"Benevolence and righteousness, respect and harmony are opposites and complement each other." [Hanshu·Yiwenzhi]
Yuan Shu's army came out of Shouchun. Flags were fluttering along the way, armor was shining, and the mighty Huaihe River was full of this army that was winding like a long dragon. This army under Yuan Shu and Mei Gan, Mei Cheng and others who were attached to him The thieves and bandits are different. They all came from the 20,000 Yuan Shu managed to accumulate by taking advantage of Nanyang's rich smelting industry after occupying Nanyang.
On the surface of the Huaihe River, there was only the gentle breeze, the roaring waves, and the ships transporting grain. At this time, no fishermen dared to wander around.
During this expedition to Xuzhou, Yuan Shu was in an extremely urgent mood. He kept urging the troops to move forward. Zhang Xun and others were eager to make contributions and led more than 10,000 men under his command as the vanguard to attack Xuyi.
I heard that Yuan Shu led 30,000 infantry and cavalry to attack. Liu Bei's thousands of old troops were fine. After all, they had followed Liu Bei to fight in Youzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou and other places, so they didn't feel anything. However, Tao Qian's old troops left behind were a little turbulent. Uneasy, they were both afraid of Yuan Shu's reputation and cherished their family's lives, so they were unwilling to sacrifice their lives for Liu Bei. If it weren't for the fact that most of these people's families were in Xuzhou, and Liu Bei, Mi Fang and others comforted them in time, they might have died overnight. They can escape in a short time.
Even so, there are still many people who heard about the resumption of war in Xuzhou, and they took their families with them and tried to escape to Guangling, Jiangdong, or Peiguo and other places. After Chen Deng finally reorganized Xiapi State, it changed again. It was a mess. Apart from the forts of the powerful, there were very few people in the villages, towns and pavilions between the counties. The only people coming and going were hurried scouts and troops constantly being transferred to Xuyi.
Yuan Shu personally conquered Xuzhou. The commotion was so loud that it was impossible to cover it up, and Liu Bei and others were soon alerted. Liu Bei also summoned Zhang Fei, Tian Yu, Jian Yong, Sun Qian and other close associates to discuss: "There are tens of thousands of people in Yuan Highway, and we How can we resist when we have no more than ten thousand soldiers to fight?"
He looked around and saw that Chen Qun had followed Chen Ji to the west of Chang'an. Chen Deng had packed his bags and headed south to Guangling the day before yesterday. Now he could advise him on the big strategy, and the only person left with him was Tian Yu. Liu Bei turned his attention to He scanned everyone's faces one by one and finally landed on Tian Yu at the bottom. He is a person who likes to make friends, and he is also the person who dislikes separation the most, but he is always experiencing separation.
People like Qianzhao, Zhao Yun, and Tian Yu were all on good terms with Liu Bei, but once they left, they would be separated from each other, and they might never see each other again, so Liu Bei was so reluctant to say goodbye every time, with tears in his eyes. .However, Tian Yu's departure and return made Liu Bei feel very happy in his heart, and also made him feel like there was some hint from somewhere.
The friends who left him one by one in the past will one day meet him again and join hands to create success together.
"Guo Rang." Liu Bei was excited. With such a mood, he unabashedly expressed his trust in Tian Yu and asked by name: "Is there any good plan to help me?"
After Zhang Fei took his seat, Tian Yu frowned and thought for a moment. He didn't rush to answer. He first asked Sun Qian, the employee sitting opposite, "Which way did Mr. Chen choose when he went south to Guangling?"
Sun Qian replied without thinking: "Of course we go along the Surabaya River, down Pi and into Guangling. This road goes down the river and is very fast."
"I'm afraid we may have to stop moving forward." Tian Yu frowned, knowing that the matter was very important. He straightened his thoughts and said to Liu Bei in a deep voice: "Yuan Gongli came with a large army and did not attack Guangling. Instead, he went straight to Xiapi. .I heard that their pioneer Zhang Xun has appeared outside Xuyi City. It can be seen that they want to attack our Xuyi and Huaiyin places to cut off the contact between Guangling and us. If Chen Fujun is in Guangling now, he can fight with us from the north to the south. Attack together and drive away the enemy together."
Sun Qian Qianbai said: "Calculating the time, Mr. Chen Fu will be in Xiapi today. He heard that Xuyi was besieged, and he will definitely not take the risk of going south again."
