When it passed noon, the sky did not get better.

The sky was gray, the sun was obscured by thick lead-gray clouds, and the howling north wind made people feel a bone-chilling chill.

Xiling County Xiling County, after the original Jiangxia County was divided, most of the territory of Jiangxia County was moved to the south of the Yangtze River.

Its approximate location is in the later Wuhan, Xianning, Ezhou, and Huangshi areas, with a small part located in Xiaogan, Hanchuan and other places in the north of the Yangtze River. Most of the rest north of the Yangtze River was allocated to Xiling.

Therefore, Xiling County, the original seat of Jiangxia County, became the seat of Xiling County. The specific location was Xinzhou District in Wuhan, Hubei Province in later generations.

At this moment, in the Xiling County government residence, Liu Bei convened the civil and military ministers to discuss matters.

Shen Chen is not here.

He also guarded Nanyang in Wancheng.

Because although Cao Cao led an army of more than 100,000 to conquer Huainan, there were still a large number of troops in Yingchuan and other places in Runan.

Therefore, in order to prevent Cao Jun from taking action, Nanyang's main force cannot move for the time being.

The current defenders in Xiling, in addition to some of the troops Liu Bei brought from Bashu, are county soldiers from various places in Jingzhou and Jiangxia naval forces, totaling about 120,000.

Including the defenders of Nanyang, Liu Bei's defense troops and horses against Cao Cao in Xiling, Nanyang, Zhangling, etc. basically reached 200,000. It can be said that it was an overwhelming force. Cao Cao captured most of the troops in Jingzhou and part of Yizhou.

All soldiers and horses were mobilized to Xiling.

However, Cao Cao's side is similar. He has deployed heavy troops in Huainan, Henan and other places. Now he has personally led an army here. The total strength has exceeded 250,000. The two sides are in a fierce confrontation.

It was not until the beginning of November that news of Cao Cao's withdrawal reached Xiling.

At this time, Zhao Yun was still stationed in Songzi County, Taishi Ci was stationed in Xunyang County, Liu Bei led his personal guards and the Jingzhou army in Xiling, and the Jiangxia navy was stationed in Qichun.

Liu Bei's troops and horses were scattered all along the Yangtze River in Xiling and Jiangxia.

Generals at all levels were stationed in camps along the route. There were hundreds of camps, large and small, in the six counties from Songzi to Xiling, stretching for more than two to three hundred miles. Whenever there was a change in the battlefield, they would immediately rush to Ruxukou.

In the county government office, Liu Bei was discussing with his counselors.

He sat on the main seat and looked around, facing Fa Zheng, Jia Xu, Zhang Song, Sun Qian, Deng Zhi, Zheng Du and others.

Most of them were people from Bashu. Only Jia Xu, Sun Qian, and even Deng Zhi went to Bashu from Nanyang in their early years. Later, Liu Bei appreciated their talents in Yizhou and moved them to be the governor of Xiling.

The reason why this happens is because of the system of serving as an official in a different place.

Now all the descendants of the Jingzhou family in Bashu, such as Pang Tong, Xiang Lang, Xi Zhen, Ma Jun, Ma Liang, Pang Shanmin, Kuai Qi, etc., all serve as high-ranking officials in Yizhou counties and carry out political reforms.

However, the descendants of the Yizhou family and the original bureaucratic class all moved to Jingzhou to serve as officials. Therefore, after Liu Bei arrived in Jingzhou, the counselors who followed him were all from Xichuan.

Liu Bei looked at everyone and said: "Xiaoqing sent a letter, saying that Cao Cao may have planned Jingzhou together with Sun Quan and deliberately fought to get me into trouble. But now it seems, why do I think this possibility is extremely small?"

Zhang Song said: "Yes, even if he deliberately fought to deceive the lord, Cao's army's losses were real. The battle lasted for more than a month, and he lost 10,000 or 20,000 troops. How could his men lose their lives like this? In my opinion, Xiaoqing

You are overly worried. This is probably Cao Cao's plan to doubt his troops, or he is testing Jiangdong's strength."

"good."

