Meng Da brought Deng Xian to the main tent to meet Liu Bei. Seeing how quickly order was restored in all camps and villages, Deng Xian couldn't help but sigh at the strong military management capabilities here.
When Meng Da walked into the tent and saw Huang Zhong there, he knew that Ling Bao had not gotten a good harvest.
Liu Bei encouraged Deng Xian and asked about the situation of Liu Huang, Zhang Ren and Wu Yi. Deng Xian answered in detail the advantages and disadvantages of each.
"What does General Deng think of Li Zhengfang?" Liu Bei was still curious about Li Yan.
Deng Xian answered truthfully: "General Li is astute, courageous and talented as a general. He has only defected to Yizhou a few years ago and has become Liu Yizhou's favorite general."
"Does this person have any weaknesses?" Liu Bei asked again.
"Uh... we don't know yet..." Deng Xian replied.
Liu Bei nodded and planned to observe carefully in the future and strive to have as many natural talents as possible in the world.
Upon seeing this, Deng Xian told Lingbao about the sneak attack. Pang Tong, Fazheng, Huang Zhong and others all laughed in the tent.
Liu Bei explained: "To be honest, you and Lingbao split up your troops to cover and attack secretly. The two military advisors have clearly figured out that General Huang has just returned."
"Behead the general?" Deng Xian swallowed.
Huang Zhong stroked his white beard and looked a little helpless, "That Lingbao fell into the strategy of the military advisor and was trapped on the mountain trail by me. However, this enemy was defeated by me and he pretended to surrender. In the end, he was shot dead by me when he grabbed the horse and ran away... .”
"Shooting...in the dark?" Deng Xian's eyes widened.
Meng Da reminded in a low voice: "Old General Huang can cut through the poplars with a hundred steps, and he has the ability to listen to the voice and judge the position and shoot blindly. It is not a pity to die if Lingbao doesn't know the time..."
Deng Xian was sweating profusely, and thought to himself that if he and Lingbao were to change places, he might be the one who was shot. General Zuo was really talented, and Liu Zhang, the Yizhou Mu, was the first to do it.
"My lord, now the last pass of Mianzhu Pass has been lowered. Tomorrow we will cross Mianshui to capture the county seat, and then go south to capture Luocheng to reach Chengdu." Pang Tong reminded.
Liu Bei sighed and said: "Unknowingly, it has been more than a year since I entered Shu. It was thanks to the clever calculations of the two military advisors and the brave efforts of the soldiers. I will reward everyone well after we capture Chengdu."
"Thank you, Lord." Everyone thanked them in unison.
"Lord, there is something I forgot to remind you. Liu Zhang sent Fu Jin and Xiang Cun to lead more than 10,000 troops from Langshui to attack Jiameng Pass. I'm afraid it's already..." Deng Xian clasped his fists and spoke.
Liu Bei's scalp went numb after hearing this. Liu Zhang's move was quite powerful. If Liu Bei captured too few garrison towns along the way, he would not have enough control over the various places, and the supplies would naturally not be able to keep up.
If Jiameng Pass, which has been in business for almost a year, is lost, Liu Bei's army will have to rob it before they reach Chengdu, and the reputation they have finally accumulated will be gone.
Awesome, Liu Jiyu.
"Military advisor, there is absolutely no room for failure at Jiameng Pass. Why not let Zidu lead five thousand troops to support? Anyway, Mianzhu Pass has also received thousands of surrendered troops." Liu Bei suggested.
Pang Tong shook his head, "Although we raised 30,000 troops from Jiameng Pass, we have experienced dozens of large and small battles in the past few months, and the surrendered troops from Mianzhu Pass have just added in. If we divide our troops and go back to rescue Zhongmiao, we will be passive."
"But there are only 800 soldiers at Jiameng Pass. How can Huo Zhongmiao resist the ban and save thousands of people?" Liu Bei was very worried.
At this moment, he remembered that Lu Bu stabbed Xuzhou in the back, and that he and his remaining troops fled to the East China Sea. When food was out of food, his soldiers had no choice but to eat the flesh of their fellow soldiers in order to survive. Liu Bei never wanted to encounter this kind of thing again.
Pang Tong frowned and said firmly: "Jiameng Pass is also a dangerous pass. It is said that one man can guard the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it. I know Huo Zhongmiao's ability. He should be able to hold it..."
