Chapter two hundred and eighteen time is running out
Inside Danyang City.
The people sent by Qu'a saw Zhou Tai and said: "Zhou Sima, Qu'a's troops and horses have received General Sun. Zhang Changshi ordered you to leave Danyang quickly and lead the troops back to Qu'a."
At this time, Liu Bei had sent troops and horses to besiege the city, but only the east and west sides were besieged, and the north side had not yet been encircled. We had to leave today, otherwise it would be difficult to leave after Liu Bei's troops and horses were surrounded on all sides.
Zhou Taishou's purpose in Danyang was to cover Sun Ce's departure. Now Qu'a sent Sun Fu to pick up Sun Ce. His purpose had been achieved, and it was useless to stay in Danyang City. It was what he should do to return to Qu'a to protect Sun Ce.
"Send the order to leave the city immediately and return to Qu'a."
Zhou Tai immediately led his troops out of the city and retreated.
This surprised Liu Bei. He had already planned to surround the city on all sides, but before his troops could surround the city, he let Zhou Tai run away.
But that's good, at least I don't have to waste time here.
Liu Bei entered Danyang City and asked Mi Fang, who was guarding Wuhu, to lead two thousand troops to guard Danyang.
Wuhu is not an important place, but Danyang is much more important.
When Mi Fang led his troops to Danyang City, Liu Bei left Danyang's governor, Tai Shi Ci, to garrison Danyang with 5,000 soldiers and horses, and led more than 20,000 men to Qu'a. This time, Sun Ce would not give up if he was not destroyed.
At this time, news came from the river that Huang She, under Chen Gong's persuasion, led his troops to attack Niuzhu.
"Sir, do you think Jiangxia navy can defeat Niuzhu?"
On the march, Liu Bei asked Zhou Ping.
"It can be broken." Zhou Ping replied, "Song Qian is not a good general, Sun Ce is defeated and wounded now, and there are our soldiers and horses outside Liyang City, and Niuzhu has no reinforcements, so we will break it immediately."
"Jiangxia soldiers have helped us a lot this time, and we will definitely ask for something in the future. If they ask for Lujiang and Jiujiang counties, it will be difficult to handle!" Liu Bei said worriedly.
Zhou Ping said: "Jiujiang and Lujiang must not be given to them. If they are given, they can only be given the land of Yuzhang. Liu Jingsheng and Huang Zu have no ambitions, so even if they are given the land of Yuzhang, they will have no worries. Now our strong enemy is Yuan
Cao, if we want to destroy Cao, it doesn't matter if Lujiang is temporarily given to Huang Zu, as long as Jiujiang, Wujun and Danyang are ours."
Now the governor of Kuaiji is still Wang Lang, and Wang Lang is from Xuzhou. Even if Liu Bei destroys Sun Ce, he will not be able to lead his troops to capture Kuaiji.
Therefore, the only things that can be given to Huang Zu are Yuzhang and Lujiang. If Huang Zu contributes too much, Lujiang can be temporarily given to him, but he will not be able to prosper anyway.
In order to deal with Cao Cao, Liu Bei was willing to cede the three counties of Jingzhou to Sun Quan. Now in order to deal with Cao Cao, he must be willing to temporarily give up Yuzhang and Lujiang to Liu Biao and Huang Zu, and does not want to make enemies with Jingzhou.
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When Sun Ce arrived at Qu'a, Zhang Zhao and others stayed by the couch and called him but he didn't wake up, but he wasn't dead, just drowsy.
Soon Zhou Tai also led his troops to retreat to Qu'a. At this time, the scouts reported that Liu Bei had raised troops from Danyang to attack Qu'a.
"The general is asleep and enemy troops are approaching. How do you think we should respond?"
Zhang Zhao asked everyone.
Sun Fu said: "The doctor said that although Bo Fu has not woken up, his wound is getting better day by day. I believe he will wake up soon. Why don't we retreat to Wu County for the time being to resist Liu Bei."
"No," Zhang Hong said urgently, "Liu Bei is coming with great force. If he retreats to Wu County, Liu Bei will definitely chase him. If Kuaiji troops and horses attack at the same time, if the city cannot be defended, there are no reinforcements, and there is no way to retreat, then
It is a dead place. It is better to defend Qu'a. If you cannot hold it, you can also cross the river and retreat to the Lujiang River."
"There are only 7,000 soldiers and horses in Qu'a now. We can ask Zhu Junli, the governor of Wu County, to send 3,000 soldiers and horses to guard Qu'a. When General Sun wakes up, there may be a turn for the better," Lu Fan said.
