Yuan Tan laughed, with a hint of schadenfreude mixed with sadness.
At this time, Yuan Tan no longer cared whether his foundation was annexed by Yan Liang or Yuan Shang. He just wanted to see Liu Bei fail.
Seeing Yuan Tan's wanton ridicule, Chen Dao, the commander-in-chief of the pro-army army next to him, became angry and threatened to use violence.
Even Liu Bei's gray face flashed with a hint of cold anger.
But the anger only disappeared for a moment, and Liu Bei's frightened and angry face soon returned to calmness.
He just sighed softly and said with a wry smile: "Bei wholeheartedly planned for His Highness, but he didn't expect to be misunderstood by His Highness so deeply. That's all. One day, Your Highness will definitely realize Bei's painstaking efforts."
Having said that, Liu Bei did not give Yuan Tan a chance to make sarcastic remarks, and waved his hand to Chen Dao to invite Yuan Tan down.
"Liu Bei, you despicable, hypocritical, ungrateful villain, sooner or later I, Yuan Tan, will call you..."
Yuan Tan was so angry that he opened his mouth to curse, but Chen Dao didn't give him a chance. He raised his tiger palm and dragged Yuan Tan away in a few strokes.
The hall fell silent, and Liu Bei's calm face showed anxiety again.
"Lord, the Central Plains states have not yet been taken over. If Yuan Shang and Yan Liang join forces to attack, I'm afraid it will not be easy for us to deal with it." Sun Qian expressed the same concern.
Liu Bei looked at Sun Qian and frowned: "Gongyou, what are your countermeasures?"
"Well..." Deep lines formed on Sun Qian's forehead, but he was at a loss for a while.
Liu Bei stood up and walked around, his whole body exuding anxiety.
Now his first counselor and brother-in-law Chen Deng is recuperating in Xuzhou due to illness and is unable to come with the army. Counselors like Sun Qian are not resourceful enough to deal with the current chaotic situation.
As for Zhuge Liang, who I met once in Huainan, he must be in Xuzhou now, but he is far away and cannot be separated from the fire nearby.
While he was deep in thought, Sun Qian suddenly said: "My lord, why don't you invite Cheng Zhongde to come and discuss it."
Cheng Zhongde is Cheng Yu.
Liu Bei's eyes lit up, as if he suddenly woke up, but then dimmed again in the blink of an eye.
Speaking of Cheng Yu, Liu Bei really has a love-hate relationship with him.
This man was originally Cao Cao's counselor. When Liu Bei had no choice but to surrender to Cao Cao, this man persuaded Cao Cao several times to kill him to eliminate future troubles. Liu Bei hated this deeply.
Liu Bei also knew that Cheng Yu was resourceful and admired his talent very much.
In the previous Battle of Guandu, Xudu fell. Cheng Yu defended Dongjun, which blocked Yuan Shao's westward retreat from Guanzhong. Cheng Yu failed to follow Cao Cao and was unwilling to surrender to Yuan Shao, so he led his army to retreat to Mount Tai, east of Yanzhou.
A band of resistance.
Later, Liu Bei took advantage of the situation and captured Xuzhou. He obviously respected Yuan Shao, but secretly wanted to be independent. Because he cherished Cheng Yu's talent, he sent people to recruit him. However, Cheng Yu had no reinforcements outside and no food and grass inside. He had no choice but to surrender.
Liu Bei.
Although Liu Bei recruited Cheng Yu, he was one of the confidants who followed Cao Cao in raising troops. Although he loved his talent, he had many scruples. Although he appointed Cheng Yu as a high-ranking official in Xuzhou, he never asked about his military strategy.
Cheng Yu only used Chen Deng as his mastermind.
Now that Chen Deng is ill and away from him, looking at the counselors around him, except Cheng Yu, who else is resourceful enough to share his worries.
After hesitating for a long time, Liu Bei sighed, waved his hand and said, "Go and ask Cheng Zhongde to come."
The banquet was removed and solemnity returned to the lobby.
