Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 91 Liu Bei: Watching Yan Liang bid for Seoul

The first year of Xingping, March 16th.

The infantry of Yuan's army, led by Yan Liang, crossed the Huan River and set up camp seventeen miles away from Neihuang County.

The grain from Yecheng needed to be transported by land and then delivered to the military camp by boats on the river.

Yuan's army on the other side of the Fanyang River was also ready to move, and sent civilians and auxiliary soldiers to cut wood and build bridges in many places.

After learning about the movements of the opposite side, they learned that Yan Liang's troops carried very few cavalry because the terrain was surrounded by water on three sides, which was not conducive to the deployment of cavalry.

Liu Bei smiled and said, "No wonder the scholars in Hebei say Yan Liang has a narrow character. Although he is brave, he cannot be alone. He is just a man. Neihuang is surrounded by water on many sides. It is a deadly place for troops to be stationed on the opposite bank and cannot be attacked. Now he is coming with great momentum, but he is just setting a bid to sell Seoul."

He was also busy, making arrangements for the enemy and secretly exchanging letters with Lu Bu of Liyang.

Lu Bu went from calling him Liu Qingzhou to Liu Shijun and finally Xuande.

He said to his wife many times: "I have no place to stand in Guandong, and no one understands my feelings. Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao seem to care about me, but they are actually hypocritical. When I am no longer useful, they turn against me and are ruthless. If I had met Xuande earlier, why would I have surrendered to the thief Dong..."

Since entering Luoyang, he has received high-ranking salaries and countless money and fine silk, but no one speaks to him from the bottom of their hearts, and everyone is just taking advantage of him.

Unlike Liu Xuande, he really understands me!
The woman asked curiously, "Is Liu Bei really that good?"

Lü Bu waved his hand and said, "How can a woman understand that Xuande's few words can make people feel like spring breeze? This is the same as what happened to Boya and Ziqi."

When the woman saw her husband talking about Liu Bei, her eyebrows raised, a happy expression appeared on her face, and she couldn't help asking, "When will the general go to Liu Bei?"

Lu Bu was speechless, hesitating for a moment, and said: "This matter needs to be discussed in detail. It will not be too late for me to go after Xuande has taken Jizhou. Otherwise, how can a man bow down and serve others and face the heroes of the world?"

He is now the Marquis of Wen, the General of Fenwei, and the Inspector of the Sili Army. If we count all his official positions in the court, his status is higher than that of Liu Bei.

He is no longer the Lu Fengxian who was the chief clerk in his early years. With his character, it is difficult for him to bow his head unless he is left with no other choice.

Moreover, he was determined that as long as he did not send troops, Yuan Shao would not dare to make enemies with him or cut off his food supplies.

If you really offend him, Xuande would dare to hit you, Yuan Benchu, but wouldn't I, Wenhou Lu Bu, dare to?
Fortunately, he avenged the Yuan family and came all the way to join them, but he was still ridiculed by the scholars.

Although Liu Bei didn't know Lu Bu's specific thoughts, he could guess some of them from the attitude of the words in the letter.

Lu Bu was persuaded by him. He had finally saved up some wealth, but it was all gone in the battle. Yuan Shao would not replenish his soldiers, especially the elite cavalry he brought from Chang'an.

Knowing that Lu Bu intended to stand idly by, Yan Liang's route of advance was a dead end.

There was no Lu Bu in Liyang to tip off the enemy.

Liu Bei could personally lead the Jia Camp, the Xiandeng Camp, and the Shengshe Camp in Fanyang, use draft horses and pack horses to transport military equipment and food, quickly move south and detour from the west, cross the Qishui and Dangshui rivers, build bridges across them, and directly attack the flank camp of Yan Liang's troops. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would lead the troops to attack.

Surrounded on two sides and surrounded by water on three sides, they couldn't hold on even with their lives and their morale collapsed.

Even if there were more and wider wooden bridges over the Huanshui River, it would be of no use in the face of tens of thousands of people pushing and shoving in panic.

If one falls into the river wearing armor, it would be strange if he does not sink to the bottom. Even if the Yuan army soldiers are good at swimming, there are probably only a few who can swim to the other side of the river.

If the Yuan army led by Yan Liang could be defeated, the Yuan army that was crossing the Fanyang River to attack the city would have no choice but to retreat and protect Yecheng after receiving the news.

