"Sure enough, Cao Cao came to attack Xuzhou again. It's really hateful!"
Liu Bei was worried and angry.
Zhou Ping expected that Cao Cao would entangle Yuan Shao to attack Xuzhou together, but they had just retreated from Youzhou after defeating Gongsun Zan, and thought they would not send troops so soon. Unexpectedly, they came before their troops had rested.
And there are so many soldiers and horses.
"Lord, it's not too late. We must rush back to Xuzhou immediately. We still have soldiers and horses in Jiujiang. We can leave Li Gongliang to garrison Hefei, while Yun Chang leads the rest of the soldiers and horses back to Xuzhou."
"Where is Wancheng? Jiangxia troops haven't arrived yet."
"You can leave a thousand people to guard temporarily. When Jiang Xia's soldiers arrive, they will follow."
The soldiers and horses led by Huang Zu have not yet reached Wancheng, but according to the schedule, they should be able to arrive in two or three days.
Gao Shun led the soldiers and horses back to Xuzhou. They should not be far from Xiapi now, and they can arrive before the enemy soldiers.
Liu Bei quickly sent someone to order Li Jia to lead 5,000 people to stay in Hefei, while Guan Yu and Xu Ding led the remaining 15,000 people to rush to Pengcheng. As long as Pengcheng was defended, he could lead his troops back to Xiapi.
According to what Zhou Ping said, Zhuge Liang and a thousand people were left temporarily to wait for Jiangxia's troops.
Liu Bei led 17,000 men and set off in a hurry to return to Xuzhou.
Now on the territory of Yangzhou, in addition to the 5,000 people stationed in Hefei by Li Jia, there are also 5,000 people stationed in Chungu under the command of Lu Su. The 2,000 people stationed in Niuzhu have returned to Danyang and are led by Taishi Ci.
Taishi Ci has been recruiting troops, and now he has recruited more than 1,000 people. Adding the 2,000 people he commanded before, there will be more than 5,000 people stationed in Danyang. He is still recruiting soldiers and horses, hoping to recruit one or two
Thousands of people.
Mi Fang had 3,000 men stationed in Wu County, and Zhang Kai had 2,000 men in Qu'a.
Liu Bei controlled the three counties in Yangzhou with a total of 20,000 soldiers and horses garrisoned there.
Regarding Hefei, Liu Bei and Zhou Ping were not worried at all.
They knew the abilities of Li Jia, the prefect of Jiujiang, and especially Liu Fu, the commander of Hefei, who had already built the city of Hefei so impregnably that even if Sun Quan led a hundred thousand troops to attack, he might not be able to capture it.
Danyang Prefect Taishi Ci, Liu Bei and Zhou Ping were not worried either.
They knew that Tai Shici's bravery and Lu Su's five thousand soldiers and horses in Spring Valley would have no problem guarding Danyang.
What worries Liu Bei and Zhou Ping is Mi Fang, the governor of Wu County.
Mi Fang's ability is really average, Wu County is the hometown of the Sun family, and what worries Zhou Ping even more is Zhang Kai.
As long as Liu Bei is defeated in Xuzhou, Zhang Kai is likely to switch to Sun Quan, and he may even drag Mi Fang with him. Neither of these two people can keep their loyalty.
But in this situation, it is impossible to change people, and Zhou Ping is unable to take care of Wu Jun's affairs. He only hopes that they will be fine.
In Xuzhou, there are 10,000 people from Zang Ba in Langya, 5,000 from Tian Yu in Pengcheng, 5,000 from Xu Sheng in Xiapi, 5,000 from Gao Shun who is about to return, and 5,000 from Chen Deng in Guangling.
Thousands of people, totaling 30,000 people.
Guan Yu had 15,000 men on the road, and Liu Bei now had 18,000 men including the 1,000 men left by Zhuge Liang in Wancheng, for a total of 33,000 men.
All added up, Liu Bei's number of soldiers and horses was 83,000. Excluding the 20,000 soldiers and horses stationed in the three counties of Yangzhou, there were more than 60,000 soldiers and horses who could go back to guard Xuzhou.
