The thick layer of linen wrapped around Liu Bei's right shoulder was completely soaked with blood, which was shocking. This was when he led his cavalry to attack Liu Jingzhong's army today and was wounded by the enemy's spear. The wound was so deep that it almost destroyed his entire body.
arm.
But even after suffering such a serious injury, Liu Bei still looked calm and discussed countermeasures with Zhang Yun, as if nothing was wrong.
Liu Bei served in the army for more than ten years and suffered numerous injuries. When he went with Qingzhou to conquer Zhang Chun, he was severely wounded by the bandit army. He pretended to be dead to save his life. He later recovered after a long period of training. In comparison, what are these injuries?
Zhang Yun sighed: "In today's battle, Liu Yuzhou must have seen the power of Liu Jing's son, and he should be able to understand the difficulties we are facing. The state army has been defeated in a row before. It is not because of our incompetence. It is really difficult for the Jingnan thieves to be brave."
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were all speechless for a moment.
An ancient saying goes: "The ministers of a subjugated country dare not speak of politics; the generals of a defeated army dare not speak of courage." They had just been beaten to a disgrace by Liu Jing and fled in embarrassment, so naturally they lacked confidence.
Zhang Yun went on to say: "Liu Jing has had different ambitions since he was a child, and he tried his best to gain reputation by cheating. Many people in Jiang and Xiang admired his name and were willing to die. Therefore, the thieves in Jingnan are loyal, brave and fearless, and they are really like tigers and wolves.
Teacher."
Seeing that Zhang Yun seemed to be scared out of his wits by Liu Jing, Liu Bei said: "The rebel army is indeed brave, but I also defeated the left army, killing many people. The rebel army only suffered a tragic victory. Although our army was defeated, there were still nearly ten thousand soldiers.
People, defending Yicheng is enough to protect themselves. "The Art of War" says: 'Encircle it ten times, attack it five times.' If Liu Jing drives out two or three times more troops and attacks the city by force, he will not be able to conquer it."
Zhang Yun boasted: "Liu Yuzhou is a hero in the world. He is an experienced soldier. I am not as good as him. For the defense of the city, I leave it to Liu Yuzhou."
Liu Bei nodded slightly and agreed. After that, the two chatted for a long time. It was not until night fell that the conversation ended. Liu Bei stood up and left, taking Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with him and hurried away.
After returning to the station, Liu Bei did not rest in his dormitory, but inspected the camp to comfort the soldiers.
In today's battle, not only 70% to 80% of the 3,000 soldiers given to him by Liu Biao were lost, but most of the 600 old troops who had followed him in the north and south for more than ten years were also lost.
There were also many casualties among the generals. The most distressing thing for him was the death of Chen Zhi and Chen Shuzhi in battle. He was loyal, resolute, brave and resourceful, and was a rare general. When the infantry soldiers who escaped returned
Liu Bei couldn't help crying when he brought back the news that Chen Dao had died in battle.
Liu Bei is not a crybaby, because he lost his father when he was young and depended on his mother for life, which created his perseverance. He has shed far more blood than tears over the years, which shows the grief in his heart.
.
After coming out of the camp and returning to his dormitory, Liu Bei suddenly became as sluggish as a deflated rubber ball. He sat blankly on the couch and stared directly at the uncertain lights on the table.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei both kept silent and accompanied each other silently.
The reason why Liu Bei responded to Liu Biao's request and went south to attack Liu Jing was not only because he was "short of mouth to eat people, but short of hands to take others", there was another important reason, that is, he was eager to change the status quo.
Liu Biao placed him in Xinye to defend against Cao Cao, which was exactly the same as when Tao Qian had him stationed in Xiaopei to defend against Cao Cao.
But Liu Bei is no longer the Prime Minister of Pingyuan who was appointed by Gongsun Zan without authorization, but the world-famous General Zuo, the Mu of Yuzhou.
