three kings

Chapter 189
Fancheng.

In the second year of Jian'an (AD [-]), April [-]th.

Sun Can came to Fancheng again, and Sun Can already knew everything that happened in Liu Biao's territory from the news from the "Secret Camp".

I have to say that Jia Xu is really scary, and with this thought in mind, I am also secretly glad that I can take him into account.Otherwise, when Sun Can thought of this, his pores felt terrified.

Sixteen days ago, Cai Mao died inexplicably in the "Fengyue Tower".On the same day, Zhang Yan, who disappeared in Xiangyang and hadn't shown up for a long time, suddenly appeared in front of people, holding the head of Cai He, a younger brother of the Cai Mao clan, in his hand.

This matter caused an uproar in the city of Xiangyang. Zhang Yun and Cai Zhong immediately summoned [-] soldiers and horses to kill Liu Bei's residence. Liu Bei took advantage of the geographical advantage to let Guan Yu and Zhang Yan guard the residence.

The opponent was brave, Zhang Yun and Cai Zhong used Zhang Cheng's strategy, shot with bows and arrows, set fire to the house, and the fire was fierce.Fortunately, Guan Ping, who was out, found out in time that Guan Ping, the son of Guan Ding, the owner of Guanjiazhuang in Jizhou, was young and energetic, and traveled alone.Seeing that Liu Bei's mansion was heavily surrounded, he rushed into the mansion to invite the weak Liu Biao.Liu Biao arrived in time and stopped Zhang Yun and Cai Zhong's blind actions.

Everyone went to the prefect's office and discussed for a long time.Liu Biao thought in his heart that it was unreasonable for Cai Mao to trap Zhang Yan, but it was also wrong for Liu Bei and Zhang Yan to kill Cai Mao and Cai He.

Therefore, the two did not help each other, and dealt with the matter more honestly, and the turmoil of internal fighting subsided.

However, Xiangyang was very interested in this bizarre incident.Various reasons, under the instigation of good-natured and caring people, gradually converged into four versions of explanations.

First, Liu Bei conspired to seize Jingzhou, deliberately killing Cai Mao and Cai He in the name of Zhang Yan's disappearance, in order to control the real power of Jingzhou.

Second, Liu Bei and Cai Mao formed an alliance with the intention of dividing Jingzhou equally. Later, the spoils were divided unevenly and they killed each other.

Third, Liu Bei colluded with Sun Can to plot Jingzhou, and was discovered by Cai Mao and Cai He. Liu Bei was worried that his deeds would be revealed, so he killed people to silence him.

Fourth, Cai Mao and Cai He planned to rebel, but Liu Bei killed them decisively and calmly.

Three of the four rumors are not good for Liu Bei.As the saying goes, people in Xiangyang are very dissatisfied with Liu Biao, and their trust in Liu Bei has also been greatly reduced.The whole of Xiangyang is full of gossip and gossip, and the hearts of the people are in chaos.

Especially now that Sun Can's army has arrived in Fancheng, all kinds of blows have made the people in the city lose their sense of proportion and leave the city in a hurry.

Xiangyang.

After learning that Sun Can's army had arrived in Fancheng, Liu Biao placed all the troops in his hands on the city wall of Xiangyang.Since Xiangyang is the center of Jingzhou, it is the most important stronghold.

Liu Biao and his generals believed that Sun Can's army would definitely attack here.So they are ready to fight a protracted war here.

Although Xu Shu proposed a plan to retreat to Jiangxia and use the natural danger of the Yangtze River to resist Sun Can's army, but no one listened to his opinion.

After all, the most prosperous area in Jingzhou is Xiangfan. If you retreat to the barren Jingnan, wouldn't you just throw away watermelons and pick sesame seeds?
"The city wall has been repaired, and at the same time, sufficient troops have been allocated to the key points and towers. A lot of food and drinking water have also been prepared. As long as there are no mistakes, they should be able to hold on for more than half a year." Liu Bei's mood at the moment is very complicated. Also very depressed, he was very busy with Zhang Yan before.Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhang Yan came back, he would be blamed for two things. Cai Hezhi's death, he admitted that it was indeed Zhang Yan who killed him.But Cai Mao's death really has nothing to do with him.However, it was so coincidental that the two events happened together, and even Liu Biao believed that Cai Mao committed suicide.

Later, he and Liu Biao disagreed again. He advocated withdrawing to Jingnan, but Liu Biao couldn't let go of Xiangfan's wealth and planned to stick to Xiangyang.To be honest, he really wanted to leave Xiangyang, and yearned to join Liu Qi in Jingnan.

However, after all, Liu Biao took him in when he was most in danger. If he left, not only would he get a reputation for injustice, but Liu Biao would definitely die, and he would not be able to explain to Liu Qi.

Long-term persuasion was ineffective, so he had to stay and fight the battle of Longcheng with Liu Biao.

"My dear brother, thank you for your hard work!" Liu Biao expressed his condolences.

"Brother, that..." Liu Bei seemed to have something to say.

"I know what you want to say!" Liu Biao had mixed feelings in his heart. In fact, the best way is to hand over the military power to Liu Bei. Also more than enough.But he didn't dare, there were too many strange things happened in Xiangyang recently, he couldn't deal with it and couldn't tell who was loyal and who was traitor.He is old, his body is exhausted, and he has no great desire for power. The only hope is to give his beloved son Liu Cong a complete place where he can display his talents.

