After the unfavorable first battle, Niu Fu led his army to retreat ten miles and set up camp on the south bank of the lower reaches of the Bian River.
When the battle situation is unfavorable, it is a very stable way to retreat and defend, close the camp to rest, and restore morale while waiting for changes that may occur at any time.
In order to prevent Liu Bei from attacking him at any time, Niu Fu divided the camp into three parts. Li Meng camped in the front, Zhang Ji camped on the left, and he camped in the rear. The three parties were in a position to influence each other.
In this way, even if Liu Bei succeeds in his raid, he can only occupy one camp. The troops in the other two camps will not be in chaos and can still organize a counterattack.
This operation of Niu Fu was reported to Liu Bei by Tanqi.
"Oh, Niu Fu is worthy of being Dong's confidant, and he actually built such a turtle shell!"
Looking at the sketch drawn by Tan Qi, Liu Bei shook his head.
Although Niu Fu did not show extraordinary military talent, his steady-as-an-old-dog style gave Liu Bei a huge headache.
The Art of War says: Be invincible first, then wait until the enemy becomes victorious.
This means that when the war is in a stalemate, the only thing is to establish yourself in an invincible position first, and then patiently wait for the enemy to reveal flaws. Niu Fu understands the essence of this.
If this continues, even if Liu Bei can defeat Niu Fu, it will probably only be a miserable victory.
Fortunately, Zhang Heng left the water attack strategy in place, and it will come in handy now.
In the next few days, when Niu Fu closed the camp and could not leave, Liu Bei was not idle. He sent several groups of troops to provoke Niu Fu in front of the camp.
All kinds of swear words and Chinese quintessences were spoken in turn, and cordial greetings were given to Niu Fu's eighteenth generation female ancestor.
But Niu Fu's response was also very clear: I won't go out. If you have the guts, just come in!
Of course Liu Bei would not attack Niu Fu's camp, and he was even happy to see this result. Because as early as the night when Niu Fu retreated, he summoned Zhang Liao and started his arrangements.
"Wenyuan, Ziyi said before he left that the details of the water attack strategy have been imparted to you. Now that we have forced Niu Fu to camp downstream of the Bian River, do you think we can start making arrangements?"
Zhang Liao immediately clasped his fists and replied: "My lord, the chief secretary said before leaving that although this plan is a good one, it is indispensable because the time, place and people are favorable. We have the right place and people, but I don't know what the weather is like?"
"Now that the sun is warm and the rivers are thawing, isn't it already time?" Liu Bei asked with a frown.
"It's not that it's late, it's just that the chief secretary is not here, and the general is not sure, so he has to go and check."
"Okay, early tomorrow morning, you will go north to the source of Bianshui River to see what happens." Liu Bei nodded.
"The war is urgent. Why don't we wait until the next day to go here?"
"That's fine, you can act cheaply, but if you need anything, just ask."
Liu Bei waved his hand and gave Zhang Liao great authority.
"As you command!"
Zhang Liao responded with a cup of fists, and when he was about to turn around and leave the tent, a gentle voice came from outside.
"Don't look any further, now is the perfect time."
After the words fell, Zhang Heng walked in slowly.
"Ziyi!"
Liu Bei said with surprise on his face, and even rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Zhang Heng straightened his clothes and bowed to Liu Bei.
"Meet Mr. Xuande!"
"No gifts, Ziyi, please forgive me!"
Liu Bei quickly walked over and used his huge arms to help Zhang Heng up.
"We are all brothers, why should we be so polite?"
Zhang Heng smiled and said: "The etiquette cannot be abolished."
Of course Liu Bei didn't care about these false etiquettes, but Zhang Heng insisted, so Liu Bei had no choice but to let him go.
"Ziyi, you have only been here for seven or eight days, but you have become much thinner." Liu Bei looked at Zhang Heng carefully and sighed.
"How dare you not try your best to fight against thieves for your country." Zhang Heng smiled and shook his head, not caring at all.
While he was talking, Liu Bei noticed Taishi Ci next to Zhang Heng and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said: "Ziyi, this is..."
"I am about to introduce you to Duke Xuande. This is Taishi Ci, a righteous man from Donglai, whose courtesy name is Ziyi."
The pronunciation of Yi and Yi in the Han Dynasty Mandarin are different, so Liu Bei didn't ask why you two have the same name.
"Tai Shi Ci pays homage to Duke Xuande!"
Taishi Ci quickly raised his hands and saluted.
From Zhang Heng's behavior when he met Liu Bei just now, Taishi Ci had an idea.
It is rumored that Liu Xuande and Zhang Ziyi established the Dong Dynasty together. Now it seems that the relationship between the two is subordinate, if not monarch and minister.
In other words, Liu Xuande in front of him is the real big boss.
"Ziyi please get up quickly."
Liu Bei waved his sleeves and smiled.
Next to him, Zhang Heng began to introduce the life of Taishi Ci and the reason why he came to Jujube, which made Liu Bei look solemn.
"Ziyi breaks the rules to serve the public, repays the favor and kills the thieves, he is a true righteous man!"
Liu Bei praised seriously, his eyes filled with admiration.
Who wouldn’t like a man who knows how to repay kindness from start to finish?
"Mr. Xuande is so complimentary, I'm so ashamed of myself!" Tai Shici waved his hand quickly.
But Zhang Heng smiled and said: "I want Duke Xuande to know that Ziyi is not only a righteous man, but also a general with both wisdom and courage. His strategy is not inferior to Wen Yuan's; his courage is not inferior to Yide. This time there is a son." By helping each other out of righteousness, we will be more powerful than a tiger, and we will be more confident in defeating thieves."
Zhang Heng deliberately emphasized the words "wisdom and courage" very strongly, just to remind Liu Bei that this is a rare talent.
Hearing this, Liu Bei's eyes suddenly widened.
If he was just a righteous man, Liu Bei would respect him, but not take him seriously.
But it's different for a general that Zhang Heng can like.
"Oh, Ziyi actually knows the art of war and is proficient in battle formations?" Liu Bei said with great joy.
Taishi Ci really blushed this time. He couldn't be as good as Captain Zhang. He subconsciously wanted to wave his hand and say something modest, but failed because his hand had already been caught by Liu Bei.
At the critical moment, Liu Bei once again used the ancestral skill of his old Liu family - swimming with arms.
Even Taishi Ci couldn't break free from those long arms like Tarzan.
Liu Bei pulled Tai Shici and walked out of the tent without any explanation, not even paying attention to the water attack strategy that was half discussed just now.
"Let's go, let's celebrate our victory over the enemy today. Ziyi has come from afar, so I'm going to have a few more drinks in a while!"
Seeing this scene, Zhang Heng laughed dumbly and couldn't help but shake his head.
Liu Daer understood this trick of winning people's hearts.
Zhang Liao behind him was thoughtful, feeling as if he had seen this scene before.
"Master, you just said now is the time..."
The reason why Liu Bei was able to abandon everything and concentrate on winning people's hearts was not because Zhang Heng came back.
Therefore, Zhang Liao naturally looked over with questioning eyes.
Zhang Heng waved his sleeves and said, "It's not urgent. Let's go and have a meal. Sleeping in the open these days has made me hungry. Please tell me about the situation these days on the way."
"That's fine."
Zhang Liao nodded and followed Zhang Heng out of the tent.
