With Qingzhou changing hands, Zhou Xing knew that Liu Bei's development would become more difficult.

If Kong Rong continues to be the governor of Qingzhou, he will allow Liu Bei to develop and become stronger, but Yuan Tan will not.

There is no problem with the development of Liu Bei's strength within a controllable range. Once it becomes too strong, it will inevitably attract Yuan Tan's attention and suppression.

An ambitious person will never let his subordinates get better than him.

It's just that Kong Rong couldn't hold Qingzhou, and Zhou Xing and Liu Bei had no choice but to persuade Kong Rong to leave. Only in this way can they have the environment and space for development.

At this stage, it is impossible to directly confront Yuan Shao. Gongsun Zan, who was directly confronting, was beaten to the point where he had to build up Yi Jing to protect himself, and had no ability to fight back.

To seek development, we must first have two basic conditions: population and territory.

Once you have a territory, you must have a population, so that you can have people to farm and collect grain, and people to guard the territory.

Liu Bei now has Donglai. Although it is not a good thing, he finally has his own territory.

The population is very small, so if we want to have more people, the most urgent task is to suppress the bandits. Only by destroying the bandits and making the county peaceful can we attract the population, including talents.

Liu Bei also understands this.

Even if Zhou Xing didn't mention it, he still wanted to send troops to suppress the thieves.

"Well, there are five or six thousand rebels in Muping. We don't have many soldiers and horses. It's still the same as before. Yun Chang stayed to guard the city. I will lead three thousand soldiers and horses to suppress the thieves." Liu Bei said.

Zhou Xing agreed with this arrangement: "Although there are many thieves, we have a great victory over Guan Hai. The lord is already famous and has three thousand troops. It will not be difficult to defeat them."

Both Liu Bei and Zhou Xing are confident that they can defeat the thieves.

Liu Bei summoned everyone and decided to send troops to suppress the Muping bandit Congqian in two days. Guan Yu and Mi Zhu were left to guard the city. Liu Bei personally led three thousand soldiers and horses, as well as Zhou Xing, Zhang Fei and others.

This time, I was accompanied by the meritorious officer Li Ye, because he knew more about the people and things in the county.

Two days later, Liu Bei led his troops to leave Huang County and march towards Muping.

In Muping, the bandit leader got the news from Qian and was gathering people to discuss countermeasures.

Since Liu Bei defeated Guan Hai, the bandit capitals in Donglai County have paid more attention to it. They are worried that Liu Bei will lead his troops to attack. Therefore, they have already sent people to Huang County to listen for news, and will report back as soon as there is news that Liu Bei will send troops to attack.
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"Commander Qu, there are tens of thousands of people in Guan Hai, and they were defeated by Liu Bei, losing more than half. We only have five or six thousand people, how can we stop Liu Bei!" Someone worried.

"Yes, there is a black-faced general in Liu Bei's army who is very brave and unbeatable! I heard that he rode alone and killed more than a thousand people in Guan Hai with just a spear in his hand. How can we fight against him?

Him!"

Zhang Fei's single-handed attack on a thousand troops with a horizontal spear was rumored to have killed more than a thousand people.

However, some people believe this kind of thing, and some people don’t.

The leader of the thieves didn't believe it from Qian: "Nonsense, how can he kill thousands of people by himself? Even if a thousand pigs line up to kill him, he can't kill them, let alone someone who can resist with weapons in their hands!"

No matter how powerful he is, it would be great if he could kill dozens of people."

"Even if he can only kill dozens of people, we are still invincible!"

"He can kill dozens of people, so if we have hundreds of people surrounding him, can't we kill him?"

"Can hundreds of us go up at the same time? I'm afraid dozens of people will be killed by him, and everyone behind us will run away."

"You can let Qu Shuai watch from behind. Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed. If we all come together, it will be difficult for the black-faced general not to die."

"If you say so, you have to rush to the front when the time comes."

"If I rush forward, I'll rush forward, or I'll die. What are you afraid of!"

