At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 208 Xuzhou changes hands and Sun Ce surrenders

But he said that Liu Bei led his army to attack Shanyang County, hoping to attack Cao Cao from both sides with Sun Jian.

Unexpectedly, he was blocked by Cheng Yu, the governor of Shanyang County.

Cheng Yu was good at using troops and making clever plans. Even though Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both brave and brave, they still suffered many setbacks.

Liu Bei saw that Shanyang County could not be conquered for a long time, and the four thousand Danyang elite soldiers newly mobilized under his command were also dissatisfied because of the long battle.

If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had not been able to suppress these arrogant generals with their bravery, Danyang's elite troops would have mutinied long ago.

Liu Bei had no choice but to summon Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and said: "Cheng Yu is very wise. Shanyang County has been unable to be conquered for a long time. The soldiers under his command are exhausted. I want to lead my troops to withdraw to Xiaopei. What do you think of the two brothers?"

Liu Bei actually had some selfish motives, that is, he did not want to make Danyang's elite soldiers dissatisfied, and wanted to withdraw his troops to preserve his strength, and then win over these Danyang elite soldiers.

He had been living a hard life since the crusade against the Yellow Turbans. Now that he had finally obtained these troops, he naturally did not want to exhaust his family wealth just to help Gongsun Zan resist Yuan Shao like he did in Qingzhou.

When Zhang Fei heard this, he shouted: "I have been entrusted with the important task of allocating money and food by Tao Shijun. Wouldn't it be ridiculous if we return without success?"

"Tomorrow I will personally lead the troops to form a formation. I will definitely attack the city and take Cheng Yu's head!"

Guan Yu, however, glared and shouted, "Don't talk nonsense, Yide!"

"The city is strong and heavily guarded. If it was so easy to conquer, how could we have been stopped here for so long?"

"Seeing that winter has arrived, the soldiers are tired, and it is getting harder and harder to supply food and grass. If we don't withdraw our troops as soon as possible, we will only waste money and food, and lose our troops and generals."

Zhang Fei was scolded by Guan Yu and immediately lowered his head and did not dare to say any more.

"Report!"

At this moment, a scout suddenly ran over in a hurry: "General Qi, Yuan Shu raided Sun Jian's camp. Sun Jian led his troops to break out and died on the way. Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack Yuan Shu and defeat him!"

Suddenly hearing the news, the expressions of all three Liu Bei brothers changed drastically.

They did not expect that Sun Jian, who had the upper hand, would be surprised by Yuan Shu, causing the situation to take a turn for the worse.

Liu Bei stood up suddenly and shouted: "Yuan Shu has been defeated. If we don't withdraw his troops as soon as possible, it may not be easy to retreat again when Cao Cao leads his troops back to reinforce Shanyang County."

"Send my military order to the three armies to pull out their camps and quickly withdraw to Xiaopei."

"Yun Chang led two thousand soldiers and horses to cut off the rear!"

But it was said that Zhang Fei led more than a thousand soldiers and horses, and was withdrawing his troops in a melancholy manner, when someone suddenly came to report: "Report to the third general, there are more than a hundred broken troops in front, I don't know where they are."

Zhang Fei was shocked when he heard this and asked: "But Xuzhou soldiers and horses?"

The scout shook his head and said: "Looking at his clothes and armor, he is not a soldier from Xuzhou."

Zhang Fei was immediately overjoyed and said: "Since they are not soldiers and horses from Xuzhou, they must be enemy troops. Send the order, rectify the troops and horses, and follow me to kill the enemy!"

But it is said that Sun Ce led Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Zhu Zhi and other Sun Jian's old troops, and was about to cross Shanyang County and enter Xuzhou, but suddenly saw a big dust in front.

"Zhang Yide from Yan is here, the thief comes quickly to die!"

Sun Ce and others fled all the way. They were trapped and in a state of embarrassment. When they were on guard, they suddenly heard a thunderous sound.

As soon as the voice fell, a majestic general was seen, holding a snake spear eight feet long, leading eighteen cavalry to charge.

Behind them, there were faint flags dancing.

