At the beginning of June of the ninth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei reorganized the soldiers and horses, about 20,000 elite soldiers, with thousands of baggage carriages, and marched south.

He was known for his virtue in the Wancheng area north of Nanyang, not only paying very low taxes, but also inspecting many counties to help the people survive and solve many people's living difficulties, and his prestige among the people was extremely high.

Hearing that Liu Bei was leaving, the people of Wancheng wanted to stay, but Liu Bei had no choice but to thank the people of Wancheng for their kindness, and in the midst of the send-off of hundreds of people, he left Wancheng with a large army and went to Xinye.

A few days later, the army arrived in Xinye, and Liu Bei visited Deng Mao, the commander of Xinye County, and met Shen Chen in Xinye County.

"Little sir."

In the backyard of the county government, Liu Bei was surprised and delighted when he saw Shen Chen, who was already taller than him again.

In the past two years, he has been abiding by what Shen Chen told him at the beginning, trying to keep a low profile, although he has secretly befriended Jingzhou heroes, such as Yi, Li Yan, Han Ran and others, but he has never taken the initiative to make friends with Jingzhou celebrities, and he is not suspicious of Liu Biao.

At this moment, Shen Chen was already waiting in the hall, and Liu Bei was naturally overjoyed when he saw Shen Chen, and Shen Chen smiled and said, "General Zuo, Brother Yuan." ”

Liu Bei came to visit Deng Mao and didn't bring anyone else, so he only brought Xu Shu.

Xu Shu and Shen Chen glanced at each other, and both of them smiled.

During the Battle of Cangting, Liu Bei invaded Yingchuan, Xu Shu took his mother and family and friends south to attach to Liu Bei, and now his long-cherished wish for many years has been completed, which also makes him very happy, and greeted Shen Chen with a smile: "Ah Chen." ”

The three of them sat down.

Liu Bei looked Shen Chen up and down and said, "I haven't seen Mr. Xiao for two years, but it seems that he has changed again, his physique is much stronger, and he is taller than me." ”

Shen Chen said with a smile: "General Hongfu, in the past two years, he has been able to live and practice martial arts every day, and he has indeed made progress. ”

"That's good, that's good."

Liu Bei sighed, and then said: "The king of Chu called me to attack Liu Zhang for him, I take into account the friendship of the same clan and can't bear to attack him, what does Mr. Xiao think?" ”

Shen Chen said: "It is normal for people to take into account the friendship of the same clan, but in order to revive the great cause of the Han Dynasty, the general still needs to make some trade-offs. What's more, Liu Yan and Liu Zhang's father and son had bad intentions in their early years, and they once built a thousand rides in a car, and there is a theory that Zixia is suspicious of a saint in Xihe. This thief, too, why should he care about friendship? ”

"Amount"

Liu Bei thought about it for a while, and then said: "Liu Zhang's defense of the Bashu Heavenly Danger, I'm afraid it will be difficult to break it." ”

Shen Chen said with a smile: "It's okay, I'm not sure about attacking Bashu, but it's no problem to annihilate the enemy that Liu Zhang came to attack." I have already written to the king of Chu, asking him to give the Wuxi barbarians with gold silk, and grant them official positions, so that they can open up the road, and the general can go to Wuling with confidence, and I will accompany him at that time. ”

"That's good."

Liu Bei nodded, although he had never been to Yizhou, but after all, he was in Jingzhou, and occasionally when he went south to visit Liu Biao in Nanjun, he walked around and went to Wuxian, Zigui, Yiling and other places to see the Yangtze River.

To some extent, the waterway along the Yangtze River is a relatively easy path to follow, but even then it is very steep.

Along the way, there are countless lofty mountains and mountains, the cliffs are continuous, it is said that after passing the Wu County, the Yufu White Emperor City is the natural danger in the natural danger, the whole city guards the river road, and is known as a husband when the pass is not opened.

Therefore, Liu Bei is also full of worries about this attack on Yizhou.

