In addition to comforting Zhang Xiu, Liu Bei had another reason. He wanted to attack Shouchun with Zhang Xiu. This was because even with the combined forces of Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei, the amount of provisions they had was not enough for more than ten days. Zhang Xiu had horses and he had only been back to Guangzhou for two days. Even if he arrived at Wancheng, it would only take him six or seven days. However, Liu Bei's army could not do the same. He would need seven or eight days to reach Guangzhou. If he wanted to replenish the provisions, he would need at least ten days to reach Yuzhou. Even if he could retreat back to Yuzhou without anyone stopping him, Liu Bei's campaign in the Central Plains would be in vain. Now that the Overlord of the North had been decided, he was right next to Lao Cao. Once Lao Cao was free, his Yuzhou would bear the brunt. Liu Bei did not want to be driven out of his own territory. Moreover, Liu Bei had to pay a lot of money to attack Yangzhou. He had almost emptied Yuzhou's resources. Now, he wanted to fight Liu Mang and run away? How was that possible?
Therefore, Liu Bei quickly stopped Zhang Xiu. He wanted to dispel Zhang Xiu's idea of personally leading troops to attack Liu Mang. Now, Liu Bei's only chance to turn the tables was to take Shouchun. There were enough provisions in Shouchun to support his troops. After obtaining the provisions, he would join forces with Zhang Xiu to attack Liu Mang in Guangzhou. Then, he would attack Yuzhou and Yangzhou. Finally, the three of them would join forces to destroy Lü Bu in Lujiang.
However, in the past few days, Liu Bei had also sent people to attack the city. The defense of the city was amazing. With Zhao Yun guarding the city, although the soldiers were replaced by civilians, there were still 200 White Horse Followers. Relying on their numbers, they were evenly matched. Liu Bei had been unable to attack for a long time. Therefore, Liu Bei wanted to ask Zhang Xiu to help him. He wanted to let the Xiliang Cavalry's elite troops dismount and attack the city together with Liu Bei's army.
"General Zhang Xiu, what do you think?" Liu Bei asked Zhang Xiu.
"General Zhang Xiu, even if you send troops now, it will be difficult to eliminate Liu Mang. He can hide in Guangzhou to avoid the battle. Your provisions are running out!" Pang Tong also advised. If Zhang Xiu went to find trouble with Liu Mang, as long as Liu Mang delayed Zhang Xiu, Zhang Xiu would run out of provisions. Moreover, Zhang Xiu did not have absolute confidence in eliminating Liu Mang.
Zhang Xiu was also pondering. Although he was not as ambitious and ruthless as Liu Bei and Cao Cao, he was still a small warlord. Naturally, he had his own ideas. If he joined forces with Liu Bei, it would be hard to say whether he could take revenge. Moreover, if the Xiliang Cavalry participated in the attack, the losses would not be small. Since ancient times, attacking a city was a matter of heavy casualties. He, Zhang Xiu, originally had 20,000 Xiliang Cavalry. Now, there were less than 10,000 left.
"General Zhang Xiu, please rest assured!" Pang Tong saw Zhang Xiu's concern. This was an era where the military power was the boss. Zhang Xiu was naturally afraid that his own strength would be depleted. If that happened, Zhang Xiu would suffer a great loss. "My Lord knows that General Zhang Xiu has suffered a great loss in order to eliminate the Han Bandits. Therefore, my Lord has decided that after taking Yangzhou, we will use all the resources in Yuzhou to help General Zhang Xiu rebuild the Xiliang Cavalry. General Zhang Xiu can obtain all the equipment and warhorses from my treasury."
"This …" Zhang Xiu looked at Liu Bei and Pang Tong in confusion. Such good conditions? Rebuilding the Xiliang Cavalry would cost hundreds of thousands of gold. However, Liu Bei was so generous. It was hard for Zhang Xiu to rest assured. If Zhang Xiu risked his life for Liu Bei, Liu Bei would turn his back on him. If that happened, Zhang Xiu would suffer.
"Haha, General Yang Wu, let's not talk about whether I am that kind of person. In order to reassure you, I can write a letter with the seal of the Left General on it and give it to you!" Liu Bei's words made Zhang Xiu laugh. As long as it was written in black and white and stamped with the seal, it would be difficult for Liu Bei to refuse even if he wanted to. Liu Bei was a feudal lord and needed to keep his word. Once he lost his integrity, who would be willing to serve him?
"How can this be?" Zhang Xiu said this on the surface. However, he was actually smiling and wanted Liu Bei to take out such a thing.
