strokinit Chapter [297] Liu Bei's Trip In Vain
Chapter [297] Liu Bei's Trip In Vain
Xuzhou, Langya County.
Liu Bei led Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang, and with an army of 50,000, they were marching towards Qingzhou in the north.
This time Liu Bei was dispatched in full force, not only bringing out his civil and military forces, but also all the troops under his command.
Among the three families of Cao, Liu, and Sun, the Sun family has the greatest geographical advantage. It does not border Daqin at all, and there is the Yangtze River as a barrier.
It's a pity that Lu Bu found another way, opened up the Three Gorges waterway, and played down the river.
The second is Liu Bei's geographical location, with Cao Cao blocking in front and Sun Ce behind, only bordering on the enclave of Qingzhou.
This led Liu Bei to send troops, and no one needs to have any scruples. Anyway, the Cao and Sun families will definitely not come to attack, so Liu Bei can rest assured that all his troops will be invested in Qingzhou.
"Kong Ming, what does Cao Cao say?" Liu Bei asked while sitting on his horse.
"Promised to send troops to support us, but only pretended to attack, and would not actually send troops to assist, and asked for a county." Zhuge Liang replied.
"It's really a good idea." Guan Yu snorted coldly.
"Forget it, a county is a county." Liu Bei said slowly: "As long as the "710" can help us involve some Qingzhou troops.
Liu Bei had only 20,000 troops before, and he expanded his army to 50,000 after receiving the family property of the Mi family and the dowry of the Sun family.
Cao Cao also plundered in Jingbei, and then made money and raised his army to 50,000.
Zhang Liao in Qingzhou had 40,000 Qin troops in his hands, and Liu Bei alone would be incapable of attacking Qingzhou with 50,000 troops.
We can only unite with Cao Cao, even if Cao Cao will not send troops head-on, but as long as he puts an offensive posture on the border, Qingzhou has to defend, so that it can be used to contain the troops.
"Kong Ming, shall we take Qingzhou in this battle?" Liu Bei also felt guilty.
No one in the world has defeated Lu Bu, even if all the princes joined forces, they have not defeated Lu Bu once, and Liu Bei is also a little worried when things come to an end.
Zhuge Liang seemed to see Liu Bei's worry, and comforted him: "My lord, Lu Bu is not here. It should be no problem to take Qingzhou."
"That's right." Liu Bei felt relieved when he heard this.
While speaking, a group of people had already entered Qingzhou territory.
Along the way, it was unimpeded, and the 50,000 army did not encounter any resistance.
If something goes wrong, there must be a demon, Liu Bei felt uneasy again, "Kong Ming, why didn't you see a single enemy soldier? No matter how bad it is, you should meet the enemy's scouts.
"It must have been known that we and Cao Cao led the army, so they directly reduced their forces and chose to stick to the city." Zhuge Liang made an inference.
"If this is the case, Cao Cao will not really participate in the war. With our 50,000 troops alone, there is no way to take it by force. Liu Bei can't help but frown.
"My lord, don't worry." Zhuge Liang said with confidence, "The people's livelihood in Qingzhou is in decline, and the other party still depends on Hebei for food and grass. We just need to encircle and not attack. Cut off the food roads, and Qingzhou will collapse without attack."
Liu Bei was stunned when he heard the words, "Kong Ming is still thoughtful, now I am completely relieved."
With a plan to break the city, Liu Bei made up his mind and led the army to rush on the road.
Since the territory of Qingzhou is long from east to west and narrow from north to south, after entering Qingzhou from Xuzhou, it will not take long to arrive at Linzi City, the seat of Qingzhou.
When Liu Bei and others arrived in Linzi, they looked at the deserted city, and everyone including Zhuge Liang was taken aback.
"Could it be that the Qin army abandoned the city and fled?" Liu Bei said subconsciously.
"Based on what I know about Zhang Liao, he should not be such a person, his style is to stick to it." Guan Yu said from the side.
Zhuge Liang pondered for a while, and said: "It may be intentional, be careful that the other party is ambushing in the city."
Zhuge Liang is still very sensitive to empty city plans, Zhuge has been cautious all his life, and the first thing he thinks of is not that the other party has run away, but that the other party has set up an ambush in the city.
"Kong Ming, how should we deal with it?" Liu Bei asked.
"You can send a small team into the city to inspect." Zhuge Liang continued: "If the small team can't get out, it means there is an ambush."
To put it bluntly, it is the Death Squad to explore the way.
"Brother, I'll arrange it." Guan Yu said immediately.
"Okay." Liu Bei nodded in agreement.
There must be a brave man under a great reward. It is very easy to find someone who is not afraid of death these days.
Not long after, a death squad was formed and headed directly towards the city.
About a quarter of an hour later, the Death Squad returned safely from the city.
