Zhou Ping smiled slightly and asked: "My Lord, Yun Chang, do you think Cao Cao will come to attack Xuzhou?"
"Cao Cao helps General Yuan attack Gongsun Zan because he wants General Yuan to join forces with him to attack Xuzhou. This is a sure thing. Even if we retreat to Xuzhou at this time, they will come with troops."
Zhuge Liang answered first without waiting for anyone to reply.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu and others agreed with Zhuge Liang's view.
"Since Yuan Cao will attack Xuzhou, we will also retreat. If we retreat at this time, Yuan Shu is not destroyed, and Sun Quan leads his troops to help fight for Jiujiang, how many troops should we leave to garrison Jiujiang? There are also Danyang and
Wu Commandery has been newly acquired, but the people are not convinced. Sun Quan will also attack, and we must divide our troops to defend them. There are too many places to use our troops." Zhou Ping said.
"Sir, if we capture Lujiang, will there be fewer troops to garrison?" Liu Bei was puzzled.
"Not bad." Zhou Ping replied with a smile.
"Sir, do you think Sun Quan will not come to seize Lujiang?" Liu Bei asked again.
"Definitely." Zhou Ping replied.
Liu Bei really couldn't guess what Zhou Ping meant.
"Then why did sir say that?"
Zhou Ping looked around at everyone and saw that everyone was looking at him in confusion. Even Zhuge Liang couldn't guess what he was thinking.
"My lord, once Gongsun Bogui is destroyed, Yuan Benchu will have no worries in the north. He will be tempted by Cao Cao to raise troops to attack Xu. From now on, Xuzhou may never have peace. As Boping just said, we have already captured the three counties of Danyang and Wujun in Jiujiang.
However, from now on, we must protect Xuzhou with all our strength until Cao Cao is destroyed."
"Because of this, the Lujiang River is even more important." Zhou Ping felt that everyone was more confused and continued, "It's just that if the Lujiang River is in our hands, Sun Quan will definitely come and seize it, and we must guard it with heavy troops. But if we give up the Lujiang River,
With Liu Jingzhou and Huang Zu, we can use the troops from Jingzhou and Jiangxia to resist Sun Quan, and if necessary, we can also send reinforcements to Jiujiang from the north."
"The soldiers from Jiangxia helped us cross the river, captured Niuzhu, and killed Song Qian, which did us a great favor. Huang She, the son of Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, died in the battle. If we give him the Lujiang River, it will not only show our lord's kindness, but also
We can use Jiangxia's troops to block Sun Quan, and even threaten Yuzhang so that Sun Quan does not dare to attack Danyang. This is a strategy that achieves multiple goals with one stone."
"Are you going to give up Lujiang River to Huang Zu?" Liu Bei seemed to be reluctant to give up.
Zhou Ping said: "Yes, we haven't captured Lujiang yet. We can send people to see Huang Zu and ask him to quickly raise troops to help. After capturing Lujiang, let the county fight with him. Huang Zu wants to avenge his son, but he can also win the county.
, will definitely come.”
At this time, everyone felt that it would be really hard to give up Lujiang River to others.
However, it would indeed be a wise move if we could use the power of Jingzhou and Jiangxia to block Sun Quan.
Liu Bei knew even more clearly that with the power of Yuan Shu and Sun Quan, he was no longer able to compete with him. His strongest enemies at present were Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
If Yuan and Cao join forces, he will have to find someone to join forces, and the only one who can join forces with him is Jingzhou.
But there must be benefits for others to help you. Lujiang was given to Huang Zu, which served as a shield for himself.
Due to the hatred between Huang Zu and the Sun family, it is impossible for them to reconcile. As long as Huang Zu is not destroyed, Sun Quan will not be able to cross the Lujiang River and attack Jiujiang.
"Hahaha... Sir, you really think too far!"
Liu Bei finally figured it out and immediately sent people to Jiangxia, asking Huang Zu to quickly lead his troops to help. After capturing Lujiang, he could give the county to him.
At the same time, Yuan Shu in the city also received news of Gongsun's demise.
The difference with Liu Bei is that one person is worried and the other is happy, and the one who is happy is Yuan Shu.
