Three Kingdoms: I choose to assist Sun Jian

This kind of city can only be defended. Once it is surrounded, these gentry see that Liu Biao is hopeless, and I am afraid that they will be the first to lift Liu Biao out to surrender!

So now, Xi Zhong suddenly regretted it.

If there is still a way out, he must let his army go north first, at least keep his soldiers and horses safe.

Under such thoughts, he waited for a long time, turning a blind eye to the surrounding situation, just quietly thinking about countermeasures.

He didn't raise his head until Li Dian returned.

As soon as he looked up, he heard Li Dian exclaim:

"Sir, it's bad for your lungs!"

"I just took a look at the city, and the enemy's navy is heading towards the north bank of Xiangyang!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Biao and the others changed their expressions again.

Xi Zhong showed a wry smile.

He understood Guo Jia's mentality in Xuzhou that day.

It turned out that I hadn't even arrived yet, so the calculations were on the upper body!

The enemy navy appeared by such a coincidence, of course it was just to wait for the news of his going south!

If he hadn't listened to Guo Jia's warning and carefully left some soldiers and horses on the north bank, then this time it would really be over! .

Chapter 174 Xi Zhong makes a move, breaks the boat, turns passive into active

Jingzhou, Xiangyang City, in the Governor's Mansion.

With the news of the navy's interception, several days have passed.

And the bad news came one after another under Xi Zhong's detection.

First, when Cai Mao came back, after Liu Biao's inquiry, he found out that the enemy army had recruited the guards in the city before they came to Jiangling. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, they opened the city gate and welcomed Sun Jian's army into Jiangling.

Faced with this situation, although Liu Biao was angry, he could only blame Cai Mao for the crime of knowing people without knowing them.

Fortunately, although Cai Mao was defeated, he returned with more than [-] remnants, increasing the total strength of Xiangyang to more than [-].

But except for Cai Mao who could bring a sliver of not-so-bad news, the rest of the news turned everyone's faces black.

First of all, there is no move northward in the direction of the four southern counties!

Zhang Xian even sent more than ten thousand troops to station at Chanling Ferry, obviously preparing to block the way of the four counties going north!

Secondly, news came from Jiangxia that the iron chains blocking the river had been burned by the enemy, and in order to prevent further deployment of the iron chains, Zhou Yu specially sent people to patrol along the coast.

With two thousand sailors, Jiangxia's waterway was firmly guarded.

In the end, and what made Liu Biao most desperate, it was Liu Pan's [-] elite soldiers who were wiped out by Sun Jian's army!

If there is one of the most loyal and elite troops under him, then there are only [-] elite troops led by Liu Pan!

But now, even his last elite troops were wiped out by the enemy.

As soon as the news came out, Liu Biao directly closed the door to thank the guests. After staying in the room for a long time, he just walked out of the room with bloodshot eyes and called everyone for a meeting!

During this period of time, Xi Zhong stayed in Xiangyang City because of the obstruction of the waterway and at the same time in order to carefully ascertain the movements of Sun Jian's army.

This time, when everyone gathered in one place, they all showed solemn expressions.

No more freehand and indifferent!

Even Kuai Yue, without a trace of confidence before, stood up and cupped his hands and said:

"My lord, according to the news that our army has received in the past few days, our army can still control [-] troops in Xiangyang, [-] in Jiangxia, and more than [-] in Xinye Huyang."

"The total force is about [-]!"

"But because of the barrier of the river, our army's forces are scattered and it is difficult to gather in one place!"

"As for the soldiers and horses brought by Mr. Xi, there are a total of 3 people, [-] in the north and [-] in the south."

"As for the enemy's direction, a total of [-] soldiers and horses marched into Nanjun this time, and some of them were lost in the attack on Jiangling. Although the complete annihilation of our army has gained part of the replenishment, they need troops to stay in Jiangling."

"Therefore, the strength of the enemy's northward march this time should be less than [-]."

"However, the enemy's waterway is smooth, and a large number of soldiers and horses are marching westward. I am afraid that within a few days, they will gather around 973 soldiers!"

"So in terms of military strength alone, our coalition forces still have the upper hand!"

"But we have to find a way to gather our forces in one place, so that we can have a chance to fight the enemy!"

Having said that, he bowed his hands to everyone:

"This is the situation our army is facing now!"

Hearing Kuai Yue's words, Liu Biao frowned and said to the crowd:

"Facing the current situation, do you have any good strategies?"

As he spoke, he looked around at the crowd.

At a glance, everyone bowed their heads in silence, only Xi Zhong was beside him, seemingly calm and composed.

Seeing this, he said faithfully to Xi:

"Mr. Xi has a good strategy?"

Facing Liu Biao's question, Xi Zhong arched his hand and said:

"There is no good strategy. With the current situation, the only way to go is to stick to the city!"

"Ugh!"