It turned out that Zhang Fei learned that the enemy army only had more than a hundred people. Because he was eager to make a contribution, he directly asked the large army to follow him, but he personally led Yanyun's eighteen cavalry to charge towards them.

The siege battle may be difficult for Zhang Fei, but in the field battle, Zhang Fei really doesn't pay attention to a mere hundred people.

not to mention.

The eighteen Yanyun riders behind him were all warriors from Youzhou who could rival ten warriors, and their riding and martial arts skills were quite extraordinary.

Sun Ce was first shocked by Zhang Fei's loud voice, but when he saw clearly the large group of people rushing toward him from behind, his heart sank.

He was also a very decisive person and immediately shouted sternly: "I see that this man is wearing armor and must be a general. If he can be captured alive, he may be able to save us."

"Otherwise, once the opponent's follow-up troops arrive, more than a hundred of us will be no match!"

As soon as Sun Ce finished speaking, he immediately rushed towards Zhang Fei with a spear in hand, intending to capture the thief first and capture the king first.

The four generals Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zhu Zhi saw Zhang Fei's majesty and feared that Sun Ce would make a mistake, so they rushed over with their troops.

At the age of 17, Sun Ce had already followed Sun Jian in the north and south, showing extraordinary courage and martial arts. Now it has been more than two years, and his martial arts has become more and more exquisite, and it is almost difficult to meet his opponents on the battlefield.

Even though Cao Cao had many talents, without Xu Chu and Dian Wei, there were very few who could rival Sun Ce.

It was precisely for this reason that Sun Ce was so confident that even though Zhang Fei looked extremely untouchable, he still mounted his horse and came with a gun, hoping to capture him alive.

"clang!"

Unexpectedly, after only one round of fighting between the two, Sun Ce felt his jaws numb and almost failed to hold the spear in his hand.

Sun Ce couldn't help but feel horrified, put away his pride, held guns with both hands, displayed his martial arts skills, and fought with Zhang Fei again.

As everyone knows, Zhang Fei was also very surprised at this time.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were clearly pointed out by official history to be fierce generals who could be defeated by thousands of people, and their bravery could not be faked.

Zhang Fei is now in his prime, and his martial arts has reached its peak. He can almost ignore any general in the world. Before, he was able to kill generals and capture flags on the battlefield, and he was invincible.

He originally felt a little contemptuous of Sun Ce when he saw his young age, but he didn't expect that Sun Ce's martial arts skills were so superb.

Zhang Fei was so happy when he saw that he was hunting, he immediately shouted and opened and closed the eight-foot-long snake spear in his hand, just like dancing in the sky, giving people an unstoppable power to look down on the world, and like a poisonous snake swallowing snake letters, cunning and unpredictable.

Although Sun Ce was a martial arts prodigy, he was still too young, and the more he fought, the more frightened he became.

The two only fought for more than [-] times, and Sun Ce was already exhausted. Gradually, he could only barely defend, and he had no energy left to attack Zhang Fei.

Seeing this, the four generals Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zhu Zhi hurriedly left Yan Yun's Eighteen Cavalry behind and charged towards Zhang Fei with a shout, hoping to take him down with their own strength.

Zhang Fei was excited to fight. When he saw the four generals Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zhu Zhi rushing towards him, he was not surprised but overjoyed. He roared loudly and used all his strength to fight against the five generals alone.

Even so, Zhang Fei still did not fall behind.

We can't say that Sun Ce and others are too weak. We can only say that Zhang Fei at his peak was too terrifying. Moreover, with more fighting and less fighting, coupled with the fact that it was a horse fight, it does not mean that five plus one equals six.

The two sides were fighting hard to separate each other, but Zhang Fei's follow-up troops were getting closer and closer.

Sun Ce was anxious and shouted hurriedly: "Don't be reluctant to fight, retreat quickly, and follow me into Xuzhou!"

As soon as Sun Ce finished speaking, he immediately raised his spear and stabbed him hard, forcing Zhang Fei to return his spear to resist, and covered the four generals Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zhu Zhi from the battlefield.

Zhang Fei blocked Sun Ce's spear with a spear, but did not continue to attack. Instead, he waited until Sun Ce turned his horse around and shouted loudly: "I am Zhang Fei and Zhang Yide, a general under the command of Liu Xuande, the governor of Yuzhou. Who are you and why are you going to Xuzhou?" ?”