The death of Gongsun Zan means that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will soon send troops to attack Xuzhou. Even if they will not attack Xuzhou, they will send troops to rescue him.
His Lujiang River can be defended.
"Master Yan, I'm glad that I listened to your words, so we're here today! Liu Bei should have withdrawn his troops, hahaha..."
"According to my expectation, Liu Bei will retreat within half a month." Yan Xiang said confidently.
"Huh, this time Liu Bei retreats, I have to send troops to pursue him to relieve the hatred in my heart!" Yuan Shu said bitterly.
"General, please summon Sun Quan. After Liu Bei retreats, first take Jiujiang and then Jiangdong. In this way, all Yangzhou will belong to the general."
Yuan Shu laughed: "Hahaha... it should be so!"
In Yangzhou, he still had to rely on the Sun family's help.
The news of Gongsun Zan's fall, along with the news that Liu Bei was about to withdraw his troops, gave the people in the city some peace of mind.
Two days later, someone in the city had a wrong idea.
This man is Zhang Kai who guards the west gate of Wancheng.
He was from Donghai, Xuzhou, and was originally Tao Qian's general. However, because he killed Cao Song and provoked Cao Cao's army to attack Xu, he had to escape and join Yuan Shu.
However, Yuan Shu only values people from aristocratic families, and he does not value Zhang Kai, who comes from an ordinary family. If it were not for the deaths of Qiao Rui, Li Feng, Liu Xiang, Ji Ling and others, he would still be the only leader.
Bring those hundreds of soldiers yourself.
Now Yuan Shu sent people to summon Sun Quan again. If Sun Quan came, he would definitely be left out again and not be reused.
Moreover, he was Cao Cao's father-killing enemy, and Yuan Shu had a good relationship with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, so he might be handed over to Cao Cao one day.
With the kind of person Cao Cao was, he would never spare himself and would definitely behead him.
Liu Bei was now the Mud of Xuzhou, and he was eager to seize Lujiang. If he helped him seize Lujiang and made great achievements, he might be reused.
Even if Liu Bei has many talented people under his command, he will not be put to much use, but at least he will not be killed by Liu Bei.
Zhang Kai thought about it, weighed the pros and cons, and decided that it would be better for him to follow Liu Bei.
He also thought of Mi Fang.
Mi Fang is also from Donghai. He is from the same county as him and is the brother of Liu Bei and his wife. He is now the governor of Wu Commandery.
If you help Liu Bei seize Lujiang and achieve great success, and ask Liu Bei for the post of Captain of Wu County or County Magistrate, I think the benevolent and righteous Liuzhou Shepherd will definitely agree.
After Zhang Kai made up his mind, he summoned several military princes who had robbed and killed Cao Song together and had come from Xuzhou to surrender to Yuan Shu for discussion.
Although he now commands five thousand soldiers and horses to garrison the west city, Yuan Shu's soldiers and horses, although under his supervision, are not his confidants.
Such a thing as defecting to Liu Bei could only be done by the more than 700 people who followed him from Xuzhou.
If Yuan Shu's soldiers and horses knew about it, he might be killed before he even left the city.
Those military princes who had robbed and killed Cao Song with him were also Cao Cao's father-killing enemies. After hearing what Zhang Kai said, he felt that Yuan Shu was now on good terms with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. If Cao Cao led troops to rescue him again, he would most likely save him.
Leave it to Cao Cao to deal with it yourself.
At the same time, he also knew that Liu Bei was a kind and righteous man and that he was a pastor in Xuzhou. If he surrendered to Liu Bei, he would definitely be reused.
They all supported Zhang Kai's idea and discussed how to leave the city and join Liu Bei.
If they simply left the city and surrendered, it would be easy for them to do so, but in that case, they would have no merit.
Therefore, they also wanted to help Liu Bei capture Lujiang, so that they would achieve great success.
It was also easy to help Liu Bei capture Lujiang, because they were guarding the city gate and could open the city gate at any time to welcome Liu Bei's troops into the city.
After Zhang Kai discussed with everyone, he decided to send people to hang ropes out of the city at night to contact Liu Bei.
