The water is surging, and the rivers and mountains are picturesque. It is in early summer, and the scenery of the Central Plains is just right.

The warbler flies and the grass grows in the field, the birds sing and the flowers are fragrant, the mountains and forests are full of verdant color, and the rich vitality is coming. It's the most cozy time of the year, and even the most discerning traveler will feel like they're not bothered by the flies of the world.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

Liu Bei was wearing a plain robe, standing on the shore of Heze Lake, looking into the distance, looking no different from a tourist who went out to the green. But if you look closer, it is not difficult to see the deep melancholy look that shrouds his eyebrows.

"When?"

Standing behind Liu Bei, Yuan Lian, who was dressed as a staff member, looked up at the sky and replied softly, "It's too late." The lord need not worry, the longer Xianhe is delayed in the camp, the greater the certainty of success. He set off as soon as the hour was over, and he had talked with General Guan for at least an hour or two, so he should ......"

After Yuan Shu was annexed by Sun Ce, the military generals under his command were naturally scattered. The highest benefit from this was Jiangdong, which, in addition to a large area of land in Huainan and the garrisons everywhere, also incorporated Zhang Xun, Chen Ji and his 30,000 soldiers as a whole.

In addition, Cao Ying also incorporated another elite Huainan army by plotting against Liu Xun.

If this is the end of the matter, these two will undoubtedly gain the most, but neither of them will have good luck.

Liu Xunjun was targeted by Lu Bu and Wei Yan long before he arrived at the destination, and a surprise attack under the city of Xiangyi almost wiped out the entire army.

Jiangdong was not much stronger, Sun Quan and Huang Gai couldn't stop the combination of Zhang Jaw and Pang Tong, and they lost consecutive battles, and the biggest loss was the Huainan Army. By the time Zhou Yu came to the rescue, the casualties and the rout, the 30,000 army had lost nearly half, and the benefits were greatly reduced.

The one with the highest actual income should be Liu Bei.

Before Sun Ce did it, Liu Bei was just attached to Yuan Shu to do some secret things, and in later generations, he was doing dirty work, except for the old man Jian Yong, who was basically alone.

But in the changes in Huainan, he showed the true character of the heroic man who turned the clouds and rain, when the big tree of Yuan Shu fell, Sun Ce was anxious to go north, and Sun Quan was busy dealing with the offensive situation of Zhang Jaw, he secretly lobbied in tandem and successfully grabbed a lot of political capital in Yuan Shu's legacy.

Yuan Jian is one of his achievements. Yuan Jian was born in a family in Yuzhou, and was quite famous in the local area, and attracted this person to his command, Liu Bei once again had a certain prestige in Yuzhou, and there may be some distance from a complete recovery, but compared to a few months ago, there must have been earth-shaking changes.

In addition to Yuan Lian, he also recruited two generals, Le Zhuo and Li Feng, plus Liao Hua, the general recruited during exile, Liu Bei suddenly changed from a dog in the wilderness to a prince with more than 10,000 troops.

Of course, Liu Bei will not be satisfied with this.

This chaotic war that swept the world certainly provided an opportunity to turn over, but with the strength gathered at the moment, let alone competing for dominance in the world, it is impossible to divide one side. Of the tens of thousands of people who participated in the war, which side did not have 100,000 troops and 1,000 good generals? With his current strength, colliding with any side is a blow to a stone with an egg.

If you want to gain a foothold, you must let the war continue until a new balance is reached. It was in order to achieve this goal that Liu Bei gave up continuing to expand or consolidate his power in Huainan, but low-key led a group of henchmen to the north in an attempt to make a big plan.

What he wants to do, and what he can, is nothing more than to omit the two major generals in the past - Guan Ping, who led the army to garrison Dingtao, and Chen Dao, the guard general of the Gao Tang Dynasty.

Today, it is Jian Yong's secret meeting with Guan Ping.

Liu Bei can't be regarded as a person without a city government, but at this moment, his heart is still full of apprehension and uneasiness. If we can turn the tide against Guan Ping, the balance of victory will undoubtedly tilt heavily.

"It's hard." Liu Bei shook his head and sighed.

He didn't expect that, but how could it be so easy? He and Guan Ping are actually separated by one layer, and even if he comes forward in person, it is difficult to ensure that he moves the other party.

What's more, with Qingzhou's military system, it is very difficult for Guan Ping to directly lead the army to rebel. Wang Yu's governance of the army and government is very special, even if he is an ordinary soldier, he has a certain ability to distinguish between right and wrong, not to mention those low-level officers.

