Wancheng, Nanyang, Jingzhou.
Zhuge Liang asked Tong'er to drive the carriage and look for a place to stay in the city. After wandering for a long time, he finally bought a small courtyard with several thatched huts from a family who was about to travel far.
When the accompanying general came over, he saw that this street was full of people with low-level craftsmanship. He was puzzled and said: "General Zhang is a generous man and treats virtuous officers well. If you go to visit me, there will always be a nice mansion, so why bother?" Is this a waste of time?"
Zhuge Liang gently shook his feather fan and said with a smile: "Although the sound of the city is noisy, it is similar to the tranquility of the mountains and plains."
The general thought to himself that this man was a god, maybe there was something wrong with his brain. How could he be fanning in the winter?
I heard that this person's name is quite famous. He was specially named by Jia Xu, Zhang Xiu's mastermind. However, along the way, he has never seen anything extraordinary. I'm afraid it's just the gentry who are complimenting each other. Reputation?
He shook his head secretly and said: "Now that you have arrived in Wancheng, the general can return your orders to the general. I hope that you can go to the general's residence as soon as possible to avoid missing things."
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Liang took note of the general's words. He traveled all the way and felt very sorry."
Seeing that Zhuge Liang had no intention of staying as a guest, the general immediately handed over his hands and turned to leave.
Huang Yueying came out of the carriage at this time and smiled at Zhuge Liang: "I feel like I am being tied up."
"Looking at the way these people treat others, I'm afraid it will be difficult for a husband to be independent and not be controlled by others."
Zhuge Liang took out a bamboo broom from the car and swept the ground, and said calmly: "I was forced to come out, just take it one step at a time."
In the next few days, the couple cleaned up the courtyard, making the originally dilapidated courtyard into a presentable one. They also put up the decorations they brought with them, and the piano and harp often sang, giving it a bit of the charm of the previous mountain hut.
The two of them also inquired about the news. Wancheng is located at the junction of three states, and the news is well transmitted, so the war and movements from all parties can be quickly transmitted.
However, these news made Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying unhappy.
Sun Ce was assassinated in Lujiang, and Cao's army attacked Jizhou. Cao Cao raided Huaicheng and took the emperor hostage back to Yanzhou. Liu Bei was defeated in a battle with Yuan Shu in Yingchuan and fled into Nanyang.
Some of this series of news were predicted by Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying before, but some things were not calculated accurately.
Huang Yueying clicked on the map with her finger, "According to this, Sili is in the hands of Ma Teng and Han Sui, Yuan Shu occupies Yin in Henan, Cao Cao is in Yingchuan, the defenses of Lujiang and Jiujiang are empty, and Jiangdong has no owner for the time being, no matter which direction he goes. It’s safe.”
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "That's really the case. I made some miscalculations."
He originally thought that Yingchuan was still stable, so he traveled east from Nanyang, passed through Yingchuan, and went to Shouchun to visit the fierce tiger. However, he did not expect that in just a few months, the world had undergone such great changes. It was really a mistake.
The current surrounding situation makes Zhuge Liang hesitate. Yingchuan is not stable. The war is likely to spread to Nanyang soon, and Wancheng will be even more unsafe by then.
Because in Zhuge Liang's view, Cao Cao did not hesitate to join forces with Yuan Shu in order to stabilize the situation in Sili. In other words, his next step is likely to be to annex Nanyang, and Wancheng, which serves as the gateway to Nanyang, cannot be bypassed.
In other words, Wancheng will be going to war soon!
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and said, "How about we go back to the mountains and wait until the war subsides?"
However, Huang Yueying was unwilling to do so and muttered: "It's hard to go on a long trip, but I didn't expect it to be so dangerous outside."
"I don't know when the world will be peaceful."
"Now that Wancheng will be in chaos sooner or later, what are you going to do, husband?"
Zhuge pondered, he was also a little unwilling, he had already come here, if he fought in Nanyang for ten years, could he stay in the mountains for another ten years?
Thinking that he had not visited Zhang Xiu yet, Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly in his heart. He agreed to the general at that time just because it was a temporary solution. Now that the situation is corrupt, is it possible that he really wants to rely on others?
More than two hundred miles east of Wancheng, on the border between Yingchuan and Nanyang, a remnant army was slowly marching.
The leader was none other than Liu Bei. Looking at the exhausted soldiers behind him, the three brothers were speechless.
The great situation that was about to occupy Yuzhou ended up being completely destroyed within a few days!
The three of them actually felt a little regretful. If they had fought steadily in Runan and managed the defense well, Liu Bei's army would have been able to fight even if it faced the coalition forces of Yuan Shu and Cao Cao.
However, because Liu Bei received the order of the Yidai Zhao, he went north to Sili and was far away from his base camp. Originally, he went deep alone, but he unexpectedly encountered Yuan Shu's army.
Yuan Shu's army alone was no more. Liu Bei thought that although his troops were less than half of his opponent's, Yuan Shu's army couldn't compare with him in terms of morale or generals. In calculation, he had a better chance of winning.
So two days before the battle, Liu Bei was still full of confidence. However, when he received the news that Cao Jun suddenly appeared and raided his flank, he couldn't believe his ears.
Isn't Cao's army attacking Jizhou? How could he return to Yingchuan?
Although Guan Yu and Zhang Fei returned to the army in time and desperately resisted Cao Cao's army's surprise attack, Liu Bei had suffered heavy losses and the situation was precarious. After several battles, he was defeated by Cao Cao.
