Yuan Shao swore an oath in Yecheng in front of Guandu, which was majestic. Then Guandu was defeated.
Cao Cao stood in front of Red Cliff and wrote poems, and he was in high spirits. Then Chibi was defeated.
Both of them experienced a huge defeat in their lives when they were the most powerful and proud, and Yuan Shao even lost his life because of it.
This is not a nice thing to say. No wonder Liu Bei changed his face and Fazheng was also shocked.
You two really dare to say it.
Zhang Xi really wanted to say I'm not, I didn't, I'm okay, I just wanted to persuade the lord not to get carried away, but the intention was not to compare the lord to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
The scene at this time was unusually quiet.
Zhang Xi and Pang Tong kept standing, waiting for Liu Bei to speak, but Liu Bei had a dark face and didn't even put down his wine glass.
Fazheng didn't say a word, he just lowered his head and drank, wanting to see how Liu Bei would handle this matter.
It is very important for a lord to be able to listen to advice, even if it is unpleasant advice.
And Liu Bei? Liu Bei is Liu Bei after all.
First, he waved away the singers who were singing and dancing for the fun, then put down his wine glass, stood up and saluted Pang Tong and Zhang Xi, and said, "The meaning of the two gentlemen is already clear. Just now, I am really ready to let go. Let's go." The two gentlemen laughed."
Zhang Xi and Pang Tong quickly returned the gift.
As for the advice, it's fine if the lord accepts it, but he doesn't dare to take the big lead.
At this time, Fazheng, who was very satisfied with Liu Bei's attitude, also stepped forward to smooth things over.
"In the past, when King Wu defeated Zhou, he also sang before and danced behind him. Only after the victory was completed, he used the right way to defeat the unjust one. Singing and dancing are not enough."
What Fa Zheng said is relatively high-level.
After all, the definition of King Wu's defeat of Zhou in this era is to defeat the unjust with the right way.
But really speaking, when King Wu defeated Zhou, he committed the following crimes, which were even worse in nature than what Liu Bei is doing now.
Therefore, the most important thing in Fazheng's words is not that King Wu defeated Zhou, nor that he sang and danced before and after, but that he conquered and succeeded.
As long as you succeed in the end, then you are right and wrong, let alone singing and dancing, even if you are drunk every day, future generations will only say that you are successful in big things and don't stick to trivial matters.
But if you fail in the end, then you will be Yuan Shao in Guandu and Cao Cao in Chibi, and you will be laughed at.
Fazheng is also admonishing Liu Bei in different ways. Things are only halfway through now and you haven't even arrived in Chengdu yet. It's really not the time to enjoy yourself at this time.
Liu Bei naturally understood the intentions of his subordinates. He greeted the three counselors repeatedly, then restrained his behavior and seriously began to discuss how to conquer Chengdu.
Zhang Xi was slightly relieved, at least Pang Tong didn't really attack Liu Bei, which made Liu Bei have to find a way out for him in the end.
In this way, Pang Tong should not be apologetic, and then rush to make achievements. In order to let Liu Bei capture Chengdu as soon as possible, he went to personally supervise the siege, but ended up getting an arrow in the neck, right? !
Although these are some boring speculations of future generations, they are just in case.
And to be honest, now is really not the time for Liu Bei to drink and celebrate.
First, although Liu Bei led his troops into Fucheng with almost no obstacles, his actual strength was still more than 30,000 at the beginning.
After all, Zitong and Jiangyou both needed people to garrison, and they surrendered voluntarily, so Liu Bei did not mobilize the local garrison in order to calm the minds of the local aristocratic families.
But Liu Zhang had 50,000 men stationed in Shu County alone. If he transferred Jianwei County again and soldiers from Jiangyang County returned to reinforce him, I'm afraid the number would not be less than 100,000.
With 30,000 fighting against 100,000, Liu Beijun would not have the upper hand after all.
And even if Liu Bei defeated Zitong County with overwhelming force, no matter how slow Liu Zhang reacted, he should have reacted.
So, soon, Liu Zhang sent out his own crusade force.
A 50,000-strong army led by Zhang Ren and Wu Yi left Mianzhu Pass and marched into Fucheng to confront Liu Bei.
At this time, Liu Bei really faced the test. For this, he had to discuss with his three counselors and deal with it carefully.
Zhang Xi didn't dare to be careless, after all, it was Zhang Ren who led the army.
As for Zhang Ren, the so-called first general in Shu was not awarded by Liu Zhang but by later generations.
Because in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", this general really shined. Not only did he kill Liu Bei so hard that he could not move even an inch, he also shot and killed Pang Tong on Luofengpo near Luocheng, which triggered a chain reaction of Liu Bei's group.
As for the official history, well, there are actually not many records about this general in the official history, and Zhang Xi cannot judge whether Zhang Ren is truly the number one general in Shu.
The most important thing is that Zhang Xi doesn't know whether this Zhang Ren is following the romance line or the historical line.
