Chapter 359 Liu Bei: I seem to be living in Cao Cao’s conspiracy [Happy National Day]

Zhao Yun received an order from Cao Cao, rode his horse south and set out to return to Wei.

The three thousand soldiers behind him were tired and exhausted, but there was a bright light shining in everyone's eyes.

Since Tan Shihuai unified the Xianbei.

However, the Han Dynasty was weak and the Han people were often bullied by the Xianbei.

Even the northern border was repeatedly compressed southward and occupied by the Xianbei.

Not to mention a lone attack into the grassland, even going out of the north of the Great Wall was unheard of.

Now they not only penetrated deep into the rear of the Xianbei, but also escaped unscathed.

These Wei troops, who have Han blood flowing in their veins, have a deep sense of pride, self-identity, and even identification with Cao Wei.

"The Zhongxianbei don't seem to be that great. They just took advantage of our internal strife in the past few decades."

Zhao Yun's deputy general was Cao Chun, whose face was filled with excitement.

"Once we end the civil unrest and organize ourselves, it will be their turn to be in trouble."

As long as there was no internal strife, the Han people were able to almost maintain their suppression of the northern nomadic peoples during the Qin and Han dynasties.

Until... after the Two Jin Dynasties and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sima family completely consumed all the favorable geographical conditions and people's support in the Central Plains, almost triggering a major turmoil of genocide.

"I think we can still fight on the grassland for a while. Big brother, did you send an order for us to go back?" Cao Chun asked.

Zhao Yun: "There is little point in continuing the fight, it will only lead to more losses."

Cao Cao called them back.

This was because their team was too small to inflict heavy damage on the Xianbei and they could not launch a war of annihilation.

If there are too many people, there will be a lack of flexibility, and it will be difficult to remain secret and get this deep.

The purpose of entering the grassland this time is to demonstrate the ability to intimidate the Xianbei and make them feel fearful.

If we continue to engage in a tug-of-war, the Xianbei will gather their forces to encircle and suppress us, which will then cause our own losses to increase, so we would be better off retreating.

Zhao Yun retreated without concealing his tracks, hoping to lure the enemy to chase him.

He has contacted Zhang Liao.

If the Xianbei send troops to pursue, Zhao Yun will cooperate with Zhang Liao and try to set an ambush.

However, the Xianbei people did not catch up.

At the same time as Zhao Yun was withdrawing, the Tuoba tribe, the central majority of the Xianbei in the rear, was holding a large gathering among the tribes.

The people on the grassland learned about the destruction of the Eastern Xianbei in the past few days.

But the major royal tent tribes had known about it for a long time, so they had this gathering.

On the grassland, various tribes sent people to gather at the Tuoba tribe.

There are also many eagles hovering in the sky.

Some are falcons raised by tribal people.

Higher up in the sky, a large eagle with a gray back and black feathers was also overlooking the Tuoba tribe below.

That was the eagle that Cao Cao placed his soul and thoughts on, observing the gathering of the grassland tribes.

When Zhao Zilong came to raid the grassland, Cao Cao accompanied him with an eagle. Another purpose was to explore the distribution of tribes on the grassland.

Nomadic tribes often migrate and live near water and grass.

But there are also rules to follow.

Especially the large king tribe, which will be located in the area with the most lush grassland.

On the grassland, the location of the water source remains unchanged.

For example, the Tuoba tribe was located in a grassland almost in the center of the grassland, slightly to the south.

Even if we migrate, it will be within this area.

Cao Cao used the eagle to collect information, and sooner or later he would attack and overthrow the tents of the kings of these tribes.

"The Han people have grown braver."

"It is their turn to graze their horses on my Xianbei grassland."

Inside the king's big tent, there were about thirty people sitting in a circle, with different appearances.

Most of these people are representatives from various tribes, or the leaders themselves.

The speaker was a sturdy and fat middle-aged man named Shilifa.

He was the leader of the Shili tribe, whose surname was taken from the tribe.

"If the Han people dare to come, all tribes should mobilize their best troops and march south to kill them until a river of blood flows. I wonder who dares to come to my Xianbei again."

"I agree."

Another strong and sturdy Xianbei man, wearing a white fur robe, with a long face and sharp eyes:

"We sent out cavalry to explore the Han people's pass. Then they sent troops to our place. Who gave them the courage to declare war on me, the Xianbei?"

