Before the encounter at Xiegukou, Liu Bei had already determined the purpose of those people, and they obviously planned to go to Yizhou through the "Xiegu Road".
As the emperor amassed money and changed his orders overnight, the lives of people everywhere were gradually becoming chaotic. Even in the relatively prosperous Central Plains, a large number of people were gradually migrating to places far away from Sili, although the main reason was due to the impact of the plague in Sili.
, but mostly they also wanted to escape from the emperor’s ever-increasing money-making methods.
Although Liangzhou was not rich, it suffered from war disasters. Therefore, according to rumors, it was normal for them to migrate to Bashu, which has been known as the "Land of Abundance" since Qin Dynasty.
As for why these people were hunted down by the rebel Qiang, oh, they were hunted down. Liu Bei also learned the details from the people he rescued.
As its name suggests, Chencang is a pass, but it is also a storage place for the circulation of goods in the Guanzhong Plain, Loess Plateau, and Bashu. After being occupied by the rebels, it is now the de facto base camp of the troops attacking Fufeng County.
The man stationed in Chencang is named "Li Wenhou", but his surname is neither Li nor Wenhou. This name is like "Beigong Boyu", which is based on the homophony of his Qiang name. They both have the same name.
In charge of a "mountain cavalry" named "Huangzhong Yicong", this cavalry that keeps speed in the mountains and forests is also the capital and support for Sanfu who dare to invade the invaders.
After Li Wenhou invaded Liangzhou, he learned of the existence of "Fu Shui" and wanted to use it as military supplies. However, at that time, the imperial court announced that Taiping Road was the source of the plague, and many branches evacuated one after another, until the rebels occupied Chencang.
, finally seized one of the people from the Taiping Road branch who had not had time to evacuate.
Since the great virtuous master has a rule that "the law should not be passed lightly", all the talismans that were directly snatched away by Li Wenhou became invalid. Even if he forced the Taiping Taoist to paint on the spot and confirmed that it was effective for other Taoist disciples, he turned around and used it for his own people.
Still has no effect.
Finally, after Li Wenhou reluctantly paid the money, he discovered that, seemingly due to his robbing and coercion, although the talisman he bought with the money was effective on the Xiliang Han rebels, his mountain bikers were still completely intact.
Unaffected, he was furious and imprisoned all these Taoist disciples. Although they were given the talisman money, the purpose was to make them "have money and have nowhere to spend it."
Recently, a group of volunteers called the "Trapped Camp" has been operating vigorously behind the rebel-occupied areas, intruding on the counties occupied by the rebels that were already poorly defended, causing those who are not strong in combat effectiveness and just want to come to the Central Plains to make a fortune and run away.
The Qiang and Hu tribes began to retreat one after another. Li Wenhou himself was a Qiang, but he had responsibilities and could not allow them to evacuate without permission. In the end, a large number of Qiang people were stranded in Chencang, so he gave it to these Taiping Taoists who were no longer taken seriously.
When ordinary people had a chance to escape, the cavalry who came to pursue them just dealt with the situation and unexpectedly ran into a copper wall.
Gongsun Zan's army tent.
"Although they are scattered troops, there are actually 50,000 people?" Gongsun Zan frowned: "The surprise attack turned into a siege... This matter needs to be informed to the commander of the friendly army, General Cao Mengde."
"Mengde already knows, from the master of this Taiping Road sub-altar." Liu Bei pointed in the direction of Cao Cao's military camp: "Those stewards who were questioned by us said that after the sub-altar master had entered the Xiegu, he said that this time it was
It was a good opportunity to get a job as an official, so I came back with my people."
"Official status?" Gongsun Zan raised his eyebrows: "Let's forget it. Why did you go directly to Cao Cao?"
"We don't have a father who is a Jiuqing. Although Da Sinong does not have much authority, he is more familiar to the people than the three princes." Liu Bei said: "If you ask them what Taiwei, Sikong and Situ do, most of them will
I don’t know, if you ask Da Si Nong..."
"Responsible for tax collection," Guan Yu responded, "My father's ancestors served as county magistrates, and the highest-ranking court official he ever came into contact with was Da Si Nong."
"To be precise, it's a 'normal' tax collection." Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu and said, "A 'normal' emperor would also seek help from Da Si Nong if he wanted to spend money, but..."
"Don't go too far, this is not Master's home." Gongsun Zan interrupted.
Indeed, although the three of them were nominally the commander-in-chief at this time, their subordinates were all chosen by Huangfu Song for the sake of Lu Zhi. Even the side branches were all the sons of officials. If they heard the chief official talking about government affairs so arrogantly, it would be unreasonable.
Talking about yourself is not good for the teacher either.
"Then let's say that this altar leader, according to other Taoist disciples, has a bad character." Liu Bei changed the subject.
"Character?" Gongsun Zan was quite confused.
"Taiping Dao has been using Fu Shui to treat illnesses and save people for several years. Later, although the Jiuhua Yulu Pills were developed with better effects, they were still mainly used to treat injuries and illnesses. However, that altar advocated the use of some kind of strange 'unparalleled'
The talisman water has been transformed into a weapon," Liu Bei said: "It is not poison, but the healing effect of the talisman water can cause other people's old injuries to recur or hidden diseases to occur in advance. There are very few people who have never been injured or have no hidden diseases at all."
"When things go to extremes, they will inevitably turn against each other." Gongsun Zan agreed, "It is natural that such behavior will be disliked by fellow disciples."