The siege of Fanyang can be easily resolved.

There are two key points. First, 2,000 of the 3,000 auxiliary soldiers must be transferred to follow the army to transport weapons, armor and arrows, and the remaining 1,000 must be able to hold out for several days. Second, the marching speed must be very fast, reducing all excess and only carrying three days of military rations and water. The rest of the hammers, short swords, sickles, cloth, medicine, cooking utensils, stone mills, etc., must be left in the city.

By the time Lu Bu's scouts in Liyang reacted and reported back, they had already crossed the first river and burned the wooden bridge.

In case Lu Bu suddenly changes.

Even though Liu Bei wrote to Lu Bu and they had a very pleasant conversation, Lu Bu also wrote back to them and they had a very pleasant conversation.

But he never entrusted the safety of the army to Lu Bu. Instead of hoping that the other party would not take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, it would be better to prevent it directly.

Everything will be successful if you plan ahead, while nothing will be successful if you don't.

The purpose of the letter was to slow down Lu Bu's actions, not to slow down Liu Bei's advance.

I had previously replied to Guan Yu, asking him not to take the initiative to attack and wait for the situation to change. When the army arrived, he would join forces with Yide to defeat Yan Liang's troops.

In order to avoid the news leaking out, Liu Bei did not send any more messages, but immediately mobilized the remaining 2,600 soldiers and 2,000 auxiliary soldiers from the three battalions, plus 60 personal cavalry. The horses were fed with beans, and the auxiliary soldiers and combat soldiers were all checked for ordnance, bows and crossbows, and weapons.

Guo Jia was too weak to join the army, so he stayed in the city.

Before leaving, Guo Jia bowed and said, "I wish your trip will be as smooth as a bamboo breaking, tearing down the Yuan flag and raising the red flag!"

Liu Bei laughed and said, "Okay, I will follow the example of Marquis Huaiyin and send out a surprise attack on Yuan's camp. Break through the wall and pull down all Yuan's flags, making Yuan's army terrified!"

After saying this, he bowed, mounted his horse, nodded to Guo Jia, whipped his whip, and jumped on his horse. Taishi Ci and his sixty personal riders followed at lightning speed.

The soldiers marched with flags hoisted. Along the way, more than 4,700 soldiers' flags and drums were connected in front and behind. 4,300 horses carried military equipment and swept up the dust on the ancient road.

Liu Bei led his army at a very fast speed along the Baigou River, which is a branch of the Qi River. When he saw that he had passed the lake, he immediately cut wood and built a bridge across the river. After crossing the river, he burned the wooden bridge, rested for a while, and then set out again.

Run to the front of Dangshui River, rest for a while and then build the bridge again.

After the bridge was built, the army crossed the river quickly without stopping. Liu Bei ordered the horses to be fed beans and fodder, the crossbowmen to load arrows into the quivers, the combat soldiers were all armored with the help of auxiliary soldiers, and the craftsmen used sharp axes to cut wood and make rolling logs to hammer down the walls of Yuan’s camp.

Taishi Ci was ordered to lead the scouts and personal cavalry to investigate the specific location and movements of Yan Liang's troops. If they encountered enemy scouts, they were to chase and kill them immediately without leaving a single one alive.

Do everything possible to delay the time Yan Liang receives the news. A moment less dispatch will increase the possibility of defeat for the enemy.

Liu Bei's chances of winning this battle will increase again.

It can be said that both sides were racing against time. The difference was that Liu Bei was proactive, while Yan Liang was passive and kept in the dark.

Taishi Ci led the scouts to report their location and said that Yuan's army had discovered the unusual movement and was mobilizing troops to fight back.

Liu Bei smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. The army has closed the distance. If Yan Liang escapes on horseback, he can come back. If we mobilize the army to counterattack, the neck and head will belong to him."

So he ordered the soldiers to beat drums and march in formation!

"Boom boom boom..." The passionate drumbeats rang out on the battlefield.

The dense footsteps advanced with the sound of drums. The first camp lined up with shields in the front, the sound-shooting camp defended the two wings behind them, the cavalry bypassed and drew their arrows, and the armored camp conserved their strength in the middle and did not put on full armor. When the battle started, the auxiliary soldiers beside them would help them to rush towards the enemy with heavy armor and long swords and hammers to smash the opponent's formation.

(End of this chapter)