"Your Majesty, now that the world's heroes are fighting together, two heroes are at each other's throats, the world's most important thing is your Majesty. If your Majesty wants to achieve a great cause, now is the time. Now that your Majesty is sitting on a hundred thousand people in Jingzhou, if you can do it together With the army responding to Duke Yuan, with all the princes in the court responding, and with Duke Yuan restraining the outside, we will be able to conquer Xuchang in one battle and eliminate the national traitors. If we are so hesitant now, we will definitely cause disaster in the future!" This is not the first time for Han Song! Come to persuade Liu Biao to send troops.
Before Xu You came, there was Kuai Yue. Liu Xian and others persuaded Liu Biao to send troops. Liu Bei had already reached Nanyang. As long as Liu Biao was willing to send troops, not only could Nanyang be easily obtained, but he could also take advantage of the emptiness in Chunan's rear to invade Xuchang and conquer Chunan. Forced into a desperate situation, Liu Biao refused to answer.
Now Xu You came to Xiangyang and ran up and down, hoping that everyone could help him persuade Liu Biao to send troops and Yuan Shao to attack Chu Nan from both directions, but he was very suspicious and refused to agree.
So Han Song came to persuade me again this time.
When the two heroes fight, they should all have supporters. However, due to Chu Nan's system, although Chu Nan is powerful, Chu Nan's attitude towards the nobles has never compromised at all. This also makes the scholars who are watching are deeply afraid of Chu Nan. To control the world and then determine the world, this time, almost everyone in Jingzhou supported Yuan Shao one-sidedly.
But the more this happened, the less Liu Biao wanted to send troops easily. Most people said that he marched to Jingzhou and praised his heroic spirit. However, a few people knew that most of the real power in Jingzhou was now controlled by wealthy families, and Liu Biao was unable to change the status quo. , he can only be his Jingzhou shepherd under the rules set by the wealthy family like a puppet.
Liu Biao knew very well that if this situation did not change, even if Chu Nan was defeated and eliminated in the end, it would not be the Han Dynasty but the aristocratic world that would be revived, so although public sentiment was raging, Liu Biao did not want to fight.
If he wins, the benefits have nothing to do with him. If he loses, the person Chu Nan will hold grudges for is himself and not the Jingxiang gentry.
Of course, there are other considerations, such as whether Jiangdong will take advantage of his army to stab him in the back? For example, if Yuan Shao is defeated in this battle, will Chu Nan be angry with him? I have not considered this before, but recently In terms of the situation, Yuan Shao is obviously at a disadvantage. Bingzhou has been lost, and Youzhou has been defeated by Lu Bu again. The situation is obviously not friendly to Yuan Shao.
"What De Gao said is not unreasonable, but this matter is very important and requires long-term planning. In this case, De Gao will go to Xuchang on my behalf. If the princes of Xuchang are willing to cooperate, I will send troops." Liu Biao looked at Han Song and said with a smile.
Now the battle between the two sides on the front line has reached a fever pitch. Xuchang must be empty at this moment, but from this time, some clues should be seen. Liu Biao's idea is to delay and delay. He does not want to offend Chu Nan. Chu Nan suppresses the scholars. From Liu Biao's point of view, he actually supported the matter. The gentry had already taken over the imperial court. No matter who came to the local government, it would be impossible to govern without the support of the gentry.
But I am afraid that except for Chu Nan, no one in the world dares to be so crazy.
Han Song didn't know what Liu Biao was thinking, but when he saw him pushing the envelope like this, he was a little angry, but he couldn't get angry. He could only say: "Okay, I'll go to Xuchang right now. I hope you won't forget what I said today." "
"Don't worry, De Gao." After Liu Biao comforted Han Song, Han Song left.
He sat down a little tired. He was not afraid of rebellion or foreign enemies. On the contrary, it was the scholars in Jingzhou who gave Liu Biao the most headache. He had no choice but to rely on the aristocratic family to secure his position as pastor in Jingzhou. It is difficult to get rid of them now, but ordinary people When I first entered Jingzhou, I had some power, so I wouldn't have been a good guy for ten years.
"Master!" Not long after Han Song left, he saw Liu Biao's housekeeper coming to the door.
"Who else is there?" Liu Biao rubbed his temples. Most of the people who came to him during this period wanted him to send troops to the Central Plains, but Liu Biao really didn't want to.
"No one is visiting, please report urgently from Nanyang." The butler bowed.
"But Xuande captured Wancheng?" Liu Biao was shocked and looked at the other party and said.
Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao were originally allies, but unfortunately Zhang Xiu chose Chu Nan in the end. After Cao Cao's defeat, Liu Biao's influence on Nanyang was gradually cut off.
Nanyang can be regarded as the gateway to Jingzhou. If Zhang Xiu turned to him as before, he could rest easy in Jingzhou. Unfortunately, Zhang Xiu defected to Chu Nan after Cao Cao's defeat. Although he did not defect directly, he already regarded Chu Nan as his respecter.
, which is equivalent to opening the door to Jingzhou. Now Liu Biao can only rely on the Han River to garrison.
If Liu Bei can capture Nanyang, even if Liu Bei becomes independent, Liu Biao will support him. He knows very well that Liu Bei cannot join Chu Nan like Zhang Xiu.
The steward shook his head and said: "Gong Xuande was defeated!"
"Failed?" Liu Biao looked at the steward in astonishment upon hearing this. He remembered that a few days ago, Liu Bei's side had been reporting successes one after another, attacking all the way from Xinye to Wancheng. A large number of Nanyang celebrities were attracted by the same intention, and their momentum was no less than when he entered Jingzhou.
Son.
It’s only been a few days, why did he suddenly lose!?
"How did you lose!?" Liu Biao asked with a frown.
