Liu Bei held another military meeting, and this time, he also recruited Pang Tong from Wuling County.
As the actual mastermind of the Liu Bei Group, Liu Bei must listen to Pang Tong's advice on this matter.
But Liu Bei also didn't expect that Pang Tong, who came from Wuling County, also brought an unexpected person - Fazheng.
Fa Zheng was the envoy sent by Liu Zhang to exchange feelings with Liu Bei, a "relative" who was beyond his reach.
Before the Battle of Chibi, Liu Zhang saw that Cao Cao was powerful, so he sent Zhang Song to please Cao Cao, giving money and people. He was afraid that Cao Cao would be careless and change his route to Shu instead of attacking Soochow.
But in the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao fled north. Liu Zhang was relieved and felt that Cao Cao was just like that and there was nothing to worry about.
But Cao Cao was defeated, but the coalition forces of Sun and Liu struggled to conquer Nanjun. In the 14th year of Jian'an, they were able to conquer Nanjun, and they did not even threaten Xiangyang.
On the contrary, Cao Cao, after Beihuan organized the internal environment, killed some people with double-minded intentions, regained his strength, and is still the largest force now.
When Liu Zhang saw that this was not a problem, he quickly called Zhang Song and asked him how the negotiations with Cao Cao were going, and whether it was too late to hug the prime minister's lap now.
As a result, Zhang Song held a grudge because he was underestimated by Cao Cao during his last mission, and urged Liu Zhang to make a friendship with Liu Bei.
Liu Zhang thought about it. Cao Cao had the ambition to annex the world after all. On the contrary, Liu Bei was not weak now and was a relative of the same clan. Although this relative was a bit far away, Liu Zhang still felt that it was better to deal with Liu Bei than with Cao Cao.
After all, Liu Bei is considered a member of his own family and has a reputation for benevolence and righteousness.
Therefore, Liu Zhang sent Fazheng as an envoy to meet Liu Bei, first to find out Liu Bei's attitude, and secondly, to see if Liu Bei could form an alliance.
Under such circumstances, Fazheng arrived in Wuling and was received by Pang Tong. Then he took this opportunity to bring Jiangxia to meet Liu Bei.
However, Fazheng at this time was not from Liu Bei's group, so Liu Bei wanted to see him only after the military meeting.
Liu Bei first had to hold a military meeting to discuss the Jiangdong-front coalition's attack on Yizhou.
Well, people in Liu Bei Group are actually very confused about this matter.
Zhou Yu took advantage of Jiangxia's preparations for the wedding to mobilize troops in Nanjun. Now he personally led his soldiers to garrison Baqiu. He was obviously ready to move westward. He only had to wait for the soldiers and ordnance from Jiangdong to arrive at Baqiu to rendezvous. Zhou Yu can set off immediately.
In fact, with or without the help of Liu Bei Group in Jiangdong, they can send troops to Yizhou.
I invite you to send troops together, just because I don't want to break the alliance, and also because Liu Bei occupies the mouth of Youjiang River and cannot get around it for a while.
If Liu Bei's group insists on stopping it, then the label of breaking the covenant can be pinned on Liu Bei's head.
So in theory, it is obviously an acceptable idea to share the cake together when the situation cannot be resolved head-on.
But this is not in the interest of Liu Bei's group, especially Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Zhang Xi, who are all opposed to it.
Zhuge Liang objected because doing so would not be in line with the strategic plan he had formulated for Liu Bei.
Zhuge Liang's original idea was to cross the two states of Jingzhou and Yizhou and wait for the weather. But now Jingzhou's leg is lame. If Yizhou's leg is also lame, then there is no future.
Pang Tong and Zhang Xi objected simply because they felt that Jiang Dong seemed to be aboveboard, but in fact he was uneasy and kind-hearted.
Zhang Xi even told Liu Bei clearly that if Liu Bei's group sends troops, it is very likely that they will be used as a pioneer. If they cannot conquer Yizhou and retreat and are blocked by Jiangdong, they will be at the mercy of Jiangdong.
And once Jiangdong obtains Yizhou, as long as they occupy Bajun, Jiangdong can connect Yizhou and Nanjun.
Even if Jiangdong is so generous as to allocate Chengdu and other places in Shuzhong to Liu Bei in the future, Liu Bei will not be able to go beyond Nanjun and Bajun and send people to govern them. These places will eventually benefit Jiangdong's people.
Of Liu Bei's four great counselors, three objected, and one did not come. After careful consideration, Liu Bei decided to send Sun Qian to continue his mission to Jiangdong, rejecting Sun Quan's proposal.
The reason was that Liu Zhang and he belonged to the same clan, and Liu Bei couldn't bear to attack the same clan, so he refused.
This reason is fair and just, and it is completely justified. As for whether you believe it or not, I can leave it to Sun Quan to judge.
By the way, Liu Bei also personally wrote a letter to Sun Quan, suggesting that Sun Quan should not attack Liu Zhang. Firstly, there is no legitimate reason. Secondly, Liu Zhang is also a potential ally of the two. The biggest enemy now is Cao Cao, so he should make more friends. All allies should work together to fight against Cao Cao.
This suggestion, Sun Quan himself is the one who believes it or not.
After doing this, Liu Bei still ordered Guan Yu to assemble troops in Xiakou to threaten Lukou. At the same time, he wrote to Zhang Fei and asked him to prepare for interception. If the negotiation could not be reached, Liu Bei was also prepared to confront Zhou Yu's army.
After the military meeting, Liu Bei met Fazheng on the recommendation of Pang Tong.
Zhang Xi didn't know what the two people said.
After the military meeting ended, Zhang Xi was dragged by Zhuge Liang to discuss the transformation of swamps and tidal flats, and did not participate in the meeting at all.
