[Three Kingdoms] Seven steps into wetness

In fact, compared to Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei's recent life is quite moist.

Cao Cao sent troops to Chang'an without taking any action, and he didn't plan to send troops to Hanzhong, so what he had to do every day was to talk to some soldiers and change their minds, and then patrol around to appease the fearful people. And give them confidence.

During this period, Zhang Lu came in twice, but was easily repelled by Liu Bei.

All of a sudden, the soldiers all admired Uncle Liu Huang who used soldiers like a god, but most of the people in Jiameng and the surrounding area worshiped Uncle Liu Huang who was benevolent and unassuming, thinking that he was the one who could really save them from suffering. people.

Liu Bei's goal has been initially achieved.His prestige in this place is no less than that of Liu Zhang.

He was able to survive for so long in the cracks given by Cao Cao and Liu Biao, even relying on the land of Xinye to reach his current level, one is himself, the other is the advisers and soldiers, and the third is the cohesion of the people.Yi Fazheng persuaded him to find an opportunity to kill Liu Zhang and seize the power of Yizhou when he entered Yizhou, but he was not willing.

Because although Liu Zhang is a mediocre talent in troubled times, he is a capable minister in governing the world.Although Yizhou has been complacent in recent years, everyone lives in a rich life.This battle only spread to the north of Yizhou, but a little bit to the south was not damaged at all. Naturally, the people would not be surprised and moved by Liu Bei's actions.

At this time, Liu Bei was not only unfamiliar in Yizhou, but the people's hearts were even more disaffected.He can't control the hearts of soldiers in Yizhou. Even if he captures Yizhou, he may have to give it up to others in the future.

In the past, he asked Zhuge Liang to come out of the mountain three times. What Zhuge Liang said to him was to develop based on Yizhou, and he would be able to unify the world within 30 years.After the Chibi War, he occupied the land of Jingzhou to cultivate his health.After more than two years, I have a deep heart in Yizhou.

At this time, Cao Cao attacked Yizhou and Liu Zhang asked him to fight against Cao Cao. To him, it was like someone sent a pillow when he was dozing off.

Therefore, Liu Bei's intention was to use Liu Zhang's troops to defeat Cao Cao by relying on the terrain of Yizhou, and temporarily dispel Cao Cao's desire to regain Yizhou.Then when Liu Zhang's soldiers and horses were consumed and Cao Cao temporarily retreated, he captured Yizhou with lightning speed.

Taking ten thousand steps back, even if they couldn't resist Cao Cao's attack and lost Yizhou, Sun Quan would never open his eyes and watch Cao Cao attack Yizhou.

That's why he was able to capture Yizhou at the least cost.

He needs time.

One is the time to integrate into the officials when fighting against Cao Cao, and the other is the time to appease the common people who have been harassed by the war.Only if these two things are available, it is justifiable for him to seize Yizhou.

Even before he set off, he planned for a long time with Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and others, and formulated a perfect plan-as long as Cao Cao dared to come in, he would be able to win Yizhou within two years.

Unexpectedly, however, God gave them such a perfect opportunity, and they worked hard to formulate such a perfect plan, Cao Cao actually went another way...

——The road that should not have been taken!

It's as if everyone gathers together to play a game, with some watching and others clinging to each other.Liu Bei thought he had mastered the loopholes in the rules, and was full of confidence waiting to be the final winner. Unexpectedly, someone suddenly inserted forcefully and did not follow the rules at all, which not only destroyed the game structure, but also made this loophole disappear completely!

How can Liu Bei not complain, how can he not fight?

Because if he doesn't complain or fight, his life will disappear, and his brothers and people, and the foundation he has worked so hard to build will be destroyed!

He must fight, must fight to the death!

Fortunately, Jiameng is closer to Chengdu than Chang'an.Their hard work in the past few months is by no means useless, at least the more than 1 soldiers and horses Liu Zhang gave him are already under his control.

Liu Bei first beheaded the general who was ordered by Liu Zhang to go to Chengdu for a discussion, and took all the five thousand soldiers and horses under his command.As a result, he has more than 5000 soldiers and horses, and he has friends from Fazheng and Zhang Song as internal support, so it is not impossible for him to win.

Liu Bei quickly used Liu Zhang to cut off their food, intending to take back the generals stationed in Jiameng, and provoke the resentment of Jiameng's people and soldiers.Then, taking advantage of the darkness, he led troops to raid another garrison, captured [-] soldiers, and killed a loyal general of Liu Zhang.

After he killed the general, he was not in a hurry to send troops.Instead, he ordered the two generals to be buried in front of all the soldiers.

Then, he knelt in front of the tablets of the two generals, weeping and expressing his admiration for them.It's a pity that he worked so hard to guard Jiameng, so it's fine if he doesn't ask Liu Zhang for credit, but Liu Zhang actually plans to cut off their food and grass, and even thinks that he has evil intentions, and wants to arrest him and enter Chengdu.