Liu Bei knew very well what kind of image he needed to project in front of Cheng Yu.
After a while, Cheng Yu, dressed in a green shirt, walked into the hall, bowed his hands in greeting, and said "Lord".
Although, this "Lord" sounds a little stiff.
Liu Bei returned the favor with a smile and asked Cheng Yu to sit down. He did not talk about business, but just chatted and reminisced about the past.
After being unable to say a few words, Cheng Yu suddenly said: "My lord, if you have anything to ask Yu, just say it directly and don't beat around the bush."
Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, shook his head and sighed with a smile: "Zhongde is indeed Zhongde, and he is still the same straight-forward person as before. Okay, let me tell the truth. In fact, I invite Zhongde to come here this time, and there is indeed something."
I would like to ask your opinion on this matter."
"My lord, please speak." Cheng Yu's face was calm, not even the slightest bit disturbing.
Facing Cheng Yu's cold expression, Liu Bei suddenly felt like his hot face was pressed against his cold ass. This feeling made him very uncomfortable.
However, Liu Bei showed no signs of it on his face. He only calmly told Cheng Yu the information about Yuan Shang and Yan Liang, as well as the troops from the north and the south.
"Yuan Shang is a mediocre person, so there is nothing to fear, but Yan Liang is a powerful character. If these two people join forces to deal with the lord, the lord will really be unable to do it alone."
In a few words, Cheng Yu revealed Liu Bei's unfavorable situation, but his tone was as if he was just a bystander watching the fun and had no intention of putting himself in Liu Bei's shoes.
Liu Bei could only pretend to be unaware and hurriedly said: "What Zhongde said is exactly what I am worried about, so I want to ask Zhongde to help me make an idea."
Cheng Yu didn't say anything, and suddenly closed his eyes, stroking his beard, and fell into deep thought.
Looking at Cheng Yu's lifeless face, Liu Bei's originally attentive face could not help but feel a bit of gloom at this moment, and his cheeks were squirming, as if they were biting secretly.
Suddenly, Cheng Yu opened his eyes.
Liu Bei's expression suddenly became cloudy and clear, and he asked sincerely: "Does Zhongde have a good plan?"
"Since Yan Liang has joined forces with Yuan Shang, if the master wants to break the two alliances, he must also borrow an external force." Cheng Yu put his hands in the mask and spoke firmly and confidently.
"With external help..."
"Yes, just borrowing external help."
######
Xuchang City.
Seven days have passed since the 20,000-strong army led by Yan Liang arrived in Xudu, but he still stood still.
On the one hand, Yan Liang is waiting for the remaining battalions of soldiers to come and assemble. On the other hand, Yan Liang is waiting for someone else.
That person is Yuan Shang.
According to the intelligence received not long ago, Yuan Shang's 30,000 soldiers and horses have crossed the Yellow River from Baimajin and captured the East County of Yanzhou. The soldiers are entering Chenliu Kingdom and marching straight towards Yongqiu.
Chenliu Kingdom borders the northern part of Yingchuan County, and Yongqiu is located to the east of Chenliu Kingdom. It is only more than 300 miles away from Xudu, and Suiyang City, where Liu Bei's army is entrenched, is directly east of Yongqiu.
A few days ago, Yan Liang and Yuan Shang reached an agreement. The two families would meet in Yongqiu and send troops to attack Liu Bei.
Of course, this proposal was naturally made by Yuan Shang.
Although Yuan Shang defeated Yuan Xi now, he lost Qingzhou and his vitality was quite damaged. However, Yan Liang's strength increased greatly after he gained Xu Du.
After Liu Bei swallowed up the Central Plains, he posed a greater threat to Yuan Shang than Yan Liang.
Naturally, Yan Liang had no reason to disagree. Although he knew that the so-called alliance with Yuan Shang was just a temporary strategy that seemed to be in harmony with the spirit, but adding one more person to join the gang to deal with Liu Bei would have all the benefits and no harm, so why wouldn't he do it.
