Chapter 331 The big chessboard that is getting more and more chaotic
"Yes, Yan Liang is so cruel. If he seizes the Central Plains, countless people will die at his hands. How can I turn a blind eye..."
In Liu Bei's mind, such a voice kept persuading him.
The hesitant expression on that gray face gradually disappeared, replaced by some kind of consciousness.
"It's just that if we are prepared to go north, what will Wu Ru do?"
Liu Bei did not respond to Yuan Tan's matter, but the implication seemed to be his acquiescence to Zhuge Liang's proposal.
Zhuge Liang gently shook his feather fan and said calmly: "If Wu Ru seizes Shouchun now, he will definitely seize Runan from the west. And Yan Liangxin won Xudu, and he will never allow Runan to fall into Wu Ru's hands. The two families originally had
Hatred once, but now conflicts of interest will cause trouble again.
Therefore, for Uncle Liu's current plan, he might as well withdraw his troops and return, sit back and watch the two tigers fight each other, and the threat from the south will be eliminated. And Uncle Liu can fight for the Central Plains with all his strength, and then take Hebei to the north and unify the two rivers. At that time...
"
Zhuge Liang did not finish his words, but only waved his fan and smiled slightly.
But Liu Bei became more and more excited as he listened, feeling as if he was waking up from a dream.
After standing up and pacing for a long time, Liu Bei cupped his hands and said, "Sir's words are really valuable. I have benefited a lot from taking them seriously."
"Liang just said it casually. Liu Huangshu Quan used it as a reference. It cannot be taken seriously."
Zhuge Liang smiled slightly, confident but also somewhat humble.
In the excitement, Liu Bei said: "It's just that Yuan Tan is also an ally of Bei. If Bei openly launches an attack, I will still feel a little guilty about it."
"Although it is imperative to annex Yuan Tan, we should not rush it. The emperor's uncle can plan slowly and act at will. As long as the opportunity is right, he does not necessarily have to use swords or guns, and the emperor's uncle's reputation is not necessarily good.
It will be damaged."
There was something in Zhuge Liang's words that seemed to be giving some kind of hint.
Liu Bei pondered for a long time, and suddenly he seemed to have some understanding, and his brows became a little more excited.
Zhuge Liang said no more, drank a cup of tea, then stood up and said: "Liang is going back to his hometown to visit relatives, so I won't disturb the emperor's uncle in handling military affairs and take leave."
Seeing Zhuge Liang about to leave, Liu Bei became anxious and quickly reached out to stop him.
"Sir, he is a talented person in the world, and he is ready to bear the heavy responsibility of supporting the Han Dynasty. He only regrets that he has little talent and limited knowledge, and it is difficult to support him alone. I sincerely ask you to lend me a helping hand."
Liu Bei is planning to recruit Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang only smiled faintly, "Liang has little knowledge and has always been indifferent to worldly affairs. He has been living in a foreign country for half his life. Now he just wants to go back to Xuzhou to farm and study and find some leisure and comfort. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Liang to bear the kindness of the emperor's uncle."
The young man in front of him sounded like a wild scholar.
But Liu Bei thought to himself: "Why are you indifferent to worldly affairs? If you really are indifferent to worldly affairs, why would you come to me to offer advice..."
Thinking of this, Liu Bei's expression became more sincere, and his eyes were filled with tears of thirst for talents.
"I really admire you for your noble ambitions. However, you are also kind-hearted and love the people. I hope you can think of the people who will die young and help this foolish person."
As Liu Bei spoke, he stretched his body even further and bowed deeply.
Zhuge Liang hurriedly helped Liu Bei up and sighed: "Uncle Liu Huang is a hero of the world, and Liang himself admires him very much. However, Liang's trip is indeed to return to his hometown to visit relatives, but since Liang wants to stay in Xuzhou, we will see him again in the future."
Although Zhuge Liang didn't agree to Liu Bei's coming out, he didn't refuse either. His words seemed to imply that there might be another chance in the future.
Liu Bei was so smart that he quickly understood what he meant.
At that moment, Liu Bei put away a grimace, cupped his hands and said, "Since my husband is busy with something, it's not easy for him to keep you. When he returns to Xuzhou in the future, he must go to his house to pay homage to him in person."
Zhuge Liang smiled lightly and said: "In this case, Na Liang will be waiting for your uncle to come."
After all the polite words, Zhuge Liang took his leave, and Liu Bei personally sent him out of the camp.
Looking at Zhuge Liang's retreating figure, Liu Bei quietly smiled and murmured: "This Zhuge Kongming is indeed resourceful and comes from a noble family in Xuzhou. If he can be used by me..."
######Xu Du.
The former Wei Prince's Mansion has now been transformed into Yan Liang's Military Mansion.
In the magnificent lobby, Yan Liang was leisurely sipping wine and reading the latest information from all over the world.
Regarding Guanzhong, Cao Cao was probably completely defeated in the battle at Licheng. After returning to Chang'an, he had no intention of raising his troops eastward.
According to the intelligence sent back from Chang'an, after Cao Cao returned to Guanzhong, he was recovering his damaged strength and increasing troops to Chencang. He seemed to have the intention of sending troops to Xiliang.
According to the speculations of Jia Xu and other counselors, Cao Cao's move was probably to completely eliminate the Xiliang princes of Mahan, so as to completely relieve his worries.
During the two years since Cao Cao retreated to Guanzhong and recuperated, his military strength had already recovered to over 50,000. With such a force, if he could have attacked Bingzhou with his entire army at the beginning, he might not have been able to defeat the Yellow River, nor would he have been forced to do so later.
He changed his strategy and raised his troops to attack Nanyang, but was eventually defeated and returned.
