Yong'an and Zitong each have 30,000 troops stationed in them and are important border areas of Shu. Especially Yong'an City, which is close to Chu State and is the east gate into Shuchuan. This city is personally guarded by Zhang Ren, the only general of Shu State.
On this day, General Yan Yan, who received Zhang Ren's urgent summons, dismounted in front of the prefect's mansion and hurried to the meeting hall.
Walking into the hall, he found that all the generals at the commander-in-chief level in the army had arrived. Yan Yan couldn't help but feel a little confused. He didn't receive any military orders from the royal city. Why did the general summon everyone so urgently?
He turned to look at the man sitting in the middle of the hall and bowed slightly, saying.
"Yan Yan is late, please forgive me, General."
The man on the main seat has a Chinese character face, a short beard, and a burly build. He is about thirty years old, much younger than Yan Yan. Hearing Yan Yan's voice, the man broke away from his sleep, his eyes were like torches, as if there was electric light flowing. Yan Yan couldn't help but tense up, but the man's hearty laughter quickly made him relax again.
"General Yan, there is no need to be formal. There is still a quarter of an hour before the time I said, but since most of them have already arrived, let's get started."
Yan Yan heard this and stood to the left. The lobby also became solemnly quiet. Zhang Ren glanced at everyone, nodded and said.
"I want to launch an army to conquer Jingzhou immediately. Who among the generals is willing to be the vanguard?"
Zhang Ren's words were like throwing a chess piece into the calm water, causing countless waves. Some were ecstatic, while others looked at each other.
"Okay, the day has finally come for me, Shu, to conquer the world!"
"The Jingzhou garrison is at its weakest now, and sending troops at this time can defeat them in a single battle."
"I'm just afraid of angering Chu. After Sun Ce finishes conquering Xuzhou, one hundred thousand elite soldiers will turn around. Our army may not be able to resist."
"What did you say? Zhou Heng, are you afraid of Chu?"
"Okay, okay, Zhang Yi, please stop talking about the two armies. Taishi Ci from Jingzhou is not an easy person, so don't underestimate the enemy."
??????
Zhang Ren only finished one game and then sat there calmly without saying a word, just paying attention to the arguments in the hall.
"General, I am not sure about something. Please clarify me, General."
Yan Yan stood up solemnly, bowed solemnly again, and asked in a deep voice.
"Is this the conquest of Jingzhou the king's intention or the general's intention?"
There was silence in the lobby for a moment. Everyone couldn't help but feel hesitant as they savored the scene carefully, and they all looked at Zhang Ren.
Sighing, as if he had expected this, Zhang Ren looked at Yan Yue and said.
"Old General, this is what I mean."
Yan Yan glared at Zhang Ren and contradicted him again.
"Forgive me for speaking frankly. If the Chu State invades, the general will just send troops to meet it. However, the Chu State has not yet invaded our Shu State. If we send troops at this time, we will definitely be regarded by the world as our Shu State's invasion of the Chu State." .”
"Although the general is also the prefect of Yong'an and is the general of our Kingdom of Shu, I am afraid that he does not have the authority to represent the king's wishes. I also ask the general to take back his orders and report to my king!"
If the petition is useful, even if it takes more than a month to delay some fighter planes, I will do it. But is the petition useful?
Zhang Ren said with a chilling chill on his face.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's the time when I, the Great Shudong, will go out to the world. How can I delay the opportunity by being hesitant? General Yan, what if I must send troops at this time?"
Everyone was silent. This was supposed to be a matter discussed by the king and the general in the temple, but now it was reduced to a discussion here, which was nondescript and absurd. How dare they, the great commanders, speak?
Only Yan Yan knelt down on one knee and urged him urgently.
"Yan Yan's 10,000 troops will never move. General, please think twice!"
Zhang Ren looked down coldly and shouted.
"I'm afraid it's not up to you! People came from the left and right to take General Yan to prison. No one is allowed to meet without my order."
The soldiers standing on both sides came out instantly and held Yan Yan's shoulders. Yan Yan struggled hard, but the two soldiers obviously couldn't restrain him. Yan Yan looked at Zhang Ren and said anxiously.
"No, General! This will ruin your bright future! General, think twice!"
But there was only indifference on Zhang Ren's face.
"Dividing and reuniting, although the world is now in chaos, it will eventually become unified. The expectations in the hearts of the people are the same throughout the world, just like fish in the water. Do you think a fish can leave the water?"
Seeing that the two people could not restrain Yan Yan, two more people came out from the left and right and worked together to hold him down. Zhang Ren sat motionless on the main seat, staring at Yan Yan and continued.
"Fish can't live without water, just as the people need to rebuild order, so the general trend of unification is irreversible, so the heroes compete for hegemony in the Central Plains. If the Shu Kingdom does not become strong, you and I will become the captives of others sooner or later, and there is no future."
"Pull him down and put him in jail."
"General, think twice. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor! It is the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Yan Yan's voice became farther and farther away.
Zhang Yi came out and begged.
"General, General Yan is doing his duty, but he is also worried about you. Please don't be harsh, General."
"I have my own sense of proportion."
Zhang Ren is not a murderous person. Considering this matter, he must bear responsibility no matter what. Not to mention Jingzhou, whoever will be entrusted to guard Yongan in the future must be Yan Yan. Let him suffer some hardships in prison at this time, and these will be presented to the king as his merits in the future.
But Zhang Ren didn't point it out and looked at the crowd again and said sternly.
