Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 148

It was already the afternoon of July [-] when Shen Chen learned of Liu Bei's defeat.

He was taken aback, and immediately sent out scouts to look for it.

Fortunately, there was still a small group of elites around Liu Bei, and Zhao Yun, Chen Dao and others protected him and withdrew to Dingling.

Shen Chen personally went to Dingling to meet him on July [-]th. Cao Hong's pursuit was urgent, and a big battle broke out between the two sides in the Dongbutang area.

After returning to Kunyang, Shen Chen's army replenished the military supplies and had enough arrows. When the enemy and us met in the east, Cao Hong's former army was shot back by Shen Chen's army and was forced to stop pursuing.

So Liu Bei returned to Kunyang smoothly, and in the next few days, a large number of scouts were sent out to search for the dispersed troops.

The rest of the troops were found one after another, and the main force that was damaged was actually the old Yuan family in Runan. Liu Bei's main force was only two to 3000 people, so they didn't suffer much loss.

It's just that Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Tai Shici and others were separated, and Liu Bei was very anxious.

On July [-], Zhang Fei, who commanded the cavalry, returned first.Immediately afterwards, on July [-], Tai Shici also arrived in Kunyang.

One of them is a cavalry unit with strong mobility. They left Cao Jun and went straight to Kunyang.

The other one is that Tai Shici broke through to the south, Dingying is in the south, there is no Cao Jun, and Xiping County is in the west, Li Tong was disabled, he only dared to garrison and dare not attack, so both of them returned to Liu Bei's tent smoothly. .

But Guan Yu has not seen any news for a long time, and everyone is very anxious.

Because Cao Hong had already stationed in Dingling, and had divided his troops to garrison around Xiangcheng, and there was still a small number of Li Tong's troops in Xiping County to the south. It can be said that Kunyang was surrounded on three sides.

At this time, if Guan Yu was intercepted by Cao Jun on the way back to Kunyang, the consequences would be disastrous.

Therefore, after discussing with Liu Bei, Shen Chen and Liu Bei decided to straighten out the soldiers and horses a little, and the two soldiers joined together, and they were ready to take the initiative to attack, so as to contain Cao Hong's troops.

From the beginning of this year to the present, Shen Chen's Huangmenting Army and Gan Ning Army's 1 horses have lost nearly half.

When he sent troops to Xudu for the second time, Shen Chen still had 500 troops.Shen Zhen led 1000 people as the defense general of Kunyang, Lou Fa led 500 people to the north to make a feint attack, and Shen Chen led 4000 people to Dingying to attack Man Chong.

After Ding Ying and Liu Bei joined forces, the two joined forces to kill Man Chong, and immediately went east to repel Li Tong, and then split up and went north, where they encountered Ren Jun's Dian Nong army in the area of ​​Bali Bridge.

After returning to Kunyang after the war, he counted the battle damage. Apart from the battle of chasing Cao Cao, this was the worst battle Shen Chen fought.

Nearly a thousand people were lost, Huangmenting soldiers lost 300 people, and now there are 700 left, and the Gan Ning army lost nearly [-] people, so now with the troops of Shen Zhen and Lou Fa, the total strength is still Five thousand four hundred people.

Among them are some disabled soldiers and horses. In fact, there are about 5000 soldiers who can be used in battle.

Shen Chen left 4000 troops stationed in Kunyang, together with about 8000 scattered soldiers gathered by Liu Bei, about [-] people moved towards Dingying, intending to restrain Cao Hong's main force and prevent Cao Hong from attacking the scattered Liu Bei. The army carried out a siege.

But I didn't expect that not long after the army left the city, a horse galloped towards Wuyang from the south, and it was a few scouts. They told Liu Bei that Guan Yu was coming from the south to Kunyang.

Upon hearing the news, everyone rushed to meet him.

All the way to the south, to Lishui, this Lishui is not the Lishui of Hunan, but the Lishui of Runan.This river originates from Mount Heng in Ye County, and later became Liming Mountain in Fangcheng County.

Liu Bei, Shen Chen and others looked out from the Li Pavilion outside Wuyang City, and saw a large group of people coming forward on the official road to the south. The leader was wearing a green robe stained with dust, and they came on horseback along the way.

It was Guan Yu.

"Big Brother and Three Brothers!"

One mile away, Guan Yu waved and shouted.

Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and others hurried forward, and saw a crowd of people behind Guan Yu, including four to five thousand people with their families.

"Second brother."

"Second brother!"

Liu Bei and Zhang Fei got off their horses and hugged Guan Yu tightly.

All three of them laughed.

