Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 74 Yuan Shu moved the capital, Zhang and Xu showed their power

In July of the second year of Jian'an, less than four months after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he encountered the biggest crisis of his life.

First, Cao Cao raised his troops in Xuchang, marched eastward, and then reached Runan, where he split his troops into two groups.

He personally led the army all the way, attacking Qiangxian, Zhaoling, conquering Qiang and killing Pingyu;

Another route, led by Xiahou Dun, headed southeast to take Xiping and Wufang, then went downstream to take Shangcai.

Unlike the novel, Xiahou Dun was injured by a stray arrow in the fourth year of Chuping and lost one eye.

But because of Qin Zhen's arrival, Xiahou Dun's eyes were saved.

Therefore, at this time Xiahou Dun was no longer the one-eyed dragon, nor was he the transport captain.

Just as Guan Yu would lead Liu Bei's troops whenever he divided them, Xiahou Dun would usually lead Cao Cao's troops whenever he divided them.

The two armies entered Runan, and Yuan Shu had to passively shrink his defense line.

At the beginning, Yuan Shu was still actively fighting, with Zhang Xun as general, leading Liang Gang, Li Feng and other generals to divide their troops and go to Ruyang to resist.

However, Guo Jia saw an opportunity and suggested to Cao Cao that Xiahou Yuan should launch a surprise attack on Nandun to cut off Zhang Xun's retreat.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Xun knew that once Nandun was broken, Ruyang would be difficult to sustain, so he turned back to rescue.

But this was exactly what Guo Jia had planned. As soon as he returned, Ruyang was captured, and Zhang Xun was defeated by Cao Cao who was on a rapid march.

More than half of the 20,000-strong army was lost, and the general Liang Gang was beheaded by Cao Ren.

After Zhang Xun was defeated, he had no choice but to retreat back to Pingyu City.

After this battle, Yuan Shu was frightened and had to send troops to garrison Shangcai, guarding against Xiahou Dun's troops while waiting for Cao Cao to arrive.

As a result, before confronting Cao Cao, a scout came to report that Sun Ce had crossed the river and was attacking the southern counties of Jiujiang.
Lu Bu came from the east and took Zhongli; Chen Yu went west, as if intending to march into Guangling; Liu Bei went south from Xiangxian, all the way south through Guyang, and was heading towards Shouchun.

Yuan Shu was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly said to the civil and military officials:

"The enemy is attacking from five directions. Our army is attacked from both sides. What should we do?"

When the civil and military officials heard this, they were terrified.

Although Yuan Shu's territory looks rich, he actually only has a few counties!

Especially after Sun Ce's rebellion, there were only four counties: Guangling, Lujiang, Jiujiang and Runan.

Now Cao Cao has taken Runan, the other three have attacked Jiujiang, and even Chen Yu is heading towards Guangling.

After all the calculations, only Lujiang has not seen any war!
In fear, Yang Hong hurriedly stepped out and said:
"Your Majesty, there are floods and droughts, and there is little food in Huainan. Cao's army is advancing eastward, which will cause more military troubles. It would be better to send a general to resist here, and the lord will cross the Huai River to the east. On the one hand, he will hold Shouchun and guard against the three armies, and on the other hand, he will temporarily avoid Cao Cao's edge."

"When they run out of food and supplies, they will inevitably change. Then our army can start planning bigger things!"

When Yuan Shu heard this, he was naturally moved, and this was actually Yuan Shu's choice in the original process.

But at this time, Yuan Shu had not yet agreed, so Yan Xiang stood up and refuted:

"Your Majesty, Cao Cao is coming with such force, how can we retreat so easily?"

"They used the emperor's edict to order the four families to attack Huainan, which means that our army is unable to take care of itself. If we retreat now, it will fall into the enemy's trap!"

As a wise man, he could see through Guo Jia's plan.

"Given the current situation, Cao Cao is in a hurry to come here, he must want to attack quickly!"

"Summer has arrived, but there has been no heavy rain in Huainan. The drought is already evident. Our army is short of food, and Cao's army must be short of food too!"

