Zhen Mi suddenly sat up from the couch, breaking into a cold sweat.
She had a nightmare.
In her dream, she found herself on the battlefield, but Master Yuan Xi was not far away from her, commanding the army to fight against the enemy.
She was pleasantly surprised, and just as she was about to run over, an enemy came rushing towards her like lightning. With a stab in her pocket, Yuan Xi's head flew high into the air.
The head was rolling in the air, and the familiar face was facing Zhen Mi. She was so frightened that she screamed and suddenly woke up from her dream.
She clutched her chest and couldn't stop breathing. It took a while to calm down, but she couldn't fall asleep anymore.
She sat up, put on a printed colored silk cotton dress, and rolled up her silk trousers, revealing a pair of bright white feet. She gently put on her stockings, and then got out of bed with her satin embroidered shoes.
Her black hair hung down to her buttocks, which made her feel uncomfortable, so she pulled her hair into a bun and let the rest of her hair hang lazily on her shoulders.
Zhen Mi took a few steps forward and opened the window of the small building. The city of Ye outside Zhen's mansion was quiet and dark. Only a few lights as thin as needle tips were fluttering back and forth on the top of the city in the far distance.
The evening breeze blew from very high and far away, ruffling the hair on her forehead, and the silk clothes on her body wrinkled with the wind, clinging to her skin, making Zhen Mi feel a bit cold.
She stared blankly into the distance. The world outside Zhen's Mansion might not be so warm and safe, but she wanted to go out and see different scenery.
Want to see what that person is doing.
I hope that man is safe on the battlefield.
Zhen Mi felt a little tangled in her heart. The husband she chose would leave her side countless times in the future, leaving her alone in fear, waiting for his return.
But the world is like this. If you want to make great achievements, you won't stay in Yecheng for the rest of your life.
When can he come back, and when can I stand by his side?
The moon was at the top of the sky, then the branches were falling, and the morning sun was rising. The morning light filled the walls of Yecheng, all the way to the east, lighting up the sky of Qingzhou.
Yuan Xi walked out of the camp and ordered the entire army to break out of camp and join Yuan Tan's army in the south.
Last night, spies found Yuan Tan's camp, but they also brought bad news.
Yuan Tan suffered a defeat.
After marching for half a day, Yuan Xi came across Yuan Tan's camp. He saw that it was dilapidated everywhere and the sergeants inside had a slumped look on their faces.
What shocked Yuan Xi even more was that the scale of the camp was much smaller than before they parted.
So many people died?
He quickly found Yuan Tan's camp, where Yuan Tan was talking to Jushu with a solemn expression.
Seeing Yuan Xi come in, Yuan Tan stood up and greeted him, saying, "Second brother, you are here."
He immediately sighed: "I didn't listen to my second brother's words that day, which led to such a disastrous defeat. Now there are Xuzhou soldiers blocking the way in front, and Jishui behind us unable to cross the river. We are in a dilemma."
Jushu spoke up and said: "Why do you, the eldest son, say these words? As a general in charge of the army, you must not speak lightly as it may affect morale."
After hearing this, Yuan Tan hurriedly said: "What you taught me is that the previous defeat was caused by me underestimating the enemy. Now that the enemy relies on Lingcheng to frequently launch night attacks, we are already facing difficulties."
"Fortunately, my second brother defeated Kong Rongjun and arrived in time."
Yuan Xi said: "Fortunately, the mission has been fulfilled. What happened here?"
After Yuan Tan finished speaking, Yuan Xi learned that Yuan Tan had suffered a disastrous defeat and had lost many soldiers and generals.
And he lost his general.
Yan Liang was actually killed by the formation!
The two armies were fighting, and Yan Liang went into battle and challenged Zhang Fei to a duel. The two fought for hundreds of rounds without deciding the winner. As a result, Guan Yu rushed out and stabbed Zhang Fei in the head.
At this time, Yan Liang had exhausted most of his physical strength and his movements were so slow that he had no time to stop him. In an instant, his head was chopped off by Guan Yu!
Yuan Xi was shocked when he heard the news. This is wrong!
It’s a bit too fast!
Logically speaking, Yan Liang could live for a few more years, so why was he killed so quickly?
Has the historical process accelerated?
And Guan Yu’s attack was obviously a sneak attack, right?
Ah, by the way, on the battlefield, it can only be regarded as an open attack.
Yuan Xi suddenly remembered that in future generations, Guan Yu might have succeeded in killing Yan Liang by sneak attack.
A fierce general like Guan Yu actually realized the truth in advance.
He was willing to put down his dignity and make a sneak attack, but no one dared to say he was prepared.
This is big trouble.
Jushu sighed: "I also made a mistake. I thought that General Yan Liang was the most powerful general in Hebei, but unexpectedly he was easily killed by the opponent."
Yuan Tan said bitterly: "When Yan Liang died, Liu Bei took the opportunity to cover up the killing. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took the opportunity to kill a few more of my generals. The battle collapsed and we had to retreat."
"An inventory later revealed that there were more than 10,000 troops and 4,000 to 5,000 casualties."
"Now the strength of the two armies is equal, and Liu Bei's army has its back in Lingcheng and continuously goes out of the city to attack the camp at night. There is no general in our army to compete with them, so we have suffered a lot."
"Fortunately, my second brother brought Zhang He and Gao Lan back in time. We will definitely have a good fight with them tomorrow!"
Jushou raised his hand and said: "Don't worry, although our army still has a lot of rations, if we suffer another defeat, I'm afraid the morale of the army will be unstable and all the previous achievements will be wasted."
Yuan Tan's face was solemn, "But if we are dragged here by the opponent, Tian Kai and Kong Rong may not make a comeback, and Xuzhou may continue to increase its troops, so we must defeat Liu Bei's army as soon as possible and go south."
