Liu Bei led an army of 60,000 troops and stalled after arriving at Baishui Pass. Benevolence and righteousness began to spread widely in Baishui Pass, which won the hearts of the people. At this time, Guan Yu in Jingzhou sent a letter saying that Sun Ce of the Eastern Wu Dynasty was ready to make a move and might unite with Zhang Xiu's troops to invade Jingzhou.
He went to Chen Gong to discuss: "Gongtai, now the Wu State has gathered troops and is ready to move, fearing that they will join forces with Zhang Xiu to attack. If this is the case, Jingzhou is in danger, what can be done?"
Chen Gong thought for a while and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. General Guan is both civil and military. I expect Soochow and Jingguo to unite and they will definitely be no match. Now the Shu army is campaigning in Longxi. Such a good opportunity cannot be missed."
Liu Bei nodded, and then said with some embarrassment: "I am marching together with the Shu Kingdom. This is an unprovoked attack. I may be laughed at by the world."
Chen Gong said: "Your Majesty, you can send a letter to Chengdu. I said that Dongwu has united with Jingguo to invade Jingzhou. General Zhang is so powerful that he will conquer Longxi soon. I want to send troops back to Jingzhou and prepare to defeat Jingwu's army, but I have so few soldiers." We are short of food, so I hope we can quickly send out 30,000 to 40,000 elite soldiers and 100,000 hu of grain and grass, please don’t make any mistakes.”
Liu Bei frowned: "Now that the Shu army is all attacking the enemy, and there are no soldiers in Shu, how can we send out thirty or forty thousand people?"
Chen Gong smiled and said: "Your Majesty, what you want is that they can't take it out. We can use this reason to send troops to Chengdu and take all the land in Shu."
Liu Bei suddenly realized and laughed: "Gongtai has a clever plan."
Immediately sent people to Chengdu.
When the messenger came to Jianmen Pass, Yang Huai and Gao Pei learned about this and what Liu Bei had done when he led the army to Baishui Pass. They suspected that the other party had evil intentions. After discussion, Yang Huai and Gao Pei went to Chengdu with the messenger to let Gao Pei defend the city. .
After meeting Liu Zhang, Yang Huai said: "Your Majesty, since Liu Bei entered Sichuan, he has been spreading kindness and winning people's hearts. He has evil intentions. Now I am asking for food and fodder for the army and horses. I am afraid that he may have other ideas. I hope you can see clearly."
Liu Zhang said with the thought of 'It won't happen': "The King of Chu and I have brotherhood and alliance, how could he do such a thing that everyone would abandon?"
Liu Ba, who was standing next to him, said: "Your Majesty, Liu Bei is a great hero. He led an army of 60,000 men to stay at Baishui Pass without advancing at all, while all the soldiers and horses in Shu are out. If something happens, there will be endless troubles. I hope your Majesty will think twice."
After hearing Liu Ba's words, Liu Zhang hesitated.
Yang Huai and Liu Ba immediately began to persuade them, and finally decided to give only 3,000 old and weak troops and 10,000 husks of grain and grass. They also ordered Yang Huai and Gao Pei to guard the passes to prevent Liu Bei from changing.
The envoy returned to see Liu Bei and delivered 3,000 old and weak men and 10,000 husks of grain and grass.
Seeing such a large amount of food and grass and old and weak men and horses, Liu Bei was furious. Isn't this just sending beggars away?
He cursed angrily: "I ignored the danger of the Chu State and led a large army here to help the King of Shu conquer the lands of Longxi and Hanzhong. I have worked so hard and hard, but I didn't expect the King of Shu to be so stingy. He is really a heartless person!"
Chen Gong calmly waited for Liu Bei to finish his anger and said: "Your Majesty, this is the effect we want. Liu Zhang is so stingy. He is unkind first. How can he blame us for being unjust? On the pretext of returning to Jingzhou, Yang Huai and Gao Pei The two generals will definitely come to see us off, and when the time comes, we can capture and kill them, seize the passes, capture Fucheng first, and then attack Chengdu, then we can move down to Shu."
Liu Bei nodded: "Okay, let's follow this plan."
Afterwards, the Chu army was fully equipped and the 60,000-strong army marched towards Jianmen Pass in a mighty manner.
…
Chang'an, Jingwang Palace.
Information came from the shadow guards at Jianmen Pass. Liu Bei, under the pretext of the crisis in Jingzhou, was going to borrow troops from the King of Shu to ask for food and return to Jingzhou. An army of 60,000 had already set off and was heading towards Jianmen Pass.