"He has sent out more than 80,000 troops from Xuchang, and tens of thousands of civilians are needed to escort the military rations. Such a consumption is beneficial to our army but not to Cao's army. We only need to hold on for two months. Once the autumn harvest comes, Cao's army will retreat!"

"Your Majesty is now personally leading the expedition here, and all three armies respect Your Majesty as their leader."

"If Your Majesty leaves, our army will be in chaos. If Cao Cao takes advantage of the situation and attacks, our army will be unable to resist."

"If we cannot stop Cao's army and lose Runan, even if we cross the Huai River, if Cao's army does not retreat, how can our army continue?"

His reason for rebuttal was very simple. Now you are the emperor and the head coach. If you run away first, who can stabilize the situation?

There is a severe drought in Huainan now. If you lose Huainan, you still have Runan. If you lose Runan, there will be another severe drought in Huainan. If they catch up with you again, what can you use to fight them?

Yuan Shu was troubled when he heard this. He stroked his beard and said in deep thought:
"But now Lu Bu and his men are advancing from three directions. If I don't return to Huainan, how can I defend Huainan?"

"The families of all the ministers and our army's money and food are all in Shouchun. If Shouchun is surrounded, the army's morale will surely be broken!"

When Yan Xiang heard this, he knew that Yuan Shu was afraid that his lair would be captured, so he immediately bowed and said:
"Now that the four families have arrived and Pei State has been occupied, Shouchun is already on the front line and cannot be used as the capital. We can move the families of the ministers and the money in the imperial palace treasury to Xincai before the enemy arrives!"

"Send another letter to Ji Ling, asking him to defend Shouchun to the death. At the same time, order the garrisons of Lujiang, Guangling and other places to reinforce Jiujiang. Your Majesty will personally guard Pingyu!"

"If we hold on to both sides like this, the enemy will retreat in two months at most!"

After hearing this, Yuan Shu realized that Shouchun might not be able to be defended, so he immediately sent a letter to Shouchun, ordering Ji Ling to move the capital immediately.

The book was traveling all the way to Shouchun. After Ji Ling got the book, he called everyone together to discuss it.
"Your Majesty has ordered us to move the capital. There is a lot of money and grain in the treasury, and it is difficult to move it all in a short time. Now that the enemy is approaching, I would like to divide half of my troops to guard along the way. I wonder if this is possible?"

As soon as he said this, Yuan Huan stepped out and said:

"General, we only have over 30,000 soldiers in the city. Liu Bei, Lu Bu, and Sun Ce are coming from three directions. If our army moves in full force, it will surely be undetectable by the enemy!"

"Instead of dividing our forces to guard, it is better to take the initiative to attack. Sun Ce is still far away and is not a concern. Only Liu Bei and Lu Bu are a threat. We can send one general to Dangtu and another to Yinling to guard."

"Mobilize troops and urge civilians to transport supplies to Xincai by water at night. This way, they will not be aware of our military's movements!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ling agreed and immediately sent Generals Chen Lan and Lei Bu to lead 5,000 soldiers each to stop Liu Bei and Lu Bu.

He drove out the young and strong men in the city, took out the gold, silver, jewelry and the families of the ministers in the palace, and sent them out of the city under the cover of night.

For a time, Shouchun City was in turmoil, and there were countless cases of soldiers taking advantage of the opportunity to commit crimes and steal people's property.

While Yuan Shu was quietly moving the capital, Liu Bei was also on the march.

However, after Qin Zhen made the plan that day, Liu Bei acted according to it, sending his own messengers to contact everyone while preparing his troops.

After a long time, Xu Shu came to report that Liu Pi, Gong Du and others had already received the seal, and that there was also a reply letter from Zang Ba of Mount Tai.

Liu Bei read the letter carefully and found that Zang Ba's words were sincere. He said that he was a criminal and had once followed Tao Qian to fight against the Yellow Turbans, and was therefore appointed as the Cavalry Commander.

Later, Tao Qian died and Liu Bei took over. Before he could obey the orders, Lu Bu had already taken control of Xuzhou.

