Chapter 125: Liu Bei and Wang Lang, who is the bigger threat
Li Jia waited for many days and finally waited for Wu Jing and Sun Ben.
When Tan Ma reported that Wu Jing and Sun Ben had escaped from the city and fled south with only more than a thousand people, Li Jia knew that he was going to make a meritorious deed.
These deserters who came out of the city must have been frightened, and now they must be worried about the pursuers behind them. When they see that they are blocking their way, they may not even have the thought to resist.
Sure enough, when Wu Jing and Sun Ben saw the enemy soldiers blocking their way in front, they both looked terrified, let alone the soldiers they led.
"What should I do?" Sun Ben asked.
Wu Jing thought for a moment and said: "What else can we do? It is impossible to turn back now. We can only rush past."
They would never think of surrendering anyway, it was impossible for them to surrender.
Shu City behind has been destroyed and occupied by Liu Bei, and there may be pursuers, so it is impossible to retreat.
"Hmph, that Zhou Ping said he would leave the south side free for us to leave, but we didn't expect that he actually set up an ambush here." Sun Ben cursed.
"Zhou Ping is good at using tricks and always sets ambushes. It's not surprising that he set up an ambush here. Stop talking and let's kill him."
Wu Jing had no choice but to lead his soldiers and charge forward together with Sun Ben.
Although Li Jia is not as brave as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he currently has more soldiers than the opponent, and he is waiting for work, and the opponent is a fleeing soldier. The victory or defeat is determined without fighting.
He didn't even need to take action, he just stood and watched from a distance. In less than half an hour, he saw that both Wu Jing and Sun Ben were covered with wounds. The enemy soldiers were also killed with corpses everywhere. Many people knelt down and begged to surrender.
.
It's just that Wu Jing and Sun Ben have become very brave at this moment. They can't surrender and can only fight to the death.
"Li Sima, do you want to capture him alive?"
A military prince asked Li Jia.
Now Wu Jing and Sun Ben are just hanging on for dear life and can be captured at any time.
Li Jia said: "No, since they don't want to surrender, let them die in battle. This will scare Zhang Xun away and Yuan Shu away."
Wu Jing and Sun Bi stood side by side, their bodies covered in blood, both from their own injuries and from killing enemy soldiers.
Behind them, there were fifty or sixty soldiers, all looking in horror at the approaching enemy soldiers.
These fifty or sixty soldiers were close to them and would rather die fighting with them than surrender.
"Boyang, we have followed General Polu for so many years. We never thought we would be buried here today. It's just not worth it to die in the hands of these unknown people!"
"We were defeated by Liu Bei and died at Liu Bei's hands. It was only because Liu Bei was too brave and too deceitful, not because we were incompetent."
"You are right, especially that Zhou Wen'an, who is extremely cunning."
Li Jia watched from a distance and saw that the encirclement of Wu Jing and others by his soldiers was getting smaller and smaller. He said lightly: "Kill them all."
"promise."
The military commander next to him responded, ran over and shouted: "Kill!"
The surrounding soldiers received the order, shouted and rushed forward, raised their spears and halberds to stab.
Soon, Wu Jing, Sun Bi, and the fifty or sixty soldiers were all stabbed to death.
Wu Jing and Sun Ben had more than a dozen holes stabbed into their bodies.
Li Jia ordered his men to cut off the heads of Wu Jing and Sun Ben, and escorted the prisoners back to Shucheng.
At this time, Shu City had already been calmed down. Liu Bei led his troops into the city and issued notices to calm the people and not to be alarmed.
Although Shucheng was captured, Liu Bei's troops suffered heavy casualties. More than 3,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 wounded. Among them, Lu Su's tribesmen in the west suffered the most casualties, with more than 3,000 people.
"Such an attack on the city will cause too many casualties!"
Liu Bei sighed after hearing the report.
Zhou Ping said: "Although the casualties are heavy, it is worth it. Once Shucheng is defeated, Lujiang will be easy to conquer."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "Sir, it is true. If Wu Jing and Sun Bi can be captured, Zhang Xun and Yuan Shu will be even more frightened. I hope that when my army approaches the city, they will retreat on their own."
