Just as Zhang Zhongjing said, Liu Bei was in good spirits after resting for two days, so he led his people out of the city to pay homage to the soldiers who died in the battle.
These soldiers were buried at the foot of Yungang Short Mountain on the eastern outskirts of the city. Since the area here is mostly made of yellow stones and there is not much green grass, during the ceremony, everyone felt desolate. Listening to the Taoist priests chanting sutras and praying for blessings, and thinking of my own fate, I burst into tears and choked with sobs. But Liu Bei was the only one who remained silent.
It wasn't until the sacrifice was completed that Liu Bei spoke to everyone: "Although our soldiers have different surnames, they are actually brothers and sisters. We are bound by the same fraternity of life and death, share hardships, share the same hatred of the enemy, and share the spirit of the mountains and rivers. When I made a mistake in the Bohai Sea, how many soldiers were killed?" We died here, and we still dare not forget each other! This time we have these people buried here, how can we bear it?"
When everyone heard this, their expressions changed slightly, but Liu Bei's face was still as dense as a cloud. He looked around, and then said solemnly to the soldiers: "I said it before last time. If we can't defeat the Eastern bandits, we will never evacuate this place! That's what I said. No change. If he doesn’t avenge Paoze, how can Liu Bei survive?”
Upon hearing this, the soldiers present were silent for a moment, and then the mountains roared and the tsunami roared. The generals could not help but be excited and asked for battle one after another. As for the few timid people, they naturally did not dare to talk anymore.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Liu Bei convened all the generals and staff for another military meeting. After all, no matter how to boost the morale of the army, specific strategies to defeat the enemy still need to be planned in detail. Due to the defeat in the previous battle, everyone thought that it would be unfavorable to go far away to attack, but Xun You suggested at the right time that the Eastern Army had won a battle at this time and had a morale advantage. After reorganization, they would probably challenge again and take advantage of the victory to establish the overall situation. Therefore, it is better to show weakness first, wait for the enemy to become arrogant, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack. This plan was popular with the public, but Chen Chong thought it was impossible.
He had been thinking carefully in the past few days and said in public: "The key to the art of war is to be first. The last defeat was not due to our army's unfavorable attack, but because of the temporary change of formation and the wrong time, which led to Qu Yi's defeat. Attack first. Therefore, waiting for counterattacks at this time is not without the possibility of another defeat. I think that although changes are required, we must take the initiative to attack."
Without waiting for anyone to refute, he opened the map, marked the locations of the Dongying and Xianbei people, and then said: "Last time we tried to attack Dongying at night, but we were discovered by the Dongthief. It can be seen that there must be Dongren scouts around Pingcheng, so we want to It is not easy to win from it. But if we attack Kebineng, we are very sure."
This statement shocked everyone. After all, the Western Army was able to reverse the situation before, mostly because Kebi was able to wait and see during the battle. Therefore, afterwards, many people thought that since Kebi could have neutral intentions, it was best to maintain the status quo as much as possible to prevent Xianbei and Cao Cao from being of the same mind. However, Chen Chong proposed attacking Xianbei, which was really unreasonable and difficult for everyone to understand.
Chen Chong continued: "Kebineng seems to be neutral, but in fact he is like a fisherman. No matter who is at a disadvantage, he will take advantage of the opportunity to overthrow the two dynasties in order to maintain the balance of power between the two dynasties. If our army really wants to defeat the East bandits, we must not order He just sits back and waits to see success or failure. And he also thinks that in the fight between east and west, he will not care about the north, and he is not prepared for us. Therefore, if we attack Xianbei first, the chance of victory should be more than 80%."
Pang Tong listened for a moment and asked from the side: "We are just attacking Xianbei, but the Dong bandits are afraid and will not sit idly by. If they come to attack from both sides, what should the teacher do?"