"Xuan Degong led his army to Wancheng. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiu secretly intercepted the Feishui River more than a month ago. Moreover, Zhang Xiu was quite cunning. He did not directly intercept the Feishui River, but only caused the water level of the Feishui River to drop. Xuande Gong did not notice it either.
Until the army was besieging the city, Zhangxiu suddenly opened the floodgates and released water. Wancheng was surrounded by dozens of miles of Zeguo. Xuande Gong and the army gathered by various noble families in Nanyang were almost wiped out in one battle, and it was difficult to pose a threat to Wancheng again! "
The housekeeper smiled bitterly.
"How could you be so careless?" Liu Biao sighed, a little helpless. After this defeat, not only did Liu Bei's hope of seizing Nanyang disappear, but the vitality of all the noble families was also seriously damaged, and they would no longer be able to pose a threat to Zhang Xiu.
The butler smiled bitterly and did not answer.
As for why he was so careless, from the perspective of hindsight, it is not difficult to understand. Liu Bei fought consecutively, and Zhang Xiu had almost no power to fight back. Under such circumstances, Liu Bei probably did not take Zhang Xiu seriously, and the result was this.
Wancheng was defeated, and Liu Bei was beaten back to his original form again.
Liu Biao thought for a while and said, "Go and send an order to Liu Pan to lead a group of troops to Xinye to meet Xuande, and then give Xuande three thousand troops to continue to garrison Xinye."
Although it is regrettable that Nanyang was defeated, it was obviously not because Liu Bei was weak, but because the enemy was too arrogant. Even when Liu Bei had just reached Wancheng, the opponent did not move. He waited until everyone arrived at Wancheng and then suddenly released his troops, causing Liu Bei to
The family fortune accumulated over a period of hard work was completely lost in one fell swoop.
However, now that this battle has been lost, the importance of Xinye has been highlighted. Whether Zhang Xiu or Chu Nan goes south to Jingzhou in the future, Xinye must be defended. It will be good for everyone to let Liu Bei guard Xinye and guard the door.
"Here!" The steward bowed and left. Liu Biao also had his own direct descendants, that is, his old Shanyang tribe and Liu Pan, a clan member of the Han Dynasty, who passed orders to these people. Liu Biao always directly ordered his generals to pass orders, instead of
Following the procedures, it would be difficult for Liu Biao to mobilize other armies.
As they gathered in Nanyang, Liu Bei looked numbly at the remnants of the soldiers who had fled back. The 30,000 troops he had gathered in Nanyang were wiped out after this battle. Only a few hundred people were left fleeing back one after another. Nanyang was impossible to break.
For a moment, Liu Bei thought about giving up, but unfortunately he quickly gave up the idea. The third brother's revenge has not been avenged, and the Han Dynasty has not yet been resurrected, how can he back down!?
Just looking at the defeated generals in front of him, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel sad. If he couldn't defeat Chu Nan, Lu Bu would be fine, but now he was plotted by Zhang Xiu of Nanyang. This made Liu Bei feel deeply frustrated.
"Lord, the second general is back!" Just when Liu Bei was depressed, he heard an exclamation when he saw Guan Yu coming back with a group of troops and horses. Compared with the remaining defeated generals, Guan Yu's troops were much more organized and less like a defeated army.
There were not many of them, only about two thousand. They were soldiers trained by Liu Bei's family and Guan Yu himself.
Zhang Xiu came to pursue him, but it was Guan Yu who led his troops to repel him.
"Brother, my incompetence led to this defeat. Please punish me!" Guan Yu came to Liu Bei and prostrated himself, his voice filled with deep self-blame.
He was clearly about to capture Wancheng and help his brother gain a foothold, but he missed this opportunity.
"Yun Chang, please get up. How can I blame you for this?" Liu Bei helped Guan Yu up and sighed: "We didn't notice this. If we are guilty, we should all be guilty. How can we blame Yunchang alone?"
"Brother, it's just that we failed to win Wancheng in this battle, Yu..." Guan Yu's eyes turned red. He failed to live up to his brother's expectations.
"Victory and defeat are common things in military affairs. In this world...someone has to lose." Liu Bei laughed and said with relief: "Don't be afraid of losing this time, just win it next time."
The more Liu Bei acted like this, the more uncomfortable Guan Yu felt. He knew better than anyone else Liu Bei's desire for a foundational land. This opportunity was right in front of him, but he was wasted.
"Although we are defeated, Zhang Xiu is also exhausted in this battle. We will retreat to Jingxiang temporarily and borrow more troops with Brother Jing Sheng. We will definitely be able to break through Nanyang next time!" Liu Bei said with a smile.
"Here!" Guan Yu nodded fiercely.
On the other side, in Nanyang City.
"Sir, the enemy has retreated!" Zhang Xiu came to Jia Xu excitedly. He described him as a little embarrassed. He was almost killed by Guan Yu when he was chasing Guan Yu. Fortunately, he was already familiar with Guan Yu's tactics and retreated in time. He didn't do it at this time.
Guan Yu took the opportunity to make a comeback, but the army was almost defeated by Guan Yu.
No matter what, he won this battle.
"There is even greater good news, general, are you willing to hear it?" Jia Xu looked at Zhang Xiu with a smile and asked.
"What other happy events are there?" Zhang Xiu asked in surprise.
"Just now a letter was sent from the imperial court. Yuan Shao attacked Ye City again, but Chu Lingjun saw through it. Not only did he fail to recapture it, but he also fell into the trap and lost his troops and retreated in great defeat." Jia Xu handed the letter from the imperial court to Zhang Xiudao.
"What does this have to do with me?" Zhang Xiu asked confused.
"After this battle, Yuan Shao no longer has any troops to control, and his defeat is certain!" Jia Xu shook his head helplessly, sat down again and said.