Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

When it was past noon, the sky did not improve.

The sky was gray, the sun was obscured by thick leaden clouds, and the howling north was blowing, making people feel chilly to the bone.

Xiling County, Xiling County, after the original Jiangxia County was divided, most of the territory of Jiangxia County was changed to the south of the Yangtze River.

Its approximate location is in the later generations of Wuhan, Xianning, Ezhou, and Huangshi, and a small part is located in Xiaogan, Hanchuan and other places in the north of the Yangtze River. Most of the rest north of the Yangtze River is allocated to Xiling.

Therefore, Xiling County, the original government of Jiangxia County, became the government of Xiling County, and the specific location was Xinzhou District in Wuhan, Hubei Province in later generations.

At this moment, in the mansion of the Xiling County Government, Liu Bei summoned all civil and military officials to discuss matters.

Shen Chen is not here.

He is still guarding Nanyang in Wancheng Town.

Because although Cao Cao led an army of more than [-] to conquer Huainan, there are still a large number of people in Yingchuan and other places in Runan.

Therefore, in order to prevent Cao Jun from taking any action, the main force in Nanyang cannot move for the time being.

At present, the defenders in Xiling, apart from some of the soldiers brought by Liu Bei from Bashu, are the county soldiers from all over Jingzhou and the Jiangxia navy, totaling about 12.

With the addition of Nanyang's defenders, Liu Bei's defensive troops against Cao Cao in Xiling, Nanyang, and Zhangling basically reached 20. All the horses were transferred to Xiling.

But Cao Cao's side is similar. He himself deployed heavy troops in Huainan, Henan and other places, and now he personally leads an army over. The total strength has exceeded 25. The two sides are in a state of fierce confrontation.

It was not until early November that news of Cao Cao's withdrawal reached Xiling.

At this time, Zhao Yun was still stationed in Songzi County, Tai Shici was stationed in Xunyang County, Liu Bei led his own guards and Jingzhou army in Xiling, and Jiangxia Navy was in Qichun.

Liu Bei's soldiers and horses are scattered throughout Xiling and along the Yangtze River in Jiangxia.

Generals at all levels are stationed in the camps along the line. From Songzi to Xiling, there are hundreds of camps in the six counties.

In the county government office, Liu Bei discussed with his advisers.

He sat on the main seat, looked around, and faced Fa Zheng, Jia Xu, Zhang Song, Sun Qian, Deng Zhi, Zheng Du and others.

Most of them are from Bashu, only Jia Xu, Sun Qian, and even Deng Zhi went to Bashu from Nanyang in the early years, and later moved to Xiling prefect in Yizhou because of Liu Bei's appreciation for his talents.

The reason for this is because of the system of being an official in a different place.

Now all the children of the Jingzhou family in the Bashu area, such as Pang Tong, Xiang Lang, Xi Zhen, Ma Jun, Ma Liang, Pang Shanmin, Kuai Qi, etc., all serve as high-ranking officials in various counties of Yizhou to carry out political reforms.

However, the children of Yizhou aristocratic families and the original bureaucratic class all moved to Jingzhou as officials, so after Liu Bei arrived in Jingzhou, the advisers who followed him were all from Xichuan.

Liu Bei looked at the crowd and said, "Xiaoqing sent a letter, saying that Cao Cao might plan Jingzhou together with Sun Quan, deliberately fighting to get me into the trap. But looking at it now, why do I think this possibility is extremely small?"

Zhang Song said: "That's right, even if you deliberately fight to deceive the lord, Cao Jun's losses are real. The battle lasted for more than a month and lost [-] to [-] soldiers and horses. How could he make his subordinates die like this. In my opinion, Xiaoqing It's too much worry. This is probably Cao Cao's suspicious strategy, or he is testing Jiangdong's strength."

"good."

Deng Zhi also echoed: "If Sun Quan can withstand his attack, Cao Cao can only choose to retreat to the north and invade the central Xiliang. If Sun Quan's strength is not good, he will break through Ruxukou in one fell swoop and march to Jianye. It would be a surprise for Cao Cao to take advantage of the situation and seize Jiangdong and confront us along the river."

