Sun Ce defeated the Danyang Zulang and Wu Commandery Yan Baihu and other traitors, and recruited more than 10,000 people. He asked Zhou Yu and Huang Gai to take 10,000 soldiers to defend Niuzhu, and he still led more than 30,000 soldiers to attack Kuaiji.
Now Cheng Pu leads 3,000 men to guard Dan Tu, Zhang Zhao and Sun Fu Lu Fan lead 5,000 men to guard Qu'a, Jiang Qin leads 3,000 men to guard Spring Valley, plus Zhou Yu and Huang Gai's 10,000 men, Zhu Zhi is here
Wu Commandery still has 3,000 troops, and Sun Ce has more than 50,000 troops, which is only more than 10,000 fewer than Liu Bei.
If he were allowed to capture Kuaiji, his military strength might be equal to that of Liu Bei, or even surpass Liu Bei's.
If we include Yuan Shu's troops in Lujiang, Yuan Shu's troops in Yangzhou are already more than Liu Bei's.
Sun Ce sent troops from Qiantang to attack Kuaiji.
At this time, Liu Bei led his troops to the gate of Shu County.
Needless to say, there are only 6,000 garrison troops in the city and no strong generals, so they will definitely not dare to go to war.
As for whether it can be defended, it mainly depends on the will of the guarding general.
Although Wu Jing and Sun Bi have average abilities, they have followed Sun Jian in battles for a long time, so they are experienced in hundreds of battles.
Yuan Shu asked them to lead only 6,000 troops to guard Shu County. They could understand his intention, which was to let Sun Ce lead troops to help.
But Sun Ce wanted to attack Kuaiji first, and sent people to ask them to hold on to the city. As long as they did not defend the city, it would be difficult for Liu Bei to capture Shu City, and Sun Ce would soon lead troops to help.
With this, Wu Jing and Sun Ben believed that Sun Ce would be able to capture Kuaiji soon, and they had no intention of abandoning the city and led their soldiers to climb the city and hold on.
Liu Bei asked Zhang Fei to bring only 5,000 troops to the city to call for battle, but Wu Jing and Sun Ben both knew Zhang Fei's bravery. Even if Zhang Fei had not come to call for war, they would not have led the troops to fight.
Now they just want to hold on to the city and no matter how much Zhang Fei yells and curses, they are indifferent and turn a deaf ear.
Ten days later, it was already early June of the first year of Jian'an, and Zhou Ping was quite anxious.
Don't rush. In about two or three months, Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty will be taken to Xu County by Cao Cao.
According to history, after Cao Cao moved his capital to Xu County, he would first attack Yang Feng, and then go to Nanyang to attack Zhang Xiu.
But now that history has changed, I wonder if Cao Cao will attack Yang Feng and Zhang Xiu first, and then attack Xuzhou.
Cao Cao had been stationing troops in Xu County, perhaps just to wait for the Han Emperor to return to Luoyang, so that he could lead his troops to Luoyang and move the Han Emperor to Xu County, thus holding the emperor hostage and commanding the world.
After he takes control of the emperor, whether he will attack Xuzhou first is an unknown question.
After all, Liu Bei has already led his troops to attack, and Xuzhou is now empty. There is no guarantee that Cao Cao will not take advantage of it and attack.
At present, Yuan Shu has set up multiple lines of defense. It seems impossible to capture Shuxian and Juchao and then Wanxian within two or three months.
"Sir, I have been worried lately. Is it because Shu County is difficult to conquer?"
Liu Bei noticed Zhou Ping's worries, because when Zhou Ping was worried, he would drink more.
"My lord, Shu County is the second most difficult to defeat. The one Ping is worried about is Cao Mengde."
"Cao Mengde? Since he suppressed the Yellow Turbans of Yingchuan, he has been stationing troops in Xu County. Why should he be worried?" Liu Bei asked doubtfully.
"My lord, if you were Cao Mengde, what should you do now?"
When Zhou Ping asked, Liu Bei's face changed slightly, and he thought for a while before saying, "Sir, are you worried that Cao Mengde will send troops to attack Xuzhou?"
"Yes, we are leading the troops outside, and there are not many soldiers in Xuzhou. If we are detained here by Yuan Shu, and Cao Mengde suddenly sends troops to attack Xuzhou, Xuzhou will be in extreme danger!"