After pondering for a while, Liu Bei said again: "Back then, Mr. Xiao planned for me in Kunyang, and now the best policy has been completed, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the north are fighting, and the two tigers are defeated, we can wait and see the situation in the world according to Nanyang, and then attack Yuzhou to seize the foundation, but now we want to attack Liu Zhang, is it necessary to turn the next strategy to Yizhou?" ”

Shen Chen smiled: "No, has the general forgotten, I also said that you can attack Yuzhou when you enter, and you can look forward to Jingzhou when you retreat?" ”

"Jingzhou?"

Liu Bei hesitated: "King Chu? ”

Shen Chen shook his head and said: "I see that the king of Chu has the heart to be the emperor, once we defeat the army sent by Liu Zhang, he has defeated the Jiangdong soldiers and horses and Yizhou soldiers and horses one after another, and he will be powerful in the world, and he will inevitably be in the south, can the general serve the new emperor?" ”

Liu Bei said angrily: "Naturally, I am committed to the court, how can I be in the company of rebellious ministers and thieves?" ”

"It's nature."

Shen Chen pointed to the country and said: "At that time, the general can wait for the time to move, if Yuan Shu is the emperor, the people rebel and leave, and then the general will raise his arms and shout, and there will be countless people gathered in Jingzhou, then the big thing can be done." ”

At the beginning, Shen Chen was right to Kunyang, and he also said that the strategic goal of the best strategy was to make Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the north hold each other and delay Cao Cao's pace of unifying the north.

The only strategy is to occupy Jingnan first, wait for the situation to change, and then find a way to seize Yizhou as the foundation, and divide the world into three parts.

Now that their strategy has been achieved, it is natural to start a new plan.

Cao Cao has been transferred to Yanzhou, and it is no longer realistic to think that he can attack from Nanyang as before, so after the attack can not be done for the time being, the problem of retreat and defense must be considered.

It just so happened that the north had not yet decided the winner, and Liu Biao's ambition was already high, so before Cao Cao unified the north, it was the best choice to win the south first.

Yes.

Shen Chen actually knew that in the end, Cao Cao would inevitably unify the north.

The reason for this judgment is based on Yuan Shao's early death in history, the ups and downs of life are the most hurtful, and some people with bad hearts are very likely to turn white overnight or die in a few days once they are too happy or too sad.

Although the outcome of this battle of Guandu was not as tragic as in history, it was not much worse. Only more than 20,000 of the more than 100,000 troops returned to Jizhou, and the blow to Yuan Shao must have been great.

Therefore, Shen Chen felt that even if he lasted two more years, it was estimated that it would not last long, and in the end Cao Cao would still unify the north, but the pace of reunification would inevitably be much slower.

And this time is the best chance for them to get the whole South.

Especially now that Liu Biao is getting stronger and stronger, and his ambition to be the emperor is gradually expanding, once he is called the emperor, then Liu Bei will have an excuse to attack him.

That's how Yuan Shu is.

Immediately after becoming emperor, Sun Ce took this opportunity to seize Jiangdong and lay the foundation of Eastern Wu.

Therefore, Shen Chen's new strategy now is to let Liu Bei follow Sun Ce's example, once the time is ripe and Liu Biao becomes emperor, then he will set off the banner of resistance and take the opportunity to take Jingzhou in his hands.

If it is to seize the foundation of the same sect, Liu Bei naturally can't bear it.

But if Liu Biao is called the emperor, then morality will be lost, and he will become a chaotic minister and thief, and everyone will be punished.

Therefore, hearing Shen Chen's words, Liu Bei nodded slightly and said: "Well, what Mr. Xiao said is very true, if it is really as Mr. Xiao said, if the King of Chu braves the disapproval of the world to become the emperor, I will go to the Son of Heaven and raise troops to fight." ”

Shen Chen said again: "Before that, the general should be based in Jingnan and ask the King of Chu for a large amount of materials, property, grain and grass, weapons, and armor, so as to encircle the Nanban and strengthen himself." Otherwise, with the current soldiers and horses of the King of Chu, it will not be easy to capture Xiangyang. ”

"I see."

Liu Bei stroked his beard and said: "I will go to Xiangyang tomorrow to meet the King of Chu and ask for supplies." ”

He will do it himself.