Liu Bei thought for a while, then turned his head to look at Fazheng and said, "Does Xiaozhi also think so?"

Fazheng pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "In the past, I probably would have thought the same way. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that Xiaoqing is right."

He said seriously: "At the beginning I thought that Han Sui and Ma Chao's family members were all sent to Yecheng, and they would eventually submit to Cao Cao. I didn't expect that after a few years, they still dominate Xiliang in Guanzhong, as if they have no intention of submitting to Cao Cao. It seems Xiao Xiao Qing's vision is so far away that I can't match it."

Zhang Song also said in admiration: "Xiaoqing is indeed right about this matter. We didn't believe Xiaoqing's words at the beginning, but now it seems that Xiaoqing is worthy of being a wise man in the world. No wonder the lord trusts so much."

Liu Bei smiled, and thought of the boy who was only eight years old in Xuzhou and was able to talk freely, and now he has become his son-in-law.

"Report!"

At this moment, the guard outside the door quickly entered the door, knelt down on one knee in the hall, and held an official document in his hand: "Master, Hanzhong urgent report."

"Bring it up."

Liu Bei beckoned to the soldiers to send the official documents up.

The soldier put the official document in his hand on the table and walked away backwards.

Liu Bei opened the official document, browsed casually, his face suddenly changed, and said: "Xiaoqing is really a national scholar."

Fazheng hurriedly said: "Master, could it be that Cao Jun attacked Guanzhong?"

"Yes."

Liu Bei put down the document in his hand and said: "Last month, Cao Cao sent Sili school captain Zhong Yao to lead generals Xia Houdun and Yu Jin, as well as Zuo Du Liao general Xian Yufu, and the Southern Xiongnu Shan Yu Huchuquan with an army of more than [-] to attack Hanzhong. Han Sui and Ma Chao suspected that it was a false plan to attack Guo, so they united with the generals in Guanzhong, drove out Zhong Yao, and confronted Xiahou Dunyu Jin and others in Hedong."

"Xiaoqing was right about one more thing."

Fazheng lowered his head and thought, "Four years ago, Xiaoqing said that Han Sui and Ma Chao would not submit to Cao Cao, and that Cao Cao might attack them in the future, so we have to wait and see what happens. Wanmo will attack Guanzhong and Xiliang first. Compared with Xiaoqing, I am truly a man of shallow wisdom."

Although it is said that if you are right, you will be rewarded, but he will also be rewarded if you are kind.

In the past few years in Jingzhou, Shen Chen and him were extremely friendly, they were friends with each other, and they helped each other a lot when governing Jingzhou and implementing administrative orders.

Moreover, Shen Chen's theory was as deafening as the words of a sage. Under the influence of it, Fazheng gradually calmed down a lot.

"This is a preemptive strike."

Zheng Du said in a deep voice: "The lord should lead the army back to Hanzhong immediately, and then order the general of the town army to attack Wuguan. Otherwise, Cao Cao now only needs to lead Qingqi and tens of thousands of troops from Luoyang to Guanzhong, and he will have enough time to defeat Han Sui." Ma Chao, we have captured Guanzhong and Xiliang."

Deng Zhi also nodded and said: "Cao Cao's strategy of attacking east and west is really powerful, at least it bought him a month. Presumably the soldiers and horses he brought to the south this time are just guarding Huainan, Chendu and other places. Soldiers. The main force of our headquarters has already entered Hedong County from Bingzhou. If we try to catch up, it may be too late, and we may not be able to rush to help Guanzhong until next year."

Now Cao Cao's military strength is also unprecedentedly strong. After all, his current territory is similar to that at this time in history. In addition, he has a strong foundation in the north, and he has recovered almost the same after several years of recuperation.

It's just that the large territory means that there are many directions to defend. First of all, the important towns of Yingchuan and Runan must guard against the army of Nanyang.

