Not long after, Yi Jiao walked in with a dusty look on his face and bowed his hands to greet him.
Before Yi Jie bowed down, Yan Liang raised his hand and said, "Uncle Ji has had a hard time on this trip, so there is no need to be more polite."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yi Jie straightened up, his tired face not as excited as Yan Liang imagined.
Looking at Yi Jie's expression, Yan Liang had a vague feeling that Yi Jie's trip to Liaodong did not seem to be going well.
"Uncle Ji, is Gongsun Kang willing to join forces with me to deal with Liu Bei?" Yan Liang asked.
Yi Jie sighed softly: "Gongsun Kang is quite cunning. I went to Liaodong as an envoy and spent all my time, but Gongsun Kang didn't agree to join forces, but he didn't refuse either. He just said that we should consider it carefully. consider."
After hearing this, Yan Liang finally understood.
Gongsun Kang wanted to have both ends of the spectrum, dealing with Yan Liang and Liu Bei. He wanted to offend neither Liu Bei, his close neighbor, nor Yan Liang, his distant neighbor.
"It seems that I have underestimated the resourcefulness of Sun Gongkang." Yan Liang snorted coldly.
When the ministers in the tent learned that the plan to unite Gongsun Kang had failed, they all felt a little sad and regretful.
At this time, Pang Tong asked calmly: "Uncle Ji, in addition to ordering you to marry Gongsun Kang, the king also ordered you to purchase war horses from Liaodong. How did you do this?"
"I originally wanted to buy thousands of war horses from him if we could not unite, but Gongsun Kang secretly used his tricks and made me only buy 500 war horses. I am really ashamed to take this opportunity to go on an envoy and live up to the great trust of your Majesty. ." Yi Jie said with a look of shame on his face.
Yi felt ashamed, but Pang Tong said with a hint of secrecy, "Your Majesty, perhaps I have thought of a strategy to force Liu Bei to retreat."
Yan Liang's spirit perked up, and excitement flashed between his brows.
…
A few days later, Yan Liang withdrew all his troops from Tancheng and returned to Xiapi.
The day after King Yan Liang arrived at Xiapi, Yi Jie led his envoy and entered Xiapi City with great fanfare.
Yi Jie publicly announced that Liaodong Hou Gong Sun Kang had decided to submit to His Highness the King of Chu, and was now mobilizing troops and horses to cross the Liao River, attack Youzhou, and stab Liu Bei in the back.
Accompanying Yi Jie into the city, in addition to his envoys, were nearly three thousand war horses. Yi Jie said that these fine horses were Gongsun Kang's tribute to the King of Chu as a gift of his surrender.
Not long after Yi Jie returned, Yan Liang announced that he would leave Lu Meng and lead an army of 40,000 to defend Xiapi. General Yan Liang would lead his army to Xudu to deal with Cao Cao's attack.
The news that Yan Liang's main force moved westward and that Sun Gongkang presented his horse soon spread to Tancheng. This news naturally shocked Liu Bei's camp.
Gongsun Kangxiong is in Liaodong and has tens of thousands of cavalry under his command. If he really launches a large-scale attack on Youzhou, the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses remaining in Youzhou may not be able to stop him. If there is a fire in the backyard, Liu Bei's situation will become even more unfavorable.
Moreover, the three thousand horses brought back by Yi Jie made Liu Bei even more convinced that Gongsun Kang had indeed taken refuge with Yan Liang.
The westward movement of Yan Liang's main force also significantly reduced Liu Bei's pressure on Xuzhou, giving him a chance to escape.
So, after some weighing, Liu Bei left Guan Yu to hold Tancheng and supervise Qing Xu's troops, and ordered Zhang Fei to sit in Puyang and supervise Yanzhou's troops. The two most trusted generals stayed in the Central Plains. Liu Bei led the main force and hurriedly retreated to Hebei. .
As soon as Liu Bei in the east withdrew his troops, Cao Cao in the west responded immediately.
