Liu Bei and Pang Shiyuan had left for Nanyang County?
When Liu Bei's army arrived at Nanyang County, Kuai Ran sent the news.
"This Pang Shiyuan is really good at scheming!" Everyone in Yangzhou began to discuss countermeasures.
Pang Shiyuan had allowed Cai Mao and Kuai Yue's army to leave so that he could join forces with Liu Bei to take over Nanyang County. After eliminating Zhang Yun's army, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue would lose their foundation. Liu Bei would then be able to unify Jingzhou.
Liu Bei was currently extremely poor. If he wanted to expand his army quickly, he would need to use all his resources. However, large scale recruitment required money and food.
The foundation that Huang She left behind was not enough for Liu Bei. However, Liu Bei had obtained quite a bit from the nobles. Now, he had set his sights on Cai Mao and Kuai Yue's Nanyang County.
It was not that Liu Mang did not have any troops in Nanyang County. He had sent out close to 20,000 troops.
They were all using the name of a trading company to infiltrate.
With them around, Pang Shiyuan would not be able to enter Nanyang County.
However, if they alerted the enemy, Liu Bei's army would retreat and block the Yangtze River. It would be difficult to eliminate Liu Bei. When the time came, Yangzhou would be the one to suffer losses.
Since Liu Bei had left Xiangyang City, Liu Mang would not let him go so easily.
"Since Liu Bei's army has left, there is no need for him to go back!" Liu Mang looked at his strategists and said to everyone.
"Your Highness, Liu Bei's army came from Xiangyang City. They used both land and water to catch Zhang Yun's army off guard!" Lu Su looked at Nanyang County on the map and said to Liu Mang.
If Liu Bei were to travel by water, then Zhang Yun would be very happy. This was because most of Zhang Yun's subordinates were navy. If Liu Bei were to travel by water, then Zhang Yun would be very happy.
If they traveled by land, their speed would be too slow and they would need to take a detour. If they took such a long detour, Zhang Yun would have discovered them long ago. Zhang Yun would not have waited until he had lost seventeen or eighteen cities before retracting his defensive line.
Pang Shiyuan's army had used the water route to remove a few of Zhang Yun's spies. Most of his troops had used the land route to attack the city.
"Your Highness, this Pang Shiyuan is really an expert in military strategy!" Tian Feng and the others also spoke. Before Liu Mang and Pang Shiyuan fought, they did not know Pang Shiyuan. Now that they saw the layout of Pang Shiyuan's army on the map, Tian Feng, a top strategist who had experienced countless battles, had to admit that Pang Shiyuan was talented.
"The three armies are in a triangle formation facing Nanyang County's Fan City. If one of the three armies encounters an enemy, they will be able to defend themselves. If they work together, they will be able to catch a turtle in a jar!" Pang Shiyuan had set up a large pocket outside Fan City. He had enough room to advance and retreat.
Fan City was surrounded on three sides. It could be said that Zhang Yun could no longer escape.
He could only wait for Liu Bei's army to attack. By guarding the city walls, Zhang Yun could still hold on for a while. If Zhang Yun wanted to break out of the encirclement, then the last remaining side would be the entrance to the pocket. Once Zhang Yun gave up on Fan City, he would fall into Pang Shiyuan's pocket.
"Milord, it is easy to defeat Liu Bei's army, but it is difficult to annihilate them!" After the civil advisor finished speaking, the old generals on the side also spoke up.
The first to speak was Huang Gai. Ever since he joined Yangzhou, this old general had taken up a position in the staff room.
His current position was comparable to that of a Rank 3 High Officer.
He was also a teacher at Yangzhou Military Academy.
Although Huang Gai was not on the battlefield, he was still very experienced. He could see Pang Shiyuan's layout at a glance.
Pang Shiyuan had the Yangtze River behind him. It could be said that he could attack Fan City if he wanted to. Even if he wanted to retreat, he could retreat to the Yangtze River. With the three armies covering him, it would be difficult to annihilate them.
"This is not Pang Shiyuan's style!" The only person who was familiar with Pang Shiyuan was Xu Shu. Previously, there was also a Zhuge villager. However, this Zhuge villager had not returned, or rather, he did not dare to return.
