Chapter 92: Lonely City
The simple and unpretentious meeting hall was silent at the moment.
It was not that no one was seated. From left to right, from front to back, everyone in the hall was in an orderly manner. Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Liu Feng, Zhou Cang and others were sitting among them.
How to win?
How does Xu Han survive today?
This meeting is supposed to allow everyone to speak freely, but who can give the answer?
There were only 10,000 elite soldiers left in Xiapi, and more than 8,000 new soldiers were temporarily recruited. Together with the remaining soldiers returned by Guan Yu, they could barely make up 20,000 soldiers. But you must know that Xuzhou had already recruited young men before the Chu army started the war. This time, it recruited another 8,000 people from only Xiapi city. It is self-evident how powerful it is.
On the other hand, the Chu army had 70,000 elite soldiers holding the banner of revenge and rolling in with the momentum of victory. Together with the private soldiers of aristocratic families who surrendered and surrendered in the occupied areas, there were more than 80,000 soldiers. Regardless of the quality, quantity, or morale of their troops, they far surpassed the Han army.
"The Chu army surrounded the four gates and sent letters from all directions to persuade them to surrender. What do you think, everyone?"
Should we surrender?
No one dared to say this.
Everyone in the hall may still have a chance to get ahead, but for the one sitting in the hall now, surrender can only be exchanged for an endless prison.
Everyone couldn't help but lower their heads and stared at the floor in front of them, as if there were rare paintings carved there.
Only one person dared to look directly into Liu Bei's eyes.
"Brother, if you lose, you lose. No matter what, my third brother and I will risk our lives to protect you as you go north. For now, we are temporarily surrendering to Cao Cao. We may not be able to make a comeback in the future!"
In Guan Yu's view, surrender was not an option at all.
The seat next to Guan Yu was vacant at the moment. It was Zhang Fei's seat, but he was absent from the meeting due to his serious injury and recuperation.
Guan Yu's words were like the warm sun in the cold winter, shining on Liu Bei's heart, giving his stiff body a little strength.
The struggle on Liu Bei's face finally calmed down. There was a trace of unwillingness and regret on his face, but he admitted the fact of failure.
"I didn't want it to end up like this today..."
Why did Xu Han end up in such a predicament today?
In fact, everyone has an answer to this question.
The first defeat was when Han and Wei joined forces. In a battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops, Chu's one hundred thousand troops were almost wiped out due to deliberate calculations or unintentional calculations. However, the most critical Sun Ce was allowed to escape back to Jiangdong. With this departure, not only the benefits previously planned become out of reach, but also the tiger returns to the mountains, causing endless troubles.
The second defeat was the battle of Langxie. After this battle, Xu Han, who was at a disadvantage, could no longer maintain his defense line and was greatly defeated. He could only struggle and wait for opportunities.
The third defeat was the Battle of Jingzhou. It took more than two months for the 30,000 elite soldiers of the Shu Kingdom to defeat Jiangling City, which was empty of troops. Qin's 20,000 elite troops made a surprise attack and quickly captured Xinye, but they were ultimately defeated in a water battle and could not even see the city head of Xiangyang. At this point, Xu Han's last chance of life has been extinguished.
We have missed too many opportunities, or in other words, the Chu State is too powerful, and the power it unleashed in times of crisis is far beyond the imagination of the world.
"If it weren't for the great military strategists who took the initiative to unite with Wei to attack Chu, why would I be where I am today?"
The person who spoke was the head of an aristocratic family in Xiapi City, who was sitting at the end of Liu Bei's civil service, but his words seemed to be recognized by many aristocratic families, and voices of criticism came one after another, all piercing Zhuge Liang.
ridiculous.
None of these people were sharpening their knives when Liu Bei decided to use troops against Chu, and they had even thought about how to carve up Chu's interests. Now that he was defeated, the blame was entirely placed on his head.
Zhuge Liang's eyes were a little cold.
Countless voices of criticism were buzzing around Zhuge Liang like bees.
Of course not everyone is like this. For example, Liu Bei's important ministers Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and others did not add insult to injury, but no one defended themselves.
It turns out that my popularity is so bad.
Zhuge Liang couldn't help laughing in his heart.
If Xu Yuanzhi were here at this time, he would definitely scold these villains on the spot, and then laugh at himself in private!
Yuan Zhi······
Thinking of his friends who had been captured by the Chu army, Zhuge Liang suddenly felt a little discouraged, and some gloomy colors crept into his heart, which was indescribable.
Could it be that by maintaining the status quo, Xu Han would not be in his current situation?
If we don't fight now, how about waiting for Sun Ce to capture Sichuan and Xiliang?
At that time, Xuzhou will only be more difficult than now!
Sail against the current, if you don’t advance, you will retreat!
The winner is the king and the loser is the enemy, that's all.
Is Zhuge Liang a person who cannot argue? He could have dismissed these people into silence, but now he said nothing.
What is the standard for testing right and wrong?
result.
For a strategist, nothing is more convincing than results.
And as a result, he lost.
Liu Bei was not comparable to Liu Biao. This king truly trusted him, obeyed his words, and truly delegated power to himself.
Sir, you should die for your confidant!
Zhuge Liang sat up slightly, turned to Liu Bei and bowed to the end.
"Langxie's defeat was due to his inferiority in planning, which led to today's disaster. Please punish me, my lord."
Everyone in the hall suddenly became quiet, and many heads of aristocratic families had sneers on their faces, quietly waiting for Liu Bei to deal with Zhuge Liang.
But Liu Bei, who was sitting in the main seat, looked livid.
With a bang, Liu Bei's hand slammed on the desk.
The dull sound echoed in the meeting hall like a scolding, and everyone's hearts suddenly trembled.
After gathering everyone's attention, Liu Bei glanced at everyone and sighed.
"Unfortunately for the country, Dong Zhuo, a traitor, took control of the power, causing the emperor to suffer. The mighty Han Dynasty has now been divided into six vassal states. The road to the revival of the Han Dynasty is far away."
"Sun Ce stood up on his own and slaughtered Liu Biao, a clan member of the Han Dynasty. He had a 'family feud' with me. Now he secretly allied himself with the national thief Dong Zhuo in order to conquer the world. This has created a 'national feud' with me."
"The war between Chu and Han was caused by righteousness. How can you blame the military advisor? If you continue to blame the military advisor for this, I will punish you."
Many people in the hall looked at each other slightly awkwardly, and then agreed one after another.
After a long pause, Liu Bei's expression gradually softened, he turned to look at Zhuge Liang and said.
"Advisor, please do not blame yourself. My third brother has already informed me of the situation in the battle of Langxie. The military advisor has planned the right time, place and people for our army. The Chu army fought against the odds and defeated our army! What can be done? What should we do? No matter what. This is God’s will, and it is not a crime of war.”
Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei blankly, and the frustration and gloom in his heart were gradually replaced by unwillingness.
"I just wish I could have met my lord earlier!"
Zhuge Liang bowed to Liu Bei again. If I could come to Xuzhou three, two, or one year earlier to plan for Liu Bei, would the situation be different?
Which king is not thirsty for talents?
Liu Bei replied similarly.
"I never met my husband so late."
Another long sigh.
Liu Bei looked at everyone and said.
"That's all for today's discussion. Everyone, please go back."
"promise!"
Everyone left one after another, leaving only Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhuge Liang in the meeting hall.
······
"Did you hear that?"
"What did you hear?"
"Liao Hua has surrendered to Sun Ce."
"······"
"what's your plan?"
"Shh... tonight, you and... come... to discuss it further."
After the discussion was over, Liu Bei's civil servants and generals left the palace in twos and threes.
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