From Xuzhou to now, they have experienced the joy of reunion countless times.

Every time they were separated by Lu Bu, Yuan Shu or Cao Cao, and finally reunited with difficulty, their friendship has never changed.

After everyone laughed and rejoiced at the reunion, Liu Bei looked at the people behind in surprise and asked, "Second brother, what's going on?"

"Your Majesty."

Before Guan Yu could speak, two strong and powerful men beside him stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, saying, "Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao have met the envoy."

"The two righteous men please rise up quickly."

Liu Bei hurriedly stepped forward to help him. He has always been a corporal, not to mention those who bring people to vote, even the poor in the head of Guizhou can come and go from his mansion at will. He is a person who is very close to the lower class.

Guan Yu introduced: "Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao originally belonged to the remnants of the Yellow Turbans. They formed a stronghold in the Woniushan area of ​​Xiping. After I broke out from the army, I went east to Xihua. I wanted to come to Kunyang to find my elder brother, but Cao Jun was everywhere. Neng went south first and arrived in the Yang'an area, and met them when he went north to Kunyang a few days ago."

Zhou Cang said: "The villain has always admired the prestige of General Guan. The general had no choice but to commit himself to Cao Cao for his two wives, and after killing Yan Liang to repay Cao Cao's kindness, he resolutely went south to find the envoy. This kind of loyalty made us admire it very much, so we went forward." Come to join me, and I hope that the envoy will take you in."

These two people belonged to the fish that slipped through the net when Shen Chen suppressed Runan and Nanyang Huangjin last time.

Their camp was in the southwest of Xiping County, in the remaining range of the Dabie Mountains in the southwest of Zhumadian in later generations, so when Cao Cao attacked the Runan Yellow Turban, they did not affect them, and naturally he would not accept the invitation to Nanyang.

After the First Battle of Weiqiang, Guan Yu broke through and ran east to Xihua County. He originally wanted to go west to Kunyang, but Cao Jun was everywhere around Kunyang, and Cao Hong was chasing him urgently. He had no choice but to go south. The Dabie Mountain area went around to Kunyang, and ended up at Woniu Mountain.

After the two knew that it was Guan Yu who came, they were immediately filled with admiration.Although he didn't pass the five passes and kill the six generals, Guan Yu bid farewell to Cao Cao for his sworn brother, abandoned his glory and wealth, and resolutely returned to Liu Bei's tent. The story has already spread all over the world.

Therefore, he was immediately willing to take four or five thousand people in the camp and follow Guan Yu.When passing by Xiping, Li Tong and Zhao Yan were maimed, even if they saw them, they did not dare to send troops to pursue them.

of course.

Most of the so-called four or five thousand people are old and weak, women and children, young and old, about a thousand, and their combat effectiveness is very limited.

But even so, it is a great supplement for Liu Bei who is in urgent need of troops.

So Liu Bei was very happy when he heard that someone had come to join him, "As long as you are willing to fight against the Cao bandits and help the Han Dynasty, what's the point? You two will be under my second brother's tent first, and follow Yun Chang to make contributions. "

"Thank you envoy."

Thank you both.

When everyone received Guan Yu, they immediately set off for Kunyang.

When he arrived in the city, Shen Chen immediately arranged for people to resettle the remaining Yellow Turbans brought by Zhou Cang Pei Yuanshao, and at the same time helped Liu Bei reorganize his soldiers.

He asked Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao to send the old and weak, women and children to Ye County in the rear, and then he would send someone to pick them up to Xinye.

Then Wuyang and Ye County each sent some Liu Bei's second-line soldiers to garrison, and his main force and Liu Bei's elite soldiers, adding up to more than 7000 people, were stationed in Kunyang.

It wasn't until late July that these messy things were sorted out.

Due to the sufficient supplies in the rear, Huangmenting is still continuously transporting grain and grass to the Kunyang area of ​​Shangye County in the north, so even if there are more than 1 more mouths to eat, there is not much pressure.

It's just that there is no problem with ordinary food, but meat is very scarce.

Shen Chen asked the soldiers to go hunting in the nearby mountains every day, and at the same time asked Deng Mao, the magistrate of Xinye County, to help buy a batch of pork, whether it was marinated fresh pork or bacon sticks, it could barely provide meat for the main soldiers. .

At the beginning of August, all kinds of things were finally dealt with, and Shen Chen finally had some free time to chat with Liu Bei about state affairs.

On this day, Liu Bei was handling some military affairs at the Kunyang County Government.

Although he is a guest army, he has many titles.

Uncle Emperor of the Han Dynasty, General Zuo, Mu of Yuzhou, Marquis of Tinghou of Yicheng.