Liu Bei has long thought about this problem. He has been leading troops for so long, and Cao Cao has been stationed in Xu County for several months. Why is he suddenly worried now?
Could it be that because Lujiang was difficult to attack, he wanted to persuade him to withdraw his troops?
But now Jiujiang has been captured, and although Lujiang is difficult to attack, as long as Lujiang is captured, it is equivalent to gaining half of Yangzhou. If we retreat now, we will not lose all our achievements.
Liu Bei was unwilling to retreat like this. After all, it was not easy to send out troops once. It would waste the people and money, and make the soldiers tired.
And since Cao Cao didn’t come to attack Xuzhou for so long,
This shows that he was afraid of his own power, or that he was temporarily powerless, so he stationed troops in Xu County and never moved troops.
"Haha, sir, you are overly worried. If Cao Mengde wanted to attack Xuzhou, he would have already done so. Since he has never intended to send troops to fight for Xuzhou, I think he may not have such intention at the moment. Besides, we have left troops in Xuzhou to defend him.
Even if we send troops to attack, we may not be able to win."
"The emperor left Chang'an and returned eastward. He is currently stopping at Anyi. However, Anyi is a remote city and cannot be held as the capital for a long time. According to my expectation, the emperor will soon return to Luoyang, and Cao Mengde will station troops in Xu County.
, maybe he was waiting for the emperor to drive east into Luoyang. I heard that he was building a house in Xu County, and the Luoyang Palace was burned down by Dong Zhuo, and no houses were left. Perhaps, Cao Mengde wanted to move the emperor to Xu County as his capital, thereby blackmailing the emperor to order
It’s not impossible in the world.”
Zhou Ping said what he expected again.
If Cao Cao had told the emperor when he was still in Chang'an that he moved the capital to Xu County, it would make people suspicious of him.
But now that the Emperor has arrived in Anyi, Cao Cao has stationed troops in Xu County and built houses. Previously, he sent Cao Hong to lead troops to meet the Emperor in Anyi, but he was rejected by Dong Cheng and could not reach Anyi.
If you say it now, and it turns out to be true in the end, it will make people even more impressed by Zhou Ping's ability to predict events.
However, Liu Bei now feels that this matter is unlikely to happen.
"Although Luoyang is broken, Xu County is a small town, so how can it be the capital? Yuan Jizhou may not agree to let Cao Mengde welcome the emperor to move the capital to Xu County. Sir, you are too worried!"
"I wish I was worrying too much."
Zhou Ping now has no way to stop Cao Cao from coercing the emperor to move the capital to Xu County. Moreover, Cao Cao coercing the emperor to move the capital to Xu County is actually a good thing for Liu Bei.
First of all, it was impossible for Liu Bei to welcome the emperor to Xuzhou.
Xuzhou is far away from Sili, so it is a remote place and not suitable for being a capital.
Even if the emperor is willing, the Manchu ministers, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will not agree, so this is completely impossible.
Let Cao Cao move the emperor to Xu County. This would create a conflict of interest between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
No matter how good the relationship is between brothers, they will hate and kill each other in order to fight for family property, let alone fighting for the emperor, that is, fighting for the power to command the world. How can Yuan Shao and Cao Cao live in harmony.
Therefore, the emperor being in the hands of Cao Cao is actually useful for Liu Bei. At least it can make Yuan Shao and Cao Cao no longer close partners, but can make them enemies of each other.
This was also the basis for Zhou Ping's strategy of joining forces with Yuan to destroy Cao.
"However, Lujiang is now difficult to attack and we don't know when we can retreat. Xuzhou must strengthen its defenses."
Zhou Ping said again.
"How do you want to strengthen your defense, sir?"
Liu Bei nodded and felt that Cao Cao was stationed in Xu County. Although it was unlikely that he would suddenly send troops to attack Xuzhou, Xuzhou should be on guard.
"If Cao Mengde comes to attack, he must attack Pengcheng first. There are only 2,000 troops stationed in Pengcheng now, which seems to be a little less. We can send another 3,000 troops to defend together. In this way, even if Cao Mengde leads the troops to attack, Pengcheng can still stop it.
Give us time to return our troops for rescue."
"Okay, then let Xuyi's three thousand soldiers go to Pengcheng to defend together."
Xuyi's three thousand soldiers were led by Liang Lu. They were originally arranged in Xuyi to assist Xiapi and Guangling.