Too much deception, simply too much deception!

Now that Cao Cao's enemy is at hand, he didn't want to fight back.But Liu Zhang forced him so much, he had to fight back.

——Because based on Cao Cao's many years of marching experience, if he occupies this place and the people don't support him, he is very likely to massacre the city.He, Liu Bei, must not bet on the more than 6 people in Yizhou, so killing these two loyal soldiers today is actually for the future of the people in Yizhou.

Then, he made an oath that the two soldiers should never worry about these soldiers, because he was willing to comfort the dead and wounded and take care of their families.He did not plan to go south to Chengdu, but continued to guard Jiameng to prevent Cao Cao.

All the captured soldiers present were moved.Not only were they moved, but even young and enthusiastic people clamored, "As long as Uncle Liu Huang can lead us to guard our hometown, even if he becomes a traitor, he is willing!"

This cry came out, and people continued to respond.After a while, more than half of the people quickly attached themselves to Liu Bei. Liu Zhang, who was far away in the capital, heard about this, and it was already five days later.Hearing this, his expression changed unpredictably, and he finally spat out a mouthful of blood, fainted with hatred.

Too much deception, simply too much deception!

After he woke up, he immediately ordered Liu Gui to lead [-] troops to attack Liu Bei.

Cao Cao couldn't laugh or cry when he heard about the development of Yizhou.Liu Zhang, oh Liu Zhang, this man really doesn't have the guts to accomplish great things.Cao Cao ordered Zhang Liao, Zhong Yao and others to attack Liu Bei in the south.He also heard that Zhuge Liang planned to send troops to assist Liu Bei, so he personally led troops to intercept him.

Not only did he want to intercept, but he also wanted to kill all the Jingzhou soldiers and horses under Liu Bei's command as much as possible.

Cao Zhi defended the city, and Cao Cao wanted to leave another [-] elite soldiers.But Cao Zhi said: "Father captured Zhuge Liang earlier, and Xiangyang will never be harmed."

Cao Cao responded.

Not long after he sent troops, he and Yiling caught up with Zhuge Liang.He didn't attack rashly, but stationed in Yiling, waiting for Zhuge Liang. Anyway, Cao Ying is definitely not in danger now. They have a lot of time to wait for the victory in the south, and only Zhuge Liang can't afford to wait.

After Cao Cao sent troops, he left a thousand archers, five thousand elite soldiers, and a deputy general who defended the city, Xia Houchong, and ordered him to garrison Xiangyang, while Zhuge Liang attacked their rear.

Xiahou Chong was originally the eldest son of Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun had made great military exploits. However, his eldest son did not achieve much in the military camp. However, he had good experience in the army for many years and was even more loyal to the Cao family, so he was left behind by Cao Cao. city.

In Xiangyang in December, the weather is already very cold.For some reason, the snow has not yet fallen in Xiangyang this year.

Cao Zhi stood at the head of Xiangyang city and looked to the south.There is a thin layer of mist in front of my eyes, and I don't know when it will dissipate.

Xiangyang is located in the south of Xiangshui, Jingzhou and Jiangdong can use the Yangtze River to attack.And in the past few days, it has been foggy and foggy, and it is impossible to see anything beyond a hundred paces.

This greatly increased the difficulty of defending the city.Cao Zhi asked the local people, and after learning that there should be no snow in the near future, he ordered the soldiers to continuously fetch water from the city wall and pour water from it, and the other to dig a gully three feet wide and three feet deep every [-] steps from the outside of the city wall. .

Everyone was confused.

They didn't know Cao Zhi well, and they couldn't know whether this seemingly gentle and elegant fourth son was an idiot, or whether he really had some unknown talent.However, they had no choice but to obey the military order, and they could only half complain, and half helplessly went to fetch water, which kept splashing on the city wall.

Perhaps because of poor health, in addition to Cao Zhi, Guo Jia was also left behind to assist in defending the city.

He naturally saw through Cao Zhi's intentions at a glance.

Compared with Cao Zhi, Xia Houchong was more convinced by the military adviser, so many soldiers asked a lot.He only glanced at these people lightly, narrowed his eyes and focused his eyes on the chessboard, and said with a light smile: "Don't worry, everyone, you will soon know the intention of the Fourth Young Master."

Xia Houchong had no choice but to look at each other and leave.

Half a day later, his game of chess has come to an end.He thought of playing chess with Yang Xiu not long ago, most of which he won.But if you fight with yourself, there are no consequences.

When Cao Zhi entered the door, he stared blankly at the mess, holding the sunspot in one hand, not knowing where it landed.

He watched quietly for a while, roughly sketched out the key points of this chess game, then took out the sunspots from Guo Jia's hand, and randomly dropped them on the chessboard.

