Chapter 73 Before the War

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment when he heard this. The military advisor had always said to wait a while these days, but he didn't expect that now he said it was time to fight.

Zhou Xing pointed to the Liaodong soldiers outside the camp and said: "Look, my lord, the enemy troops outside the camp are loosely formed, the soldiers are tired and have no fighting spirit, and are light and unprepared. Our soldiers are waiting for battle day by day, and they are already very angry."

, the morale is available, we will fight tomorrow, we will definitely win! Moreover, after these many days, Yuan Shao should know that we are too weak to defend the camp and dare not fight, and the goal has been achieved."

Liu Bei now almost obeys Zhou Xing's advice. Of course, the premise is that he also feels good about it and obeying Zhou Xing's advice is what Zhou Xing says.

He also saw that the Liaodong soldiers outside the camp had long believed that they did not dare to fight because of fear. Both their generals and soldiers all showed signs of underestimating the enemy and being arrogant.

Liu Bei also understood in his heart that the military adviser said that he would go out to fight tomorrow instead of today, mainly to hide the crossbowmen behind the shield.

If we go to battle now, the Liaodong soldiers are already there, and our crossbowmen will not be able to hide behind the shields.

If the Liaodong soldiers see that they have prepared crossbows, their cavalry will definitely not rush into the formation first, but will advance with shield troops.

Only if they think that they only have shieldmen as the front line, will they let the cavalry charge into the formation.

Liu Bei immediately went down to the watchtower with Zhou Xing and sent people out of the camp to make an agreement with Gongsun Kang to fight tomorrow.

Gongsun Kang was overjoyed. After waiting for more than ten days, Liu Bei finally dared to come out to fight.

Also, Yuan Tan, the governor of Qingzhou, refused to send reinforcements, so it was useless for Liu Bei to wait any longer. He would eventually have to fight, and if the delay continued, his troops might lose morale and begin to disperse.

Gongsun Kang has found out that Liu Bei sent people to ask Yuan Tan for help, and Yuan Tan refused to send troops to help.

However, Liu Bei did not dare to fight while guarding the camp, which showed that he was cowardly and would definitely lose morale. He also led his troops to call for battle every day. If he continued to defend the camp, the soldiers would definitely flee out of fear.

Gongsun Kang immediately led his troops back to camp to prepare for the battle tomorrow.

Liu Bei stood in the tent holding the hilt of his sword. In front of him, in addition to Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhou Xing and Li Ye, there were other generals.

Everyone felt that today's atmosphere was different from the past, and seemed more serious. Even Zhang Fei did not speak casually, but stood quietly, looking at Zhou Xing and Liu Bei, guessing whether there was going to be a battle today.

Liu Bei said seriously: "Everyone, I have agreed with Gongsun Kang to fight tomorrow. In the past ten days, I believe you have been holding back your anger. I might as well tell you that I am also holding back!"

"Why should we endure? Is it because the Liaodong soldiers are strong? No. I am not afraid of the Liaodong soldiers, and I know that you are not afraid either. We have the confidence to win! In addition to defeating the enemy soldiers, the most important thing is to go to war tomorrow.

Just to capture the Liaodong soldiers’ war horses.”

"We now only have more than 200 war horses. The cavalry cannot form a team and it is difficult to be powerful. Tomorrow, anyone who captures the enemy's war horses will be rewarded with a thousand dollars each. Also, if you hear the sound of gold, retreat immediately and no longer pursue.

Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"

Liu Bei looked at Zhang Fei when he finished speaking. He was not worried about anyone else. He was most worried about his third brother, fearing that he would become addicted to killing and chase him all the way.

Liu Bei's inner thought was to consider Zhou Xing's suggestion and not to kill the Liaodong soldiers too harshly, otherwise they would not dare to come again in the future.

However, he felt that if the victory was easy, he could let the Liaodong soldiers go; if the victory was difficult, he could only kill more Liaodong soldiers.

"Brother, don't worry, I will retreat when I hear the golden sound. I will retreat."

Zhang Fei knew why Liu Bei was looking at him and quickly expressed his stance.

"Zhang Fei listens to orders."

Liu Bei's expression became solemn again, he looked at Zhang Fei and said.

"In."

Zhang Fei quickly responded with his hands raised, unable to hide the excitement on his face.

"I order you to lead a thousand soldiers in the front line tomorrow, and another five hundred crossbowmen to hide behind the shields. If the enemy's cavalry comes to attack, after entering the shooting range, the crossbowmen will rise together, and the crossbow arrows will be fired. They must block the enemy's cavalry.