Although Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had hundreds of thousands of troops to attack, Liu Bei and Zhou Ping felt that they could defend Xuzhou.
Two days later, Huang Zu led his troops to Wancheng. After Zhuge Liang handed over, he led a thousand men to catch up with Liu Bei.
Huang Zubiao appointed Su Fei as the prefect of Lujiang, and appointed Chen Gong as the general to stay and assist him. He also left 10,000 people for Su Fei, and he led the rest of the troops back to Jiangxia.
Originally, when Liu Bei asked him to come, he wanted to attack Lujiang together, but he didn't expect that Liu Bei would capture Wancheng just after he sent out troops.
Now Yuan Shao and Cao Cao join forces to attack Xuzhou, Liu Bei's troops have all withdrawn, but Sun Quan and Yuan Shu have not been destroyed. He is worried that Jiangxia will be attacked, so he rushes to lead his troops back.
When Yuan Shu heard in Chaisang that Yuan and Cao were joining forces to attack Xuzhou, he suddenly spurted out a mouthful of blood: "I...why can't I defend it longer!"
If he had stayed in Wancheng longer, how could he be like this now?
"General, what's wrong with you? Liu Bei has withdrawn all his troops and surrendered the Lujiang River to Huang Zu. Now only Su Fei's 10,000 men are stationed in Wancheng. We can retake Wancheng." Yan Xiang said with great joy.
Although Lujiang had been lost, his original prediction was correct, and Yuan Cao indeed sent troops to Xuzhou.
"We only have more than 10,000 people, and there are 10,000 enemy soldiers defending Wancheng. How can we recapture it?"
Yuan Shu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and asked sadly.
"Sun Zhongmou has 20,000 soldiers and can rely on his strength," Yan Xiang said.
Yuan Shu couldn't help but think of the scene when Sun Ce came to him to ask for Sun Jian's troops, and now he had to ask Sun Quan for help. How could he bear this humiliation?
"That's it, that's all!" Yuan Shu waved his hand, "I'm tired, wow..."
As he spoke, another mouthful of blood spurted out, and he slowly fell to the side.
"General, general!"
Zhang Xun and Yan Xiang quickly stepped forward to help him.
Yuan Shu covered his heart and felt a burst of pain, and said to Zhang Xun: "Help me lie down. I'm tired and don't want to fight anymore!"
Zhang Xun quickly helped Yuan Shu go back to his room and lie down.
"It's a pity that the imperial seal has been lost. It may have been taken away by Liu Bei. You go tell Benchu and ask him to kill Liu Bei and take back the imperial seal."
As soon as Yuan Shu lay down, he said to Zhang Xun and Yan Xiang who were standing by.
Zhang Xun and Yan Xiang nodded, and then looked at each other, thinking in their hearts that Yuan Shu had said such words, and he seemed to know that he was about to die.
"Master Yan, you...you are loyal and talented. After I...after I leave, you will send me and my son to Yecheng to assist Benchu and help my Yuan family...Yuan family's business!"
Yuan Shu said weakly.
"General, don't worry, I will escort you and your son to Yecheng." Yan Xiang held Yuan Shu's hand tightly and said.
"You can lead troops to assist Sun Zhongmou, help him defeat Liu Bei, and avenge me!"
"General, I will destroy Liu Bei!" Zhang Xun cried with tears streaming down his face again.
"Go and call my son."
Zhang Xun and Yan Xiang went out of the room and sent for Yuan Shu's son.
They told them to follow Yan Xiang back to Yecheng, and also told them to betroth their daughters to Sun Quan, so that Sun Quan could obey Yuan Shao's orders and assist Yuan Shao in commanding the world.
At night, Yuan Shu suddenly gasped for breath. His son, Zhang Xun, Yan Xiang and others were guarding the bedside.
After looking at it, the doctor shook his head and said: "The general is too sad and angry, and his mental strength is exhausted. I'm afraid he won't be able to survive the night."
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Yuan Shu finally closed his eyes forever.
Ever since he led troops from Nanyang into Chenliu County in Yanzhou in the fourth year of Chuping Dynasty, and Jin Shang, the governor of Yanzhou who wanted to serve for the imperial court, drove away Cao Cao, Yuan Shu had been losing.
