Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 211 Arguments to Frustrate the Enemy
Because Cao Cao was notorious, Liu Cong's ascendancy lacked legitimacy; Liu Bei had a reputation for benevolence and righteousness, and Liu Qi was Liu Biao's officially confirmed successor during his lifetime.

Wang Kai, Zhang Cun, Xi Zhen, Han Ran and other more than [-] officials from the state government abandoned their posts and left the city to join Liu Cong because they despised the actions of Liu Cong, Cai Mao and others. Thousands of people in Fancheng were afraid of Cao Cao's military strength. He tried to take refuge with Liu Bei and then went south.

The beginning leads to the follow-up. After Liu Bei chose to accept the people of Fancheng, the scholars and people in the countryside outside Xiangyang City were afraid of war, but also had Liu Bei's benevolence and righteousness in mind, or because Liu Qi was the orthodox leader of Jingzhou. Those who followed the army went south. few.

In order to allow the people to retreat first, Liu Bei had to lead his troops to disembark and walk ashore.As they walked ashore, more and more people followed, numbering in the tens of thousands.

For example, Xiang Lang, the magistrate of Zhonglu County, learned that Cao's army was going south. As a good friend of Ma Liang, he also had contact with Liu Bei, so he abandoned his official position and followed Liu Bei south.As a herdsman official, even if he was like this, the people of Zhonglu County saw it, and many people followed Liu Bei southward.

There were tens of thousands of people, hundreds of large and small vehicles, and tens of thousands of people carrying backpacks.There were so many people, and so much luggage to carry with them, that [-] large and small ships could no longer accommodate them.In desperation, the ship sailed on the Han River, and Liu Bei led his people and troops to march by the Han River.

While walking south, Liu Bei deliberately passed by Liu Biao's tomb, thinking that he would pay homage to Liu Biao.

When Liu Biao was seriously ill for a long time, the tomb began to be repaired early. Two or three days after his death, Liu Cong was anxious to ascend the throne and worried that the body would rot, so Liu Cong, Cai Mao and others hurriedly buried him.

As a prince in charge of millions of lives, Liu Biao's tomb is not too small. It was built near a hill and is several feet high. The tombstone made of white marble is engraved with the words "Han Chariot General Jingzhou Mu became Wuhou Liu Jingsheng" and other words.Although it is midsummer, there is a sense of desolation around the tomb.

Liu Bei stood in front of Liu Biao's tomb. He rarely shed tears. Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable feeling of sadness welling up in his heart. He couldn't help but shed tears and said, "What a shame! Brother Jingsheng was so kind to Wu Chu that he ruled the south for the Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, now It’s so painful to abandon this world!”

With that said, Liu Bei raised his hands towards the tomb of Liu Biao and said sadly: "My brother Bei has no virtue and talent, and he has disobeyed my brother's instructions. If Kuai Yue and Cai Mao took Zhong Huang and surrendered to Cao Cao, it would be difficult to protect my brother's inheritance. Now that I have seen my brother, I have already This is shameful. Now I boldly ask for my brother's heroic spirit to save the people of Jingxiang and help prepare for the defeat of Cao Cao, so as to revive the dying Han Dynasty."

Lu Su took the opportunity to pass the kerchief to Liu Bei to wipe his tears, and said: "I hope that my lord will be considerate and accommodating. Now we are facing a powerful enemy, and there are tens of thousands of people accompanying us. We should discuss military affairs as soon as possible."

Liu Bei's eyes were red, he wiped his tears with a towel, and nodded in response.

Perhaps influenced by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was overly described and often described as crying, which caused many later generations to misunderstand Liu Bei and think that he was akin to a hypocrite.

But how could Liu Bei, who came from Youyan, be such a person with a clear sense of love and hate, and good intentions, which has always been his portrayal.Only after experiencing the wasted years and more than ten years of wandering, he transformed into a hero and knew how to make choices.However, even Liu Bei, who became a hero, could not treat the common people like Cao Cao did.

After calming down, Liu Bei woke up and asked, "Zijing, where are Cao's troops and horses now? How many people are our troops carrying?"

Lu Su pondered for a moment, then raised his hands and said: "After investigation by the scouts who stayed behind, Cao Jun's general Xu Huang led the vanguard cavalry into Tunfan City, and Cai Mao sent people to meet Xu Huang. Zhang Liao and Cao Chun led the elite cavalry behind and will arrive soon. Fancheng.”

"Su and Zhang Churen, Xiang Juda and others checked the number of people. They found that there were more than 3 people who went south with the lord, nearly [-] people. Those who took the boat to Xiakou were about [-] to [-] people, most of whom were old, weak, women and children. Vehicles and luggage. Although most of the people traveling south with the army today are young men and women, our army can only travel about twenty miles a day. If Cao Jun's elite cavalry gallops day and night, he will definitely be able to catch up with our army."

Liu Bei held the reins in his hands, climbed onto his horse, and asked, "Does Zijing have any advice for me?"

In Liu Bei's eyes, he is good at tactics but not at strategy.Lu Su's ability at the grand strategic level was comparable to that of Huo Jun, Zhuge Liang and others. Since Huo and Ge each had important responsibilities, it was almost difficult for them to leave Jiangzuo in person, so he kept Lu Su with him for a long time to advise on military affairs.

Lu Su stroked his beard and said: "It is a foregone conclusion that Cao Cao won Xiangyang. He led hundreds of thousands of troops south, drank the water of Majiang River, and marched to Jingchu. Therefore, my lord should retreat to Xiakou, gather troops from the left of the Yangtze River, and occupy Jianghan to resist Cao Cao. .”