It was said that Ma Chao's sister had accidentally slept with him. There was already a fierce tiger in the family, and now there was another one. There was no way Zhuge Liang would dare to return.
Xu Shu used to study at Lumen Academy. How could he not know Pang Degong's treasured nephew?
Pang Shiyuan had always thought highly of himself because Pang Shiyuan was ugly since he was a child. When he was born, he even scared the midwife, who almost threw him to the ground and killed him.
Because of his appearance, Pang Shiyuan had a sense of inferiority since he was a child. He was afraid that others would laugh at him. In the end, this inferiority complex turned into arrogance.
He had always been aggressive. This could be seen from the beginning when Pang Shiyuan and Zhuge Liang made a bet.
Zhuge Liang took a fancy to Liu Mang. He insisted on going against Zhuge Liang to help Liu Bei.
After that, Guan Yu suffered a loss at the hands of Liu Mang. He also wanted to get back at Guan Yu. He did not give in at all. After that was the trip to Jingzhou. Pang Shiyuan wanted to put Liu Mang to death at every turn.
How could such a person leave a way out for himself?
"Could this be Pang Shiyuan's plan?" Liu Mang was also puzzled. This Little Fire Boss was a daredevil. He and Jia Xu were two extremes. No matter what, Jia Xu would leave a way out for himself. Little Fire Boss's previous plans were all suicidal. He did not leave any way out. Either the enemy died or he died.
In the previous few times, Liu Mang's plan was broken. If it was not for luck, Pang Shiyuan might have died.
If it was not Pang Shiyuan's plan, then who in Jingzhou knew so much about war? This kind of war was not something that could be arranged by a group of people.
"Yi Ji?" Liu Mang guessed.
However, Xu Shu denied it. "Yi Ji is good at governance, but not good at war!"
"Then why is it like this?" Liu Mang was also confused.
"He was scared by our lord!" Everyone did not understand, but one person said the truth.
"En?" Liu Mang looked sideways at Zhou Cang.
As soon as he saw Liu Mang's eyes, Zhou Cang suddenly felt guilty. He was afraid that he had said something wrong again. Because of his big mouth, he had been taught a lesson by Liu Mang.
Therefore, when he saw Liu Mang's eyes, he panicked.
"Maybe this is true!" Xu Shu was different from Liu Mang. Xu Shu looked at the long-term.
This Pang Shiyuan has never won against Liu Mang in a fight.
There were even a few times when he almost lost his life. This was really an explanation.
However, it was really hard for Pang Shiyuan, a top strategist who always thought highly of himself and always focused on attacking, to become like this. How much had he been forced by His Highness King of Han to become like this?
Just like Tian Feng, who mainly used open schemes, if someone forced Tian Feng to use all his schemes, how much damage would that person do to Tian Feng?
Everyone couldn't help but sympathize with Pang Shiyuan. But if they knew that His Royal Highness King of Han also harmed another person, and even lost his identity as a man, and forcibly turned a fierce man into Dongfang Bubai, they would tremble with fear.
As for why Pang Shiyuan became like this, there was no need for them to guess.
"How can Pang Shiyuan be annihilated when he arranges his troops like this?" If they wanted to annihilate Pang Shiyuan, they had to encircle his army. Otherwise, as long as they let go of one route, the other two routes could be broken through.
Then, they could only defeat and not annihilate them.
Once defeated, Pang Shiyuan's army would be broken up. After crossing the Yangtze River, Liu Bei would be able to gather them again.
"What about the main camp of the Yangtze River Navy?" Liu Mang asked.
"No!" Huang Gai shook his head. Although Huang Gai was no longer in charge of the army, he still had the military intelligence of Yangzhou. He was originally an old minister of the Sun family, so he would pay more attention to Sun Ce's movements.
The main camp of the Yangtze River Navy was where Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were.
Long ago, Pang Shiyuan had used iron chains to block the Yangtze River.
It would take time to clear it out. By then, Pang Shiyuan would have returned to Xiangyang.
"Now, our army must have a troop that can appear behind Liu Bei's army without anyone noticing!" Everyone set the tone.
However, was such a thing possible? Those who could appear openly behind Liu Bei's army could only be their own people.
Liu Bei and Pang Shiyuan were not fools. Would they allow the enemy's army to hide behind them? Moreover, this army would not act from the start. They would need to cooperate with the Yangzhou troops in Fancheng to be able to annihilate Liu Bei and Pang Shiyuan's army.