After all, you can't work in vain to help you work, I can contribute people, but you also have to pay for food and grass, this is a natural reason.

Shen Chen continued: "The King of Chu has also recruited me now, and he will definitely go with the general when the time comes." After the general arrives in Xiangyang, he can stay for a while, and I will go to Wuling to investigate the terrain and understand the situation of the local barbarians, and then deal with the general. ”

"The people of the Southern Barbarian Land have always been fierce, and those barbarians have not yet been civilized, and they do not know how to pay respects."

Liu Bei said worriedly: "Mr. Xiao went alone, afraid of danger. ”

Shen Chen smiled and said, "This won't be, didn't the King of Chu already send someone to send gold silk to make friends with the barbarians?" When the time comes, I will ask the King of Chu for another batch of property, and I will be tempted by profits, and I think it will be fine. ”

"Why don't I let Zilong Ziyi follow Mr. Xiao?"

Liu Bei put forward his opinion.

Shen Chen thought about it, then nodded and said, "It's okay." ”

The two discussed some details and chatted for a long time, and finally reluctantly parted.

When sending Liu Bei and Xu Shu out, Xu Shu suddenly turned his head and said to Shen Chen: "Ah Chen, I heard that Gongzi Liu Qi invited Jiangxia Juncheng to help Huangzu Liu Pan escort grain and grass, do you know about this?" ”

"I let him go."

Shen Chen said with a smile.

Xu Shu frowned and said: "The King of Chu has always liked Gongzi Cong and dislikes Gongzi Qi, and the Jingzhou family also supports the second son, isn't it after the eldest son leaves?" ”

That's actually a bad thing for them.

Because even if Liu Biao dies in the future, Liu Cong, who is supported by the Jingzhou family, will take the throne, if he wants to seize Jingzhou, he still has to be enemies of so many Jingzhou families.

Shen Chen smiled and said: "I persuaded the King of Chu to establish Gongzi Qi as his heir, and I have already reminded him of Mrs. Cai's matter, I think that as long as he checks the eyes and ears in the mansion, he will be suspicious." Zhao Gao Li Si is in front, and the king of Chu will not let Cai Mao and Yue and others do nothing. ”

"Since the king of Chu has been persuaded to establish Gongzi Qi as his heir, why did he let him go to Jiangxia?"

Xu Shu was a little puzzled.

Shen Chen muttered: "Brother Yuan doesn't know Gongzi Qi's current situation, and Mrs. Cai, Cai Mao, Kuaiyue and others are afraid that they will harm him, so they persuade him to go to Jiangxia to avoid trouble. In the future, once things change, the king of Chu wants to make him his heir, which will naturally exacerbate the internal friction between the Jingzhou families. ”

"Oh?"

Xu Shu suddenly felt enlightened, looked Shen Chen up and down, and laughed: "Ah Chen, I used to think that your strategies have always been upright and upright, and they are all yang schemes, why didn't you expect to have a bad stomach?" ”

Shen Chen also smiled: "It's not that I don't know how to use strange, but most of the time I am upright and upright, and I use strange to take risks, so I don't want to do it, which is also the difference between me and Cao Cao." It's just that sometimes, it's not a bad thing to use a trick once in a while. ”

"Hahaha."

Xu Shu smiled and said, "You have a virtue with Kong Ming, okay, let's go first." ”

Liu Bei looked at the two of them with some puzzlement.

He only understood that it would exacerbate the internal friction between the Jingzhou families, how it intensified, and why it would intensify, and he didn't know anything.

But now is not the time to inquire about this, Liu Bei bowed his hand to Shen Chen and said, "Little sir, farewell." ”

"General, take care!"

Shen Chen also returned the salute.

The two went out of the yamen, got on their mounts at the yamen, and went in the direction where the army was stationed outside the city.

Vaguely, Liu Bei seemed to be able to ask Xu Shu something curiously.

For example, why the Jingzhou family has internal friction.

And the Kong Ming mentioned before, who is it?

Looking at their departing figures, Shen Chen returned to the county office.

He's also getting ready to head south.

(End of chapter)