When Yan Liang led an army of 60,000 to Xuzhou in a mighty manner, thousands of miles away in Liaodong, Lu Meng was rapidly expanding his results.
After capturing Xi'an Pingcheng, Lu Meng did not take the opportunity to advance westward and went to capture Xiangping.
Xiangping is very close to the Liao River. Once Lu Meng's army moves forward, it is likely that the Liaodong Army in Xiangping will collapse. At that time, Liu Bei can easily lead his army across the Liao River and take advantage of the situation to advance eastward.
Lu Meng did not want to face Liu Bei's troops before he had a firm foothold, so he decided to stay in Xiangping temporarily and let Gongsun Kang stop Liu Bei first.
Therefore, after Lü Meng captured Xi'an Ping, he sent people by sea to report his victory to Yan Liang, and at the same time he recruited local men to build the city defense day and night.
At the same time, Lü Meng also assigned Zhang Jiao five thousand soldiers and horses, and ordered him to lead his army eastward to capture the two counties of Lelang and Daifang.
In the two counties of Lelang in the south, when they heard that the Chu army had landed and cut off the connection with Xiangyang, the soldiers and the people were already frightened and their hearts were in turmoil.
Moreover, the owners of the two counties only have a few thousand soldiers, so how can they resist the elites of hundreds of battles led by Zhang Zha.
Therefore, Zhang Jiao marched his army southward, making great progress along the way. Most of the counties he passed passed by the wind, and Zhang Jiao took Lelang County with almost no effort.
After capturing Lelang, Zhangzhao marched without stopping and immediately led his army to the southwest to attack Daifang County.
Less than three days after marching, Zhang Jaw's troops came to the county and led Fang City. The governor appointed by Gongsun Kang knew that he did not know, so he led all the county officials to surrender. Zhang Jiao's troops captured two southern counties without any bloodshed.
Zhang Jiao captured the two southern counties, not only clearing away the threat from the rear of Lu Meng's main force. More importantly, he captured Haiming City, an important port in Daifang County.
The distance between Haiming City and Xuzhou Haixi is at least one-third shorter than Xi'an Pingcheng. This means that the Chu army's follow-up troops and supplies can be sent to Liaodong faster to support Lu Meng's expedition.
military.
…
To the west of Liao Tunnel City is the Yan Army camp.
In the tent, Liu Bei was staring at the map of Liaodong with a frown on his face.
The confidence that we were determined to win before we sent out troops has now mostly disappeared.
Liu Bei originally thought that even the heroes of Hebei such as Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were no match for him. Gongsun Kang, who was shrinking in Liaodong, was nothing.
But now, the army was blocked at the foot of the Liao Tunnel City. After being besieged for a month, it could not be seen. Facing the surging Liao River, it was impossible to pass. Only then did Liu Bei know why Yuan Shao did not take advantage of the victory to take over Liaodong after he captured the four states in Hebei.
There is no other reason. The geography and climate in Liaodong are so harsh that even the most elite troops and horses will not be able to be used here.
"Alas" Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, full of helplessness.
Sima Yi, who was beside him, saw Liu Bei's thoughts and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. It is winter now and the weather is getting colder. I predict that in less than a month, the Liao River will freeze. By that time, we can
We pretended to attack the Liao Tunnel, but crossed the ice from Liaoyang in the north and went straight to Xiangping."
Sima Yi came up with a plan, and Liu Bei's eyes lit up, and his spirit suddenly cheered up.
At this moment, Chen Dao hurried in and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, please give me an urgent report. Yan Thief's army has landed by sea."
Upon hearing the news, Liu Bei's expression only moved slightly, and he did not appear too surprised, as if he had expected this.
"Hmph, this handsome thief really wants to repeat his old trick." Liu Bei snorted coldly and said disapprovingly: "Immediately send an order to Gao Lan, ordering him to strictly guard the cities along the coast of Youzhou and stand firm without fighting. The thief army will not be able to take the city.
If we don’t get food and grass supplies, we won’t be able to hold on for long and we will retreat without a fight.”
Liu Bei gave the order calmly and calmly. At this time, he only thought that Yan Liang's maritime expeditionary force had landed on the coast of Youzhou as he had imagined.
"Your Majesty's response is profound in the art of war." Sima Yi had the same thought and did not forget to compliment Liu Bei.
Liu Bei stroked his short beard, his gray face filled with a bit of self-reliance.
At this time, Chen Dao coughed a few times and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the Yan thief did not land in Youzhou. It was Xi Zuo from the east who sent an urgent report that Chu General Lu Meng was leading his army from Ma Zi Shuikou.
After landing and capturing Pingcheng in Xi'an, the enemy immediately moved eastward and forced the surrender of Lelang and Daifang counties within a few days."
The Chu army landed in Liaodong!?
Liu Bei was shocked, his face was full of astonishment, surprise and confusion.
Sima Yi was also shocked, but it was like waking up from a dream and suddenly realizing the shock.
"Yan...Yan thief landed in Liaodong, and he actually attacked Gongsun Kang's rear?" Liu Bei stuttered for a moment.
Chen Dao said in a deep voice: "Yes, Your Majesty, this information is absolutely true. Not only did Yan Liang not help Gongsun Kang, but he also stole Gongsun Kang's escape route."
Yan Liang, this thief, is he crazy?
Liu Bei was shocked. This thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
As resourceful as he is, it is obvious that he has not been able to see through Yan Liang's purpose. This is the only explanation he can think of at the moment.
"The courage and appetite of this thief, Yan Liang, are indeed extraordinary. I didn't expect him to have such a plan." Sima Yi, who suddenly understood, couldn't help but admired.