Offensive. Try to shoot people, don’t shoot horses, we still need to use those war horses!"

"Hey, don't worry, brother, I've remembered it."

Zhang Fei had not been serious for a long time, but now he started to laugh again.

Liu Bei frowned and continued solemnly: "Remember, don't expose the crossbowmen when they are hiding behind the shield, especially don't let the enemy soldiers see the crossbow arrows."

"No."

Zhang Fei quickly accepted the promise again.

In the past ten days, these crossbowmen have been training to hide behind shields and fire volleys almost every day. The important point is how to hide behind shields without being exposed.

The formation arranged by Liu Bei was divided into front and rear formations only. Zhang Fei led the front formation, and he, Guan Yu, Zhou Xing and others led the rear formation.

If Gongsun Kang indeed sends cavalry to charge ahead, and his crossbowmen defeat the opponent's cavalry, let Zhang Fei lead the men in the front line to charge forward. If he wins and captures the horses, the men in the rear line can stay still.

This battle is mainly about repelling enemy soldiers and snatching horses, rather than killing the enemy.

On that day, Liu Bei ordered people to kill pigs and sheep, and let the soldiers eat a good meal first so that they would be strong enough to kill the enemy tomorrow.

Liu Bei was wearing armor and patrolling the camp with Zhou Xing and others. He mainly went to take a look at the crossbowmen.

The key to victory or defeat in this battle is these crossbowmen. Without these crossbowmen, Liu Bei feels that it will not be easy for him to win. Even if he can win, he will lose a lot of men and horses. After all, the opponent has a thousand cavalry.

Five hundred crossbowmen lined up in neat formation, all holding crossbows in their hands, showing their majesty.

Liu Bei stood in front of the five hundred crossbowmen, looked at them for a while, and nodded secretly, thinking that Guan Yu could indeed lead the army. These crossbowmen were trained by him to have high fighting spirit, giving people the feeling of elite soldiers.

However, Liu Bei also thought that Military Advisor Zhou also cared very much about these crossbowmen and often came to supervise and guide them. Although Military Advisor Zhou did not provide much tactical guidance, it was mainly psychological encouragement that gave them strong self-confidence.

"How about it? We are going to fight tomorrow. Are you scared?"

Liu Bei walked to a crossbowman, stood in front of him, and asked.

"Don't be afraid. Military Advisor Zhou said that we are fighting to protect our relatives in our hometown. Even if we die in battle, we will die well!" the crossbow soldier replied loudly.

Liu Bei turned to look at Zhou Xing next to him with satisfaction, and said to the crossbowman: "The military advisor is right, many of you are from Donglai, and this battle is to protect our people in Donglai and your relatives.

and friends! Only by repelling the enemy soldiers can our relatives and friends be safe!"

"Swear to protect Dongnae to the death!!!"

Five hundred crossbowmen shouted in unison, the sound shook the whole camp.

At this time, other soldiers in the camp, like these crossbowmen, are confident of defeating the enemy and are waiting for tomorrow's battle.

The evening breeze in August has become cold, but Liu Bei's heart is warm.

He is looking forward to tomorrow's battle. As long as he defeats the Liaodong soldiers tomorrow, he will not only protect the people of Donglai, but his previous show of weakness may have made the people of Donglai lose confidence in him. Defeating the enemy soldiers can protect the people of Donglai.

Gain confidence in yourself again.

Moreover, those Liaodong cavalry horses are so tempting!

That night, Liu Bei couldn't sleep peacefully.

Another person who can't sleep peacefully like him is Zhou Xing.

Since assisting Liu Bei, Zhou Xing has helped Liu Bei destroy the Yellow Turban bandits, but the Liaodong soldiers are very different from the Yellow Turban bandits, especially the thousand cavalry. It is still unknown whether Gongsun Kang will send cavalry to attack first tomorrow.

Zhou Xing understood that he was not born with talent, especially regarding military knowledge, and he had to learn and grow slowly.

However, Zhou Xing firmly believes that Liu Bei knows people well and has two powerful generals, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who can defeat ten thousand people. It will not be a mistake to follow him, and it will only be a matter of time to bring peace to the world!

Before dawn, Liu Bei gathered the entire battalion of soldiers and horses. At dawn, the entire army came out of the camp and formed a formation. First, he asked the five hundred crossbowmen to hide behind the shields and wait for the enemy.
Chapter completed!