"Although Huo Zhongmiao was recommended by Shi Yuan, the strength of the two sides is really very different..." Liu Bei still had doubts.
"My lord, you must have confidence. Have you forgotten that General Guan should choose Yan Liang as the leader among all the troops? Nothing is impossible in this world." Pang Tong said meaningfully.
Liu Bei sighed secretly. It would be fine if Guan Yu or Zhang Fei guarded Jiameng Pass, but now it is Huo Jun who is not well-known after all.
Considering that dividing the troops was indeed detrimental to taking Chengdu, Liu Bei did not hesitate on this matter in the end.
The next day, Liu Bei set up camp and ordered Wei Yan to march directly from Mianzhu Pass to the county seat. He led his rear army to meet him outside Mianzhu County.
The army marched through the valley and passed through dangerous passes. When they reached the bank of Mianshui River, they found traces of battle.
Seeing Wei Yan's people on the other side reorganizing the prisoners, Liu Bei thought to himself, in such a short period of time, who did Wei Yan have a fight with?
Liu Bei, Pang Tong and others crossed the Mianshui River. Wei Yan led a general to see him. He saw this man with a round face and beard. Although he was not very tall, he was very strong.
"The last general Wu Yi has seen General Zuo..." Wu Yi clasped his fists and bowed on one knee.
Liu Bei quickly helped him up and comforted him with kind words. From the mouths of Deng Xian and Fazheng, he had learned the details of Wu Yi, and it was said that he had a close relationship with Liu Zhang.
"Chang Wen, this is..." Liu Bei asked puzzledly.
Wei Yan clasped his fists and replied: "General Wu led his army to rescue Mianzhu Pass, but the general finally fought with him in a hurry. General Wu understood the righteousness and surrendered to the lord."
"How many soldiers and horses did Ziyuan bring out?" Liu Bei asked curiously when he saw the large number of people on the shore.
Wu Yi clasped his fists and said, "There are five thousand troops in total."
"How many defenders are there in Mianzhu County?" Liu Bei asked again.
"Liu Huang and Zhang Ren each have seven or eight thousand men." Wu Yi answered truthfully.
Liu Bei was greatly moved when he heard this. He said that it was a good day today. He had picked up five thousand soldiers as soon as he went out. If he could instigate the generals in the city to rebel, he would have a better chance of winning Chengdu.
Liu Bei then ordered Wu Yi and Deng Xian to be the front troops, and they went to Mianzhu County with Wei Yan to persuade Liu Huang and Zhang Ren to surrender.
The main force of the rear army crossed Mianshui and arrived in the north of Mianzhu County in the afternoon. From a distance, they saw flags fluttering on the city wall. Wu and Xian seemed to have failed in persuading them to surrender.
"Lord..." Wei Yan and the others came forward, and Wu Yi and Deng Xian among them looked ashamed.
Liu Bei watched his words and knew the result. He comforted and said: "The two generals have worked hard. Let's set up camp and rest first. If we fail to persuade them to surrender, we will fight tomorrow. They will regret it sooner or later."
"Wei." Wu Yi replied in unison.
On the way to set up camp, Liu Bei learned about the situation from Wei Yan. Liu Quan and Zhang Ren were both strong, foolish and straightforward people. They spit on the city wall and scolded Wu and Deng to the point of being loyal, righteous, benevolent and filial.
After Liu Bei learned the truth, instead of being angry, he admired this kind of honest general. He has not given up his desire to conquer until now.
After setting up camp, Liu Bei summoned the main generals in the main tent. Wu Yi introduced the defensive deployment of Mianzhu County, and then Pang Tong arranged the siege tomorrow.
After the combat deployment was completed, the generals of each battalion went to prepare one after another. Pang Tong also went back to rest because he stayed up late last night. In the end, only Fazheng was left in the big tent.
Liu Bei asked: "There will be a hard battle tomorrow, and Xiaozhi didn't get a good rest last night. If I can't sleep well in the tent, how about I sleep on the same bed with you?"
Fazheng said awkwardly: "My lord cares about my ministers and does not allow Yuan Zhi and I to go to the front line in person. The so-called hard battles are all endured by the soldiers, but I stayed at the end because of the things on the bed..."
Liu Bei was confused:? ? ?