"Report! There is no garrison in the city. According to the people in the city, the Qin army all withdrew a few days ago and headed towards Hebei.
After listening to the death squad's report, Liu Bei and others looked at each other in blank dismay. They did not expect that the Qin army would really run away from the battle. This result was obviously beyond everyone's expectations.
"It should be that we cooperated with Cao Cao. The opponent's strength or food and grass were insufficient, and Qingzhou was another enclave, so we simply abandoned it." Zhuge Liang made an inference.
"Anyway, it's a good thing. Let's pick up Qingzhou for nothing." Liu Bei said excitedly.
"If we knew this, we wouldn't need to contact Cao Cao, and now we have to give them a county for nothing, I think..."
"Yun Chang shut up." Liu Bei interrupted Guan Yu, "If you keep your word, you can continue to cooperate next time. 11
"If we are only greedy for petty profits and ruin our reputation, who will help us next time?"
"Little brother made a slip of the tongue, big brother taught me the lesson." Guan Yu bowed his hands and admitted his mistake.
"Let's go, since the Qin army has left, let's take over Qingzhou directly." Liu Bei ordered immediately.
"Wait a minute, my lord." Zhuge Liang stretched out his feather fan to stop him, saying: "Send a vanguard first, and if there is no accident, then the whole army will enter the city.
"After all, the number of the previous team was limited, and it was difficult to search the whole city in a short period of time. Moreover, the words of the people may not be trustworthy. They may be the people disguised by the Qin army." Zhuge Liang was still very cautious.
"Alright." Liu Bei nodded and ordered, "Zilong led ten thousand pioneers into the city, and Yun Chang led the rest of the army into the city afterward.
"Here..." The second general Guan Zhao took the order and left.
After another toss, all the 50,000 troops entered Linzi City, but nothing happened.
It was confirmed again and again that Zhang Liao had indeed withdrawn with the Qin army, and the retreat was clean and tidy without the slightest delay.
"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly this time, it was a surprise." Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
The rest of the people were also happy. After all, picking up a state for nothing, even if it had to give Cao Cao a county, was still a happy event.
However, Liu Bei soon became unhappy. Just as Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were about to take over the government affairs of Qingzhou, a piece of news came.
"Grand Xuande! Moling was attacked by Lu Bu, and now it has been destroyed. I hope Lord Xuande will rescue you." A messenger from Jiangdong knelt in front of Liu Bei and said.
"Where's Bofu? Where's Gongjin?" Liu Bei was almost frightened to death when he heard the words, and hurriedly asked about Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's situation.
"My lord and the military advisor are both safe and escaped, but Moling fell into Lu Bu's hands." The messenger hurriedly explained.
"How did Lu Bu attack Jiangdong?" Zhuge Liang asked the lingering doubts in his heart.
"The Yangtze River flows downstream from the upper stream. Originally, the Three Gorges was blocked, but it was unblocked at some point." The orderly explained.
Zhuge Liang was stunned, Jiang Dong obviously didn't expect it, and was caught off guard by Lu Bu suddenly.
"Kong Ming, Jiangdong is in an emergency, we have to rush to the rescue." Liu Bei said immediately.
Now the three families of Cao, Liu, and Sun not only cannot fight among themselves, but must also be united tightly. If they lose any one, they will no longer be able to compete with Lu Bu, especially Sun Ce is the strongest of the three and is the main force against Qin.
"So that's how it is." Zhuge Liang said without thinking.
"What?" Liu Bei couldn't understand.
"It's no wonder Qingzhou retreated so quickly. I must have known that Lu didn't want to attack Jiangdong, so I didn't worry about us occupying Qingzhou 2.5. As long as we return to aid Jiangdong, Qingzhou will fall into their hands." Zhuge Liang explained.
Liu Bei was taken aback when he heard the words, and then he realized the joint, what should we do? Should we leave a small force to garrison?"
"No way." Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "There are too few soldiers left, and they will definitely not be able to stop the 40,000 Qin army."
"There are too many soldiers left, if Jiangdong cannot be saved, the loss outweighs the gain."
After listening to Zhuge Liang's explanation, Liu Bei, who had just obtained Qingzhou, suddenly fell into a dilemma.
"If it doesn't work, let's withdraw." Liu Bei sighed helplessly, "Just pretend that we have never been to Qingzhou, at least we have nothing to lose, and saving Jiangdong is the top priority."
"That's the only way to go." Zhuge Liang had no choice.
Whoever loses the chain, Sun Ce can not lose the chain.
When Cao Liu couldn't stand it, Sun Ce could still support one or two in the rear.
But once Sun Ce's rear is gone, Cao and Liu will not last long.
In this way, Liu Bei, who had just obtained Qingzhou, had no choice but to withdraw from Qingzhou again with an army of 50,000, and hurried towards Huainan. .