"Lord, don't worry. With Li Gongliang blocking their way, Wu Jing and Sun Bi will not be able to escape. They will be captured or killed. But if this happens, Sun Ce will definitely give up attacking Kuaiji and lead his troops here. We must capture Juchao and Wancheng as soon as possible.
, if we attack these two cities again, we won’t be afraid that Sun Ce will come to our aid.”
Not long after, Li Jia came back and brought back the heads of Wu Jing and Sun Ben.
With the heads of these two men, Zhou Ping is more confident in taking down Juchao and Wancheng.
He advised Liu Bei to quickly march to Juchao, and also advised Liu Bei to send troops to pacify Linhu and Xiang'an in the east of Shu County, and then garrison Xiang'an to guard against the enemy troops crossing the river in Chungu County on the other side of the river to attack.
Liu Bei sent Li Jia to lead 3,000 troops to pacify Linhu and Xiang'an. There were no strong troops stationed in these two counties. Now that Shu City has been defeated and Wu Jing, Sun Ben and Wu are dead, there is no need to attack those small counties. Once the troops arrive, they will
He will leave the city on his own to ask for surrender.
Mi Fang was left to lead three thousand troops to garrison Shu City. Five days later, Liu Bei led his army to march toward Juchao.
Sun Ce was attacking Kuaiji. Wang Lang, the prefect of Kuaiji, relied on Zhejiang for protection and led his troops to defend in Guling. Sun Ce crossed the river several times and was repulsed.
Sun Jing saw that Wang Lang was guarding the river and Sun Ce was having difficulty crossing the river, so he thought of a plan.
He told Sun Ce that there was the Chadu Road dozens of miles to the south, and he could cross the river from there, and then attack Wang Lang from behind. If he were to catch Wang Lang unawares, he would definitely win.
Sun Ce was eager to capture Kuaiji and immediately agreed to Sun Jing's plan. He assumed that there had been heavy rain recently and the river water was turbid, and the soldiers often suffered from abdominal pain. He prepared hundreds of poppy fou in order to clarify the water before drinking.
The poppies are pottery vessels that hold wine with a large belly and a small mouth. Sun Ce actually wanted to use these poppies to cross the river, but he was afraid that Wang Lang's scouts would find out, so he hypothesized that he wanted to clear the water.
Sun Ce had made arrangements so that after dark, he could order his soldiers to set fire on all sides, and then divide his troops to go south and cross the river at Chadu Road.
Just when the sun was about to set in the afternoon, he was shocked by the news from Lujiang, and he hurriedly called for Sun Jing and the generals to discuss it.
But now Sun Ce doesn't have many strong generals around him.
Han Dang and Chen Wu are dead, Cheng Pu guards Dan Tu, Zhou Yu and Huang Gai guard Niuzhu, Jiang Qin guards Chungu, Zhang Zhao and Sun Fu Lu Fan guard Qu'a.
The only people around him now are Zhou Tai, Xu Kun, Song Qian and Ling Cao.
"Both my uncle and my uncle were killed by Liu Bei, and Shu City has been lost. Do you think I should continue to attack Kuaiji, or should I immediately lead troops to rescue Lujiang?"
Sun Ce asked everyone with anger in his eyes.
"Kuaiji is within sight. If we abandon it like this, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to attack again." Song Qian said first.
Zhou Tai and Ling Cao stopped talking, and Sun Ce looked at Xu Kun again.
Xu Kun's mother is Sun Jian's sister, so he and Sun Ce are actually cousins.
But later, Xu Kun's daughter married Lu Shang first. After Lu Shang's death, she was adopted by Sun Quan as his concubine and became Mrs. Xu.
Sun Quan really didn't even spare his own family members.
"With General Yuan in Lujiang, Liu Bei may not be able to defeat it quickly, but Kuaiji is within sight, so he can capture Kuaiji first and then send troops to rescue Lujiang." Xu Kun replied.