It is better to exaggerate the enemy and treat it with caution.
Therefore, Zhang Xi praised Zhang Ren in front of Liu Bei, exaggerating that Zhang Ren was brave and resourceful, good at using troops, and his abilities were not inferior to those of Jingzhou's Wenpin generals.
Liu Bei knew Wenpin very well, so when he heard what Zhang Xi said, he immediately paid great attention to Zhang Ren.
Fazheng was a little confused after having been in Yizhou for so many years. Although he knew that Zhang Ren was Liu Zhang's confidant, was this Zhang Ren really strong? !
If you brag about General Wu Yi like that, it makes sense. After all, General Wu Yi is indeed a man of courage, strategy and rigorous military management.
However, although Fazheng was confused, he could only remain silent for the time being because he did not understand Wenpin's ability and could not easily belittle others.
Furthermore, Fazheng now has a preliminary understanding of Zhang Xi's ability. With this person's knowledge, he should not say some untargeted words. Maybe this Zhang Ren really has something that he doesn't know. one side.
Then, Liu Bei was really ready.
Now that Liu Bei is defending Fucheng, he naturally does not need to separate the forward, middle and rear armies. The three armies are all gathered in Fucheng and are under the command of Liu Bei.
Zhang Ren and Wu Yi, who led 50,000 people to Fucheng, obviously did not come for tourism.
The two sides fought in front of Fucheng.
Liu Beifang asked Wei Yan, Huang Zhong, and Kou Feng to each lead an army and set up a formation outside the city gate. He, Pang Tong, Zhang Xi, Fazheng, and Mengda sat guarding the city tower.
On Zhang Ren's side, Zhang Ren and Wu Yi were guarding the central army, while Liu Huang, Ling Bao, and Deng Xian each led an army to confront Liu Bei's army and fight head-on.
Both sides were very energetic, but as a result, Liu Bei almost doubted his own eyes.
Liu Bei couldn't tell whether the soldiers he brought from Jingzhou were too strong, or whether the Yizhou army was too weak. The two sides just had a battle, and then from the left and right wings to the center army, Liu Bei's army had the upper hand.
On the left wing, Liu Quan, suppressed by Wei Yan, kept shrinking towards the Chinese army.
In the middle, veteran Huang Zhong almost killed Deng Xian with a sudden attack. It was only Wu Yi who sent people for timely support to save Deng Xian's life. Now he is suppressed and can't breathe.
Only Kou Feng, who was on the right wing, fought back and forth with Lingbao.
I really don’t blame Kou Feng for this. Kou Feng’s fighting characteristic is his bravery. When commanding, he pushes his soldiers up in one breath, and then continues to put pressure on the opponent, fighting to the death.
But Lingbao, who was opposite him, had similar personality and commanding characteristics, so the two fierce generals got together and fought, and the formation became untenable and they almost got mixed up.
But no matter what, Liu Beijun only fought for less than half an hour this time and already had the upper hand.
If it weren't for Wu Yi and Zhang Ren's support from everywhere, I'm afraid the Yizhou Army would have collapsed long ago.
But even so, the scene was so passive, no matter how hard Zhang Ren and Wu Yi tried, they still could not restore the decline. In the end, Liu Bei's army even directly approached the Yizhou Army's main formation, forcing Zhang Ren and Wu Yi to give up the attack and withdraw their troops. .
Faced with such a good situation, Liu Bei would be really sorry for himself if he didn't pursue it.
But Liu Bei always remembered Zhang Xi's words, so he just ordered Huang Zhong and Wei Yan to pursue less than twenty miles before withdrawing to their own formation.
As a result, Huang Zhong and Wei Yan were very dissatisfied.
Huang Zhong has been following the Chinese army since he started his army, and has no chance to make meritorious deeds.
But after all, Huang Zhong was older and would always be more diplomatic in doing things, so although he was dissatisfied, he didn't say anything.
But Wei Yan is different.
When Liu Bei raised his army, Wei Yan was assigned to the forward army, but the forward army led by Zhang Xi defeated everyone along the way with just one letter, and he had no chance of fighting at all.
Originally, Wei Yan thought of just rushing all the way and attacking Mianzhu directly. However, Zhang Xi said that he did not have enough troops and wanted to wait for Liu Bei to arrive before taking action. He also forcibly suppressed his request to send troops.
It's better now. Finally, the battle was fought. The pursuit was only allowed to go for twenty miles. But Wei Yan was frustrated.
Wei Yan had a straightforward temperament and was an old subordinate of Liu Bei with sufficient seniority. Therefore, as soon as he withdrew his troops, he found Liu Bei and asked, "My lord, the troops in Yizhou have been routed. We only need to pursue them for another ten miles to defeat him in one fell swoop." Defeating the enemy, why, my lord?"
"Hey, the article is long!" Liu Bei first stopped Wei Yan from questioning, and then looked at Zhang Xi.
