Liu Bei was indeed a little excited at this moment, Dongwu was willing to provide millions of stone for military rations, which was definitely a great thing, so it can be seen that it was quite worth it for him to hesitate just now. Even so, he's ready to try it at squeezing, maybe there's more to it?

Liu Bei, who had sold straw sandals, was doing strange things in the minds of the small bourgeoisie, which made him hesitate for a long time and come up with such a sentence, "My soldiers of the Han Dynasty can't fight just by eating food." ”

Although the voice of this sentence was not loud, the people in the entire hall still heard it clearly. This is obviously to continue to ask for benefits, and for a while, many people have to admire Liu Bei's cheekiness. It's not enough to harvest food, you have to continue to ask for it, this thickness and blackness are not comparable to ordinary people.

There are even some people who have begun to despise Liu Bei in their hearts, but no one will be stupid enough to open their mouths to say something, after all, this is their emperor, and for their courtiers, they have the power to decide life and death.

Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, has long known Liu Bei and his people, so there is no special surprise in this meeting. Knowing that when he said this, it meant that there was a drama in the matter, so he immediately hurriedly signaled to Lu Fan with his eyes, meaning that he was adding something.

Zhuge Liang knew Liu Bei's temperament. It is the heart to do great things, especially the heart of a big man, probably because he was too poor before, so he wanted to ask for more and occupy more when he had the opportunity. Fortunately, this is not a fatal flaw, at least not in the big picture.

Even if he received Dongwu's millions of stone grain and grass, it would not be bad to ask for some money, and anyway, he didn't have to expect Dongwu to really thank himself.

Zhuge Liang turned his head and signaled, Lu Fan naturally saw it, and while secretly scolding Liu Bei for being greedy, he also had to say: "Yes, our Dongwu also decided to give two million in silver and provide military funds, just asking Emperor Han Yuan to send troops quickly."

One million silver taels is not low, I am afraid that if I take out these, Dongwu will also hurt my muscles and bones, and at this moment Liu Bei knew that he had to express his position. Immediately, he stood up suddenly, and then said with a look of righteous indignation: "Zhang Zhiyuan of the Celestial Dynasty only knows how to kill, and he really doesn't know how to sympathize with the suffering of the people who have died in battles for many years. Ordered, Prime Minister Zhuge was the generalissimo, presiding over the march to the army of the Yuzhou Celestial Empire, and Zhang Fei, Zhang Ren, and Hu Che'er led 800,000 troops for the general to cooperate in the war. At that time, Wei Yan, the general of Jingzhou, and 400,000 soldiers and horses under his department cooperated with Prime Minister Zhuge to crusade together, and there must be no mistake. ”

"Your Majesty." Seeing that Liu Bei had made the final decision, Zhang Song and the others did not dare to openly disobey the holy decree even if they were a little unwilling, which affected the authority of the emperor, and no one dared to openly challenge it.

As for Zhuge Liang and the others, they were even more sincere in shouting the words of Shengming.

Xishu sent 800,000 troops, led by Zhuge Liang, and after arriving in Jingzhou, he would gather the 400,000 troops of General Wei Yan who were guarding there, so that it was an army of 1.2 million, and once they appeared, they would effectively contain and pressure the Celestial Empire.

Xishu decided to send troops, and the news was quickly learned by the members of Tianyan, after all, Xishu was transferring troops and generals, and this matter could not be concealed even if he wanted to.

The members of Tianyan who learned the news spread the situation as soon as possible. Zhang Chao, the emperor of the Celestial Empire in Runan, also soon learned about this matter.

At this time, a month and a half had passed since the siege. Sun Jian had already appeared on the Yuzhou River with an army of 500,000 men, and they had already passed the Yangtze River, and it seemed that they could reach Runan at any time to support.

But Sun Jian did not speak out immediately, but camped by the river and set up a position. Obviously, they must have also gotten Xishu and are going to send troops, they want the two armies to converge and attack.

In the large camp of Zhang in front of Runan City, several army commanders all came here, and they also heard that Xishu sent troops to attack Yuzhou, and they came to ask for their orders.

The siege battle has been fought for a month and a half, and under Zhang Chao's order to deliberately do not do his best, the siege battle was tepid, which made Dian Wei, Zhang Liao, and Wen Chou, the deputy commander of the corps, all hold their breath in their hearts. They knew that with their current strength, they could capture the city and take Sun Ce, but they just didn't know why the emperor didn't give the order.

That is, without holy decrees and military orders, as a general, you can only obey the overall situation. Now it's okay, I heard that Xishu has sent troops, isn't this another big battle to be fought, for a while, the three army commanders all moved their minds, hoping to get Zhang Chao's military order, and pull out from here to meet the Xishu army.

The three corps commanders were all in the accounts, and Zhang Chao did not talk about anything about this matter, but asked Li Ru, the military advisor: "Wenyou, how much food and grass do we have in our army?" How much grain is left? ”

"Back to the emperor, our army has 800,000 stones of grain and grass, and one million taels of silver." Li Ru bowed and said.