The leader of the thieves, Cong Qian, watched his subordinates arguing and shouted loudly: "Stop arguing, do you really want to die? No matter how powerful the black-faced general is, if we don't fight him, who can he kill? Although Liu Bei only has three

He has thousands of troops, but he will be brave and capable. We will definitely not be able to defeat him in a head-on confrontation. But we have a fort, and as long as we stay in the fort and don't go out to fight, Liu Bei can't do anything to us."

"What if he attacks?" someone asked worriedly.

Cong Qian Yixiao: "Attack? Although our fortress is not as tall and strong as the city, it is not difficult to stop them. Besides, Liu Bei only has three thousand men and we have more than five thousand. How can we not defend Wubao?"

Everyone was overjoyed: "Yes, if we don't go out to fight him, we'll just hide in the Wubao, and there will be nothing they can do."

Congqian then said: "We have stored enough food for two years, but can Liu Bei stay outside the fort for two years? So don't panic, let alone be afraid. He will retreat in less than three months at most, and then Mou Ping will be there again."

It’s our world!”

"Qu is handsome and brilliant. Let's drink a celebratory drink today, hahaha..."

Everyone liked to laugh and no longer had any worries in their hearts. They set out wine and drank heavily, waiting for Liu Bei.

At the same time, in Dongmu County, the bandit leader Wangying also received news that Liu Bei had sent troops to attack Mouping, and was deeply worried about this.

Several leaders were sitting in front of him, all watching silently, waiting for him to speak.

"This matter should not be taken lightly!" After thinking for a long time, Wang Ying said, "Liu Bei is attacking Mouping now, and he will attack us next!"

Dongmu is located in the southeast of Muping County. The two counties are adjacent and both are close to the sea.

From Huang County to Mouping, the next county is Dongmu.

As Wang Ying expected, Liu Bei and Zhou Xing's plan was to destroy the rebels in Mouping first and then attack Dongmou.

"Then what should we do?" one of the leaders asked.

"Shuai Qu, if Liu Bei kills Mu Ping's money, he will definitely attack us. We must be prepared!" said another leader.

Wang Ying had more than 6,000 people, and like Mou Ping, he built his own fort to guard it.

"We have to be prepared. We are inseparable from Mu Ping's Cong Qian, and our lips are dead and our teeth are cold. But Liu Bei's troops are very brave, and now I'm afraid I can't hold on to Cong Qian!"

This Wang Ying has read a book and understands the meaning of death and coldness.

"He is handsome, why don't we help him? As long as he is undefeated, we can live in peace."

"That's what I have in mind. As long as Cong Qian can hold on for half a year, Liu Bei will be without food and retreat. At that time, we can still pursue him when he retreats, just like he pursued Guan Hai. If Liu Bei is defeated, he will never dare to do so in the future.

Next time, he is in his Huang County and I am in my Dongmu, as long as we are at peace with each other."

Wang Ying has no intention of seizing the county, and he also knows that it is impossible to seize Donglai County with his own strength. Cong Qian of Mouping County and Guan Cheng of Changguang County are almost as strong as him, and Guan Hai's strength is even more

Far better than him.

Moreover, occupying only one county will not attract state soldiers. If he captures a county, state soldiers will definitely come. He just wants to occupy one county and survive stably, not to become bigger and stronger.

The leaders had no objections, and Wang Ying immediately decided to personally lead 3,000 people to Muping to help with the money, leaving more than 3,000 people to guard the fort.

The distance from Huangxian to Mouping was about the same as from Dongmou to Mouping, and Liu Bei's troops had already arrived, so they set off lightly, carrying only weapons and two days of rations, and drove for a day and a night, before Liu Bei's troops arrived.

Rush to Congqian's Wubao.

Congqian and Wangying each occupy their own counties and usually do not interfere with each other. Although they are not friends, they are still friendly.

Now that Wang Ying has come to help him defend the fort, he is of course willing to pay for it. After welcoming him into the fort, he will kill pigs and sheep to receive him.
Chapter completed!