Deng Zhi also echoed: "If Sun Quan can withstand his attack, Cao Cao will naturally have no choice but to withdraw his troops and go back to the north to attack Xiliang in the pass. If Sun Quan is not strong enough, he can attack Ruxukou in one fell swoop and march to Jianye.

If we seize the opportunity to seize Jiangdong and confront us along the river, it will be an unexpected surprise for Cao Cao."

Liu Bei thought for a while, turned his head and looked at Fa Zhengdao: "Does Xiaozhi think so too?"

Fazheng pondered for a moment and shook his head: "If it were in the past, I would probably think so. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that Xiaoqing is right."

He said seriously: "At first, I thought that Han Sui and Ma Chao's family papers were all sent to Yecheng, and they would eventually submit to Cao Cao. Unexpectedly, several years later, they still dominate Xiliang in Guanzhong, and they seem to have no intention of submitting to Cao Cao. It seems that

Xiaoqing's vision is far-reaching, and I can't match it."

Zhang Song also admired: "Xiaoqing is indeed right about this matter. We didn't believe Xiaoqing's words at the beginning, but now it seems that Xiaoqing is worthy of being the wisest man in the world. No wonder the lord trusts her so much."

Liu Bei smiled and thought of the young man who was already able to talk freely when he was only eight years old in Xuzhou, and now he has become his son-in-law.

"Report!"

At this moment, the guard outside the door quickly came in, knelt down on one knee in the hall, and held an official document in his hand: "My lord, urgent report from Hanzhong."

"Send it up."

Liu Bei waved to the soldiers to deliver the official documents.

The soldier placed the official document in his hand on the table and walked away backwards.

Liu Bei opened the official document and browsed it casually. His expression suddenly changed and he said: "Xiaoqing is really a national scholar."

Fazheng said hurriedly: "My lord, could it be that Cao's army attacked Guanzhong?"

"Yes."

Liu Bei put down the document in his hand and said: "Last month, Cao Cao sent General Xiahou Dun to lead General Xiahou Dun in Jin, General Xian Yufu of Zuo Du Liao, and Shan Yu Huchuquan of the Southern Xiongnu, with an army of more than 100,000, to attack Hanzhong.

In the name of Han Sui, Ma Chao marched from Hedong to Guanzhong. Han Sui and Ma Chao suspected that it was a false plan to attack Guo, so he united with the generals in Guanzhong, drove out Zhong Yao, and confronted Xiahou Dun and others in Hedong."

"Xiaoqing said one thing right again."

Fazheng lowered his head and thought: "Four years ago, Xiaoqing said that Han Sui and Ma Chao would not surrender to Cao Cao. Cao Cao might attack them in the future. He asked us to wait and see what happens. We must not attack Xiliang in Guanzhong first. Compared with Xiaoqing,

I am really a man of shallow wisdom."

Although the Dharma says that righteousness must be repaid, he also must repay kindness.

In the past few years, Shen Chen was very friendly with him in Jingzhou. They were each other's friends and helped each other a lot when governing Jingzhou and implementing administrative decrees.

Moreover, Shen Chen's teachings were as inspiring as the words of a saint. Under the influence of them, Fa Zheng gradually became much calmer.

"This is a preemptive strike."

Zheng Du said in a deep voice: "My lord should lead the army back to Hanzhong immediately, and then order the generals of the Zhenjun army to attack Wuguan. Otherwise, Cao Cao only needs to lead Qingqi and tens of thousands of troops from Luoyang to Guanzhong, and he will have enough time to defeat Han Sui

Ma Chao, captured Xiliang in Guanzhong."

Deng Zhi also nodded and said: "Cao Cao's plan of attacking from the east to the west is really powerful. It bought him at least a month. Presumably, the troops he brought south this time were just to guard Huainan, Chendu and other places.

Soldiers. The main force of our headquarters has entered Hedong County from Bingzhou. If we try to catch up again, we are afraid it will be too late, and we may not be able to rush to Guanzhong until next year."

Now Cao Cao's military strength is also unprecedentedly strong. After all, his current territory is almost the same as at this time in history. In addition, he has a strong foundation in the north and has been recovering for several years.

It's just that the large territory means that there are many directions to defend. The first is the important towns of Yingchuan and Runan to guard against Nanyang's army.