Followed by Huainan, we must guard against Sun Quan's army.

Then came Chendu, Yecheng and other political centers, and then Youzhou.

Although Cao Cao basically pacified Karasuma in the First Battle of Liaoxi, it only pacified the largest force in Karasuma. Karasuma has a population of 200 million, and Hu and Han live in Youzhou area. If you don't pay attention, there may be turmoil.

Coupled with the Xianbei people, Gongsun Kang from Liaodong, etc., Cao Cao also deployed troops in Youzhou, under the command of Karasuma Colonel Yan Rou and Zuo Duliao General Xian Yufu.

So Cao Cao seemed to have a lot of soldiers and horses, but in fact, because there were many places to defend, there were only [-] soldiers and horses that could be mobilized.

In the eyes of Liu Bei's not-so-top strategists, Cao Cao's strategy of attacking east and west was very powerful. He only used the [-] troops guarding the south to mobilize Liu Bei's main force to Jingzhou to confront him. The main force quietly rushed to Guanzhong.

Large-scale battles take a long time. Although Cao Cao only bought himself a month, it will take at least two months for Liu Bei to react and dispatch troops.

At the same time, Wuguan was not completely controlled by Shen Chen. At that time, Danshui in the southeast of Wuguan was controlled by Shen Chen, and Shangluo County, Shang County and Wuguan Pass in the northwest of Wuguan were all guarded by Zhong Yao, which was easy to defend and difficult to defend. Attack, not easy to break.

Otherwise, when Gao Gan escaped from Wuguan Qingqi, if Wuguan was controlled by Shen Chen, he would not be hunted down by a mere captain of Shangluo County.

In this case, Cao Cao's feint shot cost Liu Bei at least three months.

And that's when things go well.

Liu Bei withdrew his troops from Jingzhou, and then his army went from Jiangzhou to Hanzhong, Hanzhong went to Guanzhong, the journey was long, and the movement of food, grass and luggage was slow.

If it doesn't go well, it is common for a year or so to be blocked when there is heavy rain and slippery roads, just like when Li Yan transported grain and grass for Zhuge Liang, the time was delayed due to the rain and muddy roads.

Therefore, although everyone has deduced that this is Cao Cao's plan to attack the west, it is clear that Liu Bei has fallen for it, and Cao Cao has fought for himself for a long time to attack Han Sui and Ma Chao.

Once Han Sui and Ma Chao are defeated and Xiliang Pass is owned by Cao Cao, not only will it be more difficult for Liu Bei to regain Xiliang Pass, but the current source of horses will also be cut off.

Therefore, in the eyes of everyone, they should immediately go to Guanzhong for support.

Fazheng didn't have any suggestions, but asked, "My lord, since Xiaoqing has seen it earlier, what advice does he have?"

Liu Bei wondered: "Xiaoqing means that Han Sui and Ma Chao won't be defeated so quickly. We should immediately transfer the main force of Jingzhou to Jiangzhou, pretending to support Guanzhong, and creating an empty image of Jingzhou. In fact, we only sent a few people out of Chencang to respond. He will attack Wuguan, but he will not immediately rush to the aid of Han Sui and Ma Chao."

Fazheng thought for a while and said, "This is because Xiaoqing has been looking for an opportunity to annex Jiangdong. He felt that by creating the illusion of Jingzhou's emptiness, Sun Quan would take the opportunity to seize Jingzhou and lure him."

"What about Han Sui and Ma Chao?"

Liu Bei asked.

Fazheng said: "The defeat of Jiangdong will not be achieved overnight. Cao Cao sent more than 2 troops to attack Xiliang Guanzhong, and my lord can send [-] people north to Hanzhong, so that General Guan and General Zhang will go out of Chencang Baoxie to join forces with Han Sui and Ma Chao. Cao Cao. In addition, the generals in Xiliang Pass have an army of [-], and Xiaoqing is attacking Wuguan. Cao Cao can't defeat them immediately. At that time, my lord can calmly deal with Sun Quan."

