The world is so big, isn't there a place for me Liu Bei to stand on? Please Mr. Gongtai for advice! Liu Bei looked up to the sky and sighed, tears rolling in his eyes, and pleaded towards Chen Gong.

Chen Gong stroked his beard lightly and said softly: "Yuan Shu is dead, the central part of Yangzhou is empty, Huainan has become a borderless land, Yuan Shu from his younger brother Yuan Yin led the rest of the troops to Lujiang Liu Xun, and the battle can be broken." In the palace's opinion, the lord should not attack Xuzhou in the east, but should go south to occupy the two counties of Huainan and Lujiang as a foothold. ”

"In the land of the four battles in Shouchun, Yuan Shu had enough food at first, but he couldn't defend it, and our army only had 15,000 people, can we keep these two counties?" Liu Bei asked with a worried face.

"Yuan Shu's defeat was due to his arrogance, if he hadn't been embattled after becoming emperor, he wouldn't have ended up like this." Chen Gong picked up the pu fan and shook it a few times, and continued to analyze, "After the lord occupies Huainan, he can still submit to Cao Cao on the surface and stand on his own feet secretly, and Cao Cao has no excuse to crusade for a while. ”

Guan Yu, who was standing on the side, couldn't help but interject and asked, "What if Cao Cao forcibly came to crusade without an excuse?" ”

Chen Gong smiled and analyzed: "Hehe...... Although General Yun Chang is assured, the area of Huainan is neither as large as Xuzhou, nor is the geographical location as important as Xuzhou, and it is not Cao Cao's territory, after our army occupies it, Cao Cao will not feel distressed, this is not the same as grabbing territory from him, as long as we don't tear the skin with Cao Cao, I don't think Cao Cao will be desperate to attack us.

Moreover, I heard that Yuan Shao of Jizhou was assembling a large army to Wei County, and 100,000 people had been stationed in the area of Anyang and Dunqiu, and the battle between Yuan and Cao was imminent. In this way, at least until Yuan Cao decides the victory, he will not raise a large army to conquer us, so the crisis in the north is safe for the time being.

Once the crisis in the north has been eliminated, only Liu Biao in Jingzhou in the west and the princes of Jiangdong remain. Liu Biao prides himself on being a righteous gentleman, his name is Bajun, and he is a descendant of the Han family like the emperor's uncle, and the lord can send a person who can speak well to Xiangyang in the west to present gifts to Liu Biao to tie the knot, so that the crisis in the west can also be resolved.

Although the little overlord Sun Ce is in full swing in Jiangdong, he has occupied the two counties of Huiji and Danyang, but there are still nearly 10,000 Yan Baihu entrenched in Wu County, and the three counties of Yuzhang, Poyang and Luling also have different forces of different sizes.

In this way, after Yuan Cao divided the victory and defeat and Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, our army could already gain a foothold in Huainan and Lujiang counties. If the war is unfavorable, you can also go south to attach Liu Biao, find an opportunity to go south, sweep Changsha, Guiyang, Lingling, Wuling and other four counties, occupy Jingnan, as a foothold, and then go south to Jiaozhou, or west into Bashu! ”

After listening to Chen Gong's tirade, Liu Bei got up and made a deep gesture towards Chen Gong: "Oops...... The analysis of the public station really penetrated into the inside, which made Liu Bei suddenly open, and then he realized that he had been running around and had no fixed place to live because he did not have a powerful think tank, and Liu Bei was fortunate to have the help of the public platform. But if there is an order, you must obey it! ”

As a result, Liu Bei waved his army south, and two days later occupied the ownerless empty city of Shouchun, and took control of Huainan County, which had a population of 210,000.

Hearing that Uncle Liu Huang occupied Huainan, Chen Zhi, a native of Runan, led 500 villagers to come and annex, Liu Bei saw that Chen Zhi was skilled in soldiers and horses, held his hand and greeted him, and had a long talk with Chen Zhi, and worshiped as a captain.

Knowing that Liu Bei had a foothold in Runan, Mi Zhu, a local tyrant in Xuzhou, sold his family property, brought Mrs. Mi and Mrs. Gan, as well as his brother Mi Fang, as well as Liu Bei's two staff members Jian Yong and Sun Gan, led more than 10,000 guests, left Xiapi, and went south to Shouchun to join Liu Bei.

At present, Liu Bei is still Cao Cao's subordinate, and he has not yet torn his face, and there is no reason for the car to stop Mi Zhu, and the more than 10,000 customers of Mi Zhu are not fuel-efficient lamps, so the car has to be released. After getting 10,000 customers from Mi Zhu, Liu Bei's strength increased greatly, and he recruited troops in Huainan County, and the number of troops quickly expanded to 30,000.

A few days later, Guan Yu's son Guan Ping came to join the army from his hometown Hedong Xie Liang, Guan Yu ordered to practice martial arts, but saw Guan Ping put a big knife to make the tiger and tiger angry, Liu Bei was overjoyed, happy to get a good general, so he added Guan Ping as a cavalry captain, in charge of the cavalry.

Chen Gong thought that the time was ripe to attack Lujiang, so Liu Bei left Guan Yu, Mi Zhu, Mi Fang and others to lead 10,000 troops and sit in Shouchun. He and Zhang Fei, Chen Gong, Guan Ping, and Chen Zhi led 20,000 troops, and the soldiers were divided into two routes and attacked Lujiang urgently.

There were nearly 10,000 people under Liu Xun, the Taishou of Lujiang, but the discipline was lax, and he was suddenly attacked, and he was not prepared, and he was attacked by Liu Beijun in one morning. Liu Xun, Yuan Yin, Li Feng, Yan Xiang, Yang Hong, Yuan Jian and other old Yuan Shu troops asked to surrender, and Liu Bei followed them to collect all the grain, grass and people of Lujiang. And Yuan Shu's son Yuan Yao, under the protection of the general Zhang Xun, took the jade seal, forcibly broke through from the north gate, fled in the wilderness, and didn't know where he went?

Within a few days, two more people came to vote for Liu Bei, one was Wei Yan, a native of Yiyang, Runan, and the other was Liao Hua, the former Yellow Turban general. Liu Bei saw that the two of them had excellent martial arts, and Wei Yan was particularly brave, second only to Guan and Zhang, so he gladly accepted and named Wei Yan as the captain of the infantry military academy and Liao Hua as the military commander.

After Liu Bei occupied Huainan and Lujiang counties, the army grew to 40,000 people, and his generals such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Wei Yan, Chen Dao, Guan Ping, Mi Fang, Liu Xun, Li Feng, and Liao Hua were under his command, and his staff included Chen Gong, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, Yuan Yin, Yan Xiang, Yang Hong and others, and the people under his rule were more than 400,000, which became a force that should not be underestimated, and everyone from all sides was shocked. (To be continued......)