Not to mention that now Wanxian County is in the predicament of being surrounded, the Cao army is surging through Luyang, Ye County into Nanyang County, fortunately Zhuge Jin took the lead, arranged heavy troops in Xinye, and mobilized a lot of cities into a state of war, despite this, the northern and central parts of Nanyang County, or quickly occupied by the Cao army, Xun You personally led troops to Xinye, is building an earthen fortress outside Xinye City, ready to besiege Xinye.

The situation in Nanyang County is very bad, and Xiangyang is relatively much better.

Because Zhang Fei listened to Zhuge Jin's advice, did not take the initiative to attack, but actively strengthened the defense of the cities of Xiangyang County, and recruited militia to enlist, when Cao Cao's follow-up army rolled in, when the city of Xiangyang gathered and set up camp, the soldiers in Xiangyang City were full, and the outside of Xiangyang City had been cleared by the wall, Cao Jun was facing a tall and strong Xiangyang City, and one side of Xiangyang was adjacent to the water, and the Cao army did not have a water army, so Xiangyang City had no way to be completely surrounded, and the Cao army was facing a big city that could not be quickly captured. This was an absolute fatal blow to Cao Cao's plan.

If Xiangyang could not be delayed, after Liu Bei's army returned from the west, it would be more difficult for Cao Cao to capture Jingzhou, and if Liu Bei returned to Jingzhou, the situation would be even worse.

In fact, Liu Bei was indeed ready to rush back to Jingzhou with a light horse, but was stopped by Pang Yuan.

Liu Bei's whole body armor was blocked at the door of the inner gate of the palace in Chengdu City, Pang Yuan stood at the door like this, not letting Liu Bei go out, Chen Zhi glared angrily at Liu Bei's side, one hand was tightly held on the hilt of the sword, as long as Liu Bei squeaked, Chen Zhi would definitely cut the bold Pang Yuan under the sword with a sword.

"Fuqing, what do you mean by this?"

"Your Excellency. Where are you going? ”

"The situation in Jingzhou is critical, where do you say I can go! Naturally, the starry night rushed back to Jingzhou 1

"Your Excellency will be able to defend Jingzhou when you go back?"

"Desperately defend 1

Liu Bei's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Seeing Pang Yuan's unhurried attitude, and he didn't look like he wanted to give way, Liu Bei's anger couldn't help but rise, and he endured it vigorously, so he didn't stretch out his hand to push Pang Yuan away.

"Why do you want to hold on to the death! If you can't keep it even if you fight to the death, do you want to fight to the death with Cao Cao, and if you don't succeed, you will become benevolent? ”

"Uh, what do you mean by that? Could it be that Jingzhou can't hold it? Shouldn't it be kept? ”

"If Jingzhou can be defended, there are two generals and three generals. Naturally, it can be kept, and there are not many adults. Besides, without Jingzhou, we will benefit the state, but without adults, what do we have? ”

Liu Bei was stunned! That's right! Jingzhou is not only vast and sparsely populated, but more importantly, the mountains and rivers of Yizhou are steep and easy to defend and difficult to attack. You can reach Jingzhou down the river, Yongliang in the north, and forget about the south and the south!

The reason why I came to Yizhou is not because Yizhou has many benefits and has the spirit of Longxing!

"It's this"

"My lord, why did Cao Cao attack Jingzhou?"

"This. Didn't Fuqing tell me that it was because there was no place for him in the Central Plains 1

"Lord, what Fuqing said is very 1 With the words, Zhang Song's thin figure appeared by the door, and he was with Pang Yuan. blocked the door: "The subordinates heard that the lord wanted to return to Jingzhou on a light horse, so they came to dissuade 1."

"Uh" Liu Bei was stunned: "Ziqiao." Do you think I shouldn't return to Jingzhou1?

"No, Jingzhou is still beneficial to the state without the lord, Jingzhou is no longer the root of the lord, the lord thinks twice1

Seeing that the two smart people under his command said so, Liu Bei couldn't help but calm down.

"Fuqing, you go on to say 1

Pang Yuan glanced at Zhang Song gratefully, and Zhang Song returned a knowing smile, although it looked ugly, but Pang Yuan realized the kindness.

"My lord, Cao Cao was attacked by Yuan Shao and Fang Zhiwen in the Central Plains, and he was already alone, or he chose to fight the trapped beast and died; Or find a way out and fight your way out! And Jingzhou is the best place for Cao Cao to escape, so Cao Cao came to Jingzhou desperately! And our army can't fight, or rather, can't fight, because we still have a way out, so we don't have the confidence to fight hard! My lord, do you dare to fight hard? ”

"I really don't dare, because it's still beneficial to the state1

"That's right, Cao Cao has no way to retreat, and our army still has, so we can't fight Cao Cao at all, and Cao Cao's strength is slightly stronger than our army, not to mention that now our army is configured to the west, and Shuzhong has not been completely stable, Badong, Fu, and Brazil are still reorganizing the army, how can we give up halfway, and how can we use the far water in Shu to solve the near fire of Jingzhou? If the second and third generals can repel Cao Cao, if not, please consider abandoning the northeast region of Jingzhou, retreat to the southwest, and emigrate to Shuzhong1

Liu Bei hesitated, northeast of Jingzhou, that is the richest area in Jingzhou, just developed to the Central Plains, but now Cao Cao stretched out his hand to pick the peaches, Liu Bei's heart is as unwilling as the Yangtze River.

Liu Bei looked at Zhang Song, Zhang Song also nodded and said solemnly: "Fuqing's subordinates also agree, retreat and stabilize Yizhou, and then Xu Tu Jingzhou can also, if you fight to the death in Jingzhou, then Jingyi will be lost, and the lord will think twice1."