Upon learning of this, Zhang Xiu immediately summoned civil servants and generals.
In the palace.
Zhang Xiu took the seat, glanced at the confidants below, and said: "A month ago, Liu Bei led the army to Baishui Pass to win people's hearts. His intentions were evil. Now he has raised his troops and headed for Chengdu."
Gan Ning knew that the war opportunity was coming, and immediately came out and said: "Your Majesty, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang are fighting among themselves. How can we miss such a good opportunity? I am willing to lead an army south to defeat the Chu and Shu armies and capture all the land in Shu."
Naturally, Zhang Liao would not show weakness and immediately said: "Liao is willing to lead the cavalry troops to capture all the land in Shu."
Jia Xu smiled and said: "Two governors, please don't be anxious. This battle is not limited to Yizhou, and the war is not limited to Yizhou. Please obey the king's orders."
Zhang Xiu said: "Such a God-given opportunity, I will not miss it. Liu Bei is too weak-minded and Chu is not safe yet. In order to devour Yizhou, he sent all Chu troops to Shu. He really overestimated his capabilities." "
Immediately gave the order: "Zhang Liao listens to the order!"
Zhang Liao: "The general is here!"
"Order Le Batt to lead his battalion and cavalry to go north to Yunzhong to prevent Yuan Shao from causing rebellion; order Zhang Xian to lead his battalion and cavalry to garrison in Jiyang to prevent Yuan Shao's troops from leaving Hedong; and Commander Zhang to lead the rest of the troops to immediately go south to Nanyang under my banner. , prepare to join forces with the navy to attack Xiangyang."
Zhang Liao, Lebat, and Zhang Xian: "Here!"
"Gan Ning obeys the order!"
"The general is here!"
"Order the Shensu Chariot Barracks to prepare quickly, with trebuchets, heavy armor soldiers, and flower-bladed armor-piercing crossbows. We will set off tonight and follow me to Hanzhong to assemble. The rest of the troops will arrive soon, and there will be no mistakes."
Gan Ning was overjoyed and shouted: "Here!"
Jia Xu explained the battle plan: "Captain Zhang, your cavalry must display the King's banner with great fanfare. You must make Guan Yu mistakenly believe that it is the King's personal expedition, so that Liu Bei and Liu Zhang in Shu can relax their vigilance."
"Here!" Zhang Liaoyun said.
"The army of Governor Gan set out with the lord, and the speed chariot took the lead. Taking advantage of the speed, he tried to catch Liu Bei by surprise and tried to arrive at Jianmen Pass at the same time as Liu Bei. They attacked from both sides and tried to kill Liu Bei directly, so that Zhang Fei's army hidden in Hanzhong would not have time to react."
"Here!" Gan Ning agreed.
"This battle has no focus. Yizhou and Jingzhou are both important battlefields." Zhang Xiu looked at Zhang Liao, "Wenyuan, conquer Xiangyang, and after entering Jingzhou, we must restrain conflicts with the Wu army. Also, Guan Yu is a famous general in the world. , his martial arts are good, remember to deal with him carefully, but his shortcomings are very clear, he is arrogant and can be exploited."
"Here!" Zhang Liao nodded.
Subsequently, Zhang Xiu left Jia Xu, Liu Ye, and Li Ru in charge of Chang'an's political affairs. He personally led the army and took a fast chariot to Hanzhong overnight.
Outside Chang'an City.
A large number of fast cars appeared outside Chang'an City, with three people per car sitting on the car holding weapons. Standing on the top of the city, it looks bigger than the cavalry, and its momentum is like a rainbow.
At the front of the carriage, three thousand cavalry served as the vanguard, and Yuki Ling served as the vanguard officer, leading the way.
Then, at Zhang Xiu's order, the whip was raised, and 500 fast chariots, pulled by the horses, drove away from Chang'an City, along the official road, towards Hanzhong, leaving behind a cloud of dust.
The forced march of the infantry from Chang'an to Hanzhong would take at least ten days. With the help of the Shensu Chariot, in just two nights, five hundred Shensu Chariots took advantage of the darkness and entered Hanzhong City.
The next day and night.
Twenty-five thousand people took advantage of the darkness and left Yang'an Pass. They rushed to Jianmen Pass at the speed of a forced march. They must arrive at Jianmen Pass at the same time as Liu Bei.
At this time, Yang Huai and Gao Pei learned that Liu Bei was going back and began to discuss interception and killing.