Later, he was defeated several times against Liu Bei, and now he was driven to Yuzhang. Especially when Liu Bei retreated just after he was defeated, this was too torturous.
Yuan Shu really couldn't accept it.
Yan Xiang and Zhang Xun followed Yuan Shu's instructions, and Yan Xiang led 300 people to escort Yuan Shu's body and his son to Yecheng via Jingzhou.
Zhang Xun led 15,000 troops to surrender to Sun Quan, and also brought Yuan Shu's daughter with him.
Sun Quan was discussing with Sun Jing, Zhu Zhi, Lu Fan and others.
"Hahaha... Yuan and Cao join forces to attack Xuzhou, Liu Bei will surely die!"
Sun Jing, who has always been gentle and gentle, also smiled very wantonly at this time.
"Yes, he has retreated now, but I didn't expect that he had captured the Lujiang River and gave it to Huang Zu." Lu Fan couldn't believe it.
Liu Bei took the territory of a county and then gave it to others. How magnanimous is this!
"Did Zi Heng forget that Liu Bei had Zhou Ping to help him?" Zhu Zhi said, "Zhou Ping was very resourceful and must have known how powerful Yuan and Cao's combined forces would be this time. He gave up Lujiang just to use Jiangxia's troops to block it.
It’s just us, so we can send all our troops back to Xuzhou to defend it.”
"Jun Li is right. We must seize this opportunity to seize the Lujiang River, and then cross the river to recapture Wu County and Danyang. After Yuan Cao destroys Liu Bei, the entire Yangzhou will fall into our hands."
Sun Jing seemed to see the light of the future, with a rare smile on her face.
Lu Fan immediately said: "But Yuan Gongli..."
They still don't know that Yuan Shu is dead.
Zhu Zhi said: "We can make preparations first, but we will not send troops. As I predict, Yuan Gongluo's troops cannot attack Lujiang alone. They will definitely come to us for help. If he comes to ask for help, we can make an appointment with him.
We help him seize Lujiang, and he helps us seize Jiangdong, so that we can regain the land of Jiangdong."
Sun Quan listened quietly and felt that what everyone said was reasonable. Finally, according to Zhu Zhi's words, he asked his troops to prepare and wait for news from Yuan Shu.
However, a few days later, news came back from Chaisang that Yuan Shu had died of illness and his son had returned to Yecheng. Zhang Xun led his troops to surrender and wanted to marry his daughter to Sun Quan.
This made Sun Quan very happy. He didn't expect that he would get both a wife and soldiers.
"I will personally lead the troops to seize Wancheng and attack Hefei!"
Sun Quan left Zhu Zhi and Lu Fan to lead 5,000 men to defend the city. He personally took Sun Jing, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Zhou Tai, Pan Zhang and others, and joined forces with Zhang Xun, leading 30,000 horses across the river to attack Wancheng.
Liu Bei led his troops and horses to leave quickly, and the news came one by one.
The good news came first, Gao Shun returned to Xiapi.
This news gave Liu Bei and Zhou Ping some peace of mind, at least Xiapi would not be breached so easily.
But what follows is almost always bad news.
Yuan Shao sent 50,000 troops, Cao Cao sent 50,000 troops, and a hundred thousand troops marched toward Xuzhou.
At the same time, Yuan Tan from Qingzhou led 30,000 troops to the south to attack Langya, and Xiahou Yuan from Chen State led 10,000 troops to attack Pei State. At this time, they were besieging Xiangxian County.
Zhang Xiu of Nanyang also led 20,000 soldiers and horses and marched quickly towards Xuzhou.
Zhou Ping made statistics and found that this time Yuan and Cao joined forces, there were actually 160,000 troops, not counting the troops of Sun Quan and Yuan Shu. Moreover, Luo Jun, the governor of Yuzhou, stood still and refused to help anyone.
Liu Bei was also afraid and asked Zhou Ping: "Sir, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are attacking with so many troops and horses, can we defend it?"
Zhou Ping didn't pay attention to Liu Bei's question. He was thinking about who he could ask for help now.
