Nanyang.
After receiving clear orders from Zhang Xiu, Zhang Liao immediately organized his troops and began to prepare for the battle across the Han River.
And Liu Bei, who returned to Xiangyang, didn't want to sit still and wait any longer. After this battle, his plan was intercepted by Zhang Xiu. It took a lot of time and energy and destroyed the relationship between Chu and Shu, but he returned disappointed with nothing.
A battle broke out between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in the north in Guandu, and they had achieved initial victory. It is expected that the battle will not last long. When the war in the world calms down, only I will gain nothing.
This result is absolutely unacceptable to him.
Therefore, Liu Bei convened civil and military officials to discuss countermeasures. Currently, Sun Ce is still fighting in Jiangxia, and Guan Yu has transferred over to stabilize the battle. Since Jing's army in Nanyang only had a large posture and no movement, the pressure was all on Wu's side. Sun Ce's army could not attack fiercely and lost the momentum it had started.
After Guan Yu was transferred, he began to confront Wu Guo.
Liu Bei also had other thoughts.
Nanyang's soldiers and horses said a lot, but Zhang Xiu had a chance to recapture Nanyang by himself in Yizhou instead of Nanyang, and this opportunity was precious. There are two major military towns in the Nanyang Basin. Nanyang in the north can defend Luoyang, and Xiangyang in the south can directly connect to Jianghan (Yangtze River and Han River). Its strategic position is extremely important.
It is also the gateway to Jingzhou.
"Nanyang is the gateway to Jingzhou, how can it fall into the hands of others?" Liu Bei sat on the throne and glanced at the ministers below, "Now the plan to capture Yizhou has been foiled by King Jing, causing our army to return without success, but Nanyang It must not be occupied by Ren Zhangxiu."
Chen Gong stood up and advised: "Your Majesty, Nanyang is now guarded by Jing's army, and our army has fled far away. The soldiers are tired, so we must not send troops to fight. Your Majesty, please think twice."
Since Liu Bei knew Chen Gong's thoughts, the army came from Yizhou in a hurry and was very tired. But at this juncture, no opportunity must be given up.
After thinking about it carefully, he said: "This opportunity cannot be missed. I heard that Zhang Xiu wants to intervene in the battle of Guandu, but he must be incapable of doing anything else. The Nanyang fighter opportunity is rare and cannot be missed. Third brother! Zilong!"
Zhang Fei couldn't hold himself back for a long time and immediately shouted: "Here you are!"
Zhao Yun: "Here!"
"Hurry up and gather 70,000 troops. We will send troops to Nanyang tomorrow. We must take back Nanyang County in this battle!" Liu Bei's tone was high, and he had the momentum to never return until he was defeated.
"Here!" the two shouted loudly.
Naturally, Chu State's actions could not escape the eyes of the shadow guard, let alone the eyes of Zhang Liao on the opposite side. Since Liu Bei returned to Xiangyang, Xiangyang has been ready to move.
"Captain!" Tan Ma came to report, "Tonight the Chu army is sending out troops frequently, there may be a war!"
Zhang Liao immediately became alert: "It seems that Liu Bei can't sit still anymore," then he got up and walked towards the bookshelf opposite, where there was a box.
This box was given to Zhang Liao by Zhang Xiu when he set out.
When giving it, Zhang Xiu told Zhang Liao: "If Xiangyang's army invades, open it and take a look."
Now Liu Bei was preparing for war and was about to make a move. Zhang Liao knew that there would be a big war in the future, so he picked up the box, sat down and opened it: "If the Chu army arrives, general Li Tong will be ordered to defend the city, and Ma Chao and Ma Dai will lead the army to fight. Ding Feng, Chen Wu led the navy to threaten."
After reading the content of the letter, Zhang Liao was also deeply touched by its meaning.
Immediately, he summoned all the generals to come and handed Zhang Xiu's handwritten letter to everyone.
After Li Tong read it, he asked, "What does the governor mean?"
Zhang Liao said: "The king is far away in Luoyang, and the Chu army took the opportunity to fight, thinking that they can defeat me! Now we can send troops to meet him, fight with all our strength, and weaken its edge. Only the front army will be defeated, and we can defend in the later stage."