"Who has any objections?"
The generals replied quickly.
"I am willing to listen to the general's orders."
Zhang Ren nodded with satisfaction and said.
"Zhang Ni listens to the order and orders you to be the vanguard and lead 3,000 elite troops to march out of the city towards Jiangling in the name of drill. They will open roads in the mountains and build bridges in the water to open the way for the army to Jiangling City."
"Zhang Yi accepts the order!"
After a pause, Zhang Ren said again.
"Zhang Yi listens to the order and orders you to raise food and grass. You must prepare three months' worth of 20,000 troops within five days. After my army sets off, you will lead 3,000 troops and horses to protect the food roads and guard the granaries."
"Zhang Yi takes the order!"
"The other generals will move with my army."
"I'll wait for the order!"
After the military meeting ended, everyone dispersed, and only Zhang Yi stayed with Zhang Ren.
"The general kept me in the rear army, but to monitor Yong'an City and prevent the news from reaching the king's ears?"
Zhang Ren sighed again and said.
"The news cannot be stopped. It can only be delayed for a while."
"It's cold, and it's even colder in the prison. Give the old general an extra quilt. If I can capture Jingzhou, the king will probably send Wu Yi to take over and let me go back to punish the criminal. If I can't capture Jingzhou, Yong'an City will depend on him in the future. .”
Zhang Yi lowered his head, his eyes gloomy.
"I'm afraid that if something happens to the general, no one will be able to defend Jingzhou, and Liu Bei will be advantaged."
Zhang Ren looked at Zhang Yi, shook his head and laughed.
"Let's not talk about whether we can shake Chu and let Liu Bei win after we capture Jingzhou. Even if he does defeat Chu, what if he takes Jiangdong?"
"Liu Bei has two swords, one is called 'Benevolence' and the other is called 'Yi'. Now Liu Bei is greedy for the immediate benefit and cuts off his sword. Even if he can deceive the people of the world, how can he deceive the scholars of the world? ? There is nothing to fear from this man. Only Cao Cao and Sun Ce are left in the world to become the great enemies of Shu. If Xu Han and I can win this battle, we will kill Sun Ce for my lord, and Shu will have the capital to compete with Cao Wei in the future."
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Jiangling City, the Prefect's Mansion.
Kuai Yue was reviewing official documents in the study, when an aide suddenly walked in hurriedly to report.
"Sir, Yong'an's secret agent sent back the news that the Shu Kingdom has sent troops to invade Jingzhou!"
"How can it be?!"
Kuai Yue stood up and said angrily.
"Liu Zhang, you're just a rat, how can you have the courage to offend me? Come and show me the report."
The staff quickly handed over the secret report. Kuai Yue glanced at ten lines and quickly finished reading the memorial. He threw the memorial to the ground and gritted his teeth.
"It was Zhang Ren who sent troops privately! How shameful! He is so brave, he dared to mobilize troops without telling Liu Zhang!"
After confirming the authenticity of the matter, Kuai Yue felt his eyes darken, but after the initial shock and anger, he quickly calmed down and thought about countermeasures.
What to do?
Immediately find a way to let Liu Zhang know the news?
But once troops are sent out, can Liu Zhang take them back if he wants?
No, that's not right.
Even if he could withdraw his troops, Liu Zhang would pretend to be deaf and wait for a while. If he won, he would pursue the victory. If he lost, he would abandon Zhang Ren and apologize to Chu for peace.
No matter what, Jiangling must be defended first!
As long as Jiangling can be defended, there are endless means available; if Jiangling cannot be defended, Jingzhou will be in danger.
Kuai Yue turned to look at his staff and said.
"Quick! Send a message to the general, asking the general to quickly lead troops to rescue Jiangling. Also, let General Huo Jun come to see me immediately."
After listening to Kuai Yue's instructions, the staff ran out in a hurry.
In less than half an hour, Huo Jun brought a young man to the prefect's mansion.
"Greetings to the Lord Prefect!"
"This is?"
"Oh, this is Huo Yi, the dog son, who serves as a centurion under my command. I will bring him here with me. We, father and son, will go together on this expedition."
Kuai Yue hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Father and son go into battle, I respect the choice you make."
"You should have listened to my staff about the dispatch of troops from the Kingdom of Shu. What I want to tell you is that you must hold off the enemy's vanguard in Yiling for at least three days, and there are only two thousand of your elite troops in Jiangling City. I can only let Can you bring out a thousand people?"
Huo Jun said solemnly.
"Don't worry, sir. I will definitely block the vanguard of the Shu army in Yiling, and I won't let any enemy troops cross my defense line until the Chinese army arrives."
"Okay, please, General."
Kuai Yue knew that this battle would never be easy, and even Huo Jun was prepared to die. But the Chu State cannot lose this battle, otherwise by the time Taishi Ci's reinforcements arrive, Jiangling City may already belong to the Shu Army.
With offense and defense in reverse, the Battle of Jiangling would be too unfavorable for the Chu army.
He stepped forward, took Huo Jun's hand, and said.
"Follow me, let's go see if we can get a noble person to help you."
What kind of noble person can help me withstand three times the enemy army alone? Could it be that there are some hermits in Jiangling City who are as intelligent as Kuai Yue? Huo Jun and Kuai Yue were also old acquaintances and had lived in Jiangling for many years. He didn't know that such a person existed.
"Who?"
Kuai Yue replied while pulling Huo Jun out.
"The Mohist giant, Pingting."