Guo Jia suddenly woke up.

He raised his head and saw Cao Zhi's face close at hand, he leaned back slightly and said, "When did the fourth son come, why don't you wake him up."

Cao Zhi frowned and said, "Mister, why did you call the student Fourth Young Master again?"

Guo Jia paused.Then, he said slowly: "If I call the fourth young master's name directly, I'm afraid it will damage the fourth young master's prestige."

Cao Zhi sighed: "From this point of view, it is the student's fault."

Guo Jia stared at him quietly.

Then, he heard Cao Zhi say: "If the students can restrain these generals earlier, will the master not have to worry about these things?"

Guo Jia slightly hooked the corners of his lips: "The fourth son was joking."

Cao Zhi raised a bitter smile.He lowered his head slightly and closed his eyelashes. From Guo Jia's perspective, he could see a little helplessness and fragility in him. He said, "It's been a long time, sir, I haven't joked with my students."

As for Cao Zhi's most used tricks since he was a child, I'm afraid he can only pretend to be pitiful and cute.These two magic weapons become more and more useless as they grow older, but because of their good looks, they can still be loved by some people.

It's a pity that Guo Jia was not only unmoved, but turned a blind eye: "Isn't it because the Fourth Young Master has lived in the mansion for a long time and never came to have a talk?"

Cao Zhi touched his nose, pretending he didn't understand.

After he got married, on the one hand, he felt embarrassed and wanted to avoid Guo Jia, and on the other hand, he felt a little dazed about the future.He spent more than a month sorting out his mind, and he didn't finish sorting out until not long ago.

Cao Zhi took the sunspots on his own, and said to Guo Jia: "It's not fun to play chess alone. Why don't you play chess with the master as if you were a student holding the sunspots."

Guo Jia looked at the word he dropped, nodded and said: "Okay." After saying that, he dropped another word.

Cao Zhi has seen Guo Jia play chess with Yang Xiu, and knows Guo Jia's chess style quite well.After observing for a long time, he fell down.

Guo Jia left one son behind and looked up at him: "The fourth son only left [-] troops to guard Xiangyang, are you so confident?"

Cao Zhi said softly: "If I say no, what will you think?"

Guo Jiadan let out an "oh".

Cao Zhi said: ""

After half an hour, this game of chess finally came to an end.But Cao Zhi was half a step behind and lost to Guo Jia.

Cao Zhi stared at the person in front of him and said in admiration, "Sir, your chess skills are really superb."

Guo Jia sighed slightly: "This game of chess was originally a game between the player and myself. The white player came first, and the black player was already inferior to the fourth master. Therefore, the fourth childe did not lose to the next player."

Cao Zhi said meaningfully: "But in fact, the students have already lost."

When he said this, his eyes were gentle and even more ambiguous.

Guo Jia stopped clearing the chessboard.

He raised his head and looked at Cao Zhi, feeling his eyes were inexplicably hot for a while, and finally said calmly: "The fourth son is joking again."

Cao Zhi closed his eyes to hide the pain, and there was no abnormality on his face: "So, do you think it's funny, sir?"

Guo Jia was silent.

He quickly changed the subject: "Since the fourth son has no confidence to defend the city, he must think that Zhuge Liang will not come."

Cao Zhi shook his head.He said: "Zhuge Liang is not only coming, but will come in the near future."

Guo Jia said slowly: "Oh? Why?"

"Because my father is not in Xiangyang City now, and because of the heavy fog, and because the person guarding Xiangyang is an unknown 20-year-old boy who only knows how to recite poems and fight against each other..." Cao Zhi looked into Guo Jia's eyes.Many years ago, he was attracted by this pair of eyes, and mistakenly thought that his ideal in this life was nothing more than this, so he gradually lost his heart. "How could Zhuge Liang sit back and watch the opportunity slip away at such a favorable time, location, and harmony between people?"

Guo Jia smiled lightly.

There was an inexplicable brilliance in his eyes, which made the whole person extraordinarily dazzling.He said: "Then the fourth son thinks, when will Jingzhou's soldiers and horses arrive?"

"It's tonight if it's fast, or two days later if it's slow."

Guo Jia nodded.He got up, walked to the window and looked to the southeast, his gaze was as sharp as a knife. "Actually, I look forward to Sun Quan's arrival even more. Unfortunately, I'm afraid he won't come."

Now most of Sun Quan's soldiers and horses are concentrated in picking mulberry and Jiangxia.But these two places are too far away from Xiangyang.Even if Sun Quan came across the river, it would take nearly ten days, enough for Liu Bei to die several times.It's better to gather troops to march north to contain Cao Cao.

Cao Zhi put the remaining chess pieces into the chess box: "There will be a chance."

The opportunity to face Sun Quan will come soon.

On the second night after Cao Zhi finished speaking, the Jingzhou navy marched northward along the river and attacked Xiangyang in the thick fog.