"Oh." Zhang Chao just nodded and agreed, and then there was no movement, which made the three legion commanders feel helpless, and they seemed to hear something. Does this mean the withdrawal of troops?

To fight a war is to fight for money, and this principle is common in ancient times and today.

The reason why Zhang Chao was able to destroy Yuan Shao and pacify Wei was because of his strong economic strength. But even if you have a lot of money, you can't afford to toss like this. After years of conquest, the treasury of the Celestial Empire has long been unable to make ends meet, just because there is always the support of victory, and it is impossible to see it.

But as the emperor, Zhang Chao is very clear in his heart that once he loses the battle, many problems will be completely exposed, and in that case, what kind of problems will arise is not something he can predict.

If it is said that he is only dealing with a Dongwu now, Zhang Chao is still full of confidence, but with Zhuge Liang's million-strong army, he really needs to be cautious and cautious. He didn't want to be ruined in a good situation.

Zhang Chao didn't speak, and the whole tent was quiet. This situation lasted for about half a cup of tea before he looked up again and said, "You can also share your opinions." ”

Finally able to speak, Wen Chou, the deputy commander of the First Legion, immediately said: "Your Majesty, although it is said that Xishu is menacing, we are not afraid of them, all the officers and men of the First Legion are willing to take the lead and be the vanguard, and they will hit the incoming army hard." ”

"What are these words, when it comes to the ability to assault, my Sixth Legion is naturally stronger than the First Legion, I think you still play your strengths and continue to attack the city, the enemy of Xishu, hand it over to my old classic." Dian Wei saw that Wen Chou was asking for a fight, how could he be willing to fall behind, so he immediately spoke.

Zhang Liao, the commander of the Seventh Legion, also said loudly: "Your Majesty, when it comes to the ability to raid, my Seventh Legion will not let anyone, and the last general will ask for battle." ”

The three army commanders asked for battle at the same time, which made Zhang Chao very pleased, at least his generals would not have the slightest fear because of the arrival of the enemy army. To be a general, you must have such courage, and only such a tiger general can lead the soldiers to win battles.

It's just that the general can rely on a lot of courage, but Zhang Chao, as the emperor, really needs to think about it. "Okay, I know what you want, go down first, and wait for the order. As for the siege, you can stop first. ”

Zhang Chao still needs to think about it carefully, and before making a decision on whether to fight or not, the matter of besieging Sun Ce can also be put aside first.

The order was given, and even if the three legion commanders had a lot to say, they could only say a word and retreat. Soon only he, Li Ru and Xu Chu were left in the tent.

For such a big matter, the chief of the guard, Xu Chu, never interjected, he knew what his duty was, that is, to protect Zhang Chao's safety.

This time, Zhang Chao could only look at Li Ru, wanting to listen to his opinion.

Regarding Zhang Chao's concerns, Li Ru is naturally very clear. After years of conquest, the strength of the country has declined, although the territory seems to have expanded, but the newly captured Gunzhou and Qingzhou are now unable to provide any economic support to the Celestial Empire, and they still need to allocate funds to do something. In this way, the pressure is even greater.

Seeing that Eastern Wu and Western Shu have sent heavy troops, this is the frame of the decisive battle, if it is a victory, it is naturally easy to say, but once defeated, there is not enough follow-up force, I am afraid that not only the newly obtained Gunzhou and Qingzhou will be taken away again, and even the safety of the original territory will be endangered.

This is why Zhang Chao did not make up his mind. If it is replaced by Li Ru, he is afraid that he will also be a little entangled.

It's just that Zhang Chao's eyes asked, as a military advisor, he must have an answer. After thinking about it, Li Ru said: "Your Majesty, the current situation is not too optimistic, maybe under a fight, we have the strength to defeat Dongwu, and even the distant Xishu We can temporarily block it, but I just don't know if there will be other problems under such a forcible occupation, if there is really an accident, once the abdomen and back are enemy, I am afraid that the Celestial Empire is in danger." ”

"Huh. What Wen You said is very true. Seeing that Li Ru saw his worries, Zhang Chao nodded with great satisfaction.

Indeed, with the current strength of the Celestial Empire, it is not that he is afraid of the union of Eastern Wu and Western Shu, as long as it can be resolved quickly, the problem of grain and grass can still be solved. But the question is, what to do after winning the battle?

Obviously, with the current strength, even if he defeats Soochow, there is no extra strength to enter Jiangdong. It may even be because of the heavy trauma of the war, that is, it will be very difficult to defend the four prefectures of Gun, Qing, Henan, and Xu. If someone in these four states raises a flag against them, the situation will become dire. Cao Cao hasn't caught it yet, this is a concealment, and now this person doesn't appear, but because the Celestial Empire is strong, but once he divides his troops against Xishu and Eastern Wu, will this person jump out, and it is likely to be the last straw that crushes the camel at that time. In that case, not only will he have to retreat to the four states, but he will even have to say whether his original territory can be defended. Even in the best case, it is to give up the land of Sizhou, but to let the later Xishu pick up a cheap, which is definitely not what Zhang Chao thinks and wants to see.