Even if he is the chief general in charge of one side, if he wants to give an obviously unreasonable order, he must explain the reason in detail to the generals and colonels in the army.

However, as long as the main general can be instigated, even if he does not directly defect, it can play a considerable role, but Liu Bei is really not sure whether he can plot against Guan Ping. Jian Yong didn't return for a long time, he preferred to believe that he had been taken by Guan Ping and sent to Puyang as a credit to show his heart.

What Yuan Jian said just now was just to comfort Liu Bei, and he didn't even believe it. Long talk for an hour or two? What can there be to talk about? Can't catch up?

Just as he was speechless, Liao Hua on the other side suddenly raised his hand and pointed and shouted: "Look, someone is coming!" ”

Liu Bei raised his head and looked at it intently, when he saw a wisp of smoke and dust approaching rapidly along the official road on the north bank of Jishui, he couldn't help but be a little flustered.

Fortunately, Liao Hua quickly communicated with the lookout, followed by another shout: "The lord is in a panic, there are not many people coming, only four or five horses, and there is no trace of the team in the distance, it should be that Mr. Xianhe is back!" That's right, the leader is Mr. Kenwa! ”

"Whew!" Liu Bei let out a long breath, and the heart that he chose in his throat finally fell back into his stomach.

"Congratulations, my lord!" Yuan Jian reacted faster, and instantly piled up a smile on his face, and congratulated him: "Since Brother Xianhe has returned, it can be seen that General Guan's friendly attitude, even if there is no negotiation this time, things are promising!" ”

"How can it be so easy, let's listen to what Xianhe has to say first." Liu Bei's face did not move, but in fact, his heart was also alive. As Yuan Jian said, at this time, the fact that the envoy can come back unscathed is enough to explain a certain problem.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Liu Bei took Yuan Jian and Liao Hua to meet him quickly.

"See the lord." Jian Yong got off the horse to pay a visit, Liu Bei supported him while observing Jian Yong's expression, it didn't matter if he didn't look at it, he 'groaned' in his heart when he saw it, and he hung up again. Jian Yong's face looked bad, and it was obvious that something was not going well.

"Kenhe, are you alright?" Suppressing the worries in his heart, Liu Bei tried his best to make a caring look on his face. If you want to be a benevolent lord, you must first prioritize the safety of your subordinates at all times, at least on the surface.

"Thank you for your care, I am grateful, and I am ashamed." Jian Yong's face was full of shame.

"Was it rejected by General Guan?" Yuan Jian hurriedly said: "That's okay, such a big thing, maybe it will be said in a few words?" In a certain point of view, although General Guan refused on the surface, he was not completely unmoved, as long as the lord persevered and showed sincerity, the chance of success was still very great. ”

"Oh?" Jian Yong was very surprised, Liu Bei was also a little surprised, Qi Qi looked at Yuan Jian and asked, "What did Yao Qing say about this?" ”

"Now it's wartime, General Guan meets Xianhe in private, at best, it's an old friend, and at worst, it's an affair with the enemy!" Yuan Jian pinched a lock of long beard on his chin with two fingers, and said with a smile: "General Guan was originally a demoted general, and it is definitely not an informality to be able to be used like this." Please think about it, will he not know the truth of this, and will he not know how to avoid suspicion? ”

"Makes sense." Jian Yong and Liao Hua both nodded in approval, and the shame on the former's face also faded a lot.

Liu Bei's expression was still very heavy, he just nodded noncommittally, and asked Jian Yong: "Xianhe, you have been gone for so long, what did you talk about with Tanzhi?" ”

"It's nothing, it's mainly about reminiscing about the old ......" Jian Yong hesitated for a moment before replying. It's nothing else, he just felt that today's meeting was not very easy to summarize, and after thinking for a while, he continued: "In a certain opinion, he is knocking on the side inside and outside of his words, which is not only like spying on the intelligence of our army, but also like asking about the whereabouts of the second general......"

"Sure enough, ......" Liu Bei's voice was low, with a sneer on his face, the smile was very cold, which was very different, which made Jian Yong and the others feel slightly cold in their hearts.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Bei suddenly shook his hand and resolutely ordered: "Let's go, the Qingzhou army of Dingtao can only be solved by begging the general." ”

"Lord," Yuan Jian was anxious, and asked in disbelief: "General Guan spies on our army's military situation, perhaps to judge the situation, and when he asks about the second general, it can be seen that his feelings are deep...... Is this matter still debatable? ”

Liu Bei and his two nominal brothers have been separated for a long time, and in the past two years, even if Liu Bei has made secret visits, he can't find the whereabouts of these two people. If it weren't for that, Liu Bei might not have taken a huge risk this time and went north lightly.

