The cavalry's speed was really fast. As soon as the letter of challenge was issued, Liu Mang received a report from Lü Bu that Zhang Xiu's Xiliang Cavalry had arrived at Xinye. There were traces of Zhang Xiu's troops in Yiyang and Zaoyang.
"Yiyang and Zaoyang?" Liu Mang opened the map. Yiyang and Zaoyang were at the end of the Huai River. It was below Xinye and belonged to Jingzhou. After Yiyang and Zaoyang, it was Pingchun. This was a place where Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Yuzhou intersected. Liu Mang did not want to provoke Liu Bei and Liu Biao too early. This was also because Liu Mang did not have that many troops under his command. After Pingchun, they would arrive at Guangzhou. Guangzhou? Liu Mang could not help but think of the young general recommended by Zhang Liao. There was a garrison there, but it was only a thousand people.
Liu Mang held the report in his hand. This report was given to Lü Bu by Liu Biao in Jingzhou. After that, Lü Bu sent it to Liu Mang from Lujiang. This meant that the 20,000 Xiliang Cavalry were not far from Shouchun under Liu Mang's rule.
"Yuanzhi, what do you think?" Liu Mang asked his chief strategist.
"Milord. This humble one has three strategies. May I know which strategy Milord would like to use? "Said Xu Shu to Liu Mang with a smile.
"Don't keep me in suspense. Speak!" Liu Mang did not have time to keep Xu Shu in suspense.
"The worst plan is to defend Shouchun and wait for Wen Hou's rescue!" Xu Shu's plan was the safest. Liu Mang only had 200 White Horse Cavalry and 20,000 Xiliang Cavalry. In terms of mobility and combat power, they were much stronger than Liu Mang's troops. Therefore, Liu Mang could not take the initiative to attack. He could only withdraw his troops and wait for the arrival of Lü Bu's 5,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry before fighting Zhang Xiu's Xiliang Cavalry.
"Do we have to give up so much land?" Liu Mang did not only have Shouchun under his rule. He also had Hefei, Guangzhou, Gushi, and Anfeng. If he withdrew his troops in Shouchun, the Xiliang Cavalry would definitely make a mess of the other places. Then, all of Liu Mang's efforts would be destroyed. The seeds that he planted would also be destroyed by Zhang Xiu.
"What about the worst plan?" Liu Mang would not carry out the worst plan. Then, there were only the best plan and the middle plan.
"The middle plan is still to defend and wait for reinforcements. However, let all the cities close their gates. Milord, send the City Guard and the Black Flag Army to wait for an opportunity to fight in the wilderness!" Xu Shu's middle plan was to close the gates of all the cities and defend to the death. The City Guard and the Black Flag Army had two heavy-armored infantrymen. In addition, the White Horse Congyi had set off from Shouchun to patrol the entire territory. There were 10,000 heavy-armored infantrymen and more than 200 heavy-armored cavalrymen. Even if the Xiliang Cavalry had 20,000 men, Xu Shu would still have to consider whether he could defeat them. With the two heavy-armored infantrymen, the Xiliang Cavalry would not be able to easily take down a city.
However, the middle plan was not a good idea for Liu Mang. Although the heavy-armored infantrymen were not afraid of the charge of the heavy-armored cavalrymen, they would never be as mobile as the cavalrymen. Once the cavalrymen surrounded them and attacked them, they would be finished. Liu Mang had once used this method to kill Xu Sheng's Black Flag Army. Passively taking a beating was not what Liu Mang wanted.
"Then what about the best plan?" Liu Mang directly asked for the best plan. His finger moved around on the map and his eyes were also on the map.
"Haha! The best plan! "Xu Shu smiled indifferently and pointed to the map." My lord, don't you already have a plan in mind? "
"Me?" Liu Mang saw where Xu Shu was pointing and laughed. "Yuanzhi, Yuanzhi, you are simply a roundworm in my stomach."
"Of course, my lord has already thought of the best plan. Then, Yuanzhi will stay in Shouchun!" Xu Shu said to Liu Mang. There had to be someone in Shouchun. This person not only had to be knowledgeable, but also had to have a reputation and be able to deal with everything.