Zhang Fei looked rough, but in reality there was something subtle in his roughness. After he came on horseback and saw the attire of Sun Ce and others, he faintly felt that something was wrong.

He could conclude that these people were not Cao Jun.

The reason why Zhang Fei fought with them just now was because he was very happy and wanted to test the reality of these people.

The result surprised Zhang Fei.

Not to mention the young people at the head, even the four people who later came out to help in the battle were all very skilled in martial arts. If it had been earlier, when my martial arts had not yet matured, I would not have been able to withstand the siege of everyone.

Zhang Fei can conclude that these people are definitely of good status.

Sun Ce was overjoyed when he heard this. He reined in his horse and turned around and said, "I am Sun Ce, the son of Sun Wentai, the governor of Yanzhou. Unfortunately, my father died in a surprise attack by Yuan Shu, so I led my father's generals and planned to go to Xuzhou to join Tao." Envoy."

"General, since you are a general under Liu Yuzhou, please let us go!"

Liu Bei's position as governor of Yuzhou was represented by Tao Qian; Sun Jian's position as governor of Yanzhou was represented by Yuan Shu.

In fact, they only have a name, but they have not been officially canonized by the court at all, let alone have actual control. Both Zhang Fei and Sun Ce understand this, but they still have not exposed it.

Zhang Fei was very surprised at first when he heard this, then rolled his eyes and thought to himself: "These people all have extraordinary martial arts skills, and they have followed Sun Jian for so long, so they must be good at fighting."

"Brother has just established a foothold in Xiaopei. It's time to hire people. How can we miss the talent that comes to our door?"

Thinking of this, Zhang Fei immediately said loudly: "My brother Liu Yuzhou once said that among those who can be called heroes in the world, Sun Wentai of Wu County deserves it. He often laments that he cannot meet Sun Wentai."

"My father was unfortunately killed. My brother cried bitterly after hearing the news, saying that this great man has lost a loyal minister."

"My brother is leading the army right behind. If you don't give up, you might as well go and see you. My brother will be extremely happy after seeing you." When Sun Ce heard that Liu Bei praised his father so much, he couldn't help but feel good about Liu Bei. In addition, They were indeed short of men and horses, so they did not refuse immediately.

But Liu Bei said that after receiving the news from Zhang Fei, Liu Bei hurriedly rode over to meet Sun Ce and others.

It has to be said that in terms of charm alone, Liu Bei was definitely among the best throughout the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

In addition, Sun Ce and others did not come from a good background. They did not have the arrogance of the nobles, and they would not look down on Liu Bei from the bottom of his heart, who came from a grassroots background.

Liu Bei's conduct and his attitude of trying to win over others gradually gained the favor of Sun Ce and others.

However, Liu Bei now has no territory and only occupies a small area of ​​​​Pei, which is not a big deal at all.

Sun Ce wanted to take revenge, so he had no choice but to go to Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian, so he stayed in Xiaopei for a few days. Even though Liu Bei was very reluctant to leave, he still planned to leave.

At the same time, Tao Qian caught wind and cold, and his condition suddenly worsened, and he was on his deathbed.

He hurriedly summoned Mi Zhu, Chen Gong and others, and said weakly: "Xuzhou is the place of the Four Wars, and it has a deadly feud with Cao Cao. Now I don't have much time left, and my two sons are not capable enough to take on important responsibilities. Who do you think can inherit Xuzhou’s legacy?”

Mi Zhu had been planning for a long time and was waiting for today. He immediately said: "Xuan Degong has royal blood and is a nobleman of the Han Dynasty. He is also unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness. He first devoted all his strength to lead his troops to rescue Kong Rong, a stranger in Beihai, and he was thousands of miles away." Come and save Xuzhou."

"When Duke Xuande was a local official, he had many virtuous names and was deeply loved by the people. Even the assassins hired to kill Duke Xuande were grateful for Duke Xuande's kindness and were unwilling to harm him and revealed their identity. Leave on your own."

"Now Xuande Gong has a large number of troops stationed in Xiaopei to defend Xuzhou against Cao Cao."

