Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Page 145

On the way to set up camp, Liu Bei learned the situation from Wei Yan. Liu Gui and Zhang Ren were both staunch and foolish people.

After Liu Bei knew the truth, instead of being angry, he admired this kind of chaste general. Up to now, he has not given up his heart to subdue him.

After setting up the camp, Liu Bei summoned the main generals in the big tent, Wu Yi introduced the defensive deployment of Mianzhu County, and then Pang Tong arranged for the siege of the city tomorrow.

After the combat deployment was over, 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 tough battle tomorrow, Xiao Zhi didn't have a good rest last night, if you can't sleep well in the tent, how about Bei sleeping with you?"

Fazheng said embarrassingly: "The lord cherishes the ministers and others, and does not allow me and Shiyuan to go to the front line in person. The so-called hard battles are endured by the soldiers, but I stayed at the end because of the matter on the bed..."

Liu Bei was confused:? ? ?

Chapter 295 The one who knows the current affairs is a hero

Fazheng saw that Liu Bei had a strange expression on his face, so he asked mysteriously, "Master Shicai lamented that he has been in Sichuan for more than a year. Do you miss your relatives and family members in Jingzhou?"

Liu Bei nodded, "I haven't seen Mrs. Sun's daughter yet, and I don't know if Ah Dou has grown taller..."

"Pity the hearts of the parents in the world. After the lord captures Yizhou, he will bring his wife and children to reunite. There is no need to worry about Cao's robbers here in Sichuan, and they can grow up safely." Fazheng comforted.

"I also have the same idea, what Xiaozhi just said about the couch incident..." Liu Bei hesitated to speak.

Fazheng scratched his head and smiled, "I thought my lord was lonely in the army, and I wanted to make a marriage for you..."

Liu Bei quickly waved his hand: "Is Bei a lustful person? Besides, he is over fifty years old, thank you Xiaozhi for your kindness..."

"Liu Zhang and his son have been in Yizhou for [-] years. Although the governance is unsatisfactory, the foundation is deep. I suggest that the lord take a concubine because he is close to the gentry in central Shu, not because of his beauty." Fazheng is serious.

"Uh... Ke Bei already has two wives..." Liu Bei defended.

Fazheng raised his chin, stroked his beard with his left hand, and shook his head: "Since ancient times, heroes have been matched with beauties, not to mention that Cao thief has taken multiple wives and concubines, even Sun Zhongmou of Jiangdong has not stopped marrying."

"How can this be used for comparison? Besides, Sun Cheqi is still young..."

Fazheng smiled mysteriously: "I wanted to discuss this matter with the lord before breaking Chengdu, but today I met Wu Ziyuan (Wu Yi), so I told the lord ahead of time."

"What is Wu Ziyuan doing here?" Liu Bei's mind was in a mess.

"Wu Ziyuan has a younger sister named Cheng. Liu Yan heard that she was a noble figure, so he asked his third son, Liu Mao, to marry him. A few years ago, Liu Mao died of a sudden illness. Now the Wu family lives as a widow in Chengdu..."

Before Fazheng finished speaking, Liu Bei quickly interrupted, "Don't mention Xiaozhi again, I and Liu Mao are of the same clan, isn't this a violation of ethics?"

"In terms of closeness and distance, how is it compared with Jin Wengong and Ziyu?" Fazheng asked.

Liu Bei: "This..."

"In the afternoon, I briefly mentioned to Wu Ziyuan that he is very willing to marry the lord as his in-laws. The Wu family is quite famous in Yizhou, and the lord accepting the Wu family can show his pro-Shu heart..." Fazheng continued to reason.

"Uh... Wu's people are still in Chengdu, let's take down Mianzhu County first, and the rest will wait until Yizhou is pacified..." Liu Bei saw that he couldn't make up his mind, so he played the trick of delaying it.

"Let me remind my lord first that you can get closer to Ziyuan (Wu Yi) even in ordinary times. Although this is just your family matter, it is related to the stability of Sichuan." Fazheng explained.

Liu Bei didn't know how to refute, so he pointed to the bed and invited: "Bei is a little tired now, do you want Xiaozhi to sleep with me?"

"I'd better go back to sleep in my tent, my lord, you should rest early..." Fazheng hurriedly got up and said goodbye.

Looking at Fazheng's back in a panic, Liu Bei couldn't help shaking his head, he still had to ask Zhuge Liang and Lantian about taking concubines.

What Fazheng said was right, Liu Bei's family affairs can no longer be decided by himself, he must not only get close to these new forces in central Shu, but also take care of the thoughts of those old ministers in Jingzhou.