"Stay in Shouchun?" Liu Mang was a little confused. If it was just to stay in Shouchun, there were a lot of people who could do it. For example, Huang Zhong and Yang Hong. Although Yang Hong was not good at strategy, he could still fight steadily and surely. Why was Xu Shu not willing to leave?
"Haha, my lord, it is inevitable that old friends will feel awkward when they meet, so …" Xu Shu said the scruples in his heart.
"I understand. Don't worry, Yuanzhi, you will stay here and help me in Shouchun!" Liu Mang did not want to make things too difficult for Xu Shu.
"My lord, take Ziyang with you. In terms of talent, Ziyang is not below me. In terms of mechanical techniques, I will admit defeat! Moreover, Ziyang is my lord's relative! " Xu Shu recommended to Liu Mang. Liu Ye was really a genius, or it could be said that he was an all-rounder.
He was the descendant of Liu Yan, the Lord of Fuling, the son of Emperor Guangwu of Han. He had been very intelligent since he was young. In the original path, his plans had benefited Cao Cao a lot. Starting from the bandit Chen Ce of Shouchun, to the battle against Shuchuan, he could be said to have fought with Zhuge Liang many times, but he did not lose to Zhuge Liang. Moreover, Liu Ye was also very good at mechanical techniques. The Thunderbolt Chariot that was able to fight evenly with Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu was made by Liu Ye. Here, Liu Ye helped Liu Mang to repair a lot of things in the entire industrial area. Cement, everything was done by Liu Ye. The ballista was also completed with Liu Ye's help, and the ballista could be directly loaded with ammunition.
Compared to Zhuge Liang, Liu Ye was not inferior at all. If it was not for the fact that his identity was a little awkward, then Liu Ye would also be a famous person. Unfortunately, because of his identity, he was suspected by others and thought himself clever. He was alienated by the Wei Emperor and died of shame.
However, now that Liu Ye was under Liu Mang's command, the issue of his identity was no longer a problem. Although Liu Mang was not the descendant of the ruffian Liu Bang, he was given the identity of a relative of the Han Dynasty. One was the King Of Shu, and now he was the Sage King of the Great Han Dynasty. It could be said that he was already part of the Great Han Dynasty's royal family. Naturally, Liu Ye did not need to worry about the issue of his identity. If he was with the other feudal lords, how could they treat him wholeheartedly? Just like Lao Cao, he had always been on guard against Liu Ye. After all, Lao Cao was holding the Emperor to command the feudal lords. That was treacherous and he was afraid that a talented person like Liu Ye would deal with him. Therefore, Lao Cao simply did not use Liu Ye. For example, Liu Kai and Liu Neng were also under Liu Mang because they were relatives of the Han Dynasty. Otherwise, they could also live well under Sun Ce. At most, they could just join the Jiangdong Nobles Group!
Liu Mang could truly show his talent without any scruples. If Liu Mang had any opinions about the relatives of the Han Dynasty, then the first thing he should do was to get rid of himself. If Liu Mang had the idea of replacing the Han Dynasty, then these relatives of the Han Dynasty were also his confidants! After all, they were still related by blood.
"Alright, I will bring Ziyang along!" Liu Mang was not pretentious. Xu Shu was his strategist, so it was good for him to stay in Shouchun.
… …
In Yuzhou, Liu Bei and Liu Xuande were waiting for news.
"Da Da Da!" A series of footsteps finally entered the meeting hall. Liu Bei was a shrewd person, but now he was unable to suppress his excitement. This was because his big move was about to succeed. This time, he, Liu Bei, would really become one of the world's overlords.
"How is it? Is there any news?" Compared to Liu Bei's calmness, Zhang Fei was a little anxious. When he saw the messenger coming over, he immediately grabbed the messenger and asked.
"Reporting to Milord, Third General, no, no!" "How strong is Zhang Fei? The eight feet long spear in his hand weighed a few dozen kilograms, but it was like an ordinary stick in his hand. Lifting a person up would be a piece of cake for him. Zhang Fei's appearance was not good to begin with, so when he was in such a hurry, he scared the hell out of people.
"Third Brother, don't be reckless!" Liu Bei frowned and said. He was also anxious to get the news from the messenger.
"Got it, Big Brother!" Zhang Fei directly threw the messenger down, clapped his hands, and went to the side.