Sun Ce was actually unable to decide at the moment. It was certainly important to rescue Lujiang and avenge Wu Jing and Sun Ben, but it was equally important to capture Kuaiji. He didn't want to just watch the Kuaiji he was about to gain lose.
"Bo Fu, which one do you think is more important, Kuaiji or Lujiang?" Sun Jing asked when she saw Sun Ce looking at her.
Sun Ce thought for a while and replied: "Right now, Kuaiji is naturally important. There is a dangerous river in the west, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, Kuaiji can easily attack Wu County, which is always a thorn in our side."
Sun Jing asked again: "Liu Bei or Wang Lang, which one poses a greater threat to you?"
Sun Ce thought again.
This question is not difficult to answer.
There is no doubt that Wang Lang only has the power to defend the county, but Liu Bei has the power to attack across the state. He has already captured Jiujiang and is about to capture Lujiang. These two pose a threat to him, and Liu Bei is of course the greater threat.
"Liu Bei." Sun Ce replied.
When he answered, he already had the answer in his mind and knew how to choose.
Sun Jing nodded slightly: "Well, even if it is not to avenge your uncle and Boyang, but just to prevent Lujiang from falling into Liu Bei's hands, you should rush to rescue Lujiang. I was wrong before, thinking that it would be difficult for Liu Bei to conquer Shucheng, but I didn't
Thinking of it, not only did he capture Shucheng, but Boyang and his two men also died because of it. Now that Shucheng has been captured by Liu Bei, Juchao may not be able to hold it for long. If Juchao is lost again, Lujiang will be in danger! If Lujiang enters Liu Bei's way,
If I take my hand, Jiangdong will also be difficult to defend, so you should go as soon as possible."
Of course, Sun Ce understood that it was only a matter of time before Liu Bei captured Shucheng and Juchao and Wanxian. From the perspective of Yuan Shu, Zhang Xun and others, it was a question of whether they could hold out until their reinforcements arrived.
If Liu Bei is allowed to capture Lujiang again, he will have to divide his troops to resist, and he will also attack Kuaiji. The troops are already stretched thin, and it will be difficult to allocate so many troops.
Therefore, we can only temporarily abandon Kuaiji, first protect Lujiang, drive Liu Bei back to Xuzhou, and then capture Kuaiji.
The other generals had no objections, so Sun Ce immediately led 30,000 troops and horses to the west, and ordered Jiang Qin to lead troops across the river from Spring Valley and occupy Xiang'an first, so that they could easily cross the river.
In early July of the first year of Jian'an, Liu Bei led his troops to Juchao City and camped five miles away from the city.
Li Jia has also led 3,000 troops to pacify Linhu and garrison Xiang'an.
Zhang Xun, who was in Juchao City, was extremely confused at this moment. He didn't know whether he should die and defend Juchao, or whether he should return to Wancheng and guard Yuan Shu together.
If he just retreats like this, Liu Bei will occupy Juchao and will soon lead his troops to the gates of Wancheng, and Yuan Shu will become very dangerous.
But if he doesn't retreat and clings to Juchao, Zhang Xun has no confidence that he can hold on.
Especially after Liu Bei ordered the heads of Wu Jing and Sun Ben to be hanged, the soldiers in the city were even more frightened, and many people were already talking about leaving the city and fleeing.
Fortunately, although Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei to the city to call for battle, he did not divide his troops to besiege the city, and he still had the opportunity to retreat to Wancheng.
In addition, Sun Ce sent someone to send news that he had raised troops and was rushing to Lujiang for rescue.
When Sun Ce was in Shouchun, both Qiao Rui and Zhang Xun admired him wholeheartedly. Now that Sun Ce defeated Liu Yao so quickly and captured Danyang and Wu Commandery, Zhang Xun respected him even more.
Thinking that Sun Ce was about to come to help gave Zhang Xun some more confidence. In his opinion, with Sun Ce's courage, he would definitely not be afraid of Liu Bei.