Liu Bei finally did not rush back to Jingzhou, and also ordered to call on the people to the southwest and central Shu to avoid the scourge of war, and at the same time accelerated the rectification of the counties in Shuzhong.

And Jingzhou's battle report was sent to Liu Bei three times a day, and Liu Bei's brows became tighter and tighter.

"Fuqing, Ziqiao, you see, it has been raining heavily for ten days near Xiangyang, but the surrounding weather is fine, is this not heaven's will?"

Pang Yuan sighed and said, "My lord, I'm afraid this is not a providence, but man-made, haven't you forgotten the strange things in Linying City?" １

"What! Could it be Cao Cao again!? ”

"I guess so, this continuous rain will make the crossbow unusable. The efficiency of the trebuchet was low, and there was no way to use the fire oil and boiling water used to defend the city. He could only fight hand-to-hand with the enemy, which was extremely beneficial to Cao Cao. ”

"Not only that, Fuqing 1 Liu Bei sighed and handed the battle report in his hand to Pang Yuan.

Pang Yuan stretched out his hand to take it, glanced at it and handed it to Zhang Song, Pang Yuan's information came from the forum, and the speed was faster, and it rained heavily in Xiangyang for ten days. The water in the city was stagnant, and Cao Cao built a cofferdam outside the city, so that the water in Xiangyang City could not be distributed, and as a result, the water in the city was as deep as the chest and abdomen, which seriously affected the battle of the defenders in the city, and the unfavorable factors just mentioned, the current situation in Xiangyang City is very bad.

"My lord. Let us withdraw, and first withdraw the people1

"My lord, the academy and the scholars have been evacuated, I think the people should also evacuate, go down the river first, and then turn to Shuzhong."

The wrinkles on Liu Bei's face were deep. nodded sadly: "It can only be like this, the situation in Wanxian is not good, the number of defenders in the city is too small, and it is surrounded on all sides, and it has become a lonely city." The"

"If you can't do it, you can only break through, and you can come out as much as you want. Let General Guan Ping go to Nanxiang to pick up, Xinye's troops also retreated to Xincheng to the west, and then the Xiangyang defenders crossed the river and retreated to Xincheng, hoping to stabilize the front in Nanxiang and Xincheng. ”

Pang Yuan nodded and continued: "What Ziqiao said is very true, Jiangling in the south is also the focus of Cao's army, it is best to plan early, Xiling should be a good choice, as long as the battle line is stabilized, and when the overall situation in Shuzhong is slightly decided, our army will be able to rely on the geographical advantage to launch a counterattack1."

"Fight back? Hey"

Liu Bei sighed, everyone knows in their hearts that the counterattack is just talking, and Cao Cao has also immigrated to Jingzhou in a big way, Cao Cao was originally a land of two counties, with a vast area, and now it is compressed to one-third of Jingzhou's territory, it is conceivable how great Cao Cao's war potential is, and when the time comes, the two sides will definitely have to fight for the Jingnan region and the western part of Jingzhou, and if you want to counterattack, how easy it is to say!

"Why should the lord be like this, you must know that there is also a Yuan Shao who is plotting against Cao Cao, and when the two join forces, they may not be able to divide Cao Cao 1

Zhang Song persuaded loudly, Liu Bei's face was a little pale, and he nodded: "Now it has to be like this, this world is like a chess game, it is impossible to take advantage of it1."

"That's exactly, but my lord, our army retreated from Jingzhou to Yizhou, it can be said that the foundation is more solid, although it seems that it is more difficult to fight for the Central Plains, but leave the green mountains behind, even if there is no firewood? As long as we work hard and grow steadily, it is not impossible to regain control of Jingzhou, on the other hand, Cao Cao, Jingzhou is the land of four wars, and Cao Cao will not have allies in the future, so he can only fight weaker and weaker, and Ziqiao's words will be realized one day. ”

Liu Bei smiled reluctantly, stretched the wrinkles of the ravine, and said, "You two don't need to say it anymore, I understand it, but I'm just a little unwilling in my heart!" Yizhou is the root, and it has its own branches and leaves to flourish one day. ”

"The Lord is wise1

"Adult Ming 1

At the end of May, the defenders of Xiangyang crossed the river at night, and Xiangyang was lost, and then the defenders of Xinye took the initiative to retreat to Xincheng, joined Zhang Fei, and rebuilt the defense line in Xincheng.

Guan Yu of Wanxian County also desperately broke through, under the cover of the people of the city, Guan Yu escaped with thousands of cavalry and fled to Nanxiang to join Guan Ping, and Jiangxia Huangzu was ordered to withdraw to Jiangling.

In June, Cao Cao took full control of Nanyang, Xiangyang, and Jiangxia counties, and marched into Nanxiang, Xincheng, and Jiangling, and a large number of immigrants followed, enriching the three northeastern counties of Jingzhou.

The battle line on the east side of Cao Cao is also retreating, Yongyang is lost, and the combined forces of Fang Zhiwen and Yuan Shao have already seen the head of the city of Qian County!

And Liu Bei's rectification in Yizhou also tends to be completed, personnel adjustments have been put in place, Liu Bei began to send the Shuzhong army to the west of Jiangling, Shangyong, Xicheng line, the formation of a second line of defense.

In the opinion of the Miyun General Staff, due to the terrain, this line of defense should be the final dividing line of Cao Liu, as for the eastern front, Fang Zhiwen left Cao Cao with the opening of Runan City at most, and Fang Zhiwen will definitely take all the other places, which is also the content of the agreement with Yuan Shao. To be continued...