Prior to this, Cao Zhi had ordered all the soldiers to sleep soundly for two hours after lunch.Although the soldiers were dissatisfied, they had to obey the order.Therefore, it was night at this moment, but everyone was very sober.

The fog at night was getting thicker and thicker, and I couldn't even see what was going on ten steps away.

All sounds are silent.

Guo Jia stood on the city wall, stroking the city wall covered with a thick layer of ice with one hand, and it took a long time for a bone-chilling chill to seep into his heart, forcing him to withdraw his hand suddenly.

The generals stood on the city wall and looked down, feeling helpless in their hearts. Only Xia Houchong understood Cao Zhi somewhat.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard the sound of a soldier sent by Cao Zhi to visit the river coming back on horseback. After a long while, the man ran up the city wall panting, and said, "Return to the general guarding the city, the enemy is coming, coming!"

The crowd was in an uproar!

It is impossible for Sun Quan to come so soon, so only Zhuge Liang's people.They thought it was impossible for Zhuge Liang to send someone for Cao Cao to lead an army of nearly [-] to Yiling in an unstoppable manner, but he actually came.

For a while, everyone was talking about it, but no one was sure of victory.

Cao Zhi frowned.He glanced at Xiahouchong, Xiahouchong said knowingly and coldly: "The enemy is now, instead of fighting against the enemy, why are you arguing here instead!"

The generals immediately quieted down.

Glancing at Cao Zhi, who was expressionless, he thought about Cao Zhi making them fall asleep in the afternoon, and he had a little respect for Cao Zhi's ability as a prophet.

Xia Houchong bowed slightly, and said to Cao Zhi: "I also ask the fourth son to give an order, what should our army do now?"

Cao Zhi didn't answer, but turned to look at Guo Jia: "What do you think the military adviser thinks?"

Guo Jia rubbed his cold hands subconsciously: "Now that they are desperate, there may not be very few people coming. I guess there should be between [-] people coming, and they want to destroy our army's defense immediately."

"So they took advantage of the fog and raided at night."

"The dense fog is their protection, but it is also our army's protection. Now our army knows they are coming, but the enemy army must not know that they have been exposed. They think we are sleeping, and they can kill us by surprise."

Guo Jia said the last sentence: "What they lack most is time. Therefore, what they are most likely to do is to concentrate their forces and attack the most vulnerable gate in Xiangyang, which is the north gate."

Everyone listened quietly, and they all had a general idea in their hearts.

"Under the heavy fog, I'm not very familiar with the terrain, and the enemy's march will not be very fast." Seeing that Guo Jia stopped talking, Cao Zhi said, "Deputy General Xiahou, please lead five hundred crossbowmen to the riverside Cut open the enemy's ships, lie in ambush there and wait for the enemy to flee, then shoot randomly with bows."

"The last will obey!"

Cao Zhi then said to Qianqi in the city: "Li Qianqi, you lead [-] elite soldiers out from the east gate. After the enemy army concentrates on attacking the north gate, immediately attack the enemy's east rear flank. Don't be too fond of fighting, the enemy army Once you react, you can retreat."

"Yes!"

"Captain Cao Qian, lead a detour to the west with [-] elite soldiers, and see that Commander Li Qian has caused chaos among the enemy troops, so you also take advantage of the chaos and kill them."

"Yes!"

Cao Zhi smiled: "Okay, the rest of you can defend the city with me."

"Yes!"

It was late at night, and the dew was deep and cold.

Xiangyang City is actually not that big, but there are only five thousand guards in the city.Before coming, Zhuge Liang had already analyzed Cao Zhi's ability from various angles to keep Cao Cao with only [-] soldiers and horses, but Cao Zhi's name had no other achievements except that it was spread together with "Tongque Terrace Fu".I don't know whether Cao Cao has too much confidence in himself or Zhuge Liang.

It is true that after he sent [-] troops, he faced the result that he was unable to confront Cao Cao.However, once he captured Xiangyang, the result was completely different.

Because Xiangyang has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, if Xiangyang can be captured, Cao Cao must recapture Xiangyang.They had time to go to rescue Liu Bei.

What's more, at such a timing, the sky is full of fog.

Really God help him!

He immediately arranged for Zhao Yun to cross the Xiangshui River to attack Xiangyang, and even ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to attack Cao's garrison by night.

Zhao Yun was full of confidence.However, for some reason, he actually had a strange premonition.He ordered everyone to stop and sent scouts to investigate.After a long time, I got a reply that there was no change in the town ahead, and it was as quiet as they expected.

He ignored his uneasiness and sent troops again.

The north gate of Xiangyang is very close.This ancient city just stood quietly not far away, waiting for their arrival.

But they never expected, what kind of gift this Fourth Young Master Cao, who they thought could only be eloquent, gave them.