"Therefore, looking at the current situation, our army is advancing slowly, and Cao Jun's elite cavalry is chasing it. It is feared that it will be defeated. Unless we can defeat Cao Jun's pursuers here and blunt their edge. When the Poyang Navy arrives, the boats and boats will respond, and both the army and the people can install."

Liu Bei held the reins in his hands and said worriedly: "In the past, Cao Cao's army first went to the south, and Wu and Chu combined their forces to force them back. Now Cao Cao has led the troops from the north to Jingchu, and the two thieves Cai and Kuai took Liu Cong and surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao Cao captured the Jianghan soldiers. The horse, the military front is getting stronger, the power is approaching Jingnan, and the military is pointing at Wu and Chu."

"I am afraid that Bo Wei will see that Jingzhou cannot be defended, and that the few soldiers on Jiangzuo will be unable to defend the north, and that he will be slandered by villains, so he raises his soldiers and horses on Jiangzuo to surrender to Cao Cao. By then our army will retreat to Xiakou, and there will be no way to retreat!"

Liu Bei knew his nephew quite well. Liu Qi had no military knowledge and only knew the number of soldiers and horses. Moreover, his prestige in Jiangzuo was weak and his ears were soft.In front of Cao Cao's army, he was afraid, and after long-term persuasion by everyone, it was not impossible to surrender Jiangzuo.Lu Su frowned slightly and said: "Although Liu Yangzhou is cowardly and is encouraged by other people's words, he is also bloody. Moreover, Liu Yangzhou firmly believes in General Huo. With General Huo advising him, he will be able to appease Jiang Zuo's people."

"If your lord is worried, you can ask Zhuge Military Advisor to go to Wu County to explain the interests and dangers to stop the villain's slander. General Huo is also included. With internal and external persuasion, Liu Yangzhou will definitely send troops to help."

Lu Su, the leading eldest brother in Jiangzuo, knew their interests and dangers very well.Now that Cao Cao has led his troops from the north to move south, not only the Jingxiang scholars are vying to surrender, but also the Jiangzuo scholars are probably looking forward to surrendering.Not to mention that the group of Jingzhou scholars beside Liu Qi might also persuade Liu Qi to surrender.

"Can!"

Liu Bei nodded and said: "Kong Ming is quite virtuous among the scholars in Jiangzuo. He should be able to stop the villain's slander. And with Zhong Miao's talent and prestige, he will be able to properly arrange the military strategy. A certain army stationed troops in Xiakou, thinking that it was the enemy. "

"What about our army now?" Lu Su asked.

"We should follow Zijing's words and defeat Cao's army here."

As he said that, Liu Bei drove his horse uphill, looked at the surrounding terrain, and said: "Although Cao's army is an elite and brave cavalry, they are often exhausted after marching for thousands of miles. If we pursue them now, I will lead my troops to stop them, and we will be victorious." Of."

Lu Su followed him on horseback and said: "My lord has only a few thousand soldiers, and there are people protecting the people going south. Although the enemy is tired, it is difficult to defeat them, so my lord can let General Guan lead his troops to support."

Liu Bei felt a little regretful and said: "Yun Chang has rushed to Jiangling. I don't know whether he will succeed or not. It would be a pity if he succeeded in Jiangling and led his army to evacuate!"

Lu Su pondered and said: "Cai Mao and Kuai Yue surrendered to Xiangyang, so they should be prepared because of the importance of Jiangling. Judging from Su's perspective, Jiangling may be difficult to capture. However, even if General Guan can capture Jiangling, he will have few soldiers and few generals, and the land is thousands of miles away. Even if our army is stationed at Xiakou, it will be difficult to protect Jiangling."

"Today's situation has changed dramatically. My lord should be willing to give up. Don't be greedy for small things at the expense of the general. If my lord defeats Cao Cao, then Jiangling will be won. If my lord loses to Cao Cao, not to mention Jiangling, even Danyang may not be safe."

Jiangling is very crucial. In addition to a large amount of money, grain and military supplies being hoarded in the surrounding areas, it is also the place that connects the north and south of Jingzhou.This is why in history Liu Bei went to Jiangling after losing Fancheng.

But the current situation is different. Liu Bei is based in Jiangzuo and Xiakou, which are [-] to [-] miles apart from Jiangling, at the east and west ends of Jingzhou respectively.Now Liu Bei goes to Jiangling to cut off his retreat and separate himself from Jiangzuo.Moreover, although Jiangling is close to the Yangtze River, it is surrounded by land on all sides.

When Cao Cao saw Liu Bei surrendering to Jiangling, his first reaction was overjoyed.He led his army south to isolate the inside and outside of Jiangling and stormed Jiangling City. He also ordered people to attack Xiakou to contain Jiangzuo's soldiers and horses.

As for sending troops from Jiangdong to support Jiangling, Huo Jun was unable to take care of it. Facing Cao Cao's troops, he could only defend Xiakou and Ruxukou.

And even if the navy can control the Yangtze River navigation route, it is one thing to fight ashore.Cao Cao mobilized his elite troops and was most willing to engage in field battles rather than water battles.

If you want to defend Jiangling, you must integrate the troops in Jingnan.At present, it would be better if the four counties in Jingnan do not surrender to Cao Cao. It is already a foolish dream to integrate the four counties.

According to Liu Bei's plan, he wanted to seize Xiangyang in advance, use his navy to enter the Han River, and strengthen the city walls to buy time for Liu Qi to integrate Jingzhou's troops.Unfortunately, the plan to enter Xiangyang failed. The safest plan at the moment is to go to Xiakou and mobilize troops on the left side of the Yangtze River to resist Cao Cao.

"How could I not know Zijing's words? They are just reluctant to give up." Liu Bei sighed.

"My lord is wise!"

(End of this chapter)