Zhang Zhao agrees with Zhang Hong and Lu Fan's proposal. The most important thing now is to guard Qu'a and Dantu so that they can have a way out.
If Qu'a cannot hold on, he can still leave by boat through Dantu and escape to Lujiang River.
They sent people to Wu County and asked Zhu Zhi to send 3,000 horses to Qu'a to guard together.
Sun Ce was unconscious and Liu Bei's troops were approaching, so Zhang Zhao and others were worried.
Fortunately, news came back from Yanzhou that Cao Cao had gone to Yecheng in person, and he must have asked Yuan Shao to send troops to attack Xuzhou.
If Yuan Shao is willing to send troops, the danger in Jiangdong can be resolved. Now we only need to defend Qu'a, and wait until Yuan Shao and Cao Cao send troops to attack Xuzhou.
Liu Bei only has 20,000 troops to attack. If Zhu Zhi sends 3,000 troops, Qu'a has 10,000 troops, and Dan Tu has 3,000 troops. It should not be difficult to defend Qu'a.
Liu Bei also received news that Cao Cao was going to Yecheng in person. At this time, they still had two days to reach Qu'a.
"When Cao Cao goes to Ye, he must ask Yuan Benchu to send troops to attack Xu. If he sends troops, Xuzhou will be in danger, and Yangzhou may be defeated like last time." Liu Bei was very worried.
Not only was he worried about the safety of Xuzhou, but he was also worried that he would not be able to capture Yangzhou this time.
If the two attempts to capture Yangzhou failed because Cao Cao attacked Xu, Liu Bei might not raise his troops to attack again.
"If Yuan Benchu agrees to send troops, it will be really troublesome. Now I just hope that General Yuan will not believe Cao Cao's words and postpone sending troops. Now that we have gained Danyang, we must defeat Sun Ce as soon as possible and capture Wu County. If this can be done, even if Cao Cao and Yuan Benchu send troops
If we attack Xu, we can return to defend it."
Zhou Ping now has no better way to prevent Yuan Shao and Cao Cao from sending troops. He can only rely on the rumors spread by sending people to Yecheng last time.
If Yuan Shao does not trust Cao Cao and refuses to send troops because Gongsun Zan is still alive, Liu Bei can be given time to seize the land east of Jiangdong.
Once Wu County is captured, Huang Gai who is guarding Liyang will definitely be unable to hold it. If Jiujiang is captured again, he will no longer be afraid of Yuan and Cao's combined forces to attack.
"Yuan Benchu will definitely not want to see me capture Yangzhou. If he and Cao Cao arrive together with troops, and Qingzhou troops and horses move south at the same time, Xuzhou will be in danger!"
Zhou Ping consoled him: "Don't worry, my lord, Langya has Zang Xuangao, and Qingzhou's soldiers and horses are not of concern. Even if Yuan Cao's company, Pengcheng and Xiapi have five thousand soldiers and horses garrisoned, they can't break through immediately. We have time to return to rescue."
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"I want Yide to lead five thousand troops back to Xiapi to defend Xiapi. What do you think, sir?"
Liu Bei was still very worried about the safety of Xiapi. After all, his son and the families of all the soldiers were there, and there was absolutely no room for failure.
"Inappropriate." Zhou Ping shook his head and said, "Sun Ce has not been destroyed, and Yuan Benchu and Cao Cao have not decided to send troops to attack Xu. If we divide our troops at this time, I am afraid that Qu'a will be more difficult to defeat, and Sun Ce will be even more difficult to destroy. It is better to take this opportunity to attack as soon as possible.
Destroy Sun Ce, seize Qu'a and Wu Commandery, and connect Wu Commandery with Guangling. Once Jiangdong Province has been conquered, Guangling does not need to garrison troops to defend Xuyi. At that time, Guangling soldiers and horses can be garrisoned at Xuyi. If Cao Cao sends troops, it will not be too late to defend Xiapi.
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"In this case, we must attack Qu'acai urgently."
Liu Bei agreed with Zhou Ping's statement.
If Wu County is captured again, Guangling will no longer need so many soldiers and horses to garrison. Chen Deng can send troops to garrison Xuyi. As soon as Cao Cao and Yuan Shao send troops, they will immediately rush to Xiapi to garrison with them.
In this way, Xiapi will definitely be able to defend Xiapi until he can lead his troops to rescue him.
"Yes, time is pressing. We must defeat Qu'a as soon as possible and destroy Sun Ce." Zhou Ping said.
"Send the order and speed up the march."
Liu Bei ordered the soldiers and horses to speed up their march.