Liu Bei's troops came out of Xinye. Among the less than 10,000 troops were Runan's old troops, Jingzhou soldiers sent by Liu Biao, local warriors newly recruited from Xinye, and rebels gathered in Jiangxia.

The training time was not long, there were not many battles, and the composition of the troops was complicated, so the combat effectiveness was worrying. However, fortunately, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao were both enemies of ten thousand people, and Xu Shu was able to deploy troops and generals in a good manner.

After marching north for half a day, they arrived in Xi'e, where Nanyang guard Wenpin and Yi Ji met outside the city.

When Liu Bei saw Yi Ji's bad expression, his heart began to beat. Could it be that Xu Shu and Lan Tian had taken advantage of him?

The two sides bowed their hands in greeting, and Wenpin said with a smile: "Liu Shijun came very quickly."

"Soldiers are valuable and quick. Are you ready, General Wen? When should we set off?" Liu Bei asked.

"You can go first, I'm not ready yet." Wenpin replied with a smile.

Liu Bei was puzzled when he heard this. He looked at Yi Ji with confusion on his face and said to himself, that's not what you said before you left.

Yi Ji explained sheepishly: "Zhongye can't get away for the time being. Xuande must either wait for a while or go and send out troops alone..."

Wait? Wait until Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao?

"This is the general's order from the prince..." Liu Bei had no choice but to carry out Liu Biao.

Wenpin smiled and said: "My lord, the situation in Nanyang should be clearer than me. Zhong Yao is in Guanzhong in the north, Zhang Lu is in Hanzhong in the west, and Xudu's soldiers are in the east. I only have more than 20,000 people here, and I have to divide my troops to garrison Zhuyang.

, Boshan and other places, it is not easy to gather in a short time..."

"Cao Cao sends troops to Hebei, and Xu's capital will definitely be empty. This is a God-given opportunity. If the general joins forces with me and marches together, we may be able to rescue the emperor and make lasting contributions." Liu Bei said sonorously.

"It's not that Pin doesn't want to obey the Lord's orders, but it's because there are few major generals in the Nanyang army..." Wen Pin excused himself.

"Can..."

When Liu Bei still wanted to fight for it, Xu Shu stepped forward and said: "Since General Wen can't escape, why not lend my lord ten or twenty thousand soldiers, so as to live up to Liu Fujun's trust."

"This is..." Wen Pinxin said, "Good guy," he said. He said there were ten or twenty thousand people. Do you think my soldiers grew out of the ground?

"This is Bei's new military advisor, Xu Shu and Xu Yuanzhi." Liu Bei introduced.

Military advisor? Wenpin and Xu Shu bowed their hands in greeting and said, "Advisor Xu is right, but it is difficult to mobilize 10,000 or 20,000 troops. I will lend you 2,000 troops to envoy you."

"Two thousand soldiers are too few. General Wen will think of another way." Xu Shu shook his head and said.

"Three thousand can't be more..." Wen Ping said with a confused look on his face.

"Five thousand." Xu Shu continued to fight for it.

Yiji saw Liu Bei staring at him, so he said to Wenpin: "Liu Shijun is sincere, Zhongye should try his best to help him..."

Wenpin sighed and said, "It doesn't matter, five thousand is just five thousand."

In fact, there are still more than 10,000 troops stationed in Western Hubei, but Wenpin is unwilling to go to Xudu and die. Although his Jingzhou Wen family is not a wealthy family, they are not bullies and afraid of the strong. These 5,000 people can be regarded as Liu Biao's account.

Liu Bei stationed troops in Western Hubei for half a day and continued to march north early the next morning.

Looking at the retreating troops, Yi Ji said to himself: "I don't know whether Liu Shijun will be able to accomplish anything if he goes here..."

"Including my five thousand soldiers, Liu Xuande has less than twenty thousand soldiers. If he can capture Xudu, I will disarm and return to the field." Wenpin sneered.

"My lord's intention is to surround Wei and rescue Zhao. By containing Cao Cao's rear, Yuan Benzhu can win on the frontal battlefield." Yi Ji sighed.

"Cao Mengde is good at using troops. Liu Xuande has been defeated several times before. This time he has an additional military advisor. Let's see how good he is. If he can really win a small victory, he will tell the Lord Ming that his ambition is not small and he has to guard against it."

Wenpin said coldly.