Hearing this, Liu Biao shook his head and sighed:

"Forget it, since that's the case, then everyone, go back and think about it, and come to discuss the matter in the afternoon!"

"Go away!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand and let everyone leave.

Seeing this, everyone left with their hands in their hands.

Liu Biao waited until everyone left, and then returned to the mansion in a somewhat dispirited manner.

But as soon as he arrived in the mansion, he heard the guard outside the door say:

"My lord, Mr. Xi is outside the residence, requesting to meet the lord!"

"Mr. Play?"

Hearing this, Liu Biao's eyes showed a strange color.

What kind of trouble is this with him?

Asked just now, Xi Zhong said that there was no other way, so he just left, and then went back?

After thinking for a while, he narrowed his eyes and said:

"Go ask sir to go to the study, I'll see you in the study!"

"promise!"

After hearing this, the guards went to the outside of the mansion.

Not long after, Liu Biao and Xi Zhong came to the study to meet again.

"Mr. Xi has gone and returned, but what is there to say?"

Liu Biao looked at Xi Zhong and asked suspiciously.

Seeing this, Xi Zhong hurriedly bowed to Liu Biao and said:

"Reporting to the envoy, there is indeed something that cannot be said!"

"But there were so many people just now, it's inconvenient to tell!"

"Going back now is to offer a solution to the envoy!"

"A solution to the situation?"

Hearing this, Liu Biao's eyes lit up and said:

"What's the strategy, sir, why didn't you say it just now!"

Xi Zhong listened and sighed:

"It's not because I don't say it, but because I can't say it just now!"

"My lord, please forgive me for speaking bluntly, this Xiangyang cannot be defended, and if it is guarded, it will surely perish!"

"Therefore, if we want to find a way to break the situation, the only way is to abandon Xiangyang!"

"If Cai just said this strategy faithfully, he would be attacked by the officials, so I came here to meet the envoy, so that the envoy can listen to me carefully!"

"Abandon Xiangyang"

Hearing this, Liu Biao narrowed his eyes and said with a sneer:

"Mr. Xi, you really dare to say it. Do you know that our army's civil and martial arts and family members are all in Xiangyang!"

"It's okay to talk about other things. The big families like the Kuai family and the Cai family are all deeply rooted. I just want to abandon Xiangyang. These people may not be willing to abandon it!"

"As the envoy said!"

Xi Zhong said in a deep voice:

"In my opinion, Shijun can be regarded as a noble family who succeeds, and a noble family who loses!"

"I know that the envoy cannot bear to break the boat, but I only want to ask the envoy one thing. Dare to ask the envoy, if he defends Xiangyang now, how many nobles in the city will die for the envoy?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Liu Biao said in a deep voice:

"What do you mean how many nobles will die for me?"

"Could it be that our army sticks to the city and still needs these gentry to defend the city?"

"No!"

Xi Zhong shook his head and said:

"Precisely because the gentry don't have to defend the city, I'm asking this question!"

"I want to make you go south alone that day, because the Cai family, the Kuai family, and the Huang family welcome you, so you can use the strategy of power to secure Jingzhou!"

"But it is precisely because of this that these three companies now hold a lot of power!"

"Huang Zu is in Jiangxia, and he has his own power. The Cai family brothers hold the military power and stay in Xiangyang. The Kuai brothers hold high positions and have countless cronies!"

"These three families were able to welcome the envoy back then, and now they can also welcome Sun Jian!"

"If Xiangyang is encircled by the enemy and the emperor is outside, Jiangxia, Xinye and other places are all blocked by the enemy's navy, and the four counties in the south have no reinforcements. It can be said that it is a lonely city to meet the enemy!"

"In the interior, several aristocratic families hold great power, and their foundations are all in Xiangyang!"

"In this way, if any one of them has a different intention, then Xiangyang City will be captured by the enemy in one day just like Jiangling!"

"At that time, let's not talk about loyalty for the time being, so that the emperor has a reason to be at ease?"

"So, I feel that sticking to Xiangyang now is a way to die!"

"Only by abandoning Xiangyang and getting rid of the shackles of the gentry, can we survive from desperation!"

When Liu Biao heard Xi Zhong's words, his complexion changed for a moment, and he said in a deep voice:

"The Kuai and Huang families are suspected, but the Cai family is related to me, and now they have an enmity with Sun Jian, so they should stick with me!"

"otherwise!"

Xi Zhong said in a deep voice:

"Whether there is any enmity between the Cai family and Sun Jianjun, I don't know, but the reason why the Cai family married the envoy is because the envoy is the governor of Jingzhou!"

"If Shijun can sit firmly in Jingzhou, then the Cai family will be Shijun's powerful arm!"

"But if Xiangyang is under siege, people like the Cai family who have the deepest ties to the envoy will instead find a way out as soon as possible!"

"On the contrary, if Shi Jun chooses to go north, then as long as Shi Jun still has a chance, the Cai family will still be useful!"

"This alas"