"Ah."

Liu Bei nodded and said: "In this way, Cao Cao should not be able to attack Guanzhong and Xiliang in a short time, but why don't I want to attack Sun Quan, and divide the north and the south. I am afraid that Sun Quan will not dare to come, and the time will be wasted for nothing, so that Han Sui and Ma Chao will be defeated. Xiliang Pass has completely fallen into the hands of Cao Cao."

This is his biggest concern right now.

Of course, there is no psychological burden to beat Sun Quan and Liu Bei, because the north-south dichotomy is a national policy that has been set long ago, but in the end it came out of nowhere.

In the later generations of the international community, even if the teachers are well-known, they will be abused by those who have double standards, let alone the ancient Han Dynasty, which pays attention to etiquette, justice, benevolence, wisdom and trust.

Every time Cao Cao attacked other princes, he acted in the name of the emperor.

So although Liu Bei wanted to bring Jiangdong down and confront Cao Cao from north to south, he was in distress because he had no name to attack Jiangdong for the time being.

If Sun Quan has not turned against him, then he will not be well-known to Jiang Dong.

Therefore, Liu Bei was a little worried about whether Sun Quan would come.

Fazheng asked: "Did Xiaoqing not specify how we should lure Sun Quan to attack Jingzhou?"

"No."

Liu Bei scratched his head: "He does this every time. He only mentions a general direction, saying what is the strategic direction. But how to implement the plan is rarely done."

Sun Gan thought for a while and said: "I think Xiaoqing likes to take a step at a time. When he was beating Xudu back then, he only said that Yuan Shao should lose, but he couldn't let him lose too badly. But what did he do at the time? No idea, it was later that Cao Cao's front line was tight, so he succeeded in attacking repeatedly, forcing Cao Cao to return to help Xudu."

Fazheng smiled and said: "It seems that Xiaoqing's favorite thing is to attack after the attack. First select a target, and then respond through the enemy's actions to complete this target. On this point, I am still very different from him."

This is Shen Chen's biggest shortcoming.

Because he knows where history is going, he can make strategic plans.

For example, in the Battle of Guandu, in order to buy time, Yuan Shao could not be defeated too badly, so he had to constantly harass Cao Cao's rear to make him aware of the danger behind, so that he could not kill [-] soldiers.

There is also the matter of the future strategic direction. He only said that Liu Bei should occupy Jingyi, then seize Jiangdong, and confront Cao Cao from north to south, but he did not say the specific method.

For example, Jingzhou was planned by Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu, and Yizhou was planned by Fazheng Zhang Song. He rarely said how to do it, only what to do.That is to set a goal, like a boss who said that he would earn [-] million this year, but how to earn and where to earn it is up to his employees to do it.

So sometimes Liu Bei often felt that the strategy he proposed was a bit outrageous, as if a poor man threatened to make hundreds of millions of dollars in a year, but didn't say how to achieve it.

If he hadn't hit the mark every time and never made a mistake, Liu Bei would only think he was a big talker.

Liu Bei looked at Fazheng attentively and said, "Xiaoqing said that strategy is the goal you want to achieve, and tactics are the plans to implement towards this goal. Xiaozhi has always been good at planning, but is there a way to make Sun Quan take the initiative to attack me?"

"this."

Fazheng stroked the goatee on his chin, hesitating for a moment.

He really didn't immediately figure out how to lure Sun Quan out. After all, the initiative in this matter was not in their hands, but in Sun Quan's.

If Sun Quan was beaten to death and hid in Jiangdong and could not come out, then no one could do anything to him.

So Fazheng didn't think of any good solution.

While hesitating, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the old god Jia Xu, who was silent, rolled his eyes, and said to Jia Xu: "Mr.

Jia Xu smiled and said: "The talent of filial piety and straightness is ten times better than that of the old man, and the old man is far inferior. How can a simple and clumsy plan compare to filial piety and straightness?"

