Chen Deng and Li Jia sat opposite each other. They already knew about Tian Yu and Xu Chu's robbery of grain and grass.
"I can't believe that my lord actually arranged for his troops to be hidden on Tiger Mountain three months in advance in order to rob and burn Yuan Shu's army today. So, my lord has already expected that Yuan Shu will lead his troops to attack."
Only then did Li Jia understand why Liu Bei arranged for troops to garrison Huailing. It turned out to be to cooperate with the troops on Tiger Mountain.
Chen Deng raised his glass to drink and smiled slightly: "This is Zhou Wen'an's plan."
"General Lu You was ordered to garrison Huailing, but he didn't know that there was an ambush on Hushan. It's hard to avoid..." Li Jia sighed a little.
"It's difficult to accomplish something if it's not secret. If everyone knows about it, it won't be a clever plot. Even I don't know about it! If General Lu You had held on to Huailing and hadn't abandoned the city and retreated, he would not have died." Chen Deng
said.
Li Jia sighed slightly: "Previously, General Guan Yunchang stationed his troops in Xuyi and did not leave. I didn't know what he meant. But now I know that Mr. Wen'an used a strategy to lure the wolf and hunt it. Haha, the plan is so careful that even we can't.
If you can't figure out its meaning, how can Yuan Shu not fall into the trap?"
Chen Deng laughed and said: "Hahaha, yes, Wen'an's clever tactics are always unexpected. This time Yuan Guangdao lost food and the food road was cut off, so he will be eager to fight. If he is anxious, he will be defeated."
Li Jia nodded in agreement: "Well, Yuan Shu suffered a small defeat before and lost his generals. Now that the food road is cut off, the morale of the army will be chaotic. I am only worried that he will move his troops to attack Dongyang, and then divide his troops to attack Guangling City. We can't
Not prepared."
Chen Deng shook his head: "No, Guangling City is quite far away. If he divides his troops, even if he captures Guangling, the troops here may be destroyed, and the troops in Huailing will also be difficult to retreat. Although the highway is mediocre, it is not
in this way."
"In this case, Yuan Shu may be destroyed!"
"No, a hundred-footed insect will not die until death. Even if the highway is defeated, it will not be destroyed. Moreover, you only want to defeat the highway so that it will not dare to fight for Xuzhou again. If you destroy the highway, I am afraid that you will lose the world.
O human heart! Come, drink wine and eat meat."
As he spoke, Chen Deng raised his glass and drank again. There was a plate of mutton in front of him. Ever since Zhou Ping mentioned the fish and shrimps that had worms on them, he no longer dared to eat fish and shrimps. "We stationed troops in Dongyang, only to intercept them.
The effect of deterrence is that now you have Zhou Wen'an, Wu Youyun, and all the virtuous generals. If it is really easy to defeat Yuan Shu, we don't have to worry."
Indeed, Zhou Ping asked Chen Deng to station troops in Dongyang, mainly to intercept and deter him, but at the same time, it also showed Xuzhou people's support for Liu Bei.
In Xuyi, Zhou Ping also often drank alcohol, but he drank by himself. Zhang Fei came to drink with him many times, but he politely refused.
Drinking heavily like Zhang Fei will undoubtedly lead to drunkenness. Zhou Ping is a good drinker, not an alcoholic.
After Yuan Shu's request for a battle failed, he retreated and garrisoned, but the people in Xuyi City were recharging their strength and waiting for the battle in seven days.
However, only two days later, there was a piece of news that made Zhou Ping feel slightly uneasy, but at the same time he felt happy, because everything was as he expected.
The news came from Yanzhou Kuaimao. Lu Bu was defeated by Cao Cao in an ambush in Juye.
As early as more than a month ago, Zhou Ping sent many detectives to Yanzhou. As soon as there was news of Lu Bu's defeat, he would immediately report it.
It is now June, which happens to be the time when Lu Bu was defeated.
If Lu Bu is defeated, he will most likely defect to Xuzhou, but now Liu Bei is leading his troops here to resist Yuan Shu. Will Xiapi be attacked by Lu Bu?
Regarding Xiapi, Zhou Ping was actually not too worried.
Although Cao Bao and a thousand Danyang soldiers are present in Xiapi, there are also Xu Sheng and so many Xuzhou soldiers, so it is no problem to defend Xiapi.
What Zhou Ping has to consider now is how to deal with Lu Bu.
If Lu Bu really came to Xuzhou, should he accept him?
If he does not accept it, Lu Bu will most likely defect to Yuan Shu, thereby being used by Yuan Shu and becoming Liu Bei's enemy.
In this way, it was equivalent to giving Yuan Shu a few fierce generals and a counselor, as well as those Bingzhou soldiers who were good at fighting. Zhou Ping did not want to do this kind of stupid thing to make his opponent stronger.