The next day when the army attacked Mianzhu County, Zhuo Ying and Liu Yong pretended to attack the east and west gates. Liu Bei concentrated his forces and stormed the north gate, leaving the south gate as a way of life to break down the morale of the defenders. This layout was convenient for command and saved casualties in the siege.

Although Liu Bei's army was mighty, it encountered tenacious resistance from Zhang Ren and Liu Gui in the city. The two had received news from Chengdu Kuaima that Liu Zhang had appointed Li Yan and his son-in-law Fei Guan as the governors, and they were rushing to Mianzhu.

Liu Zhang has a favorable geographical position in Yizhou, and Liu Bei's solitary battle will be consumed sooner or later. This is also the confidence that Zhang Ren and Liu Gui decided to stick to.

The city of Mianzhu County was not as strong as Dacheng. Although Zhang Ren and Liu Gui continued to strengthen the city defenses, after several days of Liu Bei's onslaught, it became shaky.

When the city was about to be destroyed, Li Yan and Fei Guan finally arrived, but there were only 5000 troops from his headquarters.

The second general in the city was a little disappointed to see that there were few reinforcements. Zhang Ren even complained: "I remember that Chengdu still has [-] soldiers. Why don't you send more troops to General Li? Our total force is not as good as Liu Bei's now. Mianzhu City is about to be defended." Can't stop..."

"Are they aggressive?" Fei Guan asked suspiciously.

Liu Gui added: "Jingzhou's soldiers are indeed formidable, many of them are Yue people, all of them are well-trained and powerful..."

Li Yan and Fei Guan were startled at the same time, they had already received the battle report from the south before they left Chengdu, Zhao Yun sent troops from Jingzhou to attack Jiangyang.

When they walked near Luocheng, they received a battle report from the direction of Deyang. Zhuge Liang's army had already conquered it, and they were heading up the Shuo River to join Liu Bei.

The original Liu Zhang was sitting on a geographical advantage, but suddenly he was surrounded by Liu Bei. After the Mianzhu Pass was broken, it was meaningless to defend the city.

Li Yan said sternly: "The lord also has his own considerations. Now Yizhou is not limited to Liu Bei's soldiers. If they are all transferred here, what will happen if Chengdu is attacked?"

Zhang Ren was surprised: "More than one way?"

"Zhao Yun appeared in Jiangyang, Zhuge Liang appeared in Deyang, my lord can't help himself now..." Li Yan frowned.

Zhang Ren and Liu Gui looked at each other, and thought to themselves, why did the sky change so quickly?From the words of Li Yan and Fei Guan, they heard pessimism.

"We must try our best to resist, and we can't let these roads join forces, otherwise Yizhou will be in danger..." Zhang Ren reminded.

Li Yan nodded, "When we set off from Chengdu, my lord asked Mr. Xun to lead [-] troops to Luocheng, and he should be on the way now."

Zhang Ren was overjoyed: "The city of Luocheng is strong, and there is sufficient food in the treasury. If Liu Bei is defended with heavy troops, it will be difficult to conquer. We must stick to Mianzhu to buy time for Master Xi."

"That's right." Liu Gui agreed.

Li Yan nodded slightly, and asked about Liu Bei's attack on the city, and then went to the north of the city with Fei Guan to observe, and found that the city wall was seriously damaged and the city gate was crumbling.

At this time, the night had already fallen, and the guards on the city wall were lying crookedly. Facing Liu Beijun's fierce attack all day, they looked exhausted.

Since Liu Bei had more troops than the city, Pang Tong and Fazheng sent troops to attack in turn. This method made the city defenders tired of coping.

"Zhengfang, look at this..." Fei Guan lost his mind now.

"Be careful." Li Yan pulled Fei Guan's clothes to the side, and a feathered arrow shot up from under the city.

Fei Guan was sweating from shock. He frowned and pointed at the soldiers on the ground and complained, "The city wall is only this high. If Liu Bei attacked with feathered arrows at night, wouldn't these sleeping guys become hedgehogs?"

Li Yan caught a glimpse of something else in the arrow, and said with a smile on the way to pick it up: "Liu Xuande has no foundation in Yizhou, so where do they get extra arrows to shoot at random?"

The arrowhead was wrapped in silk, and Li Yan opened it to see that it was Fazheng's persuasion letter, and he named himself by name.

"Zhengfang, what is written on the silk script?" Fei Guan asked curiously.

"Look for yourself." Li Yan handed it over.

Fei frowned after watching: "What does Zhengfang think?"