Fazheng immediately said to Liu Bei, "My lord, Mr. Jia has a clever plan."

Jia Xu rolled her eyes, you little bastard.

Liu Bei stretched out his hand and hurriedly said: "Sir, since you have a good plan, please come quickly."

Jia Xu hesitated for a while, and then said: "This plan is to lure the enemy step by step. It should not be done quickly, but slowly."

"Please tell me, sir."

Liu Bei said.

Jia Xu explained: "Xiaoqing wanted to create an illusion of emptiness in Jingzhou, but if he immediately mobilized all the troops into Xichuan, Sun Quan would be suspicious, so he should gradually withdraw his troops step by step. He even had to hide his eyes and pretend to be It looks like Jingzhou has a lot of troops."

Liu Bei wondered, "Isn't this frightening Sun Quan even more afraid to come?"

Jia Xu said with a smile: "No, that's why he came. Then he will believe that Jingzhou is really empty, and the lord should not leave immediately with troops, but go to Huainan and Sun Quan with [-] soldiers. In the alliance, one showed his strength in front of Sun Quan, and the other told him that the lord will send troops to Xichuan to rescue Han Sui and Ma Chao, and invite Sun Quan to attack Hefei together to occupy Huainan."

"What does this mean?"

Liu Bei was puzzled.

But Fazheng nodded thoughtfully.

Jia Xu said: "My lord, I have to think on Sun Quan's side. If my lord suddenly leads an army to Xichuan immediately, will Sun Quan act rashly?"

"Probably not."

Liu Bei thought for a while and said, "If I were to do it, I would have to figure out what's true."

"Exactly."

Jia Xu said: "Sun Quan is afraid of the lord, but he doesn't know that the lord is also afraid of him. Therefore, now that Jingzhou is suddenly empty, he must be suspicious, so we should set up doubts accordingly, false and true, and confuse him."

"I understand."

Fazheng suddenly realized: "Mr. is really a high-ranking scholar. The Lord's army is overwhelming and intimidating him. He will think that this is the Lord leading the army to threaten him and force him not to act rashly. Then the Lord invites Sun Quan to attack Hefei together. Sun Quan will again Think, this is the lord forcing him to fight Cao Cao, so that he has no time to attack Jingzhou."

"good."

Jia Xu said with a smile: "At this time, my lord will withdraw Jingnan's soldiers and horses to Jiangling for defense, leaving only a few thousand to ten thousand county soldiers in Jingnan. After a while, it will be pretended that the battle in Guanzhong is tight, and half of Jiangling's soldiers Madu will go to Jiangzhou, leaving 2 people in Jiangling, and Xiaoqing will storm Wuguan again, so that Jingzhou will be empty every step of the way, and Sun Quan will not be suspicious."

"At that time, Sun Quan will think that his only enemy is the Jiangxia Navy? In addition, I forced him to fight Cao Cao, and he will feel that our side is really empty. He is just pretending to deceive him, so he will start thinking about the way to seize Jingzhou. thing."

Liu Bei woke up.

"Yes."

Jia Xu and Fazheng looked at each other and laughed.

Before that, Jingzhou had an army of 20, including 13 main troops and [-] county soldiers.

Among the 13, [-] Shen Chen Army, [-] Jiang Xia Shui Army, [-] Liu Pan Army and [-] Wuxi barbarians from Shamoke.

The 5 county soldiers were scattered among the counties, of which Nanyang County, Zhangling County, Nanjun County, Jiangxia County, and Xiling County in the north of Jingbei accounted for the majority, with about [-] to [-] soldiers stationed.

In Jingnan, only [-] Liu Pan troops were stationed in Changsha County as the main force. Except for Guiyang County, which was lent to Sun Quan, the remaining four counties of Lingling County, Wuling County, Yuanling County and Hengyang County deployed thousands of soldiers. .

What Jia Xu meant was simple.

If all these soldiers and horses were immediately transferred away, saying that they were going north to aid Han Sui and Ma Chao, and then put an empty shell of Jingzhou in front of Sun Quan, what would Sun Quan think?
He would think, what does Liu Bei mean?
Suddenly showing me the empty Jingzhou?

