Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty Great Righteousness and Small Righteousness
Runan County?
Yan Liang's eyes turned to the map, and his eyes stayed on that familiar area.
When Yan Liang backed Yuan Zili, he relied on Runan County to gather Zhou Cang, Liu Pi, and thousands of Yellow Turban troops.
It was with these soldiers that he finally conquered the entire Jingzhou, and now he has entered the Central Plains and captured the important towns of Xudu, which is powerful in the world.
However, since Yan Liang entered Jingzhou, Runan County has gradually faded out of his sight. Now, after a long time, he heard about this familiar old place again from Tian Feng's mouth.
"Now that Shouchun has been broken, Liu Bei and Zhou Yu have been fighting for more than a month without victory. Their military strength has weakened, and they will inevitably withdraw their troops back to Xuzhou. At that time, all the land in Huainan will be in the hands of the Wu people. Runan and Huainan are connected, which is Yangzhou
At the gate to the west, how could Zhou Yu not come to fight for it because of his knowledge?"
Tian Feng's words suddenly reminded Yan Liang. He stood up from his seat, approached the hanging map, and thought about it carefully.
As knowledgeable as Yan Liang, he quickly saw the meaning of what Tian Feng said.
Previously, Yan Liang had noticed the northwest of Runan County and knew that heading west from Runan, one could reach Xinye, and heading north from Runan could threaten Xuchang, but the eastern part of Runan was ignored by Yan Liang.
There is Yingshui River near Xudu, which flows through Runan and merges into the Huaihe River at the junction of the eastern part of Runan County and Huainan County. The place where it enters the Huaihe River is called Yingkou.
And Yingkou is only a few dozen miles away from Shouchun.
This means that if Yan Liang sends troops from Xudu to attack Huainan and goes south by water, he will reach the Huaihe River in a few days, directly threatening Shouchun.
On the contrary, if the Wu army wants to attack Xudu, it will pass through Runan County and go north along the Ying River. It will not take many days to endanger Xudu.
At that time, Sun Ce wanted to take advantage of the Battle of Guandu to secretly attack Xudu. He probably wanted to lead his army to capture Shouchun first, and then use this route to sneak attack south of Xudu.
Now that Yan Liang and Sun Quan are at odds, in order to defend Shouchun, Sun Quan will most likely send troops to attack Runan to prevent Yan Liang from threatening Shouchun. He can even rely on Runan to invade Xinye at any time. If Xinye is lost, Yan Liang will rule the north and south.
The area is threatened with being cut off.
Tian Feng's reminder must be for this reason.
After thinking about it for a while, Yan Liang suddenly realized it. He couldn't help but clapped his fists and said, "Thanks to sir for reminding me. Otherwise, I would have almost overlooked how important Runan is."
Yan Liang, who suddenly understood, immediately sent an order. He ordered Zhang He to lead five thousand soldiers and horses to immediately go south from Rudu to attack Runan County.
Zhang He's troops set off immediately, while Yan Liang stationed his army in Xudu. He only waited for the soldiers to rest and recuperate, and then took advantage of the victory to make the next plan for the use of troops.
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Wokou, Xuzhou Army Camp.
This place is located in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River, and is the intersection of the Wu River coming from the north and the Huaihe River.
A month ago, Liu Bei led Qingxu's army in a hurry south. When they arrived in Huainan, they were shocked to hear that Shouchun City had been destroyed by Zhou Yu.
In desperation, Liu Bei had to station his camp at the mouth of the vortex dozens of miles downstream from Shouchun, using it as a base to try to recapture Shouchun.
After a month of stalemate, both sides were victorious. However, Liu Bei could do nothing to Zhou Yu. Seeing that his soldiers were exhausted and their morale gradually fell into a low point, he still saw no hope of regaining Shouchun.
Just when there was a stalemate with the Wu people, Liu Bei was hit by another urgent report from the north.