Now that I see that Lu Bu is unlikely to accomplish anything great, I have gathered a crowd to cause trouble. I was very pleased to receive Liu Bei's letter. If Liu Bei is willing to take Xuzhou, I will become his subordinate.

Liu Bei was very happy to receive the letter, but he was afraid that there might be problems, so he quickly summoned Qin Zhen and Xu Shu to question them.

Unexpectedly, Qin Zhen and Xu Zhen were both overjoyed when they saw the letter. Qin Zhen took the letter and analyzed it to Liu Bei:

"Zang Ba, who once led dozens of people to rescue his father, was famous for his filial piety and bravery. But he later became a bandit. His wish may not come true!"

"Although he is now a powerful figure, he must want to seek to restore his reputation. Seeing your trust, he intends to use the power of our army to seek restoration." "He occupies the counties of Taishan and has many brave warriors under his command. If he seizes Xuzhou in the future, he can help our army. You should appease him with kind words and not ruin Zang Ba's good intentions!"

When Liu Bei heard this, his doubts disappeared. Although he was wary of Zang Ba's identity as a bandit, he was happy that he was loyal to the Han Dynasty.

Afterwards, he wrote a letter by hand, specially appointing Zang Ba as the commander of Mount Tai, wanting to use him for his own purposes.

Just two days after the letter was sent, Cao Cao sent someone to urge the troops to be dispatched.

Upon hearing that Lu Bu had already sent out his troops, Liu Bei assembled more than 10,000 soldiers and once again sent Xu Shu, Guan Yu and others to garrison Pei State.

He personally led generals such as Zhang Fei, Qiao Rui, Chen Dao, and Xu Sheng, with Qin Zhen as his military advisor, and Jian Yong and Zhuge Jin following the army.

He went south through Guyang, intending to seize Xu County and Hong County and then go to Zhongli, but was stopped by Qin Zhen, who said:

"If Lü Bu sends his troops southwards, they will certainly come across Lü Bu if we take Zhongli, so it will be difficult for us to act."

"We should advance westward from here, seize Longkang, and then go downstream to launch a surprise attack on Yicheng!"

"Once Yicheng is defeated, our army can use Longkang as a base for our advance, seize Dangtu and Xiacai by water, and then attack Shouchun!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei gladly followed his advice and sent Zhang Fei and Xu Sheng with 4,000 soldiers as the vanguard to capture Longkang.

After receiving the order, Zhang Fei took his new brother Xu Sheng and fought all the way to the city of Longkang, only to find that the gate of Longkang was closed.

Zhang Fei wanted to challenge him, but Xu Sheng stepped forward and said:
"The general's name is well known in the Central Plains. If the defending generals hear that the general is coming in person, they will not dare to fight!"

"Why not let me lead some soldiers to challenge the enemy? The enemy will not know my name and will certainly look down on me."

"If he dares to leave the city, if I can defeat him, I will capture and kill him. If I can't, I will pretend to be defeated and come here. Then you can lead your army to kill him and seize the city!"

Zhang Fei was quite surprised to hear what Xu Sheng said, and thought to himself that this boy had something:
"Wen Xiang, go ahead. I will wait here. If you cannot defeat him, come back and I will take care of the enemy general!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Sheng nodded and brought hundreds of soldiers to the city to challenge the enemy.

The general guarding the city was named Zhang Ji. He originally led a thousand men. When he saw that Xu Sheng had few soldiers and was an unknown person, he led his men out of the city to fight.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the city, he saw Xu Sheng riding a horse and heading straight towards him.

Seeing this, Zhang Ji hastily joined the battle. After a few rounds of fighting, Xu Sheng killed Zhang Ji on his horse.

Zhang Fei was surprised and delighted when he saw this. He immediately led his troops to attack and invaded Longkang City.

As soon as Longkang fell, Zhang Fei thought about Qin Zhen's plan to launch a surprise attack on Yicheng. Since he had already taken Longkang, he might as well strike while the iron is hot and take Yicheng as well.

But he is not as reckless as before, and he is afraid of ruining Qin Zhen's plan.

Seeing that Xu Sheng was quite resourceful, he pulled him in for discussion.