That means. Is this what you said, the number one general in Yizhou? !
Zhang Xi’s embarrassing one. Was Zhang Ren so disrespectful that he couldn’t help but hit him? !
"Well... maybe, there is an ambush" Zhang Xi said nonchalantly and gave an explanation.
As for this explanation, let alone Liu Bei not believing it, even Wei Yan thought it was nonsense.
Recalling that Zhang Xi had suppressed his request to attack Mianzhu before, Wei Yan was immediately annoyed.
"I think this person doesn't want us to make contributions!!!" Wei Yan pointed at Zhang Xi's nose and said bitterly.
Hey! ! !
Old man, what do you mean? !
Zhang Xi suddenly became angry.
Liu Bei also felt that Wei Yan was a bit outrageous, and quickly scolded, "Chang Wen, don't talk nonsense. Chief Yuan is just using your troops carefully. If there is an ambush and the loss of troops and generals, how can you bear it?!"
Wei Yan did not listen to what others said, but he absolutely obeyed Liu Bei's words.
Shut up and don't speak now.
But Liu Bei was somewhat dissatisfied with Zhang Xi.
If Zhang Xi hadn't bragged Zhang Ren too much, he might have been able to defeat Zhang Ren and others in one fell swoop this time, without giving them a chance to retreat and gather the remaining soldiers.
But things are already like this, Liu Bei is not the kind of character to settle accounts after the fall, and with the combat effectiveness of the Yizhou soldiers, at most they will just have to fight again.
Therefore, Liu Bei decided to reorganize his army, send troops, leave Fucheng, and advance towards Mianzhu Pass.
Zhang Ren and Wu Yi gathered the remaining troops without Liu Bei pursuing them, but they also had a dispute about where to go next.
Wu Yi's idea was to retreat to Mianzhu Pass and rely on the pass to resist Liu Bei's advance.
After all, everyone has seen the combat effectiveness of the Jingzhou Army. If they fight in the field, they will definitely have no chance of winning.
But Zhang Ren disagreed.
They set out with an army of 50,000 people, but they only lost one battle and then retreated to Mianzhu. How should they explain to Liu Zhang? !
Again, although this field battle was defeated, because Liu Bei's army did not follow the pursuit, the losses of Liu Zhang's army were not large, which was only a few thousand casualties. Now gather the remaining soldiers and go to the stronghold to block Liu Bei's group. The way forward is not without a chance of winning.
Wu Yi and Zhang Ren quarreled over where to go next. In the end, Zhang Ren relied on Liu Zhang's confidant to suppress Wu Yi's opinions and decided to set up a stronghold, gathering the remaining troops while waiting for the arrival of Liu Bei's army.
Zhang Ren wanted to wash away the shame of his defeat in the field battle.
But... well, Zhang Ren can't just wash it out if he wants to.
After all, the generals who command operations rely on soldiers, and the Yizhou soldiers are not a question of whether they are strong or not, but a question of whether they are willing to fight.
There are too many problems in Yizhou.
Because of Liu Zhang's connivance, Yizhou's soldiers were not so much Liu Zhang's soldiers as they were an army composed of private soldiers from aristocratic families.
Liu Zhang neither has Sun Ce's decisiveness in killing, nor does he have the checking and balancing ability of Sun Quan, who can integrate the Yizhou family very well. So in the final analysis, it is hard to say who the Yizhou soldiers listen to.
Of course, Liu Zhang also had an army directly under his control, but this army was used by Liu Zhang to defend Chengdu and consolidate his rule, and would not be easily transferred from Chengdu.
Therefore, in fact, although the army led by Zhang Ren and Wu Yi was large in number, most of them were troops put together by aristocratic families.
These people can fight smoothly, but now they have seen Liu Beijun's combat effectiveness, and they must work for Liu Zhang in such a difficult situation. Haha.
This is why Wu Yi must take these soldiers to Mianzhu Pass. With the protection of the city wall, these soldiers who bully the weak and fear the strong may have the courage to fight the enemy.
Now you ask them to fight in the field and they will run to you every minute to see if you believe it or not.
Zhang Ren didn't believe it and insisted on confronting Liu Bei head-on.
As a result, in the second battle, Liu Zhang's army was defeated before Liu Bei's army even exerted its strength.
As soon as the soldiers formed their formation, they were defeated and fled in all directions. Liu Huang and Lingbao died in the fighting, and Deng Xian was captured and surrendered.
Zhang Ren himself was also coerced by the defeated soldiers and retreated towards Mianzhu Pass.
But this time, Liu Bei no longer had any worries. He asked Wei Yan, Kou Feng, and Huang Zhong to divide their troops into three groups to outflank and pursue them. They pursued and defeated the troops all the way to the foot of Mianzhu Pass.
At this time, Wu Yi, who had run to Mianzhu earlier, was already ready to defend.
Facing such a powerful pass, Liu Bei was a little embarrassed.
(End of chapter)