When Liu Bei heard Sima Yi praising Yan Liang, his face suddenly showed displeasure, and he said in a deep voice: "Zhongda, what is the intention of this Yan Liang?"
Sima Yi cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Yan Liang's intention is very obvious. He is obviously pretending to attack our Youzhou in the name of aiding Gongsun Kang, and deceives Gongsun Kang to relax his vigilance and kill all his troops."
They are gathered on the front line of Liao River, but Yan Liang's real purpose is to take advantage of this opportunity to capture Xi'an Pingcheng. Yan Liang wants to abandon Gongsun Kang and monopolize Liaodong."
Yan Liang wants to annex Liaodong!
Liu Bei woke up suddenly, and endless shock surged into his heart like a tide. For a moment, he was so excited that he could hardly speak.
As an old enemy, Liu Bei certainly knew that Yan Liangsu liked to take risks and would always use unexpected tricks.
But what Liu Bei couldn't believe was that Yan Liang could use danger to such an extent, risking the sacrifice of 30,000 troops, going to the sea, sending troops from Xuzhou to capture Liaodong, which was thousands of miles away.
Such courage was beyond Liu Bei's understanding.
In a daze, Liu Bei had the illusion that the enemy he faced was no longer a human being, but a demon that could no longer be judged using human thinking.
"Madman, he is a madman", the frightened Liu Bei cursed loudly.
Sima Yi was also filled with disbelief. Although he saw through Yan Liang's intentions, he could not understand Yan Liang's courage. Like Liu Bei, he could not believe that there was someone in this world who dared to take such risks.
Liu Bei cursed for a long time, and suddenly he laughed loudly, and his laughter was full of sarcasm.
Sima Yi was puzzled and looked at Liu Bei blankly, but he couldn't understand how Liu Bei could still laugh at this time.
Liu Bei saw Sima Yi's doubts and sneered: "Yan Liang is so bold that he wants to capture Liaodong, but he has forgotten that Liaodong is thousands of miles away from Xuzhou, but it is extremely far away from me, Youzhou. Even if he can destroy it,
How can Gongsun Kang stop this king's cavalry?"
It turned out that this was the reason why Liu Bei turned from surprise to joy.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you have underestimated Yan Liang. Since he dares to do this, he must have a plan against our army. How can he sit back and watch the expeditionary force that our army destroyed..."
Sima Yi sighed secretly and immediately wanted to speak out to persuade Liu Bei not to be too blindly optimistic.
Before the words were spoken, another soldier hurriedly came in and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, General Tanchengguan has urgently reported that Yan Liang personally led an army of tens of thousands to the north. Today, after Shouchun, they are coming towards Xuzhou with the intention of attacking.
I, Xu Bei, General Guan, ask your Majesty to send troops to support you as soon as possible."
Liu Bei, who was laughing wildly to himself, was startled by the urgent report and choked violently, barely able to catch his breath.
After laughing wildly and selling the cigarette, Liu Bei turned to surprise. His gray face was full of shock and surprise, and he murmured: "Yan... the thieves are attacking Xuzhou again?"
As expected.
Sima Yi sighed secretly, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Yan Liang attacks Xuzhou from behind. He obviously wants to contain our army and support the enemy troops who have landed in Liaodong. This will make me be attacked on both sides and unable to care about each other."
"Zhongda, then...what should I do?" Liu Bei asked anxiously.
The resourceful Sima Yi also fell into silence now.
After pondering for a long time, Sima Yi sighed: "For today's plan, our army has only one choice."
…
Thousands of miles away, Xiapi City.
Winter is already deep, and the weather in Xiapi is obviously much colder than that in Yingtian.
After a first snowfall, Yan Liang stood at the top of the city covered with silver makeup. He raised his eyes and looked into the distance. As far as his eyes could see, everything was boundless.
The sound of footsteps sounded, and Pang Tong stepped onto the top of the city, with a bit of joy on his face.
"Your Majesty, we have good news from Liaodong. Lu Ziming's expeditionary force successfully landed and captured Xi'an Pingcheng. Now they have forced the surrender of Lelang and Daifang counties. Everything has started well." Pang Tong's tone was slightly trembling with excitement.
Yan Liang's emotions were also extremely agitated, and she secretly applauded Lü Meng in her heart. She thought that she had indeed seen the right person, and it was indeed right to appoint Lü Meng as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.
On the surface, Yan Liang was calm. He only nodded slightly and said, "Gongsun Kang and his friends are probably stunned at this moment. They don't know what Liu Bei's current trend is."
"As we expected in advance, Liu Bei learned that the king personally conquered Xuzhou and had already begun to withdraw his troops from the Liao River. Obviously, Liu Bei was even more worried about the loss of the Central Plains." Pang Tong said with a smile.
"Well, very good." Yan Liang nodded, "As soon as Liu Bei retreats, Gongsun Kang will definitely turn his head to attack our army. Send someone quickly to tell Ziming that you don't have to worry about the gains and losses of one city or one place. You must annihilate Gongsun as soon as possible.
Kang's effective force can ensure control of Liaodong before Liu Bei launches another eastern expedition."
Pang Tong took it for granted and immediately went to convey Yan Liang's order.
After Pang Tong left, a silent ambition surged in Yan Liang's heart like an undercurrent.
At this time, Yan Liang stood with his hands behind his hands, looked to the north, and sneered: "Big-eared thief, I am waiting for you here. The decisive battle failed before, this time, we will fight to the fullest."
ps: The weather today is really horribly hot. The captain is extremely dizzy and cannot think clearly. There will be no update for the third time in the evening. Let the captain collect his thoughts.