Cao Cao suddenly attacked Xuzhou and the news of Liu Bei's defeat spread quickly throughout the world, causing various princes to be shocked that Liu Bei and Yuan Shao had formed an alliance. In doing so, Cao Cao was clearly declaring war on Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao's power was already weaker than Cao Cao's, and no one expected that Cao Cao would attack Xuzhou suddenly. However, after just being confused, all the princes understood why Cao Cao did what he did. If Liu Bei was allowed to develop, Cao Cao would surely fall into
In the situation of being attacked from both sides, although he has taken the initiative to provoke the war, the situation is much better when facing Yuan Shao alone.
When the news reached Jingzhou, Liu Qi just sighed and paid no attention to it. Compared with others, he had an advantage, that is, he knew the direction of the world situation and the occurrence of some major events.
But now the whole world situation has changed a little because of him. Liu Bei is no longer the Uncle Liu who can rely on his reputation to make money wherever he goes. Jiangdong has also suffered heavy losses and does not dare to be afraid of Jingzhou. In the end,
What's important is that the rise of Jingzhou has alerted all the princes in the world.
Although the situation in the world has not changed much since his arrival, Liu Qi knows that once Yuan Shao and Cao Cao go to war, the situation in the world will definitely change rapidly. Even he does not know the direction of the situation in the world at that time. The most urgent thing for Liu Qi at this time is
It is necessary to increase the power of Jingzhou, hoping to occupy a place in the world in the future.
"Lord, during this period, Jiangdong has been sending spies to Jiangxia, secretly colluding with Jiangxia's surrendered soldiers. If it is not dealt with as soon as possible, Jiangxia may cause trouble. Shiyuan has ordered people to keep these surrendered soldiers under close guard, but these surrendered soldiers
My family is in Jiangdong, so it is impossible for me to return to Jingzhou."
In the study, Zhuge Liang handed a bamboo slip to Liu Qi. On the bamboo slip was the news from Pang Tong.
"Since those surrendered soldiers have no intention of staying in Jingzhou, let Jiangdong send people to take them back, but they have to exchange them with something. As for what to use, let Shi Yuan consider it, but they can't suffer a loss."
Liu Qi looked at the bamboo slips and said, Jiangxia is a bit far away from Xiangyang. It is more appropriate to leave the negotiations with Jiangdong to Pang Tong, who is guarding Jiangxia. He does not have time to subdue these soldiers now. Since the last time he ordered Jiang Wan to prepare for an attack on Hanzhong's grain and grass, the entire Jingzhou
The top management has turned its attention to Hanzhong.
Although Hanzhong is only a county, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Zhang Lu, the governor of Hanzhong, has been operating in Hanzhong for more than ten years. Even Liu Zhang failed to capture Hanzhong with the strength of a whole state, and Cao Cao also failed many times.
Attacking Hanzhong but returning without success shows how difficult it was to attack Hanzhong.
If you want to attack Hanzhong, you must first capture the Xiongguan Pass, Yangping Pass and Bailao Pass in Hanzhong. These two passes, one in the south and one in the north, block all the roads leading to Hanzhong. If you want to attack these two passes in Hanzhong,
It must be captured.
Bailao Pass leads directly to Jiange. Guarding Bailao Pass is equivalent to blocking all the soldiers and horses of Yizhou from Hanzhong. Yangping Pass is built on the mountain and seals all the roads on the back. In these years, Cao Cao sent people to attack Yangping Pass.
They all returned in vain. This time, since Zhang Lu of Hanzhong knew that Jingzhou was going to capture Hanzhong, how could he not be prepared?
"My lord, Yizhou Governor Liu Zhang agreed to borrow the road, but Liu Zhang wanted the lord to give Hanzhong to him after he captured Hanzhong, leaving only Mianyang County as the lord's fiefdom. Although Liu Zhang agreed to borrow the road
, but this Bailao Pass was also breached in the same way. The terrain of Jiange is narrow, and it is also impossible for the army to attack Bailao Pass on a large scale through Jiange."
Zhuge Liang frowned and said, although it was a happy event that Yizhou agreed to lend the road to Jingzhou, it would be a bit difficult to capture Bailao Pass.
"Don't worry about this matter. There is a road in front of Chaoche Mountain. I don't believe that the generals guarding Bailao Pass have no flaws. As long as they secretly inquire about it, they will always find a flaw to capture Bailao Pass. But Yan Pu from Hanzhong can
It’s true, if Zhang Lu had followed his advice and wanted to capture Hanzhong, I’m afraid Jingzhou would have suffered a lot of losses, so now it’s better to clear Yanpu first.”
Zhang Lu's first counselor, Yan Pu, has extraordinary talents. If Zhang Lu had followed his advice, I am afraid that even if he sent Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, he might not be able to capture Hanzhong. This is not an exaggeration, but
Yan Pu indeed had this talent. It would have been better if he had moved to another place, but Hanzhong happened to have two passes blocking all roads. Coupled with Yan Pu's strategy, it would be difficult to capture Hanzhong.
"This matter is not too difficult. Although Zhang Lu has great trust in Yan Pu, the Yang Song brothers under Zhang Lu have always been at odds with Yan Pu. As long as he secretly creates opportunities, he will surely make Yan Pu's resourcefulness useless.
.”
Zhuge Liang nodded. He had also heard about Yanpu. If this person planned to guard and resist the Jingzhou army, it would be impossible to capture Hanzhong in a short time. To send troops from Jingzhou to attack Hanzhong, they would not only have to pass through Yizhou, but also pass through the middle.
Although Cao Ren and others who are superior to mediocrity may not necessarily send troops to stop it, they will not let Jingzhou transport grain and grass unscrupulously. As time goes by, the army will naturally withdraw if it runs out of food.