Now it seems that it is impossible for Sun Ce to attack Guangling, and Guangling already has 5,000 soldiers, enough to defend it.
Liang Lu led his troops to defend Pengcheng, which was better than defending Xiapi.
Zhou Ping agreed with Liu Bei's arrangement.
Liu Bei immediately ordered someone to send an order to Liang Lu, asking him to quickly lead 3,000 troops to Pengcheng to guard with Tian Yu. He also appointed Tian Yu as the captain of the military governor. Liang Lu also had to obey Tian Yu's orders.
Asking Liang Lu to lead troops to help defend Pengcheng could only temporarily delay Cao Cao's advance, but it could not stop Cao Cao. Lujiang could not be attacked, so Zhou Ping was still impatient.
But he really couldn't think of a better way to break the city.
"Young Master, Zhuge Kongming is here to visit."
Zhou Ping was drinking by himself in the tent, when Zhang Wu came into the tent to report.
"Let him in quickly."
Zhuge Liang is only sixteen years old now, and Zhou Ping didn't expect him to have any clever plans, but since he took the initiative to come looking for him, he might actually have some clever plans.
"gentlemen!"
Zhuge Liang entered the tent and bowed to Zhou Ping.
"Kong Ming, sit down quickly, you can have a few drinks with me."
"Sir, how can you drink peacefully?!"
Zhuge Liang did not sit down, but stood in front of Zhou Ping, looked at him and asked.
Zhou Ping was stunned for a moment. He heard something in Kong Ming's words and felt that Zhuge Liang must have some good ideas and wanted to tell him.
"Why can't you drink peacefully?" Zhou Ping asked deliberately.
"The city of Shu has not yet been conquered, and the Lujiang River has not yet been captured. There is a strong enemy with Sun Ce to help in the front, and there is the hidden danger of Cao Cao attacking Xuzhou in the back. Don't you feel anxious, sir?"
Zhuge Liang asked very seriously.
Zhou Ping likes the serious Zhuge Liang, which shows that he really has a countermeasure.
"In the north of Xuzhou, Sun Bo'an is guarding Ju County, in the south Chen Yuanlong is guarding Guangling, and troops are left to garrison in Xiapi. Tian Guorang is also in Pengcheng. Now the lord has asked Lieutenant Liang to lead troops to Pengcheng, which is enough to resist the enemy and defend the territory. Cao Cao is in danger
There is nothing to worry about. Sun Ce's attack on Kuaiji cannot be achieved in a few days, and if he comes to help, it is not at this time, so there is nothing to worry about. As for Shu City, the passage has been cut off, and now is the time when the wheat is ripe. The lord wants to get the wheat first.
We will attack the city again later, and it will not be long before the city is broken."
"May I ask, Sir, how will you attack the city?" Zhuge Liang asked again.
Zhou Ping smiled slightly, drank another cup, and replied: "Raise the earth mountain, erect towers and oars, and dig tunnels."
"If so, how many days will it take to break the city?" Zhuge Liang asked again.
This stopped Zhou Ping from asking.
Drilling tunnels into mountains to attack a city is a method with less casualties. If you use hooks and ladders to attack the city, the casualties will be too great, so it is rarely used.
Unless there are very few guards in the city, or the city walls are very low.
Shucheng was once a county-governed city. There were six thousand garrison troops in the city, neither too many nor too few. Zhou Ping never thought of using such a method to attack the city, and neither did Liu Bei.
If we just build a mountain and approach the city to shoot arrows, or dig tunnels to sneak into the city, the effect will not be ideal, and we don't know how long it will take to break the city.
"Hahaha...Kong Ming, if you ask this, you must have a clever plan to break the city. You might as well tell me."
Zhou Ping stood up and laughed.
When Zhuge Liang saw that Zhou Ping was not angry at his previous questioning and was treating him so kindly, he couldn't help but feel more respect in his heart.
He bowed his hands to Zhou Ping again and replied, "Liang Shicai was quite rude. I just wanted to make Mr. Liang say it again. Please don't blame me!"
"Hahaha... It doesn't matter. I drink frequently. My lord must know that I am anxious, and you must know it too. Tell me, how to break the city?"
"Like Mr. Shouchun's plan, he attacked three but lost one."
Zhuge Liang's face, which had been serious just now, became slightly relaxed.
Zhou Ping was puzzled. In Shouchun, it was about attacking three and missing one, but what Zhuge Liang said was about attacking three and missing one. It was different.