This man was called Hegujin, the leader of the Hegu tribe, and one of the people who had repeatedly proposed that the Xianbei gather their troops and march south to plunder:

“The Han people sent troops here, obviously to test us.

If nothing is done to stop them, they will become more and more emboldened.”

"Hegu, Shilifa, you know that the Eastern Xianbei have changed this time, and you are far away from them, so you can't get much benefit. But you encourage them to go south, what's your intention?"

A thin old man, with bone ornaments all over his chest, angrily scolded the two men.

He was the chief of another tribe, named Xubu.

A sinister and cold expression appeared on Hegujin's long face:
"We had previously agreed to invade the south in autumn, but it seems that your Xubu tribe does not want to participate. Do you want to fight for the land of the Eastern Xianbei?"

“The Han people attacked the Eastern Xianbei first in order to lure us into a fight.

How can we let the Han people get what they want? It is time to strike them down."

Xubu sneered: "If we don't rob Dong Xianbei, the Buyeo people will take Dong Xianbei away.

Why should we give our Xianbei land to Buyeo?"

"Old Xubu is right. We must take back the land of Xianbei and will never allow the Buyeo people to succeed."

There was a dispute in the big tent.

In the end, the tribes voted by raising their hands, and more people decided to take back the Eastern Xianbei tribe than those who agreed to go south to attack Wei.

Cao Cao defeated the Eastern Xianbei by first throwing out a bait that could not be refused.

Then a show of force.

It is human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm.

With vested interests right before their eyes, it was impossible for the Central Xianbei to abandon the Eastern Xianbei and fight to the death with the Great Wei.

It doesn't make sense to chew the hard bone and give up the meat around it.

The deterrence brought by Zhao Yun's expedition this time eliminated the possibility that the Central Xianbei would split their forces and march south to attack Wei while trying to rob the Eastern Xianbei.

A small number of tribes moved south, but they were obviously no match for the Wei Dynasty. Whoever stepped forward would suffer heavy losses.

This was the common understanding of the Chinese Xianbei after Zhao Yun's attack.

Cao Cao thus achieved his strategic goal.

That is, first south then north, first inside then outside.

Hanzhong City.

Cao Cao gave up the idea of ​​using the hawk to spy on the enemy. He began to deal with various matters. He was busy for most of the day, and all parties made progress in an orderly manner.

evening.

There were bursts of thunder in the sky.

Cao Cao came to the window and looked out.

The sky was dark, and soon raindrops began to fall from the sky.

He left the court and headed toward the back house of the mansion where he was temporarily staying.

The lights had just been lit in the bedroom of the inner house.

Diao Chan was doing needlework, sewing a wide leather belt for Cao Cao.

At the entrance to the bedroom, there is a screen illuminated by lights, as thin as a veil, divided into four panels. One panel is painted with auspicious birds holding flowers, one is painted with fairies washing veils, one is painted with auspicious clouds turning into the sea, and one is painted with mountains and rivers, with a charming and charming look.

Diao Chan's figure, reflected on the screen, is slender and light.

She was humming a soft tune, sitting sideways on the couch, wearing silk shoes that revealed her fair ankles.

A beautiful and delicate face, tied-up hair, a slanted wooden hairpin, and a meticulous warm apricot-colored long skirt that wraps around a slim and well-proportioned figure.

Diao Chan is like the bright moon after the night falls, bringing together all the colors in the world.

Cao Cao came in from outside the hall. Diao Chan stood up smilingly, walked forward, put the belt around him and tried the length.

Cao Cao thought that the girl's figure was getting better and better, tall and plump, and more charming every day...

The lights flicker, and everything comes naturally.

Starting from May, many Xianbei tribes rushed around to spread the news.

They decided to gather their troops and march eastward to take back the land of Eastern Xianbei from Buyeo.

In Yizhou and Hanzhong area.

After Liu Bei fled in defeat that night, he went south and settled at Jiangcheng Posthouse.

He and Fa Zheng had already discussed the taking of Hanzhong, and if one plan failed they would come up with another.

The first choice is to capture Yangping Pass first.

If you fail, settle for the next best thing.

Liu Bei also sent General Chen Shi to attack the Ma Mingge Road in the southwest corner of the Hanzhong Valley, intending to gain a strategic advantage.