"Well, how is the formation of the new army going?"
Just a few days ago, Wang Wei and Wenpin had handed over the affairs of Jiangxia to Pang Tong. They didn't have time to rush back to Xiangyang, so they went straight to the counties to select soldiers and horses. The governors of each county were now Liu Qi's people, so naturally they were divided in every possible way.
With cooperation, in a few days the 100,000-strong army was almost assembled.
"General Wang and General Wen will break up the Feilong Guard and the Feihu Army into the army, and lead the soldiers to train. Within three months, they will be able to train 100,000 elite soldiers."
Zhuge Liang's eyes lit up. At this time, he also understood why Liu Qi asked Wang Wei and Wenpin to select soldiers and horses from the armies of various counties. Although these soldiers and horses were not elite, they had undergone rigorous training after all.
It is not difficult to train a hundred thousand soldiers and horses in a short period of time under the supervision of the Flying Tiger Guard and the Flying Dragon Guard.
Fortunately, the surrounding areas of Jingzhou are still stable at this time, and there is no need for too many soldiers and horses to guard the counties. Otherwise, the sudden deployment of 100,000 soldiers and horses will definitely cause the defense to be lax.
"Anyway, I have nothing to do these days. Let's go together to see the situation of the new army." As he said this, Liu Qi had already stood up and picked up the long sword on the sword stand, preparing to leave.
"No." Zhuge Liang bowed in response. Jingzhou has gradually got on the right track these days, and Zhuge Liang and others are also feeling a lot more relaxed.
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Wu Jun, this time Sun Ce's temperament changed drastically after his last defeat. After returning to Jiangdong, he no longer indulged in martial arts training, but worked hard to govern. Under the governance of Zhang Hong, Zhang Zhao, Zhou Yu, and Lu Su, the entire Jiangdong took on a new look.
He was not depressed because of the last defeat.
"My lord, my subordinates have secretly sent people to Jingzhou to secretly meet the surrendered soldiers. These soldiers were forced to surrender, but the family members, young and old, are all in Jiangdong. They have long been heading back to Jiangdong. Now people's hearts are already floating. I want to take Jiangxia
Pang Tong should have noticed it, and there will definitely be news coming back soon."
In Wuhou's mansion, Lu Su was talking to Sun Ce about the situation in Jingzhou.
"Oh, will Liu Qi agree to return these soldiers to Jiangdong?" Sun Ce frowned and said. Although he and Liu Qi had no sworn relationship, he also knew that Liu Qi had extraordinary means and was a person who never suffered a loss.
He always felt that there was something wrong with surrendering troops.
"My lord, every gain must come with a loss. The 20,000 surrendered troops are completely useless to Jingzhou, but they are of great significance to me, Jiangdong. This time, our Jiangdong troops suffered heavy losses. If these 20,000 troops are strictly trained, they will be enough to defeat Jiangdong."
The strength has increased a lot.”
Lu Su smiled bitterly. He also knew that Jingzhou would definitely use this as a threat, but these 20,000 troops were too important to Jiangdong.
"What are these surrendered soldiers going to do? If this case starts, how can Jiangdong's soldiers fight? If they can't defeat them, they will surrender immediately. If Jiangdong immediately goes to exchange for their return at a price, how can Jiangdong's soldiers still fight if they lose their morale?"
Zhou Tai on the side frowned, but his eyes were full of disgust. In his opinion, these soldiers should be killed.
"Although what General Zhou said was true, the reason why these soldiers surrendered was because the situation was over and no one could control the situation. Returning them only requires killing the leader, which will definitely allow them to unite their military morale again."
Lu Su shook his head. The defeat was due to the general's improper command and had nothing to do with these soldiers.
"In that case, let's wait for the news from Jingzhou." Sun Ce nodded. Twenty thousand soldiers and horses was not a small number, and even Jingzhou could not ignore it.
After saying that, Sun Ce turned to look at Zhang Hong: "How is Ziyi's injury?"
"My Lord, since General Taishi was found, General Taishi has been seriously injured and unconscious. During this time, famous doctors from all over Jiangdong have been invited, but no one has been able to cure General Taishi's injury."
Zhang Hong shook his head and said.
"My lord, I heard them say that if there is anyone who can cure General Taishi's injury, it would be the miracle doctor Hua Tuo, but this Hua Tuo has been missing for a long time." Zhou Tai said with a bitter face.
"Hua Tuo? My lord, I heard that Hua Tuo has been in Xiangyang recently. Liu Qi also opened a medicine shop for Hua Tuo. I heard that he is going to open an academy for him and make Hua Tuo the dean."
Zhang Hong suddenly said that he was responsible for sorting out the news from various places, but he did not expect that Hua Tuo was so capable.
"My lord, why don't you lead people from the end to Xiangyang and kidnap Hua Tuo to Jiangdong?" Zhou Tai said loudly immediately. Taishi Ci was a gentle man and was very popular in Jiangdong. Zhou Tai and him were also good friends.
"No, my lord. I heard that Hua Tuo is a man who is eager for justice and justice, but his temper is as stubborn as the others. If he doesn't want to, he won't come even if he is killed. Instead, it is better to send someone secretly to kill General Taishi."
Inform him of the injury, show affection, and explain it rationally, and maybe we can invite him to Jiangdong."
Zhang Hong was shocked. This was Hua Tuo's last hope to help Tai Shi Ci, and nothing could go wrong.
"Well, if that's the case, then send someone to Jingzhou to ask Hua Tuo to come. If he doesn't want to come, it won't be too late to kidnap him." Sun Ce thought for a while and said, most capable people are proud and proud, how can they give in?
, but for the sake of Tai Shi Ci's injury, he would not hesitate to help him.