He already occupied several counties in Huainan and had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, but he did not have a general who was good at training and fighting. If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were still there, he could take advantage of the Jiangdong Army and Cao Ying to fight with Wang Yu endlessly, train elite soldiers in Huainan, expand their strength, and find opportunities to pick up cheap.

But he can't do it now. Without an elite soldier in hand, whether Wang Yu was defeated or the Jiangdong Army was defeated, he did not have the strength to take advantage of the fire to rob. In troubled times, big fists are fundamental.

Guan Ping asked Guan Yu, obviously the target of his allegiance was the latter, and if the latter was there, maybe it would be much easier to persuade him to surrender. But then again, although Guan Yu can't be found for the time being, he can still work hard, and giving up after listening to a sentence seems a little too rash, right?

Yuan Chuan felt incomprehensible.

Liu Bei stopped his feet and said with a wry smile: "Yaoqing, you only see one of them, but you don't see it." Tanzhi inquired about the news of the second brother, although Xianhe did not answer directly, but the more this happened, the more it proved that the second brother was not in the army. What's more, he didn't embarrass Xianhe, and he didn't necessarily hesitate, if he was really shaken, why not just ...... Alas, in short, it doesn't work here! ”

Jian Yong and Liao Hua both seemed to understand it, but they didn't dare to ask. However, Yuan Lian was born in a family, and he was quite accomplished in power schemes, and after a little thought, he knew Liu Bei's unfinished meaning.

On the surface, Guan Ping is not embarrassed by Jian Yong, but it means to leave a way back. But if you think about it further, if Guan Ping really has the intention of betraying, he should take Jian Yong back to win the trust of Jia Xu and his colleagues in the army, and then send a message to Liu Bei through Jian Yong's entourage.

Jian Yong seems to be very important under Liu Bei, he is a henchman, but he is actually an errand runner. Whether it was Xu Yu in the past or Yuan Jian himself now, as soon as he entered Liu Bei's command, he was entrusted with important tasks, and his status far surpassed Jian Yong.

Dingtao is a war zone, and the Qingzhou Army in this area has a lot of eyeliner. Jian Yongben is not a special scout, no matter how secretive his actions are, it is difficult to guarantee that he will not leak the news. According to Liu Bei, Guan Ping was a cautious person, if he was really rebellious, would he not have thought of this section?

Instead of letting Jian Yong go back and forth, Guan Ping, who is familiar with Liu Beijun's personnel structure, how could he not think of Jian Yong's value?

To put it bluntly, Liu Bei sent Jian Yong out of the horse, just throwing stones to ask for directions. Guan Ping happily went to the appointment, and then talked to Jian Yong about the old for a long time, and finally refused sternly, which means that he is open in his heart and not afraid of suspicion. Perhaps when he returned, he would write the contents of the conversation into a letter and report it to Jia Xu of the governor's army.

Of course, the truth in this cannot be said to Jian Yong, the party.

Yuan Jian also sighed in his heart, feeling that he had finally followed the right person this time, Liu Bei was indeed a rare hero in the world. It's just that the luck is a little worse, and there has been no chance to show it, otherwise there may not be only Wang, Cao, and Sun in this world.

Of course, it is up to the sky to succeed, and it is up to the people to do things, and it is not possible to rely on manpower to make up for it. Now, the plan is just the beginning, and it is far from the time when the success or failure is decided.

Regardless of whether they figured it out or were ignorant, everyone followed closely behind Liu Bei, this is the master they identified, no matter what the future holds, they must always be loyal to the end.

The next target is Gaotang!

……

Night.

Puyang City.

"Master, a letter from Puyang, Jian Yong made an appointment to see Tanzhi, Liu Bei really came!" Diao Chan took the latest military information and hurriedly walked into the conference hall.

"Oh, that's a problem." Jia Xu's round face was long, and his face was very ugly, like a bitter gourd.

Diao Chan was already anxious, and when he saw Jia Xu's lazy appearance, he was even more angry, stomped his feet, and said coquettishly: "Master, don't complain, the husband entrusted you with military affairs before leaving, you have to have an idea." ”

"How can this be an idea that can be taken casually?" Jia Xu spread his hands and said with a wry smile: "It seems very simple, as long as you change generals, you can do it, but Cao Ying and Sun Ce divide their troops into the east and west, how do you know where their goals are?" If Sun Ce and Xiahou Yuan join forces, Wen Yuan and Han Sheng may not be able to stop it, and it is too dangerous to change generals at this time! ”

For the rest of the month after Wang Yu left, Cao Ying had been standing still, and it seemed that it was very easy to stay in the troops, but only by really sitting in Jia Xu's position could he truly experience the feeling of fear.