But after much deliberation, I found that no one could help except Liu Biao from Jingzhou. If I thought about it more carefully, even Liu Biao from Jingzhou would not be able to help.
In such a situation, there is a huge disparity in the strength of the two sides. Not to mention the aristocratic families in Jingzhou, even Liu Biao himself cannot send troops to help.
Now it seems that if you want to retreat from the enemy and protect the state, you can only rely on yourself.
"Sir, sir..."
When Liu Bei saw that Zhou Ping did not respond, he shouted repeatedly.
"Ah, my lord, did you call me?" Zhou Ping heard the call and responded hurriedly.
"One hundred and sixty thousand troops are coming to attack. How should we repel the enemy?" Liu Bei looked worried.
"Hmm..." Zhou Ping thought for a while before replying, "Defend the city."
"How to guard?" Liu Bei asked.
Of course he knew that he had to defend the city. With so many enemy soldiers, how could he go out of the city to fight against them?
"Although Yuan Tan in Qingzhou has 30,000 troops to attack Langya southward, if Cao Cao does not divide his troops to attack Langya, Zang Xuandao's 10,000 Taishan troops should be able to hold it. Guan Yunchang led 15,000 troops to Pengcheng, and together with Tian Guorang, there was
There are 20,000 soldiers and horses defending the city. If they hold on to the city, Cao Cao may not be able to break it, but it may be difficult to sustain food and grass, so why not..."
Zhou Ping paused as he spoke.
"How?" Liu Bei asked anxiously.
"It is better to let Yunchang and Guorang lead their troops back to Xiapi. When we return, even if Cao Cao's army of hundreds of thousands besieges the city, we can go out and fight. If we can win, we can retreat from the enemy."
With so many soldiers and horses gathered in one city, if Cao Cao and Yuan Shao surrounded the city with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, they would definitely have to go out to fight.
Liu Bei now has so many powerful generals, including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Gao Shun, Chen Dao, Xu Sheng, Xu Chu and Zhang Wu, etc.
The soldiers and horses have repeatedly won victories and have considerable combat experience. If they go out of the city to fight, it will be easier to win.
After all, if Cao Cao besieged the city on all sides, he wouldn't have many troops on one side.
But if this happens, the people of Xuzhou will suffer.
But no matter what, the people of Xuzhou will inevitably suffer this time. With so many enemy soldiers coming to attack, they will only need a lot of food. They will definitely rob people of their homes.
"In addition, we can ask the people to leave Xuzhou temporarily and retreat to Guangling or Yangzhou, so as to cut off the enemy's supply of food. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have so many soldiers and horses that if they cannot attack for a long time, they will be short of food. Once the food is lacking, the morale of the army will be scattered.
Zhou Ping said again.
When Liu Bei thought about displacing the people, he shook his head and sighed, grabbing Zhou Ping's hand: "Sir, are there no other options? How about asking Liu Jingzhou for help?"
"My lord, it's okay to ask Jingzhou troops to attack Sun Quan and Yuan Shu, but if they send troops to save Xuzhou, I'm afraid it's impossible. The last time Cao Cao came to attack, I went to ask for it. If Yuan Shao hadn't sent troops at that time, Liu Jingsheng wouldn't have done it.
If you send out troops and ask for help now, it will be fruitless."
"What should we do?"
Liu Bei himself could not think of a good way to retreat from the enemy.
"Kong Ming, do you have any good ideas?" Liu Bei turned to Zhuge Liang and asked.
Zhuge Liang shook his head. Not only him, but also Zhang Fei and Gan Ning were silent at this time.
Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had 160,000 troops to attack Xuzhou, while Liu Bei only had more than 60,000 troops in Xuzhou. Even if Yangzhou's 20,000 troops were sent back to rescue Xuzhou, there would only be more than 80,000 troops. The difference was huge.
Liu Bei had no choice but to send people first to ask Guan Yu and Tian Yu to lead their troops back to Xiapi. He also asked the people in Pengcheng and Xiapi counties to leave quickly if they could go to Guangling or Yangzhou.
Once the enemy soldiers arrive, they may not be able to leave even if they want to.