Qingzhou, Beihai City.
Liu Bei did not dare to relax at all after capturing Qingzhou. Facing Yuan Shao, who was even more powerful than Cao Cao, they had to be fully prepared. Yuan Shao had strong soldiers and horses, many powerful generals, and a cloud of advisers. If he did not have complete preparations, he would probably be dead. It will be a complete failure.
Of course, before attacking Qingzhou, he had thought about the consequences of attacking Qingzhou, and also thought about how to deal with Yuan Shao. It is definitely impossible to rely solely on him. The biggest reliance is Gongsun Zan of Youzhou.
Gongsun Zan had 100,000 Youzhou cavalry in his hands, and his troops and horses were as strong as Yuan Shao's.
Liu Bei wrote a letter to Gongsun Zan, saying that he would form a permanent alliance with him and work together to fight Yuan Shao, so that Yuan Shao could not care about each other.
At the same time, with the strong support of the Mi family's money and food, Liu Bei recruited troops and horses on a large scale. Within ten days, he recruited 30,000 soldiers in Qingzhou and purchased 3,000 horses, bringing his total strength to 50,000. Among them, there were 7,000 cavalrymen, and their strength soared.
In order to ensure the safety of the natural dangers of the Yellow River, Liu Bei ordered Guan Yu to lead 3,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry to station on the south bank of the Yellow River, constantly monitoring Yuan Jun's movements.
Liu Bei's reputation cannot be built on.
In the era of the late Han Dynasty, when there were many powerful people, reputation meant everything; Liu Bei, under the banner of the Han clan lineage of the great-great-grandson of Emperor Xiaojing, the successor of King Jing of Zhongshan, immediately gained the closeness of some Qingzhou powerful people.
Although Yuan Shao's surname is Yuan, his reputation as a man is not as good as that of Liu Bei. Relying on his reputation, Liu Bei captured a wave of people and was able to live in Qingzhou. Many local people in Xuzhou came to seek refuge with this Han clan clan member, including Xu Sheng from Langyaju County.
Xu Sheng, courtesy name Wenxiang, was originally from Qingzhou. Later, he moved to the south of the Yangtze River due to the war. He was praised by Chen Shou of later generations as "the tiger minister of Jiangbiao". However, Xu Sheng met Liu Bei before he moved south. He did not hesitate. He led his three hundred troops to join Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was able to dominate the Three Kingdoms and separate one side from another. His fame was on the one hand, and on the other hand, he was able to understand people and give full play to his ability to deal with everyone.
When Xu Sheng led the three hundred troops to submit, Liu Bei went out to greet him personally. The etiquette mentioned extremely high treatment. Xu Sheng was convinced at the first meeting.
Later, Liu Bei was keenly aware of his abilities during the conversation, and immediately without hesitation let him lead 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, and promoted him to a military captain.
Xu Sheng did not disappoint Liu Bei. Although he was a recruit of 5,000, he trained him to advance and retreat in a controlled manner and his morale was as high as a rainbow.
Just when Liu Bei's career was booming, three thousand war horses led by Zhao Yun arrived.
When he was under Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei knew Zhao Yun's ability, and the relationship between the two was very close. When he learned that Zhao Yun was coming, he excitedly went out ten miles to greet him.
Zhao Yun was also very happy. He jumped off his horse and said: "Your Majesty, on the order of General Gongsun, I came here to help defend Qingzhou. At the same time, I sent 3,000 war horses."
After Gongsun Zan defeated Yuan Shao, he fought back to Youzhou and took back his own territory. Wuhuan and Xianbei chose to retreat to avoid Gongsun Zan's attack.
After regaining power in Youzhou, Gongsun Zan was afraid that Yuan Shao would counterattack again, so he sent Zhao Yunnan to Qingzhou, leaving behind to help Liu Bei defend Qingzhou, helping each other to fight Yuan Shao; Yuan Shao was powerful, and the two of them could only compete by uniting.
Liu Bei was so happy that he almost cried out. Not only did he get three thousand horses, but most importantly, he got Zhao Yun, a brave general. This made him so excited that he couldn't believe it was true.
"Aha... It's a blessing that Zilong is here. Follow me into the city quickly. If Yide knows that you are coming, he will definitely have a drink with you. If the clouds grow in the plain, he will not dare to come." At that moment, he held Zhao Yun's hand affectionately, walked towards Beihai City with a gentle smile on his face.
…
Jizhou, Yecheng.