He learned his lesson and was more cautious this time.

However, Liu Bei and Fa Zheng's plans were once again predicted by Cao's camp, and Xu Huang ambushed troops near Ma Ming Road.

The two armies surrounded Ma Ming Road and started fighting.

After several days of fighting, the army advanced.

When Zhang Lu and Xiahou Yuan led their troops over, the Shu army was unable to reverse the situation and was defeated again, with many casualties.

Leading generals Chen Shi and Wu Lan were killed on the spot.

Because Cao's army often used decapitation tactics and had many strong generals, Zhang Fei and Liu Bei advanced and retreated together to protect their safety, and they never had the opportunity to use their talents.

Towards the middle of May, Liu Bei was sitting in his mansion in Jiangcheng, Yizhou.

There is no one around.

He was crying, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Liu Bei loved to cry throughout his life and cried for many people.

When he met Zhao Yun that year, he cried because Zhao Yun temporarily left and went back to Gongsun Zan.

Historically, his crying this time successfully poached Zhao Yun.

But in this world, Cao Cao intercepted and snatched Zhao Yun away first, but he failed.

He also cried when he met Emperor Liu Xie. He cried for the emperor's situation and the danger of the Han Dynasty. He vowed to support the Han Dynasty.

Throughout history, there are still many famous 'cries' that have not yet happened.

But this time, Liu Bei was doing it for himself.

In the first half of his life, he wandered around, wasted his time, and kept his place, waiting for the right time and fighting against fate.

Liu Bei often thought that if he could have a base and slowly develop his business, he wouldn't have to worry about the hustle and bustle of the world.

His consistent principle of doing things is to put people first, weigh all parties and then decide on his course of action.

Few people know what Liu Bei was really thinking when he attacked Hanzhong.

He considered whether he could bear it if he failed.

I also discussed this with Fa Zheng many times beforehand.

Both of them thought that Cao's army was powerful and many people would join them if they wanted to curry favor with him.

When Liu Bei first gained Yizhou, his foundation was unstable, and he must have had hidden agents from Cao's camp under his command.

Liu Bei and Fa Zheng agreed that attacking Hanzhong would be the best option, and considering all factors, the chances of success were indeed very high.

If by any chance you fail, you can take advantage of the situation to clean up the internal situation and then plan for the future.

You won’t lose whether you win or lose.

Their ideas and plans are actually correct.

But neither Liu Bei nor Fa Zheng expected that Cao Cao would launch a series of tactics to suppress them right from the start.

The battle lasted only a little over a month, and the two planned major battles failed. In both cases, the main generals were killed on the spot, and the defeat was swift.

The Battle of Hanzhong in history lasted for two years.

Less than two months had passed, and Liu Bei was already becoming restless.

After he and Fa Zheng came back, they thought about it again and again, and felt that Cao Cao seemed to have the ability to predict the future, blocking them everywhere and taking away all the opportunities.

They used troops several times, but each time they ran into Cao Cao's calculations, so how could they not be defeated?

Liu Bei felt as if he was living in Cao Cao's conspiracy.

As soon as he showed the slightest resistance, he would be taught a lesson by Cao Cao, who would restore order and put him back on his original path.

The Battle of Hanzhong left a particularly deep shadow on Liu Bei.

For the first time, he felt a little scared towards someone.

If we continue to fight, is there any hope of victory?

No!

People from Yizhou kept surrendering to Cao, and Liu Bei even had a feeling that Yizhou was superficially in his hands.

In fact, Cao Cao also had a strong influence on Yizhou.

When Fa Zheng came back, he reviewed the reasons why the Yizhou generals defected to Cao one after another, and thought that there might be something wrong with Liu Zhang.

But one wrong move and everything was too late.

After much deliberation, Liu Bei decided to withdraw his troops.

Who can resist the power of Cao’s camp... Zhuge Liang’s name flashed through Liu Bei’s mind.

He glanced at the sky, wiped his face, and quickly adjusted his mood and regained his calm.

Just when Liu Bei was about to find Fa Zheng to discuss matters, he suddenly realized something was wrong and turned his head to look.

Behind the wall on one side, the moment Liu Bei turned around, a figure floated in like a ghost.

Ps: Happy National Day! Please vote at the beginning of the month, thank you~
(End of this chapter)