Chapter 308 Sweeping across the north and south, the name of Cao Cao [Subscribe]

"Alas, I am already in my mid-thirties. Now that I think about it, I have wasted so much time and energy, and half of my life has passed in a hurry."

Liu Bei was riding on his horse and talking to Guan Yu, saying sadly:

“I have not accomplished anything yet, and I am afraid that I have failed the trust of my second and third brothers.

If you can have a foundation in your hands, you won’t have to worry about the hustle and bustle of the world! "

"Brother, what are you talking about? No matter what, we are willing to follow you."

Zhang Fei was moved and said, "Don't worry, big brother. I will make sure your wish comes true this time."

Guan Yu stroked his beard and said, "Don't worry, big brother. I will go and get a city pass for you myself!"

The second and third brothers have the same idea. This time they must help Liu Bei and achieve his ambition.

What the three brothers were planning was also the idea they had asked Zhuge Liang for before, so it was expected to be correct.

But Liu Bei had no great generals under his command, so if he wanted to accomplish anything, he had to use his second or third general.

The three brothers prepared to split up into two groups and act according to the plan.

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and said, "From what I have seen recently, Kong Ming does have some strategies, and everything he said is true.

I am only worried about one thing. If I follow the plan, I am afraid that my brother’s safety will be in jeopardy.”

"Why do you say such things, brother?"

Zhang Fei was a little dissatisfied: "I am with Big Brother, I will make sure Big Brother is safe. Second Brother, you are provoking me with words, it's unreasonable."

"You have always been fond of drinking. I want to tell you that this time when you accompany your brother out, you must not drink a drop of alcohol." Guan Yu said.

"If you want to get something done, you can't be cautious in everything."

Liu Bei tried to smooth things over:

"Let alone Yide's bravery, my trip is secret and no one will know about it. Don't worry, Yunchang."

Only after Zhang Fei promised not to drink did Guan Yu nod.

The three brothers parted on a moonlit night.

Guan Yu led nearly all of Liu Bei's troops, nearly 5,000 people, and marched towards the southeast.

Liu Bei and Zhang Fei led a group of trusted men and headed east.

After a few days, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei arrived at their destination, Jiangxia County!
Before this, Liu Qi asked Zhuge Liang for a strategy to avoid being killed.

Zhuge Liang said that being sent away could save one's life.

The greatness of Zhuge Liang lies in the fact that he only said one sentence: seek outside.

Liu Qi went to ask Liu Biao to send him to Jiangxia. Zhuge Liang did not know this in advance, but his prediction was very accurate.

He saw through the thoughts of Liu Biao and his father exactly.

When Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang for a strategy, Zhuge Liang said that they could not stay in Jingxiang for long, as Cao's army would be defeated in the first attack, so they could go to Wuling.

Wuling County is another large county in Jingzhou south of Xiangyang, and is adjacent to the rebellious Changsha County.

When Liu Bei went south, Liu Biao was ill but was far from being critically ill.

When Liu Qi came to ask Zhuge Liang for help, there was no sign of him.

Zhuge Liang was very good at calculating and predicted many subsequent changes, and responded to each one of them one by one.

He pointed out the direction and asked Liu Bei to go south first and wait for the opportunity.

At this time, Liu Bei was on his way to Jiangxia. Whenever he thought of it, he still sighed at the accuracy of Zhuge Liang's calculations, and a look of joy involuntarily appeared on the corners of his mouth.

It was already the beginning of January when he arrived in Jiangxia. On the way he learned the news that Liu Cong had led his people to surrender to Cao, and he felt a little depressed.

Liu Biao's eldest son, Liu Qi, requested to guard Jiangxia and had just arrived.

After Liu Bei came over, he asked his entourage to wait outside.

He sent a visiting card and brought Zhang Fei to visit Liu Qi.

"Liu Taishou, I am here to show my respect."

Liu Qi came out to greet him, and the two sides greeted each other politely.

Liu Bei's purpose was very simple.

Liu Qi had just arrived in Jiangxia, and Jiangxia had just been attacked by troops from Jiangdong.

Although the troops in Jiangdong had withdrawn, Jiangxia was still in ruins.

Liu Qi had few soldiers and no trusted followers, and he needed help the most.

Liu Bei had a good reputation and had previously joined Liu Biao, which had won him the initial trust of people in Jingzhou.