Cao Cao, who originally gathered at Taigu Pass and claimed to go south to attack Xudu, immediately withdrew his army to Luoyang. Then, in order to show Yan Liang that he had no intention of going south, Cao Cao led his main force to retreat to Guanzhong, only sending Xiahou Dun to lead 30,000 troops.
Soldiers and horses guard the front line of Luoyang.
Xu Ducheng, the main hall of the royal palace.
After reading the intelligence from Luoyang, Yan Liang sneered: "Commander Shiyuan, this plan of yours is really brilliant, but it's a pity that it pushed Gongsun Kang into the pit of fire."
Pang Tong stroked his beard slightly and smiled without saying a word, with a bit of pride flashing between his brows.
In fact, Sun Gongkang did not give Yan Liang three thousand war horses. The mighty war horses that entered Xiapi City were just Yan Liang deploying his own cavalry and rushing to Haixi at starry night, and then pretending to return from Haixi.
Just arrived at Xiapi.
This was exactly Pang Tong's strategy to make Liu Bei think that Gongsun Kang had joined forces with him, forcing Liu Bei to withdraw because he was afraid of losses in the rear.
As for Cao Cao, with his current strength, once Liu Bei retreats, even if he borrows Cao Cao's courage, he will not dare to provoke Yan Liang alone. Of course, he will give up and retreat when he sees the opportunity.
"Your Majesty, Cao Cao's troops invading the south have now dispersed. It is almost autumn. Our army should return south as soon as possible so that the hundreds of thousands of soldiers can go home and harvest crops early." Pang Tong raised his hand and spoke.
Yan Liang nodded slightly, waved his hand and said: "Pass this king's edict, and the class teacher will respond tomorrow."
During this Northern Expedition, Yan Liang successfully repelled the joint attack of Liu Bei and Cao Cao, killing and injuring forty to fifty thousand of Liu Bei's troops, and also captured Pengcheng, Xiapi and most of Xuzhou. The harvest was extremely heavy.
In order to ensure that Chu's economy could continue to support his large-scale use of troops after winter, it was time to withdraw his troops.
The order was passed down, and at dawn the next day, Yan Liang personally led the main force of the Chinese army back to the capital in great strength.
Before leaving, Yan Liang made arrangements again, and still sent Xu Shu, Wen Chou, Wen Pin, etc. to guard Xudu, Wancheng, and Chenliu, responsible for the defense of the Central Plains.
Lü Meng, the governor of Huainan, was appointed governor of Xuzhou for Yan Liang. He led his 40,000 troops to guard Pengcheng and Xiapi line to fight against Guan Yu's troops in Tancheng.
The army started from Xudu, went south along the Wu River to the Huai River, and then southward to the Youfei River. Within ten days, Yan Liang's army entered the Yangtze River from Ruxukou.
The sky was high and the clouds were clear. Yan Liang stood on the boat, looking at the rolling river in the distance. The majestic Yingtian City was already vaguely visible.
Looking at the turbulent river water, Yan Liang's brows, apart from the pride of returning from victory, were also vaguely profound.
"Does the king have something on his mind? Can I help the king share his worries?" Pang Tong asked after understanding Yan Liang's thoughts.
"The one who knows me best is the military advisor." Yan Liang smiled faintly, and his tone suddenly became deeper, "The military advisor guessed it right. I have actually been thinking about Gongsun Kang since I left Xiapi."
Pang Tong sighed softly: "Gongsun Kang does not know how to commend himself and refuses to join forces with the king. It is indeed abominable. However, this thief is far away in Liaodong and we are beyond our reach. All we can do now is to comfort him and make him more capable."
It's just to cause some trouble for Liu Bei."
Is it just to cause some trouble for Liu Bei?
Yan Liang's eyes turned to the north. His vision seemed to cross the vast sea and saw the vast land of Liaodong, where he saw thousands of horses galloping in the wilderness.