An unsheathed sword is more terrible than a sword that has been slashed, because you don't know from what angle the sword will come from, with what kind of force, and whether there will be new changes in the process of slashing.

This is called uncertainty, because of uncertainty, so it is very scary.

At present, although the front is divided into several parts, the area of Yanzhou is not large, and it is only three or five hundred miles from east to west. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses on three sides are crammed into such an area, and any point on the defensive line is likely to suffer the most intense attack.

This is the disadvantage of the defending side, there is no initiative, the enemy has a slight move, this side must respond accordingly, otherwise it is easy to be caught by others.

If Cao Ying and Sun Ce launched an offensive, it would be easier to deal with, anyway, Wang Yu left the established defensive strategy before leaving, and it was a big deal to exchange space for time, and it would be enough to fight and retreat.

According to Wang Yu's instructions, if necessary, the remaining troops could even give up the eastern county to Cao Ying, and then rely on the danger of the river in the west and the dangerous road of Mount Tai in the east to build a new defense line.

It was very easy for the Qingzhou army to defend the Yellow River, because of the advantage of the naval army. In the past two years, Cao Ying has hurried to narrow the gap with Qingzhou, and has made achievements in various fields, but the navy has made no progress. There are few water and military uses, and the cost is large, and for Cao Ying, who is financially stretched, the priority must be at the bottom.

Wang Yu has always emphasized that to ensure that Zhang Liao and Huang Zhong are on the eastern front, that is, to be prepared as a last resort and retreat to Mount Tai.

During the period when Jia Xu was in Puyang, the work of clearing the wilderness has been going on, and the people of Yanzhou who were affected by the war could not cultivate with peace of mind anyway, and there were still many people who responded.

But the problems caused by Liu Bei are very tricky, the positions of Guan Ping and Chen Zhi are too important, whether it is to change generals or stay in office, there are considerable risks.

Although Jia Xu saw the problem, he didn't dare to make a decision. Waiting for Wang Yu's news was too slow, and he was anxious for a while.

Flying pigeons are not omnipotent, safety is too poor, and after the technology gradually spreads, intercepting carrier pigeons has become the latest task of the scouts. These fierce warriors are everywhere, blowing signals whenever they see a pigeon, and when they find something that is not their own, they will go straight to it.

It's okay to simply deliver the message, if it's intercepted, it's intercepted, anyway, put a few more, and there will always be something that can reach the destination. Decision-making letterheads, which must be transported in a safer way.

From Bingzhou to Dongjun, the journey is not only thousands of miles, but also has to go through many difficulties and obstacles, and it takes ten days and half a month on the road, to say the least, to pass the news back and forth, the time is longer, and there is no way to achieve remote command.

"Liu Bei goes north, it will take two days to get to Gaotang, and it may be too late to rush over now. But I'm gone, what should I do here in Yanzhou? Shrink early? And there is another question, why did Liu Bei contact Tan Zhi first? Before, we just guessed that he might hit Shu Zhi's idea, and if he did this, didn't he expose his purpose? ”

Jia Xu muttered to himself, distressed.

Diao Chan watched quietly from the side, and did not interject rashly, so as not to disturb the train of thought of this talented master. She believes that this master will definitely find a proper way to deal with it, this is not her own judgment, but because the other party is the person her husband trusts the most. The husband's vision of people is unparalleled in the world, and there will never be anything wrong.

As expected, Jia Xu quickly calmed down, picked up the teacup, and a smile escaped from the corner of his mouth: "Maybe he wasn't sure, so he used a trick to startle the snake, right?" Liu Xuande, sure enough, this scheming is really powerful. However, if you look like a ghost, you will also drink our footwashing water, and I will give you a plan......"

"Report ......" The voice continued, and there was a sudden noise of footsteps outside the hall, and when Jia Xu and Diao Chan hurriedly turned their heads to look, a personal guard hurriedly ran in, out of breath, and said loudly: "Military advisor, the big thing is not good, Lu ...... General Lu suddenly left Lihu and led his army to the west! ”

"What?" Jia Xu was taken aback, the tea cup in his hand fell and smashed on the ground paved with blue bricks! (To be continued.) )