He came to Liu Qi for cooperation.

The two sides hit it off.

"I am ashamed to be the elder brother, and I am not tolerated by my younger brother. On the way to Jiangxia, I heard about my father's death, but I didn't dare to go back to Xiangyang. I am really ashamed."

Both parties came to the inner hall and sat down, and Liu Qi tried to test Liu Bei with words.

He wanted to see what Liu Bei's mentality was.

Liu Bei said: "I came here because of the governor's loyalty.

As far as I know, the governor passed the throne to his youngest son, but when he first took charge of Jingzhou, he submitted a letter of surrender. It was a pity that the governor lost all the foundation he had worked so hard to build up to Cao Mengde.

The governor should gather knowledgeable people to fight against Cao's army and protect Jingzhou from falling into enemy hands."

"If it succeeds, I will support the governor as the ruler of Jingzhou!"

When Liu Qi heard this, he hurriedly said that he was not a talented leader. He had heard that Liu Bei was also a relative of the Liu family and was famous all over the world.

This time we should work together to overcome the difficulties and fight against Cao's army, and Liu Bei should be the leader.

Each of them has their own plan, and it would be a win-win for both of them if they work together.

Liu Qi was not on good terms with his brother, and since Liu Cong had surrendered to Cao's camp first, he gave the land of Jingxiang to Cao Cao.

Then it would be impossible for Liu Qi to surrender to Cao like his brother.

The only choice left for Liu Qi was to gather the forces in Jingzhou who were willing to rebel against Cao, and to use the slogan that his brother had violated his father's last wishes and surrendered to Cao, destroying Jingzhou's foundation, in order to protect himself.

Liu Bei had deeper considerations.

Guan Yu led his troops to the southeast to attack Changsha County.

For two years, Changsha rebelled, and Liu Biao's military operations failed to quell the rebellion.

But Changsha has been at a disadvantage and loopholes have appeared in its defense line.

With Guan Yu's bravery, he could have launched a surprise attack on Changsha based on Liu Biao's two years of military operations.

At that time, Liu Bei could use the fact that Liu Qi was Liu Biao's eldest son to legitimately control Changsha and own his own territory.

Then use Jiangxia and Wuling as barriers to build a defense line to resist Cao's army.

By then, there will be great opportunities to go south or west.

At this moment, Liu Bei and Liu Qi reached an intention to cooperate.

They both see each other as a support.

The two of them drank and talked happily.

Zhang Fei stood behind Liu Bei, swallowing his saliva dryly, craving for wine.

Liu Bei and Liu Qi drank until they were slightly tipsy.

During the meal, everyone talked about their plans and agreed on how to cooperate, and they were quite on the same page.

Just as the two were talking happily and getting familiar with each other, they suddenly heard a burst of shouting and killing coming from the city of Jiangxia County!
"Governor, it's bad. Cao's army has broken into the city from the north gate!" A personal soldier hurried in to report.

Liu Qi was sobered up in an instant: "Cao's army?! Where did Cao's army show up in Jiangxia?"

Liu Bei was also shocked: "Even if Cao's army came, how could they break into the city so quickly?"

"The vanguard of Cao's army wore our Jingzhou military uniforms and used our pass tokens.

"We had few people and the defenders were unprepared. When the corner gate was opened, a Cao army general rushed in and defeated our northern gate defenders by himself. The rest of the troops rushed in, and we realized that it was Cao's army that came to defraud the city!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately understood the whole story.

After Liu Cong surrendered to Cao, it was very easy for Cao's army to obtain the military uniforms, passes and other items of the Jingzhou army.

Entering the city by deception is in line with Cao Cao's style.

It’s just that...Cao’s army arrived too quickly, without any warning.

Liu Bei's plan has not yet been fully implemented. In just three to five days, he will succeed.

Since Cao's army had arrived, their momentum of raiding the city was consistent with Cao Cao's unpredictable way of employing troops.

This means... Cao Cao is likely to have come as well?
Liu Bei's heart was pounding.

If Cao Cao comes, Jiangxia will never be able to be defended!

In the past few years, Cao Cao swept across the country. Wherever Liu Bei went, that place would be conquered by Cao Cao afterwards, without any exception.

As soon as Cao Cao's name popped up in his mind, Liu Bei almost reflexively wanted to be cautious and ensure his own safety first.