"If you leave, Liu Bei will not be able to secure this state."

When Tao Qian heard this, he immediately nodded slightly and said, "After my death, my two sons will not be allowed to serve as officials. They should all return to Danyang to live in seclusion."

"As for Xuzhou, leave it to Liu Xuande. I hope he can make the people of Xuzhou live a stable and prosperous life."

When a man is about to die, his words are good; when a bird is about to die, his song is also mourning.

At this time, Tao Qian did not have the previous ambitions. He only hoped that the people of Xuzhou would not be implicated after his death.

The reason why Tao Qian asked his two sons to return to Danyang and live in seclusion was because he was afraid that someone would use them after his death to compete with Liu Bei for Xuzhou.

In that case, the second son is no match for Liu Bei and will inevitably die.

In this case, it is better to go back to your hometown and become a rich man.

At least Danyang County is now under Zhou Qi's rule, and the people and major families can live a more stable life.

After explaining the affairs, Tao Qian passed away not long after.

When Tao Qian passed away, mourning was held in Xuzhou, and Chen Gong and Tao Qian's son were preparing for the funeral. However, Mi Zhu traveled to Xiaopei all night long to prepare to welcome Liu Bei to Xuzhou.

At this time, Liu Bei was twenty miles out of the city and was holding Sun Ce's hands to say goodbye, his eyes full of reluctance.

Sun Ce was deeply moved. Although he wanted to stay, he thought of his father's hatred and finally gritted his teeth and said goodbye to Liu Bei.

"Tap Tap!"

At this moment, Sun Ce suddenly saw ten riders coming from a distance. They were all wearing white clothes and mourning cloth on their heads.

"Mr. Xuande, Tao Shijun passed away from illness!"

When Mi Zhu saw Liu Bei, he quickly rolled off his saddle and dismounted, saying sadly.

When Sun Ce heard this, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to go to seek refuge with Tao Qian, the Tao Qian had already died of illness.

As for Liu Bei, he was not much better.

He originally saw Mi Zhu kneeling down and hurriedly stepped forward to help her up, but when he suddenly heard the news, he staggered, felt dizzy, and almost fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Guan Yu had quick eyesight and quick hands, and hurriedly supported Liu Bei, so that he did not fall down.

Tears gradually flashed in Liu Bei's eyes, and he said tremblingly: "How could this be?"

Mi Zhu stood up, wiped her tears, and said, "Before your death, I asked Duke Xuande to be the shepherd of Xuzhou and asked us to welcome Duke Xuande to take charge of Xuzhou to protect the people of Xuzhou from Cao Cao."

"Xuzhou cannot be left without an owner for a day. We also ask Xuande Gong to return to Tan County as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation."

When Liu Bei heard this, he was surprised and said: "How dare you occupy Xuzhou if you are so immoral and incompetent?"

Liu Bei repeatedly refused. Seeing that Liu Bei was very resolute, Mi Zhu said, "Whether Duke Xuande wants to inherit Xuzhou's foundation or not, he must first go to Tan County to express his condolences to Lord Tao."

"I will return to Tan County first. After my father-in-law has arranged Xiaopei's military affairs, please go there as soon as possible!"

After Liu Bei sent Mi Zhu away, Sun Ce and others were in a dilemma.

They did not expect that just when they and others rejected Liu Bei's solicitation and planned to go to Tao Qian, they learned that Tao Qian had died of illness and planned to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei.

In fact.

They were not familiar with Tao Qian, but they had a good impression of Liu Bei. It would be a good thing if they could join Liu Bei.

However, they had just rejected Liu Bei, but now they couldn't bear to stay.

Guan Yu seemed to have read the thoughts of Sun Ce and others, and immediately said: "Since Tao Shijun has unfortunately passed away from illness, it is meaningless to go to Xuzhou again. Why don't you stay in Xiaopei first?"

"After the situation in Xuzhou stabilizes, it will not be too late to discuss where to go."

Liu Bei also wiped his tears and hurriedly persuaded Sun Ce and others.

Now that Sun Ce and others were on the right track, they naturally stayed in Xiaopei.