Liu Bei's heart moved, and his face became more serious. Obviously, he had already lost Yuan Shu's county before the two armies formally engaged in battle. Although Liu Yan and others were not good at military affairs, they also knew that the situation was critical, but they were not good at this kind of thing. There was nothing I could do, so I had to hold my breath and listen.
Tian Yu nodded to Sun Qian and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter if Mr. Chen Fu has not gone south to Guangling. If he is in Xiapi, he can first work with Mr. Mijun, the Prime Minister of Xiapi, to marshal his troops to protect you against the enemy." forward."
"Cao Bao is in Xiapi now, this kid can't believe it." Zhang Fei suddenly spoke up and looked at Liu Bei: "Brother, don't forget, Cao Bao and Cao Hong are relatives. The heavens punished the slanderers a few days ago, and only this Cao Hong He is missing. I was going to look for him in Cao Bao's camp, but he refused to let me in even though he said nothing, which shows that he has different intentions. If Yuan Shu hadn't come to fight this time, how could he keep this person by his side? In my opinion, It’s enough to defend him temporarily, but if he wants to send troops to defend the enemy... I can’t trust him!”
Cao Bao still had three thousand elite men under his command, all of whom were brave soldiers recruited from Danyang on Tao Qian's orders. Liu Bei had always been fearful of him, and had discussed several ways with Tian Yu and others in an attempt to dismantle him internally. , to seize power smoothly. However, Yuan Shu did not give him this time to eradicate his dissidents, so no matter how good the plan was, he could only put it on hold temporarily. Not only could he no longer plot against Cao Bao, but he also had to be careful to appease him.
"What Yide said is reasonable." Liu Bei was also deeply concerned at this time. He twirled his beard under his chin with his hand and looked worried: "If our army fights Yuan Shu with Xuyi and Huaiyin, and Cao Bao stabs our army in the back, echoing Yuan Shu What should I do if I am behind? If I don’t get rid of this son, I will feel uneasy, but this is not a good opportunity to settle the matter..."
Tian Yu smiled and said calmly: "If you are interested, you may wish to send me hundreds of troops to guard Xiapi, and allow me to keep an eye on you nearby so that you can do things easily."
"Cao Bao has three thousand Danyang soldiers under his command, as well as generals such as Zhonglang General Xu Dan, but with the newly recruited troops under your command...if things don't work out, I'm worried about your safety!" Liu Bei said worriedly.
"You are worrying too much! Not far from the northwest of Xiapi County is Pengcheng and Xiaopei. Your general Guan Yu is stationed in Xiaopei. If something happens, he can go east by land and water. He can reach Xiapi in less than three days." Yu's expression did not change, and his tone was still so relaxed. In Liu Bei's eyes, this expression was no different from the daily demeanor of Chen Qun, Chen Deng and others.
Maybe those people with great talents and wisdom have the ability to be confident and understand everything.
Liu Bei suddenly came to his senses and asked again: "However, the army has made a plan, who can help me?"
Tian Yu had already thought about this matter for him: "Mr. Chen has great plans and has always been close to the envoy, and Xiapi is his father-in-law. This time he can be appointed."
"Well, Chen Yuanlong's men from all over the lake are enough to help me defeat the enemy." Liu Bei understood what he meant and quickly agreed. In this battle, Chen Deng was there to advise him, and Zhang Fei was there to break through the formation. His strength
The hanging heart was mostly relieved: "But, Guorang hasn't taught me this strategy to defend against enemies?"
Although Chen Deng would definitely give him some good ideas, Liu Bei still wanted to hear Tian Yu's views on the battle before listening to Chen Deng's suggestions.
Tian Yu thought for a moment and said: "Yuan Shu came with a large army and the momentum was huge. There is a saying in the art of war that 'the momentum can no longer be restored', and there is a precedent of 'one vigorous effort, then exhausted, three times exhausted'. I secretly think that we might as well let him
When attacking a city, relying on a strong city and defending it will dampen its energy, and you should not fight with it. If you wait until the city cannot be taken out, it will be lazy, and then attack it, and you can win a complete victory."
Liu Bei thought about it carefully and realized that it was reasonable. He was about to act accordingly. Unexpectedly, after Chen Deng learned about it, he shook his head and put forward a different opinion.