"But until now, I haven't come out to join those Taoist disciples. Most likely Meng Deting likes me." Liu Bei said.
"..." Guan Yu seemed to want to say something, but in the end he didn't speak.
"Meng De and I have many similarities. For example, we both hope that the Han Dynasty will be better, and we deeply hate things that harm the people." Liu Bei seemed to be saying to Gongsun Zan or Guan Yu: "The style or means are just details.
The real difference is that he wants to give people what they want, and I want to give them what they need."
"For example, if a commoner is thirsty, Cao Cao will carry a tank of water for him, and you will dig a well for him?" Gongsun Zan understood this time.
"When the differences between the two are not big, they can still cooperate. For example, I dig a well and Meng De carries the water away." Liu Bei directly used this metaphor: "If it reaches the point where they are completely opposite... I hope there won't be such a day."
.”
"Does Xuande have any plans for attacking Chencang?" Guan Yu stopped the two brothers from taking the topic any further.
"If the teacher were here, using less than 20,000 infantry and cavalry to capture a county town with 50,000 defenders would be like searching for something," Liu Bei said, "but the only thing I can think of at the moment is to ask Brother Bogui to guard the front.
Leading the team to attract attention, Yunchang and I led the elite troops into the city from the side, creating chaos and cutting off the barriers."
"Qiang and Hu cannot give birth to 'unparalleled generals', so this plan is quite feasible," Gongsun Zan said: "Unless there is some accident that causes the Han rebels to rush back early."
"Bian Zhang, Han Sui, huh, I am planning to use these two Han thieves to test a certain long sword." Guan Yu responded proudly.
"If we act quickly, we should not be able to attract the main force of the rebels back. However, if we encounter Xiliang or Qiang warriors, we will indeed need Yun Chang to come out," Liu Bei said: "Of course, we are not alone now. What should we do?
It would be a good idea for Meng De to discuss it. I heard that he has a son of 'Xun's Eight Dragons' who is very resourceful."
————
The joint army military meeting.
"This plan is inappropriate." After hearing Liu Bei's plan, Xun Chen said directly.
"Bei has already realized this," Liu Bei spread his hands: "It is too much to want to occupy a city with one's own martial prowess——"
"I'm not saying that the infiltration plan is inappropriate, but that the choice to lure the enemy is inappropriate," Xun Chen said: "Chen Cang sent a part of his men to chase the Taoist from Taiping Road and failed to return, but we were rushing from that direction to set up a trap."
In an siege posture, if the defender had a little bit of wisdom, he would not be able to send out troops to attack. Instead, he would close the city gates tightly, investigate the spies, and ask for help from Lord Fufeng."
"Oh...we will be considered to have already planned to deal with those Taiping Dao people." Liu Bei nodded.
"If we want to defeat the strong with the weak..." Xun Chen looked at the generals in the tent and changed his words: "Excluding the unparalleled generals and defeating the strong with the weak in terms of military strength alone, we must let the enemy divide his troops due to arrogance. We are here
A local trend is formed to use more to defeat fewer enemies, gradually destroying the opponent's combat power, reversing the situation before the opponent wakes up, and even directly winning."
"I would like to hear the details." Gongsun Zan said with cupped hands.
"We learned from the people that the 'trap camp' that invaded the line from Fufeng to Chencang has not appeared for many days. If they suddenly appeared in Chencang and tried to attack this strategic point, their movements would be irregular.
It's not surprising," Xun Chen said: "I heard that their number is more than five thousand, but less than ten thousand. Our infantry now has roughly the same number."
"Oh!" Cao Cao said directly as if he had realized something: "The army that has been invading the rear for a long time but has never been captured must have a high reward among the rebels."
"I would like to ask General Guan and Dian Wei to pretend to be the commanders of the trapped camp, Lu Bu and Gao Shun, and lead five thousand infantry to attack the rebel Qiang cavalry who captured the Taiping Taoists." Xun Chen said.
"Pretend?" Guan Yu frowned.
"Is there not a single rebel Qiang left?" Yuan Shao asked doubtfully.
It seems that the rumors are good, the legitimate son of the Yuan family is somewhat... upright, and relies on being associated with Cao Cao to "get close to Zhu," but the effect is not great.
"We don't know exactly what Lu Bu is. As long as he shows the momentum of riding alone, he can go anywhere in the world," Xun Chen explained, and then said: "If those Qiang horses cannot be tamed for a while, they can ride
Our troops only need to wear their equipment."
"General Gongsun and General Liu led three thousand 'Qiang cavalry' to escort the 'common people' back to Chencang, while General Dianwei and General Guan led the 'falling camp' to attack them halfway. The two generals could order the people to flee and lead the Qiang cavalry to flee into the city.
At this time, Meng De, Benchu and the Xiahou brothers led ten thousand "rebels" to the east to detour to the east, trying to get intelligence and support to hold back the "trapped camp". Chen Cang would definitely send troops to help, and the troops outside the city would surround and destroy them.
, the army in the city will attack and control the central army." Xun Chen paused, and after waiting for the generals in the tent to understand the order, he continued: "In this battle, we don't know whether Li Wenhou will personally attack, so both sides are equally important, regardless of the situation.
If we destroy the reinforcements but fail to capture the city gate, or the battle outside the city is unfavorable, we will have no choice but to flee - if we have no other opinions, we will implement this."
No, if the plan fails, the "unparalleled generals" present can only use their personal force to enter Chencang... Liu Bei looked at the coalition generals who showed considerable confidence, and suddenly came up with an idea: Maybe he too