However, Liu Bei asked Guan Yu to lead the troops to accept Xiaopei. He and Zhang Fei headed directly towards Tan County with more than a thousand trusted soldiers and horses.

However, it is said that after Mi Zhu returned to Tan County, he informed his younger brother Mi Fang about Liu Bei's refusal to be the pastor of Xuzhou.

Mi Fang frowned and said, "Brother has spent so much money, and now the plan is about to succeed, but Liu Bei is too pedantic and refuses to take the post of Xuzhou Mu, what can he do?"

Mi Zhu smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, Duke Xuande must be interested in Xuzhou, but because of his reputation, he is unwilling to take it as his own when Tao Shijun is newly mourned, so as not to prove it."

"I have a plan so that Mr. Xuande will have no worries."

Mi Zhu contacted the people of Xuzhou and respected people, and planned to invite Liu Bei to the post of Xuzhou Shepherd based on public opinion.

On the other hand, he wrote a letter to Beihai Prime Minister Kong Rong, hoping that the other party could come to attend Tao Qian's funeral.

But as soon as Liu Bei arrived in Lin County, he saw Mi Zhu leading more than ten thousand Xuzhou people, as well as Xuzhou's highly respected people, to greet him at the city gate.

When they saw Liu Bei, several of them came forward and knelt on the ground, saying: "Unfortunately, Tao Shijun died of illness. Cao Cao is eyeing Xuzhou with covetous eyes. He also asked Duke Xuande to take charge of Xuzhou to protect the territory and the people!"

Liu Bei had never seen such a formation before, so he hurriedly rolled his saddle and dismounted.

He helped all the leaders up and said, "How could Liu Bei be so virtuous and capable? How dare he steal the position of Xuzhou Mu?"

Everyone tried to persuade him, but Liu Bei had no choice but to say: "Shijun Tao has not been buried yet, and Bei has not gone to express his condolences. It is very inappropriate to discuss this matter now."

"Fellow folks, please leave for now. Can we discuss this matter later after I express my condolences to Mr. Tao?"

Everyone saw that what Liu Bei said was reasonable and could not continue to persecute them, so they had to disperse.

After paying his condolences to Tao Qian, Chen Deng also advised: "Today the Han Dynasty's mausoleum was late and the sea was overturned. Today is the day to make contributions. Bizhou is rich in Yin, with a household registration of one million. If you want to entrust your envoy to take care of Linzhou's affairs, please envoy me." Don’t say no.”

Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said: "Although I am a Miao descendant of the Han Dynasty, my family has long been in decline and my reputation is not obvious. How can I dare to steal the position of Xuzhou Mu?"

"Yuan Highway is near Yuzhou. This king, the fourth generation and the fifth Duke, returns from overseas, so he can stay with him in the state."

When Chen Deng heard this, he said: "Yuan Shu is arrogant and arrogant, and he is not the master of fighting chaos. Now I want to make you a leader with a hundred thousand cavalry. The superiors can help the people and become the five hegemons; the subordinates can cede the territory and defend the territory, and do calligraphy skills." On bamboo and silk. If the envoy does not listen to the promise, Deng will not dare to listen to the envoy."

Kong Rong was grateful for Liu Bei's previous rescue, and he also advised: "Why is Yuan Shu worried about those who forget their country? Why bother about the dry bones in the grave! What happened today is that the people can do it, and God can't take it. Regrets cannot be pursued."

Liu Bei was persuaded by Mi Zhu and came to Xuzhou because he gave up his determination. In fact, he had already planned to follow Mi Zhu's plan and occupy Xuzhou, which had a well-established household registration.

However, Liu Bei is now a tolerant and humble person. If he rashly accepts the post of Xuzhou Shepherd, it will inevitably damage his reputation.

It is for this reason that Liu Bei refused three times.

Mi Zhu saw through Liu Bei's thoughts and invited Liu Bei with great fanfare. After this incident, Liu Bei's reputation spread throughout the world.

There is no doubt that after Liu Bei became Xuzhou Mu, it became very simple to win over Sun Ce and others.

Sun Ce had almost no hesitation and directly joined Liu Bei's command, making Liu Bei far more powerful than he had been in history.

(End of this chapter)