The Nameless of the Common Clans

The battle of Guandu was just a touch and go. If it was impossible to capture Guandu by surprise, a direct attack on Guandu would be attacked from Zhongmu and Yangwu. For Cao's army, it was not wise to attack Guandu directly.

Once Cao Cao attacked with all his strength, Chen Mo's main force would inevitably respond. So the real cause of the war was in Pingyuan. Cao Cao ordered General Zang Ba to lead the Qingzhou soldiers to cooperate with Lu Qian to advance westward and advance to the Qinghe area. If Jizhou was the battlefield, Cao Cao's goal was obviously to cut Chen Mo's territory into two parts, just like Chen Mo occupied Yecheng and cut Yuan Cao apart.

Chen Mo's garrison was Wuyi and Xu Huang. Wuyi did not move. He had to stay in Dongjun to guard against possible attacks from Yanzhou after the river was frozen.

Xu Huang led Gao Lan to fight Zang Ba and Lu Qian in the Qinghe area. The war almost spread to the entire Qinghe County. The combined strength of the two sides was nearly 70,000, and the Qinghe area was a river of blood.

At the same time, the war also broke out in Nanyang. Cao Ren, a general of the Cao family, personally led his troops to fight Zhang Liao in the Luyang area. However, this side was just a containment after all, intending to unite with Liu Biao and let Liu Biao attack Nanyang. The fight was not as fierce as that of the war between Chen and Cao.

But the war between Chen and Cao was considered to have broken out in full swing. A war that affected the entire Central Plains and determined the direction of the world finally broke out in the winter of the seventh year of Han Shu.

Jingzhou, Xiangyang.

"Lord Xuande, the King of Chu is ill and cannot see guests. Lord Xuande, please go back." Wang Wei came out of the palace and looked at Liu Bei and others waiting outside the door, clasping his fists and bowing.

"General Wang, have you informed the Central Plains of the war?" Liu Bei frowned and asked.

"I have informed you, but the King of Chu is really inconvenient to see guests now. Please forgive me, Lord Xuande." Wang Wei shook his head and said solemnly.

"Alas~" Liu Bei sighed lightly, turned around and left with everyone, and followed Yi Ji to Yi Ji's palace.

"Brother, what should we do?" Zhang Fei frowned as he looked at Liu Bei. In order to take advantage of this opportunity to send troops to Nanyang, they had been preparing for several months under Zhuge Liang's suggestion, just waiting for the outbreak of the Chen-Cao war, and taking the opportunity to capture Nanyang as Liu Bei's place to establish himself. Everything was as Zhuge Liang expected, and even the time when the war broke out between the two sides was almost the same as Zhuge Liang's guess. Who knew that at this time, Liu Biao fell ill.

This is really the right time!

Liu Bei sighed helplessly when he heard this. According to Zhuge Liang's plan, he would first seize Nanyang, then seek Jingzhou, and then sit in Jingzhou, raise soldiers and weapons, and watch the two heroes of the Central Plains fight. It would be best to contain both sides and not let the two sides decide the outcome too early. When the two heroes were exhausted and Liu Bei had enough soldiers and food, he would take the opportunity to plot against Sichuan and Shu, and then advance to Guanzhong as the foundation of his kingdom. This was the strategy Zhuge Liang planned for Liu Bei. If successful, no matter who won or lost between Chen Mo and Cao Cao in the end, the real winner would be Liu Bei.

Who knew that this first step would encounter problems? If Liu Biao was unwilling to send troops, Liu Bei's less than 10,000 troops could defend the gate of Jingzhou, but if he wanted to advance to Nanyang, he couldn't do it without Liu Biao's support. Zhang Liao was not given for nothing, not to mention that although Zhang Liao's generals were not very outstanding, they were not too bad either, and they were even more handy in command. Without sufficient troops, it was impossible to attack Nanyang by trickery.

Now that Cao Ren is attacking, Nanyang is at its weakest. According to Zhuge Liang's calculations, as long as Liu Biao can support 50,000 troops, plus these elite soldiers and generals under Liu Bei, it is not a problem to take Nanyang by taking advantage of the situation.

But now it seems that these 50,000 troops can't be borrowed.

The first step was frustrated on his own side, which really made people upset.

"Does Ji Bo have any good ideas?" Liu Bei looked at Yi Ji and asked.

"Duke Xuande doesn't know that today's matter is probably not because the King of Chu didn't see it, but someone is obstructing it!" Yi Ji sighed.

As for who it was, Yi Ji didn't say, and Liu Bei didn't ask.

Besides Liu Biao, there was only one person who could control the palace and make Wang Wei come forward at this time, and that was Madam Cai.

"My brother and the King of Chu are both relatives of the Han Dynasty. Now that the King of Chu is seriously ill, can't we even meet him?" Guan Yu frowned.

"Don't worry, Lord Xuande." Yi Ji sighed after hearing this, and looked at Liu Bei and advised gently: "The current battle between Chen and Cao has affected the entire Central Plains. This battle may take a long time. Perhaps the King of Chu's condition has improved and he can manage things again. It won't be too late to ask for troops then."

Liu Bei nodded after hearing this. At this time, he couldn't even enter the door, and could only hope that Liu Biao could recover as soon as possible.

After everyone discussed it again, Liu Bei said goodbye to Yi Ji, left Xiangyang with Guan and Zhang, crossed the river back to Fancheng, and went directly to see Zhuge Liang.

"Kong Ming, my brother is seriously ill now, but we can't see him. What can we do?" After seeing Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei sighed helplessly.