For this reason, although he often thought of abandoning the city and retreating, he never left.
Liu Bei and Zhou Ping also received news that Sun Ce had abandoned the attack on Kuaiji and sent troops to help.
This is undoubtedly bad news.
"Sir, Sun Bofu is about to raise his troops. Zhang Xun will definitely not abandon the city and retreat. I'm afraid it will be difficult to leave Juchao!"
After defeating Shu City, Liu Bei had full confidence in seizing Lujiang, but that could only be achieved without Sun Ce's help.
Now that Sun Ce has led 30,000 troops and horses to help, the situation is completely different.
During the attack on Shucheng, they suffered between five and six thousand casualties. Li Jia was asked to lead 3,000 people to defend Xiang'an, while Mi Fang led 3,000 people to stay in Shucheng. Liu Bei brought only 30,000 troops to Juchao.
If Sun Ce leads 30,000 people to his nest, it will definitely be difficult for Liu Bei to attack.
But Zhou Ping didn't think so.
"My lord, Sun Ce has led his troops here. It doesn't matter whether the nest is available or not," Zhou Ping said.
"What do you mean by this, sir?" Liu Bei was puzzled.
Zhou Ping replied: "Both Yuan Shu and Zhang Xun are now afraid of the power of their lord. The one they rely on is Sun Ce's courage. Sun Ce has led his troops here. If we defeat him, Yuan Shu will be even more afraid, and Juchao and Wan County will be even more afraid."
Easy to capture."
"Brother, they say that Sun Ce is very brave, but I don't believe it. I just wait until he arrives and let me take his head."
Sun Ce's reputation was also very high in Lujiang. Zhang Fei often heard other people's compliments when talking about him, so he felt very dissatisfied and always wanted to compare with him personally.
Liu Bei rolled his eyes at Zhang Fei and ignored him. As his third brother, whenever he heard who was powerful, he always wanted to compare with him.
"Sir, Sun Ce has always been victorious and undefeated before. I heard that he is also a man who is good at using soldiers. I am afraid that his attack will be very fierce. Do we need to avoid his sharp edge?" Liu Bei turned to Zhou Ping and asked.
"We must not avoid it at this time. If we avoid it, we will show weakness. We can even counterattack and dampen its spirit."
"Counterattack? Who can do it?"
Zhou Ping replied: "We can order Zhang Yide and Chen Shuzhi to lead ten thousand people to attack. We don't want a complete victory, but as long as we are undefeated, we can weaken their spirit. We can let Xu Zhongkang's Hu Shi camp protect the Lord."
Now the most powerful people around Liu Bei are these three people, but Liu Bei must have someone to protect him.
Although Xu Chu was fierce enough, he was not good at commanding troops. Although Chen Dao was not as brave as Xu Chu, he was much better than Xu Chu in terms of commanding troops.
Zhang Fei was overjoyed when he heard this and said hurriedly: "What you said is true. When my uncle and I go to attack him, we will definitely behead Sun Ce and come back. Brother, just rest assured and wait here."
Liu Bei thought for a long time, nodded slightly, shook his head slightly, and finally said: "Although Yide is brave, he is just acting recklessly, and I am afraid that he will miss the big event. If Yide and Shuzhi are to lead the army to attack, then Mr.
, Mr. should be the chief general.”
Zhou Ping recommended Zhang Fei and Chen Dao to lead the attack, but he also knew that Zhang Fei would not be able to do the job.
But Chen Dao's qualifications are relatively low, and it is even more impossible for him to be the leader.
Among all the people around Liu Bei, only Zhou Ping can make Zhang Fei obey his orders now, and he is the best candidate.
It's a pity that both Guan Yu and Tai Shici stayed in Jiujiang. If they were here, it would be much easier to deal with Sun Ce.
But they need to guard Jiujiang, and Jiujiang must not be lost. Once Jiujiang is lost, Liu Bei's retreat will be cut off, which will be a disaster.
Zhou Ping did not refuse and said, "Ping is willing to go with us."