But if he accepts it, Lu Bu is like Chen Deng said, just like raising a tiger, if you have enough of its meat, it will bite people if it is not full.
But Lu Bu couldn't be fed enough.
After much deliberation, Zhou Ping finally decided to accept Lu Bu and then take the opportunity to get rid of him to avoid future troubles.
"Lord," after Zhou Ping made up his mind, he came to Liu Bei and evacuated everyone in the tent, leaving only the two of them. "There is news from Yanzhou that Lu Bu was defeated by Cao Cao in Juye and is now rushing to Xuzhou. Ping means, Lu Bu
If he is only interested in profit and has repeatedly betrayed the lord, the lord can keep him out of Xuzhou and not allow him to enter Xuzhou."
Although Zhou Ping decided to accept Lu Bu, he first persuaded Liu Bei to refuse.
Based on his understanding of Liu Bei, he would definitely not listen to his own advice.
Sure enough, Liu Bei said: "General Lu was defeated and came to surrender. How could I refuse him! Dong Zhuo caused chaos in the country and harmed the people, and everyone wanted to kill him. General Lu killed the Dong thief because he was doing it for the country and the people and as a meritorious man."
.Besides, Cao Cao is Xuzhou’s enemy, and an enemy’s enemy can be a friend. Speaking of which, Xuzhou was saved because of Lu Fengxian’s contribution.”
Zhou Ping understood what Liu Bei was referring to, which was that when Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou for the second time, Lu Bu attacked Yanzhou and asked Cao Cao to retreat, thus saving Xuzhou.
"It's just that Lu Bu is a rebellious man, so if you accept him, you must be careful. In the past, Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xuzhou, and Yanzhou was captured by him. Now that the lord has sent troops to resist Yuan Shu, you must be careful of Xiapi being attacked by him."
Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, nodded and said: "Well, there are eight or nine thousand soldiers in Xiapi. Even if he attacks by surprise, he may not be able to succeed. Don't worry, sir!"
Zhou Ping reminded: "Did my lord forget to subordinate Cao Bao, the Prime Minister of Pi? What would happen if he colluded with Lu Bu, cooperated internally and externally, opened the city gate and let Lu Bu's troops enter the city?"
Cao Bao, the Prime Minister of Xia Pi, is indeed a person who worries Liu Bei.
"Then how do you think you should deal with it, sir?"
"Now that the battle with Yuan Shu is imminent, it is no longer useful for Tian Guorang, Xu Zhongkang and others to stay on the mountain. We can ask them to take a detour and retreat for consideration. If Xiapi is attacked, they can quickly rescue them. At the same time, Sun Zhongtai of Mount Tai is ordered to lead three thousand soldiers.
He returned to Langya, but hid himself thirty miles north of Xiapi, waiting for orders."
Zhou Ping continued: "After defeating Yuan Shu, I will immediately return to Xiapi to keep an eye on Cao Bao. I also ordered Zhang Yide to lead two thousand troops, march day and night, and hide thirty miles south of Xiapi. If Lu Bu leads the army to attack,
Pi, then all the ambush troops will come out and kill them to avoid future troubles."
Liu Bei was a little stunned: "With such a large number of troops mobilized, sir, do you think General Lu will definitely attack Xiapi?"
"It would be best if he does not attack, but if he does attack, an ambush can be used. Yuan Shu's defeat has been determined, and there is no need for so many troops here. When Yuan Shu is defeated and retreats, the lord does not want to pursue him, but leaves his troops at Xuyi.
However, if Yuan Shu moves to Xuzhou and does not leave, it can be seen that he must have a connection with Lu Bu and wants to keep our troops here so that Lu Bu can take the opportunity to attack Xia Pi. If Yuan Shu retreats, our troops will also return to Xia Pi.
Pi, if you go down to Pi you will be safe."
"I treat him kindly, and I think he won't harm me. You may be too worried, sir, but that's fine, just follow your arrangements." Liu Bei agreed to Zhou Ping's arrangement.
As the shepherd of a state and having fought for many years, Liu Bei understood the importance of being on guard against others.
Liu Bei sent people to ask Tian Yu and Xu Chu to lead their troops to leave Hushan, take a detour to Zhongli and cross the river to the north, then secretly return to Lu and live in seclusion until they are ready.
He also ordered Taishan Sun Guan to lead 3,000 Taishan troops and retreat thirty miles north of Xiapi to lie in wait.
Sun Guan took away 3,000 men, and Zang Ba still had 4,000 men guarding the river. However, there were only 5,000 enemy soldiers in Huailing City, and there were no boats or rafts, so there was no need to worry that they would cross the river to attack.
As for Zhang Fei, he can only leave after defeating Yuan Shu.
Three more days passed, and there were still two days until the day of the battle agreed with Yuan Shu. Zhou Ping felt that it was time to take action.