This condition was even more difficult.
"Our own people?" Liu Mang's eyes suddenly lit up. "We really do have 'our own people'," Liu Mang said to his strategists.
"Milord, are you trying to instigate a rebellion among Liu Bei's generals?" Xu Shu asked doubtfully.
If they could instigate a rebellion, they would have done it long ago. There were only a few generals around Liu Bei. Although Liu Bei's army was stretched thin, there was also an advantage. Those who could follow Liu Bei until now were all loyal to Liu Bei. How could they instigate a rebellion?
Moreover, the current Liu Bei looked like a salted fish that was about to turn over a new leaf. His potential was huge.
'Naturally, I cannot instigate a person beside Liu Bei, but what about someone who is not beside him? "Liu Mang said to everyone with a smile.
"En?" Everyone was confused. There was someone who was not beside Liu Bei that could make Liu Bei feel at ease and could control the army?
Looking at everyone's puzzled expression, Liu Mang placed his hand on a location on the map.
This location was called Runan.
…
"Liu Mang's army in Yangzhou has moved? Is it the Yangtze River Navy? "Liu Mang was paying attention to Liu Bei. Similarly, Liu Bei would not reduce his spying on Liu Mang's army.
When Liu Mang's army moved, Liu Bei needed to know where Liu Mang's army went. After all, Liu Bei did not have enough strength to contend with Liu Mang.
Once Liu Mang made a move, it would affect the surrounding area.
Therefore, when the information came that Liu Mang's army had moved, Liu Bei immediately panicked. Could it be that Liu Mang was heading towards Nanyang County?
Yes! This Liu Mang was originally in cahoots with the Feng family. Now, it was more likely that the Feng family had gone to ask for help.
"Shiyuan, we should retreat!" Liu Bei was a little panicked. When he heard that Liu Mang's army was coming, he immediately wanted to retreat back to Xiangyang.
"My lord!" Pang Shiyuan looked bitterly at his lord. He did not know whether he was right to choose Liu Bei. However, now was not the time to think about this. They had been beaten by Liu Mang until they were scared.
"My lord, they are not coming for us! The Yangtze River Navy's camp has not moved yet! "Pang Shiyuan explained to Liu Bei.
"Then what is his army doing? Is he fighting with Cao Cao? "Liu Bei's eyes suddenly lit up.
He really did not understand what that Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, was doing. Didn't you want to unify the world? Didn't you want to be a hero? Come on, fight! Why didn't you do anything to Liu Mang? What are you doing?
Even Liu Bei was worried about Cao Cao. However, he did not know that Cao Cao slowed down because of Liu Bei.
If this Liu Mang's army was not coming for him, then it was coming for Cao Cao.
It would be best if they fought. If one was killed and one was seriously injured, then Liu Bei could send troops to reclaim this big man's territory.
"It's not Cao Cao either!" Looking at the route of Liu Mang's army, although they were going towards the border of Cao and Liu Mang, they were not going to attack Cao Cao directly. If they were going to attack Cao Cao, they could just go through Yingshui and head towards Xu Du. Why would they need to take such a troublesome detour?
"Then what does he want to do?"
"I'm afraid his target is still us!" Pang Shiyuan speculated along the route. Looking at a city on the map in front of him, Pang Shiyuan suddenly understood.
"What do you mean?" Liu Bei also followed Pang Shiyuan's finger and saw a city.
"Runan City!" This was really coming for Liu Bei.
Didn't Liu Bei come from Runan City? He couldn't stay in Runan anymore, so he came to Jingzhou to fight for a future. Who knew that Pang Shiyuan had already paved the way for him? In the end, he just had to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor.
Runan City was also a backup plan that Liu Bei left for himself. There were more than 10,000 troops and his confidant Sun Qian there.
"He wants to annex Yuzhou?" Liu Bei understood Liu Mang's idea. Now that Liu Bei had gone to Jingzhou and wanted to attack Nanyang County, then Liu Mang would attack Runan. This Runan City was in Liu Bei's hands. Although it was broken, it was still a bone. As long as he took Runan, then Liu Mang's army in Yuzhou would be united.
Now Liu Bei had a choice in front of him. To take Runan or not.
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