Next is Huainan, which must be guarded against Sun Quan's army.

After that, there were political centers such as Chendu and Yecheng, and then Youzhou.

Although Cao Cao basically pacified Wu Wan in the First Battle of Western Liaoning, he only managed to pacify the largest force in Wu Wan. Wu Wan had a population of one to two million, and Hu and Han people lived together in Youzhou. Unrest may occur if you are not careful.

Coupled with the Xianbei people, Gongsun Kang of Liaodong, etc., Cao Cao also deployed troops and horses in Youzhou, commanded by Wuwan Colonel Yan Rou and Zuodu Liao General Xian Yufu.

So Cao Cao looked like he had a lot of troops, but in fact because there were so many places to defend, he only had a hundred thousand troops to move.

In the eyes of several not-so-top counselors under Liu Bei, Cao Cao's strategy of attacking from the east to the west was very powerful. He only used the 200,000 troops guarding the south to mobilize Liu Bei's main force to Jingzhou to confront him.

The main force quietly rushed to Guanzhong.

Large-scale battles take a long time. Although Cao Cao only bought himself a month, it would take at least two months for Liu Bei to react and mobilize his troops.

At the same time, Wuguan was not completely in the hands of Shen Chen. At that time, Danshui to the southeast of Wuguan was controlled by Shen Chen. Shangluo County, Shangxian and Wuguan Pass to the northwest of Wuguan were all guarded by Zhong Yao, making it difficult to defend.

Attack, not easy to break.

Otherwise, when Gao Gan fled from Wuguan Qingqi, if Wuguan was controlled by Shen Chen, he would not be hunted down by a mere captain of Shangluo County.

In this case, Cao Cao's false shot cost Liu Bei at least three months.

And that's under smooth conditions.

Liu Bei withdrew his troops from Jingzhou, and then marched from Jiangzhou to Hanzhong. Hanzhong rushed to Guanzhong. The journey was long and the transportation of grain, grass and baggage was slow.

If things don't go well, it's common for things like heavy rains and slippery roads to be blocked for a year and a half, just like how Li Yan's delivery of grain and grass to Zhuge Liang was delayed due to rain and muddy roads.

Therefore, although everyone has concluded that this is Cao Cao's plan to seize the opportunity to attack the east and attack the west, it is obvious that Liu Bei has fallen into the trap and Cao Cao has bought himself a long period of time to attack Han Sui and Ma Chao.

Once Han Sui and Ma Chao are defeated and Xiliang Pass is owned by Cao Cao, not only will it become more difficult for Liu Bei to regain Xiliang Pass, but the current source of horses will also be cut off.

Therefore, in everyone's opinion, they should immediately go to Guanzhong for support.

Fa Zheng did not have any suggestions, but asked: "My lord, since Xiaoqing has seen it before, what suggestions does he have?"

Liu Bei wondered: "What Xiaoqing means is that Han Sui and Ma Chao will not be defeated so quickly. We should immediately dispatch the main force of Jingzhou to Jiangzhou and pretend to support Guanzhong, creating the image of Jingzhou being empty. In fact, only a few troops are sent out of Chencang to support them.

, he will attack Wuguan, but will not immediately rush to the aid of Han Sui and Ma Chao."

Fa Zheng thought for a while and said: "This is because Xiaoqing has been looking for opportunities to annex Jiangdong. He feels that by creating the illusion that Jingzhou is empty, Sun Quan will take the opportunity to seize Jingzhou and lure him here."

"What about Han Sui and Ma Chao?"

Liu Bei asked.

Fa Zheng said: "Destroying Jiangdong will not be achieved overnight. Cao Cao sent more than 100,000 troops to attack Xiliang Guanzhong. The lord can send 20,000 people north to Hanzhong, and ordered General Guan and General Zhang to come out of Chencang Baoxie to join Han Sui and Ma Chao to attack together.

Cao Cao. In addition, the generals in Xiliang Pass have an army of 100,000, and Xiaoqing is attacking Wuguan. Cao Cao cannot defeat them immediately. When the time comes, my lord can calmly deal with Sun Quan."

"Um."
To be continued...