"Of course it has to be like this. Blood brothers should settle accounts clearly!" Liu Bei also laughed. He took out a large seal from his bosom and took a piece of cloth, brush, and ink from Zhang Xiu's camp. He wrote on it and finally stamped it to reassure Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu naturally took it into his bosom. Now, he could rest assured and send out his troops.
"In that case, Xiu will definitely help Lord Xuande take down Shouchun!" Zhang Xiu laughed heartily. How could he not be happy? He had lost so many men and horses, which made his heart ache. However, now that someone was willing to help him bear the loss of these ten thousand men, Zhang Xiu was naturally happy. As for the matter of face, as long as he took down Shouchun and obtained the provisions, he would go with Liu Bei to settle accounts with Liu Mang.
Just as the two were discussing very harmoniously, a person walked into Zhang Xiu's camp. This person was Liu Bei's subordinate, Liao Hua. Liao Hua came in a hurry and directly ran in as soon as he was notified.
"Yuanjian, why are you here?" Pang Tong was very kind to Liao Hua. This was because the two of them were now working closely together. Liao Hua also followed Pang Tong's lead. The two of them could be said to be in cahoots, so their relationship was very good. Pang Tong had just joined Liu Bei's Army. Although Liu Bei listened to him and could be said to be the second person in Liu Bei's Army, Pang Tong did not have any real military power. Moreover, Liu Bei listened to him because there was no one in Liu Bei's Army who was more talented than him. When Liu Bei's territory became bigger and more famous, there would naturally be more talented people coming. At that time, Pang Tong would not be able to maintain his position. Therefore, if he wanted to stand in a good position in Liu Bei's Army, he must lay a foundation and form a branch of Pang Tong. Liao Hua was a nail that Pang Tong had planted in the army.
"Military Advisor Milord, I have the latest news!" Pang Tong was about to whisper to Liu Bei and Pang Tong. After all, there were outsiders here. This kind of news was not convenient for outsiders to know. If it was not for the fact that the news was very urgent and could affect the war situation in Yangzhou, Liao Hua would not have directly broken into Zhang Xiu's Army's camp. Instead, he was prepared to stay in his original tent and wait for Liu Bei.
"The latest news?" Liu Bei frowned. How could Liao Hua be so insensible? It was not good for him to wait and inform them when he had the news. Now, he had run into Zhang Xiu's Army. If he did not tell Zhang Xiu the news, it would mean that he did not trust Zhang Xiu. What if he told him the important news?
Liu Bei calmed down. His relationship with Zhang Xiu's Army was now in the honeymoon stage. There was no need to sour his relationship with Zhang Xiu because of a piece of news. "What news can't you just say it directly? There are no outsiders here. Just say it directly! "
"It's okay, it's okay!" Zhang Xiu knew that Liu Bei was worried about him. However, he also smiled to show that it did not matter. Whether he listened or not, Zhang Xiu would not lose much. Therefore, Zhang Xiu was very generous.
"Yes!" Liao Hua could only shout the news after being told by Liu Bei, "Reporting to Milord, there is news from Wancheng City in Lujiang. The young lady of the Lvbu's Army, Lü Bu's only daughter, is missing!"
"Missing?" Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei did not understand. What was the news about Lü Bu's daughter being missing? How was it related to the war in Yangzhou? If she was missing, they could just find her. Only Pang Tong's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yuanjian, did they say how Miss Lü disappeared? Do you have any specific clues?! " Pang Tong was very interested in this question. He wanted to ask a more detailed question so that he could get a better idea.
"There is no such thing. The messenger only said that Miss Lü disappeared half a month ago!" Liao Hua received these few words. Because Pang Tong had always been responsible for the news in Wancheng City, he must immediately inform Pang Tong if there was any news. Therefore, Liao Hua rushed to Zhang Xiu's camp. He was afraid of delaying Pang Tong's matter.
"Haha, haha, great things can be done, great things can be done!" Pang Tong heard Liao Hua's words and suddenly laughed. His laughter made Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei completely confused.
Pang Tong looked at the two people and then cupped his fist to Liu Bei. "Milord, Tong already has a plan to break Shouchun!"
"Is this true?" Liu Bei was also surprised. Just now, he did not have a clue and was prepared to take Shouchun with heavy casualties. But now, Pang Tong had a plan. Looking at Pang Tong's appearance, he must have full confidence in this plan.