Yan Liang garrisoned troops in Xudu, waiting for Yuan Shang's army to move south.
In the afternoon of that day, Yan Liang inspected all the camps and summoned all the counselors to discuss how to use the troops after the alliance with Yuan Shangzhi.
At this moment, Zhou Cang hurriedly entered and delivered Si Wencao's latest information.
Looking at the mark on the wax pill, Yan Liang recognized at a glance that it was information about Soochow.
A bad premonition suddenly flashed through Yan Liang's mind.
"Yuan Zhi, come and read the information to everyone." Yan Liang waved his hand, but he was calm and composed.
Xu Shu then took apart the wax pill and took a closer look. A hint of worry could not help but appear on his eyebrows.
Not long ago, Zhou Yu had led 30,000 troops into the Huaihe River, and went north along the Wishui River to enter Qiaojun. Yuan Tan's troops and horses under Qiaojun had all withdrawn to the Liang Kingdom. The Wu army occupied the counties along the way with almost no bloodshed. Its vanguard, Taishi Ci's tribe,
Approaching towards Liang Guo.
At the same time, Sun Quan sent another 20,000 troops to Lu Su in Hukou, and Jiangxia's scouts also discovered that the Wu army had begun to send troops to Chaisang, and seemed to have the intention of repairing Chaisang City.
Xu Shu spoke out this piece of information in a rather solemn tone.
"Qiaojun is the southern barrier of the Liang Kingdom. Now Liu Bei's army is all in the Liang Kingdom. He actually surrendered Qiaojun to the Wu army. Isn't he afraid of being surrounded by enemies on three sides?"
Man Chong was the first to express his doubts, and his words revealed everyone's doubts.
Yan Liang sneered, "Liu Bei also has capable people under his command. Can't you see it? Liu Bei has joined forces with Sun Quan. He gave up Qiao County to Zhou Yu because he wanted Zhou Yu to go to Liang Guo to help in the war."
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the lobby.
Liu Bei and Sun Quan, these two heroes were fighting to the death for Shouchun a few months ago. In the blink of an eye, they became comrades in the same trench. The two men changed their faces so much that it was really unique.
"The lord controls Jingzhou and has the upper reaches of Jiangdong. In Sun Quan's view, the lord is his fundamental enemy, and the enemy of his enemy is his friend. What's so strange about this."
Tian Feng, however, looked disdainful and explained the mystery simply.
Yan Liang smiled and said nothing, acquiescing to Tian Feng's judgment.
The people present were all wise and resourceful people, and they quickly figured out the mystery.
Wen Chou said: "Zhou Yu can rule the roost on the water. If you dare to come to the Central Plains, you are asking for death. But I feel a little strange. Since Sun Quan intends to fight with us, why not send all his troops north to the Central Plains? Why did he only give Zhou Yu 30,000 yuan?"
Instead of having troops and horses, Lu Su was given more troops. Isn’t it a taboo in the art of war to divide the troops like this?”
Although Wen Chou was brave, he was still far inferior in resourcefulness.
However, Xu Shu and other counselors looked at each other with understanding expressions on their faces, obviously they had seen through Sun Quan's intentions.
Yan Liang sneered and said: "Sun Quan is a profit-seeking leader. How could he sacrifice troops and food and sincerely help Liu Bei? In my opinion, Zhou Yu's 30,000 soldiers and horses are mostly here to make soy sauce. He
The real purpose is to rebuild Chaisang and then capture Jingzhou while the general has no time to look south."
Yan Liang was familiar with the Three Kingdoms and knew Sun Quan's temperament very well. He revealed Sun Quan's little thoughts in a few words.
But when he was confident for a moment, he accidentally slipped out a few "extraordinary words".
Xu Shu nodded repeatedly as he listened, "My lord is right. After capturing Shouchun, Sun Quan's strength has greatly increased. He wants to take the opportunity to capture Jingzhou, and it is very possible to capture the entire Yangtze River. It's just soy sauce..."
Xu Shu looked at Yan Liang with big eyes, a look of confusion on his face.