Therefore, he did not allow Liu Bei to make too many contributions, so as not to overshadow the master.Therefore, although Liu Bei is the commander-in-chief, most of the military power is still in the hands of his opponent Zhang Yun, and some of it is in the hands of the neutral Kuai Liang.

"Don't worry, I will give the order to General Zhang Yun."

"En!" Liu Bei seemed unwilling to discuss this sensitive topic after hearing Liu Biao's words, and remained silent.

After a long time, Liu Biao sighed, "My dear brother, do you think we will win this battle?"

"Yes, I will!" Liu Bei exhaled, and then shouted loudly.No matter when and where, and how dangerous the situation is, as long as there is a glimmer of life, Liu Bei is full of desire for victory. Even if he fails, he will start from scratch without giving up.

Fancheng official residence, meeting hall.

"Sure enough, it is a tactic of closing the door and defending it." Sun Can smiled at the officials under his command, "It seems that the old guy Liu Biao is living and returning, thinking that relying on Liu Bei and Xu Shu's ability, he was huddled in the city of Xiangyang We can't stand him. Watch how I knock his shell off piece by piece."

"It seems that the strategy we established before is correct. Since Liu Biao sticks to Xiangyang, there is no need to worry about not catching him." Guo Jia has great confidence in this battle.

"Our army now has 1 more troops than the opponent, but if we want to capture a strong city like Xiangyang, we may suffer serious damage. When we fight against Yuan Shao in the future, we will definitely suffer a lot. A well-trained veteran , far from what a few recruits can replace." Xu Huang frowned and said.

"Ten thousand?" Sun Can smiled confidently: "But can we expand this advantage?"

"Is it true?" Xu Huang stared at me with wide-eyed eyes, revealing a hint of excitement, "Could it be that our army still has reinforcements?" good news.

"No, no." The newly joined Chen Gong shook his head, "As long as the opponent's troops are reduced, won't our advantage be expanded?"

"So that's how it is!" Xu Huang suddenly realized, "With all the gentlemen here, only you can come up with such a clever plan."

"The general is wrong. This surprise attack strategy was all drawn up by the lord." Although Guo Jia also contributed, he didn't take the credit. Advisers can be compared."

"My lord, the surprise attack tactics that Feng Xiao talked about is a bluff, a surprise attack on Nanjun?" Through the revelations of Sun Can, Guo Jia, and Chen Gong, Jia Xu somewhat guessed Sun Can's intentions. He wanted to isolate Xiangyang and cut off all people who could enter Xiangyang. aisle.In this way, not attacking is more powerful than attacking.

Sun Can nodded. He has always disliked capturing cities. He thinks that this method will not only hurt others, but also make him pay a big price.He didn't like to see such a result of the battle. Therefore, he worked out a set of tactics that could reduce casualties overnight, and then humbly asked Liu Hua, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Chen Gong and others for advice. The most perfect situation appears on the battlefield.

This is also one of the secrets of Sun Can's constant victory. Unless it is absolutely necessary, Sun Can seldom acts arbitrarily.

"My lord, Xu has already placed a pawn in the city to take Xiangyang..." Jia Xu said hesitantly, which is understandable. The surprise attack tactic just now was very ingenious. It took a certain amount of effort.But the chess pieces he arranged in Xiangyang are masterpieces that he spent three months meticulously completing, and the effect is definitely better than Sun Can's tactics.

But when he opened his mouth, it was tantamount to rejecting Sun Can's meticulous masterpiece.In this way, he has always been hesitant to protect himself.

Sun Can was full of interest in Jia Xu's words, and kept urging Jia Xu to speak quickly.

Jia Xu had no choice but to tell Zhang Cheng out, and explained that Zhang Cheng was already a partial general with two thousand soldiers in his hand, and could break through a city gate of Xiangyang from the inside at any time.

"Okay...ok...ok..." Sun Can was overjoyed, "Wenhe's method is perfect, if Xiangyang is broken, Wenhe should take the lead." The surprise attack tactics were not mentioned at all.

Guo Jia said with a smile: "It seems that my lord is really wise to keep Wen He here. If we use two approaches, surprise attack first, and cooperate with the inside and outside, Xiangfan will all fall into my hands."

"But in this way, the army is not strong enough. Could it be that all the troops in Fancheng should be transferred out?" Chen Gong understood Guo Jia's bold idea.

"That's right!" Guo Jialang said in a loud voice: "Although it is more dangerous to send out all the troops, as the enemy army on the losing side, there is no rush to escape. How can they have the courage to attack my Fancheng?"

"Although the words are good, but Zhang Lu in Hanzhong acted strangely. Not long ago, he sent troops to occupy Shangyong and Fangling. If he sent an army to attack Fancheng, wouldn't he give away Fancheng for nothing?" Point out the most critical point, as long as it is solved here, Guo Jia's method is very feasible.

There is also a bit of an adventurous spirit in Sun Can.

Guo Jia said to himself: "My lord, don't worry. Jia is willing to join Zhang Lu's army, and persuade Zhang Lu to hand over the two cities of Shangyong and Fangling obediently, and return to Hanzhong."

(End of this chapter)