In July of 191 AD, eight months passed in the blink of an eye.
In these eight months, great changes have taken place in the Han Dynasty again!
The Alliance to Defeat Dong had been disbanded as early as last year, and all the heroes in the towns had turned into princes and joined in the battle to seize the territory!
Yuan Shao has led his troops back to the Bohai Sea, and is constantly flirting with Han Fu's civil and military officials. His intentions are obvious!
Since Han Fu could sit in the position of Jizhou Mu, he was certainly not a stupid person. At this time, he had already begun to impose sanctions on Yuan Shao, but unfortunately the effect was not good.
Gongsun Zan of Youzhou gradually became famous in Hebei because of his great defeat of Wuwan, and his subordinate Baima Yicong was even more invincible.
It's just that Gongsun Zan is very ambitious, and Liu Yu, the shepherd of Youzhou, can no longer suppress Gongsun Zan.
As the legitimate son of the Yuan family, Yuan Shu had also led his troops back to Luyang with Sun Jian. At this time, he was building up his troops and preparing to invade the prefectures and counties at any time.
It is worth mentioning that Sun Jian still invaded Luoyang first and successfully found the Jade Seal. However, Sun Jian did not hide the Jade Seal privately, but gave it directly to Yuan Shu.
The reason is also very simple. Most of Sun Jian's army is Yuan Shu's soldiers and horses, and Sun Jian's wife and children are all in the hands of Yuan Shu.
Sun Jian, the first hero, had to be driven by Yuan Shu at this time!
As for Liu Dai, Qiao Mao and others in Yanzhou, they have already started to fight each other!
It's a pity that Qiao Mao was slightly defeated and lost his life in vain!
Cao Cao was more active. After being defeated by Xu Rong, he was not disheartened. Instead, he regrouped his troops and defeated Du, Bai Rao, Sui Gu, Yu Fuluo and others in Dongjun. Yuan Shao also expressed Cao Cao's reputation as a result.
Governor of Dongjun.
Ever since the Anti-Dong Alliance was disbanded, Dong Zhuo's life has been very smooth!
The emperor is in hand, the soldiers and horses are in hand, and he occupies a dangerous position, so he no longer has any worries!
Since retreating to Chang'an, Dong Zhuo has become even more cruel and brutal. Both the princes, ministers and the people of Guanzhong are living in dire straits!
Ma Teng and Han Sui, who had been making trouble in Liangzhou, fell into Li Ru's trick and started killing each other. The whole Liangzhou was in chaos.
If Dong Zhuo felt the greatest threat, it was Liu Zhang who was once his ally. In order to appease Liu Zhang, he even sent Liu Zhang's father-in-law Cai Yong to Hanzhong!
After receiving the news, Liu Zhang thanked Dong Zhuo repeatedly and made it clear to Dong Zhuo that he was focused on putting down the Yizhou rebellion and had no interest in external matters.
Now Dong Zhuo was completely relieved. There was no longer any threat from all directions. In his comfort, Dong Zhuo paid more attention to pleasure. The Sanfu area was becoming increasingly chaotic!
Compared with the chaotic states and counties of the Han Dynasty, Yizhou, which was prone to frequent wars, has actually calmed down.
For half a year, Liu Zhang firmly occupied the three counties without making any moves, and had no intention of expanding outward.
If it weren't for the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses gathered in Luocheng to defend it to the death, outsiders would really think that Liu Zhang had put down the rebellion!
Guanghan County, Luocheng.
This is Zhang Lu's last city in Guanghan County, and it is also Zhang Lu's only foothold in Yizhou.
Once Luocheng is lost, Zhang Lu will really become a street rat, and everyone will shout and beat him!
However, Luocheng is not that easy to capture. The city here is tall and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is also garrisoned by tens of thousands of troops!
Yes, Luocheng has a total of 60,000 troops stationed at the moment!
Of course, not all of the 60,000 troops were Zhang Lu's troops. There were more than 40,000 troops, all supported by Jia Long and Ren Qi.
After Zhang Lu kidnapped Liu Mao and fled to Luocheng, he used coercion and inducement to coerce Jia Long.
Whether Jia Long was really under coercion or he didn't want Liu Zhang's war to spread to Shu County, Jia Long immediately arranged for 25,000 soldiers to go to Luocheng.
Not long after, Ren Qi from Jianwei County also sent 20,000 troops to help Zhang Lu.
For a time, Zhang Lu became strong again!
Zhang Lu was not satisfied with this, and still ordered Zhang Wei to recruit troops and horses again in Luocheng, and finally forcibly gathered the troops to 60,000!
Holding an army in hand did not make Zhang Lu lose his mind. On the contrary, he gained wisdom and became calmer.
Liu Zhang's power had frightened Zhang Lu, and he clearly realized that Liu Zhang would never be defeated overnight, let alone in one battle!
Zhang Lu chose to wait. He had to wait calmly for Liu Zhang to attack, and then seize the opportunity to counterattack!
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, and Liu Zhang seemed to have lost interest in Luocheng. There was no movement from Mianzhu, not even the mobilization of troops!
Luocheng's daily consumption of food and grass was huge, and Zhang Lu was no longer able to maintain these expenses, so he could only rely on Jia Long of Shu County for everything.
Now Zhang Lu didn't look like the governor of Guanghan County at all, he seemed like Jia Long's watchdog, which made him extremely angry.
Over the course of half a year, the fear in Zhang Lu's heart gradually disappeared, and his obsession with Liu Zhang only deepened.
Finally, Zhang Wei brought exciting news to Zhang Lu.
"Brother!"
"Second brother, why are you so excited?"
Ever since the brothers fled to Luocheng, Zhang Lu had rarely seen Zhang Wei so happy.
"Brother, no wonder there is no movement at all in Mianzhu. Liu Zhang has already led a large army to attack Bajun!"
"Attack on Berkshire?"
Zhang Lu was shocked by the news, with a trace of doubt in his eyes.
The roads in Bajun are steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is far less easy to attack than Luocheng, which is close to Mianzhu.
Although Ba County has a population of over one million, it also occupies a very large area, even larger than Guanghan County and Shu County combined!
The two roads into Shu, the Jinniu Road and the Micang Road, are both famous for their steepness. Some parts of the Micang Road are even more difficult to walk than the Jinniu Road!
The most important thing is that the difficulty of the Jinniu Road ends when it reaches Mianzhu. After Mianzhu, it enters the Chengdu Plain, where even cavalry can gallop.
Why did Liu Zhang sacrifice the near for the far and the easy for the difficult?
"Second brother, this news must not be taken lightly! Liu Zhang is extremely treacherous. Have you forgotten what happened at Zitong City?"
After the last disastrous defeat, Zhang Lu did not dare to be careless with Liu Zhang!
After hearing the news about Liu Zhang's attack on Bajun, Zhang Lu's first reaction was that this was definitely Liu Zhang's conspiracy!
Zhang Wei shook his head and did not agree with Zhang Lu's words.
"Brother, of course I will never forget what happened at Zitong City. I have been defeated by Liu Zhang several times, how can I be careless?"
No matter what Zhang Wei said, Zhang Lu would not believe it. He had already determined that this was Liu Zhang's plan.
"Second brother, Liu Zhang, the traitor, must be trying to repeat his old tricks, creating the illusion that Guanghan is empty and tempting us to attack Mianzhu, so that he can gather us and annihilate him!"
Zhang Wei sighed heavily, knowing that his eldest brother had been frightened by Liu Zhang!
"Brother, there are some small aristocratic families in every county in Guanghan County who have contact with us. How can they all lie?" Zhang Lu frowned and his brain was working rapidly.