When Liu Bei received Xu You's urgent letter, some very strange news had already spread in the Jianghuai area. As he read the letter, he listened sadly to the news that the scouts had returned from outside.

"The news of Qingzhou's dispatch of the envoy to Shou Chūn has been confirmed, although there is You Heng with him, but he rarely attends the meeting, and even if he attends, he does not say a word during the banquet, and Lu Su and Yuan Shu have a very happy conversation......

"It was Zang Hong who left Tancheng yesterday, this person was running around the Zhang Miao brothers, but for some reason he suddenly became a hussar general. His destination this time should be Wancheng. According to reliable sources, the Qingzhou side seems to be interested in mediating the fighting in Anhui......"

"Lord Qi, Lujiang is urgent, although Liu Xun has not retreated from the siege, he has stopped continuing to attack the city!"

A series of news made Liu Bei dizzy, and at the same time, it also made him chill from the bottom of his bones.

Before coming to Xiapi, he knew that he could not be Wang Yu's opponent, the gap in strength between the two sides was too big, and it was not something that could be made up for by resourcefulness or the like. What's more, even if he is more resourceful, he has little confidence to surpass Wang Yu. Needless to say, Wang Yu himself was even more of a threat to the heroes gathered around him than himself!

And what about Liu Bei's side? The only person who can count on Xu Yu is not around, although Chen Qi's father and son are slightly wise, but these two people have no loyalty, it is okay to count on them to help, and pin all their hopes on them, it is purely idle to live a long life.

In addition, the only people around him who can discuss things are the old man Jian Yong, and Sun Gan, who was promoted after taking over Xiapi. Even Liu Bei himself felt shabby, let alone compared to the Qingzhou Qunying.

Liu Bei turned to Sun Gan, covered his forehead with his hand, and wept: "Gongyou, you came to prepare at a time of crisis, which shows your hospitality, and you want to give you a fortune, at least so that you can show your strengths." Nai didn't know when things would happen, but he didn't think about it, and in a blink of an eye, he was already at the end of the road, and he couldn't protect himself. ”

Jian Yong listened to the wrong head, and hurriedly persuaded: "The lord must not lose confidence, the situation may not be as you think, Wang Yu has always been scheming, maybe he is bluffing." ”

"Being an enemy of Pengju, although it is not what Bei wants in his heart, there is one thing that will not be wrong." Liu Bei shook his head and said with deep feelings: "When playing against him, don't have the slightest luck, otherwise, the last unlucky person must be myself!" ”

"Before preparing to send troops, we are preparing to unite with the Jianghuai heroes to jointly resist the strength of Qingzhou and maintain regional peace. Thinking that although his ability is limited, as long as he is careless and not afraid of hardships and dangers, he can at least strangle the soldiers of Qingzhou under the city of Pi, who wants to ......"

He shook his head with a wry smile and sighed: "First Zimeng was defeated in Maling Mountain, and then Que Xuan surrendered without a fight, and was prepared in Xiapi, and suddenly became a two-sided enemy, although Mr. Chen's father and son in Guangling helped a lot, but the situation is still not very optimistic." Now, Yuan Shu has also been shaken, seeing that Xiapi has become an enemy on three sides, in such a situation, no matter how strong the city is, how can it be defended for a long time? ”

"Xianhe's words may not be unreasonable, please be relieved."

Sun Gan's celebrity style is very sufficient, three long beards are floating on his chest, his slender eyebrows are neatly trimmed, and there is no place on his body that does not reveal the elegant wind, he arched his hand and said in a manly voice: "The art of war is cloudy, not moving like a mountain, Ming Gong should be this sentence now." No matter how strong the enemy is, our army can only calm down and hold the city, and there is nothing to fear. ”

"Even if it's Yuan Shu repeatedly?"

"Even if it's Yuan Shu repeatedly."

Sun Gan walked slowly to the hanging large map, pointed and said: "Where the Ming Duke marched into the army, what he did was to prepare to stick to the lonely city, if Qingzhou went south, as long as the lord held the city, it was to file the enemy's edge, the world is famous, and the heroes moved when they heard the wind, it is a reasonable thing, presumably Mr. Ziyuan offered time, and followed this line of thought." ”

Facing the enemy head-on, tying all the opposition forces in Xuzhou together is not enough for the hussar Sixth Army to fight, but defending the city is different. Throughout the ages, there have been many examples of strong armies fighting under fortified cities, and even the reversal of victory and defeat, although Wang Yu is strong, he may not be able to escape this law.

Once the Qingzhou army turned into decline due to the setback of the siege, Liu Bei, who defended the city, naturally rose and became famous.

Sun Qianlai has also done his homework, and he knows very well that Liu Bei came to Xiapi, not just to plot Xuzhou, what he values more is the merit of guarding Picheng!

Of course, defending the city is not risk-free at all, but compared to fighting for supremacy on the frontal battlefield, the risk of defending the city is much smaller. Especially with the help of the Guangling Chen family, Liu Bei only needs to concentrate his strength to fight the battle of defending the city, and does not need to worry about trivial matters such as the supply of grain and grass, and the situation is very favorable.

Sun Qian put forward his point: "Now that the strategy has been determined, Ming Gong does not need to waver. Yuan Shu is short-sighted and capricious, and may destroy the alliance because of the small benefits promised by Wang Hucai, but there is nothing to worry about, it is a big deal to give up Pengcheng and the land south of Surabaya. ”

"Leaving only Pi Gucheng?" Liu Bei and Jian Yong looked at each other, unable to believe that such a crazy proposal actually came from the mouth of Sun Qian, who had a strong Confucian style.

