After Liu Bei read the official document sent by Liu Biao, his expression became quite ugly.
Even if he was beaten to death, he would never have imagined that Liu Biao would give up this easy victory!
"What do you plan to do, my lord?"
Zhuge Liang asked softly.
"What else can we do? We can only retreat."
Liu Bei smiled bitterly.
"Why retreat?!"
Zhang Fei couldn't help shouting,
"Without Jingzhou's soldiers and horses, we can defeat Cao Cao's thieves!"
"Third brother, you are so confused!"
Liu Bei glared at Zhang Fei with hatred.
Others dare not say it, but Liu Qi absolutely does not dare to risk the reputation of being unfilial and disobey Liu Biao's orders.
If he leaves like this, he will take at least Wenpin and 20,000 Jingzhou troops with him.
Even if Liu Bei still has 30,000 troops and horses available, can Liu Biao agree?
When the food and grass are cut off, will Liu Bei take the lead and fight Cao Cao?
"Forget it, send the order to retreat!"
Liu Bei said feebly.
Although everyone in the hall was unwilling to do so, they could only follow his instructions and start taking action.
At this moment, Liu Bei noticed that Zhuge Liang's brows were furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.
"What is the military advisor thinking?"
"Reporting to my lord, my subordinates feel that this matter is fishy. It seems that Yang Ling is obstructing it!"
Liu Bei was stunned. How could this matter have anything to do with Yang Ling?
"Please ask the military advisor to elaborate."
"When Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were fighting fiercely, my lord had persuaded Jingzhou Mu to send troops to attack Cao Cao from the north and south with Yuan Shao."
Zhuge Liang said slowly,
"However, due to Madam Cai's obstruction, the trip failed to take place. As a result, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and unified the north."
"Yes, this is indeed the case."
Liu Bei nodded.
He remembered clearly that when he was about to persuade Liu Biao, it was Mrs. Cai who called Liu Biao into the backyard.
When Liu Biao came out again, he directly rejected Liu Bei's proposal.
Afterwards, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and others analyzed that it was Mrs. Cai who had an affair with Yang Ling and helped Yang Ling persuade Liu Biao.
"What happened today is very likely that Yang Ling wrote to Mrs. Cai again, asking her to persuade Jingzhou Mu."
Zhuge Liang sighed.
After hearing what he said, Liu Bei also felt that it was very possible.
After all, the war was going so smoothly, but Liu Biao suddenly wanted to withdraw his troops and all his efforts were in vain!
"Damn it, you slut!"
Liu Qi's handsome face instantly became distorted.
"Master, please don't be angry. Let's go back for now and then take our time to figure it out."
After some comfort, Liu Qi got up and left angrily.
After everyone else left and only Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were left in the hall, Liu Bei said:
"Military advisor, is there really nothing we can do?"
"No."
Zhuge Liang could only smile bitterly.
Even if he knew that Yang Ling was causing trouble, there was nothing he could do.
After all, in the final analysis, this Jingzhou is Liu Biao's Jingzhou!
You can't just go to Liu Biao and tell Liu Biao that your wife is having an affair with Yang Ling and that whatever she asks you to do is to help Yang Ling.
I'm afraid that after hearing this, Liu Biao will immediately expel them from Jingzhou!
Seeing Liu Bei's unhappy look, Zhuge Liang thought for a while and said softly,
"My lord, the right way is to celebrate my father's immortality, and Lu's troubles are not over."
"What's the meaning of this statement?"
Liu Bei looked at him doubtfully.
"Has the Lord forgotten what his subordinates said about Long Zhong?"
"of course I remember."
"The reason why we retreated is because we were controlled by Liu Biao. If Jingzhou was under our control, I'm afraid we would have conquered Xudu long ago!"
"Kong Ming's intention...is that he wants to attack Brother Jing Sheng?"
Liu Bei frowned slightly.
"Brother Jingsheng is so generous and kind to me, how could I do such a thing?"
"My lord has misunderstood my subordinate's intentions. My lord is benevolent and righteous, and everyone knows it."
Zhuge Liang smiled and said slowly,
"But now that Jingzhou Mu is getting old, I'm afraid he will give up and go west soon."
"The eldest son is on good terms with his lord. As long as he is supported in power, will he still worry about not being able to attack Cao Cao in the future?"
After hearing this, Liu Bei's eyes lit up, but he immediately showed hesitation.
"This is Brother Jingsheng's family matter, how can I get involved?"
"My lord is confused!"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and sighed,
"If we don't intervene, how can the eldest young master defeat the second young master and Mrs. Cai?"
"Given the relationship between Madam Cai and Yang Ling, if the second young master inherits the position of Zhou Mu, she will definitely dedicate Jingzhou to Cao Cao!"
"At that time, the Han Dynasty will be ruled by Cao Cao!"
"Does the Lord want to see something like that happen?!"
Liu Bei thought for a moment, gritted his teeth,
"Okay, everything is as the military advisor said! After we go back, we will find a way to promote the eldest son to the throne!"
"So good!"
Zhuge Liang smiled with satisfaction.
…
Kunyang City.
Cao Jun's camp.
"Liu Bei has been resting in Ye County for several days, and he is afraid that he will launch an attack in the next few days."
Guo Jia frowned slightly and said,
"Our army still needs to be prepared, be careful of Liu Bei's attack!"
Everyone who came to participate in the discussion also nodded.
Yang Ling chuckled and said,
"Don't be nervous Fengxiao. Liu Bei will retreat in a few days."
Guo Jia was startled. Seeing that Yang Ling was so confident, he couldn't help but said,
"Why is the military advisor so sure?"
Yang Ling just smiled and said nothing.
Cao Pi and Sima Yi looked at each other with disdain.
You're thinking shit.
Now Liu Bei's troops are so powerful, how can they retreat?
At this moment, a soldier quickly walked into the tent!
"Reporting to the military advisor, there is news from spies ahead that Liu Bei's army entrenched in Ye County has retreated!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the tent was in an uproar, and they all looked at Yang Ling in disbelief.
Cao Pi and Sima Yi were even more stunned!
Yang Ling really got it right, Liu Bei actually retreated!
Others didn't know it clearly, but Yang Ling knew that it was Cai Yu who had successfully convinced Liu Biao.
Yu'er is really smart and capable!
After taking Jingzhou in the future, I have to treat her well!
When the time comes, let’s have some Gudao Hot Sausage first!
When Yang Ling was thinking about Yanni, he smiled lightly and said,
"That's great! Send the order and immediately send troops to pursue Liu Bei and recover Nanyang County!"
"A man with good facial features will think twice!"
Guo Jia frowned and persuaded,
"Then Zhuge Liang is extremely cunning. What if this is his conspiracy?"
"Don't worry, Fengxiao. I expected this. He is unlikely to have any ambush."
Yang Ling chuckled.
Now that he was in command of the entire army, everyone had no choice but to take orders and leave.
Cao Jun, with Zhao Yun, Gan Ning, and Ma Chao as vanguard generals, quickly dispatched troops and entered Nanyang County again.
Sure enough, as Yang Ling said, Liu Bei did not set any trap.
Instead, the whole army really retreated, giving up all the places such as Ye County, Duyang, Bowang, and Wancheng that they had finally captured!
After the army returned to Wancheng, everyone was still in disbelief that Liu Bei had just retreated!
"The military advisor is simply amazing!"
Xiahou Dun couldn't help but sigh.