Although Liu Bei had lost many battles in his life, this battle was extremely inexplicable. When he was puzzled, a personal letter from Cao Cao was sent from Cao Ying.
After reading the letter, the three brothers understood what had happened. Cao Cao somehow learned the content of the Yidai Decree, personally led his troops to raid Huaicheng, killed Lu Bu, and kidnapped the emperor Liu Xie. Now he is questioning Liu Bei's army. !
After the three people read it, their faces were extremely ugly. Not only were they depressed that the matter was not kept secret, but so many ministers died in Huai City. Liu Xie was completely under Cao Cao's control, and even his own side was defeated!
Guan Yu spoke up: "The current situation is much worse than when the three parties of Lu Bu, Cao and Yuan were in charge of Huaicheng."
Zhang Fei also said angrily: "The Cao thief is so cunning. Yuan Shu, Ma Teng and Han Sui have all colluded with him. They are simply the same breed!"
Liu Bei said in a low voice: "The matter has come to this, and the plan to please the emperor has completely failed."
"This is still my fault. When Sun Ce was assassinated, I should have been alert. There is no such coincidence in the world. There are nine out of ten oil people behind it."
"Cao Cao is a powerful man in the world, and I can't match him." After saying this, Liu Bei looked up to the sky and sighed.
Zhang Fei said angrily: "Brother, why should I have the ambition of others and not have the prestige of my own?"
"No matter how powerful Cao Cao is, he still has one head and two legs. Tomorrow I will rush into the formation, pick up his head, and give it to my eldest brother!"
After hearing this, Guan Yu said: "No, the opponent is powerful now, so we cannot fight forcefully. We should retreat to Ruyin to defend and then make plans."
After hearing this, Zhang Fei was unwilling to say: "Retreat before fighting, what's the point?"
Liu Bei regretted that he was so close to the emperor but missed it. He thought for a while and said, "In that case, tomorrow the second brother will block Yuan Shu's main force, and the third brother will attack Cao Ying. I will hold the battle for the third brother."
"If we can successfully repel Cao Cao, then Yuan Shu's army will not have anything to worry about. If the third brother cannot kill Cao Cao, then we will return to Ruyin."
Zhang Fei was overjoyed to hear this, and Guan Yu had no choice but to agree when he saw that the matter had come to this. After all, returning to Ruyin would require a battle, so why not try hard first to see if he could find an opportunity to break the situation.
The three men went to battle the next day, and Guan Yu forced Yuan Shu's army to retreat, but Zhang Fei encountered trouble along the way.
After he broke into the formation, he was entangled by Dian Wei and Cao Ren. The three fought fiercely for a long time. Zhang Fei gradually fell into a disadvantage and was trapped in the enemy's formation and could not get out. Liu Bei tried to rescue him several times but to no avail, so he had to call Guan Yu back.
After the two men reunited, they stormed the center of Cao's army and fought fiercely for several hours before they were able to rescue Zhang Fei.
After Zhang Fei returned to the formation, he said depressedly: "Cao Ying's pigs and dogs are so cunning!"
"After fighting for a long time, I, Old Zhang, didn't even see Cao Cao's shadow!"
Liu Bei sighed: "Since things are not harmonious, we can only find a way to return to Ruyin."
In the next two days, the three of them fought and retreated. Yuan Shu's army and Cao Cao's army pursued them one after another. Liu Bei's army suffered a lot of losses, but it was about to retreat into Ruyin. By then, Liu Bei's men would be able to come to relieve him!
However, what happened next gave Liu Beijun a fatal blow.
Because what appeared in front of him was not his own men, but several other Cao troops!
The few Cao troops who sneaked into Yecheng suffered heavy losses after losing the battle with Yuan Xi, so they retreated to the defense of the Yellow River. At this time, Yuan Xi wanted to cross the Yellow River to pursue, but news came that Huaicheng was besieged. Yuan Xi Xi then left urgently, leaving the counterattack to Yuan Shang.
Yuan Shang was determined to send troops, but he confronted Yuan Tan, who had evil intentions. In the end, although the two parties made peace for the time being, they had lost their best opportunity to counterattack.
During this period, Cao Cao's troops who retreated were not idle either. Some of them deployed defenses in the Juancheng area of Guandu, while others followed Cao Cao's orders and headed south at full speed to Ruyin, Yingchuan, and finally blocked the retreating Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was caught off guard and was attacked from both sides. The generals of Cao's army, including Cao Chun and others, rushed into the formation and defeated the whole army.
At this time, Ruyin could not go back, so Liu Bei could only turn to the west and flee towards Nanyang, thinking that by virtue of his relationship with Liu Biao, who were both descendants of the clan, he could persuade the other party to join forces to fight against Cao Cao.
Looking at the fierce pursuit of Cao Jun behind him, he thought that his own subordinates in Runan County were probably unable to withstand Cao Jun's offensive, and they would all be captured by Cao Jun when the time comes!
That's all for his female relatives, but the official team that started his career are gone, how can he make a comeback?
Thinking of this, Liu Bei gritted his teeth and was defeated by Cao Cao again. Could the other party be his nemesis?
He regretted that his intestines were green. He had finally become a veritable shepherd of Yuzhou. However, this person was still hot on his butt, and he lost Yuzhou again just like he had lost Xuzhou!
Liu Bei couldn't help but have deep doubts about his life. Was he cursed and unfit to be a state herder?
(End of chapter)