"Exactly." Sun Gan bowed slightly, and further explained: "The troops are concentrated in Xiapi, and only some officials are sent to other places to cooperate with the local county soldiers and Haoqiang to maintain order, whether it is the Qingzhou army going south or the Huainan army going north, it can be abandoned at any time." ”

"But ...... then"

Sun Gan's proposal was far from being superb, but it was just a more thorough implementation of Liu Bei's original policy. But Liu Bei was reluctant, his main purpose was indeed to make a name for himself by defending the city, but he also wanted to take the opportunity to expand his power.

Now is not the first year of the first peace, the sphere of influence of the heroes is basically demarcated, even if there is a reputation, it will not fall out of thin air, Xuzhou, a terra nullius, is the most suitable foundation for him. If Pengcheng and the territory south of Surabaya were abandoned, even if Wang Yu came, he would have defended the city, wouldn't he have made a wedding dress for Yuan Shu?

"Dare to ask the lord, even if you are deployed everywhere, when Yuan Shu attacks, can you hold Pengcheng?"

Liu Bei frowned and did not answer.

Of course he can't keep it, otherwise what kind of worry will he have?

Sun Qian spread his hands and asked, "Since you can't hold it, what's the benefit of guarding it, and it's in vain to damage the soldiers and horses?" Xiapi City is very large, the main public has few soldiers and horses, and it is not enough to defend the city with all his might, how can there be soldiers and horses to lose in these places? ”

"That's different......" Liu Bei shook his head, but refused to explain more. When Sun Qian first came, his identity could only be regarded as a guest qing, and the reason why he dared to defend the city with a lack of soldiers and horses was because he had a deep calculation, how could he tell Sun Gan at will?

"Since Gongyou is strongly advocating the reduction of troops, what is his judgment on the situation after the war?" Liu Bei looked at Sun Qian expectantly.

He and Cao Cāo's views are actually similar, they both know that they are in a weak position, and if they want to turn the tables, they must be surprised. Therefore, he seems to be bold, but in fact, he is not very interested in the proposal of seeking stability, and what he needs now is not a strategist who is old and a country, but a ghost who dares to set up a strange plan and surprise soldiers!

"Qianyu Lu ......" Hearing Liu Bei ask like this, Sun Qian knew that his first appearance was a bad act, and his strategy was not unexpected, but he didn't need it at all.

Liu Bei's eyes couldn't hide the disappointment: "Gongyou is too humble, it is I who ask for all the blame, if the situation is difficult, even if Guan Zhong is resurrected and Tian Dan is reincarnated, how can there be a good way to think?" ”

Hearing him sigh like this, Sun Gan felt more and more that he had no face to continue to stay, and after a few perfunctory words of politeness, he took his leave.

When he left, Liu Bei still looked so worried, but Jian Yong had questions: "Lord, although Sun Gongyou's talent is not as amazing as Guo Fengxiao and Zhou Gongjin, it is also a momentary talent." Our army is now short of talents, even if you don't have a solution, you can still encircle the military aircraft of the counselor by your side, why do you ......"

"Xianhe, you are too good." Liu Bei answered the question, which made Jian Yongzhi stunned.

"Soldiers don't get tired of cheating. Sun Qiannai is a disciple of Zheng Xuan, who is now working as a professor in Taishan Academy, but he took the initiative to vote for me, don't you think it's a little strange? He raised his hand to stop Jian Yong from arguing, and said: "That's right, he was recommended by Mr. Yuanlong, but you should also understand that the lack of troops in Xiapi is actually a ...... set up against Guangling."

Liu Bei's thinking is very clear, compared to Yuan Shu, the Guangling Chen family really has no way to retreat, he is on top of Xiapi, Wang Yu will not be able to threaten Guangling. In order to ensure safety, Chen Qi had to pay for food and let him stand in Xiapi, and if Xiapi was short of troops, Chen Qi had to find a way to supplement him.

The person introduced by Chen Deng may be the sand mixed by the Chen family, how could Liu Bei be easily fooled?

What he wants is Xuzhou, and Guangling is the richest county in Xuzhou. Wang Yu was reluctant to go south for a long time, maybe he had already seen through his mind and Xu You's layout, if the other party pulled away, Liu Bei would be hung here.

In that case, he could only fight Guangling's idea.

Of course, Liu Bei would not engage in restraining Haoqiang, but he also did not want to share power with the Chen family, and was even rejected from the gate of Guangling. Joining forces to resist the enemy now is not a foreshadowing for the future to turn around.

Therefore, no matter whether the battle to defend the city will happen, he does not plan to carry it to the end, and how much strength he can consume in this war will determine whether he can successfully settle the Chen family in the future and enter Guangling.

So he said, it's a game!

Jian Yong had nothing to say.

He knew that the old man had changed a lot in the past year, it turned out that although Liu Bei also liked to be tempting, he was not so keen on yīn, and now it was all because of Xu You's influence...... He could even guess what Xu You's urgent letter said, he didn't like it, but there was no better way, so he could only let it go.

In silence, there was a sudden sound of slight and rapid footsteps outside the door, and the person who came stopped in front of the door and reported in a low voice: "Lord, there is a jǐng ...... in Tancheng"

Liu Bei Huoran got up, walked to the door in three steps and two steps, and whispered to the secret agent. Because he moved too violently, the letter paper on the table was blown up by the wind he brought up, and fell to the ground flutteringly, Jian Yong couldn't help but take a look, and didn't see anything else, only saw the shocking four words at the beginning: At any cost!

Before Jian Yong could take a closer look, Liu Bei had already turned around, his eyes were shining, and he shouted loudly: "Drumming and gathering generals!" Prepare to face the Qingzhou Army! (To be continued.) )