"The river is rolling eastward, how can ordinary people reverse it?" Li Yan sighed.

Fei Guan nodded in agreement, "He who understands current affairs is a hero..."

When the two were sighing, a soldier beside him with closed eyes moved his eyelids slightly, and when Li Yan and Fei Guan walked down the city wall, they followed to Zhang Ren's residence.

Chapter 296 Zhuge Liang joins forces in Luocheng

Li Yan rested overnight in Mianzhu, and the next day Fei Guan came to call the door when he opened his eyes.

"What's the matter?" Li Yan sat upright, took the armor from the rack and wanted to put it on.

"Liu Xuande is approaching the city." Fei Guan replied in a panic.

Li Yan said unhurriedly: "Isn't it that the city has been besieged for more than ten days, so what's the fuss about? Where are the two generals Liu and Zhang?"

"They're gone..." Fei Guan was very excited.

"What?" Li Yan was taken aback.

After reading the arrow book, Fei thought about it all night, and got up at dawn to patrol the camp, only to find that only the thousands of soldiers who traveled with him yesterday were left. After inquiring, he found out that Zhang Ren and Liu Gui wanted to transfer to the south of the city to rest for half a day under the pretext of being tired.

Although the reasons are quite good, but Fei Guan really hates other people's self-assessment. He rode to the south of the city to question the Xingshi, but except for hundreds of wounded soldiers, the rest were not in Mianzhu City.

Without explaining the reason, Zhang Ren and Liu Gui simply abandoned them and fled with their troops.

After listening to the cause and effect, Li Yan was suspicious. Zhang Ren and Liu Gui were honest and honest, so they should not have done such a thing.

Seeing Li Yan's brows furrowed, Fei Guan quickly asked: "There are only five thousand in the city now, so we must not be able to keep Mianzhu, so what can we do?"

Li Yan's eyes were calm, "Fa Xiao's straightforward words are reasonable. Today, only Duke Xuande can help the Han family. My lord can't stop him from advancing. I am going to follow the current situation and lead the people to submit, so as to save the people of Mianzhu from the flames of war." Well, General Fei is the master's son-in-law after all, if you want to leave without staying..."

Fei Guan smiled wryly and said, "Yizhou's general situation is over, there is no point in lingering, so why should Guan struggle?"

Li Yan nodded, "For the sake of the people of Mianzhu, for the sake of the great Han world, we are not betraying the master, let's go out of the city now."

"Ah."

The two reached an agreement, and Li Yan and Fei Guan opened the north gate to welcome Liu Bei and others into Mianzhu County.

Li Yan had a good reputation in Yizhou, and Liu Bei was very happy to accept him easily. He ordered the whole army to rest in Mianzhu for two days, held a banquet to reunite with the generals, and introduced the newly attached people to everyone.

In May of the 18th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei assembled 5000 troops to approach Luocheng. On the way, he was worried about Jiameng Pass and sent Liu Yong to lead [-] troops back to help Huo Jun.

Before the Zhongping Year, Luocheng was the seat of Yizhou, and it was also the richest and tallest city in Yizhou.

Before Liu Yan entered Shu, Luocheng was occupied by the remnants of the Yellow Turban Ma Xiang and Zhao Zhi. After Liu Yan entered Yizhou, he moved the government to Mianzhu.

Liu Yan, the governor of Jingzhou, sued Liu Biao to the imperial court because he secretly built the emperor's chariot, and Liu Yan faked a fire to burn down the chariot and the prefecture's pastoral mansion, and then moved the administrative office to Chengdu.

Zhang Ren and Liu Qiang learned that Li Yan had two intentions from the pawns, and they were afraid that he and Fei Guan would team up to deceive them, so they made up their minds and left Mianzhu overnight, and brought more than ten thousand remnants of the army to Luocheng to meet Liu Qiang.

Luocheng is more conducive to defense, coupled with the tenacious resistance of Zhang Ren and Liu Gui, Liu Bei's attack, which came on the spur of the moment, was blocked.

Two days later, reinforcements from Chengdu arrived, and the offensive and defensive sides immediately entered a stalemate.

After Liu Xun's reinforcements settled in, the number of Luocheng defenders was equal to that of Liu Bei's army. In addition, with a solid city as a backing, Liu Bei would not be able to speak even if he had Pang Tong and Fazheng in literature and Huang Zhong and Wei Yan in military affairs.

As time went by, the temperature gradually rose, and Liu Bei's army's attack on Luocheng was not smooth, and he became restless from top to bottom.