His staunch ally Yuan Tan was defeated by Yan Liang at Huoshui, and soon after, the capital city of Xu was also captured by Yan Liang's army.
Yan Liang was strong, Liu Bei knew this very well, but what puzzled Liu Bei was that Yan Liang first defeated the powerful Cao Cao, then Yuan Tan, and finally captured Xudu in an almost perfect way. This series of events was almost invincible.
The performance almost made Liu Bei unable to believe his ears.
The cruel fact is that Yan Liang did it.
It turns out that Liu Bei pointed to Yuan Tan as his ally to help him hold back Cao Cao, Yan Liang and Yuan Shang, three powerful enemies, so that he could profit from them.
But now, I didn't expect that this young master Yuan was so useless and had lost so much troops and territory. He even sent people to ask for help from him a few days ago.
All kinds of unfavorable news, coupled with the fact that Chen Deng was ill and unable to join the army in planning, Liu Bei's mood at this time was already shrouded in gloom.
"well……"
Looking at the word "Shou Chun" on the map, Liu Bei shook his head and sighed.
At this time, soldiers outside the tent came to report that a young scribe named Zhuge Kongming was outside asking for an audience.
Zhuge Kongming?
When he heard this name, a strange color flashed across Liu Bei's gray face. He rolled his eyes a few times and quickly remembered who this person was.
"Could this Kong Ming be the one who repeatedly made clever plans in Jingzhou to help Liu Qi resist Yan Liang's Zhuge Liang..."
Although Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, he paid close attention to the affairs of all the states in the world. Zhuge Liang assisted Liu Qi in seizing the position of state pastor. Liu Bei also heard about various deeds. He even once hoped that Liu Qi could turn defeat into victory and get rid of Yan Liang, the wife-stealer.
It's a pity that Liu Qi fell short in the end.
That was when Liu Qi died and his reputation was destroyed. Zhuge Liang was nowhere to be found. Liu Bei only thought that he had died in the troubled times, and deeply regretted the death of such a talented man. However, he did not expect that this man would appear in Huainan today, and
Just outside the account.
Liu Bei suddenly became very curious and said immediately: "Please invite Mr. Kong Ming to come in."
Not long after, steady footsteps sounded, and a young scribe with a slender figure and handsome appearance walked into the tent calmly, waving the feather fan in his hand.
This scribe was an extraordinary person. As soon as he placed it in the tent, Liu Bei's eyes suddenly lit up, and he was a little distracted for a moment.
"Zhuge Liang, a common man, has met Uncle Liu Huang." Zhuge Liang bowed his hands in greeting.
Liu Bei woke up from his daze. He quickly returned the courtesy and said with a smile: "I have admired Mr. Kong Ming's name for a long time. When I saw him today, he is indeed well-deserved."
"Uncle Liu Huang said something serious. Liang is just an idle person in the mountains. I passed by here today and I'd like to ask you not to blame me for disturbing Uncle Liu Huang." Zhuge Liang smiled lightly and laughed at himself.
Liu Bei traveled south and north, and his knowledge was so broad. In just a few words, he knew that Zhuge Liang must be extraordinary based on Zhuge Liang's conversation and demeanor.
At that moment, Liu Bei laughed: "Mr. Kong Ming was assisting Liu Zhou Mu in Jingzhou to fight against the invasion of cruel people like Yan Liang. I have heard about it for a long time. I have also admired your wisdom and integrity for a long time. Today, I am honored to have you here."
, how dare you be surprised."
With that said, Liu Bei hurriedly invited Zhuge Liang to take a seat, and even asked his soldiers to serve him good tea.
Zhuge Liang did not hesitate and sat down calmly, but then sighed: "Liang wanted to stop Yan Liang, a violent person from swallowing up Jingxiang, but it was a pity that he took action a step too late. He will not be able to turn the tide in the future. I am really ashamed."
There was a hint of self-blame in Zhuge Liang's words.
