Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

In the Han camp in the south of Zhucheng, an upbeat atmosphere was quietly surging.

The Han army emerged from the camp like a winding dragon and rushed towards the dense forest.

The Han army marched in orderly order. The sound of their footsteps made the earth tremble slightly. The dust they raised spread out, covering the sky and the sun.

Liu Bei sat upright on his horse, his eyes sharp and revealing a heroic spirit of determination to win.

A few days ago, Liu Bei led a large army to the city of Zhucheng.

When he learned that Meng Huo had already abandoned the city and fled, he felt a little regretful, but more of a determination to win.

So he decisively ordered an attack on the city, and the Nanzhong Royal City was quickly captured by the Han army.

Although Zhucheng had been devastated by the war, with broken city walls and collapsed houses, Liu Bei did not care.

In his opinion, what is important is the status of Zhucheng in the hearts of the people in the south - it is the royal city of the southern barbarians!
But now he was easily abandoned by Meng Huo.

This means that Meng Huo has lost the determination to resist and his mental defenses have collapsed. How can he have the strength to fight again?
As for the issue of food and fodder, Liu Bei had already made plans in his mind.

Even without Zhucheng, with the strong strength of the Han Dynasty, we can be self-sufficient and there is no need to worry.

So he ordered the army to rest in Zhucheng for a few days, to recuperate and wait for the arrival of subsequent food and fodder.

...

Night gradually fell and the sky gradually darkened.

The Han soldiers were busy setting up tents and arranging fortifications.

at this time.

Chen Dao hurriedly stepped into the king's tent, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists in salute, and reported loudly:

"Your Majesty, the spies we sent to the south have sent back the latest intelligence."

Liu Bei raised his head slightly, looked at Chen Dao calmly, and motioned him to speak directly.

Chen Dao took a deep breath and said:
"That thief Meng's elder brother, Meng Jie, unexpectedly got a lot of elephant soldiers from somewhere."

"Right now, this elephant army is heading towards Zhucheng together with Meng Huo."

Elephant Army?

Liu Bei was shocked, for he had never heard of the name of the elephant army.

Looking around, he saw that the counselors and generals around him all had expressions of shock on their faces.

"First there was the Rattan Armor Army, and now there is the Giant Elephant Army. How could there be so many strange troops in this southern land?"

Wei Yan couldn't help but mutter.

Liu Bei slowly turned his gaze to Xiao Fang standing beside him and asked:
"Jinglue, you are well-informed. Have you ever heard of the Giant Elephant Army?"

Xiao Fang looked calm and said slowly:

"There are many dense forests in the south, and there are many elephants in the forests. They can use elephants instead of horses as mounts and form an army."

After hearing this, Liu Bei suddenly realized, but then frowned again:
"Elephants are huge beasts, and it is difficult for arrows to hurt them. How can I defeat such a strange army?"

Xiao Fang smiled slightly and said disapprovingly:
"Your Majesty, if you want to defeat the elephant army, you must use giant elephants to defeat giant elephants."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the tent.

"What do you mean by using a giant elephant to fight a giant elephant? The southern barbarians have elephants, but where do we get elephants?"

All the generals had puzzled expressions on their faces and started talking among themselves.

Liu Bei also looked bewildered. He turned his gaze towards Xiao Fang and asked blankly:
"Prime Minister, I...I don't quite understand. I hope you can explain it to me."

Xiao Fang nodded slightly and reminded:

"Your Majesty, don't you remember that my Han Empire also has elephants?"

Liu Bei was stunned, his thoughts racing like lightning.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

That was before the fall of Qin.

At that time, Xiao Fang submitted a petition to him, proposing to purchase elephants from Yizhou.

In addition, elephants were plundered from all over the Central Plains and taken over by the army.

At that time, Liu Bei felt strange and didn't understand what Xiao Fang wanted these elephants for.

Xiao Fang just smiled mysteriously at the time and said that it would be useful.

Liu Bei thought that Xiao Fang liked elephants, so he didn't think much about it and ordered the officials to secretly purchase elephants from the south.

Afterwards, he had long forgotten about it. When Xiao Fang suddenly mentioned it today, he realized that Xiao Fang's purchase of the elephant had a deep meaning.

"Jinglue, can you please speak frankly?"

Liu Bei asked anxiously.

Xiao Fang smiled faintly and said slowly:

"When I bought elephants earlier, I was actually secretly building an elephant army."

"To be honest, Your Majesty, our army of giant elephants is now on its way to Nanzhong."

"That thief Meng wants to defeat us with a giant elephant, so let's fight him with an elephant!"

Xiao Fang revealed the mystery.

After hearing this, Liu Bei was overjoyed.

Only then did he suddenly realize that Xiao Fang purchased elephants in order to form a giant elephant army!

When the counselors on both sides heard this, they were all shocked and looked at Xiao Fang with admiration.

That was a few years ago, when the Qin Dynasty had not yet fallen.

Since then, Xiao Fang has been preparing for the southern expedition to Nanzhong?

He is simply a prophet, like a god!

Everyone couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

"I didn't expect the Prime Minister was already prepared. What do we have to fear? All we have to do is defeat his elephant soldiers!"

Zhang Fei shouted loudly with excitement.

After hearing this, Liu Bei's confidence increased greatly, as if victory was already beckoning him.

at this time.

Xiao Fang calmed down, frowned and said:
"Your Majesty, my elephant army has only been formed recently, and its training is far inferior to that of the southern barbarians."

"If we really want to use giant elephants against giant elephants, I'm afraid we won't be able to defeat Meng Huo's giant elephant soldiers in this battle."

As soon as these words were spoken, the generals' originally high emotions instantly calmed down.

"Then...then what should we do?"

The smile on Liu Bei's face gradually disappeared, and was covered with a shadow again. He asked worriedly.

"I have my own opinion."

A strange smile flashed across Xiao Fang's lips, and he said:
"The way to employ troops is to combine the strange and the normal."

"This giant elephant against the giant elephant is the regular army. I have a special army to use."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he quickly asked:

"What special force does the Prime Minister have?"

Xiao Fang stepped forward and whispered something in Liu Bei's ear.

After hearing this, Liu Bei's mouth gradually curled up into a smile, then he laughed heartily and waved his hand, saying:
"Pass on my order, the entire army will retreat to Zhucheng immediately!"

After hearing this, all the generals were stunned.

We have an army of giant elephants, so what else is there to be afraid of?

Why do we have to retreat back to Zhucheng?
Everyone was full of doubts, but they did not dare to disobey military orders and had to act according to them.

As soon as the military order was given, the Han army began to retreat northward.

The morale of the Han soldiers was somewhat frustrated.

There was no other way. Liu Bei initially said that he wanted to capture Gucheng and kill all the southern barbarians.

The fighting spirit of the Han army soldiers was completely ignited, and everyone was rubbing their hands, ready for a big fight.

But who would have thought that the emperor suddenly ordered a retreat.

This bucket of cold water naturally dampened the morale of the soldiers and filled them with doubts.

However, although they were confused, they did not dare to disobey military orders. They could only adjust their mood and silently retreat northward according to orders.

While retreating, Xiao Fang also gave a suggestion that the army should constantly set up obstacles for the enemy when retreating northward.

So the Han soldiers were busy along the way, digging trenches, cutting trees, setting traps...

All means were used to slow down the enemy's pursuit. (End of this chapter)