It must have been intentionally exposed, the soldiers and horses were all in ambush in Jiangzhou.

We will not be fooled, and we will resolutely not send troops.

This is a point that many resourceful people will doubt.

In history, Zhao Yun set up empty camps, and Cao Cao was fooled.

Guo Chong, a scholar in the Western Jin Dynasty, wrote "Tiaoliang Wushi" to record Zhuge Liang's empty city strategy, and Sima Yi was also fooled.

Even they were suspicious, and Sun Quan was not a reckless man, so how could he not suspect him?

Therefore, the empty city plan must not be used.

Because what the Liu Bei Group needs is not that Sun Quan is in the trap, but that Sun Quan is not in the trap.

Only when Sun Quan didn't fall for the trick and felt that Jingzhou was empty, would he send troops to give Liu Bei an excuse to destroy Jiangdong.

So what can we do to prevent Sun Quan from falling into the trap?

Jia Xu's strategy is to pretend to be a paper tiger!

First of all, Liu Bei led the army over and showed off his muscles in front of Sun Quan, which means that I, Liu Bei, are strong and strong, so you should be more honest, little brother.

Then Liu Bei forced Sun Quan to fight Hefei City, as if he was forcing Sun Quan to submit a certificate.

After showing off their military strength, they finally withdrew Jingzhou's soldiers and horses to Yizhou step by step.

So Sun Quan will think.

Liu Bei brought a large army here to show off his power, but in fact it was because the main force was going to Xichuan to go out of the pass to fight Cao Cao, and Jingzhou was empty, so he came to persecute him, wanting to deter himself from acting rashly when Jingzhou was empty.

He brought the army here, and forced him to fight Hefei, so Liu Bei is actually a paper tiger, just putting on airs.

In this way, it is only necessary to let Sun Quan know that Liu Bei's soldiers and horses have not moved on the surface, but in fact they have all gone to Xichuan, and the remaining soldiers and horses in Jingzhou are very few, then Sun Quan will naturally start to have other ideas.

And Liu Bei's secretive face will naturally become the reason for Liu Bei's bluff. If Sun Quan does not take the opportunity to attack Jingzhou at this time, then after Liu Bei finishes the battle of Guanzhong, there will be no chance in the future. If he doesn't do it now , when to do it?

Therefore, Jia Xu's strategy is to lure Sun Quan to fight step by step, it is a strategy to lure the snake out of the hole with one move.

"Just ask my lord to be mentally prepared."

Jia Xu finally said: "For Sun Quan, this battle is also a battle of life and death. Although the old man thinks that Sun Quan has the ambition to annex Jingzhou, it will not be so easy for him to make up his mind. Besides Mrs. Sun, there will inevitably be other A large number of scouts are investigating the real situation of Jingzhou's soldiers and horses, and they will even send people to Guanzhong to understand the situation of the battle, so this battle may be protracted."

"Yes, and Xiaoqing said that this may be Cao Cao's ultimate move. Sun Quan may also make peace with Cao Cao and learn about our situation from Cao Cao."

Fazheng also said: "So we can't withdraw our troops immediately. We can start by sending tens of thousands of people, and then decide to increase our troops after watching the battle in Guanzhong and Xiliang. Even if the battle in Guanzhong improves, we can withdraw some troops back Jingzhou, only in this way can Sun Quan feel that the emptiness of Jingzhou has been confirmed."

"Well"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Good, then act according to what you say. Gongyou, you should immediately go to Jiangdong as an envoy to express that I want to form an alliance with Sun Quan."

"only."

Sun Qian replied that the reason why he followed Liu Bei from Bashu was because he had been to Jiangdong many times and he was already familiar with the way.

At that moment, Liu Bei planned to form an alliance with Sun Quan to discuss the matter of letting Sun Quan attack Hefei.

Brothers, a good show is about to be staged.