This was the crux of Chen Chong's plan. He smiled and said: "I want Cao Cao to attack." He pointed his finger at the side of Baishan Mountain where Xianbei was, then moved to where Cao Ying was, and then said in detail: "Dong The bandit camp is in Xiaopu Township, while the Bailu camp is in Baishan Mountain. The two armies are nearly forty miles apart. When Cao Cao heard the news, he had no choice but to lead his troops to rescue him. It would take at least two hours before and after, which gave him a lot of trouble. I’m waiting for the chance to respond.”
"In my opinion, our army can be divided into two parts. One part will attack at night, and the other part will calmly set up at the mountain pass. The mountain road is narrow, and it is difficult for Cao Cao to use his troops, but he has to come. By then, the east bandits will be exhausted , our army is in a good position again, as long as we block it for a while, wait for the two armies to join forces and then fight back, I will see what he can do to win!"
After this analysis, everyone was amazed, but they didn't know how to respond. Jia Xu, who had been listening for a long time, thought about it over and over again, but could not find any reason to refute it, so he sincerely sighed: "Taking into account both internal and external considerations, it is in line with the truth and predicts the enemy's opportunities. This is the only strategy in ancient and modern times." This was exactly what the generals wanted, and they all agreed.
Seeing no objection, Liu Bei began to arrange personnel. Since he wanted to attack Xianbei, he must use his troops quickly and accurately to ensure a successful attack. Therefore, Liu Bei allocated 30,000 cavalry from the entire army of 40,000 to be used as the main force for the attack on Baishan Mountain. The whole army was divided into six formations, and the generals selected were mostly well-known generals, namely Zhang Fei, Duan Xuan, Wei Yan, Liu Bao, Xu Huang, and Tuoba Liwei. In addition, there are more than 10,000 infantry following, led by Chang Xi, who can hold down the cavalry and prevent Xianbei from escaping and joining the Easterners.
The remaining 100,000 soldiers who set up ambushes in the mountains were mainly infantry because they aimed to occupy dangerous positions. They also carried many bows and crossbows, and carried a large number of pine trees. They could use fire attacks when necessary. . Chen Chong divided the 90,000 infantry into eighteen formations, consisting of Zhao Yun, Chen Deng, Ma Dai, Yang Qiu, She Jian, Chen Dao, Yang Fu, Zhang Yan, Zhu Hao, Du Ji, Jia Hong, Zhang Heng, Led by Wang Chang, Miao Shang, Liang Shuang, Cen Guang and Liu Xiong, they lined up from south to north. As for the remaining Wanqi, with Guan Yu as the main general and Ma Chao as the deputy general, they are waiting for an opportunity to enter the battlefield as a reserve team.
As for the offensive and defensive leaders, after consultation with Liu Bei, Chen Chong decided to use Liu Bei to attack Xianbei in the north, and Chen Chong in the south to resist the Easterners. All the generals had no objections.
After the plan was decided, everyone felt confident and uneasy at the same time. They are confident because they know that no one can come up with a better strategy, and they are anxious because they know that the final success or failure must be decided by God.
However, there was nothing to regret. After each general understood their mission, they led their troops back to rectify the soldiers and change the camps. Chen Chong immediately took Zhuge Liang, Deng Zhi and others to mobilize supplies and distribute the baggage. Liu Bei had nothing to do for a while, so he rode on his horse to take pictures. Surrounded by his trusted knights, he visited various camps to inspect and supervise.
He arrived first among the cavalry that would serve as the vanguard. These generals of the cavalry army are all veterans who have started their business in Sui Bingzhou for many years. Even Tuoba Liwei, who came from Xianbei, has been with them for more than ten years. Since the battles at Bohai, Wuyuan, and Huoshibu, veteran generals and healthy soldiers have withered away one after another. In addition, many people in the army are still slightly injured, so it is difficult to repeat the grand occasion of the 150,000 Bingzhou army entering the pass. Liu Bei saw that all the armies were depressed, and only the Xinjin Nanfu soldiers led by Wei Yan were still heroic. He recalled how they fought in the rain and defeated Yuan Shu, Geng Cang and other elites of the puppet dynasty, and he felt a little sad.