Naturally, Liu Bei was unwilling to be a chess piece again. Xinye was caught between Cao Cao and Liu Biao, and was destined to be unable to use it. He had to find another way and looked around, only Jingnan was suitable for development.
For this reason, Liu Bei once offered to go south to conquer Liu Jing for Liu Biao, but Liu Biao was very suspicious of him and did not agree.
Since the beginning of this year, Liu Jing has led his troops from Jingnan to cross the river and march north. In just a few months, he has captured Jiangling and swept through most of the southern county. He has the potential to annex Jingzhou in one fell swoop. Liu Biao finally got scared, and despite his serious illness, he urgently summoned Liu Bei.
With kind words and courtesy, he asked him to go south to attack Liu Jing.
Liu Bei felt that the opportunity had come. As long as he defeated Liu Jing, he could take the opportunity to reach into Jingnan. If Liu Jing was killed, it would be easier to pacify Jingnan. Liu Biao was seriously ill and Liu Cong was cowardly, so he could not restrain him at all.
he.
When he consolidated the four counties in Jingnan, hoping to get money from thieves, perhaps Liu Biao was dead, and he might not miss the opportunity to take control of Jingzhou by then. After all, the same thing had already happened in Xuzhou.
Liu Bei's wishful thinking was successful, but unfortunately he missed the key point of Liu Jing.
In fact, this can't be entirely blamed on him. Jingnan has always been regarded as a barbaric land by China. It has never produced any prominent figures in the past. Who would have thought that a shallow pond in Jingnan could actually raise a dragon like Liu Jing.
In today's battle, Liu Bei was completely defeated. Not only did he lose most of his own troops, but his plan to plot Jingnan was also declared bankrupt, and he could only continue to serve as Liu Biao's pawn.
Regarding the future, Liu Bei was full of confusion, unable to see the way forward and no hope...
Liu Bei was in a low mood all night, but on the next day, he cheered up again. This is his character, the more frustrated he becomes, the more courageous he becomes, and he is indomitable.
For the next two days, Liu Jingjun closed the camp to rest, and did not take any action until the third day. They did not rush to build siege equipment, but ran to the west of Yicheng to set up another camp.
Liu Bei and Zhang Yun couldn't help but be confused and couldn't guess Liu Jing's specific plan. However, it didn't take long for them to discover that Liu Jingjun was actually building embankments to intercept the Yishui River, and ordered the people to dig a long canal to divert the water directly to Yicheng.
Liu Bei and Zhang Yun were both shocked.
Although Zhang Yun was mediocre in talent, he was from a wealthy family and had read military and history books. It was impossible that he did not know about the Battle of Yan. However, he had not thought of it before. Now that he saw Liu Jing building embankments to store water, he obviously wanted to imitate Bai Qi. He immediately cursed: "
Liu Jing, a child, has always regarded himself as "benevolent and righteous", but he didn't expect his mind to be so vicious. He actually wanted to imitate Bai Qi and flood Yicheng! Now is the autumn season, and it is still in the flood season. When the flood comes, not only us, but also
Even tens of thousands of people in Yicheng will die without a burial place."
However, Zhang Yun couldn't help but feel frightened in his heart because of the fierce shouting.
Since Liu Jing decided to flood Yicheng, continuing to hold on to Yicheng would mean sitting back and waiting for death.
But now there are only seven or eight thousand soldiers in the city. Coupled with the new defeat and low morale, taking the initiative to attack Liu Jingjun is tantamount to hitting an egg with a stone.
Unable to defend and unable to defend, and unable to defeat again, the only way to survive now is to abandon the city and leave before Liu Jingjun can flood the city.
Liu Bei was originally a guest general, so he knew he could not do anything, and he also wanted to retreat.
It would be a long night with many dreams, so the two men immediately decided to lead their troops back north before the rooster crows tonight.
There is Yiguo (county) more than ten miles north of Yicheng, but it is not safe there. The two plan to cross Yiguo and retreat directly to Zhonglu, a hundred miles away, which is the last barrier to Xiangyang.