"Sir, the reason why you did not attack during the siege of Shouchun was because the defenders in Shouchun City were not united and would inevitably fall into chaos under the siege. Now in Shu City, Wu Jing and Sun Ben must be united and unable to fight against each other, so
The strategy of encirclement and encirclement is useless. The only option is to attack quickly..."
"Emergency attack?"
"Yes, although Cao Cao is not worried, Sun Ce must be concerned. If Sun Ce captures Kuaiji and raises troops to help, we will have to retreat to Hefei, and it will be difficult to advance. Now Yuan Shu is guarding Wan County, Zhang Xun is guarding Juchao, and Wu Jing and Sun Ben are guarding Shu.
Although the cities appear to be connected in a line and support each other, they are actually isolated cities. If Shu City is attacked, Juchao will not dare to save it, and if Juchao is attacked, Wan City will not dare to save it."
Zhou Ping nodded, agreeing with Zhuge Liang's words, and listened to him continue: "If one of these three cities is defeated, the enemy will be afraid of the power of our army. The remaining two cities can collapse without attacking, and the Lujiang River can be captured quickly.
There are only 6,000 garrison troops in Shu City. We have 40,000 troops and horses. We can order 5,000 troops and horses to lie in ambush in the south of Shu City. We can not only block the reinforcements of the enemy in the nest, but also block the defeated troops of Shu City. And the troops on the other three sides
The horses rush to attack at the same time, and the defenders in the city will abandon the city and leave because they see that the attack is very urgent, there are no reinforcements, and they have a way to retreat to the south."
"You mean to force the enemy to retreat with a sudden attack?" Zhou Ping asked.
"Sir, do you think it's feasible?"
Zhuge Liang didn't seem to have much confidence in his strategy.
Now that Sun Ce is powerful, Wu Jing and Sun Ben are no longer directly affiliated with Yuan Shu, but are affiliated with Sun Ce.
Yuan Shu asked them to lead only 6,000 troops to guard Shu County, which meant that they could block the sword. In the hearts of Wu Jing and Sun Ben, they must have opinions about Yuan Shu.
If they are attacked urgently by strong troops, with no reinforcements and no way to retreat to the south, there is no guarantee that Wu Jing and Sun Ben will not abandon the city and retreat to Jiangdong.
It's just that a sudden attack will inevitably cause huge casualties, but judging from the current situation, this is the only way to capture Shu City faster.
"Of course it's feasible, haha, it's such a good idea, why don't you tell the lord, but tell me first?"
The more Zhou Ping thought about it, the happier he became. He sat down and poured himself a glass, drinking it all in one gulp.
When Zhuge Liang heard Zhou Ping say it was feasible, he immediately beamed with joy and said with a smile: "Sir, if you also think it is feasible, then it must be feasible. Liang is still young and is a minor official. If he goes to tell his lord, I'm afraid he won't take it seriously.
The master is good at making plans and has always been trusted by the lord. If the lord comes up with this plan, the lord may use it, so Liang came to tell the master first."
Zhou Ping laughed and said: "Hahaha... Kong Ming, my lord is a person who is good at accepting good words. As long as what you say is useful, my lord will listen. If you have anything to say in the future, you can tell me directly to my lord. Let's go and find your lord."
.”
Zhuge Liang originally wanted to tell Zhou Ping first and let Zhou Ping tell Liu Bei. After all, he was only a sixteen-year-old boy now, and because Zhou Ping had recommended it to Liu Bei, he was allowed to follow him as an official in the army. He was afraid that he
If a person speaks softly, his strategies will not be used by Liu Bei.
Although that would push the credit to Zhou Ping, Zhuge Liang now just wants Liu Bei to quickly attack Shucheng and capture Lujiang. He will have the opportunity to get the credit in the future, so there is no rush at this moment.
Zhou Ping is not a person who is greedy for credit. Not only will he not take his credit, he will also take him to see Liu Bei and let him tell his lord personally about the strategy. Zhuge Liang admires this magnanimity very much.
"Sir, you have no desire to strive for merit, but your mind is as generous as the sea!"
Zhuge Liang bowed deeply to Zhou Ping.
"Haha, my size can hold the sea, but my lord's size can hold the heaven and the earth. Let's go quickly."
Zhou Ping took Zhuge Liang out of the military tent and led Zhang Wu towards Liu Bei's commander's tent.