Liu Bei immediately encouraged the cavalry generals and said: "When the Xiongnu were in chaos again, Xianbei Shanyu Kuitou fought with me in Shaling. He also won the first battle, but our army immediately sent troops to attack at night and defeated him. I can't recover from the fall. Today's situation is several times better than it was back then. I hope you will be the first to make contributions!"
After returning from the cavalry, he was about to inspect the infantry units. Suddenly a flying cavalry came to report that the Huns were gathering to cause trouble, so he rode to check. It turned out that there was a Xiongnu commander who wanted to fight again. He thought that the chance of victory was slim, and he was worried about Meiji's tribe, so he led his people to escape from the small slope in the dense forest south of the camp. Liu Xuan's brother-in-law, Hu Yanyi, personally led people to chase him. As a result, the two tribes got into a fight, and their swords flew away. About twenty people died as a result, and their bodies were left lying in the forest. But when Liu Bei arrived in person, the fleeing men immediately became frightened and surrendered their troops to the ground, not daring to struggle any more.
When Zhang Fei saw so many corpses on the ground, he said angrily: "Escape from battle is an unforgivable crime. Don't let your followers go!" So he stripped off the clothes of the hundreds of captured Huns, tied their hands on their heads, and immediately killed them. Cut in half.
But Liu Bei immediately waved his hand to stop him, walked slowly into the crowd, and asked everyone: "Who killed his comrades?" The soldiers identified more than ten people, Liu Bei nodded and said: "The murderer must pay with his life. Justice in the world." So these people were beheaded.
Then Liu Bei asked: "Who has wounded his comrades?" The soldiers identified more than twenty people, and Liu Bei said to them: "Those who hurt others will pay for themselves, so you can do hard labor in the army." .”
Regarding the remaining dozens of fugitive soldiers, Liu Bei said: "Meiji is in danger. It's me who feels sorry for you, not you who feel sorry for me. You can leave if you want. But weapons, armor and stomachs are national affairs, and I hope you will stay." .”
After that, those who escaped all looked shocked and ashamed, then took off their armor without saying a word and piled it up in one place. While the quartermaster was preparing, Liu Bei walked among the escapees again and chatted with them. He saw a scar on someone's face and couldn't help but ask: "When was this left?"
The man replied in embarrassment: "In the first year of Chuping, I was scratched by a rope in Pingcheng." Liu Bei was taken aback, and then smiled and said: "Then you are an old man too!" Then asked the others how much money they had on their bodies. They all had scars, so Liu Bei patted the man on the shoulder and sighed: "Old man, I don't know if we can see each other again. Why don't we have a meal first before leaving?"
Without waiting for anyone to reply, he immediately summoned the fire camp and had a meal right here and now. There were so many people fleeing, and they felt uneasy. However, in the dining room, they found that Liu Bei was among the people. He was not making fun of the fleeing people, but was treating them like ordinary soldiers. Sometimes he would sigh and scold the fleeing people, and sometimes he would encourage the soldiers. In the end, everyone ate separately, and those who escaped did not expect to be retained.
】
After Liu Bei left, the refugees stood there confused, not knowing where to go. At this time, a horseman suddenly came up with a package and told them that this journey was hundreds of miles away. The general was worried that they would be unable to survive in the middle of the journey, so he gave them some money and told them not to rely on bravery on the way. people. The fugitives were greatly ashamed upon hearing this, and immediately returned to camp to plead guilty to Liu Bei, asking him to be the vanguard for this battle.
After the three soldiers heard about this, they were all filled with emotion. They talked to each other privately, saying that in terms of generosity, generosity, understanding and treating people, there is probably no one in the world who can be better than a great general. The opponent of Dragon Head. The country and the country must probably be revived by two people.