The reason why Cao Cao was unable to concentrate all his troops was because Ma Teng and Han Sui continued to harass the western front, forcing Cao Cao to equip Xiahou Yuan's Chencang Corps with as many as 20,000 troops.
For this reason, Jia Xu guessed that after Cao Cao failed to invade Nanyang and did not dare to fight Yan Liang for the time being, he would probably choose to wipe out Xiliang and complete the complete occupation of Yongliang and Liangzhou.
If Cao Cao could take over the two prefectures of Yongliang and collect all the strong horses from Xiliang, his strength would be greatly increased, which Yan Liang did not want to see.
But now Yan Liang's sights are all on the Central Plains, and he can only temporarily ignore Cao Cao who is far away in Guanzhong. Cao Cao's westward shift of the battle line also reduces Yan Liang's pressure, allowing him to go all out eastward.
Another piece of information is about Liu Bei.
After the fall of Shouchun, Uncle Liu did not fight in Huainan as Yan Liang expected, and fell into a long-term war with Soochow. However, not long after he conquered Xudu, he wisely chose to withdraw and return to Xuzhou.
Moreover, after Liu Bei returned to Xuzhou, he led his army to the Pengcheng area, and there seemed to be signs of planning to march westward into the Central Plains.
As for Yuan Tan, who was defeated in Huoshui, he did not gather his defeated troops in Chenliu County to resist Yan Liang's further eastward advance as originally expected. Instead, he abandoned Chenliu and retreated to Liang State further east.
Yuan Tan's move couldn't help but arouse Yan Liang's speculation.
"Liang State and Pengcheng are quite close. Yuan Tan led his remaining troops to retreat to Liang State, and Liu Bei led his army to Pengcheng. This is probably the intention of the two forces to join forces and work together to resist our army's eastward advance."
Xu Shu made a decisive judgment.
Yan Liang stared at the area on the map and couldn't help but frown slightly.
Judging from the superficial signs, the situation is indeed as Xu Shu said. If it is true, it will indeed be a difficult situation.
Although Yuan Tan lost most of his troops in Xudu, he still occupies the three states of the Central Plains. If he pieces together, he can at least build an army of about 20,000 in a short time.
As for Liu Bei, after he captured Qingzhou, his military strength increased dramatically. Currently, he has at least 50,000 available troops.
This means that if they join forces together, they will have a strength of more than 70,000 troops.
At present, Yan Liang only has more than 40,000 troops that can be used to advance eastward.
If those 70,000 soldiers and horses were in Yuan Tan's hands, Yan Liang would naturally not be afraid at all, but the key lies in Liu Bei's joining.
The strategy of Liu Bei is far superior to that of Yuan Tan, and he has famous generals such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and even Zhang Xiu, as well as strategists such as Chen Deng and Cheng Yu. The overall strength of Liu Bei Group is far greater than that of Yuan Tan.
Far stronger than Yuan Tan.
Yan Liang is not afraid of Liu Bei, but this does not mean that he will despise Liu Bei. What he considers is whether the benefits will be greater than the losses if he fights to the death with Liu Bei, a powerful enemy, even if he wins in the end.
Moreover, now that Sun Quan has captured Shouchun, and Soochow's troops are also pointing towards the Central Plains, such an ambitious former disciple has been inserted into the group of heroes competing in the Central Plains, and the situation has become more complicated.
"One move affects the whole body, and the chaos in the Central Plains becomes more and more interesting..."
Yan Liang sighed with emotion, but changed the topic, "How is the situation in the direction of Runan County?"
Xu Shu selected Half Yu Runan's latest battle report from a large amount of information.
"General Zhang's Pegasus reports urgently. His five thousand cavalry have captured the security city of Runan County the day before yesterday. Shangcai, Wufang, Yang'an and other counties east of Ancheng have all surrendered without a fight."
Yan Liang nodded slightly, expressing that he was satisfied with Zhang He's speed in using his troops.
At this time, Xu Shu suddenly said: "However, General Zhang also said in the urgent report that Wu General Tai Shici had led more than 5,000 troops and horses into Runan and captured Ruyin, Fupo, Yuanlu, etc. in the eastern part of Runan.
Several counties. General Zhang asked the lord for instructions whether to lead his army to continue marching eastward, start a war with Wu, and completely occupy the entire Runan County."
Hearing this, Yan Liang's brows furrowed even more, and he sneered: "Mr. Yuan Hao's prediction was indeed right. This Zhou Yu is really fast, and he sent troops to invade Runan so quickly."
Hearing Yan Liang's approval, Tian Feng stroked his beard slightly, a hint of confidence flashing in his eyebrows.
"Mr. Yuan Hao, the Wu army has entered Runan. In your opinion, what should the general do?" Yan Liang turned his attention to Tian Feng.
Tian Feng said: "The eastern part of Runan County is too close to Shouchun. Wu Ru will not tolerate Shouchun being exposed to the front of our army at any time. Under the current situation, it is obviously impossible to start a large-scale war with Wu Ru again."
It’s not appropriate. Therefore, when the old man wanted it, he ordered General Zhang to keep the status quo unchanged, that is, he will not continue to advance eastward, and he will not allow Wu to invade the west. We will enter Runan together with Wu."
Two points for Runan?
Tian Feng's suggestion made Yan Liang's eyes light up.
Xu Shu on the other side said: "There are many mountains to the west of Runan, and Wu Jin will not dare to go deep. Even if they occupy several counties to the east, they will not pose a threat to Xu Du. I think Mr. Yuan Hao's plan is feasible."
.”
Xu Shu also agreed with Tian Feng's proposal.
Yan Liang's eyes swept around the map, and he sighed in his heart: "Yuan Tan, Yuan Shang, Liu Bei, and now Sun Quan has been added to the big game of the Central Plains. They are becoming more and more interesting..." (