But according to the information Pang Tong conveyed to two people afterwards, Liu Bei and Fazheng seemed to get along very well. Fazheng recognized Liu Bei's character and ideals, and Liu Bei also appreciated Fazheng's talents.
Therefore, Liu Bei invited Fa Zheng to live in Jiangxia for a while and then return to Yizhou after this winter.
Fazheng accepted the order happily.
As for Pang Tong, he will also have to stay in Jiangxia for a while. After all, we don’t know what the result will be of Sun Qian’s mission to Jiangdong. If the result is not ideal, Pang Tong will have to stay to discuss a way to break the situation.
A few days later, Sun Qian returned from Jiangdong, bringing the results of this negotiation - Sun Quan had ordered Zhou Yu to raise troops at the appropriate time to attack Liu Zhang in Yizhou.
And Sun Qian brought back a letter from Sun Quan to Liu Bei. Sun Quan said in the letter that he could understand Liu Bei's difficulties, but the current chaos in the world was because these separatist forces did not have the Han Dynasty in their hearts. I believe Liu Bei, the emperor's uncle, would also agree with this.
Another one is that Liu Yan and Liu Zhang and his son caused chaos in Shu. The people there were waiting for someone capable in the court to save them from the fire and water, so he was in compliance with the people's wishes. Liu Bei had benevolence and righteousness, so he must I don't want to see the people of Shu continue to suffer under Liu Zhang's rule.
It can be summed up in one sentence - it is certain that I will capture Yizhou. You, Liu Bei, don't have to go, but don't make trouble for me.
Liu Bei was so angry that he almost wanted to point to the east and curse - I have never seen such a shameless person.
But now the situation is very clear. Sun Quan told Liu Bei so many reasons just to prevent Liu Bei from holding him back, and Zhou Yu is almost ready and may set off at any time.
Liu Bei really had no reason to stop Jiangdong's army from advancing westward.
Even Pang Tong was considering whether to let Chen Ju lead the Jiangxia fleet southward and lock the mouth of the Youjiang River with Zhang Fei, hoping that Zhou Yu would not dare to break through the mouth of the Youjiang River directly.
This is a very risky thing, and Zhang Xi is willing to bet that if Zhou Yu really leads his troops to the mouth of the Youjiang River, not only will he really dare to break through, but he may even capture the mouth of the Youjiang River.
Zhou Gongjin would not care too much about the Sun-Liu alliance like Sun Quan did.
But this was no longer possible. Even Zhuge Liang agreed with Pang Tong's suggestion this time and asked Chen Jiu to quickly organize his army and try to complete the supplies within ten days. Before Zhou Yu set off, he could advance westward and block the enemy. Live in Youjiangkou.
Then Liu Bei summoned Fazheng again, told Fazheng that Jiangdong was going to attack Yizhou, and asked him to quickly return to Yizhou to report the news.
If Zhou Yu really breaks through the Youjiang mouth despite the alliance agreement, then he can only hope that Liu Zhang will be prepared to defeat Jiangdong's army.
"I wanted to get together with you for a long time, but there are such changes." Liu Bei finished explaining the matter to Fazheng and said with a sigh, "Sir, please return to Yizhou first and inform Liu Yizhou to take strict precautions. Zhou Gongjin is a famous general in the world. Don’t underestimate the enemy.”
When Fazheng heard this, he was not in a hurry. Instead, he sat quietly and thought carefully for a long time before saying, "Don't worry, Sir Liu. Since ancient times, it has never been heard that one can defeat the enemy by going upstream. Zhou Gongjin Although the Battle of Chibi was famous all over the world, the land of Yizhou is easy to defend and difficult to attack. General Yan, the governor of Ba County, although he is old, he is also braver than ten thousand men, and he is rigorous in running the army, so he will not be defeated by Zhou Lang. Take advantage of it."
Anyway, Fa Zhi is not in a hurry at all.
If Yizhou is so easy to capture, how can it be Liu Jiyu's turn to be the leader of Yizhou?
If nothing else, let’s just say that the Yangtze River flow from Zigui to Bajun is dangerous and fast. If someone is not familiar with the local hydrology, it will be difficult to even operate the boat, let alone attack.
Since ancient times, it has been easy to go down the river from Yizhou to the south of the Yangtze River. It has never been heard of going up the river from the south of the Yangtze River to Yizhou.
Fazheng was not in a hurry, but it surprised Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang and others. Zhang Xi was not surprised.
Fa Zheng is Liu Bei's future mastermind, it's written in the history books.
Even according to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Fazheng came to welcome Liu Bei to Shu, he immediately defected to Liu Bei. He was just like the bastard Liu Bei, and they were in love with each other.
Fazheng's behavior seemed normal to Zhang Xi. After all, Fazheng didn't like Liu Zhang at all.
And to be honest, Liu Zhang's current situation is not that good.
I don’t know how this guy managed to get around to the point where both the Yizhou and Dongzhou factions were trying to get him to step down.
Fazheng was not in a hurry, and Liu Bei couldn't say anything. He could only hope that what Fazheng said was true, and then wait and see how the situation changes.
The situation has not changed at all.
Seeing that it is almost winter, is it too late to send troops into winter? !
Or is Zhou Yu planning to wait for this winter to pass and then send troops to Yizhou next spring? !
But if this is the case, then why are we stationing troops in Baqiu after the autumn harvest? There are too many military rations, so why waste some of them in some way? !
Liu Bei didn't understand, and neither did Zhuge Liang and others.
Only Zhang Xi sighed in his heart. What is supposed to come will eventually come, and there is no way to escape.
God doesn't give me a chance.
(End of chapter)