Yuan Shao was lying on the couch feeling very weak, his arms were so weak that he could not lift them up, and he was sweating profusely on his forehead. Standing around him were a lot of people who expressed their sincerity and sincere concern. These were his confidants; this failure made him suffer the most in his life. first fright.
Gongsun Zan's gloomy face, illuminated by thunder and lightning in his mind, lingered like a ghost, making him panic.
Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi stood nearby with panic on their faces.
Yuan Shang was handsome, favored by his father and stayed by his side, preparing to inherit Yuan Shao's title. Brother Yuan Tan's resentment towards them has become very obvious. If something unexpected happens to his father at this time, with Liu Bei in front of him and Gongsun Zan in the back, he will be unable to cope with it, and he may be replaced by his brother Yuan Tan.
Fortunately, Yuan Shao's expression gradually softened.
"Lord!" Shen Pei, Tian Feng, Ju Shou and other counselors stood on one side, while Zhang He, Gao Lan, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and other generals stood on the other side, looking at Yuan Shao who slowly opened his eyes with concern.
Seeing Yuan Shao weakly opening his eyes, Zhang He and Gao Lan fell to their knees in self-reproach.
If they had not been defeated, Yuan Shao would not have been so traumatized and his troops would not have suffered such heavy losses, allowing Gongsun Zan to rise from the dead and reoccupy Youzhou.
"Well... Junyi, Uncle Yuan," Yuan Shao glanced sideways at the confidant general who was kneeling next to him, and raised his hand, "Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists, so there is no need to blame yourself."
The two of them could not forgive themselves for kneeling persistently.
"Lord!" Shen Pei bowed, "Gongsun Zan has regained Youzhou, and Liu Bei has occupied Qingzhou, recruiting troops and horses to form an alliance with Gongsun Zan. Now that Liu Bei's occupation of Qingzhou is not stable, Zhang He and Gao Lan can be asked to make meritorious deeds and send troops to fight against it."
Zhang He and Gao Lan looked at the judge with grateful eyes.
Xu You rolled his eyes and was surprised: "Why did Shen Pei say something to help Zhang He and Gao Lan? Shen Pei is Yuan Shang's man. Does he want to recruit these two generals into Yuan Shang's subordinates?"
Yuan Shang glanced at Zhang He and Gao Lan out of the corner of his eye.
If he could take these two people into his hands, his brother Yuan Tan would not necessarily be his opponent.
Yuan Shao knew it well and did not stop it.
Jushou immediately stopped him and said: "My lord, Liu Bei is too weak to be afraid. You can order Wen Heng to lead an army to help you defend Pingyuan County so that Liu Bei does not dare to act rashly. Gongsun Zan has come back from the dead and has not yet recovered his vitality. He left Yijing. But A fight to the death.”
Tian Feng said coldly: "My lord has just recovered from a serious illness, why are you so impatient to send troops? Gongsun Zan has a strong army and a strong horse, and he will not be able to move within a few days. Liu Bei is an ally with him in Qingzhou, how can he advance so easily? Gongsun Zan is as brave as any other man." If you have no plans and ambitions, what should you fear? When the Lord recovers from his injuries, we will divide our forces to attack and win."
The counselors each had their own opinions. Yuan Shao's ears were buzzing, and he closed his eyes with a long sigh in frustration. He stubbornly waved his hand to let them go down, "You guys go down first. This matter is not urgent. Let's discuss it later!" eyes still closed.
Yuan Shang was the only one left in the room who was quiet. Yuan Shao still lay quietly with his eyes closed. After a long time, he sighed and said to Yuan Shang: "Counsels plan for themselves first. The strategies and wars of these noble people are all based on this." The interests of the family come first, and everyone has their own opinions without a unified explanation. Military generals do not have so many twists and turns, they are trusted generals. What do you think now?"
Yuan Shang thought for a while and felt that this was a good opportunity to recruit Zhang He and Gao Lan into his subordinates. He immediately said: "Liu Bei is short of soldiers and food. There is nothing to worry about. You can let Zhang He and Gao Lan take the blame and perform meritorious service to defeat Liu Bei. Liu Bei will no longer have to worry about anything." , we can attack Gongsun Zan with all our strength."
Yuan Shao nodded in disappointment and pain. As soon as his son opened his mouth, he was familiar with his little thoughts, and the pain of being disappointed by this son who was still pursuing his own personal gain.
Seeing his father nodding, Yuan Shang's eyes lit up with joy.
Yuan Shao closed his eyes in pain: "You can go down and we will discuss this matter later."
The light in Yuan Shang's eyes disappeared and he bowed to say goodbye.
"Alas..." Yuan Shao sighed deeply.
