Liu Bei was in Luocheng and was discussing how to defeat Liu Zhang when he suddenly heard bad news from the defeated army.
"What? Yuan Xi's banner appeared, and Jiameng Pass and Fushui Pass were all captured? Guan Ping, Huo Jun died in battle, and Yun Chang's life and death are unknown?"
Liu Bei was so shocked by this shocking news that he was stunned on the outside and tender on the inside. He was stunned for a long time and could not catch his breath.
After regaining his breath, Liu Bei's first words were: "I have become sworn brothers with Yunchang Taoyuan, and we vow to live and die together. Nothing can happen to Yunchang!"
Xu Shu advised: "My lord, I have my condolences. I look at the face of the general who has passed the pass. He is a man of great value and is not a man who died young. Now, on the contrary, the situation of our army is somewhat critical."
Liu Bei also experienced setbacks and hardships. The three brothers were displaced and separated from each other; Guan Yu was even captured by Cao Cao and worked as a coolie. What kind of storms and waves have he not seen?
Liu Bei immediately calmed down and said, "Military advisor, please speak."
Xu Shu said: "Yuan Xi captured Jiameng Pass and Fushui Pass, which is equivalent to cutting off our connection with Jingzhou. Our army is trapped in Xichuan, with Liu Zhang in front and Yuan Xi behind. We are in short supply of food and grass, and there is no hope of backup. If Liu Zhang and
Yuan Xi is attacking from behind, and we are defending Luocheng, but we are unpopular, so we may not be able to maintain it."
Although Liu Bei had a reputation for benevolence, he had just occupied Luocheng, so it was normal for him to be unpopular with Luocheng.
When defending the city, don't think about mobilizing the power of the masses. You can only rely on the tens of thousands of Jingzhou soldiers brought by Liu Bei.
Liu Bei also realized the seriousness of the matter and said, "What should we do now?"
Xu Shu said: "The only way is to send capable messengers to sneak into Jingzhou and ask Kong Ming to send reinforcements."
Liu Bei regretted and said: "The military advisor has said this before, but when I wrote back to Jingzhou, I just let Kong Ming make his own decision. If I knew that the matter was so critical, I would have asked Kong Ming to come to the rescue as soon as possible."
Wei Yan proposed a plan: "It is better for me to lead an army, secretly cross the Fu River, steal Mianzhu, and advance to Chengdu. As long as Chengdu can be captured, Yizhou will be in the palm of the lord, and it will be too late for Yuan Xi to fight for it."
Xu Shu shook his head and said: "The situation is critical now, let alone act recklessly. Not to mention whether you can defeat Mianzhu, even if you can defeat it, how can you defeat Chengdu?"
Wei Yan whispered: "That guy named Zhang Song can be used as an internal agent, right? With him opening the city gate, breaking Chengdu is not a trivial matter. Now that we are in such a predicament, if we don't use a cunning plan, we can only wait for failure."
Liu Bei said: "Commander, please don't be rude to your military advisor."
Although Liu Bei stopped Wei Yan, the generals were still somewhat interested in Wei Yan's plan.
However, another messenger arrived later, this time from Jingzhou.
"This must be Zhuge's military advisor's reply." Liu Bei felt as if he had found a treasure and hurriedly opened it and read it.
After reading it, Liu Bei couldn't help but look up to the sky and pray: "Fortunately for Kong Ming, God will never stop me!"
Everyone hurriedly asked what was written in the letter.
Liu Bei passed the letter to everyone and said: "After receiving my last letter, Military Advisor Zhuge observed the sky at night and discovered that the land in Bazhong was full of stars. There was another star as big as a bucket, which was overwhelming the southwest. Therefore,
It is calculated that Yuan's army in Hanzhong will take action. Therefore, Zhuge's military advisor has already mobilized his troops in advance and is on the way to Yizhou. Within three days, good news will come."
Hearing this, Xu Shu sighed: "Kong Ming is thousands of miles away, and he knows Yuan Jun's conspiracy very well. There are really unforeseen opportunities for ghosts and gods."