This impetuousness was not relieved until late May. After Zhuge Liang's Central Route Army captured Deyang, they finally rushed to Luocheng to join forces.

Liu Bei knew from Li Yan that Jingzhou had sent reinforcements, but his excitement when he saw Zhuge Liang was beyond words.

After exchanging greetings with the generals, Liu Bei took three military advisers into the commander's tent to talk about the old days.

"A military division is like a fish looking forward to water, but you and Zilong have entered Sichuan, who is staying in Jingzhou now? How many defenders are left..." Liu Bei asked like a cannonball.

Zhuge Liang bowed and saluted: "Not only Liang and Zilong, but Yide also led troops into Sichuan, but he was attacking Dingbadong and Brazil in Jiangzhou by land, and they may come to meet up later."

"Then Jingzhou now..." Liu Bei asked worriedly.

"There are Yunchang, Ziyu, and Yuanzhi in Jingzhou. My lord, you don't need to worry too much. Most of our soldiers, horses, money and food in Sichuan came from Jingnan, and we still have spare energy to defend." Zhuge Liang explained.

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and Pang Tong took advantage of the situation to ask again: "It was really sudden that we raised troops in Jiameng Pass, and Liu Zhang quickly blocked all the passes and main roads in Yizhou. Does pinching count?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and shook his head: "Shortly after the lord led the troops into Sichuan, Ziyu sent his clever confidants to enter Sichuan as merchants, and won the trust of Liu Zhang through the Yangtze River News, and only then did he know the news of your trap in time. Ziyu prepared it in advance."

As soon as Zhuge Liang finished speaking, Pang Tong and Fazheng showed shocked expressions. Because Liu Bei was used to seeing Lantian's performance, he felt normal at this time.

"Predict the enemy first, plan ahead, and I can't match Lan Ziyu. Fortunately, this person is under the tent of the lord." Pang Tong sighed.

Liu Bei stroked his beard with a smile and affirmed: "I bumped into walls and wandered around in the early years. It was only after I met him that I changed. I have Ziyu better than a hundred thousand soldiers."

"With Lan Ziyu and General Guan guarding Jingzhou, my lord can take Yizhou as his foundation with peace of mind, but what is this Changjiang newspaper?" Fazheng asked curiously.

Zhuge Liang then introduced the Yangtze River News in detail, and the three people in the tent were dumbfounded, especially Fazheng's eyes were shining. The seemingly inconspicuous paper is indeed no worse than a hundred thousand soldiers after being used well. Have a look.

Although Fazheng was talented, he was unlucky. He and his fellow countryman Meng Da entered Yizhou in the early years of Jian'an, and their identity belonged to the Dongzhou School during Liu Yan's period.

The Dongzhou faction was very strong in Liu Yan's period, and it was Liu Yan's tool to check and balance the local gentry in Yizhou, but it completely changed in Liu Zhang's period.

After Liu Zhang succeeded to the throne, the power of the Dongzhou faction was too great. He had to support the local gentry in Yizhou to fight against the Dongzhou faction. Therefore, Fazheng was not used for ten years after he entered Shu, and he was still a school lieutenant until he went to Jingzhou to invite Liu Bei.

Because he was excluded by his colleagues in Yizhou and slandered by the people in the city, Fazheng developed an aloof and cold personality, but he was very fond of Liu Bei.

Inspired by the Yangtze River News, Fazheng silently prepared a long article to persuade the old lord Liu Zhang to surrender.

Although there were [-] more reinforcements from Zhuge Liang, the defense of Luocheng was still not slack, but the pressure of the people to defend the city had increased.

Seeing Liu Xun's tenacious defense, Zhuge Liang suggested that Liu Bei divide his troops to control the nearby counties and townships, so that Luocheng could be completely isolated. Whether it's soldiers or food, they all have to face Liu Bei's encirclement point to fight for aid.

Liu Bei followed Zhuge Liang's advice and ordered Liu Feng, Meng Da, Li Yan and others to capture the surrounding counties and towns.

In August of the 18th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei commanded the siege against the scorching sun. Suddenly, an urgent battle report came from behind: Liu Yong, who rescued Jiameng Pass, was about to arrive in Luocheng.

Sweat welled up on Liu Bei's forehead. The city of Luo in front of him hadn't been captured for several months, and the Jiameng Pass in the rear was lost?

Chapter 297 The Water-Savvy Deng Ai

Liu Bei hurried off the battlefield, and when he returned to the tent, he saw three military divisions gathered around to read the newspaper. The seventh issue of the Changjiang Daily in Jian'an 18 had just arrived.