"What if Liu Shijun is defeated?" Yi Ji asked again.

"Isn't that just using Cao Cao to weaken his strength? Liu Xuande is growing grain in Xinye and recruiting troops and horses. I have sent letters to Xiangyang many times. Maybe my lord also has this intention." Wen Ping said meaningfully.

"General Wen is saying..." Yi Ji seemed to have some realization.

"I didn't say anything." Wenpin shook his head.

The news of Liu Bei's advance was sent to Xudu by sentinels.

At this time, Cao Cao's troops were in Liyang, and Xiahou Dun stayed behind in Xudu. After receiving the information, he organized his army to prepare for war, and quickly went to the Liyang camp to ask for instructions.

Cao Cao considered that Xiahou Dun's military ability was not strong, so he ordered General Jin and Li Dian, who had returned to Xudu to transport grain, as deputy generals to send Xudu to defend against the invading Liu Bei's troops.

Xiahou Dun led 30,000 troops and encountered Liu Bei near Ye County at the junction of Runan and Nanyang.

Because Xiahou Dun had more troops and better training, the two armies fought for the first time in Ye County, and Liu Bei lost two thousand soldiers.

Unable to defeat the enemy head-on, Liu Bei could only resort to strategy. Liu Bei followed Xu Shu's plan of fighting and retreating, and finally retreated to camp near Bowang Slope where the terrain was favorable.

Xiahou Dun took advantage of the victory to pursue and faced off with Liu Bei in Bowang for several days.

One afternoon, a fire broke out in Bowangnan. The outpost officer returned to the camp to report that Liu Bei had set fire to his camp and left.

When Xiahou Dun arrived with his troops, the fire had not yet been extinguished. "Liu Xuande was nothing more than that. He ordered the army to continue southward. He must capture this man alive and present it to the prime minister."

Li Dian, the assistant general, advised: "Liu Bei's unreasonable retreat must be a fraud. The road to the south of Bowang Slope is narrow and the vegetation is dense, so the general cannot pursue him."

Xiahou Dun glanced at Li Dian and said contemptuously: "I just asked people to search carefully. There is no baggage in Liu Xuande's camp, and there is no trace of cooking over fire. I expect that his food and grass have been exhausted, so he must have exhausted his food and retreated."

"

"But..."

Li Dian still wanted to persuade him, but Xiahou Dun waved his hand and said, "I have made up my mind. Mancheng, you and your troops will stay at the camp while Wen Ze and I go after Liu Xuande."

"Wei." Yu Jin answered with his hands raised. He felt that Li Dian was too ignorant of current affairs. Xiahou Dun was the number two person next to Cao Cao. Why did he want to win the battle and earn some military merit? Besides, Liu Bei was not a strong opponent.

"Only..." Li Dian had no choice but to agree.

Xiahou Dun led more than 20,000 people in a hurry. Not long after entering the Bowangpo Canyon, he saw Zhao Yun escorting a group of baggage slowly moving forward.

"Liu Bei really can't go far, let me catch up with him." Xiahou Dun was overjoyed, so he reined in his horse and rushed forward.

Zhao Yun returned to his horse and fought against Xiahou Dun. The two fought for more than ten times, with no outcome determined.

Yu Jin led the army from the rear and arrived. Seeing that he could not win, Zhao Yun abandoned the baggage and retreated deep into the canyon.

Xiahou Dun laughed and said: "How can Liu Xuande's rabble defeat my elite? Today I swear to capture that big-eared thief."

He and Yu Jin pursued closely in the rear, while Zhao Yun fought and moved to lead Cao's army deeper.

At this time, the sky was getting dark. Liu Bei and Xu Shu were in the dense forest on the mountainside. From a high position, they saw Xiahou Dun's soldiers lighting up torches and walking towards the trap step by step.

The ambushes on both sides of Bowang Slope were eating fried noodles and dried radish to replenish their strength, waiting for the order from military advisor Xu Shu to attack.

"Military advisor, Xiahou Dun has indeed fallen into the trap. When will we launch the attack?" Liu Bei asked.

Xu Shu observed the situation in the canyon and said seriously: "Wait a moment."

Liu Bei grabbed a handful of fried noodles and stuffed them into his mouth. It was stuck in his throat and he almost choked. Fortunately, the dried radish made his mouth water.
Chapter completed!