"Reporting, reporting, reporting, reporting!" Another messenger ran in. Liu Bei sent out scouts once every half an hour to bring him news. Therefore, every half an hour, someone from Yiyang and Zaoyang would come back to report.
"Reporting, reporting your head! Tell me, is there any news? " It was still Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei was really anxious. After being chased away from Xu Province by Cao Cao, he had settled down and had yet to fight a single battle. He, Zhang Fei, could not stay idle. All day long, Zhang Fei had to bring Gold to Wancheng to drink. After drinking too much, he got tired of it. Now that there was finally a battle to fight, he was naturally very excited.
"Reporting, reporting!" The messenger was still stuttering. He could not calm down for a while.
"Say it, say it!" This time, Zhang Fei did not lift the messenger up. Instead, he pulled the messenger's clothes around his neck. Even a normal person would not be able to breathe after being pulled like this, let alone a messenger who had been running around for so long.
"Third General, put him down!" Pang Tong could see that the messenger's face was starting to turn red. He was holding his breath. If this continued, the messenger would be toyed to death by Zhang Fei.
However, Zhang Fei did not listen to Pang Tong's words. It was Liu Bei who could not bear it anymore. "Yide, do you want to stay in Runan?"
"Uh, Big Brother, I can't!" Zhang Fei hastily loosened his grip on the messenger. If Zhang Fei were to stay in Runan, it would be better to kill him. Zhang Fei could not stay idle. He could not wait to go to the battlefield and kill the enemy, so that his spear would be stained with blood.
"Someone, come and give this soldier some water!" Liu Bei said to the maidservants beside him. Sometimes, it was not Liu Bei who was pretending, but it was beneficial to Liu Bei. For example, giving the messenger a cup of water could help him recover faster. However, this cup of water could not make the messenger feel grateful. After all, there was a difference in status between the two. When the superior treated the inferior well, that was called being approachable. When the inferior treated the superior well, that was called flattery. Between equals, that was natural. Therefore, human relationships were really complicated.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!" After coughing for a while, the messenger finally recovered. He gratefully took the cup of water from the maidservant and drank it. After a while, the messenger did not forget the important matter. "Reporting to Milord, there is still no news from the front!"
The messenger disappointed Liu Bei. When he saw the messenger in such a hurry, he thought that there was really news. Unfortunately, there was still no news. "Go and rest!" Liu Bei waved his hand and said.
After half an hour, another messenger arrived. This time, Zhang Fei was no longer impulsive. He was really afraid that his big brother would leave him in Runan. If that happened, then everything would be over. In layman's terms, his spear was already hungry and thirsty. It was unbearable. If you let such a person stay in Runan, he would suffocate to death.
Liu Bei also calmed down. The first and second time he was excited, but the third and fourth time he naturally calmed down. He also stopped breathing and drank a cup of tea. However, as soon as it entered his mouth, he spat it out.
"Reporting to Milord, there is a large number of cavalry in the Yiyang area of Zaoyang. It seems that there are several tens of thousands of them." The messenger kneeled on the ground and reported to Liu Bei.
"Cavalry! A large number of cavalry! "Hearing this, Liu Bei was elated. One must know that in Yuzhou and Jing Province, there were only three families that had cavalry. The first was Liu Bei. However, Liu Bei only had a few hundred cavalry and they were all used as scouts. The second was the Lvbu's Army. It was unlikely that the cavalry of the Lvbu Army would appear here. The last family was Zhang Xiu of Wancheng. Zhang Xiu of Wancheng had 20,000 Xiliang Cavalry. Zhang Xiu usually stayed near Wancheng. Now that he had crossed the Wei River and appeared in Zaoyang, Yiyang, Jingzhou, it meant that Zhang Xiu was about to start a war with the Lvbu's Army.
"Hahahaha! Heaven is helping me! Heaven is helping me! " Liu Bei shouted in his heart. Liu Bei was already forty years old. He was already at the age of an old man. However, after decades of wandering, he had almost achieved nothing. He was also very jealous of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. They were all descendants of landowning families and had a natural advantage. Yuan Shao was able to conquer Jizhou and Bingzhou because of his huge family background. Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and the others betrayed Han Fu and joined Yuan Shao's Army because of Yuan Shao's reputation.