It would be a pity that the land rich in good horses was occupied by a narrow-minded man like Gongsun Kang, and it only caused some trouble for Liu Bei.
"Military advisor, if Gongsun Kang can use all the troops in Liaodong to attack Youzhou on a large scale, how much help will it bring to our Northern Expedition?" Yan Liang suddenly asked.
Pang Tong was slightly startled, pondered for a moment, and said: "Liaodong was originally a remote place. However, after the great chaos in the world, many people and soldiers fled to Liaodong with their families to avoid the war, which caused the population of Liaodong to increase dramatically. After many years of Gongsun's family,
I think that Gongsun Kang has at least 30,000 cavalry in his hands at this moment. If he mobilizes all 30,000 cavalry to attack Youzhou, he can at least hold back Liu Bei's 50,000 troops. This will naturally have a great impact on our army's northward march.
help."
Yan Liang nodded slightly, as if what Pang Tong said coincided with what he was thinking.
At this time, Pang Tong sighed again: "It's a pity that Gongsun Kang is a thief who only wants to protect himself by riding on the wall and separatist power. He can't mobilize his entire army to attack Liu Bei."
"So, military advisor, do you have any plan to make Gongsun Kang obey my king's order and attack Youzhou?" Yan Liang asked.
"This -" Pang Tong looked embarrassed and smiled awkwardly, "Your Majesty, this is really difficult for a minor minister. Even though he has many tricks up his sleeve, it's okay to deceive Liu Bei. But if he wants to make Sun Gongkang obey the king's words, it's a bit difficult for a minor minister.
Already."
There was a sneer on the corner of Yan Liang's mouth: "The military advisor has nothing to do, but I, the king, have a plan."
Pang Tong was shocked and couldn't help being secretly surprised. He quickly asked Yan Liang suspiciously what he had planned.
Yan Liang stood with his hands behind his hands and said coldly: "Gongsun Kang is occupying the manhole and is not doing anything, so why don't I simply destroy him and take Liaodong as my own? Now, I can use Liaodong's good horses and cavalry to attack Youzhou.
Kick Liu Bei's ass hard."
"Destroy Gongsun Kang?" Pang Tong was confused.
With a confused look on his face, he couldn't figure out for a moment how Yan Liang could kill Gongsun Kang who was far away in Liaodong through Liu Bei.
"The king plans to send a fleet from the sea to land in Liaodong, catch him by surprise, wipe out Gongsun Kang in one fell swoop, and incorporate Liaodong into the territory of our great Chu state." Yan Liang spoke out his strategy in a heroic tone.
Depart from the sea and land in Liaodong!
Pang Tong's mind suddenly buzzed, as if there was a thunder in the sky in broad daylight.
Yan Liang's previous plan to sneak attack Xuzhou on the sea was whimsical enough, but now Yan Liang actually wants to send a large army across the Bohai Sea and thousands of miles away to capture the Liaodong Peninsula!
Such a feat, throughout the ages, not only has no one ever attempted it, but no one has even dared to think of it.
Yan Liang said it in such an understatement, with a confident tone, as if he was determined to win and did not take the vast sea into his eyes at all.
Pang Tong had to admit that his lord was indeed the most "whimsical" and the most unconventional hero in the world.
If it were Zhuge Liang, when Yan Liang proposed this "unreliable" strategy, Zhuge Liang would probably reject it on the spot as "unsound".
But Yan Liang's chief adviser was Pang Tong, a top adviser who had "the same vibe" as Yan Liang and also had an adventurous spirit.
After the initial surprise, Pang Tong gradually calmed down, his brows fell silent, and his expression changed, as if he was weighing the feasibility of this plan.
After pondering for a long time, Pang Tong's face also showed a bit of pride.
He punched with both fists and said excitedly: "It's not as good as the tiger's den to catch the tiger's cubs. Since the king is so crazy, then I will accompany the king to go crazy with him!" (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature for better updates of novels. Faster!)