Unexpectedly, Xu Sheng was also eager to fight. When he heard this, he said that he could do it. If the general was afraid of taking responsibility, then he would do it.

Zhang Fei became unhappy when he heard this. I am the chief general and you are the deputy general. Am I afraid of taking responsibility?
He made up his mind and ordered Xu Sheng to collect boats in the surrounding area, and ordered the soldiers to cut bamboo and make a lot of bamboo rafts.

That night, he led his troops downstream and headed straight for Yicheng.

The two places were not far apart, and they reached the city of Yicheng overnight.

Seeing that it was getting light, Zhang Fei hesitated whether to wait a day and take a rest before taking action at night.

But Xu Sheng saw this and said to Zhang Fei:

"The arrow is on the string, and it cannot be easily drawn back. The sky will soon be bright, and the enemy will be unprepared!"

"I see that this city is low, so we can use bamboo poles to climb up the city."

"General, you can prepare your troops at the foot of the city. I will charge up to the city and then we can take it!"

Zhang Fei heard this and thought it made sense. He nodded and said:
"Wen Xiang, go and select the soldiers. I will have people dismantle the bamboo rafts to help you get to the city!"

So one of them selected soldiers, and the other dismantled the bamboo raft to use as a pole, and cut down a tree to use as a battering ram.

At dawn, Xu Sheng personally led dozens of people to climb up the city.

Just as Xu Sheng had deduced, it was just daybreak and the soldiers in the city were still dazed. When they suddenly saw the enemy army coming up the city, they were immediately thrown into chaos.

After Xu Sheng rushed up the city wall, Zhang Fei ordered his men to continue climbing up the city wall, while he led his soldiers to hold onto a huge tree and ram through the city gate.

The Yicheng garrison was originally small, so how could they withstand the fierce attack of the two men? In less than half an hour, they captured Yicheng.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Fei admired Xu Sheng's courage even more and hurriedly sent someone to report the victory to Liu Bei.

He continued to lead the troops with Xu Sheng and march towards Dangtu.

On the other side, Liu Bei was heading west with his baggage and food supplies when he heard from his soldiers that Zhang Fei had captured Longkang.

Liu Bei was delighted, but then he heard from his soldiers that after Zhang Fei and Xu Sheng captured Longkang, they went straight to kill Yicheng.

Seeing Zhang Fei acting on his own again, Old Liu couldn't help but pull Qin Zhen aside and sigh:
"I thought my third brother had changed his mind, but he disobeyed military orders again. What should I do?"

Qin Zhen saw Liu Bei like this and couldn't help but laugh:
"Don't worry, my lord. Our army has already planned a surprise attack on Yicheng. General, this is not considered disobeying military orders!"

"General Zhang is a great general, and now that he has studied, he can be of great use."

"Besides, Xu Wenxiang is also a man of courage and strategy. There must be a deep meaning behind the two of them doing this!"

In fact, since the last time he encouraged learning, Zhang Fei has been concentrating on studying.

He didn't believe that Zhang Fei went against orders, and he must have seen some opportunity for battle.

Furthermore, even if Zhang Fei was a little impulsive, Xu Sheng, as his deputy general, would persuade him.

These two people are probably not doing this recklessly.

After listening to his words, Liu Bei suppressed his worries and continued his march.

Unexpectedly, after only half a day, they heard the news that Zhang Fei had captured Yicheng.

Liu Bei was shocked on the spot. He took a closer look at the military report and laughed:

"The military advisor is right. My third brother can be of great use!"

"Not only my third brother, Xu Wenxiang is also a brave and strategic general who will be of great use in the future!"

Smiling like this, Liu Bei's heart was already filled with satisfaction.

It was not because he captured two cities in one day, but because he had two more talented generals in his army!
Zhang Fei was already brave and strong, and now that he had gone to school, he had become even more resourceful.

Xu Sheng has a bright future and will be able to stand on his own sooner or later!
Seeing Liu Bei like this, Qin Zhen knew that Liu Bei was in high spirits, so he didn't say much and directly persuaded Liu Bei to advance again.

Liu Bei nodded in agreement and marched towards Dangtu with his troops.

(End of this chapter)