Liu Bei hurriedly said: "When Mr. Yan came out of the mountain, Yan Liang was already powerful. It was not easy for Mr. Liu to assist Liu Jingzhou and resist Yan Liang's villain for so long. The fall of Jingzhou was not Mr.'s fault. Why should you blame yourself?
.”
"It's okay not to mention the old regrets." Zhuge Liang sighed softly, lowered his head and drank tea by himself.
Liu Bei also took a sip of tea and quietly rolled his eyes as he secretly looked at the young counselor in front of him. He couldn't help but like him more and more the more he looked at him.
After half the cup of tea was finished, Liu Bei asked with a smile: "I wonder if you, sir, have come here to teach me anything?"
Zhuge Liang put down the tea cup and shook the feather fan slightly, "Liang was passing by here and saw that Uncle Liu Huang was not seizing the opportunity, but still stationed troops here and had a meaningless stalemate with the Wu people. Liang was very surprised, so he wanted to come and see him.
When I met Uncle Liu Huang."
There was something in Zhuge Liang's words, that "great opportunity", which made Liu Bei perk up.
"I'm sorry for being stupid, but I hope you can tell me in detail." Liu Bei bowed his hand in a very sincere tone.
Zhuge Wang coughed a few times, stood up, and walked to the map while waving his feather fan.
"With the current plan, Yuan Tan has lost all his elite troops and has less than 10,000 soldiers. The entire Central Plains is empty. Emperor Liu didn't take advantage of this God-given opportunity, but instead stationed troops here to compete with the Wu army with high morale.
When Shouchun was trapped, Liang thought that Uncle Liu Huang's move was actually a bad move."
Zhuge Liang's eloquent words only shocked Liu Bei's heart, and the inherent thinking in his mind seemed to be reversed in an instant.
Liu Bei suddenly stood up and stared at the land of the Central Plains, with excitement shining in Liu Bei's eyes.
"Yes, compared with the Central Plains, a mere Shouchun is nothing. Besides, the city of Shouchun has already been captured, so why should I continue to compete with the Wu people for this small profit just for the sake of temporary motivation? Now that Yuan Tan's strength has been greatly reduced,
Yuan Shang is also restrained by Yuan Xi. Taking advantage of this great opportunity to seize the Central Plains from the west is a good strategy..."
Liu Bei's eyes rolled around, he stroked his beard and nodded secretly.
Suddenly, his excited expression calmed down, and he turned into a somewhat troubled expression, "Yuan Tan was well prepared. When he was preparing to flee to Hebei, Yuan Tan even went out of the city to welcome us, and the two of us have become allies.
Let’s make an appointment to advance and retreat together. Now that he is in trouble, it’s okay if I don’t help him. If I instead take advantage of the situation to seize his inheritance, I really can’t bear to do such an unkind and unjust act.”
As Liu Bei sighed with emotion, there were even a few tears in his eyes, as if he was feeling sad for Yuan Tan's difficult situation.
When Zhuge Liang saw this, he sighed and said: "I have heard for a long time that Uncle Liu Huang is a master of benevolence and righteousness. When I see him today, it is true."
"I'm sorry, sir. I just want to have a clear conscience. How dare I claim to be benevolent and righteous?" Liu Bei said humbly.
After sighing for a long time, Zhuge Liang changed the topic and said: "It's just that now that Yan Liang has conquered Xudu, even if Uncle Liu Huang doesn't go to take the Central Plains, he will definitely go to take it. In the meantime, the Central Plains will be lost to Yan Liang, a thug.
With his hands, I don’t know how many people will suffer from his brutal oppression.”
After a pause, Zhuge Liang continued: "At that time, Uncle Liu put the people of the Central Plains in dire straits and ignored them. Isn't it because of small righteousness that he lost his righteousness?"
"The great justice is lost because of the small justice..."
Liu Bei repeated Zhuge Liang's last words over and over again, and a look of enlightenment gradually emerged in his eyes.