Yuan Xi spoke up: "Why do we want to go south?"
Yuan Tan was startled: "If we don't open up a way back, sooner or later we will run out of food and fodder, and we will be unable to return to Jizhou."
"So the plan for now is to capture Yu Lingcheng, which the opponent is defending."
Yuan Xi said: "By storming a heavily guarded city, the losses will be too great. Why not change the direction?"
As soon as these words came out, light flashed in Jushou's eyes: "What do you mean, Second Young Master?"
Yuan Xi said: "What is the purpose of our sending troops this time?"
Yuan Tan thought about it carefully and then suddenly realized: "I understand!"
Inside Yu Ling City, Liu Bei and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were talking. Outside, the streets were full of soldiers.
After Liu Bei obtained the pastoral control of Xuzhou from Tao Qian, although the situation in Xuzhou was still unstable, he finally decided to lead troops to assist Qingzhou.
He left Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Sun Qian and others in Xuzhou to stabilize the overall situation, while he took Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and only 5,000 soldiers and horses, and traveled northward at night and starry, hoping to fight with the other two groups.
Soldiers and horses surrounded Yuan Tan's army.
As a result, news came that Tian Kai's 10,000-strong army was defeated in advance!
Liu Bei had no choice but to retreat to Lingcheng first. The county magistrate in the city knew him well and opened the city gate early to let him in.
Liu Bei was now in a dilemma. His main force, Tian Kai, had been defeated, and his five thousand troops were at a disadvantage in front of the opponent.
But if they retreat like this, Qingzhou will fall into the hands of the Yuan family, making it difficult for them to make a comeback.
Later, news came that the other side had divided its forces, and Yuan Tan's 10,000-strong army was coming this way.
Liu Bei discussed with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and decided to try a battle first.
In terms of results, Liu Bei was extremely satisfied.
General Yan Liang of the Yuan Army came to attack the Chinese army. After being entangled by Zhang Fei, Guan Yu took the opportunity to kill him.
The general was beheaded, and Yuan Tan's army was in shock. Liu Bei's army took the opportunity to cover up the killing, and Yuan Da was defeated.
Now Liu Bei relied on Lingcheng and attacked Yuan Tan several times at night, leaving the opponent exhausted. He was about to completely reverse the situation, but news came that Yuan Xi had returned with his troops!
It was reported that Yuan Xi defeated Kong Rong's army and took over its remaining troops. The number reached nearly 4,000. Including Yuan Tan's more than 6,000 troops, Liu Bei once again fell into a disadvantageous situation.
Zhang Fei said disapprovingly: "What are you afraid of? We should attack their generals as we did before. Even if we fail, we can retreat to the city to defend."
Guan Yu said: "Having said that, if the opponent moves forward step by step, it will be difficult for us to defeat the opponent. What's more, Yu Ling City is too small. Thousands of soldiers and horses are consumed in the city. What if we run out of food?"
Liu Bei also began to think deeply. Now there was a huge gap in the strength of the two sides. Although he had won temporarily, as long as he lost one battle, he would be forced to retreat to Xuzhou.
So now he can't afford to lose.
But waiting in the city will not change the situation.
Suddenly, a spy rushed in and reported: "General, Jizhou soldiers have broken out!"
Liu Bei was surprised when he heard this: "They want to attack the city?"
The spy quickly said: "No, their army is heading northeast and is not coming towards Lingcheng!"
The three of them were all puzzled and hurriedly climbed to the top of Yuling City. They saw billowing smoke and dust rising from the army in the distance, and they actually looked all the way to the northeast.
Zhang Fei said happily: "They must have felt that there was no hope of attacking the city and ran away!"
Guan Yu pondered: "But why go northeast?"
Zhang Fei said disapprovingly: "It goes without saying that if they want to return to Jizhou, they must either go south through Yu Lingcheng or go west across Jishui, but we are blocking here, and both roads are impassable."
"So they can only go back in a big circle to the east, around Yu Lingcheng!"
After hearing this, Liu Bei also felt that it made sense, but he still felt vaguely that something was wrong.
It was not until two days later that news of the fall of Donglai County came, and Liu Bei and others realized their miscalculation.
Guan Yu suddenly said: "They want to attack Donglai and Beihai directly!"
The three of them never imagined that Yuan Jun would ignore them and attack the city directly!
As a result, Liu Bei was even more embarrassed!
If they wait and do nothing, their food and grass will be depleted day by day, and they can only watch as the Jizhou army captures all of Qingzhou.
If they pursue each other in tandem, cities along the way will be defeated by the opponent, and they can rely on city defense at any time!
The three brothers looked at each other in confusion. Zhang Fei punched the table and said angrily: "So cunning!"
Guan Yu spoke up: "Our original intention was at least to force the other party to retreat, but now they are not led by our noses."
"Now we can only make an early decision. Our food can only last for half a month."
Zhang Fei said disapprovingly: "Aren't they the same?"
Guan Yu said: "They can steal grain from the city and fight to support the war. Can we?"
After hearing this, Zhang Fei muttered: "Brother, if you insist on acting in the name of benevolence and righteousness, if we really start a war, you will really suffer..."
Liu Bei waved his hand and said: "Needless to say, you and I have both been down and out. We know the difficulties of the poor, so I will never do such a thing."
"I have decided that the entire army will go out of the city to pursue and fight the opponent!"
Hearing this, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei responded: "Listen to my brother's orders!"
This is also a helpless strategy. There is a flame burning in the chests of the three of them. Although Yuan Jun has more people, the three brothers have grown up in the battle formation. Even Yan Liang was killed. What else can't be done?
As long as you find the right opportunity on the battlefield and kill the enemy's general, you may not be able to defeat more with less!