Any one picked out here would be better than Shen Chen, that Liu Biaofeng Zhonglang general.

More importantly, Shen Chen, the Zhonglang, will be appointed by Liu Biao, a prefect of the state, which does not have much legal effect.

And Liu Bei's titles were all given by Liu Xie, the real emperor, and they have extremely high political significance.

Later, when he went to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao had to meet him two hundred miles away; when he went to Liu Biao, Liu Biao had to personally meet him ten miles away?

It has nothing to do with Renyi's reputation, it's all brought by these titles.

To some extent, Liu Bei was nothing before going to Xudu.

After going to Xudu, Liu Xie gave him a gilt coat, and he was given a bunch of titles by the emperor's edict, and his identity immediately became different.

So even though he was a guest army, Shen Chen and Liu Bei had no direct affiliation, but Shen Chen still insisted on relying on him.

In the hall of the county government, Liu Bei was quite distressed at this time.

In recent days, although a lot of routs have been collected, together with Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's army, there are barely more than 6000 horses.

But most of them are the collapsed soldiers of Yuan's former troops.

At that time when Cao Hong attacked, many of the former members of the Yuan family died, some fled, some surrendered, and there was a mess.

Liu Bei's main force was about 3000 people, and another 3000 people were willing to follow him, so when the main camp was preparing to go east, there were 6000 people.

But after the main camp was broken, there were only less than 3000 people around.Then those old leaders of the Yuan clan who didn't want to come were killed, and Liu Bei gathered some of these soldiers on the way.

These soldiers themselves have low combat effectiveness, and they are soldiers from the old Yuan clan, and their loyalty is also very low, but now they have to rely on Liu Bei.

Therefore, among his current 6000 people, the only ones who are really useful are the [-] or so elite soldiers.

The remaining 4000 people, including the 1000 troops brought by Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao, may not be very strong in combat effectiveness and military spirit.

So Liu Bei is very sad now.

Even with the addition of Shen Chen's army, which is worth tens of thousands, half of them are mobs. It is not easy to fulfill Yuan Shao's order and attack Xudu.

While feeling distressed, Chen Dao came in and reported, "My lord, General Shen is asking to see you."

"Please!"

Liu Bei quickly stood up and walked out of the hall.

These years of wandering and wandering have also made him understand that he lacks intelligence and urgently needs someone who can point him in the right direction.

Back then, Shen Chen had suggested to him, but it was a pity that he was shackled everywhere in Xuzhou. Before he followed Shen Chen's suggestion and dealt with the separatist local forces in Xuzhou one by one, he was beaten by Yuan Shu and Lu Bu in turn. It was pitiful.

Now that Shen Chen has finally arrived by his side, he naturally hopes to get his advice.

Shen Chen didn't wear a military uniform today, but an ordinary scholar's robe. He didn't wear a hat if he didn't reach the crown. He tied his hair up with a cloth, and with a scholar's sword at his waist, he walked slowly into the hall, cupped his hands and said: " Lord Xuande."

"Sir, it's been hard these days."

Liu Bei had already reached the entrance of the hall at this time, and originally wanted to go to the outer court to greet him, but unexpectedly Shen Chen had already walked in quickly, so he quickly took his hand and went to a seat next to him, and said happily: "Sit down quickly. "

Dealing with military affairs is a very troublesome thing, not only the garrison of each battalion must be arranged, but also the food and supplies must be provided, and even the tasks of each army must be arranged.

So in the past few days, Shen Chen ran around in Ye County, Wuyang, and Kunyang, and didn't have much time to meet Liu Bei.

He also just came back from Wuyang today. After hearing Liu Bei's words, Shen Chen knelt down and sat under Liu Bei's right hand, and said, "Mr. Haihan."

Liu Bei sat beside him, and the two of them sat on the same table together, shook their heads bitterly and said, "It's okay, what Mr. Xiao is doing now is a major national event, so what's there to blame? Wandering, unable to serve the emperor of the country, it is a great fortune to be taken in by Mr. Xiao, so there is no complaint."

Shen Chen then said: "Don't feel sorry for yourself. I came to see Lord Xuande today because I want to discuss with you how to help the Han family and save the people of the world."

Liu Bei was refreshed, and immediately sat up straight and said, "Sir, please tell me."

Shen Chen pointed to the north and said, "Nowadays, there are no more wars in the Guandong, and there are endless disputes in the world. Today's big Han, Yuan Cao and Guandu are fighting for supremacy. Whoever wins this battle will get the whole north. What kind of situation do you think will be like?"