"My lord, please be silent and worry." Zhuge Liang handed a letter to Liu Bei and said with a smile: "Take a look at this!"

Liu Bei took the bamboo slip and looked at it, frowning even more.

Sun Ce is stationed in Chaisang. Shouldn't we join hands to attack the Central Plains at this time? What does Sun Ce mean?

"Why is Sun Lang so short-sighted!?" Liu Bei put down the bamboo slip and frowned.

"It's not that he is short-sighted." Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "The best water warfare is in the east of the Yangtze River. There is a natural chasm in the Yangtze River here, so it is difficult for Cao's army to hurt him. However, the Sun family has crossed the river several times before and returned without success. Because the navy in the east of the Yangtze River can maneuver freely. Jianghuai, but after all, this land in Jiangbei is not like Jiangdong There are so many waterways, and the land north of the Yangtze River has many plains and few hills and ravines. Even though the Jiangdong army is good at fighting, it lacks cavalry. After landing, it will be difficult to fight against Cao's army and plan to capture Jingzhou, and then use Jingzhou as the base to capture Nanyang and Xia. Luoyang is the Sun family’s current strategy.”

When Liu Bei heard this, he frowned and said, "The national thieves have not been eliminated, but something happened again, alas~"

"My lord, don't worry. As far as my lord is concerned, the attack from Jiangdong is not a bad thing. It may actually be more beneficial to my lord." Zhuge Liang said with a smile.

"How do you say this?" Liu Bei said unexpectedly when he heard this.

"Sun Ce has a reputation for bravery. Although he was defeated by Lu Bu, but looking at Jingzhou, if the lord does not come out, the other generals will not be his enemies. If Sun Ce comes to attack, Cai Mao will not want the lord to interfere in military affairs. No matter who it is, If you lead the army, you will be defeated!" Zhuge Liang said firmly.

It's not that Jingzhou doesn't have good generals, it's that Jingzhou's good generals don't have military power, and the generals who do have military power are not Sun Ce's opponents. Sun Ce has obviously been planning this battle for a long time. A battle between the two sides gave Liu Bei an opportunity to take advantage of.

"Is Kongming planning to seize military power after his defeat?" Liu Bei said with a smile.

"It's best not to. Cai Mao is very wary of the lord. The lord can contact the eldest son first, and in the name of the eldest son, Cai Mao seizes the military power when he is defeated. But don't go to war. You only need to ask your uncle to accompany the eldest son to guard Jiangxia. The lord will Just lead your troops to Jiangling." Zhuge Liang said with a smile.

Jiangxia is the only way for the Jiangdong navy to advance westward, while Jiangling is where the entire Jingxiang army stores food and grass. As long as you occupy these two places, it is equivalent to seizing the lifeline of the army, and then take the opportunity to seize Cai Mao's military power. , when the time comes, not to mention 50,000, but 100,000 horses and horses will be available.

"At that time, we only need to send one general to guard Jiangling, and then the lord can lead his army northward and take Nanyang directly!"

"Kong Ming!" Zhang Fei suddenly interrupted: "Why not take this opportunity to destroy Sun Ce in one fell swoop?"

When Zhuge Liang heard this, he glanced at Zhang Fei faintly, and he really dared to say, if Sun Ce was so easy to destroy, Liu Biao would have already occupied Jiangdong, why wait until now?

Of course, you can't say this, as it will easily destroy your own prestige.

"Now even if our army is victorious, it will be difficult to take advantage of the situation to annex Jiangdong. The most important thing right now is the Northern Expedition. It is not good to forge a deep hatred with Jiangdong. It is better to stabilize the situation first and make the Northern Expedition to Nanyang. After capturing Nanyang, we can wait for an opportunity to fight with Sun Yat-sen." The family formed an alliance." Zhuge Liang explained unhurriedly.

"Then Sun Ce is only a junior. I heard that he was almost beaten to death by Lu Bu in Jiangxia. What should these juniors have to fear?" Zhang Fei said disdainfully.

The fact that Sun Ce was almost beaten to death by Lu Bu in Jiangxia is now known to everyone in Jingzhou. Liu Bei and others later did not fight Sun Ce. However, although Lu Bu was powerful, he was not that powerful. So instinctively, Zhang Fei felt that Sun Ce was not good enough, and he somewhat despised him.

After Liu Bei thought for a moment, he shook his head and said: "Yide, don't talk nonsense, now we should focus on the overall situation, take Nanyang first, and then talk about other things."

In fact, Zhuge Liang's intention was very clear. They wanted to take more than just Nanyang. Taking this opportunity to seize the real power in Jingzhou was Zhuge Liang's real purpose. It was just that it was difficult to say these words clearly, but Liu Bei heard it. There is hesitation, but now it is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is also the most critical step in determining the situation of the world and Liu Bei's future fortune. Liu Bei does not want to miss it.

"Here~"

Seeing that his brother was a little unhappy, Zhang Fei could only nod angrily. He felt that since Zhuge Liang came, his brother valued Kong Ming too much, and felt that he was better than Chen Gong. This made Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were more emotional, Some complained about Chen Gong.

"Kong Ming, what should we do now?" Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang again and asked.

Seeing Zhang Fei's displeased look, Zhuge Liang felt helpless and said with a smile: "My lord, you just need to continue training your troops and wait for the opportunity. In Yiliang's humble opinion, Jiangdong's invasion shouldn't be too far away."

"Okay, let's follow Kong Ming's words!"