Liu Bei had a bad feeling in his heart, and hurriedly took the letter from the messenger's hand and read it carefully.

When he finished reading it, his complexion suddenly changed!

Zhuge Liang on the side saw that Liu Bei's face was wrong, and asked softly,

"My lord, what did the governor say in the letter?"

Liu Bei took a deep breath and said with a wry smile,

The imperial court issued a decree and severely reprimanded Tao Zhoumu.

Taozhou Mu couldn't withstand the pressure of the imperial court, so he ordered me to go back immediately. ”

"Tao Qian, an old horseman, said it well when he borrowed the army.

Now that the imperial court has only issued a holy decree, he wants to retreat, which is inevitably too cowardly. ”

Zhang Fei was dissatisfied.

When Liu Bei was stationed in Xiapi, he had no more than 10,000 troops in his hands.

In order to crusade against Hua Xiong, he deliberately borrowed 20,000 troops from Tao Qian.

So when he heard Tao Qian's order to retreat, Zhang Fei was very unhappy.

Guan Yu groaned slightly, and said softly,

"Big brother, let's ignore him, and when we go back, we can apologize to Taozhou Mu."

"As the saying goes, when you are outside, you will not be subject to the king's order.

What General Guan said is not unreasonable. ”

Zhuge Liang echoed.

"I do." Liu Bei's tone was quite helpless, "But Huaxiong's army has already advanced into Xuzhou." ”

This sentence is no less than a thunderclap out of thin air.

Everyone present was stunned.

"How is this possible?"

"Huaxiong's army, how could it appear in Xuzhou?"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei asked with surprised expressions.

Before Liu Bei could explain, Zhuge Liang asked in a lost voice,

"Could it be Tai Shi Ci's army?"

"Not bad. Tai Shici led 20,000 horses and went straight to Xuzhou.

The remaining 30,000 horses have returned to Beihai County. ”

Zhuge Liang couldn't help but feel a little distracted, and at this moment he had all understood.

Tai Shici put on a false impression in front of them, but in fact, he had already withdrawn all the troops.

Some returned to Beihai County to defend against Yuan Tan's attack.

while the other part went straight to Xuzhou to put pressure on Tao Qian.

No wonder the Taozhou Pastoral Society was forced to order the withdrawal of troops, not because of the order of the imperial court,

It's because Huaxiong's army is already in the city!

Zhuge Liang came back to his senses and said with the same wry smile,

"Hua Xiong is this person...... Sure enough, it was resourceful. ”

Liu Bei nodded approvingly.

He has been in contact with Hua Xiong for a long time, so he naturally knows how powerful and difficult Hua Xiong is.

"Strategist, why are you so sure that this ploy was devised by Hua Xiong?"

Zhang Fei said unconvinced.

"yes, why wasn't it Tai Shi Ci's trick?"

Zhuge Liang sighed, held up the letter from Huaxiong that was torn to pieces by Liu Bei, and explained,

"You think, if it wasn't Hua Xiong's plan, then how could he prepare a letter in advance and leave it to the lord?"

Everyone couldn't help but feel a deep fear in their hearts.

Hua Xiong was able to predict the prophet and calculate all their actions in advance.

This Nima is not only resourceful, but also like a god!

"Strategist, what should we do now?"

Liu Bei asked.

Zhuge Liang's face showed a trace of sadness, and he shook his head and said,

"My lord, we can only retreat."

At present, Tai Shici's 20,000 horses are eyeing Xuzhou.

This matter is bound to be unable to hide the 20,000 Xuzhou people in Liu Bei's army.

If Liu Bei insists on going his own way, I am afraid that 20,000 soldiers will mutini immediately.

If you don't know if Xuzhou will be captured by Huaxiong, Liu Bei will not only lose the rear nest, but even be infamous.

So before and after thinking, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to choose to retreat.

Liu Bei was silent for a while, and finally nodded helplessly,

"Withdraw your troops!"

The army immediately packed up its supplies and returned to its place.

Zhuge Liang rode on horseback and turned to look in the northwest direction.

In the dark, he seemed to feel that Hua Xiong would be his lifelong rival!

……

Huiji County.

Sun Ce has just pacified Jiangdong, and now his morale is booming.

In the meeting hall, Sun Ce is located in the first block.

Zhou Yu, Lu Fan, Cheng Pu, Sun Quan, Han Dang, Huang Gai and other strategists and generals sat down left and right.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Yuan Shao sent a letter from the north, asking me to send troops to jointly crusade against Huaxiong.

What do you think? ”

Huang Gai smiled disdainfully,

"Yuan Shao is suspicious and short-sighted. I don't think we need to help him. ”

"yes, I don't think it's necessary."

"Let him eat the dog with Huaxiong."

A crowd shook their heads in disapproval.

Sun Ce smiled but didn't answer, and looked at the handsome man on the side,

"Gongjin, what do you think?"

Zhou Yu smiled lightly,

"My opinion is diametrically opposed to that of the princes."

Everyone else was stunned.

"I wish to hear Gongjin and see it."

Zhou Yu slowly stood up and said eloquently,

"The reason is actually quite simple.

Hua Xiong is a person who holds the Son of Heaven hostage and holds heavy troops in his hands, and he is a fierce enemy.

If the lord wants to achieve hegemony, he must solve this person. ”

Huang Gai was a little unconvinced,

"But then Yuan Shao is also a fierce rival."

"That's not a good word."

Zhou Yu chuckled and shook his head,

"Gong Fu (Huang Gai's name), you just said that Yuan Shao is short-sighted and unscrupulous, and his personality is arrogant.

How can such a person be the opponent of the lord?

Therefore, the top priority is to solve the most difficult Huaxiong first.

As long as Hua Xiong dies, how can the other princes in the world be the opponents of the lord? ”

Zhou Yu's words instantly convinced everyone present.

"Gong Jin's opinion is reasonable and well-founded, and I am convinced."

Huang Gai sighed.

Seeing this, Sun Ce nodded and said ambitiously,

"Since this is the case, then as Gong Jin said, let's immediately send troops to crusade against Huaxiong!"

"Whoa!"

Everyone present responded in unison, and then dispersed.

Just as Zhou Yu was about to leave, Sun Ce opened his mouth and stopped him.

"Gong Jin."

"What does the lord command?"

Zhou Yu looked at Sun Ce puzzled.

After everyone left, Sun Ce walked to Zhou Yu's side with a smile,

"You and I brothers, don't be polite in private.

Let me ask you, did you give a letter of appointment to Qiao Guolao? ”

A trace of embarrassment flashed on Zhou Yu's face, but he still nodded,

"Back to the lord, it's already down."

"That's good." Sun Ce laughed and grabbed Zhou Yu's arm, "When we return from this crusade against Huaxiong, you and I will get married together!" ”

Zhou Yu smiled, "I hope we can return victorious." ”

"Don't worry, it will."

Sun Ce nodded heavily, and couldn't help but imagine the scene of the successful crusade against Hua Xiong and the power of the imperial court.

For a while, he was a little enthusiastic, so he ordered the soldiers on the side,

"Go, fetch my weapons and armor, I'm going to hunt in the mountains!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yu frowned slightly, and persuaded in a good voice,

"Lord, if you go into the mountains to hunt, you must pay attention to safety."

Sun Ce said disapprerovingly,

"Don't worry, you can kill my Sun Ceren, who hasn't been born yet."

Zhou Yu smiled bitterly,

"Lord, you are our backbone, but you must not have an accident."