He decided to withdraw from the county town of Jiangxia in an instant to avoid being captured by Cao's army.

If it were someone else, they would have been discouraged after their plans failed time and time again.

But Liu Bei didn't.

When it comes to character resilience, only Cao Cao in history can compete with him.

The two brothers are like brothers in distress. They have experienced ups and downs, but they have always been as firm as a rock and have never changed their ambitions.

At this moment, Liu Qi led his troops out in a panic and ordered the defenders to resist with all their might.

However, Liu Bei withdrew and left.

This is not his place, so he won’t feel bad if it’s lost.

He left the city from the south gate and, under the protection of Zhang Fei, went in the opposite direction of Cao Cao's attack and led his troops to march south.

A little earlier.

Not long after Liu Bei entered the city, Cao Cao arrived outside the north gate of Jiangxia County.

He said to his generals, "According to the plan, whoever captures Liu Bei will be the first to achieve great success!"

Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, Pang De and others responded in unison, with great momentum.

The generals led their troops to act according to the plan.

Cao Cao said to Dian Wei and Xu Chu:
"We are following behind to watch the fun. You should watch carefully this time, because it may appear in the drama in the future."

Cao Cao smiled cunningly.

He actually didn't care much whether he could capture Jiangxia.

But this trip must come, and Liu Bei must be "arranged" to Yizhou in advance.

There is also a big drama to seize luck, which is right before our eyes and has just begun.

After Liu Bei left the city, he urged his horse to gallop southward, but he heard loud shouts of killing from behind.

Apparently a great battle had taken place in Jiangxia County.

As he led his men south, he always felt that someone was chasing him from behind, and the sound of horse hooves was looming.

It was not until dawn that the sound of horse hooves from behind disappeared, as if the pursuers had been left behind.

"Brother, there is no need to panic. I am here. Even if someone comes to chase us, we can repel the enemy." Zhang Fei held the Zhangba Snake Spear in his hand.

He was following Liu Bei, but he was not afraid at all. Even if thousands of troops surrounded him, Zhang Fei would not be afraid.

After running for most of the night, Liu Bei wanted to relax.

He turned his head to glance at his trusted followers and slowed down his horse.

Seeing that everyone had been running with him for a whole night, they were all exhausted, terrified, and had no morale at all.

Liu Bei looked around and saw a sloping high ground on one side, and immediately a plan came to his mind.

He planned to comfort his troops and boost their morale.

One of the followers happened to say something: "We didn't expect Cao's army to come suddenly. During this night, the general's plan was foiled again..."

When Liu Bei came to Liu Biao, he brought his men with him. Liu Biao treated him with great courtesy and appointed him as a captain.

The subordinates then called him General.

Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "Victory and defeat are common. How can we judge victory or defeat based on a temporary gain or loss?"

"This time we came to unite with Liu Qi, although it was destroyed. But Yunchang will definitely gain something if he attacks Changsha County.

My troops are intact and we will regroup and one day we will defeat Cao's army and restore the foundation of the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Bei looked at the surrounding terrain with a determined expression, and suddenly chuckled.

Zhang Fei asked: "Brother, why are you laughing?"

"Everyone says Cao Cao is resourceful and always victorious in every battle, but I don't think that's true.

His appearance in Jiangxia County this time was probably a coincidence and not a planned move."

Liu Bei said: "Cao Cao and his advisers are not as wise as they are said to be!"

“Look at the surrounding terrain. If he really can plan everything out, he only needs to place an ambush behind the high ground here, and he can easily inflict heavy damage on us.

We have been marching all night and are exhausted. If he sets an ambush here, our army will be defeated in the battle and he will easily capture and kill us!"

The soldiers looked around and realized that what Liu Bei said was correct.

The morale of the group recovered slightly.

Liu Bei was about to speak again when he suddenly heard the sound of war drums.

Someone shouted, "Shoot!"

Instantly, a volley of crossbow arrows was fired.

A general rode out from behind a low slope a little distance away:
"Who is Liu Bei? Don't run! Ma Chao has been waiting here for a long time! Whoever captures Liu Bei alive will be rewarded handsomely!"

Liu Bei was really shocked!

Zhang Fei shouted angrily, holding his spear and charging at Ma Chao: "Brother, go first!"

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(End of this chapter)