"It's true!" Pang Tong nodded heavily, giving Liu Bei enough confidence. "Milord, do you know what we were doing half a month ago?"
"Half a month ago?" Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei thought at the same time. Half a month ago? At that time, they had just taken Hefei and were preparing to attack Shouchun together. This was what they were doing half a month ago.
"Milord, not only did we take Hefei, we also ambushed the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry." Pang Tong reminded the two people. With this reminder, the two people finally reacted. "Shiyuan, you mean?"
"That's right!" Pang Tong narrowed his eyes. He finally understood why the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry suddenly appeared in the Yangzhou area half a month ago. At that time, Sun Ce was still on the Yangtze River, eyeing covetously. As a highly mobile troop under Lü Bu's command, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry had the ability to rush to the battlefield. No matter where Sun Ce landed, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry could rush to the battlefield at the fastest speed. Therefore, the threat posed by the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry to Sun Ce's army was huge. Lü Bu had no reason to not know. Even if Lü Bu did not know, there was still Chen Gong. However, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry had left Lujiang at an untimely time and appeared in Yangzhou with an expression of wanting to rescue Shouchun. Did Lü Bu not know that Liu Bei had spent a lot of money to hire Zhang Xiu to deal with the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry? The 20,000 Xiliang Cavalry did not suffer much losses at that time.
However, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry still came without hesitation. Even their commander was Lü Bu himself. He did not stay in Lujiang but came to Yangzhou instead. Pang Tong originally thought that Lü Bu was stupid, but now it seemed that this was not the case. It was not that Lü Bu was stupid, but it was because he had a reason to come. The reason was the news that Miss Lu was missing.
As Lü Bu's only child, she was also Lü Bu's most beloved daughter. Needless to say, Miss Lu was very important to Lü Bu. The reason why Lü Bu gave Liu Mang so much autonomy was not only because Liu Mang had saved Lü Bu, but also because Liu Mang was Lü Bu's son-in-law. With Miss Lu as a link, Lü Bu completely treated Liu Mang as half a son. This was the reason why Lü Bu unconditionally believed in Liu Mang.
Lü Bu was not young anymore, but he could not give birth to a son. Therefore, after a hundred years, his foundation would naturally be given to Liu Mang. This was because their children would also have half of the Lu Family's bloodline. Now that Miss Lu was missing, how could Lü Bu not be worried?
Miss Lu couldn't have been taken captive. This was because in Lü Bu's mansion, no one in the main city of the Lü Bu's Army had such great ability. Therefore, the only possibility was that Miss Lu came out on her own. This way, the guards would not be able to detect her.
Miss Lu was also an adult. She was also married to the King Of Shu, Liu Mang. She was now a Princess. She should be acting like a lady from a noble family. It was almost impossible for her to run out on her own. If she ran out on her own, it meant that she had something to do. One of these things was her husband. Miss Lu was worried about her husband. Shouchun was besieged. Shouchun was the administrative center of Yangzhou. It was also the place where the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, was staying. Miss Lu was worried about her husband. Therefore, she quietly left Wancheng City and ran to Shouchun.
And this Bing Province Wolf Cavalry was chasing after Lu Dainiao. Pang Tong quickly straightened out his train of thought. Unexpectedly, his guess was not far from the truth! It was enough to see how terrifying these first-rate strategists were. They could guess what happened from some clues.
"You caught Miss Lu?!" Zhang Xiu could not help but ask. If they could catch Lü Bu's daughter, then it would be easy to handle. They could use Miss Lu to threaten Shouchun City's defenders. Even if the defenders were unwilling, they would have to surrender. This was because Miss Lu represented a very high position in the Lvbu's Army. Miss Lu was a symbol of whether Liu Mang could gain Lü Bu's trust. At the same time, she was also a symbol of whether Lü Bu would hand over the Lvbu's Army to Liu Mang. If there was no Miss Lu to communicate, then the Lvbu's Army and Liu Mang's Army would really break apart.
Even if the entire Yangzhou did not want Lü Bu, he would still protect his precious daughter!
"No!" Pang Tong shook his head. If he had already caught Miss Lu, he would have taken Shouchun long ago. There was no need to wait until now.
"Then?" Zhang Xiu did not understand. Without a hostage, how could they take Shouchun?
"If there is no Miss Lu, we can make one!" Pang Tong said very indifferently.
"Make one?" Zhang Xiu did not understand. Pang Tong looked at Liu Bei. Liu Bei also began to understand. "Yes, if there is no Miss Lu, we can make one!"
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