Liu Bei said: "Yuan Zhi also has great talents. If I want to help the world, I need to rely on your wisdom and strategy."
Xu Shu shook his head and said: "My little ability, like the fluorescence of rotten grass, can't compare to the bright moon in the sky? But what I'm worried about is that if Kong Ming leads his army to help, what will Jingzhou do?"
Liu Bei said in astonishment: "Commander Zhuge said in the letter that the five counties of Jingzhou have reached the point where they cannot be abandoned. But he has already made a plan on how to deal with them. In short, he must make the situation as beneficial to our army as possible."
…
After Bai Xiaowen won two passes, he led his army southward and invaded Luocheng.
Liu Bei couldn't hold on.
At the same time, Bai Xiaowen also received bad news.
Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei led their troops to the west, captured Bajun, and recruited Yan Yan, the governor of Bajun, to surrender. All the passes along the way, large and small, were surrendered without a fight. They had already advanced into Yizhou and would reach Luocheng soon.
The generals called for a battle and wanted to conquer Luocheng as soon as possible to prevent Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang from joining together.
Bai Xiaowen looked at the tall Luocheng, shook his head and said: "The strength of Liu Bei's army in Luocheng is far beyond that of Jiameng Pass. Even if our army can attack with force, even if it can finally break through, it will inevitably cause heavy casualties. By then, we will no longer have the ability to continue to control Sichuan.
On the contrary, it gave Liu Zhang an advantage."
There was one more thing Bai Xiaowen didn't say.
If Luocheng cannot be conquered, the soldiers are exhausted, and Zhuge Liang attacks from behind and cooperates with the outside, Yuan's army is likely to be defeated.
With Zhuge Liang's resourcefulness, if he sets up a few more ambushes... Bai Xiaowen doesn't have the face to let Guan Yu let go of Huarong Road.
It should be mentioned here that Jiameng Pass is the gateway to Hanzhong and Xichuan, but it is not the gateway to Jingzhou and Xichuan. Zhuge Liang led his army from Bajun and fought against Liu Zhang's army. There was no need to pass through Jiameng Pass or Fushui Pass.
.
Liu Zhang's army was too incompetent. What the hell was the point of surrendering at the various passes along the way?
Of course, there is this time in the novel, and the main problem is Yan Yan. The governor of Bajun has a high prestige in Bajun. After he was subdued by Zhang Fei, the people behind him personally went out to persuade him to surrender, and there was no one who refused.
Now, not only Zhang Fei but also Zhuge Liang is commanding the army. It is not easy to subdue Yan Yan.
Bai Xiaowen thought it over and decided that it would be better to adopt the tactic of "encircling the point and calling for reinforcements".
So, Bai Xiaowen calculated Zhuge Liang's marching speed and the distance to Luocheng, and then made some plans and arrangements.
First, a false flag was set up in the camp near Luocheng, leaving only a few soldiers and horses to maintain a daily fighting posture.
Then, about one hundred and fifty miles east of Luocheng, there was a dangerous area called Huluyu. Bai Xiaowen personally led an army to ambush here.
Li Shuyi, of course, has 100% trust in Bai Xiaowen.
But Cecilia was a little curious and asked: "Zhuge Liang is said to be the most powerful strategist in the world. Will he fall into an ambush like you designed?"
Bai Xiaowen said: "If it were Zhuge Liang alone, of course he wouldn't. But with Zhang Fei, it wouldn't necessarily be the case."
After a pause, Bai Xiaowen said: "In the novel, after Zhuge Liang was recruited as a military advisor by Liu Bei Sangu Thatched Cottage, he was not very popular with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. His reputation in Liu Bei's camp was mainly based on the burning of Bowang Po.
, burned Fancheng for the second time, and it was brought out on Cao Cao's vanguard army. Now that he does not have this opportunity to gain reputation, whether Zhang Fei will obey him is a question."
Li Shuyi said: "Zhang Fei should be more worried about Liu Bei's safety. So it is possible to force the march regardless of Zhuge Liang's advice."