After Ma Dai pondered for a moment, he said: "Captain, the rebel army is led by Liu Bei, King of Chu. Their morale will be high and it will be difficult to meet the enemy. It is better to hold on."
Zhang Liao said: "No, if you follow the rules, you will be defeated. All officers and men must obey orders!"
The generals stood up straight and shouted: "Here!"
"Order General Ma Chao to lead an army of five thousand to ambush on the east side of the Han River tomorrow. When the Chu army crosses the Han River, we can first cut off its retreat, so that the Chu army will be in chaos without a fight."
Ma Chao: "Here!"
"Ding Feng, Chen Wu! If the war starts tomorrow, the Chu army and the navy will definitely keep an eye on you. Tonight you will secretly hide in the reeds and look for opportunities to surprise the Chu army's water stronghold."
Ding Feng and Chen Wu: "Here!"
"General Li Tong will defend Fancheng, and the other generals will join me to fight against the enemy tomorrow!"
All the generals agree.
The next day, Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei to lead the front team, leading 5,000 men and horses one after another to kill Fancheng. The army crossed the Han River without being blocked. The Jing army led by Zhang Liao were all cavalry and had no advantage on the water, so they simply allowed the Chu army to cross the river and fight on land.
After Zhang Fei crossed the river, he first left a thousand men to guard the ferry, and led the rest to kill.
On the way, they met Ma Dai and his troops.
Seeing Jing Jun, Zhang Fei, who had suppressed his anger, roared angrily, holding a snake spear that was eight feet long, and killed Ma Dai with angry eyes.
Ma Dai was startled by Zhang Fei's voice.
The two sides fought, and within a few rounds, Ma Dai became frustrated and immediately turned around and fled. How could Zhang Fei let go of such an opportunity? He immediately led his army and horses to pursue him. Liu Bei led the Chinese army and came next. Hearing that Zhang Fei was chasing the enemy, he was overjoyed and led his troops to march.
Within a moment, the entire army crossed the river and headed towards Fancheng.
At this moment, Ma Chao led an army from the right to attack. He was unstoppable, and his horse hooves galloped to kill the Xiliang cavalry. Most of the Chu army were from the south. They had never seen such a battle before. The ground was shaking. Suddenly, the Chu army was in chaos.
Liu Bei was also shocked and hurriedly ordered: "Zilong, quickly lead the army to resist."
Zhao Yunzao led an army to meet him on horseback.
Ma Chao fights with Zhao Yun.
This can be regarded as stopping Jing Jun's spirit. Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could completely relax, he felt the ground shaking again.
Liu Bei's face turned pale with fright. He looked up and saw Zhang Liao leading an army to attack. As far as the eye could see, there were densely packed cavalry everywhere, and thick dust was rising from the ground.
"Quickly order General Zhang to return for reinforcements!"
Before the Chu army could stand firm, they were surrounded and attacked by the Jing army. Because Zhang Fei was greedy for power and rushed forward, he ran too far in pursuit of Ma Dai and had no time to return for help.
Chen Gong shouted: "Your Majesty, come back quickly! Your Majesty, come back quickly!"
Liu Bei was unwilling to do so, but when he saw that Jing's army was murderous and his side was in chaos, he had no choice but to turn around and retreat.
In an instant, the Chu army was defeated like a mountain.
Zhang Liao was afraid that Liu Bei would escape, so he led three thousand personal guards to kill him first. Zang Ba stood up and fought to the death to protect Liu Bei from crossing the river. Fortunately there was a boat docked on the river bank.
Liu Bei was so frightened that he was carried onto the boat by his guards and fled in panic.
Zhao Yun led the remaining soldiers and horses to stop Jing's army; Zhang Fei also hurriedly turned back and took over with Zhang Liao. The two sides fought on the river bank for three hours. In the end, the Chu army's morale was completely lost, and they retreated and returned to Xiangyang.
After this battle, Zhang Liao's reputation spread far and wide across Jingchu.