Liu Bei pondered: "The Yuan family's four generations and five princes returned home, and they served the emperor in the name of supporting the Han family. The flag of righteousness, looking down on everything, I am afraid that the north will all belong to Yuan Shao."

"good."

Shen Chen sighed: "But actually, has Mr. Xuande ever thought about it, no matter whether it belongs to Cao or Yuan, we can't ignore one thing."

"What's the matter?"

"The minister is strong and the master is weak. No matter who controls the emperor, he will end up like a puppet on a string at a funeral. The north is powerful, and Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, Sun Quan and others in the south will never be opponents of Yuan and Cao. This big man may not He will still be a big man."

"Well"

Liu Bei said solemnly: "Duke Yuan. Duke Yuan's generosity wins the hearts of all. If you have a soldier under Duke Zhou, you should not be like this. If you can defeat Cao Cao, you will be able to benefit the world at the same time."

"Mr. Xuande."

Shen Chen said seriously: "Nowadays, the Han Dynasty is in decline, and everyone knows that His Majesty is in prison. Even if Yuan Shao has this intention, if he wins the world, would the civil servants and generals under him be willing to watch him take over the country? Is it okay to return it to His Majesty? So sometimes, please don’t deceive yourself and face up to what may happen in the future.”

The great chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty has become an established fact. At that time, many famous people directly said that the Han Dynasty was about to perish. For example, Qiao Xuan, Yan Zhong, He Yong, Xu Shao and other famous people said that the Han Dynasty was exhausted. and so on.

And so it is.

So as long as you are not blind or foolish, you all know that Cao Cao's coercion of the emperor to order the princes is just a preparation for the powerful ministers to use the name of the emperor to control the general situation for themselves.

One day in the future, when he defeats Yuan Shao and flattens Liu Biao, Sun Quan and Liu Zhang, he may usurp the throne in a short time.

Even Xun Yu knew this, but what could he do?He could only assist Cao Cao helplessly and barely survive for decades for the Han Dynasty, which is not ashamed of his conscience.

And Liu Bei is not stupid, how could he not know?

But he had no choice.

At the beginning, he also naively believed that Cao Cao was a loyal minister, but he went to Xudu to have a look, and imprisoned the emperor, killed the ministers, killed the uncle of the country, killed the noble concubine, and killed the prince.So he quickly attacked and killed Che Zhou and went to join Yuan Shao.

But Yuan Shao is not a good stubble. He had planned to make Liu Yu emperor before. Even if he defeated Cao Cao and won the emperor, he would not be a loyal minister like Zhou Gong Huo Guang, but a traitor who usurped the throne. If they ruled the world, the Yuan family would most likely proclaim themselves emperor on behalf of the Han Dynasty.

After all, there is already a lesson learned by Yuan Shu. Before Yuan Shu died, he even gave Yuan Shao the emperor title, and Yuan Shao's reaction was to accept it. From this, it can be seen that if Yuan Shao wins the battle of Guandu and gets the whole north, he probably won't grow old. Honestly be a Hanchen.

Therefore, it was a helpless move for Liu Bei to go to Yuan Shao.

It was Cao Cao himself who pushed Liu Xie too hastily, which led to the matter of Yidaizhao. Otherwise, Liu Bei and Cao Cao had a good relationship before, why did they turn their faces after Yidaizhao?

Now Yuan Cao is worse than Liu Bei.

If Cao Cao wins, Liu Xie will have a hard time, and the Han Dynasty may not be guaranteed.

Yuan Shao won, and it was the same.

It's just that Liu Bei had no choice but to follow Yuan Shao because of the Yidai Zhao, and he could only naively hope that Yuan Shao really attacked Cao Cao in order to help the Han Dynasty as he said.

Although children don't believe such words, people including Liu Bei and Kong Rong who have a Han family in their hearts can only deceive themselves like this.

But Shen Chen clearly realized that this kind of self-deception mentality was not good, so Liu Bei had to get rid of this idea, give up his fantasy, and start to do it.

Hearing his words, Liu Bei pondered for a moment, and in the end he just sighed: "Oh, why don't I know? Cao Cao controlled the court and bullied the emperor. Yuan Shao even made a move to establish a new emperor in the north. Such rebellious ministers are my soldiers. Widow, really powerless."

Shen Chen smiled and said, "If Duke Xuande has the heart, he might be able to turn the tide."

"Oh?"

Liu Bei said happily: "Mr. Xiao, can you teach me?"

Shen Chen murmured: "I have three strategies, top, middle and bottom, and they depend on the situation, each has its own specific reasons, I don't know which strategy you want to listen to."

(End of this chapter)