As for Cao Cao, he was also welcomed by the descendants of landowning families. Moreover, his father, Lao Cao, had embezzled money during his years as a Grand Commandant. This allowed Lao Cao to have the ability to recruit soldiers and buy horses. There was also his relative, the Xiahou family.
As for Liu Bei, he was just a straw sandal seller. He had neither power nor money. The two people in front of him were the second generation of an official and the second generation of a rich family. He, Liu Bei, was completely poor. If Liu Bei wanted to get rid of his orders, he could only be shameless. Because his surname was Liu, Liu Bei said that he was the descendant of Zhongshan Prince Jing of the Han dynasty. He had no money. His first recruitment was funded by his third brother, Zhang Fei, who sold his manor.
It could be said that Liu Bei was a loser who had no choice but to struggle. If he had a good father like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, he would not be worse than them!
However, it didn't matter now. He, Liu Bei, was also standing at the peak of his life.
Now, Liu Bei only had half of Yuzhou. However, he was about to conquer the entire Central Plains. Cao Cao was in Guandu and had a headache. He had no time to unify the Central Plains. Liu Bei and Jiangdong's Sun Ce were in a deadlock. There were only three families left in the Central Plains. One was Zhang Xiu of Wancheng and the other was Lü Bu of Lujiang. Zhang Xiu of Wancheng was nothing to worry about. He was just a brute. If it wasn't for Jia Xu, he would have been destroyed long ago. He was the watchdog of Jingzhou's Liu Biao.
The only one left was Lü Bu. He had Chen Gong as his subordinate. If it was before, Liu Bei was not worried. After all, Lü Bu was headstrong and self-opinionated. Whether he listened to Chen Gong or not was another matter. However, it was different now. Lü Bu had completely changed. On Liu Bei's desk, there was a record of Lü Bu's movements. It showed that Lü Bu had changed. If it wasn't for Liu Bei having seen Lü Bu and the battle of Wancheng City, he might have thought that Lü Bu had been replaced by someone else.
In the Lvbu's Army, there was still a King Of Shu, Liu Mang! Now that he was a Saint King, he was also a big problem for Liu Bei. He was able to stop Sun Ce from entering Wancheng City and almost killed Pang Tong. How could he be easy to deal with?
But now, all the problems had been solved. Sun Ce's plan had caused Shouchun and Lujiang to fall into chaos. Although the Lvbu's Army was holding on, people with discerning eyes could see that Lü Bu would not be able to hold on for long. And Zhang Xiu was the straw that broke the camel's back. Liu Bei used Zhang Xiu as a saber to deal with Lü Bu as a tiger. When both sides were injured, the entire Central Plains would fall into Liu Bei's hands.
"Plop!" Pang Tong was the first to kneel down in front of Liu Bei. "Milord, the Han dynasty will rise again. We ask Milord to send troops to conquer the world and unify the world!"
"We ask Milord to send troops to conquer the world and unify the world!" Sun Qian, Jian Yong, Zhang Fei and the others also kneeled down and shouted.
"Good!" Liu Bei was also filled with lofty sentiments.
"Pass down my military order, where is Zhang Fei and Zhang Yide?"
"This general is here!"
"You will lead ten thousand Qingzhou elites to be the vanguard of our army. When you meet a river, build a bridge, cross the mountain and open a path!" Liu Bei took out a military order from the table.
"This general obeys!" Zhang Fei was very happy. He was finally going to war. He was the vanguard. How could he not fight!
"Where is Chen Dao?"
"This general is here!" “
I order you to lead the White Eared Heavy Armored Soldiers and support Zhang Fei's Qingzhou elites for our Central Army! " “
"This general obeys!"
"Where is Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang, Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou?"
"This general is here!"
"You and Gongyou will stay behind to guard Runan. You will lead ten thousand elite soldiers to defend the city. You will provide provisions for our army!" Guan Yu was very calm and could be used as a rear guard. With him in Runan, there was no need to worry.
"Where is Liu Pi?"
"This general is here!" Liu Pi also stood up.
"You will lead twenty thousand Yuzhou soldiers to protect our rear army's provisions!"
"This general obeys!"
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